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River Ave. Blues » Ben Heller
Yankees claim righty Jake Barrett off waivers from Pirates
April 4, 2019 by Mike
According to Mark Feinsand, the Yankees have claimed righty reliever Jake Barrett off waivers from the Pirates. The Yankees have since announced Ben Heller has been moved to the 60-day injured list to clear a 40-man roster spot. Barrett is heading to Triple-A Scranton.
It has been a busy few weeks for Barrett. He went from the Diamondbacks to the Giants on waivers in February, the Giants to the Pirates on waivers in March, and now the Pirates to the Yankees on waivers in April. This is his final minor league option year. The Yankees can send him up and down as any times as they want in 2019.
Barrett, 27, was once an interesting relief prospect with Arizona. He threw 59.1 innings with a 3.49 ERA (4.14 FIP) and 22.4% strikeouts as a rookie in 2016. Barrett has been unable to build on that though, and he's spent the last two years as a shuttle reliever with the D'Backs. He'll likely do the same with the Yankees this year.
With all due respect, Barrett is a fairly generic mid-90s fastball/mid-80s slider guy with unspectacular spin rates and a sizeable platoon split. Ten years ago a guy like this would've been a high-leverage candidate. These days he's a depth arm and a middle reliever candidate. Maybe the Yankees have a plan to help Barrett get more out of his stuff.
Heller (Tommy John surgery) joins Jordan Montgomery (Tommy John surgery) on the 60-day injured list. Didi Gregorius (Tommy John surgery) and likely Jacoby Ellsbury (hip surgery) remain as 60-day injured list candidates whenever the Yankees need another 40-man roster spot.
Filed Under: Transactions Tagged With: Ben Heller, Jake Barrett, Pittsburgh Pirates
Game One: Opening Day
March 28, 2019 by Mike
? The last time the Yankees played a game that meant something, they were sent home for the winter and the Red Sox celebrated an ALDS victory at Yankee Stadium. That was 171 days ago. A busy winter followed, one still more notable for who the Yankees didn't sign rather than who they acquired, and then came an injury-filled Spring Training. The Yankees are not close to full strength at the moment.
And yet, optimism is abound. The Yankees did upgrade their roster over the winter (at least when healthy), and they remain on the short list of the best teams in baseball. It feels like you can count on one hand the number of teams with a realistic chance to win the World Series in 2019. The Yankees are one of those teams. They hit dingers aplenty and the pitching staff is perpetually underrated.
"They've had a couple of really good teams here that have been close, and the disappointment of an ending when you feel like you have a team capable of greatness I think does add a log to the fire," said second year manager Aaron Boone to Scott Orgera yesterday. "It does add a little extra kick to wanting this to get done, and I think that adds to everyone's hunger a little bit."
The Yankees snapped their six-year Opening Day losing streak last season. The next goal? Win back-to-back Opening Days. The Yankees haven't done that since winning four straight season openers from 2005-08. They are 2-8 in their last ten Opening Days. Some notes about today:
Masahiro Tanaka is making his fourth career Opening Day start, breaking a tie with Hideo Nomo for the most ever by a Japanese-born pitcher. That's pretty cool.
Five Yankees are on an Opening Day roster for the first time: Miguel Andujar, Domingo German, Gleyber Torres, Stephen Tarpley, and Luke Voit. That's also pretty cool.
This is the earliest regular season game in Yankees history. The previous record? Last year's March 29th season opener. For what it's worth, the Yankees are 5-2 all-time in March.
The various injured Yankees are in Tampa rehabbing and won't take part in today's pregame introductions, which is kinda lame. "Opening Day is not that special. I'd rather be there for the World Series," said CC Sabathia to Mark Didtler. Shows what I know. I thought Sabathia wouldn't want to miss his final Opening Day. Anyway, here are today's starting lineups:
