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WE PRAYED OVER HER ’TIL HER LAST BREATH Pastor tells of horror as woman died fleeing gang shootout outside church By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net
CHURCH goers prayed over a fatally wounded Claudette Capron as she took her last breath after being hit by stray bullets on Tuesday night. This was the account of Apostle Kevin Grant yesterday as he recalled opening the door of his church at Robinson Road so that Ms Capron and her sister could enter as gunfire rang out in the street. Mr Grant said he was getting ready to lead his congregation in prayer when those gathered began
to hear gunfire. “We could hear all of the gunshots and everything and I went to inspect it,” he said of the incident. “I opened up the door to let her and her sister in and one of the bullets then went over to the parking lot area and I saw when she fell and then we realised she got hit with one of the stray bullets. “I beckoned to one of the members and they came out and we went to her immediately and began to pray over her because we were already in prayer and intercession mode and everything.” SEE PAGE TWO
BAHAMAS Christian Council president Bishop Delton Fernander wants the government to expand tax exemptions for churches that offer key community services. “One of the yearly things is that we use churches for hurricane shelters,” he said at a press conference yesterday. “In Abaco and Grand Bahama and Exuma and those places
where churches have been damaged, we can’t even get exemptions on materials coming in to repair those churches because the list is so restrictive. It’s about candles and the like and, yes, the last time it was done was under Prime Minister Ingraham and that was done in a time when we weren’t so involved with the things we are involved with today and so the exemption list of religious goods has to be modernised.” SEE PAGE THREE
- SEE PAGE EIGHT
IN-PERSON CLASSES T0 RESUME ON MONDAY
By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net STUDENTS across the country will return to school campuses for in-person learning on Monday, the Ministry of Education, Technical and Vocational Training announced yesterday. The ministry said it made the decision on the advice of the Ministry of Health and Wellness. SEE PAGE FOUR
IMPLEMENT IMF PLANS? ‘NOT ON MY WATCH’
CHURCHES WANT NEW TAX BREAKS FOR GREATER ROLE By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net
FRONT PORCH: WISHFUL THINKING IS NOT ENOUGH
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
CLAUDETTE CAPRON, who was shot in the face and chest and killed on Tuesday night as she was on her way to a prayer meeting.
BEACH TOWERS REBRAND - AS HILTON CLOSES By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
A DOUBLE announcement yesterday revealed that the Beach Towers at Atlantis are due to be taken on by a new owner - but the British Colonial Hilton is to “indefinitely” close with the loss of 130 staff. The Hilton, owned by China Construction America (CCA) will close from February 15.
THE BEACH Towers at Atlantis, left, and the Hilton in Nassau. Deputy Prime Minister partnership that will see part Chester Cooper attributed of the iconic property, the the closure to the end of the Beach Towers, rebranded resort’s management agree- under a different name for the first time in its 27-year ment with the Hilton. Meanwhile, Atlan- history. tis yesterday unveiled a FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS
Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper
MINISTER of Economic Affairs Michael Halkitis yesterday pledged “not on my watch” after a Caribbean economist forecast The Bahamas will need an “IMF restructure”. Senator Halkitis said the government has “absolutely no intention of entering any restructuring or IMF programme at any time in the foreseeable future”. FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS
STATESIDE PRESIDENTIAL PROSPECTS
- SEE PAGE NINE
PAGE 2, Thursday, January 20, 2022
THE TRIBUNE
POLICE END SEARCH AFTER REPORT OF DOWNED PLANE By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net
POLICE have suspended the search for a reported downed plane, according to press liaison officer, Superintendent Audley Peters. He told the media the search ended as of 11am yesterday. Police and Royal Bahamas Defence Force officers searched waters at the eastern end of New Providence on Tuesday night, however
they found no debris and were unable to confirm that a plane had in fact crashed. Officers were expected to resume their search yesterday morning. Updating the press yesterday, Supt Peters explained: “We could confirm that a number of persons would have seen a flash of light in the sky. And as a result a report was made to the police department and following that report a team of officers were dispatched in the area via three marine assets.
“Those officers searched the area and were not successful in locating any debris from planes or persons or any oil slick in that area. Following that preliminary search, the search was suspended.” He added officers commenced a search early yesterday morning with a marine unit and dive officers who searched the shorelines of the northeastern section of New Providence, including the creeks. The officers searched the circumference
of Athol Island and Porgy Rock. Supt Peters added: “No debris, no oil slick, no persons were found ashore along those three islands mentioned. They also had two drivers who went into the water and searched as far as they possibly could and nothing was found. Following the search by the marines we also sent up a drone that would’ve covered the areas of Porgy Rock and Athol Island and the shoreline as well and
we were not successful in locating any debris from a plane crash as well as any persons or oil slick again. Subsequently that search has been ended.” People have speculated the flash in the sky could have been a space launch that reportedly blasted off around the same time. Asked if police are looking into that aspect, the officer replied: “We could confirm that was the same information that we received. Also, we have footage of that
sighting that confirms that something of that nature would’ve happened.” As for which point in the investigation will they be able to determine what actually happened, Supt Peters stated: “This is a fluid situation at the moment. We won’t conclusively say that the investigation has ended, but the information we have so far is what I’ve shared with you. If anything else is to be added, we’ll make a determination at the time it arises.”
We prayed over her ’til her last breath from page one
THE SCENE on Tuesday night.
Photo: Racardo Thomas/Tribune Staff
“She wasn’t coherent and when we were praying over her, she didn’t say anything, but she was staring until she took her last breath.” At the scene of the incident on Tuesday night, Superintendent Audley Peters told reporters that the woman was hit in her face and chest by stray bullets from a gunman who was firing his weapon at another man on Robinson Road. She was on her way to a prayer meeting. The male victim was also wounded and is in hospital, police said. Yesterday, Supt Peters said that a 17-year-old male is in custody and assisting police with the investigation. He said police were also searching for three persons of interest. The incident left the members of Resurrection
CLAUDETTE CAPRON Power Kingdom Ministry, where Ms Capron was a member, in complete shock and disbelief, Mr Grant said. “She was an excellent person, a good individual,” he said. “Good to the community and good to the ministry. She was a very good and upright citizen. “It was a total shock to the entire church and everything and everyone started to really scream and her sister was inconsolable. That’s my member. She was inside the church with me and we were trying to console her as much as we could.” Asked about the killing on the sidelines of an event yesterday, National Security Minister Wayne Munroe said there is no acceptable level of crime. “I have the misfortune as minister that when these things happen the police send me briefings on it,” he said. “The briefing (is that it) appears to have been a shoot-out in which this young lady was caught in the middle. “Any killing is bad and we’ve reached a point now where the young men don’t seem to have regard, not only for their lives, but the lives of anybody else. “There seems to be a descent from standards. Thirty-one years ago, when I came to the Bar, you thought that there was something called street standards where this wouldn’t happen and where you wouldn’t see it happening. “The police, as the arraignment in court this week shows, are resolute in when you do these things, catching you and calling you to account. We are
also seeking to get strategies from them which they should make plain for the Commissioner’s policing plan 2022 of how we intend to seek to mitigate that from happening. “I will wait to see what further resources they require from us for me to go and advocate for and then, of course, we still have the programmes to seek to stop people reaching the point of that depravity where they don’t care.” Mr Munroe said parents and the public at large were to blame for what the nation is now seeing from criminals. For his part, Mr Grant said Capron’s death highlighted the need for all in the community to come together to fight the scourge of crime. “Let me put it this way, what you see there is unresolved conflict resolution and in the community young men don’t know how to resolve it. As far as the regular other crimes we normally have over there but that looks like a retaliation to me from my observation because the guys were on the main road firing shots at each other so it’s some kind of feud that’s going on. “We have to reach out to the young men in the community because they are very uneducated. They don’t know how to resolve it and we as the church have to step in along with the police as well. “The church has to play their role. We are going to come back and do some evangelism in terms of getting in there to really, really sit down and talk to them and stuff like that because you know the gangs, they are their family. “We have some problems in our society and it’ll take the church, the media and the police force, all of us together, to help combat all of these ills.” Anyone with information on this incident is asked to call police at 502-9991, Crime Stoppers at 328TIPS (8477) or the nearest police station.
WOMAN HIT IN FACE IN ROBBERY A WOMAN was hit in the face and robbed of her handbag while walking near a bus stop in Freeport yesterday morning. Police said they received a report about the incident shortly after 10am. Police were told that a woman was walking south on the sidewalk on East Mall Drive in the area of a bus stop when she was approached by a light skinned unmasked male.
The man struck her to the right side of the face causing injuries and then stole her handbag containing cash and other personal items. He escaped in an eastern direction. The victim was transported to Rand Memorial Hospital via ambulance where she was examined by a doctor, who listed her injuries as serious. An investigation is ongoing.
THE TRIBUNE
Thursday, January 20, 2022, PAGE 3
Pintard: Govt should talk before cannabis legislation By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net OPPOSITION leader Michael Pintard said the Davis administration should have a conversation with stakeholders before moving forward with their version of cannabis legislation. His comment came during a press conference after FNM officials met members of the Bahamas Christian Council. BCC president Bishop Delton Fernander reiterated his group’s staunch opposition to cannabis, insisting the organisation will speak loudly against proposed changes. Mr Pintard, who
continues to support cannabis reform, said: “We paid the respect to all stakeholders in the cannabis and industrial hemp space by having discussions with all of them prior to us arriving at the legislation that’s already in place in ministries, ready to be introduced to the country and we believe if the government is going to go forward with their version of the development of the cannabis or industrial hemp business, they must have a conversation with the various stakeholders, inclusive of the opposition and the Bahamas Christian Council.” Asked to clarify what degree of consultation he believes the Davis
CHURCHES WANT NEW TAX BREAKS FOR GREATER ROLE from page one
“We’re talking about four Prime Ministers away. It is now time to look at that because the church is being asked to do much more. We’re inviting persons in not only as shelters, but now education is saying they want us to bring them in as safe spaces and (when) they come in, electricity will be burning. “We’ve got to figure out ways through legislation… In the States, other jurisdictions, they call it faith-based grants and initiatives. If we’re gonna take on more... Monday through Sunday, stuff we
didn’t budget for then there is this expectation that there is the money there and it isn’t. “Even a VAT reduction on something or if we’re gonna pay the power, let it be the power that the churches use but if we engaging with the state there has to be some write-off, there has to be some benefit and so the church is just simply saying we’re progressing as a country and we must progress in how we think and there are other jurisdictions who have done this already.” Bishop Fernander’s comments came after a courtesy call with the Free National Movement.
administration should pursue, Mr Pintard said that depends on what changes are proposed. “We are in no position to say because we have not seen the nature of the legislation that they are going to present,” the former Minister of Agriculture said. “Are they going to present the ones that we left on the table or are they going to make substantial amendments? We do not know. “So, for example, we left on the table the amendment of the Dangerous Drugs Act. We looked at the expunging of police records for thousands of Bahamians who were caught with small quantities of marijuana. Thirdly, we prepared legislation relative to developing an industrial hemp business and that is a variety of industrial products that would be created from hemp and then thirdly we looked at medicinal marijuana legislation, so four separate pieces of legislation. We have no idea what the government intends to do and would be helpful if they would share specifically what their intentions are and talk with the various stakeholders in advance of making public pronouncements.” Bishop Fernander said the meeting with the FNM allowed the council to get clarity from the party on cannabis. “Even if (cannabis legislation) was left on the table by the previous administration, common courtesy says that we need to know as stakeholders what is going to go to Parliament
FNM leader Michael Pintard and Bahamas Christian Council president Delton Fernander yesterday. Photo: Racardo Thomas/Tribune Staff and what is it that we can government of the day and have spoken out during one agree or disagree on,” he the common courtesy. administration and then “To take your first shot at be quiet when someone is said. “It might be abun- legislation and something trying to rush something to dantly clear, hence the to help the economy and be legislation with another conversation with one just try to take it quickly to administration. No matter minister of agriculture Parliament without there who is in the chair as the and now another, but this even being a white paper president of the Christian is a very powerful special sends out to stakeholders is Council we are going to interest movement that different, is not the normal speak out on that which the first thing a new gov- process for which we get we feel is not moving in ernment wants to do in an legislation of this magni- the direction to better the effort to move our econ- tude done and it can only Commonwealth of The omy forward is cannabis,” cause the church to do what Bahamas.” we’ve done under previous he added. Both men spoke to “We have to wake up and administrations. reporters after the FNM “We will speak loudly. paid a courtesy call on the see that there (is a) powerful movement going on in It would be hypocritical to Christian Council. our society that transcends government and as the Christian Council we will vigorously fight like we did the opposition to certain points of legislation and they were respected. We expect the same out of the
PARTIES UNITED IN CONCERN OVER GB POWER RATES By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net
FREE National Movement leader Michael Pintard says an increase in electricity rates on Grand Bahama is inconsiderate and worrisome and would only hamper efforts to strengthen the island’s economy. Grand Bahama Power Company executives have said the average residential customer on Grand Bahama will see a $3.50 increase in their monthly electricity bills after a small percent base rate adjustment was approved. The company said the rate adjustment was needed to make investments in small, utility-scale solar plants and other key infrastructure. The increase takes effect in April. Yesterday, Mr Pintard said: “I believe that the experience I am having as a member of Parliament, other members of Parliament are having the same experience on the island, being bombarded by constituents, those that own businesses or those that own homes or even apartments who believe that this is very inconsiderate and worrisome that the Grand Bahama Port Authority would approve the rate increase requested by the Grand Bahama Power Company. “While we are concerned about the viability of the power company, the reality is that we have far greater concerns for residents who are already struggling.
They’re now paying ten percent on breadbasket items, medication, have to pay VAT on construction services ahead of a hurricane season where they are seeking to rebuild and they’re coming at this particular issue from the standpoint that we’ve come through Dorian, we’re in the midst of a pandemic, where are we going to get the additional resources in order to keep our lights on, to ensure that our children can in fact plug in their devices to engage in virtual learning. “And so we are very much concerned. We heard the discussion about residents having been consulted, well first of all, the
majority of Grand Bahamians were not consulted despite the best efforts of the Grand Bahama Port Authority, the power company and secondarily, of those who were in fact consulted, the vast majority of them do not agree with this decision. And so again, this is a blow to the recovery efforts we believe in Grand Bahama. The cost of power is the single largest impediment identified by entrepreneurs against the further development of these businesses.” On Tuesday, Grand Bahama Minister Ginger Moxey said from the outset the government did not support a rate increase in Grand Bahama.
