SPORTS SECTION E
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2016
Major ‘Pain’ to face Acevedo in the Caribbean Showdown By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
M
eacher Major has not fought since he knocked out Martin Anderson on April 8. But he’s looking forward to shaking off the ring rust against Puerto Rican Roberto Acevedo at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium on December 16. The Caribbean Showdown, which is expected to feature three Haitian fighters on the undercard against Bahamian competitors, had an official press conference yesterday at BTC’s headquarters where the principal sponsors were introduced. “It’s been a long time since we had a major company backing the sport of boxing,” Major said. “It gives me more inspiration to go out there and try to accomplish my dream. Come December 16, I’m looking forward to a great fight and trying to take my career to the next level.” Major, 35, said he checked up on his opponent and his coach Ray Minus Jr saw a video, but he’s not concerned. He’s just looking forward to going into the ring and being successful. “He’s coming to the Bahamas, I’m not going overseas, so with the great backing of BTC, I’m looking forward to going out there and putting on a great fight
MEACHER MAJOR
for the Bahamian fans.” Having never lost a fight at home, Major, whose record is 226-1 with 18 KOs, said he doesn’t intend to get that string snapped right now and so he’s inviting the public to come out and watch him do his thing against Acevedo, who at age 29 is 8-3. Former heavyweight champion turned promoter Renaldo ‘the Terminator’ Minus thanked BTC for partnering with Sports Nutrition and Products Bahamas Limited for the event.
“This is BTC country and they are really showing it, because they are involved in every little thing in the Bahamas” Minus said. Leon Williams, the CEO of BTC, said their 500-plus staff are enthused about sponsoring the boxing show, just as they are about the Commonwealth Youth Games next July and FIFA for the beach soccer tournament. “It’s really a privilege for us to be here to sponsor the boxing match,” Williams said. “The DNA for BTC is the ability to give back to the country. We don’t just say this is BTC country, we live that. Everything that we do is about promoting the Bahamas.” Minus, who is working along with Katina Aziz, said they are looking forward to the show with Major as the headliner. “Meacher is on a mission for the British Commonwealth title. He’s right on track, but come the 16th, he has an obstacle in the front of him in the name of Roberto Acevedo,” Minus said. “Roberto Acevedo is no slush. He’s tough and Meacher knows he needs a tough fight just to propel him back into the ratings.” Minus also released the Bahamas versus Haiti undercard, which includes the return of Bernard Rolle in a heavyweight match against Decius ‘the Machine’ Delan, who is undefeated
as an amateur. “If Bernard catches him, I think that one will be all over,” Minus said. During the press conference, the Haitian boxers phoned in for an interview and each indicated in Creole that they intend to come to the Bahamas to put on a show. Rolle, who heard some of the comments in English, said he’s going to let his fists do the talking when he meets Delan in the ring. “He’s talking about destroying, but mouth can say anything,” Rolle said. “Let’s get in this ring.” Rolle, who has been inactive since he lost to Jerry ‘Big Daddy’ Butler, said he’s been preparing for the fight and he’s going to take advantage of this opportunity he’s getting through the sponsorship of BTC to make the show happen. Also, undefeated lightweight Lester Brown will put his 3-0 record on the line against Pierre Enabe, while Hensley ‘the Bruiser’ Strachan will take on Remy Felisier. General admission is $25 and VIP is $75, which includes drinks, food and ringside seating. Tickets are available online at SNPBL facebook and BTC’s facebook under events and all of their social networks. Immediately following the event, Aziz said there would be a party in the parking lot of the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium.
Jamaal one of the top offensive linesmen for Eagles By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net JAMAAL Symonette never played a football game before he left the Bahamas as a teenager. But for the past four years, except one year when he sat out with an injury, he has been one of the top offensive linesmen for the North Carolina Central University Eagles. Symonette, back in action after sitting out the 2013/14 season, started every game at right tackle for the Eagles this season. On Monday, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) named Symonette to its All-MEAC Football Team as a member of the AllAcademic Team and All-MEAC Second Team after posting the team’s second-highest grade of 89 per cent on blocking assignments with 27 pancake blocks. The 23-year-old son of Geoffrey and Audrey Symonette will be graduating from NCCU on December 10 just before he and the Eagles play in the second annual Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl inside the Georgia Dome in Atlanta December 17 in a game at 12 noon that will be televised on ABC. “I never really watched football growing up, but somebody just came from Florida and looked at me and told me that I have a good size to play football, but I said I wasn’t interested,” said Symonette, who prides himself as being a grand nephew of the late Timothy Gibson, the 1973 author of the Bahamas national anthem.
