02222024 NEWS AND SPORT

One month to move for vendors by cruise port

efforts to revive downtown Nassau. The letter to vendors said officials would explore alternative locations for them, but didn’t say where they would be relocated.

The vendors sell various products, including food, drinks and T-shirts.

Marylin Major, a vendor of Bahamian Boutique, claimed she was told

businesses in

area don’t want vendors operating near them anymore. She said Senator Randy Rolle, head of the Downtown Revitalisation Unit, should have met with stakeholders to prepare them for the move rather than send a notice letter.

“You’re just going through all these emotions right now,” she said. “And the uncertainty, you know, you’re unable to buy

the supplies and the products that you need or even make products to put here because we don’t know what’s going to happen.” She said vendors were not given enough notice time. She said their livelihoods are in jeopardy, with many people who work at the stalls disabled.

Mr Sears, president of the Woodes Rodgers Wharf Association, said vendors were upset that the letter

didn’t specify where they would be relocated.

“The letter was quite vague in explaining to the vendors what would happen in the interim and also what plans were in place for them to continue their businesses,” Mr Sears said. “I think it was probably just a miscommunication because I would have been speaking on an ongoing basis with Senator Randy Rolle.”

JAMES SEARS, president of the Woodes Rodgers Wharf Association.

Mr Sears said the Ministry of Tourism indicated vendors would move on the street of Market Close, which is by the Straw Market.

artists like myself who paint and do live art,” Mr Sears said. Another vendor, Vincent, said he doesn’t want to move from the wharf. He said if some vendors were forced to move near the Straw Market, it would be uncomfortable and harmful for their business.

Photos: Moise Amisial

‘Country loses nearly $100m yearly to alcohol and tobacco smuggling’

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune News Editor rrolle@tirbunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis said officials believe the country loses nearly $100m yearly through alcohol and tobacco smuggling.

“We are committing significant resources to combat this source of revenue loss,” Mr Davis said during his mid-budget contribution yesterday.

He said in the last three months, the government seized over $400k in cash and close to $1m in alcohol during a “large alcohol smuggling operation”.

He also revealed that the Ministry of Finance launched a Maritime Revenue Enhancement Task Force in July 2023 to combat “excessive revenue loss in the maritime industry.”

He said: “This task force is strengthened by the Ministry of Finance’s collaboration with the Royal Bahamas Police and Defence Forces; Customs, Immigration and Port Departments; the Department of Marine Resources; and the Bahamas National Trust. This collaborative effort seeks to recover and collect delinquent revenue and create and enforce new ways to retrieve revenue loss in the maritime field.

“Let me give you just one example: We discovered a foreign yacht company with more than fifty vessels, which had not paid any fees for two full years. Over the past six months, the Task Force has carried out “Operation Revenue Fortification”, which began in Bimini and has expanded to Abaco, the Berry Islands, and the Exuma Cays.”

Mr Davis said an online platform was introduced into port departments in Abaco and the Berry Islands and the Administrator’s Office in Great Harbour Cay, enabling these offices to receive credit cards, bankers’ cheque payments and cash.

He said the task force collected $1.2m in maritime revenue in the first three months of operations.

Pintard criticised Davis for nearly doubling deficit projection

$18m increase in

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Staff Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

FREE National Movement leader Michael Pintard criticised Prime Minster Philip “Brave” Davis yesterday for a $258 million fiscal deficit that is larger than what government had projected.

The deficit exceeds government’s target by $127 million, Mr Pintard noted, blaming this on tremendous overspending in the past six months.

“One of the main takeaways from this budget is the government has busted the budget in a dramatic way because of poor priorities and uncontrolled spending,” the FNM leader said on Wednesday after Mr Davis

public sector worker

compensation sparks increase in govt spending

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune News Editor rrolle@tribunemedia.net

AN $18m increase in compensation for public sector workers helped spark a year-over-year increase in government spending, Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis indicated during his mid-term budget communication yesterday. He also revealed that while COVID-19 related

spending had decreased to $1m, a contraction of 78.2 per cent, social assistance spending rose by 44.3 per cent, “reflecting the government’s broader objective of providing enhanced assistance to households.”

Mr Davis said for the first six months of the fiscal year, preliminary aggregate expenditure was $1.56b, a $24.7m increase over the previous year. He said initial valuations of recurrent spending for the period

showed it increased $8.5m year-over-year. He said employee compensation increased by $18.2m to $417.6m.

“Increased spending in this component is explained by higher employment costs because of planned promotions and other staff and salary adjustments during the period,” he said. Labour and Public Services Minister Pia Glover-Rolle said last year

that a widespread promotional exercise for public servants would begin in October.

“In total, this exercise represents over six million additional dollars in the pockets of public servants as we advance the first public service-wide promotion exercise in over nine years,” she said.

In October 2021, she said the government sought to promote more than 600 public servants.

delivered his mid-budget communication.

Mr Pintard said the opposition and rating agencies had warned the government that the fiscal plan it outlined last year would not allow it to reach its $131.5 million deficit targets.

“The prime minister today confirmed our worst fears,” Mr Pintard said.

“At this point in the year, they are already on track to go over $300m in terms of the deficit as predicted.”

“What we are saying is that government, because of its tremendous spending without the requisite revenue to offset it, they are creating what we believe is the potential for real hardship on the backs of Bahamians.”

Mr Pintard called on the prime minister to take

immediate steps to curb his administration’s “wasteful and extravagant spending”.

The opposition leader noted that despite the inflow of capital from the pent-up demand for tourists to travel, the country’s deficit is not improving.

“The question,” he said, “is what is the government doing with all of this revenue that has been generated? Why are they not effectively paying down our debt or closing the gap between what we spend and what we earn? That is something that the PM conveniently could not bother to explain.”

“The prime minister failed in the first six months to explain the measures that he and his team would take in order to grow the economy,” he said.

PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis delivers the mid-year budget communication during a sitting of the House of Assembly yesterday.

Photo: Dante Carrer

OPPOSITION leader Michael Pintard speaks during a press conference at The Office of The Opposition Leader yesterday.

Photo: Dante Carrer

Police criticised over delay of evidence being presented in Blair shooting inquest

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

THE coroner once again criticised the police as an inquest into the police-involved killing of three men in Blair Estates in 2019 resumed yesterday, calling it “unacceptable” that only eight of the 15 weapons officers used to kill the men were submitted as evidence.

Police killed Tony Jamal “Foolish” Penn Smith, Valentino “T-Boy” Pratt, and Trevor “Coopz” Cooper on Commonwealth Avenue in the early morning of May 17, 2019. Fifteen officers, including three Defence Force marines, are the subject of the inquest. Assistant Commissioner of Police Earl Thompson of the police forensic science section testified

yesterday that of the eight police firearms his lab collected for testing, six were handguns, and two were rifles. He said none of the weapons matched the ammunition recovered at the scene, indicating they weren’t fired there.

He said it took three to four hours for his lab to test the weapons.

When acting Coroner Kara Turnquest-Deveaux

asked about the delay in retrieving the remaining seven weapons, three of which belong to the Defence officers, ACP Thompson said the guns are in active circulation throughout the country, mainly in Abaco. The coroner criticised him for the delay, noting he had had since February 5 to collect the firearms. She said it was unacceptable that all the guns had

not been tracked down. She said the police force and the country are not so large that it should be difficult to get the weapons. She once again cited the pain of families waiting almost five years for the inquest only to be kept in limbo by delays.

She said challenges completing cases have nothing to do with how her court functions, adding that evidence

gathering is an “internal issue” the police force needs to address.

Ryzard Humes, Ciji Smith-Curry and Romona Farquharson-Seymour, the attorneys for the estates, reserved questions for the witness until he completes his firearm report, which the coroner set for him to do by March 8.

K Melvin Munroe represented the officers.

Forty graduate BAMSI’s flats fishing and nature tour guide programme

FORTY people have graduated from the Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Science Institute’s (BAMSI) National Certification programmes in flats fishing and nature tour guiding.

Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper said the flats fishing industry brings in an estimated $170m across The Bahamas, telling

graduates: “The naturebased sector is seeing high demand from visitors. This certification gives you the capacity to create businesses of your own and contribute to the development of your communities and country.”

The two programmes are a joint partnership between BAMSI, the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry

of Agriculture. The current cohort was made up primarily of residents from Andros, at 95 per cent, with the remaining students coming from Inagua, Abaco, Long Island and Harbour Island. Data produced by the Ministry of Tourism shows that, “in 2022 flats fishermen in Andros alone made a direct contribution of

around $25m to the economy”, the minister said.

The next flats fishing and nature tour guide programmes begin in July.

While on campus, the Deputy Prime Minister also attended the official opening of BAMSI’s piggery unit and was given a tour of the institute’s aquaponics centre, packing house and farm.

‘People into murder statistics trouble me’, says Munroe

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

NATIONAL Security Minister Wayne Munroe said he is troubled by people who “are into” murder statistics.

He made the comment during a meeting of the Rotary Club of Nassau at St James Native Baptist Church, where officials discussed crime solutions.

The event’s moderator noted that crime declined during the COVID-19 pandemic, with murders dropping significantly during lockdowns. There were 74 murders in 2020.

Mr Munroe said: “Over the last three to four years, the Jamaican government instigated a state of emergency in some parishes in response to murders, and the statistics show that immediately the state of emergency ended homicides spurt in the area that was the subject of the state of emergency. So it may sound troubling, but when we came

out of our lockdown, it wasn’t surprising you have a spurt of murders.

“I’m not one for counting murders because one is too much, 70 too, but at the end of the day, the people who are into statistics trouble me because every murder isn’t really a statistic. It’s a person, and it doesn’t matter whether or not you say this person is somebody who’s in the game and so makes themselves a target.”

The murder count for the year increased to 26 after 15-year-old Chester Forbes, Jr, was killed on Monday.

The 21 murders in January 2024 were the most the country has recorded in January in at least a decade.

According to The Tribune’s records, eight people were killed in 2023, eight in 2022, ten in 2021, six in 2020, two in 2019, nine in 2018, 14 in 2017, eight in 2016, ten in 2015, and 11 in 2014.

The record for murders in a year is 145 in 2015.

NATIONAL

REGIST R A R GENER AL QUESTIONED OVER P ROPER TIES BOUGHT BY GIBSON BETWEEN 2019 AND 2023

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

REGISTRAR General Camille Gomez-Jones admitted under crossexamination yesterday that she could not say how Long Island MP Adrian Gibson bought properties between 2019 and 2023.

Mrs Gomez-Jones was asked about the property purchases days after she entered registration records of companies connected to the accused and conveyances of land Mr Gibson allegedly acquired into evidence.

She previously testified that police asked her to provide documents as part of their investigations.

When asked if any document included mortgages, Mrs Gomez-Jones said she couldn’t recall.

“So you can’t tell how these properties were purchased?” asked Mr Gibson’s lawyer, Damian Gomez, KC.

In response, Mrs Gomez-Jones said she had no way of knowing. She also couldn’t confirm seeing trust documents related to Mr Gibson.

