12192022 NEWS AND SPORT

CCA: WE SHOULD TAKE ADVANTAGE OF BAHAMAS

Contractor reached out for help to son of top govt advisor

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE SENIOR vicepresident of Baha Mar’s main contractor, China Construction America, urged the company to “take advantage of the Bahamas government” - while the contractor also asked the son of Perry Christie’s top policy adviser to intervene when his father proposed changing The Pointe’s Heads of Agreement over how many Bahamian construction workers would be employed.

E-mails tabled in the

New York State Supreme Court on Friday reveal Daniel Liu, the senior vicepresident, made an urgent request for help within days of Sir Baltron Bethel altering the agreement’s wording to make clear The Pointe’s 70:30 labour ratio in favour of Bahamians applied to construction workers only.

The documents, filed as part of Sarkis Izmirlian’s $2.25bn fraud and breach of contract claim against the Chinese state-owned contractor over Baha Mar’s failure, disclose the person he reached out to for help was Sir Baltron’s son, Leslie.

‘URCA ENDORSING BPL BREAKING LAW’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

FNM leader Michael Pintard is challenging whether electricity regulators are “endorsing” Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) breaking the law by asserting it has made an “adequate case” to hike its fuel charge by up to 163 percent.

Mr Pintard said the

Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority’s short three-paragraph statement affirming BPL’s rolling fuel charge increases are justified was “quite puzzling” given the October 4 plan unveiled by both the utility regulator and the Davis administration seemingly breaches the Bahamas Electricity Corporation (Amendment) regulations.

CALL FOR GOVT PROBE AFTER BARGE SINKS

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter

TWO WOMEN KILLED IN TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

TWO women were killed in separate traffic accidents on the weekend, one in New Providence and the other in Grand Bahama.

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Phillip “Brave” Davis said his administration is concerned about the nation’s escalating murder rate, but is hopeful that their crime fighting initiatives will start “bearing fruit” soon.

Mr Davis commented on the nation’s rising murder toll on the sidelines of the opening ceremony of the

Great Harbour Cay airport on Friday. He told reporters that the

murder count, which was 126 for the year up to press time according to this newspaper’s records, was simply unacceptable.

“We are all concerned about the murder rate and the level of homicide in our country is unacceptable,” Mr Davis said. “We are putting in place initiatives to curb it and hopefully those initiatives will be bearing fruit in short order.”

Their deaths brought the country’s traffic fatality count for the year to 57. The first incident happened shortly before 9am on Saturday.

LOCAL environmentalists are calling for government to launch investigations into a sunken

barge that was spotted off Goodman’s Bay last week, citing concerns about its potential environmental impact.

Activist Eric Carey,

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis.

ELBOW Reef Lighthouse gets a new coat of paint in its famous red and white stripes - thanks to a partnership with the US Embassy.

See PAGE FIVE for the full story.

Photo: Heather Forde-Prosa

OFFICIALS anticipate a big boom in tourism on Great Harbour Cay in the Berry Islands due to the opening of a new international airport.

Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis said that the completion of the airport shows his administration’s commitment to reinvigorating and stimulating the economy of the Berry Islands and further addressing the specific and immediate needs of each island.

“This is a major development and a broad push to revitalise Great Harbour Cay and encourage increased domestic and international air traffic into the Berry Islands,” Mr Davis said at the official

opening on Friday for Great Harbour Cay International Airport, which has been completed after more than three years of construction.

“The reason why we are cutting the ribbon, and the reason why it is so fitting that we do is because we started this. They used to say, some sow and some reap, well we sowed, they (the former administration) tended and we’re now reaping,” he said.

“We set out how we would prioritise Family Island development. As you know, both the leader and deputy leader of the country are island boys and so family islanders, you know ‘we for you’.

Our goal is to decentralise our national wealth and create resilient family island economies,” Mr Davis said.

Tourism, Aviation and Investments Minister Chester Cooper, who was also at the ceremony, pointed to a recent boost in tourism in the area.

“This airport was started to be built in 2019 in earnest, today we’re finished. It’s a new construction, 9,500 square feet inside, 4,800 feet runway. It’s a tier two airport certified by ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization).

And I understand that at least 15 people are going to be employed here at this airport,” he said.

As you know, what is good for aviation is good for tourism. And I am happy that we have been doing quite well here in the Berry Islands in tourism, this year, we attracted in this area by cruise and air 1.2 million visitors, which is

roughly 64 percent ahead of where we were in 2019,” Mr Cooper said.

“Hopefully at some stage we will be able to provide some direct international service to this airport, but it’s good for the investment and growth of this island,” he said.

Mr Cooper said that the completion of this new facility is just the beginning of a very aggressive push to upgrade the airport infrastructure throughout The Bahamas.

“We anticipate that over the course of our next few years, we’re going to be rolling out several more across The Bahamas, with Great Harbour Cay leading the way,” Mr Cooper said. “We’re already working diligently on Cat Island. You know that works. Preliminary works have

restarted on Exuma. We expect these airports to be completed swiftly. Grand Bahama, we’re going to be making an announcement (soon) and suffice to say we’re narrowing this selection of a private public partner. And then we’re going to be looking as well at Long Island,” he said.

“So this is going to be sustained. We were not going to take three years to build the other airports that’s in the pipeline. So, I expect that we’re going to be cutting some ribbons in due course, hopefully soon,” Mr Cooper said.

Leonardo Lightbourne, MP for North Andros and the Berry Islands, said the addition of the new international airport on Great Harbour Cay will result in many other benefits for

residents.

“With this new and improved international airport, this will have many effects on the Berry Islands: The number of airlines is expected to increase, strengthened ties with Coco Cay and Great Stirrup Cay, which will equate to increased tourist arrivals. Our local resort numbers will increase and the local economy will be boosted with more jobs,” Mr Lightbourne said.

“The Berry Islands are known all around the world for their bonefishing. With increased marketing, we can host more tournaments and fishing expos on this island. This is indeed a proud day to see the official opening of this new international airport. It has been a long time coming,” he said.

‘FTX collapse nothing to do with The Bahamas’

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Phillip “Brave” Davis has once again insisted that the collapse of FTX has nothing to do with The Bahamas, saying “you don’t blame the jurisdiction, you blame the bad actors”.

The collapse of the crypto giant has grabbed local and international headlines, with some scrutiny and criticism being levelled at The Bahamas government and its digital regulatory framework.

“You know, what is sad is that FTX’s liquidation is not the only company, major large company that would’ve went into liquidation in The Bahamas,” Mr Davis told reporters Friday. “We had Commodore. We had Banco Ambrosiano. We had Nassau Bank and Trust, many of them that had a lot of ricocheting effect.

“It’s like saying that The Bahamas lacks (a) regulatory (regime). It is not the lacking of regulatory regime. It is actually bad actors and bad actors all countries have. What about Enron in the United States? What about those major collapses? And looking at what’s happening in the tech industry. You start seeing some of these same tech giants falling as well.

“So, it has nothing to

do with our reputation or what we do. When you have bad actors, you have a regime to be able to identify them and get them out and we have that regime in place and so you don’t blame the jurisdiction, you blame the bad actors and we are ferreting out the bad actors.”

Mr Davis also said he believed his administration will soon have some answers related to the FTX debacle “to set the record straight”.

FTX, which is headquartered in The Bahamas, along with its affiliates filed for bankruptcy in the US last month after facing a liquidity crisis and coming under scrutiny following reports that it mismanaged customer assets.

Investigations into the firm’s failure led to last week’s arrest of FTX former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, who faces several fraud charges in the US, including wire fraud, money laundering, conspiracy to commit fraud and violating campaign finance laws.

The disgraced former billionaire is currently on remand at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services after being denied bail by Chief Magistrate Joyann-Ferguson Pratt.

A prison official reportedly told the Washington Post that the 30-year-old spends his time behind bars

watching movies and reading articles about himself until he can be freed from the facility.

The Tribune can confirm that attorneys representing the embattled former FTX CEO filed for a new bail application in the Supreme Court on Thursday.

PM: MURDER RATE ‘UNACCEPTABLE’

Asked for more details on crime prevention strategies, Mr Davis outlined several initiatives implemented by his administration to stamp out gun violence.

However, he did not speak to them in depth.

“We have a disruptive plan, which I can’t go into any details of. We have a saturation patrol plan. We have a violent breakers plan and we intend to engage and just those three I will speak to right now,” he continued.

“But we do have a plan that is now being implemented to arrest the murder rate we have.”

Mr Davis also addressed instances of alleged offenders being murdered while out on bail, describing this as a major part of the problem.

This comes as court officials continue their efforts to get firearm trials

completed within 21 days after arraignments.

“Part of the challenge is, unfortunately, that most of the persons who are being extinguished in our country are persons who have had brushes with the law and being allowed to be out on bail,” the prime minister also said.

“And that is the challenge. Had they not been given bail, would we have this rate? You answer that question. If that’s where the target has been — and there’s no excuse for that and I’m not excusing that because any life means a lot to me and should mean a lot to you regardless of that person’s proclivity — but we have to have an answer for the retaliatory and revengeful killings that’s happening in our society.”

There have been a series of murders recorded in the country in recent months, with fears mounting that 2022 will be a record-breaking year for murders.

The country’s highest murder count was in 2015. That year, there were 146 killings on record.

Last year, there were 119 killings recorded; 73 in 2020; 95 in 2019; 91 in 2018 and 122 in 2017.

The Free National Movement has repeatedly criticised the Davis administration’s response to crime, saying the government has no workable plan to deal with the vexing issue.

However, the Davis administration has since pushed back against this characterisation, arguing that countries worldwide are also facing similar issues.

“All we need to do is look to the south of us in the Turks and Caicos. Look to the north of us in the US, look at Jamaica, in Trinidad. Look, in every country it’s a phenomenon that the world is facing,” National Security Minister Wayne Munroe said last month.

MAN ACCUSED OF SEX WITH NINE-YEAR-OLD

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A 34-YEAR-OLD man was accused on Friday of having sex with a nine-yearold girl.

Nicodo Johnson stood before Magistrate Kara Turnquest-Deveaux on a charge of unlawful sexual

intercourse.

The incident is alleged to have taken place on December 5. Due to the nature of the offence, the accused was not required to enter a plea.

He was informed that his matter would proceed to the Supreme Court by a voluntary bill of

indictment (VBI).

The magistrate lacked the jurisdiction to grant Johnson bail, but he has the right to apply for it in the Supreme Court.

Until he is granted bail, he will be remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.

He will receive his VBI on March 24, 2023.

And, according to multiple reports, the 30-year-old is expected to appear in court again today to reverse his decision to fight extradition to the United States.

Lawyers did not return calls for comment on the matter up to press time last night.

PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis at the official opening of the FTX Digital Markets Headquarters alongside Sam Bankman-Fried.

TWO men are in hospital after separate shootings over the weekend.

Police said a 23-year-old man was shot shortly before midnight on Saturday. The victim was inside a silver Nissan Note which was leaving the sports centre when the occupants of a dark Honda opened fire on his car.

The victim was shot in his upper body and was taken to hospital by a private vehicle where he is in stable condition.

Around 2.50am on Saturday, a 25-year-old man was shot while in the area of East Bay Street. Police said a group of people were involved in an argument at a bar when the victim, while attempting to break up the fight, was shot in his upper body. He was taken to hospital in a private vehicle where he is in serious condition.

The suspect, who was allegedly involved in the argument, was seen fleeing the area in a gray coloured Kia. An off-duty officer who was nearby sprang into action which resulted in the suspect being stopped and searched. The officer discovered a firearm and a quantity of ammunition during the search, police said.

Investigations into both incidents continue.

HOME INVASION

POLICE are looking for three men who broke into a couple’s home, tied them up and robbed them.

The incident took place shortly before 3am on Sunday on Village Road.

Police said a man and a woman were at home when the suspects entered and tied them up. The thieves robbed the couple of jewellery and a large amount of cash.

The victims were able to free themselves and notified police who have launched an island-wide search for the suspects.

Sears to meet Village Road business owners

By LETRE SWEETING lsweeting@tribunemedia.net

WORKS and Utilities Minister Alfred Sears has committed to meeting Village Road business owners next month to discuss an economic stimulus plan after confirming the road repair will be delayed until the first week of January.

His comments came a week after some 16 Village Road business owners signed a petition addressed to him and his ministry requesting an urgent meeting and consideration of an economic stimulus proposal following a calculated 30 percent decrease in business due to ongoing road works.

Mr Sears said on Friday: “I’ve sent that letter to

Minister (of Economic Affairs Michael) Halkitis and I will be liaising with the Ministry of Finance thereafter.

“I spoke with Ms Joelle (a representative of the Village Road business owners) yesterday and gave a commitment to meet with a group in the early part of January, which will give us an opportunity to have discussions with the Ministry of Finance so that when we sit down we will see what is feasible in terms of providing some stimulation.

“And this is an area that we have to address because as we undertake other major road rehabilitation and developments, we have to make provisions to see how we provide stimulation to impacted businesses, because

the whole point is to enhance business not to put people out of business,” he said. Mr Sears made these comments on the sidelines of an event in Great Harbour Cay.

He added that the most recent delay to road works on Village Road is due to a wait on resources for asphalt, but that Emile Knowles and his team from Knowles Construction, the company with responsibility for completing the road works, are willing to work throughout the upcoming holiday to make sure this newest completion date is met.

“I visited the site two days ago. And met with him. He told me that there’s been a slight delay due to the supply of bitumen for

the making of asphalt and that he intends to pave throughout Christmas,” Mr Sears said.

“His expectation, as he represented to me, is that the paving will be completed in the first week of January. And thereafter, traffic could move freely, and the striping and other subsidiary work could be done as the traffic is flowing. So, that is the latest report that I have gotten from Mr Emile Knowles,” Mr Sears said.

On December 15, Economic Affairs Minister Michael Halkitis said he was open to reviewing the stimulus package proposal from Village Road business owners.

Mr Halkitis told The Tribune at the time that though

he did not personally receive the proposal he would be open to reviewing it.