“My parents told me that I should give it a chance and it brought me a free education. It allowed me to get a degree and my parents didn’t have to pay a dime.” After leaving St John’s College in 2010, Symonette enrolled at Miami Beach Senior High School for one year before he transferred to a private school in Hialeah, Florida and then it was on to NCCU where he studied accounting where he earned his degree. But at 6-foot-3 and 298 pounds, Symonette is even prouder of the way he has been able to hold his own at right tackle as he soared for the Eagles, including starting in every game they played this season. “When I first came to NCCU, we were really bad. We were about 2-9,” Symonette remembered. “When we got our new coaches in 2014, everything turned around for us. We won two championships in 2014 and 2015. This year, we went 9-0 in our conference and December 17, we will be playing for the bowl game. “I feel confident with my team. We always step up to the competition. Last week we played our rival school AT&T and it was a war going into the game, but we knew that we were the better team and we came out victorious. Going into this bowl game, we are going to prepare like we do any other game in the regular season. We are going to go out there to win.” During his tenure at NCCU, Symonette said he was excited to be a part of three championship teams in a row and to cap it off person-
JAMAAL SYMONETTE ally by being named All-Conference for academics and second team All-Conference member. There were also a number of other achievements that Symonette said he will take with him when he finishes as a member of the Eagles’ team. But if there’s any regard or disappointment, he indicated that it will be having to sit out the 2014 season after he ended the 2013 season with double shoulder surgeries that kept him out of action until 2015. The good thing coming out of the ordeal is that he never gave up. He remained focused on getting healthy again to finish off strong this year. It’s a lesson he wishes to share with other Bahamians who hope to follow in his footsteps. “Don’t give up. Keep fighting no matter what,” he said. “I came from a place where there were times when I didn’t know if I would
eat. Just keep pressing forward and put God first and I can guarantee you that everything will fall into place.” Symonette, who enjoys eating fried chicken and listed ‘Naked and Afraid’ as his favourite show, ‘Unruly Prayer’ by Popcaan as his best song for him to listen to, his favourite book to read as ‘The Glass Castle’ by Jeannette Walls, ‘Black Hawk Down’ as his most popular movie to watch and Kobe Bryant as his most impressive athlete, said once he graduates, if there’s no offer on the table for him to play professionally, he will enter the job market. But he noted that in February, he is scheduled to come home with his former coach in Miami to the Bahamas where they will participate in a showcase for local players. “This will be my coach’s first time in the Bahamas trying to teach Bahamians how to play football,” Symonette said. “So it will also be a nice homecoming for me as well.” Over the period of time he’s been playing the sport, Symonette at one time or the other has shared the field with a number of Bahamians, including Sheldon and Lawrence Williams, who are enrolled at Acadia Academy in Canada; Delmar Taylor, who graduated from Florida International University and is now a personal trainer at US1 Fitness Center in Miami; Anthony Hamilton, who is playing for Florida Atlantic University and quarterback Ricardo Lewis where they attended Miami Senior High School.
Star Sailors
League Finals, Pg 3
TIGER WOODS ON PAR FOR HERO WORLD CHALLENGE By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net LEGENDARY golfer Tiger Woods, insisting that he needs to play again, is excited about making his return to professional golf this week in the Hero World Challenge at the Albany Resort. At a press conference yesterday on the eve of the pro-am that will kick off the tournament today, Woods said there’s nothing like being back on tour, especially in an event that bears his name in the Bahamas. “To come here to Albany, it doesn’t get a lot better than this. I’ve had a lot of friends who are either athletes or celebrities come down here,” he said. “They’re never bugged, there’s no paparazzi. People understand. The members understand they want their privacy. “Albany, we have 1/10th of all the billionaires on the planet here and that’s saying something. For them to come down here and feel safe and feel like they can be here and operate and run their businesses but also bring their families and enjoy leisure time here as well and have that privacy is incredible.” For Woods, it’s even more special to make his return here. “The Bahamas is special in its own reason, but I also made my comeback here because this is my event,” he stated. “And I know you have to be in the top 50 in order to get into this event, but the committee allowed one person who’s outside the top 50 get into the event.” While the committee gave him the exemption to play in his own tournament, Woods said he’s just thrilled to be back with his peers again, many of whom watched in awe as he claimed 79 titles, including 14 majors during the prime of his illustrious career. “I think what most people don’t really understand is how much of a fraternity this tour really is. The amount of dinners I’ve gone out to with the guys, the texts, the phone calls over the last 14, 15, 16 months, the guys wanted me to come back out here and play or help in any way possible,” he said. “Playing practice rounds at home with the guys for a little side change has been fun, but to get back out here at this level has been a challenge. A lot of hard work, an extreme inordinate amount of patience, which as you all know is not exactly one of my hallmarks. So I’ve had to exercise that more so than usual, but it’s allowed me to get to this
SEE PAGE 3
PAGE 2, Wednesday, November 30, 2016
THE TRIBUNE
Western Warriors draw 1-1 with Baha Juniors
ON THE REPLAY: Western Warriors and Baha Juniors ended up in a 1-1 draw Saturday as the under-17 girls continued play in the Bahamas Football Association’s Youth Development League. Photos: BahamasLocal.com
MOBILE
APP
Take us with you Everywhere you go!
