Lloyd gives Brathwaite, Samuels full marks

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (CMC) — Chief selector Clive Lloyd has praised Kraigg Brathwaite’s maturity in the wake of the opener’s third Test century and said coupled with the presence of the experienced Marlon Samuels, West Indies were now only two middle-order batsmen short of being a quality Test side.

Lloyd, the legendary former captain credited with moulding West Indies into a world-class side of the 1970s and 80s, said the 22-year-old had shown he possessed the mettle for Test cricket.

“I think people will realise now that we do have young players who want to do well in Test cricket and not only thinking of T20,” Lloyd pointed out.

“He (Brathwaite) is very mature for his age, and the innings I have seen him play against Bangladesh, and now here, shows that he’s getting better with every game.

“He’s a good thinker, and you can tell from interviews. His answers are very intelligent. So if we can continue with players of that nature our team is not too far away from being a very good one.”

Samuels, Lloyd said, had also come into his own, and the key was now to find two quality young players to complement the batting.

“He has shown maturity. He’s batted well in one-dayers, he’s batted well in Test matches, so I think we’re just trying to form that middle [order],” Lloyd explained.

“I think we need another two batsmen in the middle there, who can sort of fight through situations and give us a total for our bowlers to bowl to. And we’ll keep searching with the youngsters that we have and hope that they can come through.”

Both Brathwaite and Samuels proved their quality in the second Test at Port Elizabeth, stroking high-class centuries in a record 176-run, third-wicket stand to repel South Africa.

Their effort kept West Indies in the contest on the fourth day of the rain-affected encounter, before bad weather returned to force the abandonment of the final day.

“They both did very well. They were very mature,” Lloyd assessed.

“We had some very tight times when the bowlers were on top, but they fought through it; and it shows we have those skills, and, if we can continue in that vein, we can’t be too far away from building a proper team and a team that can compete with all nations.”

West Indies are down 0-1 in the three-Test series, following a heavy innings and 220-run defeat in the opening Test in Centurion. The result extended the Caribbean side’s dismal record on South African soil, where they have never won a Test series and lost 10 of 12 matches.

Despite the poor results, Lloyd remained upbeat about the Windies talent pool and the side’s ability to find good players.

“You had (Kenroy) Peters who was home a week ago and he didn’t think he would be playing in a Test match, but he’s here, done extremely well; so we’re standing in good stead at the moment,” Lloyd said.

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Lloyd gives Brathwaite, Samuels full marks

Giants fan who caught home run ball gives it back

SAN FRANCISCO –  A lifelong San Francisco fan had a piece of team history in his hands Thursday night: the home run ball that sent the Giants to the World Series.

Then he gave it back.

Frank Burke, who owns a transmission repair business in Oakdale told the San Jose Mercury News that he wanted the hitter, Travis Ishikawa, to have the ball.

“Ishikawa is the guy who hit the ball,” Burke said. “I’m just the lucky guy who caught it.”

So after having it authenticated by a Giants official and learning Ishikawa wanted it back, Burke went down to the clubhouse area and handed it over. Ishikawa gave him a signed bat in return.

Burke said he had asked for World Series tickets, but was told that might not be possible.

“So I said, ‘All right. I was going to give the ball back either way,"” he said.

After doing a media interview the next morning, he got a call from the Giants. Burke now has four tickets to Game 3 of the World Series at San Francisco’s AT&T Park on Friday night. It will be the Giants’ first home game against the Kansas City Royals.

Burke was at Thursday’s game with his friend, Greg Leutza, who is battling cancer. Burke wanted to do something special for Leutza and went searching for tickets after the Giants won the National League Division Series, he told another newspaper, The Modesto Bee.

Ishikawa’s drive came their way as they sat above the stadium’s right field wall in the ninth inning with two Giants on base.

“My main thought was to keep it in front of me and don’t let it fall to the field,” Burke told the Modesto paper.

The ball went off his left hand, but he was able to corral it. Burke posed triumphantly with the ball for photos and said he gave other fans a chance to touch it as well.

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Giants fan who caught home run ball gives it back

Oriel gives Jamaicans a taste of his skills with promotional tour

Contributed

Oriel in a scene from the ‘Serious’ video.

Dominican reggae singer Oriel Barry recently undertook a two week promotional tour of Jamaica.

The tour coincided with the release of Oriel’s mix tape called the Rise of the Revoluteers which was released on September 11.

Oriel did a number of radio and TV interviews as well as live performances, during his visit to the island.

He also undertook the shooting of music videos for two songs Sticks & Stones, which was released earlier this year and Serious to be released on October 7.

