AND  while  we’re thinking about  it, here are  the  things we’d like to  see in local sports in the coming new year.

1. The  long-awaited super fight between world boxing champions Manny Pacquiao and  Floyd Mayweather, Jr.

Last  year’s No. 1 in our wish list didn’t  exact;y come true  --  Pacquiao fought old  rival Juan  Manuel  Marquez and  Mayweather  battled  Victor Ortiz. But  as  boxing fans all over the  world  would  agree, this is  the one  big super  fight  we all want to see  -- Pacquiao  vs. Mayweather. May  is  already out of the question, but the  boxing  gods would do well  to  hold it  in  November. As I’ve said  exactly 1 2 months ago, Pacquiao  no  longer needs    Mayweather  to keep his reputation as the  world’s greatest  boxer anymore.  But  the  brutal world of prizefighting  surely needs a  Pacquiao-Mayweather fight to keep the sport alive.

2.  A respectable showing in the 2012 London Olympics.

After the debacle in  the  2010  Asian Games in Guangzhou, China and the 2011 Southeast Asian Games in  Jakarta, Indonesia,  local  sports  badly need  to save  face  in  the 2012 Olympics in London. But really, that’s  wishful thinking. With no less than six  Filipino athletes vying in the  world’s biggest stage, Philippine  chef de  mission Manny Lopez would be  the first to admit  that  the country’s dream of a  first-ever Olympic  gold  medal remains an impossible dream. But we can  dream, can’t we?

3. Change in leadership in local sports.

Let’s face it,  Philippine sports needs new  and dynamic leaders with  fresh  ideas and enthusiasm to  put a  genuine sports program in  action.  Over-staying  and  non-performing officials are almost always the main culprits for the  fast decline of local sports in international competitions. In 2012,   Malacanang should  finally crack  the whip on these leaders. As we always say, the sports  hierarchy is  not the right dumping  ground for political rejects. 

4. The  Smart Gilas-supported Philippine basketball team gets its  acts together as it gears up for the 2013 Asian Championship.

Despite  finishing  only fourth in the Asian Championship in Wuhan, China early this  year and failing to make it to the  2012 London  Olympics,  sports patron  Manny V. Pangilinan remains steadfast in  his passion to see the country’s  most-loved  national team make it back to the Olympics for the first time since the 1972 Munich Olympics.  “No matter  what people  say, I’m  still determined to support the program and see one day the Philippines in the Olympics, however long it takes, be it in  2016, 2020 or even  beyond,” said Pangilinan. A  successful  2012 is what the team  needs to put it back on the right track.

5. A super GM status and ELO 2700  rating  for  Wesley So, finally.

The  year 2011 was  not exactly the  kind  of year that  friends and supporters of  GM Wesley So were hoping. But  make  no  mistake about it, So  will  be  back for bigger things  in the coming  new year. As he  grows in  confidence, the  now 18-year-old So  could only get better.  With several  strong international tournaments in his calendar, there’s little doubt in  mind that So will  make it all the way to the top of the chess world. And  everything will be alright in the local chess world. 

6. New sports heroes, new sports idols in billiards, bowling, swimming, tennis and track and field.

It’s in the wish list of  sports fans every year. And  nobody can  blame  them, really. The sports world needs new heroes, new idols for 2012.  We’ve all  heard a lot  about  the heroics of  Efren ‘Bata’ Reyes, Paeng  Nepomuceno,  Nathaniel  “Tac” Padilla,  Cecil Mamiit, Eric Buhain, Lydia de  Vega   and  Eugene  Torre in the past four  decades.   Everybody loves a hero, but isn’t it about  time  that  our  over-staying but  under-achieving  sports leaders  give us  new heroes to cheer and love  in the new  year

7. A sequel to the Philippine Azkals’ fairy tale story.

Last year, the glass slipper didn’t exactly fit and  there  was no happy ending in this fairy tale story of the Philippine Azkals. But it’s  clear  as  the  summer skies that the good-looking and hard-playing Azkals  brought the life  back to local   football.  Why, they even brought  sultry movie/TV actress  Angel  Locsin  to  the Rizal Memorial  stands. It  will  be a lot of fun  to see more of  Phil Younghusband   and  the  rest of the Azkals  take to the football field  and weave new fairy tales next year.  After all, a  good story always deserves a sequel.

8. Basketball regains its  billing as the country’s most-watched sports and the PBA as the country’s No. 1 entertainment and sports show.

Back in the  80s and 90s, the PBA is the country’s premier sports  entertainment show in  this side of the sports universe. The exciting  and  action-packed games were  mostly played  to  SRO-only crowds either at the  Araneta Coliseum or the ULTRA. The names of Jaworski, Fernandez, Co,  Patrimonio, Caidic and Lim were revered like modern-day patron  saints. In  recent  years, the  box-office lines are  longer in  concerts of  Sarah Geronimo   and the blockbuster movies of Vic Sotto and Ai-Ai  de las Alas. The new  year 2012 poses a new challenge   for  PBA commissioner Chito  Salud  to  lure  the fans back to the games.

9. Filipino-first policy in the UAAP and the NCAA (again).

In 2011, more  and more  leading  school teams  brought in more  foreign  players  under their wings  to  bolster  their chances of winning  the  coveted championships. And    these   foreign players, who  mostly come  from  as far as Cameroon  and Nigeria, got the perks  usually  reserved  for   home-grown talents.  So  whatever happened to  the Filipino-first policy?

10. Genuine  unity in  sports, especially  in basketball, swimming, cycling and equestrian.

The sports world is  one   big battleground for leaders who couldn’t   get  their   acts together. In basketball, it’s MVP vs  Graham  Lim. In swimming, it’s Mark Joseph vs. Nikki  Coseteng. In  cycling, it’s   Mayor Abraham “Bambol”  Tolentino  and  Philip  Juico. In equestrian,  it’s  Carissa  Coscoluella and  Peping Cojuangco. Sad   to  say, the  list  could  go on and on.  In  2012, it’s about time that  we put a stop on this  endless power  struggle and  give due   recognition  to people who truly deserve to lead the sports.

OK, dear. That’s some of the  “We’d  like ...”for  2012.

Your  turn now.  What would   you like  to see in  sports in  2012?