What I Learned While Hanging Out With Manny Pacquiao At Yankee Stadium:
1. Pacman knows a little bit about major league baseball. As he left the indoor batting cage area to grab some lunch in Legends Restaurant in the ballpark, I pointed to Coach Freddie Roach speaking with four writers.
“Who’s that guy? I said jokingly. “Coach Roach,” Manny said. “He doesn’t like the Yankees, he’s from Boston like me," I said. Pacman’s quick reply: “Boston Red Sox.”
2. Manny is tight lipped about his strategy for Cotto on Nov. 14 but it doesn’t take a Vulcan mind meld to figure it out. The key word is speed. “Everyone knows I am fast but they (opponents) think that is all I am. They think the speed is my everything.”
3. Gifted musically, Pacquiao can actually plays the piano so that Chris Farina in the Manhattan hotel suite photo I used Wednesday was not a fakeroo. Megamanny can really tickle the ivories.
4. The weeping and gnashing of teeth throughout various precincts of Pacland—is Manny losing his fistic focus and all that drama, some of which spun by yours truly, Billy Dooley—does not phase Pacam in the least. At the peak or near peak of his pugilistic powers, Manny is supremely confident that five weeks of hard work in Baguio capped by three weeks at Roach’s Wild Card will result in Cotto, Mission Accomplished.
5. Pacquiao takes a paternal pride, which I thought he did, in the ring success of Nonito Donaire and new champ Marvin Sonsona. Packy even joked about not being Sonsona’s handler, joking that “my guys” (Michael Koncz and lawyer Jeng Gacal) should’ve signed the precocious 19 year old up. “I am very proud of him because I knew about him when was age 16 and 17. Sonsona is a good fighter and he is like me in having so much heart.”
6. Sometimes the guy in the eye of the storm doesn’t even know there is a hurricane. So I asked Manny if he paid attention to all the Internet rumor, gossip and innuendo that goes on about his life and careers. Pacquiao flashed his good sense of humor, saying, “I don’t look at the Internet…except for Facebook and Friendster. I don’t look at boxing.” I said, Whoa, Manny, time out…what about Pacland?”. “Of course, Pacland,” MP said, still smiling.
7. Humor flash #2: I started rapping out with MP and I scribbed in my undecipherable to all but me southpaw scrawl. “Can you read that?” Manny said, smiling brightly. “It’s a secret code so the other reporters can’t copy me, Manny. I write in Tagalog.” MP laughed.
8. Publicist Ed Keenan soft tossed a baseball to Manny. Manny took the major league bat and tapped the major league baseball. It was a Derek Jeter like line drive and hit Top Rank shutterbug Chris Farina right in his family jewels.
Stalwart that he is, Farina refused to go on the disabled list.
Source: http://www.examiner.com/x-5699-NY-Boxing-Examiner~y2009m9d10-Good-Humor-Manny-Pacquiao-swings-the-bat-two-balls-no-strikes-at-Yankee-Stadium
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