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Volume: 121 No.45, January 26, 2024

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BLAIR DEATH PROBE ‘WAS NOT DEFICIENT’ Police officer defends two-paragraph report into fatal shooting

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net THE officer who led the investigation into the 2019 Blair Estates policeinvolved killing of three men denied yesterday that his investigation was deficient after lawyers noted that his report was only two paragraphs long.

Tony Jamal “Foolish” Penn Smith, Valentino “T-Boy” Pratt and Trevor “Coopz” Cooper were killed on Commonwealth Avenue in the early morning of May 17, 2019, one of the deadliest single cases of a police-involved shooting.

Assistant Superintendent of Police Durie Smith told SEE PAGE FOUR

EVICTION NOTICES PLACED ON 95 SHANTY STRUCTURES IN ABACO

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune News Editor rrolle@tribunemedia.net EVICTION notices were posted on 95 structures in an unregulated community in Abaco on Wednesday as the government ramps up efforts to eliminate shanty towns on that island.

Residents there have 28 days to leave, according to

Feeling the rhythm

Buildings Control Officer Craig Delancy.

He said the notices were posted in an area called the Gully on SC Bootle Highway.

More eviction notices were expected to be posted in Abaco yesterday.

The move into Abaco comes after structures SEE PAGE THREE

A BOY from CW Sawyer Primary School beats a drum at the Junior Junkanoo Parade on Bay Street last night. See PAGE TWO for pictures.

Photo: Dante Carrer

Witness faints in court after HOTEL UNION Adrian Gibson trial testimony PROTESTS IN

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net A WITNESS in Adrian Gibson’s criminal trial fainted in court after testifying yesterday, prompting court employees to call the

ambulance.

Mynez Cargill-Sherman, a senior manager at the Water and Sewerage Corporation (WSC), shocked the courtroom when she fainted in the witness box shortly after Justice Cheryl Grant-Thompson cautioned

her not to discuss her evidence with anyone before the next hearing.

When Justice GrantThompson advised her to leave the stand, Mrs Cargill-Sherman did not. The SEE PAGE FOUR

ATTORNEY General Ryan Pinder said his view that the Bail Act does not need to be amended is not at odds with the Davis administration’s move to amend the law.

The amendment, revealed by Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis

AG RYAN PINDER on Wednesday, would ensure bail is automatically

By JADE RUSSELL Tribune Staf Reporter jrussell@tribunemedia.net

revoked for people who violate their bail conditions.

However, after an event marking the Opening of the Legal Year nearly two weeks ago, Mr Pinder told reporters the Bail Act does not need to be amended.

“There’s adequate protection and adequate ability for the judiciary to deny bail in certain instances,” he

BAHAMAS Hotel Catering and Allied Workers Union’s (BHCAWU) president Darrin Woods said union members who receive tips are tired of fighting for a pay increase, declaring: “Enough is enough.”

His comment came as union members staged a protest at the Sidney Poitier Bridge. Mr Woods said negotiations with The Bahamas Hotel and Restaurant Employers

SEE PAGE FIVE

SEE PAGE THREE

AG SAYS HE IS NOT AT ODDS WITH PM ON BAIL ACT

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

WAGE FIGHT WITH ATLANTIS

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

PAGE 2, Friday, January 26, 2024

THE TRIBUNE

Junior Junkanoo hits Bay Street

JUNIOR Junkanoo took to Bay Street last night with schools from across the country competing for top prize. See Mondays Tribune for results and more pictures.

Photos: Dante Carrer

Eviction notices placed on 95 shanty structures in Abaco THE TRIBUNE

Friday, January 26, 2024, PAGE 3

WORKS Minister Clay Sweeting and a delegation toured the Gaza shanty town, in Abaco Wednesday, to address the issue of unregulated structures, and post eviction notices.

Photo: Ministry of Works

from page one were demolished in the Kool Acres and All Saints Way shanty towns in New Providence.

“We would just like to admonish those in the unregulated areas to make their way out, prepare

to leave before we come so that you would have more time to get out and get established in a regulated community area because we know a lot of the houses were built without any approval and they are on Crown land without permission,” Mr Delancy

said.

Although successive administrations have pledged to eradicate shanty towns, their efforts were often stymied in court.

Last year, in a longawaited ruling, Supreme Court Justice Cheryl

Hotel union protests in wage fight with Atlantis

PRESIDENT of the Bahamas Hotel Catering and Allied Workers Union (BHCAWU) Darren Woods speaks to supporters at the Sidney Poitier Bridge where members of the BHCAWU staged a protest yesterday.

Photo: Dante Carrer from page one Association for employees in the tipping category to get a salary increase were going poorly, promoting the protest.

“We found out that the association wants to discriminate against the tipping category persons in terms of not wanting to give them an increase,” he said. “We are in the contract negotiations, where we have negotiated a percentage across the board.

But they’re saying their position is because they would have received the minimum wage last year, they’re not prepared to give them an increase this year.”

Mr Woods noted that his union is fighting for all members to receive a pay increase, saying no category of employees should be disenfranchised.

He said more than 5,000 employees have been

affected by the association’s failure to give a pay increase.

“We are here now, where our people have said enough is enough,” he said. “We’ve been compromising with them over time trying to get this agreement done. Every time they look, they want to take something away from them, and so they are no longer going to stand for them to continue taking stuff away from them.”

Russell Miller, president of The Bahamas Hotel and Restaurant Employers Association, said he was surprised by the BHCAWU’s protest. He said the association and the union already agreed to all of the financial conditions in the contract.

“Given that we were in the final stages of completing these negotiations with the Bahamas Hotel Catering and

Allied Workers Union “BHCAWU,” we are surprised and disappointed by the statements made

by BHCAWU’s president, Darrin Woods,” Mr Russell said in a statement.

“Both sides had already agreed to all financial and non-financial terms and conditions in the new agreement, and we were in the process of vetting and binding documents for signature.”

“This unexpected, eleventh-hour impasse is incredibly unfair to our bargaining unit team members, who have worked without an agreement since 2013 due to the union’s failure to put a new contract forward. We have continued to honour and operate under the terms of the expired agreement without fail. We will not allow today to derail our commitment to finalising a new agreement as soon as possible.”

Grant-Thompson concluded that the Minnis administration’s eradication policies were lawful.

The Office of the Attorney General then asked Chief Justice Sir Ian Winder to order the demolition of nearly 300 structures that were built

in contravention of Justice Grant-Thompson’s previous order prohibiting the construction, erection or alteration of buildings or structures in shanty towns throughout the country pending her ruling.

Sir Ian only granted permission for two structures

to be demolished. However, his ruling paved the way for the minister of works to initiate a demolition process under the Buildings Regulation Act. The Davis administration has since been demolishing structures without court challenges.

PAGE 4, Friday, January 26, 2024

THE TRIBUNE

Blair death probe ‘was not deficient’ from page one

the jury that he became involved in the matter on May 22, 2019, when he spoke with the 15 officers who are the subjects of the inquest, three of whom are Defence Force officers.

ASP Smith said when he questioned the officers, his main concern was their mental state.

He said his attempts to gain entry to the scene of the shooting and to speak with civilian witnesses were unsuccessful. He said the witnesses were unwilling to

cooperate.

Romona FarquharsonSeymour, an attorney representing the dead men’s estates, highlighted the short length of the investigator’s report and said it lacked specifics and contemporaneous notes of what the officers said when he questioned them.

She said there was also no mention of the officers’ position when they entered the mansion or when they opened fire on the men.

ASP Smith responded that the officers wrote their reports of the incident in

isolation. He could not say if he had those reports when he questioned the officers individually.

Mrs Farquharson-Seymour suggested that a notation of what the officers said to investigators should have been in his report or that of another investigator, but he did not accept this.

He agreed that his report did not list the officers involved but disagreed that his investigation was deficient.

He said officials in the forensic laboratory compared the firearms of the

officers to exhibits from the scene, but he never saw their report. He also could not say who collected the guns from the officers.

He said his notes did not address whether two phones were recovered from the mansion’s garage.

He could not say who owned the phones or if the last messages on the phones were analysed.

ASP Smith admitted to Mrs Farquharson Seymour that no swabs were taken from the handprints of the deceased, even though all three were found near

firearms.

He said in the five days it took for him to get involved in the matter, possible evidence from the hands of the deceased would have gotten contaminated when they were moved from the scene.

Nonetheless, he agreed that swabbing their hands would have been important.

Under questioning, Detective Sergeant Desmond Rolle said he gave his investigation file to ASP Smith, his superior officer.

Ciji Smith-Curry, another lawyer representing the estates of the dead men,

told him that neither he nor ASP Smith took responsibility for being the lead investigator.

Ryzard Humes, the last lawyer representing the estates of the men, asked Sgt Rolle whether he saw a video of the incident.

The officer said he may have, but not during his role as investigator.

Acting Coroner Kara Turnquest-Deveaux is presiding over the inquest.

Angelo Whitfield is marshalling the evidence. K Melvin Munroe represents the 15 officers.

Witness faints in court after Adrian Gibson trial testimony

AN AMBULANCE takes a witness that fainted after testifying in court during the Adrian Gibson trial.

Photo: Leandra Rolle

from page one judge then asked if she was okay. She replied that she was nauseous and fainted shortly afterwards.

Earlier, Mrs Cargill-Sherman was cross-examined by Gibson’s attorney, Damian Gomez, KC, concerning

her claims about being “terminated” in 2018 after refusing to pay companies awarded landscaping contracts and again in 2021.

She testified yesterday that Elwood Donaldson, her former boss, was “constantly harassing” her to make payments to those

companies before she was reassigned.

But the witness repeated that she lacked the necessary paperwork and told Mr Donaldson the same.

Pointing to messages she had with Mr Donaldson, Mr Gomez said it didn’t appear there was any

tension between the two over the matter.

She responded that the messages showed the two were going back and forth over the matter.

“He’s still asking me to pay and I’m still telling him I cannot,” she said.

Ms Cargill-Sherman said Mr Donaldson wanted her to contact another employee and inform them of his directions for her to assist with the payment process.

“I’m saying to him that we’re dealing with senior managers (and) executives.

I cannot be this messenger.

He needs to send them an email or he needs to inform them himself that he has advised me to go over their

head,” she added.

Mr Gomez then asked the witness about her second reassignment in 2021 when she was allegedly transferred out of WSC’s safety department, where she served as safety manager.

“Isn’t it true that earlier on that day, you wrote to the executive chairman via email and requested of him that you be relieved of your duties at that department?” Mr Gomez asked.

However, the witness disagreed and told the court she sent an email to Mr Gibson after Mr Donaldson relieved her of the post.