1. CF Brett Gardner
2. RF Aaron Judge
3. LF Giancarlo Stanton
4. DH Luke Voit
5. 3B Miguel Andujar
6. C Gary Sanchez
7. 1B Greg Bird
8. 2B Gleyber Torres
9. SS Troy Tulowitzki
RHP Masahiro Tanaka
1. CF Cedric Mullins
2. LF Dwight Smith Jr.
3. 2B Jonathan Villar
4. DH Trey Mancini
5. 3B Rio Ruiz
6. RF Joey Rickard
7. 1B Chris Davis
8. C Jesus Sucre
9. SS Richie Martin
RHP Andrew Cashner
The good news: The home opener will not be rained/snowed out for the third time in the last four years. It is a glorious day in the Bronx. The bad news: It is pretty dang cold. Windy too. I hope you dressed warm if you're at the ballpark. The baseline introductions will begin at approximately 12:44pm ET and they'll probably be shown on the YES Network. Mariano Rivera is throwing out the ceremonial first pitch, so that's cool. Today's game will begin at 1:05pm ET and you can watch on YES locally and ESPN nationally. Enjoy the first game of the new season, folks.
Injury Updates: Luis Severino (shoulder) and Dellin Betances (shoulder) are both tentatively scheduled to throw a bullpen session this weekend … CC Sabathia (knee) threw three innings in a minor league game Tuesday and everything went well … Aaron Hicks (back) is running and doing core exercises. Still no baseball activities though.
Roster Notes: The Yankees officially announced the Opening Day roster and it is as expected. No surprises. Betances, Hicks, Severino, Didi Gregorius (elbow), Ben Heller (elbow), Jordan Montgomery (elbow) and Jacoby Ellsbury (hip) are all on the injured list. Sabathia is serving his five-game suspension, so the Yankees have a 24-man roster right now.
Uniform Notes: Domingo German has a new number. He was No. 65 last year, then switched to No. 63 in Spring Training in deference to James Paxton, and now he's No. 55. Congrats to all you Hideki Matsui fans for coming into a free a Domingo German jersey. And last but not least, the Yankees have a black armband on their uniform today to honor Mel Stottlemyre. Stottlemyre passed away in January.
Filed Under: Game Threads Tagged With: Aaron Hicks, Ben Heller, CC Sabathia, Dellin Betances, Didi Gregorius, Domingo German, Jacoby Ellsbury, Luis Severino
Update: Yankees finalize 2019 Opening Day roster
German. (Presswire)
Sunday: Tyler Wade was optioned to Triple-A Scranton earlier today, the Yankees announced, clearing the way for new pickup Mike Tauchman to make the roster. Also, Aaron Boone told Coley Harvey that Stephen Tarpley will be in the bullpen, so between that and yesterday's news, the pitching staff is set. Boone confirmed to Bryan Hoch that the updated roster below will in fact be the Opening Day roster.
Saturday: Although the official announcement will not come until Thursday morning, the Yankees have more or less finalized their 2019 Opening Day roster. Clint Frazier was sent to minor league camp Friday, taking him out of the running for the final bench spot, and George King reports Domingo German will be the 13th pitcher on the Opening Day roster.
Based on that, here is the 25-man Opening Day roster the Yankees will take into the regular season:
CATCHERS (2)
Austin Romine
Gary Sanchez
INFIELDERS (6)
3B Miguel Andujar
1B Greg Bird
IF DJ LeMahieu
2B/SS Gleyber Torres
SS Troy Tulowitzki
1B Luke Voit
OUTFIELDERS (4)
CF Brett Gardner
RF Aaron Judge
LF Giancarlo Stanton
UTIL Tyler Wade OF Mike Tauchman
RHP Luis Cessa RHP Domingo German
LHP J.A. Happ
LHP James Paxton
LHP CC Sabathia (five-game suspension)
RELIEVERS (8)
LHP Zack Britton
LHP Aroldis Chapman
RHP Domingo German RHP Luis Cessa
RHP Chad Green
RHP Jonathan Holder
RHP Tommy Kahnle
RHP Adam Ottavino
LHP Stephen Tarpley
The Yankees will also have seven — seven! — players open the 2019 regular season on the injured list. The seven: Dellin Betances (shoulder), Jacoby Ellsbury (hip), Didi Gregorius (Tommy John surgery), Ben Heller (Tommy John surgery), Aaron Hicks (back), Jordan Montgomery (Tommy John surgery), and Luis Severino (shoulder). Sabathia (knee) will become the eighth once his suspension ends.