“Because I saw a vast amount of documents in

respect to this matter, it would be difficult for me to say what exactly I saw at the time,” she said. Yesterday, Mrs GomezJones was also asked about the shareholders of companies involved in the case. Regarding Elite Maintenance and Oaks Limited, she confirmed that neither

Mr Gibson nor Mr Elwood Donaldson, the WSC’s former general manager, were listed as a company owner, according to the department records.

Mr Gibson is facing bribery, fraud and money laundering charges concerning his tenure as WSC executive chairman under

the Minnis administration.

Police alleged that Mr Gibson failed to declare his interest in contracts awarded by the WSC.

The FNM politician is charged with Mr Donaldson, Jr, Rashae Gibson, his cousin, Joan Knowles, Peaches Farquharson and Jerome Missick. They have denied the allegations.

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

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

Consultation for contributory pension for public sector employees to start this month

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune News Editor rrolle@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis said public consultation on draft legislation to create a contributory pension plan for all public sector employees will begin before the end of this month as the government looks to tackle an issue the International Monetary Fund has long called unsustainable.

During his mid-budget contribution yesterday, Mr Davis said this is one way the government aims to reduce fiscal risk.

Currently, civil servants

do not contribute to their pension.

In 2018, the IMF said accrued government pension liabilities totalled $1.5b in 2012 and would rise to $3.7b by 2030 as the population ages.

The IMF called for reforms that involve “moving to a contributory regime in the near term and to a defined-contribution scheme in the medium term”. This would require civil servants to contribute a portion of their salary to fund their retirement rather than having this financed 100 per cent by taxpayers through the annual budget as is done currently.

Security Minister Wayne Munroe speaking in the House of Assembly yesterday.

Photo: Dante Carrer

ADRIAN Gibson arriving at court to face fraud, bribery and money laundering charges along with Elwood Donaldson, Jr, Rashae Gibson, his cousin, Joan Knowles, Peaches Farquharson and Jerome Missick. They have denied the allegations.

SIR

RT

Publisher/Editor

Publisher/Editor

Contributing

Publisher/Editor

Corporate income tax - pain or gain to come?

snare. There may be some reductions in costs for those businesses too, as the companies forking out for a corporate income tax may well not have to pay for business licences at the same time.

the OECD have been pressing for a minimum global corporate income tax. There is a bit of a catch in it all – if we do not charge the tax, then the host countries where the parent companies of businesses based here can charge the money instead. So one way or another, those companies will feel the sting.

In Bahamian terms, the companies affected will be MNEs – an abbreviation that stands for multi-national enterprises and which basically means companies that are based in more than one nation or their subsidiaries. The companies that will be charged are those which earn 750m euros or more.

Some may think that this will not affect most Bahamians – but of course the companies affected by these new rules are among the country’s biggest employers. Businesses that face a new cost will have to assess what impact that has on the profit margin – and if costs need to be cut elsewhere, salaries can often be the first to go. That means jobs.

We do not know yet how much of an impact there will be, and whether it may lead to job cuts in some businesses, but that is the balance that needs to be struck.

Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis talked yesterday of revenues “expected to exceed more than $140m annually”, which sounds good but it must be remembered that means more than $140m a year coming out of the pockets of those businesses. Maybe they can afford it, maybe it might be a challenge, we shall see.

Which businesses are we talking about? Well, it may well be Atlantis, Baha Mar, Sandals, the Riu, the Warwick, and banks such as RBC, CIBC and Scotiabank. Then there are companies such as BTC or Commonwealth Brewery who may be caught in the tax

What is not encouraging is that at the same time as this is all announced, it appears the deficit is soaring far beyond its predicted levels.

Despite the half-year deficit being almost double the full-year goal, the government is not changing course, however. The Ministry of Finance is apparently very confident of meeting its targets, despite the worrying $258.7m total so far. The government is banking on increased revenues, we shall see if that bet is a good one in a few short months.

Also unencouraging is the government’s rethink on boat registration fees.

While the reduction in originally projected numbers might be welcome, the U-turn did not inspire confidence that the government had well-planned its original increase.

What stood out though is that the half-year figures are still more about what else can be charged of Bahamians rather than what can be given back.

As we start to move towards another election, people may well be looking at the revenue raised by government and asking well, what do I get out of it?

People will need to feel the benefits of the government’s financial moves before the time to vote comes around again.

And that is the heart of the finance measures the government must deal with – people have to feel the impact, in a positive way, or they will question the value they are getting from the increased amount of money being pulled from pockets into the treasury.

Will the corporation income tax bite? That we must wait and see. But the government should be clear about what benefit we can expect from it. If all you feel is pain and you do not see any gain, it is unlikely to win you over at the ballot box.

EDITOR, The Tribune.

IT IS mind-bogglingly unbelievable to know how inefficiently gubments operate in this country, especially when it comes to maintenance! I have been saying all too often lately: “Make it make sense” to try and comprehend how gubments think (or rather do not think) and waste huge swaths of taxpayer’s money without any compunction or consequence. This foolishness has to stop! We are right back down the rabbit hole in Wonderland, big time!

Last year in December, I saw a television news clip with the Sports Minister assuring the public with much fanfare and aplomb that the Betty Kelly-Kenning Aquatics Centre’s pool would be ready for the upcoming CARIFTA Aquatics Championship to be held in Nassau during the Easter weekend in 2024. The pool and the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium were, at that time, undergoing significant repairs. The camera then panned over the pool area and all I could see was green water! I was perplexed to see the unusable swimming pool – the only one in the island at that length and configuration, as

I understand it – where our top notch swimming teams practised daily in order to keep them primed to retain their winning titles!

Imagine my surprise to find upon recent investigation that the pool had been shut down and drained ‘for cleaning’ since the end of July 2023 right after the Bahamas Games!! Yet here it was in December 2023, filled with algae (no doubt from sitting there with stagnant rain water)! So, why, pray tell, had the pool not been refurbished as was promised up to that date?

Make it make sense!

So here it is now, February 2024, and seven months later with the CARIFTA Aquatic Championship due to be held here in a month’s time. Has any work been done on the pool at all I wonder? Can you imagine what an even worse state that pool must be in now, due to eight months of continuous lack of proper maintenance? Why? Make it make sense!

In addition, the swim teams have also not had access to the proper

facilities to practice in for that length of time – do you know what that does to your training as an athlete?

Make it make sense!

But wait, there is more! Guess what the gubment’s brilliant solution apparently is to the problem arising from their simple inefficiency to carry out the cleaning/refurbishment of the pool in July 2023? To propose that the CARIFTA trial competitions to select the Bahamian CARIFTA team be in Florida if the pool is not ready in 2 weeks (when it should have been cleaned and ready since July 2023)! So that means paying for a selected Bahamian team (who haven’t been able to practice in the pool properly for seven months) to travel there by air (their parents will have to pay their own way if they wish to go to support them), be accommodated and fed for 2 days on you, me, and we the people’s dime with funds from the Treasury!

We are way down in that Wonderland rabbit hole, Bahamas! The mind boggles because it simply does NOT make any sense whatsoever!

2024

EDITOR, The Tribune.

EXACTLY who do the

PLP think it is serving by yet again “ruling out” personal income tax becomes less clear by the day.

The party must by now realise that its FNM counterpart naturally represents those with an interest in keeping the tax burden disproportionately on poorer Bahamians, while its own support base is hardest hit by it.

Yet replying to the International Monetary Fund’s latest proposal for a tax on the income of the top 10 percent of earners and a shift away from taxes on consumers (the poor), State Finance Minister Michael Halkitis pushed back on the basis that the

move would “necessitate extensive consultation and consensus-building”.

The question that comes to mind is “Consultation and consensus-building with whom?” With the 10 percent that would be affected by the IMF’s proposal? Or is Mr Halkitis seriously suggesting that the majority of underpaid, overtaxed Bahamians, who now pay among the most in the world for luxuries like fresh vegetables and groceries (thanks in part to our regressive tax structure) would be fuming to hear that their government is going to transfer some of their tax burden to the wealthy without first consulting with them?

Get serious! The government that introduces income tax in The Bahamas would be guaranteed re-election if it did nothing else for the remainder of its term. The fact that the IMF, a body known for pushing regressive, anti-poor and ultimately harmful policies all around the world, would have to be urging us to introduce a more progressive tax structure (and being flatly refused) speaks volumes about how badly (and almost comically) generations of our postindependence politicians have let this country down.

ANDREW ALLEN Nassau, February 12, 2024.

EDITOR, The Tribune.

AN Open Letter to Prime Minister, the Hon Philip Davis: Dear Mr Prime Minister: I see that you and your hopeless PLP government are now concerned about the national news reporting of serious crimes in the country – especially murders as headline stories. You said that the news reports are hurting our tourism product. You and your PLP party seemingly were not at all

worried about the alarming murder rate or The Bahamas’ tourist industry more than a decade ago when you splattered the island with stupid billboardstaking delight in the murder rate under the FNM government of the day. Indeed, it was the past; but we reap what we would have sown in the past – Mr Prime Minister! You do not know that, sir? Enjoy the whirlwind harvest of your foolish actions of the past - in the field.

I pray that you and the PLP find your good senses, and lead a government of national unity to solve the plaguing vices which seriously threaten the very fabric of the Bahamian society - and the peace and security of our beloved nation, and people. We are all vulnerable to violent crime right now, sir. No one is an exception – in my view.

DENNIS DAMES

Nassau, February 13, 2024.

A DRAGONFLY resting its wings.

Photo: Timothy Roberts

W OMAN

CHARGED

WITH LI B EL AFTER ACCUSING OFFICER OF OFFERING SEX TO DROP CHARGES AGAINST HER RELATIVES

from page one

relatives.

Magistrate Kendra Kelly charged Dawn Pratt, 21, with two counts of intentional libel before granting her $2000 bail.

Pratt allegedly published and recorded defamatory material against Sergeant

3214 Melbert Munroe on Facebook to shame his character on January 7, 2022. She allegedly claimed that the officer asked her to sleep with him in exchange for dropping charges against her relatives who were in police custody at the time.

Following the woman’s not-guilty plea, prosecutor Sergeant Vernon Pyfrom raised no objections to her getting bail. She must sign in at the Carmichael Police Station on the first Monday of every month.

Pratt’s trial begins on May 3. Ian Jupp represented her.

BAIL GRANTED TO MAN ACCUSED OF BREAKING INTO a New ProvideNce home oN New Year’s eve

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A MAN was granted bail yesterday after he was accused of breaking into a home on New Providence on New Year’s Eve.

Assistant Chief

Magistrate Carolyn Vogt-Evans charged Valentino Simmons, 43, with housebreaking.

Simmons allegedly broke into the residence of Winton Turnquest on December 31, 2023. After pleading not guilty to the charge, Simmons

was given $4,000 bail with one or two sureties. Under the terms of his bail, he must sign in at a local police station every Sunday by 7pm. He must also be fitted with a monitoring device.

Simmons’ trial begins on April 25.