THE TRIBUNE
Wednesday, November 30, 2016, PAGE 3
STAR SAILORS LEAGUE FINALS STARTS WITH QUALIFYING RACES THE 4th edition of Star Sailors League Finals kicked off in earnest yesterday with two qualifying races. The early exchanges confirmed the amazing quality and depth in the fleet, which contains no less than 16 Olympic medallists among the skippers alone. The trade winds have been con‑ sistently blowing for days before the regatta and the sea state was a significant factor, especially as the race course was at the very top of Montagu Bay. Squall activity af‑ fected both the wind speed and direction, with the breeze ranging from 10 to 20 knots and oscillating 30 degrees. After two races, Italians Diego Negro and Sergio Lambertenghi showed consistency and speed to lead the qualifying rounds by a sin‑ gle point without winning a race. Americans Mark Mendelblatt & Brian Fatih finished a solid second and Brazilians Robert Scheidt & Henry Boening, finished the day in third. “It was a great day, not an easy first one though, lots of wind changes and waves.” said Diego Negri. “We had a good start on the first race, we were on the left, fought among the top five at the top mark and finished third. For the second race the wind increased a little bit, we decided to start more in the middle of the fleet and we were leeward to the fleet, got a big righty and it looked good, we had a nice fight and with a great down‑ wind leg we finished second.” Robert Scheidt is back at the
DIEGO NEGRI and crew in action. SSL Finals having missed out last year due to his Olympic Laser cam‑ paign. Sailing with Henry Boening, the Brazilians were first to the top mark and were never overtaken, winning the first race of the regat‑ ta. Americans Mark Mendelblatt and Brian Fatih were never out of the leading pack and finished sec‑ ond. Italians Diego Negro & Sergio Lambertenghi showed good speed and consistency to take third. “The first race was very good, it was a good fight with Mendelblatt and Negri,” said Robert Scheidt. “We are happy we were able to hold them off and won the first race. The second race wasn’t so good, we made some technical mistakes but we finished within the top 10 and that was our goal.” Race two got underway after the top mark was moved to accommo‑ date a big wind shift, and it was a
blanket start, with virtually the en‑ tire fleet hitting the line on the start gun. SSL City Grand Slam champi‑ ons, Xavier Rohart & Pierre-Alexis Ponsot copped a turning penalty in the first race of the regatta but the Frenchmen came back fighting in race two, taking the gun ahead of Negri & Lambertenghi. Jorge Zarif & Bruno Prada sailed intelligently upwind, and showed great technique downwind to claim third. After two races, the top VIP team was Jonas Høgh-Christensen and Stevie Milne, with two sixth place finishes, putting the Danish/ Northern Ireland combination in seventh place. Høgh-Christensen is a phenomenal Finn sailor repre‑ senting Denmark at three Olympic Games, winning the silver medal in London after an epic battle with Ben Ainslie. However, this was the first time the Great Dane has even raced a star. “We had a very good feeling with the boat, we tried to keep it simple and stay our of trouble,” said Jonas Høgh-Christensen: “We had a cou‑ ple of bad starts but managed to re‑ cover quite quickly after and sailed fast, both up and downwind, espe‑ cially downwind we are fast. It was super fun and we really enjoyed it! “I love the Star, it’s tough, it’s technical, but with the free pump‑ ing it really comes in handy being a Finn sailor. The conditions couldn’t be better, it’s sailing in paradise.” The youngest skipper taking part in the 2016 SSL Finals is the 22
year-old Argentinian VIP Facun‑ do Olezza, racing with Portuguese Finn and Star sailor, Federico Melo. The rookie notched up a fifth place in the first race and ended the day in 8th position in the fleet. “It was unbelievable to finish fifth in the first race! I personally try not to think about all of the names of my competitors, if I think of what they have achieved in their careers I would be more respectful than what I should be,” said Facundo Olezza. “So I just try to do my best, go out and sail. On top of everything try to enjoy it. The opportunity to race among these champions is one in a million. I am really happy to be here and I am learning a lot from Federico Melo. I love the Star, I don’t know what I was doing when I was sailing the other boats, from now on I will try to do some races on the Star along with my Finn Olympic campaign”. Racing at the SSL Finals 2016 continues today with the second day of the qualifying rounds. A maximum of four races are sched‑ uled for today with live coverage starting at 1100 (GMT-5). Full coverage of all four days of action will be streamed live on the Internet with expert commentary from special studio guests, includ‑ ing America’s Cup four time win‑ ner Dennis Conner and Olympic silver medallist in London 2012 Luke Patience. On the water, the latest in hi-tech camera technology, as well as Virtual Eye 3D Graphics, will provide thrilling viewing.
Stingers top Giants 98-88, Pirates knock off Rebels 76-71 THE PJ Stingers and the Pirates emerged victorious as the New Providence Basketball Association continued its regular season at the AF Adderley Gymnasium Monday night. In the feature contest, the Sting‑ ers rallied past the Commonwealth Bank Giants 98-88, while the Pi‑ rates knocked off the Rhythm Re‑ bels 76-71. Stingers 98, Giants 88: After taking a 22-15 lead at the end of the first quarter, Commonwealth Bank watched as PJ’s pulled even at 3535 at the half. They both scored 27 points in the third, but the differ‑ ence came in the fourth when the
