LAPU-LAPU CITY, Philippines Though still working to get back to his old shape, former WBO world super flyweight champion Marvin Sonsona pounded out a remarkable win Saturday night, staying on the right track in pursuit of another world crown.

Sonsona hit Dominican Republic's Carlos Fulgencio with a right cross then a left uppercut, sending the latter to the canvas in the fifth round of their scheduled 10-round non-title bout at the Hoops Dome here.

Fulgencio took time to recover but when he tried to get up at the count of nine, he was waived off by referee Tony Pesons to the cheers from the hometown crowd.

"I'm quicker now but still not yet in my old fighting shape. I think I'm just 70 percent back," said Sonsona after scoring a follow-up to his win over Mexican foe Carlos Jacobo last October.

"I will continue training. I'll really be serious in my comeback bid," added Sonsona, set to climb back to the ring in May before undergoing a rigid training in Sampson Lewkowicz camp in Oxnard, Californa.

Froilan Saludar pulled off a unanimous decision over Mexican challenger Alejandro Morales to retain his WBO world youth flyweight championship in the other main event of the Pinoy Knockout fight card presented by SGG Promotions, Sampson Boxing LLC and AKTV.

Mark Anthony Geraldo stripped Jerwin Ancajas of the WBO Asia-Pacific youth superflyweight championship while Adones Cabalquinto beat Dan Nazareno for the vacant Philippine junior welterweight title.

The Cabalquinto-Nazareno bout turned out to be the fight of the night as the two fierce warriors figured in a virtual brawl.

The fights will be replayed on AKTV tomorrow night.

Sonsona punished Fulgencio with body shots before sneaking in with his knockout combination to improve his fight record to 16 wins, one draw and one loss.

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Sonsona decks rival in 5th round

Julaton decks Marcos but loses title

By Joaquin Henson PhilBoxing.com Sun, 18 Mar 2012

MANILA, Philippines - Unable to cope with the work rate of a volume puncher, Ana (The Hurricane) Julaton failed to capitalize on an early knockdown and yielded her WBO female superbantamweight crown to hometown favorite Yesica (La Leona) Marcos via a unanimous 10-round decision at a jampacked Teatro Griego Juan Pablo Segundo in San Martin, Mendoza, Argentina, Friday night (yesterday morning, Manila time).

Julaton scaled 122 pounds for the bout and Marcos, 120 3/4. Referee Roberto Ramirez Sr., a Puerto Rican, and the three judges Cesar Ramos and Jose Roberto Torres of Puerto Rico and Ignacio Robles of Panama came from neutral countries but their Hispanic bias was evident. Ramirez slapped a point deduction on Julaton in the fifth round despite only one prior warning and curtailed the Fil-Ams momentum. In the end, the judges scorecards reflected a one-sided fight that wasnt nearly as indicated. Ramos and Robles had it 98-92 while Torres, 98-91, all for Marcos.

While Marcos deserved the win, the margin of difference in the scorecards was a shocker. The Star scored it 95-93 for the Argentinian.

Marcos began the bout shooting from the hip in a rip-roaring start that had the big crowd cheering lustily. Julaton tried to take the initiative by coming forward but Marcos countered with precision. Fending off Julaton, Marcos pushed her down and Ramirez ruled a slip. In the second round, Julaton landed two left hooks on the jaw and floored Marcos for a mandatory eight-count. Towards the end of the round, it was Marcos flailing away and pressuring Julaton. In a major adjustment, Julaton opened the third round keeping Marcos at bay with her left jab. Instead of charging in, Julaton stayed a safe distance away to take advantage of her length. Marcos had no antidote for Julatons strategic switch and didnt turn the tide until the fifth when Ramirez docked a point from the champion for a low blow.