At this point, the only spots still maybe up for grabs are Bird's and Tarpley's. Bird is supposedly fine but he has not played since taking a pitch to the elbow Wednesday. Given his history, I worry this will be something that lingers and forces him to be replaced on the Opening Day roster. Tarpley could be swapped out for someone like Gio Gonzalez or Jonathan Loaisiga, but nah, he's pretty much a lock.
The Yankees have eight more big league Spring Training roster cuts to make: Nestor Cortes, Francisco Diaz, Raynel Espinal, Estevan Florial, Gio Gonzalez, David Hale, Jonathan Loaisiga, and Jorge Saez. Florial will miss the next few weeks as he recovers from his broken wrist. Those cuts will happen soon (duh).
Filed Under: News Tagged With: Aaron Hicks, Aaron Judge, Adam Ottavino, Aroldis Chapman, Austin Romine, Ben Heller, Brett Gardner, CC Sabathia, Chad Green, Dellin Betances, Didi Gregorius, DJ LeMahieu, Domingo German, Gary Sanchez, Giancarlo Stanton, Gleyber Torres, Greg Bird, J.A. Happ, Jacoby Ellsbury, James Paxton, Jonathan Holder, Jordan Montgomery, Luis Cessa, Luis Severino, Luke Voit, Masahiro Tanaka, Miguel Andujar, Stephen Tarpley, Tommy Kahnle, Troy Tulowitzki, Tyler Wade, Zack Britton
An updated look at the Yankees' projected 2019 Opening Day roster as the injuries continue to mount
One week from today the Yankees will open the 2019 regular season at home against the Orioles. Masahiro Tanaka will be on the mound that day, not Luis Severino, because Severino suffered a shoulder injury earlier this month. That has been the story of Spring Training thus far. Injury after injury after injury.
The Yankees came into Spring Training with a 25-man roster that was fairly set. The last two bullpen spots and the final bench spot were up for grabs, and even then it was kinda easy to see who would get those spots. Now? Now injuries have created a few openings, openings the Yankees are still working to address. They have a week to figure it out.
So, with Yankees far from full strength going into the regular season, let's take an updated look at the current state of the projected Opening Day roster. At this point, some Opening Day roster spots are being awarded almost by default.
Injured List (8)
Might as well start here. We know with certainty eight players — eight! — will be unavailable at the start of the regular season due to injury. Several of these injuries were known coming into Spring Training. Others popped up in recent weeks. These eight players combined for +18.4 WAR last year:
Dellin Betances (shoulder)
Jacoby Ellsbury (hip surgery)
Didi Gregorius (Tommy John surgery)
Ben Heller (Tommy John Surgery)
Aaron Hicks (back)
Jordan Montgomery (Tommy John surgery)
CC Sabathia (knee, heart)
Luis Severino (shoulder)
The Yankees have not yet put these players on the injured list because they can't. The 10-day IL doesn't open until Monday. The 60-day IL has been open for a few weeks now, but the Yankees haven't needed a 40-man roster spot yet, so there's no reason to 60-day IL anyone. Montgomery and Gregorius figure to be the first two to go on the 60-day IL when 40-man space is needed.
It sounds like Hicks will be back a week into the regular season. Sabathia is expected back in mid-April and Severino in early-May. Everyone else is a little up in the air at this point, though Betances isn't expected to be out too long. Ellsbury, Heller, Gregorius, and Montgomery are longer term injuries. We won't see them for a while.
The Roster Locks (21)
After the injured dudes, the next logical place to go is the roster locks. I count 21 players who will assuredly be on the the Opening Day roster. There are no questions about these guys:
Position Players (11): Miguel Andujar, Brett Gardner, Aaron Judge, DJ LeMahieu, Austin Romine, Gary Sanchez, Giancarlo Stanton, Gleyber Torres, Troy Tulowitzki, Luke Voit, Tyler Wade
Pitchers (10): Zack Britton, Luis Cessa, Aroldis Chapman, Chad Green, J.A. Happ, Jonathan Holder, Tommy Kahnle, Masahiro Tanaka, Adam Ottavino, James Paxton
I am comfortable calling Cessa, Kahnle, and Wade roster locks at this point. Cessa and Kahnle are both out of minor league options and they came into the spring as Opening Day roster favorites, and they've done nothing to pitch their way off the roster. Cessa in particular has been lights out. Add in the pitching injuries and yeah, Cessa and Kahnle will be on the roster.
