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- IN PHOTOS: Filipino club in New York celebrates Independence Day
- Pekingese named Wasabi wins Westminster show
- MVP Nikola Jokic ejected, Suns sweep Nuggets 125-118
- Djokovic claims 19th Slam with 5-set comeback at French Open
| IN PHOTOS: Filipino club in New York celebrates Independence Day Posted: 13 Jun 2021 11:53 PM PDT THE Philippine Independence Day Council Inc. hosted an Independence Day Ball in commemoration of the 123rd Philippine Independence Day last June 5, 2021 at the Astoria World Manor in Astoria, New York. "It was an enjoyable evening, meeting the community leaders and friends again after more than a year due to the pandemic," Joann Carman, president Filipino Social Club of NY Inc., said in an email to SunStar. The event was held virtually and was opened by a parade of colors. Consul General of New York Elmer Cato and the Deputy Consul General Arman Talbo attended the event. "Celebrating our Philippine Independence Day is not the same without the actual parade in Manhattan, but because of the (Covid-19) pandemic, we just have to do what we have to do to stay safe," Carman said. (PR)  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Pekingese named Wasabi wins Westminster show Posted: 13 Jun 2021 08:51 PM PDT TARRYTOWN, N.Y. (AP) — The flavor of the year at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show: Wasabi. A Pekingese named Wasabi won best in show Sunday night, notching a fifth-ever win for the unmistakable toy breed. A whippet named Bourbon repeated as runner-up. Waddling through a small-but-mighty turn in the ring, Wasabi nabbed U.S. dogdom's most prestigious prize after winning the big American Kennel Club National Championship in 2019. "He has showmanship. He fits the breed standard. He has that little extra something, that sparkle, that sets a dog apart," said Wasabi's handler and breeder, David Fitzpatrick, who guided the Peke's grandfather Malachy to the Westminster title in 2012. How will Wasabi celebrate? He can have a filet mignon. And I'll have Champagne," Fitzpatrick, of East Berlin, Pennsylvania, said with a laugh. Wasabi came out on top of a finalist pack that also included Mathew the French bulldog, Connor the old English sheepdog, Jade the German shorthaired pointer, Striker the Samoyed, and a West Highland white terrier named Boy. Altogether, 2,500 champion dogs entered the show. It underwent big changes this year because of the coronavirus pandemic, moving out of New York City for the first time since the show's 1877 founding. This year's show was held outdoors at an estate in suburban Tarrytown, about 25 miles north of where the top ribbon is usually presented at Madison Square Garden, and it happened in June instead of February. In a sign of the pandemic times, some handlers wore masks — though vaccinated people were allowed to go without — and the show was closed to the public. Striker went into the show as the top-ranked U.S. dog, with more than 40 best in show wins since January 2020. And Bourbon had also won the AKC National Championship. The show was bittersweet for Jade's handler and co-owner, Valerie Nunes-Atkinson. She guided Jade's father, CJ, to a 2016 Westminster best in show win — and lost him last September, when the 7-year-old died unexpectedly of a fungal infection. "The good part about it is: He's left an incredible legacy," said Nunes-Atkinson, of Temecula, California. She said Jade "had my heart" from birth. Boy had come a long way to Westminster — all the way from Thailand, where one of his owners was watching from Bangkok, according to handler Rebecca Cross. "He always makes us laugh," said Cross, of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. For many dog owners, just making it to Westminster is a thrill — even for baseball's all-time home run leader, Barry Bonds, who was cheering on a miniature schnauzer he owns with sister Cheryl Dugan. The dog, Rocky, didn't win his breed, but the slugger said he was proud of Rocky simply for qualifying for the champions-only show. "We won because we got here. That's all that matters," Bonds told Fox Sports. "I've been to a lot of playoffs, and I've been to the World Series, and I've never won. But for 22 years, I kept trying." The 56-year-old Bonds holds baseball's career home run record with 762, though his feat was clouded by allegations of steroid use — he denied knowingly taking them. While semifinal and final rounds were held in a climate-controlled tent, earlier parts of the competition unfolded on the grass at an estate called Lyndhurst. Douglas Tighe, who handled a Brittany named Pennie second place in the sporting group, says he just goes with it if his dogs get distracted by birds and other attractions in the great outdoors. "Let them have fun," said Tighe, of Hope, New Jersey. "That's what it's all about." That's what it's about to Kole Brown, too. At age 9, he showed a bull terrier named Riley on Sunday alongside his parents, Kurtis Brown and U.S. Air Force Capt. Samantha Brown, and some of the family's other bull terriers. "I have a lot of fun with this sport," said Kole, of San Antonio, Texas. "Every single time I go into the ring, I have a smile on my face."