Oriel is extremely pleased with the outcome of the promotional tour.

“I’m very happy with the way things went on my trip to Jamaica. Everything was very positive, I did a lot work promoting my music all over the island and the response I received was very good,” said Oriel.

The music video for Sticks & Stones which was released locally last week is already enjoying heavy rotation on a number of local TV stations including HYPE TV, RETV and CVM Plus.

The video for Serious will be released on October 21.

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Oriel gives Jamaicans a taste of his skills with promotional tour

Piazon"s spectacular free kick gives Frankfurt victory in Bundesliga

BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Lucas Piazon’s spectacular 90th-minute free kick gave Eintracht Frankfurt a 2-1 victory at Hamburg yesterday, as the former European champions remain rooted to the foot of the Bundesliga.

Haris Seferovic gave Frankfurt the lead in the 44th minute, striking home Timothy Chandler’s pass.

Hamburg finally found the back of the net for the first time this season in the 58th minute as Lewis Holtby crossed to Nicolai Mueller, who got his shot through the legs of Frankfurt keeper Felix Wiedwald.

Hamburg’s first goal came 508 minutes into the season, comfortably snapping VfL Bochum’s previous Bundesliga record of 475 minutes without a goal to start the 1979-80 season.

Hamburg looked like they would grab a point but 20-year-old Piazon unleashed a perfectly placed free kick into the upper right corner to secure the victory.

“He can do that,” said Frankfurt coach Thomas Schaaf.

Frankfurt jumped to seventh place on nine points, five off leaders Bayern Munich, while Hamburg, who were European champions way back in 1983, have just two points from six games.

Augsburg are eighth with nine points following a 1-0 home win over Hertha Berlin earlier yesterday.

Augsburg captain Paul Verhaegh hammered home a penalty in the 27th-minute after Hertha keeper Thomas Kraft had brought down Raul Bobadilla in the box.

“The victory was enormously important because we have two away matches coming up,” said Augsburg coach Markus Weinzierl.

“We knew that Hertha would defend and not give us a lot of chances, so it was important that we got the win.”

Reigning champions Bayern Munich remained top on Saturday with a 2-0 win at FC Cologne.

Bayern kept a clean sheet for their fourth straight Bundesliga match to move to 14 points, two points clear of Borussia Moenchengladbach.

Pep Guardiola’s Munich opened the scoring on 19 minutes as Mario Goetze struck his third goal in the last two matches.

The visitors doubled the lead midway through the second half as Daniel Halfar put through his own net.

Gladbach won 2-1 at Paderborn thanks to early goals from Patrick Herrmann and Raffael, with Jens Wimmer getting one back for the promoted club, who had been top before losing at Bayern in midweek.

Gladbach’s win took them above Leverkusen, who had to play more than an hour with 10 men but held on for a 0-0 draw away at SC Freiburg.

Leverkusen defender Emir Spahic was sent off in the first half, although Freiburg also finished the game a man down after Pavel Krmas was dismissed.

The visitors might have won it but Karim Bellarabi and Son Heung-Min both hit the crossbar in the final 17 minutes.

In Gelsenkirchen, Schalke 04 picked up their second straight victory with a 2-1 win at home over bitter rivals Borussia Dortmund.

Dortmund’s recent defensive struggles continued as goals from Joel Matip and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting left them trailing 2-0 by the midway point in the first half.

Jurgen Klopp’s side did reduce the deficit shortly afterwards courtesy of a Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang strike but they could not find an equaliser and have collected only seven points from six games this season, one fewer than Schalke.

Ivica Olic scored in the 57th minute to secure VfL Wolfsburg a 2-1 victory at home against Werder Bremen.

After Ricardo Rodriguez pushed Wolfsburg ahead in the 15th minute, Marnon Busch equalised for Bremen after 37 minutes.

Hanover 96 went down 1-0 at struggling VfB Stuttgart, Daniel Schwaab scoring his team’s first goal at home this season in the 69th minute, while Mainz and Hoffenheim played out a goalless draw on Friday.

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Piazon"s spectacular free kick gives Frankfurt victory in Bundesliga

Chelsea Clinton gives birth to girl

27 September 2014 Last updated at 07:31 Chelsea Clinton’s baby daughter is the first grandchild of Bill and Hillary Clinton Chelsea Clinton, daughter of former US President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, has given birth to a baby girl.

“Marc and I are full of love, awe and gratitude as we celebrate the birth of our daughter, Charlotte Clinton Mezvinsky,” Ms Clinton tweeted.