“They have a proposal? If so, we can definitely take a look at it. Have not seen anything. Tell them to send it to me,” Mr Halkitis said.

On December 9, Michael Fields, president of Four Walls Squash and Social Club on Village Road submitted the letter addressed to Mr Sears and the Ministry of Works, which petitioned for several forms of support including VAT credits, a waiver on several business-related fees, refurbishment grants, sponsorship, concessions on Bahamas Power and Light (BPL) and the appointment of a public affairs officers who can communicate with business owners.

TWO WOMEN KILLED IN TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS

from page one

Police said a man and woman were travelling south on Bahamas Games Boulevard in a silver coloured Nissan Bluebird when the man, who was driving, lost control of the vehicle and crashed into the guard rails.

The woman, believed to be in her thirties, died at the scene. The man was taken to hospital by EMS personnel where he is in stable condition.

A few hours later in Grand Bahama, a 41-yearold woman was left dead after a traffic accident there.

According to reports, around 10pm on Saturday, a dark sports utility vehicle was travelling south along Yellow Pine Street when a female pedestrian was hit.

The victim of Hanna Hill, Eight Mile Rock received serious injuries and died at the scene.

Investigations into both matters continue.

In a press release on Friday, Transport and

Housing Minister Jobeth Coleby-Davis advised members of the public to exercise “greater” caution on the roadways amidst the increase in traffic fatalities in recent weeks.

The ministry is expected to launch a road safety campaign aimed at reducing the number of traffic fatalities in accordance with the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021 to 2030.

“Our goal is consistent with the United Nations to reduce the number of

people who are dying on our streets,” the Elizabeth MP said.

The Ministry of Transport said data from police shows that most fatal traffic accidents this year occurred on either a Saturday or Sunday, during the hours of 4pm to midnight. Most of the victims have been men.

Meanwhile, police are urging members of the public to drive with due care and attention at all times, noting that as the holidays approach, drivers are reminded to adhere to the

speed limit, exhibit patience traversing the various thoroughfares, and be courteous to other road users.

Recently, Chief Superintendent David Lockhart of the Royal Bahamas Police Force Traffic Division told this newspaper that the number of accidents in the country is “alarming”. He noted that speeding was a big concern for police, adding that police visibility will be high on the streets as the holidays are approaching to crack down on traffic offences and ensure the safety of motorists.

23 NURSES ‘NOT PAID SINCE START OF THE YEAR’

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS lmunnings @ tribunemedia.net

Speaking with The Tribune on Friday, Nurse Williams said that 23 nurses have not been compensated for their services from the beginning of the year to now.

In advocating for the nurses, she said: “These nurses stayed and was committed to the job, they love nursing and they’re helping the Bahamian people, but to have them there for a year and not pay them a salary. That’s terrible.”

The members are said to be recent college graduates, who have only recently received their appointment letter from the government, rather than a confirmation letter, according to Nurse Williams.

She was unsuccessful in contacting the Ministry of Public Service and The Department of Public Health despite her many attempts.

She did note that Dr Michael Darville assured her last week, that the members will be paid in the upcoming pay period this month.

Asked if she is confident

in the government’s ability to rectify the matter, Nurse Williams expressed her lack of confidence in the public service system, noting that the system needs to be changed.

“I don’t have no confidence in the Public Service System. The system needs to change. The system should have gone when the queen went to accommodate the young people,” she said on Friday.

She highlighted the fact that foreign nurses contracted by the government are being compensated on a timely basis, however the government has failed to do the same for Bahamians.

“The nurses can make a comparison.

“You know, the Cubans living in Super Breezes you (the government) picking them up and dropping them off and giving them free meals and paying them a salary and that’s how you (the government) gonna treat your own?” she told this newspaper.

The union president sympathised with her members, as they are faced with

financial challenges due to them not being compensated in a timely manner.

“These nurses have gone through so much,” she said.

“Eviction letters, owing people, paying rent, school fees, borrowing from the bank, just to maintain stability in their family life.

“That’s not what this job is supposed to provide for you, that’s already leaving a bad taste in these nurse’s mouth. You know, to be hustling every day calling someone asking if you could help me out?”

Nurse Williams criticised the government as she said they have failed to acknowledge the inconvenience they have caused on the members.

When asked if industrial action was an option for workers, seeing that they were not getting anywhere with receiving monies owed, Nurse William responded “no”.

However, she explained this is not the first time the government has failed to pay staff, adding that this matter needs to be resolved permanently.

BAHAMAS Nurses

Union president Amancha Williams is disappointed her members have not been paid the money owed to them by the government.

Activists welcome court victory for Jean Rony

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS lmunnings @ tribunemedia.net

A LOCAL advocacy group is celebrating a decision by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council to send the Jean Rony Jean-Charles case back to the Supreme Court for consideration of an application of constitutional aid.

Human Rights Bahamas (HRB) said the group is “overjoyed” by the decision, adding the ruling is a “huge win” for the cause of access to justice.

HRB legal director Fred

Smith, KC, said the ruling serves as a “crucial victory” for the principles of access to justice and respect for the fundamental rights of everyone in The Bahamas.

He said: “This ruling has established that constitutional complaints can be heard as part of a habeas corpus action and other matters. Essentially, it has reinforced the point that an individual’s ability to seek redress for violations of their fundamental rights and freedoms, cannot be limited under our legal system.

“In its ruling, the Privy

Council found that the rights enshrined in the Bahamas Constitution should ‘be given a liberal interpretation in order to give individuals the full measure of the rights and freedoms which the Constitution confers.’”

The Privy Council’s ruling is the latest in Mr Jean-Charles’ legal battles concerning his expulsion from The Bahamas to Haiti on November 24, 2017, after being detained from September 17 of that year.

In a landmark 2018 ruling, Supreme Court Justice Gregory Hilton noted

that Mr Jean-Charles was deprived of his personal liberty, unlawfully arrested, and detained/falsely imprisoned in breach of his rights guaranteed to him under the Constitution.

Although the ruling was thought by many to have far reaching effects on how the country handled similar matters of citizenship, the Court of Appeal ultimately dismissed Justice Hilton’s ruling due to procedural issues.

The Privy Council recounted the particulars of the case, concluding that “the appeal be allowed, but only to the extent of

remitting the application for constitutional redress to the Supreme Court to enable it to direct that the application proceeds as though begun by writ.”

The London body said parties have to lodge their submissions as to costs within 21 days.

Mr Smith is hopeful that the Privy Council ruling serves as a “wake-up” call for The Bahamas, adding that authorities must be reminded to respect the rights and freedom of every individual, inclusive of “Bahamian-born people of Haitian descent like Jean Rony”.

POLICE are investigating a sexual assault.

A 28-year-old woman working at a boat docked in eastern New Providence reported that while out with friends, she became ill and hired a taxi to take her back to the ship around 1am on Friday.

The cab driver reportedly took the woman to an unknown location where she was allegedly sexually assaulted.

Police are following significant leads with respect to this incident.

FIVE ARRESTS FOR HUMAN SMUGGLING

FIVE men in Abaco were arrested on Friday for conspiracy to commit human smuggling.

According to initial reports, police received information of suspicious activities taking place near Green Turtle Cay Dock.

Police set up a roadblock in Leisure Lee settlement off SC Bootle Highway where five vehicles occupied by the suspects were intercepted shortly after 10pm on Friday.

Police also seized a substantial amount of cash from the suspects during this incident.

An investigation is continuing.

THE ELBOW Reef Lighthouse Society has nearly completed the repainting of its lighthouse tower’s famous red and white stripes.

The effort comes thanks to a partnership with the US Embassy Nassau, which provided a grant through the US Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation out of Washington, DC.

More than two years of planning and many hours of hard labour have gone into this portion of the tower’s total restoration.

Suemayah Abu-Douleh, public affairs officer at the embassy, said: “I feel very lucky to have witnessed the transformation of this beacon of hope over the last few months, and the embassy looks forward to continuing its work with the talented and dedicated Elbow Reef Lighthouse Society.”

The lightstation is the only Bahamian lightstation continuously manned since 1863. It is also the last remaining hand-wound, kerosene burning lighthouse in the world. For details, visit elbowreeflight.com or the Elbow Reef Lighthouse Society YouTube channel.

outgoing executive director for Bahamas National Trust, told The Tribune yesterday that the situation was particularly worrying because the barge appeared to be resting on a coral reef.

He was contacted by this newspaper after concerns were expressed on social media about the barge’s potential impact to coral reefs in the vicinity.

One Facebook user posted drone photos he took of the barge several days ago and said based on what he saw, it appeared that a “huge chunk” of coral reef had been removed by the vessel in question.

Mr Carey said he had reached out to officials at the Port Department several days ago about the matter, asking them to investigate.

“I saw a barge out there

a couple days ago,” Mr Carey said. “It appeared to be immobile. It appeared to be on the reef from my vantage point from the ‘Go Slow Bend’ so I would join the call for there to be an investigation and for someone to do an assessment.

“That reef is an important reef,” he added. “It protects the northern coastline of New Providence. It protects all of those properties — Goodman’s Bay and Baha Mar — and all of those properties are protected because of the presence of that barrier reef so I mean obviously, there’s the ecological damage to the reef that results in certainly, loss of ecological function because coral reefs are very important.”

He also said penalties should be levied out against the barge’s owners if damage has been done, regardless of whether the vessel has been removed or not.

“I just don’t know what the formula is for assessing the damage but certainly that is something certainly the government should be asked to do and when we talk about climate change and how much we’re doing, the prime minister has a very aggressive climate change agenda,” he continued.

“And one of the things you have to do is protect the system and keep them intact because coral reefs are already stressed from things like ocean temperatures, the stony coral loss tissue disease and so it doesn’t need additional pressures like wayward barges and ships running into them so that really needs to be investigated to the fullest.”

Environment and Natural Resources Minister Vaughn Miller could not be reached for comment up to press time yesterday.

SELVIN Majano of Onyx Blasting and Coating, adding a second coat of mineral silicate paint. Photo: Heather Forde-Prosa

FIRST coat of the stripes.

Photo: Ang Hopkins

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Take a hard line on environment damage

READERS of The Tribune reached out at the end of last week to ask about a barge that has sunk off Goodman’s Bay.

There was no official government communication about such a barge –unlike when there was a substantial fuel spillage in Exuma earlier in the year.

When the Exuma incident happened, government officials led by Deputy Prime Minister Chesater Cooper were seen bounding to the scene, and rolling out a containment effort swiftly.

For the barge off Goodman’s Bay, however, there seems no such urgency.

This is despite concerns that the barge may have removed part of the coral reef in the area. One Facebook user said it seemed a “huge chunk” of coral reef had been removed.

The outgoing executive director of the National Trust, Eric Carey, was also concerned about damage to the reef in the area.

He said: “That reef is an important reef. It protects the northern coastline of New Providence. It protects all of those properties – Goodman’s Bay and Baha Mar – and all of those properties are protected because of the presence of that barrier reef.”

When efforts were made to reach Environment Minister Vaughn Miller, he could not be contacted until press time.

However, when he earlier this month attended a cruise ship event, he said he was in conversation with cruise lines about the issue of pollution in Bahamian waters.

He said if necessary the government will use the “maximum amount of the law” to deal with the issue.

At the time, he said: “We’ve had extensive conversations with some cruise lines that I am not at liberty to mention, to let them know how serious we take this and there’s some matters we’re dealing with privately that we will take it to the maximum extent that the law will provide us to enact upon them. So we take it really seriously.”

It’s not terribly comforting to know that if an entity has broken the law – be it a barge, a cruise ship or whatever –that what we resort to is conversations.

It certainly does let companies know how seriously we take it if we don’t file charges where appropriate, and levy fines accordingly.

There remain outstanding matters from previous incidents of cruise ships dumping in Bahamian waters that seem to have disappeared into the land of never-never.

So when Mr Miller makes himself available to address the issue of a barge that appears to have sunk in Bahamian waters and potentially damaged an important reef, we hope the investigation is swift. And that it doesn’t just come down to discussions.

Murder rate

Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis says that the number of murders in the country is “unacceptable”.

It’s taken almost the whole year, and surpassing a total not seen in years, but Mr Davis is speaking sternly on the issue and says he hopes crime fighting initiatives will be “bearing fruit” soon.

Never mind that the Police Commissioner back in August predicted that the country would not surpass 100 murders, and has proven to be wildly wrong.

Never mind that Mr Davis will not go into depth about the initiatives that he has planned.

He talked of “a disruptive plan, which I can’t go into any details of”, he talked of a “saturation patrol plan”, which is the same old plan that has been talked of for years whenever there is a spike in murders. And he spoke of a “violent breakers plan” which sounds like the scheme that Carlos Reid and Rodney Moncur were hired for many months ago and which at last report had not been launched yet.

Mr Davis said: “…we intend to engage and just those three I will speak to right now. But we do have a plan that is now being implemented to arrest the murder rate we have.”

The proof of course will be if the numbers start to come down – and we sincerely hope they do.

But if the current rate is unacceptable, is anyone to be held to account for a failure to keep numbers to an “acceptable” level? Not of course that any number of murders is acceptable, but is the same structure that has presided over an unacceptable outcome deemed to be the one that will bring the necessary change?

We wish the administration well with its plans – and success in curbing this upward curve.

It’s been a great year

EDITOR, The Tribune, 2022 WAS a great year in my humble opinion for several reasons. We would appear to have suffered the worst ravages of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic which brought the nation to its very knees. Before that, Madam Dorian came barging through the entire country, some parts moreso than others. The Lord Jesus Christ, however, would once again demonstrate and show His tender kindness and mercies towards us, the least and most insignificant of His creation. Well it is written: “Who is man that Thou are mindful of him?”

Over the course of 2020 the national and underground economies have reopened and now, I understand, rapidly expanding and taking on additional staff and managers. Entrepreneurs are, once again, entering the business arena. Our tourism product and the hospitality industries have gone through the proverbial roof. Almost any able-bodied Bahamian, especially right here in New Providence, can secure a job or even create his/her own opportunities.

