- Taken from http://www.nba.com/playoffs/

NBA Playoffs 2015 Update including why the Spurs lost and more!

- Taken from http://www.nba.com/playoffs/
– Taken from http://www.nba.com/playoffs/

The LA Clippers eliminated Defending Champs, the San Antonio Spurs in Game 7 last Saturday night in LA, 111-109. The game was well fought by the Spurs but they were still just a shadow of themselves. Props to the Clippers with the best starters in the league and having Griffin and CP3 really show up for them not only during the series but towards the end of the game when it mattered the most. The Spurs just failed to come into top form this season. They were nowhere near and imagine they were still so competitive. It was obvious they could not get a rhythm going and shooters, especially Danny Green, did not get fully into their zone as yet. Coach Pop made huge errors by taking out Marco Belinelli when he was hot in their must-win, Game 6 and scoring 3s were a struggle and also by not giving young, Patty Mills more play. Danny Green who has not been hot all series should have stayed out and Belinelli should have been given the opportunity to stretch the lead for the Spurs. Then Danny Green could return to defend the lead and facilitate more plays since that is not Belinelli’s forte. The old legs of those such as Tony Parker, have a lot of experience but the bench should have been given an opportunity to win Game 6 for them at home. Pop should not have worried about crushing egos if he was, because players like Tony Parker and Tim Duncan are so humble that they would have been genuinely happy for the bench winning Game 6, thus the series for them and furthermore would appreciate the rest. The odds were totally against them to win Game 7 in LA even though the home court advantage didn’t seem to matter for either team earlier in the series. Those few moments throughout the series when they played ‘Spurs ball’ with their on point ball movement and shot execution, they were untouchable by the Clippers. There is still no other team with that quality ball movement and it will surely be missed for the rest of the Playoffs. The Spurs have made it to the last 3 Western Conference Finals and last two NBA Finals. They have had a good run and hopefully they have more in them. Even though they were not at the top of their game, tremendous effort was shown and they were still able to entertain and be a force to reckon with. Chris Paul emotionally paid great respect to one of his idols as a kid, Tim Duncan at the end of Game 7 and Suga is sure the Clippers will reach the Western Conference finals to face the Warriors. The Rockets are a quality team and so are the Grizzlies, but even though the series promises some excitement, they may fall short.

The Grizzlies and Rockets are already down 1-0. The Clippers are surely on a high with a 117-101 win in the Rocket’s house last night with less than 48 hours rest and CP3 sitting on the bench with a hamstring strain. The Hack-a-Howard versus Hack-a-Jordan showdown has also begun. Who will learn how to shoot some free throws first?! My money is on DeAndre Jordan after his head start with the Spurs.

Oh wait, there is an Eastern Conference going on as well, almost forgot. The Wizards may upset the Hawks taking them to a Game 6 or 7. The Wizards rallied from a 12 point deficit in the 3rd to beat the Hawks in Atlanta, 104-98 in Game 1. The Cavs are likely to beat the Bulls even though the Bulls may jump out at them to a 2-0 start with the absence of their Kevin Love and J.R. Smith.  The return of D. Rose is a huge factor and should prove to be a competitive series. Despite Irving’s 30 points, the Bulls still beat the Cavs last night in Game 1, 99-92 with D. Rose scoring 25 points.

The Spurs-Clippers series may be the best match up that the NBA Playoffs 2015 will see, if not, it will surely be remembered and thankfully Game 7 saved last Saturday night, giving us the kind of entertainment we expected, which the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight failed to deliver.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. (L) vs Emmanuel Pacquiao (R) last Saturday, May 2, 2015

Mayweather wins the lamest fight of the century

Floyd Mayweather Jr. (L) vs Emmanuel Pacquiao (R) last Saturday, May 2, 2015
Floyd Mayweather Jr. (L) vs Emmanuel Pacquiao (R) last Saturday, May 2, 2015

