Nobody saw the Clippers yielding so easily to the Rockets. After being ahead in the series, they allowed a 19-point lead to slip away in a crucial Game 6 and were totally blown away by the Rockets in the second half of Game 7 yesterday. Quite disappointing and hard to watch. The Defending Champs, the Spurs would have put up a better fight. So it will be the Cook vs. the Splash Brothers! Can the runner-up MVP beat the MVP?
Hawks vs Cavs for the Eastern Conference Division this Wednesday! Did Kyrie Irving get enough rest after injuring his knee in the last game? Suga thinks he will be alright and the Cavs should make it to the Finals with or without him.
The Warriors vs Rockets for the West should be an interesting match up. Both faced elimination with their previous opponents. It shall come down to the power of the 3s and defense.
It all starts this Tuesday with the Rockets at the Warriors and Wednesday it will be the the Cavs at the Hawks! Get your popcorn ready!
When last have you had a good, moist, delicious slice of Chocolate cake? Suga hasn’t had one in a while. I think it is hard to find nowadays since everyone seems to be trying to perfect Cheesecake in every flavour, shape and form. However, word has it that Table Talk Observer Food Awards winner for Outstanding Baker 2014, Sweet Moments by Nadene Lazarus has a decadent Chocolate cake on Fridays by Countryside. The revamped Countryside club is located at 7 Courtney Walsh Drive.
Feel free to share your favourite spot for Chocolate cake in Ja!
The Rotaract Club of St. Martin Nord won Club of the Quarter recently in Rotaract District 7020, which comprises of 9 other territories including Jamaica. Suga was interested to see the work they did to accomplish that position, as clubs across the District have been doing outstanding work not only in their communities and islands, but internationally as well.
There were quite a few projects executed, however, there were two that Suga wished to highlight.
In March, Rotaract Club of St. Martin executed a Garden Beautification Project at Bethany Home, a Senior Citizens home. They planted some beautiful flowers in their garden. The seniors were very happy with the initiative and were even excited to give them some tips on planting from their younger years of experience.
But the most exciting and overwhelming time of the afternoon for club members, was when they sat down and shared snack time with the seniors. The President had baked 2 delicious cakes and a few drinks were bought and offered to them. During that time, some of the seniors seized the opportunity to share some stories with the Rotaractors while others had quite stimulating conversations. Both parties enjoyed the interaction so much that they didn’t have enough time to complete the gardening and returned a few days later to do so.
Since Rotaract also speaks to Personal and Professional Development of its members, the Rotaract Club of St. Martin Nord organized their 4th edition of ‘Speed Working’ for Start Ups in the quarter as well.
The club wished to assist the future entrepreneurs by setting up an original concept of Speed Working. Mrs. Angele Dormoy, Entrepreneur and 1st Vice-president of the French Chamber of Commerce, did a special presentation on how to evaluate and create your own company successfully.
After the presentation, all participants had the opportunity to network with 7 different professionals during the speed-coaching mentoring part of the program.
The concept was very simple. It allowed the future, young entrepreneurs to meet professionals and also key interlocutors (persons who take part in a dialogue or conversation) who intervened in the process of the new business start-ups. They were granted 10 minutes with every interlocutor to present their projects, ask questions and also benefited from advice for their new business start-ups. Each attendee was followed up with to ensure they had advanced with their company or respective project. This action allowed 17 projects to benefit from advice of experimented professionals!
They were able to exchange with professionals/interlocutors from the Bank, Chamber of Commerce, Accountants, Business owners, Artistic designers and the Support Federation for Small Businesses (FTPE).
As each territory faces different kinds of challenges, Rotaract assesses the needs of their communities by priority and funds available to assist. They also find the most innovative ways possible to improve their members personally and professionally in order to be better people, build their careers and most importantly, to serve their communities and the world in a better way.
Congratulations to the Rotaract Club of St. Martin for their outstanding work, as well as the other clubs who continue to improve our nation.