During this year, there have been no credible allegations, much less proof, of any malfeasance or corruption by this administration or any of its senior or junior allies. This Davis administration has proven to be accountable and transparent, in my view and, no, I

LETTERS

do not need to sing for my breakfast; lunch or dinner. I confess, however, that I do love the occasional rack of lamb, with mint jelly! Yes, some who knew better, tried to secure brownie points by promulgating a resignation by the Hon. Minister of Works and Public Utilities. This was but a herring by any colour: red, yellow or blue.

The administration has liberalised and expanded the ease of doing business, even though it is yet too onerous. The administration is also to be commended on the rationalisation of revenue collections. Kudos to the Hon Minister of State for Economic Development, the Hon Senator Michael Halkitis and his Financial Secretary, Mr Simon Wilson and the entire team down there. E-commerce and digitalisation are now the accepted norm.

Large scaled foreign direct investment projects are being announced almost daily. Kudos to the Hon.

Deputy Prime Minister, et al, I Chester Cooper (PLP-Exuma) on his great performance with his team in attracting and delivering shovel in the ground projects. In 2023 it can only get better; bigger and more fulfilling than 2022. This year, however, marked the emergence from the ashes

like the Phoenix of old. The Bahamas is again admired and respected throughout the world. We are ‘leaders’ within

We all are able to concede that crime is literally killing many of us as it relates to alleged homicides and other heinous criminal acts. I submit that repeat offenders and societal threats are the real menace in society today. Yes, where possible, we should seek to rehabilitate them but three strikes and you are out. Mandatory fixed jail sentence with access to rehabilitative means. The total eradication of crime will never be achieved until or shortly after the Rapture, in my submission.

Until then let us apply and strictly enforce the laws which are on the books. Justice and Mercy should be shown to convicted criminals, but we must also come to the realisation that there are some humanist animals whom we are dealing with. Rabid creatures are put down daily, why not apply capital punishment in 2023. And so, in another few days we will usher in 2023. There are issues and things that we Bahamians have to get serious about. With your leave, Editor, I will flesh these out later in the week.

ORTLAND H. BODIE, Jr.

Nassau, December,ner 10, 2022.

Readers have their say

AFTER Transport and Housing Minister JoBeth Coleby-Davis urged people to exercise greater caution on the roads, readers of www.tribune242.com had their views on the issue.

Thisisours said: “Oh please. Words are useless. Every day we see countless violations being ignored by police and drivers and pedestrians getting more and more daring with the reckless moves they make. You could stop all this tomorrow if you wanted to.”

Truetruebahamian suggested: “Perhaps calling should be disabled when the telephone instrument is in motion over 5mph.”

AnObserver agreed, saying: “This. Combined with actual enforcement of basic traffic laws, turn signals, seat belts, properly maintained vehicles, fatalities would go to zero.”

Sheeprunner12 added: “The roads in the Family Islands are literally killing the citizens and destroying their vehicles with no recourse from Nassau.

“Potholes, no cat-eyes, dark stretches with no street lights, narrow lanes, no striping guides, slicked surfaces, quarried surfaces, uneven surfaces, broken edges, deep corners, no caution street signs, utility trenches etc...

“Then Local Government has no funding or no authority or no initiative to step in... Yet we are facing higher RTD fees in January.

“Jobeth, do you have a heart????? Do you have a clue????

“It feels hopeless out here. Like no one cares.”

the Caribbean and the nexus of CARICOM, like it or not.

letters@tribunemedia.net

THE SHOW must go on - despite the rain. The Beat Retreat yesterday afternoon at Rawson Square - with participants carrying on in spite of unwelcome weather. See PAGE 12 for more photographs. Photo: Austin Fernander

Tributes paid to ‘Dud’ Maynard

TRIBUTES have been paid to former PLP chairman Andrew “Dud” Maynard, who died this morning at the age of 82.

Mr Maynard was also a former Senator, and was a notable figure in the political landscape of The Bahamas. His son, Charles, later became chairman of the FNM, with Mr Maynard also joining the party.

His present-day successor as PLP chairman, Fred Mitchell, said: “This morning I learned of the passing just after midnight of Andrew “Dud” Maynard, former Senator and former Chair of the Progressive Liberal Party at the age of 82. I worked most closely with him in the general election campaign of 1982 when I was the Managing Editor of the PLP’s newspaper The Herald. He chaired the party with an iron hand and crafted a successful victory in that year with Sir Lynden Pindling at the helm.

“He and his brother the late Sir Clement Maynard were a political pair. They came to public life following in the footsteps of their dear mother the suffragette Georgiana Symonette.

“He was a tough man. He spared no hold back in his words. It was clear where he stood, but he was indefatigable and faithful to the cause.

“He parted ways with us politically, but whenever I saw him, there remained that fraternal bond and I had no doubt about this loyalty to our country and his patriotism.

“I shared the great joy of the 1982 victory and the sadness of the death of his son to whom he had bequeathed his political legacy the late former Minister Charles Maynard.

“Today we mark the passing of a good Bahamian man and thank his family for his service to party and country.

“On behalf of the Leader of the party, Philip Edward “Brave” Davis and Mrs Davis, Deputy Leader

Chester Cooper and Mrs Cooper, the parliamentary caucus and the officers and members, I extend condolences to his dear wife Isadora whom we all know as Izzie and to the children Paul, Andrew, Nina, Christian, Ednal and Laverne and the wider family. May he rest in peace.”

FNM leader Michael Pintard also paid tribute to Mr Maynard, saying: “I am saddened to have learnt of Edward Andrew “Dud” Maynard passing early this morning. Dud served his country well and was considered by many as a key figure in our local political and national development. He was the youngest child of the late Clement Traveyn Maynard, Sr. and historic activist the late Georgiana Kathleen Symonette, considered one of the foremost leaders of the Women’s Suffrage Movement. His involvement in the world of activism and politics is said to have emerged from his time spent with his mother who travelled throughout The Bahamas collecting signatures and persuading women to register to vote.

“Dud would later join and become active within the Progressive Liberal Party serving as vice chairman and then chairman, where his formidable organisational

skills as election coordinator contributed to successive PLP victories at the polls.

“Dud would eventually leave the Progressive Liberal Party and along with his son the late Charles Maynard, he joined the Free National Movement where he brought with him decades of political knowledge and experience.

“He played a pivotal role in his son’s political development and success, assisting with the coordination of Charles’ electoral campaign that led to his victory in 2007 as the Free National Movement Member of Parliament for the Golden Isles constituency and later as a Cabinet Minister in the Hubert Ingraham administration and as Chairman of the FNM. Dud would continue to invest his time and political knowledge within the FNM, advising and then serving as one of the general election’s trainers for candidates and poll workers for several general elections.

“He was so effective in his role that he was assigned the position of coordinator of one of the election zones during the 2017 general elections, which the party successfully won. Dud was truly respected and appreciated by the Free National Movement.

“Dud was a no-nonsense,

BAIL GRANTED IN GRIEVOUS HARM CASE

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A MAN was granted bail in a Magistrate’s Court after being accused of harming a man in an attack earlier this year.

Patrick Stuart, 22, appeared before Senior Magistrate Carolyn Vogt-Evans on a charge of grievous harm.

It is alleged that on March 19 in New

Providence, during a physical argument, he seriously injured Rayall Munroe.

In court, the accused pleaded not guilty. He was granted $8,000 bail with two sureties. Under the conditions of his bail, he is expected to sign in at Fox Hill Police Station every Sunday by 7pm. Stuart was warned not to interfere with any of the witnesses in this matter.

The trial in this case will begin on March 8, 2023.

plain-speaking, proud Bahamian. He was fearless in taking a position, and when he chose a side in a fight, he was a fierce defender and a formidable opponent.

“He was not particularly concerned about being politically correct, however, he was more concerned about speaking his political truth. I had the great honour of sitting with him and benefiting from his advice. Even though he had physical struggles of his own, he was still trying to find ways of helping others. Dud had a big heart.

“Dud was also well known as a consummate businessman and entrepreneur, having established and operated a number of business ventures over the years in a number of areas such as aviation charter and maintenance, tour operations, garbage collection, water adventure, construction, and most notably in the hotel industry with the establishment of the Corner Motel.

“Edward Andrew ‘Dud’ Maynard was a true Bahamian patriot, a fearless advocate of democracy, and an individual who made significant contributions towards the advancement and development of his beloved Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

“On behalf of my wife Berlice, the Official Opposition as well as the Free National Movement, I wish to extend my deepest sympathy to his family most especially his wife Isadora and his children Nina, Edward Andrew II, Laverne, Phillipa, Paul, Christian, and Ednal as well as his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. May his soul rest in peace.

ACCUSED OF THEFT AND BAIL VIOLATION

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A MAN was denied bail in the Magistrate‘s Court on Friday after being charged with a series of vehicle part thefts and violating his preexisting bail on an armed robbery charge.

Chadwick Capron, 25, represented by attorney Alex Dorsett, stood before Magistrate Kendra Kelly on multiple charges. These include unlawful possession, housebreaking, stealing, threats of death and six counts of violation of bail conditions.

These bail violations are in connection with a pending armed robbery charge before the Supreme Court.

It is alleged that between November 2 and December 5, Capron failed to charge his court imposed electronic monitoring device (EMD) on five occasions. It is further said that the accused failed to sign in at a local police station between April 7 to December 12.

During that same timeframe on December 4, police found Capron with eight car headlights and three Nissan brand grills that he could not

satisfactorily account for. Then on December 5 at around 3.40am, Capron was accused of breaking into the enquiries section of Nassau Street Police Station. While there, Capron allegedly stole three Nissan Cube headlights belonging to the station valued at $285.02.

And finally on December 14, Capron is alleged to have threatened to kill Sergeant 2285 Rolle while at the Nassau Street Station.

In court, Capron pleaded not guilty to all charges against him. Prosecutor Sergeant Vernon Pyfrom objected to his bail on the grounds that he was already on pretrial release for pending charges. The accused had previously been fined $800 for previous bail violation charges in late July.

Due to the number of the charges against him Magistrate Kelly denied him bail. He was sent to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services (BDCS).

Before being taken into remand Mr Dorsett claimed that his client had been beaten in custody by the same officer that he allegedly threatened.

Capron’s trial for his most recent charges is set for January 27, 2023.

MAN ACCUSED OF SEX ASSAULT

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A MAN was charged on Friday in connection with sexual assault of a teenager.

Shaquon Major, 20, stood before Senior Magistrate Carolyn Vogt-Evans on a charge of rape.

It is alleged that Major has sexual intercourse with an 18-year-old girl without her consent on December 3.

Major was told in court that as his charge was an indictable offence, he was

not required to enter a plea at that time. He was further informed that his case would be fast tracked to the Supreme Court by a voluntary bill of indictment (VBI).

As the magistrate lacked the jurisdiction to grant him bail, Major was also informed of his right to apply for it in the higher court.

He was remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services and is expected to receive his VBI on March 29, 2023.

ANDREW “DUD” MAYNARD

Yesterday’s PM in spotlight for wrong reasons

By MALCOLM STRACHAN

WHEN considering the issues of the day, it’s often easy to look at what is going on with government.

After all, it’s government that sets the agenda, it’s government that is responsible for dealing with whatever ails people on a daily basis, it’s government that can get on with fixing things.

But sometimes you need to take a look across the aisle at the Opposition.

Of course, there’s FNM leader Michael Pintard, banging the drum lately about Alfred Sears and whether or not he should resign.

Sometimes he’s on target, sometimes he misses the mark – it seems sometimes the FNM feels the need to say something just to be heard to be saying something.

that includes a helping hand to others where we are able to offer such.

Some of the criticism around the government response to the FTX meltdown has been of a similar nature. There are, in truth, concerns about the handling of the whole affair – particularly the circumstances surrounding the opening of withdrawals for Bahamian accounts despite a Supreme Court order freezing all assets.

But the FNM settled for some cheap shots initially about the government not defending the nation’s reputation robustly enough or quickly enough.

‘To see Dr Minnis open his mouth and be so obviously wrong was curious. What was he trying to achieve? If it was to put the spotlight on crime, it instead put the spotlight on himself.’

The criticism a while back about police officers going to the Turks & Caicos Islands was of the latter variety. Nothing at all wrong with building up regional partnerships, and

That seemed like the kind of easy talking point that doesn’t involve any actual digging into the matter to see what issues are really going on –just pointing the finger saying even if you did something, you didn’t do it fast enough.

For all Mr Pintard’s sometimes wayward arrows, however, he has to keep showing there is a presence from the FNM, to seek to hold the government to

account.

The man beside him, however, predecessor as party leader Dr Hubert Minnis, has been coming up with some shots at the Davis administration that are just baffling.

Last week, he decided to criticise the government over the murder rate.

Now in truth, the murder rate is shocking. The murder of Christonio Young on Thursday brought that tally up to 126 for the year.

However, Dr Minnis

DR HUBERT MINNIS

knows as well as anyone that the highest murder count for any year in The Bahamas was in 2015, under the then Christie administration, with 146 murders.

Say a prayer when we talk about it, but it’s highly unlikely there will be another 20 murders between now and the end of the year at the rate things have been going.

So why does he say it? The moment he does it turns heads from looking at what may or may not be going wrong in trying to

curtail crime in the country to looking askance at Dr Minnis to wonder why he is likely to be so far off the mark.

Of course, as we hear at every police conference, one murder is too many, and there’s always a slightly unsavoury feeling with murder counts of watching a race that somehow seems inevitable. Even if the murder count doesn’t reach a certain number, there’s still nothing to celebrate with so many killings through the year.

But to see Dr Minnis open his mouth and be so obviously wrong was curious. What was he trying to achieve? If it was to put the spotlight on crime, it instead put the spotlight on himself.

He wasn’t done there last week.

Probably the biggest albatross around his neck from his time as Prime Minister was the Oban debacle.

This was the $5.5bn oil refinery plan that fell apart the moment anyone took a close look at the track records of the people actually involved in it all.

Worse still came during a signing ceremony that appeared to have someone signing a name that wasn’t their own.

And yet, Dr Minnis last week was trying to blame the Christie administration instead.

They did the due diligence, not me, he said. The PLP failed to conduct “proper due diligence” and that meant his government “took the hit”.

