12152022 NEWS AND SPORT

‘FTX’S BAHAMAS HEAD CONFESSED’

Securities Commission director says admission led to liquidation move

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE head of FTX’s Bahamian subsidiary sparked an “urgent” police probe into possible criminal misconduct when he confessed to local regulators about the misuse of multibillion dollar client funds.

Christina Rolle, the Securities Commission’s executive director, in a November 10, 2022, affidavit said the admissions by Ryan Salame during the final hours of the crypto currency exchange’s implosion sealed the decision to place FTX Digital Markets

in provisional liquidation under the Supreme Court’s supervision.

The freshly-unsealed affidavit revealed that the outcome of the previous day’s conference call with Mr Salame, which was also attended by Allyson Maynard-Gibson KC, the former attorney general, in her capacity as FTX Digital Markets’ local attorney, “exacerbated the need for the intervention” of the Supreme Court given revelations that will place Sam Bankman-Fried and his inner circle in further legal peril.

SHOPPERS WARNED: DON’T GO BROKE FOR CHRISTMAS

By JADE RUSSELL jrussell@tribunemedia.net

A FINANCIAL expert urged residents to take a “pause” and not to go broke this Christmas season while shopping.

Gowon Bowe, Fidelity Bank Bahamas’ CEO, said people should manage their money cautiously as “Christmas doesn’t stop the

world from turning”.

“Persons must be reminded that after Christmas, there’s still going to be utility payments, there’s still going to be housing payments, whether that’d be rent or mortgage. There’s still going to be the need for school fees and still going to be the need for putting food on the table,” he said when

AIRLINE WORKERS SIGN AGREEMENT

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

AFTER several months of negotiations, Nassau Flight Services and the Airport Airline and Allied Workers Union (AAAWU) signed a five-year industrial agreement at the Office of the Prime Minister yesterday.

Some of the features of the new industrial agreement include lump sum

payments, increments over a three-year period and

increases in workers’ meals and travel allowances, among other things.

AAAWU’s general secretary, Susan Palmer admitted that negotiations began on a “contentious” note, but ended harmoniously.

Obie Roberts, chairman of NFS, agreed, saying after several months of negotiations, he was happy that both parties were able to come to an amicable

‘NO SPECIAL TREATMENT FOR FTX FOUNDER IN PRISON’

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

ACTING Commissioner of Corrections Doan Cleare said former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried is getting no preferential treatment in prison, adding that “all inmates are treated equally”.

The acting commissioner told The Tribune yesterday that the 30-year-old will remain in the prison’s infirmary until the facility’s classification board has seen him and recommended a suitable place for him to be housed.

As for what the options the board may look into, Mr Cleare said: “That is (privileged) information — I cannot release that to the public. I cannot give you the options the classification board will give me because I don’t have the options as yet. They will be seeing him sometime today or tomorrow. He will be placed in a well secured area (of BDCS).”

RBC DIGITAL BANKING IN 3-DAY OUTAGE

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

ROYAL Bank of Canada (RBC) yesterday pledged it is “working diligently” to restore its digital banking platform with businesses branding the three-day woe as “an absolute catastrophe” for commerce.

Multiple Bahamian companies told Tribune Business the “crazy” situation had left them unable to make or receive paymentswhen RBC’s online and mobile banking platform went down.

AAAWU general secretary Susan Palmer at the signing.

Photo: Austin Fernander

CHRISTMAS lights at Pompey Square last night - with family the theme of the display. See PAGE TWO for more.

Photo: Austin Fernander

WALKING IN A WINTER WONDERLAND

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

IT’S beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Pompey Square.

A dazzling light display has been set up in the area, with a Christmas “experience” also set up at Western Esplanade.

The government in partnership with Island Pearls, The Think Tank and several designers are responsible for the display.

Kay-Andra Gardiner, chief creative officer at Island Pearls International, said the light show is centred around family, and gives people an opportunity to take pictures, make memories and start new holiday traditions.

“This year, of course, we have the lit entrance (of Pompey Square) that so far everyone is really loving,” she told The Tribune yesterday.

“We also have things like a sleigh, as well as different cut-outs for families to take pictures. We have a few other elements I won’t

give it all the way but a few other elements that people can enjoy.”

On Facebook yesterday, Ms Gardiner posted a “sneak peek” of what to expect, noting that the viewing is free.

“I’m excited that my team (Island Pearls International & Think Tank - Kasimu Ellis) has once again been given the opportunity to provide a magical Christmas experience for Bahamians and visitors to enjoy for the second consecutive year,” she said.

She noted that the nativity scene will reappear in this year’s setup, adding that the experience had started yesterday at Pompey Square and Western Esplanade until January 7, 2023.

Live entertainment, hot chocolate stations and other activities will be available for the public.

Similar to last year’s Christmas decorations in Rawson Square, the light display has provided Bahamians with the opportunity to experience a “magical” festive season.

THE SCENE at Pompey Square last night.

Photos: Austin Fernander

‘Arrest was not influenced by other considerations’

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

DAMIAN Williams, US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said Sam Bankman-Fried’s arrest on Monday was dictated by law enforcement as opposed to any other considerations, including his scheduled testimony in Congress on Tuesday.

Mr Williams explained the issue during a press conference on Tuesday.

“One month ago, FTX, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, collapsed destroying billions of dollars in customer value overnight and for every day of the past month, the dedicated prosecutors of this office and our partners at the FBI, SEC and CFTC have been working around the clock to figure out what happened and to

begin the process of seeking justice. This morning we unsealed an eight-count indictment charging Samuel Bankman-Fried, FTX’s founder, with a series of interrelated fraud schemes that contributed to FTX’s collapse,” the US Attorney said.

“I authorised these charges last week Wednesday. A grand jury here in Manhattan indicted Mr Bankman-Fried last week Friday. We obtained a warrant for his arrest, and that arrest was executed yesterday (Monday) in The Bahamas. Let me be clear, my remarks today are going to be limited, that is by design. This investigation is very much ongoing and it is moving very quickly, but I also want to be clear about something else. While this is our first public announcement, it will not be our last.”

He called the FTX saga “one of the biggest financial frauds in American history.”

Some have questioned the timing of BankmanFried’s arrest, suggesting it occurred to prevent him from testifying under oath before the US House Committee on Financial Services.

However, the US attorney explained: “On the timing of the arrest, as I mentioned before, I authorised charges last week Wednesday and he was indicted as a defendant in this district as of last week Friday, and we had a warrant for his arrest.

“And so the timing was dictated by law enforcement as opposed to any other considerations, including the timing of his testimony in Congress. He was wanted for arrest and we acted on that.”

He outlined the charges against the former billionaire.

“First (it is alleged) that Bankman-Fried defrauded customers of FTX.com, the cryptocurrency exchange he founded. Second, (he allegedly) defrauded lenders to Alameda Research, his proprietary hedge fund. Third we allege he defrauded investors in FTX and lastly, we allege that he violated campaign finance laws,” he said.

He added: “Let me say a little bit more about what we allege in the indictment. First, we charge up from 2019 until earlier this year, Bankman-Fried and his co-conspirators (allegedly) stole billions of dollars from FTX customers. He used that money for his personal benefit, including to make personal investments and to cover expenses and debts of

ATTORNEY TO SEEK BANKMAN-FRIED RELEASE

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

AN attorney representing embattled former FTX CEO Samuel Bankman-Fried says he will proceed with “whatever is necessary” to have his client released from the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services after he was sent there on Tuesday.

The day after Bankman-Fried, also known as SBF, was denied bail by Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt, Crystal Rolle-Casey, his representative on civil matters, said her client will not “just sit in prison and chill” until his next court

appearance on February 8, 2023.

He is also represented by Jerone Roberts and Kendria Dorsett on criminal matters. Mr Roberts could not be reached for comment yesterday.

“What I will say is that he is exploring his options at this time and certainly he is going to proceed with whatever is necessary to be released from prison,” she said in a brief telephone interview yesterday.

“As you can well imagine, he is not going to just sit in prison and chill so we’re exploring options.”

Her comments come as international reports of Bankman-Fried’s bail denial have highlighted the

poor conditions at BDCS. Media outlets have rehashed the contents of a report issued last year by the US Department of State into human rights violations at the correctional facility.

The report said in part: “Inmates removed human waste by bucket. Prisoners complained of the lack of beds and bedding. Some inmates developed bed sores from lying on the bare ground. Sanitation was a general problem, with cells infested with rats, maggots, and insects. Ventilation was also a problem, and some inmates complained of mould and mildew. The government claimed to provide prisoners in maximum-security areas access to toilets and showers one

hour a day. The women’s facilities were generally more comfortable, with dormitory-style quarters and adequate bathrooms.”

The 30-year-old cryptocurrency businessman was charged and sent to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services a day after his arrest at the request of the US government. He faces several fraud charges in the US, including wire fraud, money laundering and conspiracy to commit fraud.

He also faces a warrant from the Southern District of New York and a federal warrant.

In court on Tuesday, Bankman-Fried said he would not waive his right to an extradition hearing.

his hedge fund Alameda Research. Secondly and relatedly, we charge that Bankman-Fried lied to Alameda lenders about the source of the money that he was using to pay those debts.

“Third, we charged that earlier this year in the midst of the crypto crisis, Bankman-Fried lied to investors in FTX about the fact that he had sent billions of dollars in FTX customer money to Alameda and fourth charge that Bankman-Fried violated federal campaign finance laws by causing tens of millions of dollars in illegal campaign contributions to be made to candidates and committees associated with both Democrats and Republicans.”

He said these contributions were allegedly “disguised to look like they were coming from

wealthy co-conspirators when in fact the contributions were funded by Alameda Research with stolen customer money and all of this dirty money was used in service of Bankman-Fried’s desire to buy bipartisan influence and impact the direction of public policy in Washington.”

The US Securities Exchange Commission has also filed charges against Bankman-Fried alleging that he “orchestrated” a years-long scheme to defraud equity investors in FTX Trading limited.

The SEC alleges that Bankman-Fried operated FTX “behind a veneer of legitimacy” but instead from FTX’s inception in 2019, “secretly and improperly” diverted FTX customer funds to his crypto hedge fund Alameda Research.

He also said Bankman-Fried’s vegan diet will be catered to if officials are advised to do so by prison doctors.

Giving an update on Bankman-Fried’s current state, Acting Commissioner Cleare said from all indications he has from the medical department he is “normal”.

The disgraced businessman was denied bail on Tuesday by Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt after being deemed a flight risk. BankmanFried was remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services (BDCS) until his next court appearance in February. He did not waive his right to an extradition hearing.

Before proceedings got underway, Bankman-Fried’s counsel asked that his client be allowed to take his antidepressant medication, Ensam, which he was not able to during his arrest.

He said his client takes Zyrtec and Adderall for allergies and attention deficit disorder respectively, claiming that prisoners in BDCS are not routinely given their medication as prescribed, or at all.

Yesterday, Acting Commissioner Cleare confirmed Bankman-Friend has his medication while in the Fox Hill facility.

Questioned on the claims regarding inmates not getting their medication, he replied: “When he came to us, he came with his medication and our doctors obviously, they have to look at them and he has his medication.”

There is the concern by local observers that Bankman-Fried will get preferential treatment, but Mr Cleare rejected that assertion.

“He is getting no preferential treatment. All inmates are treated equally,” he said.

Regarding Bankman-Fried’s vegan

diet, the acting commissioner stated prison officials will have to be accommodating with his food requirements if doctors say so.

“We have to once the doctor say to us that we have to accommodate his diet, then we have to.”

The country’s only prison has been the subject of scrutiny both locally and internationally for its hygiene standards and overcrowding, yet the institution is making improvements, according to Acting Commissioner Cleare.

“The prison for the last two years has been under a tremendous amount of renovations and in fact it is going on today,” he explained.

“We had a tour of the prison two weeks ago where we showed the press that there are some ongoing renovations. So, you know, it’s not a five-star hotel, but with our limited resources we are doing the best we can to renovate.”

SAM Bankman-Freid at court on Tuesday.

Photo: Austin Fernander

Shoppers warned: Don’t go broke for Christmas

contacted by The Tribune

“So, if truly the people you celebrate Christmas with do have love for you, then I don’t think there will be any lesser view of you. If you take the view that you will only spend within your means. If that means just a card or a smaller trinket in comparison to the larger gifts then ultimately so be it,” Mr Bowe said.

Mr Bowe said that people should take a pause when shopping during the holiday season to consider what is affordable for them rather than putting themselves in a hole of debt.

“I think individuals have to pause and first ask the question: What is affordable to them? And more importantly, who are those

persons who they feel that some tangible gift is necessary versus some less tangible effort.

“But certainly, for our Bahamian society, given our enjoyment in terms of the celebration and the actual exchange of tangible gifts means that we need to start thinking about Christmas as soon as one Christmas is over meaning in the January timeframe.”

He added that budgeting ahead of Christmas can aid in saving efforts in the long run as he hoped people would take the necessary steps.

