Welcome to another edition of The Layup Drill. This month, we take a look at some Filipino Nights in sports, Shohei Ohtani being the best in baseball, and a final briefing on the Summer Olympics.
The Washington Huskies football team started its 2024 season on the last Saturday of August with a dominating win over Weber State. As part of the first game of the season, the Huskies made its inaugural Filipino Heritage Night and celebrated its starting safety, Kamren Fabiculanan. The sixth year senior was honored which included free commemorative jerseys and hoodies for those that signed up for the promotion. A portion of the ticket proceeds went to the Filipino Community Center.
Fabiculanan is a Filipino American from Oxnard, California. This year, he was voted a captain for the season.
Perhaps Fabiculanan's shining moment happened in last year's national championship game. Against Michigan, he jumped a short pass and stopped the receiver for a loss. In the process, his helmet fell off and he was able to show his flowing hair and his excitement in making a defensive stop. ESPN's Pablo Torre, who is also Filipino, made the instant recognition that Fabiculanan was Filipino. The video and the tweet went viral and Fabiculanan was on the map.
As a senior, he's expected to help steer the Huskies this season after an offseason of turmoil, which saw a bulk of the starters transfer after head coach Kalen DeBoer bolted Montlake to head to Alabama to take the head coaching vacancy. Jedd Fisch is the current head coach and hopes that the new group of Dawgs can keep up with the program's success.
On back-to-back nights in August, the Los Angeles Dodgers held promotional nights that were 'can't miss.' First, fans lined up as early as eight hours prior to the game in hopes of being one of the 40,0000 fans to snag a Shohei Ohtani bobblehead. Not only did the bobblehead include the Dodgers star, it depicted Ohtani's dog, Decoy. The bobbleheads came in a regular color version and a more exclusive gold version. The gold version drew $1,100 on eBay. For the night, the first pitch was given by Decoy. The Nederlandse Kooikerhondje, a Dutch breed, stood on the mound as Ohtani squatted down at home plate. On command, Decoy picked up a baseball on the mound and ran it to home plate for its owner. A happy Ohtani praised Decoy who looked like he wanted to play more on the field.
By the way, Ohtani is still a great baseball player. He recently surpassed 44 home runs and 44 stolen bases to become the only player in history to achieve the feat. He is now closing in on being the sole member of the 50 home run and 50 stolen base club.
The next night, the Dodgers held Filipino Heritage Night at the ballpark. As part of the promotion, the team gave away Filipino-themed Dodgers jerseys. Film star and musician Tia Carrere sang the national anthem and Jacob Batalon, known for his role as Peter Parker's best friend, Ned Leeds, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe of movies, threw out the first pitch.
Also of note, the concession stands were selling "lumpia buckets" from Lumpia Mania out of Glendora, California. For $34.99, you could purchase a bucket full of lumpia and pork rinds. Also available to Dodger fans was Longganisa, Strawberry Shortcake, Cheesecake, and Bread Pudding.
The Dodgers won the game with a victory over the Baltimore Orioles.
Filipino double gold medal gymnast Carlos Yulo was one of the major surprises of the Paris Olympics. Not only did Yulo score two gold medals in gymnastics, he was showered with gifts for his achievement. Yulo was just the second gold medalist in the history of the Philippines at the Summer Olympics.
Yulo received approximately $377,000 in U.S. dollars from different governmental agencies. A property development company in the Philippines awarded him a three-bedroom unit at one of its "premier residential properties." It also gave Yulo another 3 million pesos for his win. Not to be outdone, another property management group awarded him a house and lot package.
Philippine Airlines gave Yulo 150,000 Mabuhay Miles per year for life. It is the maximum that it awards to a single account within a calendar year. Yulo may use the miles for flight tickets and other perks from the airline.
Toyota will be giving him its latest model of the Land Cruiser Prado.
The Filipino gymnast also received a lifetime supply of food that may ensure he will have to stay in top shape to remain a world class gymnast. Yulo will receive free ramen for a lifetime from Hagame Sushi and Ramen Bar. Also, free bacon for life from a Filipino company. Food chains Pizza Hut and Dairy Queen will give him free pizza and ice cream for life. A popular buffet company awarded him a lifetime pass to free buffet.