“I sent him an email asking him to investigate

it and to find out what it was that I had done wrong because nothing was explained to me,” she said, adding she never heard back on the matter.

Ms Cargill-Sherman is expected to return for continued cross-examination at the next hearing.

Mr Gomez, KC, Murrio Ducille, KC, Bryan Bastian, Ryan Eve, Mr Raphael Moxey, Christina Galanos, Ian Cargill and Donald Saunders represent the defendants.

Meanwhile, acting Director of Public Prosecutions Cordell Frazier, Cashena Thompson, Karine MacVean and Rashied Edgecombe are the Crown’s prosecutors.

AG says he is not at odds with PM on the Bail Act THE TRIBUNE

Friday, January 26, 2024, PAGE 5

from page one

said.

During an Office of the Prime Minister briefing yesterday, Mr Pinder said there has been no change of heart.

“If you would have seen my quote that was actually in the papers today, when asked that question, it was in the context of amending the Bail Act regarding the granting of bail and the denial of bail,” he said.

“I made clear that our regime provides for that, and no amendments would be necessary because, as I described earlier, there are grounds for denial of bail.

The Tribune reported yesterday that defence lawyers do not believe the amendment will significantly alter the status quo because people can still apply to the Supreme Court for bail and get it after magistrates revoke their bail.

“It’s two different subject matters,” Mr Pinder said.

“I agree with the article; this isn’t going to deal with issues on the discretion to grant bail. What this deals with is the revoking of bail when you commit a crime and are convicted of that crime while you’re on bail.”

Magistrates can currently punish people who violate their bail conditions by fining them, as they often do, even when those people are accused of serious crimes such as murder.

The amendment would remove this option and force magistrates to remand the accused. However, accused people could then apply and get bail from the Supreme Court without prohibition.

Attorney General Ryan Pinder (pictured) who said at the opening of the Judicial year that the Bail Act is adequate and does not need to be amended, also said there is no change of heart on the issue.

GBPA PRESIDENT SAYS THE PORT IS NOT FOR SALE

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net GRAND Bahama Port Authority president Ian Rolle said yesterday that the port is not for sale.

He was questioned on the Bahamas Business Outlook’s sidelines.

He said whether to sell the authority is a decision for its shareholders, but added: “As far as I know, we’re not up for sale.”

Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis said in November that the government informed the existing owners of Freeport’s quasigovernmental authority that it is prepared to acquire the GBPA and its affiliated assets if no suitable private investor or buyer emerges.

However, Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell said recently that the government had withdrawn an offer to buy out the GBPA’s two shareholders, the Hayward and St George families, in favour of arbitration action.

“I will do what I have to do to get Grand Bahama on the right track,” Mr Davis told reporters, adding he has no dispute with its leaders.

Tension has been brewing publicly between GBPA and the government after the prime minister accused the authority last year of failing to follow its Hawksbill Creek Agreement obligations to maintain Freeport’s infrastructure and facilitate its growth.

Mr Rolle said the two

PHA FoundAtion ‘A steP in tHe rigHt direction’ sAys PM

By JADE RUSSELL Tribune Staff Reporter jrussell@tribunemedia.net THE Public Hospitals Authority celebrated its official launch of the PHA foundation yesterday, marking it as a significant milestone in the enhancement of healthcare in The Bahamas.

The launch of the PHA foundation was held at the Equity Trust House near Cave village. The foundation aims to increase the resources needed by healthcare institutions to be operational and serve the Bahamian public.

Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis said the foundation was a step in the right direction to generate additional needed funds and resources for healthcare sectors.

“I want the public to know that I fully understand

and appreciate the need to improve health care in The Bahamas. I know what the conditions are like for patients, as well as medical professionals. Major changes are necessary, we still need to expand and restore mobile clinics. And we still need to make progress on the hospitals in Nassau and Grand Bahama,” he said.

Mr Davis continued: “That’s why this foundation is so crucial and critical to supporting our efforts by establishing foundations here and in the United States the PHA is maximising the opportunity for philanthropists and civic organizations to be involved both here and abroad.”

Dr Michael Darville, minister of Health and Wellness, also marked the foundation as a pivotal point in improving the health services provided to patients across the country.

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parties are engaged in dialogue regarding the island’s future.

“Well, I can tell you this, that the Ministry for Grand Bahama is working very closely with the Grand Bahama Port Authority executives to ensure that we focus on ease of doing business initiatives and also

to get other things done,” he said.

“The Grand Bahama Port Authority have requested certain amendments to the bylaws and the Ministry of Grand Bahama was working very closely with us to cause the amendments to happen.”

They said Grand

Bahamas has suffered.

“There’s no other island in The Bahamas who suffered like Grand Bahama was a result of these natural disasters, and so I think persons on the island have become frustrated and had communications with government, etc, and that caused the government, very passionate about every single Island wanting development to happen, was very concerned,” he said.

“But we are pleased to actually say to everybody that we have well over $1.5 billion, almost $2 billion worth of projects now for Grand Bahama and I think the government has also said that recently, in fact, the PM said today, he reiterated what we’ve been saying for a while about the number of projects in the pipeline that will help transform the economy of Grand Bahama.”

PAGE 6, Friday, January 26, 2024

The Tribune Limited

THE TRIBUNE

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Publisher/Editor 1903-1914

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Kt., O.B.E., K.M., K.C.S.G., (Hon.) LL.D., D.Litt .

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RT HON EILEEN DUPUCH CARRON,

C.M.G., M.S., B.A., LL.B. Publisher/Editor 1972-

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Bail change sounds good, but what will it really mean?

IT all sounded very powerful and purposeful – no more bail for those who commit offences while out on bail already.

In truth, the amendments to the Bail Act being proposed by Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis have some legal hurdles of their own to clear.

A number of lawyers responded quickly to the proposals put forward by the government.

First things first, we are currently experiencing a substantial spike in murders. This month, so far, there have been 17 murders.

As last year ended, Police Commissioner Clayton Fernander was talking of how the murder rate was down on the previous year. He said in late December: “Last year, we finished with 128, so we are still down.”

So if that holds true, this spike in numbers is running contrary to that drop.

That is worth bearing in mind as we talk about the need to amend the law regarding bail, if we have been seeing a reduction until this month’s rise.

The suggestion has been repeated a number of times – from the commissioner to members of Parliament – that too many people are being released on bail, too soon.

Mr Davis says the proposed changes would mean bail is automatically revoked for people who violate their bail conditions.

In practice, this would appear to mean that magistrates would no longer be able to administer punishments for those who violate bail conditions with methods such as fines and so on. Magistrates would instead be forced to remand the accused.

As ever with court rulings, however, there is a right to apply to a higher court for a ruling on a matter – and that would be the case here, with applications able to be made to the Supreme Court for bail, where the judges there can make a decision on the matter.

What that will mean in practice is extra cases going to the Supreme Court for rulings that would have been dealt with previously at the magistrates level.

That could well add to the problem that lies at the root of the situation where so many bail grants are given – the backlog of cases.

We already see numerous cases where the defendant is being tried years and years after the alleged offence. Every person accused is considered innocent until proven guilty – a value at the heart of our justice system. It is up to prosecutors to prove someone is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If that person is denied bail – for potentially years while they await their verdict – what happens to the innocent person who has lost years of their life with an unproven accusation?

All well and good, you might say, but these changes apply to those who breach

bail conditions while they’re allowed out.

Well, again, innocent until proven guilty – each of those alleged breaches is a fresh accusation.

At present, some might well admit guilt at the magistrate’s level and take the fine that goes with it. Those fines will be for such things as failing to charge their monitoring device, for example, and The Tribune has published a number of stories where people have raised concerns over the reliability of such devices. They will not be fines for claims of new crimes of murder or other serious crimes.

But if the person accused of bail violations knows they will lose their liberty if they plead guilty, it seems far more likely that they will say they are not guilty and go through the process of another court case added to the system. Nothing in the amendments suggest anything that will get to the heart of the problem – the length of time which cases take to progress from accusation to conviction. Unless we are talking about depriving anyone accused of years of their liberty before they are convicted, the real answer is to accelerate the judicial process.

There are other factors to consider in all of this too – such as if this is really going to make a difference in the number of people being released on bail, where are we going to put all the extra people who will be in prison instead? Have we got the capacity, have we got the manpower, has the funding been allocated?

And all of that is not even taking into account the bone of contention many lawyers have with the proposals, summed up neatly by attorney Christina Galanos who said: “It’s not for politicians to tell judges to decide how or what manner to exercise their judicial discretion.”

The judiciary is a separate branch from government – and its independence is there for a reason.

At a time when the National Security Minister is suggesting that people just have to accept losing up to 48 hours of their freedom by being detained by police in mistaken identity cases, and the Police Commissioner is talking about it being too soon to release people on bail after just three or four months in prison, that independence is all the more valuable.

The proposals put forward deserve to be thoroughly debated, to ensure constitutional rights are not impinged upon – but also to ensure that the amendments will achieve what the government says they will.

We all want to see crime come down, we all want to see an end to deaths while out on bail or crimes committed by people while out on bail. But if those cases are dealt with faster, we are no longer talking about bail. The innocent go free. The guilty go to jail. That should be the goal we strive towards.

We are our brother’s keeper EDITOR, The Tribune.

AS Bahamians, we recently celebrated the big fifty (50) years as an Independent Nation. On July 10, 2023, thousands stood erect as a new day dawned upon these empheral shores. We have come a long way baby there is nothing we cannot achieve as a people academically there is nowhere we cannot go. We are just that versatile!

A celebratory spirit touched down at Clifford park as the entire Bahamas embarked on a feeling of camaraderie; be they black, be they white. Everyone belong. There are no halls of higher learning and education where we Bahamians haven’t ventured through.

Some often refer to the Bahamas as the most beautiful place on earth.

Even outer space astronauts have vowed to refer to these isles of June as a place to behold. I concur with Bishop Walter Hanchell that we are like a ship without a sail. The nation needs direction and vision lest our Nation shall perish. Our leaders be they political, religious or civic minded - all need a national vision for our beloved nation.

A plan Hanchell reiterates should have been put in place since July 10, 1973. Thus we have paid severely and it is today haunting us, for such an oversight. However, we can redeem ourselves and ask the almighty to have mercy on us. To guide us as a shepherd guides his sheep.

“Similarly as a collective embodiment Hubert Edwards, a principal of next level solutions limited (NLSL) a management

consulting firm, in his article noted that the adviser must commit and grapple with social cohesion and the future destabilising effects of the lack of decisions around immigration and integration.

There should be a shift in the outlook while applying the rule of law with reasonable fear or favour”.

