In retrospect, Tom Brady spent the 2019 season giving hint after hint that he was prepared to leave the Patriots. Not that the greatest quarterback in the history of the National Football League really planned to; familiarity and prolonged success provided ample reasons for him to stay. Rather, he felt he needed to show all and sundry that sentiment would be taking a back seat to sense, and that he, as a result, was prepared to cut ties with the only franchise for which he has ever suited up. Respect, he insisted, was due him for all his physical and financial sacrifices, and if he wasn’t going to get it in-house because the so-called Patriot Way cuts no slack, then pack his bags he must.

TITLE fights of Filipino world boxing champions John Riel “Quadro Alas” Casimero and Jerwin “Pretty Boy” Ancajas scheduled for next month have been postponed to a later date over concerns on the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

THE already-delayed staging of the 10^th ASEAN Para Games in the country was further pushed back after the ASEAN Para Sports Federation (APSF) Board of Governors decided in an emergency meeting on Monday to tentatively stage the event in October over the ongoing concerns on the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

AMERICAN Tiger Woods sought to put the cancellations of a slew of golf tournaments due to the coronavirus into perspective on Monday, saying the well-being of others trumped the sport.

The University Athletic Association of the Philippines already cancelled Season 82 over the ongoing and concerning threat of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). And while it still provided a glimmer of hope of resumption of collegiate play, including the marquee volleyball tournament, albeit with a reconfigured format if the situation improves, at this point nothing is definite yet.

It’s still too early to say the world is on the way to recovery from the novel coronavirus pandemic. The worst is yet to come in many parts of the globe, and it’s fair to argue that no one country has succeeded in keeping the spread in check for good. In the midst of the uncertainty, however, all have remarkably tried to keep or restore a semblance of normalcy to their affairs. In Japan, for instance, the B. League decided to resume competition over the weekend after having suspended the season in mid-February. In South Korea, meanwhile, the Korean Basketball League is prepping for the return to action of its 10 teams by the end of the month.

WITH THE coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continuing to be an ongoing and concerning threat, basketball-loving Filipinos would have to wait some time before they get their steady dose of hoop action.

LONDON/NEW YORK -- Golf’s jewel in the crown The Masters and English soccer’s Premier League joined the lengthening list of elite sporting events to fall foul of the coronavirus pandemic on Friday.

THE FIRST Women’s Online Bullet Chess Championships, which unfolds on April 1 at 1 p.m. gets a big boost as Knights of the Square Table announced its sponsorship of the prestigious competition featuring the world’s fastest players.

GIVEN the many health challenges an individual faces nowadays, the need to stay healthy could not be more underscored.

To recap, in the Philidor Defense after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 Black’s woes can be traced to his insistence on maintaining the strongpoint on e5. Why not just give it up and play solid? What’s wrong with 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Be7, the Antoshin Variation? GM Larry Kaufman in “Kaufman’s New Repertoire for Black and White,” remarks that this line is a pretty reasonable choice for Black in a must-win situation, because although White is better, both sides have play, and the chances of a draw are fairly low. He then revealed that he selected this defense for Black repeatedly and successfully for the computer program Rybka in a match where it gave draw and White odds in every game to GM Joel Benjamin.

Golf was among the last of the organized sports to shut down due to the novel coronavirus. The Players Championship, long touted to be the pro ranks’ unofficial fifth major event due to its competitive fields and highly regarded home course, actually finished its first round -- and with crowds to boot -- before being called off. Up until then, United States Professional Golfers Association Tour commissioner Jay Monahan had been adamant in saying the show would go on in light of the varied circumstances under which competitive play occurs.