Remembering 2017: Top 10 sports topics

2017 has been quite a great year in the world of sports. Whether if its behind the wheel, in the ring, or in the octagon, every moment in the world of sports has been a story for the spectators and in this year in review, time to jot down the best ten moments in the world of sports.

1) Cleveland vs. Golden State Part III - For the first time in NBA history, there has been a three-peat between two of the best basketball teams in history; the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors. There is no such team rivalry in history that they will face against each other again and again for the third time until now and while both teams won their championship titles in the past, the third time they face each other in this year's NBA Finals had been the most intense rivalry ever crafted in the history of NBA. In the first three games, the Warriors almost dominated every quarter against the Cavaliers, but when Game 4 came, the luck has changed in favor of the Cavaliers. In Game 5, Warriors finished the match against the Cavaliers at the final score of 129-120.

2) Lewis Hamilton is F1 2017 World Champion - The F1 2017 season...how to sum this up...Well, it's a disaster for McLaren because the Honda engines don't work and they decided to have the Honda engines to Toro Rosso while going for Renault engines for 2018, Max Verstappen became the youngest to win the race, some drama in Monaco because of Vettel and Hamilton, Felipe Massa bids farewell to Formula 1 with a biggest sendoff race in his home nation, Brazil, everything sums it up but on the plus side, Lewis Hamilton is now the four-time F1 World Champion. Enough said.

3) Astros win World Series - The Houston Astros won their first-ever World Series title after defeating the LA Dodgers at the tie-breaking Game 7 at the score of 5-1.

4) #TakeAKneel - Players, coaches, and owners across the NFL condemned US President Donald Trump's call to fire the players who kneel during the national anthem.

5) Brgy. Ginebra vs. Meralco - The battle between Barangay Ginebra and the Meralco Bolts in the 2017 PBA Governor's Cup finals lasted for about seven games and because each team scored three wins, this final game held at the Philippine Arena became the ultimate decider to see which team will claim the title once and for all. In the finale jam-packed full of crowds in the world's largest indoor arena, this battle became one of the greatest moments in PBA history as Brgy. Ginebra trumped Meralco at the score of 101-96, more than enough to clench their first-ever back-to-back title.

6) San Miguel Beermen wins the PBA Perpetual Trophy - The fifth game of the PBA All-Filipino Conference finals is a do-or-die match between two of the most formidable teams in history; the San Miguel Beermen and the Barangay Ginebra. After five games, the San Miguel Beermen made history after defeating the Barangay Ginebra at the score of 91-85. The team's MVP, Arwind Santos, scored 21 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks, despite performing less than what Brgy. Ginebra's Japeth Aguilar did.

7) Patriots win SB51 - The 51st Super Bowl match held at nrg stadium on Houston, Texas, became one of the most thrilling Super Bowl matches in history as the Atlanta Falcons and New England Patriots size each other up in the biggest American football event in history. No Super Bowl match has ever triggered an overtime until now. In the first overtime in Super Bowl history, the Patriots required one touchdown to win the Super Bowl...and they did. At the final score of 34-28 post-overtime, the Patriots done the biggest comeback in the season.

8) Six Nations 2017 - Despite defeat and the end of their long winning streak, the winner of the 2017 RBS 6 Nations Championship is the England Rugby and they are the first team to win back-to-back Grand Slams since the FIR Italia joined 17 years ago.

9) Mayweather vs. McGregor - A boxer against an MMA fighter, quite an unlikely match to see this coming but it happened as the undefeated boxing superstar, Floyd Mayweather Jr., engaged on a so-called dream match against a UFC mixed martial arts titan Conor McGregor in a controversial match in Las Vegas. This is the first time the MMA fighter entered the boxing scene as McGregor had high hopes that his strength will bring Mayweather down to his knees but he didn't as the tenth round blow put an end to McGregor's, forcing the MMA giant to forfeit. By winning this match, Floyd Mayweather Jr,'s undefeated record is now up to 50 straight wins, surpassing the record set by the legendary Rocky Marciano for most wins without a loss or draw.

10) Battle of Brisbane - This is the first time the world champion, Manny Pacquiao, started a fight not in a North American venue but somewhere in the Asia-Pacific, specifically at an outdoor stadium in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, where he faced off against a rising homegrown star and Olympian Jeff "The Hornet" Horn. In an unexpected turn of events, despite Pacquiao dominated the scoreboards, the winner of the unanimous decision goes to Australia's Jeff Horn. Following Jeff Horn's controversial win, looks like the whole public went on an outcry saying that Horn "robbed" the match from Pacquiao while some call it the boxing equivalent of last year's US Presidential Elections...minus the hacking part.

