Isports ATBP.

Sundays are usually movie nights at the Perez household. "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" was the chosen movie last Sunday night. Though it's only a bootleg copy, the picture quality was the same as an original DVD. I'm not supporting piracy, but I could not pass up watching a movie that received great reviews from my friends. Back to the movie, it's only fiction but it still scared the heck out of me. A lot of what-ifs popped inside my head. What if shortly man can come up with a virus/bacteria or whatever you may call it that can aid the evolution of apes, which some scientists say are humans' closest relatives? What if science's tinkering with other species would result in the man being overpowered by a new stronger and smarter breed? And what if a man becomes the slave and the guinea pig of the new dominant specie?

Only a few people would remember that I was University of the East's first UAAP student courtside reporter when the league transferred from Silverstar to ABS-CBN Sports in 2000. I was part of the first batch that included Pia Arcangel of Ateneo (who is now one of the reporters/anchors at the News and Public Affairs division of GMA Network), La Salle's George Rocha, UST's Claude Despabiladeras (hope I got his name right) and FEU's Ian Adewuya (who I believe has already returned to his country). I had already forgotten the names of the courtside reporters from Adamson, NU, and UP. It was a thrilling experience for me, having passed the audition conducted by Randy Sacdalan and Mico Halili (who later became Pia's husband), representing UE, and seeing myself on TV. I can hear, through my earpiece, that Jude Turcuato was already introducing me and when the cameraman gave me the cue that I was already on air I choked, there was a 2 to 3-second pause. I

I finally gave in to Brad Ruszala and Shan Seman's numerous invitations to join the Enticer series and competed in my first triathlon race. It's not actually a triathlon but a duathlon, I skipped the swim portion and only completed the bike and run legs of the race. Brad and Shan are my fellow sports writers on Saipan, along with Mark Rabago, Roselyn Monroyo, and Bob Coldeen. Brad and Shan were veterans of various triathlon races with Shan being a former member of the CNMI national athletics team. I've been an Islander for more than four years on Saipan , the largest and most populous island in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the beach is just across the office building where I work but I never had the chance to learn how to swim properly. I was hesitant at first and the thought of backing out before the start of the race even crossed my mind. I had the same feeling when I joined the 21st Annual Mt. Tapochao Turkey Trot Fun Run, a 4.2-mile