M AN CHARGED WITH IMPORTING GUN AND 1,000 ROUNDS OF AMMUNITION IN ELEUTHERA

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A MAN was sent to prison after he was accused of importing more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition into Eleuthera in a 40 ft shipping container last month.

Magistrate Lennox Coleby charged Lukandah Brown, 35, with importation of a firearm, conspiracy to import ammunition with intent to supply, and three counts of importation of

ammunition.

Levan Johnson represented the accused.

Brown, with accomplices, allegedly conspired to and did import 1,019 rounds of 9mm ammunition, 400 rounds of .40 ammunition and 79 rounds of 7.62 ammunition.

They also allegedly imported a black Taurus G3C 9mm pistol and 36.7lbs of marijuana.

Police reportedly seized these items around 3pm on January 26 after they were found in a 40 ft container at the Rock Sound

government dock. Brown pleaded not guilty to all charges against him.

Prosecutor ASP Lincoln McKenzie objected to giving him bail in the interest of public safety. He said the 7.62 rounds Brown allegedly imported are prohibited and used for war.

As part of his bail application, Mr Johnson said his client had no previous offences and is a family man.

Magistrate Coleby set Brown’s bail hearing for February 27.

BUILDING AT K IPLING COMPLEX IN GB SOON TO BE DEMOLISHED TO MAKE WAY FOR NEW UB CAMPUS

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

THE International Building at the Kipling Complex will soon be demolished to begin developing a new University of The Bahamas campus in Grand Bahama.

The four-story building, which comprises 35,000 sq. ft, is the largest of five buildings at the Kipling complex.

The International Building is one of five buildings at the complex UB acquired in the summer of 2023.

“We aim to transform the location into a vibrant university campus that will serve the needs of students,

faculty, and staff, regenerate economic growth in downtown Freeport, and rejuvenate the communities that surround it,” the University of The Bahamas said in a statement. Hurricane Dorian severely damaged the UB north campus in East Grand Bahama in 2019, leaving students, faculty, and staff operating out of temporary locations at the Bishop Michael Eldon School and the Teachers and Salaried Workers Cooperative Credit Union Building. “We haven’t had a location of our own where we could host events, have day classes, or build the sort of energy that one expects

on a college campus,” UB North campus President Dr Ian Strachan said.

“A lack of a central place of our own has made it difficult to provide our students with the full range of support services and facilities. Our community is eager to move to this new site, and we welcome this demolition as it signals the beginning of our transition.”

“Though the building has served as the headquarters for quite a number of key operations over the years, it has descended into disrepair. It will be razed, soon, to make way for a new structure and spark new growth opportunities,” said Dr Strachan.

Lyford

Cay Foundation broadens pilot programme to assist other schools with pandemic-related learning loss

WHILE most of society has recovered from the devastation of the pandemic, many Bahamian students are still dealing with learning loss in critical areas. LEAP (Learning Environment to Accelerate Progress), an innovative programme by Lyford Cay Foundations created to address this need, has started a new partnership with E.P. Roberts Primary School and St. Andrew’s International School (SAIS) to broaden its impact.

LEAP is an educational pilot programme that offers access to learning support in numeracy, literacy and social emotional skills.

Launched in 2022 by Lyford Cay Foundations, LEAP started with a total of 41 Uriah McPhee Primary School students from grades one to four. The sessions are hosted in western New Providence on the campus of Lyford Cay International School (LCIS) for 10 weeks to boost skills in reading, comprehension, written language and problem solving in mathematics and numeracy. The programme also focuses on developing enhanced social skills that help students learn to communicate and better understand others. Student progress is continually evaluated throughout the programme. Transportation, breakfast and a hot

healthy lunch are included. LEAP participants meeting in the West have the benefit of learning from their own teachers as well as those from LCIS.

The new partnership creates an opportunity for LEAP to grow, serving 40 additional students from E.P. Roberts Primary School who will meet in the eastern part of the island at SAIS. E.P. Roberts Primary students will have the chance to flourish academically and socially through a structured curriculum taught by teachers from their own schools and SAIS. LEAP will have access to the SAIS campus and facilities – including the school’s computer lab and playground. Administrators from both schools are excited about this unique public-private school collaboration.

“LEAP is a fantastic initiative, and we are 100% committed to this partnership,” said Mr Gordon McKenzie, Principal and CEO of St. Andrew’s International School.

Mrs Audrea R. SmithLewis, acting principal for E.P. Roberts Primary School, believes the programme will benefit her students and teachers.

“LEAP will make an impact on the students at E.P. Roberts Primary School because the focus

of the programme is on our students’ most crucial, formative years in primary school,” Mrs Smith-Lewis noted. “The support that this will provide to our teachers is also welcomed because it enables the best and the brightest minds to sharpen their skills and share best practices with like-minded professionals in education.”

Dr Nicola Virgill-Rolle, Executive Director of Lyford Cay Foundations, believes that great things are on the horizon for LEAP.

“Lyford Cay Foundations is dedicated to providing resources that curb learning loss and bolster educational success for students who need it the most,” said Dr VirgillRolle. “In the west, LEAP students are seeing significant improvements with increases ranging from 50 per cent to over 100 per cent in literacy and numeracy test scores.”

“With this new partnership with E.P. Roberts Primary and St. Andrew’s International School, we expect to see students meeting in the east make the same great strides toward academic success,” she continued. “Our goal is to continue to expand throughout the island for those who can benefit from LEAP the most.”

The power of empathy and service to others

“SERVICE is what

prayer looks like when it gets up off its knees and walks around the world.” –Fr Michael Graham, SJ.

Some years ago, a group of senior students from a tony high school went on a community service project to a church that had a well-established meal programme for homeless individuals and families.

The students, from comfortable and highly privileged middle class and wealthy families, were somewhat nervous that they would be serving meals to homeless children and families who were beset by an encyclopedia of social and mental problems, and who were, seemingly, a world away from the daily and life experience of the high schoolers.

When the students arrived at the church they were in for a holy surprise and the unexpected incarnation of a

“By losing and fnding ourselves in the service of something grander than our own needs or pampered comfort is one of the only genuine paths for true joy...”

new spirit. Instead of helping to feed the hungry and homeless clients at the shelter, the students were asked to join the line along with those who were being served lunch. In pairs, the students were asked to sit with the others being served, who were not coiffed, deodorised or designer-branded as were the community service participants. Those who came to serve were suddenly recipients of service.

They were not able to hide behind the superior position of ladling soup or dishing food for others.

They had to engage the clients of the centre in conversation over a simple meal.

Clearly, the students

could not truly understand the mental illness, posttraumatic stress from war, addiction, domestic abuse, alcoholism, misfortune and other experiences of homelessness and poverty of those who had to every day, often three times a day, wait on a line in order to eat.

After the service project the young people would soon return to their suburban comfort and choice of just about anything they wanted to eat at any time of the day.

But that day, for the first time, for a number of the students, there were the first glimmers of empathy and understanding for homeless and hungry people they had only seen on television or at a distance on the streets.

For what was only a glimmer, they briefly left “the comfort of their own perceived place in the world and inhabit[ed] the experience of someone” else.

In so doing, they enjoyed just the beginning or the “faint or wavering light” of their own vulnerability, and possibly a sense that they might at some point in life experience the very same vulnerabilities of the homeless men and women with whom they shared a meal and conversation.

One of the students had just broken up with his girlfriend. He was bemoaning the loss of a first love. The conversation at lunch with the homeless veteran with whom he shared lunch was about girlfriends and the

loss of love. Whether homeless, or privileged to live in a nice home, there is no human distinction or divide when it comes to heartbreak, loss, loneliness, the betrayal of a friendship and other fractures of relationships.

The student marveled that instead of “feeding the homeless”, for which he could morally pat himself on the back and brag about to his peers; he was instead the recipient of kindness, understanding and the gift of empathy from someone he came to serve.

Service and empathy are infused and pregnant with paradox, ultimate surprise, the shattering of our pretensions and privileges, akin to one of the master paradoxes of Christian spirituality: “Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it.” (Luke 17:33).

Through self-donation and service of others we are transformed and gather the threads and moral energy for conversion – and joy! Our myriad anxieties, avoidance of pain, fears, insecurities, disappointment, loss of loved ones, hopelessness, boredom, tedium, fear of disease and death, discontent and other ailments of the spirit can never be tamed by materialism and other distractions.

By losing and finding ourselves in the service of something grander than our own needs or pampered comfort is one of the only genuine paths for true joy, which is not the same as the temporary satisfaction that accompanies endless material acquisition.

Author and minister, Wayne Miller, offers: “As we serve others we are working on ourselves; every act, every word, every gesture of genuine compassion naturally nourishes our own hearts as well. It is not a question of who is healed first.

“When we attend to ourselves with compassion and mercy, more healing is made available for others. And when we serve others with an open and generous heart, great healing comes to us.”

A young nerdish student, who was not among the popular set on the school social circuit or one of the celebrated athletes or one of the so-called smart kids,

bumbled along in high school, somewhat socially isolated and awkward. He was a C-student who struggled academically. He failed to complete his first community service programme and probably drank a little too much and smoked too much weed on the weekends.

The summer before his last year in high school, he signed up to be a volunteer at a Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) camp for kids in order to meet his community service requirement.

“Volunteers work with campers, providing around-the-clock care and attention. Counselors push wheelchairs, meet the daily needs of each child and become a youngster’s friend for a week.”

Over the course of a holy week, the student emerged from the cocoon of certain weaknesses and vulnerabilities, transformed into one of the better volunteers the MDA Camp saw that year. He found new and unexpected life and joy.

If healed they can make us stronger. Some who have experienced physical abuse become more empathetic. But, some turn into abusers. Some victims of abuse describe how working with others who were abused helped them cope with their own pain and struggle.

We all struggle with our clever demons and falsehoods. But it is remarkable how genuine empathy and service of others beyond our weaknesses can help us to lose ourselves and discover new life and spiritual and emotional resources

“As we serve others we are working on ourselves; every act, every word, every gesture of genuine compassion naturally nourishes our own hearts as well.”

- Wayne Miller

His supervisor marvelled at how this shy and awkward young man came to love and was loved in return by the disabled young boy, of whom the former became his companion, friend and helper around-the-clock during a summer of transformation for both of them.

Even after the student had finished his community service requirement he returned to help and to serve because, to paraphrase his joy, he was compelled to do so.

As other students were called to receive their academic awards at graduation that year, he was given the school’s Community Service award, to the delight and surprise of his parents and peers, and to his own great surprise.

We serve and are transformed not only from our strengths but as often from the depth and struggle of our vulnerabilities. The Sufi mystic and poet Rumi instructs: “The wound is the place where the Light enters you.” Our wounds can destroy.

which can help to tame our demons and arrest our conceits.

At a mass in Havana, Cuba, in 2015, Pope Francis urged: “This caring for others out of love is not about being servile. Rather, it means putting the question of our brothers and sisters at the centre. Service always looks to their faces, touches their flesh, senses their closeness and even, in some cases, ‘suffers’ that closeness and tries to help them.

“Service is never ideological, for we do not serve ideas, we serve people.”

