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The Jamaica Pegasus kept up high standards for the WICB/WIPA 3rd Annual Players’ Award Function

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The WICB/WIPA 3rd Annual Player’s Award function was held last Tuesday, June 9th in the Ball Room of The Jamaica Pegasus with Cocktails at 6pm, Dinner and Ceremony at 7pm. Which function starts on time in Jamaica?! This one started before time! Kudos to the organizers and MC Michael Hall for keeping it flowing. He did his best seeing that there were no menus or programmes given to guests.

Special guests included Lady Allen, Minister of Tourism and Entertainment, Dr. Wykeham McNeil, Sirs Richie Richardson, Curtly Ambrose, Andy Roberts, Everton Weekes and Clive Lloyd. Ambassador Courtney Walsh and WI Coach, Phil Simmons were also in attendance, along with members of the Australian team here for the test this weekend versus the West Indies.

Dinner started with a nice, creamy Pumpkin soup with Jerk Chicken spinners! Interesting right? Then came a fancy, well presented raw Vegetable salad followed by a lovely main course. I can officially say The Jamaica Pegasus Hotel is no longer one of those hotels that you go to for a wedding, graduation or awards ceremony etc. and you get mediocre food including cliché stuffed Chicken Breast that may be overcooked and dry. Instead, I got a meagre serving of Lamb chops BUT a healthy serving of Snapper and Yam Run Down. Everything on the plate was flavourful and delicious with wine to complement it all. A small piece of tasty Cheesecake with Chocolate on the side, completed dinner.

Since guests were served on time and each course was in quick succession after the other, we were allowed to enjoy greetings by the Presidents of the WICB and WIPA, Dave Cameron and Wavell Hinds respectively topped off by a fabulous speech by Guest Speaker, past WI fast bowler, politician and minister of the church, Sir Wesley Hall in the mean time. His eloquence, use of vocabulary and ability to captivate the audience’s attention was sensational. He went over his time I am sure, but with his stories, humour and words of inspiration and encouragement to current cricketers, it was a pleasure to listen for more. He reminded players that talent alone doesn’t earn success, but work ethic and discipline as well. There is also no ‘I’ in team, the team wins and players contribute. Wise words by Wes. I surely hope the young and upcoming cricketers walked away from the function with a totally new, fresh, positive outlook. I surely would.

The West Indies Women’s Cricket team were congratulated for winning the ODI series, 3-1 on their Sri Lanka tour as well as the T20I series, 2-1 earlier in May this year. Good job ladies!

The event was aired live on Sportsmax and another channel. IGL, ICWI, Grace Kennedy and other sponsors were thanked for their support. It was a pity that a lot of invited or expected guests did not show, leaving many empty seats, as the event provided a pleasant reminder of the West Indies and quality players in its hay-day and highlighted current and upcoming talent. The Ashe Performing Arts Ensemble gave a vibrant, refreshing performance to close the night. As this event is young, Suga expects even better next year.

Some winners of the night were as follows:

Under 19 Team of the Year – Guyana

Under 19 Player of the Year – Shimron Hetmyer

First class Team of the Year – Barbados

1-Day Cricketer of the Year – Denesh Ramdin

Test Cricketer of the Year – Kraigg Brathwaite

T20 Cricketer of the Year – Samuel Badree

Emerging Cricketer of the Year – Jermaine Blackwood

Womens’ Cricketer of the Year – Stafanie Taylor

Men’s Cricketer of the Year – Sulieman Benn

Lifetime Achivement Award (WICB) – Chetram Singh

Lifetime Achivement Award (WIPA) – Renford Pinnock

Rally round the West Indies!

 By: Gabrielle Williams

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What a weekend of Sports!

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Serena Williams kicked things off winning the French Open vs Lucie Safarova 6-3; 6-7; 6-2, thus achieving her 20th Grand Slam title as she battled with a bad case of the flu. She chases Steffi Graf with 22 Grand Slam titles at the top of the Open era. Keep it up Serena!

Then came the UEFA Champion’s League final with an exciting match between Juventus and Barcelona. The result? Barcelona won 3 goals to 1, including a winning goal by Luis Suarez and another goal to seal the deal in the last minute of stoppage time by Neymar. Tevez did not show up for Juventus at all that day. Congrats Barcelona. Well played and kudos to Gerard Pique’s great display of defence.