Former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, Mike Tyson tweeted, ‘We waited 5 years for that… #underwhelmed #MayPac.’ My sentiments exactly. This was the most overhyped and marketed fight in history. But that is how Mayweather Promotions operates. Mayweather promotes his own fights. He said he is a greater fighter than Mohammed Ali. Anyone who hears someone say that is going to watch his fight. But that is why he is the Money Man. He has no education, he is not a heavyweight but he has grossed half a billion US dollars in his career and topped the Forbes list as the highest-paid athlete of the year up to last year, so he must be doing something right. In his post fight interviews he talks about all the cars and money he has and how he can retire right now. He doesn’t want to wait until he is 40. He wants to retire with all his faculties in tact. Was this why he was running from Pac-Man in the ring or giving hugs? Ok so he did what he had to do to win the fight. Fact is he won the fight. He fought smart round for round, only allowing Pacquiao to win about 3 of the 12 rounds. The truth of the matter is there is no other fighter as good or as tactical as him in his generation at the moment and he knows it. He knows why he ran from this fight for 5 years. Timing, fear and a bigger pay day. About $100 million US in under 60 minutes. Why would he care if persons accused him of running from the fight. Money! Red cars for Las Vegas, White for LA, Yellow for another place. Whatever colour is for where, Money! He’s the Money Man. He claimed Manny was doping, which put the pressure on Manny to get or stay clean even if he was not doping in the first place, as he was being watched closely. Coincidentally, Manny had a high rate of knock outs, which has been no more since Mayweather’s accusation. However Pacquiao has never failed a drug test. Mayweather is also going for a record before he retires. Perhaps 50-0? His win over Pacquiao last Saturday night brought him to 48 wins. There are talks that he may have one more fight this September, maybe his last fight. So let’s say he retires at 49-0 or 50-0. Great. He is a good boxer. The best? Hell no. Even though Mayweather is undefeated, let us remind ourselves of the stats. The Greatest, Ali had 56 wins, 5 losses and 37 wins by KO. The Baddest Man on the Planet, Mike Tyson had 50 wins, 6 losses (2 no contests) and 44 wins by KO! Remember people used to pray Mike’s fight would go past the 2nd round when they paid their money to watch it. Mayfeather, oops Mayweather, who is not even close to a heavyweight has only 26 wins by KO.

Mayweather won the contest by a unanimous decision, with two judges scoring it 116–112 and the other 118–110. However, Pacquiao received more crowd reaction as he threw way more punches than Mayweather, but hardly any of them landed. So Pac-Man was not a sore loser when interviewed immediately after the fight saying he thought he won, he was really convinced he won most of those rounds hence why he was grinning off his face at the end of some of the earlier rounds. Of course, after review at his hotel he reported that he saw there is no way he won the fight.

Why did Beyonce leave Solange? Should have put her in the ring. Not even an uppercut from Mayweather?! If Mayweather is so hype, he should have knocked out Pacquiao by the 5th or even the 8th round. Give us some excitement. There were probably only 2 or 3 moments that Mayweather landed hard punches, which stimulated any kind of reaction from viewers. Any time Pac-Man had him against the ropes or got any kind of rhythm with landing punches he literally started to run or hug him. What a coward. Pay-Per-Snooze according to USA Today. At the end of the day people will not remember or rate an athlete for the cars they drive or money they made, but by their performance and how we were entertained. Personality also plays a big part and the majority of the public dislikes Mayweather’s arrogance. In this day and age with the use of heavy social media, persons that had no interest in boxing and did not watch the fight will also see that the fight was disappointing. Mayweather won, but it was boring. He surely didn’t impress Suga. Let us see if he can quit competing with Barney for free hugs and win by KO before retirement.

Who remembers this video with Mayweather arguing with a Jamaican woman who didn’t know who he was?

Well if you didn’t know who Floyd Mayweather Jr. was before, you should surely know now. A fight has not been marketed so heavily in ages if so much. But the arrogance! Did he really step to the Jamaican woman in the video like how he would step to someone to fight them? Perhaps similar to how he has beaten many women in the past? If an audience was not there, would there be a different outcome for that Jamaican woman?

Suga is in full support of Pacquiao, a past Rotarian President who has also done his part in the campaign to eradicate polio. Mayweather should win by paper, but it sure would be sweet to see Mayweather get beaten for a change! Let’s go Pac-Man!