She said the government continues to call for compassionate leadership. Mr Pintard said: “We want the government to give a candid and frank explanation as to what their private discussions were with the Grand Bahama Power Company as well as the Grand Bahama Port Authority and what gave those two entities comfort that the extension which was provided…because again this was something that before was approved, however, an extension was given so what gave them comfort that in this period it was okay now to make this decision? And we’re very much interested in those discussions.”
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PAGE 4, Thursday, January 20, 2022
THE TRIBUNE
PAHO praises free testing By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net A PAN American Health Organisation official has commended the government’s free COVID-19 testing programme, saying initiatives like these are helpful in increasing access to testing. Dr Sylvain Aldighieri, an incident manager for COVID-19, was asked about the government’s free COVID testing being rolled out in the capital, which
offers rapid antigen tests to the general public. “PAHO commends the establishment of COVID19 testing programmes in countries, including in The Bahamas,” he said. “These initiatives are very helpful in increasing access to testing always, as highlighted by the authority and by my previous comments, always when tests are rationally used in symptomatic patients.” Dr Carissa Etienne, PAHO’s director, said countries are facing a
familiar challenge regarding COVID testing. The director highlighted that before COVID-19 reached the region, PAHO had been working to bolster the region’s laboratory capacity to respond to emerging pathogens. While there is a network of more than 32 labs across the Americas, she noted a high demand. “Even with a strong lab network, demand for testing is higher than ever, especially as many countries in our region are also
experiencing an active flu season. So it is critical that countries use tests smartly. We believe that the best way to scale up testing is to leverage rapid antigen tests which offer a diagnosis in minutes and not days. Rapid testing does not require specialised training or expensive equipment and they can be deployed to primary health centres where they can reach more people closer to home. “We urge countries to expand testing at the community level to relieve
the pressures on hospitals which are working overtime. Because we are facing a testing shortage, PAHO recommends that countries prioritise rapid antigen tests for individuals who are experiencing COVID symptoms and are at risk of spreading the virus. “Individuals who are asymptomatic and have been or think they have been exposed to COVID should be advised to quarantine when possible and to follow effective public health measures like social
distancing, mask wearing and avoiding large gatherings to prevent getting others sick.” She added that since the COVID-19 emergency began the agency has acquired more than 42 million PCR and rapid antigen tests for 36 countries through the PAHO Strategic Fund. PAHO has deployed 10 million PCR diagnostic tests and 2.8 million rapid diagnostic tests from its stockpile in Panama to countries in need.
PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis and Minister of Education and Technical and Vocational Training Glenys Hanna Martin during a school tour earlier this month. Photo: Racardo Thomas/Tribune Staff
IN-PERSON CLASSES T0 RESUME ON MONDAY from page one
A statement noted that there was a need for all to exercise extreme caution and adherence to the established health protocols. In addition, mask wearing and sanitisation is mandatory along with social distancing and temperature checks, the ministry said. There also will be the implementation of staggered breaks, outdoor eating and quarantine and isolation where applicable. “Information regarding the scheduling of publicschool students’ return to campus will be provided by
a variety of sources, including the (ministry’s) website, Facebook page and other media platforms,” the ministry said in a statement yesterday. “However, parents are advised to visit their child’s school’s Facebook page and any other such social media. Additionally, parents should feel free to contact their child’s school directly for specific details pertaining to the hybrid schedule, as schedules may differ from school to school. “Private schools which have met their NAECOB and/or Pre-School and Day Care Council registration requirements and have
submitted their updated COVID-19 mitigation plans, may continue to operate. Further discussions to address a variety of related issues will be held with private school operators shortly. “As students across the archipelago return to in-person learning, the (ministry) expects full cooperation from all stakeholders involved. Parents are strongly encouraged to ensure that their children adhere to all protocols and that they fully engage in all aspects of their learning on and off campus. As the return to on campus learning is highly anticipated, it is expected that all
stakeholders in education will do their part to ensure a safe and effective learning experience for all students.” The announcement should prove welcomed news for some parents who had been advocating for weeks for schools to reopen in a face-to-face setting. They had planned to demonstrate later this month for schools to reopen. Some parents were yesterday questioning how Fusion Superplex was being allowed to launch a virtual
supervision programme at its facility on Gladstone Road while schools were closed to in-person learning. One parent said: “Please explain to us how this is approved? To have a group of students sitting in a classroom with a teacher, but schools aren’t allowed to be open. “Families with money get their kids a better classroom environment while the hard-working parents suffering on with kids at home. How is this possible?
How is this fair? “This is what the MOH has been telling us what we can’t do. Please help us.” Officials had planned to reopen public schools in the second week of January with a hybrid model involving face-to-face instruction. However, in late December, Dr Darville said the resumption of face-to-face learning in public schools had been postponed by at least two weeks as officials grappled with the fourth wave of COVID-19.
THE TRIBUNE
Thursday, January 20, 2022, PAGE 5
‘Non-lethal weapons may not be effective’ By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net AS debate continues on the use of non-lethal weapons on the police force, National Security Minister Wayne Munroe suggested yesterday such tools may not be effective in violent or hostile crime situations. Mr Munroe made the comments to reporters when asked if he planned to lobby for non-lethal weapons to be used by officers. The issue was placed into the spotlight last week after police killed Leading Seaman Rodney Adderley. The Royal Bahamas Police
Force said Adderley, who was unarmed, charged at an officer and tried to disarm him before he was fatally shot. Yesterday the minister said the decision on the matter does not lie with him, but rather Police Commissioner Paul Rolle. “That’s not a matter for the Minister of National Security,” Mr Munroe said. “That’s a matter for the Commissioner of Police. If he requests non-lethal, then in the context of his overall budget, it would be advanced and that will be for them making an assessment of the value of it, the likely use of it for the public
to be very clear.” Mr Munroe said while there is no doubt such weapons are valuable, Bahamians can also not expect officers to use nonlethal tools when dealing with suspects in hostile situations. He also pointed to the country’s latest shooting incidents as an example. He said: “(Tuesday) night was an example. You have young men driving around in these cars with guns and the public cannot expect the police in the evening faced with that spectacle to come out with a non-lethal. So, non-lethals are valuable,
but I came to learn when the subject was broached that we have many many officers who were injured for want of a non-lethal in actual and physical circumstances. “So, like I said, everything is a matter of priority. If we have unlimited money, we can get the police every single thing they wish. While we don’t have unlimited resources, it will be a matter of prioritisation and every agency in the Ministry of National Security has to present a list and it has to be prioritised so that when resources become limited, you direct them to what you see to be the areas of
greatest priority.” Deputy Commissioner of Police Clayton Fernander recently said he would welcome the acquisition of non-lethal weapons for the Royal Bahamas Police Force and added the matter was on the table and up for discussion. “I welcome that, but it is still on the table for discussion. We will see how quickly we can bring that up based on what is going on out there now and the concerns from members of the public,” he said at a press conference on Monday. In 2020, Commissioner Rolle told police, customs and immigration officers
that firearms and lethal force should be used as a last resort and “only when the exercise of persuasion, advice and warning is found to be insufficient to obtain public cooperation to an extent necessary to secure observance of law or to restore order, and to use only the minimum degree of physical force which is necessary on any particular occasion for achieving a police objective.” He also revealed the RBPF was exploring less lethal weapon options like tasers and body wrap technologies to reduce incidents of fatal encounters between police and suspects.
SCHEME TO CUT DOWN ON DRUGS AT PRISON By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net
THE Bahamas Department of Correctional Services yesterday launched a pilot electronic inmate visitation programme in a move officials say will crack down on contraband and drug smuggling at the prison, among other things. The initiative, which allows inmates and visitors to meet online as opposed to face-to-face, was praised by National Security Minister Wayne Munroe and Acting Corrections Commissioner Doan Cleare. According to Mr Munroe, the running of the pilot programme will cost the government “absolutely nothing”. However, he revealed officials might consider hiring service providers to assist with the full roll-out of the system if the pilot proves to be successful. Speaking on the programme’s benefits, Mr Cleare said one positive aspect of the system was its ability to crack down on the “vexing” problem of drug and contraband smuggled into the prison.
Mr Cleare said: “One good thing I’ll say about this system is that this will immediately eliminate contraband smuggling. Just yesterday, some visitors came to the prison, and we discovered that they had three cellphones in the sole of their shoes and almost like a quarter pound of marijuana just yesterday (Tuesday) and they were immediately arrested and they should be charged this (Wednesday) afternoon by DEU. So, this in itself will eliminate contraband smuggling from visitors so that’s why this system is so important and so timely.” For his part, Mr Munroe called the initiative “long overdue”. In-person visitation at the prison was suspended in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. “For anyone who would have had to visit family in the prison would know the production you would have to go through in terms of having to be searched - which could be very invasive - and having to come into the prison compound,” the minister said. “The inmate here, you heard her talk about her child having to come to the prison so to be visited by children involves bringing your children into
the environment of the prison. This system will address much of that and in COVID, I understand there were no visits at all. The persons became concerned and so this will facilitate that and I will say it is very, very long overdue.” He also said the government is currently in talks with various stakeholders, including the financial secretary, to find proper facilities that will serve as visit centres to facilitate the programme. However, he said visitors who wish to utilise the online platform while at home will still be able to do so, but at a small price. Mr Munroe said: “Initially, you would’ve heard us talk about the expense of the call and it is anticipated that once we designate government provided visit centres, they will be absolutely free, but if you wish the convenience to stay in your home not having to go to a government centre then there will be costs associated with that in relation, I understand, to systems that will be necessary to ensure security. “To be clear, just as when I would’ve had to call clients in the US who
THE MINISTRY of National Security launched an inmate visitation pilot programme yesterday, with Minister Wayne Munroe in attendance. Photo: Donavan McIntosh/Tribune Staff this is a banner day for are satisfied, the commisare incarcerated and my sioner of BDOCS and the call was subject to being BDOCS,” he also said. As for when the pro- commissioner of police, recorded, the public should know that this will not be a gramme will be fully once they tell me that they free for all where you get to rolled out, Mr Munroe are satisfied with the pilot get secret information out was unable to say yester- and the efficacy, then we of the prison and send it day. However, he said once can look about at expandin. You will be monitored. all security concerns and ing it but both of those They will disrupt your call other issues are addressed, commissioners will have to and end it if you are not the programme will be assure me that they are satisfied with the protocols,” following the rules so with expanded. “Until two commissioners he said. all that being said, I think
PAGE 6, Thursday, January 20, 2022
THE TRIBUNE
The Tribune Limited NULLIUS ADDICTUS JURARE IN VERBA MAGISTRI “Being Bound to Swear to The Dogmas of No Master”
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Tourism market remains volatile THERE was mixed news on the tourism front yesterday – and it shows how the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy are very much still with us. The bad news came with the announcement of the closure of the British Colonial Hilton. As of February 15, the hotel will be closing its doors – and throws a spanner into plans for the redevelopment and revitalisation of the Downtown area. The work to refresh the seafront area is already under way – but now visitors will be hopping off cruise ships and making their way through the redeveloped area only to come face to face with a hotel that forms a major part of the Downtown landscape, but whose doors will be boarded up. For the Hilton, one of the major blows will have been the way in which conventions and conferences have dried up during the pandemic. The conference trade formed a big part of the hotel’s income, aiming at a business market more than the kind of family tourism trade served by the likes of Atlantis. The closure will bring the loss of up to 130 staff – 130 more people in need of jobs to support themselves and their families. By contrast, the better news came over at Atlantis, where Grammy Awardwinning musician Pharrell Williams and his business partner, David Grutman, are to take over the currently closed Beach Towers and rebrand it as a 400room property called Somewhere Else, due to open in January 2024. The celebrity link will bring some excitement along with the deal, while the approach of having different brands within the Atlantis complex mirrors the approach of Baha Mar somewhat. It’s hard to see the loss of a long-established brand with the Hilton, but the
news of the Atlantis deal shows there is still hope in the economic landscape. The economy remains volatile, with some unable to weather the storms. We’re not there yet.
Back to school The decision for children to return to school on Monday is a tough one. It is challenging to figure out how to deal with the needs of children. It has already been highlighted how many face challenges with online learning, either through struggling to get on the online platform or simply not having access at all from home. In this column, we have said we cannot have a lost generation of students – and that is what is at risk if children cannot gain access to education properly. That said, there have been thousands of new COVID cases since the turn of the year, and many children will not yet be fully vaccinated. For those under 12, they don’t even have the option of vaccination yet. Safety has to come first – not just for students, but for the teachers and staff members at school as well. The announcement that doors will open as soon as Monday feels quick – parents could likely have done with a little longer to prepare for their children’s return, and to discuss how safe they feel it is for them to be back in the classroom. We hope it is the right choice, and that children will be safe. We hope schools are thoroughly prepared and ready to keep social distancing in place. It is far from an easy choice to have made, and we hope for all concerned that it is safe enough for our children to make that journey back to school.
Barriers stop Bahamas travel EDITOR, The Tribune. WE HAVE been attempting to come to stay at our holiday property and visit Bahamian relatives for nearly two years without success. Every time we are able to travel your government has restrictions which make it impossible to comply with your draconian entry rules. Nearly two years ago just before we were to come to Nassau you closed your borders and flights were stopped from Canada. Then when things were reopened you introduced a Health Visa with impossible roadblocks to comply. We simply could not take PCR tests, wait two to three days for results, scan them to Nassau, wait for permission to travel and be on the ground in Nassau within five days
especially with very few flights operating. Then you said double vaccinated visitors could enter without PCR tests so we thought that, being fully vaccinated, we would finally be able to make the trip even though the Visa was required. Now we are told that on top of the double vaccination certificate and requiring health tests to return to Canada we must have a rapid antigen test no older than three days to enter. These tests are hard to find because of massive shortages. There is no way, even if available, to get the result, the Visa and the flight and be there in three days! Has there been any thought in the Tourism Ministry when drawing up these rules whether visitors can or are willing to go
through with all the time consuming waits in lines for tests, all the paperwork and the high costs involved with the Visa? If we did not own a property and had relatives in Nassau we would not even think of coming to The Bahamas. Others without ties are booking to other countries where it is far easier to enter. Despite all the upbeat statements from your tourism “experts” your economy, very unfortunately, will suffer until you end these unnecessary measures and return to the policies which worked for decades. For long-time visitors it is a very frustrating situation. DAVID RUSSELL JOHNSON Canada, January 15, 2022.