Asked for his opinion, Filipino referee Danrex Tapdasan said Ramirez deduction seemed to be premature. There is no hard and fast rule as to when to slap a deduction but the most common practice is you deduct on the third infraction. It is of course upon the referees discretion. Usually, a referee gives two soft warnings before a hard warning. A lot has to do with how much damage is inflicted as in the case when a fighter has to be given time to recover from a low blow. The foul has to be damaging for the referee to order a point deduction.

Ramirez ordered a point off Julaton although the damage was inconsequential. Julatons body attack was stymied because of Ramirez intervention.

Marcos, turning up the heat a notch, went on to take the next three rounds as she repeatedly threw punches from all angles. Julaton parried a lot of the blows but couldnt keep up with Marcos work rate. For every punch that Julaton unleashed, Marcos retaliated with three or four. In the ninth, Julaton found the range with her right hand and kept pumping the left jab as Marcos slowed down. But in the final canto, Marcos was back in stride and never retreated in engaging Julaton in a furious finish.

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Julaton decks Marcos but loses title

AKRON Its amazing how things can change over the course of two weeks.

When Elyria and Medina met on Feb. 17, there was nothing notable on the line in Northeast Ohio Conference Valley Division game.

Medinas Logan Winkler drives against Firesonte in a Division I District title game. (GAZETTE PHOTO BY RON SCHWANE)

The Bees got revenge for a 78-66 January loss with a 55-46 decision to tie the Pioneers for oh-so-meaningless fourth place, but stumbled into the postseason with a loss to doormat Strongsville.

Meanwhile, the Pioneers had a little but not much momentum after hanging tough in an eight-point loss to Garfield Heights.

Flash forward one month and the stakes couldnt be much higher for two schools whose identities have changed drastically.

Medina (9-15) and Elyria (14-9) will clash tonight in an unlikely Division I regional semifinal at the University of Akrons James A. Rhodes Arena, the high school home of LeBron James. The winner will face Toledo Whitmer, which handed Norwalk its first loss of the season, on Saturday for a ticket to Columbus.

Youre going to see two different ball teams than what you saw in the regular season, Bees coach Anthony Stacey said. Were playing with so much more confidence and our defense has been so much better here the last few weeks. We havent given up a 20-point quarter since Strongsville in the first quarter. Our defense has been really, really good.

The Bees have been transformed with the return of Michigan State recruit Kenny Kaminski, while the emergence of Isaiah Walton has given the Pioneers a third wheel to complement sweet-shooting Kody Bender and center Anthoni Horton.

Theyre really athletic and they can rebound the ball really well, Billy Geschke said. We need good transition defense. They get down the floor really quickly they have quick guards and the big men you have to box out on a lot. Our offense will go through our defense.

The rest is here:
Boys basketball: Bees, Pioneers are now playing with full decks

Some of the most beautiful wood decks are those constructed out of IPE and other Brazilian Hardwoods. These exotic woods have unique grain patterns and are extremely durable. Like other wood surfaces, exotic hardwoods like IPE need to be protected with a wood stain or sealer. Because the wood is very dense in nature, the key to a lasting finish on a hardwood deck is using a deck stain that will penetrate deep enough.

Rochester Hills, MI (PRWEB) March 12, 2012

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The process is simply cleaning the wood and allowing it to dry, applying the IPE Oil Finish, wiping any excess stain off the surface, then letting IPE Oil Stain do the rest. It protects and conditions the wood while allowing it to maintain a completely natural appearance. It's the perfect hardwood stain formula for preserving the natural wood grain while enhancing it at the same time.

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IPE Oil Hardwood Finish - Now Available at The Sealer Store

Jon Winfreys business plan began with a stack of broken skateboard decks. And they werent even his.

Winfreys friend Ryan Vecchiarelli kept a big pile of worn out, busted decks in his room. Vecchiarelli could never figure out what to do with the wrecks, but he held onto them for years in case an idea struck him. Instead, inspiration struck Winfrey, who saw an ad for a pair of high-end sunglasses with wood frames and thought how cool it would be to make shades out of recycled skateboards.

