PUZZLER THURSDAY
$5 MCCOMBO HIGH 81ºF LOW 70ºF
i’m lovin’ it!
Monday,
February
CARS! CARS!
8, 2021
The Tribune Established
Being Bound To
Swear To The Dogmas
1903
Of No Master
The Tribune L A T E S T
Volume: 119 No.26, December 29, 2021
N E W S
tise Call
To Adver
-2351
601-0007 or 502
Starting at
$33.60
CLASSIFIEDS TRADER
ed
VAT includ
Established 1903
O N
T R I B U N E 2 4 2 . C O M
Biggest And Best!
THE PEOPLE’S PAPER: PRICE–$1
HOSPITAL RATE LOW IN SURGE
Cases still soaring but officials holding their breath on admissions By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net HEALTH Minister Dr Michael Darville said officials are happy that COVID-19 hospitalisation rates are low despite skyrocketing cases, adding this will affect decisions about whether additional restrictions should be introduced. “If you look at the Delta variant, if you had about 300 people infected with the Delta variant there (would be) about 10 percent who
WATER and Sewerage Corporation general manager Elwood Donaldson was scheduled to go into early retirement in late September but was asked by the Davis administration to remain with the water provider for a smooth handover to new appointees of
$25M COCAINE SMUGGLERS SAY OFFICER AIDED THEM TWO Venezuelan men who were caught trying to smuggle $25m worth of cocaine into the country last week were sentenced to five years in prison yesterday. The drug smugglers claimed a high-ranking police officer on the island was in on the scheme. SEE PAGE SEVEN
would be hospitalised,” he told reporters before a Cabinet meeting yesterday. “What we are seeing with the Omicron variant is a little bit different and so our decisions are based on the evidence that is before us.” Acknowledging The Bahamas is now in the fourth wave of the COVID19 pandemic, Dr Darville said details will soon be released about the government’s free testing project. SEE PAGE FOUR
the corporation. This was the assertion of former WSC executive chairman Adrian Gibson yesterday, as he hit back at “unfortunate” recent developments, which he described as “embarrassing” for Mr Donaldson. WSC officials said yesterday that newly appointed executive chairman SEE PAGE THREE
- SEE PAGE EIGHT
By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net
GIBSON JUMPS TO BACK GEN MANAGER IN PROBE By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net
ALICIA WALLACE: TESTING IS KEY BUT WE NEED TO MAKE IT AFFORDABLE
THE SPIRIT WILL LIVE ON MEMBERS of the victorious Valley Boys parade during the New Year Junkanoo in 2019. On January 1 this year, a virtual Junkanoo parade will be held, and will be televised on ZNS. See PAGE TWO for the full story. Photo: Donavan McIntosh/Tribune Staff
NO MORE CHEQUES BY CLOSE OF 2024
By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net
THE Central Bank of The Bahamas is looking to eliminate cheques by the end of 2024 In a release yesterday the bank said consultation has begun “on a strategy to eliminate all use of domestic cheques by the end of 2024”. FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS
WHAT’S REALLY GOING ON AT LOVE BEACH? By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net RESIDENTS of Love Beach say they are in the dark over the reported approval of the controversial “The View at Love Beach” project and don’t know what exactly the government has approved. Erica Pople-Ferreira, managing partner at Ferreira and Company, who represents one of the Love
PROPOSED development plans of ‘The View at Love Beach’. Beach residents, told Tribune Business yesterday she was “not aware” that “The View at Love Beach Residences development,”
was approved and ready to commence construction within the next two weeks. Ms Pople-Ferreira said: “My earlier comments on the project still stand. Based on my previous comments, there was grave concern about the disruption to the peaceful neighbourhood, the possibility of rodents, etc… increasing and nothing would have changed. My previous comments stand. FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS
Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper
TECHNOLOGY - TELESCOPE LAUNCHED INTO -SPACE SEE PAGE NINE
PAGE 2, Wednesday, December 29, 2021
THE TRIBUNE MEMBERS of the Saxons during the New Year Junkanoo in 2019. Photo: Donavan McIntosh/Tribune Staff
JUNKANOO GOES VIRTUAL By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net
MINISTER of Youth, Sports and Culture Mario Bowleg.
MEMBERS of the One Family group in action in the New Year’s Day Junkanoo in 2019.
MARIO Bowleg, the Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, said it will cost $300,000 to host a virtual Junkanoo parade in New Providence this year. He said there will be no cash prizes, with the $300k covering stipends to groups and the cost of the virtual production. Seven A and seven B groups will participate in the virtual parade under the theme “Spirit of Junkanoo”. “We just want people to get their virtual movie, get your popcorn and drinks, watch your parade,” Mr Bowleg told reporters before a Cabinet meeting
yesterday. “I think the A groups performed well during the recording, I was there and I think you will get that feeling that we all miss down Bay Street. You won’t get that exact feeling, feeling those drums beating through our bodies, but you’ll get the appreciation for what we have missed the last two years. The in-person annual Boxing Day and New Year’s Day parades were cancelled for the second consecutive year because of COVID-19. Recordings for the virtual parades happened last week. Mr Bowleg has previously said $130,000 will be spent on virtual Junkanoo events in the Family
Islands. “The Family Island Junkanoo season runs from December to June,” he said earlier this month. “Beginning January 2022, each island will hold a virtual Junkanoo competition in place of their regularly scheduled parade. “These competitions will showcase the best cowbellers, best choreographed dancers, best drummers and best individual costumes in each island or area. “The island winners of these various categories will then compete against each other for the top prize from all Family Island Junkanoo winners.” The virtual Junkanoo event is set to air on ZNS on January 1.
Photo: Donavan McIntosh/Tribune Staff
THE TRIBUNE
Wednesday, December 29, 2021, PAGE 3
Gibson jumps to back gen manager in probe from page one Sylvanus Petty along with Minister of Works Alfred Sears and the board of directors had placed Mr Donaldson on paid administrative leave effective immediately for an “initial period” until February 28, 2022. The statement said Robert Deal will act as general manager in the interim as the board of directors undertakes a “review of outstanding agreements and contracts as it relates to the corporation”. The statement made no mention of a police investigation as was the assertion of Mr Petty on Monday when he was contacted by The Tribune. Both Mr Petty and police investigators were at WSC headquarters on Monday and sources with some knowledge of what took place said it was likely that Mr Donaldson had been invited to the corporation to collect personal belongings. Yesterday, Mr Gibson maintained that not only was everything done under the previous Minnis administration “above board”, but that he was proud of the work done. Mr Donaldson could not be reached for comment. “One would be interested in knowing the grounds for such an investigation or is this just the chairman simply throwing out political red meat in an effort to make a name for himself off of the back of others?” Mr Gibson told The Tribune. “I can say based on what I know having been there, that the recently constituted board would not find any evidence of wrongdoing or criminality and given that I have copies of the files being the immediate past executive chairman I would be interested in hearing an answer to that. “I can assure all and sundry that we’ve handled matters above board particularly those matters that rose to our level. “As you may or may not
know, WSC has internal procedures that govern all aspects of the entity’s operation including policies for example that allow lowerlevel managers to enter into agreements or contracts or to issue what are called field POs up to a certain amount depending on their rank. “So, depending on rank these amounts could range from $2,500 to $5,000 to $10,000 to $25,000 to in the case of the GM up to $499,000. So, this is a delegation of signing authority. “At no time could any one person be aware of all of the agreements or field POs or any contracts that are issued to carry out various acts or services for the corporation. “I am advised – because I queried it while I was there – that this was meant to reduce the bureaucracy and not slow down the dayto-day operations or cause it to grind to a halt.” Regarding Mr Donaldson’s early retirement, Mr Gibson said the request was approved to go into effect on September 30 and should have taken place regardless of who won the September general election. “With respect to Mr Donaldson, the general manager, I was quite surprised to read what happened yesterday. I can tell you frankly that Mr Donaldson had requested an early retirement from us when we were in office and we granted it to him. “He provided me with a letter of request and projections that were done by the finance department on his retirement package. I consulted with (former) minister (Desmond) Bannister about it and the stakeholders and we accepted that and so his early retirement was to take effect on the 30th of September 2021 whether we won or lost the government. “Following the loss on the 16th of September I understand that he was asked to stay on for a while to transition so it’s unfortunate that that request for him to stay on... has resulted in such an
ADRIAN GIBSON MP, former executive director of Water and Sewerage, pictured previously at its headquarters. embarrassing circumstance. appoint who they want to there are for the most part I am certain there are not, I “We’ve seen govern- appoint in many instances, many matters that we can am happy to work with the ments in the past appoint but one should be careful attest to and I can tell you new chairman or anyone to new GMs and CEOs and to do so without destroying as for myself, I am proud of bring to a system in any way executives when they come one’s professional stand- our tenure at the Water and with advancing the Water into office. We have seen ing or ability to gain future Sewerage Corporation.” and Sewerage Corporathis at Water and Sewerage. gainful employment. Mr Gibson said he would tion or shedding light on We saw it similarly during “Ultimately we know also be happy to work with any decision or policy that our tenure. We’ve seen it that and, as I stated earlier, Mr Petty on shedding light occurred during our tenure at BPL and some govern- I want to go back to that on any matter of concern. at the corporation,” Mr ments do so without trying there are some matters at “I note the assertions Gibson said yesterday. to hide behind what are any entity that would not of an investigation. I am Mr Petty did not respond obviously political reasons. come to the attention of the interested in knowing the to requests for comment “Governments can chairman or the GM, but grounds. If there is any, and yesterday.
where the Long Island MP later handed over several documents to him. Some of the documents, he said, included print outs of Mr Gibson’s online bank account and conversations Mr Gibson had with the bank as well as a letter sent from APEX Underground and Utilities Construction written to former Works Minister Desmond Bannister. He further told the court that he received documents relating to water contracts for Crooked Island and Long Island, a compact disc containing a video of a Jones Communication Network televised interview among other things. Mr Turnquest said in the days following, he visited the Registrar’s Department where he also received certificates relating to the ownership of APEX and the company’s good standing, etc. He added that he then went to the Ministry of Public Works to speak with Mr Bannister, who was the minister at the time, who told him certain information and also showed him a letter that was addressed to him. Mr Turnquest continued his testimony by referring to conversations he had with several other people, including Bennet Minnis, a former WSC board member, and Oneil Knowles. The police detective then recalled how sometime last December, he
obtained a production order signed and granted by Supreme Court Justice Turner that allowed him to obtain certain bank account information relating to Mr Miller and APEX. He said a month later, Miller turned himself into police and was later interviewed by him. During the interview, the witness said he asked the accused a series of questions concerning the libel complaint. Among the questions posed to Miller was whether he was affiliated with APEX and had an RBC account. The court heard that Miller was also questioned about the libel complaints made against him. The detective said while Miller admitted to being affiliated with the company during the interview, he refused to answer other questions put to him. When asked by the prosecution if he did anything to the documents, Mr Turnquest replied that he marked his police number on them among other things and later showed them to Magistrate Ferguson-Pratt. Yesterday, the prosecutor sought to enter several of the documents as exhibits for evidence, but this was rejected after defence argued that he couldn’t do so as Mr Turnquest did not create the documents, but only requested them. The case continues on January 6, 2022.
INVESTIGATOR TELLS OF LIBEL PROBE STEPS By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net A FINANCIAL crime investigator recounted yesterday how he conducted a number of inquiries at several agencies after being informed of a libel complaint made by former Water and Sewerage Corporation executive chairman Adrian Gibson. Jared Turnquest, of the Financial Crimes Investigation Branch, took the stand before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt, testifying of his involvement in the investigation of Gregory Miller. Miller is charged with attempted intentional libel and intentional libel after prosecutors alleged he transferred $200 to Mr Gibson’s Royal Bank of Canada account in an attempt to defame him in December 2018. He is further accused of causing the publication of defamatory matter concerning Mr Gibson on a Jones Communication Network television programme in June 2019. Miller, who is represented by Ian Cargill, has denied the allegations. During yesterday’s trial, Mr Turnquest, a detective sergeant, recalled how he was given certain instructions last October to investigate a complaint reported by Mr Gibson. He said after receiving certain information, he visited Mr Gibson at WSC
PAGE 4, Wednesday, December 29, 2021
THE TRIBUNE
PHYSICIANS CONCERNED ABOUT HUNDREDS OF NEW CASES
By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net CONSULTANT physicians are concerned about the hundreds of COVID19 cases recorded in recent days, a representative has told The Tribune. Dr John Dillett, vice president of the Consultant Physicians Staff Association, said the more than 800 new cases confirmed over the past few days was especially worrisome because there still remained a large unvaccinated population in the country. The latest Ministry of Health vaccines tracker says 154,153 people are
fully inoculated in The Bahamas. However, there have been 824 new cases of the virus recorded over a fiveday period from December 23 to 27, with Christmas Day alone accounting for a record 330 infections. The Ministry of Health said there were 85 new infections on Boxing Day. New Providence accounted for 81 of the cases. Both Grand Bahama and Exuma recorded one case, while there were two in Bimini and Cat Cay. On December 27, 159 new cases were confirmed. The country now has 24,204 coronavirus cases, of which 1,538 are active.
Yesterday, Dr Dillett cautioned Bahamians not to let their guards down. “It definitely is a concern,” Dr Dillet said of the rise in cases over the last four days. “We cannot afford to let our guards down. “There are so many persons who are still unvaccinated and those persons continue to be at significant risk for developing serious health issues from COVID. Even with the new strain Omicron they still are at risk for developing severe symptoms and potentially could be hospitalised. “The good news is that for persons who are vaccinated, transmissibility
rates are relatively low in terms of getting the virus or transmitting it to others and persons who are vaccinated are less likely to see any serious symptoms as a result of any of the COVID-19 strains, but we have to remember both from a personal responsibility standpoint as well as a national pride standpoint that it’s everybody’s responsibility to maintain the social distancing, wear the masks and sanitise hands so that we could try to keep rates as low as possible and of course hospitalisations as low as possible as well.” The latest data from health officials shows that only 17 people are in
hospital with the virus. Asked whether low hospital admissions are a good sign that the county may be in a better position to ride out the fourth wave of the virus, Dr Dillett said in his view it was still too early to predict. “I think it’s too early to say for sure. Obviously, the virus is taking many twists and turns in the mutations and it’s difficult to say at this point whether or not we will have a wave that is relatively mild in terms of hospitalisations. “We don’t want to take any chances with anyone’s lives so we the CPSA suggest that we don’t let our guards down. Continue to
wear your masks, continue to socially distance, avoid large gatherings because we simply do not know yet how the wave will turn out. “The old saying is an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure so that’s what we recommend as well. Let’s continue to keep our guards up,” Dr Dillett said. The Ministry of Health has resorted to tightening some measures like suspending approvals of large gatherings, as well as pausing already granted approvals for events. Health officials will update the country today at 2pm on the fight against COVID-19.