He said: “Unfortunately what we did not know was they did not do proper due diligence, and we got caught with that. We took the hit, but government should be continuous. When documents are ready for signing, Memorandums of Understanding, you must assume the former government had done due diligence.”

Of course, there is an old saying about what you make of you and me when you assume.

Instead, it was the newspapers that did the due diligence, and raised concerns about the background of several Oban executives.

It was the kind of information that was relatively easily available publicly, it seems, and Dr Minnis’ excuses sound like a kid telling their teacher that a dog ate their homework. It wasn’t me. Not my fault. That old dog Christie did it.

It’s not like Dr Minnis was just in the door as Prime Minister when the heads of agreement was signed – his government had been in office eight months.

And it’s not like his government was happy to let whatever the previous government had set in place to just keep on rolling. There were plenty of examples of stop, review and cancel going on.

So to suggest it’s the Christie administration’s fault and not his own is disingenuous to say the least. And downright insulting to the public whose best interests his government at the time was supposed to serve.

It prompts questions of how many other projects did he fail to properly investigate, and how much money was thrown at executives whose track record didn’t pass the sniff test let alone proper due diligence.

So in two instances, one trying to be on the attack, one on the defensive, Dr Minnis frankly made a bit of a fool of himself last week.

No longer leader of the country, no longer leader of his party, what exactly is the role Dr Minnis sees for himself now? What future does he see in Parliament?

Whatever it might be, it’s not helped by putting his foot in his mouth so clearly and obviously.

With opposition like that, the government isn’t so much having its feet held to the fire as warming its toes comfortably for winter.

The platinum gatekeeper

By DR KENNETH D KEMP

THE opportunity to age gracefully is something that I suspect all human beings long for. Where the differences materialise, however, is in the age we’d like to achieve before dying. Some say 75, while the majority respond somewhere in their 80s or 90s. Rarely does anyone say 100, thinking that it’s too far-fetched to even conceive.

Truth is, they’re not wrong. The average life expectancy in The Bahamas is 73 for men and 79 for women. Likely owing to easier access to more advanced health care options late in life, or a healthier lifestyle in general, in the United States those numbers are marginally higher than ours at 78 for men and 82 for women.

Genetics play an important role in this process. Barring any unforeseen life-ending trauma it’s reasonable for individuals to expect to survive as long as their parents and grandparents.

Numerous studies have proven that parents with poor eating habits have children and grandchildren with multiple medical co-morbidities.

Health-conscious parents, by contrast, furnish their children with life sustaining dietary and exercise habits.

Passed down either knowingly or unknowingly from one generation to the next, their offspring typically live longer and enjoy a better quality of life.

fighting for women’s right to vote and an increase in the minimum age to marry, which at the time was 12 years old.

Mama Millie never liked school and was quite satisfied to leave early, barely able to read and write, but knowing what she wanted.

And what she wanted was to be a housewife and to be her own boss. She says proudly that she fulfilled both of those goals, marrying for love and never working a day for another person.

She was in her mid-teens when a fisherman asked her out one evening. She paid little attention to him until she saw him the following day with the sun shining on his fit body. Her heart skipped a beat. He was so handsome, she stated with a deep smile, and from that day forward, her heart belonged to him.

‘Mama Millie never liked school and was quite satisfied to leave early, barely able to read and write, but knowing what she wanted. And what she wanted was to be a housewife and to be her own boss. She says proudly that she fulfilled both of those goals, marrying for love and never working a day for another person.’

That was certainly the case for the patient discussed in today’s report.

She, at the age of 108, learned everything she knows by watching and emulating her mother. I call her Mama Millie and this is her story.

Mama Millie was born in August 1914, just two weeks after the start of World War I. She was one of six children and growing up, she loved to run and play with her siblings. Her mother taught them to love and protect one another, to be kind and respectful of elders and to never gossip. She carried those lessons throughout her entire life and just this past week she challenged me to do the same.

Her mother walked everywhere and worked tirelessly in their home and on their farm. She also believed in the healing powers of plants and she picked, boiled and made a tea of various herbs for her children daily. Mama Millie drank this bush medicine consistently until she turned 100.

Originally from Black Point, Exuma, Mama Millie watched many of her neighbours struggle financially when the sponging industry collapsed because of the war.

The Bahamas was still a Crown colony at the time and it taught her about the power of community and helping neighbours in their time of need.

She was four when the first world war ended and nine when the international suffrage movement began

Their marriage, she exclaimed with her fists clenched tightly, taught her that sometimes in life you have to fight to get what you want or keep what you have.

Standing at only four feet, eleven inches, she once fought a woman who was twice her size in height and weight who tried to seduce her husband.

Mama Millie tells the story of how she beat the fat Jezebel so badly she was arrested and taken before the courts to answer for her crime.

When the judge saw her small size compared to the victim, he was shocked that a small axe could cut down such a mighty tree and let her go with a warning.

Sadly, Mama Millie’s husband died over 60 years ago from an unknown disease and she misses him to this day. They were married for over 30 years and had six children.

After the death of her husband, Mama Millie’s children supported her financially.

She had a busy, but ordered life taking care of her children and grandchildren and through it all she gives God thanks for her many blessings.

Specifically, she’s enjoyed great health her entire life. Apart from occasional pain in her knee and shoulder joints, fingers and neck she has no complaints.

At 108, Mama Millie has no medical problems and is not on any medications.

Her vision is blurry when attempting to see at a distance and her hearing is beginning to fail in one ear but she recognises that it could be so much worse.

Her memory is as sharp as it gets and she recalls her childhood with microscopic clarity.

Her life has not been without injury or incident. Many years ago, she was standing on a ladder cleaning her roof when she lost her balance and fell. That accident cost her a broken foot that healed without issue.

Another time, she was babysitting her grandchildren when an armed robber broke into her daughter’s home and assaulted her. She was struck in the neck

with a sharp object but she got back up and started hitting him with such intensity that he ran off with a second assailant on motorbike. The neck injury still plagues her and she’s unable to sit in one position for long periods of time without eliciting discomfort.

The joy of long life and seeing the world change before your eyes with the birth of future generations is unfortunately also coupled with great loss.

Mama Millie has outlived all of her childhood friends, her parents, teachers, siblings, neighbours, husband and three of her children.

Her most recent loss was the death of her daughter who was killed in 2017 when she was hit by a truck crossing the street. She was 73 at the time.

The loss of one child was devastating but three has been soul crushing and it’s left a hole in her heart that’s still as raw as it is deep, despite the passage of time.

Today, Mama Millie lives with her daughter, Coolie, and their house is filled with incredible laughter and love.

Every day, her neighbours, church members and family visit and seeing them makes her happy. She sits on her porch daily until almost 10pm at night singing Christian hymns and talking to her visitors. She misses the days when she could bake bread for the children in her community.

Before school they’d stop by the house and get hot bread and she’d remind them to be nice because you can’t see God’s face if you’re not nice.

Mama Millie has lived her life by the platinum rule, treating others the way you want to be treated.

Other lessons that she shared with me are that manners and respect take you through the world whether you can read or write, to be good even to those who spitefully use you and to never want for anything that Jesus can’t give you.

Mama Millie also added a tip from her fighting days; if the person is bigger than you, push before they can react, kick and run.

Mama Millie loves to travel and especially enjoyed her trips to Cuba.

Her favourite things to eat are chicken wings and native-grown bananas and she loves Ensure nutritional shakes (vanilla or strawberry flavored).

She received a signed commendation from the Queen on her 100th birthday and last year she received a Queen’s honour bestowed at a service at the Baha Mar hotel. It sits proudly on her living room table and she welcomes anyone to see it as they pass her, either cleaning her yard or lounging on her patio chair, gracefully waving and smiling at all her neighbours.

Mama Millie has lived for a century and has been the gatekeeper of her family for most of her life, watching after and protecting them.

The role of gatekeeper in Greek and Roman mythology is one reserved for a supernatural being who bridges Earth with the spiritual world, connecting the two irreverent of time.

And like the gatekeepers of folk legend, Mama Millie connects our world with a time long past.

Her eyes are the portal to a time we can’t comprehend or recognise but for the stories passed down by those old enough to share them.

This is the KDK Report.

MAMA Millie with Dr Kenneth D Kemp.

Travel within the Caribbean in crisis

THE closure of LIAT in 2020, without establishing air transport to fill the vacuum, has led to chaos in regional transportation, gravely affecting the movement of people and goods throughout the Caribbean region.

Anyone, who has tried to travel from one country to another in the Caribbean, can attest to the nightmare it has become. Whereas in the heyday of LIAT, there were at least two daily flights from which to choose, allowing for transfers through the airline’s main hubs in Antigua and Barbados, flights are now few and far between. Additionally, connectivity from one Caribbean island to another, which physically neighbour each other, often requires travel to Miami or some other country with overnight stays, lengthening journeys and increasing costs.

Gone are the days when business persons, consultants, marketing agents and others could get on a plane in the morning, conduct business in another country, and return to their home base by the evening. Tourists on multi-destination holidays, and even those who would like to make a daytrip to another island that they can see on the horizon, cannot now even contemplate such a prospect. The connectivity simply does not exist.

World View

By SIR RONALD SANDERS

have good intentions, but lack of adequate capital has restricted their ability to invest in aircraft, staff and other costs that would serve the region’s needs.

‘While no one can discount the anxiety of governments, in the period of the COVID-19 pandemic, when costs escalated and revenues declined, causing some ownergovernments to want to shed the increasing expenses associated with LIAT, the decision to collapse it with nothing to replace it – at least substantially – has led to the present difficulties.’

Two vital things have resulted from all this. First, the objective of achieving the social and economic integration of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is being eroded. People to people contact – and therefore familiarity and cohesion – has been set back. Second, the realisation of the long-vaunted Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME) is being retarded. The marketing of goods and services between CARICOM countries, which is one of the fundamental requirements of a Single Market, has effectively been paused. Other current objectives, such as establishing the means for food security and making the CARICOM area more self-sufficient and less dependent on goods and services imported from outside the region, are also being adversely impacted.

a request from the governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Grenada, Guyana, Saint Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines has approved consultancy services. These services will suggest “urgent provisional measures” to re-establish regular air transport services within the sub-region. To be clear the Board’s action is better than nothing, but, by itself, it is not enough. Fortunately, the Board approval allows for consideration of a more permanent solution “in a subsequent intervention”.

In short, this decision by the CDB Board, while encouraging, does not solve the immediate problem, nor will it contribute to doing so in the near term. This is not a criticism of the Bank. For while it is a “development” bank, it is still a bank that has responsibilities to its shareholders who contribute the capital to the bank or are active in helping to raise it from hemispheric and international institutions. The bank has to balance its role in “development” with its obligation to sustainability.

Caribbean Airlines does not have enough planes or frequency of travel to fill the travel needs; additionally, it only flies to some Caribbean destinations from its base in Trinidad and Tobago. Attempts by two other small airlines to ply some of the routes are also too infrequent and, regrettably, undependable. The owners and management

While no one can discount the anxiety of governments, in the period of the COVID-19 pandemic, when costs escalated and revenues declined, causing some owner-governments to want to shed the increasing expenses associated with LIAT, the decision to collapse it with nothing to replace it – at least substantially – has led to the present difficulties.

It is also understandable that, at a time when governments were confronting decreased revenues and increased expenditure to support the poor and vulnerable as well as escalated costs to fight the Coronavirus and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, cuts in expenses had to be made. LIAT looked then as an opportunity to be rid of what might have been regarded as an unending haemorrhaging of taxpayers’ money that was needed for pressing domestic priorities.

In this regard, LIAT workers, who continuously demanded, increased wages and greater compensation packages, might reflect on whether they could have acted in ways that would have helped to maintain the viability of the airline in everyone’s interest, including their own. Had LIAT continued to operate in conditions of cooperation, all might have continued to reap the benefits it delivered.

All parties should learn a lesson from the LIAT experience, including the unemployment of its workers. If no lesson has been learned about how cooperation can help to maintain jobs, then that history will repeat itself.

Partially good news is that the Caribbean Development Bank is alert to the issue and is considering ways to help to address it. The CDB’s Board of Directors, responding to

By any objective analysis, the current crisis of inter-regional travel is a direct result of the decision to collapse LIAT without measures to fill the gap caused by its shuttering. Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister, Gaston Browne, is making a valiant attempt to keep a rump LIAT in the air, recognizing that it was the main intra-island air carrier in the Eastern Caribbean. But, LIAT presently operates only a few flights, largely with the singular support of the Antigua and Barbuda government. LIAT’s flights are currently less than 90% of its 500 weekly flights prior to its closure. The number of flights is not enough.

To emphasise the point, reduced airlift capacity has stymied the movement of goods, services and people to the detriment of tourism, trade, employment, business activity and social relations in the region. These conditions should not be allowed to continue. The region is harming itself. More than 9.1 million tourists visited the Caribbean in 2019. The majority of them arrived on aircraft and traversed the region on regional airlines. The COVID-19 pandemic affected those arrivals until most of 2021, but borders have opened, and people are travelling again – and want to continue travelling – in large numbers. In addition to passenger travel in the region, the volume of freight by air transport in the Caribbean, which had increased by more than 50% before COVID, is severely constrained. That business is still there and can contribute to jobs, earnings, profits, and market cohesion, but not without airlift.

Undoubtedly, the kind of services provided by LIAT are sorely missed; and are urgently needed.

• Responses and previous commentaries: www. sirronaldsanders.com

(The writer is Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the United States of America and the Organization of American States. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London and Massey College in the University of Toronto).

The Christmas tree tradition is older than Christmas

By TROY BICKHAM , Texas A&M University

WHY, every Christmas, do so many people endure the mess of dried pine needles, the risk of a fire hazard and impossibly tangled strings of lights?

Strapping a fir tree to the hood of my car and worrying about the strength of the twine, I sometimes wonder if I should just buy an artificial tree and do away with all the hassle. Then my inner historian scolds me – I have to remind myself that I’m taking part in one of the world’s oldest religious traditions. To give up the tree would be to give up a ritual that predates Christmas itself.