“Like anything else of significance and importance in our lifetime that we need to focus our attention on, what is a reasonable expenditure? And that is a percentage of what our

income is, and how early do we need to start saving, whether that be on a weekly or monthly basis to set aside the monies that we would wish to have in the festive season commencing in November leading into December,” Mr Bowe said.

During the interview, Mr Bowe pointed out that the economy still has not recovered from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In June, Prime Minister Phillip Davis said the country’s unemployment rate is now below 20 percent, a major decrease from that of the pandemic, which he estimated at around 45 percent.

However, many Bahamians are still unemployed or have taken on lower income jobs just to make ends meet.

In October, Labour Director Robert Farquharson

said the Labour on the Blocks 2.0 Job Fair had over 1,500 attendees who were seeking employment.

Mr Bowe stressed that people should not overextend themselves financially this Christmas, as 2023 will be uncertain.

“Let’s make sure that we have a period of buoyancy that is longer than the last 12 months. Let’s have a couple of years under our belt. So ideally, they would have had an opportunity to build savings and move away from the need to borrow. But more importantly, they will at least have some stability in their income and not take a real significant risk in putting themselves at no reserves, when 2023 still has a significant uncertainty yet to be determined,” he said.

LGBTI GROUP WANTS TO SEE NON-DISCRIMINATION IN GOVT

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas Organisation of LGBTI Affairs wants to see an across-theboard anti-discrimination policy implemented in government agencies in 2023, according to its spokesperson Alexus D’Marco yesterday.

In an interview with The Tribune, Ms D’Marco said while 2022 proved successful in making inroads for the community, a non-discrimination policy was the next step in shoring up the rights of LGBTI people in The Bahamas.

“I think it’s across the board for all Bahamians,” she said recently. “For us to have an anti-discrimination policy within all government offices, within all the access to justice, access to education, access to healthcare. So, that’s one of my big goals for next year to start working on anti-discrimination policy.

“We do see that the labour movement has made some inroads as it relates to having a nondiscrimination policy for all persons

within the labour force. So, that’s a good sign and we see that we’re moving from just beyond paper and we are moving to action in the country.”

Regarding the progress made this year, she said there was success in educating people in the community about their rights, including those relating to access to healthcare.

“The Bahamas Organisation of LGBTI Affairs has made some inroads within the community itself as it relates to sensitising and educating the community on their rights as Bahamian citizens, knowing the difference between stigma and discrimination and some of the other inroads we have made is connecting the dots within our community as it relates to access to healthcare.

“So, when you go into a hospital it is your right to be able to access healthcare. It’s not a privilege, it’s your right to be able to access those services. So, what we did is educate our community on their rights as Bahamian citizens.”

Ms D’Marco said there were instances where people

in same-sex intimate relationships were afraid to report instances of abuse to authorities, for fear of victimisation, among other things. However, over the past year officials have worked to better the situation.

“Yes, what we found is a lot of persons were afraid to report types of violence if they were in an intimate relationship or intimate same-sex partnership. They would have been afraid to report that to the police based on the stigma and discrimination they would have received from the station.

“But we have now bridged that gap with officers as it relates to sensitising them to the vulnerable community known as the LGBTI community that when they report violence as a citizen it’s their right to also report without stigma and discrimination.

“Also as it relates to access to healthcare, if they were to get injured and they report that their partner did this to them and without the stigma and discrimination they now feel comfortable in going and getting treated for those types of injuries.”

GOWON BOWE

ALEXUS D’MARCO

Airline workers sign new agreement

from page one

agreement and move forward.

“It has been several months in which we had negotiations,” he added, “and we have finally come to a conclusion in which we can move on together harmoniously as employee and employer to run the successful ground handling company that Nassau flight services is aiming to be as we go forward, and it is a great day right now as we move forward in harmony.”

Ms Palmer also said while the union was not able to get everything it wanted, it was still satisfied with the overall benefits highlighted in the agreement, especially the new added feature of having “emergency days”.

She noted that this particular benefit was the first of its kind for its 100 plus workers and also gave insight into some of the other features offered in the contract.

“We can say that we got increases in our meal allowance. We got a duty travel allowance increase. We got a long term disability increase. Transportation allowance was increased. Uniform, we got some movement in that area,” she said.

“(For) compassionate leave, they were very compassionate. We also got something that we have never had in the contract, which is emergency days.

“They worked with us with that and we got an

increase in our vacation days. The contract is a fiveyear contract, and we can truly say that they have been generous in what they gave. We never get like you say all that we want, but we, the executive and members are satisfied with what we have gotten in this

contract.”

Lester Turnquest, a senior negotiator for the government who was also present at yesterday’s signing, hailed it as another demonstration of the Davis administration’s commitment of creating harmony in the workplace.

“The government made a determination that it wanted industrial harmony and so it organised a unit, a diverse unit with persons of varying skills and persons with union expertise... and so the objective is, to the extent that that is fiscally possible, to spread the resources of the country among those persons that need it the most,” he said.

“No one gets everything that they want but you try to meet them in the middle, taking into consideration the needs of the union members and the limitations of the financier which are in large measure in a number of cases is the public purse.”

The agreement covers from 2020 until 2025 and has a total dollar value of over $500,000.

OBIE ROBERTS, Nassau Flight Services chairman, speaking yesterday.

GOVERNMENT senior negotiator Lester Turnquest.

YESTERDAY’s signing ceremony.

Photos: Austin Fernander

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Venezuela’s Maduro seeks global recognition

VENEZUELAN President Nicolás Maduro was not invited to a summit of Western Hemisphere leaders in June. But by October, he traveled to Egypt for a conference where he joked with French President Emmanuel Macron and shook hands with John Kerry, the US government’s climate envoy.

The encounters, with a towering Maduro graciously smiling throughout, were carefully captured on video, posted on social media and broadcast on Venezuela’s state television.

A few months short of a decade since he inherited the country’s leadership upon the death of President Hugo Chávez, Maduro is working to regain the international recognition he lost when his 2018 re-election was deemed a sham by dozens of nations.

Those efforts are also aimed at bolstering his strength at home as he enters 2023 while pressure mounts for a free and fair presidential election the following year.

Crucial to Maduro’s calculations are his country’s top asset — oil — and the war in Ukraine. The South American country has the world’s largest proven oil reserves, but it has not supplied the West’s market since the US imposed crippling economic sanctions as democracy and human rights deteriorated after Maduro’s re-election.

The international community wants “some kind of contribution to global energy security, and with Russian oil off the market, Venezuelan oil becomes attractive again,” said Ryan Berg, director of the Americas program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank.

Maduro’s attempt to clean up his image comes as many of the conditions that turned him into an international pariah remain unchanged.

Independent experts working with the UN’s top human rights body have documented a systemic attack on government opponents, journalists and others. Their report in September alleged Maduro personally ordered the detention of government opponents, who endured electric shocks, asphyxiation and other cruel acts while in custody.

An economic crisis that began during Chávez’s last months in office has only worsened during Maduro’s presidency. It has driven roughly 7 million Venezuelans to leave the country, made the local currency worthless and pushed millions into poverty.

Under Maduro, who succeeded Chavez in 2013, about three-quarters of the population lives on less than $1.90 a day — the international benchmark of extreme poverty. Power outages are part of everyday life, and water supply is severely restricted.

“He’s trying to project an image of strength, but the reality is that he’s just incredibly thirsty right now for international attention,” said Geoff Ramsey, director of Venezuela research at the US-based Washington Office on Latin America think tank. “We saw this from Cairo, where he was ambushing world leaders and then projecting these

hallway encounters as if they were official state visits.”

Maduro has serious cashflow problems and wants access to the international financial system and the US oil market, Ramsey said. But, he added, the only way Maduro likely will get access to dollars again is by engaging in negotiations with the opposition.

Talks between Maduro and the opposition, including the faction backed by the US government, were suspended for more than a year after one of his key allies was extradited to the US from Africa.

But both sides reached a significant agreement to fund much-needed social programs in late November.

The agreement will result in a United Nations-managed fund to finance health, food and education programs in Venezuela.

The money will be drawn from the country’s assets frozen abroad, and it is not expected to go directly to Maduro’s government. But that hasn’t stopped his administration from promoting the deal as a recovery of funds “kidnapped” by the US.

Still to be agreed on, though, are the conditions for the presidential election that is supposed to be held in 2024, the release of political prisoners and an end to prohitions on many opposition politicians running for office.

The opposition plans to hold primary elections next year. Its clearest potential candidate is Juan Guaido, though his support within and outside Venezuela has plummeted since he declared himself a rival president to Maduro in 2019 while heading the then oppositiondominated congress and drew tens of thousands of anti-Maduro protesters to the streets.

There have beeen gains for Maduro.

A long-time supporter of Venezuela’s opposition — the government in neighboring Colombia — is now headed by that country’s first leftist president, Gustavo Petro. After taking office earlier this year, Petro immediately moved to restore relations with Venezuela.

In a couple of weeks, Maduro will also regain the recognition of Brazil, as signaled by President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Berg said the region appears to be moving on from its anti-Maduro stance “mostly because of the governments that recent elections have brought to power”.

He said some governments are working under the assumption that Venezuela’s “democratisation is going to be a long process”, involving negotiations, multiple elections and sanctions relief, as opposed to a change at a “one discrete point in time”.

“It seems to me like the region is much ready, much more disposed now, to try that method,” Berg said, noting that many nations in the region are struggling with their own domestic problems.

By REGINA GARCIA CANO Associated Press

Sears need not resign

EDITOR, The Tribune.

IT IS interesting to note the baying of opponents of the ruling Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) calling for the resignation of the Hon Minister Alfred M Sears (PLP-Fort Charlotte) as Minister of Works & Public Utilities due to what they call his “admitted misleading of the House of Assembly relative to whether or not he had received an email from the Ministry of Economic Development on the continuation of an oil hedging proposal for Bahamas Power & Light”.

They say that by first telling the House that he had received no such email, only to “admit” later on that after careful research he (Sears) discovered that he had, in fact, received such an email after checking his antiquated laptop. The Ministry of Works & Utilities is one of the largest, if not the largest cabinet portfolios with thousands of employees and contractors. It is plausible that papers and memos could well be “lost” in the sheer volume of the same.

Sears is a “smart” and “learned” individual with extensive experience in governance as a King’s Counsel and former Attorney General. I have known the Honourable Minister all of my life, certainly from my years as a teenager and a founding member of The Bahamas Federation of Youth, which was led at one time or the other by the now Doctor Samuel P Bain, a distinguished educator. I served as Secretary-General. We in the federation were avid supporters of the late great and deeply lamented Lynden Oscar Pindling, as he then was and the philosophy of the budding PLP, without apology.

I never observed anything duplicitous about brother Sears then or in his subsequent legal and political careers. As a devout

Catholic and a man whom I know to be a Christian, I am satisfied that he would never have “lied” on the Hon Prime Minister & Minister of Finance, the Hon Philip “Brave” Davis, KC, (PLP-Cat Island) or deliberately ‘misled’ parliament on the question of an email on hedging or anything else. Why would he have wanted to do that and what would have been the political benefits ?

Allow me, Editor, to state, upfront, that even though I consider Sears a life long “friend” I hold no brief for him, on a personal or professional level, nor am I one of his spear carriers. He and I have have “clashed” before and, more than likely we will do so again. I will not, at this time, go into details but suffice it to say that Sears is an honourable man. His facial persona and some of his other characteristics, like with so many other individuals, inclusive of myself, may lead some people to see him as aloof and an elitist of the highest order. That, however, does not translate into him being duplicitous or less than honourable.

It is to be conceded that the main “job” of opposition to any ruling administration is to oppose and oppose almost all of the public policy positions of the former. In doing so, all available constitutional, legal and political tools must be deployed. In so deploying, however, it must be clear that the bar for facilitating or even demanding the resignation of a sitting cabinet minister and member of the House of Assembly, is high.

Enforced resignations do not come willy-nilly.

Yes, it is true, in most cases, that we here in The Bahamas follow what is known as the Westminster

system of governance and adhere to what are loosely referred to as “Constitutional Conventions”. These are not tantamount to ordinary “law” but, traditionally they have the “force” of law. There are any number of precedents, especially over in the United Kingdom of Great Britain, et al. In all of those precedents, however, direct evidence would have been available to show that the relevant minister or MP would have “misled” parliament either to secure a personal advantage or benefit. Does the same apply in the instant case of Sears? I say a plain and simple no.

If I were an advisor to Sears, and I am, thank God, not his partisan, I would advise him, first of all, to apologise publicly and on the floor of the House of Assembly, to the Prime Minister for an embarrassment meted out to him, weeks ago. Secondly, Sears should also issue an abject apology to parliament and the nation for having “misspoken” relative to the now admitted email without initially verifying the facts. He is an able lawyer and should have realised that no advocate worth his salt would make a vacuous statement in a court of law much less parliament.