That's it for sports, join me next time for more on this year in review.

Man behind Mazda's rotary engine passed away

A brief moment of silence, ladies and gentlemen, for the passing of another one of automotive legends. Car enthusiasts may not know about him but he was responsible for introducing the rotary engine to Mazda but more than that, he is the man who kept Mazda afloat in the aftermath of the Second World War.

Kenichi Yamamoto passed away at the age of 95, according to reports a few days ago. Yamamoto worked at Toyo Kogyo, one of the companies that survived in the wake of the Second World War, to support his family following the tragic bombing of Hiroshima that destroyed his home and lost a part of his family. Since then, he worked hard until he became in charge to produce a new engine for a three-wheeled truck that will sold under the Mazda brand in 1960.

Yamamoto got involved with a collaboration with Germany's NSU to produce a rotary engine that persuaded Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry that they are a proper carmaker rather than being a domestic vehicle producer. Following the success of the rotary engine, Yamamoto climbed through the ranks until he became the president of the whole car company from 1985 to 1992.

It's a sad day for rotary engine enthusiasts, even though 2017 is meant to be the year of the rotary engine, but despite his passing, his legacy will not go in vain as well as the rotary engine that sparked life to the Hiroshima-based car company and pretty soon, the rotary engine will be revived in unexpected ways.

URL: https://www.motorauthority.com/news/1114475_father-of-mazdas-rotary-engine-has-passed-away

Let's Do The News! (December 28, 2017)

- A safety officer became the 38th casualty of last weekend's NCCC Mall fire in Davao City, who sacrificed his life rescuing call center agents.

- Some fireworks like sparklers, "fountains", and other pyrotechnics are still allowed at households to ring in the new year as the Philippine Fireworks Association clarifying misconceptions in the interpretation of the provisions of Executive Order 28 signed by President Rodrigo Duterte to regulate the use of firecrackers and other pyrotechnics.

- About 23,755 families are spending the New Year at evacuation centers after losing their homes to widespread flooding and landslides spawned by Tropical Storm Vinta.

- Turkish President Recept Tayyip Erdogan slammed Syrian President Bashar Assad as "terrorist." Speaking at a joint news conference with Tunisian leader Beji Caid Essebsi, Erdogan called Assad a "terrorist who engaged in state terrorism" and should not be part of Syria's post-conflict future.

- Israel's transport minister is pushing ahead with a plan to dig a railway tunnel under Jerusalem's Old City, passing near sites holy to Jews, Christians, and Muslims - and ending at the Western Wall with a station named after US President Donald Trump.

- Circus acrobats performed for Pope Francis during his weekly audience, in what has become a regular feature of the Vatican holiday season.

- With the M-Sport Rally Team dominated the 2017 World Rally Championship, Ford has announced its return for the 2018 season. With factory involvement, the team will be known once again as M-Sport Ford World Rally Team.

- In an event of a failed Emirates deal, Airbus might cease production of the A380 superjumbo jet.

- Amid protests from fans of the hit TV anime, Kemono Friends, the series producer confirms that animation studio Yaoyorozu will not return for a new series.

- The people behind Love Live! School Idol Project warned the public that bad fan behavior could lead to cancelled events following a December 22 event at Akihabara UDX where attendees complained that a raucous group were waving large light-up sticks, jumping, and screaming.

TTFN!!!

Opel/Vauxhall Grandland X vs. Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace

With Opel and Vauxhall now under French hands, looks like the change is slowly coming to their lineup and in a few years' time, most of the future models are now pinned with Groupe PSA platforms as demonstrated by the 2008-based Crossland X crossover, which replaced the Meriva MPV, and now this; Opel and Vauxhall's leader of the crossover pack known as the Grandland X.

2018 Opel Grandland X

2018 Vauxhall Grandland X

It's fair to say that by calling the Grandland X the leader of the crossover pack, this newest entry is part of the biggest change in Opel and Vauxhall's history under Groupe PSA's grasp and like we observed on its smaller Crossland X, which is based on the Peugeot 2008, this new Grandland X uses the latest Peugeot 3008 SUV as its basis and the weird thing is that because it's French underneath, it's coincidentally made in France, which is okay because this is the Euro way to do.