On more than one occasion this spring Aaron Boone has indicated Wade's versatility gives him a leg up on a bench spot. Add in the Yankees playing him in center field as soon as it became clear Hicks would not be ready for Opening Day, and we've got two pretty good signs Wade has made the roster, assuming yesterday's hip tightness truly is nothing (fingers crossed). He's the de facto fourth outfielder until Hicks returns, and, as an added bonus, he can play the infield as well. Wade's a lock.
The Near Lock (1)
Assuming the Yankees again go with the eight-man bullpen/three-man bench roster construction, they have one more position player spot to fill. Realistically, there are three candidates for that roster spot: Greg Bird, Clint Frazier, and non-roster invitee Billy Burns. I'd rank their chances of making the Opening Day roster like so:
Greg Bird
(huge gap)
Billy Burns
(tiny gap)
Clint Frazier
Frazier has not had a good spring (.140/.220/.233) and Boone has said he needs regular at-bats after missing so much time last season. The Yankees could give him those at-bats at the big league level given the Hicks injury, but it seems unlikely given his Grapefruit League showing. I have Burns ever so slightly ahead of Frazier because I think the Yankees are more willing to let Burns sit on the bench as the fourth outfielder than Frazier. Burns on the bench with Frazier getting regular at-bats in Triple-A seem much more likely than vice versa.
Anyway, that is all moot because Bird is a damn near lock for the Opening Day roster thanks to the Hicks injury, as long as yesterday's pitch to the elbow is nothing (again, fingers crossed). The Yankees love Bird and there are DH at-bats open now with Stanton set to play left field. Bird can take those at-bats. Another lefty bat in the lineup would be welcome, for sure. With Wade set to be the fourth outfielder, the Yankees can put both Bird and Voit in the lineup, and they sound excited about that scenario. Bird's on the roster, I believe.
"I look at as we have two impact players," Boone said to Randy Miller earlier this week. "Bird has been a different guy this year. He's been the guy we've been waiting on. He looks that part right now (with) his at-bats. But Luke has come in and picked up where he left off last year. Both guys are controlling the strike zone. Both guys are impacting the ball. Both guys have done everything we could have hoped for. So now moving forward, we haven't necessarily revealed anything, but now there's a scenario where both of them can certainly factor in on a regular basis for at least early in the season."
The Gio vs. German Spot (1)
I am working under the assumption Sabathia will serve his five-game suspension on Opening Day. That makes the most sense. The Yankees could get the suspension out of the way early, then use Sabathia's injured list stint to recall a recently optioned player. I thought Domingo German would be that recently optioned player before the Betances injury. I'm not so sure now.
With Betances hurt and Cessa needed in the rotation right out of the gate, the Yankees are a little shorthanded in the bullpen, and carrying German on the Opening Day roster as a long man seems likely to me. If he's needed in long relief at some point during Sabathia's suspension, the Yankees will use him and call up someone else (Jonathan Loaisiga?) to be the interim fifth starter. If he's not needed in long relief, he then becomes the fifth starter.
Loaisiga's hasn't had a good spring (11 runs in 12 innings) and pitching coach Larry Rothschild recently said it's big league rotation or Triple-A for Johnny Lasagna. They're going to develop him as a starter and not use him out of the bullpen even though I think a bullpen role shouldn't be ruled out. Loaisiga has a long and scary injury history, so it wouldn't be a bad idea to get whatever you can out of him before he gets hurt again. Harsh, but that's the business.
With Loaisiga pitching himself out of the rotation conversation, there are three potential candidates to wrestle that fifth starter/swingman spot from German: David Hale, Drew Hutchison, and the recently signed Gio Gonzalez. Nestor Cortes isn't a serious Opening Day roster candidate and Chance Adams has already been sent to minor league camp. That doesn't mean the Yankees can't carry Adams on the Opening Day roster. It just seems unlikely.