Hospital rate low in surge from page one Free testing was a key promise of the Progressive Liberal Party in the lead up to the general election. “The free testing programme is actually being assessed,” he said. “We are planning to activate our free pilot testing programmes here in New Providence which appears to be the epicentre of the Omicron variant. Those free testing programmes are about to take place, hopefully we’ll get them in order this week. They will be at our centres where we are vaccinating so there will be free testing, free mask giveaways as well as vaccinations, all going on simultaneously across New Providence. “There will be some PCR testing in our free testing programme. The methodology as well as the protocols for when free testing PCR will be implemented along with the rapid antigen test, those are conditions being worked out and they will be incorporated…” Asked about mass gatherings at hotels, Dr Darville said officials are in discussions with hotel operators. “With our hotels, you must realise the majority of them are practically full and there has to be some activity for their guests, including the restaurants,” he said. “We are in deep communication with them because we are in the middle of a pandemic and we have the Omicron variant here and we know it’s highly, highly transmissible and so they are working along with the government, but I want to say again that the rules
as it relates to mass gatherings apply across the board.” Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis said yesterday the Davis administration’s approach to the fourth wave is too relaxed. “The government obviously has not gotten the grasp or the impact of COVID,” he said. “They opened the country immediately and allowed all sorts of socialising. “We’re dealing with a virus that is extremely infectious, similar to measles and a lot of people are getting sick, not necessarily being hospitalised, but that sickness will keep them away from work. That sickness obviously will have some degree of impact on the hospitals because as the numbers continue to increase – and I expect the numbers to rise even further – then obviously that can impact hospitalisation.” Dr Minnis questioned why the government has not encouraged people to work from home. “Why has there not been a blanket statement encouraging the private sector, all those persons who can work from home, stay home and those who need to come in, come in? The same would apply to the public sector. That obviously would reduce the co-mingling.” COVID-19 cases have exploded in recent days, however hospital cases have remained in the low double digits. The country has recorded 824 new cases of COVID19 since December 23, with Christmas Day alone accounting for 330
HEALTH and Wellness Minister Dr Michael Darville outside Cabinet yesterday. infections. Those 330 cases marked the highest daily infection count the country has recorded since the start of
the pandemic. On December 23, there were 159 cases of coronavirus and the following day saw 91 cases recorded. Data
Photo: Donavan McIntosh/Tribune Staff
released for December 26 shows that 85 new cases were recorded while 159 new cases were recorded on December 27.
As of December 27, 17 people were in hospital with the virus, however, with only one of those patients in the intensive care unit.
PMH SUSPENDS ELECTIVE CARE
PRINCESS Margaret Hospital.
PRINCESS Margaret Hospital has commenced prevention protocols due to the rapid increase in new COVID-19 cases, suspending elective surgeries as of today. The Public Hospitals Authority announced that only emergency procedures will be performed and only gynaecology, orthopaedic, fracture and hand clinics will be seen in person at the hospital. All other specialty clinic cases will be conducted by virtual appointments. Patients requiring new appointments or rescheduled appointments should contact the PMH registration and scheduling unit by emailing a copy of the referral or discharge letter to appointments@pmh. phabahamas.org; WhatsApp a clear copy of the referral or discharge letter to (242) 808-9972; or by contacting the registration
and scheduling unit at (242) 808-9972 for further assistance. Hospital management has also restricted all patient visitation; visitation will be permitted by physicians on a case-by-case basis only. Patients accessing outpatient services at PMH’s pharmacy, radiology, or diagnostic imaging services will be managed by way of the Critical Care Block entrance. The public is reminded that only emergency cases should utilise PMH’s Emergency Department at this time. Non-emergency patients should contact their primary care physician or visit community clinics for care. PMH has also started reduced hours of operation at its Family Medicine (Agape Clinic) and PMH Eye Centre, Monday to Friday, 8am to 4pm.
THE TRIBUNE
Wednesday, December 29, 2021, PAGE 5
‘We need to know more about sinking of tanker’ By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net ACTIVIST Joe Darville has called for more information from authorities about the potential environmental impact a sunken gas tanker will have on the seabed. The tanker sank off the coast of New Providence on Friday after it was “rearended” by a 207-foot super yacht. According to a statement from Maritime Management LLC, which managed the tanker M/T Tropic Breeze, the vessel was hit at 10.03pm on Christmas Eve by the M/Y Utopia IV about 15 miles NNW of New Providence. The company said the tanker’s cargo included all “non-persistent materials” – LPG, marine gas and automotive gas – “all of which are lighter than water and will evaporate if exposed to surface air.” However, the chairman of the Save the Bays has raised questions about this. “I’m amazed at this particular point after days of the sinking of that particular tanker that we haven’t had an update from any agencies with respect to exactly what impact it is having on our precious environment,” Mr Darville said. “Now that idea that it’s going to dissipate. It’s going to dissipate where? It’s going to dissipate in and around our coral reef. It’s going to dissipate on our seabed and the sea grass which is a feeding ground for numerous marine species, including turtles, etc,
JOE DARVILLE and you know we’re taking it too nonchalantly,” Mr Darville told The Tribune yesterday. “I am appalled that we have not been provided with adequate information with respect to first of all how it happened; how is it being monitored; is the Defence Force out monitoring the situation? All of these things should be made known to the Bahamian people. That’s our seabed. That’s our ocean. It doesn’t belong to the government or any other entity that may have used it accidentally or otherwise. To say that it’s going to dissipate naturally, etc, that’s a bunch of foolishness. “It might dissipate, it’s comparable to the oil situation spillage… that dissipated, that went into our forest and today we still don’t know what our country got as a compensation for the devastation of thousands and thousands of acres of our pine forest.” He was referring to the Equinor oil spill in Grand Bahama in 2019.
THE UTOPIA IV super yacht, which reportedly struck the tanker that then sank off the coast of New Providence. “The Royal Bahamas Force received a report Regarding the gas tanker, These activities are curunderway,” the Defence Force was informed from the Utopia IV that the the Ministry of Transport rently of the incident and dis- vessel was taking on water and Housing said the Attor- ministry said. In its statement released patched the P-125 to assist,” and was making its way to ney General’s Office has been consulted for legal on Monday, the Ministry of the ministry said. “Shortly Prince George Wharf. Transport also said it was after, the Royal Bahamas The Harbour Patrol Unit guidance on the incident. “The Port Department made aware of the collision Defence Force was informed was promptly informed and has begun a formal inves- between the yacht Utopia that the crew of the Utopia dispatched the P-40 vessel tigation into the incident, IV and the gas tanker IV was being assisted by a to assist. The Utopia IV Breeze, which passing vessel, the Amara.” arrived at Prince George and the Department of Tropic The statement said that Wharf at 1.26am on DecemEnvironmental Health is resulted in “damage to both also conducting a review of vessels and injuries to sev- after the collision, the ber 25 escorted by the P-40, the environmental impact. eral crew members”. Royal Bahamas Defence the statement said.
THE SCENE of the fatal shooting in Grand Bahama on Christmas Day.
Photo: Vandyke Hepburn
PASTOR ‘APPALLED’ AT SPATE OF VIOLENCE By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net COMMUNITY youth leader Pastor Darrin Rolle has expressed grave concerns over the spate of shooting deaths and gangrelated violence in Grand Bahama and in New Providence. “As a man who works with young men in society, I am very appalled about what is going in our society,” Pastor Rolle said yesterday. Pastor Rolle, leader of the Falcon’s Boys Club, said the shootings over the past several weeks in Grand Bahama and the nation seems to be gang-related and retaliation-related. On Christmas Day, a young man was found shot dead in a vehicle at a local nightspot in Freeport. An
hour before that incident, two other men were shot in West End. On December 3, a teen was shot dead in the Pinder’s Point area. And a week before that murder, a young man was killed and another was injured during a shooting in Eight Mile Rock. Mr Rolle said there is a proliferation of guns in The Bahamas. “It seems like everyone has a gun or has access to a gun; everyone wants to get a gun.” He said that guns are used for initiation by gangs and that some young men want to be seen as hitmen. “I saw a video where some young men were at a gas station and they were fighting at a private business and I saw an elderly woman pull the door in because they
were shooting; they had no respect and something is causing these young men to lose respect,” he said. Mr Rolle said the young must learn how to resolve their conflicts without violence and guns. “We tend to say parents are not training their children. I don’t think that parents or the church have failed. “Those young men are 15, 16, 17, 18, and 20 years old and they know what is right from wrong. They need to make the right decisions,” he said. Mr Rolle said in order to address this problem, more men must become involved in the mentoring of their sons and other young men. “Government can’t do it alone, but the government must partner with individuals who are doing positive
things in society and who are concerned – not individuals who are doing it because they are politically aligned,” he said. He said the Falcons Boys Club is committed to the development of young men. He also commended other young leaders such as Carlos Reid and Dudley Seide, who are also mentoring young men. Mr Rolle said the Falcons Boys Club plans to develop and launch a programme on radio and television in February to get more men in the community involved with shaping young men. He said the Ministry of Education and Police must be proactive in reaching out to young men in the schools. “We need leaders who are willing to get involved and offer their expertise and knowledge to mould our young men,” he said.
PAGE 6, Wednesday, December 29, 2021
The Tribune Limited
THE TRIBUNE
PICTURE OF THE DAY
NULLIUS ADDICTUS JURARE IN VERBA MAGISTRI “Being Bound to Swear to The Dogmas of No Master”
LEON E. H. DUPUCH,
Publisher/Editor 1903-1914
SIR ETIENNE DUPUCH,
Kt., O.B.E., K.M., K.C.S.G., (Hon.) LL.D., D.Litt .
Publisher/Editor 1919-1972 Contributing Editor 1972-1991
EILEEN DUPUCH CARRON,
C.M.G., M.S., B.A., LL.B. Publisher/Editor 1972-
Published daily Monday to Friday
Shirley & Deveaux Streets, Nassau, Bahamas N3207 TELEPHONES
News & General Information Advertising Manager Circulation Department Nassau fax Freeport, Grand Bahama Freeport fax
(242) 322-1986 (242) 502-2394 (242) 502-2386 (242) 328-2398 (242)-352-6608 (242) 352-9348
WEBSITE, TWITTER & FACEBOOK www.tribune242.com
@tribune242
tribune news network
Hospitals not overwhelmed - but we can’t count on that THE fourth wave is upon us – of that there is no doubt now. Since December 23, the nation has recorded 824 new cases of COVID-19, including one day with 330 cases, the highest total in a single day since the start of the pandemic. And yet, thankfully, the number of new cases hasn’t seen an equally high number of hospitalisations. Health and Wellness Minister Dr Michael Darville more or less confirmed that we are looking at cases involving the Omicron variant when he said: “If you look at the Delta variant, if you had about 300 people infected with the delta variant there (would be) about ten percent who would be hospitalised. What we are seeing with the Omicron variant is a little bit different and so our decisions are based on the evidence that is before us.” Evidence around the world so far tends to suggest that the Omicron variant results in fewer hospitalisations, although it appears to be more transmissible. So, more cases, but less severe. These are still early days for studies of the variant, however, and we are a long way from being able to assess its effects over a prolonged period of time, in particular. While we should be thankful that our hospitals are not as yet overwhelmed amid this new spike in cases, we must not count our chickens before they’re hatched. There may be a smaller percentage of hospitalisations than with the Delta variant, but the far higher number of cases mean that our health services will still be facing a challenge. We still have to tackle this spike, we cannot just let it run through our nation. For the part of the people of The Bahamas, we have to keep wearing masks, using sanitiser, keeping our distance – all the things we’ve been told to do for many months now. Those who attended mass gatherings over the past two weeks may well have helped to drive this spike by giving the virus a chance to thrive and spread – that has to stop so that the wave can come to a halt. And then there is the question of what else the government plans to do – it is still talking about pilot programmes for free testing and the Davis administration has had more than 100 days in office now. Given how that was meant to be a major part of how the PLP government would fight COVID-19, that needs to be more than a pilot scheme by now. Former Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis says that the new government’s approach is too relaxed – and wants to
know why the government isn’t encouraging people to work from home. “That obviously would reduce the comingling,” he says. Whatever the method used, we need to stop giving the virus a breeding ground, be it at work, or at gatherings in our private time. We have been lucky that our hospitals have not been overrun so far – and we can’t just rely on luck.
Cocaine case A court case reported in today’s Tribune brings a raised eyebrow. Two Venezuelan men were caught with a bumper haul of cocaine. It was worth $25m in total – weighing 1,254 kilos. The pair were arrested after police officers in Crooked Island heard a plane near the island’s airport at near-midnight. As officers arrived at the scene, the pair ran away from the plane as it sat on the runway, but they were caught – and confessed to their crime. That $25m is a bumper haul indeed – a huge amount of drugs stopped from either circulating on our streets or being carried further to other countries. And yet, despite that, the two only received a sentence of five years in prison. That level of drugs being smuggled into the country is clearly more than a small crime. When you see reports of teenagers being hauled before court for selling coconuts, those are the cases that seem petty – but $25m of cocaine? Those criminals should have the book thrown at them. How can we say we’re trying to stamp out drug smuggling when the sentence is so paltry? Worse, however, is an accusation made by the guilty men – that a highranking police officer on the island was in on the scheme to smuggle drugs into the country. They said the officer they named was supposed to receive the drugs, before taking them to a speedboat that would later travel to the Dominican Republic. One of the men named that officer. That is a serious accusation to make – and one that was not examined before the court in detail. It demands further investigation – to either exonerate that officer if there is no truth in what the criminals say, or to hold him to account if there is. Either way, this multi-million drug smuggling case with a light sentence and an accusation of collusion by police should not end here.
How to get infected in 3, 2, 1... EDITOR, The Tribune.
WHEN you flaunt basic disciplines and protocols of COVID what do you expect... infection. Check newspapers — social media and write the long list of identified persons who breached the wear mask protocol? Hundreds if not more. Dignitaries taking photo-opps everyone without a mask... vanity seems to over-ride the obvious. With 150,000 plus only fully vaccinated the Bahamas is a killing ground for this new highly infectious Omicron... in our urban low social end residential areas how many are wearing
masks? Very few and have done that for two years and somehow survived. Oh, yes, we want to take that photo with the official – celebrity but you don’t know where that celebrityofficial or the others in the photo have been — are they negative? So you are wiling to take the risk? Heed the Prime Minister, who should have followed his own protocols but then... No excuses no excuses. Avoid people who are not vaccinated... wear masks even in home and restrict visitors inside home to only those vaccinated and please wear masks.