Calls for his “resignation” are premature and designed for mere partisan brownie points and to cause, which is absolutely, not possible, a distraction from the important work which the hardest working and most capable Hon. Prime Minister in recent memory and his administration are all about. There is absolutely no need for Sears to resign. He must, however, place more urgent focus on doing his job and getting those things that need to be addressed, addressed.

ORTLAND H BODIE, Jr Nassau,

Empty seats at stadiums

EDITOR, The Tribune.

DO WE fill our stadiums? Have they ever been filled? Are we getting our buck return or is the development-building all politics and makes zero financial sense? You realise with the opening of the Andre Rodgers we now have inventory of $100m worth of stadia!

Tommy Robinson has never since opening been filled to its 15,000 capacity – don’t try IAAF Relays the bleachers were

empty – American Football Bowl, if not for the accompanying bands, bleachers empty.

Beach Soccer - much smaller, yes, during that International festival around the opening it was full, but for years the stadium has not been used.

New Baseball diamond - If the spectators at the official opening last weekend were a measuring stick this will never be full, although bleacher space is small.

Tourism or Ministry of Sports should not be

wasting money on events that do not attract a high level of visitors who will spend, frolic, gamble, etc. The only Sports event that accomplishes that is the Basketball Atlantis and Baha Mar event.

$2m to Junkanoo that is purely politics - again as previous writers have written 2021. No parades, hotels full!

T WATKINS Nassau,

December 11, 2022.

THE NATIVITY scene in the Pompey Square Christmas decorations.

Photo: Austin Fernander

Climate and health course held in Grand Bahama

By LETRE SWEETING lsweeting@tribunemedia.net

OVER 130 community members and health professionals were present for the launch of the first climate and health ambassador training course this week.

The Ministry of Health and Wellness launched the course in partnership with the Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education (GCCHE) from Columbia University as well as Earth Medic and Earth Nurse, which is an international non-governmental organisation that focuses on planetary health through environmental protection.

The two-day training course was funded by the Green Climate Fund Readiness Proposal, which is a two-year grant.

The course was launched simultaneously at the

Abaco Beach Resort in Marsh Harbour, Abaco, Pelican Bay in Freeport, Grand Bahama and Balmoral Club in New Providence on December 13-14 and included health professionals and stakeholders connected both in person and virtually.

Dr William Hamilton, from the Ministry of Health and Wellness, facilitated several sessions throughout the course. He said the course has four key focus points.

“For far too long climate change has been seen as an environmental issue, but as you are aware, health underpins everything. So, if you’re not healthy, you’re not feeling well, then how can you respond at work,” he said.

“What is important to understand is that health is impacted by hurricanes. We have four key components

that we’re focusing on. Yesterday (Tuesday), we had four modules from five presenters,” Dr Hamilton said.

“Our first presentation came from Dr Cecilia Sorensen from Columbia University and she spoke on extreme heat and its related illnesses. Secondly, Dr James Schultz out of the University of Miami and myself spoke on extreme weather events, in particular hurricanes and floods.

Thirdly, we had Dr Caleb Dresser, from Harvard University speak on degraded air quality. Lastly, we had Dr James Hospedales, speak on the co-benefits of climate and health,” he said.

Dr Hamilton said that he hopes that the way health professionals view climate change in relation to health will change after completing the course.

“Change is something

that is hard to come about, but I think that the way that you start to impact change is through information. This exercise is to sensitise, raise awareness, make more known the connections between climate and health. Even within the health industry, we realise that persons don’t have a true appreciation of how climate and health are connected,” he said.

“This is the first of many initiatives that the climate change and health project team at the Ministry of Health and Wellness are

undertaking in order to close that gap and try to break down the silos that we are so often working in, because it’s going to take a collaborative effort through the Ministry of Health and Wellness, other ministries and other private partners, in order to truly get this message out,” Dr Hamilton said.

Dr James Hospedales, founder of Earth Nurse and Earth Medic, who was a facilitator for the course, added that the course is especially important for The Bahamas, as a nation

highly susceptible to climate-related disasters.

“The importance of this course is because The Bahamas within the Caribbean countries is extremely vulnerable to climate change. We’re seeing more heat, we’re seeing more hurricanes. The sea levels are rising and you’re a very low-lying country, we have more epidemics to worry about and so the health professionals in the community really need to get better informed, better equipped so we can face this crisis,” Dr Hospedales said.

TWO-day Climate Change Health Ambassador Training at Our Lucaya, Freeport, Grand Bahama. Front left is Dr Calai Philippe, senior medical officer in the Ministry of Health, and far right is Dr Caleb Dresser, climate and humane health fellow, of the Department of Emergency Medicine, Havard Medical School.

It is enough to make our Founders, most of whom have passed, awake from their resting places, aghast that today’s political leaders in the sovereign nation they helped to birth, often do not understand the most basic elements of our Constitution and our parliamentary democracy.

Sir Lynden Pindling and his colleagues would be mortified at the poorer intellectual and political quality of quite a number of those who populate the cabinet and who have been chosen as Speaker of the House of Assembly in recent years.

While we should refrain from nostalgic imaginings of a purported golden era, many of those who previously served in parliament were more capable and better informed of world events than the vast majority of recent parliamentarians.

The fierce arguments, vigorous political debates and sustained political action leading to majority rule and independence make today’s parliamentary debates seem like the sometimes heated conversations family members from opposing political parties might have around some drinks.

Many in the media/commentary/pundit tribe, in typical herd mentality, often promote the notion that today’s politics are too frighteningly tribal.

Sometimes this notion has been promoted by jilted freshman members of parliament who rode into office under a party banner but who, after failing to secure a cabinet appointment, mask their anger and disappointment by ranting about partisanship.

This chant and incantation of tribalism, which supposedly should summon a better time that never existed, is not new here at home or abroad.

It is a falsehood and a complaint based on a noxious concoction; a misconception and widespread

ignorance about the genesis and nature of our political system, together with an ahistorical mindset.

This lack of historical knowledge and context appears to have taken up permanent residence in those who stubbornly refuse to educate themselves about history and politics beyond the latest squabble in parliament, which is sometimes blown dramatically out of proportion.

Some seem to want to usher in a new age of kumbaya cum anodyne nonpartisanship to address the supposed extreme partisanship in the country.

Notably, despite the fierce and sometimes petulant debates in parliament, most of the legislation proposed by the government of the day, including financial bills, are supported by the opposition.

TRIBALISM

Sociologically and biologically humans are tribal. Membership in a familial or tribal group is essential for human development. Like all human instincts, tribalism can lead to violent conflict, war and genocide.

Tribalism can become poisonous and excessive as we often witness in virulent immigrant loathing and bashing including, in The Bahamas, of Haitians.

Still, politics and political groupings are an advancement in how human societies are organised, a means of taming our baser instincts and penchant for violence and unchecked group - and self-interests.

Democratic and parliamentary politics is necessarily adversarial. It is a civilised alternative to settling differences through violence on a battlefield or in the streets. It descends into tribalism when we revert to victimisation, spite and societal exclusion as political weapons.

“Man’s capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man’s inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary,” wrote the late Reinhold Niebuhr, a pastor and one of the pre-eminent theologians and political commentators of the 20th Century.

Niebuhr observed that democratic political systems are naturally confrontational, partisan and given

to conflict. Democratic politics is an advancement for human groups that throughout history were prone to settle many conflicts without the rules of democracy, which are designed to check group interests and the lust for power.

Human beings are naturally competitive. The contesting of values and viewpoints are designed to produce better outcomes, though given human fallibility and corruption, the best outcomes often do not come to fruition.

Indeed, as observed by political scientist Dr Brian Klaas in his book, Corruptible: Who Gets Power and How It Changes Us, political systems must always contend with those who are prone to seek power, including politicians driven by Machiavellianism, narcissism and various psychopathologies.

Our court system is also based on contestation, with prosecution and defence teams vigorously promoting their cases to be adjudicated by judges and juries. There are safeguards like rules of evidence, precedence, judicial reviews and appellate courts.

COMMON GOOD

Likewise, in a party-based democracy there are institutions, principally parliament, and rules, conventions and traditions where the final adjudicators in a democracy, the people, elect representatives to debate and to decide on matters affecting the common good.

It is in the political arena that humans contest values, ideas, beliefs – and balance group and individual interests. The lifeblood of parliamentary democracy is a party system based on competition and contest, which are necessary for democratic flourishing.

Another shopworn canard is about the lack of ideological choice between the political parties. Any citizen may launch, join or support a party to promote their ideas, interests and ideological views. Many third parties have arisen.

Fortunately, The Bahamas is not politically riven by ideological extremes or ethnic divides such as in Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago.

IGNORANCE POSES THREAT TO OUR POLITICAL SYSTEM

laws in Antigua & Barbuda and St Kitts and Nevis unconstitutional.”

Democracy partially evolved in reaction to monarchical or autocratic forms of government. As messy and dysfunctional as it sometimes seems, a competitive party-based system is an advancement in how a society is organised and governed.

almost came to blows as chronicled on the Bahamianology website.

With folk wisdom, tenacity and creative showmanship, the late Edmund Moxey sometimes patched hell on his political opponents.

Our two major national parties seem to offer adequate accommodation for the fairly narrow range of Bahamian political and economic philosophy which is generally right or left of centre depending on the issue.

The exception to this rule was the short-lived farleft Vanguard Nationalist Socialist Party headed by the late Dr John McCartney, which never gained traction.

Moreover, though many Bahamians are libertine in their personal lives, both major parties are centrist in economics, and are generally careful not to offend the social conservatism of the country, which sometimes makes certain changes glacial.

Still, we have made progress on some fronts such as the legislative removal by the PLP of colonial laws criminalising gay sex. Just two days ago – 30 years later – Barbados’ top court struck down similar laws.

As the UK Guardian reported: “A case in St Lucia is pending. Earlier this year, Caribbean courts have found such

Our pluralist constitutional cum parliamentary democracy is designed to ensure a contest for power as a check against one-party rule and dictatorship. Partisans debate their views in a parliament where there are well-established rules to guide its proceedings.

CONSTITUTION

Lawmakers and politicians are also guided and bound by the constitution and the courts. And they are checked also by voters and their parties. Our system arguably has more checks on the political power of the executive than the US system of government.

Some time spent at the National Archives or reading the clippings in the well-kept archives of The Tribune may provide younger reporters as well as older editors with greater perspective and insight as they write stories and offer commentary on contemporary politics and parliamentary debates.

The often ferocious debates from earlier years make contemporary parliamentary debates appear like much tamer affairs.

Those too young to remember might ask some older heads about when Sir Lynden and then MP Michael Lightbourne

Some will recall the heated arguments on the floor of the House of Assembly during the debate on the Public Disclosure Bill, the contemptuous treatment by Sir Lynden of the late Speaker Sir Arlington Butler and Sir Arlington’s masterful response.

A quick world tour will quickly reveal how much tamer and less tribal are Bahamian politics and parliamentary debate.

Bahamians will discover parliaments decidedly more rambunctious and divided than The Bahamas. Some parliaments have had to fine members who broke rules and engaged in fighting within the parliamentary chambers.

Our democracy is not existentially threatened by the sometimes overheated rhetoric and sometimes unnecessary tribalism in politics, though we must constantly and vigorously work to uphold rules, conventions and standards.

The greater threat is the ignorance about our system and political history by politicians, parliamentarians, journalists and commentators, who continue to fail to offer their fellow-citizens greater perspective and understanding of national affairs.

And, the perennial task is to improve the quality of politicians, remembering that the political class rise from us, the Bahamian people, with our myriad strengths and deficits.

GORGING on US cable television news, quite a number of Bahamians mindlessly regurgitate the analysis of many of the babbling and bobbling talking heads on American television, breezily transposing much of the American political drama and insipid commentary to Bahamian politics.

A JOINT sitting of Parliament in honour of the 60th anniversary of the woman’s suffrage movement.

Photo: Austin Fernander

A change in the ‘Axis of Evil’ membership?

REMEMBER the Axis of Evil? That was a term very much in vogue back in the days of US President George W Bush, and the charter members of this putative unholy alliance were Iran, Iraq and North Korea. The term was coined in Bush’s 2002 State of the Union address before both houses of the American Congress. That was at a time four months after the devastating 9/11 terroristic attacks on New York and Washington orchestrated by Osama bin Laden. The US was transformed by those hijacked airplane crashes, and it has not fully recovered from them.

Now, there are murmurs of a change in the membership roster of the Axis of Evil. Two of the stalwart charter members remain – Iran and North Korea. Iran is still a militantly hostile theocracy whose government is dominated by steadfastly anti-US and anti-Western clerics and their civilian subordinates. US and other Western media often clutch at any scintilla of dissent in Tehran or elsewhere, sometimes involving almost Medieval-sounding restrictions on women. Any rumour of active dissidence is magnified.

The theocrats in Tehran well remember the lessons of their takeover from and overthrow of the Shah 43 years ago: If those in power appear to relent, weaken their grip or loosen the reins of authority, the seeds of their own demise are sown. The Iranian autocracy shows few cracks, and continues to rule with a heavy hand and clenched fist.