Hale and Hutchison have been fine this spring. They haven't been mentioned as Opening Day roster candidates at all and I think — and I think the Yankees think — German is flat out better than both of them. Hale and Hutchison are break glass in case of emergency guys. You call them up when you have no one else. Even with all the pitching injuries, the Yankees are thankfully not at that point yet. They're out, so it's German vs. Gio.
Gonzalez reported to camp two days ago and he's thrown upwards of 80 pitches on his own, so his arm is stretched out. "I don't think I am far away at all," he said to Kristie Ackert. "I have been staying with my routine. In my last (simulated game), I pitched Monday, 88 pitches, five innings. I am trying to keep up with baseball, at least I am doing my routine and sticking to my guns. I'll be ready to go. Hopefully I'll be in a game pretty soon."
Brian Cashman hedged a bit, saying the Yankees are looking forward to getting a look at Gonzalez up close the next few weeks. He has an April 20th opt-out date and it sounds like the Yankees want to take their time evaluating him. If push comes to shove and injuries force their hand, sure, they'll carry Gio on Opening Day. It does not sound like that's the plan. It sounds like Gonzalez is Plan B with German being Plan A.
Had he signed over the winter and reported to Spring Training with everyone else, this would definitely be Gonzalez's roster spot. That's not what happened though. He signed late and, even though he's stretch out to 80 or so pitches, he's probably not where he needs to be with his feel for his stuff or his command. That gives German the edge. I think he's on the roster as a long reliever who moves into the fifth starter's spot when the time comes.
The Final Pitching Spot (1)
Sabathia's suspension means the Yankees have to play with a 24-man roster. A three-man bench equals 12 pitcher spots during the suspension, and we have ten locks plus German, leaving one open spot. Once Sabathia's suspension ends and the Yankees go back to 13 pitches, either German slots in as the fifth starter and a reliever gets called up, or German remains in the bullpen and a starter gets called up. Point is, there's one open pitching spot.
Sticking with players who remain in big league camp, the Yankees have ten candidates for that final pitching spot. Sure, they could also bring back someone who's already been sent out (Adams?), but it does seem unlikely. The ten candidates:
On the 40-man roster (2): Jonathan Loaisiga, Stephen Tarpley
Not on the 40-man roster (8): Rex Brothers, Nestor Cortes, Danny Coulombe, Phil Diehl, Raynel Espinal, Gio Gonzalez, David Hale, Drew Hutchison
We've already ruled out Gonzalez, Hale, and Hutchison as serious Opening Day roster candidates earlier in this post. Also, Loaisiga is a big league rotation or bust guy, so, for our purposes, it's bust. He's in Triple-A. Brothers has eight walks in 5.1 innings this spring after walking 44 in 40.2 minor league innings last year. I think we can cross him off the list. Espinal had a visa issue and reported to camp late, and has thrown one (1) Grapefruit League inning. He falls into that "he won't be fully ready for Opening Day" group, similar to Gio.
That leaves four candidates: Cortes, Coulombe, Diehl, and Tarpley. Pretty easy to see where this is going, right? It'll be Tarpley. He's already on the 40-man roster and he impressed the Yankees enough last September to get a spot on the ALDS roster. Also, Tarpley's had a very nice spring, chucking ten scoreless innings. That won't hurt his cause. Diehl's been impressive at times this spring but he's barely pitched above Single-A. Cortes? Coulombe? I have no reason to believe they are ahead of Tarpley in the bullpen pecking order. Tarpley it is.
The Projected Roster (24+1)
That is 24 active players plus one suspended Sabathia. Again, once the five-game suspension ends, Sabathia goes directly on the injured list and the Yankees call up another pitcher to get back to a normal three-man bench/eight-man bullpen arrangement. Injures have really stretched the Yankees thin already. Sheesh. Anyway, after all that, here's the projected Opening Day roster:
Gary Sanchez 1B Greg Bird LF Giancarlo Stanton Masahiro Tanaka CL Aroldis Chapman
Austin Romine 1B Luke Voit CF Brett Gardner James Paxton SU Zack Britton
2B Gleyber Torres RF Aaron Judge J.A. Happ SU Chad Green
SS Troy Tulowitzki UTIL Tyler Wade Luis Cessa SU Adam Ottavino
3B Miguel Andujar MR Jonathan Holder
IF DJ LeMahieu MR Tommy Kahnle
MR Stephen Tarpley
SWG Domingo German
That is 24 active players plus one suspended player (Sabathia) plus seven other players on the injured list (Betances, Ellsbury, Gregorius, Heller, Hicks, Montgomery, Severino). Once Sabathia's suspension ends, he becomes the eighth (!) player on the injured list, and the Yankees get their 25th roster spot back. Presumably it goes to a pitcher seeing how they've rarely employed a seven-man bullpen the last two years or so.