RBPF COVID Ambassadors get your charging books out sharpen your pencils and smack the challenge into place. For this onslaught of Omicron to get vaccinated now might be a waste of time, but if you are not it’s a start... get your shot now. Folks restrict where you go... avoid where obviously there are “visitors” there is a much higher chance regrettably they could be a carrier as we saw in the PM’s case, vaccinated, PCR tested or not. CHET SMITH Nassau, December 25, 2021.
A MAN dressed as a “bolero” sticks out his tongue during celebrations marking Holy Innocents Day which commemorates King Herod’s infanticide of baby boys in Bethlehem after the birth of Jesus according to the Gospel of Matthew, in Caucagua, Venezuela, on Tuesday. Residents celebrate a variation of the feast day wearing old clothes, painting their faces black and tongues red. The more than 200-year-old tradition is a day of song, dance and pranks. Photo: Matias Delacroix/AP Jamaal Rolle is on holiday
Minnis no longer the scapegoat EDITOR, The Tribune. THE December 2019 SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in Wuhan, China has exacted an immense social, physical, economic, psychological and political toll on Bahamians. I was surprised to read the Ministry of Health and Wellness’ statement concerning the 330 COVID-19 infections on Christmas Day. The Nassau Guardian’s report that there were 580 cases between Thursday and Saturday of last week underscores the sobering fact that the Omicron variant of COVID-19, first detected in the African countries of Botswana and South Africa in November, has arrived. In one week, claimed a Ministry of Health official, The Bahamas recorded a staggering 889 infections, with the overwhelming majority being on 21/7 New Providence. What this suggests to me is that COVID-19 is politically neutral. I am by no means a scientist. But based on my layman’s understanding, the Delta, Beta, Delta AY.4.2 and Alpha were the COVID-19 variants in The Bahamas between early 2020 and late 2021. On September 16, Bahamians, suffering from COVID-19 fatigue, opted to elect the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) and Mr Philip Brave Davis, instead of the Free National Movement (FNM) and Dr Hubert Minnis. I have stated in this space previously that Minnis’ popularity suffered a steep plunge after the advent of COVID-19, which singlehandedly brought the tourism sector and the entire Bahamian economy
LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net to their knees. Businesses were shuttered and tens of thousands of Bahamians were plunged into poverty. I believe that COVID-19 was undoubtedly the biggest factor in the FNM’s general election loss. Bahamians were tired of the lockdowns and curfews. As competent authority, Minnis was scapegoated for the health pandemic and its attendant devastation of the economy. I recall the former Prime Minister being criticized for his handling of the health crisis, especially his decision to close the Bahamian borders. When the COVID-19 numbers began to spike after Minnis reopened the borders, he was again criticised. For all intents and purposes, Minnis was placed between a rock and a hard place, due to circumstances far beyond this small nation’s control. I also recall Minnis being routinely criticised by prominent clergymen for the FNM government’s COVID-19 safety protocols for the church. With the advent of the Omicron variant and the uptick in infections, the Davis administration has implemented a safety policy nearly similar to what Minnis had imposed on the church, limiting indoor gatherings to 20 individuals. The one major difference, however, is the noticeable lack of opposition from the clergy fraternity. Moreover, the Princess Margaret Hospital and the healthcare system are currently experiencing
CLARIFICATION IN the December 28 edition of The Tribune, under the headline “WSC’s top manager sent home in probe” it was incorrectly stated that two women — one of them a lawyer known to former executive chairman Adrian Gibson — were owners of Elite Maintenance. The Tribune would like to clarify that at no
time were the women the owners of the company. The women were nominee directors/subscribers who handled incorporating the company on behalf of their clients, who were the beneficial owners. Additionally, by the time the company was awarded a contract by the corporation, the attorney in question was no longer acting on behalf of Elite
manpower shortage due to COVID-19, yet the Bahamas Nurses Union (BNU), which was extremely confrontational with the FNM administration, has been somewhat benign towards the Davis administration. This might be due to the PLP listening to the concerns of the BNU and other unions – something its predecessor was accused of not doing. As opposition leader, Davis signed a memorandum of understanding with the Trade Union Congress and the National Congress of Trade Unions Bahamas. Even the media has been uncharacteristically patient towards the Davis administration, something that the Minnis administration was not afforded near the tail end of its term. As Bahamians, we took out our frustration on Minnis for the COVID-19 pandemic. I believe the lack of opposition to the Davis administration over the uptick in COVID-19 infections and the new safety protocols is due to our collective embarrassment in how we reacted to the Minnis administration. This writer had made a conscious decision to stay far away from the polls on September 16. I too wanted Minnis gone. With the PLP winning 32 of the 39 seats in the House of Assembly, it was our way of punishing Minnis for the COVID19 outbreak. With him no longer Prime Minister, who do we as Bahamians scapegoat for the current Omicron variant outbreak? KEVIN EVANS Freeport, Grand Bahama December 28, 2021.
Maintenance and had issued the shares to the beneficial owners. Tuesday’s article also stated that the contract in question was given to the lowest bidder. However, there were three low bids for the work and WSC suggested the lowest bidding contractors get the contracts with the price being set by the corporation.
THE TRIBUNE
Wednesday, December 29, 2021, PAGE 7
$25m cocaine smugglers say officer aided them from page one Luis Perez, 29, and Jaime Digiacomo, 64, received the five-year prison sentence as well as a $100,000 fine from Magistrate Samuel McKinney after pleading guilty to several drug-related charges stemming from their actions between November and December. The two men were charged with one count each of conspiracy to possess dangerous drugs with intent to supply, possession of dangerous drugs with
intent to supply, conspiracy to import dangerous drugs and drug importation after they were caught trying to smuggle 1,254 kilos of suspected cocaine into Crooked Island on December 22. According to police reports, on the day in question officers on Crooked Island became suspicious when they heard the sound of an aircraft hovering around the island’s airport after 11.45pm. When officers arrived at the airport, they saw a plane parked on the runway. Upon approaching the
aircraft, police said they saw two men running from the plane, leaving the door open. Police pursued the suspects, captured them and took them back to the plane, where officers found 44 black bags along with 12 plastic bag packages containing suspected cocaine. The men were subsequently arrested and taken into police custody, where they admitted to the offence. While being interviewed by police, both accused told officers they were
hired to transport the drugs from Venezuela to The Bahamas. Perez said he accepted the job because he and his family were experiencing tough times financially and needed the funds. When the facts were read during yesterday’s hearing, the Venezuela residents owned up to the offences but questioned why police did not report the involvement of a certain high-ranking officer who they claimed was supposed to receive the drugs and later take the plane.
Speaking through an interpreter, Digiacomo told the court that when they landed, the police officer in question was waiting to receive the shipment and was supposed to take them to a speedboat that would later travel to the Dominican Republic. He also named the officer as being the chief of police of Crooked Island. Asked about their background, Perez said he was a construction welder and a father of a nine-month-old girl. Meanwhile, Digiacomo told the court he was a
farmer and also had four children. After hearing their explanation, Magistrate McKinney subsequently sentenced them to five years on each count which will run concurrently and also imposed a $100,000 fine. The two men were told that failure to pay the fine would result in an additional year in prison. After the sentences were read, Perez broke down in tears and placed his hand over his head while Digiacomo showed no visible reaction.
MAN ‘TRIED TO SHOOT COP ON CHRISTMAS DAY’ By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net AN Abaco man was remanded to prison yesterday after being accused of trying to shoot a police officer on Christmas Day. Jimmy Belfort, 29, stood before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt, charged with being in possession of ammunition and a firearm after he was allegedly found with a black .45 pistol with 10 live rounds on
December 25. He is further accused of assaulting a police officer with a firearm the same day. According to police reports, on the date in question, officers from Marsh Harbour Police Station executed a search warrant at a residence in Dundas Town at around 10pm. As the officers arrived, several people were seen leaving the building; however, one of the men leaving the residence ran towards
an officer and pointed a firearm at him. Police said the officer, being in fear of his life, then shot him in the leg. As a result, the injured man was taken to the Marsh Harbour Clinic for medical attention. During yesterday’s hearing, Belfort denied the offences and the matter was adjourned to January 6, 2022 for trial in Abaco. Bail was also deferred until that time.
By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net A 40-YEAR-OLD man who was caught trying to steal several household items from a local grocery store last week was granted a conditional discharge yesterday. David Major appeared before Magistrate Shaka Serville, charged with attempted stealing, after he was found with several unpaid for Lysol sprays and one bottle of Dettol, all valued at over $50 from Super Value food store on
December 25. After pleading guilty to the offence, Major told the court he took the items because he wanted to get a Christmas gift for an older lady in his neighbourhood. The accused also claimed he was under the influence when the incident took place. While asking for leniency, Major told the court that he lost his job in October and added that he was under a lot of stress because of it. He said the woman in question fed him on Christmas Day and he wanted to get her a Christmas present.
The 40-year-old went on to say that he was sorry for stealing the items and told the court he would never do so again. “It was a stupid mistake,” he said. When asked by the magistrate if he was a substance abuser, the accused told the court he wasn’t, but admitted to smoking marijuana and cigarettes. When asked where he got the money from to purchase cigarettes, he said he sometimes got hired to clean his neighbours’ yards. As a result, he was placed on three months’ probation.
DISCHARGE OVER GROCERY THEFTS HELPING
HAND AT CHRISTMAS A CHRISTMAS giveaway event was held at Great Commission Ministries on Wulff Road. Pictured right are Bishop Walter Hanchell and Bishop Lawrence Rolle at the event. Photos: Racardo Thomas/Tribune Staff
MAN CHARGED WITH MURDER ATTEMPT By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net A MAN was charged in the Freeport Magistrate’s court yesterday with attempted murder. Trevor Reckley, 30, of
Hunters, appeared before Deputy Chief Magistrate Debbye Ferguson on one count of attempted murder. This is in connection with the shooting incident that occurred on Monday, December 20, on East
Sunrise Highway in the area of Capricorn Bar. Reckley was not required to enter a plea to the charge. He was remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correction until April 14, 2022.
FIVE ACCUSED OF HARBOURING FUGITIVE By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net FIVE men were charged before the Freeport Magistrate’s Court with harbouring a fugitive. Trevor Reckley, 30, and Jeffery Musgrove, 48, both of Hunters; Hayward
Johnson, Jr, 22, of Gordon Ave, Freeport; Johnathan Moss, 26, of Columbus Drive, Freeport; Delvandre Butler, 26, Inagua Place, Hawksbill, appeared before Deputy Chief Magistrate Debby Ferguson. It is alleged that the accused harboured
wanted fugitive Drexton Dominique Belony. Belony, who was shot and killed by officers on December 21. The accused men pleaded not guilty. Bail was denied and they were remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correction until April 13, 2022.
NEW PROVIDENCE MAN ON GB SHOOTING CHARGE By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net A NEW PROVIDENCE man has been charged in the Freeport Magistrate’s court with attempted murder.
Shawn Thompson, 30, of Carmichael Road, Nassau, was arraigned before Deputy Chief Magistrate Debby Ferguson on one count of attempted murder. The matter is in connection with the shooting incident that occurred on
March 30, at Lunar Boulevard, Freeport, when a man and woman were shot. Thompson was not required to enter a plea to the charge. He was remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correction until April 14, 2022.
To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394
Graveside Service For Mr. Cleveland Roy Sawyer, 97 of Christie Street, Nassau, The Bahamas, who died at Doctors Hospital, Shirley Street, Nassau, on Wednesday, 23rd December, 2021 will be held at the Graveside, Ebenezer Methodist Cemetery, East Shirley Street, Nassau on Thursday, 30th December, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. Brother Sam Mikhael, Brother Derek Elden and Dr. Reginald Eldon will officiate and interment will follow. He is survived by his daughter, Linda and Sister June (Junie) Robinson, Sisterin-law, Phoebe Sawyer. Relatives and Friends: Derek and Judy Elden, Gerald and Sharon Elden, Rudy Darville, Sidney Sawyer, Wilfred and Levaughn Pinder, Graylin and Susan Pinder, Darryl and Toni Pinder, Nona and Alfred Sweeting, Elverton and Elda Sands, Darnette and Marso Albury, Tanja and Maddison Erdeg, Dr. Reginald Eldon, Gloria and Janet Elden, Pat and Delores Neilly, Berlene Elden, Jolene Roberts, Freddie and Lucy Pinder, Daisy Roberts, Diane Pinder, Michelle Pinder and numerous relatives and friends. Special thanks to Vera Lowe, a wonderful caregiver and friend. Special thanks to Doctor Indira Grimes, Dr. Crispen Gomez and Dr. HuntBurrows. Arrangements by Kemp’s Funeral Home Limited.
PAGE 8, Wednesday, December 29, 2021
THE TRIBUNE
Testing is key but we need to make it affordable to work BETWEEN December 23 and December 25, 580 new cases of COVID-19 were recorded. This should come as no surprise given the gatherings that usually takes place during the holidays and the few restrictions that were in place. There should have been better measures to protect against rampant spread of COVID-19, especially given what we already know about the Omicron variant. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Omicron is spreading faster than previous strains. While it is still too early to tell whether or
By Alicia Wallace
not Omicron causes more severe illness or symptoms, it appears as though the common symptoms are cough, runny nose, congestion and fatigue. One possible reason for its rapid spread is that it is being mistaken for the common cold or flu. It is not safe, during this pandemic, to make any
assumptions or self-diagnose when these symptoms present themselves. We need to be careful, to selfisolate at the onset of symptoms, alert our contacts and seek testing. We need to have better access to testing at this stage. Testing is being offered in many locations,
but the cost is a barrier for It has been explained that many. A rapid antigen test symptoms are a part of the costs about $30 and a PCR immune response. The vactest costs more than $100 cine causes the virus to be each. The PCR tests have detected by the body eargreater sensitivity than the lier, before the virus grows. rapid antigen tests, so a This fast response helps to PCR test is the preferred suppress the virus and, as a option for testing for cur- result, symptoms show up rent infection. Increasingly, before vaccinated people PCR tests are becoming become contagious. The the requirement for inter- rapid antigen test comes national travel. To enter back positive when people Trinidad & Tobago, for are infectious and the PCR example, a negative PCR test shows the presence test result is of the virus required of ‘In the UK, free beyond the both unvac- rapid lateral flow immediate cinated and infectious tests are available period. This vaccinated travellers. is the reason and people are AnecdoPCR tests encouraged to tal evidence are often shows vacci- self-test twice per preferred. nated people week. Test kits In the UK, often test free rapid latcan be collected negative in the eral flow tests first few days from pharmacies are available of a COVID- as well as other and people are 19 infection. encouraged to This is due to locations and self-test twice the immune- they can also be per week. Test response kits can be colordered online. mounted by lected from their bodies. Making these tests pharmacies as The virus widely available well as other takes a longer encourages people locations and time to be regthey can also istered on tests to test and enables be ordered than it takes earlier detection online. Making for symp- which can help to these tests toms to start, widely availaso those who reduce the spread ble encourages have symp- of COVID-19.’ people to test toms and test and enables negative are advised to earlier detection which can test again a few days later. help to reduce the spread of There have been many COVID-19. During the holaccounts of people who first idays, for example, if people tested negative, then tested are already in the habit of positive three or more days testing regularly and have later. records of their results, it is One person reported she much easier to make decitested negative seven times sions about gatherings. in six days — six rapid tests Many people have and one PCR test — before committed to testing, isolattesting positive on an at- ing and testing again a few home rapid test. days later before joining
another household for festivities. We can do the same, but we would have to pay for two tests per person. This is generally not a cost many people want to absorb, especially at a time when they prefer to spend money on gifts and other holiday items. The decision to stop giving permission for large gatherings is a good one, but has come quite late. It is also not going to make people more cautious as they make decisions about mixing households for long periods of time in indoor settings. The risk factors need to be stated, over and over again, and the government needs to make it easier for people to test, and at a lower cost. Those who can afford it need to be test repeatedly before and after gathering. Those who cannot afford it should exercise personal responsibility, but should also have other options. We may be tired of the pandemic, but it is still here. We may not be hearing about dire cases every day, but they do exist. There are still many people among us who are not vaccinated. The virus continues to spread and people continue to gather. One sad truth is some people will only exercise caution if they or someone they know tests positive. There are steps we can take as individuals to keep ourselves safe and help to protect one another, but the government has a responsibility too. That includes setting protocols in line with the latest information and advice from medical professionals and making testing not only available, but accessible to the public.