So, there you have it in a basic nutshell; all of the attributes that we need to venture into 2024 and beyond into the advancing frontier of a brand-new year. We must realise that each one of us is our brother’s keeper. You need me and I need you! The best for the year 2024 and beyond! To God be the glory; great things He has done!

LOXSLEY BASTIAN Nassau, January 19, 2024.

THIS ‘big bad wolf’ was seen dressed as grandma during the Junior Junkanoo Parade on Bay Street yesterday.

Photo: Dante Carrer

Crying wolf too often on crime?

EDITOR, The Tribune.

I HAVE postulated before and I will do so again, in saying, without fear of contradiction that crime, per se, is not out of control. Yes, it is to be readily admitted that the inordinate spike in alleged homicides is problematic, but most all other types of crimes and criminal offences are trending downwards. Mind you, any type of crime poses destabilising effects of the economy and national life but, I submit, the average Bahamian is apparently getting hysterical or worse.

While preventative measures may be conceptualised and implemented to put a damper on ordinary crimes such as burglary; house breaking; assaults against the person; rape and even, God forbid, suicides there is literally nothing that the police, the political directorate or the general population are able to effectively do to stop or prevent homicides. With your leave, Editor. may I dare to say why?

If one owns a home or occupies an apartment, burglar bars or security screens may be installed.

Properties can be fenced or walled in. CTV systems are available. In most households at least one person is home during the day and even more during the afternoons and evenings. Such a physical presence acts as a determent to housebreaking and home invasions.

Personal assaults, in my extensive legal experience and practice, usually occur between individuals who are ‘known’ to each other, for instance ‘drinking’ buddies or pals who may ingest too much alcohol or narcotics. We love a good or bad argument and will cuss, fight and carry on at the drop of a hat, literally. Bodily harm or injuries may result while in a drunken or high stupor unintentionally.

These type of incidences, obviously, are detectable and preventable.

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net The average rape, if it may be referred to as such, also, based on available statistics ,is perpetuated where the parties are known to each other either intimately or on a casual basis. Of course, there are other cases where the perpetrator selects his victim, usually a female. Date rapes are also an innate problem where alcohol and substance abuses may play out. To prevent these types of rape is simple.... simply do not date certain types of characters and do not travel alone in unfamiliar places when it gets dark. Carry a loud personal alarm system and never allow your in house children or young adults to ‘date’ certain types of people, where possible.

If right thinking Bahamians were to follow the above simple suggestions, there is a possibility that certain type crimes will continue to trend downwards. The vexing issues revolve around conflict resolution. The inability or unwillingness of most young and youthful Bahamian males to resolve their differences, usually very stupid ones, in a peaceful manner is now almost beyond the pale.

The brutal socialisation of many of these males is based on the dubious philosophy of the gun, retaliation and ‘protection’ of one’s perceived turf are the main engines which drive homicides. No more....no less.

Too many of our politicians and influencers are wont to shrilly blurt out, too often, that ‘Crime is out of control’ when, realistically, it is not. The ruling party always catches the inevitable flack about being soft on crime and devoid of a comprehensive crime fighting plan. The Opposition and their allies are quick to suggest the same thing but you never ever hear them opine as to causes and solutions. It’s

like a political football.

There was once a young boy in a fable who loved to cry ‘Wolf’ to such an extent that no one believed him when the Real wolf came trotting along. We are now, I submit, collectively, crying Wolf too often, This is ill advised as we are now able to see by the recent advisory by the USA State Department and its local Embassy.

No country in the world has more crime than the USA and I would have been mugged and robbed over in the Florida area at least once. In fact, I was knocked out with what is commonly referred to as a cow cock; robbed of the rental car and luggage.

Thanks be to God, I had concealed a considerable cash amount in my socks and shoes so the assailant did not carry that! In The Bahamas we do not have or hear about mass shootings like over in the good old USA. Yet the USA tells its citizens to be careful in The Bahamas?

Our business stakeholders, who should know better than to cry Wolf, indiscriminately are perpetuating this myth that crime is out of control when it is not. Prominent hoteliers are wringing their hands and lamenting, bitterly, that crime is out of control when it is not.

They are pouring, copiously, gasoline onto the proverbial fire.

As I have said before, a National Day or Prayer is useless in the extreme and is mere posturing and indication that the secular society is mainly clueless. I call on the beloved Prime Minister to host a series of Town Hall styled meetings with the average citizenry to hear and learn of their concerns in their communities. While I do not go so far as to call for the resignation/s of anyone, the bare strategy is, obviously, not working. To God then, in all things, be the glory.

Jr

ORTLAND H BODIE, Nassau, January 25, 2024.

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, January 26, 2024, PAGE 7

Man on trial for murders has Dr Allen warns that fentanyl bail revoked by judge after breaching conditions ten times is more dangerous and deadly

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net A SUPREME Court judge revoked the bail of a man who allegedly breached his bail more than 10 times ahead of his murder and attempted murder trial, which is set for next month.

Justice Cheryl GrantThompson ordered Donald Cox, 27, to remain in custody after prosecutors applied for the court to revoke his bail when he failed to charge his electronic monitoring device earlier this month.

Cox is accused of fatally shooting Perron Bain and 5th grader Lorencia Walkes and attempting to murder Leroy Sands in Belville Circle in 2020.

Prosecutors argued that Cox was not a fit and proper candidate for bail, noting he had a history of non-compliance.

Last May, Cox was fined $3,500 for breaching his bail five times that month.

In September, he was fined $4,000 after being charged with another five counts of bail violation.

Police said his latest bail violation happened between January 5 and 6, when he allegedly failed to charge his monitoring device.

“The applicant verily

believes that if the respondent remains on bail, he will continue to breach his bail conditions,” court documents said.

However, Cox contended that he was not at fault for this latest alleged breach.

He told Justice GrantThompson that when the device is about to die, a light indicator or vibrator comes on, but this didn’t happen this time. He also alleged that he was in custody on January 6 “and therefore could not have breached his bail conditions.”

In her ruling, Justice Grant-Thompson said his previous bail convictions were concerning and indicated his “propensity to disregard bail”, among other things.

“Therefore, due to the serious nature of the offences charged, the fact that the respondent is in the court’s view likely to abscond, his clear disregard of the court bail conditions, this honourable court finds that the respondent’s bail should be and is therefore revoked,” she said. “Moreover, that the respondent is ordered to remain in the custody of the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.”

“His bail for one count of murder and one count of attempted murder is hereby revoked. This behaviour is unacceptable.”

MAN CHARGED WITH MOLESTING 13-YEAR-OLD BAIL SET AT $7,500

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net A 58-YEAR-OLD man was granted $7,500 bail yesterday after he was accused of molesting a 13-year-old girl two years ago.

Senior Magistrate Shaka Serville charged Vincent Rahming with indecent assault.

The defendant faced an additional charge of assault with a dangerous instrument.

Rahming allegedly touched an underage girl’s private parts sometime between March 1 and March 31, 2022, in New Providence.

The defendant also allegedly assaulted Tyrone Smith with a Kalik bottle in Sunlight Cottage on January 21.

Although Rahming pleaded guilty to the bottle assault, he entered a not-guilty plea on the molestation charge.

For the bottle attack, he was ordered to pay a fine of $500 or risk one month in prison.

Under the terms of his bail for indecent assault, he must sign in at his nearest police station every Sunday and Wednesday by 6pm. He must also be fitted with a monitoring device.

His trial begins on May 29.

MAN FINED $150 FOR EXPOSING HIMSELF WHILE DRUNK AT WEBSHOP

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net A MAN was fined yesterday after admitting to getting drunk and exposing himself outside a gaming house in Nassau Village earlier this week.

Magistrate Kara Turnquest-Deveaux charged Michael Woodside, Jr, 32, with indecent exposure.

Woodside reportedly exposed “his privates” to

the public and in the vicinity of a police officer at the parking lot of Ultra Games in Nassau Village on January 23.

After pleading guilty to the offence, the defendant explained to the magistrate that he was intoxicated and was trying to relieve himself on a car tyre. He apologized for his actions.

Magistrate TurnquestDeveaux ordered that he pay a $150 fine or risk a one-month prison term.

MAN ACCUSED OF HAVING LOADED GUN IN CAR GETS BAIL FOR $7,500

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net A MAN was granted bail after he was allegedly found with a loaded gun in his car near Kemp Road earlier this month.

Senior Magistrate Shaka Serville charged Kevin Roberts, 28, with possession of an unlicensed firearm and possession of ammunition.

Tai Pinder-Mackey

represented the accused.

Roberts was allegedly found with a black Taurus GSC 9mm pistol and 12 rounds of 9mm ammunition in a vehicle search on Copper’s Terrace on January 15.

Following his not-guilty plea, the defendant was granted $7,500 bail with one or two sureties. Under his bail, Roberts must sign in at the Carmichael Police Station every Wednesday and Sunday by 7pm.

His trial begins on May 7.

DR DAVID ALLEN

BY DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net DR David Allen, a renowned Bahamian psychiatrist who witnessed the horrors of the crack cocaine epidemic in the Bahamas, warned that illicit fentanyl is more dangerous and deadly after officials noted that two people have died in Grand Bahama this year with the substance in their system.

“I am here because I sense something is happening, it is here in your community,” he said during a police town meeting in Grand Bahama.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Shanta Knowles indicated that forensic investigations confirmed that three young men had fentanyl in their systems when they died in the last six

months.

Dr Allen said three deaths is a lot in a short space of time.

He said unlike cocaine, alcohol, and marijuana, a person can die in three minutes after ingesting illicit fentanyl.

“First, they get very high, then they experience euphoria, then they get sad, and then they fall asleep, but they are not sleeping, they are dying,” he said. “It is a drug you must not take.”

Officials revealed last year that since 2018, when illicit fentanyl was highlighted as a problem, there have been five overdose cases in The Bahamas.

Dr Allen noted that since 2018, about 400,000 Americans have died from the drug.

“We could get knocked out in two months,” he said. “We cannot have this; we can’t have an epidemic of

fentanyl in The Bahamas –– we can’t!”

Dr Allen noted that fentanyl comes in different forms: multi-colour small pills, powders, and sprays. Many people may consume it unknowingly, he said.

“We found a pill factory, so it’s here in The Bahamas,” he ssaid.

The psychiatrist said NARCAN is the only antidote that can prevent fentanyl overdose. He believes police officers and teachers should have it.

Pathologist Dr Mandy Pedican, Inspector Latoya Mitchell, Chief Superintendent Thurston, officer in charge of the Central Detective Unit, and Chief Superintendent Collie in the Forensic Science Division were panel presenters at the town meeting at Christ the King Hall on Wednesday evening.

