by Mark Lorenzana

Manny Pacquiao is back in the news for two different reasons. (Come to think of it, has Pacquiao really been out of the public eye since his short-lived retirement? Probably not.)

A couple of weeks ago, he was in Chicago to send off his daughter to university (Queenie Pacquiao is currently studying Forensic Science at Loyola University), and just recently NBA hall-of-famer and Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd, who visited the Philippines (along with Tony Parker and Lauren Jackson) for a basketball festival, paid a courtesy call at Manny’s residence in Manila.

Manny and Jinkee have always been doting parents to their five children, and it’s not surprising to see them take time to accompany Queenie in Chicago, with some video clips circulating on social media of the family spending time at their daughter’s dorm room and even helping her get settled for her new life.

On the other hand, it’s great to see two of my idols posing for a photo together. I was one of the biggest Jason Kidd fans as a kid (pun not intended), because I’ve always been an admirer of pure point guards (the pass-first kind, which is a dying breed now) — Kidd, Magic Johnson, John Stockton, Muggsy Bogues, Rajon Rondo, Chris Paul, and the PBA’s Johnny Abarrientos and Dindo Pumaren just to name a few.

Here’s hoping that the next news we hear of Pacquiao is an update on his scuttled rematch with Floyd Mayweather Jr.

(Yeah yeah yeah, they’re already old, I know that. But I still want to see how a completely healthy Pacquiao will fare against Floyd, their ages notwithstanding. We’ll see.)