ALTERNATIVES TO LARGE NEW YEAR’S EVE/DAY GATHERINGS 1. Family game night. Most board games require between two and four players as a minimum, so you are sure to find options for even a small household. Try a few games you haven’t played in a long time. Monopoly, Checkers, and Connect Four are a good start. Get a deck of cards, and there are lots of options from the childfriendly game of matching to the much more intense spades. There are also many two-player games that are fun to watch, particularly for those who are just learning or already love games like chess and backgammon. 2. Karaoke. You don’t need to be in a bar or restaurant to sing your heart out, whether you’re a great talent or have the worst track record of remembering song lyrics or staying in tune. Karaoke is entertainment for everyone, and it
can happen anywhere. You need only search for the karaoke version of songs on Youtube to get your family started. Use a computer, pass around a mobile device, or get it streaming on a smart television for an evening of music and laughter. 3. Television show marathons. Life gets hectic, and the list of television shows we want to watch gets longer and longer. Sometimes we completely forget until the season is finished. Sometimes it is years later that we remember we never watched that one show everyone was talking about when we were too busy to pay attention. Even better, we sometimes remember television shows we loved that no one else in the house seems to have ever watched. New Year’s Eve and/or New Year’s Day can be perfect for catching
up or revisiting. Catch the latest season of Insecure, go back and watch Family Matters from the beginning, or check out a reboot to see if it stands up to the original. 4. Family Bakeoff. For this one, it is probably best to team up so there isn’t too much chaos in the kitchen. For the amateurs, chocolate chip cookies may be a good place to start. For those who are used to baking, pies and breads may be more interesting. If you really want a challenge, do a quick search to see what the contestants on The Great British Bakeoff have had to do over the years. If baking seems like a bit much, you may want to try a cook-off instead. It can be as simple as scrambled eggs (which, you may know, can also get quite fancy). Design the challenges to suit your family and the skill level of each person or team.
THE TRIBUNE
Wednesday, December 29, 2021, PAGE 9
TECHTALK
THE JAMES Webb Space Telescope is separated in space on Saturday. (NASA via AP)
AUGMENTED REALITY USE GROWS IN OUTPATIENT HEALTH SETTINGS By MICHAELA RAMM The Gazette
SPACE TELESCOPE LAUNCHED ON QUEST TO BEHOLD THE FIRST STARS By MARCIA DUNN AP Aerospace Writer
THE world’s largest and most powerful space telescope rocketed away Saturday on a high-stakes quest to behold light from the first stars and galaxies and scour the universe for hints of life. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope soared from French Guiana on South America’s northeastern coast, riding a European Ariane rocket into the Christmas morning sky. “What an amazing Christmas present,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA’s science mission chief. The $10 billion observatory hurtled toward its destination 1 million miles (1.6 million kilometres) away, or more than four times beyond the moon. It will take a month to get there and another five months before its infrared eyes are ready to start scanning the cosmos. First, the telescope’s enormous mirror and sunshield need to unfurl; they were folded origamistyle to fit into the rocket’s nose cone. Otherwise, the observatory won’t be able to peer back in time 13.7 billion years as anticipated, within a mere 100 million years of the universe-forming Big Bang. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson called Webb a time machine that will provide “a better understanding of our universe and our place in it: who we are, what we are, the search that’s eternal.” “We are going to discover incredible things that we never imagined,” Nelson said following liftoff, speaking from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center. But he cautioned: “There are still innumerable things that have to work and they have to work perfectly ... we know that in great reward there is great risk.” Intended as a successor to the aging Hubble Space Telescope, the long-delayed
ARIANESPACE’S Ariane 5 rocket with NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope onboard, lifts off Saturday at Europe’s Spaceport, the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana. (ESA-CNESARIANESPACE via AP)
James Webb is named after NASA’s administrator during the 1960s. NASA partnered with the European and Canadian space agencies to build and launch the new 7-tonne telescope, with thousands of people from 29 countries working on it since the 1990s. With the launch falling on Christmas and a global surge in COVID-19 cases, there were fewer spectators at the French Guiana launch site than expected. Nelson bowed out along with a congressional delegation and many contractors who worked on the telescope. Around the world, astronomers and countless others tuned in, anxious to see Webb finally taking flight after years of setbacks. Last-minute technical snags bumped the launch nearly a week, then gusty wind pushed it to Christmas. A few of the launch controllers wore Santa caps in celebration. “We have delivered a Christmas gift today for humanity,” said European Space Agency director general Josef Aschbacher. He described it as a special moment, but added: “It’s very nerve-racking. I couldn’t do launches every single day. This would not be good for my life
LAUNCH teams monitor the countdown to the launch of Arianespace’s Ariane 5 rocket carrying NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. (NASA/Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP) expectancy.” Cheers and applause erupted in and outside Launch Control following Webb’s flawless launch, with jubilant scientists embracing one another amid shouts of “Go Webb!” and signs that read: “Bon Voyage Webb.” Cameras on the rocket’s upper stage provided one last glimpse of the shimmering telescope against a backdrop of Earth, before it sped away. “That picture will be burned into my mind forever,” Zurbuchen told journalists. The telescope’s showpiece: a gold-plated mirror more than 21 feet (6.5 metres) across.
Protecting the observatory is a wispy, five-layered sunshield, vital for keeping the light-gathering mirror and heat-sensing infrared detectors at subzero temperatures. At 70 feet by 46 feet (21 metres by 14 metres), it’s the size of a tennis court. If all goes well, the sunshield will have opened three days after liftoff, taking at least five days to unfold and lock into place. Next, the mirror segments should open up like the leaves of a drop-leaf table, 12 days or so into the flight. In all, hundreds of release mechanisms need to work — perfectly — in order for the telescope to
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Augmented reality and other advancements in navigation systems have allowed Corridor ears, nose and throat surgeons to better approach medical procedures. These innovations — just one facet of new technologies being developed in the field of medicine — have opened the door for more patients to receive minimally invasive surgeries, local providers say. “This technology was used in operating rooms, but now we’re pushing boundaries for what we can do as specialty — especially for sinus surgery — in the office,” said Dr. Thomas Heineman, a surgeon at the Physicians’ Clinic of Iowa. The Cedar Rapids Gazette reports the Ear, Nose and Throat/Head and Neck Surgery clinic at PCI, a private specialty group in Cedar Rapids, began using an new sinus imaging system earlier this year that employs augmented reality to guide surgical procedures. Called the Stryker ENT navigation system, the tool uses software to help providers map out patients’ sinus cavities. The anatomy of each individual is different, so the system acts as a GPS to increase surgeons’ accuracy as they work close to the brain, the eye and other sensitive areas in a patient’s skull, Heineman said. The augmented reality system is the first of its kind in the state of Iowa, according to PCI. Similar systems are used by ENT providers and other surgeons in health care facilities across the state. But what makes the system at PCI unique is that it superimposes images from previous CT scans of the patient onto the surgical camera view, Heineman said. At Mercy Medical Center, ENT surgeons have similar navigation technology that involves a patient’s CT scan to build a 3D tracking model that surgeons use as a guide during sinus operations, said Dr. Shane Gailushas, a surgeon at the Mercy Medical ENT clinic.
succeed. Such a complex series of actions is unprecedented — “like nothing we’ve done before,” noted NASA programme director Greg Robinson. “Now it’s our job to start from here and keep going,” said Massimo Stiavelli, an astronomer who heads the Webb mission office at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore. The institute serves as the control hub for Hubble and, now, Webb. The Hubble Space Telescope will be a tough act to follow, according to Stiavelli and retired astronaut-astronomer Steven Hawley, even though Webb is 100 times more powerful. Hawley, in fact, is more stressed over Webb than he was for Hubble, which he released into orbit from space shuttle Discovery in 1990. That’s because Webb will be too far away for rescuing, as was necessary when Hubble turned out to have blurry vision from a defective mirror. Spacewalking repairs by astronauts transformed Hubble into a beloved marvel that has revolutionised humanity’s understanding of the universe, casting its eyes as far back as 13.4 billion years. It’s now up to Webb to draw even closer to the Big Bang 13.8 billion years ago, its infrared vision keener and more ft, Mojang far-reaching than Hubble’s 1. Minecra ner Bros. is in the shorter visible and 2. H eads Up!, War ultraviolet wavelengths. inja Kiwi loons TD 6, N NASA is shooting for 3. B ge 10 years of operational 4. Procreate Pocket, Sava d Lt y Pt e life from Webb. Engineers Interactiv deliberately left the fuel eddy’s, ive Nights at Fr tank accessible for a top- 5. F C LL Clickteam, off by visiting spacecraft, if h, RobTop and when such technology 6. Geometry Das becomes available. Games AB “Hubble is like the perlassic 7. Monopoly - C armalade fect story. M e, am G rd oa B “It starts badly, then the io ud Game St cavalry fixes it, then it’s a Freddy’s 2, major success. It’s almost a 8. Five Nights at C LL , m Christmas movie in a way,” Clicktea Stiavelli said following demic 9. Plague Inc., N Webb’s liftoff. “It’s a high Creations bar, but hopefully the sciAxis ence contributions of Webb rue Skate, True 10. T will be up there.”
TOP PAID iPHONE APPS
PAGE 10, Wednesday, December 29, 2021
THE TRIBUNE
FIVE KILLED IN DENVER SHOOTINGS
POLICE were yesterday investigating after a gunman went on a shooting rampage through several business districts in the Denver area, killing four people and wounding three others, including an officer as police pursued him. The suspect also died on Monday night after exchanging gunfire with officers in a shopping district in the Denver suburb of Lakewood, police said. “We need to dig in and find out what the motive was behind this,” Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen said at a news conference. The shootings started shortly after 5pm in central Denver along Broadway, a busy street lined by shops, bars and restaurants, where two women were killed and a man was injured. A short time later, a man was fatally shot in another location. Gunshots were also fired along another busy street near Denver Health hospital, but no one was injured, he said. Just before 6pm, the Lakewood Police Department received a report of shots fired at a business in Lakewood. A gunshot victim was later found and pronounced dead. When officers found the car suspected of being involved in the Belmar shopping area, the suspect opened fire and officers shot back. The suspect ran away and allegedly threatened someone in a business with a gun before going into a Hyatt hotel and shooting a clerk, who was taken to the hospital. The gunman then fled on foot to a Hyatt hotel, where he is believed to have shot a clerk. He also shot and wounded a Lakewood police officer after he left the hotel, Romero said. The wounded officer was undergoing surgery on Monday night. After the officer was wounded, police and the suspect exchanged fire and the suspect died.
14-YEAR-OLD SHOT DEAD BY POLICE THE 14-year-old girl who was killed by Los Angeles police last week — she was struck while hiding in a dressing room as an officer was aiming rifle rounds at a man suspected of assaulting customers at a clothing store and a bullet went through a wall — loved skateboarding and had dreams of becoming an engineer to build robots, her family said yesterday. Valentina OrellanaPeralta died in her mother’s arms last Thursday at a Burlington store in the North Hollywood neighbourhood in the San Fernando Valley. Soledad Peralta, during a news conference yesterday, said she and her daughter were in a dressing room shopping for Christmas clothes when they heard screaming. The teenager locked the door. “We sat down on a seat, holding each other, praying, when something hit my daughter, Valentina, and threw us to the floor,” she said. “And my daughter died in my arms. I couldn’t do anything.” The teen’s family stood outside the Los Angeles Police Department headquarters yesterday, next to a large photo of Orellana-Peralta wreathed in flowers, to call for justice and remember their daughter. Speaking in Spanish and choking back tears as sirens wailed in the background of the news conference in downtown LA, they said they had left Chile to get away from violence and injustice in search of a better life in the US. The LAPD on Monday posted an edited video package online that included 911 calls, radio transmissions, body camera footage and surveillance video from the Thursday shooting at the Burlington store.
PEOPLE wait in a long line to get tested for COVID-19 in Times Square, New York.