TIGER, FROM 1 point where I’m able to compete, I’m able to play.” Having undergone two surgeries since he last played in a golf tournament 15 months ago, Woods said his goal this week is to get back to the level that he was before he had to take the time off. “I’m entered in an event, I’m going to try to win this thing. I know Bubba went low, shot 25 under. That’s going to be a tall order. I haven’t played in a while. Shooting 25 under is go‑ ing to be a little hard. But hey, I’m going to give it my best,” he stated. “I’m going to be focused, I’m going to do what I can do and put the ball in the correct spots, give myself looks and try to bury these putts and post, post scores, and get myself in that mix come Sunday afternoon.” After taking so much time off to recuperate, Woods said he had plenty time to reflect on whether or not he would ever play again. That time is here and he said he’s ready to em‑ brace a new era. “There was a lot of trepi‑ dation and times where I thought ‑‑ I did think of that because it was realis‑ tic,” he stated. “When I had my knee redone and it was
Stingers used a 36-26 spurt to se‑ cure the win. Randy Williams scored 18 points with six rebounds for PJ’s. Both Devon Ferguson (with seven re‑ bounds) and James Rolle canned 16 points; Vernon Stubbs had 14 points and four rebounds; Batch‑ elette LaFleur had 12 points, nine rebounds and four assists and An‑ thony Whylly helped out with 10 points and eight rebounds. David ‘Skittles’ Taylor came off the bench and scored 26 points with four rebounds and three as‑ sists to pace the Giants. Michael Bain Jr had 24 points, six rebounds and three assists; Tehran Cox had
10 points and four rebounds; Gijo Bain had nine points and 13 re‑ bounds and Jeffery Henfield added eight points and eight rebounds. Pirates 76, Rebels 71: In a close‑ ly contested games, both teams switched leads in all four quarters to make it an interesting matchup. The Rebels won the opening quarter 20-19 but the Pirates re‑ sponded to go up 39-31 at the half. Again, the Rebels outscored the Pirates 22-17 in the third, but the Pirates won the final period 20-18 to hold on for the victory. Domonique Fernander had 18 points and nine rebounds; Kevin Wright had 12 points, seven assists
Pawan Munjal, the chair‑ man, managing director and CEO of Hero Moto‑ Corp, welcomed Woods, the tournament host, to this year’s tournament, which returns for the second year. “We all know what he’s done in so many years, bro‑ ken all kinds of records, stayed World No. 1 for TIGER WOODS many, many consecutive weeks, has been the PGA completely blown, I knew Player of the Year a record it was nine months, but I 11 times and I could go on knew I could come back and on,” he said. “Truly from it. It’s not nerve dam‑ a global brand in himself. age. We could not have chosen a “When you’re dealing better person, a better per‑ with a spine, when you’re son suited to be the global dealing with nerves, it’s corporate partner for Hero a totally different deal. MotoCorp.” There’s a lot of guys who “There is a special excite‑ have had injuries like that ment in the air. Like all of and have come back and you, we are very happy to done well and have won welcome you back to com‑ golf tournaments, but each petitive golf, Tiger. We saw individual spinal injury is that interest that you gen‑ different and has its own lit‑ erated this morning with tle personality.” the media from across the Woods, who has been globe. The contingent this busy building his business year is sizeable,” he said. empire under one entity “But before we go on, I during his hiatus from play‑ think we’ve seen a great job ing on the tour, said every‑ having been done here at thing is coming into place Albany by the Tiger Woods and now seemed to be the Foundation, the manage‑ right time to play again. ment and staff of Albany “The sponsors are hap‑ after the unfortunate Hur‑ pier than they’ve ever been ricane Matthew. The set‑ because of the cross‑pol‑ ting is looking beautiful, lination, better communi‑ looking much better than cation has now occurred, last year.” and here I am competing Munjal added that Woods again,” he said. is doing his comeback now because of the Hero World Challenge and they’re look‑ ing forward to an exciting time this week at Albany. The Hero World Chal‑ lenge comprises of an 18man field and no one cut. A pro-am will tee of today at 8:30 am before the ac‑ tual tournament kicks of on Thursday at 11:10am and wrap up on Sunday. Bubba Watson shot a 6-under 66 for a three-shot victory over Patrick Reed. For his efforts, Watson walked away with a cash prize of $1 million and a No.4 world ranking. Going into the tourna‑ ment, Watson is ranked at No.10. The top two ranked players Jason Day and Rory Mcllroy are not here, but five more of the top 10 are here, including No.3 Dustin Johnson, No.4 Henrik Sten‑ son, No.5 Jordan Spieth, No.6 Hideki Matsuyama, No.8 Patrick Reed.
and three rebounds and Kronoff Dean added 10 points. For the Rebels, Craig Buchanan had 17 points with eight rebounds and five assists; Anthony Williams had 12 points and 15 rebounds and Devon Brennen chipped in with 109 points, seven rebounds and four assists. The NPBA is slated to be back in action with another double header. TONIGHT 7pm - Breezes High Flyers vs Bargain Wholesale Kings (Division II) 8:30pm - Mr Ship It Freight Reg‑ ulators vs Double R Services Lim‑ ited Cleaners (Division 1)
BOWLING: DAVIS AND DELVA ARE THE MVPS THE most valu‑ able player on the men’s side in City Bowling League competition at Mario’s Bowling and Family Entertainment Centre Monday night was again Lee Davis of the Ten Back Strikers. Davis made the ex‑ clusive 700 club for the second time this season with a gigantic 708 three game set. The runner-up was Raymond Adder‑ ley of the Carib Con‑ struction, who became a first time member of the club with an impressive performance and a 702 second high set. Kevin Williams of the CDM Knights also had a big night, leading all play‑ ers with a huge 278 high game. Williams was fol‑ lowed by Byron McClain of Carib Construction in the high game depart‑ ment with a 258. The leader in the ladies’ category was Uchenna Delva of Island Game Strokers with a 208 sec‑ ond high game and an outstanding 555 high three game set. She was followed by Camille Burnside of the Telco Enterprises with a 544 second high set. Angie Smith of Reach Crusaders struck for the high game of 215. • The team scores for the evening were as follows: Carib Construction 3, BEC Shockers 0; Tel‑ co Enterprises 3, The Avengers 0; Bahamasair Flyers 3, Fresh Blend 0; CDM Knights 3, E&YU Watercoolers 0; Ten Back Strikers 2, Giga Tech 1; Reach Crusaders 2, Checker’s Café 1 and Is‑ land Game 2, TK Falcons 1.