Murphys Law intervened: By the time Winfrey told Vecchiarelli about his plan, those decks were in the trash. Still, the two friends, both 23, hunted down some busted boards, bought a scroll saw and a few other shop tools, and got to work.

It took three or four months to get anything decent, Winfrey said.

After playing around with what styles translated into plywood, they settled on a design reminiscent of classic Ray-Ban Wayfarers. The curves of the deck translate into the natural bends for the nosepiece and the arms of the glasses. A single board, depending on how busted it is, can yield four or five frames. The plywood frames are stronger than youd think, Vecchiarelli said, have a food-safe finish and, naturally, float.

The sunglasses are also plenty eye-catching, as the layers of plywood provide bands of color in the finished frames.

It started as a hobby, Winfrey said. The response was crazy everywhere we would go, people would stop us.

I had somebody offer me $150 for them off my face, Vecchiarelli said. He was like, Come on, man!

That enthusiasm led them to think about starting a business. Both Winfrey and Vecchiarelli loved shop class at Liberty High School, where they graduated a year apart.

Ive always wanted a career where I could make something out of wood, Vecchiarelli said.

Read more here:
Busted skateboards lead to vision of local business

Just outside the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, Briana and Tizoc DeAztlan scurried across a plant-filled pavilion in a golf car checking out their handiwork.

Obviously, we want things to look great, but we want people to be safe, Briana, owner of Eventscape International, said Wednesday as fans streamed into the stadium. Yesterday was extremely windy, so safety was priority No. 1.

The husband-wife team eyed a nearly 30-foot-tall Queen Palm fitted with weights hidden inside a large white planter box.

Eventscape's employees must ensure trees brought in to liven up the BNP Paribas Open and other events don't blow over in wind gusts that over the past week reached nearly 50 mph.

For Bermuda Dunes-based Eventscape, it's an engineering task mastered over two decades.

The company uses all kinds of trees, flowers, shrubs and planter boxes to dress up sporting events, concerts, weddings and corporate functions.

Eventscape presents clients with a design layout illustrating what their rented plants will look like during a special event. The company then installs the plants and keeps them healthy throughout the event.

Steven Burt, Briana's father and head of Steven Burt & Associates, started Eventscape more than 20 years ago and eventually turned it over to her. Burt still offers the couple advice and weather alerts for upcoming events.

It's a specialized niche for Eventscape, but not so special that there aren't competitors such as San Diego Interior Foliage. These companies provide foliage under tight deadlines, and they're often asked to make last-minute changes to accommodate vendors and event participants.

Eventscape provided a greenhouse look to the Coachella Valley's top tennis tournament well before its name was changed to the BNP Paribas Open.

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Bermuda Dunes landscaping business, Eventscape, decks out BNP Paribas Open