During this Lent, as throughout the year, there will be numerous opportunities to serve others in ways big and small. Service is a source of liberation, conversion, and communion. The opportunities for service appear in myriad forms.

In such acts and words of service cum communion, we are liberated from our self-absorption, while potentially liberating others in need of our material, spiritual and human gifts, and empathy.

The tale of two martyrs

A GROUP of friends had gathered for one couple’s anniversary party just outside Philadelphia.

For most of the evening, the atmosphere was light and airy, and remonstrative looks from a couple of wives sufficed to suppress any tendencies to introduce America’s current fractious political scene into the discussion.

Then someone raised the subject of martyrdom.

Before the discussion police could swing into gear, the flames were fanned.

“Who do we think of first when we think of martyrs?” asked Jeff, an insurance broker.

“How about Joan of Arc?” his sister-in-law Sally suggested. “Martin Luther King? Nelson Mandela?”

“I think that for the 2.4 billion Christians in the world, it’s Jesus Christ,” Sally’s husband Walt said. “I read that Christians are now 31 percent of the world’s population.”

It was hard to argue with Walt. Then close family friend Jim spoke up.

“Well, we’ve got two contemporary martyrs right now. One is acknowledged worldwide. The other one describes himself as such.”

The group quickly recognised that Walt was speaking first of Alexei Navalny, the 47-year-old Russian lawyer and dissident talisman whose death over the weekend in an Arctic Russian prison has sparked outrage all over the world. No one outside Russian president Vladimir Putin’s inner circle believes Navalny’s death was either accidental or from natural causes. It was the result of state-committed crime, the kind of crime Russians have

STATESIDE

with Charlie Harper

been most familiar with for over a century – except for the 1990s after the fall of the Soviet Union, when gang-related, property and personal assault crimes predominated.

Navalny, whose dissent had occasioned at least one previous attempt on his life with a sinister poison, returned to Moscow a couple of years ago from a medical exile in Berlin and was soon tossed in jail. He never got out. Some observers felt he knew this would happen, and had decided to allow fate and government malice to take their course. His death was a sadly predictable result, but one he doubtless hoped would spark real reform in his beloved Russia.

Dissent is tough in Russia, whether under the Tsars, Communists or the current group of plutocrats. The world’s largest nation is uniquely diffuse, and many experts have long felt that only a highly centralized, brutally harsh regime can hold together this empire of an estimated 190 different ethnicities.

It was reported recently that Navalny had compared himself to Anatoly Sharansky, a dissident 50 years ago whose continued defiance of the Soviet regime of that era made him a worldwide celebrity. Sharansky had worked for the Soviet government before speaking

out against its policies, especially those forbidding emigration to certain classes of applicants.

He was the Navalny of his day – with one major exception. Sharansky was Jewish. The United States under president Jimmy Carter often displayed a strong moral streak, and this was never so prominently on display as in the case of Sharansky and other Jewish “refuseniks,” whose exit visa applications were denied for many years by the Soviet government. Carter even pulled the US team out of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games in protest of these harsh Soviet policies.

Sharansky was a skilled publicist for his own plight, and attracted a lot of Western support. Eventually, after some harsh prison time, he was swapped for some Soviet spies in US custody in the 1980s. But his Jewishness was a vital factor in his celebrity as a dissident. And once he was allowed to leave the USSR after Mikhail Gorbachev took power, he emigrated to Israel. There, he became part of the estimated 15 percent of Israeli citizens who are Russian emigres.

Navalny enjoyed no lifeline comparable to Sharansky’s Jewish faith, though he often made reference to his relatively recent conversion to Christianity.

But his persecution was strictly secular, and no particular Western support came his way due to his religious faith. One can only hope he didn’t die in vain.

The US has its own selfproclaimed martyr, as noted by Walt in the discussion above. While Donald Trump has been almost completely silent about Navalny’s death even as many other Republicans have harshly condemned it, his only notable reaction has been to compare Navalny’s martyrdom to his own “persecution” by the US federal and state criminal justice system.

“I’m a martyr for you,” he has often told his adoring supporters at rallies and in social media posts.

Putin must really hope for a second Trump presidential term. He even told Russian reporters that it might be better if Biden were re-elected in November: Putin knows how unpopular he is in the US outside Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach. He may figure that his endorsement of Biden

might actually aid Trump’s own re-election bid.

For anyone who lived through the Cold War between the US and USSR during 1945-1990, current relations between these “superpowers” must now seem so bizarre as to seem almost comical. But one veteran Cold Warrior sees no humor in the situation.

That would be Joe Biden, whose long Senate Foreign Relations Committee tenure exposed him to the

seriousness and volatility of the US-USSR superpower rivalry. Biden was quick to blame Putin and his regime for Navalny’s death, and to highlight Trump’s still fawning fealty to Putin. The US president may be many things, but he is certainly a skeptical, experienced observer of Russia and its policies. The more Trump speaks incautiously about Putin, the clearer becomes the case to vote for his opponent in November.

Republican senate prospects improve but will Trump-backers support?

SPEAKING of the upcoming US national elections, there have been a couple of recent political developments in Senate races that may play a significant role, though neither has attracted too much attention so far.

The first took place in the deep blue state of Maryland, where voters have supported the Republican presidential nominee only twice in the past 50 years and not at all since 1988. The state has largely been a GOP write-off in recent decades, although a couple of Republicans have been elected governor.

The most recent of those was Larry Hogan, a jollylooking, rotund man whose genial appearance belies solid, pragmatic political skills. Hogan left office in 2022, vowing to explore a presidential candidacy to oppose Donald Trump, of whom Hogan emphatically disapproved even while serving as Maryland’s chief executive.

Hogan left office with astonishingly high approval ratings that hovered around 75 percent. Maryland voters across the political spectrum approved of his performance.

Now, Hogan has announced his candidacy for a US Senate seat that opened with the unexpected retirement of the incumbent. With the Democrats in the midst of a potentially fractious primary contest for their party nomination, this once solid blue seat is now seemingly up for grabs. National Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, had recruited Hogan this year, seeing a real opportunity to capture a Senate seat long held by the Democrats.

“It all kind of developed late,” McConnell said of Hogan’s campaign. “Hogan’s immensely popular. And who would have thought we could be competitive in a blue state like Maryland? But we clearly will be.”

Probably so. But it should also be noted that the Maryland Republican Party is now firmly under the control of operatives loyal to Trump. It remains to be seen how sympathetic or supportive Trump is likely to be for a candidate who has been harshly critical of him for many years, and who has committed the unpardonable sin of

endorsing Nikki Haley.

The US Senate race in Montana this November was always going to be vigorously contested and closely watched as incumbent three-term Democrat Jon Tester seeks re-election in a deep red state. Tester, like his colleague Sherrod Brown in Ohio, is supposedly on the imperiled list because their states voted for Trump four years ago.

But Tester, again like Brown, is personally popular with voters for his informal manner and unpretentious accomplishments. Still, life just got tougher for Tester when the Republican field was practically winnowed down to one with the withdrawal of current Republican Congressman Matt Rosendale from the GOP Senate primary election.

Rosendale, a staunch Trumper with extreme views on several hot-button issues, might have been an easier opponent for Tester than businessman and military veteran Tim Sheehy, who was supported by the state GOP and by Trump himself.

It’s still early days, but Republican Senate prospects just got better.

RUSSIAN opposition leader Alexei Navalny heads to a meeting of the Russia’s Central Election commission in December 2017. Officials formally barred him from running for president in the 2018 election, which he said is a predetermined sham.

Photo: Evgeny Feldman/AP

LARRY Hogan speaks at a news conference, January 11, 2022, in Annapolis, Maryland. The former Governor of Maryland is the most competitive candidate Republicans have had to pick up an open Senate seat in Maryland in decades, but Hogan will need more than GOP support at a time when Democrats’ outrage remains high about the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down constitutional protections for abortion.

Photo: Brian Witte/AP

NEW YORK Associated Press

OCCUPANTS of the White House have grumbled over news coverage practically since the place was built. Now it’s Joe Biden’s turn: With a reelection campaign underway, there are signs that those behind the president are starting to more aggressively and publicly challenge how he is portrayed. Within the past two weeks, an administration aide sent an unusual letter to the White House Correspondents’ Association complaining about coverage of a special counsel’s report on Biden’s handling of classified documents.

In addition, the president’s campaign objected to its perception that negative stories about Biden’s age got more attention than remarks by Donald Trump about the NATO alliance.

It’s not quite “enemy of the people” territory. But it is noticeable.

“It is a strategy,” said Frank Sesno, a professor at George Washington University and former CNN Washington bureau chief. “It does several things at once. It makes the press a foil, which is a popular pattern for politicians of all stripes.”

It can also distract

voters from bad news. And while some newsrooms quickly dismiss the criticism, he says, others may pause and think twice about what they write.

THE WHITE HOUSE OBJECTS TO THE FRAMING OF STORIES

The letter from Ian Sams, spokesman for the White House counsel’s office, suggested that reporters improperly framed stories about the Feb. 8 release of Special Counsel Robert Hur’s report. Sams pointed to stories by CBS News, The Wall Street Journal, The Associated Press and others emphasizing that Hur had found evidence that Biden willfully retained and disclosed classified material. Sams wrote that much of that so-called evidence didn’t hold up and was negated by Hur’s decision not to press charges. He said it was critical to address it when “significant errors” like misstating the findings and conclusions of a federal investigation of a president occur.

It was Sams’ second foray into press criticism in a few months; last fall he urged journalists to give more scrutiny to House Republicans and the reasons behind their

impeachment inquiry of Biden.

“Everybody makes mistakes, and nobody’s perfect,” Sams told the AP. “But a healthy back and forth over what’s the full story helps make both the press and the government sharper in how the country and world get the news they need to hear.”

Kelly O’Donnell, president of the correspondents’ association and an NBC News correspondent, suggested Sams’ concerns were misdirected and should be addressed to individual news organizations.

“It is inappropriate for the White House to utilize internal pool distribution channels, primarily for logistics and the rapid sharing of needto-know information, to disseminate generalized critiques of news coverage,” O’Donnell said.

In a separate statement, Biden campaign spokesman TJ Ducklo criticized media outlets for time spent discussing the 81-year-old president’s age and mental capacity, an issue that was raised anew when Biden addressed the Hur report with reporters. He suggested that was less newsworthy and important than Trump’s NATO comments. Americans deserve a press corps that covers Trump “with

Biden’s team signals a more aggressive posture toward the press as elections near

the seriousness and ferocity this moment requires,” said Ducklo, who resigned from the White House in 2021 for threatening a reporter.

To be fair, deadline times likely affected the initial disparity in coverage that Ducklo pointed out. And Trump’s remarks have hardly been ignored by media outlets. AG Sulzberger, publisher of The Times, noted in an interview with the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism that Biden’s team had been “extremely upset” about its coverage lately. “We’re not anyone’s opposition,” he said, “and we’re not anyone’s lapdog.”

HOW MUCH IS THE PRESIDENT AVAILABLE?

