Today, to celebrate the end of an incredible New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival music marathon, Pretty Lights has a very special celebration in store for the masses gathered in the Big Easy this afternoon. The pioneering electronic artist will host a parade through the streets of New Orleans today, ending under a bridge for a pop-up performance. The spectacle will begin at Bullet’s Sports Bar at 2441 AP Tureaud Ave. promptly at 4:30 pm, and will feature horns, a second line, and all the joyous pageantry that makes New Orleans such a magical city.The parade will head down Tureaud, and then down N Roman St before cutting across Bayou Rd and ending up under the I-10 overpass for a party with Pretty Lights providing the music. You can view the parade route below.Safe to say, with Pretty Lights at the helm and the spirit of Jazz Fest rising to its apex on the final day of the 10-day celebration, this will be quite the spectacle!Happy Jazz Fest, everybody![Cover photo via Live Edits Lab]
THE upcoming Inter-Guiana ‘Goodwill’ Games will get started with the basketball competition at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH), while volleyball will be held simultaneously at the National Gymnasium, when that event begins here in Guyana on October 21 and runs until October 23. Both competitions start off at 13:00hrs, at their respective venues, while activities continue later the same day with the opening ceremony at the National Track and Field Centre in Leonora, starting at 18:00hrs.The athletics component will begin immediately after at 19:00hrs, according to the schedule that was announced by Director of Sport, Christopher Jones, at a press briefing held yesterday at the National Sports Commission (NSC) headquarters.The press conference also had in attendance representatives from each of the seven sporting disciplines that will be participating at this year’s Games, as well as representatives from the various sponsors on board for the event.As the schedule of the events continues badminton, which will also be at the National Gymnasium, gets underway, on Saturday, October 22 at 09:00hrs. This will be followed by the continuation of the male and female volleyball matches.Back at the CASH the futsal football begins at 13:00hrs, and will be followed by the continuation of the basketball competition. Swimming will commence and conclude on Sunday, October 23, at the National Aquatic Centre. Also set for Sunday is volleyball at the Gymnasium and futsal, table tennis, and basketball at CASH.The closing ceremony is set for 20:00hrs.Jones noted that all the disciplines have been busy putting together, and preparing, their teams for the Games, where they will compete against their counterparts from Suriname.Representatives from the different teams were also on hand to speak of how the preparations have been coming along.Speaking on behalf of the table tennis was national coach Linden Johnson, who declared that his team will not be taking the abilities of the Suriname team for granted, and will be working assiduously to groom the Guyana team.Johnson noted that the team is one that has shown much promise and several of the players recently performed at the regional level.Swimming team manager Leon Seaton described the team as a “vibrant” one, though the team suffered a blow as three of the selected swimmers had to be replaced. Swimmers Amy Grant, Philip DeNobrega and Nathan Hackett will no longer be on the team They are being replaced by Nikita Fiedtkou, Daniel Scott and Jamal Skeete.Athletics has already named a 28-member team, while Guyana Badminton Association (GBA) president Gokarn Ramdhani said training for the eight-member badminton team has been going excellently.Jones also took the opportunity at yesterday’s briefing to thank the corporate sponsors who have come on board to throw their support behind the event. Sponsors include Digicel, Banks DIH, Impressions, and E-Networks
Uncertainty continues to shroud the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations heading into this weekend’s crucial round of qualifying fixtures.Morocco was stripped of the right to host the finals by CAF on Tuesday after requesting that the tournament be postponed due to fears over the spread of the Ebola virus. Additionally, Morocco’s team have been disqualified from competing at the event. African football’s governing body CAF is now scrambling to find an alternative location just two months before the AFCON is due to start, although president Issa Hayatou expects a new host to be confirmed in the next two to three days. The furore has not affected the final two rounds of qualification, the first of which takes place this weekend with reigning champions Nigeria battling to reverse what has been a dreadful campaign thus far. The Super Eagles currently sit third in Group A with only the top two guaranteed automatic qualification. Nigeria travel to second-placed Congo – who they are three points behind – on Saturday knowing that a victory by two goals is necessary to overtake their hosts on head-to-head record after Congo’s 3-2 win in their first encounter. Nevertheless, coach Stephen Keshi, who recently returned to his post after being asked to step down, is still upbeat about his side’s chances of retaining the title they won in South Africa in 2013. “We have the players who can do Nigeria proud in the remaining qualifying games and I know somehow we will make to the finals and retain our trophy,” Keshi said. Another continental giant who desperately need a win to boost their chances of automatic qualification are Ivory Coast, who currently sit third in Group D. They take on winless Sierra Leone this weekend, with their opponents’ inability to play at home die to the Ebola epidemic meaning the game will take place in Abidjan. Group D’s other game sees top two Cameroon and DR Congo clash in Yaounde. The second qualification spot in Group B remains very much up for grabs, as just three points separate Mali, Ethiopia and Malawi behind already-qualified Algeria. Mali and Malawi meet this weekend, while Ethiopia visit Algeria. Surprise package Cape Verde sit on top of Group F and face Niger, with 2012 AFCON champions Zambia and Mozambique, who play each other on Saturday, set to fight it out for second spot. The most successful African team of all time, Egypt, lie third in Group G, one point behind second-placed Senegal – who they meet this weekend in a match that could make-or-break their campaign. Meanwhile, leaders Tunisia take on winless Niger. Group C sees Gabon needing just a point from their trip to Angola to secure qualification, while Burkina Faso face Lesotho. Finally, in Group E, leaders Ghana – who are missing key duo Asamoah Gyan and Kwadwo Asamoah to injury – travel to Uganda while Togo and Guinea face-off.
Western Bureau: Eighteen-year-old Joel Sterling shares the same surname with a very famous Jamaica-born England international, Raheem Sterling; and like the Manchester City attacking midfielder, he enjoys scoring goals. The Clarendon College striker has already struck a fine patch of form, netting five times in two matches in the 2015 ISSA/Flow daCosta Cup. His hat-trick against Group H rivals Edwin Allen that helped his team to a big 6-1 victory in the first match of the season was something special. He followed up that performance with a superb brace in Clarendon’s 6-0 rout of Kellits High on Wednesday. His talent is obvious and is definitely one to watch in this year’s competition. Sterling, despite his success so far, has remained grounded and humble. He told The Gleaner that while he scores the goals, victory is always a team effort. “When we win it’s never because I score. It’s because the team played a part in me being able to score. We are a tight bunch of players who believe in each other’s ability,” said Joel. “It is a great experience for me so far,” the first-time daCosta Cup player added. Sterling (Joel) clearly loves football but speaks of the need for a proper education. He is eyeing a scholarship to a United States-based college where he intends to further his education, but is in no way planning to stop playing football. He reasoned that football can help garner the scholarship he desires and is planning on a professional career. “But once I am through playing professionally, I will have a good education to fall back on,” the level-headed player noted. But five goals in two matches, while a decent return, the striker wants much more. He is targeting no less than 25 goals in what will be his only daCosta Cup season, and he has former Clarendon College star player Kevin Deere to thank. “I have Deere as my role model. He was a very good player here, and because of that, my game has developed,” Sterling reasoned. “We have a very good chance of defending our title, and I do not see us losing it. So the next game we are going out there to enjoy ourselves and play good, attacking football,” he said.