Social injustice for students EDITOR, The Tribune. THE Minister of Education has revealed that there are 8,000 delinquent students of the Virtual Learning Platform – who have been missing in action since the COVID-19 pandemic began. What a shameful social injustice. It’s absolutely child abuse and neglect on a wholesale scale in The Bahamas. The harvest of social instability
is staring us right in our eyes, and we appear to be foolishly indifferent about it. Our country – The Bahamas is on the sure path of a failed state – where we proudly and carelessly breed anti-social citizens – in my humble view. We seem not to care about the expanding vices in our nation, as we feel so safe and secured behind security bars and gates – with cameras keeping watch
of our respective properties 24/7. What a friggin tragedy. No one in The Bahamas is safe right now – in an environment of chronic social rot. So, we could continue to treat our future with utter social contempt. Our deserving rewards are just beginning to manifest itself. DENNIS DAMES Nassau, January 13, 2022.
Thanks for balancing Allen story EDITOR, The Tribune. THANK you for permitting my family to air its response to the story carried under the headline “Judge Cuts $66,000 from Sir William’s outstanding loans”, which gave considerable coverage to one-sided comments by Anthony Myers, a litigant against my father’s estate (Business Section, Tuesday, January 18, 2022). I would still like to point out, firstly, that the statement that Sir William Allen had “outstanding loans” to Mr Myers is a matter that is vigorously contested by my father’s estate and that has not yet been tried, much
LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net less established, by any court. In fact, the only matters so far decided by the judge in the action as between Mr Myers and my father’s estate are that, firstly, Mr Myers’ action, as filed before the court, is “frivolous, vexatious” and in breach of the Rate of Interest Act and that his attorneys are now at liberty to bring forth an amended claim against the estate. When they do, be assured it will be vigorously defended.
No finding as to any sums being owed by any party has been made. As for my own position in the litigation, please note that not only has Mr Myers’ claim against me been struck out in its entirety, but he is now obliged to pay my legal costs for having brought it in the first place. Once again, I thank The Tribune for again justifying its hard earned reputation for fairness, balance and probity by reporting both sides of a contentious issue. ANDREW ALLEN Nassau, January 19, 2022.
Is an end to cheques a good move? EDITOR, The Tribune. CENTRAL Bank, no more cheques after 2023... have they thought this through? Pre-when the majority of pay cheques were either in cash or cheques there were probably no more than 15,000 plus personal bank accounts in the whole banking system... there was absolutely no need and no need to incur bank charges, etc. For security employers went to safer IT transfer to employees bank accounts which meant the employee had to open the bank account and maintain it.... costs involved to the charge of the employee, previous system of ‘cash payment’ none. Number of bank
accounts exploded from the meagre 15,000 to over 150,000 as now everyone employed needed a bank account imposed at a cost to him, or don’t get paid. The majority of banking of these 150,000 plus accounts is an in-out action to cash in hand because the majority by far do business in cash if the Central Bank doesn’t know seems they don’t. Has the Central Bank thought of the foreign residents who are permitted to operate US$ checking accounts and have no means otherwise, except for payment and charging than Debt or Credit cards or ATMs which, except for the ones around the resorts, spit out B$ currency… have they thought about that? Recently we saw the
Banks refused till there was the outcry to even insert $20.00 bills in ATM’s but if you want $500.00 experience at that infamous bank the machine will spit out five $100.00 bills nothing less. Cheques go... so clearing goes, so will bank charges be reduced? Hell no, they will compensate somewhere. Wealth Management offices are slick on that… the client administers all the bank provides is the platform at zero reduction of high fees. Logical? Sensible? Suspicious there is an ulterior motive behind this in the banks favour? My conclusion - a loud, yes! K ALBURY Nassau, December 31, 2021.
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POLICE HUNTING FOR MISSING MEN By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net GRAND Bahama Police are searching for two missing men and are asking for the assistance of the public. Assistant Superintendent of Police Stephen Rolle said Haitian national Denel Louis, 35, of 177 Columbus Drive, Freeport, and Wilfred Gerrard McPhee, of Cecil Lane, Lewis Yard, are missing. Louis is described as being between five feet four inches to five feet, nine inches tall of average build, weighs about 180 pounds.
TWO men appeared in Magistrate’s Court yesterday on firearm charges. David Williams, 20, was accused of possession of an unlicensed firearm last December. Yesterday, the arresting officer in the case told the court that while in custody, Williams allegedly acknowledged the weapon police confiscated was his after they found it in his possession. The confiscated black Smith & Wesson .40 pistol and its magazine with 10 rounds of ammunition was also displayed in court. Both were later officially submitted into evidence with the written record of interview. Williams’ lawyer tried to
DENEL LOUIS, left, and Wilfred Gerrard McPhee. He has dark brown com- complexion and full beard. Anyone with informaplexion with brown eyes tion concerning the men’s and crew cut. McPhee is described as whereabouts are asked to five feet seven inches tall, contact Lucayan Police weighs 150 pounds, of slim Station at 373-1112 or build with dark brown 374-3713.
raise an issue with the fact that other officers, in addition to the arresting officer, were on the evidence forms, but the magistrate saw no issue with this matter as he said many officers would naturally have been involved in this case. The defence then questioned Williams’ arresting officer by asking if she had properly scanned the gun for his client’s fingerprints, She said she was unsure. She did, however, stress that crime scene investigators would have handled the matter according to proper police procedure, to which the magistrate agreed. Williams’ case was adjourned to March 8. Another man also appeared in court in connection with an unlicensed firearm charge. Stefon Sands, 24,
TWO YEARS IN JAIL FOR FIRING GUN AND FLEEING By PAVEL BAILEY A MAN was yesterday sentenced to two years in prison and fined $6,000 after he pleaded guilty to a firearm charge. Frank Curtis, 43, as well as Daxton Gibson, 31, and Jermeco Knowles, 40, appeared before Magistrate Samuel McKinney yesterday in connection with a firearm incident that is reported to have taken place on Harbour Island last year. On January 11, 2021, police responded to reports of gunshots near the Harbour Island All Age School and found the accused on a tract road near the school. When the suspects saw the police, they immediately fled the scene only for Curtis to drop the firearm during the chase. All three men were eventually caught by authorities and arrested. Both the firearm and its magazine with nine rounds of ammunition were collected at the scene
Three facing drug charges By PAVEL BAILEY
TWO ACCUSED OF FIREARM POSSESSION By PAVEL BAILEY
Thursday, January 20, 2022, PAGE 7
with the serial number erased. The men were later officially charged with being found in possession of a dangerous firearm and ammunition. In court, Curtis reversed his earlier innocent plea to guilty and apologised to the court for his continued misbehaviour. Curtis had a prior sentence of four years for an unlicensed firearm. He asked the court to be as lenient as possible in his most recent sentence. Magistrate McKinney accepted his plea and sentenced him to two years in prison starting on January 14 and a $6,000 fine for the firearm charge. Failure to pay the fine will result in an additional six months in prison. He was also sentenced to one year in prison for the ammunition charge, to be served concurrently. Gibson and Knowles were both discharged on all counts and released.
maintained his not guilty plea to his charge of possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition after being found in possession of a black Glock 9mm pistol by police on January 8. During his written record of interview, he allegedly identified the firearm in question with its magazine of seven rounds of ammunition as his own, but his arresting officer reported that he replied “no comment” during her request for an official statement on the matter. The accused agreed he was not coerced into participating in the interview and had no further questions for his arresting officer during the trial. Sands agreed to return to court later to identify the weapon. The case was adjourned to March 8.
TWO men and a woman were charged in Magistrate’s Court yesterday on two separate counts of possession of dangerous drugs. Jamaicans Christopher Williams, 55, and Nicholas Brown, 41, as well as Bahamian Cindea Miller, 24, were all charged with possession of drugs with intention to supply a reported 1.2 pounds of marijuana. Williams faced an additional charge of possession of drugs with intent to supply for a separate 1.7 pounds of marijuana. This comes after drugs were discovered in the men’s shared residence of Yamacraw Close after a police search of the property. On January 17, police went to the premises with a search warrant and upon entering the home found Williams trying to exit through the backdoor. The initial search uncovered drugs located in the bathroom toilet in vacuum sealed packages. A further search of Williams’ bedroom in the suspect’s presence later uncovered an additional cache of drugs as well as $7,030 in mixed currency scattered across the bed. Both the drugs
and money were officially confiscated by the police and all three suspects were charged and arrested. In court both Williams and Miller pleaded not guilty to the joint charges while Brown alone pleaded guilty. However, on the separate drug charge Williams pleaded guilty. As all the accused had no prior convictions, their lawyer asked Magistrate Samuel McKinney for leniency. He pointed out that Brown had previously been an upstanding citizen as the owner of a grocery store who pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity and explained how Williams was truly remorseful for his actions. The magistrate took these factors into consideration. Brown was fined $1,700 or nine months in prison and Williams was fined $1,200 or in default of payment, six months in prison. Upon payment of this fine both men would be released from custody. Miller was granted a full discharge. Another two men also appeared in court on possession of dangerous drugs with intent to supply charges. Roman Pearson, 31, of Carmen Drive faced two
drug charges after being found in possession of Indian hemp on January 17. Stephen Bain, 55, also of Carmen Drive, received a joint drug charge with Pearson. This comes after police arrested Pearson for driving his grey Honda Fit erratically and upon searching his vehicle found two and a half ounces of Indian hemp in the car. When they then searched the suspect’s home, they found another six and three quarter ounces of Indian hemp and arrested Bain who was at home at the time. During the trial, their defence lawyer highlighted that both his clients had no previous history with the police. He described Pearson as an educated IT worker at a local resort who was just trying to raise his seven-year-old son. He said Bain’s only crime was just being at the wrong place at the wrong time. The magistrate accepted both defendants’ plea of guilty. Bain was fully discharged, while Pearson was granted a conditional discharge of a fine of $700 or three months in prison. Pearson would be released after the fine is paid.
PAGE 8, Thursday, January 20, 2022 “In the short time since Omicron was discovered, the popular narrative about the variant has calcified around the idea that it is milder. That is true for individuals, and in comparison with Delta, but the variant certainly isn’t mild for unvaccinated people, for those who could develop long COVID from a supposedly ‘mild’ infection, and especially not for the healthcare system as a whole.” – Ed Yong, The Atlantic THE COVID-19 pandemic continues to test the character, tenacity and imagination of individuals and countries. Some countries are faring better, and economic officials at others worse, for a vari- the levels of the politiety of reasons. How is cal directorate and public The Bahamas faring on a service. number of fronts? The balancing of the Hospitalisations for competing needs of public COVID-19 are on the health and economic surincrease in various juris- vival and recovery is dictions, which have yet to adjudicated by cabinet, with reach their peak, including the head of government here at home. Infections playing a pivotal role on are on the rise in a number final decisions on a host of of Family Islands, which matters. means there is greater comHow we fare as a counmunity spread in these try in part depends on how areas, which have no imme- well the national leadership diate access to intensive understands the pandemic, care and other measures. their assumpHealth tions and and Wellness ‘Philosophically, theory of the Minister Dr Mr Davis seems to case on the Michael Dar- err more heavily uncertain ville notes trajectory of the new vari- on the side of the virus and ant is now fuller economic its variants, “a serious reopening. This is and their strain” on philosophithe health- evidenced by the cal leanings care system, current government on balancing including initially allowing in the public public clinhealth and ics. He also to the country the economic noted the Christmas Carnival. needs of the country. government The Prime Minister Leaders is having has been emphatic must have a difficulty way of prosecuring a about no curfews.’ ceeding, based field hospital. A physician at the Prin- on certain values and a clear cess Margaret Hospital and consistent approach to a confirmed to this columnist given public policy matter. By similar reports in the press example, at what point might that the facility is in dire a cabinet or leader bring straits, with COVID ram- a curfew into force? How pant and many health care well does the current senior workers at home in quar- leadership understand this antine. She says she expects pandemic and the history of matters to worsen over the pandemics? If there is a variant as next one to two weeks. When in Opposition, the or more lethal than Delta comments and attitude of and as or more transmismany in the PLP leadership sible than Omicron, would were troubling in terms of governments around the how poorly they seemed to world, including ours, be understand the pandemic forced into lockdowns? and their often highly par- With Omicron, many govtisan and irresponsible ernments around the world comments. Now in govern- re-imposed curfews, partial ment, they bear the brunt of lockdowns and more vaccine mandates. responsibility. Are there any circumTalking points and press stances under which the conferences will not bring Government down hospitalisations, Bahamas would require vaccine mansecure field hospitals, help the country to avoid the dates in various areas of effects of a now Level 4 public life? What about for Advisory by the US Cent- healthcare workers if there ers for Disease Control is a more pernicious and and Prevention nor supply lethal variant? At the beginning of the the long-term strategy the pandemic, with no vaccountry requires as we cines and the need to enter the third year of a quickly create a multihistorically great pandemic, faceted response, most which is going to continue governments, including for some time. the administration of Dr Hubert Minnis, focused overwhelmingly on protecting public health. In most countries during With the arrival of the pandemic there has vaccines and various therabeen an inevitable tug of peutics, there was gradual war between public health opening of the economy
BALANCE
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WISHFUL THINKING WON’T BE ENOUGH - THERE NEEDS TO BE A CLEAR STRATEGY mild about it’.” Even as the country wants to get back to greater normalcy and we are all tired of the pandemic, and as the Prime Minister and his government appear to want to focus the country’s attention away from the pandemic, magical thinking is not going to stop the punishing effects of the pandemic. Indeed, such thinking will exacerbate the pandemic’s toll on the country. An Associated Press report this past Tuesday is sobering: “The fast-moving Omicron variant may cause less severe disease on average, but COVID-19 deaths in the US are climbing and modellers forecast 50,000 to 300,000 more Americans could die by the time the wave subsides in mid-March.”
