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Jamaican economy to shrink due to hurricane damage
Haiti beat Guyana 1-0 in Caribbean Cup semi-final clash
Haiti beat Guyana 1-0 while Gary Emmanuel scored in injury time to help French Guiana draw with Grenada in semi-finals Group Six of the Caribbean Cup on Wednesday night.
Olrish Saurel converted in the 46th minute of play to ensure the Haitians moved to the top of the group as French Guiana and the host nation shared points in front nearly 2 000 disappointed fans at the National Stadium.
Saurel’s goal, in the first minute of the second half, emanated from a spot kick which sailed past goalkeeper Derrick O’Neil Carter whose view was obstructed by his own players.
The Haitians outpaced their Guyanese counterparts for most of the game and may have enjoyed a bigger scoreline if not for the efforts of Carter in goal.
His performance was highlighted by two brilliant saves within 30 seconds in the dying moments of the first half including a 35-yard shot from Peguero Jean Philippe that he deflected onto the right post.
Guyana’s best chance at equalising came midway the second half when Trayon Bobb’s close range shot, from a Carey Harris cross, sailed over the crossbar.
It was the fifth straight victory for Haiti, who have allowed only three goals in that span.
In the second game, Emmanuel equalised in the 92nd minute to earn French Guyana a 1-1 draw with hosts Grenada.
Vice-captain Craig Rocastle, who moved to Thrasyvoulos in the Greek Second Division after two seasons with Sporting KC in MLS, gave Grenada the lead in the 33rd minute.
In a dramatic spell, Rocastle powered home a free kick only moments after Clive Murrays shot edged the crossbar after Moron Phillip made a productive run through three defenders.
Grenada, seeking a third consecutive berth in the regional finals, ended a three-game losing streak, but their fans were left disappointed.
The home side enjoyed the momentum but squandered a number of clear-cut chances until Emmanuel found the extra time equaliser to climax a counterattack.
The top two teams from Group Six will advance to the Caribbean Cup finals in Antigua & Barbuda in December.
French Guiana will play Haiti next today while Grenada will face Haiti.
Despite crutches, D'Antoni takes over the Lakers
Mike D'Antoni circled the court 2 feet at a time, moving smoothly on crutches while his Los Angeles Lakers went through drills orchestrated by his assistant coach and brother, Dan.
Although D'Antoni's surgically replaced knee is slowing him down a bit, he couldn't wait any longer to get the Lakers rolling.
D'Antoni formally took over the Lakers on Thursday, four days after the slow-starting club hired him to replace Mike Brown. The former Knicks and Suns coach is still on crutches and pain medication after surgery earlier this month, but thinks he'll soon be back to normal while he attempts to transform the Lakers into his vision of an up-tempo, high-scoring team.
"I'm really happy to be here - excited," D'Antoni said. "(We're) starting to put stuff in now. Might take a little bit, but ... we're built to win this year. This is not a five-year project. We have a window, and we're going to try to get through it."
Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak welcomed D'Antoni after practice at a news conference packed with dozens of media members. Given his limited mobility, D'Antoni isn't likely to make his sideline debut until Sunday night against Houston, with interim coach Bernie Bickerstaff probably manning the bench again Friday night against Phoenix.
"This is a great city to have an up-tempo, exciting game that has a legitimate shot to win a championship," D'Antoni said. "I can't ask for anything more."
D'Antoni's affable charm immediately worked on the Lakers, who praised their new coach's demeanor during their first few hours together. The coach acknowledged few qualms about taking over the star-studded roster that got off to a 1-4 start to the season, speaking instead of the limitless possibilities of the Lakers' talent within his creative style of coaching.
D'Antoni said he rooted for Jerry West's Lakers while growing up in 1960s West Virginia, and he won't have any problem transferring his allegiances after trying to beat L.A. for so many years in Phoenix. The coach also realizes his up-tempo style of play will mesh nicely with the Lakers' heritage under Magic Johnson - who has already criticized D'Antoni's hire.
"We would love to be able to play Showtime-type basketball," D'Antoni said. "Now, they might have done it the best that you can do it. We would like to get some place close to that. I think that would be awesome."
Los Angeles has gone 2-1 under Bickerstaff since Brown's firing, and the veteran coach was in practice Thursday along with Brown's entire staff. They finished their workout with a huddle around D'Antoni, followed by a one-word cheer: "Championship!"
D'Antoni isn't likely to have much trouble meshing with Steve Nash and Kobe Bryant. Nash became a two-time NBA MVP running D'Antoni's offense in Phoenix, while Bryant has played for D'Antoni on the U.S. national team. The coach also recalls the 12-year-old Bryant hanging out at his games in the Italian league.
"He can come over and cuss me out in Italian, and you guys might not even know it," D'Antoni said.
