The 2006 Highlight Reel

You know that Christmas is over when your neighbor finally switches off that blasted Boom Tarat Tart song and starts popping firecrackers little by little until the big shebang come New Year’s Eve. Yes, 2006 is about to come to a close and it just wouldn’t be right if we didn’t take a look back to the year that was and highlight some of the people and events we should be thankful for (or at least remember). Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the best of 2006.

Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago’s chief-justice-snub speech. I am officially naming it "Miriam and 20 other clichés." Her rant went something like "I am homicidal! Genocidal! Foaming at the mouth! I am outraged! I am fuming at the ears!" That isn’t verbatim, but I think it’s pretty close. I cannot comment on her performance as a senator because, to be honest, I don’t know what it is she does over there (and they’re about to be abolished anyway) but no one can dispute her entertainment value. Without a doubt, she is the most entertaining politician of the last 12 or so years. And the way she capped off 2006 is proof on film. I can imagine a WWE entrance already: "The homicidal, genocidal, death-defying, Miriam!"

Speaking of the WWE…

WWE on time (no more two-week delay). I have waited for this moment for 15 years. They finally air WWE Raw and Smackdown on the same week they air it live in the United States. With the omnipresence of the Internet, it was getting dull to always know two weeks in advance what was going to happen on the show in replay. The only downer in this deal is that they no longer show WWE Pay-Per-Views for free like they used to. You have to watch them in selected cinemas, which is kind of a hassle.

The Return of Takeshi’s Castle. The re-airing of this early ’90s classic, which was originally hosted locally by Smokey Manaloto and Anjo Yllana, storms back to television with Joey de Leon at the helm. The games and challenges are still similar. There’s still that big wall you have to climb over, the hanging bridge you have to cross while they fire at you with cannon balls, the monsters you have to wrestle in the pits and so on. It brings back the days where you didn’t need cable TV to be thoroughly entertained.

Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. The fact that Sacha Baron Cohen is being sued like crazy should be a testament to the how much waves this movie has caused. Not only did it manage to anger a number of unsuspecting innocents, it also lit the fuse of an entire religion (Judaism), an entire gender (female) and an entire country (Kazakhstan) with its fearless slurs and innuendo. Cohen manages to fuse people’s ignorance, prejudice and humor into a comedy for the ages. As a number of critics have argued, this might be the funniest movie ever made.

The Allen Iverson trade. I was watching a local sports show one night and one of the analysts said that Iverson was going to destroy the Denver Nuggets, claiming he was a prima donna and that there wouldn’t be enough basketballs to go around to satisfy him and Carmelo Anthony. (Hasn’t it occurred to anybody that Iverson shoots so much because he has to?) I totally disagree.

I like this trade for a number of reasons:

1. This isn’t trading for Steve Francis when you already have Stephon Marbury. This is trading for Shaquille O’Neal when you already have Dwyane Wade.

2. This isn’t Toronto or Seattle trading for a washed-up star like Hakeem Olajuwon or Patrick Ewing like they did early this century. This is Phoenix trading for Charles Barkley in the early ’90s when he still had some superstar gas left in his tank.

3. Allen Iverson at 31 years old is not Allen Iverson at 25. I’m sure he knows what it takes to win, having gone to the finals that one time. He knows he has to sacrifice his game for his entire team to succeed. He’s been exposed to that both in all-star games and in international competitions. Heck, I’m sure that, after all those years of doing everything himself in Philly, he welcomes the chance to lay back a bit, and defer to a budding star like Carmelo Anthony.

4. This team isn’t coached by a fruit like Isiah Thomas. This team doesn’t run an offense that fits the style of its players terribly (like Thomas’ offense with the Knicks. You have two of the most ball-hungry, prolific-scoring point guards in the league and you run a motion-based offense?). This Nuggets team is coached by the same guy who coached Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton into coexistence and a trip to the finals and coached Sam Cassell, Glenn Robinson and Ray Allen to the conference finals. He can handle egos and guys who want to score. He also runs one of the fastest-paced offenses in the league.

5. Players respect Iverson as a player and as a person. He lays it on the line every single night. He gives his body up for the team to win. Like he said in his famous "Practice" speech, this is the game he will die for. He isn’t the prima donna he’s being made out to be. Prima donnas don’t sacrifice their bodies like Iverson does. Prima donnas don’t compete with so much energy and passion every single night.

With that, hopefully, my favorite senator, the WWE, Takeshi’s Castle, Sacha Baron Cohen and A.I. and the Denver Nuggets will continue to entertain us into 2007. It will sure be a happy New Year for all.

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For questions, comments or corrections, please e-mail me at emailcarlramirez@yahoo.com.