EMPORIA The tears began to flow shortly after the St. John High School Lady Tigers posed for the Class 1A Division-I second-place trophy picture on the hardwood at White Auditorium Saturday night. Hoxie limited St. John to only 26.7 field-goal shooting for the game and held on for a 55-45 victory over the Lady Tigers, who were making their third state appearance in the last four years. Senior standout Teresa Wade hit 5 of 11 shots, including a 3-pointer, and sank 2 of 3 free throws to finish with a team-high 13 points in the final game of her stellar career. But her St. John teammates were a collective 11 for 50 in the state title game, including shooting only 18.9 percent in the second half (7 for 37). I know my team played as hard as they could, said Wade, a recipient of countless hugs as she wiped away tears. I really appreciate their effort and they gave us a really good season, a really good career for me, and I really appreciate it. Wade drew two early fouls, having to go to bench at the 4:41 mark in the first quarter. We didnt give them a big lead or anything with Teresa out, St. John head coach Danny Smith said. We didnt play that bad, but the bottom line is they took away our best three players and told our other two to step up and shoot shots and we didnt do it. Thats why we had an awful hard time scoring, but Im proud of my girls and they had a good season. With Wade on the bench, Hoxie suddenly became careless with the basketball and committed eight turnovers in the opening five minutes, 39 seconds of the game, falling behind 13-8 at the 1:47 mark after St. Johns Jamie Waters converted two free throws. But Hoxie answered with Carly Heim hitting a 3-pointer and Gabriel Spresser scoring on a layup to knot the score at 13. St. John regained the lead, 14-13, after Waters made 1 of 2 free throws before Heim converted a pair on the other end, giving Hoxie its first lead of the game at 15-14 to end the first quarter. The Lady Tigers (23-3) never had the lead again. Wade, who re-entered at the start of the second quarter, nailed a 3-pointer from the right baseline to tie the game at 17 with 5:51 left before halftime. Thats when a barrage of 3s took place, including back-to-back from Mackenzie Mense, to give the Indians a 24-17 lead at the 4:24 mark. After Waters answered with a 3-ball from the left wing, Mense dropped in another from beyond the arc to build the margin to 27-19. They can shoot the 3 and they have been doing it all tournament, Smith said. Theyre just a real good team all-around. Tara Christies 3-pointer with at the 3:46 mark pulled the Lady Tigers within 27-22 before a three-point play by Carly Heim helped give Hoxie a 32-27 halftime lead. In the third quarter, St. John pulled within 38-33 on Wades three-point play, but the Tribe went on a 9-3 run to take a 47-36 lead after three quarters. Hoxie was able to maintain its lead the rest of the way to secure its first state title since winning the 3A crown in 1993 at the Hutchinson Sports Arena. St. John won the state title in 2009, finished third in 2010 and now has a second-place trophy to its collection. Thats what we talked about, Smith said. A lot of teams dont have an opportunity to play in this game. Were a little disappointed, but were still happy with our season.

HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL Class 1A Division-I State Tournament

At Emporia White Auditorium

GIRLS

Championship

Saturday

Hoxie 55, St. John 45 ST. JOHN (23-3) Morgan Osborne 1-9 1-2 3, Jamie Waters 2-8 4-4 8, Teresa Christie 0-10 2-4 2, Alexis Witt 4-6 0-0 8, Teresa Wade 5-11 2-3 13, Tia Smith 0-5 0-0 0, Jessica Hanson 0-3 0-0 0, Haley Falk 2-5 0-0 4, Tara Christie 2-3 1-4 7, Rhian Collins 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-60 10-17 45. HOXIE (24-1) Mackenzie Mense 3-6 5-9 15, Shelby Heim 2-6 1-2 6, Kristina Farber 1-3 2-4 4, Carly Heim 6-12 5-6 18, Lexi Schamberger 2-5 2-2 6, Gabriel Spresser 1-2 0-0 2, Sarah Farber 0-1 0-0 0, Danel Stithem 1-2 0-1 2, Natasha Allmer 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 17-37 16-24 55. St. John 14 13 9 9 45 Hoxie 15 17 15 8 55 Three-point goals Hoxie 5-14 (Mense 3-4, S. Heim 1-4, C. Heim 1-4, Spresser 0-1, Stithem 0-1); St. John 3-18 (Ta. Christie 2-2, Wade 1-2, Osborne 0-3, Waters 0-2, Te. Christie 0-1, Smith 0-4, Hanson 0-2, Falk 0-2). Rebounds St. John 40 (Wade 7, Waters 7, Te. Christie 6); Hoxie 32 (C. Heim 7, Mense 5). Assists St. John 8 (Waters 3, Osborne 3); Hoxie 8 (C. Heim 3, Stithem 2). Turnovers Hoxie 19, St. John 14.