2018 Opel Grandland X interior

2018 Vauxhall Grandland X interior

Starting on the design, the Grandland X looks very fluidic and very dynamic from top to bottom and while some call it sexy, others call it clever and this crossover takes it as a supreme compliment because every angle is a story to tell for the owners who experienced it first hand. On the interior, meanwhile, it's surprisingly spacious, comfortable, and very roomy indeed for your everyday activities, even trips to the grocery shopping. While everything seems nice to look at or toy at because of the seats, the dashboard, the sat-nav with smartphone connectivity, and everything you can expect in an ideal crossover, a fair warning to picky passengers is that the crossover can seat up to five people. Yep, five people and better pray that there shouldn't be another baby coming out because if that happened, the second-row seats are becoming a baby territory and you have nowhere else to seat to except in the middle. So, five seats is a bad mark for a family car but for joyriding use with your mates, it's not half bad.

Under the hood, the Grandland X is powered by a choice of three available engines with the most powerful being the 2.0L diesel engine producing 177PS of power and 400Nm of torque. The lesser engines can be mated with either a 6-speed AT or MT but the 2.0L diesel variant is mated exclusively with an 8-speed AT and as a result, it does 0-100kph in 9.1 seconds and onwards to 214kph. Your Japanese crossover can't do that, you know, so the Grandland X wins but doesn't celebrate just yet because, for a couple of years, the Grandland X may become a useless roadside little because Europe's gone nuts over banning cars with internal combustion engines for the next decades or so.

Performance aside, since it runs on Peugeot 3008 genes, the Grandland X behaves pretty much like it was based on, meaning it's typical French on the dynamics. It can be downright wonky or can be downright dull but it's surprisingly decent for a midsize crossover of that magnitude and I think they're really onto something here.

The Grandland X starts at 23,700 Euros (22,310 GBP) and that makes it one of the most competitively priced midsize crossovers on the market today while some call it a worthy alternative to those Japanese midsize crossovers, others call it a fair share because while the crossover is now French to the core, it's hard to accept the Grandland X for how it's made and also, the seats are the big issue here. Clearly, for a wildcard, perhaps here's an ideal alternative to the Grandland X for those picky passengers...sort of...

2018 Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace

2018 Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace interior

Crossover aficionados will be familiar to them as the Volkswagen Tiguan but it looks rather different from the Tiguan we are familiar with because this is the long-wheelbase seven-seater version dubbed the Allspace. As Volkswagen's answer to the most demanding families wanting more seats for their loved ones, even kids, the Allspace stretches the normal Tiguan by 110mm in wheelbase and 226mm in length.

The added length and wheelbase make the Allspace capable of putting third-row seats in the back so picky passengers can seat here in case the second-row seats become a territory for child seats. However, while the addition of third-row seats sounds nice, there's a problem; it's kinda squishy to get in and out off and that sounds like a bad mark for heavyweight apes like me. Another problem here is the pricing as the Allspace starts at 29,975 Euros, which is more expensive than the Grandland X but still, I rather want to spend it on this crossover that has some extra seat for me at the back in case babies took over the second-row seats, no matter how squishy the seats are.

The Tiguan Allspace is powered by a choice of 1.4 TSi and 2.0L TDi engines, both producing 150PS of power output, and mated with either a 6-speed MT or an 8-speed DSG. It's hard to say that both engines produce the same amount of power but for food for thought, the front-wheel drive 2.0L TDi variant with the 6-speed MT is the fuel efficiency of the Allspace range with combined fuel consumption of 5L/100km, which sounds like it wants to go for more trips but the wisest of the wise shouldn't count on such numbers because how fuel efficient the Allspace is is up to them. Besides, despite being longer, it behaves much like the normal Tiguan is. Not very exciting but very decent indeed for a crossover.

So, which would you rather pick? The Grandland X for its value for money but only seats up to five people or the Allspace that has extra seats for picky passengers like me but costs more?

Photo: Opel/Vauxhall/Volkswagen

Remembering 2017: Top 10 motoring topics

The year 2017 has been quite a pivotal year in the motoring industry as Europe's making headlines over the topic of outlawing the sale of petrol and diesel due to their commitment to the Paris Accords. It's also a year when some of the most noteworthy racers in history are retiring from their posts, a winning manufacturer announces their departure from a popular endurance race in favor of an electric car race series, there's so much you can think about how the world of motoring change throughout the course of this year.

In this yearender, time for me to jot down the top ten bits that changed the way we think about cars in 2017.

1) Australia ended car manufacturing - Ford was the first to produce an Australian-made car but General Motors Holden became the last to produce an Australian-made car as the last Commodore rolled off the assembly line in Elizabeth, signalling the end of Holden's almost seven decades of local manufacturing and almost a century of Australian car manufacturing. Since the FX of 1948, about 7,687,675 Holdens were produced within the last 69 years, that's more than Ford's 5.9 million production figures and Toyota's 3.4 million, both of which closed their Australian factories within the past year.