PAGE 4, Wednesday, November 30, 2016
THE TRIBUNE
Blue Waves rout Suns, 73-48 St Anne’s senior boys get win over Temple Christian
PLAY ACTION: The St Anne’s Blue Waves senior boys routed Temple Christian Suns 73-48 in BAISS action on Monday. Photos: Shawn Hanna/The Tribune
THE TRIBUNE
Wednesday, November 30, 2016, PAGE 5
Tiger counts it a success that he’s playing golf again By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer
NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) — This might be one time that Tiger Woods doesn’t measure success on the golf course by the score on his card. He measured it with three words yesterday: “I’m playing again.” There were times during his 15 months away from golf that Woods wasn’t entirely sure that would be the case. He said that when he was at the Hero World Challenge last year, he needed help just to climb out of bed. At an outdoor party at Albany Golf Club, he would mingle for a few minutes and then sit on a stone bench. He spent more time looking back than looking forward, saying at one point that anything else he achieved in golf would be “gravy.” And now he can’t wait to get started on Thursday. The 15-month break to heal following back surgeries is the longest he has been away from golf. Woods was a mixture of optimism and reality about his return. He talked about having all the shots he needs to compete against a field that includes
17 players from the top 40 and Woods, the tournament host who is at a career-low No. 898. He is playing, so he said he wants to win. The outlook is no different. He also noted that Bubba Watson won last year at 25-under par, and it probably will take something around that to win. “I know that’s a tall order since I’ve been away from the game for so long and I’ve made a lot of different changes in my game,” he said. “Physically and also equipment, practice schedules, training, all that has evolved. The mindset of competing hasn’t. That is to go out there and try to beat these guys.” He still is working with swing coach Chris Como, whom he brought on two years ago. Now that Nike is out of the equipment business, Woods is using a TaylorMade driver and fairway metals, a Bridgestone golf ball and his old Scotty Cameron putter that he used to win all but one of his 14 majors. But it starts with playing. “Put it this way: It’s a lot better situation this year than last,” Woods said. “I just couldn’t get out of bed. I needed help. It was a tough, tough time. You asked me then, ‘Could I play?’ No. I can’t even get out of bed. How am I
supposed to swing a club at 120 miles an hour? That’s just two different worlds.” The Hero World Challenge, which he started in 1999 to benefit the Tiger Woods Foundation, is effectively a holiday tournament for golf’s elite that has no cut and pays $1 million to the winner. It feels so much bigger this year because of Woods. Over the last year, he played five holes to open his new golf course, Bluejack National, outside Houston. And he took three swings with a wedge on the par-3 10th hole at Congressional during a day to promote the Quicken Loans National. All three went in the water. Everyone is curious to see how he plays. That includes Woods. His biggest concern is how far his shots will go because he hasn’t played with any adrenaline since the final round of the Wyndham Championship on August 23, 2015. He doesn’t know how his game will stack up against players he watched at Hazeltine when he was an assistant captain at the Ryder Cup. His previous long break from golf was eight months when he had reconstructive surgery on his left knee after winning the 2008 US Open at Torrey Pines, the last
of his 14 major titles. He won his opening match in the Match Play Championship and won two tournaments later at Bay Hill. That was a knee. This is a back. He was 33, not a month away from turning 41. And that was long before any chaos in his personal life. Asked what he would expect to feel Thursday at Albany Golf Club, Woods said, “I’ll let you know then, because I don’t know right now.” “Yeah, there’s nerves, of course, because I care. I care about what I do out there,” he said. “I want to win, and I want to place the ball in the correct spots, give myself the best angles and bury these putts. Trying to figure that out, yeah, there’s nerves.” Woods often talks about the “process” when he’s changing his swing. This was a different kind of process. It starts with hitting golf balls at home, then playing a practice round at home, and then bringing that game out to a tournament, competing and eventually getting into contention. “Right now, I haven’t even competed yet, so I’m at the beginning stages of that,” he said. Jack Nicklaus spoke Tuesday morning at the HSBC Business Forum in Florida and talked
TIGER WOODS (AP)
about how golf wasn’t nearly as important to him as competing. That’s something to which Woods can relate. What he said he missed was the competition, whether on tour or at home with friends. “But the bigger the stage,” Woods said, “the more fun for me.”
THE STANDINGS
PHILADELPHIA Eagles’ Carson Wentz passes during the first half of Monday night’s game against the Green Bay Packers in Philadelphia. (AP)
Disappointed Eagles looking ahead after Monday night loss By ROB MAADDI AP Pro Football Writer PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia Eagles are back to pointing to the future. They entered the season as a rebuilding team with a rookie quarterback and low expectations. A 3-0 start changed everything and put playoffs in the conversation. But the Eagles have lost six of eight and suddenly they’re thinking about next season and beyond, even though they’re mathematically still in contention. “I do think we’re heading in the right direction,” coach Doug Pederson said Tuesday, a day after a 27-13 loss to Green Bay . “We have a process. We’re going to stick with that process and that routine. You look back on seasons like this and some of the close games that we
were in and you learn from them and it puts you in better positions in the future. So we just continue the journey, continue the process.” The Packers (5-6) came to Philadelphia reeling. They had lost four straight games and no team had defeated the Eagles in their house. But Green Bay has No. 12 and Aaron Rodgers was spectacular . Meanwhile, Carson Wentz and a mediocre supporting cast couldn’t keep up. It didn’t help that the defence couldn’t make any stops, allowing the Packers to convert 11 of 15 on third and fourth downs. These Eagles can’t win shootouts. Not with Wentz learning on the job. Not without any real playmakers on offense. Definitely not with No. 1 running back Ryan Mathews sidelined and No.
1 receiver Jordan Matthews missing most of the second half. “These young guys are getting valuable, valuable reps,” Pederson said. “It may not show on the scoreboard and it may not show with the wins and losses. I totally get that. We’re in this business to win games. That’s why we’re here. “But at the same time, I look at the process. I look at the plan. I use those words because those are words that we use around here because there is a plan and there is a process. You build your team through the draft. You pick up a couple good free agents in the offseason. You continue to work. You watch these young kids develop and turn into ball players and you see the potential.” Pederson took over a 7-9 team that had regressed under Chip Kelly. Wentz
was drafted with the second overall pick to be the franchise quarterback, but he didn’t get the starting job until Sam Bradford was traded eight days before the season opener. With Bradford, the Eagles weren’t expected to go anywhere. So, they’re ahead of schedule because Wentz has taken every snap. “I look at how Seattle has built their team. I look how the Raiders have built their team,” Pederson said. “I look at the plan that’s been in place for a lot of teams around the National Football League that are having success now in their third, fourth, seventh years. “That’s the direction that we’re heading in. I see us three, four years down the road. I see us seven, eight years down the road having consistency that way and winning more of these games than not.”