Ms Clinton, 34, married Marc Mezvinsky in 2010, and announced her pregnancy in April 2014.

The baby arrives as Hillary Clinton considers a presidential bid in 2016.

She is seen as the leading Democratic contender for nomination to succeed President Barack Obama, and has said that she will make a decision on whether to run from around the beginning of 2015.

Bill Clinton served as the 42nd US president, from January 1993 to January 2001.

The former first daughter has often been tipped to follow her parents into politics.

Chelsea Clinton, educated at Stanford, Columbia and Oxford Universities, runs the Clinton Foundation with her parents. Her husband Marc Mezvinsky is an investment banker.

Ms Clinton stepped down from a $600,000 (£370,000) a year position as NBC special correspondent in August to concentrate on her pregnancy, motherhood and philanthropic work.

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Chelsea Clinton gives birth to girl

Bramma gives fans a new experience with latest single

Bramma – Contributed

Dancehall artiste Bramma ‘Di Gorilla’, this week released a new single that has fans perplexed as to the inspiration behind the composition.

The track, Birds of a Feather, showcases Bramma’s talent beyond toasting fiery lyrics on a hot beat. On this latest offering, he goes acoustic, allowing fans to experience the dichotomy of his musical artistry interlaced with great storytelling, backed by the sounds of a melodic steel-string guitar.

The single is produced by S-Lock Entertainment and alludes to a true story involving a treacherous act committed by a close friend once held in high esteem.

In a statement to the media, Bramma explains that he wanted to offer something different to his fans other than the clich?d hardcore lyrics on a computerised bass-laden dancehall beat.

“As an artiste, you have to explore new avenues and sounds if you intend to grow musically. I want to do something different. I can’t be singing the same type of music everyday. Hence, to broaden my horizon, I decided to rehash the art of storytelling on this project, backed by an acoustic guitar, showcasing a more contemporary side to me, allowing people to listen and hear the message in the music,” he said.

Now available on iTunes, Bramma added that plans are also afoot to shoot a video in the coming weeks.

The S-Lock recording artiste recently scored his second career No.1 with Have Dis, an audacious street-anthem featuring label-mates and newcomers Idus, Diamond, RP, X-File and Krucial. His previous chart topper came courtesy of Stephen ‘Di Genius’ McGregor-produced Cha Cha Bwoy.

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Bramma gives fans a new experience with latest single

Bramma gives fans a new experience with latest single

Bramma – Contributed

Dancehall artiste Bramma ‘Di Gorilla’, this week released a new single that has fans perplexed as to the inspiration behind the composition.

The track, Birds of a Feather, showcases Bramma’s talent beyond toasting fiery lyrics on a hot beat. On this latest offering, he goes acoustic, allowing fans to experience the dichotomy of his musical artistry interlaced with great storytelling, backed by the sounds of a melodic steel-string guitar.

The single is produced by S-Lock Entertainment and alludes to a true story involving a treacherous act committed by a close friend once held in high esteem.

In a statement to the media, Bramma explains that he wanted to offer something different to his fans other than the clich?d hardcore lyrics on a computerised bass-laden dancehall beat.

“As an artiste, you have to explore new avenues and sounds if you intend to grow musically. I want to do something different. I can’t be singing the same type of music everyday. Hence, to broaden my horizon, I decided to rehash the art of storytelling on this project, backed by an acoustic guitar, showcasing a more contemporary side to me, allowing people to listen and hear the message in the music,” he said.

Now available on iTunes, Bramma added that plans are also afoot to shoot a video in the coming weeks.

The S-Lock recording artiste recently scored his second career No.1 with Have Dis, an audacious street-anthem featuring label-mates and newcomers Idus, Diamond, RP, X-File and Krucial. His previous chart topper came courtesy of Stephen ‘Di Genius’ McGregor-produced Cha Cha Bwoy.

View the original article here

Bramma gives fans a new experience with latest single

Chaka Khan gives No, No, No thumbs up

BY RICHARD JOHNSON Observer senior reporter johnsonr@jamaicaobserver.com

Wednesday, February 05, 2014    

JAMAICAN music has struck a chord with American pop stars since the 1960s. One of them is singer Chaka Khan.

The 10-time Grammy winner — a headliner at last week’s Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival at the Trelawny Multi-Purpose Stadium — told the Jamaica Observer that there is one song by a Jamaican act she would love to cover.

“What’s the name of that singer again?” she quizzed herself before bursting into song.

“No, No, No; You don’t love me, and I know now,” with vocals filling the air, and fingers snapping.

“That’s my song,” she declared.

