KAREEM ABDUL JABBAR HAS A RARE FORM OF LEUKEMIA

Yup you read it right, The king of Sky Hook himself Kareem Abdul Jabbar is being treated for a rare form of leukemia, and the basketball great said his prognosis is encouraging. Jabbar was diagnosed last December with chronic myeloid leukemia.

His doctors didn't gave any guarantees, but informed him: "You have a very good chance to live your life out and not have to make any drastic changes to your lifestyle."

Abdul Jabbar is taking an oral medication for the disease. He is a paid spokesman for the Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis, which makes a drug that treat the illness

"Ive never been a person to share my private life. But i can help save lives," he said at a midtown Manhattan conference room. "It's incumbent on someone like me to talk about this."

Abdul Jabbar became concerned last year after feeling odd sensations. He went for test at UCLA.

"I was getting hot flashes and sweats on a regular basis," he said. "That's not normal, even for my age."

An exam showed his white blood cell count was "sky high" and a doctor quickly diagnosed his condition. At first, all Abdul Jabbar heard was the word "leukemia"

"I was scared," "I thought it was all the same. I thought it could mean i have a month to live." "That was my first wuestion," he said. "Was I going to make it?"

Abdul Jabbar said he took the approach of a samurai, to face death without fear. "I had my face on," he said.

Instead, doctors told him CML was treatable with proper medication and monitoring.

TOP 10 HIGHEST EARNING SPORTSMEN

1. Tiger Woods / Golf / $100,000,000

2. Oscar de la Hoya / Boxing / $43,000,000

3. Phil Mickelson / Golf / $42,200,000

4. Kimi Raikkonen, Finland / Motor racing / $40,000,000

5. Michael Schumacher, Germany / Motor racing / $36,000,000

6. David Beckham, UK / Football / $33,000,000

7. Kobe Bryant / Basketball / $32,900,000

8. Shaquille O'Neal / Basketball / $31,900,000

9. Michael Jordan / Basketball / $31,000,000

Ronaldinho, Brazil / Football / $31,000,000

DOES A NON BEARING GAME BENEFIT SMART GILAS?

Does making games by Smart Gilas against PBA team a non bearing game benefit them? The PBA commissioner Sonny Barrios took into account the interest of the country in coming up with a crucial decision concerning the RP-Smart Gilas team’s participation in the KFC-PBA Philippine Cup.

Given two options by the Board, Barrios decided to alter instead the arrangement of the nationals’ participation in the season-opening meet, rendering all their games – past and future – as no-bearing, instead of not allowing big man CJ Giles to see action in the team’s remaining games.

The commissioner bared the new set-up Thursday after hearing complaints from governors over the unpredictable playing minutes of the 6-foot-11 Giles, the observations from a former national coach and the remarks from players alike.

Governors immediately questioned the move by coach Rajko Toroman the following day, wondering why the Serbian mentor benched his intimidating inside force against the Tropang Texters, whose owner, Manny V. Pangilinan, is also the president of the Samahang Basketball ng Pilipinas, the governing body for amateur basketball that bankrolls the RP Team.

I myself is having second thought of which is beneficial for the Smart Gilas, If they play a non bearing games, will PBA teams take the games seriously? will coaches bench their starters to protect them from being injured? Now if the games were not a non bearing one, PBA teams would take Smart Gilas seriously as what we have witness in their previous games, but the PBA also arrived at a common thought that since games before by Smart Gilas had effect on the win-loss standings of the PBA teams, the level of intensity against the Nationals have been at a level that results in physicality and ruggedness.

What do you think?? does it help Smart Gilas making games a non bearing one?