The Eleutheran Adventurers and William Sayle’s early days PAGE 8, Friday, January 26, 2024

THE story of the Eleutheran Adventurers is woven deeply into the fabric of national identity. The general themes are of escaping religious prosecution to take great risks by sailing to unknown shores – so far that is like the Puritan’s voyage in the Mayflower from England to New England’s Plymouth Rock. Then the stories diverge and become a bit more difficult to parse; they wreck, apparently due to their arriving at the most dangerous place in the Bahamas to sail to at night – Devil’s Backbone, and Governor’s Bay, North Eleuthera.

Then when they land, rather than embracing pragmatism and working their way out of their dire predicament, they attempted to pray their way out of it.

When one visits Preacher’s Cave where the zealots remained while the mariners and farmers went off to Governor’s Harbour to make a go of it with their hands and brains, the overweening impression given is that they seem to have made almost no impact at all on the landscape, almost as though they came, they saw, they failed.

Since this would not be an uplifting origin story, there has to have been

THE TRIBUNE

By Eric Wiberg

more, and there was. A catchy Greek name for an island – Eleftheria, for freedom. Discovery of wonderful soils, products to grow, wood to cut and ships and ports to export them with. Help from a fledgling university in Boston founded by John Harvard, and then extraordinary gratitude by the colonists, whose gift of Brazilletto and other hard ship-building woods would remain the most significant gift to Havard College behind his for decades.

And these settlers were different - they sailed from another small colony, Bermuda, not England as the Mayflower’s religious folks had. And unlike New England, where indigenous persons still ruled their land, in the Bahamas Chistopher and Bartholemew Columbus and their descendants decimated – nay exterminated – from the Bahamas all Lucayan,

WILLIAM SAYLE

Taino, Arawak or other indigenes long before Adventurers arrived. And they did obtain before leaving Bermuda and bring with them a proclamation saying they were the new rulers of colony.

Since the wreck was really the lynchpin, or pivot of the expedition, we would do well to understand what happened, because that, more than any other incident, cobbled the colonists’ efforts and set them up to fail. Peter Barratt in his fictionalized version of history has Sayle load the shallop with the tubers, plants, chickens and goats for the new colony.

Manned by some of the better sailors who are less inclined to sit around debating theology, this smaller boat darts ahead of William, which after careful plotting sights Abaco around Schooner Bay and coasts within half a mile of the coast, heading south

SANDRA Riley chart of Eleutheran Adventurers’ possible landing spots. towards Eleuthera. The settlers are excited and they proceed further south past Whale Point and Harbour Island to the area of Surfer’s Beach before tacking back towards Man Island and anchoring near Preacher’s Cave and a bay they call Governor’s Bay. Then, without moving, things go suddenly and violently south. Imagine the Puritan faction requiring everyone to give thanks with prayer, and some of them including a libertarian Captain Butler possibly a wrecker and shipowner from Cornwall who has found his freedom in an island called Freedom and no longer is willing to suffer fools telling him what and how to believe. Sayle seems not to have anticipated this schism – after all they were fleeing religious zealotry to find a place to be zealous and pure, and he decided to take the livestock and foodstuffs into William and head for Spanish Wells (St George’s Island) where he had been before in 1646.

Sayle had his family – wife and three sons, Thomas, Nathaniel, and James, also mariners.

The next day Sayle takes William and splits with Butler and some mariners, however within hours they find themselves locked inside the treacherous Devil’s Backbone reef, entrapped, snared, snarled.

The boat is smashed out of use, the remaining people – probably about 50 – struggle into the little shallop or into the water, barring one who drowned, and wade ashore. There ends the shipwreck component of the drama. The tendency is for everyone to focus so much on what kind of documents Sayle and his investors drew up (they were countermanded several decades later to give all the Bahamas to six Lords

Proprietors after five of the Sayle signors also signed a death decree on the King, who was murdered).

We don’t focus on the ships and navigation aspects, so distracting are arguments over who was trying not to argue or allow arguments, that like them we lose sight of the core facts: In 1646 a powerful man in Bermuda seeking religious freedom he didn’t yet find there joined with about 70 other like-minded folks to prepare for a new utopia in the Bahamas.

Equipped with a 50-ton wooden ship which was probably 80 feet or longer on deck and had one or more masts, these persons added a shallower coastwise shallop, stored foreseeable supplies to colonize depopulated islands to which they were granted access. They set off and at first seemed to have achieved their goal.

For a glorious night, William and the Little William anchored at their new home. The storm began within, erupting over personal freedom which was advertised to participants, but not delivered – several in fact were indentured servants. A fight or fights broke out, and in fleeing same to establish a new place where all pigs might be more equal than others, the larger vessel filled with all the important stuff for colonizing, like rakes, hoes, seeds and livestock, was wrecked forever and not even salvaged.

Then, showing little ingenuity at fishing, farming, or doing much of anything practical, except praying, these pathetic persons who apparently included some women, remained hiding in a cave, not digging, altering, designing or building anything lasting over the ensuring three months or so. Their leader left in the small boat and with 8 men

in 9 days made Virginia, there, he obtained a 25-ton boat, about 750 British pounds worth of support funds, and tried earnestly to convince Virginians to become Eleutherans.

But they inquired with Governor Winthrop, who accepted 10 pounds of their Braziletto wood, converting it to 150 pounds or more, and he suggested they stay in Virginia. Sayle thus returned to Eleuthera with the new boat and supplies, the people spread all over the main island and smaller ones.

Soon, Bermuda dumped 59 dissenters then seven adulterers and slaves on Eleuthera, the British took back their exclusive rights, Sayle took his family back to Bermuda, became governor of South Carolina in old age just long enough to sail there. His sons sailed from Eleuthera to Bermuda a great deal: Bermudian port records documents numerous voyages by the Sayles between Eleuthera and Bermuda aboard boats with the name William; on 16 June 1656, a boat named Little William of Segatoo (Eleuthera), arrived in Bermuda, and on 15 August 1658, William, under Thomas Sayle, arrived in Bermuda “bringing 4 passengers.”

On 5 March 1659, the pinnace William arrived, then on 5 October, and again on 24 February, 1660, and laden with salt on 3 June, and “sailed for Eleutheria 23 June.” A frigate William connected Bermuda with Jamaica that year, and Eleuthera on 11 February, 1661. In Bermuda the Sea Venture, in 1609, which also wrecked on arrival, and the Deliverance, created to voyage to Virginia for help, are commemorated with replicas and monuments.

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, January 26, 2024, PAGE 9

There’s power in our words ALL my life I have been in love. It’s a love I can count on and even when it disappoints me or offends, I find a way to forgive because I know tomorrow is another day.

The object of my affection has no idea how I feel.

It is strictly a one-sided love affair and that’s okay with me, too.

I am in love with words.

The written word, the spoken word, the humorous, tingling, taunting, mischievous word, the words that when strung

together to create a question make you think about something in a way you never thought about it before.

Words are powerful. They can make you or break you.

They can inflate your ego or pop it faster than a nail prick in a balloon.

Written or spoken, words can seal a deal or undo what was done. Their roots run deep - in the beginning as a prefix, in the middle as the root, or at the end as a suffix.

Prefixes are hints of what’s to come and they are all-powerful, determining the outcome. Take words like excite and incite, for example, so close, yet with far different consequences.

Prefixes are far more common than suffixes though who knows why, but the ratio runs about seven prefixes to every suffix.

Someone reported 9,914 words in the dictionary with the prefix ‘in’. Who has the time to count all the words that start with ‘in’ but whoever did it, thank you for proving that if you google things you never expect to actually find, there is a chance someone got there before you. Personally, I would have been proud to rattle off a hundred words starting with ‘in.’ Nine thousand-plus?

Suffixes have their own charm. Take those that end with the letters ize, an

By Diane Phillips interesting option because it allows you to cheat, legitimately converting a noun into an adjective.

Ad becomes advertize; commercial becomes commercialize; national,

nationalize; final, finalize; subsidy, subsidize. There are more than 1400 words ending in ‘ize’.

If you think of prefixes as predictors and suffixes as Monday morning quarterbacks, you will always be able to distinguish, though chances of a conversation sinking to the level of prefixes and suffixes are slim.

Before we get into the real importance of the spoken word, we need to pay homage to the meat, the middle, since everything at either end hangs on it for substance and meaning. I think of a word’s middle as the trunk with prefix and suffix as limbs but again, I am nuts about words, dwell on them in the middle of the night and appreciate that this probably qualifies me for lifelong psychiatric care, though not at state expense.

Word heritage matters.

How much of our language comes from the Greek and yet when we don’t understand what someone is explaining we say things like “It sounds like Greek to me”.

I never meant to prattle on at such length dissecting words, though I suppose it is easier on the eyes and nostrils than the experiments we all did on frogs.

What I set out to do was to share thoughts about how the spoken word can heal or hurt, how careful we

must be when a single sentence can alter a life, when the words we use can drive someone away or inspire them to be more than they would have been had those words not be spoken.

We have more than one million words to choose from and countless ways to use them. Heated words, chilling words, beautiful words, cherished words,

all readily available at no charge. Yet how often we remain silent, swallowing our words or promising ourselves we will visit someone or call a friend for no better reason than to let them know you were thinking about them. How often we find a reason to procrastinate when it comes to the spoken word, finding as many excuses for not reaching out as we do for not working out, promising ourselves we will share our spoken words tomorrow.

It is the silence that damages us as humans and leaves spectacular chasms in our connections.

Never have we had more connectivity and fewer connections to others. How

many of us have said to ourselves, “Why didn’t I tell him how important he was, what he meant to me and to others while he was still able to understand?” or “Why didn’t I visit her so we could sit and laugh and cry together before the cancer spread?” or dementia progressed or whatever … you fill in the blank.

We sharpen our skills, writing emails and excusing ourselves from the heavy lifting of friendship, hitting “send” on the keyboard instead of getting into the car, driving across town, knocking at someone’s door and sitting with them.

It is oh-so-much-easier to hit send. And in the end, we wonder why we feel

an emptiness we cannot explain.

The spoken word, no matter how you dissect it, or try to understand its roots, is what links us all.

When we fail to use it, to tell our stories, to unite us as friends and family, to build community, we lose a bit of ourselves for if hope is a powerful weapon, words are the messenger.

So much power in something so readily available, the spoken word. May we use it for good, may we use it to tell our story and to make the story of those around us a little sweeter, kinder, gentler. Not tomorrow, today.

And now I can hit send.

PAGE 10, Friday, January 26, 2024

THE TRIBUNE

FROM left, Robby Davin, ASP Anastacia Ferguson and Elvins Cadet.

A HELPING HAND AS BUSINESS TEAMS WITH URBAN RENEWAL

A BREAKFAST initiative was held yesterday by the Lakay Lounge in conjunction with the Nassau Village Urban Renewal Centre.