The criticism comes amid the backdrop of unhappiness among some journalists about how much Biden is made available for questions — an issue that surfaced again when Biden turned down an opportunity to appear before tens of millions of Americans in an interview during the Super Bowl pregame show. The 33 news conferences Biden has given during the first three years of his presidency is lower than any other American president in that time span

since Ronald Reagan, said Martha Kumar, a Towson University professor emeritus and expert on presidents and the press. Similarly, the 86 interviews Biden has given is lower than any president since she began studying records with Reagan. By comparison, Barack Obama gave 422 interviews during his first three years. Instead, Biden prefers more informal appearances where reporters ask a few questions, with comparatively little opportunity for followup, she said: The 535 such sessions that Biden conducted was second only to Trump’s 572. One example followed Biden’s remarks Friday after the death of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny. Another was Biden’s early evening availability following the release of Hur’s report, a chaotic scene where reporters tried to outshout one another. The president’s performance, and remarks about his forgetfulness that were made in Hur’s report, led to more questions about the impact of age on his ability. “It did not serve him well,” Kumar said. Some on Biden’s team, meanwhile, believe the president showed a combativeness in the face of

criticism that Americans will appreciate. Sesno said he can understand the Biden team’s worry that the president’s fitness for the job becomes a story they lose control of, much like former President Gerald Ford’s stumbles led to the perception that he was a bumbler. Nikki Usher, a media professor at the University of San Diego, said she was surprised that Biden’s team hadn’t become more aggressive earlier.

“He needs to jump out in front of the narrative,” Usher said.

T he Biden pushback seems mild in comparison to Trump’s epic badmouthing of news organizations like CNN and T he N ew York Times. Republican voters, in general, are much more apt to respond to efforts that make journalists the villain. Democrats, meanwhile, tend to have a greater appreciation for the press’ role in a democracy, U sher says, so the Biden team has to be more careful with attacks.

P articularly with the age issue, there’s only so much that the president’s team can say, S esno said: P eople will make up their minds based on what they see and hear from Joe Biden.”

PRESIDENT Joe Biden talks with reporters before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday in Washington. Occupants of the White House have grumbled over news coverage practically since the place was built. Now it’s Biden’s turn: With a re-election campaign underway, there are signs that those behind the president are starting to more aggressively and publicly challenge how he is portrayed.

Photo: Evan Vucci/AP

SPORTS

40TH HUGH CAMPBELL BASKETBALL CLASSIC

Champions to be crowned tonight

By TENAJH SWEETING Tribune Sports Reporter tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

Four teams remain in the 40th Hugh Campbell Classic basketball tourney but only one team can hoist the trophy tonight at the Kendal GL Isaacs Gymnasium.

The CI Gibson Rattlers, Sunland Baptist Academy Stingers, Tabernacle Baptist Academy Falcons and Anatol Rodgers Timberwolves all remain in contention for the coveted Hugh Campbell Basketball championship.

The final four games begin at 9am today in the morning session and the finals will be played at 9pm in session two.

Timberwolves vs Cobras

The Timberwolves demoralised the CC Sweeting Cobras 70-51 to advance to the final four.

The Government Secondary Schools Sports Association (GSSSA) basketball runners-up opened the first quarter 20-12.

Going into the second period, they kept up the momentum and advanced by 12 with 5:00 on the clock and concluded the first half 36-24. Anatol Rodgers then outscored the Cobras 18-12 in the final period to send CC Sweeting home.

Jasmen Rock and Derek Francis took over for the victors. Rock powered his way to a game-high 23 points, four assists and four steals. Francis amassed 21 points while shooting 50 per cent from the field.

The Timberwolves will look to seek revenge against the Rattlers in a GSSSA championship rematch this morning at the Kendal GL Isaacs Gymnasium.

Falcons vs Knights

The Falcons outmatched the CR Walker Knights 99-58 on Wednesday night.

The Grand Bahama team

had a game plan focused on fastbreaks and the three ball. The plan of attack was in full gear from the opening tip and the team was up 22-5 at the 2:37 mark of the first quarter. They throttled ahead by 20 (27-7) and closed out the opening period 35-7.

The Falcons were not done punishing the Knights and flooded the scoreboard 44-14 with less than 5:00 in the second quarter. The game was a

SPORTS CALENDAR

foregone conclusion after they went into the halftime break ahead 53-22.

Kevin Clarke, head coach of the Falcons, was impressed with the performance of his team going into today’s game against the Stingers. “We played well and we were rolling tonight. This is probably the best we played all year and we are peaking at the right time and that is good. We have a game in the morning that we have to take care of

BASEBALL SEYMOUR CAMP

THE Anfernee Seymour Foundation is scheduled to hold a baseball/softball camp at the Murphy Town Softball Field in Murphy Town, Abaco, February 23-25 between the hours of 9am and noon. Interested persons are urged to come out and participate.

BAHAMAS ESPORTS FEDERATION

THE federation is searching for eFootball players to represent The Bahamas regionally in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and potentially at the International Championships. Other opportunities to travel and earn prizes are available. Individuals interested can send an email to contact@besf242.org or reach out via Whatsapp at 242-425-2288. Persons must provide their full name, email

Feb. 2024

and phone number. The deadline for registrants is February 23, 2024.

BASKETBALL CHANGE IN VENUE FOR NEX-GEN

CAMP

THE Nex-Gen Camp, which was originally scheduled to be held at the Hope Center, has been changed to the Teleos Basketball Gymnasium on Carmichael Road. Space is limited so persons are asked to book their reservations as soon as possible. JRC Basketball Academy will stage the third annual elite training camp June 24 to July 13 each day from 9am to noon. The camp is open to boys and girls who will be placed in groups from ages 6-9, 10-13 and 14-18.

The camp will be conducted by coach JR Cadet, owner of JRC Basketball

and then we will go from there,” coach Clarke said.

The team displayed a balanced scoring effort with five players scoring in double digits. Noah Bain poured in a team-high 15 points, five rebounds and four assists. Mckell Feaste was a oneman band for the Knights. He logged a game-high 39 points, five rebounds and four steals.

Stingers vs Cougars

The GBSSAA basketball champions routed the

BAISS champions 68-47.

The Stingers had one game plan - stop Nakero Brown of Charles W Saunders.

The team managed to hold the Cougars’ star player to a single point and six rebounds on 0/6 shooting in the contest.

The Cougars briefly had the upper hand after the first, leading 16-13.

However, in the following period, Sunland tied the game at 20 and went on

ZION AND BRENDEN ATHLETES OF THE WEEK

By TENAJH SWEETING Tribune Sports Reporter tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

BRENDEN Vanderpool, indoor pole vault national record holder, and Grand Bahama native Zion Campbell excelled in the past week to be named Athletes of the Week.

Vanderpool was selected as the Southern Conference Men’s Field Athlete of the Week for his performances between February 7 to February 13.

Meanwhile, Campbell was in top form over the weekend to be awarded the US Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCA) National Athlete of the Week and the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) Athlete of the Week.

TRACK Campbell, representing Iowa Central Community College, turned on the jets at the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region ll Indoor Championships over the weekend in Storm Lake, Iowa.

The Grand Bahama native qualified for the men’s 60 metres finals with a time of 6.73 seconds. He trailed Indian Hills’ Traunard Folson who clocked a swift 6.70 seconds to cruise into the finals.

Tyreke Fortney, of Iowa Western Community College, came in third with a time of 6.80 seconds.

Despite placing second in the prelims, the Pan American U20 champion kicked into another gear in the finals.

He ran a personal best time of 6.60 seconds for not only a first place finish but a meet, facility and Iowa Central record.

The performance landed him in a two-way tie with Andre Morrison for the top

BAHA MAR CASINO TO HOST THIRD ANNUAL CELEBRITY GOLF INVITATIONAL

THE Baha

FINAL FOUR: The 40th Hugh Campbell Classic is now down to the final four teams in contention for the title including reigning champion Sunland Baptist Academy Stingers, CI Gibson Rattlers, Tabernacle Baptist Academy Falcons and the Anatol Rodgers Timberwolves.

Photo: Tenajh Sweeting

BAHA Mar Casino’s third annual Celebrity Golf Invitational is scheduled for February 23-24.

Amid wide-open playoff race, a wide-open NBA MVP race might be brewing as well

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer

THE new rule that rendered Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid ineligible for a second consecutive NBA MVP award because he’s missing too many games has the potential to create something the league hasn’t seen in almost two decades.

That would be a wideopen MVP race.

Steve Nash won the MVP award for the 200506 season with only 46% of the first-place votes, marking the last time somebody won the NBA’s top individual honor without having his name atop more than half of the ballots.

The winner in every season since has gotten at least 50% of the firstplace votes — and Stephen Curry even got 100% when he was MVP in 2016. This year sure seems like it could go differently, with several players in the realistic mix coming out of the All-Star break.

“There’s a lot of guys,” Boston forward Jaylen Brown said. “Who knows what the actual criteria is, to how it goes. I’ve had questions about a lot of different things that goes into stuff. But, you know, I guess we’ll see.”

Denver’s Nikola Jokic certainly could end up with the award for the third time in four years.

Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo may be in the mix for his third MVP as well. Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was fifth last season and should be higher this year. Dallas’ Luka Doncic will likely be on plenty of ballots. If the Los Angeles Clippers keep playing the way they have been over the last couple months, don’t be surprised if a case gets made for Kawhi Leonard.

“Kawhi should definitely be in that conversation,” Clippers forward Paul George said. “But there’s a lot of guys. You talk about Shai, you talk about Luka, you talk about Jokic. There’s a lot of guys out West and even out East, there’s a lot of guys doing a hell of a job representing their team.”

Brown believes his Celtics teammate Jayson Tatum should be atop the MVP list. It’s a reasonable argument; Tatum is the best player on the team with the best record in the league and his averages of 27 points, nearly nine rebounds and nearly five assists per game certainly merit award consideration.

A player has finished a season with those averages 26 times over the years; of those, nine have won that season’s MVP award.

Except this season, there are at least two other players — Doncic and Antetokoumpo — averaging that many points, rebounds and assists. Embiid was as well before he got hurt; it’s unclear when or if he’ll be back, but even if he does return he won’t be eligible for the MVP and probably won’t meet the threshold to rank among statistical leaders, either.

Part of the challenge of selecting an MVP is this: There’s no absolute definition. To some, it might mean “best player.”

To others, it might mean “most valuable to his team.” And if that’s the case, it might be time to look at Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell.

The Cavs are an NBA-best 23-5 since mid-December. They’re currently No. 2 in the Eastern Conference, when probably very few thought they’d be there. Mitchell is averaging 28.4 points, 6.3 assists, 5.4 rebounds and 1.9 steals – all career-highs. He wants to be MVP. He knows he doesn’t get mentioned. He can’t figure out why.

“I feel like the work shows for itself. I’m not one to go out there and vocalize,” Mitchell said. “Just want to go out there and do it. Ultimately, it’s not up to me. At the end of the day, they don’t put my name in there. They don’t want to. I’m just going to continue to play the level I’m playing at.”