Photo: Seth Wenig/AP
US move to shorten COVID isolation stirs confusion WASHINGTON Associated Press US HEALTH officials’ decision to shorten the recommended COVID-19 isolation and quarantine period from ten days to five is drawing criticism from some medical experts and could create more confusion and fear among Americans. To the dismay of some authorities, the new guidelines allow people to leave isolation without getting tested to see if they are still infectious. The guidance has raised questions about how it was crafted and why it was changed now, in the middle of another wintertime spike in cases, this one driven largely by the highly contagious omicron variant. Monday’s action by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cut in half the recommended isolation time for Americans who are infected with the coronavirus but have no symptoms. The CDC similarly shortened the amount of time people who have come into close contact with an infected person need to quarantine. The CDC has been under pressure from the public and the private sector, including the airline industry, to shorten the isolation time and reduce the risk of severe staffing shortages amid the omicron surge. Thousands of flights have been canceled over the past few days in a mess blamed on omicron. “Not all of those cases are going to be severe. In fact, many are going to be asymptomatic,” CDC director Dr Rochelle Walensky said on Monday. “We want to make sure there is a mechanism by which we can safely continue to keep society functioning while following the science.” CDC officials said the guidance is in keeping with growing evidence that people with the virus are most
infectious in the first few days. Louis Mansky, director of the Institute for Molecular Virology at the University of Minnesota, agreed there is a scientific basis to the CDC’s recommendations. “When somebody gets infected, when are they most likely to transmit the virus to another person?” he said. “It’s usually in the earlier course of the illness, which is typically a day or two before they actually develop symptoms and then a couple of days to three days after that.” Research, including a study published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine in August, backs that up, though medical experts cautioned that nearly all of the data predates omicron. The CDC released a report yesterday on a cluster of six omicron cases in a Nebraska household and found the median incubation period — the time between exposure and the appearance of symptoms — was about three days, versus the five days or more documented earlier in the pandemic. The six people also experienced relatively mild illness. But other experts questioned why the CDC guidelines allow people to leave isolation without testing. “It’s frankly reckless to proceed like this,” said Dr Eric Topol, founder and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute. “Using a rapid test or some type of test to validate that the person isn’t infectious is vital.” “There’s no evidence, no data to support this,” he added. Mansky said CDC probably didn’t include exit testing in its guidelines for logistical reasons: There is a run on COVID-19 rapid tests amid the spike in cases and the busy holiday travel season. In many places, at-home tests are difficult or impossible to find. The CDC is “driven by the science, but they also have to be
cognizant of the fact of, you know, what are they going to tell the public that they’ll do,” Mansky said. “That would undermine CDC if they had guidance that everybody was ignoring.” Qamara Edwards, director of business and events for Sojourn Philly, which owns four restaurants in Philadelphia, said about 15 percent of its employees are out sick with COVID-19, and staffing is tight. The CDC changes are “great for businesses, they do allow people to return to work sooner than they’ve expected”, Edwards said, though she understands why workers might be resistant and worried about their safety. In Los Angeles, King Holder, who runs the StretchLab Beverly fitness business, likewise said omicron has caused “ample disruption” to his company, and he welcomed the more relaxed guidelines. “The possibility of five days compared to 10-14 days is huge for our business and allows us to stay afloat,” he said. But Dana Martin, a 38-year-old Philadelphia teacher and educational consultant, said: “The looser COVID guidelines make me nervous. I’m more hesitant to participate in holiday activities because of the omicron variant and the seemingly more lax protocols.’’ Marshall Hatch, senior pastor of New Mount Pilgrim Church on Chicago’s West Side, said he is bracing for some confusion in his congregation. The church has been a strong advocate for testing, vaccinations and booster shots. Hatch said the CDC’s latest guidance is confusing and “a little incongruous”. “Either we’re in a surge that we need to take very seriously or are we winding down the pandemic and that’s why we’re shortening the isolation and quarantine times,” he said yesterday. “They might want to
give us a little more information to go with.” Hatch said some members of the largely Black congregation, particularly senior citizens, are skeptical of information from government. The CDC move follows global efforts to adjust isolation rules, with policies differing from country to country. England last week trimmed its self-isolation period for vaccinated people who have tested positive for COVID-19 to seven days in many cases, provided two negative lateral flow tests are taken a day apart. The French government said on Monday that it will soon relax its isolation rules, although by exactly how much isn’t yet clear. Health Minister Olivier Veran said the rule changes will be aimed at warding off “paralysis” of public and private services. By some estimates, France could be registering more than 250,000 new infections per day by January. Italy, meanwhile, is considering doing away with a quarantine altogether for those who have had close contact with an infected person as long they have had a booster shot. Projections indicate as many as two million Italians could be put in quarantine over the next two weeks as the virus spreads. The US airline industry applauded the CDC move. “The decision is the right one based upon science,” said the lobbying group Airlines for America. But the head of a flight attendants union criticised the change, saying it could lead businesses to pressure sick employees to come back before they are well. If that happens, “we will make clear it is an unsafe work environment, which will cause a much greater disruption than any ‘staffing shortages’,” warned Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA International.
SEVERE BRAZIL FLOODING SPREADS IN BAHIA AND BEYOND BRASILIA, Brazil Associated Press
A TOTAL of 116 cities in the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia were in a state of emergency because of flooding yesterday due to heavy rains that have been pounding the region since the end of November. Cities in at least five other states in Brazil’s north and southeast have also been flooded in recent days. In Bahia, flooding has affected more than 400,000 people. In at least 50 cities, water surged into homes and businesses, and people were forced to abandon their belongings. Official data from the state government shows 31,500 people have been left homeless and an additional 31,000 were displaced. There have been a total of 20 deaths and 358 people injured since the beginning of the month. This is the heaviest period of rainfall for Bahia in the last 32 years, according to the website of the National Center for Monitoring and
RESIDENTS clean out their flooded homes in Itapetinga, Bahia state, Brazil, yesterday. Photo: Raphael Muller/AP Alerts of Natural Disasters, lost in the floods of some a government agency. In cities. “Some municipal health southern Bahia, it rained more than five times the offices and medicine depots normal amount for this were completely under water,” he said. time of the year. Yesterday, the popuIn an interview with local lation of at least four radio stations on Tuesday municipalities in Bahia morning, Bahia’s governor received warnings to leave Rui Costa compared the their homes because of the situation to a “bombard- increased flow of the Pardo ment.” He also said that River due to the opening coronavirus vaccines were of the Machado Mineiro
dam’s sluice gates in neighboring Minas Gerais state, according to the state government’s advisory office. Bahia’s Civil Defense superintendent, Col Miguel Filho, told The Associated Press that there are still flooded and isolated cities, and rains are still ongoing. “Our first response is to help, then to shelter, to care for the population in the shelters by giving humanitarian aid, with sheets, blankets, food,” he said. He added that at least five dams in Bahia are at risk of bursting. Bridges and federal and state roads in the state were destroyed and have been provisionally rebuilt to allow food and other items to be brought to people in need. “We still don’t have a complete list of all the damage caused, the amount of structures that will need to be replaced,” Gov. Costa said. “It isn’t possible to stipulate a timeframe for recovery, because we don’t have that dimension. We’re
guaranteeing accessibility, the detour, the temporary structure so that people can come and go.” The above-average rainfall is due to the La Nina atmospheric phenomenon, which increases precipitation in some areas of Brazil, including Bahia, the government’s science ministry said in a statement last week. The federal government has authorized emergency spending totaling 80 million reais ($14.2m) for Bahia alone. Additional funds will be directed to other regions also affected by the rains in recent weeks, and which are still suffering the consequences. In Tocantins state, which is adjacent to Bahia in Brazil’s northern region, 22 municipalities were affected by the rains by early Tuesday afternoon. The executive director of the state’s civil defense authority, Maj Alex Matos, told the AP this number is expected to grow in the coming hours.
THE TRIBUNE
Wednesday, December 29, 2021, PAGE 11
SOUTHWEST TENNIS CLUB HOLIDAY TOURNAMENT
RITA Roy receives her ladies’ championship awards from Michael Butler.
SHOWN, from left to right, are Michael Butler Jr with exhibition players Sydney Clarke, Sharano Hanna and Elana Mackey.
‘The competition was fierce because we had a good show from many of our top junior veterans’ AFTER two exciting weekends of action during the Christmas break, the Southwest Tennis Club Holiday Tournament came to a resounding conclusion on Monday at the Flamingo Gardens Community Centre tennis court. Tournament organiser Michael Butler, assisted by Julian Robinson, said the tournament was to continue the promotion of community tennis in New Providence and the Family Islands. In accomplishing that feat by hosting the tournament, Butler said they also got to bring greater exposure to aspiring junior players while promoting more competitive tournaments for junior veteran and senior players. Versatile Butler, who is also a very talented
baseball/softball player, secured the men’s singles title with 6-2, retired decision over Cory Francis. Rita Roy emerged as the ladies’ champion, winning 4-1, 4-5 (9-7) in the tie breaker over Victoria Assesio. Butler came out as a double winner as he teamed up with Alejandro Mesples to win the men’s doubles crown with a 4-0, 5-3 win over Bud Cambridge and Rudy Williams. And, in a special exhibition match, Elana Mackey and Shavano Hanna prevailed with a 4-1, 3-5 (10-8) victory over Sydney Clarke. “It was a wonderful experience and exchange for many supporters and players who were attending and playing at the Flamingo Gardens Community Center tennis courts for
ASSISTANT tournament director Julian Robinson and director Michael Butler, right. the first time,” said Butler where his Southwest Tennis Club is based. “The competition was fierce because we
had a good show from many of our top junior veterans in New Providence. But the highlight of the tournament
MICHAEL Butler and his doubles partner Alejandro Mesples.
MICHAEL BUTLER, left, and Cory Francis. may have been the exhibition match between Sydney Clarke and Elana Mackey
teaming up with two of our upcoming junior players in a mixed doubles match.”
FORMER FINALIST THIEM Ayton inks new deal with Puma WITHDRAWS FROM AUSTRALIAN OPEN FROM PAGE 16
VIENNA, Austria (AP) — Still regaining his form from a wrist injury, former finalist Dominic Thiem announced yesterday that he is withdrawing from the Australian Open and will instead begin his 2022 season in South America. Thiem said he had a “slight setback” in his preparation but is “now feeling well again.” “I will start the season in South America at the Cordoba Open in Argentina, end of January, and therefore I will not play this year at the Australian Open,” Thiem said. “I will miss the Australian fans but I will be back in 2023. “My wrist is in optimal condition and I am practicing normally with a very good intensity,” Thiem added. “We believe this is the right decision in order to have a good return to competition.”
DOMINIC THIEM, of Austria, celebrates after defeating Marcos Giron of the United States 6-1, 6-3 during their match at the Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Spain, on May 4. (AP Photo/Paul White) Thiem was hurt in June The Australian Open while playing in the Mal- begins January 17. Thiem lorca Open and also missed reached the final in MelWimbledon and the US bourne in 2020, losing to Open. Novak Djokovic.
blue waters in the Bahamas as he helped to raise funds to assist those persons affected by Hurricane Dorian in Grand Bahama and Abaco. In demonstrating his respect to Bolt, who has left an impeccable impression on the world as the fastest man that ever lived, Ayton presented the Jamaican icon with a pair of his sneakers. This summer, Ayton also provided a pair of Puma to the entire Suns staff. Even though his deal allows him to continue to showcase Puma’s latest hoop models like the Court Rider and the RS-X Dreamer on the court, Ayton will be working off the court to provide a product that could suit the budget of the average fan. In a typical style to his upbringing in the Bahamas where Ayton said a neighbour or friend could not leave his home in
Nassau Village and not “get a belly full.” Ayton, along with his mother, Andrea, have been touching lives with their philanthropic efforts whenever they discover those in need, not just in Phoenix or New York, but in the Bahamas and the Caribbean as well as Africa, the latter three regions where he’s had a touch of his roots. He noted that his mom has teamed up with Puma, sharing her ideas on how to give back, considering where they came from when second-hand clothes were the order of the day. Now in a much better position, Ayton said they try to give back as much as they can. Ayton, however, is hoping that he will get back on the court to help the Suns in their journey to return to the NBA finals for the second straight year. Last year, they lost to the Milwaukee Bucks in six games. On Monday, Ayton skipped the Suns’
game - a 114-113 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies after reportedly missing coronavirus testing on Sunday. Ayton is expected to rejoin the team when his results are available. The Suns, currently on a two-game losing streak and sitting in second place in the Western Conference at 26-7 behind the front running Golden State Warriors (27-6), will close out the year on Friday night against the Boston Celtics. The Suns, coached by Monty Williams, are expected to begin the new year in 2022 when they are scheduled to face the Hornets on January 2. Ayton, 23, was embattled with a contractual issue with Phoenix after he tried to secure the rookie’s maximum deal at the beginning of the season. He’s currently averaging 17 points and 11.1 rebounds per game as he continues to develop into one of the more dominant big men in the NBA today.