What is happening to the unguardable MVP, Steph Curry?! Has he met the best defense team in the league? A big part of the Grizzlies’ success has been Tony Allen, who, after an athletic diving steal from Klay Thompson in the 3rd quarter last Tuesday, kept shouting convincingly, ‘First-team all-defense!’. For the N.B.A. all-defensive team, voted on by writers and broadcasters, Allen was second team in 2011, and first team in 2012 and 2013. He was passed over last year and this year’s selections have not been announced as yet. The Grizzlies now have a 2-1 lead in the series.
The Bulls-Cavs series is now drawn at 2-2. The last 2 games have been won by buzzer-beaters. LeBron James missed the lay-up in the game Friday, then D. Rose hit the buzzer-beater, game-winning 3-point shot to beat the Cavs 99-96. Suga’s Play of the year nominee! Bulls led series 2-1 then LeBron James of the Cavs came back with a vengeance and worked hard for his Buzzer-beater yesterday to make up for the last game, beating the Bulls 86-84. Pau Gasol from the Bulls continues to sit out the game with a hamstring injury.
Paul Pierce of the Wizards also hit a buzzer-beater, a jump shot to beat the Hawks 103-101 on Saturday to lead the series 2-1 without John Wall who is still out with a hand injury.
Meanwhile, the Clippers are smoking the Rockets, burning down ‘the Cook’, Harden’s kitchen, with or without CP3. Despite a great team effort, Austin Rivers from the bench has been showing up big time along with starter, J.J. Redick. Last night they rolled to a 128-95 win over the Rockets to lead the series 3-1.
Tonight will be Wizards vs Hawks in Washington (2-1) and Warriors vs Grizzlies in Memphis (2-1).
We are getting closer to the Conference Finals! Who will it be?
1. Wash and rinse the potatoes thoroughly to get rid of the dirt. Boil the potatoes with a pinch of salt in a pot for about 20 minutes and quickly drain them when they are done. Let them cool for a while.
2. Cut the potatoes in half and scoop them to look like baskets. In a bowl mix all the ingredients with the potatoes flesh and stuff the potatoes with the mixture. Spread the grated cheese on the potatoes and bake them for about 20 minutes in 356°F.
3. You will love them!!!!!
Recipe found with Allthecooks (http://www.allthecooks.com).
The event starts at 6pm and usually ends at 9pm. Some persons leave straight from work, arrive as early as 5:30pm and wait until the food is ready so they can pick up and go. They find it convenient because they got dinner to go and at that time, most of the traffic would have subsided. While most of the people who wish to hang around and mingle after they eat usually arrive around 7pm.
Over the years I have tasted all of the above mentioned. I always found the various options to be tasty and the meat to be fresh and tender. I had the Hawaiian lamb and Jerked lamb ribs with lamb soup last Wednesday. The soup was tasty and spicy but did not have a lot of meat. It doesn’t usually but you taste the ‘essence’ of the lamb. The Jerked Lamb ribs could use a bit more seasoning and sauce was lacking that particular night. That was not the issue with the Hawaiian lamb though, as it had a lovely flavour and sauce. Sides included in the meal served are usually Pumpkin rice and Spaghetti. However, I would love to see a change in side options offered from time to time, perhaps a nice salad, mashed, baked or roasted potatoes, plain rice with the Curried lamb etc. One of the Directors, Neville Graham mentioned that he does the cooking along with his Operations Manager, Delroy McKay. So it seems they have shied away from anything extravagant but at least he mentioned that they are open to providing different options.
I relaxed a bit after eating, mingled with friends and persons that I haven’t had the opportunity to see recently and enjoyed the background music. There was a sound system set up and I definitely appreciated the volume not being loud and the selection played. It was really a comfortable, casual atmosphere and if you are trying to escape the summer heat in the house, the wind seemed to be blowing that way. The venue is out in the open and it was quite cool.
About 35 pounds of fresh lamb is used for the event. Slaughtered lamb is not usually sold after 2 weeks. So the lamb from NCR Sheep isn’t only fresh, but it is unique in that it is local! Large companies such as Caribbean Producers Jamaica (CPJ) Meats sell imported lamb.
Contact NCR Sheep Ltd. for lamb at 876.548.1178 (Ph.) or [email protected] (email). You can also like their Facebook page, ‘NCR Sheep Ltd.’ to keep updated with NCR Sheep Ltd. events.
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. Â 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
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.