DIALOGUE
PRIME Minister Philip Davis outside the House of Assembly yesterday. Photo: Donavan McIntosh/ Tribune Staff under Dr Minnis. Despite some missteps, most people of goodwill appear to recognize the generally good job Dr Minnis, with the extraordinary advice of Dr Merceline Dahl Regis, did to protect public health. Unsurprisingly, some still drunk with personal animus and anger toward Dr Minnis, remain incapable of any or much acknowledgment of the successes of the previous government in response to the pandemic, despite even domestic and international praise. With vaccines and better therapeutics, the administration of Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis has tools at its disposal, including vaccines, which will help the country to fight the next stages of the pandemic, which will likely be with us considerably longer than most would wish.
EXPIRED VACCINES
Unfortunately, as reported in this journal yesterday, the country has now discarded Johnson
& Johnson vaccines that expired in December. This is worrying for a variety of reasons. But the main one is that with approximately 40 percent or so of Bahamians and residents fully vaccinated, we are throwing away life-saving vaccines. COVID-19 has negatively affected many leaders and governments. It appears that Mr Davis has sought to keep at arm’s length from the pandemic. He has been less aggressive than Dr Minnis in promoting vaccines. His political gamble may pay off if we are nearing the end of the pandemic phase. But, if there are more waves of the pandemic to come, and the endemic phase some time away, with more potential deaths and serious illness and more economic and social hardship and dislocation, it is through vaccines and booster shots that the country will save lives, prevent serious illness and improve our economic viability. His gamble could also fail. Philosophically, Mr Davis seems to err more heavily
on the side of fuller economic reopening. This is evidenced by the current government initially allowing in to the country the Christmas Carnival. The Prime Minister has been emphatic about no curfews. Writing in The Atlantic last week Katherine Wu warned that describing the Omicron variant as “mild” may be foolhardy: “COVID-19 doesn’t have to be medically severe to take a toll. Lekshmi Santhosh, a critical-care physician at UCSF, has seen Omicron exacerbate chronic health issues to the point where they turn fatal. ‘You could say they didn’t die of COVID,’ she told me. “‘But if they didn’t have COVID, they wouldn’t have had this issue.’ Iwasaki, of Yale, also worries about the storm of long-COVID cases, which can sprout out of infections that are initially almost symptom-free, that may soon be on the way. ‘Some of these people are bedridden, unable to return to work for months,’ she told me. ‘There is nothing
There is the need for honest and considered dialogue and discussion in the country and in the government on the way forward with the pandemic. Is the country capable of such an honest dialogue or do we prefer wishful thinking? What has the global event revealed of our national character for good and for ill? How resilient and tenacious or fragile and slack are we? Is there the imagination and political will by the current government to significantly push for vaccinations? What is the emerging strategy for long-term COVID care? What are the plans for the learning and socialisation deficit for students affected by the pandemic? What are the structural and other economic plans for our battered economy, including stabilising public finances? How we respond to the aforementioned questions will be determinative in how we fare in the months and weeks ahead to save and to protect lives and livelihoods. Much of our economy remains shuttered. We are facing high levels of inflation. Because we are a COVID-19 vaccine hesitant culture, with many comorbidities, vaccinations are essential for us to move forward. As Katherine Wu writes: “It’s worth remembering, then, that severity, or lack thereof, is not up to the virus alone. We, as hosts, dictate its damage at least as much - and that’s the side of the equation we can control. SARS-CoV-2 can’t be counted on to pull its punches, but we have the vaccines to pummel it right back. If mildness is what we’re after, that future is largely up to us.”
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Thursday, January 20, 2022, PAGE 9
Presidential prospects keep tongues wagging STATESIDE A NATIONALLY syndicated columnist was writing over the weekend about US President Joe Biden’s sagging prospects, not only for re-election but for getting much of anything done for the rest of his current term. She mentioned in particular Biden’s huge social welfare package, the Build Back Better bill. “If Biden doesn’t build himself better – and soon – he won’t have to worry because he won’t be back” after 2024, she wrote. Liberal pundits and Democratic sycophants are publicly worrying now about not only their party’s discouraging outlook but also the President’s obdurate adherence to seemingly outdated concepts of bipartisanship in American politics. Wrote one: “While Biden persists in sticking with policies that might have succeeded in 1984, with Republican President Ronald Reagan and Democratic Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill so famously cooperating with one another, that time is long gone. Mitch McConnell understands that the name of the game has been bareknuckled partisan warfare for 25 years and counting.” Others are doing what seemed unthinkable just six months ago. They are comparing Biden with Democratic President
with Charlie Harper
PRESIDENT Joe Biden in the White House yesterday. Jimmy Carter of Georgia, who entered the White House in 1977 and was then dispatched by Reagan four years later in an election that ignited the Republican momentum which persists to this day. Biden has declared he will run again for re-election in two years. There are doubters, but the fact is for American Presidents, serving only one term equals failure. If, with all the advantages that accrue to the incumbent, s/he cannot manage re-election, then their tenure is seen as weak and unconvincing. And to admit that you won’t seek
re-election makes you an immediate feckless lame duck to whose policy priorities no one should pay much attention. Look at how Donald Trump has reacted to his own failure to secure a second term. He knows his White House tenure will always be regarded as a “loser’s” presidency if he doesn’t retake the White House in the 2024 general election. Trump has certainly continued to hint at a renewed bid to return to Washington as President. He hasn’t formally declared his intentions yet, but he certainly relishes his strong grip on
HOME TOWN FAVOURITES THE NFL has a name for virtually everything. Each play-off round now has a distinctive name, as though this confers a special status. Last weekend was the Wild Card Round, with one additional team from each conference participating like last year and allowing the teams in each conference with the best regular season record to rest for the first play-off weekend. We picked five of the six winners in the Wild Card Round, including homestanding Tampa Bay, Los Angeles Rams, Kansas City and Buffalo, plus visiting San Francisco. None of those games was especially suspenseful on a weekend that has often seen some significant upsets. Our miss was on the Las Vegas Raiders, who disappointed as visitors to Cincinnati. That game was marred by some questionable refereeing, to the extent that the crew
officiating the game will not work any additional playoff games this year. As was the case last week, every one of the home teams in this weekend’s “Divisional Round” is favoured. This makes sense because they have better records this year, but also because the Divisional Round has generally seen fewer upsets than the first play-off round – or, in some years, later rounds. On Saturday, Tennessee is favoured by 3.5 points over visiting Cincinnati. The top-seeded Titans get star running back Derrick Henry back after several weeks away and this, coupled with dominant defensive line play, should enable Tennessee to advance. Much is being discussed about the distinguished history of play-off games between Green Bay and the San Francisco 49ers, who will play the late game on
Saturday. There have indeed been some classics, both recently and decades ago, as both franchises have gaudy play-off histories of postseason success. The top-seeded Packers are favoured by six points, and while they may not win by that much, they should prevail and advance to next weekend’s conference semi-finals. Maybe it will snow. The Packers’ green and gold uniforms always look good against a white snowy background. Sunday’s games should both be very good. The Rams visit the defending league champion Buccaneers in Tampa, where seven-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Tom Brady leads the hosts. No matter whether he wears the uniform of the Patriots or the Bucs, this man wins. If his offensive line holds up, Brady should pick apart the Rams’ sometimes wobbly secondary
the support of Republican voters and the obeisance of elected GOP officials and office-seekers. There are some Republican office holders who don’t publicly subscribe to the “Big Lie” that an eight million vote defeat was somehow stolen by a sinister collection of fantasy deepstate conspirators. Chris Christie, who won a couple of terms as a Republican governor in deep blue New Jersey and opposed Trump in the 2016 primaries before unsuccessfully seeking a cabinet job under Trump, is one. Christie, whose successful prosecution of the father of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner when Christie served as New Jersey Attorney General was likely one of the big reasons he didn’t get a job in Trump’s cabinet, has said: “We can no longer talk about the past and the past elections. No matter where you stand on that issue, it is over. And every minute that we spend talking about 2020, we’re wasting time doing that.
We’d better focus on recapturing the House and Senate and take our eyes off the rearview mirror and start looking through the windshield again.” he added. To his credit, Christie said that shortly after the November 2020 election, and he has stuck to his position. Once in a while, there are further cracks in the solid wall of support Republican still offer to Trump. Last week, South Dakota senator Mike Rounds said “the election was fair, as fair as we have seen. We simply did not win the election, as Republicans, for the presidency,” Rounds told ABC News. Trump responded by calling Rounds a “jerk” and “ineffective” and vowed “never” to endorse Rounds for re-election. Rounds is not up for re-election for another four years. But there’s another threat on the horizon for the former President, and this one might be more menacing. There are now reports that Trump is quite angry with his one-time protegee, current Florida governor Ron DeSantis. Whether there’s any fire behind the smoke currently being blown by liberal pundits is unknown, but there are some signs that these two, currently Nos. One and Two in pre-season polls for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, may be
increasingly impatient with each other. A news report over the weekend speculated there may be some substance to rumours that Trump is sore that DeSantis has not ruled out running for President in two years, even if Trump himself runs again. This story is gift-wrapped for the “mainstream” liberal press, since it potentially weakens both Republicans. According to numerous reports, there is a growing gap between Trump and DeSantis over the COVID-related shutdowns Trump initially ordered in the spring of 2020. Trump, ever focused on his role in the success or failure of others, is reportedly grousing to friends that DeSantis “would be nothing without me”. There is truth in that, as previously little-known DeSantis’ successful run for Florida governor was boosted tremendously by Trump’s endorsement. The tantalising narrative continues with the alleged involvement of Senate GOP leader McConnell in stimulating this schism in order to bring Trump down and ensure the Republicans recapture the Senate later this year. McConnell, who clearly despises Trump, reportedly feels the former President is at fault for the loss of GOP control of the Senate one year ago.
Caves Village and prevail once again. The Bucs are three-point picks. The late Sunday game also offers the prospect of dauntingly cold and possibly snowy weather as the Buffalo Bills visit the defending conference champion Chiefs in Kansas City. The Bills are very fashionable favourites to defy the two-point edge awarded by Las Vegas sports books to the Chiefs and win the game outright. It says here that won’t happen. Kansas City is hitting its stride, and the Chiefs are very tough to beat at home. Their established star quarterback Patrick Mahomes should outshine the Bills’ relative upstart Josh Allen.
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A leading Accounting firm is seeking suitably qualified professionals to join its Audit and Assurance team as
Audit Juniors and Audit Seniors
The successful Audit Junior candidate must be a recent graduate with a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from a recognized university. The qualified candidate must possess the ability to meet tight deadlines, perform engagements with minimal supervision and have excellent communication skills. Successful Audit Senior applicants should possess a minimum of two (2) years post qualifying experience and qualifications. Applicant must be a graduate of an accredited University (concentration in accounting), or a CPA, CA, ACCA. Preference will be given to applicants who have experience completing audits using audit software. The applicants must also have the ability to work in a team-based environment and possess analytical skills. All candidates should possess strong communication skills in English; the ability to work under pressure, meet reporting deadlines, and work in a challenging environment will be favorably considered. Suitably qualified professionals should email their resumes (please place desired position in the subject line) to the following address:
cpconsulting2005@gmail.com by Wednesday, January 26th, 2022
PAGE 10, Thursday, January 20, 2022
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Is seeking to fill a vacancy in our
I.T. DEPARTMENT NASSAU OFFICE
We are looking for a driven and self-motivated individual with knowledge and experience working as an I.T. Support Specialist or in a similar capacity. Requirements for a suitable candidate include: • • • • • •
Minimum 2 years of experience working in an I.T. occupation A Bachelor’s or Associate’s Degree related to I.T. preferred A+ certification and/or other I.T. related certifications Experience with SQL databases Experience working with MS Windows 7/10 operating systems Ability to communicate effectively and provide help-desk / end-user support
Interested persons should email their resume to:
hr@imbbah.com
CUBA LIBRE WINNERS LAND MAJOR PRIZES GARY CHRISTIE, director of Cuba Libre Bahamas, giving the keys to the winners of Cuba Libre’s 2021 Jingle All The Way promotional event on January 7/22. Quinn McCartney was the lucky winner of the 2022 Honda 450 RL Trail Bike and Pemrae Walker was the winner of a brand new 2019 Hyundai i110 car, out of ten finalists. The other eight all walked away with a 55” Smart TV in their hands.
THE TRIBUNE
Thursday, January 20, 2022, PAGE 11
IN this photo provided by the New Zealand Defense Force, volcanic ash covers roof tops and vegetation in an area of Tonga on Monday.
Photo: Cpl Vanessa Parker/NZDF via AP
Three of Tonga’s islands badly damaged by tsunami SYDNEY Associated Press THREE of Tonga’s smaller islands suffered serious damage from tsunami waves, officials and the Red Cross said yesterday, as a wider picture begins to emerge of the destruction caused by the eruption of an undersea volcano near the Pacific archipelago nation. UN humanitarian officials report that about 84,000 people — more than 80 percent of Tonga’s population — have been impacted by the volcano’s eruption, UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said, pointing to three deaths, injuries, loss of homes, and polluted water. Communications have been down throughout Tonga since the eruption on Saturday, but a ship made it to the outlying islands of Nomuka, Mango and Fonoifua on Wednesday, and reported back that few homes remain standing after settlements were hit with 15m-high waves, said Katie Greenwood, the head of delegation in the Pacific for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, which had two people aboard the vessel to help assess the damage.
