Los Angeles Clippers’ Head Coach Says It’s Hard To Recruit Players
Uncertainty in basketball is purgatory on Earth for some coaches. In a recent interview, Los Angeles Clippers Head Coach and President of Basketball Operations Doc Rivers explains how Donald Sterling’s current ownership battle has hurt Clippers’ recruitment.
NBA free agency began on July 1st and Clippers have been able to sign a few players including free agents Jordan Farmar, Spencer Hayes and their draft pick CJ Wilcox. Two months before the start of free agency, NBA Commissioner banned Donald Sterling from participating in any basketball operations for the Clippers. With Sterling currently fighting the forced sale of the Clippers to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, Rivers informed reporters on Monday (July 14th) that the uncertainty of whom the Clippers’ owner is has hurt the team in recruiting players:
It has hurt us some this summer. You go in to talk to a free agent and most guys, teams will bring their owner. I go in, looking like this, by myself. I don’t know what effect that has had but that’s not been great for us
While meetings with Ballmer are not allowed, Rivers admits that two have had accidental “bump-ins” with his soon-to-be new boss. Los Angeles Clippers’ Head Coach Says It’s Hard To Recruit Players Because of Donald Sterling.
Source-AllhipHop
Revenue Department informs the public on Business licensing
The Revenue Department in the Ministry of Finance would like to inform the public that Cabinet at its recent meeting approved the following:
• The Business Licensing (Amendment) (No.3) Regulations 2014 amended Schedule 2 to the Business Licensing Regulations (hereinafter referred to as the Regulations) by revising certain fees in respect of business licences. Schedule 3 and 4 of the Regulations have also been amended (1) to revise certain business activities that were reserved for Belonger businesses and (2) to require that business activities which are categorized as restricted will now require consultation with Cabinet before a decision is made to grant or not grant a licence.
• The Business Licensing (Extension of Time) Regulations 2014 which extends the period for businesses to pay the annual licensing fee for the renewal of license for the year 2014/15 to 31st August, 2014. The 10% penalty for the late renewal of licenses have also been waived for this period.
• The Business Licensing (Amendment) (No.2) Regulations 2014 which provides a new business licence application form and introduces an application form for the renewal of a business licence.
There will be a reduction in fees for certain business activities as a direct result of the amendments to Schedule 2 of the Business Licensing (Amendment) Regulations.
TCIFA’S CONCACAF GRASSROOTS FESTIVAL FOR GIRLS TAKES PLACE THIS WEEKEND!
The Turks & Caicos Islands Football Association (TCIFA) will be launching the Confederation of North Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) Grassroots Festival for Girls this weekend. The festival consists of two sections: a course and the event.
The course will take place on Saturday and Sunday, 19th – 20th July from 8:30AM – 1:00PM, with the festival being held on Monday, July 21st at 4PM. All activities will be hosted at the National Academy on Venetian Road in Providenciales.
This festival will be focused on the U-12 girls, and the TCIFA is anticipating them to turn out in large numbers. Both parents and coaches are encouraged to participate in the course, which is promised to be both educational and enlightening.
Heather Dyche, a CONCACAF Instructor, will be the lead trainer for both the course and festival. Dyche has an extensive background in football, which includes Olympic Development Director for New Mexico and various positions within the coaching field. Dyche is currently the National Instructional Staff for the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) and currently holds a National Youth License and a USSF C license.
Wayne Sparks Dating Rumors With Christina Milian
Lil Wayne and Christina Milian allegedly have a romantic relationship. The pair's dating rumors sparked after they were seen holding hands at 2014 ESPY Awards on July 16.
Lil was also seen sitting side-by-side with Christina at the event, which was hosted by his friend Drake. At the event, Lil wore a black outfit from head to toe, while Christina wore a white dress.
Christina, who split from Jas Prince, CEO of Rap-a-Lot Records, last month, has recently signed to Lil's label. Before Christina ended her romance to Jas, Lil released a song titled "Tina Turn Up Needs a Tune Up". The "Tina" in the song allegedly referred to Christina. The lyrics include, "I'll take your Tina/She need a king, #**! them princes/You're a queen/Let's have a princess."
Lil and Christina were incidentally connected to music producer The-Dream. Christina was previously married to The-Dream but they later divorced after one-year marriage. Meanwhile, Lil was engaged to the music producer's ex-wife Nivea.
Neither Lil nor Christina has confirmed their relationship yet.
Source-aceshowbiz
New Actress Playing Aaliyah In Upcoming Biopic Revealed
Aaliyah was One In A Million and finding an actress to play her may have the same odds. Today (July 18th) the lead actress for Aaliyah:Princess of R&B has been replaced and the new actress was recently revealed.
Last month, Disney Channel star Zendaya Coleman dropped out as playing the late R&B legend for undisclosed reasons. Nickelodeon star Alexandra Shipp has been tapped as her replacement according to The Hollywood Reporter. Shipp has acted in Nickelodeon’s House of Anubis and is slated to appear in the upcoming Drumline 2: A New Beat.
Coleman faced criticism when she was announced as acting as Aaliyah in the upcoming film due to her skin complexion. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Debra Martin Chase, exec producer of the biopic, addressed the controversy:
I’m African-American. What does that mean? She’s biracial, but she identifies as black. She has a very strong black father. It’s very narrow and short-sighted. It’s not the world we live in today. And she, like you, like all of us, encompasses all her cultural experiences and heritage. And most importantly, she physically resembles her.