See video here:

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Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight is tomorrow!

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Floyd Mayweather, Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao will fight tomorrow night, live on Pay-Per-View at around 8pm Jamaican time (So they say but there will be fights before. Be prepared for a long night!). It has been promoted as ‘The Fight of the Century’ between eight-division world champion, Manny Pacquiao and UNDEFEATED (except for the 1996 Olympics), five-division world champion Floyd Mayweather, Jr. Mayweather has a 47-0 record! He has been avoiding Pacquiao for years claiming enough money wasn’t offered. But now is the time. The highest paying fight in history. He cannot end his career without fighting someone considered to be his biggest challenge. So there will be a lot at stake.

CBA will be showing the fight for $500JMD and is a good venue. Get there early if CBA is your choice. Forget about Tracks and Records due to poor logistics and inadequate seating. Their service is also poor on a regular basis much less with a crowd. The Regency will be showing the match, offering a complimentary stacked slider with every Appleton Reserve Q purchase. Group reservations recommended. Then of course, there is Ribbiz. Guaranteed to have a good vibe. Head there suuuuuper early though if you want a good seat and can tolerate loudness. Don’t forget the home-watching party, which sometimes works out to be the best option.

Where will you be watching the Big Fight and who is your money on?

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Get your NBA Playoff 2015 Series Update here!

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We will soon be heading into the second series of the NBA Playoffs! For the East, Suga calls that the Cavs will win the Eastern Conference finals, even without Kevin Love. The Warriors should have a spot in the Western Conference finals vs the Defending Champs, the Spurs, but it will be a really tough road for the Spurs if they get there.

Whoever wins in the West will take it ALL!

AfC Chairman, Col. Stacey Thompson (R) and Project Coordinator, Brandon McFarlane (L) pay a courtesy visit to Canadian High Commissioner to Jamaica, Mr. Robert Ready (C) after securing support from the Canadian DFATD earlier in April '15.

Abacus for Communities, Building Community Resilience Household by Household

AfC Chairman, Col. Stacey Thompson (R) and Project Coordinator, Brandon McFarlane (L) pay a courtesy visit to Canadian High Commissioner to Jamaica, Mr. Robert Ready (C) after securing support from the Canadian DFATD earlier in April '15.
AfC Chairman, Col. Stacey Thompson (R) and Project Coordinator, Brandon McFarlane (L) pay a courtesy visit to Canadian High Commissioner to Jamaica, Mr. Robert Ready (C) after securing support from the Canadian DFATD earlier in April ’15.

The aim of the Non-profit Organization, Abacus for Communities (AfC), is to work with communities in collaboration with national, regional and international governments and organizations to promote the development of safe, prosperous, stable and developing communities.

Their current focus is on helping to build the level of Preparedness of Communities to Disasters, however all aspects of Community Development is part of Abacus’s long-term vision.

AfC offers Services in Disaster Preparedness, Institutional Strengthening and Community Capacity Building as well as Disaster Response, all tailor-made for the particular country considering the specific needs of the target audience.The Services offered in the previously mentioned areas are listed below:

1. Disaster Preparedness

– Training workshops; Simulation exercises; Consultancies, Planning and Projects

2. Institutional Strengthening and Community Capacity Building

– Conferences and Training; Community Projects

3. Disaster Response

Coordination; Assessment; Response Projects

So how is Jamaica being assisted by AfC? AfC has secured support in the form of CA$81000 from the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Development (DFATD) for the ‘Community Emergency Communications for Disaster and Climate Change Adaptation in Jamaica’ project.

This project called, ‘EARS’ (Emergency Affiliated Radio Service) will train and equip 360 persons in 10 of the most vulnerable communities throughout Jamaica with radio communication equipment for immediate response to disaster in order to minimize loss of life and damage to infrastructure and environment.

There are many non-profit organizations that exist, helping to develop communities but this particular non-profit organization has obviously thought outside the box. This is so, as if disaster strikes at any given time, all the work done to lift these communities often goes down the drain and rebuilding of infrastructure has to start from ground zero, not to mention repairing and redeveloping the mindset of the people in the community after such a disaster. As Jamaicans often say, ‘Prevention betta dan cure.’

