RTC Director

GTBA had great action in Grand Turk last week

The GTBA kicked started their games over the weekend on Friday December 6, 2013. In Game 1 the Ryders defeated the Police 77 to 70.                                

Pierre of the Police scored 18pts, 7rebounds, 1steals and 1assits. Forbes scored 10pts and had 2steals while K.Doughty dropped 20points, 2 blocks and 19rebounds for the Police, however it was not enough.       

M.Williams of the (Ryders) scored 20points and had 2rebounds while J.Williams scored 17pts, caught 18rebounds, had 4steals and a block.           

D.Francois contributed 4 points, 4rebounds and 1 assist to provide the win.

In Game 2, the Dream Team took out West Road with a score of 62-52.            

Watkins of (West Road) scored 21points, had 8 rebounds, teammate Mherde scored 8pts, 1ast, 7rebs and 3stls while Calderon shot 7pts, had 5rebs and had 5assits.                 

Tucker’s (Dream Team) scored 13pts, grabbed 2steals, had 4rebs and created 2 assists.  L. Cox scored 13 points, 15rebs and 5 steals while M.Simmons contributed 10pts, 9reb, 3stls, 1assist and2 blocks.                      

Saturday night saw 2 major games, the first between the Stingers taking on the Old school and Cool Corners taking on the Salt Cay Saltans.

In the first game, the Stingers defeated the Old Schoolers 57 to 38.

A.Smith scored 17points, 6 rebounds and 2 steals while Ferguson Williams scored 10points and had4 rebounds while H.Saunders contributed 8pts, 5reb and1 assists.                       

Terrel Garland of the Stingers scored16pts, had 3rebounds 3 steals and 5 assist while his brother Sherad Garland dropped a whopping 45 points, 6 steals, 9 rebounds and 5assists.               

The final and biggest game of the night was between the Cool Corners and the Salt Cay Saltans. The Cool Corners defeated the Saltans 94-90.

Levard Missick of Cool Corner unleashed his fury with a whopping 44pts, 7 rebounds, 5 steals and 3 assists while Stanley ‘Strokes’ Taylor scored 16 points, 2 steals, and 17 rebounds. E. Smith also scored 10 points and had 7rebounds.                     

Enrico Smith formerly of Cool corners now with the Saltans dropped 37points, had 5 rebounds, 2 steals and 2assits. He was aided by J.Harvey  with 13pts, 6rebs,1 steal while Rel Williams closed  out with13pts, 2steals, 5rebounds  and 2 assists.

Next GTBA games will be played on Friday night .                

by RTC Director

PABA continues in Provo

The Knights made a grand return to the PABA league by whipping the Tci Supersonics 102-41.

Point guard for the Sonics Rangel Suero scored 21points and John Mimes assisted him with 17 pts and 8 Rebounds.

But the player of the game was Kadis Simmons for the Knights with 21 points, 26 Rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 steals. David Campbell also chipped in with 20 points and 4 assists.

Tonight's line up will show the Predators taking on the Spartans, Nazarene Ballers vs the Flyers and the rebirth of an old rivalry between the GT Stallions and the Knights will show its ugly head tonight.

Games starts at 7pm at the Gus Lightbourne Sports Complex and the organizers are inviting everyone to come out and support the games.

RTC Sports will have more for you in the week.

by RTC Director

India face Olympic ban over 'rules of good governance'

International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach says India face expulsion from the Olympic movement unless they comply with ethics rules.

India were suspended by the IOC last year because of government interference in its election process.

They have yet to agree to IOC demands to bar officials who have been charged with a criminal offence - an impasse which has led to the final ultimatum.

The Indian body is due to meet on Sunday to consider their position.

"The [Olympic] charter is clear," Bach told Associated Press. "If the suspension leads to no solution, then further steps could be withdrawal of recognition."

No country has been banned from the Olympics since the South Africa team was expelled between 1968-1988 during the apartheid era.

"We need to be strict and to make sure the rules of good governance are being applied," Bach added.

India won two silver medals and four bronze at the London Olympics last year.

by RTC Director

Kobe's minutes to be limited initially

Kobe Bryant was on the court for nearly every minute of the seven games he played last April before tearing his Achilles.

He'll be much scarcer when he makes his long-awaited return in the Los Angeles Lakers game against the Toronto Raptors on Sunday.

"I don't think it's a magical number," Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni said after practice Saturday when asked about a minute range for Bryant. "He's totally well and ready to go. I think he'll be limited by his wind and ability to be able to take the pounding. So, I would be surprised if more than in the twenties. It shouldn't be any more than that."

No matter how long Bryant plays, his impact will be felt, according to D'Antoni.

"He's a big piece," D'Antoni said. "When you throw that boulder in the water, there's going to be some ripples. Serious ripples."

Jodie Meeks will be the Lakers' player most immediately affected as he loses his starting spot at shooting guard to accommodate Bryant.

"I figured it was coming but I know for me personally, my role doesn't change," said Meeks, who is the Lakers' third-leading scorer this season with an average of 13.5 points per game on 50 percent shooting.

But among the biggest questions surrounding Bryant's return nearly eight months after he left the lineup is whether he can still produce like he did when he averaged 27.3 points and 6.0 assists a season ago.

"I don't think right to start with, but give him a month and then he should be back to those numbers," D'Antoni said.

The way he gets to those averages will be different for the former slam dunk contest champion, who was still throwing down some vintage dunks last season prior to injury, D'Antoni said.

"He's not going to be above the rim for awhile, which is fine," D'Antoni said. "There were some great players that played below the rim and he'll have to do that for a little bit. He'll control the game and his presence will be exemplary."