It is true that oil-rich Iran has the economic means to support a substantial middle - and upper middleclass society, full of men and women who have the means and desire to enjoy a Western lifestyle. Iran is a powerhouse in the Middle East, without whose active support or at least acquiescence no lasting, or perhaps even temporary, peace will be possible. Iran’s population is overwhelmingly Shia Muslim, differentiating it significantly from virtually

every other nearby Sunni Muslim nation in the Middle East.

There are linguistic differences among these neighbours also. Linguists have compared some differences between Persian Farsi, spoken in Iran, and standard modern Arabic, spoken elsewhere in the region, to differences between French and English. There are lots of cognates and the alphabets are similar, but the differences are not trivial. Experts report that a speaker of either Farsi or Arabic with no knowledge of the other could pick up a newspaper, recognize some major words and roughly know what topic it was about, but not understand the details.

The Iran nuclear deal, negotiated by the Obama administration in 2015 and including NATO members, Russia and China, placed significant restrictions on Iran’s nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief. Trump pulled out of the accord three years later, loudly complaining about its deficiencies. Some of his complaints were valid, and the Biden administration has not yet been able to reconcile these flaws in the context of a renewed effort to revive the pact.

The chasm between the US and Iran does not appear to have been significantly narrowed since Trump left office.

North Korea? Its charter membership in the Axis of Evil is quite secure. Pyongyang’s own supreme leader, president for life Kim Jong-un, who inherited this militant, desperately impoverished country from his father, has stepped up his saber-rattling and nuclear weapons testing programme since one-time summit buddy Trump left office. He also is apparently seeking to develop the ICBM capacity to directly

threaten the US mainland.

What does this megalomaniac really want? Does he really believe he can develop his military as a credible menace to the US?

Is all this chest-thumping designed to compel the US to draw down or even withdraw its formidable

very difficult, and is still incomplete. It has been a major drain on the German and other European economies for more than a generation.

If North Korea does implode as East Germany did, how would its potential integration into a unified Korea evolve? It is difficult to imagine that this process would be smoother than German reunification, and it’s easy to suspect that it would be even more problematic. Neighbouring giants China and Russia would likely insist on de facto neutrality and demilitarization as a condition for their acquiescence; negotiating this would be the major diplomatic challenge for any future American government. So two of the charter members of the Axis of Evil remain. The third, Iraq, has less frequently dominated the headlines in recent years. The massive American foreign and military policy blunders in Iraq are well-documented and largely acknowledged.

into Iraq’s seat at the Axis of Evil table? Why, it’s Russia!

Vladimir Putin has now been misbehaving on the international stage for at least a decade. He is clearly driven by a 19th Centurystyle irredentist revanchism in his determination to overturn and reverse the Russian national humiliation represented by the collapse of the Soviet Union. He began with rela-

at least fundamentally influence neighbouring Ukraine, even annexing some portions where local sympathies may rest with Moscow. The Russian president seems likely not to prevail in this effort, but we may still unfortunately only be in the initial stages of a protracted conflict.

As this Russo-Ukraine War nears its first anniversary, Putin has found a willing partner in Iran. The two nations have apparently been dealing in drones, with Iran supplying them to Moscow in order to replenish Putin’s dwindling supply. What does Iran get in return? It hardly needs oil. There is speculation that some Russian technical advice on nuclear fuel development is the quid pro quo.

tively minor transgressions in the Caucasus region occupied by former Soviet republics Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan along

Senior US officials told CNN that while Russia still opposes development of Iranian nuclear weapons, “under today’s conditions, under which US-Russia relations are extremely bad and Russian-Iranian relations are getting better, we think the equation looks quite different for Russia.” Relations between Moscow and Tehran have certainly been uneven historically. In fact, as the result of the Constantinople Agreement of 1915 during World War I, the Russian tsars and the British Empire colluded to partition Iran (called Persia

military presence in South Korea or even Japan? Many international observ ers feel that this benighted, isolated regime will eventu ally collapse from its own glaring social and economic inefficiencies and singular focus on military matters, like the USSR did over 30 years ago. When the Soviet Union went out of busi ness, so too, in short order, did its satellite and client, the German Democratic Republic (East Germany).

Eventual reunification of Germany has proven to be a monumentally oner ous task. The shadow of the former East German regime, with its dimly lit streets and startling contrast to the steadily bur geoning prosperity of West Germany, remains to this day. The corporate takeo ver of East Germany by West Germany has been

England bow out of the World Cup

ENGLAND bowed out of the World Cup on Saturday, losing to France 2-1 when captain Harry Kane missed a penalty shot late in the game. News reports were full of tales of this missed opportunity, but the French were both deeper and superior enough that they won without playing at their best. English fans will have to wait for four more years for their team’s redemption.

Still, the English did squander a good chance for their first World Cup triumph in 56 years. Conditions were favourable, inasmuch as traditional powers Brazil, Germany, Spain and Italy had already been

eliminated or failed to qualify earlier this year.

Kane is actually better partnered on the front line with his Tottenham club in the English Premier League than he is with this English national team. Alas, his principal partner with Spurs is South Korean Son Heung-min. Son’s team exited earlier in the tournament.

Meantime, on Tuesday Argentina dispatched weary Croatia to secure a place in Sunday morning’s 10:00 finale. A championship match against France might be unforgettable.

FRANCE’S ADRIEN RABIOT, top, and France’s Olivier Giroud celebrate after England’s Harry Kane missed a penalty kick during the World Cup quarterfinal soccer match between England and France, at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, Qatar, Saturday. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin. (Mikhail Metzel, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

NORTH Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

ROYAL DATE FOR NATIONAL YOUTH AWARD DIRECTOR

THE National Director of the Governor General’s Youth Award (GGYA)

Jacquetta LightbourneMaycock travelled to the United Kingdom last month to address a fundraising dinner attended by Prince Edward, chairman of trustees of The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Foundation.

Ms Lightbourne-Maycock was invited to share how the generosity of donors to The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Foundation’s Special Projects Fund has made an impact in The Bahamas.

The GGYA is the local award operator.

The Special Projects grant strives to ensure all young people have access to the award. GGYA was one of 13 applicants from around the world in 2020.

Six were successful and approved for grants that would help improve the reach, access or impact of the award.

GGYA used the money to restart units at Grand Bahama’s Beacon School and at the Willie Mae Pratt Centre for Girls. It’s also earmarked to fund three more centres for disenfranchised youth. Ms Lightbourne-Maycock’s

speech featured videos from both units. The presentation highlighted the difference the award is making in the lives of participants and by extension their families and the wider community.

“My presentation would not have been possible without the work of our participants, our unit leaders and our partners at The Beacon School and the Willie Mae Pratt Centre who agreed to share their journey,” said Ms Lightbourne-Maycock.

“Our long-time publicist, Precision Media ably assisted us in putting together two powerful videos and ensuring the overall quality of the presentation would represent The Bahamas well at such a high-level event.”

Ms Lightbourne-Maycock was one of only two guests who delivered speeches during the invitation-only fundraiser held Thursday, November 17.

At the start of the dinner, Prince Edward welcomed guests and went on to introduce Ms LightbourneMaycock. She was followed by Israeli Award participant Mia Golan.

GGYA operates 42 units across eight islands.

$15K FINE OVER MARIJUANA

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A MAN was ordered to pay a $15,000 fine after he admitted to having 10 lbs of marijuana in his possession.

Winston Watson, 48, represented by attorney Maria Daxon, appeared before Senior Magistrate Derence A Rolle Davis on a charge of possession of dangerous drugs with intent to supply.

Police pulled him over for suspicious behaviour on December 9 on Milo Butler Highway. Watson was arrested after 10 lbs of marijuana was uncovered during a search of his van. The drugs have an estimated street value of $25,000.

In court, the accused pleaded guilty to the offence. He was ordered to pay a fine of $15,000 or risk 18 months in prison. Watson is expected to make the first payment of his fine by Friday.

In a separate case, Carl Culmer, 42, Nehemiah Culmer, 22, and Bruce Sears, 22, all represented by Alphonso Lewis stood before Magistrate Rolle Davis for a shared charge of possession of dangerous drugs with intent to supply.

Around 4.49pm, police acting on a search warrant entered a home on Alexandria Blvd in Nassau Village over suspected dangerous drugs or firearms. There

they found Nehemiah trying to flush six plastic packages containing suspected marijuana down the toilet. A further search of the premises with the assistance of a K-9 unit found a further two plastic bags with Indian hemp buried in a pit outside. It was confirmed that these drugs were all Indian hemp with a collective weight of 6 ¼ oz.

In a subsequent police interview, both Culmers admitted to the offence stating that they had the drugs for their own personal use.

Carl and Nehemiah Culmer pleaded guilty while their co-accused Sears pleaded not guilty. This resulted in the charges against the third accused being withdrawn and him being formally discharged.

During Mr Lewis’s plea of mitigation, he said that Carl was the father of seven young children. He said that both accused were remorseful for their actions. The attorney then asked that they be spared a custodial sentence, and urged the court to impose a fine instead.

Magistrate Rolle Davis ordered each Culmer to pay a $1,000 fine for the offence or risk six months in custody. He told them that half of their fines must be paid before their release with the remainder to be paid to the court by December 28.

SHOOTING SUSPECT IS DENIED BAIL

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A MAN accused of shooting at a woman as she drove away in her car was denied bail in the Supreme Court.

Shacardo Culmer, 28, appeared before Justice Guillimina Archer-Minns for a decision on his bail application on a charge of attempted murder.

It is alleged that on the night of September 10 on Griffin Street, Culmer shot at the back of a woman’s vehicle, shattering her windshield in the process.

In reviewing his application, the justice noted that the accused has five pending bail violation charges from September 1–10 stemming from accusations that he failed to charge his monitoring device.

After the prosecution objected to bail and indicated that Culmer had already served three years in prison for a firearm charge, Justice ArcherMinns acknowledged that Culmer has appeared in court whenever he is summoned.

However, the justice told the accused that the complainant in this matter has raised concerns for her safety from retaliatory attacks.

Considering this, Culmer’s bail application was denied for the safety of the witnesses, the public and the defendant himself, as there was a strong view the applicant would reoffend on bail.

Before being returned to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services, Culmer was told of his right to reapply for bail.

BOYS ACCUSED OF TRESPASSING

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

FOUR boys admitted to trespassing on school premises after dark intending to commit an offence.

Three 12-year-old boys and a 14-year-old, with their guardians present, stood before Magistrate Kara Turnquest-Deveaux on a charge of unlawful entry.

At around 7pm on December 11, the four accused were arrested after they were found trespassing at Marjorie Davis School on Deveaux Street.

In court, all four juveniles pleaded guilty to the offence. Their police bail of $1,000 each was extended, and they were told to return to court on February 28, 2023.

BAHAMIAN Jacquetta Lightbourne-Maycock with Prince Edward and Israeli award participant Mia Golan.

UKRAINE DEFENCES ‘SHOOT DOWN RUSSIAN DRONES’

KYIV, Ukraine Associated Press

UKRAINIAN authorities said they thwarted a Russian attack on Kyiv and the surrounding region yesteday as their air defence system destroyed 13 explosive-laden drones, although wreckage damaged five buildings, without causing casualties.

The attempted strikes underlined how vulnerable Ukraine’s capital remains to the regular Russian attacks that have devastated infrastructure and population centers in recent weeks, mostly in the country’s east and south. But they also highlighted Ukraine’s claims of increasing efficiency in intercepting drones and missiles, and the possibility that Patriot missiles from the US may further boost defences.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video the “terrorists” fired 13 Iranian-made drones, and all were intercepted. Such drones have been part of the firepower — along with rockets, missiles, mortars and artillery — that Russia uses to target power stations, water facilities and other public utility equipment.

The snow-covered capital remained largely calm after the foiled attack, which occurred around daybreak. As the working day began, authorities sounded the all-clear.

The head of the Kyiv city administration, Serhii Popko, wrote on Telegram that the attempted strikes came in two waves. Wreckage from the intercepted drones damaged an administrative building and four residential buildings, he said.

A blast left the threestory tax office building in the central Shevchenkyvskyi district with a gaping hole in the roof and blew out windows in parked cars and in a neighbouring building.

Clean-up crews were on site quickly to shovel away the rubble and roll out plastic sheeting to cover the blown-out windows in freezing temperatures. One man, unfazed, pushed his son on a swingset at a nearby playground as the crews worked.

Another parent, Anton Rudikov, said his family was sleeping when they heard an explosion and smashing windows. “Thank God the children were not affected” beyond their fright, said Rudkov, whose daughters are 13 and 18 years old. But why Russia would attack his neighborhood left him perplexed.

“I didn’t do anything bad to them, but it struck my house. From where? I don’t understand why,” he said.

Residents told Associated Press reporters they saw fragments from a drone bearing the words “For Ryazan.” The Kremlin claims Ukraine was responsible for a cross-border attack last week on a military base in the Ryazan region of western Russia.