2) The new king of the Nurburgring - The all new Porsche 911 GT2 RS (991.2) became the fastest production car to lap the dreaded Nurburgring Nordschleife in 6:47.25, faster than the Lamborghini Huracan Performante. For now, this is the fastest lap time to blitz the Ring. Let's see what happens next when Chevrolet tries to outdo it with their upcoming Corvette C7 ZR1 next year. All bets are off, ladies and gentlemen.

3) 70 years of Ferrari - 2017 marks the 70th anniversary of Ferrari and they've celebrated the occasion with the launch of their latest vehicles, the 812 Superfast and the Portofino.

4) Scandals plaguing Japanese car manufacturing - Japan is plagued with a tsunami of scandals surrounding the manufacturing sector. Since the Kobe Steel scandal, a handful of car manufacturers like Nissan and Subaru admitted themselves to the public due to manufacturing malpractices like for example, inspection purposes because there are some people doing inspection work slipped themselves by tampering the seals before rolling off the assembly line.

5) #Appreci88ion - The 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR series is the last NASCAR season for veteran driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. as he announced to the public that he will retire from this sport for good. Following his announcement, most of his sponsors are paying tribute to the #88. Other than Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kurt Busch is not signing up for next year's season while Matt Kenseth announces he will step away from this sport indefinitely. Danica Patrick, the only female driver in NASCAR, sadly announced her departure from being a full-time driver but she will drive for next year's Daytona 500.

6) Porsche leaves Le Mans - After their three-time victory at Le Mans, Porsche announced that they will step down from their LMP1 duties in the World Endurance Championship, including the 24 Heures du Mans endurance race, to pursue their entry in the FIA Formula E, leaving Toyota as the sole manufacturer competing in next year while dealing with privateers who are upped their ranks to compete the only ronin of the category.

7) Koenigsegg claims top speed record - Koenigsegg has smashed the top speed record for production cars when the Agera RS set a verified top speed of 277.9mph or 447kph, Faster than the Veyron Super Sport's 267.81mph and Hennessey Venom GT's 270.49mph record (although unverified). That was impressive for a small Swedish supercar maker but the battle rages on because Hennessey just unleashed the Venom F5 and its mission is to claim the Agera RS's top speed record soon.

8) Women now allowed the drive in Saudi - In a historic move, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia finally allowed women to drive on their roads, a move welcomed by feminist groups.

9) Trouble before GT - There has been some trouble happening before season two of Amazon's The Grand Tour is out. First, Richard Hammond was involved in set-related injuries such as the bike accident in the upcoming special and he was involved in a car accident in Switzerland while driving the Rimac electric supercar as seen in the first episode of this season. Then, following Hammond's accident, Jeremy Clarkson suffered pneumonia while on a holiday at Ibiza. Thankfully, both of the presenters are okay and the second series of Amazon's The Grand Tour goes on as planned.

10) Banning the sale of petrol and diesel cars - Because of some of the Europe's commitment to the Paris Accords, the one the United States has withdrawn from due to the Trump administration, a handful of European countries are banning the sale of petrol and diesel engines in favor of electrification. France, Britain, Norway, Germany, Austria, Denmark, Holland, Ireland, and Portugal are among the European countries banning the sale of petrol or diesel engines in the coming decades and it's not just Europe, some countries like South Korea, Japan, and India are among the countries proposing the ban on internal combustion.

That's it for the motoring bits, join me next time for more on this year in review.

Let's Do The News! (December 27, 2017)

- The Department of Foreign Affairs denied reports that the Philippines is in talks with Israel to move its embassy to Jerusalem.

- Former Bureau of Customs chief Nicanor Faeldon was now named by President Rodrigo Duterte the new deputy administrator of the Office of Civil Defense.

- Following the NCCC Mall fire last weekend, the Department of Labor and Employment is urged to enforce stricter labor inspection as demanded by the group of workers in the Business Process Outsourcing industry.

- UK's Royal Navy has escorted one of Russia's warships through the North Sea near UK waters, according to officials, despite increasing tensions between the two nations. The HMS St. Albans with 190 sailors on board was used to escort the Russian Admiral Gorshkov frigate on Monday through what British officials called "areas of national interest" on Christmas Day.

- Rebel fighters and opposition groups in Syria rejected Russia's proposed peace talks, accusing Moscow of failing to pressure its ally, President Bashar Assad, to end the conflict. In a series of statements, 40 rebel groups, including some of Syria's most prominent, as well as political opposition umbrella groups, said the talks expected next month are an attempt to "circumvent" the UN-led process, which has made virtually no progress since it began in 2014.