D'Antoni also has ties to Howard, who has been on U.S. national teams with D'Antoni on the coaching staff, and backup forward Jordan Hill, who briefly played for the coach in New York.
Source :sportsillustrated
Felton, unbeaten Knicks rally past Spurs 104-100
Raymond Felton scored 25 points and the New York Knicks stayed undefeated by rallying to beat the San Antonio Spurs 104-100 on Thursday night.
J.R. Smith added 17 points, Jason Kidd had 14 and Tyson Chandler 13 for the Knicks (6-0), who closed on a 22-11 run to remain the NBA's lone unbeaten team.
Tony Parker led San Antonio (7-2) with 19 points and 12 assists. Kawhi Leonard added 16 points and Tim Duncan had 14 points and 14 rebounds.
Smith and Kidd hit consecutive 3-pointers to give the Knicks a 100-95 lead with a minute left. The Spurs had won 18 of 19 regular-season games against New York.
The late defensive push offset an uncharacteristic start by the Knicks.
After holding their first five opponents to 87.8 points per game, the Knicks allowed the Spurs to set a quick tone when Danny Green opened with consecutive backdoor layups off assists from Parker and Duncan.
The Knicks kept pace behind Felton, who had nine points and two assists in the opening period while shooting 3 for 5 from the field. Felton's first 3-pointer gave the Knicks a 29-24 lead with 2 minutes left in the first period.
Steve Novak and Rasheed Wallace hit back-to-back 3s to extend New York's lead to 45-38 with 7:21 left in the first half. New York opened 6 for 7 on 3s.
DeJuan Blair smiled at Spurs coach Gregg Popovich and gave him a double fist bump before taking the court for his first start of the season. The move paid off. Blair had two points and an assist while denying Carmelo Anthony the ball defensively and hounding the Knicks All-Star into missing his only attempt in the opening 8 minutes.
Anthony appeared frustrated by the lack of touches, shaking his head and laughing when the Knicks rotated the ball away from him late in the second quarter.
Anthony got aggressive after that possession, taking four shots in the final 3 minutes of the first half. He was blocked twice by Duncan under the basket. The first block resulted in Anthony's own follow-up basket and the second led to a 3-pointer by Green with 0.8 seconds that gave the Spurs a 57-55 lead at halftime.
Cech wants 'racism' saga sorted
Petr Cech has told CNN that he wants a swift conclusion to the 'racism' saga surrounding Chelsea and referee Mark Clattenburg.
The Metropolitan Police dropped the investigation into alleged comments by Clattenburg towards Chelsea's John Obi Mikel and Juan Mata on Tuesday.
Clattenburg has denied allegations that he used "inappropriate language" towards either player and the Football Association will conclude its investigation into the matter on Friday. And the Chelsea goalkeeper hopes the whole episode will be brought to an end sooner rather than laterFor me it is difficult to comment on something that I didn't hear or was not even involved or even close," Cech told CNN.
"I believe that if you come with something like that, you need to have a really good case to say it because if not it would waste time of everybody and again it wouldn't be good for football.
"If there was a case it is not because Chelsea want to do something, it is just because and again, I hope that this story will be finished as soon as possible."
Away from the investigation, Cech believes referees should be made to explain their decisions in a bid to improve their relationship with both fans and players.
"I think there should be better communication from the side of the referee towards the public as well," he added.
"I think it would help. You have so many projects of respects for the referees and I think that would help as well.
"They are more open because like I said, the players come and say fair enough I made mistake, it was completely wrong, I shouldn't have dived, I shouldn't have done this, and you get the credit for that.
"And I think you'll get respect from the people and I think this is what can sometimes happen with the referees.
"Their job is very hard anyway and we all know that but I think the communication could be better."
Source-CNN
Rory McIlroy nine behind leader Javi Colomo in Hong Kong
Rory McIlroy found himself nine shots behind a player 506 places below him in the world rankings after Thursday's first round at the Hong Kong Open.
Defending champion McIlroy managed only one birdie in his 73 to be just inside the top 100 on three over par.
Spaniard Javi Colomo shot a 64 to lead compatriot Miguel Angel Jimenez by one.
Little-known Colomo qualified through his Asian Tour ranking, having failed to come through the European qualifying school on three occasions.
The 28-year-old actually began with 10 pars in a row, but had five birdies in the next six holes before finishing finished his day's work with a four-foot putt for another birdie.
World number one McIlroy was hoping to put even more of a gloss on a season in which he won his second major title and topped the money lists on both sides of the Atlantic.
But he started with a bogey, turned in one over, made a mess of his approach to the 14th and three-putted from the fringe of the next.
It could so easily have been Jimenez's day, but after seven birdies the 48-year-old, twice a winner of the title and now trying to become the European Tour's oldest-ever champion, finished with two bogeys.
Australian Andrew Dodt matched Jimenez's 65 to lie one ahead of a group of five players on the four-under 66 mark which included Ryder Cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal.