Contributor: Keith Nelson Jr
Source: AllhipHop
OSCE investigators reach east Ukraine site
International investigators have arrived at the crash site of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, after rebels in eastern Ukraine allowed them access.
Some 30 monitors went to the village of Grabovo where the plane, carrying 298 people, came down on Thursday.
The two sides in Ukraine's civil conflict have accused each other of shooting the jet down with a missile.
The UN Security Council has held an emergency meeting, calling for a full and independent inquiry.
The Boeing 777 was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. It fell between Krasni Luch in Luhansk region and Shakhtarsk in the neighbouring region of Donetsk.
Latest figures released by Malaysia Airlines show the plane was carrying at least 189 Dutch nationals, 27 Australians, 44 Malaysians (including 15 crew), 12 Indonesians and nine Britons.
The dead include world-renowned Dutch researcher Joep Lange who was among a number of passengers en route to an international Aids conference in Australia.
It is the second disaster suffered by Malaysia Airlines this year. Flight MH370 disappeared en route from Malaysia to China in March and has still not been found.
Ahead of the Security Council meeting in New York, the UN called for a "full, thorough and independent investigation".
US envoy to the UN Samantha Power said the plane was "likely downed by a surface-to-air missile operated from a separatist-held location".
She said the UN had a "duty to everyone to determine why that jet fell out of the sky and stop at nothing to bring those responsible to justice".
Here is a breakdown of the passengers who were on that flight:
Netherlands: 189
Malaysia: 44 (including 15 crew)
Australian: 27
Indonesia: 12
UK: 9
Germany: 4
Belgium: 4
Philippines: 3
Canada: 1
New Zealand: 1
Unverified: 4
Source-BBC
Tiger Woods happy with 1st-round 69
Tiger Woods headed to the practice range after his opening round of the Open Championship, as much a positive sign as his 3-under-par 69 at Royal Liverpool.
Woods hit his first shots in a major championship in 2014 and saw his name inch onto the leaderboard with a six-birdie, three-bogey effort to trail early leader Rory McIlroy by three strokes.
"I knew I could do it," Woods said. "That's why I was telling you guys it was so important for me to play at Congressional. The fact that I was able to recover every day, and the fact that I was stronger, more explosive the more days I played.
"I'm only going to get better from that point. And I'm getting stronger, I'm getting faster, I'm getting more explosive. The ball is starting to travel again. And those are all positive things."
Woods' two rounds of 74 and 75 at the Quicken Loans National last month showed plenty of rust, but playing in that tournament undoubtedly helped him shake some of the first-tee jitters on Thursday.
UN chief urges solution on Dominican citizenship
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged Dominican legislators on Wednesday to find a humanitarian solution to a fiercely debated court decision that could render thousands of people of Haitian descent stateless.
Ban spoke to the Caribbean country's bicameral legislature a day after meeting with President Danilo Medina.
"It won't be easy," he said. "This requires compromise and tough consultations. It requires your compassion as human beings and as leaders of this country."
The Dominican Republic recently passed a law that would create a path to citizenship for the descendants of tens of thousands of migrants who came from neighbouring Haiti. But human rights groups have said the law will likely exclude the majority of people born in the Dominican Republic to migrants, leaving them essentially stateless.
Ban asked that legislators keep working to protect the rights of all people and prevent what he called "the privatization of nationality."
Some lawmakers bristled at Ban's comments.
"He thinks Dominican nationality belongs to the Haitians who claim they were born here," legislator Vinicio Castillo said, calling the speech interference in Dominican affairs.
Reinaldo Pared, president of the Senate, said the government is trying to control a serious migration problem.
Israel, Hamas Resume Hostilities
Israeli Defense Forces and Palestinian militants resumed hostilities in Gaza Thursday after a temporary humanitarian cease-fire came to an end. Meanwhile, talks on a more comprehensive truce are underway in Egypt.
Palestinian civilians received a brief reprieve from 10 days of conflict after Israel and Hamas agreed to a U.N. proposal to allow for humanitarian movement.
But U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator for the Palestinian Territories James Rawley told media earlier that the violence resumed shortly after the cease-fire expired.
"Rockets have been going out of Gaza and airstrikes and naval bombardment has resumed on Gaza," he said, "so once again the people of Gaza are suffering and probably dying, and the people of Israel are also being victimized by rockets and mortars going out of Gaza."
The streets of Gaza have been virtually deserted since Israeli military operations targeting Hamas began last week, as residents have stayed home or have sought protection at U.N. schools.
Malaysian Airliner Crashes in Eastern Ukraine
Russian media reports say a Malaysian airliner flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur has crashed in eastern Ukraine.
Malaysia Airlines reported on Twitter that it lost contact of a flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur over Ukrainian airspace Thursday. The plane was carrying 280 passengers and 15 crew members.
A Ukrainian interior ministry official, Anton Gerashchenko, said the airliner was hit by a ground-to-air missile.
In a posting on his Facebook page, Anton Gerashenko, an adviser to Ukraine's interior minister, said the plane was flying at 33,000 feet when it was hit by a missile fired from a Buk launcher.
The Buk is a sophisticated, medium-range, Russian-designed surface-to-air missile systems that can fire missiles up to 72,000 feet.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said in a statment on the presidential website that he does not rule out that the airliner was shot down but stressed that the Ukrainian military was not involved.