The event was held in Nassau Village Park to provide free breakfast to local members of the community.

One of the owners, Elvins Cadet, said: “We always thought this was important... even when we were young we always thought when things get good for us we want to give back to the FREE breakfasts being handed out yesterday in Nassau Village.

Photos: Moise Amisial community.

“We didn’t know it would be this important beforehand but being here and seeing the amount of people who came out it honestly just inspired us to know this has to happen more often.”

Assistant Superintendent Anastacia Ferguson added that Lakay had offered support and when officers suggested a breakfast, “they said consider it done”.

She added: “We are here in the community because the community needs us and they need the support of the village.”

Fellow owner Robby Davin also pleaded for other business owners to help out Urban Renewal, noting that the Nassau Village area lacked computer access.

He said: “We are determined to help.”

He added that the lounge was part of the Haitian community but said that they were anti-xenophobic, saying “we are one people”.

He encouraged people to come and experience Haitian culture, but added “we stand for complete unity and for everyone to come together and just love”.

ROTARY DISTRICT 7020

ROTARY District 7020

David Kirkaldy, governor of Rotary District 7020, paid a courtesy call on Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Investments and Aviation Chester Cooper on January 18 at the ministry’s offices. Director General of Tourism, Latia Duncombe was also in attendance.

Pictured from left: Mike Russell, Road to Peace Initiative; Devard Thompson, District Rotaract Representative; Latia Duncombe, Director General, MOTIA; Selvyn Dawson, District Rotaract Representative; Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Investments and Aviation Chester Cooper; David Kirkaldy, Rotary District Governor; Christina Kirkaldy; Valention Hamilton, Rotary AG, East; and Lionel Haven, Rotary AG Elect, West.

Photo: Kemuel Stubbs/BIS

KIWANIS CLUB OF NASSAU Kiwanis Club of Nassau in the absence of Chair Janice Davis, YCPO (Young Children Priority One), visited the Nazareth Centre and completed project #2.

MEMBERS of the Kiwanis Club of Nassau in action.

Meanwhile, working together with a combined purpose was a great platform to kick off and end the club’s January 2024 community service. Thanks to the leadership of president Jackie Jones, chair Rowena Knowles and other members of the club. the assignment was successfully executed.

JOIN THE CLUB OUR Clubs and Societies page is a chance for you to share your group’s activities with our readers.

Submit your report to clubs@tribunemedia.net, with “Clubs Page” written in the subject line. For more information, contact Stephen Hunt on 826-2242.

IMPROVED BENEVOLENT PROTECTIVE ORDER ELKS OF THE WORLD A flashback picture featuring Kuffle Wray, Doris Tinker, Mable Bostwick, Rossie Cleare and Betty Rolle at Toronto Canada meetings.

SPORTS PAGE 11

FRIDAY, JANUARY 26, 2024

NBA, Page 12

Boxing club to honour ‘Tank’, ‘Pretty Boy’

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

A

LL-OUT Boxing Club will honour two of the greatest Bahamian boxers this weekend during their inaugural Sherman ‘the Caribbean Tank’ Williams and ‘Pretty Boy’ Floyd Seymour National Pride Boxing Championships.

After two intense days of amateur boxing competition that began on Thursday night and concludes tonight at St George’s Gymnasium, an awards banquet will be held on Saturday night at the Church of Ascension Parish Hall when Williams and ‘Pretty Boy’ Seymour will be honoured.

The black tie affair, sponsored by the Bahamas Boxing Federation and the

Grand Bahama Boxing Association, is being held

by All-Out Boxing Club to continue the legacy that was produced in Grand Bahama.

Jermaine Gibson, president of the Grand Bahama Boxing Association and CEO and host for the AllOut Boxing Show, said they have been working along with the schools to put on the boxing extravaganza.

“We are excited because we’re mixing the old with the new,” Gibson said. “We want the young kids to know the heritage of boxing and where it came from, especially here in Grand Bahama.

“One of the things we want to teach is pride, not just pride, but national pride. So that’s where we’re calling it the National Pride Show over the two days

GRAND Bahamian boxers Sherman “Caribbean Tank” Williams and “Pretty Boy” Floyd Seymour in Grand Bahama. of boxing followed by the awards ceremony.”

Gibson said they will be showcasing Keino Greene, a 15-year-old, who went to Florida for an international tournament last year and returned home with the gold. Also expected to

compete is Joshua Smith, Clarence Hepburn and female sensation Tara Rolle, who won a gold at the Bahamas Games last year in New Providence.

“We need to have more programmes like this because the kids are now

getting into gangs,” said Gibson, who noted that they have more than 200 competitors who are apart of the All-Out Boxing Club.

“I myself was threatened to join a gang while I was in school, but I was able to resist it. A lot of the kids are not able to resist this peer pressure, so we as adults have to stand in the gap and help them to deal with conflict resolution.”

As for the award banquet, Gibson said they want to give Williams and Seymour their flowers while they are alive as they honour them now, rather than waiting until they are deceased. He said they will both be inducted into the Grand Bahama Boxing Association’s Hall of Fame.

In response to receiving the honour, Williams said he is delighted to be

Ayton posts double double to help Trail Blazers win in overtime

By KRISTIE RIEKEN AP Sports Writer HOUSTON (AP) — Anfernee Simons scored 33 points and Jerami Grant added 21 as the Portland Trail Blazers rallied to beat the Houston Rockets 137-131 in overtime on Wednesday night.

“So many great efforts and I’m just proud of our guys,” Portland coach Chauncey Billups said.

Portland opened overtime with a 9-2 run, with five points from Malcolm Brogdon, to take a 133126 lead with about two minutes left in the extra session.

The Rockets got a free throw from Alperen

Sengun and a layup from Fred VanVleet to cut the lead to four points with less than a minute left in OT. But Deandre Ayton tipped in a shot with 10 seconds remaining to give Portland a 135-129 lead, and the Trail Blazers held on for the win.

Brogdon had 19 points and Ayton added 18 points and 17 rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who snapped a two-game skid. “Malcolm is just Mr. Reliable for us,” Billups said. “He makes shots when we need it. ...

He makes plays when we need it. He just does it all for us. He’s a savvy veteran who can impact games.”

Sengun had 30 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists,

SEE PAGE 12

PHILLANDO SIGNS WITH PITTSBURGH PIRATES

ON THE RISE: Deandre Ayton tipped in a shot with 10 seconds remaining to give Portland a 135-129 lead and the Trail Blazers held on for the win against the Rockets on Wednesday night.

(AP Photo) Green said.

“But things with 3 seconds to go in and Jalen Green scored 29 as the Rockets dropped a happen, and we’ve got to regulation. Aaron Holiday bounce back.” made two free throws with second straight game.

Brogdon hit a 3-pointer “This was a game we should have won tonight,” to cut the lead to a point SEE PAGE 12

SPORTS CALENDAR BAHAMAS YOUTH FLAG FOOTBALL LEAGUE THE Bahamas Youth Flag Football League (BYFFL) will be hosting a free offensive camp this Saturday, Feb 3 and Feb 10 @ the multipurpose field at the Sports Center.

Kids ages 6 - 17 are invited to attend and can sign up by email byffl242@ gmail.com This is the first official event for the BYFFL in 2024 and this will be followed by the 2nd Annual High School Tournament which is planned for April 13, 2024.

5K RUN/WALK Bahamas Feeding Network THE Bahamas Feeding Network will hold its 5K Fun Run/Walk & He4alth Fair on Saturday, February 3.

The registration fee is $20. Interested persons can register online at www.facebook.com/qcpharmacypi or www.bahamasfeedingnetwork.org. For

recognised for his many achievements, which include his pre-Olympic Games qualifier in 1996 in Halifax, Canada, where he won the silver medal at the tournament.

Williams was the alternate for the region, but he missed the opportunity as only the champion got the chance to compete in the games.

In 2013, Williams got a chance to fight for the heavyweight championship of China. He won the fight and came home with three belts, including the Chinese heavyweight, WBO and Asian Pacific titles.

On his return to his residence in Florida, Williams was honoured by the city of Key West with a massive celebration and float

Jan. 2024

more information, persons can also contact 242-605-9559, 242-395-9559 or 242-676-2676.

TENNIS Inaugural Valentine’s Doubles Classic Open Invite THIS February, during the season of love, Insurance Management and The Gym Tennis Club of Winton invite tennis players in the country to experience the “love of the game” with their inaugural Valentine’s Doubles Classic Tennis Open Invitational.

The tournament will begin on February 10 and tennis players from all around the island will converge at the Gym Tennis Club in Winton to battle it out in a “doubles” only tournament featuring four categories, including: Men’s, Ladies, Over 55, and the always entertaining Mixed Doubles category. Interested players should e-mail

SEE PAGE 13

WHILE there have been a number of minor league signings taking place in New Providence over the past few weeks, there was one held in Grand Bahama on Sunday in the Grand Lucayan Convention Center.

Phillando Williams, in the presence of representativesLanitigua and Jose Alvarez, signed his name on the dotted line WILLIAMS for a contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates’ organisation.

Also present were Opposition Leader Michael Pintard, MP for Marco City, Stephen Adderley, president of the Grand Bahama Baseball Federation, Neko Grant coaches Donovan Cox Jr and Marcian Curry.

Surrounded by his family and friends, Williams said it’s a proud day for him and relatives and he intends to go out and make the Bahamas very proud as he pursues his dream of becoming a professional baseball player.

WARMING UP: MORE THAN JUST BREAKING A SWEAT AS we step onto the field, court or track, the prelude to performance often takes a backseat to the main act.

Yet, the warm-up, that seemingly perfunctory routine, holds profound implications for athletic prowess.

From the nuanced intricacies of muscles and joints to the realms of neuroplasticity and mental preparedness, the warmup transcends the mere act of breaking a sweat.

Let’s unravel the layers of warming up, aiming to enlighten about its multifaceted importance.

The Dynamics of Warm-Up: A Prelude to Performance Warming up is more than a ritualistic preamble; it is an intentional act to prepare the body and mind for the challenges ahead.

The distinction between

DR KENT BAZARD

dynamic and static warmups is a critical dimension of this preparation.

Dynamic Warm-Ups: Mobilising Muscles and Joints Dynamic warm-ups, characterised by fluid

movements that mimic the actions of the sport to follow, serve as a primer for muscles and joints.

The intent is not merely to elevate the heart rate but to stimulate the neuromuscular pathways, enhancing flexibility and range of motion.

Research, including studies in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, underscores the positive impact of dynamic warm-ups on subsequent athletic performance.