THIS satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows an overview of Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai volcano in Tonga on December 24. Photo: 2022 Maxar Technologies/AP “Very unfortunate information has come to light overnight about the three islands that we were really worried about — that they have all suffered devastating consequences as an effect of these incoming waves,” she told The Associated Press in an interview from Fiji. “Most of the structures and dwellings on those islands have been completely destroyed.” The UN’s Dujarric said “all houses have apparently been destroyed on the island of Mango and
only two houses remain on Fonoifua island, with extensive damage reported on Nomuka.” He said evacuations are under way for people from the islands. He said the most pressing humanitarian needs are safe water, food and non-food items, and top priorities are re-establishing communication services including for international calls and the internet. “The clean-up of the international airport continues, and it is hoped that it will be operational on
Thursday,” Dujarric said. As for the port, it is understood that ships will be able to dock on the main island of Tongatapu. Tonga has not yet made clear its needs from the international community, and complicating matters is the country’s concern over the possible spread of COVID-19, which it has effectively kept outside its borders except for one case reported in a traveler from New Zealand in October. Tonga is hoping for “almost contactless disaster
relief” as a precaution, the Red Cross’ Greenwood said, acknowledging that this would complicate efforts but is also understandable amid the pandemic. “They really don’t want to exchange one disaster for another,” she said. Some 60 percent of Tonga’s 106,000 people have already received two doses of a COVID vaccine, and nearly 70 percent have received at least one dose, according to Our World in Data. In anticipation of the country’s needs, New Zealand has already sent two ships. One is carrying 66,000 gallons of water and a desalination plant with the capacity to produce 18,492 gallons per day, and another is bringing a survey and diving team to help assess the damage to shipping channels, ports and wharf infrastructure. They’re expected to take three to four days to arrive, though one estimate was that they could be there as early as tomorrow, said Peeni Henare, New Zealand’s defence minister. “We don’t know what the shipping lanes look like, and so we want to, of course, proceed with a bit of
caution as we get closer to the Tongan islands,” he said. New Zealand Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta said the teams en route would also be available to help if needed with the evacuation of the approximately 150 people who live on the devastated outlying islands. “We stand ready to assist where it is useful to the government of Tonga, and where they are satisfied with COVID protocols,” she said. Australia is also preparing to send aid by air and ship, and Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he expected to talk with his counterpart in Tonga later Wednesday to better understand what is needed. “Our defence forces have stood up their operation and are deploying as necessary and directed,” he said. “So we feel deeply for our family in Tonga.” The volcano coated the main island with a 2cm layer of ash, which has rendered the 1.6-mile runway at Fua’amotu International Airport unusable. Volunteers have been working to sweep ash away to clear a path for aid planes to land, but the UN said Wednesday that ash continued to fall.
BIDEN SAYS PUTIN WILL PAY ‘DEAR PRICE’ IF HE INVADES UKRAINE WASHINGTON Associated Press PRESIDENT Joe Biden said he believes Vladimir Putin doesn’t want full blown war in Ukraine and would pay a “dear price” if he moves forward with a military incursion. Biden, speaking at a news conference to mark his oneyear anniversary in office, also said he believes that Russia is preparing to take action on Ukraine, though he doesn’t think the Russian
president has made a final decision. He suggested that he would limit Russia’s access to the international banking system if it did further invade Ukraine. “I’m not so sure that he is certain what is he going to do,” Biden said. He added, “My guess is he will move in.” Biden’s comments came hours after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a visit to Kyiv accused Russia of planning to reinforce the
more than 100,000 troops it has deployed along the Ukrainian border and suggested that number could double “on relatively short order.” Blinken did not elaborate, but Russia has sent an unspecified number of troops from the country’s far east to its ally Belarus, which also shares a border with Ukraine, for major war games next month. The US president said he believes the decision will “solely” be Putin’s
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and suggested he was not fully confident that Russian officials with whom top White House advisers have been negotiating are fully informed about Putin’s thinking. “There’s a question of whether the people they’re talking to know what he’s going to do,” Biden said. Biden also suggested a “minor incursion” would elicit a lesser response than a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, saying “it’s very important that we
keep everyone in NATO on the same page.” Biden later in the news conference sought to clarify that he was referring to a nonmilitary action, such as a cyberattack, that would be met with a similar reciprocal response. Ukraine, meanwhile, said it was prepared for the worst and would survive whatever difficulties come its way. The president urged the country not to panic. Blinken’s visit to the
Ukrainian capital came two days before he is to meet in Geneva with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. That follows a series of inconclusive talks last week that failed to ease rising tensions. Russian military activity has been increasing in recent weeks, but the US has not concluded whether Putin plans to invade or whether the show of force is intended to squeeze the security concessions without an actual conflict.
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SPORTS PAGE 14
THURSDAY, JANUARY 20, 2022
Klay Thompson cans 21 as fans roar in delight
GOLDEN State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) is congratulated by guard Stephen Curry (30) after Thompson scored against the Detroit Pistons during the first half of an NBA basketball game in San Francisco on Tuesday night. Thompson found his shooting stroke and Warriors fans roared at every chance. Just like the old days. Thompson had 21 points, reigning scoring champ Stephen Curry added 18 and Golden State returned from a tough trip to beat the Detroit Pistons 102-86. SEE THE FULL STORY ON PAGE 17 (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn)
McPhee-McCuin, Page 19
MCCOY AND BASTIAN STAND OUT IN NCAA DIVISION II BASKETBALL By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net BAHAMIAN student athletes continue to have a major impact on their respective programmes in NCAA Division II basketball. Malachi McCoy produced a season-high scoring effort for the Benedict Tigers and Lathaniel Bastian recorded his sixth double double of the season for the Angelo State Rams. Both teams split their respective weekend series. McCoy’s career night was a 23-point, eight rebound performance in an 86-77 win over Albany State. He shot 9-11 from the field as the Benedict returned to the win column. The Tigers rebounded after a loss to Morehouse on January 15 to snap their 10-game losing streak. McCoy finished with eight points and five rebounds in the loss. The junior forward is averaging 10.9 points and a team-leading 8.9 rebounds per game. Angelo State concluded the weekend with a Lone Star Conference loss to Dallas Baptist, 82-69. Bastian was one of the few bright spots with 17 points and 10 rebounds. With the loss, the Rams move to 11-4 overall on the season and 1-2 in conference play. Bastian began the weekend with eight points and eight rebounds in a 75-73 win over Midwestern State. In his sophomore campaign, the 6’8” forward is averaging 12.1 points and 8.1 rebounds per game.
COLEBY SET FOR UNITED ARAB EMIRATES NATIONAL BASKETBALL LEAGUE By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net DWIGHT Coleby joined his third club of the 202122 season while several other Bahamian frontcourt players had season high performances for their respective clubs. Coleby, the 6’10” veteran forward, has signed with Al Sharjah of the United Arab Emirates National Basketball League. The 10-team league was formed in 2013 and Sharjah won the title in 2020. Coleby previously spent time with Cholet Basket of the JEEP Elite Pro A League in France, the top tiered basketball league in France. He originally
intended to join Anwil Wloclawek of the Polish Basketball League (PLK) for this season but a failed medical led to the contract being voided. The 6’ 10” forward/centre spent last season with Merkezefendi Belediyesi Denizli of the Turkish Basketball First League (TBL), his second stint in the country. In a history-making milestone season for the club, Coleby averaged 12.8 points, 10.1 rebounds per game and was named Eurobasket.com all TBL Honourable Mention and Player of the Week twice. Denzeli was also granted promotion to the ING Turkish Basketball Super League, the top division in the country.
DWIGHT Coleby in action. Coleby has been a member of various Bahamian national teams at both the junior and senior levels. Tavario Miller and his Minas Belo Horizonte of Brazil’s Novo Basquete Brasil (NBB) recorded a double double in his team’s two-game win streak. He finished with a season high 17 points and 15 rebounds in a 91-84 win over Pinheiros to improve to 13-3, ranked third in the league.
After their seven-game win streak came to an end with a 91-87 loss to Sao Paulo, Miller finished with 12 points on 4-4 field goal shooting and a season high 17 rebounds in a 76-64 win over Bauru. Miller is in his first season with Minas and is averaging 10.6 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. In the FIBA Champions League Americas, Miller is averaging 12.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Shaquillo Fritz scored a season high 10 points and six rebounds off the bench in Marbella’s 77-72 win over Navarra in Spain’s LEB Silver League. It was just the third win for Marbella this season as they improved to 3-11.
In seven games with the club this far, Fritz has averaged 2.3 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. Fritz previously spent time this season with Zamora Enamora. He finished with eight rebounds and two blocked shots in his season debut, a 85-60 win over Carbajosa. The 6’8” forward spent last season with two LEB Silver Clubs - Venterro CBV Villarrobledo where he averaged 3.6 points and 3.7 rebounds per game in 11 contests and Hozono Global Jairis where he averaged 4.3 points and 3.3 rebounds per game through 10 contests. In France’s NM1 League, Willis Mackey has emerged as the leading scorer for
Mulhouse Basket Agglomeration and has been vital to a four-game win streak. In 14 games, the third year forward is averaging 12.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game on 68 percent shooting from the field and 50 percent from three-point range. In their last outing, Mackey scored a team high 13 points to lead his club to a 72-65 win over Kayserberg to improve to 13-4, No.2 in Group B. Mackey spent last season with JSA Bordeaux Métropole Basket as the team struggled to a 7-19 record, 13th place in Group A. In 16 games he averaged 13.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.1 steals per game.
WNBA MVP JONQUEL JONES DESIGNATED AS CORE PLAYER By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net THE Connecticut Sun have placed the core tag on reigning WNBA MVP Jonquel Jones, weeks ahead of what is expected to be a busy 2022 free agency period. According to the league, “The Core designation gives that team exclusive negotiating rights with the player.” Teams were officially able to begin negotiations with players on January 15, but deals cannot be finalised until February 1. WNBA teams are allowed to assign one unrestricted free agent as a core player. The unrestricted status is revoked and is offered a one-year supermax deal, however, a long term contract can be negotiated if both parties see fit.
The player also has the right to veto any trade prior to signing a new contract. Jones is one of five former MVPs in this year’s free agent class and seven of the 10 players from last season’s All-WNBA teams. The 2022 free agent class is also highlighted by Breanna Stewart (Seattle Storm), A’Ja Wilson (Las Vegas Aces), Liz Cambage (Las Vegas Aces), Sylvia Fowles (Minnesota Lynx), Kahleah Copper (Chicago Sky), Jewell Lloyd (Seattle Storm) and Courtney Vandersloot (Chicago Sky). In her fifth WNBA season, Jones received 48 of 49 first-place votes and 487 total points from a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters to win the league’s MVP. She was unanimously selected to the 2021 AllWNBA First Team. It was the first time Jones received
JONQUEL JONES First Team honours. She was previously named to the Second Team twice. She averaged 19.4 points, 11.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.26 blocked shots, and 1.26 steals in 31.7 minutes in 27 games. The 6’ 6” forward led the WNBA in rebounding and defensive rebounding (8.7 per game) and ranked fourth in scoring and 10th in blocks. Her efficiency
rating of 25.4 was second only to Griner. She also reached the 2,000-point plateau for her career. Behind Jones, the Sun posted the highest winning percentage in franchise history (.813) and finished the regular season with 14 consecutive victories for the fourth-longest winning streak in WNBA history. Connecticut also earned the league’s best record (26-6) and the No. 1 seed in the 2021 WNBA Playoffs. Jones, 27, won the WNBA Peak Performer Award as the league’s top rebounder for the third time in five seasons. She also led the WNBA in rebounding in 2017 and 2019. She scored at least 20 points in 12 of 27 games, including a career-high 31 points vs the New York Liberty on June 5 and again at Washington on August 31. She also grabbed a
career-best 17 rebounds at New York on July 11. Jones finished the season with 18 double-doubles (points-rebounds). She was also named the WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month
for May, August and September. In a season of milestones, Jones was also named to the WNBA All-Defensive First Team, the Associated Press Player of the Year and AP First-Team Honours.
THE TRIBUNE
Thursday, January 20, 2022, PAGE 15
Osaka, Barty advance toward Australian Open showdown By JOHN PYE AP Sports Writer MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — For the first set, Naomi Osaka’s rediscovered love of the game meant it was anything but fun for Madison Brengle in the second round of the Australian Open. The defending champion conceded only four points in the first four games yesterday and rifled forehand winners seemingly at will as she breezed to 6-0 in a mere 20 minutes. The second set started with Brengle celebrating a service hold like she’d finished a long-distance race, but gradually the No. 54-ranked American’s keep-the-ball-in-play strategy ground down Osaka to a stage where she finally converted a break-point opportunity — after missing her first nine chances. That triggered a change in the former No. 1-ranked Osaka, who responded by breaking back immediately and reeling off the last nine points to complete a 6-0, 6-4 victory. She finished with 37 winners and 32 unforced errors. Osaka will next face Amanda Anisimova, a 20-year-old American who beat Olympic gold medallist Belinda Bencic 6-2, 7-5. The winner of that is likely to face top-ranked Ash Barty in the fourth round. Osaka won the Australian Open last year, her fourth Grand Slam title,
NAOMI OSAKA, of Japan, plays a forehand return to Madison Brengle of the U.S. yesterday.
ASH BARTY, of Australia, reacts as she is interviewed after defeating Lucia Bronzetti of Italy yesterday.
RAFAEL NADAL, of Spain, celebrates after defeating Yannick Hanfmann of Germany in their second ALEXANDER ZVEREV, of Germany, serves to John Millman of Australia during their second round match yesterday. (AP Photos/Andy Brownbill) round match yesterday.
but then withdrew from the French Open and skipped Wimbledon as she took a break for her mental health. She then was ousted early at the US Open. After a long off-season to reset, she’s unbeaten in five matches in Australia this year. Asked how she rated her form, Osaka said that’s not how she’s approaching things. “Honestly I’m trying not to do that,” she said in an on-court TV interview. “I’m a bit of a perfectionist. If I compare myself with the past, I’ll never be satisfied. “The goal for me is just to have fun ... (and) I think we’re accomplishing that.” Since the draw for the first major of the year was made, a big focus has been on a potential encounter between Osaka and Barty, the 2021 Wimbledon and 2019 French Open champion who is aiming to be the first Australian woman since 1978 to win her home championship.