With Steve Nash (nerve root irritation) back at practice but ruled out Sunday, and Jordan Farmar expected to be sidelined another three weeks with a hamstring tear, Bryant, the fourth-highest scorer in league history, will be called upon to be a distributor.

"I think that's mostly what he'll do to start with," D'Antoni said. "Try to get his game, get in rhythm. He was doing that last year. The last 40 games that's what he did mostly -- six assists, seven assists. I expect the same thing."

D'Antoni said that after such a long layoff, the 35-year-old Bryant might not storm out of the gates.

"I think there will be some ups and downs," D'Antoni said. "Now, it's Kobe Bryant, so I don't know that. Anybody normal would have ups and downs. You might play well the first couple games then fall off a little bit or start off kind of slow and build your way up. So, it will be an adjustment period for him and also for us."

Outside of adjusting the starting lineup with Bryant for Meeks, D'Antoni will keep the rest of the first five intact.

Source-ESPN

by RTC Director

WICB assures safety of West Indies Under 19 team in Bangladesh

The West Indies Cricket Board assures the public that all the players of the West Indies Under 19 squad and members of the Team Management on tour of Bangladesh are safe and not in danger.

An explosion occurred a short distance away from the team hotel in Chittagong on Saturday evening. The players and members of team management were not targeted and were not in any immediate danger as a result of the incident.

The WICB management has been in contact with Team Manager Altamont Solomon and will continue to receive regular briefings. The team gathered shortly after the incident and are safe at their team hotel and have been afforded additional security protection. The WICB is working with the Bangladesh Cricket Board to ensure the continued safety of the team. Further WICB Security Manager Paul Slowe will formally assess the situation and provide a report to the WICB.

The WICB thanks the BCB and Bangladeshi authorities for their efforts in hosting and providing security for the team. The WICB is contacting the parents and guardians of all the players and will provide further updates as necessary.

by RTC Director

Liverpool 4 West Ham 1

Liverpool striker Luis Suarez may not have stolen the show in quite the way he did earlier in the week but his influence in the win at home to West Ham was just as significant.

It was the Uruguay international's shot which produced Guy Demel's own goal just before half-time, he won the free-kick from which Mamadou Sakho scored his first goal for the club and then added a late goal to calm the nerves after Martin Skrtel put past his own goalkeeper. He might even have laid claim to the fifth goal of the afternoon but the ball had taken a fateful deflection off Joey O'Brien.

Suarez could have had back-to-back hat-tricks after getting four in midweek against Norwich but in taking his tally to 26 in his last 25 league matches, including 10 in his last four home matches, he provided further proof — should it be needed — that he is central to the Reds' bid to regain Champions League status.

The only downside to the day was the sight of Steven Gerrard limping off injured midway through the second half, which prompted a period of uncertainty which was in danger of developing into a terminal decline until Suarez's late intervention. In the first half, even with playmaker Philippe Coutinho pulling the strings, often dropping very deep from his position behind the main striker, West Ham appeared to have worked out a way to stifle Liverpool's primary threat.

The visitors packed central areas with plenty of bodies and if nothing else that restricted the space in which Suarez had to move. But even that tactic cannot cut the Uruguay international entirely out of the game and that is why his standing in world football is matching his soaring valuation.

Having seen a left-footed chip drift wide the 26-year-old was a lively presence in and around the penalty area and had a shot from Gerrard's pass deflected wide before getting in the way of Jordan Henderson's effort after he cut in from the left.

That was symptomatic of the opening 40 minutes as Liverpool strained to create chances but none which could really be described as clear-cut. Raheem Sterling, who got a verbal rocket from Gerrard urging him to up his game and was frequently whistled at by manager Brendan Rodgers like a demented contestant on 'One Man and His Dog', provided plenty going forward but not nearly enough in the finishing department.

His pace on the diagonal run from the right started to open up the Hammers' defence — especially with Coutinho's weight of pass timed to perfection — but he lacked an end product and his scuffed shot having outpaced his opponents failed to trouble Jussi Jaaskelainen.

That task fell to Suarez, of course, whose angled shot just before the break was not held by the Finn and bounced into the path of Demel who diverted the ball back past his own goalkeeper. It was just the lucky break the home side needed after a first half of toil.

West Ham could feel slightly aggrieved as they had created the best chance when Modibo Maiga's header was brilliantly tipped over by Simon Mignolet.

They also saw Matt Jarvis' cross evade Mignolet and roll through the six-yard area after Johnson had given away possession to George McCartney. The goal forced the visitors to be more open after the break but only two minutes in they were further behind. James Tomkins went through the back of Suarez and Gerrard's free-kick picked out Sakho at the far post.

The France defender, making his first start since the November 2 defeat at Arsenal, completely fluffed his shot but did just enough to divert it goalwards and Collins could not keep it from crossing the line. All done and dusted, you would have thought, but soon after Liverpool lost Gerrard to injury as he raced down the inside-right channel.

West Ham drew confidence from a sharp reflex save by Jaaskelainen to deny Sterling's first-time effort and then were handed a way back into the game when Skrtel scored his second own goal in a week after turning Jarvis' header past Mignolet. That really cranked up the tension as the home side conceded the initiative and it was only wrested back thanks to Suarez.

Glen Johnson produced the perfect shot for the striker to head home at the far post and then smashed what would have been a second against O'Brien, across goal then home via the crossbar.

Uncharacteristically he squandered the chance of scoring another late goal after rounding Jaaskelainen with five minutes to go, instead running the ball out of play. He was obviously having an off-day.

by RTC Director