THE TRIBUNE
Wednesday, November 30, 2016, PAGE 7
Ennis-Hill to get 3rd world title after Russian loses gold LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — British heptathlete Jessica Ennis-Hill is in line to receive a third world championship gold medal after Russia’s Tatyana Chernova was stripped of the 2011 title yesterday for a doping violation. The Court of Arbitration for Sport also stripped Chernova of her bronze medal from the 2012 London Olympics and announced a new suspension for a separate blood doping offence. Two other female Russian runners — Yekaterina Sharmina and Kristina Ugarova — also received suspensions for biological passport violations. The IAAF referred the three cases to the arbitration court in February after Russia’s track and field federation was suspended for widespread doping in the country. CAS ruled yesterday that all of Chernova’s results between August 15, 2011, and July 22, 2013, are annulled — meaning she loses her gold from the 2011 world championships in Daegu,
South Korea, and bronze from the 2012 London Olympics. Ennis-Hill, who finished second behind Chernova in Daegu, is now expected to inherit a third world title to go with her championships in 2009 and 2015. Ennis-Hill said the picture of Chernova beating her in 2011 was “forever imprinted in my mind.” “However much it drove me on for what I was about to achieve at my first Olympics in London, in my heart I just knew it was wrong,” Ennis-Hill wrote on Instagram after the CAS ruling. “So happy to finally be receiving my gold medal. Triple World Champion WOW.” Ennis-Hill also won the Olympic gold medal in London and took silver at this year’s games in Rio de Janeiro. Chernova had previously been given a two-year ban backdated to 2013 after testing positive for a steroid when a sample from the 2009 world championships was reanalysed.
IN this Tuesday, August 30, 2011 file photo, Russia’s Tatyana Chernova, left, embraces silver medallist Jessica Ennis of Britain after winning gold in the Heptathlon following the 800m at the World Athletics Championships in Daegu, South Korea. (AP) In position to receive Chernova’s London bronze medal is the original fourthplace finisher, Lyudmila
Yospenko of Ukraine. Russia had previously annulled Chernova’s results between August 2009 and
August 2011 — dates which protected her Daegu gold and London bronze. Ennis-Hill had filed a
THe WeaTHer repOrT
5-Day Forecast
TOday
OrlandO
High: 86° F/30° C low: 64° F/18° C
Tampa
THursday
FrIday
saTurday
sunday
A morning shower; partly sunny
Partly cloudy with a few showers
Partly sunny, humid; a p.m. shower
Partly sunny with a shower or two
Lots of sun with a shower; humid
Intervals of clouds and sun
High: 82°
Low: 71°
High: 83° Low: 70°
High: 82° Low: 70°
High: 83° Low: 71°
High: 83° Low: 71°
AccuWeather RealFeel
AccuWeather RealFeel
AccuWeather RealFeel
AccuWeather RealFeel
AccuWeather RealFeel
AccuWeather RealFeel
91° F
82° F
95°-83° F
99°-74° F
92°-74° F
90°-72° F
The exclusive AccuWeather RealFeel Temperature® is an index that combines the effects of temperature, wind, humidity, sunshine intensity, cloudiness, precipitation, pressure and elevation on the human body—everything that affects how warm or cold a person feels. Temperatures reflect the high and the low for the day.
N
almanac
E
W
aBaCO
S
N
High: 79° F/26° C low: 74° F/23° C
8-16 knots
S
High: 83° F/28° C low: 71° F/22° C
7-14 knots
FT. lauderdale
FreepOrT
High: 83° F/28° C low: 73° F/23° C
E
W S
E
W
WesT palm BeaCH
N
uV inDex toDay
TOnIGHT
High: 83° F/28° C low: 69° F/21° C
High: 83° F/28° C low: 69° F/21° C
mIamI
High: 83° F/28° C low: 73° F/23° C
7-14 knots
High: 82° F/28° C low: 71° F/22° C
High: 81° F/27° C low: 76° F/24° C
N
S
E
W
6-12 knots
S
8-16 knots Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2016
High: 80° F/27° C low: 76° F/24° C
The higher the AccuWeather UV IndexTM number, the greater the need for eye and skin protection.
tiDes For nassau High
Ht.(ft.)
Low
Ht.(ft.)
Today
8:03 a.m. 8:19 p.m.
3.0 2.4
1:43 a.m. 2:30 p.m.
0.0 0.1
Thursday
8:40 a.m. 8:57 p.m.
3.0 2.3
2:20 a.m. 3:09 p.m.
0.0 0.1
Friday
9:18 a.m. 9:37 p.m.
2.9 2.3
2:58 a.m. 3:47 p.m.
0.1 0.2
Saturday
9:57 a.m. 10:20 p.m.
2.9 2.3
3:37 a.m. 4:28 p.m.
0.2 0.2
Sunday
10:39 a.m. 11:07 p.m.
2.8 2.3
4:20 a.m. 5:11 p.m.
0.3 0.3
Monday
11:25 a.m. 11:59 p.m.
2.8 2.3
5:08 a.m. 5:57 p.m.
0.4 0.3
Tuesday
12:16 p.m. -----
2.7 -----
6:02 a.m. 6:47 p.m.
0.5 0.2
sun anD moon Sunrise Sunset
6:37 a.m. 5:20 p.m.