Barty was front and centre when the tournament celebrated its inaugural First Nations Day, albeit only for 52 minutes as she beat 142ndranked qualifier Lucia Bronzetti 6-1, 6-1. “It was nice for me to be a part of it in a way that I feel most comfortable,” Barty, who has Indigenous heritage, said of the day dedicated to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people of Australia. “Out on the tennis court is how I express myself as an athlete, it’s how I’m able to express myself as a person as well. “On a day we’re bringing cultures together, bringing people together ... it was great for me to be able to play a small role doing what I love.” Rafael Nadal didn’t get it all his own way in the subsequent match on Rod Laver Arena, needing five match points before beating 126th-ranked German
qualifier Yannick Hanfmann 6-2, 6-3, 6-4. The sixth-seeded Nadal, aiming for a men’s record 21st Grand Slam singles title, had two match points on Hanfmann’s serve and two more on his own before finally clinching a spot in the third round when his rival sent a forehand long. Nadal converted four of his 16 break-point chances, including one of eight in the third set, but only faced two break points on his own serve and fended them both off. For the 35-year-old Nadal, after fatigue, injuries and illness curtailed his 2021 season following the French Open, time on court is more important than anything. “I said here before the tournament started, things are not going to be perfect, but every day that I’m going to spend on court, the chances to play better are higher,” he said. “After two matches is the moment to
make a step forward. I’m excited about it.” Nadal shares the men’s record of 20 singles titles with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, and he doesn’t have either of them in the draw this time. Federer is skipping the Australian Open while he continues his recovery from injury. Djokovic, a nine-time champion at Melbourne Park, was deported after an 11-day saga that he ultimately lost because he didn’t meet Australia’s strict COVID-19 vaccination regulations. Miomir Kecmanovic, who was originally drawn to meet Djokovic in the first round, advanced to the third with a 7-6 (7), 7-5, 7-6 (8) win over Tommy Paul. Olympic gold medallist Alexander Zverev, Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini, No. 17 Gael Monfils and No. 23 Reilly Opelka advanced in straight sets.
In two marathon fivesetters, No. 14 Denis Shapovalov held off Kwon Soon-woo 7-6 (6), 6-7 (3), 6-7 (6), 7-5, 6-2 in 4 hours, 25 minutes on Margaret Court Arena, and Sebastian Korda edged Corentin Moutet 3-6, 6-4, 6-7 (2), 7-5, 7-6 (6) in 4:47. In the women’s draw, French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova set up a third-round match against No. 26 Jelena Ostapenko, advancing along with No. 5 Maria Sakkari, No. 8 Paula Badosa and No. 15 Elina Svitolina, who next plays two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka. Svitolina was leading 6-3, 5-7, 5-1 when Harmony Tan retired with a left leg injury, and waited on court until Tan was removed in a wheelchair. “It’s always horrible when any athlete gets injured in competition,” Svitolina said. “It’s tough to see a player going out like this.”
KORDA SISTERS BOTH FEEL LIKE DEFENDING CHAMPS AS LPGA BEGINS By JEFF BABINEAU Associated Press ORLANDO, Florida (AP) — The 2022 LPGA season gets underway today with a new sponsor, a new venue, significant purse increases and most of the stars who put a big spark into 2021. The Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions at Lake Nona also starts with one question: Which Korda sister feels like the defending champion? Jessica Korda won the Tournament of Champions last year when it was held 20 minutes west of town at Tranquilo Golf Course. She shot 60 in the third round and wound up beating Danielle Kang in a playoff for her first victory since 2018.
The next week, younger sister Nelly Korda won at Lake Nona to capture the Gainbridge LPGA (which moves back to South Florida next week). Jessica Korda said she hasn’t had the opportunity to defend several of her six LPGA titles on the same golf course a year later. She is used to transition. At least for now, she’ll gladly place Nelly on the hot seat. “I told my sister she’s defending this week,” 28-year-old Jessica said yesterday, laughing at the thought. “I was like, ‘This is where you won.’ I think I played fine here last time (tie for 31st), so hopefully with kind of my learning experience from then, I can do something with it this week. “It’s the first week of the
year. First tournament of the year,” she said. “It’s kind of a free-for-all, so we’ll see.” The season opener is a 29-player field of LPGA winners from the past three seasons, competing alongside 50 entertainers and athletes from other sports who will vie for their own separate purse of $500,000. Also playing this week is Michelle Wie West, the former US Women’s Open champion. Wie West last won in 2018 but did not play in this tournament last January because she was on maternity leave. She was invited to play this week and is making her first start since the KPMG PGA Championship in June. Attracting a big part of the attention are the Korda sisters.
Their parents, Petr and Regina Korda, were tennis professionals, not golf pros, but still imparted some wise words on the subject of competition. One lesson they taught their golf-playing daughters was this: When you have a great season, enjoy it. Appreciate it. And surely both daughters had seasons to savor in 2021. Nelly Korda, 23, won four LPGA titles, among them her first major championship. On the hot June afternoon in Atlanta when she won the Women’s PGA Championship, she also rose to No. 1 in the world, fulfilling two dreams on the same day. For good measure, she added an Olympic gold medal in Japan. She did just about everything but garner player-of-the-year honours,
a points-based award that came down to the final round of the year. Jin Young Ko won the CME Group Tour Championship and was LPGA player of the year. Ko, No. 2 in the women’s world ranking, is not competing this week. Nelly Korda has held down the No. 1 spot in women’s golf for 28 weeks, longer than any American woman had done previously. “It’s super special,” she said. “Obviously, that’s a very big goal that I can kind of check off my list as a professional golfer. I’m hungrier for more, but in a sense of just focusing on that No. 1 spot, I’m not too focused on that. I mean, rankings come and go. ... But to have it for just a little feels really good.”
The field features six of the top 10 players in the world, and the purse was bumped 25 percent to $1.5 million. Several LPGA events have announced purse increases for 2022, the biggest being the US Women’s Open, which nearly doubled its purse from $5.5 million to $10 million. The LPGA will play for more than $90 million this season. Annika Sorenstam, an LPGA Hall of Famer and Lake Nona member, is part of the celebrity field this week. A year ago at Lake Nona, when it was the Gainbridge LPGA, she played her first LPGA event in 13 years and made the cut at age 50. Tennis player Mardy Fish will defend his title, seeking his fourth Tournament of Champions title.
Improving defence propels LA Rams onward to Tampa Bay By GREG BEACHAM AP Sports Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Matthew Stafford was nearly flawless in his first career playoff victory. Odell Beckham Jr made huge plays as a receiver and as a passer in his own first postseason win. Yet the Los Angeles Rams (13-5) are headed to Tampa Bay on Sunday to play for a spot in the NFC championship game because their defence came up with a playoff performance that suggests this up-and-down team can hang with anybody. Aaron Donald, Jalen Ramsey and their defensive teammates held Kyler Murray and the Cardinals to 183 total yards and didn’t allow them to convert a third down in the Rams’ 34-11 victory over Arizona in the wild-card round. Sean McVay said it was his defence’s best performance of the season — and he knows the Rams might need something comparable to hang in against the defending Super Bowl champion Buccaneers. “Being able to hold a really explosive offence like that, to be able to get a defensive touchdown and a couple of turnovers,
just so pleased with those guys,” McVay said. “We’ve got a great challenge going against Tom Brady next week.” After an inconsistent start to the season that was all but inevitable, given the roster upheaval around AllPros Donald and Ramsey, the Rams’ growth on defence has been steady down the stretch — aside from their latest team-wide embarrassing performance against the 49ers in the regular-season finale, that is. After losing four starters from the league’s No. 1-ranked defence in the offseason and trying to replace them entirely from within, Los Angeles has gradually found ways to be effective in new coordinator Raheem Morris’ versions of Brandon Staley’s overall scheme. The Rams also got reinforcements with midseason acquisition Von Miller, who looks increasingly dangerous with each week in his new defence, and even safety Eric Weddle, who ended his two-year retirement and played 19 snaps against Arizona. “I think we’re just jelling at the right time,” said Miller, who had six tackles and a key sack in the former Broncos star’s first playoff appearance in six
LOS Angeles Rams wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr (3) celebrates with quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) during the first half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Arizona Cardinals in Inglewood, Calif., on Monday night. (AP Photo/Mark J Terrill) years. “We’ve been doing the same thing since I got here, and it just feels like it’s working.” WHAT’S WORKING With Cam Akers and Sony Michel both healthy, the Rams ran the ball 38 times for 140 yards. Those aren’t eye-popping numbers, but they’re just right for a team that looks much better on offence with a steady ground game. With two backs providing change-of-pace runs, these Rams evoked memories of the 2018-19 Super Bowl team that had a similar
approach with Todd Gurley and C.J. Anderson. Akers’ near-miraculous return from a torn Achilles tendon five months ago was punctuated by this performance with 95 all-purpose yards and plenty of punishing runs. WHAT NEEDS HELP If the Rams hadn’t dropped three of his passes, Stafford would have gone 16 of 17 against the Cardinals. Akers, Cooper Kupp and Tyler Higbee all made mistakes that prevented a modest statistical night from being much bigger.
So did three Rams holding penalties that wiped out 55 combined yards of offence. STOCK UP One day after the Rams’ shutdown defensive performance, Morris reportedly was asked to interview for the Minnesota Vikings’ head coaching job. Morris is a two-time NFL head coach who has made the most of a potentially tough situation created by the front office’s financial inability to immediately add veteran talent to a depleted defence. While the defence’s overall numbers are down, Morris’ resourcefulness and leadership inspire rave reviews from his players and fellow coaches. STOCK DOWN Well, nobody is actually down on Kupp after he matched his season low with five catches against Arizona. His 61 yards receiving were his fewest in the past 20 games, and he failed to top 90 yards for only the second time this season — but that’s partly because the Rams largely used their unanimous AllPro receiver as a decoy in the first half. Kupp will continue to be the Rams’ most important playmaker. INJURED Left tackle Andrew Whitworth is undergoing
evaluation on his right ankle and knee, McVay said. His availability for this week is uncertain, but Joseph Noteboom played well in his place. ... Cornerback David Long hurt his knee after his interception return TD, but the injury “looks like it’s going to be OK,” McVay said. ... Rookie LB Ernest Jones and RB Darrell Henderson both have a chance to return from lengthy injury absences this week, but DT Sebastian Joseph-Day and rookie CB Robert Rochell are unlikely to do so. KEY NUMBER 4 — McVay’s total playoff victories with the Rams, already tying John Robinson for the most in this 86-year-old franchise’s history. Robinson ran the Rams for nine seasons, and McVay is finishing up only his fifth season in charge. He turns 36 on Monday. NEXT STEPS Beating the Buccaneers will require another standout defensive game. McVay hopes starting safety Taylor Rapp will be out of the concussion protocol, but pressure will be vital to slowing Brady — and that’s exactly why the Rams added Miller to an already robust pass rush led by Donald and Leonard Floyd.
PAGE 16, Thursday, January 20, 2022
THE TRIBUNE
No surprise this time as Egypt into last 16 at African Cup YAOUNDE, Cameroon (AP) — Egypt qualified for the knockout stage at the African Cup of Nations yesterday and put a stop for now to the run of surprise results that has shaken the tournament over the last few days. Egypt saw off Sudan 1-0 in their final Group D game in Yaounde, confirming its place in the round of 16 after qualifying second in the group behind Nigeria. Defender Mohamed Abdelmonem headed home a corner on 35 minutes after a period of sustained pressure from Egypt. Nigeria won 2-0 against Guinea-Bissau in the other group game having already qualified for the last 16 as group winner. Nigeria had second-half goals by Umar Sadiq and William Troost-Ekong and is the only team to come through the group stage with three wins. The goals delighted interim coach Augustine Eguavoen, who jumped off the bench and threw his arms in the air. Eguavoen is due to give up the coaching duties after the African Cup but there might just be calls for the former African Cupwinning captain to stay if Nigeria keeps winning with him as coach. Egypt would no doubt have had nerves jangling after seeing the fate of some of its fellow former champions in Cameroon. Defending champion Algeria was beaten 1-0 by Equatorial Guinea on Sunday in a result that seemed certain to be the shock of the tournament until four-time winner Ghana’s jaw-dropping elimination at the hands of
tournament debutant and tiny island nation Comoros on Tuesday. Egypt had underwhelmed in its start in Cameroon, losing to Nigeria and then only scraping past Guinea-Bissau in its second group game, thanks to Mohamed Salah’s goal and a brilliant late equaliser by Guinea-Bissau being contentiously disallowed. Egypt still isn’t in top gear but there were better signs against Sudan. Mostafa Mohamed and Abdallah Said were both denied by Sudan goalkeeper Mohamed Mustafa in the first half. Salah showed some of his best skill this tournament as he weaved past defenders and let off a low shot that was saved by Ali Abu Eshrein, who came on in place of Mustafa. Salah also set up Amr el-Solia in front of goal. ElSolia blazed his shot over. The game is something of a derby because the two countries are neighbours. But they are not close on recent achievements. Egypt is a record seventime African Cup winner, while Sudan won the title in 1970 but has gone past the group stage just once in the 52 years since then. There was a scare for Egypt — and Liverpool — when Salah went down clutching his leg after Sudan defender Mazin Mohamedein crunched into him with his studs raised in a tackle. Egypt’s captain got up and finished the game, though. The two results yesterday also meant Cape Verde and Malawi qualified as the first two of four best thirdplace teams. It’s the first time Malawi has reached
EGYPT’S MOHAMED ABDEL-MONEIM, middle, jumps as he celebrates with teammates after scoring his team’s first goal, during the African Cup of Nations 2022 group D soccer match between Egypt and Sudan at the Ahmadou Ahidjo stadium in Yaounde, Cameroon, yesterday.
EGYPT’S MOHAMED SALAH, left, is challenged by Sudan’s Mustapha Abdelgader Karshoum, middle, and Mazin Mohamedein. (AP Photos/Themba Hadebe) the knockouts at the Afri- defence of its title. As performance” at the Afrifor Ghana, the country’s can Cup. can Cup. Ghana, once a World The final two groups will Ministry of Sports has sumbe decided today, when moned the Ghana Football Cup quarterfinalist, failed leadership to win a game in Cameroon Algeria, bottom of Group Association E, needs to win against for an emergency meet- for its worst return in 59 Ivory Coast to avoid early ing on Friday over what it years of playing at the Afrielimination and a feeble called the team’s “abysmal can Cup.