Gilgeous-Alexander is leading another surprise

story in Oklahoma City. The Thunder haven’t won a playoff series since 2016; right now, they’re No. 2 in the West thanks in large part to the Canadian guard with averages of 31.1 points, 6.5 assists, 5.5 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game.

The only person to finish a season with all those averages: Michael Jordan, who did it 1988-89

– but didn’t win MVP that season. Go figure.

“He is more in the MVP race, I think, than people realize,” Orlando coach Jamahl Mosley said of Gilgeous-Alexander. “I mean, this is something special.”

Gilgeous-Alexander said he’s just going to keep blocking out any noise about awards or playoffs or anything besides who the Thunder play next.

“For me, it’s not any more difficult,” GilgeousAlexander said. “I think I’ve learned through experience -- and obviously as a young kid it’s easy to get caught up in it, just going back to high school and rankings and things like that. I’ve just found so much success from, not blocking it out, but not letting it faze me or control me.”

So, there’s a playoff race. There’s also an MVP race. Often by this time, it’s pretty easy to say that this guy or that guy will win. That’s not the case right now, and it only might get more muddled the rest of the way.

Which would be a great thing.

MOULTRIE SCORES TWICE, US WOMEN DOWN DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 5-0

CARSON, California (AP) — Olivia Moultrie scored twice in her first national team start and the United States defeated the Dominican Republic 5-0 on Tuesday night in the inaugural CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup tournament.

Moultrie, 18, making just her third appearance with the national team, scored her first goal in the seventh minute when she stretched to tap the ball across the goal line.

Lynn Williams added a goal off a pass from Midge Purce in the 30th minute to make it 2-0 in the U.S. team’s first game of the year.

Purce also fed Moultrie for her second goal in the 59th minute. Moultrie, who plays for the Portland Thorns in the National Women’s Soccer League, is the third-youngest player to score multiple goals in a game for the United States.

“I’m pretty ecstatic right now. I was just so happy to be on the field tonight,

GAUFF BEATS PLISKOVA TO REACH DUBAI QUARTERS,

SWIATEK AND RYBAKINA ALSO ADVANCE

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Coco Gauff rallied from a slow start and a second-set argument with the chair umpire to beat Karolina Pliskova 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 and reach the quarterfinals of the Dubai Championships yesterday.

The third-seeded Gauff ended Pliskova’s 11-match winning streak.

to have the opportunity to start is amazing,” Moultrie said.

Jenna Nighswonger scored her first goal for the U.S. on a penalty in the 86th minute to make it 4-0.

Alex Morgan, who was brought into the team earlier Tuesday, came in as a second-half substitute. Morgan was a roster replacement for Mia Fishel, who tore a ligament in her right knee in practice a day earlier. Morgan, who normally wears No. 13, wore Fishel’s No. 7 because of CONCACAF rules. Morgan converted a penalty kick in stoppage time to wrap up scoring. It was her 122nd international goal.

It was the sixth victory for the United States under interim coach Twila Kilgore, who took over when coach Vlatko Andonovski departed the team following the Americans’ disappointing finish at the Women’s World Cup last summer.

Kilgore will coach the United States until May, when Emma Hayes, currently coach of Chelsea, takes over. Purce said Kilgore did a good job of making sure everyone was on the same page. “I think that we’re playing against a low block so it

gives us an opportunity for a lot of creativity,” Purce said. “And we have a lot of creative players on the front line. So it really fun. It was a fun day.” Korbin Albert, who plays for Paris Saint-Germain, also made her first start.

Veteran defender Becky Sauerbrunn, the captain for the match, was also a late addition to the roster because Alana Cook sustained a minor knee injury. It was Sauerbrunn’s 216th cap. The Dominican Republic clinched a spot in Group A with a 1-0 victory over Guyana on Saturday.

Kathrynn González scored the lone goal early in the second half of the game. Gonzalez, a Pennsylvania native, came in as a second-half substitute against the United States.

Earlier Tuesday at Dignity Health Sports Park, home to Major League Soccer’s LA Galaxy, Argentina and Mexico played to a scoreless draw to open Group A play.

There are three groups of four teams in the tournament, with matches in Carson, San Diego and Houston.

The United States plays Argentina on Friday night in Carson.

The 19-year-old American built a 4-2 lead in the second set before a lengthy backand-forth with chair umpire Pierre Bacchi. Gauff complained to Bacchi that he called her serve at deuce out only after Pliskova returned it into the net.

GAUFF (AP)

Gauff had to repeat her first serve and went on to hold for a 5-2 lead.

The U.S. Open champion said the argument “fuelled” her.

“It’s OK. It’s just one point. That happens in tennis. Players make mistakes. Everybody makes mistakes,” Gauff said in her on-court interview. “It kind of went upward from there for me.” Gauff will next face Anna Kalinskaya after the Russian beat ninth-seeded Jelena Ostapenko 6-4, 7-5.

Top-ranked Iga Swiatek advanced to the last eight by beating two-time Dubai champion Elina Svitolina 6-1, 6-4.

Fourth-seeded Elena Rybakina had a tougher time reaching the quarterfinals. She outlasted Magdalena Frech 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-4.

Swiatek will next play sixth-seeded Qinwen Zheng, who eliminated Anastasia Potapova 6-3, 6-2. Rybakina has a quarterfinal match against Jasmine Paolini. The Italian defeated eighth-seeded Maria Sakkari 6-4, 6-2. The other quarterfinal match is seventh-seeded Marketa Vondrousova against Sorana Cirstea.

CHARLIE WOODS TRYING TO PLAY ON PGA TOUR

HOBE SOUND, Fla. (AP) — The 15-year-old son of Tiger Woods is taking the first step toward trying to play on the PGA Tour. Charlie Woods is entered in a pre-qualifier for the Cognizant Classic.

The pre-qualifier for Woods is today at Lost Lake Golf Club. The top 25 and ties advance to the Monday qualifier, where four players earn a spot in the field.

The PGA Tour said on its website Woods will play alongside Olin Browne Jr. and Ruaidhri McGee. Browne, whose father is a three-time winner on the PGA Tour, played in the U.S. Open last year at Los Angeles Country Club. Charlie Woods is no stranger to the stage. Tiger Woods has played with his son four times in the PNC Championship, a 36-hole tournament in which a major champion or a Players Championship winner teams up with a family member.

Tiger Woods, who withdrew from the Genesis Invitational last week with the flu, never won the tournament — formerly known as the Honda Classic — in four tries. He has not said when he will play next.

OKLAHOMA City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander answers a question during media day at the NBA All-Star basketball game on Saturday.

(AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

DALLAS Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) drives on Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard (0) during the first half of the NBA All-Star game.

(AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

MILWAUKEE Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) looks to shoot over Denver Nuggets centre Nikola Jokic (15) during the second half of the NBA All-Star basketball game in Indianapolis on Sunday. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

CLEVELAND Cavaliers’ Donovan Mitchell prepares to shoot during the 3-point contest during the NBA basketball All-Star weekend on Saturday in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

UNITED States’ Olivia Moultrie (13) shoots the ball against Dominican Republic’s Stella Tapia (3) and Renata Mercerdes (16) during the first half of the CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup soccer tournament at Dignity Health Sports Park on February 20. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

BAHA MAR CASINO TO HOST THIRD ANNUAL CELEBRITY GOLF INVITATIONAL

LUXURY RESORT GEARS UP FOR A STAR-STUDDED CELEBRITY GOLF TOURNEY, PARTNERING AMATEURS WITH WORLD-CLASS ATHLETES

FROM PAGE 14

former MLB Atlanta Braves/ New York Yankees David Justice, former NFL Atlanta Falcons/ Washington Redskins Deangelo Hall, former NFL Washington Redskins/Tennessee Titans Brian Orakpo, former NFL Dallas Cowboys Keith Brooking, former Heisman and NFL Tennessee Titans Vince Young, former NFL

Cincinnati Bengals Takeo Spikes and more. “Baha Mar stands as the premier destination for golf enthusiasts in the Caribbean, and events like the Casino’s Celebrity Invitational help cement that distinction further,” said Graeme Davis, president of Baha Mar.

“We continually seek opportunities to attract exceptional talent and guests to our world-class casino, providing experiences that go above and beyond for those

RELOADED BASEBALL VISITS SUMMIT ACADEMY

LIVING up to Reloaded’s mandate of developing and mentoring tomorrow’s leaders, Reloaded Baseball had an opportunity to speak to the young students at Summit Academy during the school’s Spirit Week.

One of Reloaded’s coaching administrators Stephen Curtis Jr and Ryan Reckley spoke to the children about what it takes to accomplish certain milestones in life and achieving goals through integrity, collaboration, accountability, respect and excellence.

“They both explained that through incorporating these key values in your life, which also aligns with Summit Academy’s core values, will equip you with the necessary tools for success,” according to a press release.

“A special thanks to SJ and Ryan for taking the time out to give back to our future through laying out and explaining what it takes, the benefits of hard work that results in scholarships through baseball to high school and college and also

who choose to visit us in The Bahamas.” The weekend-long tournament commences on Friday with practice rounds on Baha Mar’s 18-hole signature Jack Nicklaus golf course, Royal Blue. Players and guests will wrap up the evening with a special reception at ECCHO, Baha Mar’s multifunctional creative exhibit space for local and international artists. The festivities continue on

Saturday at Royal Blue Tavern with breakfast before participants tee off for the Celebrity Invitational happening across Royal Blue’s dramatic views of fairways and rolling white sand dunes and will conclude with an awards ceremony and luncheon.

The Baha Mar Casino is the largest casino in the Caribbean and like no other. With floorto-ceiling windows overlooking sparkling turquoise Bahamian

water, it’s designed for gaming of every level, from casual players to high-stakes rollers. Guests will find a perfect combination of thrilling energy and relaxed luxury, as they partake in 18 different types of table games, over 1,000 slot machines, live sports betting by William Hill, and Nassau, The Bahamas’ hottest dining and nightlife scenes, with over 45 restaurants, bars and lounges.

the ability to go pro and play in the Big Leagues. “They explained to the kids in detail of what it takes

Summit Academy students listen to the lectures during the school’s Spirit Week.

and they stood their as living proof of how hard work pays off. “The kids were overly excited and this is only the

beginning of Reloaded’s give-back programme to our kids. “We remain undeterred in achieving all of our

objectives for our kids on and off of the field as good is never enough as we develop tomorrows leaders.”

Spring training: Mets pitcher dealing with arm fatigue

NEW York Mets righthander Kodai Senga experienced some arm fatigue after throwing a side session during spring training.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said yesterday that Senga was being examined by the team’s trainers. Mendoza wasn’t sure if the Japanese pitcher would have an MRI.

“We’ll see. We’ve got to get with the trainers because that was late, obviously,” Mendoza told reporters in Port St. Lucie, Florida. “I’ve got to get more information. But he got on the mound yesterday and today he came in and just overall arm fatigue.”