Kudos to AfC for assisting communities from a totally different angle, recognizing the importance and necessity for preparedness and offering resources for such, making efforts to protect lives and infrastructure. Thus, developing our communities household by household and the quality of life of the people in it.

Like their Facebook page, ‘Abacus for Communities’ and see the link for the website for what Afc is doing in a country or community near you.

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Hungry Eyes by Natalia Welsh!

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Last Tuesday I tried Vegetarian from another account I have been following on Instagram, Hungry Eyes. Hungry Eyes has been open since last November and has been featured on Smile Jamaica before, so has had a little exposure. I was told on the phone by owner and chef, Natalia Welsh that they are located in Papine and do deliveries between 12:30 and 1:30pm. I ordered a Salad bowl that came with a Sweet potato soup, costing $800JMD for 12:30pm delivery ($300JMD delivery charge). The other option for the day was Tomato Black Bean Curry and Potato Hash.

The Salad bowl was advertised as having a smoky BBQ 3-Bean salad, Garlic kale, Potato salad, Couscous and Corn salsa. A fusion of Jamaican and Mexican style lunch! Wow, who would not want to order that? However, being a meat lover with a high metabolism, I still took precaution when ordering and was assured it would be filling, more so with the soup.

Delivery was early, packaging was air-tight and quite presentable. Upon opening, I was instantly impressed by the presentation, mainly the use of colour. Especially since it is hard to make food look good in a lunch box.

The Corn salsa was spicy and to a lesser extent, so was the BBQ 3-Bean salsa that had a sauce with a lovely flavour. The Potato Salad and Couscous were tasty neutralizers to quell all that spiciness. A sweet vinaigrette was also provided.

Greens like Kale and Arugula have a naturally, slight peppery taste so one has to be careful with combinations chosen for them in salads. My only complaint was about the Garlic kale. The taste of Garlic on it was too strong for me and lingered in my mouth allllll day, after brushing my teeth, chewing gum, you name it. No bueno. That didn’t matter much though, because all other flavours as described were on point and the lunch was able to carry me through the rest of the day. It was filling as promised. The soup?! The soup was small but sufficient. It had a thick consistency similar to a cornmeal porridge and it was delicious. All natural, fresh, healthy goodness to tighten your pants. So even if you are not a vegetarian, Suga fully endorses Hungry Eyes!

I was so impressed, I had to have a little talk with Natalia and got to learn more about her and Hungry Eyes. Quite a smart and eloquent young lady who has been a Vegetarian since 2007.

The name, ‘Hungry eyes’ came naturally to her as a result of being guided by colour when choosing ingredients of nutritional value, also as a way of displaying her creativity and artistic side. Thus arriving at the conclusion that eyes see and in turn get hungry, ‘eyes see eat too’ -> Hungry eyes!

Natalia did not study in the field of the Culinary Arts in school. She has a BA in International Relations and Spain from ?Mount Holyoke College. She in fact spent half a year in Spain. It was the experience of tasting cuisines from Spain and other countries in Europe that ignited her interest in the Culinary industry. As she travelled across different countries, she developed a desire and passion to recreate the variety of flavours tasted.

Natalia is also about to embark on a Nutrition Course soon. Where and for how long? In order to?The course runs for 3 months here in Kingston through the Jamaica Island Nutrition Network. She is pursuing the course because she believes that what and how we eat affect our well-being and in turn eating healthy daily helps us to maintain good health. She also says it will keep us connected to earth by knowing where and how our food is grown and what types of food our body naturally favours depending on the country we are in. She will soon be equipped and confident in guiding others toward a life of health and longevity through food!

So what’s in store for Hungry Eyes? Natalia is committed to being patient with the evolution of what has begun, but would love to grow a sustainable business in Human and Capital potential, including its environmental impact. So one goal is to have a Catering Institute where young people, especially in under-served communities, can gain exposure to skills and knowledge they can use primarily to improve their well-being. Natalia feels being able to share what she is learning about food and about operating a business on a broader scale, is her investment in helping to break a cycle of poverty. She also wants Hungry Eyes to participate in food/culture/music festivals to bring a Caribbean fusion of flavours to people who are curious but haven’t been able to travel to or around the region.

