“You got the great Michael Jordan, the great Scottie Pippen, the great Phil Jackson. But if you take me away from this team, do they still win a championship? I don’t think so.”

Monday’s release of the third and fourth episodes of The Last Dance has brought to the fore the intense rivalry between the Bulls and Pistons during the years spanning the late eighties and early nineties. While director Jason Hehir strives to show an unfiltered unveiling of the proceedings, there can be no mistaking the roles they play in the ESPN documentary series. And even from the vantage point of casual observers, the portrayals are to be expected. For one thing, principal protagonist Michael Jordan provides the clearest lens from which a significant part of the National Basketball Association’s history is seen. For another, the two sides have -- through time, then as now -- seen fit to embrace their predetermined colors.

WHILE ADMITTING to having his hands full with the many challenges that the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic present, Filipino mixed martial arts star Joshua “The Passion” Pacio is staying strong, turning to the values he has learned from the sport and his faith to get him through.

RAFA NADAL has said he is very pessimistic about the possibility of tennis returning to normal any time soon because of the new coronavirus pandemic that shut down the sport last month.

Who is Asia’s first chess grandmaster? Everyone knows it is Eugene Torre. Who is Asia’s second chess grandmaster? Strangely enough many people get this wrong, the correct answer is Rosendo Balinas.

HAVING SURPASSED their collective expectations and were in the groove before the National Basketball Association called for a suspension of the season last month over the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James is hoping for league action to resume if conditions permit and finish what they have started.

STOCKHOLM -- After several recent cancellations due to the spread of the coronavirus, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has announced its comeback with three fight cards in the space of a week at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida.

LEST RISKING making snap decisions that could be detrimental to his career moving forward, Tokyo Olympics-bound boxer Eumir Felix Marcial is said to have agreed to continue discussions with the Association of Boxing Alliances of the Philippines (ABAP) about his future plans, the national sports association for the sport said.

LONDON -- Arsenal will reopen its London Colney training ground to its players this week for individual training but the Premier League club will continue to observe social distancing rules amid the coronavirus pandemic, it said on Saturday.

Assuming everything goes according to plan, the United States Professional Golfers Association Tour will be holding the Charles Schwab Challenge in June, the country’s first full-field sporting event since the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic shut down organized tournaments in March. The catch, of course, is that “everything” falling into place seems farfetched at best under these circumstances. For all the inherent advantages golf offers in terms of implementing social-distancing measures, there remain significant logistical hurdles before the first of the circuit’s 28 planned events through 25 weeks from resumption of play can take place. Foremost is the need for federal, state, and local officials to sign off on it.

NEW YORK -- It’s not that amateur runner Forrester Safford ever planned on running an entire marathon by himself in his four-car driveway -- but this month, rather like George Mallory sizing up Everest, he decided to do it simply because the opportunity was there.

THE SPORTING world has been forced to a halt by the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic but values learned from sports would go a long way in helping one cope up with the prevailing conditions under the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).