Minutes after came the Belmont Stakes, where American Pharoah won the big race!  He won the Triple Crown since he won the two other big races in the season, i.e. The Kentucky Derby and the Peakness Stakes. Why is this a big deal? This has not been accomplished in 37 years! A horse came close last year, winning two of the three with much anticipation to win the third at Belmont but failed to deliver. Congrats to Jockey, Victor Espinoza and trainer, Bob Baffert for winning their first Triple Crown. American Pharoah led the whole race and stretched his lead toward the end as eager spectators’ eyes turned into dollar signs as he crossed the finishing line first! The millions of dollars on that race was unreal.

Yesterday morning, the favourite, Novak Djokovic took a loss to Stan Wawrinka in the French Open final in 4 sets. Novak will have to wait another year before attempting to win the full set of major titles. Congrats Wawrinka for winning his 2nd Grand slam title, 4-6; 6-4;6-3;6-4!

To finish off the weekend, The Warriors and Cavs battled in Golden State where the Cavs came out on top with a 95-93 win in overtime. LeBron James failed once again to make the game winning shot during regulation, however he had amazing triple double stats for the night including 39 points! It was Delladova who was able to make the crucial shots to clench their win. Curry had a sloppy night and so did the rest of the team in my opinion, excluding Klay Thompson that definitely had a great night. The series is now tied 1-1 as they head to Cleveland for Game 3 on Tuesday.

Don’t you all just love this season?!

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Last night, Klay Thompson of the Warriors suffered a head injury too!

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Fun and joke aside, Steph Curry seemed to be alright in last night’s close out Game 5 versus the Rockets and has shown no symptoms of a concussion since his injury in Game 4.

Coincidentally, his ‘Splash Bro’, Klay Thompson collided harshly into Trevor Ariza of the Rockets last night in Game 5. Ariza was involved in both collisions. Thompson was bleeding from the ear. He was taken off the court and assessed just as how Curry was and later returned to the game. However, Warriors released this statement last night, ‘After the gane [Klay] began to not feel well and developed concussion-like symptoms. He will continue to be evaluated by the team’s medical staff tonight’.

Congratulations to Golden State for winning the Western Conference Finals, which hasn’t been achiteved since 1975! Hopefully the Splash Brothers will be alright and healthy for their war versus LeBron James and the Cavs for the NBA Finals starting next Thursday, June 4th!

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NBA Playoff Update! Steph Curry falls on his head and more! Ouch!

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The Cavs now lead the Hawks, 3-0 for the series. The last game went into overtime and LeBron hit a 3 for the 114-111 win. Al Horford of the Hawks was ejected from the game before halftime with a questionable Flagrant 2 foul for falling then ‘elbowing’ Matthew Dellavedova that did not connect on the way down. The commentators then looked into Dellavedova’s previous games to see 2 other similar blows to the knees of other players, raising eyebrows, wondering if they were purposeful. The most recent one was Dellavedova diving into the knee of Korver causing him to fall and roll his ankle beneath Dellavedova. Korver has been out with that injury since the game last Friday. Cavs are expected to take the series but if Horford wasn’t ejected, they could have prevented the sweep they may get.

Steph Curry scared his mother, wife and fans last night with a horrible fall in the 2nd quarter. He fell over one of the Rockets’ players attempting to block a shot, onto his hands and his head. He later returned to the game with a possible concussion that I am sure will be monitored before the next game for any symptoms.

It was hard to watch. See link here with caution:

The Warriors were already trailing by about 15 points into the 4th. Some ground was made up by Klay Thompson and it took Curry a while to make a shot. He was still able to shoot three 3-pointers and score 12 points after the injury. The Rockets’ lead stretched again and Warriors’ Green was fouled out with 21 points with 3:09 remaining. Dwight Howard was also benched for a little bit after a flagrant foul but Harden was sensational. At that point you could probably call it a win for the Rockets. That made it the Rockets’ 4th straight win facing elimination. Rockets won 128-115. Harden made 45 points! They will head back to Golden State for Game 5.

Taken from www.nba.com/playoffs/

It is time for the NBA Conference Finals!

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Taken from www.nba.com/playoffs/
Taken from www.nba.com/playoffs/

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!

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

NBA Playoff Update! Getting closer to the Conference Finals!

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

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?

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

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

by Sports
- 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

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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.