It was refreshing to talk to Natalia and you could hear how passionate she is about what she does. Hungry Eyes caters for events as well. They deliver lunch on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays, encouraging pre-orders.

Follow their Instagram page, Hungry Eyes ‘EYESEATTOO’ and check their website, eyeseattoo.wordpress.com. Persons can sign up to get weekly menus from [email protected]. Order the night before or by 9am on the morning of. They have many other items on their menu to tease your eyes with hunger.

Tel. No.: 876.325.8509

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FLOW Cable Tv is moving backward instead of forward!

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What are we paying to see at the moment? Hardly anything. This situation has been brewing in the open since local television decided to buy the rights for The Voice to see our local artist, Tessanne Chin’s season. Coverage was choppy and delayed. Then went the USA series, Suits followed by Empire. What was alarming was that in the case of the new hot series, Empire, they expected viewers to wait an entire WEEK to see the 2-hour season 1 finale. Unacceptable. The only reason they did not try the same thing with Scandal, is because they are so far behind in the season they are currently showing. The same thing has also been happening with football fans for years, not being able to see some games live or getting crappy commentary. This pushes persons to watch shows or sports online and defeats the whole purpose of local television showing desired content and thus boosting its viewership. Also remember that the west channels such as ABC west etc. with a later feed (3 hours after) are no longer available from FLOW. So if we do not make it home in time, we cannot watch the show later in the night.

Now here comes Digicel Sportsmax acquiring the rights to show the NBA. Which group of so called ‘Sports fans’ sat around a table and made the decision to show SOME of the NBA playoffs this year? Who gave them the right to choose what games we can see, or how do they choose what games should be shown?! How can that be logical in any way, shape or form? If they could not afford to show ALL of the games, then they should not show any at all. Simple! And how could the Broadcasting Commission of Jamaica approve this madness? Where is the balance of interest for us, the consumers? How could a contract be signed for only Digicel Sportsmax to show the NBA 2015 Playoffs even though they stated they are only showing 18 NBA Playoff games, the Conference finals and the Finals? 18 games are not even 5% of the games before the Conference finals, not even knowing which series will go to a Game 7. So any other channel that we are currently paying for, and that is showing the game is blocked?

Now it seems Digicel Sportsmax opened a can of worms because they have stated on Facebook that, ‘the blocking of channels showing the NBA has been done because the cable operator does not have the rights to that channel for broadcast in the Caribbean.’ Also that, ‘it has nothing to do with Sportsmax.’ Of course it does, because if it was not for Sportsmax putting this contract forward to the NBA and drawing attention to us, (although we should run things legally but who cares) the NBA would not have looked into our cable providers, i.e. FLOW and realise they have not been showing NBA on channels like NBA TV and ABC legally in the first place; hence blocking them now. Then FLOW has its customer service agents lying to the public saying that channels such as TNT US are blocked because only Digicel Sportsmax has the legal right to show the NBA games. Fortunately for us, the NBA authorized that ESPN and SPACE (Who knows what or where is SPACE) cannot be blocked in this region. However, unfortunately for us, not all NBA Playoff games will be shown on ESPN but on many other channels that are blocked such as TNT US, NBA TV etc.

Also, how many years is this stupid contract for? We have gone from All Access to almost zero access. Where are the answers? Where is the communication from FLOW and how are they going to fix this moving forward? Will they only make an effort if they see a dip in subscribers or are we to accept that they are not going to fix this, purchase NBA League Pass and stream to our big screens or set up an American cable system such as DSS? All this contraption, instead of simply turning on the television?! There goes supporting Brand Jamaica because I know for sure many persons will not be supporting this inconsiderate act.

By the way, not showing the games was just scratching the surface. I will not even begin to go into the quality of feed and commentary. Isn’t this counter intuitive to growing the sport as well?!

So where do we go from here? How many more shows and programmes will be taken? And WHEN will our bills or charges be reduced by FLOW? Robbery. That is what this is. Robbery of our money, joy, bar time and sanity in our living rooms.