Static Warm-Ups: Cultivating Stability and Focus On the other end of the spectrum, static warmups involve holding positions that target specific muscle groups. While once heralded as the go-to approach, contemporary insights highlight the need

SEE PAGE 13

PAGE 12, Friday, January 26, 2024

THE TRIBUNE

LeBron James makes NBA All-Star team for record 20th time, Durant for 14th time

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer LEBRON James joined yet another exclusive club, and he’ll have plenty of familiar faces alongside him at this season’s NBA AllStar Game.

James is now an All-Star — and an All-Star starter — for the 20th time, with the league unveiling the results of this season’s starter balloting last night.

James is the first 20-time All-Star in NBA history.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, whose career scoring record was broken by James last season, was a 19-time selection.

This year’s game is February 18 in Indianapolis.

Joining James in the Western Conference starting lineup: Phoenix’s Kevin Durant, Denver’s Nikola Jokic, Dallas’ Luka Doncic and Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the league’s leader in 30-point games this season who edged perennial All-Star starter Stephen Curry of Golden State for the final West backcourt spot. Durant is a 14-time

selection now, one of only 11 players in NBA history to be picked that many times.

In the Eastern Conference, Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo will be joined by Boston’s Jayson Tatum and Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid — the reigning NBA MVP, two-time defending scoring champion and current NBA scoring leader — in the frontcourt. Tatum set an All-Star Game record last season, scoring 55 points in the contest at Salt Lake City on the way to MVP honors.

The East guards are Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton — who’ll be a starter on his home floor — and Milwaukee’s Damian Lillard.

“You never want to take it for granted, right?” Tatum told TNT, which broadcast the unveiling of the starters before Boston’s game in Miami. “There’s 450 guys in the league and for the fans to consistently vote me, it’s truly an honour. It’s something I don’t take for granted. I grew up wanting to be in All-Star weekend every year and to live out

PHOENIX Suns forward Kevin Durant responds to question during an on-court interview after the team’s NBA basketball game against the Dallas Mavericks in Dallas, Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024.

(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez) that dream in real time is pretty cool.”

Among the notables not picked as starters: Curry, Boston’s Jaylen Brown, New York’s Jalen Brunson, Atlanta’s Trae Young, Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell, Miami’s Bam Adebayo, the Los Angeles Lakers’ Anthony Davis, Orlando’s Paolo Banchero, Sacramento’s De’Aaron Fox, Phoenix’s Devin Booker, the Los Angeles Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard, Philadelphia’s

Tyrese Maxey and Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards.

The starters are selected through a formula where fan voting counts for 50%, voting by players themselves counts for 25% and voting by a panel of writers and broadcasters who cover the NBA counts for the other 25%. Antetokounmpo was the top overall vote-getter, collecting about 5.4 million from fans.

“Thanks to the fans, media and most importantly my peers for voting

me into my 14th all star game,” Durant wrote on social media. “Can’t wait to lock in and hoop with some of the greatest ever in Indy.”

The reserves, to be announced on February 1, are chosen in a vote of the league’s head coaches. Any additions to the rosters, should a player be unable to participate because of injury or another reason, will be made by Commissioner Adam Silver.

There are very few players in the U.S. major pro sports to be selected as an All-Star, or its equivalent, in 20 different seasons.

James is the first to have that distinction in the NBA. He joins hockey’s Gordie Howe and a trio of baseball players — Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Stan Musial — on that list.

Howe was a 23-time pick for the NHL All-Star Game. Aaron was a Major League Baseball All-Star in 21 different seasons, while Mays and Musial were in 20 seasons each.

Mickey Mantle played in 20 baseball All-Star games over 16 seasons as

Defending champ Sabalenka beats Gauff, will meet Zheng in Australian Open final

By JOHN PYE AP Sports Writer MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Aryna Sabalenka has taken her Australian Open title defence all the way back to the championship match because she has applied a crucial lesson from her U.S. Open final loss to Coco Gauff.

She kept reminding herself the next point is often more important than the one she’d just lost.

So when she had missed a set point and a chance to serve out the first set, and then gave Gauff an opportunity to serve for a one-set lead, she was prepared to “let it go” and just keep swinging.

The No. 2-seeded Sabalenka attacked Gauff’s serve with her powerful returns and unloaded 33 winners in total in a 7-6 (2), 6-4 semifinal victory last night that earned her a spot in Saturday’s decider against first-time finalist Zheng Qinwen.

Sabalenka won her breakthrough major here last year, and reached the semifinals at Roland Garros and Wimbledon before losing the U.S. Open final to Gauff.

Now she’s the first to reach consecutive finals at Melbourne Park since Serena Williams in 2015, ‘16 and ‘17. “The key was that I was able to stay focused no matter what, no matter what the score was ... keep fighting for it,” Sabalenka said. “I’m super happy to be in another final of a Grand Slam. Hopefully I can do a little bit better than the last time.”

No. 12-seeded Zheng had a 6-4, 6-4 win over

No. 93-ranked Dayana Yastremska, ending the Ukrainian player’s bid to become just the second qualifier to reach a Grand Slam final in the Open era.

Zheng lost in the U.S. Open quarterfinals to Sabalenka last year in her best previous run at a major but said she’s more prepared this time.

Reaching the final a decade after Chinese compatriot Li Na won the Australian title almost completes a dream, she said. One more win will finish it.

“It feels unbelievable. I’m super excited to have such a great performance today and arrive in the final,” said Zheng, who hasn’t faced a player ranked in the top 50 in six rounds. “I haven’t faced big seeded (players) ... but, you know, it’s a match, so let’s see what’s going to happen in the final.”

Sabalenka said she’d been “ready for anything” against Gauff, and was happy to have some support in the crowd after facing the 19-year-old American in New York last September.

Gauff went into the semifinals unbeaten in 2024 after winning the title in Auckland, New Zealand, and was on a 12-match winning streak in majors.

The first set contained six service breaks. Sabalenka led 5-2 and missed a set point as Gauff went on a four-game roll to take a 6-5 lead. Gauff also couldn’t serve out.

In the tiebreaker, Sabalenka raced to 5-1 and chants of “Coco, Coco” echoed around Rod Laver Arena, where the roof was closed because of rain.

COCO GAUFF, left, congratulates Aryna Sabalenka following their semifinal match at the Australian Open tennis championships at Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia, yesterday.

(AP Photo/Andy Wong) It didn’t help Gauff, who won points on just three of her 17 second serves in the first set. That made her push harder and led to six double-faults.

The second set was tight, until Sabalenka broke in the ninth game.

After missing her first match point when Gauff saved with a forehand winner to end a 12-shot rally, Sabalenka earned a second match point with an ace and clinched it after 1 hour, 42 minutes.

That she won’t win a second major before turning 20 in March wasn’t a huge concern for Gauff.

“I tend to be hard on myself, so today was like, ‘Dang!’ But looking back overall at this stage of my life, it was a successful time.”

Gauff said she saw statistics that ranked her close

to Serena Williams and Jennifer Capriati in their teens. “They had great careers. So I’m in the right direction,” she said. “I just have to remind myself of the journey and not so much of the moment.

“I did want to win a Slam as a teenager, and I did that. I was hoping to get No. 2, or at least give myself a chance to get No. 2. I feel it can only go upwards from here.”

Yastremska, who won three matches in qualifying and five matches in the main draw, said she was proud of the way she was able to fly the flag for Ukraine.

“It was a great tournament for me. Usually (you) get in Grand Slams seven matches to play, and I have played nine matches, so I’m very proud of myself,” she said.

Yastremska needed a medical timeout after the seventh game after hurting her hip, and the fatigue finally set in. “Not really sad about the loss, but very sad that I didn’t have enough emotions and enough recovery,” she said.

“There was some important moments where I had to give a little bit more than she did. I felt like I just couldn’t take it.”

In some older news, 43-year-old Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden advanced to their second consecutive Grand Slam men’s doubles final by beating Zhang Zhizhen and Tomas Machac 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7).

Tournament officials said Bopanna and Ebden, at a combined age of 79, will become the oldest No. 1 pairing in tennis history after the tournament.

DEANDRE AYTON FROM PAGE 11

1.1 seconds remaining to push Houston’s lead to 124-121. But Grant forced overtime when he hit an off-balance 3-pointer at the buzzer. “The shot was incredible that he hit,” Billups said. “Great players make coaches look good.

He hit a heck of a shot. He just rose up and knocked it down.”

Portland used a 6-0 run, with the last four points from Ayton, to take a 116114 lead with 2½ minutes remaining in the fourth.

Houston trailed by two points before Sengun made a basket and then got a steal at the other end.

Green made a layup to put Houston on top before the

TRAIL Blazers centre Deandre Ayton, left, talks with Pacers guards Buddy Hield, centre, and Tyrese Haliburton January 19.

(AP Photo/Amanda Loman) Rockets forced another better,” VanVleet said. turnover.

“Our defence wasn’t very Sengun added another good.” bucket after that to put the VanVleet added 18 Rockets up 120-116 with points, seven assists and six about 90 seconds to go. rebounds for the Rockets Brogdon made a basket in his return after missing for before Sengun scored a game with lower back again, giving Houston a tightness. Jabari Smith 122-118 advantage with Jr. sat out for a second less than a minute left. straight game for Houston “We’ve just got to guard with a sprained left ankle.

a selection; some baseball seasons featured two AllStar contests.

This year’s All-Star Game goes back to the traditional East vs. West format, which was utilised in the first 66 NBA midseason classics.

The most recent six saw the leading vote-getters from each conference serve as captains who got to draft their teams; James served as one of the captains all six times, with Antetokounmpo the other captain three times, Durant twice and Curry once.

But that format is gone, as is the ‘target score’ format that featured an untimed fourth quarter in the last four All-Star Games. The winner of those games was the first team to reach whatever the leading team had after three quarters, plus 24 points — the 24 being a nod to Kobe Bryant’s last jersey number. This year, it’ll be a regular game with overtime if necessary.

League officials said entering the season that they have been stressing to players the importance of improving the quality of the All-Star Game.

BOXING FROM PAGE 11

parade. He continues to work with a number of young boxers in Florida.

Williams, who amassed a 45-15-2 win-loss-draw record, also held the WBC CABOFE title.

He had his most recognised fight on January 22, 2011 against former world championship champion Evander Holyfield at the The Greenbrier, White Sulphur Springs.

The fight was ruled a no contact after Holyfield’s left eye was cut as a result of an accidental clash of heads in the second round.

Over 30 years ago, the 51-year-old Williams got his amateur boxing career started at the YMCA Gym in Grand Bahama and now he’s pleased to be going back home to be honoured in such a special way this weekend.