PAGE 12, Wednesday, December 29, 2021
THE TRIBUNE
A big year still a blur for US Women’s Open champion Saso By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer YUKA Saso finally had time to reflect on her breakthrough year, and it still felt like a blur. Winning the US Women’s Open with a birdie on the third playoff hole at Olympic Club was a lifechanger. Meeting her golf idol, Rory McIlroy, the following week during the US Open at Torrey Pines might have been even more memorable. “Meeting Rory was my dream,” she said with a laugh. “But I was happy I won the US Open.” But when Saso says it’s hard to grasp her success, that goes beyond winning the Open for the 20-yearold of Filipino and Japanese heritage. It was only two years ago when she turned pro after earning a Japan LPGA card. She was just getting started when the pandemic began and shut down golf for nearly five months. When she returned, Saso tied for fifth in Japan, and then the next four JLPGA events were cancelled. She won the next Japan event for her first pro victory, and after another event was cancelled, she made it two in a row by winning the Nitori Ladies. As her world ranking improved, Saso began getting into majors, and she cashed in at Olympic after Lexi Thompson fell apart on the back nine. Major champion has a nice ring to it. But it was a lot to take in. “Everything happened too fast,” Saso said in a telephone interview. “I still have a lot to learn from the other pros. I think I have the game to be able to win tournaments, but I feel like there’s still things I can improve on to be a better golfer.” There have been tales over the years of players winning majors early and then feeling as though they have to live up to their new status. Saso doesn’t think that will happen to her. “Winning a major doesn’t affect how I think,” she said. “To stay the way I am before winning a major should be able to help me stay grounded.” Saso has time on her side. She knew that winning the Women’s Open
OHTANI
FROM PAGE 16 decades — and nobody has been both one of baseball’s top power hitters and one of its best starting pitchers since Babe Ruth starred at the plate and on the mound for the Boston Red Sox in 1919. “He’s doing something we haven’t seen in our lifetimes, but he’s also doing it at the very highest level of hitting and pitching,” Angels manager Joe Maddon said late in the regular season. “He’s doing more than other players, but he’s also doing it better than almost everybody else on that field, and those are
YUKA SASO, of the Philippines, celebrates her victory in the US Women’s Open golf tournament at The Olympic Club, on June 6 in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn) would give her status on the LPGA Tour. She just didn’t realize it came with a five-year exemption, and her reaction at Olympic upon hearing the news was refreshingly honest. “Five years is a big deal. It was my dream to play on the LPGA,” Saso said. She starts next year with a new endorsement deal with AXA Asia and Africa, the first time the global insurer has partnered with an Asian sports champion on a regional level. This wasn’t simply the spoils that come with winning. Saso says the company reached out to her through Instagram earlier in the year. “I didn’t know if it was real because it was an Instagram message,” she said. “I emailed and they said, ‘Yeah, happy to hear from you.’ It was in the middle of the season, and I had tournaments to play, so I wasn’t able to go through it. But that gave me confidence that some big company was interested in me, and I wanted to play better. Because at the time, I thought having those two wins in Japan wasn’t enough. And then soon after, I won the US Open.” OGILVY’S WEEK For this late in the year, it would be hard to find anyone in golf having a better week than former US Open champion Geoff Ogilvy. It started in the Chicago suburbs when Medinah
Country Club voted overwhelming to approve the plan of OCM Golf for a $23.5 million renovation of its fabled No. 3 course. OCM stands for Ogilvy, Mike Cocking and Ashley Mead, a golf architectural firm based in Australia. The renovation, which will include three new holes, is expected to begin in 2023 and be ready in 2024. Medinah has hosted three US Opens, two PGA Championship, one Ryder Cup and most recently had the BMW Championship in 2019. Next up is the Presidents Cup in 2026 (Ogilvy was an assistant captain in 2019 at Royal Melbourne). “It’s a huge sign of confidence that the members are as excited with our concept as we are,” Ogilvy said. Later in the week, Ogilvy and Mike Clayton hosted the Sandbelt Invitational, which put together a mixed tournament over four renowned Sandbelt courses in Melbourne — Kingston Heath, Royal Melbourne (West), Yarra Yarra and Peninsula Kingswood (South). Brady Watt won the inaugural event, and one can only hope it gains traction. “It’s the best courses that we have, set up as well as they can be set up, with the best players we can find,” Ogilvy told Golf Australia magazine. “That’s a pretty good formula.” WEBB’S BAG Webb Simpson was between clubs on the par-3
the greatest players in the game, his contemporaries. He’s playing their game, but he’s also playing a different game.” Ohtani hit 46 homers and drove in 100 runs with a .965 OPS while playing in 126 games as the AL’s best designated hitter, as evidenced by his Silver Slugger award. He finished third in the majors in homers after leading the sport for much of the season. Ohtani also started 23 games on the mound, going 9-2 with a 3.18 ERA and 156 strikeouts over 130 1/3 innings as the Angels’ ace and one of the AL’s top right-handers. He has a 100mph fastball, but his splitter might be the best pitch in
baseball, with movement that resembles a ball rolling off the edge of a table. The 6-foot-4 star also was among the fastest baserunners in the majors while stealing 26 bases and scoring 103 runs. He even led the league with eight triples — and he also played a little outfield when asked. Any one of these achievements would be impressive for a 27-year-old hitting his prime in his fourth season since moving from Japan to the major leagues. Doing it all at the same time is something that almost nobody who’s currently alive had ever seen. Ohtani kept baseball’s historians and statheads metaphorically buried up to their eyes in dusty record books all summer as they dug into the early 20th century annals to identify the last players to accomplish the statistical superlatives Ohtani was currently blazing past. Mike Trout, Ohtani’s three-time AL MVP teammate, called Ohtani’s season “nothing short of electric.” “At times, I felt like I was back in Little League,” Trout added. “To watch a player throw eight innings, hit a home run, steal a base and then go play right field was incredible.” Fans across the world agreed: Despite his softspoken personality and single-minded focus on his sport, Ohtani has become an icon wherever baseball is played and a known figure even beyond the game’s traditional borders. “I’ve never seen fans get to ballparks so early and
17th at the Hero World Challenge, which is not unusual for any player. What was unusual is going from a 7-iron to a 5-iron. Then again, Simpson doesn’t carry a 6-iron. That was the idea of his caddie, Paul Tesori, and they decided to remove the 6-iron in the first week of August. “I kept having these awkward numbers with my wedges. I just had too big of gaps from the wedges,” Simpson said. Tesori’s solution was for Simpson to bend the 7-iron to make it stronger and weaken the 5-iron (he had Titleist stamp 5.5 on the club). Removing the 6-iron allowed him to put an additional wedge in the bag, and Simpson is loving it. It’s worth noting the 5.5-iron is the longest club without a head cover. Simpson carries a driver, 3-wood and 5-wood, and hybrids for his 3-iron and 4-iron. That’s quite the bouquet of head covers, and yes, he hears about it. “Maybe everybody on tour says something,” he said. MAJOR OVER MEDAL Nelly Korda waits until the season is over before contemplating her biggest events, and this year she had two from which to choose. The 23-year-old American won her first major at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Atlanta Athletic Club, and
NELLY KORDA, of the United States, hoists the trophy after winning the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship golf tournament on June 27, 2021, in Johns Creek, Ga. Korda won her first major and an Olympic gold medal this year. (AP Photo/John Bazemore) then won the gold medal in Championship at Crown the Toyko Olympics. Colony Golf & Country “I don’t really like to Club in Fort Myers. The watch highlights, but I tournament will be Februjust wanted to reminisce a ary 3-5 and will be the third little,” she said. straight LPGA event in So which stood out more, Florida. The LPGA Tour Atlanta or Tokyo? then has a three-week break “I watched KPMG before going to Singapore. first,” she said. “You ... The field for the January grew up wanting to win 6-9 Sentry Tournament of majors, right? The Olym- Champions at Kapalua is pics weren’t even a thing. expected to have 25 of the Like, you didn’t even top 40 in the world ranking. dream about going to the ... Collin Morikawa (418), Olympics as a golfer. So Jon Rahm (343) and Viktor a major championship is Hovland (307) were the what I strived for most of only players to earn at least my career, and finally get- 300 world ranking points in ting that under my belt felt 2021. really, really nice.” STAT OF THE WEEK Just don’t get the idea Eighteen players in the that gold medal was Sentry Tournament of chopped liver. Champions were not even “And then winning the born when Phil Mickelson gold, that’s amazing, too,” played the winners-only she said. “That comes once PGA Tour event for the every four years, and that’s first time. such a huge honour to repFINAL WORD resent your country and “Tiger Woods, really, is to stand on that podium. the best player that ever ... Both are so high on the lived, but it won’t go down spectrum.” in the record book as DIVOTS such because Jack NickThe LPGA Tour has laus’ record is better. You filled out its Florida swing can only go by the record with the LPGA Drive On book.” — Gary Player.
ANGELS designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) reacts as he runs the bases after hitting a home run during the fourth inning against the Baltimore Orioles on July 2 in Anaheim, California. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis) stay to the end,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said in July. “That’s what he’s bringing to the equation. I love it. Seems like every pitch when he’s at the plate, you can hear the oohs and aahs. I think it’s great for baseball.” Ohtani’s success not only commanded fans’ attention on both sides of the Pacific, but also reignited a debate long considered finished about the merits of sports specialization in a country where young athletes are often encouraged to stop competing in multiple disciplines even before they reach their teens. Nobody currently has Ohtani’s overall talents, but big-league teams are increasingly open to the possibility of twoway contributors across their organisations. Ohtani lives a quiet life in both Anaheim and
Japan, but he is unfailingly gracious when lauded for his unique achievements. Sometimes he seems just as surprised by his multifaceted success as the rest of the world, while at other times he expresses the quiet confidence necessary to do such a thing in the first place. “I’m a student of the game, so I do feel like I need to grow every year, and I think I’ve been able to do that,” Ohtani said through his interpreter and constant companion, Ippei Mizuhara. Ohtani’s achievements are even more impressive because they’ve happened with the Angels, arguably the majors’ most disappointing franchise of the last half-decade despite their hefty payroll and elite talent in sunny Southern California.
With Trout missing nearly the entire season due to injury, Los Angeles won only 77 games despite Ohtani’s Herculean efforts, missing the playoffs for the seventh straight year and posting their sixth straight losing record. Ohtani accomplished his feats at the plate with an often terrible lineup protecting him in the batting order. Better times seem possible for the revamped Angels in 2022, and Ohtani says his biggest goal is winning in his next two years with the club. No matter what his future holds, Ohtani will always be remembered for a 2021 season that blew the sports world’s collective mind. “Just a fabulous, fabulous year,” Maddon said. “There’s only one person that can duplicate it. That would be him.”
THE TRIBUNE
Wednesday, December 29, 2021, PAGE 13
CHARLIE Woods reacts on the 17th tee as father Tiger Woods watches during the second round of the PNC Championship golf tournament on Sunday, December 19 in Orlando, Florida. (AP Photo/Scott Audette)
XANDER SCHAUFFELE, of the United States, poses with his gold medal in the men’s golf event, next to his father, Stefan, at the 2020 Summer Olympics on August 1 in Kawagoe, Japan. (AP Photo/Doug Ferguson)
Column: Tales from the PGA Tour after a long year in golf By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer TWO spectators and one golf writer should have seen this coming. Jon Rahm finished the 15th hole at Muirfield Village during a practice round for the Memorial. Walking to the next tee, two spectators approached for an autograph. “I’m sorry, I can’t,” Rahm replied. “I’m in contact tracing.” That was a response never heard in the year since golf returned from its pause because of the pandemic, peculiar enough to wonder if that was the perfect answer to avoid having to stop to sign. And then a reminder of that moment returned three days later. Rahm walked off the 18th green with a six-shot lead and a record-tying score for 54 holes. He was approached by two PGA Tour officials, and Rahm doubled over in disbelief. After getting tested for COVID-19 every day since arriving, his latest one came back positive and he had to withdraw. Golf began with no fans along the Pacific coast before going to some fans in Florida to a full house of (mostly American) fans at the Ryder Cup in Wisconsin. Along the way there were plenty of other memories that went beyond birdies, bogeys and bubbles. ___ The gold medal meant just as much to Xander Schauffele’s parents. His father had his own Olympic aspirations until a car accident cost him his left eye and caused injuries that forced him to give up being a decathlete. His mother was raised in Japan and her parents still live there. Stefan Schauffele leaned against a tree and shed tears as he watched his son on the top podium as the national anthem played. When it was over, he was wearing his son’s Olympic credentials. That said more about Xander than the moment. “My wife wants me to make sure he didn’t throw this away,” Stefan Schauffele said. “Xander is notorious at throwing everything away, especially things that mean a lot to her. I promised to take it away as soon as I can.” ___ Any trip to Torrey Pines is sure to bring memories of the Junior World Championship, no matter the pedigree of golfer. David Winkle of Hambric Sports, who manages Dustin Johnson, was 14 when he played the Junior World at Torrey. He missed the cut, but a friend from Dallas was a top junior and in contention, so Winkle stayed to watch. His friend played the final round with Nathaniel Crosby, whose father was in the gallery. Winkle scrolled through his phone and found the photo of him standing next to Bing Crosby, looking smooth as ever in a red cardigan. The photo made the rounds in the media centre at the US Open, and one of the younger scribes showed
JON RAHM, of Spain, reacts to making his birdie putt on the 18th green during the final round of the US Open Golf Championship on June 20 at Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull) his age. After he finally reach the Tour Championrecognised Winkle with a ship. It didn’t. He missed full head of hair, he asked, the cut at Liberty National “Who’s the guy in the and didn’t beat anyone at sweater?” Caves Valley, finishing 24 ___ shots behind. There is very little that “The first day when my is subtle about Jon Rahm ball plugged on No. 10, I making big putts, but one knew it was going to be a detail got his attention as he long week. Top 20 would be watched a replay of his US as good as I could do here,” Open victory. he said. Most times when he He was reminded they makes a big putt, the big give away a lot of money Spaniard slams his fist for 20th. “Yeah, they don’t toward the ground. When for 70th,” he replied. he made the 18-foot birdie ___ putt on the 18th hole at Harry Higgs thought he Torrey Pines, he thrust his was done with his media fist upward. obligations after a 67 in the “I never fist bump up,” CJ Cup at The Summit in Rahm said months later. Las Vegas, so when a young “But for some reason, I did girl asked for a souvenir, he that time. And I think it’s happily gave her his cap. because right across from But as he walked up the me, on the second level of hill, a tour official informed the Lodge hotel, it was a him that Golf Channel Rolex box where I knew a wanted him for an a televipart of my family was. So I sion interview. think I was really celebratPanic started to set in. ing with them at the same The young girl was gone. time.” Higgs looked frantically ___ around and found Rasmus A week after he had to Hojgaard, who played withdraw from the Olym- with him that day. The pics because of a positive Dane also is sponsored by COVID-19 test, Bryson TaylorMade. DeChambeau said he had not been vaccinated because he was young and he’d rather make sure people who really needed it had access. Apparently he wasn’t aware there was no shortage of the vaccine in the US. OTABOR When criticised, he decided to stop talking to the media. He doubled down on that policy during FROM PAGE 16 the BMW Championship when DeChambeau had a that the country comchance to shoot 59 at Caves peted in an equestrian Valley until missing a 6-foot event at the World Chambirdie putt on the final hole. pionship level. He again shut off the media Pagliaro was among 74 — except for spending all riders from 20 countries day with a journalist during who vied for top honours the third round. over a technically demandThe standard bearer for ing, 120km course that his group, the person who took riders through open walks around with a mobile fields, wooded sections, scoreboard, was Thomas and hilly terrain in Ermelo, Friedman of The New York the Netherlands. The Times, a three-time Pulitzer course was so demanding Prize winner and member that over 45 percent of at Caves Valley. Whether the competitors failed to DeChambeau was aware finish. However, Pagliaro who Friedman was, he rode a strategic and deterdidn’t say. mined race in partnership ___ with her horse, the 11-year Kevin Kisner said at the old grey Arabian geldstart of the year there were ing, Beautiful Knightmare courses he plays where he (affectionately known as knows he has no realistic Beau). The pair finished chance of winning. Then the course in 38th place, why play? “Because they clocking a final time of give away a lot of money for 8:09:35 at an average speed 20th,” he famously replied. of 14.706 km/hr. The PGA Tour post3. Meagan Moss, 19 season venues did him no - Track and Field favours. Both were long Moss made her Olympic and conditions were soft. debut for The Bahamas Kisner started the FedEx at the Tokyo Olympics as Cup playoffs at No. 29 and a member of the 4x400m needed everything to go his relay team. Her 2021 way to stay in the top 30 and
OTABOR
BRYSON DeChambeau talks to spectators during the third round of the BMW Championship golf tournament on August 28 at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Md. (AP Photo/Terrance Williams) “Hey, can I borrow your hat?” Higgs said. “I’m in renegotiations with TaylorMade.” They don’t have the same hat size, but Higgs managed to squeeze in his head and conducted the interview. ___ The PGA Tour season reached its final day at East Lake with Patrick Cantlay leading Rahm by two shots. Commissioner Jay Monahan was on the first tee for the last round, as usual, and when the leaders teed off, he was asked what he was hoping to see. Cantlay had won the BMW Championship with an amazing rally, which gave him three wins for the season. One of those was at the Memorial, where Rahm had the six-shot lead and had to withdraw because of the positive COVID-19 test. Monahan thought about this for a minute before
PAGLIARO
saying, “When they get to 15, a one-shot difference.” Three hours later, Cantlay stood on the par-3 15th hole at 20-under par and Rahm was 19 under. Cantlay wound up winning the FedEx Cup by one shot. ___ Tiger Woods remarkably was playing a golf tournament 10 months after his car crash, and everyone wanted to see him. Walking inside the ropes for the first round of the PNC Championship was Ian Poulter and 9-yearold son Joshua, who earlier had his picture taken with 12-year-old Charlie Woods. Walking down the second fairway, Joshua asked Poulter, “Dad, what’s the age limit to play?” Poulter was honest as ever. The PNC Championship is restricted to players who have won a major or The Players Championship. “It’s not so much an age limit as it is what your old man has accomplished,”
MOSS
season also included a new outdoor personal best of 52.13 seconds in the 400m in May in Jacksonville, Florida, and a new indoor personal best of 52.32 in February in Fayetteville, Arkansas. In her outdoor season with the Wildcats, she advanced to the NCAA Championships in three events, the 400m dash and the 4x100 and 4x400 relays. Moss was a part of eighth-ranked 4x400m relay team at NCAA Championships (3:28.68) and third-fastest in UK history. She was named first team All-American. She also placed 22nd in the 400m at NCAA Championships (53.26), earning honourable mention AllAmerica honours, and was a member of 13th-ranked 4x100m relay team (44.11). Moss began her 2021 Indoor season this month at the Louisville Cardinal Classic where she placed second overall in the 500m in 1:13.21. 4. Lacarthea Cooper, 17 - Track and Field Cooper earned the opportunity of a lifetime
COOPER
to represent the Bahamas at the highest level of the sport, but many see that as just the beginning of great things to come for the high school sprinting phenom. The St Augustine’s College 12th grader was named a member of the 4x400m relay team for the Tokyo Olympics but was forced to miss the trip after she tested positive for COVID-19 on the eve of her trip. Despite the disappointment, Cooper’s 2021 résumé solidified her as one of the top junior athletes in the country, with over a dozen scholarship offers on the table. She posted personal bests in four events and was also a member of the World Athletics U-20 Championships team in Nairobi, Kenya and the NACAC U18, U20 and U23 Championships team in San Jose, Costa Rica. In Costa Rica, she posted a personal best of 24.09 in the 200m and her 100m personal best came at home in the Thomas A Robinson Stadium where she ran 11.71. She posted personal bests this
Poulter told him with a grin. “And unfortunately, your dad hasn’t accomplished enough. Unless they started counting Ryder Cups.” ___ Hideki Matsuyama was in the mix in the 2015 Phoenix Open when the PGA Tour instructed all questions to go to the interpreter. The first one was directed at Matsuyama: Who do you like in the Super Bowl? He leaned toward the microphone and replied in English, “Seattle Seahawks.” That became a running joke over the years, although he would never pick a team. The query was renewed this month to the now-Masters champion. Matsuyama replied this time in an email, through his interpreter, but he made his play. “You always ask me that question and I always say, ‘I don’t know.’ But this year I’m going with a Tampa Bay repeat,” he said.