(AP)  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| MVP Nikola Jokic ejected, Suns sweep Nuggets 125-118 Posted: 13 Jun 2021 07:55 PM PDT DENVER — The Phoenix Suns roared into the Western Conference Finals for the first time in 11 years Sunday night with a testy 125-118 victory over Denver that completed a four-game sweep of the Nuggets and included MVP Nikola Jokic's ejection. Chris Paul scored 37 points and Devin Booker added 34 in a physical game marred by Jokic's ejection. Jokic was tossed with 3:52 left in the third quarter and the Nuggets trailing 83-76 after his hard right-hand windmill swipe sent the basketball flying but also caught Cameron Payne in the face. Booker took umbrage at the hard foul and got in the big man's face before teammates and coaches pulled everyone apart. Officials assessed a double technical on Jokic and Booker and ejected the MVP after upping the call to a Flagrant 2. Jokic finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds in 28 minutes. The Nuggets and their fans at Ball Arena were frustrated that they were getting called for ticky-tack fouls yet Jokic wasn't getting the calls expected of a Most Valuable Player. With their franchise-record seventh straight playoff victory, the Suns advanced to the conference championship for the first time since 2010 — the last time they even reached the playoffs. After knocking out LeBron James and the defending champion Lakers in Round 1, the Suns quickly dispatched Denver and made Jokic the first MVP to get swept in a playoff series since Magic Johnson in 1989. Will Barton led Denver, which trailed by 13 heading into the fourth quarter, with 25 points, Michael Porter Jr. added 20 and Monte Morris 19. The Nuggets survived the loss of star Jamal Murray to a torn ACL on April 12, winning 13 of 18 to close out the regular season and taking care of the Portland Trail Blazers in five games in the opening round. But when second scoring option Porter tweaked his surgically repaired back in the first half of Game 1 against Phoenix, it was one injury too far for the Nuggets to overcome. Denver coach Michael Malone said before tip-off that the Nuggets couldn't really rely on their experience from the bubble in overcoming a pair of 3-1 deficits in the playoffs last year. For one thing, Murray's recovering from knee surgery. Malone said the Nuggets' only focus was on sending this series back to Phoenix for a Game 5. Instead, Jokic became the first MVP to get swept in a playoff series since the Pistons downed Magic Johnson and the Lakers in four in the NBA Finals in 1989. Jokic's ejection came 48 hours after an emotional celebration before Game 3 in which the Serbian dedicated his MVP trophy to his teammates, coaches, trainers and the front office. The only NBA player to play all 72 games this season, Jokic spent the fourth quarter in his locker room as his teammates' comeback without him fell short. Despite the sweep and Jokic's early exit, fans chanted, "MVP! MVP" as they streamed out of the arena. TIP-INS: Suns: Booker scored 10 points in the first quarter despite missing six of nine shots. ... Phoenix trailed just once at 2-0 before Booker's 3-pointer put the Suns up for good. Nuggets: Murray shot one-footed jumpers before the game and drew a loud ovation when he drained one from halfcourt as he walked off. ... Malone shook up his stagnant starting lineup, sitting Facundo Compazzo and Austin Rivers for Morris and Barton. (AP)  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Djokovic claims 19th Slam with 5-set comeback at French Open Posted: 13 Jun 2021 04:24 PM PDT PARIS — Novak Djokovic left the court to go the locker room for a little chat with himself after dropping the first two sets of the French Open final Sunday. Part of him worried he was too diminished and depleted to overcome that deficit against his younger, fresher foe, Stefanos Tsitsipas. And another part of Djokovic insisted he would. Guess which side was right? Aided by flawless serving down the stretch, a determined Djokovic summoned his imperious best and came all the way back to beat Tsitsipas 6-7 (6), 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 for his second championship at Roland Garros and 19th Grand Slam title overall — one away from the men's record shared by Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. "There's always two voices inside: There is one telling you that you can't do it, that