Ukrainian authorities have trumpeted their ability to knock down Russian weapons. But strikes in some areas continue to cause deaths and havoc, particularly close to the front lines in the east and south. In the southern city of Odesa, drone strikes temporarily shut off the power last week. Kyiv has suffered comparatively little damage.

More air defence help

was apparently on the way. US officials said yesterday the United States was poised to approve sending a Patriot missile battery to Ukraine, agreeing to an urgent Ukrainian request. The Patriot would be the most advanced surface-toair missile system the West has provided to Ukraine to help repel Russian aerial attacks since Russia invaded February 24.

Night of power and praise featuring gospel star Todd Dulaney

BAHAMIANS

The baseball player-turnedgospel artist will bring his unique brand of praise and worship to Baha Mar on Sunday, beginning at 6.30pm. Local performers including Shaback and 3P Mime will also minister in music and dance.

The event is being held as part of this week’s “Don’t Blink Home Run Derby in Paradise” baseball event. The event features the Cancer Treatment Centres of America Celebrity softball game, Atlantis Paradise Harbour, a kids’ camp, an official welcome party. The main event takes place on December 17 at 12pm with the Home Run Derby’s return to the Montagu foreshore.

The event is the brainchild of professional Bahamian baseball players Lucius Fox and Todd Isaacs Jr.

A new initiative to the usual festivities will be the prayer to praise event, featuring the former minor league prospect turned gospel singer.

Todd Dulaney spent most of his life pursuing a baseball career, playing five years of professional baseball. Now, his joy comes from serving the Lord in any and every capacity of life. He is steadfast in his faith and he is focused on ministry and fulfilling His purpose. Todd’s dream is to write music that ministers to the heart of God and touches the heart of man. Not what’s hot, but what delivers, what heals, what restores; music that

God inhabits, is what he wants to create.

Born December 20, 1983 in Maywood, Illinois, Dulaney grew up as a singer and an elite athlete. After graduating from high school in 2001, he was drafted from Community College in Mt Carmel in Illinois by the New York Mets to pursue a professional baseball career. While refining his athletic skills, Dulaney realised that there was a higher calling upon his life. He accepted an invitation to travel and perform background vocals for gospel artist and Grammy winner Smokie Norful.

Dulaney has worked and shared the stage with many award-winning artists, including Vanessa Bell Armstrong, Jessica Reedy, Maurette Brown-Clark, Michelle Williams, Donnie McClurkin, Fred Hammond, Dr Bobby Jones, Ernest Pugh, TRIN-I-TEE 5:7, Nicole and David Binion, Tye Tribett and Donnie McClurkin, just to name a few.

Event spokesperson Chakita Archer said on a radio interview with Joy 101.9’s Ricardo Clarke that Sunday’s performance will be an “amazing concert experience.”

“We have partners that have assisted with this power, praise and prayer that is going to happen on Sunday. Todd Dulaney ministers the scriptures, he sings the scriptures. We encourage you to enjoy and celebrate this fantastic event. We will be praying for everything in the nation. We want

everyone to come together and hold hands in the spirit of worship,” she said.

Ray Hepburn, who will moderate Sunday’s festivities, said on the show that the ultimate purpose will be to lift the name of Jesus high.

“He will be lifted up. It is a praise, worship and prayer service. Then the concert will happen after we have already broken the ground and the seed has been watered,” he said.

LIVING IN HIS IMAGE PART III – TRUTH

It took me a while to learn that the truth is much more than just not telling a lie. In fact, there are elements of Truth that many of us never really come to understand.

What is truth?

Truth is a trait or characteristic of an ideal, idea or concept that exists in accord with fact or reality. Whew! That was a lot! Let’s break it down.

When some idea is true, it lines up with or can be matched to some fact or something real that is already in existence. Take this statement for instance: hummingbirds fly. This statement is truth because it is aligned to the fact the flight of hummingbirds has been documented in art, film, etcetera. No one can question the veracity of this statement because there is

too much evidence pointing to its accuracy. The statement is true.

When it comes to truth, I have always limited the truth of God to a mere statement regarding His actions. Verses like “God cannot lie…” or Proverbs 6:16-17, where the writer emphatically states that

God hates lying, formed my total belief that God did not appreciate it when we told untruths or lies (no matter what the colour).

But as I read further, I realised that something else was being birthed in me –an invaluable attribute of God that, perhaps, I had taken for granted.

We have already surmised that most of our belief about truth lies in the idea that it is the opposite of a lie. Truth matches reality or fact. Let’s pause for a moment and take a look at Romans 3:4. It reads:

“God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.” (KJV)

I had always taken this to mean that no one but God could consistently and

“We are going to pray for the economy. We are going to pray for the government, we will pray for the youth, pray against crime and violence, break the stronghold. That is our main focus. We are praying for the well-being of the Bahamas.”

He encouraged everyone regardless of denomination or beliefs to attend the event. He said it will be a life-changing time.

“It is open to everyone in the Bahamas and it is free. The only

thing that we are asking is that you bring a small offering,” he said.

“We are moving across the denominations because we are praying for the nation. We are talking about the Bahamas not denominations. We are all Bahamians and we are praying for God’s power to protect this nation.”

without fail, tell the truth. I was wrong.

Truth is determined by four factors: Its congruence Its consistency Its coherence Its usefulness

In other words, truth should match our experience. It should have no inconsistencies within itself. It should confirm the rest of our knowledge and when we act on the basis of this truth, our actions should be successful.

What an amazing attribute to revere and look up to, but also to embody and to exemplify.

When we say, “God is truth,” we are declaring that above all else, He is the same yesterday, today and forever. When we declare His truth, we are testifying of His inability to fail!

When fully believing that God is truth, we pull on a central characteristic of His being. Understanding that first, God is. Secondly, it is impossible for Him to contradict Himself or His word. Next, we are testifying that the God we serve today matches the God of Abraham, Jacob and Isaac in His acts, and in His promises.

My very thought after this reminder was, “How then can I, a human, live up to the standard of God’s awesome truth? How do I embody and live out the truth of His power?”

The task presented here may seem difficult. Our best endeavours are said to be “filthy rags” before God. I believe, though, that as we grow in Him, being transformed by His word into doers of the word, and not just hearers, we can exemplify God’s truth in the

earth. Ask yourself these questions:

Are my words, thoughts and deeds congruent with my belief? Or do I waver in faith?

Am I consistent in my service to my church and my community? Or am I inconsistent and undependable?

Does what I say and do match what the word instructs? Or do I live on the fence in my Christian walk?

Do I succeed when acting upon the truth of God? Or do I only look to the word after my way has failed?

To be created in the image and likeness of God is a privilege that only humanity can boast of - to be His mouthpieces, His beloved body, showing forth His great truth in the earth.

God bless you this week!

of all denominations are being summoned to band together under one roof for a special free concert this Sunday featuring international gospel star Todd Dulaney.

GOSPEL ARTIST TODD DULANEY

AYANNA CARTWRIGHT

Nine lessons and carols return to Christ Church Cathedral

AFTER a two-year pandemic hiatus, the music department of Christ Church Cathedral, is bringing back its annual Nine Lessons and Carols service.

This signals the beginning of the Cathedral Christmas music season, will be held again in person, this coming Sunday, December 18, at 6.30pm.

The 150-year-old Cambridge Carols, crafted in 1878 by Sir John Stainer and made famous by the choir of King’s College, is a service of Christian worship traditionally celebrated on or near Christmas Eve.

The story of the fall of humanity, the promise of the Messiah, and the birth of Jesus is told in nine short Bible readings or lessons from Genesis, the prophetic books, and the Gospels, interspersed with the singing of Christmas carols, hymns, and choir anthems.

The combined choir, including members of the Cathedral Choir and the Highgrove Singers, will be

led by Adrian Archer, Director of Music at the Cathedral, assisted by Associate conductors Antoin Bowe and Kenneth Knowles Jr.

“We are just so thrilled and happy to bring this service back to and have full congregational participation,” said Mr Archer. “All the musicians have been working so incredibly hard these past months to fill the cathedral with carols and special choir selections. “Congregation Carols will feature favourite arrangements by Sir David Willcocks, accompanied by Cathedral’s organist, Dr Sparkman Ferguson. The choir will offer Christmas carols and anthems by Carl Schalk, Otto Goldschmodt, Roy Zimmerman, Harold Darke, Dan Forrest, Felix Mendelssohn, Mack, Wilberg, John Rutter, and R Vaughn Williams, accompanied by Dr. Paul Jones. Also appearing will be cellist Rommel Shearer and violinist and organist. Cathy Jirjhalke. Admission to the carol service is free.

Bishop Laish Boyd emphasises the importance of hope in this year's Christmas message

O LITTLE town of Bethlehem….the hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.

On behalf of the Anglican Diocese of the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands, Bishop Laish Boyd is sharing the following Christmas message for 2022:

“As we celebrate another Christmas, we ask the ageold question which many

are tired of hearing: What is Christmas all about?

To find the answer we must look past the decorations, gifts, food, parties, family gatherings, Junkanoo, Christmas productions, and church services – all of which have their value – to see that it is really about hope. Jesus came into the world as a baby, a human being, to restore humanity’s hope in a caring God – a God who

Father Scott Onan Brennen bids farewell to St George

IN A combined service on Sunday, December 11, members of the congregation of St George’s Anglican Church bid farewell to their rector, the Reverend Fr Scott Brennen, who assumes the leadership of St Luke’s Parish in Fort Myers, Florida on January 1, 2023.

At the conclusion of the two-hour service, Fr Brennen, his wife Deon and his children, Quintessence and Quinlan, were thanked and presented with gifts from the various organisations and ministries of the parish.

Fr Brennen, who served in the parish for the last seven years, and five as rector, will be succeeded by the Rev Fr Andrew Toppin, who was elected by the vestry to be the sixth rector of St George’s Anglican Church.

wanted to be connected to His human race. And the mandate to the Church and to Christians ever since has been clear: to make disciples, i.e., to nurture that hope in others so that they might feel the love of God and, in turn, express it in action.

Hope is the feeling of expectation and desire for a particular thing to happen. It causes people who are lost or in despair, people

at their lowest valley, to look up and to keep going as they envision a better day. Sometimes, because of his/her feelings or circumstances, a person cannot feel any glimmer of hope. We, therefore, have to help them along through our words, actions, and prayers. Everything that we do to help or to heal or to make a person’s life better is therefore vitally important.

This Christmas, may the God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing so that, by the power of the Holy Spirit we may be filled with hope (Romans 15:13). May our living and our actions cause others to be filled with that same hope.

My family joins me in wishing you all a happy Christmas and a fulfilling New Year.”

Who were the three wise men who visited Jesus?

(THE CONVERSATION) – Christmas Nativity scenes around the world feature a familiar cast of characters: Jesus, Mary, Joseph, an angel or two, some barnyard animals, shepherds and, of course, the three wise men led by a star.

Within the New Testament, the story of the wise men is found only in the Gospel of Matthew. It spans 12 short verses, and is simpler than most readers likely remember. The wise men arrive in Jerusalem from an unnamed location “in the East,” led by a star and in search of a new king. They make their way to Bethlehem, where they bow before Jesus and offer gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Then, they return home by a different route.

The details in this story are slim, and so it raises more questions than it answers. Where were the wise men actually from? Why were they interested in Jesus? And, above all, who were they?

I am a scholar of early Christian literature who has spent years researching and writing about the wise men. I maintain that their identity in Matthew’s Gospel is ultimately more mysterious

and more complex than what traditional Christmas stories suggest. One of the keys to understanding them lies in what Matthew calls them: “magi.”

What’s in a name?

“Magi” is a Greek word that is difficult to translate. Some versions of the New Testament render it as “wise men” and others say “astrologers.” But neither of these captures the full sense of the term.

“Magi” is where the English word “magic” derives from, and just as magic can have both positive and negative connotations today, so too did magi have a range of meanings and uses in the ancient world. Some ancient authors speak positively of individuals they describe as magi, while others consider the label to be more of an insult.

Take, for example, the New Testament Book of Acts, which mentions two magi: one is named Simon, and the other is named Elymas.

Simon is a performer who amazes crowds with his ability to do magic, and he angers Jesus’ apostles by offering them money in exchange for some of their powers. Elymas is an adviser to a government official on the island of Cyprus, and he is referred to as a “false prophet.” He is struck blind for trying to interfere with the apostle Paul’s attempts to convert the official to Christianity.

When it comes to both of these characters, the label “magi” is meant negatively. It was intended to suggest to readers that they are sinister charlatans, and not to be trusted.

In other ancient literature, however, magi are

sought-after specialists who possess valuable skills like divination. In the Greek translation of the Book of Daniel, the king of Babylon summons magi to his court and asks them to decipher the details of a strange dream.

The Greek historian Herodotus tells a similar story in which the Median king Astyages asks magi about a dream featuring his daughter, and they foretell the birth of the Persian king Cyrus the Great. The Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria likewise speaks of magi as people with the special ability to understand mysterious visions.