New York is looking to Senga to help anchor its rotation after he put together an impressive rookie season. The Mets signed right-hander Luis Severino and left-hander

Sean Manaea in the offseason, and they acquired right-hander Adrian Houser in a December trade with Milwaukee. The 31-year-old Senga signed a $75 million, fiveyear contract with New York in December 2022. He went 12-7 with a 2.98 ERA in 29 starts last year. The Mets are hoping to rebound after they finished fourth in the NL East with a 75-87 record. David Stearns took over as president of baseball operations in September, and Mendoza was hired in November. New York also announced yesterday that it had agreed to a minor league contract with Ji Man Choi. The veteran first baseman played for Pittsburgh and San Diego last year, batting .163 with six homers and 13 RBIs in 39 games. INTERNATIONAL FLAVOUR It looks as if the Los Angeles Dodgers are

By JAY COHEN AP Baseball Writer NEW York Mets pitcher Kodai Senga. (AP)

making the most of their international roster. In a video posted by the Dodgers on social media on Wednesday, outfielder Teoscar Hernández is giving a Spanish lesson to new teammates Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Ohtani offers a nearperfect “Buenos días fanáticos” — Good morning, fans — and then laughs and smiles. Hernández then goes to Yamamoto, and he says “Buenos días.” Hernández, Ohtani and Yamamoto are entering

their first season with LA. Hernández finalised a $23.5 million, one-year contract in January. Ohtani joined the Dodgers on a $700 million, 10-year deal, and Yamamoto received a $325 million, 12-year contract.

Ohtani wants to get 50 at-bats during spring training — counting live batting practice and swings off a pitching machine — to prepare for the regular season, and he thinks he has plenty of time to fit them in. The Dodgers play the San Diego Padres on March 20 in Seoul, South Korea, in their regular-season opener.

The 29-year-old Ohtani told reporters in Glendale, Arizona, that he is feeling good at the plate and seeing the ball well. The two-time AL MVP also said there is nothing new happening with his surgically repaired right elbow.

FAST FRIENDS

Yankees ace Gerrit Cole threw 36 pitches to Austin Wells over two innings in a

simulated game, and then praised the young catcher’s work behind the plate. The 24-year-old Wells made his major league debut on September 1 at Houston.

“He’s come up and been like, I’ve never saw him bad,” Cole said. “I thought that right away his gamecalling was exceptional.”

Wells hit .229 with four homers and 13 RBIs in 19 games last year. He could get significant playing time this season.

“It’s great catching a Cy Young Award winner,” Wells said. “Just trying to build a relationship with him. Started last year just picking his brain. Then come to this spring, the same thing, picking his brain and trying just to understand why he’s throwing what pitches in certain counts.”

Cole was pleased with his outing.

“I threw at least one good pitch of all different pitches

and the velo was good,” Cole said.

HE’S HERE

The Washington Nationals added some outfield depth by agreeing to a minor league contract with Jesse Winker. The 30-year-old Winker appeared in 61 games with Milwaukee last year, batting .199 with a homer and 23 RBIs. He is a .264 hitter with 81 homers and 266 RBIs in 610 career games, also playing for Cincinnati and Seattle.

AILING

San Francisco Giants right-hander Keaton Winn is dealing with elbow soreness after throwing his last bullpen session. He will rest and receive treatment before being reevaluated this weekend.

Winn, who turned 26 on Tuesday, made his big league debut on June 13. He went 1-3 with a 4.68 ERA in nine games with San Francisco last year, including five starts.

CELEBRITY SWING: Bruce Smith in action at the 2023 Baha Mar Casino Celebrity Golf Tournament at Baha Mar’s Royal Blue Golf Course.

Photo: Baha Mar

Hugh Campbell Basketball Classic champions to be crowned tonight

FROM PAGE 14

an 8-2 run, propelling them to a 32-26 halftime lead. Jay Phillipe, head coach of the Stingers, said it was a good win but the job is not done yet.

“It was a really good game, hats off to CW Saunders. I think we were more determined and we know we are the more disciplined team. We came out with an attitude to repeat as backto-back champions so I think we played a really good game.

“Defensively, my guys were able to get steals and transition points. It was a good game overall but the work is not done yet. We are looking forward to the matchup tomorrow morning against Tabernacle,” coach Phillipe said.

The Hugh Campbell defending champions blitzed the Cougars with an unanswered 13-0 run to gain a 45-26 advantage early in the third quarter and never looked back.

The Stingers outrebounded the Cougars 57 to 45. They dominated the paint with 48 points compared to 24.

Denage Kelly was phenomenal once again. He dropped a game-high 28 points and pulled down seven rebounds in the win.

Leroy Gray was the Cougar’s best option on offence with 10 points.

Rattlers vs Jaguars

The St George’s Jaguars put up a good fight against the GSSSA basketball

champions in the first half but were unable to withstand the defensive pressure in the second half of the game. The Rattlers sent them home with a 69-47 loss. The Jaguars were hot from behind the arc in the first half and were able to create a 23-19 separation in the second period. The Rattlers then climbed back into the game to hold

a slim 35-32 lead heading into the locker rooms.

It was a tale of two halves for the Rattlers who rattled the Jaguars with some aggressive defence which translated to efficient offence. The team forced a shot clock violation at the 4:31 mark of the third quarter and canned a quick three from long range to pull away 40-34. They outscored the visiting

team 34-15 in the second half of the ball game to quash their Hugh Campbell title chances.

Tashon Butler got it going late in the game but ended up with a game-high 22 points and shot 53 per cent from the field.

The team collectively shot 50 per cent on field goals.

On the opposite side, Deryl Williams went down

MARSHAWN LYNCH RESOLVES VEGAS DUI CASE WITHOUT A TRIAL OR CONVICTION

LAS VEGAS (AP)

—

Former NFL running back Marshawn Lynch resolved a drunken driving case without a trial or DUI conviction yesterday, 18 months after police found him asleep in the driver’s seat of a damaged luxury sports car in Las Vegas.

A city judge accepted an agreement that did not involve plea, according to a court document and Lynch’s attorneys, David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld.

Lynch, 37, agreed to attend DUI traffic school and pay a $1,140 fine and will avoid a misdemeanor DUI conviction if he completes 200 hours of community service, attends a victim impact panel, undergoes an alcohol evaluation and remains out of trouble for one year. Misdemeanor charges of failure to drive in a travel lane and driving an unregistered vehicle were dismissed.

swinging with a side-high 15 points for the Jaguars.

The Rattlers will face a familiar foe in the Timberwolves this morning at 9am. The final two Grand Bahama teams will follow with their game at 10am.

The championship game will be played later in the evening at 9pm. Tickets are priced at $10 for adults and $5 for children 10 and under.

LIONEL MESSI GETS AN ASSIST, INTER MIAMI OPENS MLS SEASON WITH 2-0 WIN OVER REAL SALT LAKE

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Sports Writer

FORT LAUDERD-

ALE, Florida (AP)

— Lionel Messi had two Real Salt Lake defenders on either side of him, two more a few yards in front of him. He quickly tapped the ball away from them all with his left foot, to a spot where only teammate Robert Taylor could reach.

Moments later, Inter Miami had the first goal of the Major League Soccer season.

Taylor’s goal in the 39th minute set the tone, Diego Gómez added an insurance score in the 83rd minute and Inter Miami — to start Messi’s first full season with the club — opened the 29th season of MLS with a 2-0 win over Real Salt Lake last night.

Messi was in midseason form, darting through and around defenders, almost giving the sellout crowd what they wanted to see by nearly scoring on a free kick and then a corner kick midway through the first half.

“I think the eyes of the world are on Inter Miami, and I’m hoping that they’re able to deliver on that and whatever expectations people have,” said MLS Commissioner Don Garber, who was at Wednesday’s match.

“Mostly, I’d just like his experience to be good, the experience of the team to be successful, how they’re positioned both here in the league but also around the world. That’s the story that

SPORTS CALENDAR

FROM PAGE 14

Academy and an experienced 10-year FIBA pro basketball player who played on the Bahamas men’s team that played in the FIBA World Cup qualifying tournament.

The special guest at this year’s camp will be coach Dalton Reitmeier, the head coach at Rabun Gap School USA - a four-year

I think is most important to us.”

Messi had 11 goals in 14 total matches with Inter Miami last season, leading the team to a Leagues Cup championship — its first-ever trophy — shortly after he stunned much of the soccer world by signing a 2 1/2-year contract worth around $150 million. He appeared in only six MLS matches in 2023, scoring once.

Injuries slowed him late in the 2023 season and Inter Miami, which was way out of the postseason picture when Messi joined last summer, didn’t make the MLS playoffs.

But the craze surrounding him is not fading. The lines for fans to buy his jersey, which was MLS’ top-seller last year and has a new sponsor design this year, was out the door of the team store. He had the assist on the first goal and set up Luis Suarez — one of his former Barcelona teammates, like fellow Inter Miami stars Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba — with the pass that Suarez turned into the assist on Gómez’s goal. “I’m so happy,” Suarez said.

They looked every bit like a contender. That wasn’t the case in the exhibition season.

Inter Miami started its season with an international preseason tour with seven matches in five different countries — netting roughly 25,000 miles of travel, a total of eight goals, multiple apologies

NCAA athlete and former player at IMG Academy.

FINAL WALK WITH ‘HAWK’ THE general public is being asked to take a final walk with ‘Hawk’ as family and friends pay a special tribute to the late Alpheus ‘Hawk’ Finlayson. The public is invited to join a special celebration of the life and legacy of Finlayson on Thursday, February 29 from 7-10pm at the Crypto Isle (formerly Luciano’s) on East Bay Street.

to refund-seeking fans after Messi missed a game in Hong Kong because of injury, and just one win. But they completely controlled the first half of Wednesday’s match against a team that comfortably made the Western Conference playoffs last season. Messi even flicked the ball around Salt Lake defender Andrew Brody who was injured and down near the top of the penalty box late in the half, weaving around him with ease. Brody was able to stay in the game.

“If anybody had been sceptical about what this team can do, I think the first half showed them,”

For more information, persons are asked to contact Stanley Mitchell at 816-6619 or Quinton Curry at 565-1178.

FAST TRACK INVITATIONAL FAST Track Athletics announced that its third annual Spring Invitational will take place over the weekend of May 10 and May 11 at the Grand Bahama Sports Complex. The entry fee will be $10 for adults and $5 for children. For more information, persons are asked

Inter Miami coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino said.

Inter Miami, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, enters the season as the favourite to win just about everything. Messi’s team is listed as the 5-2 favourite to win the MLS Cup, while Messi and Suarez are the top two picks to win the Golden Boot — given to the league’s leading scorer.

The club is basically an even-money favourite to win the Supporters Shield as MLS’ top regular-season club. And if someone wagered $200 on Inter Miami making the Eastern Conference playoffs right now, that bettor would stand to profit exactly $1

to contact 242-727-6826 or fasttrackmanagamentoo@ gmail.com

CHESS CARICOM CLASSIC TEAM

THE Bahamas Chess Federation announced that Avian Pride, Dr. Joseph Ferguson, Polina Karelina and Chika Pride will represent BCF and The Bahamas at the 2024 CARICOM Classic Inaugural Team Chess Tournament.