A symbol of life in a time of darkness

Almost all agrarian societies independently venerated the Sun in their pantheon of gods at one time or another – there was the Sol of the Norse, the Aztec Huitzilopochtli, the Greek Helios.

The solstices, when the Sun is at its highest and lowest points in the sky, were major events. The winter solstice, when the sky is its darkest, has been a notable day of celebration in agrarian societies throughout human history.

The Persian Shab-e Yalda, Dongzhi in China and the North American Hopi Soyal all independently mark the occasion.

The favored décor for ancient winter solstices?

Evergreen plants.

Whether as palm branches gathered in Egypt in the celebration of Ra or wreaths for the Roman feast of Saturnalia, evergreens have long served as symbols of the perseverance of life during the bleakness of winter, and the promise of the Sun’s return.

Christmas slowly emerges Christmas came much later. The date was not fixed on liturgical calendars until centuries after Jesus’ birth, and the English word Christmas – an abbreviation of “Christ’s Mass” – would not appear until over 1,000 years after the original event.

While December 25 was ostensibly a Christian holiday, many Europeans simply carried over traditions from winter solstice celebrations, which were notoriously raucous affairs. For example, the 12 days of

Christmas commemorated in the popular carol actually originated in ancient Germanic Yule celebrations.

The continued use of evergreens, most notably the Christmas tree, is the most visible remnant of those ancient solstice celebrations. Although Ernst Anschütz’s well-known 1824 carol dedicated to the tree is translated into English as “O Christmas Tree,” the title of the original German tune is simply “Tannenbaum,” meaning fir tree. There is no reference to Christmas in the carol, which Anschütz based on a much older Silesian folk love song. In keeping with old solstice celebrations, the song praises the tree’s faithful hardiness during the dark and cold winter.

Bacchanal backlash

Sixteenth-century German Protestants, eager to remove the iconography and relics of the Roman Catholic Church, gave the Christmas tree a huge boost when they used it to replace Nativity scenes. The religious reformer Martin Luther supposedly adopted the practice and added candles.

But a century later, the English Puritans frowned upon the disorderly holiday for lacking biblical legitimacy. They banned it in the 1650s, with soldiers patrolling London’s streets looking for anyone daring to celebrate the day. Puritan colonists in Massachusetts did the same, fining “whosoever shall be found observing Christmas or the like, either by forbearing of labor, feasting, or any other way.”

German immigration to the American colonies ensured that the practice of trees would take root in the New World. Benjamin Franklin estimated that at least one-third of Pennsylvania’s white population was German before the American Revolution.

Yet, the German tradition of the Christmas tree blossomed in the United States largely due to Britain’s German royal lineage.

Taking a cue from the queen

Since 1701, English kings had been forbidden from becoming or marrying Catholics. Germany, which was made up of a patchwork of kingdoms, had eligible Protestant princes and princesses to spare. Many British royals privately

maintained the familiar custom of a Christmas tree, but Queen Victoria – who had a German mother as well as a German grandmother on her father’s side – made the practice public and fashionable.

Victoria’s style of rule both reflected and shaped the outwardly stern, family-centered morality that dominated middle-class life during the era. In the 1840s, Christmas became the target of reformers like novelist Charles Dickens, who sought to transform the raucous celebrations of the largely sidelined holiday into a family day in which the people of the rapidly industrialized nation could relax, rejoice and give thanks.

His 1843 novella, “A Christmas Carol,” in which the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge found redemption by embracing Dickens’ prescriptions for the holiday, was a hit with the public. While the evergreen décor is evident in the hand-colored illustrations Dickens specially commissioned for the book, there are no Christmas trees in those pictures.

Victoria added the fir tree to family celebrations five years later. Although Christmas trees had been part of private royal celebrations for decades, an 1848 issue of the London Illustrated News depicted Victoria with her German husband and children decorating one as a family at Windsor Castle.

The cultural impact was almost instantaneous. Christmas trees started appearing in homes throughout England, its colonies and the rest of the English-speaking world. Dickens followed with his short story “A Christmas Tree” two years later.

Adopting the tradition in America

During this period, America’s middle classes generally embraced all things Victorian, from architecture to moral reform societies.

Sarah Hale, the author most famous for her children’s poem “Mary had a Little Lamb,” used her position as editor of the best-selling magazine Godey’s Ladies Book to advance a reformist agenda that included the abolition of slavery and the creation of holidays that promoted pious family values. The adoption of Thanksgiving

as a national holiday in 1863 was perhaps her most lasting achievement.

It is closely followed by the Christmas tree.

While trees sporadically adorned the homes of German immigrants in the US, it became a mainstream middle-class practice when, in 1850, Godey’s published an engraving of Victoria and her Christmas tree. A supporter of Dickens and the movement to reinvent Christmas, Hale helped to popularise the family Christmas tree across the pond.

Only in 1870 did the United States recognise

Christmas as a federal holiday.

The practice of erecting public Christmas trees emerged in the US in the 20th century. In 1923, the first one appeared on the White House’s South Lawn.

During the Great Depression, famous sites such as New York’s Rockefeller Center began erecting increasingly larger trees.

Christmas trees go global As both American and British cultures extended their influence around the world, Christmas trees started to appear in communal spaces even in countries

that are not predominately Christian. Shopping districts in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong and Tokyo now regularly erect trees.

The modern Christmas tree is a universal symbol that carries meanings both religious and secular. Adorned with lights, they promote hope and offer brightness in literally the darkest time of year for half of the world.

In that sense, the modern Christmas tree has come full circle.

• Originally published on www.theconversation.com

A CHRISTMAS tree on display in this year’s Pompey Square decorations.

Photo: Austin Fernander

Rawiya Rahming Secretary

BEAT RETREAT

ATLANTA Associated Press

FORECASTERS are warning of treacherous holiday travel and lifethreatening cold for much of the nation as an arctic air mass blows into the already-frigid southern United States.

“We’re looking at much-below normal temperatures, potentially record-low temperatures leading up to the Christmas holiday,” said Zack Taylor, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

The polar air arrives as an earlier storm system gradually winds down in the northeastern US after burying parts of the region under two feet of snow. More than 80,000 customers in New England were still without power on Sunday morning, according to poweroutage.us, which tracks outages across the country.

The incoming artic front brings “extreme and prolonged freezing conditions for southern Mississippi

and southeast Louisiana,” the National Weather Service in a special weather statement yesterday.

By Thursday night, temperatures will plunge as low as 13 degrees in Jackson, Mississippi; and around five degrees in Nashville, Tennessee, the National Weather Service predicts.

For much of the US, the winter weather will get worse before it gets better.

The coming week has the potential for “the coldest air of the season” as the strong artic front marches across the eastern two-thirds of the country in the days before Christmas, according to the latest forecasts from the federal Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland.

The centre warned of a “massive expanse of frigid temperatures from the Northern Rockies/Northern Plains to the Midwest through the middle of the week, and then reaching the Gulf Coast and much of the Eastern US by Friday and into the weekend.”

In Atlanta, where

temperatures are set to drop below freezing early Monday morning, forecasters warn of even colder air by late in the week, according to the National Weather Service office in Peachtree City, Georgia. The low Friday night in Atlanta will be around 13 degrees with the high temperature Saturday still below the freezing mark at around 29 degrees, the Weather Service projects.

Freezing temperatures can take lives in an instant — a heartbreaking reality that Atlanta homeless advocate George Chidi knows firsthand.

He went to check on a woman with severe mental health issues in downtown Atlanta earlier this year, and found she had died of suspected hypothermia just hours earlier. Her body was found outside the Greyhound bus station, which is open 24 hours in the heart of downtown Atlanta, he said.

“She died within 100 feet of three heated buildings,” Chidi said.

SCENES from the Beat Retreat parade by the Royal Bahamas Police Force at the weekend.

Photos: Austin Fernander

Argentina beats France on penalties to win World Cup

By STEVE DOUGLAS AP Sports Writer

LUSAIL, Qatar (AP)

— Lionel Messi, wearing a black Qatari robe over his blue-and-white Argentina shirt, kissed the World Cup, shuffled toward his teammates and hoisted the golden trophy high in the air.

It was an iconic sight that finally — definitively — places the soccer superstar in the pantheon of the game’s greatest players.

Messi’s once-in-ageneration career is complete: He is a World Cup champion.

In probably the wildest final in the tournament’s 92-year history, Argentina won its third World Cup title by beating France 4-2 in a penalty shootout after a 3-3 draw featuring two goals from the 35-year-old Messi and a hat trick by his heir apparent, France forward Kylian Mbappé.

“It’s just crazy that it became a reality this way,” Messi said. “I craved for this so much. I knew God would bring this gift to me.

I had the feeling that this (World Cup) was the one.”

Amid the chaos inside Lusail Stadium, Mbappé did all he could to emulate Brazil great Pelé as a champion at his first two World Cups. Even scoring the first hat trick in a final since Geoff Hurst for England in 1966.

It wasn’t enough.

Now there’s no debate.

Messi joins Pelé — a record three-time World Cup champion — and Diego Maradona, the late Argentina great with whom Messi was so often compared, in an exclusive club of the best soccer players of all time.

Who is the greatest?

It’s a discussion that will rage forever because there can never be a definitive answer. Messi has put up a good argument, though, and — with the World Cup title on his résumé — he is surely above Cristiano Ronaldo as the best player of his generation.

Messi achieved what Maradona did in 1986 and dominated a World Cup for Argentina. He scored

seven goals and embraced the responsibility of leading his team out of those dark moments after a shocking 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia in the group stage.

Playing in the spirit of Maradona, Messi coupled his dazzling skills with rarely seen aggression and led Argentina to the title by becoming the first man in a single edition of the World Cup to score in the

group stage and then in every round of the knockout stage.

The torch will one day pass to Mbappé, but not just yet.

“Let’s go, Argentina!” Messi roared into a microphone on the field in the post-match celebrations after playing in a record 26th World Cup match.

Later, he said: “I can’t wait to be in Argentina to witness the insanity of this.”

Messi had a tantalising glimpse of the 18-carat gold World Cup trophy when walking on the stage to collect the Golden Ball, awarded to the player of the tournament. He even kissed the World Cup and rubbed it repeatedly.

He got his hands on it for good about 10 minutes later, after a ceremonial robe — a bisht — was draped over his shoulders by Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

And, oh, did he enjoy the moment, celebrating with his family and the teammates who put Argentina

atop the soccer world for the first time since the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. The country’s other title came in 1978 on home soil.

Messi was in scintillating form from the start of the final, putting Argentina ahead from the penalty spot after Angel Di Maria was tripped and later playing a part in a flowing team move that resulted in Di Maria making it 2-0 after 36 minutes.

Mbappé, on the other hand, was anonymous until bursting into life by scoring two goals in a 97-second span — one an 80th-minute penalty, the other a volley from just inside the area after a quick exchange of passes — to take the game to extra time at 2-2.

Messi still had plenty of energy and he was on hand to tap in his second goal in the 108th minute, with a France defender clearing the ball just after it had crossed the line.

Argentina was on the brink of the title once again, but there was still

KING: BJ MURRAY III WINS HOME RUN DERBY

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

POWER hitting third baseman Bertram Murray III, coming off an impressive year in the Chicago Cubs minor league baseball organisation, capped off the first All-Bahamian final to become the first home grown player to capture the Don’t Blink Home Run Derby title.

In a dramatic showdown as the fifth edition of the event returned from Paradise Island to the Montagu shores, Murray, better known as ‘Deeja,’ outslugged Trent ‘T-Money’ Deveaux 9-8 in the final of the country’s biggest event that highlighted the majority of the players playing in the minor leagues or in college.

The event, organised by the duo of Todd Isaacs Jr and Lucius Fox, came one week after the Bahamas Baseball Association hosted the Caribbean Cup Baseball Championships in the newly built Andre Rodgers Baseball Stadium. Some of the derby participants represented the Bahamas in a fourth-place

By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer

ORLANDO, Florida

(AP) — Vijay Singh and his son finally cashed in on their 16th try at the PNC Championship. For Tiger Woods, he happily settled for another great week with his son in the one tournament where no one has a bad time.

“It was great being with Dad after working so hard to get here — for me school, and him just the injury,” 13-year-old Charlie Woods said. “Being out there with a great atmosphere and everyone being out there, it was awesome.”

It felt even better for Singh, the three-time major champion who first played the PNC Championship in 2003 when his son, Qass, was 13. Singh all but sealed

it with a 6-foot birdie putt for a 59 in the scramble format, becoming the first team in tournament history to post a sub-60 score in both rounds.

They finished at 26-under 118 and won by two shots over defending champions John Daly and his son and 2020 winners Justin Thomas and his father. “This is what we wanted forever,” Qass said, now 32 and working in insurance.

“Sixteen years,” his father interjected.

“Way too long, but it’s about time,” Qass said.

“So I’m thrilled. I’m so happy. This is already the best week, so this is just making it ... no words can describe. It’s going to be a memory I’m going to have forever.”

Woods and his son fell out of contention with a

bogey on the par-4 seventh hole when both drove into the woods. They tied for eighth in the 20-team field. Thomas and his father, Mike, a longtime Kentucky club professional, looked to be on their way to another title until the birdies dried

up on the back nine, and by then Team Singh was on its way to an overdue victory.

About the time Little John Daly rolled in an 18-foot eagle putt from off the green for a 59 to reach

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

THE University of Alabama at Birmingham Blazers, the athletic programme that features Bahamian star Sydney Clarke on their women’s tennis team, came back to town on Friday and took home the 2022 HomeTown Lenders Bahamas Bowl football title.

The Blazers, with the go-ahead touchdown from Jermaine Brown Jr on 4thand-1 with one minute and

Hoopfest Tournament a blast with top high school teams from US

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@triobunemedia.net

WITH a little more time to work with their teams, coaches for both the New Providence and Grand Bahama AllStars feel as if they could have had better showings against the Miami Northwestern High School in the Hoopfest High School Tournament at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium over the weekend.

On Friday, the New Providence All-Stars got off to a slow start and ended up getting routed 71-36 by Miami.