Many ancient authors who speak of people as magi also frequently do so in the context of religion and ritual. One of the more well-known instances of this is a teacher named Zoroaster, from whom Zoroastrianism takes its name.

The Greek biographer Diogenes Laertius says that Zoroaster was actually the first of all the magi. He also writes that magi lived simple, ascetic lives characterized by limited comforts, and that they had a reputation for worshiping their gods through sacrifice.

The Greek biographer Plutarch speaks similarly of Zoroaster as a magi who taught a form of spiritual dualism, good versus evil.

The identity of Matthew’s magi Who, then, are the magi who visit Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew? The answer, it turns out, is complicated. Matthew doesn’t tell his readers exactly what he means when he refers to his visitors in this way, and so it is up to them to figure it out.

Biblical scholars often argue that Matthew intended for the magi in his Gospel to be understood as gentiles or non-Jews who come to Bethlehem to worship Jesus. They surmise that this story is meant to foreshadow the fact that Christianity would eventually become a gentile religious movement instead of a Jewish one.

The argument that the magi are meant to be understood as gentiles is based in part on the fact that they come to Jerusalem and Bethlehem “from the East,” which could suggest that they are “outsiders.”

But in light of how magi are spoken of in other ancient literature, this understanding is too simple. Had

Matthew intended to say that gentiles came to Bethlehem, he would have done so without using a loaded word like magi.

Because Matthew doesn’t bother to say exactly who these visitors were supposed to be, the magi have fascinated readers and kept them guessing for nearly 2,000 years.

They have been imagined as Zoroastrian priests, astrologers and, of course, as kings. They have appeared in various forms in paintings, in film, in literature and in song.

Given the complex nature of the word magi in the ancient world, one has to wonder if Matthew chose this word precisely to inspire a sense of mystery in his readers, and to keep them wondering about who the magi actually were.

If this is the case, then I would argue that he certainly accomplished that goal many times over.

• This article is republished from The Conversation, an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts. Read the original article here: https://theconversation.com

(L-R) Gevon Moss, priest warden; Quintessence Brennen; Deon Brennen; Fr Scott Brennen; Quinlan Brennen; Diane Bingham, parish treasurer, and Jerome Knowles, people’s warden.

FR Scott Brennen with members of the Christian Youth Movement after the farewell party.

ADRIAN ARCHER

BISHOP LAISH BOYD

Chipola improves to No.2 in poll

By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

Deyton Albury, Paul Greene and Chipola College are now the no.2 ranked men’s basketball programme in NJCAA Division I.

Chipola improved two spots from last week’s ranking and has amassed a total of 329 points and one first place vote.

Salt Lake (10-0) took the top spot in the poll with 348 points and 12 first place votes. Odessa (13-1) is ranked third with 323 points.

Chipola needed a season high night from Greene and some late-game heroics to improve to 15-0 on the season. They completed the Florida JuCo shootout with a 70-69 win over Florida Southwestern.

Greene scored a season high 20 points and grabbed 8 rebounds off the bench while Albury scored 13.

It was the first time all season that Chipola trailed with less than a minute left to play. They began the shootout with an 87-65 win over St Petersburg College.

Greene finished with seven points and four rebounds while Albury had eight points and five rebounds.

Greene leads the team in rebounding at 6.9 boards per game and scores 9.1 points per game in 15 games with six starts.

“Paul has been exceptional,” said head coach Donnie Tyndall.

“He’s a guy that deflects balls, he gets steals, he tips the ball in, he rotates over and gets the charge, all the gritty little winning plays and that’s been great to have from him.”

In his second year with the programme, Albury is second on the team in

‘Buddy’ and Pacers beat Warriors, Curry hurt

By MICHAEL MAROT AP Sports Writer

INDIANAPOLIS (AP)

— Tyrese Haliburton scored 29 points and the Indiana Pacers made 16 3-pointers to hold on for a 125-119 victory last night over the Golden State Warriors and Stephen Curry, who didn’t finish the game because of a left shoulder injury.

Curry scored 24 of his 38 points in the first half for the defending champions but departed with 2:04 remaining in the third quarter. The Warriors, who lost at Milwaukee on Tuesday night, fell to 2-12 on the road.

Bennedict Mathurin added 24 points and Buddy Hield scored 17 for Indiana, which snapped a two-game skid by sweeping

the Warriors for the first time since 2017-18 and just the second time in a decade.

Haliburton rebounded from his lowest-scoring game with the Pacers — one point — by going 9 of 17 from the field and making five 3s.

Jordan Poole scored 20 points for Golden State, which has lost four of five.

The Warriors played without Klay Thompson (right knee) and Andrew Wiggins (abdominal muscle).

Draymond Green scored a season-low one point in 27 minutes and was ejected in the fourth quarter.

Indiana looked like it would cruise after rallying from an early 20-11 deficit and using nine 3-pointers to spur a 47-point secondquarter barrage. The Pacers led 74-54 at halftime.

scoring at 13.1 points and second in rebounding at 6.3 rebounds per game and 3.3 assists per game.

Assistant coach Jaren Harris said Albury has been the catalyst of the programme’s early success.

“We’ve got a bunch of tough guys in our locker room but I think every one of our guys will say he’s the toughest guy in our locker room,” Harris said.

“From his dedication, to his willingness to be a great teammate, from his selflessness - he does everything on the floor for us.

“He’s a defender, he’s a rebounder, he’s a scorer, he’s a distributor, and he brings it everyday on the practice floor too so I think Deyton has definitely been one of our guys that has stepped up for us,” Harris said.

Chipola will host Enterprise State on Saturday, December 17.

Albury told local ABC affiliate MyPanhandle.com that Tyndall’s attention to defence has been the driving force behind the team’s successful season thus far.

“He’s really hard on us on defence, but he doesn’t recruit bad players like he always says,” Albury said. “So offence isn’t really a problem. He just draws up the motions and that his players just play.”

Chipola has advanced to back-to-back trips in NJCAA Final Four berths but has yet to capture the coveted national title.

“I said this when I got the job, the goal is to hang a big banner, and that’s a national championship,” Tyndall said. “We haven’t done that yet, so we’ve got a lot of work to do. But I feel like this team has a chance and if we can get everybody healthy to make a run at this thing again this season.”

FREDRICK KING HAS CAREER NIGHT FOR BLUE JAYS

By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

FREDRICK King had his second NCAA start and produced a career night for the Creighton Blue Jays.

King finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks - all career highs - in Creighton’s 73-71 loss to Arizona State at Michelob ULTRA Arena as part of the Jack Jones Hoopfest in Las Vegas, Nevada.

King shot 8-11 from the field in 26 minutes. It was King’s second consecutive start in place of injured All Big East centre, Ryan Kalkbrenner and noted how the relationship between the two has aided his development.

“I just have to stay ready mentally and I have to be there for my team because [Kalkbrenner] is not here so I have to give my all. My

But after Indiana opened the third with yet another 3, Curry methodically led the Warriors back.

It started with a 14-0 run and Curry’s three-point play with 4:16 left in the third made it 83-80. The Pacers answered with 10 straight points, but the Warriors refused to let them pull away and cut the deficit to 122-119 when Donte DiVincenzo made a 3 with 1:25 to go. Golden State never got any closer.

TIP-INS Warriors: Golden State has lost all six road games against Eastern Conference opponents this season. The Warriors’ three-game winning streak at Indiana ended. Curry made five 3s to extend his record to 215 consecutive games with at least one. He also has 250 career 30-point games.

Pacers: Indiana’s secondquarter point total was a season high. The Pacers improved to 2-3 against

Resurgent Zion Williamson powering Pelicans up standings

By BRETT MARTEL AP Sports Writer

NEW ORLEANS (AP)

— A wide-smiling Zion Williamson could afford to poke fun at himself for the free throw he missed while fans packing the New Orleans Pelicans’ home arena were celebrating his latest dominant outing with thunderous chants of “M-V-P!”

That’s because the Pelicans, now perched atop the Western Conference standings, had just won their seventh straight game — thanks in no small part to Williamson’s game-high 35 points on Sunday in a 129124 overtime triumph over the Phoenix Suns.

“The dude is a one-ofone player. So, there’s no guideline as to what to expect from him on a

given night,” Pelicans forward Larry Nance Jr said.

“We’ve never seen this blueprint before.

“I don’t even know if we’ve seen his best yet,” Nance added, “which is terrifying for the NBA.”

Drafted first overall out of Duke in 2019, but sidelined for most of his first three seasons, Williamson is well on his way to dispelling any notion that he might go down in NBA history as an injury-prone, out-of-shape bust.

Indeed, the repeated celebratory flexing of his well-defined biceps after he barrels through traffic in the paint and deftly finishes at the rim are reminding anyone watching that he is very much in shape — and in form.

During New Orleans’ past seven games, with

Pelicans high-scoring wing player Brandon Ingram sidelined by a left foot injury, Williamson has

taken charge, averaging 30.3 points. He’s scored on everything from rimrattling, alley-oop dunks, to explosive, off-balance, driving layups while being fouled, to put backs and even 3-pointers.

“I got to thank my teammates and my coaches,” Williamson said when asked about his recent string of prolific performances. “My teammates looked at me like, ‘All right, we’re depending on you.’

“I mean, that trust does a lot for somebody,” Williamson continued. “So, to see them trust me — you know I missed all last season — it means a lot to me. I simply just don’t want to let them down.”

Williamson missed most of his rookie season

Western Conference foes at home. Myles Turner had 21 points and made of 1 of 2 free throws after coach Rick Carlisle won a challenge on what would have been Turner’s sixth foul.

Hield connected on four 3s, giving him 104 this season.

BLOWN OVER?

One day after a fan in Milwaukee was ejected for what Green described as a threat against him,

RAYNOR ANDREWS GETS AN OFFER FROM SYRACUSE

By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

JUNIOR

PAGE 17 SEE PAGE 20

The 6’6”, 300-pounder received an offer from the Syracuse Orange of the Atlantic Coast Conference - his first official offer from a high major Division I programme.

“I can definitely say I’m an athletic O-lineman,” Andrews said in an interview with The Juice Online.

“I can run as fast as one of your receivers and definitely secure the run game and do a hell of a job pass setting. What makes me different is definitely my speed, tbh. That’s what stands out about my game.”

He called his recruitment a “surreal” experience thus

Analysis: Plans in works for USA Basketball’s World Cup team

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer

THE final roster is still months away. It might be May, June or even July before USA Basketball knows which 12 NBA players will be on the team that’s headed to compete at the World Cup in the Philippines next summer.

That certainly doesn’t mean the Americans are sitting and waiting.

Let the recruiting begin. The braintrust for the US — managing director Grant Hill, national team director Sean Ford and coach Steve Kerr — is already well into the process of trying to get players thinking about wearing

the red, white and blue at the World Cup in 2023 as well as the Paris Olympics in 2024.

“So far, it’s been really good, some really positive momentum,” Hill said.

“I’ve engaged with those who’ve been a part of the programme in recent years, then also some who haven’t and have emerged as fantastic players that we feel would fit in the international game. It’s very different than our game. It’s been fun, but it’s kind of a delicate dance.”

Lots of names will trickle out over the coming weeks and months; remember, there were 52 players either

Chipola’s Jatarian Warren hit a three pointer from the top of the key with 0.7 seconds remaining to give Chipola the win.

INDIANA Pacers’ Buddy Hield scored 17 points in last night’s win over Golden State Warriors. (AP Photo/Godofredo A Vásquez)

offensive lineman Raynor Andrews continues to become a sought after prep football prospect.

PELICANS forward Zion Williamson (1) celebrates after dunking on December 9.

(AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

DEYTON ALBURY

PAUL GREENE

Brock Purdy, 49ers aim to clinch NFC West in Seattle

By ROB MAADDI AP Pro Football Writer

THE Brock Purdy show is hitting the road in prime time.

After outplaying Tom Brady and dominating the Buccaneers in his first career start, Purdy leads the San Francisco 49ers against Seattle on “Thursday Night Football.”

Purdy, the last pick in this year’s draft, can follow up a spectacular performance by helping the 49ers (9-4) secure the NFC West. A victory over the Seahawks (7-6) would clinch the division title for San Francisco, which turned to Purdy after losing Jimmy Garoppolo to a foot injury December 4.

“The kid is a perfectionist and everything he does, he wants to see what he can do better,” Niners coach Kyle Shanahan said of Purdy.

Purdy will try to play through an oblique injury, and the Niners won’t have wide receiver Deebo Samuel because of knee and ankle injuries.

Still, they’re 3 1/2-point favourites, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. The Seahawks have lost three of four.

Pro Picks leans toward San Francisco because the Seahawks have the secondworst run defence in the NFL and they’ve allowed 506 yards rushing in the past two home games, losses to Carolina and Las Vegas.

49ERS, 23-17

Cincinnati (minus 3 1/2) at Tampa Bay

Joe Burrow has led the Bengals (9-4) to five straight wins. The Buccaneers (6-7) may have the worst coaching staff in the NFL, but still can win the woeful NFC South with a losing record.