-A certain French children's magazine has been pulled out from newsstands after it admitted a "mistake" in writing that Israel wasn't a "real country."

- Toyota will display the Crown Modellista at next month's Tokyo Auto Salon, based on the Crown Concept as seen on the Tokyo Motor Show.



- Construction for BMW's new proving ground in Czech Republic is underway and it will be completed within the next decade.

TTFN!!!

Remembering 2017: Top 10 games

The year 2017 has been known to video game geeks as the year of the Switch because with the advent of the Nintendo Switch, the whole world's gone trending over the brand new console that allows everyone to play it at home or anywhere. It's been dominating over social media recently but the competition for high-end gaming consoles is still raging because with the advent of 4K and VR gaming, there's no telling which one will prevail whether the VR capability of the PS4 line of hardware of the powerful 4K gaming provided by the brand new XBOX One X.

In this year in review, let's time to list down the best ten video games of 2017.

1) Super Mario Odyssey - One of the most anticipated games on the recently launched Nintendo Switch, this new installment delivers a new spin on the classic adventure as Mario uses Cappy's newfound powers to control different creatures and objects. This game reminds us of Kirby in so many ways.

2) Forza Motorsport 7 - The Forza franchise ushers in the age of 4K gaming with the advent of their biggest installment to date. Forza 7 features returning tracks such as Suzuka and Maple Valley, a huge roster of cars bearing the most Porsche, Ferrari, and Lamborghini models to date, intense multiplayer gameplay, and a revamped career mode that will test the mettle to become the ultimate Forza driver.

3) Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice - British-based developer Ninja Theory became bullish about the creation of an independent AAA game that will deliver a new kind of gaming experience with Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice. From its breathtaking visuals, impressive mo-cap, unbiased storyline, and everything that sets the standards to video games, no wonder Hellblade scored a lot of awards and accolades and became one of the most demanding games for PS4 and PC users.

4) Life Is Strange: Before The Storm - Set events before the original LIS game, a story-driven video game that won the hearts of many gamers who love stories, Before The Storm is a three-episode story-driven game that centers on the story of Chloe Price who forms an unlikely friendship with Rachel Amber until a family secret put their friendship to the test. The choices players made affect the flow of the story and as the story progresses, fans are getting to know what's next for Chloe and the others.

5) Pocket Monsters Ultra Sun and Moon - It's been a year since Nintendo brought us Pocket Monsters Sun and Moon for the 3DS and because they want more action in the Alola region, they've released Ultra Sun and Moon, which features a storyline different from the original games, improved Rotom Dex, more Pokemon to catch, and uncovering the truth behind Necrozma. Also, two decades of Pokemon have been injected to deliver a Pokemon adventure like no other whilst enjoying under the Alolan sun.

6) Tekken 7 - In the PS4/X1 version of Tekken 7, not only players can relieve the action from the arcade games but also delve deeper to the Mishima Saga where the battle between father and son reached its critical point as well as the tales of the fighters themselves in addition to special guest characters.

7) Uncharted: The Lost Legacy - The folks of Naughty Dog wanted more Uncharted ever since the end of A Thief's End and since 2017 marks the 10th anniversary of the Uncharted franchise, they made this; a stand-alone spin-off story set after the dramatic events of A Thief's End. In The Lost Legacy, Chloe and Nadine forged an unlikely alliance in search of an ancient artifact hidden somewhere in the Western Ghats before a ruthless warlord gets his hands on it. Despite a different main character, it still bears the same Uncharted thrills.

8) Call of Duty WWII - The Call of Duty games return to its roots with this latest installment as CoD: WWII brings players to the dramatic turn of events during the Second World War in solo player campaigns while enjoying intense multiplayer mayhem in here and in Nazi Zombies mode.

9) Assassin's Creed Origins - The Assassin's Creed franchise celebrated their 10th anniversary with the launch of their newest installment and in this game, fans witness the rise of the first Assassin named Bayek as he ventures through Ancient Egypt on his journey to bring down the tyrants and witness the birth of the Brotherhood we are familiar with.

10) BIOHAZARD 7 -resident evil-  - CAPCOM's survival horror franchise celebrated their 20th anniversary with the launch of their latest installment. In this game, Ethan Winters, trapped under the grips of the Baker household, fights his way out to uncover the truth and survive the hell he set foot. Playing this game on VR mode gave players a terrifying and punishing experience but still, it was worth the fun playing the latest installment as well as the DLCs.

And that's it for the best ten games of 2017. Join me next time for more in this year in review.