Moonrise Moonset
7:23 a.m. 6:32 p.m.
First
Full
last
new
dec. 7
dec. 13
dec. 20
dec. 29
CaT Island
E
W
High: 83° F/28° C low: 75° F/24° C
Statistics are for Nassau through 1 p.m. yesterday Temperature High ................................................... 81° F/27° C Low .................................................... 72° F/22° C Normal high ....................................... 80° F/27° C Normal low ........................................ 69° F/20° C Last year’s high ................................. 82° F/28° C Last year’s low ................................... 68° F/20° C Precipitation As of 1 p.m. yesterday ................................. 0.00” Year to date ............................................... 48.86” Normal year to date ................................... 38.48”
eleuTHera
nassau
N
Key WesT
complaint over the Daegu results with the IAAF, seeking to claim the gold. CAS said Tuesday that Chernova, Sharmina and Ugarova had all been found guilty of blood doping based on analysis of their biological passports, a system that tracks an athlete’s blood profile over time to detect signs of cheating. CAS handed Chernova a suspension of 3 years, 8 months, starting retroactively on February 5, 2016. CAS said her previous twoyear ban would be deducted from the sanction. Sharmina, a former European indoor 1,500-metre bronze medallist, received a three-year suspension backdated to December 7, 2015. All her results between June 17, 2011, and August 5, 2015, were annulled. That would include her gold medal at the 2013 University Games in Kazan, Russia. Ugarova received a twoyear ban, backdated to September 7, 2015, and loses her results from June 26, 2012, to December 25, 2012.
andrOs
san salVadOr
GreaT eXuma
High: 81° F/27° C low: 76° F/24° C
High: 80° F/27° C low: 77° F/25° C
N
High: 81° F/27° C low: 76° F/24° C
S
lOnG Island
insurance management tracking map
High: 81° F/27° C low: 77° F/25° C
H
E
W
8-16 knots
mayaGuana High: 83° F/28° C low: 78° F/26° C
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
CrOOKed Island / aCKlIns raGGed Island High: 81° F/27° C low: 78° F/26° C
High: 82° F/28° C low: 77° F/25° C
GreaT InaGua High: 85° F/29° C low: 77° F/25° C
N
E
W
E
W
N
S
S
8-16 knots
10-20 knots
marine Forecast aBaCO andrOs
L
CaT Island CrOOKed Island eleuTHera FreepOrT GreaT eXuma GreaT InaGua lOnG Island mayaGuana nassau raGGed Island san salVadOr
Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday:
WINDS SE at 7-14 Knots S at 4-8 Knots SE at 6-12 Knots SE at 6-12 Knots E at 8-16 Knots ESE at 7-14 Knots E at 10-20 Knots ENE at 8-16 Knots E at 8-16 Knots SE at 6-12 Knots SSE at 7-14 Knots S at 4-8 Knots E at 8-16 Knots ESE at 6-12 Knots E at 10-20 Knots ENE at 8-16 Knots E at 10-20 Knots E at 8-16 Knots E at 12-25 Knots ENE at 8-16 Knots E at 4-8 Knots SSE at 3-6 Knots NE at 8-16 Knots E at 8-16 Knots E at 8-16 Knots SE at 6-12 Knots
WAVES 4-8 Feet 4-7 Feet 1-3 Feet 1-2 Feet 4-8 Feet 3-6 Feet 5-9 Feet 4-7 Feet 5-9 Feet 4-7 Feet 2-4 Feet 1-3 Feet 1-3 Feet 1-3 Feet 5-9 Feet 4-7 Feet 3-5 Feet 2-4 Feet 8-12 Feet 5-9 Feet 1-3 Feet 1-3 Feet 3-6 Feet 2-4 Feet 3-5 Feet 2-4 Feet
VISIBILITY 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 6 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles
WATER TEMPS. 76° F 76° F 78° F 79° F 78° F 78° F 80° F 80° F 75° F 75° F 83° F 83° F 76° F 76° F 81° F 81° F 79° F 79° F 79° F 79° F 77° F 78° F 78° F 78° F 77° F 77° F
PAGE 8, Wednesday, November 30, 2016
THE TRIBUNE
IN this November 2, 2016 photo, players of Brazil’s Chapecoense team pose before a Copa Sudamericana soccer match against Argentina’s San Lorenzo in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Top row from left, goalkeeper Marcos Danilo Padilha, Bruno Rangel Domingues, Helio Hermito Zampier Neto, Cleber Santana Loureiro, Willian Thiago. Bottom row from left, Guilherme Gimenez de Souza, Ananias Eloi Castro Monteiro, Tiago “Tiaguinho” Da Rocha Vieira, Matheus Bitencourt da Silva, Dener Assuncao Braz and Jose “Gil” Gildeixon Clemente de Paiva. A plane carrying the Brazilian soccer club Chapecoense team that was on it’s way for a Copa Sudamericana final match against Colombia’s Atletico Nacional crashed in a mountainous area outside Medellin, Colombian officials said yesterday. (AP)
Brazilian soccer team’s plane crashes in Colombia, 75 dead By LUIS BENAVIDES and JOSHUA GOODMAN Associated Press LA UNION, Colombia (AP) — A chartered plane carrying a Brazilian soccer team to the biggest match in its history crashed into a Colombian hillside and broke into pieces, killing 75 people and leaving six survivors, officials said yesterday. The British Aerospace 146 short-haul plane, operated by a charter airline with roots in Venezuela, declared an emergency and lost radar contact just before 10pm Monday (0300 GMT Tuesday) because of an electrical failure, according to Colombia’s aviation agency. The aircraft, which had departed from Santa Cruz, Bolivia, was carrying the Chapecoense soccer team from southern Brazil for today’s first leg of a two-game Copa Sudamericana final against Atletico Nacional of Medellin. “What was supposed to be a celebration has turned into a tragedy,” Medellin Mayor Federico Gutierrez said from the search and rescue command centre. As the depth of what is Colombia’s deadliest air tragedy in two decades sank in, sportsmanship prevailed and Atletico Nacional asked that the title of the continent’s second-most important club championship be given to its up-andcoming rival, whose fairy tale run had electrified soccer-crazed Brazil. Expressions of grief poured in from all over the soccer world. South America’s federation cancelled all scheduled matches in a show of solidarity, Real Madrid’s squad interrupted its training for a minute of silence and Argentina legend Diego Maradona sent his condolences to the victims’ families over Facebook. Rescuers working through the night were initially heartened after pulling three passengers alive from the wreckage. But as the hours passed, heavy rainfall and low visibility grounded helicopters and slowed efforts to reach the crash site. At daybreak, dozens of bodies scattered across a muddy mountainside were collected into white bags. They were then loaded onto several Black Hawk helicopters that had to perform a tricky manoeuvre to land on the crest of the Andes mountains. The plane’s fuselage appeared to have broken into two upon hitting the mountain top, with the nose facing downward into a steep valley. Images broadcast on lo-