Bird's elbow could throw a wrench into the roster situation. If he's unable to go Opening Day, the Yankees would have little choice but to carry Burns or Frazier as the extra outfielder, with LeMahieu moving into the everyday lineup (Andujar to DH?) and Wade taking over as the full-time backup infielder. Hopefully Bird's elbow (and Wade's hips) is a-okay and he'll be fine come Opening Day.
The injuries have eliminated several position battles. With a healthy Severino, it's German vs. Tarpley for one spot. With Hicks healthy, it's Bird vs. Wade for one spot. The injuries answered some questions and everything kinda falls into place. I don't think we can completely rule out Gio beating out German, though it would surprise me. It really seems like the Yankees want to get an extended look at Gonzalez in minor league games first.
Hopefully everyone stays healthy these next seven days and the Yankees can go into the regular season with that roster. That is almost certainly the best 24+1 unit they could put together right now. Once Sabathia goes on the injured list, the Yankees get the 25th roster spot back. Once Hicks returns, they'll have to drop another position player. Worry about that later though. Those are questions the Yankees will answer when the time comes and not a minute sooner.
Filed Under: Players Tagged With: Aaron Hicks, Aaron Judge, Adam Ottavino, Aroldis Chapman, Austin Romine, Ben Heller, Billy Burns, Brett Gardner, CC Sabathia, Chad Green, Clint Frazier, Danny Coulombe, David Hale, Dellin Betances, Didi Gregorius, DJ LeMahieu, Domingo German, Drew Hutchison, Gary Sanchez, Giancarlo Stanton, Gio Gonzalez, Gleyber Torres, Greg Bird, J.A. Happ, Jacoby Ellsbury, James Paxton, Jonathan Holder, Jonathan Loaisiga, Jordan Montgomery, Luis Cessa, Luis Severino, Luke Voit, Masahiro Tanaka, Miguel Andujar, Nestor Cortes, Phil Diehl, Raynel Espinal, Rex Brothers, Stephen Tarpley, Tommy Kahnle, Troy Tulowitzki, Tyler Wade, Zack Britton
The Scranton shuttle and other relief depth [2019 Season Preview]
March 15, 2019 by Derek Albin
It's pretty easy to predict how the Yankees are going to staff their bullpen this season. There are six players guaranteed a roster spot, barring injury. The team is planning to carry a 13 man pitching staff this year, meaning that there are two open spots assuming a five man starting rotation. Tommy Kahnle probably snags one of the two jobs considering he's out of options. The last opening probably will be interchangeable throughout the season, though having a long reliever could be the outcome.
There are no shortage of relievers who could ride the Scranton shuttle this season, rotating as the 13th pitcher as needed. Some of them are already on the 40-man, while others are non-roster invitees. It would be easy to write off any of the foregoing players as significant contributors, but let's not forget that what Jonathan Holder did last year. He went from being the main back-and-forth guy to a major league bullpen staple.
40-man shuttlers
Stephen Tarpley
There usually isn't too much to say about a September call-up who's a reliever. Yet, Tarpley has become a pretty fascinating pitcher to follow. The Yankees probably envision him as Zack Britton-lite, and there's good reason why. Prior to Britton joining the Yankees, Tarpley spent some time shadowing him prior to the 2017 season. Who knows if that story would have been uncovered had Britton not been traded to New York.
Tarpley saw his groundball rate jump dramatically in 2017, almost certainly due to Britton's influence. Combine that with the high strikeout rates in the high minors and you have an interesting relief prospect. Tarpley was pretty good in his 10 inning cameo last September and even made the playoff roster. He'll probably get the bulk of the major league time that anyone else on the Scranton shuttle gets this summer.