Seymour, who competed at the 1992 Olympics, turned to coaching after those games and has made some remarkable accomplishments outside of the ring. He has coached American boxers who have gone on to excel and was named the Bahamas national boxing coach in 2010 where he coached two boxers to bronze medal performances at the Central American and Caribbean Games.

BOURNEMOUTH ROUTS SECONDTIER SWANSEA 5-0 IN FA CUP TO BECOME THE FIRST TEAM INTO FIFTH ROUND BOURNEMOUTH, England (AP) — Bournemouth became the first team to reach the last 16 of the FA Cup by routing second-tier Swansea 5-0 yesterday, with all the goals coming in the first half and scored by different players.

Rebounding excellently from a 4-0 loss to Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday, Bournemouth led 3-0 after just 14 minutes of the fourth-round match thanks to goals from Lloyd Kelly, Alex Scott and Luis Sinisterra.

David Brooks set up the first two goals at Vitality Stadium and scored himself in the 35th after running onto a pass from Dominic Solanke, who tapped in the fifth in the 44th.

The fourth round spans five days, with the highlight being Tottenham hosting defending champion Manchester City on Friday.

Bournemouth has only advanced beyond the fifth round twice in its history, most recently in 2021.

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, January 26, 2024, PAGE 13

MINISTER OF SPORTS MARIO BOWLEG IMPRESSED WITH BASEBALL GROWTH

By TENAJH SWEETING Tribune Sports Reporter tsweeting@tribunemedia.net LAST week was filled with celebrations as seven Bahamian baseball players signed professional contracts with five Major League Baseball (MLB) organisations during the 2024 MLB International Signing period to kickstart the next chapter of their baseball journeys.

Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Mario Bowleg believes that the growth and development of baseball in the country is headed in the right direction.

“It shows where the growth and development of baseball in the country

is. When we spent about $50 million to build the Andre Rodgers [National Baseball Stadium], many people said what were we building the stadium for.

Hopefully, now they can see why we built the stadium. We intend to continue to develop our young men in the field of baseball, and hopefully one day be able to have a semi-pro league here in that baseball stadium and allow the revenue of that baseball stadium to be of some profit to the country after all these years,” Bowleg said.

On the first day of the MLB International signing period, Max D prospects Tavano Baker, Edwin “EJ” Darville and Trent Wilson

MARIO BOWLEG all signed with the Boston Red Sox. Their signings were followed by International Elite (I-Elite) Sports

Academy prospects Bohan Adderley and Javado “JT” Bain Jr, who inked deals with the New York Mets and Toronto Blue Jays respectively.

The week culminated with FTF prospects Rohan Culmer and Phillando Williams signing contracts with the Washington Nationals and Pittsburgh Pirates.

Minister Bowleg made it clear that investing in facilities plays a major role in helping Bahamian athletes to develop and get to the next level.

“When we invest in these facilities, we invest to have a facility that provides a safe haven for young people to develop their skills and talents that goes with them to represent

us around the world. The investment in these facilities is an investment in the people and so we should not put a dollar value on the investment with anything we do that helps empower and develop our young people,” said the minister.

The seven signees will now add to the total of over 20 Bahamian baseball players in the MLB farm system.

The aspirations of many of the young players is to make it to the major leagues similar to Miami Marlins centre fielder Jasrado “Jazz” Chisholm Jr. The 2024 MLB International Signing period began on January 15 and will continue until December 15.

NPBA RECAP: CB GIANTS, CYBER TECH BLUE MARLINS REMAIN UNDEFEATED

By TENAJH SWEETING Tribune Sports Reporter tsweeting@tribunemedia.net THE Commonwealth Bank Giants, the reigning division one champions, along with the Cyber Tech Blue Marlins reeled in emphatic victories against the Sunlight Cottage Stampers and Mekaddish Millionaires in Wednesday’s action for the New Providence Basketball Association (NPBA).

The defending champions dealt the Stampers a 48-point loss while the Blue Marlins routed the Millionaires by a jaw-dropping 67 points in their division two matchup. The Blue Marlins have been on a tear in the NPBA and they now sport a 5-0 (win/loss record) and comfortably lead the Derrick “Bats” Ferguson division two standings after defeating their competitors 114-47.

The top division two squad evenly distributed the scoring load with six players notching double digits and two players

SPORTS NOTES

FROM PAGE 11 “gtctourbah@gmail.com” to get their registration forms. Insurance Management and the Gym Tennis Club encourages fans and those who want to discover the love of tennis, to come come out, cheer, enjoy and even hit a ball or two.”

WALK/RUN RACE NIB Road to 50 The National Insurance Board will hold its Road to 50 Fun Run/Walk Race on Saturday, starting at 6:05am from the NIB headquarters on Baillou Hill Road.

The event will start at the headquarters on Baillou Hill Road and travel onto Cumberland Street, onto Marlborough Street, onto West Bay Street, onto Nassau Street, onto Thompson Boulevard, onto University Drive onto the Big Pond Highway and back to the finish line.

Registration and package collection will begin at 5:15am and a warm-up session with Macumbia ‘Comby’ Smith will begin from 5:30am until 6am when the competitors will assemble for the start of the event. Free application forms are available at nibfunrunwalk@nib-bahamas. com NPVA ACTION The New Providence Volleyball Association will continue their regular season action this week at the DW Davis Gymnasium with the following games on tap: Friday 7:30pm - Lady Techs vs Set-Sy Poppers (L)

putting up a double-double on the stat sheet.

Daniel Bethel got to work and scored a gamehigh 19 points and crashed the boards 12 times, while dishing out five assists and picking off the ball on three occasions. Jason McHardy pitched in as well with his 12 points and 12 rebounds performance on Wednesday night.

The game was never in question for the Blue Marlins as they simply outplayed the Millionaires.

The team ran out to a 24-7 lead to cap off the first quarter and proceeded to run up to the score 61-19, putting an exclamation point on the win before the second half of the contest.

Elkin Sherman, assistant coach of the Blue Marlins, said the team is on a mission to hoist the hardware at the end of the 2023-24 NPBA season.

“Earlier in the week we practiced very hard. That is a new team we played but we take no one for granted.

We just want to continue to prepare ourselves for

our goal this year which is winning a championship,” Sherman said.

The road to the championship will no doubt have the Your Essential Store (YES) Giants, the division two defending champions, on its path. The YES Giants are also undefeated, owning an identical 5-0 record to lead the Michael Boshang Cooper standings.

The league’s top division two teams will collide in the featured match of Saturday’s triple header and coach Sherman said the Blue Marlins will be ready.

“It will be a good matchup on Saturday. The key factor to that game is keeping within striking distance and we will be able to come out with the victory. The team has been together for quite some time, same with the YES Giants, right now these two teams have similar players and veteran leadership so it will be a good headto-head matchup,” the assistant coach stated.

The victors collectively shot 52-for-97 good for a

54% shooting clip while holding the Millionaires to a dismal 18-for-100 for 18% on field goals. The Blue Marlins will look to carry their fluid offence and stingy defence into the featured matchup against the defending champions on Saturday.

The CB Giants showed why they are the reigning champions against the Stampers on Wednesday night.

The team pummeled their opponent 110-62 with Dylan Musgrove dishing out most of the punishment on the offensive end.

He was one of five Giants players to score in double digits and led the way with 33 points. He shot the ball with precision, knocking down 12-for-21 field goals on 57% shooting.

Additionally, Musgrove was relentless on the glass, reeling in 12 boards. Randy Miller and Renardo Baillou also filled the stat sheet with double-doubles.

Miller came away with 11 points and 11 rebounds while Baillou poured in 11

points and cleaned up a game-high 17 rebounds.

The Stampers held their own in the first quarter, leading 22-17 to go into the second period of the game.

However, then came the Giants who quickly made up ground and gained a 15-point advantage at the 2:47 mark following a pair of free throws made by Musgrove. They eventually closed out the second half on top 50-34 and stomped out any chance of the Stampers regaining the lead.

The CB Giants will hope to carry this momentum into Saturday’s triple header where they will meet the 5-0 Sand Dollar High Flyers, who they ousted in last year’s playoffs.

The High Flyers also defeated the Stampers in dominating fashion on Sunday and are rolling ahead of Saturday’s showdown.

Saturday’s triple header begins at 7:30pm at the Kendal GL Isaacs Gymnasium.

9 pm Defenders vs Technicians (M) Sunday 3:30pm - Warhawks vs Intruders (M) 5pm - Panthers vs University of the Bahamas Mingoes.

BASKETBALL BSAA ACTION THE Bahamas Scholastic Athletic Association continued its basketball regular season on Wednesday at The Hope Center’s Michael ‘Scooter’ Reid Basketball courts with the following results posted: Mini Division Temple 22, CW Sawyer 4: Yari Deveaux scored a game high 14 points in the win.

Teleos 4, Queens College 1: David Bien scored three three points in the win.

Zyaire Kemp had the lone point in a losing effort.

Primary Girls Division Games Teleos 14, CW Sawyer 3: Evanya Pierre scored 10 points in the win. Kaliyah Russell had a pair of points in the loss.

Temple 13, Sandilands 9: Hadassah McCoy scored six points in the win. Romanique Hall had a game high seven in the loss.

Primary Boys Games Freedom 24, Temple 12.

Genesis 40, Queens College 20: Steven Johnson scored a game high 17 points in the win. Liam Johnson had seven in the loss.

Affiliated School Mt Carmel 58, Akhepran 50: Bryson Rolle led a balanced scoring attack with 16 points in the win. Delroy Mackey produced a game high 31 in the loss.

Teleos 60, Anatol Rodgers 55: Patrel Colebrooke

scored a game high 21 points in the win. Dereck Francis had 15 points in the loss.

Today’s schedule, starting at 4 pm: MD – Hillcrest Academy vs CW Sawyer Primary School.

PG – CW Sawyer Primary vs Sandilands Primary School.

PB – Hillcrest Academy vs Freedom Baptist Academy.

PB – Queen’s College vs Temple Christian School.

PB – Jordan Prince William A vs Kingsway Academy.

JG – Freedom Baptist Academy vs Akhepran International Academy.

JG – St. John’s College vs Teleos Christian School.

AD – Anatol Rodgers High School vs CI Gibson High School.

Embassy of Japan in Jamaica (Cultural Events in The Bahamas) The Embassy of Japan will be hosting several cultural events in Nassau this weekend on January 26 and 27. The Bahamas Bassai Karate-Dojo along with other karate schools will participate in the cultural experience.

Friday will involve a Japanese Anime screening from 6-8pm at St Gregory’s Anglican Church Hall.

Admission is free of charge.

On Saturday will be the Calligraphy, Origami and Yukata session which runs from 11-12:30pm at the Mall at Marathon. That session will be followed by a Japanese Martial Arts (Karate) segment demonstrated by Bassai Bahamas Karate-Do at 1:30pm. The trio of events will conclude

with a Japanese Pop Culture (Anime, Cosplay) session from 2:30-3:30pm.