BEST BET:

BENGALS, 27-20 Pittsburgh (plus 2 1/2) at Carolina

The Panthers (5-8) have gone from being in line to get the second pick in the draft to just one game out of first place. The Steelers (5-8) may have to turn to Mitch Trubisky if Kenny Pickett can’t go because of a second concussion this season.

FROM PAGE 16

far. The Auburn Tigers of the Southeastern Conference and the Rutgers Scarlet Knights of the Big 10 have also reportedly been involved in his recruitment.

“It definitely felt surreal and so amazing to finally get my first offer knowing how much work I put in it,” Andrews said. “It’s finally starting to pay off.”

Nick Monroe is the Orange’s lead recruiter.

“The coaching staff I’ve met so far is definitely cool

UPSET SPECIAL:

STEELERS, 20-17 Indianapolis (plus 4 1/2) at Minnesota

The Vikings (10-3) gave doubters more reason to criticise with a loss to the Lions. The Colts visit at the right time.

VIKINGS, 26-17 Baltimore (plus 2 1/2) at Cleveland

The Ravens (9-4) are missing Lamar Jackson and backup QB Tyler Huntley was in concussion protocol so the Browns (5-8) are favourites to get Deshaun Watson his first win in two years.

BROWNS, 23-20 Miami (plus 7 1/2) at Buffalo

Josh Allen and the Bills (10-3) are rolling while Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins (8-5) are slipping.

BILLS, 24-17 Atlanta (plus 4) at New Orleans Rookie Desmond Ridder makes his first career start for the Falcons (5-8) and has two fan bases

rooting for him in Atlanta and Philadelphia.

The Saints (4-9) traded their first-round pick to the Eagles.

SAINTS, 23-16 Detroit (minus 1) at New York Jets

Mike White and the Jets (7-6) are fighting to stay in the playoff race. The Lions (6-7) are somehow in the wild-card chase after starting 1-6.

JETS, 24-22 Kansas City (minus 14) at Houston

The Texans (1-11-1) almost pulled off the biggest upset of the season in Dallas last week. Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs (10-3) had to take notice.

CHIEFS, 34-13 Philadelphia (minus 9) at Chicago

The Eagles (12-1) are headed toward the No. 1 seed and a franchise record for most regular-season wins.

EAGLES, 30-20 Dallas (minus 4 1/2) at Jacksonville

and nice people,” Andrews said. “I can’t wait to meet the whole team. I definitely like the Syracuse programme and I can’t wait to see more.”

He is one of several Bahamian prospects that continue to garner attention for their performance on the gridiron for the Miami, Florida-based Jackson Generals.

The Generals concluded the season 7-4 and lost in the first round of the FHSAA 2M Football State Championships, 37-6 to Miami Norland.

Andrews was also invited to this weekend’s Legends

over the BYU Cougars, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and Utah Utes..

Trevor Lawrence is coming off his best pro game while the Cowboys barely survived against Houston.

COWBOYS, 27-20

Arizona (plus 2 1/2) at Denver Colt McCoy takes over for Kyler Murray for the Cardinals (4-9). Russell Wilson finally showed his Pro Bowl form before suffering a concussion last week.

BRONCOS, 20-16

New England (minus 1 1/2) at Las Vegas Bill Belichick vs. Josh McDaniels. Advantage, Patriots.

PATRIOTS, 23-20

Tennessee (plus 3) at Los Angeles Chargers

The Titans (7-6) have lost three in a row, but still have a cushion in the lowly AFC South.

Justin Herbert and the Chargers (7-6) are battling for a wild-card spot.

CHARGERS, 27-21 New York Giants (plus 4 1/2) at Washington

Football Showcase in Tampa, Florida, which features the top junior prospects throughout the state of Florida.

He will compete as a member of “Team East.”

“Legends Showcase is a source for young and

The Commanders (7-51) and Giants (7-5-1) meet again after a tie two weeks ago. Washington turned its season around after a 1-4 start while New York has one win in its past six games.

COMMANDERS, 23-20

Los Angeles Rams (plus 7) at Green Bay Baker Mayfield has more time to grasp the Rams’ offence.

The Packers (5-8) are desperate to stay alive in the playoff race.

PACKERS, 24-19

2022 RECORD

Last Week: Straight up: 8-5 Against spread: 8-5.

Season: Straight up: 125-82. Against spread: 106-97-4.

Thursday: Straight up: 10-6. Against spread: 6-10.

Monday: Straight up: 8-7. Against spread: 7-8.

Best Bet: Straight up: 7-7. Against spread: 7-7.

Upset Special: Straight up: 4-10. Against spread: 6-7-1.

developing high school athletes to receive recognition for their efforts on the playing field and an opportunity for them to obtain a football scholarship,” the organisation said.

“Legends Showcase’s goal is to use football

WILSON OKAY FOR INDIVIDUAL DRILLS BUT MISSES PRACTICE

By PAT GRAHAM AP Sports Writer

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Russell Wilson stretched for a bit and threw a few passes during individual drills ahead of the Denver Broncos’ practice yesterday as he works his way through the NFL’s concussion protocol.

Wilson sustained a head injury Sunday when the veteran quarterback dived head-first for the goal line after scrambling for a 14-yard gain. He was replaced by backup Brett Rypien in the fourth quarter of Denver’s 34-28 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Rypien would get his second start of the season Sunday if Wilson is sidelined against Arizona (4-9). The Cardinals lost their starting QB, Kyler Murray, to a torn ACL on Monday night against the New England Patriots. He was replaced by backup Colt McCoy, who figures to play Sunday at Denver (3-10).

Wilson missed a game earlier this season with a hamstring injury, only the fourth game he’s missed in his 11-year NFL career. There’s a possibility he could clear the concussion protocol and still be held out by the Broncos, who have already been eliminated from the playoffs for a seventh straight season.

“In the end, his safety is what matters most to us,” first-year Broncos coach Nathaniel Hackett said. “We want to be sure that we’re taking care of him and his wellbeing, and we’re doing what’s right for Russell. It always starts right away with the medical department. We’ve got a really good medical department, independent neurologists.

“We’re going to be sure we’re in constant communication with them. He’s being monitored by everybody. We’ll go from there. We’ll talk with him and it will be an organisational decision.”

for these young men to obtain a college degree. If we can help these young men obtain degrees, we can impact them and their future family life.”

team helped me to keep my confidence up,” King said. “In pracitce, play after play, even if I miss he’ll help me out. He helps me to get better everyday, no matter if we’re on the same team in scrimmages, blue or white, he’s always there for me.

In King’s first start, he finished with just four points and no rebounds in Saturday night’s 83-80 loss to BYU.

“I thought Fredrick, you know from where he came from, how nervous and anxious he had to be Saturday, and really not have things go very well, to playing the way he did [against Arizona State] I think we saw a glimpse of what’s to come in the future,” said Crieghton head coach Doug McDermott. “I’m really proud of the way he played.”

Despite King’s career high night, Creighton dropped its fifth straight game since opening the season 6-0, a stretch that included wins at the Maui

Jim Maui Invitational over No. 21 Texas Tech and No. 9 Arkansas.

Creighton is now 6-5 in non-conference play.

Creighton was picked to win the BIG EAST Conference and earned its best preseason AP poll ranking ever (No. 9), thanks to the return of 10 lettermen and three starters from last year’s team that finished 23-12.

King, a 6’10” frontcourt player out of the NBA Academy (Latin America), decided on the Blue Jays

In exhibition play, King had 10 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots in a 109-97 win over Drury.

Through 11 regular season games thus far, King has averaged 4.9 points and 3.3 rebounds per game while shooting 59 percent from the field.

Prior to the season, the true freshman and Andros native said he hoped to learn from and lend support to the 7’1” Kalkbrenner.

“[Kalkbrenner] is a great player. He’s bigger than everybody else. I’ll come in after him,” King said. “I’ll be able to help inside while also working on multiple skills.”

FREDRICK KING

RAYNOR ANDREWS

France defeat Morocco 2-0, advance to World Cup final

By STEVE DOUGLAS AP Sports Writer

AL KHOR, Qatar (AP) — Kylian Mbappé vs. Lionel Messi.

Soccer’s latest superstar against perhaps the sport’s greatest player in the World Cup final just about everyone was hoping for.

France and Mbappé are headed back to the biggest game in soccer, and to a much-anticipated matchup with Argentina, after ending Morocco’s historic run at the World Cup yesterday.

In front of the country’s president, Emmanuel Macron, France beat Africa’s first ever semifinalist 2-0, with Mbappé playing a part in goals by Theo Hernandez in the fifth minute and substitute Randal Kolo Muani in the 79th.

Mbappé became a global phenomenon by leading France to the title in Russia in 2018 and has a chance to emulate Brazil great Pele as a champion in his first two World Cups when he comes up against the 35-year-old Messi, who has dominated the game with Cristiano Ronaldo for the past 15 years.

It’s the dream final for many, with France looking to become the first team to retain the title since Brazil in 1962 and Argentina on a mission to win soccer’s ultimate prize for the third time in what is likely to be Messi’s last World Cup.

“We need all our strength, all our energy to face a very competitive team with one of the legends in the sport with Messi,” France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris said.

There will be no team from the Arab world in the final of the first World Cup in the Middle East, a prospect that seemed nigh impossible before the tournament yet nearly happened in Qatar.

Morocco has been widely lauded for breaking ground for Africa and generated an outpouring of pride

among Arab nations after topping a group containing Croatia and Belgium and eliminating two more European powers — Spain and Portugal — in the knockout stage. Their players gave France a farfrom-easy ride, too, before collapsing on the ground in despair after the final whistle.

“We are disappointed for the Moroccan people — we wanted to keep their dream alive,” Morocco coach Walid Regragui said. “We felt we could have gone further but we have given a good image of Morocco and of African football. That was important to us.”

Remarkably, Hernandez’s early goal was the first scored against Morocco by an opposition player in the tournament — the other had been an own-goal in the group stage — but the team responded to that and injury issues in its defence with a fearless performance in front of tens of thousands of fans who

dominated the 60,000-seat Al Bayt Stadium.

France was forced into some last-ditch defending at times but has developed a knack of pulling out victories despite not playing its best. The country will be playing in the final for the fourth time in the last seven World Cups, more than anyone else.

“It wasn’t easy,” France coach Didier Deschamps said, “and we showed our quality, experience and team spirit.”

Mbappé failed to add to his five goals in the tournament but helped create the opener for Hernandez when his shot deflected off a defender and into the path of the left back. Hernandez let the ball bounce before driving a downward effort into the net from a tight angle.

Typically a defence-first team, Morocco was forced to come out and play even though it was reeling from losing Nayef Aguerd to injury in the warmup and

another centre back, captain Romain Saiss, after only 21 minutes because of a hamstring injury.

Both players were doubts ahead of the game but were risked by Regragui along with left back Noussair Mazraoui, who has had the flu and only lasted until halftime.

Roared on by its redand-green-clad fans, Morocco came closest to scoring when Jawad El Yamiq hit the post with an overhead kick in the 44th minute and forced France to defend in numbers, with Antoine Griezmann — the team’s playmaker — effectively playing as a deep-lying midfielder and often clearing balls from inside his box.

However, Mbappé enjoyed more space as Morocco tired late in the second half and he was moved into a central position. After dribbling past two defenders, he took a shot that deflected toward Kolo Muani, who tapped in

having been on the field for less than a minute.

The goal was celebrated in the VIP seats by Macron, who flew in for the match and had earlier visited the Souq Waqif bazaar in Doha before traveling to the stadium. The president congratulated France’s players in the locker room after the match.

They might need to raise their game against Argentina, though.

“Any team with Messi in,” Griezmann said, “is a totally different proposition.”

TOP SCORER

The World Cup trophy isn’t the only thing at stake on Sunday. Messi and Mbappé are tied as the leading scorers with five goals as they chase the Golden Boot award.

THIRD PLACE

Morocco’s World Cup isn’t over. The team will play the third-place playoff match against Croatia at Khalifa International Stadium on Saturday.

FRENCH CROWDS CELEBRATE VICTORY AGAINST MOROCCO

By SYLVIE CORBET Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — Crowds in Paris and other French cities erupted in shouts of joy as France advanced to the World Cup final Wednesday, while disappointed Morocco fans mingled with the exuberant supporters of the winning team.

Football fans streamed to the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris, shooting off firecrackers and red flares, to an unending chorus of honking cars.

Riot police vans lined the broad thoroughfare and the base of the imposing Arc de Triomphe, and white-helmeted officers roamed the crowd.

On the famous avenue, many were brandishing French flags and singing “we are in the final.”

France beat Morocco 2-0 to reach the World Cup final against Argentina, in a historic match between the defending champion and Africa’s first ever semifinalist.

Supporters from both teams gathered in bars from the boulevards of Paris to the streets of Morocco’s capital Rabat, from the cosmopolitan French Riviera city of Nice to the historic Moroccan city of Marrakech.