Ben Heller
Tommy John surgery cost Heller all of 2018 and will curtail part of his 2019 as well. After going under the knife last April, he's six weeks away rehab game action. That doesn't mean he's close to the big leagues, though. In all likelihood, he's probably not an option until mid-season.
The Yankees acquired Heller as part of the Andrew Miller trade a few years ago. He's already seen small parts of two major league seasons with the Yankees, totaling 18 innings. Best known for his mid-to-high 90s fastball, it'll be interesting to see how his velocity returns this summer. Even though he's already had a good deal of success in Triple-A, he's probably going to spend a lot of time there this year.
Harvey was a somewhat surprising 40-man roster addition a few months ago. One of the reasons I profiled him in February was because I didn't know anything about him. He's still a bit of a mystery, though the Yankees clearly like him enough to save him a seat on the 40-man.
A little bit has been made about the spin rate on his fastball. It's very good, and spin rate has become all the rage in baseball these days. Just look at what the Astros have done with their pitchers. Anyway, Harvey doesn't appear to have much else other than a good fastball. Yet, if he puts up numbers like he did in the minors last year (sub 2 ERA), he'll get his shot this summer.
Non-roster possibilities with big league experience
Danny Farquhar
As Mike wrote last month, it's pretty easy to pull for Farquhar to carve out a role with the big club. It's a distinct possibility that he could return to the majors after his near-death experience in the White Sox dugout last summer. As a non-roster invitee who's already been sent to minor league camp, he's still on the outside looking in. It's not hard to see why the Yankees like him: he strikes out plenty of hitters and has had good seasons with Seattle and Tampa Bay. Plus, the Yankees have had him in the organization before, back in 2012. There's still a lot for Farquhar to overcome, but if he resembles something of his old self he could be in pinstripes this year.
Rex Brothers
Brothers is representative of the adage that lefties never run out of opportunities. The southpaw was pretty impressive for the Rockies early in his career with his high velocity fastball. Eventually, Colorado cut bait when his control evaded him. After not making the Cubs in 2016, he sat out the entire season. Beginning in 2017, he worked his way back to the big leagues with Atlanta. His walk problems never went away though, and he walked more than a batter per inning in the minors last year. Still, his velocity from the left side is tantalizing. He averaged over 96 MPH on his heater in limited time with Atlanta last season. He can't be totally ignored as an option for the Yankees since he is in camp, but it would probably take a ton of injuries or an unlikely resurgence.
Daniel Coulombe
Stylistically, Coulombe is the opposite of Brothers. Instead of a high-octane fastball, Coulombe is a lefty who relies on his slider and curveball two-thirds of the time. He's been in the majors every year since 2014, split between the Dodgers and A's, with middling results. It's hard to see him as much more than emergency depth even though he's hung around the highest level for a while now. Maybe another team will want to give him a big league chance before the month is over, but if not, he'll hang around in Scranton most of the year. Maybe he could be plucked for September call-ups if the Yankees want a matchup lefty.
Prospects invited to big league spring training
Trevor Stephan
Even though Stephan has been a starter in the minors, it sounds like 2017's 3rd-rounder could be best deployed out of the bullpen. He works exclusively out of the stretch, doesn't really have a third pitch just yet, and has a little bit of an odd delivery. Stephan's a pretty big guy, standing at six-foot-four, but his fastball extension is even more impressive. He's got a seven foot reach which certainly makes his fastball tougher to hit. He'll be in the minors to start the year, but he should be knocking on the door by year end.
Brady Lail
25-year-olds aren't always prospects, but Lail became mildly interesting after moving to the bullpen last summer. From getting drafted in 2012 through his climb to Triple-A, the righty was a starter. Last year, he became a full-time reliever and started picking up more strikeouts. He wasn't a one-and-done type of guy though; he pitched multiple innings quite a bit out of the pen. His ERA was too high, sitting over 5, but as a multi-inning option he could become an alternative to someone like Luis Cessa this season. Lail's already been assigned to minor league camp, but he could be around later this year.