On Saturday, the Grand Bahama All-Stars got off to a good start, but couldn’t maintain their

composure, losing 66-47 to Miami.

The two-day event featured some of the top high school teams out of the United States of America. Although no champions were crowned, all of the teams, except those from the Bahamas, played two games.

By virtue of having two teams, the NP and GB All-Stars only played once.

• Here’s a summary of the games played in the tournament organised by American Glenn Smith and Bahamians Jerome Gomez and Jeff Rodgers.

Duncanville High School def. Roselle

ARGENTINA’s Lionel Messi lifts the trophy after winning the World Cup final soccer match against France at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar, yesteday. Argentina won 4-2 in a penalty shootout after the match ended tied 3-3.

(AP Photos/ Martin Meissner)

FRANCE’s Kylian Mbappe holds the Golden Boot award awarded to the top goalscorer of the tournament.

VIJAY SINGH, right, and his son Qass Sing, left, talk before teeing off the first hole during the first round of the PNC Championship golf tournament on Saturday.

(AP Photo/Kevin Kolczynski)

Raiders’ Jones snags Patriots’ lateral for walk-off victory

LAS VEGAS (AP) —

Defensive end Chandler Jones grabbed a bizarre, unnecessary lateral by New England’s Jakobi Meyers out of the air on the final play and returned it 48 yards for a touchdown, giving the Las Vegas Raiders a 30-24 victory over the Patriots yesterday.

With the game tied at 24-all, the Patriots decided to run a series of pitches in a last-ditch attempt to avoid overtime. Rhamondre Stevenson pitched the ball to Meyers, who heaved it across the field and into the arms of Jones, who stiffarmed Patriots QB Mac Jones and then had nothing but open field in front of him.

The wild finish bailed out the Raiders (6-8), who led 17-3 at halftime before allowing the Patriots (7-7) to score 21 straight points. Las Vegas scored two touchdowns in the final 32 seconds and seriously damaged New England’s playoff hopes.

BENGALS 34, BUCCANEERS

Noah Brown failed to secure Prescott’s low throw, and Jenkins made a shoelace grab and went untouched the other way to end Jacksonville’s NFLrecord 20-game skid against NFC teams.

The Cowboys (10-4) ended a five-game winning streak and failed to secure a playoff spot. Jacksonville (6-8), meanwhile, could gain ground on Tennessee in the topsy-turvy AFC South.

Jacksonville won the toss in overtime and had a chance to win it with Trevor Lawrence, who threw for 318 yards and four touchdowns. But the Jaguars went three-and-out, giving the Cowboys a chance to win after squandering a 27-10 lead. Prescott’s thirddown pass proved to be a difference-maker.

23

TAMPA, Florida (AP) — Joe Burrow threw for four second-half touchdowns and surging Cincinnati rallied from a 17-point deficit to beat Tom Brady and Tampa Bay.

The Bengals (10-4) won their sixth straight and retained sole possession of first place in the AFC North. Trey Flowers intercepted Brady to set up one touchdown and Logan Wilson sacked the seventime Super Bowl champion to force a fumble that led to another TD. The firstplace Bucs (6-8) wasted an opportunity to take a twogame lead over Carolina, Atlanta and New Orleans in the woeful NFC South.

Burrow began Cincinnati’s comeback from a 17-0 deficit with a field goal drive in the final 1:39 of the opening half. He threw scoring passes of 5 yards to Tee Higgins, 3 yards to Tyler Boyd, 8 yards to Ja’Marr Chase and 12 yards to Mitchell Wilcox.

JAGUARS 40, COWBOYS 34, OT JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Rayshawn Jenkins intercepted Dak Prescott’s bobbled pass and returned it 52 yards for a touchdown that gave the Jacksonville Jaguars a 40-34 victory over the Dallas Cowboys in overtime Sunday.

CHIEFS 30, TEXANS 24, OT HOUSTON (AP) — Jerick McKinnon ran for a 26-yard touchdown in overtime and Kansas City beat Houston to clinch its seventh straight AFC West title.

The Chiefs (11-3) got the ball first in overtime but had to punt after Patrick Mahomes was sacked by Blake Cashman on third down. Texans quarterback Davis Mills fumbled on a scramble on Houston’s first play, and it was recovered by Kansas City’s Willie Gay on the Texans 26.

McKinnon, who also had a TD reception, dashed untouched into the end zone on the next play.

Mahomes threw for 336 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a score as Kansas City overcame two turnovers and a season-high 102 penalty yards to win for the seventh time in eight games.

LIONS 20, JETS 17

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Jared Goff threw a go-ahead 51-yard touchdown pass to Brock Wright on fourth-and-1 with 1:49 remaining, and Detroit held on to beat Zach Wilson and New York.

Coming out of the twominute warning, Goff looked to his left and found Wright wide open, and the tight end rumbled untouched into the end zone.

Wilson and the Jets had one more chance. He

completed a 20-yard pass to Elijah Moore on fourth down, setting up Greg Zuerlein for a 58-yard field-goal try. But the kick went wide left, sending the Lions (7-7) to their third straight win and sixth in their past seven games.

The loss further damaged the playoff hopes for the Jets (7-7), who are looking to snap an 11-year postseason drought.

CHARGERS 17, TITANS 14 INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Cameron Dicker connected on a 43-yard field goal with 4 seconds remaining and Los Angeles beat Tennessee.

The Titans appeared to force overtime when Ryan Tannehill scored on a 1-yard QB sneak with 48 seconds remaining, but the Chargers responded by going 52 yards in six plays. Mike Williams had the key play on the drive, a 35-yard reception between two defenders at the Titans 20-yard line.

Justin Herbert had his third straight 300-yard game. He completed 28 of 42 passes for 313 yards but didn’t throw a touchdown pass for only the third time in 46 career games.

Austin Ekeler scored his AFC-leading 14th touchdown of the season early in the fourth quarter.

EAGLES 25, BEARS 20

CHICAGO (AP) — Jalen Hurts tied a career high by running for three touchdowns and Philadelphia outlasted Chicago.

The Eagles (13-1), with the best record in the NFL, made just enough plays to come away with a tighterthan-anticipated win.

Chicago’s Justin Fields rushed for 95 yards to reach exactly 1,000 on the season, joining Michael Vick and Lamar Jackson as the only quarterbacks to rush for 1,000 or more. He also set a franchise single-season rushing record for a QB. But the Bears (3-11) lost their seventh straight game — their worst skid since dropping eight in a row in 2002 to match a franchise record.

Hurts is also closing in on history as a rusher. He has 13 rushing touchdowns, one short of the NFL record for a QB, set by Cam Newton during his rookie year in 2011.

STEELERS 24, PANTHERS 16 CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Mitch Trubisky threw for 179 yards and engineered three long touchdown drives as Pittsburgh beat Carolina.

Trubisky, filling in for concussed rookie Kenny Pickett, ran for a 1-yard touchdown and played turnover-free football. Najee Harris carried 24 times for 86 yards and a touchdown and Jaylen Warren added a 2-yard TD run for Pittsburgh (6-8), which has won three of its last four.

The Panthers (5-9) can still win the unimpressive NFC South if they win their last three games.

Carolina, a run-first team, couldn’t get anything going

on the ground. The Panthers managed just 21 yards on 16 carries as the Steelers stacked the box and dared Sam Darnold to beat them.

SAINTS 21, FALCONS 18 NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Andy Dalton and Taysom Hill combined to throw three touchdown passes, and New Orleans beat Atlanta in rookie quarterback Desmond Ridder’s debut.

Juwan Johnson had career-high 67 yards receiving and caught both of Dalton’s scoring passes. Hill, a utility player who lines up mostly at tight end, threw his second touchdown pass of the season on a 73-yard connection with rookie receiver Rashid Shaheed.

New Orleans (5-9) remained mathematically alive in the anemic NFC South. Atlanta (5-9) was down by a field goal and threating to score with less than three minutes remaining when Ridder hit Drake London over the middle for first-down yardage on fourth-and-5. But safety Justin Evans punched the ball from London’s grasp, and cornerback Bradley Robey snagged it out of the air.

BRONCOS 24, CARDINALS 15

DENVER (AP) — Backup quarterback Brett Rypien overcame relentless pressure, Justin Simmons had two interceptions and Denver held off Arizona.

The game featured two backup QBs, but Arizona

GIANTS BEAT COMMANDERS IN PRIME TIME TO END WINLESS SKID

By STEPHEN WHYNO AP Sports Writer

LANDOVER, Md. (AP) — Kayvon Thibodeaux was prepared for the national stage just like he promised, Daniel Jones shined under the lights to end his careerlong skid in night games and the New York Giants beat the Washington Commanders 20-12 last night to bolster their playoff chances and hurt those of a rival.

After declaring, “Prime time likes me,” Thibodeaux was a force rushing the passer and busting into the backfield early and often. He stripped Taylor Heinicke of the ball, recovered it to score a touchdown and finished with three tackles for loss among his game-high 12 before being helped off the field with 48 seconds left.

Jones, 0-9 in his first nine prime-time games for the Giants (8-5-1) who had lost 11 in a row in these situations, threaded throws through tight windows in beating the Commanders (7-6-1) with his arm rather than running all over Washington as he did in many of their previous meetings. He was 21 of 32 for 160 yards and engineered an 18-play touchdown drive in the second quarter that started at the 3 and lasted 8:35.

UP NEXT Giants: Visit the Minnesota Vikings on Saturday.

Commanders: Visit the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday.

lost Colt McCoy to a concussion early in the third quarter after he took a hit while diving for a first down. McCoy was intercepted once and his replacement, Trace McSorley, threw two more picks.

Rypien was sacked seven times, including three by J.J. Watt, but directed three second-half scoring drives to help the Broncos (4-10) snap a five-game losing streak. Latavius Murray ran for 130 yards and a touchdown, Marlon Mack also had a rushing TD, and Rypien threw a short scoring pass to Eric Tomlinson as Denver turned a 9-3 deficit into a 24-9 lead.

game and one of the top plays on ESPN, which carried the game live, wide receiver Trea Shropshire and linebacker Michael Fairbanks II will be logged into the history book for their performances turned in on the two different ends of the field.

“There’s no doubt, it’s just our philosophy,” said UAB’s interim coach Bryant Vincent on their decision to go for the play on 4th-and-1. “We believe if it’s ever a yard or less, we have the offensive line, we have the tight ends, we have the quarterback and running backs that can get that yard.

“Doesn’t matter who we’re against, if it’s a yard or less, we’re going for it because we believe in who we are, what we stand for, and the players that we have.”

Brown Jr, who ended up rushing for 116 yards and two touchdowns, said what he did was an automatic play in any team’s book. He was just the one entrusted with the heroic effort after the Blazers completed five plays on a 70-yard drive.

“First of all, I want to thank God for giving me the opportunity to show my talent,” Brown said. I knew it was 4th and 1, and I knew we needed to score in 1:50. So, I needed that, and my team believed in me.”

While his performance will be the highlight of the

Shropshire was named the game’s offensive most valuable player (MVP) having tied the Bahamas Bowl record with 183 yards receiving and Fairbanks II was the defensive MVP having posted seven tackles, 1,5 TFL, 0.5 sack and a blocked extra point.

“It’s a blessing. It’s all thanks to God, my coaches, my teammates, and my family as well,” said Fairbanks as he shared his wealth on the honour received. “It’s a shoutout to me, and I’m very blessed to be honoured.”

UAB claimed its third bowl victory in school history with back-to-back bowl victories as they marked their 50th victory since 2017 when they made their debut here for the fourth edition of the bowl, only to come highly disappointed in a 41-6 crushing defeat to the Ohio Bobcats.

As they celebrated this time, UAB improved its Conference USA record to 7-6, dropping Miami to 6-7 in the Mid-American Conference after they got stopped when they marched down the field and attempted to score, but were stopped by Ellis on the final play of the game.

it was a game they should have won. They had exerted 6:37 to execute 12 plays that concluded with running back Kenny Tracy running 10 yards on a catch for the touchdown and kicker Graham Nicholson nailing the extra point to give the RedHawks a 20-17 lead.

That was at the 6:52 mark, which left more than enough time for UAB to mound their dramatic comeback as they were crowned the new champions, leaving a bitter-sweet taste in the mouths of Miami.

“Obviously, they jumped on us 10-0. When we got it to 10-6 before the half, I felt like we were in really

good shape,” he said. “We had a chance at the end. We had a lead and got a huge turnover, had a chance for the offence to end the game right there.

“We don’t get it done. And credit to them they went 70 yards. Obviously [we are] really disappointed, not in our players, they always battle and fought to the end. We made a ton of plays made a ton of big plays and credit to UAB they made one more play.”

For at least two of the RedHawks’ players, quarterback Aveon Smith and senior linebacker Matt Salopek, they admitted that they gave it their best shot, but it just wasn’t enough to propel them over the top.

“We (have) been fighting through adversity all season, so it isn’t anything new to us,” Smith said. “We wanted to start it fast and make sure we finished but it didn’t go our way. Sticking together as a team is something we have been doing all year, so I’m proud of ourselves for sticking together.”

Added Salopek: “It’s been something we have been hanging our hat on all year, playing through bad plays and keep on fighting through the game. I know the offence was sticking together and we were trying to get them the ball back and the defence was sticking together trying to get a stop for them. I’m proud of how hard we fought today

and UAB was just a great team.”

After receiving the prestigious Prime Minister Trophy, which was presented by Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Mario Bowleg, coach Vincent said there’s no better place to win a bowl game than in Paradise.

“The Bahamas is paradise. The way we were treated from the moment we got off the plane to right now has been first class. This is a first-class bowl game. The people here, the community here are all first class,” Vincent said.

“I’ll tell you this right now and our players said it too, if we could go to any bowl game, every year we would come to the Bahamas Bowl. It’s beautiful. We’ve been treated first class like I said. It’s just special.”

Vincent thanked the people and the organisation of the Bahamas Bowl.

“I’d come back every year if it was up to me,” he summed up. “It’s paradise, the people are first class, we’ve been treated with open arms, and we put on one heck of a game. I can’t thank you guys enough.”