In central Madrid, fans celebrated on Sol Square after the match, some with red Moroccan flags draped on their shoulders, jumping up and down, and some wearing the French tricolor. Morocco was under French rule from 1912-56, giving the match political and emotional resonance for both nations.

In Morocco, people were able to watch the match on large screens placed in public squares in cities, highlighting the historymaking moment this game represents.

Pistons spoil Ball’s return to floor with OT win

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) —

Alec Burks scored a season-high 27 points, Killian Hayes added 25 and Detroit spoiled LaMelo Ball’s return for Charlotte.

Burks had five points in overtime, including his fourth 3-pointer of the game with 1:47 left to put the Pistons up for good. Bojan Bogdanovic had 24 points.

Kelly Oubre Jr scored 28 points to lead the Hornets.

Ball had 23 points on 9-of-18 shooting and 11 assists in his first game since November 16 because of a sprained left ankle. But he fouled out with 29.6 seconds left in regulation.

MAGIC 135, HAWKS 124

ORLANDO, Florida (AP) — Franz Wagner scored 24 points, Orlando had a franchise-record 50 points in the first quarter and the Magic beat Atlanta for their fourth straight victory.

Cole Anthony finished the first period with two free throws to make it 50-22, the most points the

TEAM USA

FROM PAGE 16

invited or committed at various times for the 2019 World Cup, and 40 of them weren’t on the team that eventually made it to China for a disappointing seventhplace finish.

Atlanta’s Trae Young has said he wants to play.

Miami’s Tyler Herro isn’t saying no.

The formula that the Americans will use for this roster-assembly project will be simple — a few versatile and mobile bigs, lots of ballhanders and lots of shooters.

Decisions will be affected by health, by how deep a player’s NBA team goes in the playoffs, maybe by

Magic have ever scored in any quarter.

Bol Bol added 21 points, Paolo Banchero had 20 points and six rebounds and Markelle Fultz finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and nine assists.

DeAndre Hunter scored 20 of his 25 points in the second quarter for Atlanta. Trae Young added 19 points and 16 assists. The Hawks have lost five of six.

HEAT 110, THUNDER 108

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Tyler Herro made a career-high nine 3-pointers, hit the go-ahead jumper and scored 33 points in Miami’s victory over Oklahoma City.

Herro made a mid-range jumper to finish the scoring with 4.9 seconds left. Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander missed a mid-range jumper, and Josh Giddey’s putback rimmed out at the buzzer.

The Heat made a season-high 24 3-pointers — with Herro going

contract status, and let’s not even think about how much of a mess assembling a World Cup team would be if the league has labour strife and goes into a lockout this summer.

It’s a three-week tournament but not a three-week commitment; camp will start sometime in late July.

And, if all goes right, the team will be playing for gold in mid-September — just a couple weeks before the scheduled start of NBA training camps.

“We’re just continuing to have these conversations, talk about our vision, how we envision certain guys being a part of it,” Hill said.

“And there are lot of guys who have been very receptive to the idea.”

9 of 17 — in sending the Thunder to their fourth straight loss. Miami star Jimmy Butler sat out to rest his right knee.

There is a card that Hill, Ford and Kerr have to play that past staffs haven’t had.

They can say the US is being disrespected.

The Americans are the four-time defending Olympic champions, and due respect to the World Cup, the Olympics are by far the tournament that means most on the international calendar.

But a couple weeks ago, bolstered by a win at the 2019 World Cup and a title at this year’s EuroBasket tournament, Spain passed the US in the world rankings put together by FIBA — the sport’s international governing body.

It had been 12 years since any other men’s team but the US had been in the

Gilgeous-Alexander led Oklahoma City with 27 points.

KNICKS 128, BULLS 120, OT

CHICAGO (AP) — Julius Randle scored 31 points and Jalen Brunson added a season-high 30, including a 3-pointer with less than a minute left in overtime, and New York outlasted Chicago for its fifth straight victory.

Randle missed a chance to win the game in regulation when his step-back shot from the baseline resulted in an air ball and shotclock violation with 0.7 seconds left. But Quentin Grimes and Brunson each nailed 3-pointers with less than a minute left in OT to give the Knicks a nine-point lead.

DeMar DeRozan scored 32 points for Chicago.

KINGS 124, RAPTORS 123

TORONTO (AP) — De’Aaron Fox had 27 points and 10 assists, Domantas Sabonis added 21 points and 20 rebounds and

top spot. “Of course, this may last or may not last for long,” FIBA secretary general Andreas Zagklis said.

“This is in their hands and in the hands of the teams that are challenging for the top spot in the in the rankings. ... At the end, what counts is who brings the Naismith Trophy home next year on the 10th of September.”

He’s right. But the ranking is something that the Americans aren’t thrilled to see.

“First of all, you totally respect the rankings and the metrics used to determine,” Hill said.

“You don’t like that. You don’t like what you hear. And I think there’s a certain pride that we have in terms

Sacramento held on to beat Toronto.

Malik Monk scored 24 points and Terence Davis had 19 against his former team as the Kings overcame a 16-point second-quarter deficit to win for the second time in their past 11 games north of the border.

Fred VanVleet scored a seasonhigh 39 points for Toronto, but missed a 3-pointer that would have tied it with four seconds to go.

Scottie Barnes had 27 points and 10 assists for Toronto.

TRAIL

BLAZERS 128, SPURS 112

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Damian Lillard had 37 points and Portland beat San Antonio for itsr third straight victory and fifth in six games.

Anfernee Simons added 23 points for Portland.

Keldon Johnson led San Antonio with 25 points, The Spurs had won three in a row after dropping 11 straight.

of the game and the success we’ve had historically, but it’s an opportunity for us and a motivating factor for us to get back to that level.

From a recruitment standpoint, no question, we have a chance to repair that and change that.

“And so that that has been used and will continue to be used.”

This won’t be easy.

Mike Krzyzewski said it for years, and Gregg Popovich said the same when he took over for Coach K as the US coach, that the world is catching up to — or has caught — the Americans when it comes to the international game.

NBA legend Kobe Bryant flat-out said it in 2019, and was proven right

when the US stumbled in China.

France is building a great team, one that will have projected No. 1 draft pick Victor Wembanyama and could have Joel Embiid — if he picks the French over an offer to play for the US, a deal where he’s truly an international free agent.

Slovenia will have Luka Doncic. Oh, and Spain is still Spain.

But for now, USA Basketball thinks it is on the right road. “We want to field a roster that gives us a chance to win gold,” Hill said.

“That’s the plan. I owe it to our coaching staff, I owe it to our programme and I feel that we’re building in that direction.”

FRANCE’s Kylian Mbappe helps Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi up at the end of their World Cup semifinal soccer at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, Qatar, yesterday. France won 2-0 and will play Argentina in Sunday’s final. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

HORNETS head coach Steve Clifford, right, argues with referee Curtis Blair during the second half against the Detroit Pistons in Charlotte, N.C., last night. Detroit won 141-134.

(AP Photo/Nell Redmond)

KENISE: MY MOTHER ‘WAS EVERYTHING TO ME’

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

VETERAN national team player Zella BrownSymonette, perhaps the greatest female shortstop who won numerous championships in the New Providence Softball Association and the Bahamas Government Departmental Softball Association, passed away on Tuesday.

Brown-Symonette, 59, is survived by her husband Kenneth Symonette Sr, daughter Kenise (Jerad) Darville; son Kenneth (Qutel) Symonette Jr, grandchildren Anthony Deane, Colman and Chozen Darville and Hannah and Kai Symonette, sisters Ruthmae Williams, Maxine Newton and Patricia Brown and brothers Ralph, Ullis and Dexter Brown.

Kenise Darville, who followed in her mother’s footsteps as a softball player, said her mother was her world.

“She was everything to me. Everything,” said an emotional Darville.

“I can’t put it into words. She was there for me with everything. She helped me in my foundation as a child, my education, playing softball, my marriage and with my children. I will really miss her. We will miss her.”

One of Symonette’s longtime team-mates Mary ‘Cruise’ Sweeting from the perennial New Providence Softball Association women’s champions Rothmans Wildcats said her memories of her teammate and leader Zella B, as she was affectionately called, will last forever.

“Zella was one of a kind, humble, confident, stern, disciplined and one that showed pride in every game she played,” Sweeting said.

“She loved representing her country, the pride she displayed with us as her team members was a feeling that no one on the outside could understand and I got

that feeling and encouragement many times from her in the circle.

“She was the best shortstop I have ever seen play in this Bahamas and one of the best around the world. Her stellar plays always had the crowd’s attention and lifted/motivated the team.”

Sweeting said on many of their softball trips around the world, Brown-Symonette definitely pushed her many times in the circle and her encouragement made her a better person and the most outstanding pitcher that she became.

“Most of all, Zella B was a child of the king and she wanted everyone to know that,” said Sweeting of Brown-Symonette, who was a member of the ministerial team at Mount Tabor church. “She will definitely be missed.”

Natasha Huyler, an infielder as well, called Symonette a “teammate” for life.

“She was a ride and die warrior that took the team on as she helped us win many championships,” said Huyler, who also played with Symonette on the Wildcats team and the Treasury Invaders slowpitch team in the GBDSA

as well as on the national team.

“Her passion, her drive and her love of the game made all of us champions. Her work ethic, energy and killer instinct drove us during every practice session and game.

As the condolences continue to pour in, from

shortstop to the next, Marvin ‘Tougie’ Wood, when he heard the news, noted: “Wow no. RIP one of the best shortstops.

Definitely a HOF (Hall of Famer).”

Ali Culmer, who coached the arch-rivals Colina Crows, sent out his condolences to Symonette’s brother Dick Brown and family. “May her soul RIP,” he wrote.

“She will definitely be missed.”

one

KENISE DARVILLE, left, with her mother Zella Symonette.

ZELLA Brown-Symonette

Curry injures shoulder, Pacers hold off Warriors

FROM PAGE 16

ZION

FROM PAGE 16

because of protracted rehabilitation from a preseason knee injury. His second season was an individual success; he averaged 27 points in 61 games and was named a first-time All-Star, but the Pelicans missed the playoffs and fired coach Stan Van Gundy after only one season.

Williamson then missed all of his third pro season because of a foot injury that did not initially respond well to treatment, casting doubt upon whether he’d ever live up to the hype that had basketball fans in New Orleans partying on downtown streets the night he was drafted.

Lately, Pelicans fans have been rising to their feet in the Smoothie King Center each time Williamson launches his muscle-bound, 6-foot-6 frame toward the rim, either with the ball in his hands or on its way to him via a lob.

“I’m just proud of him more than anything,” Pelicans second-year coach Willie Green said. “When you have an injury, especially being the calibre of player that Zion is, you’re measured by how you recover.

“There’s a lot of scrutiny, eyes on him. For him to come back, have the conditioning that he does, still have his touch, his handle, you can tell he was working all offseason.”

Veterans Nance and CJ McCollum have become Williamson confidantes, routinely offering guidance about everything from maintaining a healthy lifestyle to refining his on-court skills.

“He’s relishing this opportunity to be able to be out there and be able to play in big moments in meaningful games — and he’s delivering,” McCollum said. “He’s done the work, obviously. You can see he’s starting to be more comfortable. I think the last seven or eight games he’s looked like Zion, right? An MVP-calibre player.”

While Williamson has been effective using his rare combination of size, explosiveness and leaping ability to finish around the rim, McCollum has urged him to develop his mid-range and perimeter shooting in order to keep defences from collapsing into the paint every time he has the ball.

On Sunday night, Williamson attempted three 3-pointers, hitting two. He also has been praised by teammates for his ability to make the right pass when crowded by multiple defenders.

For the season, Williamson has averaged 25 points in 21 contests while shooting better than 60%. Those are the type of numbers that, if sustained, would begin to justify the Pelicans’ decision to sign Williamson to a five-year extension worth at least $193 million. But Williamson insists he doesn’t get too caught up in statistics, as long as the Pelicans are winning.

“We’re No. 1 in the West right now,” Williamson said after New Orleans defeated Phoenix in two straight games over the weekend. “I know, to a lot of people, it’s not a big deal because it’s early in the season. But for us to kind of have that ranking right now, that’s big and we want to not only hold onto it, but build on it.”

Warriors coach Steve Kerr said he had not spoken with Green about the incident but said he thought threats and vulgarity warrant penalties.

“I think there has to be a line,” Kerr said. “I didn’t get a chance to talk with him about it after the game and today after we had our film session, I kind of forgot about it, honestly.”

BATTLE TESTED Following Monday’s rugged loss to Miami, Pacers coach Rick Carlisle posed a simple question to his young team: How many of them had competed in an

NBA

playoff game?

“A lot of hands went up,” Carlisle said.

“I said you have now. It’s a great example for our team and what we’re going through.”

WARRIORS guard Stephen Curry (30) grabs his shoulder after after an injury during the second half against the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis last night.

(AP Photo/Michael Conroy)