EMPORIA The tears began to flow shortly after the St. John High School Lady Tigers posed for the Class 1A Division-I second-place trophy picture on the hardwood at White Auditorium Saturday night. Hoxie limited St. John to only 26.7 field-goal shooting for the game and held on for a 55-45 victory over the Lady Tigers, who were making their third state appearance in the last four years. Senior standout Teresa Wade hit 5 of 11 shots, including a 3-pointer, and sank 2 of 3 free throws to finish with a team-high 13 points in the final game of her stellar career. But her St. John teammates were a collective 11 for 50 in the state title game, including shooting only 18.9 percent in the second half (7 for 37). I know my team played as hard as they could, said Wade, a recipient of countless hugs as she wiped away tears. I really appreciate their effort and they gave us a really good season, a really good career for me, and I really appreciate it. Wade drew two early fouls, having to go to bench at the 4:41 mark in the first quarter. We didnt give them a big lead or anything with Teresa out, St. John head coach Danny Smith said. We didnt play that bad, but the bottom line is they took away our best three players and told our other two to step up and shoot shots and we didnt do it. Thats why we had an awful hard time scoring, but Im proud of my girls and they had a good season. With Wade on the bench, Hoxie suddenly became careless with the basketball and committed eight turnovers in the opening five minutes, 39 seconds of the game, falling behind 13-8 at the 1:47 mark after St. Johns Jamie Waters converted two free throws. But Hoxie answered with Carly Heim hitting a 3-pointer and Gabriel Spresser scoring on a layup to knot the score at 13. St. John regained the lead, 14-13, after Waters made 1 of 2 free throws before Heim converted a pair on the other end, giving Hoxie its first lead of the game at 15-14 to end the first quarter. The Lady Tigers (23-3) never had the lead again. Wade, who re-entered at the start of the second quarter, nailed a 3-pointer from the right baseline to tie the game at 17 with 5:51 left before halftime. Thats when a barrage of 3s took place, including back-to-back from Mackenzie Mense, to give the Indians a 24-17 lead at the 4:24 mark. After Waters answered with a 3-ball from the left wing, Mense dropped in another from beyond the arc to build the margin to 27-19. They can shoot the 3 and they have been doing it all tournament, Smith said. Theyre just a real good team all-around. Tara Christies 3-pointer with at the 3:46 mark pulled the Lady Tigers within 27-22 before a three-point play by Carly Heim helped give Hoxie a 32-27 halftime lead. In the third quarter, St. John pulled within 38-33 on Wades three-point play, but the Tribe went on a 9-3 run to take a 47-36 lead after three quarters. Hoxie was able to maintain its lead the rest of the way to secure its first state title since winning the 3A crown in 1993 at the Hutchinson Sports Arena. St. John won the state title in 2009, finished third in 2010 and now has a second-place trophy to its collection. Thats what we talked about, Smith said. A lot of teams dont have an opportunity to play in this game. Were a little disappointed, but were still happy with our season.

More here:
Hoxie decks St. John, 55-45

Just outside the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, Briana and Tizoc DeAztlan scurried across a plant-filled pavilion in a golf car checking out their handiwork.

Obviously, we want things to look great, but we want people to be safe, Briana, owner of Eventscape International, said Wednesday as fans streamed into the stadium. Yesterday was extremely windy, so safety was priority No. 1.

The husband-wife team eyed a nearly 30-foot-tall Queen Palm fitted with weights hidden inside a large white planter box.

Eventscape's employees must ensure trees brought in to liven up the BNP Paribas Open and other events don't blow over in wind gusts that over the past week reached nearly 50 mph.

For Bermuda Dunes-based Eventscape, it's an engineering task mastered over two decades.

The company uses all kinds of trees, flowers, shrubs and planter boxes to dress up sporting events, concerts, weddings and corporate functions.

Eventscape presents clients with a design layout illustrating what their rented plants will look like during a special event. The company then installs the plants and keeps them healthy throughout the event.

Steven Burt, Briana's father and head of Steven Burt & Associates, started Eventscape more than 20 years ago and eventually turned it over to her. Burt still offers the couple advice and weather alerts for upcoming events.