COLLINS past season in the 100m, 200m, 400m and the 400m hurdles. At the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA) National Track and Field Championships in June, Cooper ran a personal best 54.47 and she recorded her 400m hurdles personal best at the Red Line Athletics meet in a time of 1:00.21. 5. Rhema Collins, 16 - Basketball The junior national basketball team standout continues to become one of the most highly sought after prep basketball prospects in her recruiting class. The 6’2” wing averaged 16.8 points and six rebounds per game last season for Schoolhouse Prep in Florida before she transferred to the Webb School in Tennessee last fall. Prep Girls Hoops Florida lists Collins at No.7 among the Class of 2023 in the latest edition of its rankings and has also received over 10 scholarship offers from NCAA Division I programmes.
PAGE 14, Wednesday, December 29, 2021
THE TRIBUNE
Nets’ Kyrie Irving clears NBA protocols By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer KYRIE Irving is a step closer to making his season debut. The Eastern Conferenceleading Brooklyn Nets announced yesterday that Irving, along with Kevin Durant and LaMarcus Aldridge, have cleared the NBA’s health and safety protocols — a major step toward getting them back on the court. Irving has not played this season, largely because of his decision not to be vaccinated against the coronavirus and the Nets initially not being willing to have the perennial All-Star with them on a part-time basis. Irving has not been eligible to play home games because of a local rule in New York requiring vaccinations, and he and the Nets decided earlier this month that having him back — even if only for road games — will allow the team “to more optimally balance the physical demand on the entire roster.” Durant hasn’t played since December 16, but he has missed only three games so far because the Nets had three others
postponed due to their virus issues. Aldridge has not played since December 12, missing five games. While the Nets were closer to becoming whole again — and it was not clear when any of the protocols-clearing players would actually be able to play again — other teams were still in the throes of serious virus-related depletion. Atlanta added three players to its list of those in the protocols, giving the Hawks 13 currently dealing with a virus-related issue. And Oklahoma City’s Mark Daigneault became the latest NBA coach to enter health and safety protocols, joining the Los Angeles Lakers’ Frank Vogel, Chicago’s Billy Donovan, Portland’s Chauncey Billups and Phoenix’s Monty Williams. Daigneault was ruled out from coaching the Thunder game yesterday against Sacramento. Another notable addition to the protocols Tuesday: Miami’s Udonis Haslem, who has had to play far more than usual lately because the Heat have been without centers Bam Adebayo and Dewayne Dedmon because of injury.
By JOSH DUBOW AP Pro Football Writer
NETS’ Kyrie Irving moves the ball during the first half against the Cleveland Cavaliers on May 16. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) Haslem was ruled out of the Heat game last night against Washington, a matchup where the Wizards were bracing to miss at least a half-dozen players for virus issues alone. The league began Tuesday with about 120 players in the protocols. Numbers tend to change frequently as players test in and out over the course of each day, and the league updated its protocols Monday to allow shorter return-to-play procedures for players provided they meet certain criteria related to symptoms and test results.
That should mean some players who are on the current protocols list could be back on the floor quicker than first planned. The surprising Cleveland Cavaliers, who have managed to win seven of eight while dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak, got back rookie forward Evan Mobley while placing guard Darius Garland into protocols. But Washington — which was hoping to see Rui Hachimura make his season debut at Miami on Tuesday — will wait a bit longer, after he got added to the protocols.
With so many players in protocols this season, the NBA has allowed teams in need to sign players to hardship contracts in recent weeks without the burden of adding those unplanned salaries to salary cap and luxury tax totals. That is the biggest reason why the NBA has already seen more players appear in a game this season than in any other year in league history — 546 and counting, entering Tuesday, with the season not even to the midway point yet. The previous record for players used in a full season was 540.
Lakers end 5-game skid - James, Westbrook post triple-doubles HOUSTON (AP) — LeBron James and Russell Westbrook both had triple-doubles and the Los Angeles Lakers snapped a season-high, five-game skid with a 132-123 victory over the Houston Rockets last night. James had 32 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists for
MCKAY JR FROM PAGE 16
“I want to say thanks to my family for always showing me a good time when I’m here and always praying for me and looking out for me when I’m not here,” stated McKay of his McKay and Marshall family in Nassau. “They have been a big inspiration to me.” Hopefully, McKay Jr said he can return the favour by being the best collegiate basketball player he can at Limestone University before he turns his attention on his professional career in the very near future. McKay is a former player with the Mt Carmel Cavaliers basketball team, who left the Bahamas to complete his high school education in 2016. He went on to graduate from Piper High School in Sunrise, Florida, where he played both basketball and volleyball. After graduating from Piper High, McKay Jr went on to Hosanna College to prepare for college. He was named the most valuable player for the Warbirds. Just after receiving the award, McKay Jr scored 22 points in his Warbirds’ 118-66 loss to Brunswick Community College in North Carolina. The 20-year-old is the son of Anishka Taylor and Gregory McKay Sr.
his third triple-double this season. Westbrook scored 24 points with 12 rebounds and 10 assists for his seventh of the season. Houston stuck around for most of the night, but James took over late to allow the Lakers to pull away and hand the Rockets their fifth consecutive loss. Jalen Green, the second overall pick in this year’s draft, led the Rockets with 24 points after missing 15 of the last 16 games with a strained left hamstring. BUCKS 127, MAGIC 110 ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo had 28 points, Bobby Portis scored 17 of his 19 points in the first half and Milwaukee defeated Orlando. Milwaukee has won four in a row and five of its last seven. Since starting the season 6-8, the Bucks have gone 17-5 to surge back near the top of the Eastern Conference standings. Khris Middleton scored 21 points for the Bucks, while Jrue Holiday chipped in 18 points and 10 assists. Antetokounmpo capped his 24th 20-point night in the fourth quarter by chucking Orlando’s Freddie Gillespie to the floor with a forearm before dunking with his left hand. Orlando rookie forward Franz Wagner scored 27 of his career-best 38 points in the second half. He made 12 of 20 shots and 4 of 8 3s. 76ERS 114, RAPTORS 109 TORONTO (AP) — Tobias Harris had 19 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists for his first career triple-double, Joel Embiid finished with 36 points and 11 rebounds, and Philadelphia hung on to beat Toronto. Georges Niang scored 19 points, Seth Curry had 12 and Furkan Korkmaz 10 as the 76ers won their second straight. Chris
JOHN MADDEN, HALL OF FAME COACH AND BROADCASTER, DIES AT 85
LAKERS forward LeBron James, right, shoots as Houston Rockets centre Christian Wood (35) defends during the first half last night in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith) Boucher scored a season- for Minnesota, which has Robinson added 26 points high 28 points and matched lost three of four. for Miami, making eight his career high with 19 With stars Karl-Anthony 3-pointers on a night the rebounds, but the depleted Towns, Anthony Edwards Heat got by with an eightRaptors lost their second and D’Angelo Russell all man rotation that might be straight. out due to COVID-19 pro- facing a new challenge after KNICKS 96, tocols, Minnesota was able Butler twisted his right TIMBERWOLVES 88 to knock off Boston on ankle with 1:03 remaining. MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Monday. With all three still Kyle Lowry is in the — Mitchell Robinson had unavailable one day later, health and safety protocols, 14 points and a season- the Wolves couldn’t repeat Bam Adebayo is out with a high 18 rebounds, Julius that performance against thumb injury and now the Randle added 13 points the Knicks, thanks in large Heat will start a two-week and 15 boards, and New part to poor shooting. road trip Wednesday in San York topped short-handed HEAT 119, Antonio with Butler either Minnesota. WIZARDS 112 missing or quite possibly Evan Fournier scored MIAMI (AP) — Tyler ailing. Spencer Dinwid13 points, while Quentin Herro scored 32 points off die scored 24 points and Grimes added 11 off the the Miami bench, Jimmy Kyle Kuzma had 22 for bench for the Knicks in Butler finished with 25 Washington. Davis Bertans their second straight win. points and a career-best 15 scored 19, Daniel Gafford Malik Beasley had 20 assists, and the depleted finished with 16 and Corey points and Jaden McDan- Heat held off depleted Kispert added 14 for the iels added a season-high 18 Washington.`Duncan Wizards.
JOHN Madden, the Hall of Fame coach turned broadcaster whose exuberant calls combined with simple explanations provided a weekly soundtrack to NFL games for three decades, died yesterday morning, the league said. He was 85. The NFL said he died unexpectedly and did not detail a cause. Madden gained fame in a decade-long stint as the coach of the renegade Oakland Raiders, making it to seven AFC title games and winning the Super Bowl following the 1976 season. He compiled a 103-32-7 regular-season record, and his .759 winning percentage is the best among NFL coaches with more than 100 games. But it was his work after prematurely retiring as coach at age 42 that made Madden truly a household name. He educated a football nation with his use of the telestrator on broadcasts; entertained millions with his interjections of “Boom!” and “Doink!” throughout games; was an omnipresent pitchman selling restaurants, hardware stores and beer; became the face of “Madden NFL Football,” one of the most successful sports video games of all-time; and was a best-selling author. Most of all, he was the preeminent television sports analyst for most of his three decades calling games, winning an unprecedented 16 Emmy Awards for outstanding sports analyst/personality, and covering 11 Super Bowls for four networks from 1979-2009. “People always ask, are you a coach or a broadcaster or a video game guy?” he said when was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. “I’m a coach, always been a coach.” He started his broadcasting career at CBS after leaving coaching in great part because of his fear of flying. He and Pat Summerall became the network’s top announcing duo. Madden then helped give Fox credibility as a major network when he moved there in 1994, and went on to call prime-time games at ABC and NBC before retiring following Pittsburgh’s thrilling 27-23 win over Arizona in the 2009 Super Bowl. “I am not aware of anyone who has made a more meaningful impact on the National Football League than John Madden, and I know of no one who loved the game more,” Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said in a statement. Burly and a little unkempt, Madden earned a place in America’s heart with a likable, unpretentious style that was refreshing in a sports world of spiraling salaries and prima donna stars. He rode from game to game in his own bus because he suffered from claustrophobia and had stopped flying. For a time, Madden gave out a “turducken” — a chicken stuffed inside a duck stuffed inside a turkey — to the outstanding player in the Thanksgiving game that he called. “Nobody loved football more than Coach. He was football,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement.
To Publish your Financials and
Legal Notices Call: 502-2394
THE TRIBUNE
Wednesday, December 29, 2021, PAGE 15
HOLIDAY BOWL SCRAPPED AS VIRUS ISSUES HIT UCLA BEFORE KICK
LAS Vegas Raiders running back Peyton Barber (31) dives into the endzone for a touchdown against the Denver Broncos on Sunday in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Column: Virus finds its way into the NFL playoff picture By TIM DAHLBERG AP Sports Columnist THE Las Vegas Raiders were feeling pretty good about themselves after beating Denver on Sunday to keep their playoff hopes intact. In a city built on losers they were suddenly looking a lot like winners, thanks to a defence that allowed only 27 points in its last two games. Then a big chunk of that defence went into COVID19 protocol and all bets were off. Hard to feel sorry for the Raiders, who took advantage of COVID outbreaks on opposing teams just to get in playoff contention at 8-7. And their opponent this week, the Indianapolis Colts, have even more issues, with quarterback Carson Wentz — who is not vaccinated — joining six others yesterday on the protocol list. Making the playoffs and advancing to the Super Bowl used to be an easy equation. Ride a hot quarterback or a stifling defence, play hard-nosed football and take advantage of the breaks that inevitably come your way. But with COVID raging through the league, it may come down to something even more simple: The teams that find the best ways to deal with the virus will likely end up in Los Angeles in February. That might mean an untested rookie being
thrown in at quarterback because no one else was left, as the Saints were forced to do in a loss to Miami that was as unwatchable as Monday Night Football can be. It might mean tossing away a game plan days before a crucial game because the players who would have executed that plan were not available. It might mean going without a big chunk of your defence into a must-win game. And it might mean losing your quarterback just when he is needed the most. Not the best way to crown a Super Bowl champion, that’s for sure. Not the best product to put on prime time TV, either, as evidenced by the Saints-Dolphins game and the Dallas-Washington matchup that preceded it the night before. Unfortunately, even the NFL can’t solve this. Short of cancelling games — something that hasn’t happened all season and won’t happen now — there’s not a lot the league can do to contain omicron. On Monday night, the Saints played without a third of their team with 16 active players sidelined. The same day a dubious record was set, with more than 100 players across the league put into COVID protocols. “This is something every team is dealing with,” Colts head coach Frank Reich
DOLPHINS’ Andrew Van Ginkel, right, reaches to tackle New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara (41) during the second half on Monday night in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) said before the Wentz news was announced. “We’ll continue to deal with it in a responsible manner – always the next-man-up mentality. We talked about it as a team last week, every man in this building needs to be ready to play winning football.” The NFL is not alone, of course. The virus is wreaking havoc in the NBA and causing games to be postponed in the NHL. The college bowl season is taking a big hit, with games called off and teams switching bowls as others drop out. But the NFL has a reputation to protect and its credibility to uphold. And playing Monday night in New Orleans did little to enhance either.
