by Jason Cruz
Northwest Asia Weekly
Welcome to another version of layup drills. In this installment, we look back at Filipino nights in the NHL, two Seattle designers creating the Kraken jersey, an MLB rookie winning, a family of Filipino triathletes, and a struggling NBA player.
NHL team hosts Philippine Heritage Night
Winnipeg Jets logo at Philippine Heritage Night
The Winnipeg Jets will host a Filipino Heritage Night in November against the Dallas Stars.
Notably, the star team has Filipino-American Jason Robertson. The Jets teamed up with Filipino-Canadian graphic designers Jonato Dalayoan and Marc Gomez. The logo design includes an eight-ray golden sun in a circle around the jet. The sun is a prominent symbol in the Philippine flag and culture. The three stars within the circle also appear on the flag, representing the three major island groups of the Philippines – Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The three colors of the Philippine flag are overlaid on the plane, reflecting the fusion of Filipino heritage and Canadian culture.
The logo will appear on the team’s warm-up jerseys, which will then be auctioned off after the game to support Filipino youth initiatives in the community.
Dalayoan said in an interview with Hockey Media that he drew inspiration from tattoos, textiles and tribal motifs when making the logo. “I don’t want people to think it’s just for Filipinos,” Dalayoan said. “I want it to be cool enough that everyone will wear it.” Merchandise with the logo will be sold on Jets’ website.
At the 2021 census, Canadian Filipinos make up more than 2.5% of Canada’s total population, representing more than 957,000 people across Canada.
Seattle artist designs Kraken jersey for feature night
Two Seattle local artists have been selected to design jerseys for the NHL’s Seattle Krakens this season. Monyee Chau and Erin Wallace designed the jerseys the players will wear as they warm up for the upcoming home game. Zhou designed the jersey for the Lunar New Year night on January 21, 2023. Wallace designed the jersey for Women’s Hockey Night on March 7, 2023.
Wallace is a first-generation Chinese-American artist living in Seattle. She has worked on projects with Amazon, Target, and Starbucks.
Zhou, who is also of Chinese descent, is an artist with a Cornish Bachelor of Fine Arts. Through their art, they explore the intersection between queer and Taiwanese/Chinese. They have exhibited in local and international spaces, including the Wing Luke Museum, Bellevue Art Museum, SOIL Gallery, Northwestern Art Museum and California Institute of Arts and Crafts.
Stephen Kwan wins Gold Gloves
Cleveland Guardians left fielder Stephen Guan won the MLB Gold Glove for his outfield performance this season. Guan was one of four Cleveland Guardians to win the Golden Glove, which was voted on by 30 Major League Baseball teams. Despite being a natural center fielder in the minor leagues, Guan gave up recklessly while playing in left field and had several great catches, including a head-to-head into the stands on the night of Ichiro Suzuki’s induction into the Seattle Hall of Fame. Chance.
In his first year in the majors, if it weren’t for Julio Rodriguez of the Mariners, he would be strongly considered MLB’s Rookie of the Year.
Philippine triathletes compete in Ironman 70.3 Ironman World Championships
ramos family
Last month, the Ramos family competed at the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in St. George, Utah. Triathletes (a sport that includes swimming, cycling and running) must come up with a qualifying time to compete in the world championships in St. George.
The family consists of triathletes. Jet is a retired banker and a dominant force in his age group. His wife, Lou Ann, coaches and competes with other triathletes. They have three sons following in their footsteps.
Jet completed a 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike and 13.1-mile run in 4 hours and 47 minutes. Lou An also participated in the World Championships.
Joshua, 20, has established his age in triathlon competitions around the world. In September, he represented the Philippine National Triathlon Team at the 2022 Asian Triathlon Championships. The race is shorter than 70.3, swimming 1.5km, cycling 40km and running 10km. Dash, 15, and Arrow, 12, are also following in their family’s footsteps.
Originally from Baguio, but now living in Arizona, the family travels around and competes in long distance triathlons. At St George’s last year, Jethro beat his son by 15 minutes in 70.3.
Nets center makes untimely mistake
Brooklyn Nets forward Yuta Watanabe (18) reacts to a foul during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Charlotte Hornets, Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022 in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo /Rusty Jones)
The Brooklyn Nets have had a terrible start to the NBA season. Because of their 2-6 start, the team fired their coach, Steve Nash. Kyrie Irving retweeted anti-Semitic remarks on Twitter without apologizing for his remarks.
In fact, he was suspended by the team after bickering with the media for questioning his personal beliefs.
Brooklyn forward Yuta Watanabe signed with the team last season after spending two years in Toronto. A bright spot for the native from Japan was his game with the Nets. He saw more minutes and was one of the sparks off the bench.
However, in late October against the Indiana Pacers, the 6-foot-8 Watanabe seemed to forget which team he was on. After a Pacers player shot, Watanabe appeared to catch the rebound and dunk the ball to the rim.
The replay looked as if Watanabe slid past other players and directed the ball to the basket. After counting the baskets, Watanabe regretted it.
Jason is available at info@nwasianweekly.com.