TOTTENHAM STAGES LATEST-EVER COMEBACK TO WIN AN EPL GAME By STEVE DOUGLAS AP Sports Writer TOTTENHAM staged the latest-ever comeback to win a Premier League game yesterday. Manchester United’s second-half turnaround was quite the surprise, too. On a dramatic night in England’s top flight, Tottenham was losing to Leicester after 94 minutes and 52 seconds. Within two minutes, Steven Bergwijn had scored two goals to seal a 3-2 win pretty much out of nowhere. As an extra reward for Tottenham, the victory took the team above fierce rival Arsenal and into fifth place in the league — only one point off the Champions League positions with games in hand. “My team showed they don’t want to give up and until the end we have to fight,” said Tottenham manager Antonio Conte, whose unbeaten league record at the London club was preserved. The previous latest comeback came in arguably the Premier League’s most famous game, when Manchester City scored in the 92nd and 94th minutes to beat Queens Park Rangers 3-2 and clinch the title in May 2012. As for Man United, Ralf Rangnick’s under-pressure team put in a wretched firsthalf display at Brentford and was lucky to be 0-0 at halftime, only for Anthony Elanga — with his first Premier League goal — Mason Greenwood and Marcus Rashford to score after the break in a 3-1 win. Ivan Toney pulled a late goal back for Brentford. United stayed seventh but is one point behind Tottenham having played two games more.
Aubameyang having tests after early return from African Cup LONDON (AP) — Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has returned to London and is undergoing medical tests as Arsenal looks for “clarity” after he was diagnosed with heart lesions during his recovery from the coronavirus at the African Cup of Nations, manager Mikel Arteta said yesterday. Aubameyang was released by Gabon’s national team after being diagnosed with “cardiac lesions” in tests conducted by Confederation of African Football medical officials, who were checking on his condition after he tested positive for
COVID-19. “We haven’t had any clarity from the Gabon national team about the reasons why he came back,” Arteta said. “It’s our obligation to make sure, medically, the player is safe, in a good condition and there are not any issues related to that. Because historically everything we have done with the player, he has never had that issue.” While the African federation announced Aubameyang and teammate Mario Lemina had heart lesions, Gabon coach Patrice Neveu said neither player had serious heart problems but rather they
ARSENAL’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang applauds fans during the English Premier League soccer match against Crystal Palace at the Emirates stadium in London October 18, 2021. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
were suffering from some aftereffects of COVID. They tested positive for the virus at an airport in Cameroon on their arrival for the African Cup, forcing them to miss Gabon’s first game while in isolation. They also missed the team’s second game after CAF’s medical commission advised that they shouldn’t play following the tests. Aubameyang was stripped of the Arsenal captaincy last month for disciplinary reasons. He was also left out of some matches before being allowed to join up early with Gabon’s squad ahead of the African Cup.
POSTPONEMENTS FARCE SEES EPL EXPLORE TIGHTENING OF RULES By ROB HARRIS AP Global Soccer Writer WHEN Arsenal this week sent Pablo Mari away on loan and released Sead Kolasinac, trimming the squad looked perplexing for a club already struggling to muster a team to play. Folarin Balogun and Ainsley Maitland-Niles had only just been loaned out when Arsenal told the Premier League it lacked enough players to host Tottenham last Sunday. Calling off a game wasn’t unusual for England’s top division. Applying coronavirus regulations has seen 22 postponements since last month as the spread of the omicron variant has depleted squads and shut training facilities. But when the request to postpone the north London derby against Tottenham went to the league on Friday, Arsenal had only one declared coronavirus case in the squad. Instead,
with five players at the African Cup of Nations and injury absentees, Arsenal successfully convinced the league to call off its game against Tottenham in a stretching of the pandemic policies not intended for this scenario. “The decision to postpone the game was very, very strange,” Tottenham manager Antonio Conte said, with a few days to reflect on his frustration. “We have a big problem to solve and it’s COVID, but only about this situation can you decide to postpone, not for other situations. “Honestly, it’s my first time in my life — and I’ve had a bit of experience in football — to see postponed games because of injuries.” Regulations state a game must go ahead if a club has 13 fit outfield players plus a goalkeeper. But confusion over the application of the rules has created a growing sense
of farce. The league hasn’t said why Arsenal wasn’t told to promote less experienced contracted players into the first team, with the under-23s playing on Friday night. Nor has the league addressed if Arsenal missing Granit Xhaka was a factor in the postponement after he was suspended following his sending off against Liverpool in the League Cup. But the exasperation within rival clubs at how games are being called off has led to the league deciding to speak to them about changing the criteria. The league, which needs 14 of the 20 clubs to approve altering regulations, said coronavirus cases dropping across clubs for three consecutive weeks sparked the consultation. “The league’s current guidance was amended in December following the emergence of the new Omicron variant,” the
league said in a statement on Wednesday, “and we continue to monitor the ongoing effects of the virus and will update our guidance accordingly.” At least the Premier League doesn’t make teams go through the spectacle -as endured in Italy’s Serie A -- of making them turn up to the stadium with no opposition to face. But the raft of postponements has created a distorted league standings in England. Leader Manchester City has played 22 games and last-place Burnley has only contested 17 of the 38 fixtures after Tuesday’s rescheduled game against Watford was postponed again. Burnley manager Sean Dyche said he had 10 outfield players able to train at the time but didn’t talk about promoting younger players. Bayern Munich was made by the Bundesliga to
play Borussia Mönchengladbach earlier this month after the winter break, despite having a substitutes’ bench featuring no players with previous playing time in the league. Bayern lost 2-1 but is still now six points clear. Leading the charge for changes to the current rules in England is Aston Villa chief executive Christian Purslow who believes they are “no longer fit for purpose” and wants urgent action. “They were wellintentioned at the time,” Purslow told The Times of London, “but to have a situation where clubs are applying for games to be postponed with just one or two positive COVID cases was never the intention of the rules.” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta bristles at any suggestion the club exploited the regulations to delay playing Tottenham until it has a stronger squad fit and
available. Arteta reflects on how the season started with three successive losses, with Arsenal playing despite coronavirus-enforced absences. “When other teams were postponing matches, we were killed and told don’t be naïve because if you have that many players out don’t play with your kids,” Arteta said yesterday. “Now we postpone the match for all the right reasons, believe me, and we get this reaction but I think it is normal.” Arsenal hasn’t played since drawing 0-0 with Liverpool last Thursday in the League Cup. The Gunners are due to return to action today in the home leg of the semifinal that was postponed two weeks ago due to Liverpool’s coronavirus outbreak. “We will not let anybody damage our name or try to lie about things,” Arteta said.
THE TRIBUNE
Thursday, January 20, 2022, PAGE 17
GOLDEN State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) celebrates after making a 3-point basket against the Detroit Pistons during the first half of an NBA basketball game in San Francisco on Tuesday, January 18, 2022. TOP right inset - Klay Thompson (11) shoots over Detroit Pistons guard Josh Jackson.
Splash Brothers Curry and Thompson lead Warriors past Pistons By JANIE MCCAULEY AP Sports Writer SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Klay Thompson found his shooting stroke and Warriors fans roared at every chance. Just like the old days. Thompson had 21 points, reigning scoring champ Stephen Curry added 18 and Golden State returned from a tough trip to beat the Detroit Pistons 102-86 on Tuesday night. “I had a great time tonight, wish I made a couple more shots, but I just had a great time, it was fun,” said Thompson, who knows he will continue to regain his rhythm in time. “I don’t care if I miss 100 shots in a row, I’m never going to stop shooting the ball. I love it too much and I work too hard not to.” Curry, back after a onegame absence, shot 6 for 11 with four 3-pointers and added eight assists. He fell on his right hand during a win at Chicago on Friday, then missed Sunday’s 119-99 loss at Minnesota.
“It happens fast,” teammate Andrew Wiggins said of the Splash Brothers dominating. “They heat up fast. When they do it’s damn near impossible to stop.” Wiggins scored 19 points for a Warriors team happy to be home for an extended stretch after having lost five of seven, including three of four on the road. Thompson — cheered by the Chase Center crowd every time he subbed back into the game — missed his initial two shots before connecting from deep in his second home game since returning from two devastating injuries and surgeries that cost him more than 2 1/2 years. “It was great. That was probably his best stretch of however many games he’s played,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “It was good to see him get hot and hear the crowd behind him.” Golden State made six of its first nine 3-pointers to build a 33-22 lead after the opening quarter.
“Once they started seeing shots go in from the 3-point line, they started to get going,” Detroit’s Isaiah Stewart said. Stewart had 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Pistons in another lopsided defeat after a 135-108 home loss to the Phoenix Suns on Sunday. Detroit reserve Rodney McGruder scored a seasonhigh 19 points with four 3-pointers. MISSING DRAYMOND Draymond Green sat out for a fifth straight game with a left calf injury caused by a hurt disk in his lower back. The Warriors are being cautious with the doeverything veteran. “They are doing plenty of rehab and he is making improvements every day,” Kerr said. “We’ll re-evaluate in two weeks.” Rookie forward Jonathan Kuminga earned a starting nod in Green’s place and finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds. He will stay in the starting five for now, Kerr said.
Kuminga, at 19 years and 104 days, became the second-youngest Warriors player to have a doubledouble behind Andris Biedrins at 18 years, 352 days on March 20, 2005, at Sacramento, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. “JK’s coming along really well,” Kerr said. ROLE MODEL Gary Payton II, who has overcome his own challenge with dyslexia, greeted and hosted youth and their families supported by the grassroots group Decoding Dyslexia California. Before his warmup routine, Payton high-fived the kids, posed for photos and offered words of encouragement. TIP-INS Pistons: Former Warriors analytics expert Sammy Gelfand, now with the Pistons, caught up with his old colleagues and chatted on the bench with Golden State assistant Bruce Fraser. ... Detroit was averaging 15.5 forced turnovers per game, including 8.2 steals, but the Warriors had 13 turnovers. ... All four of
GOLDEN State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) shoots against Detroit Pistons centre Isaiah Stewart (28) during the first half in San Francisco Tuesday night. (AP Photos/Jed Jacobsohn) Detroit’s losses since New Year’s Day had been by at least 27 points. The Pistons pulled within 20 to begin the fourth after falling behind by as many as 34. Warriors: Kevon Looney’s eight first-quarter rebounds matched his career best for any period, and he wound up with 10 boards — his third straight game with double-digit rebounds to
match a career-high streak also done from May 6-10 last year. ... Veteran G/F Andre Iguodala sat out as a precaution with a left hip injury. ... Golden State is 9-0 at home vs. the Eastern Conference and 19-3 overall at Chase Center. UP NEXT Warriors: Host the Indiana Pacers tonight to continue a seven-game stretch at home.
NBA Prospect Watch: Hukporti polishing his game Down Under By KEN MAGUIRE AP Sports Writer ARIEL Hukporti was used to playing a leading role on his teams in Germany and Lithuania. The NBA hopeful has learned to be more of a contributor after joining Melbourne United in the National Basketball League. The 19-year-old, 7-foot German centre got a call from Melbourne within days of withdrawing from the 2021 NBA draft. He was told to polish his game Down Under for a season as part of the league’s “Next Stars” programme, whose alumni include first-round picks LaMelo Ball, R.J. Hampton and Josh Giddey. “I didn’t know anything about Australia,” Hukporti told The Associated Press. But the MVP of the 2020 Basketball Without Borders camp was intent on growing his game and learning. The big left-hander comes off the bench for defending champion Melbourne, playing behind former Baylor centre Jo Lual-Acuil on a squad that
includes former NBA guard Matthew Dellavedova and Chris Goulding, who had an offseason tryout with the Golden State Warriors. It’s a big difference from last season in Lithuania where he was a starter on a young team disrupted by coaching changes. In Melbourne, he’s still rebounding, protecting the rim, running the floor and finishing with authority, but he’s not forcing shots the way he did in Lithuania. His 2-point shooting has improved from 45.7 percent last season to 54.3 percent. Hukporti took a couple of games to adjust before turning in efficient performances like his 11 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks — and 2 turnovers — in an 83-60 win over New Zealand on December 19. “When he approaches a game and has fun and really enjoys his basketball, he plays his best,” Melbourne coach Dean Vickerman said. “Sometimes we have to lighten up things with him and let him be free.” Whether scouts see him as a big who can knock
ARIEL HUKPORTI, of Germany, participates in the NBA Draft Combine at the Wintrust Arena on June 22, 2021, in Chicago. Ariel Hukporti is an athletic 7-foot centre for Melbourne United in Australia. He’s been on NBA teams’ radars since winning MVP of the 2020 Basketball Without Borders camp. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast) down the occasional 3-pointer is an open question. He shot 27.7 percent from behind the arc last
season; he’s attempted none in Australia. “It’s not like I’m hesitating, it’s sometimes I see
a better look,” he said. “I’m making space for other guys, I’m not a selfish player. Of course, as a 19-year-old prospect, you want to get to the (NBA). I’m just focused on how I can help the team. When I can help the team out, it’s going to help me in the future as well.” SIZE: 7-foot, 250 pounds. STATS: 5.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.1 blocks, 54.3% FG, 69% FT. STRENGTHS: Athleticism, rebounding, rim protection, pick-and-roll lob threat, scoring in the post. ESPN college basketball analyst Fran Fraschilla said Hukporti “has been on NBA teams’ radars for a while now. Because of his age, unique size at 7-0 and athleticism, Hukporti will be watched closely playing in a league that is suddenly generating NBA talent. He is currently a role player on a veteran team, so his growth both on and off the court will monitored closely.” WEAKNESSES: Foul and turnover prone. Averaging 1.6 turnovers per game. Foul trouble will
cost him minutes, currently at 14.8 per game. Staying down on pump fakes will improve his defence. Needs to extend his range. Fraschilla said conditioning has been a minor concern in the past. DRAFT PROJECTION: Second round in some mock drafts. Other prospects around the NBL: G HUGO BESSON, NZ BREAKERS: Instant offence. The 6-foot-5 French combo guard is averaging 15 points per game and shooting 33% on 3-point attempts. The 20-year-old is a super confident, though streaky shooter. Creates his own shots and can get to the rim. F OUSMANE DIENG, NZ BREAKERS: Young talent. At 6-foot-10, the 18-year-old Dieng arrived to the NBL with a lot of buzz but the slightly built Frenchman has had a tough transition, in part because he’s not in a playmaking role. He’s shooting just 13 percent from 3-point range but there’s plenty of potential.