The track Khan refers to is Dawn Penn’s 1968 Studio One hit, You Don’t Love Me (No, No, No). A remixed version by Penn, produced by Steely and Clevie, made international charts 25 years later.

Penn first recorded You Don’t Love Me in 1966. A cover of American soul singer Willie Cobbs’ song of the same name, it was produced by Clement ‘Coxsone’ Dodd.

However, due to an error in chord progression, it was re-recorded in 1968.

Chaka Khan is known for hits songs including Tell Me Something Good, I Feel For You, Sweet Thing, Through the Fire, and I’m Every Woman.

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Chaka Khan gives No, No, No thumbs up

Jamaica gives StayC Reign a good feeling

AMERICAN hip-hop act Flo Rida was arguably one of the highlights of the recently concluded Reggae Sumfest held at Catherine Hall in Montego Bay, St James.

His set was in no small part complemented by the impressive vocals of his sidekick, StayC Reign.The Alabama native, whose real name is Stacy Hebert and who now calls Miami home, paid tribute to her southern roots with gutsy vocal styling.She earned a “Who is that?” from the audience the moment she stepped on stage.She added energy to tracks including Wild Ones and Good Feeling.For StayC Reign, her debut experience was nothing short of spectacular.“It was amazing. The energy coming from the audience made us want to go so much harder. They were super lively. I just enjoyed it,” she told the Jamaica Observer.She describes her musical style as a gumbo which combines pop, R&B,rock, and a little punk. She said she draws on musical influences from jazz great Etta James, and pop acts Jazmine Sullivan and Beyonce.StayC Reign is currently signed to Flo Rida’s International Music Group.Out of her maiden visit, StayC Reign said she would love to join forces with the queen of the dancehall Lady Saw, for a collaboration.“I saw her perform for the first time on Thursday and she was fantastic. She just went really hard and I loved it,” she said.And how was Jamaica for the first-time visitor?“It is so beautiful. I don’t want to leave,” she said, with a girlish pout.“I went into the sea and that was amazing. I had jerk chicken,” she said, throwing her hands into the air giving the Jamaican dish two thumbs up.American hip-hop artiste Flo Rida and StayC Reign.

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Jamaica gives StayC Reign a good feeling

US gives Fire Brigade J$1m in equipment

KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) — The Jamaica Fire Brigade received water and structural rescue kit equipment valued at some $1 million, to further strengthen its search and rescue operations in six parishes

The equipment, which has been donated by the United States Southern Command, in partnership with the US Embassy in Jamaica, was handed over to Commissioner of the Jamaica Fire Brigade, Laurie Williams, at the York Park Fire Station, in Kingston, on June 28.Included in the items are self-contained breathing apparatus, portable lighting, helmets, chain saws, holding shovels, and water rescue and flotation devices.They will be deployed to the York Park, Trench Town and Stony Hill Fire Stations in Kingston and St Andrew; the Falmouth Fire Station in Trelawny; the Port Maria Fire Station in St Mary; and the Ocho Rios Fire Station in St Ann.Commissioner Williams, in expressing gratitude to the US Government, assured that the tools will be utilised with professionalism and true commitment to duty. He noted that the donation is quite timely, as it coincides with the start of Hurricane Season. “This is a time when we may be called on again to do our part in saving lives and protecting property,” Williams said.Like our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/jamaicaobserverFollow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/JamaicaObserver

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US gives Fire Brigade J$1m in equipment

US gives Fire Brigade J$1m in equipment

News

Saturday, June 29, 2013 | 11:14 AM

KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) — The Jamaica Fire Brigade received water and structural rescue kit equipment valued at some $1 million, to further strengthen its search and rescue operations in six parishesThe equipment, which has been donated by the United States Southern Command, in partnership with the US Embassy in Jamaica, was handed over to Commissioner of the Jamaica Fire Brigade, Laurie Williams, at the York Park Fire Station, in Kingston, on June 28.Included in the items are self-contained breathing apparatus, portable lighting, helmets, chain saws, holding shovels, and water rescue and flotation devices.They will be deployed to the York Park, Trench Town and Stony Hill Fire Stations in Kingston and St Andrew; the Falmouth Fire Station in Trelawny; the Port Maria Fire Station in St Mary; and the Ocho Rios Fire Station in St Ann.Commissioner Williams, in expressing gratitude to the US Government, assured that the tools will be utilised with professionalism and true commitment to duty. He noted that the donation is quite timely, as it coincides with the start of Hurricane Season. “This is a time when we may be called on again to do our part in saving lives and protecting property,” Williams said.

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US gives Fire Brigade J$1m in equipment