The day ends with a Japanese cuisine demonstration at Sushi Rokkan in the Old Fort Bay Town Centre from 4:30-6:00pm.

WALK/RUN RACE Bain & Grants Town The Bain & Grants Town Constituency will hold its fourth annual Dr Bernard Nottage 5K Fun Run/Walk Race on Saturday, starting at 6am from the Southern Recreation Grounds.

The dual event is free of charge. The first three finishers in each category will

get trophies and each participant to cross the finish line will get a medal.

Competitors will travel from the Southern Recreation Grounds and head onto Cockburn Street, west onto Blue Hill Road, north to Dillet Street, west onto Meeting Street onto Nassau Street to West Bay Street, east onto Market Street and south back to the South Recreation Grounds.

Wayde Watson is the Member of Parliament for Bain & Grants Town and Sean Bastian is the race coordinator.

BAZARD FROM PAGE 11

for a balanced integration with dynamic elements. Static stretches are not to be discarded; rather, they contribute to enhanced flexibility and stability. The key lies in their placement within a comprehensive warm-up routine.

Muscles, Bones and Joints: A Symphony of Preparation The physiological underpinnings of warming up extend beyond the surface, delving into the intricate interplay of muscles, bones and joints. Elevating the body temperature through warm-ups promotes better elasticity in muscles and tendons, reducing the risk of strains and injuries. This thermal facilitation also aids in the viscosity of synovial fluid, ensuring joint lubrication for smoother articulation—a symphony of preparation that resonates within the body’s biomechanical orchestra.

Neuroplasticity: Priming the Mind-Muscle Nexus The warm-up is not solely a physical endeavour; it is a neurological overture that tunes the mind-muscle nexus. Dynamic warmups, with their varied and purposeful movements, stimulate neuroplasticity— the brain’s ability to rewire and adapt. This neural priming enhances the coordination and synchronisation of muscle groups, fostering a seamless fusion of thought and action on the field.

Mental Activation: Beyond Physicality Warming up transcends the physical; it is a psychological prelude to peak performance. Engaging in purposeful movements, coupled with focused breathing, activates the mind. This mental activation cultivates a state of readiness, where athletes find themselves attuned to the upcoming challenges.

Research, such as studies in the International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, underscores the positive impact of mental preparedness on overall athletic performance.

Realising the Potential: A Unified Approach As we dissect the layers of warming up, a unified approach emerges—one that marries the dynamic with the static, the physical with the mental. Athletes and coaches should view the warm-up not as a fleeting task but as a strategic investment in athletic excellence. It is a symphony of preparation, orchestrating the body and mind into harmonious synchrony, poised for the crescendo of peak performance. Yes, all of that.

In the competitive arena, where each advantage holds significance, the warm-up serves as a crucial element. It is a comprehensive process that goes beyond merely breaking a sweat, preparing the body and mind for optimal athletic performance.

As the performance unfolds, a well-executed warm-up resonates as a foundation for success, emphasizing the importance of thorough preparation.

UÊ À°Ê i ÌÊ >â>À`Ê ÃÊ >Ê Bahamian sports medicine physician, sports performance coach, sports nutrition specialist and founder of Empire Sports Medicine. Our mission is to empower athletes to reach new heights while safeguarding their health and well-being. We understand the unique demands of sports activities, and we are dedicated to helping athletes prevent injuries, overcome challenges, optimise nutrition and performance.

Contact Empire Sports Medicine at: 242-364-2001 Kent@empirefitness.fit Dr. Kent L. Bazard B.Sc. M.Sc. (Sports Medicine) NASM-PES, M.B.,B.S.

TO ADVERTISE TODAY IN THE TRIBUNE CALL @ 502-2394

PAGE 14, Friday, January 26, 2024

THE TRIBUNE

6TH DTSP WOLF PACK-BEVERLEY WALLACE WHITFIELD TRACK CLASSIC

Athletes qualify for CARIFTA Games

Photos by Derek Smith

THE sixth edition of the DTSP Wolf Pack Track Classic saw the trend of athletes qualifying in field events continue while track athletes joined the count. The one-day event brought out a number of top performances on Saturday at the original Thomas A Robinson stadium. The 2024 Track Classic honoured Mrs Beverly Wallace Whitfield, one of track and field’s biggest supporters over the years.

IT’S MAHOMES VS. JACKSON FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE PLAYOFFS. AND THERE’S A SUPER BOWL SPOT AT STAKE

49ERS LOOK TO AVENGE NFC TITLE GAME LOSSES. LIONS SEEK 1ST SUPER BOWL APPEARANCE

By NOAH TRISTER AP Sports Writer

By JOSH DUBOW AP Pro Football Writer

BALTIMORE (AP) — Patrick Mahomes has already defeated an impressive list of quarterbacks in the playoffs: Andrew Luck, Deshaun Watson, Ben Roethlisberger, Trevor Lawrence, Joe Burrow, Jalen Hurts, Tua Tagovailoa.

And of course, Josh Allen, who was eliminated for the third time by Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs last week.

One star AFC quarterback whom Mahomes has never run into in the postseason is Lamar Jackson.

The Baltimore Ravens star could match Mahomes this season with his second MVP award — but is only now making his first appearance in the AFC championship game.

“He’s going to be the MVP for a reason,” Mahomes said. “He leads his team. He scores, he runs, he throws, he does whatever it takes to win, and that’s what the greats do. It’s a challenge for our defence, but also a great challenge for our offence to keep up.”

Mahomes and the Chiefs face that difficult task Sunday at Baltimore in the AFC title game. It’s their sixth consecutive year reaching this stage of the playoffs, but the first time in that span they’ll have to play it on the road.

The Chiefs are the defending Super Bowl champions. The Ravens have the NFL’s best record this season. It’s a fascinating matchup made even more so by the presence of Mahomes and Jackson.

Even if Jackson would be happy to avoid such a tough opponent.

“I don’t like competing against him at all,” Jackson said with a laugh. “He’s

SANTA CLARA, Calif.

(AP) — The San Francisco 49ers have been waiting a year to get back to the NFC championship game after last season’s disappointing loss.

The wait for the Detroit Lions and their fans has been far longer, with the success-starved franchise one step away from their first Super Bowl appearance.

Either the Niners (13-5) will avenge title game losses from the past two seasons or the Lions (14-5) will win in their first appearance on this stage in 32 years when the teams meet in the NFC championship game Sunday.

“You worked so hard all season long. We talked about it all season. To be able to put ourselves in a position where we can play the NFC championship game again. We did that,” 49ers All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner said.

“We have that opportunity right now. ... I know they type of team we have, the type of players we have and talent.

“I know if we play our best ball for three hours, we’ll get the job done.”

While San Francisco has been a top contender the past five seasons under coach Kyle Shanahan, this is new territory for the Lions.

Coach Dan Campbell came aboard in 2021 and helped lead a turnaround that reached a new level this season with Detroit hosting a playoff game for the first time in 30 years and winning one for the first time in 32 years.

Lions owner Sheila Ford Hamp, whose late father, William Clay Ford, bought the team six decades ago gave Campbell a chance to

KANSAS City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes speaks to the media before the NFL football team’s practice yesterday.

(AP Photo/Charlie Riedel) definitely a Hall of Famer.

Baltimore (14-4) reached But I believe it’s just two this round with a 34-10 greats — up-and-coming win over Houston. Kansas greats — just going toe to City (12-6) beat Allen and toe, like a heavyweight Buffalo 27-24 last weekfight.” end — with Taylor Swift This is the first playoff in attendance watching matchup between former her boyfriend, Chiefs tight MVP quarterbacks who are end Travis Kelce. That both under 30. romance could be headed That’s not to say to the Super Bowl next Mahomes hasn’t been month — but the Ravens pushed in the quarterback- will do their best to end deep AFC. Allen has come Kansas City’s run. close to knocking him off, LONG TIME COMING and Burrow actually beat This is the first time BalMahomes in the AFC timore is hosting the AFC championship game two title game since the Colts years ago before Mahomes beat the Oakland Raiders won a rematch last season. in January 1971. The curJackson’s most recent rent Baltimore franchise matchup with Mahomes has made it to this game was a 36-35 win by the four times previously, all Ravens in September 2021. on the road, and won twice Mahomes won their meet- on the way to Super Bowl ings in each of the previous titles. This is Baltimore’s three seasons. fourth time reaching the “Listen, this league is a game under coach John lot about the quarterbacks, Harbaugh, but the Ravens right? We’re fortunate in haven’t been this far since this game we have two their Super Bowl run 11 of the best ones in the years ago. Kansas City, of league,” Chiefs defensive course, has made the AFC coordinator Steve Spagnu- title game an annual part of olo said. its schedule lately.

“Our goal and what we “They’ve been in this sittalk about all the time is, uation many times. They’ve ‘Let’s just get the ball back played in this game. I think to our quarterback.’ That’s they’re a very experienced our job. And the only way team,” Harbaugh said. to do that is make sure “They’re a hardened team. their quarterback doesn’t They’ve been through a lot. do the things that he’s That experience always is capable of doing.” helpful.”

DETROIT Lions linebacker Derrick Barnes, top, celebrates with Alex Anzalone (34) after intercepting a pass by Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield late in the second half of an NFL football NFC divisional playoff game on Sunday in Detroit.

The Lions won 31-23.

(AP Photo/Jose Juarez) be a full-time NFL coach five seasons in the NFC for the first time.

West with the Rams. Goff “It feels good to prove got the best of the early her right, but we’re not matchups against Shanadone yet,” Campbell said han’s Niners, winning all Thursday. three starts in 2017-18, with Now the only franchise a 136.3 passer rating, nine that has played every TDs and no interceptions. season in the Super Bowl As San Francisco era without reaching the improved, Goff struggled ultimate game has a chance in the matchup by losing to end that drought. all four in the 2019 and “There’s four teams left 2020 seasons with a 70.3 and these are the times rating, four TDs and four you dream of as kid and interceptions. The Niners you grow up, hoping to be expect a much better verin these final games,” said sion of Goff this time. quarterback Jared Goff, “I think he’s one of the who went to the Super best quarterbacks in the Bowl with the Rams five league right now with the years ago. way that he’s playing,” “We’re one win away Warner said. “I think just from our ultimate goal of the delivery of football, his getting to the Super Bowl decisiveness, the amount and winning that game as of playmakers that he has well.” on that side, I think he’s FAMILIAR FOE the one that’s leading that The 49ers have a long group and he’s the reason history of playing against why they are where they Goff, who spent his first are right now.”