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VIRUS, INJURIES, STANDINGS ALL FACTOR IN NBA TRADE DEADLINE By PAT GRAHAM AP Sports Writer LEBRON James issued an apology on social media to Laker Nation after a recent blowout loss. With it, a promise: “... we’ll be better!” James and the Lakers are currently in a position where they would compete in a play-in tournament following the end of the regular season. Not ideal, of course. Really, though, the mantra for any team this season should be just get in — any way possible. Given the array of injuries to big-name players and the hour-by-hour uncertainty due to the virus, being healthy heading into the playoffs is more of a priority this season than usual. That’s a major reason why the impending trade deadline on February 10 could be quite a dilemma for general managers. Because the standings really may not give an accurate reflection of where a team stands. Imagine these scenarios: Jamal Murray re-joining reigning MVP Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets in time for a postseason
run. Or Victor Oladipo in Miami, if he continues to progress from the leg surgery that has kept him out for almost a full year. Or perhaps, the Los Angeles Clippers getting back Kawhi Leonard. Consider the impact of Anthony Davis returning to the Lakers lineup. Any or all of that likely alters the landscape. So while occasionally glancing at the NBA standings — like Nuggets coach Michael Malone will do — don’t overthink it. “We’ve had injuries. We’ve had COVID. But again, we’re not saying, ‘Woe is me,’” Malone said. “Because this is our reality and you have to deal with it.” Klay Thompson recently returned following his twoplus-year absence from the Golden State lineup, not to mention Kyrie Irving finally being able to make his season debut for Brooklyn after a months-long standoff sparked by his vaccination status. Now, the Nets are expected to be without Kevin Durant for an undetermined timeframe due to a sprained medial collateral ligament (MCL) .
LAKERS forward LeBron James, left, and Brooklyn Nets’ Kyrie Irving (11) in action. (AP Photos) One thing recent postsea- even Michael Porter Jr.? — son runs have shown is that or Leonard back and ready peaking at the right time is to go. at least as important if not “One day at a time is more than seeding during really a mantra that we that time. Last year’s con- have to live by,” Malone ference finals featured the said. No. 2 and No. 4 seeds in Malone and his staff the West, plus the No. 3 and recently discussed how this No. 5 seeds in the East. The season just might be even season before that, a No. more challenging than the 5 seed in Miami made the two before. NBA Finals. In 2018, James Granted, the bubble playtook fourth-seeded Cleve- offs were difficult with the land to the title series. long isolation. So even if teams like And last season was a the Nuggets or the Clip- challenge in navigating all pers might not have their the protocols. desired seed come playoff But this season — which time, it’s certain either of reached the halfway point those teams would happily — may be next-level comexchange a chance to open plex and filled with more a series at home for having uncertainty. About the stars like Murray — maybe time a team finds some
consistency or rhythm, a key player(s) — or coach(es) — enters the league’s health and safety protocols. The Clippers remain another team currently in a play-in spot in the West. A return of Paul George and possibly Leonard could be the boost they need to return to the conference finals. Or they might just become sellers at the trade deadline. In Portland, Blazers first-year coach Chauncey Billups has had quite an initiation. He’s dealt with big injury after big injury, including dynamic guards Damian Lillard (surgery to treat an abdominal injury) and CJ McCollum (collapsed lung). “This year has been unbelievable,” said Billups, who saw McCollum return in Monday’s win over Orlando as the Blazers remain 10th in the West. “It’s just been crazy. ... But it’s making me a better coach.” Inevitably, there will be frustration, like after the Lakers lost 133-96 to the Nuggets over the weekend. Lakers great and Hall of Famer Magic Johnson
sounded off on social media: “... we as (at)Lakers fans can accept being outplayed but we deserve more than a lack of effort and no sense of urgency. Owner (at)JeanieBuss, you deserve better.” Guard Russell Westbrook was asked about Johnson’s assessment in what’s been a Lakers season littered with injuries, including Davis being sidelined since mid-December due to a sprained ligament in his left knee. “Everybody’s entitled in this world to their opinion, regardless of what that is,” Westbrook said, adding that Johnson is not around the team every day. “He’s not aware of kind of what’s going on internally with us and trying to figure things out.” The Lakers are not alone in navigating their next steps. “It’s like a crap shoot every single night,” Billups said. “Everybody is dealing with this stuff. Every team. If it’s not COVID, then it’s injuries. I mean everybody.” Bottom line for fans and teams alike: Just hang on and hang in.
Embiid scores 50 points in 27 minutes, Sixers beat Magic PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Joel Embiid tied his career high with 50 points in just 27 minutes, leading a dominant third quarter that carried the Philadelphia 76ers to a 123-110 victory over the Orlando Magic last night. Embiid also had 12 rebounds and three blocks while making 17 of 23 field goals and 15 of 17 free throws. The four-time AllStar and MVP candidate played 58 seconds of the fourth quarter. Tobias Harris added 21 points for the 76ers, who have won nine of 11. Mo Bamba set career highs with 32 points and seven 3-pointers for Orlando. The rebuilding Magic dropped to an NBA-worst 8-38 with their 13th defeat in the last 14 games. NETS 119, WIZARDS 118 WASHINGTON (AP) -- Kyrie Irving scored 22 of his 30 points in the first half, and Brooklyn held off Washington when Kyle Kuzma and Spencer Dinwiddie missed 3-pointers in the final seconds. Washington trailed by as many as 16 points, but a 3-pointer by Kuzma cut the
lead to one with 36 seconds left. That set the stage for a wild finish. A blocked shot by Montrezl Harrell gave Washington the ball with a chance to win. The Wizards didn’t call a timeout, and Kuzma and Dinwiddie both missed. LaMarcus Aldridge added 27 points for the Nets, and Harden had 18. Brooklyn won for only the fifth time in its last 12 games. Bradley Beal led the Wizards with 23 points. MAVERICKS 102, RAPTORS 98 DALLAS (AP) — Luka Doncic scored a seasonhigh 41 points, including a clutch 3-pointer with 1:01 to play, and tied a season best with 14 rebounds as surging Dallas held off Toronto. Kristaps Porzingis had 18 points and seven rebounds to help Dallas win its fourth straight and 10th in 11 games. Tim Hardaway Jr scored 16 off the bench for the Mavericks, who host NBAbest Phoenix tonight. Pascal Siakam scored 20 points for the Raptors, who have lost four of five following a six-game winning streak. Toronto had six
PHILADELPHIA 76ers’ Joel Embiid reacts during an NBA basketball game against the Orlando Magic in Philadelphia yesterday. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum) double-figure scorers while using only seven players. BUCKS 126, GRIZZLIES 114 MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo had 33 points and 15 rebounds, and Khris Middleton scored 27 to lead Milwaukee past shorthanded Memphis. Memphis, which had won 12 of 13, was without two of its leading scorers in Dillon Brooks and Desmond Bane. Ja Morant had 33 points and Jaren Jackson Jr scored 29 for Memphis in the opener of a four-game road swing.
Morant capped a sevenpoint run with a drive down the lane to pull the Grizzlies to 114-111 with 2:32 left, but George Hill hit two free throws and Antetokounmpo scored six straight to make it 122-111. Hill and Bobby Portis each had 14 points for Milwaukee, which had dropped six of eight. HORNETS 111, CELTICS 102 BOSTON (AP) — LaMelo Ball had 15 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists to lead Charlotte past Boston. Terry Rozier led Charlotte with 28 points, Miles Bridges scored 22 and Kelly Oubre Jr added 18 for the Hornets, who won for the ninth time in 12 games. Dennis Schröder paced Boston with 24 points. Jaylen Brown scored 21 and Al Horford had 13 points and 10 rebounds. Boston star Jayson Tatum was hampered by foul trouble and finished with just 12 points on 5-of-19 shooting in 35 minutes. The Celtics had won five of six. BULLS 117, CAVALIERS 104 CHICAGO (AP) — DeMar DeRozan scored 30 points, Nikola Vucevic added 24 points and 12 rebounds, and struggling Chicago closed out Cleveland with a 14-2 run. The Bulls steadied themselves after losing a season-high four straight and falling into a first-place tie with Miami in the Eastern Conference. Ayo Dosunmu nailed a 3-pointer for Chicago with just over four minutes remaining to start the decisive rally. Vucevic hit two 3s and a layup during that stretch, helping Chicago stop Cleveland’s season-high, five-game win streak. Dosunmu scored 18 points. Coby White added 16 points and four steals.
Lauri Markkanen led Cleveland with 28 points in his first game in Chicago and second against the Bulls since a sign-and-trade deal in August. Darius Garland had 20 points and 12 assists for the Cavs, and Evan Mobley added 18 points. HEAT 104, TRAIL BLAZERS 92 MIAMI (AP) — Caleb Martin scored 26 points, Bam Adebayo added 20 points and 11 rebounds, and short-handed Miami beat Portland. Max Strus scored 15 points for Miami, including a 3-pointer with 2:01 remaining that put the Heat up 10. Dewayne Dedmon scored 12 for the Heat, who started the game without Kyle Lowry and Tyler Herro — then lost Jimmy Butler to a first-half ejection. Lowry missed the game for personal reasons. Herro entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols yesterday. Anfernee Simons scored 27 points, CJ McCollum scored 24 and Jusuf Nurkic finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds for Portland. Robert Covington added 11 points and 12 rebounds. HAWKS 134, TIMBERWOLVES 122 ATLANTA (AP) — Trae Young scored 23 of his 37 points in the third quarter, sparking Atlanta’s comeback against Minnesota. Led by Young, who had 14 assists, the Hawks opened the second half with a 20-2 run after the Timberwolves led 73-61 at halftime. Minnesota’s biggest lead was 16 points in the first quarter. De’Andre Hunter had 22 points for Atlanta. D’Angelo Russell led Minnesota with 31 points. Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards drew two technical fouls and was ejected with 5:57 remaining in the
third quarter. Edwards thought he had been fouled on a drive to the basket and continued to argue his case following his first technical. SPURS 118, THUNDER 96 SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Dejounte Murray had 23 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds, and San Antonio made 15 3-pointers as it rolled past Oklahoma City. It was Murray’s eighth triple-double of the season and 12th of his career. Doug McDermott scored 20 points and Devin Vassell had 19 for San Antonio. Jakob Poeltl added 13 points and matched a season high with four blocked shots. Aaron Wiggins scored 19 points, Lu Dort had 15 and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 13 for Oklahoma City. The Thunder have lost three straight and eight of nine. ROCKETS 116, JAZZ 111 SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Garrison Mathews scored 23 points, including five 3-pointers, to send the Houston Rockets to a 116111 victory over the Utah Jazz last night. Jae’sean Tate chipped in with 18 points and Eric Gordon scored 16. Kevin Porter Jr had 15 points and eight assists, while Christian Wood added 13 points and 16 rebounds. The Rockets won for the third time in four games after shooting 22 of 45 from 3-point range. Bojan Bogdanovic scored 29 points to lead Utah. Rudy Gobert had 23 points and nine rebounds. Jordan Clarkson finished with 19 points and Mike Conley added 17. The Jazz lost their third straight home game and are 1-6 in their last seven overall despite outscoring Houston 62-36 in the paint. Houston went 7 of 12 from 3-point range during the first quarter to carve out a 36-27 lead.
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Thursday, January 20, 2022, PAGE 19
MISSISSIPPI head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin sketches out a play for her team during a timeout against Tennessee January 9. (AP Photo/Rogelio V Solis)
McPhee-McCuin and Ole Miss Rebels back in win column By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net YOLETT McPheeMcCuin’s Ole Miss Rebels have rebounded from their lone Southeastern Conference loss of the season with a pair of dominant performances, including a milestone win over an instate rival. The Rebels scored an 86-56 win over the Alabama Crimson Tide and an 86-71 win over the Mississippi State Bulldogs to conclude a three-game homestand. The January 16 win over Mississippi State was the first win for Ole Miss in the rivalry since 2014. Ole Miss improved to 15-2, 3-1 in the SEC. The programme is off to its best start in SEC play in seven seasons. “Its been a long time coming. Long time. But if you ever need motivation on having a dream, putting in the work, keeping your head down and becoming a believer, you can just look at Ole Miss women’s basketball,” McPhee-McCuin said. “Really happy for our programme, really happy for anybody that has been a part of it. It means a lot to Mississippians and I’ve learned that it means a lot to me. “I think we showed who the best programme in the state is right now and that’s us. We plan to do that again when we go to Starkville,” said McPheeMcCuin. “It means a lot to the community. Every year I’ve been here we beat a ranked team and it wasn’t enough. People wanted to know when we would win this game. I’ve not been stressed for any game so far this season but I was stressed for this one. It’s almost as if nothing matters if you don’t get this game. Obviously that’s not true but that’s how it felt sometimes.” The Rebels’ 13-game win streak ended on January 9 with a 70-58 loss to the No.7 ranked Tennessee Volunteers.
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MISSISSIPPI head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin. Following the loss, Ole Miss responded with one of their most lopsided wins of the season, 86-56 over the Alabama Crimson Tide on January 13. The Rebels turned an eight-point lead into a 30-point margin of victory. Ole Miss finished 9-22, 3-13 in the SEC in her first season at the helm. She followed with a 7-23 record in year two, winless in the SEC at 0-16 and 15-12 last season, 4-10 in the SEC. While the programme has already equalled its win total last year, McPheeMcCuin said the ultimate goal is not just a return to respectability, but a berth to the NCAA Tournament. “I kept saying, ‘You guys, we have to look like an NCAA Tournament team. It’s not about Alabama… By that time, usually, I already know after the first half, like, if we can win this game. So, now, I’m coaching, I felt comfortable like we could win the game. So now I was coaching towards where we’re trying to go,” she said. “I just remember two years ago, us losing, and playing a player-manager and a walk-on and having that in the game, just trying to stay afloat. People don’t remember those days, but I do. To see where we’ve come as a programme, it really gives me a sense of pride. I’m so focused on where we’re trying to go this season, I have to remember how far we’ve come, so that I could stay in the moment and be appreciative of these moments.” Ole Miss travels to face the Texas A and M Aggies in College Station, Texas tonight at 7pm.
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