it's done, it's finished. That voice was pretty strong after that second set," Djokovic said. "So I felt that that was a time for me to actually vocalize the other voice and try to suppress the first one that was saying I can't make it. I told myself I can do it. Encouraged myself. I strongly started to repeat that inside of my mind, tried to live it with my entire being." After ending the match with a leaping volley, Djokovic who spread his arms, tapped his chest and crouched to touch the red clay at Court Philippe Chatrier. When he went to the sideline, he handed his racket to a boy in the stands he said had been offering advice throughout. Once the third set was underway, Djokovic felt better and played better. "After that," he said, "there was not much of a doubt for me." Yes, his triumph went from in danger to inevitable: Djokovic did not face a break point in any of the last three sets. Djokovic became one of three men — alongside Rod Laver and Roy Emerson — to have won each major twice. As the reigning champion at the Australian Open and French Open, he heads to Wimbledon, which starts June 28, eyeing another rare achievement: He is halfway to joining Laver and Don Budge as the only men with a calendar-year Grand Slam. The 34-year-old Djokovic eliminated 13-time French Open champion Nadal — a challenge the Serb likened to scaling Mt. Everest — in a semifinal that lasted more than four hours Friday night. That was only Nadal's third loss in 108 matches at the clay-court major tournament. Djokovic also defeated Nadal in the 2015 quarterfinals before losing that year's final. It appeared the same fate awaited Sunday, when the 22-year-old Tsitsipas had the upper hand against a drained Djokovic. "It was not easy for me," Djokovic said, "both physically and mentally." But he eventually completed his sixth career comeback from two sets down — and second of the past week. Djokovic — who trailed 19-year-old Lorenzo Musetti two sets to none in the fourth round — is the first man in the professional era to win a major title after twice facing a 2-0 deficit in sets during the tournament. "Suddenly just felt cold and out of it," Tsitsipas said. "I felt like I kind of lost my game a little bit." This was the first major final for Tsitsipas and the 29th for Djokovic, who also won the 2016 French Open, to go with nine titles at the Australian Open, five at Wimbledon and three at the U.S. Open. Also key: Djokovic is 35-10 in five-setters — including a men's-record 32 wins at majors — while Tsitsipas is 5-5. "Two sets doesn't really mean anything," said Tsitsipas, who was trying to become the first Greek to win a major. He needed about 100 minutes to grab his lead on a sunny, breezy afternoon with the temperature approaching 80 degrees Fahrenheit (over 25 degrees Celsius) and attendance limited to 5,000, about a third of capacity, because of Covid-19 restrictions. The footing on clay can be tricky, and both men took first-set tumbles. Djokovic's left him prone on the sideline after a head-first fall near a net post; he said his body felt the effects for about a half-hour afterward. Tsitsipas slipped by the baseline, smearing his white shirt and purple shorts with the rust-colored surface. While Djokovic switched tops soon after his spill, Tsitsipas kept his dirty clothes on — as if he viewed the mess as a badge of honor — until after losing the third set, when he requested a visit from a trainer to help him with a tight hip. By then, the momentum had changed. The first set was tight as can be: Tsitsipas won 43 points, Djokovic 42. Djokovic began the second set with a double-fault and a swinging forehand volley that landed way long, then got broken with a wild forehand. Tsitsipas broke again to lead 5-2 in that set, and Djokovic pressed a white towel against his face at a changeover. Trying to cool off? Perhaps. Trying to reset himself? Probably. After the second set, Djokovic took one of each player's two allotted breaks. The match was never quite the same; Tsitsipas thought Djokovic's anticipation and movement improved. "I kind of felt like he could read my game a bit better, suddenly," Tsitsipas said. A supreme returner and imposer of his will, Djokovic accrued early breaks of serve in each of the third, fourth and fifth sets. Shadows were spreading across the court as the sun descended in the early evening and, though Djokovic complained to chair umpire Aurélie Tourte that the artificial lights were switched on, he shined when it mattered most. This was another match that lasted more than four hours, and Djokovic was up to the task again. "I will definitely remember these last 48 hours," he said, "for the rest of my life." So, likely, will everyone else. (AP)  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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