RESCUE workers search the wreckage site of a chartered airplane that crashed outside Medellin, Colombia, yesterday. The plane was carrying the Brazilian first division soccer club Chapecoense team that was on it’s way for a Copa Sudamericana final match against Colombia’s Atletico Nacional. (AP Photo/Luis Benavides) cal television showed three passengers on stretchers and connected to an IV arriving at a hospital in ambulances. Among the survivors, Chapecoense defender Alan Ruschel was in the most serious condition, and was later transported to another facility to undergo surgery for a spinal fracture. His teammates Helio Zampier and Jakson Follmann also suffered multiple trauma injuries, hospital officials said. A journalist travelling with the team was recovering from surgery and two Bolivian crew members who survived were in stable condition. The aircraft is owned by LaMia, a company that started off as a regional operator in Venezuela but later relocated to Bolivia, where it was granted certification to operate last January. Despite such apparently limited experience the airline has a close relationship with several premier South American squads. Earlier this month, the plane involved in the crash transported Barcelona forward Lionel Messi and the national team from Brazil to Colombia between
World Cup qualifier matches. The airliner also appears to have transported the national squads of Brazil, Bolivia and Venezuela over the last three months, according to a log of recent activity provided by Flightradar24.com. Before being taken offline, LaMia’s website said it operated three 146 Avro short-haul jets made by British Aerospace and with a maximum range of around 2,965 kilometres (1,600 nautical miles) — about the same as the distance between Santa Cruz and Medellin, the route it was flying when it went down. “By reducing payload the plane could fly further,” said Richard Aboulafia, an aviation analyst at consultant Teal Group in Fairfax, Virginia. “Still, it does appear to have been flying at the outer end of its range capability.” Colombia’s aviation authority said initial reports suggest the aircraft was suffering electrical problems although investigators were also looking into an account from one of the survivors that the plane ran out
of fuel about five minutes from its expected landing at Jose Maria Cordova airport outside Medellin. “We can’t rule out anything. The investigation is ongoing and we’re going to await the results,” said Gustavo Vargas, a retired Bolivian air force general who is president of the airline. Bolivia’s civil aviation agency said the aircraft picked up the Brazilian team in Santa Cruz, where players had arrived earlier in the day on a commercial flight from Sao Paulo. Spokesman Cesar Torrico said the plane underwent an inspection before departing for Colombia and reported no problems. British Aerospace, which is now known as BAE Systems, says that the first 146-model plane took off in 1981 and that fewer than 400 were built in the UK through 2003. Around 220 of are still in service in a variety of roles, including aerial firefighting and overnight freight services. The airplane that crashed was built in 1999, Vargas said. A video published on the team’s Facebook page showed the team readying
for its flight Monday in Sao Paulo’s Guarulhos international airport. Photos of team members in the cockpit and posing in front of the plane ahead of departure quickly spread across social media. The team, from the small agro-industrial city of Chapeco, was in the midst of a Cinderella season. It joined Brazil’s first division in 2014 for the first time since the 1970s and advanced last week to the Copa Sudamericana finals — the equivalent of the UEFA Europa League tournament — after defeating Argentina’s San Lorenzo and Independiente, as well as Colombia’s Junior. “This morning I said goodbye to them and they told me they were going after the dream, turning that dream into reality,” Chapecoense board member Plinio De Nes told Brazil’s TV Globo. “The dream was over early this morning.” The team is so modest that tournament organisers ruled that its 22,000-seat arena was too small to host the final match, which was moved to a stadium 300
miles (480 kilometres) to the north, in the city of Curitiba. The team won over fans across Brazil with its spectacular run to the finals, with some even taking up a campaign online to move the final match to Rio de Janeiro’s iconic Maracana stadium, where the 2014 World Cup finals were played. The tragedy of so many young and talented players’ lives and dreams cut short brought an outpouring of support far beyond Brazil’s borders. Atletico Nacional said in a statement it was offering its title to the team, saying in a statement that the accident “leaves an indelible mark on the history of Latin American and world soccer.” Closer to home, fans mourned the terrible loss. “This is unbelievable. I am walking on the grass of the stadium and I feel like I am floating,” Andrei Copetti told The Associated Press in Capeco. “No one understands how a story that was so amazing could suffer such a devastating reversal. For many people here reality has still not struck.”