The event, hosted by the Guyana Chess Federation, is scheduled for

if Messi’s club makes the field — meaning it is considered to be an absolute postseason lock.

It should be noted that the club has yet to win a playoff match. Inter Miami has been to the playoffs twice, getting eliminated right away on both occasions, both times by 3-0 scores.

“You don’t have to jump the gun,” Martino said. “It was just one game.”

But Messi moves the needle — every needle — that much. He turns 37 in June and the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner still attracts attention, on and off the field, like almost no one else in sports.

Apple TV released the first episode of “Messi’s World Cup: The Rise of a Legend” on Wednesday, and the streaming service (which has a 10-year deal worth at least $2.5 billion with MLS) was part of the group that pitched Messi during his process of deciding whether to join the league last year.

Apple hasn’t released numbers, but senior vice president Eddy Cue said Wednesday that he was “shocked” by how successful Year 1 of Messi in MLS was.

“We had a tremendous first season,” Cue said. “The amount of viewership was way over what we ever expected. The amount of time that people were watching games is more than any sport that I’ve seen.”

Messi Mania continues. And Year 2 has win No. 1.

March 3-10. “This tournament holds significance as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of CARICOM and our federation’s 50th year of FIDE membership,” the BCF said. “This tournament is also an opportunity to strengthen the bonds of friendship and collaboration within the CARICOM region.

“Participating in this event offers a unique platform for our players to showcase their exceptional talent.”

The result will close the case as a reckless driving offense, his attorneys said in a statement.

Las Vegas city officials responded to a request for comment by providing a copy of Lynch’s signed written agreement.

Lynch was arrested early Aug. 9, 2022, after he was found sitting in an “undriveable” 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 at the curb of a downtown Las Vegas street. Police said the car had one front wheel missing and a badly damaged rear wheel.

In Nevada, a person in the driver’s seat can be deemed to be in physical control of the vehicle. Schonfeld and Chesnoff argued that Lynch had not been stopped by police while driving and the vehicle was parked so he couldn’t be charged with driving under the influence.

Lynch retired from the NFL in 2019 after 12 seasons, mostly with the Seattle Seahawks.

He was a five-time Pro Bowl pick, racking up 10,413 career rushing yards and 85 rushing touchdowns from 2007-19 with the Seahawks, Buffalo Bills and Oakland Raiders.

ZION AND BRENDEN ATHLETES OF THE WEEK

FROM PAGE 14

time of the 2024 NJCAA

Men’s 60m rankings.

The 19-year-old also placed second in the 200m finals, notching 21.80 seconds. Additionally, in the men’s 4x400m relay the team of Campbell, Bongumusa Nkosi, Seon Booker and Trevon Prince earned the second position in the event.

He is only fifth Iowa Central male athlete to be named the National Athlete of the Week for the indoor season.

FIELD

Vanderpool set another indoor national record in the pole vault at the Samford Open at the Birmingham Metro CrossPlex in Birmingham, Alabama.

The Samford University freshman won the men’s pole vault with a height of 5.45m which was a personal best. He is ranked 18th in the NCAA and the latest performance made him the number one freshman in the event.

The pole vault national record holder also qualified for the NCAA Division II Indoor Nationals scheduled to take place in March. He will be in action again at the Southern Conference Championship February 24-25 in Lexington, Virginia.

INTER Miami forward Lionel Messi takes a free kick during the first half of the team’s MLS soccer match against Real Salt Lake yesterday in Fort Lauderdale.

(AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

FINAL FOUR: The 40th Hugh Campbell Classic is now down to the final four teams in contention for the title including reigning champion Sunland Baptist Academy Stingers, CI Gibson Rattlers, Tabernacle Baptist Academy Falcons and the Anatol Rodgers Timberwolves

Photo: Tenajh Sweeting

‘BUDDY‘ WEIGHS IN ON BASKETBALL LANDSCAPE

By TENAJH SWEETING Tribune Sports Reporter tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

GRAND Bahama native Chavano “Buddy” Hield will be back on the court tonight in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania but before starting the second half of the NBA season, he spoke with reporters last week about the current landscape of basketball in The Bahamas.

The three-point marksman was also vocal about the journey ahead for the senior men’s national basketball team at the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Valencia, Spain. Additionally, he highlighted the importance of sharing the Bahamian culture and experience with his fellow teammates across the various NBA organisations.

Basketball is currently in full swing at all tiers in the country. The championships for both the Government Secondary Schools Sports Association (GSSSA) and Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools (BAISS) recently wrapped up and a champion will be crowned tonight for the 40th Hugh Campbell Classic. Internationally, The Bahamas is gearing up to face Puerto Rico in a homeand-away game for the FIBA AmeriCup Qualifiers 2025. The 31-year-old is pleased to see the growth of basketball that spans across different eras. “I am so excited to see basketball’s growth starting from the Mychal Thompson era. I wouldn’t say my era but I was one of the first

ones to start it from 2016 and then Deandre Ayton and Kai Jones and now you have VJ Edgecombe and AJ Storr, all those young guys.

“Hopefully, the kids here would look up to those guys like we can do it too…I am excited for all of that and I am trying to tap in and see how we can better improve every level and skill.” Hield said.

He also gave special mention to former Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) MVP Jonquel “JJ” Jones, who is an inspiration to young ladies as well.

Hield, who was appointed the Ambassador-At-Large last week, played an integral role for Bahamian basketball as a member of the senior men’s national basketball team

that advanced to the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament set for July 2-7.

The Bahamas sits in Group B with Finland and Poland.

Meanwhile, Group A has the host country Spain, Angola and Lebanon.

Twenty four countries will be vying for the final four available spots at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

“It is very exciting thanks to all the support of the Bahamian people, Prime Minister Davis, Mario Bowleg and everybody that took part in getting us to this point. “I just think that we gotta stay together. This run we had in Argentina with LJ bringing the team together shows the team camaraderie. “I feel like we are ready to make that next jump. It is not gonna be easy,” stated Hield.

“We have a lot of powerhouses and we will already be at a disadvantage because we are not on our home soil and Spain will be there.

“We like it the hard way and we are gonna figure it out,” the NBA shooting guard said. “I feel that once we come there ready, settled in and locked in, I feel we could get to the Olympics,” he said.

The country has become a hub for sports tourism and Hield is known for representing his home and its culture any chance that he gets. He was awarded the tourism brand ambassador honours in 2023 at the National Sports Awards.

The eight-year veteran spoke on sharing a glimpse of Bahamian culture with fellow NBA players.

“All of my teammates and even the teammates now want to come to The Bahamas. They said ‘Buddy I want to come to The Bahamas with you.’

“Every team I go on I always try to invite my teammates to come to The Bahamas, show them where I am from, let them feel the island love, eat some conch or take them to fish fry. I just try to give them some island love and let them have an experience they have never had before,” he said.

It will be back to business as usual for Hield, who is on the hunt for the first playoff appearance of his NBA career, with the Philadelphia 76ers.

The team takes on the fourth seeded New York Knicks 7pm tonight at the Wells Fargo Center.

THERE’S no NBA

hitting their best stride. Denver is coming out of the break in fourth place in the Western Conference, three games back of No. 1 Minnesota.

He knows the stretch run often decides races.

And the same holds true in the NBA, which is entering its stretch run.

The All-Star break is over, games resume today and the defending champion Nuggets — along with a slew of other contenders — are hoping that this is the time when they can start

“We don’t try to listen to what people say,” Jokic said. “We know what we are capable of. And it’s working for us. So, I don’t know what people are saying, that we are not good. I don’t say that we are the best, but we are not bad.”

They were the best last season. This season, the best won’t be crowned until June, of course. The next couple of months are all about jostling for playoff position — or in some cases, fighting for playoff spots. It’s not the second

half — what people commonly call the period after the All-Star break — but rather the final third of the season. The league is exactly two-thirds of the way through the season, 820 games down, 410 games to go. It’s the time of year when playbooks tend to get tweaked a little and things get a little more serious.

Paul George of the Los Angeles Clippers knows the playoff push is underway. But as a veteran, he also knows that the most important game is always the next one.

“Can’t look too far ahead,” George said. “Take it one game at a time. Because that’s what you tend to do, second half of the season, start to look ahead and look forward to playoffs and just trying to get to the playoffs. But we just got to take it one game at a time.”

Boston has the NBA’s best record and sits high atop the Eastern Conference, Minnesota and Oklahoma City — a pair of surprises — are first and second, respectively, in the West and some teams with championship pedigrees like Golden State and the Los Angeles Lakers are hoping their pre-All-Star momentum carries over now.

The Warriors were 8-2 in their last 10 games before the break, the Lakers 7-3.

“The most important thing for me is definitely my health, where I’m at right now, where our team is leaning,” Lakers forward LeBron James said.

“We’re trending in the right direction. Obviously, with our Laker team, it’s been about health all year. Trying to do what’s best for me for the betterment of the team.”

He’s been dealing with an ankle issue that limited

him in the All-Star Game but didn’t prevent him from playing. Other teams have far bigger concerns — primarily the Philadelphia 76ers, who spent a bit of time in November atop the East but have dropped nine of their last 12 games with reigning MVP Joel Embiid out with a knee injury.

They’re sliding and so are the Milwaukee Bucks, who have gone 3-7 since Doc Rivers took over as coach. Rivers said at AllStar weekend that he knew that taking over a team just before a long road trip would be a mistake; it seems like he was right. But he also believes there’s time to figure things out.

“If you look statistically over the last 20 years, the same teams win it: the teams that are in the top five or 10 in offence and the teams that are in the top five or 10 in defecse,” Rivers said. “That’s not going away. So you can score all you want. But you

better be able to defend, too, if you want to win.”

Boston has a six-game lead over second-place Cleveland in the East; that would suggest it’s safe to go ahead and put the Celtics down for a 10th consecutive playoff berth, extending the longest current streak of postseason appearances in the league.

Detroit, Washington, Charlotte, San Antonio, Portland and Memphis all are alive mathematically but not realistically. Take them out of the mix, and it’s 24 teams left in the race for 20 spots when including the play-in tournament.

The Thunder had 100-1 odds to win the NBA title when the season started. They’re at 25-1 now, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

“I think we’re starting to kind of see others take notice of us,” Thunder guard and MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We knew that was going to happen once we

started winning games. It comes with the territory.”

Every team has between 26 and 29 games left to play. In terms of combined remaining opponent winning percentage, Orlando, Miami and Boston are among the teams with the easiest — on paper, anyway — schedules the rest of the way.

Phoenix would have the toughest, including two games left to play against Boston and a 10-game stretch to end the season all against likely playoff teams.

“We respect every team regardless and try to focus on us as much as possible each night,” Suns forward Kevin Durant said. “It just about building our habits, getting better at what we’ve already established and pushing forward. I think playing against some of the teams that’s going to be there at the end of the season, it’s going to be a great test before we head to the playoffs.”

PHOENIX Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) shoots over Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) during the first half of the NBA All-Star game in Indianapolis on Sunday. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

PHILADELPHIA 76ers guard Buddy Hield (17) does an interview after an NBA basketball game against the Washington Wizards on

February 10 in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)