Scot Paul Lawrie stood three under until he found water at the last and carded a double-bogey.
Paul Casey overcame two double-bogeys for a level-par 70, one better than Padraig Harrington.
Tigers make West Indies toil
Naeem Islam’s maiden test century helped Bangladesh reach 455-6 to trail West Indies by only 72 runs on the first innings after three days of the first Test at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday.
Stars fight Pandora music site over royalties issue
Billy Joel, Rihanna and Missy Elliot are among the stars who have signed an open letter to US music site Pandora over possible changes to royalties.
The online streaming service is currently lobbying lawmakers in US Congress to change regulations governing how artists are compensated.
Approximately 125 musicians have signed the letter opposing the new bill, called the Internet Radio Fairness Act.
The letter claims the new act will cut royalties by as much as 85 per cent.
US music industry magazine Billboard will publish the open letter this weekend, signed by musicFirst, a coalition of musicians and business people, and SoundExchange, a non-profit organisation that collects royalties for musicians.
It reads: "Why is the company asking Congress once again to step in and gut the royalties that thousands of musicians rely upon?
"That's not fair and that's not how partners work together."
The current manner in which musicians get paid for internet streaming of their songs has been a thorny issue for the US-based Pandora Media Inc, and other streaming sites around the world such as Spotify.
In 2009 a report published in Swedish newspaper Expressen claimed that one million plays of Lady Gaga's track Poker Face on Spotify had actually earned the singer just $167 (£105).
However, Spotify called the figure out of date, misleading and factually inaccurate.Pandora was founded more than a decade ago and is mostly supported by advertising, but the more customers it gains, the more money it has to pay overall for rights to stream music.
The company has joined forces with other music services such as Clear Channel Communications to support the bill on the grounds that different providers, such as satellite and cable, pay different rates.
Pandora said on its website: "The current law penalises new media and is astonishingly unfair to internet radio.
"We are asking for our listeners' support to help end the discrimination against internet radio. It's time for Congress to stop picking winners, level the playing field and establish a technology-neutral standard."
In October, it said its share of total US radio listening was almost 7 percent, up from around 4 percent during the same period last year.
The Internet Radio Fairness Act is a bi-partisan bill sponsored by US representatives Jason Chaffetz and Jared Polis, along with Senator Ron Wyden.
Mavado Still To Return $15K Down Payment
The BVI might be praying that David Constantine Brooks, the 'Gully God', better known as Mavado, will return a hefty down payment after he failed to perform as planned during the Territory's festival celebrations last August.
According to the Virgin Islands Festivals and Fairs Committee's 2012 report, released this week, the Carrot Bay Sub-Committee sent a deposit of $15,000 to Jullian Jones-Griffith, the manager of the Jamaican dancehall singer. According to the report, the Carrot Bay Sub-Committee was informed without explanation that Mavado would not be able to perform and that another date should be chosen.
"A refund was requested and to this date has not been returned," the report stated.
The Jamaican singer should have performed on August 10 during festival entertainment activities in Carrot Bay.
On August 1, BVI Platinum News confirmed with Marvin Blyden, Chairman of the Festivals and Fairs Committee that Mavado would not be performing. At the time, Blyden said there were some issues with the contract and it was no fault of the committee or Mavado. He said the Carrot Bay Sub-Committee would have issued a press release with further details, but the details and the press release were never made available to the press.
Initially, officials were tight-lipped about the saga and had not offered an explanation for the swirling questions that had started to mount regarding the Jamaican singer.
Stuart Donovan, head of the Carrot Bay Sub-Committee was contacted during the ordeal and was asked repeatedly about Mavado's appearance, but brushed aside the question as "nonsense".
Donovan was asked to deny or confirm issues surrounding the Mavado show based on reports coming out of Jamaica, but he insisted that BVI Platinum News should check with Jamaica.
In May, Mavado was found guilty in the Montego Bay Resident Magistrate's Court, almost a year after he was arrested for assaulting a St. James man and his son and damaging their car in an apparent case of road rage.
According to a report published by the Jamaican Gleaner, Brooks was fined JMD $80,000 or a six-month prison term on the assault charge and JMD $20,000 or six months imprisonment on the malicious destruction charge. The sentences are to run concurrently if the fines are not paid.
Brooks was charged in connection with the incident on July 22, 2011, in which he and members of his entourage allegedly attacked the complainants, Henry Cunningham and his son Oshane, and damaged their car along the Belmont main road in St James.
Several countries have banned Mavado, mainly due to his lyrics and his role in the musical feud between his gully crew and Vybz Kartel's gaza crew. Regional Governments blamed the two singers for the escalating violence among youth, who professed to represent varying sides of the feud. Both Mavado and Kartel, who is now in jail facing murder charges, have vowed to end the feud.
Courtesy of Platinum News in the BVI