The Saints were so decimated by COVID that they had little chance to even be competitive with, much less beat, a Miami team that had won six in a row. In a game critical to the playoff chances of both teams, the Saints started a fourthround pick at quarterback who had never played a down in a regular-season game. With an offensive line crippled by COVID and injuries, the results were predictable. Ian Book was sacked eight times in a 20-3 loss for a team that deserved better. “Just keeping him upright tonight was a challenge,” Saints coach Sean Payton said. It wasn’t supposed to be this way, at least not
this season. After escaping huge outbreaks last year, the NFL — like everyone — was blindsided by the omicron variant racing through locker rooms. But the NFL can’t contain omicron and it can’t force players like Wentz and Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers to do the right thing for their teammates and get vaccinated. The product is hurting, and the playoffs are threatening to become way too random. The league is barreling into the postseason with no guarantee that an outbreak might suddenly turn the playoffs into a real free-for-all. COVID is on the march once again, and it’s even more unpredictable than before.
SAN DIEGO (AP) — The Holiday Bowl became the fifth postseason college football game to be cancelled when UCLA was forced to pull out just hours before yesterday’s kickoff because of COVID-19 issues with the team. The Bruins were scheduled to face No. 18 North Carolina State at Petco Park, the home of the San Diego Padres. A surge in COVID-19 cases across the country has disrupted a second straight bowl season. The Hawaii, Military, Fenway and Arizona bowls have already been cancelled due to virus outbreaks leaving teams without enough available players. The Sun and Gator bowls have had to scramble to find replacement teams for their games. North Carolina State is the fifth Atlantic Coast Conference team to have its bowl disrupted by the virus. Miami, Virginia and Boston College all had to withdraw from their games. Wake Forest is set to play in the Gator Bowl, but will face Rutgers instead of Texas A&M as originally scheduled. Coaches Dave Doeren of NC State and Chip Kelly of UCLA spoke Monday about tightening protocols to assure their game would be played. The cancellation has to have stung the Wolfpack, whose goal was to finish with double digit wins for just the second time. “Prevention’s the best medicine right now,” Doeren said then. “Our guys have been through this. They understand how to follow protocols ... to protect the mission. We’re here to try to win our 10th game. That’s happened one time in school history. There’s a lot at stake.” UCLA’s football team is the fourth Bruins programme sidelined due to COVID-19 issues, joining both basketball programmes and gymnastics. Petco Park had to be modified so a football field would fit. The Holiday Bowl needed a new home after 70,000-seat SDCCU Stadium was razed to make room for San Diego State’s new stadium. Meanwhile, the Big Ten became the latest conference to tweak its forfeit policy, joining the other Power 5 conferences, the Big East and most others. The Big Ten said games won’t automatically be forfeited if a team or teams are unable to participate due to COVID-19. Instead, games can be rescheduled, declared a no contest or a forfeiture.
Ashes gone, can a 5-0 England series loss be far away? By GREG BUCKLE Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — England has been beaten 5-0 in an Ashes series only three times. On the evidence of yesterday’s innings defeat at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, captain Joe Root’s side could soon become the fourth. Former England captain Ian Botham said he was “a little embarrassed.” “To lose the Ashes in 12 days . . . I just think that England have lost their way,” Botham said on Australia’s Seven Network. “The performance today summed it up.” Trailing by 82 runs on the first innings of the third test, England resumed on Tuesday’s third day on 31-4 and was bowled out for 68, losing by an innings and 14 runs. Australia didn’t even need to wait until lunch before regaining the Ashes — less than halfway through the scheduled fivematch series. One rather scathing social media user tweeted that Australia won the Ashes in a shorter time frame than the 14 days
England spent in coronavirus-forced quarantine when they first arrived Down Under. Surrounded by underperforming specialist batters, Root top-scored in both innings for England with 50 and 28, to finish the year on 1,708 runs in 15 test matches. Only two players, Pakistan’s Mohammad Yousuf (1,788 in 11 matches in 2006) and West Indies’ Viv Richards (1,710 in 11 matches in 1976) have scored more runs in a calendar year. “I feel like I’m playing nicely at the minute,” Root said of his lone hand in England’s batting lineup. “I feel like my game is improving and I am evolving still as a player.” Root said Australia’s bowling attack was outstanding on a helpful MCG pitch. “You’ve just got to find a way to get through it sometimes,” Root said. “We need to put some pride back into the badge and we need to give people back home something to celebrate.” Root said he was “really disappointed” for his
ENGLAND’s captain Joe Root is interviewed after losing to Australia on the third day of their cricket test match in Melbourne, Australia, yesterday. Australia won the test by an innings and 14 runs and has retained the Ashes. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake) bowlers, who had dismissed Australia for 267 in reply to England’s first innings of 185. “They kept us in the game,” Root said. Asked about his enthusiasm to continue as captain beyond this series, Root said his focus was on two upcoming tests in Sydney and Hobart in January.
“It would be wrong to look past that,” he said. A national record-equalling 54 ducks this year, including four in the second innings at the MCG and matching England’s mark of 1998, is a fitting statistic for Root’s side. Root questioned whether England’s domestic
competition was adequately preparing players for test cricket. Some English commentators said members of England’s Lions squad, also currently in Australia and mostly here as coronavirus backup for the main team, should be liberally imported into the team for the final two tests.
“The environment that they’re coming from is not readying them well enough for test cricket. It’s a very difficult place,” Root said of his domestic competition back home. “If you’re not ready . . . it makes it very difficult to improve. You need some strong inner belief. It has to come from within.” Linked to that is the England and Wales Cricket Board’s apparent preoccupation with the shorter formats of the game over test cricket. The ODI side was the priority ahead of the 2019 Cricket World Cup, which England won on home soil, before the ECB focused much of its work on launching The Hundred, a new domestic competition intended to engage a younger audience. Test cricket used to be king in England, but seemingly no more. “There are so many question marks and the whole of English cricket is going to be brought into question,” former England batter Rob Key told Sky Sports. “The only positive is it’s going to shake up English cricket for the better. It has to.”
SPORTS PAGE 16
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2021
Ayton inks new deal with Puma By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
W
hile joining the growing list of players affected by COVID-19 health and safety protocols in the National Basketball Association, Phoenix Suns’ centre Deandre Ayton also benefitted from a lucrative deal off the court. It was announced yesterday that the 6-foot, 11-inch Bahamian player inked another deal with Puma - a deal that was negotiated by Nima Namakian of Innovative Sports Group. It’s the second time that the footwear and apparel company has endorsed Ayton. When he was selected by Phoenix as the No.1 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, Puma stepped up and offered Ayton his first shoe deal as they re-launched their basketball category. That same
year, four other first round picks joined Ayton in signing deals with Puma. “It’s pretty lit. It’s truly a blessing as well,” Ayton told ESPN. “The reason I signed with Puma from the beginning is I wanted to be different.” Among the list of players with Puma contracts in the NBA are LaMelo Ball, Kyle Kuzma and RJ Barrett. There are also four players in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), who are also spotting Puma sneakers. For his decision to be different, Puma will place Ayton among the NBA’s top-three highest paid athletic brand endorsers at the pivotal position of the game that he has helped to re-create some more interest in his performance for the Suns over the past two seasons.
SUNS centre Deandre Ayton shoots during the second half against the Oklahoma City Thunder on December 23. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
According to Ayton, Puma was all the shoe he had an affinity for while growing up in the Bahamas and he was even thrilled when he saw one of his Caribbean idols Usain Bolt rocking his pair of shoes in the world of track and field. “Growing up in the Bahamas, the first brand really that I wore was Puma. That’s all we saw was Puma,” Ayton further revealed in his interview with ESPN. “A guy like Usain Bolt, who I looked up to as a star of the Caribbean and the face of the Caribbean when it comes to sports, that’s the only thing that he was repping. Puma was everywhere.” As a part of his contractual obligation, Ayton first wore the “RS-X Deandre” sneakers with colours that depicted the crystal clear
“I feel we can do some really good things this season and be on the top of our league at the end of the season. I feel we have all of the pieces that we need, so I feel good about our team.” Listed as undecided, McKay Jr said he’s hoping to change his major to business. He stressed that he just wants to get better and better in the classroom and on the court as he controls the things he can and just allow God to take care of the rest.
SEE PAGE 14
SEE PAGE 13
SEE PAGE 11
By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
GREGORY McKay Jr better than we did in the first half of the season.” Although he has only played in 81 minutes so far, McKay Jr is shooting .478 (11-for-23) from the field, .500 (4-for-8) from behind the three-point arc and .750 (9-for-12) from the free-throw line for a total of 35 points for an average of 7.0 points per game. He has also pulled down seven offensive and 15 defensive rebounds for a total of 22 and a 4.4 average per game and has committed three personal fouls and as many turnovers with one steal. It has been a major adjustment for McKay Jr, coming out of Hosanna Prep, but he admitted that he’s working on it. “I feel my whole game, I can improve on every aspect,” McKay Jr said. “The college game is quicker and stronger and stuff like that, so I have to work on everything.”
FRESHMAN forward Gregory McKay Jr in action for the Limestone University Saints men’s basketball team in Gaffney, a town in South Carolina. McKay Jr had his collegiate career high of 10 points against Tusculum on November 23 with four rebounds in 21 minutes in a 77-69 loss on the road, but against Newberry in the previous game on November 20 in a 62-59 win at home, he pulled down his best of nine rebounds with eight points in 19 minutes. “I’m just looking forward to just getting back to work,” said McKay Jr of the remaining 17 regular season games ahead of them through February 26 when they host the Lincoln Memorial University
Railsplitters. “We just have to get ready for the season half and build on the stuff we have already been doing and getting better every day.” The Saints, coached by Kyle Perry, play in the South Atlantic Conference where their quarterfinals are slated to begin on Wednesday, March 2 with the semifinals on Saturday, March 6 and the championship - if they advance all the way will be played on Sunday, March 6. “I feel we have a very good team,” McKay Jr said.
RHEMA OTABOR JUNIOR FEMALE ATHLETE OF YEAR Rhema Otabor, 19 - Track and Field OTABOR’S 2021 season featured milestone accomplishments in the javelin at both the collegiate and international levels. The sophomore at Florida International University had her year highlighted with an historic fourthplace finish at World Athletics Under-20 World Championships in Nairobi, Kenya. Otabor set a new Bahamian junior national record and a personal best with a throw of 55.08 metres on her second attempt and finished just shy of the medal podium at the inaugural meet. “I was a bit disappointed about not being able to make the podium considering how close I was to it,” she told The Tribune following the meet. “Overall I’m still happy to place in the top five. I did feel that I could’ve done better, but I’ll just have to work harder for next time.” She opened her series of throws that included a 47.61 metres on her first heave before she recorded her personal best throw. She threw 49.42m on her third, 45.84m on her fourth, 49.86 on her fifth and 48.67m on her sixth and final mark. Otabor, a former NCA Crusader, also won gold for Team Bahamas at the NACAC Under-18, U-20 and U-23 Championships team in San Jose, Costa Rica with a then personal best of 55.06m. It was one of several first-place finishes for her over the course of the 2021 season. She also took first place at the Hurricane Invitational (54.19m), North Florida Invitational (53.47m), Hurricane Alumni Invitational (49.53m), Conference USA Championships (51.37m). For the Panthers, Otabor qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in her freshman season. She finished 21st overall in the field with a throw 49.60m. 2. Reine Pagliaro, 17 - Equestrian THE Bahamas entered a new frontier in equestrian competition, as 17-year-old Reine Pagliaro’s successful ride in the FEI World Endurance Championship for Young Riders and Juniors marked the first time
McKay Jr eager to make his return AFTER enjoying some good old Bahamian cooking in the company of his family and friends over the Christmas holiday, freshman forward Gregory McKay Jr is rejuvenated to return to Limestone University in Gaffney, South Carolina, to continue his collegiate season with the Saints men’s basketball team. Having arrived in town on Tuesday, December 21, McKay left town on Monday, December 27 and is looking forward to rejoining his team-mates as they prepare to resume their season on January 2 against the Pfeiffer University Falcons. “It was a short trip, but it was fun,” said McKay Jr, who couldn’t help indulging in the macaroni and cheese, peas and rice and potato salad. “It’s always good to spend some time home. It’s always good to spend some time with my family because I don’t get to see them that much.” The trip home was a rewarding one for McKay Jr, who helped the Saints to a 6-6 win-loss record and a two-game winning streak before they took the break for the holidays. “It’s been a solid season so far for us,” said the 6-foot, 6-inch, 195-pound McKay Jr. “But going into the second half, we are expected to do a whole lot
Madden, Page 14
One of a kind: Ohtani wins AP Male Athlete of Year award By GREG BEACHAM AP Sports Writer ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Most of the time in professional sports, it’s easy to think it’s all been done before. With so many finetuned athletes constantly pushing each other to the peak of human potential, we can experience unprecedented demonstrations of sporting brilliance every week of our lives. But it’s truly rare to witness anything that isn’t fundamentally just a better, more prolific version of something we’ve already seen. That’s why Shohei Ohtani’s astonishing redefinition of modern baseball captured the world’s attention so vividly in 2021 — and that’s why the Los Angeles Angels’ two-way superstar
LOS Angeles Angels’ Shohei Ohtani is greeted in the dugout after he hit a solo home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners on October 3 in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S Warren) is the winner of The Associ- analogue in the past cenated Press’ Male Athlete of tury of his sport. Almost no the Year award. one had been an everyday The unanimous Ameri- two-way player for many can League MVP put together a season with no SEE PAGE 12