It's a specialized niche for Eventscape, but not so special that there aren't competitors such as San Diego Interior Foliage. These companies provide foliage under tight deadlines, and they're often asked to make last-minute changes to accommodate vendors and event participants.

Eventscape provided a greenhouse look to the Coachella Valley's top tennis tournament well before its name was changed to the BNP Paribas Open.

See the rest here:
Eventscape International decks out BNP Paribas Open

MANILA, Philippines Reining WBC super flyweight silver champion Sylvester Lopez successfully defended his title against Japanese foe Yuki Fukumoto in the Bakbakan sa Elorde card held in Paraaque City late Saturday.

Lopez knocked down the visiting Japanese in the third round before going for the kill in the fourth.

The referee halted the fight 19 seconds into the fourth round when Fukumoto dropped to the canvass for the second time.

"He has an awkward style, he's good and has power," said Lopez, who is ranked No. 5 by the WBO Asia-Pacific.

With the win, the 24-year-old Zamboanga Sibugay native gets a chance to face the winner between WBC champion Suriyan Sor Rungvisai of Thailand and Japans Yota Sato.

In the undercard, WBC youth light flyweight ruler Renan Tronco beat Ricky Oyan after four rounds.

Veteran campaigner Vinvin Rufino also halted Jestoni Pepito in the fifth round

Bakbakan sa Elorde is supported by Petron XCS, Ginebra San Miguel, Magnolia Pure Water and Fruit Juices. By Marlon Bernardino

See the original post here:
Lopez decks Japanese pug twice, wins in 'Bakbakan'

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban enjoys jokes. (Getty Images)UPDATE #1: Mark Cuban published a post on his personal blog discussing this matter on Friday afternoon. In the post, titled"Am I a Homophobe ?," the Dallas Mavericks ownercharacterizes the comment detailed below as "totally sophomoric" and writes that making it was a mistake. He alsoshares his thoughts on prejudice, his sense of humor and the challenges of "being the person I want to be." It's worth a read.

UPDATE #2: Deadspin's Erik Malinowski posted a recording of the relevant bit of audio on Friday afternoon, confirming the "you and your boyfriend" comment.

***

The final session of last weekend'sMIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference was intended to be an entertaining spectacle, kind of an easy comedown after two full days of high-minded discussion of advanced statistics. The main attraction? A live recording of "The B.S. Report," the ESPN podcast hosted by columnist and Grantland.com editor-in-chief Bill Simmons, where "The Sports Guy" would interview Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.

Cuban is a slam dunk at Sloan. For one thing, he's an owner with a high-tech background whose Mavericks have long been at the vanguard of the NBA's analytics movement. Cuban brought in Roland Beech, the creator of advanced stat haven 82games.com, to consult for the team, and actually had Beech seated behind the bench, there to "interface" with Mavs coach Rick Carlisle, during Dallas' championship run.

Beyond that, of course, Cuban's famously quotable, liable to say just about anything when put in front of a microphone.Hence the podcast. Simmons and Cuban have publicly sparred before why not close down the conference with them stepping back into their rhythm for some good-natured banter?

From the start, though, something seemed a little off. As Simmons and Cuban began to talk, what was intended as jocular back-and-forth felt a little more adversarial than it seemed like it should. The vibe felt off.

And then, as Carly Carioli of the Boston Phoenix wrote in a blog post accompanying an excellent feature story on the conference, "the atmosphere turned even weirder."

... Cuban began telling the story of how he'd almost fired a Mavs employee for encouraging Dallas fans to do the wave. Cuban hates the wave. "I'd rather have 60 minutes of Kiss Cam," he said, to laughs. Simmons has long been on record as being a fan of the Kiss Cam [...] and piped up in favor of it. "I like the Kiss Cam," Simmons said.

"That's because you and your boyfriend are always on it," Cuban spat.

Read more from the original source:
On Mark Cuban’s gay joke about Bill Simmons, what the NBA does about it and ESPN scrubbing the decks (UPDATES)