The week-long experience was a tremendous one for both teams as they bonded in the immense attractions at their home base at Atlantis and participated in a youth training camp for the Bahamian children, many of whom came out and showed their appreciation during the game.

33 seconds left, held on as Rennard Ellis tackled Jalen Walker at the 1-yard line on the final play of the game that was sealed with kicker Matt Quinn booting in the extra point for a 24-20 win over Miami (Ohio) RedHawks at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium.

Miami head coach Chuck Martin said

MINISTER of Youth, Sports and Culture Mario Bowleg presents the Prime Minister Cup championship trophy to UAB’s interim coach Bryant Vincent. Looking on are wide receiver Trea Shropshire and linebacker Michael Fiarbanks II. Photo: Bahamas Bowl

RAIDERS defensive end Chandler Jones (55) breaks a tackle by Patriots quarterback Mac Jones (10) to score a touchdown on an interception during the second half last night in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Knicks rally to beat Hield and Pacers for 7th straight victory

By PHILLIP B WILSON Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS (AP)

— Jalen Brunson scored 30 points, Julius Randle made six free throws in the final minute and the New York Knicks beat the Indiana Pacers 109-106 yesterday for their NBA-best seventh consecutive victory.

The 19th and final lead change came in the final minute, when Randle made two foul shots with 45.6 seconds remaining for a 105-104 lead. After the teams exchanged turnovers, Randle hit four more free throws in the final two possessions. The Pacers missed a shot from just inside half-court at the buzzer.

“Right now, New York is as good as any team in the NBA,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said.

Randle finished with 25 points and 14 rebounds. RJ Barrett added 24 points.

“To win on the road and like this, it was tough,” Randle said. “It was a hard game, but we got it done.”

Brunson, who was 11 of 22 from the field with three 3-pointers, started a fourth-quarter comeback from a 104-98 hole with a 3-pointer and then a steal and a layup in a span of 24 seconds.

“We just kept fighting,” Brunson said. “We’re confident, but we know we’ve still got a lot of work to do. We’ve just got to stay focused. We can’t relax. We

can’t have bad days. We’ve got to stay focused.”

Randle and Barrett have carried the Knicks during the winning streak. Randle averaged 27 points, 11 rebounds and 4.2 assists in the previous six games. Barrett averaged 22 points and 6.8 rebounds.

“Win streaks don’t mean anything. This game won’t mean anything in our next game,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “You’ve got to start all over, put the work in preparation and when the ball goes up, be ready to go.

“Obviously, it’s always better to win. But to think you’re going to win the next game because you have a win streak, if you start skipping over the steps to prepare for a game, then there’s going to be slippage and then you’re going to get knocked down. And I don’t want us to get knocked down. I want us to be ready for the next game.”

Buddy Hield and Aaron Nesmith each had 23 points for Indiana. Tyrese Haliburton and Bennedict Haliburton each added 15.

“Great basketball game; highly, highly competitive,” Carlisle said. “It came down to the razorthin margins of plays at the end of the game. They made some big plays and we were unable.”

The Pacers, No. 1 in bench scoring at 41.9 points per game, had a 35-14 edge in reserves points.

A first half with seven lead changes and five ties ended with the Knicks ahead 54-53 after the Pacers’ Buddy Hield had a last-minute 3-pointer changed to two points. By the end of the third quarter, there were 13 lead changes with the Pacers ahead 85-84.

TIP-INS Knicks: Randle’s second 3-pointer moved him past

Nate Robinson for ninth on the team’s career list at 415. He also passed Walt Bellamy for 28th on the scoring list with 5,083 points.

Since December 4, the Knicks lead the league in fewest points allowed at 97 per game.

Pacers: PF Jalen Smith, a 27-game starter, came off the bench for the third time in two weeks as coach

Rick Carlisle went with a smaller, quicker lineup. Reserve G Chris Duarte (left ankle sprain) saw his first action since November 4. Mathurin received his Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month award before the game.

UP NEXT Knicks: Host Golden State on Tuesday night. Pacers: At Boston on Wednesday night.

TIMBERWOLVES BEAT BULLS 150-126 TO BREAK TEAM SCORING MARK

MINNEAPOLIS (AP)

— Anthony Edwards had season highs with 37 points and 11 assists and Minnesota broke the franchise record for points in a game.

D’Angelo Russell added 28 points after missing two games and the Timberwolves made a season-high 23 pointers to roll past Chicago despite missing four regulars.

Rudy Gobert missed his second straight game because of a sprained left ankle. Karl-Anthony Towns (right calf strain) and top reserves Jordan McLaughlin (left calf strain) and Taurean Prince (right shoulder) also sat out.

MAGIC 95, CELTICS 92

BOSTON (AP) — Paolo Banchero scored 31 points and Admiral Schofield had 11 of his 13 in the fourth quarter to help Orlando complete a sweep of consecutive games in Boston.

Franz Wagner added 12 points and Bol Bol had 11 with eight rebounds for the Magic, who were 1-11 on the road before the two straight wins over the Celtics. Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 24 points,

TORONTO (AP) — Jordan Poole scored a career-high 43 points, Klay Thompson had 17 and Golden State won for the first time in five tries this season without the injured Stephen Curry.

Draymond Green returned after sitting out Friday’s loss at Philadelphia because of a sore right quadriceps and finished with 17 points and nine rebounds in 37 minutes as the Warriors snapped a three-game losing streak and improved to 3-14 on the road. Kevon Looney added 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Warriors, whose last road win came Nov. 27 at Minnesota.

Poole shot 14 for 23, a career-high for made baskets, and went 5 for 11 from 3-point range. His previous career high was 38.

Pascal Siakam scored 27 points, Fred VanVleet had 22 and Scottie Barnes 17 as Toronto’s losing streak hit a season-high five games. The Raptors have lost three straight at home.

NETS 124, PISTONS 121

DETROIT (AP) — Kevin Durant scored 26 of his 43 points in the third quarter, helping Brooklyn overcome a 17-point halftime deficit.

Kyrie Irving added 38 points in Brooklyn’s seventh straight victory over Detroit. Durant was 8 of 10 from the floor, going 3 of 3 on 3-pointers and 7 of 7 from the free-throw line as he outscored the Pistons 26-25 in the third. Bojan Bogdanovic led the Pistons with 26 points.

NUGGETS 119, HORNETS 115

DENVER (AP) — Nikola Jokic had 40 points, a career-high 27 rebounds and 10 assists in yet another triple-double to help Denver beat Charlotte.

Jokic got his fifth tripledouble of the season and 81st overall.

He had 20 rebounds in the first half. Wilt Chamberlain is the only other player with at least 40 points, 27 rebounds and 10 assists in an NBA game.

He did it four times, the last when he had 53 points,

32 rebounds and 14 assists for Philadelphia on March 18, 1968.

Kentavious CaldwellPope added 20 points and Aaron Gordon had 19 as the Nuggets sent the Hornets to their eighth consecutive loss.

LaMelo Ball had 31 points for Charlotte. Kelly Oubre Jr. added 16 points and Gordon Hayward had 15.

LAKERS 119, WIZARDS 117

LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James had 33 points and nine assists, Lonnie Walker scored 21 points and the Los Angeles Lakers overcame the absence of Anthony Davis to beat the Washington Wizards 119-117 on Sunday night.

Davis, the Lakers’ leader at 27.4 points and 12.1 rebounds, injured his right foot Friday night in a victory over Denver and is expected to be sidelined for several weeks.

Thomas Bryant added 16 points and 10 rebounds to help the Lakers win for the third time in their last four games and hand Washington its 10th straight loss and 13th in 14 games.

THE New Providence Basketball Association will complete the year with games on tap tonight and Wednesday at the AF Adderley Gymnasium before taking a break for the Christmas holiday. The league will return to action on January 4.

• Here’s a summary of the games played over the weekend:

TMT Giants 8, University of the Bahamas Mingoes 73: Randy Miller exploded for 23 points with 13 rebounds, two assists and two block shots in pacing the Giants to their first victory in three games played so far on Saturday night.

Ujamaa Johnson helped with 19 points and three assists, Daniel Hall had 16 points, four assists, two rebounds and two steals and Travaughn Nicholas added 14 points with seven rebounds, three assists and two steals.

In a losing effort for the Mingoes, who dropped to 1-2, Dave Lindsay had 14 points, four rebounds and two steals, Glenderson Black had 12 points, two rebounds and two steals and Delano Armbrister chipped in with 11 points, six rebounds, six assists and two steals.

Cyber Tech 97, BIBT Great Whites: Daniel Bethel led six players in double figures with 24 points and seven rebounds on Saturday as they improved their record to 1-3, identical to the same mark as their opponents.

Jayson McHardy had 16 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, Jermaine Mackey had 12 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals, Warren Miller had 11 points, seven rebounds, seven steals and six assists and Devon Bonaby Jr added 10 points with seven rebounds.

The Great Whites saw Lamont Miller score 20 points, nine rebounds and three assists, Darius Dean had 14 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Discount Distributors Liquors Rockets 82, Caro Contractors Shockers 74: Livingstone Munnings pumped in a game high 24 points with 11 rebounds, two steals, an assist and a block in securing their third consecutive win for the Rockets.

Abel Johnson scored 18 points with six rebounds, six assists and two steals and Roosevelt ‘Chicken’ Whylly ended up with 11 points, 15 rebounds, three assists a steal and a block shot.

For the Shockers, who suffered their first defeat in four games, William Rigby scored 22 points with seven rebounds and four steals, but it wasn’t enough.

Shakwon Lewis had 14 points, five rebounds four assists and four steals.

Tonight 7pm - Rebels vs Your Essential Store (DII)

8:30pm - Discount Distributors Liquors Rockets vs Tucker Boys (D1) Wednesday

8pm - Rebels vs Zulu Media Marketing (D1)

Catholic 73-58, Duncanville High nipped Oak Ridge High 76-74, Sunrise Christians def. Oak Ridge High 58-53 and Sunrise Christians def. Roselle Catholic High 73-62.

Miami Northwestern High 66, Grand Bahama All-Stars 47: After coming back from a 12-11 deficit at the end of the first quarter, the Floridians managed to surge ahead 28-23 at the half and they never looked back.

Calvin Russell exploded for a game high 28 points with 11 points and five assists, Tristan Thomas had 12 points with eight rebounds and both PJ Paulk and Giovanny Desire both added 10 points.

“I think we had a slow start and that was because of the way this team played us, but we managed to pick it up and started to play Bulls basketball,” said Miami’s coach Melvin Randall. “This is our first time in the Bahamas. We enjoyed it, so we will be back.”

For the GB All-Stars, Tiano Roberts was the only player in double figures with 19 points and seven rebounds. Their next best scorer was Denage Kelly with six points.

“It was a great experience. We did what we expected with the short time to work with these guys. I think we let it get away from us midway in the third quarter,” said Darrel Sears, who coached the GB team along with Jay Philippe and Kevin Clarke.

“We were right there in the game, but we couldn’t rebound the ball. Our size hurt us a bit. They did what they wanted to do to us in the third quarter as they pulled away. Our guys just got discouraged. But it was a great experience.

Miami Northwestern 71, NP All-Stars 36: Thanks to a 15-3 spurt in the first quarter, the next door neighbours didn’t have any mercy, extending their margin to 40-20 at the half and they were never in any trouble the rest of the way.

Calvin Russell came up big with 21 points, 10 rebounds and five steals, Fatoma Faulk 15 points

with 10 rebounds and Coru Lovett added 13 points.

For the losing home based team out of New Providence, Laterro Young was the only player in double figures with 13 points and four rebounds. Jefferson Bethel was next with seven points.

“We could have done a much better job in terms of closing out the shooters. But it was a good game, but we just needed more games to improve as a team,” said NP coach Denycko Bowles.

“We started out pretty late preparing this team. It’s not fun when you lose, but they will learn from this experience.”

Darshtyn Baker, who assisted Bowles, couldn’t agree more.

“Most of our guys are not used to playing at this level, but they managed to settle down. It was a bit too late,” Baker said.

“This was a test for them to see the level that they have to face. Most of the guys are 10 and 11 graders, so they still have some more preparation to go.”

Duncanville High 76, Oak Ridge High 74: With just six seconds left on the

clock, Ron Holland drove inside for the game winning lay-up to keep the Texas top ranked Duncanville High undefeated in their two games played as they improved their season’s record to 11-0.

“I felt really good. My team-mates trusted me with the ball and I knew once I went for it, it was going to go,” said Holland, who finished with a game high 29 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block shot. “We just love being here. It was a great event for us to participate in.”

KJ Lewis added 15 points with five rebounds and Kayden Edwards had 13 points for the Panthers in the win.

“We knew it was going to be a hard-fought game because it was a quick turn around for us after playing the last game last night and the first one today,” said Duncanville’s coach Neiman Ford. “I knew we just needed to take it in striking distance.

“We have a team that plays with a heart of a champion. These kids have already won three straight

state championships, so there’s no quitting in us. This is our first time here, but we are in awe. We had such a wonderful time and to win both games we played was what we came here to do.”

In a losing effort for Oak Ridge, Jordan Tillery had 20 points and four rebounds, Cameron Simpson had 12 points and three rebounds and Tyler Johnson helped out with 10 points and four rebounds.

Duncanville High 73, Roselle Catholic 58: Ron Holland pumped in 18 points, Kayden Edwards had 17; KJ Lewis had 15 with 11 rebounds and Cameron Barnes finished with 13 points and seven rebounds in their opener.

Sebastian Robinson had 14 points and five rebounds, Al-Terick Watson had 11 points with four rebounds and Akil Watson added 10 points with six rebounds in the loss for Roselle Catholic.

Sunrise Christians 73, Roselle Catholic High 62: Matas Buzelis led a balanced scoring attack in the final game played with a game high 20 points with

14 rebounds, two block shots and a pair of assists as Sunrise, the alma mater of Bahamian players Chavano “Buddy” Hield (NBA) and Lourawls ‘Tum Tum’ Nairn, (college assistant coach), out of Bel Aire, Kansas, remained undefeated.

Miro Ltle had 26 points, eight rebounds with three assists, Scotty Middleton had 12 points and both Layden Blocker and Mikel Brown helped out with 11 points.

Al-Terick Watson scored 14 points with three rebounds, Simon Wilcher had 13 points, five rebounds and five assists Mackenzie Mgbako added 10 points and nine rebounds in the loss for Roselle Catholic from New Jersey.

Sunrise Christians 58, Oak Ridge High 53: Matas Buzelis scored a game high 17 points with seven rebounds and Scotty Middleton provided a 1-2 punch with 10 points as Sunrise got the win.

Jordan Tillery paced the losers with 16 points with six steals and four rebounds. Tyler Johnson added 14 points with six rebounds.

INDIANA Pacers guard Buddy Hield (24) shoots over New York Knicks guard RJ Barrett (9) during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Indianapolis, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022.

(AP Photo/AJ Mast)

Marcus Smart had 15 and Grant Williams 14. WARRIORS 126, RAPTORS 110

LAKERS’ LeBron James (6) flexes his arms after drawing a foul during the second half against the Washington Wizards last night in Los Angeles.

(AP Photo/Jae C Hong)

ROAD TO 2023 DAVIS CUP AND BILLIE JEAN KING CUP

SOME exciting matches are scheduled today as The Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association (BLTA) kicks off the Giorgio Baldacci Open Nationals at the National Tennis Centre until December 22.

The Bahamas’ top athletes will compete to not only be crowned national champion but to also be a part of the 2023 Davis Cup (men) and the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup (BJK women).

This year promises to be another exciting year

as tennis players (juniors and adults) will vie for the championship title.

The cast includes some of our top juniors, college players and former Davis Cup and BJK Cup players.

The event is open which allows anyone over the age of 14 to compete.

The tournament is named in honour of former president Giorgio Baldacci.

Currently, there are no players on the ATP or WTA circuit that meet the criteria of top 800 (Davis Cup and BJK Cup exemption

criteria) and so all players must participate in the Open Nationals should they wish to represent their country in 2023.

This year the Bahamas was able to remain in both the Davis Cup Americas III and BJK Cup II Groups, staving off relegation to another group.

At the end of the Giorgio Baldacci Open Nationals tournament, two finalists will automatically be named to the Bahamas BJK and Davis Cup teams. An invitational is expected

to be held in 2023 to fill the remaining spots on the team. All players must complete the tournament to obtain ranking positions (men positioning up to 17, women positioning up to 8).

The tournament is sponsored by RMS Insurance Agents and Brokers and Fidelity Bank & Trust Bahamas Limited.

We look forward to some competitive matches as the Road to the 2023 Davis Cup and BJK Cup gets underway today at 9am. Let the matches begin.

time for another penalty from Mbappé, after a handball, to take the thrilling game to a shootout. “We managed to come back from the dead,” said France coach Didier Deschamps, whose team was looking to become the first back-to-back champions since Brazil in 1962.

Mbappé and Messi took their teams’ first penalties and scored. Kingsley Coman had an attempt saved by Argentina goalkeeper Emi Martinez and Aurelien Tchouameni then missed for France, giving Gonzalo Montiel the opportunity to end it. He converted the penalty to the left and sparked wild celebrations.

“The match was completely insane,” said Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni, who was asked if he had a message for Maradona, who died two years ago.

“If he had been here, he would have enjoyed it so much,” Scaloni said.

“He would have been the first person on the field (to celebrate). I wish he’d

have been here to enjoy the moment.”

Europe’s run of four straight World Cup winners, dating to 2006, came to an end.

The last South American champion was Brazil, and that was also in Asia — when Japan and South Korea hosted the tournament in 2002.

In Qatar, Argentina backed up its victory from last year’s Copa America, its first major trophy since 1993.

It’s quite the climax to Messi’s international career, which is not over just yet.

He said after the match that he would continue to play with the national team.

It was quite a final for a unique World Cup — the first to be played in the Arab world.

For FIFA and the Qatari organisers, a final between two major soccer nations and the world’s two best players represented a perfect way to cap a tournament laced in controversy ever since the scandal-shrouded vote in 2010 to give the event to a tiny Arab emirate.

The years-long scrutiny since has focused on the switch of dates

from the traditional June-July period to November-December, strong criticism of how migrant workers have been treated, and then unease about taking soccer’s biggest event to a nation where homosexual acts are illegal.

On Sunday, there was one narrative at play for most people: Could Messi

do it? He could, despite the 23-year-old Mbappé doing all he could to deny his Paris Saint-Germain teammate.

Finishing the tournament as the top scorer with eight goals is likely only a crumb of comfort.

Messi has been a man on a mission in the Middle East, determined to erase memories of his only other

World Cup final — in 2014 when Argentina lost to Germany 1-0 and Messi squandered a great chance in the second half.

On that night at the Maracana Stadium, Messi stared down at that golden World Cup trophy that escaped him. Eight years later, he raised it aloft in the biggest moment of a career like no other.

PELÉ CONGRATULATES MESSI AND MBAPPÉ AFTER WORLD CUP FINAL

SAO PAULO (AP)

— Brazil great Pelé congratulated Lionel Messi and Argentina for winning the World Cup and Kylian Mbappé for his goal-scoring exploits in yesterday’s final.

Pelé, who won a record three World Cups as a player, has been in the hospital to treat a respiratory infection.

He posted his message on Instagram after Argentina beat defending champion France 4-2 in a penalty shootout following a 3-3 draw at Lusail Stadium in Qatar.

“Today, football continues to tell its story, as always, in an enthralling way,” Pelé wrote in his

post. “Messi winning his first World Cup, as his trajectory deserved. My dear friend, Mbappé, scoring four goals in a final. What a gift it was to watch this spectacle to the future of our sport.”

Messi scored two goals in the match and finally won the lone trophy that had eluded him in his remarkable career.

Mbappé, who scored in the 2018 title match when he was a teenager just as Pelé did in 1958, became only the second player in history to score a hat trick in the World Cup final.

Both Messi and Mbappé also scored in the penalty shootout. Messi ended up winning the Golden Ball

award as the best player of the tournament and Mbappé won the Golden Boot award as the top

history-making run as the first African team to reach the semifinals at the tournament.

“And I couldn’t fail to congratulate Morocco for the incredible campaign,” Pelé wrote. “It’s great to see Africa shine.”

Pelé ended his message by again lauding Argentina and mentioning the man most often associated with him as the greatest players the game has ever seen — Diego Maradona.

Maradona, who led Argentina to the 1986 World Cup title, died in 2020.

“Congratulations Argentina!” Pelé wrote. “Certainly Diego is smiling now.”

WORLD CUP CHAMPIONS TO GET $42 MILLION IN PRIZE MONEY

DOHA, Qatar (AP)

— The World Cup champions will earn $42 million in prize money for their soccer federation.

The losing team in yesterday’s final between France and Argentina will get $30 million from a FIFA prize fund of $440 million.

When France won the World Cup in 2018, the country’s federation got $38 million from FIFA’s $400 million prize fund.

Not all the money goes to players, but they are expected to get a good chunk of it. France players such as Kylian Mbappé are in line to be paid a bonus of 554,000 euros ($586,000) by their federation for winning the final, French sports daily L’Equipe reported.

Every national soccer federation gets at least $9 million in prize money for playing at this year’s World Cup, plus $1.5 million for each toward costs of preparing for the tournament.

Third-place team Croatia earned $27 million in prize money. Morocco, which ended up in fourth, will be paid $25 million.

FIFA’s total revenue for the past four years was $7.5 billion, with most from broadcast and sponsorship deals, plus ticket and hospitality sales.

SWIMMING BODY FINA REBRANDS AS WORLD AQUATICS

MELBOURNE (AP)

— FINA, the federation which has run international swimming competitions for more than a century, is rebranding itself as World Aquatics ahead of the next Olympics in Paris in 2024 after a vote.

That means leaving behind the French-language name of Fédération Internationale de Natation — International Swimming Federation.

World Aquatics says the new brand is more inclusive of events such as diving, water polo and artistic swimming, all of which are overseen by the federation.

“More than 70 percent of the athletes that we have spoken with have said that they would like us to change FINA’s name.

“Many of them could not even tell us what the letters in FINA stand for,” World Aquatics president Husain Al-Musallam said.

The new name will be phased in gradually in 2023 before the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, in July.

World Aquatics continues a trend toward shorter, simpler English-language names among the federations running international sports.

In track and field, the International Association of Athletics Federations rebranded as World Athletics in 2019.

The former Fédération Internationale des Sociétés d’Aviron is now known as World Rowing and the International Rugby Board became World Rugby.

NATIONAL tennis champions Baker Newman and Sydney Clarke.

scorer with eight goals in seven matches.

Pelé also took time to mention Morocco for its

ARGENTINA’s Lionel Messi kisses the trophy after winning the World Cup final soccer match against France at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar, yesterday. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

ARGENTINA’s Lionel Messi holds the trophy aloft as he celebrates with his team at the end of the World Cup final soccer match between Argentina and France at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar, yesterday. Argentina won 4-2 in a penalty shootout after the match ended tied 3-3. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

A LIFE-size statue of Brazilian soccer legend Pele is displayed during an Conmebol event to pay tribute to Pele in Doha, Qatar, on December 11. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

MURRAY JR

finish. Murray III, who didn’t participate for Team Bahamas, came home and joined the list of Home Run Derby champions, which includes Bo Bichette of the Toronto Blue Jays - winner of the first two titles in 2018 and 2019 - Miami Marlins outfielder Lewis Brinson, the winner in 2020 and Kansas City Royals catcher MJ Melendez took the crown in 2021.

“Somebody had to do it. Whether it was me or Trent, someone had to keep it home in the Bahamas,” said Murray III about clinching the title. “I felt comfortable out there. I had a good thrower, so I felt comfortable.

“From the time we were youngsters, me and Trent always had some friendly competition, so it was good going up against him. It feels good, though, to be the one to bring the title back to the Bahamas.”

Although he fell short, Deveaux said he was just delighted to be able to make the All-Bahamian final.

“We made sure that the trophy stayed here, so whatever we had to do, we did it,” Deveaux said. “I was supposed to win the tittle, but I came close, one step closer to winning it. So next year, I’m going all out to win it.”

Deveaux, 22, admitted that after getting off to a sluggish start, he was able to make up enough grounds to put himself in contention for the title. Murray III just wanted it a little more and it showed when he followed Deveaux.

“I have something coming for BJ. But he was amazing today. He deserved that one. He came here to put on a show,” Deveaux said. “That’s all we came out to do is to put on a show. But he did it this time.”

After finishing the season in low A with the Inland Empire 66ers, Deveaux said he will continue working until he reaches his ultimate goal, which is to play in the major leagues, joining the latest Bahamians to do so, including injured Jasrado ‘Jazz’ Chisholm of the Miami Marlins and coorganiser Lucius Fox, who made a brief debut with the Washington Nationals.

Murray Jr, 22, was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 15th round of the 2021 draft out of Florida Athletic University. After spending his first season with the Cubs affiliate in the rookie-level Arizona Complex League, Murray III was promoted to the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, the Single-A affiliate of the Cubs before moving up to High-A South Bend this year.

“The season was fun, but it’s over now, so I have to look forward to next year,” lamented Murray, who finished the season with the

WOODS

FROM PAGE 15

24 under, Qass Singh hit the shot of the day with a hybrid on the par-5 14th to about 4 feet for eagle.

For Team Woods, their best shots were on Saturday and put them in the final group and left them hopeful of getting the Willie Park Trophy.

On Sunday, Woods hit his approach on the par-5 fifth to 15 feet, and Charlie extended his right fist in celebration upon holing the eagle putt to get within two shots of the lead. But that was as good as it got, at least for the golf.

In their third year playing this event, it was the first time Woods allowed his son to join him for interviews, and the kid delivered.

Mesa Solar Sox in the Arizona Fall League. “I just want to go out there and compete everyday and have some fun with it. I just want to do my best.”

While Murray took home the individual award, Team Fox beat out Team Isaacs for the team title.

Team Fox included Kashon Conliffe of the San Diego Padres, Dax Stubbs of the Baltimore Orioles, Keithron Moss of the Texas Rangers, Kristin Munroe and D’Shawn Knowles of the Los Angeles Angels, Anfernee Seymour of the Long Island Ducks, Dabiel Johnson, a free agent, Marcus Wilson of the Seattle Mariners, Murray Jr, Zion Bannister of the Texas Rangers, Warren Saunders of the New York Mets, Richie Palacious of the Cleveland Guardians, Khalil Lee of the New York Mets, Nick Gordon of the Minnesota Twins, Lewis Brinson of the San Francisco Giants, Dominic Smith, a free agent and MJ Melendez of the Kansas City Chiefs.

Team Isaacs featured Paris Johnson of the Los Angels Dodgers, Cherif Neymour, Andre Arthur, Simmons, Steven Adderley and Ian Lewis of the Miami Marlins, Adari Grant of the St Louis Cardinals, Everette Cooper of the Houston Astros, Ryan Reckley of the San Francisco Giants, Deveaux of the LA Angels, Corey Julks of the Houston Astros, Ellison Hanna of the Lake Erie Crushers, Masyn QWinn of the St Louis Cardinals, Akil Baddoo of the Detroit Tigers, Joshua Palacios of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Will Benson of the Cleveland Guardians and Isaacs of the Lake Eric Crushers.

The Home Derby was the culmination of a week of activities organised by Fox and Isaacs Jr as they brought the island nation’s minor league players home where they participated in a celebrity softball and golf and children’s clinic.

“I feel like I already knew what he was capable of, and then yesterday, that’s the best he’s ever played in a while. And that kind of shocked me a little bit,” Charlie said as his father tried to contain his laughter.

“I used to be good,” Woods replied.

BACCHUS ROLLE, MP for South Beach, presents Team Fox with their championship trophy. Photos courtesy of Tevere Saunders

BJ Murray III celebrates as the first Bahamian to win the Don’t Blink Home Run Derby title.

TIGER Woods and his son Charlie drive down the 3rd fairway during the final round of the PNC Championship. (AP Photo/Kevin Kolczynski)