Raynel Espinal and Phillip Diehl
I'm grouping these two together because Domenic called them out as guys who could help the Yankees this year. Espinal, 27, has been in the organization since 2013 and finally made Triple-A last year. He's yet another hard-thrower with impressive strikeout rates. Diehl, 24, is a lefty without much of a platoon split thus far in his minor league career. He's had a great spring (6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 10 K) and Aaron Boone has mentioned him by name when asked who's impressed in camp. Both are probably heading to Scranton to start the year, but either could become part of the shuttle in a few months.
Cale Coshow
At six-foot-five and 270 pounds, Coshow has a presence on the mound. He flip-flopped between starting and relieving from 2013 through 2016 until becoming a reliever full-time in 2017. You've heard this story before: he started to miss a lot more bats in the bullpen. He's likely low on the promotion pecking order, but the fact that he was in big league camp means the Yankees like him to some degree.
Filed Under: Players Tagged With: 2019 Season Preview, Ben Heller, Brady Lail, Cale Coshow, Daniel Coulombe, Danny Farquhar, Joe Harvey, Phillip Diehl, Raynel Espinal, Rex Brothers, Stephen Tarpley, Trevor Stephan
March 12th: Spring Training Notes: Hicks, Sabathia, Paxton, Gregorius, Heller, Ellsbury, Roster Cuts
?Your browser does not support iframes. The Yankees rallied in the eighth inning to beat the Orioles tonight. Miguel Andujar had three hits and made a nice defensive play going to his right. Brett Gardner, Aaron Judge, and Kyle Higashioka all hit home runs. Giancarlo Stanton, Luke Voit, Gary Sanchez, Greg Bird, and Troy Tulowitzki all had base hits as well. Trey Amburgey's bases loaded walk and Clint Frazier's sacrifice fly contributed to the three-run eighth inning rally.
Jonathan Loaisiga got the start and gosh, it did not go well. He really labored in the second inning and finished the night having allowed six runs (five earned) in two innings. It would behoove him to pitch well in his final two Grapefruit League appearances. Jonathan Holder allowed a solo homer in an otherwise uneventful night for the big league relievers. Zack Britton threw two innings. Holder, Chad Green, and Aroldis Chapman threw one each. Here are the box score and video highlights, and here are the day's notes from Spring Training:
Aaron Hicks (back) received a cortisone shot yesterday. He admitted he still had limited mobility when he took swings Sunday. Aaron Boone said Hicks could return to game action this coming weekend. "Something like this lingering, we had to do something about it," Hicks said, adding he can always go to minor league camp to get a bunch of at-bats before Opening Day, if necessary. [Bryan Hoch, James Wagner]
CC Sabathia faced hitters for the first time this spring in a short live batting practice session. Only three hitters. Here's some video. Also, James Paxton threw a simulated game. He was away from the team this past weekend following a death in his family. [Kristie Ackert, Pete Caldera]
Didi Gregorius (Tommy John surgery) has progressed to take dry swings with a regular bat. He was swinging a fungo bat last week. Gregorius will begin hitting off a tee in a week or two. Until then, dry swings only. [Bryan Hoch]
Ben Heller (Tommy John surgery) is ten bullpen sessions into his throwing program and is about six weeks away from pitching in rehab games. He's throwing fastballs and changeups only now. He'll introduce sliders into his throwing program next week. [DJ Eberle]
Jacoby Ellsbury (hip) is expected to join the Yankees on Sunday. He's still in rehab mode and only recently started running on flat ground. Ellsbury is still a ways away from baseball activity, let alone playing in games. [Brendan Kuty]
More roster cuts: Chance Adams, Trey Amburgey, Cale Coshow, Kellin Deglan, Thairo Estrada, Danny Farquhar, Mike Ford, and Joe Harvey have all been sent to minor league camp, the Yankees announced. I count 50 players in big league camp now.
If you're interested and will be up early, tonight's game will be replayed on MLB Network at 6am ET tomorrow. The Yankees have another night game tomorrow night. That's a home game against the Phillies. Masahiro Tanaka is starting and the game will not be televised.
Filed Under: Spring Training Tagged With: Aaron Hicks, Ben Heller, Cale Coshow, Chance Adams, Danny Farquhar, Didi Gregorius, Jacoby Ellsbury, Joe Harvey, Kellin Deglan, Mike Ford, Thairo Estrada, Trey Amburgey
Yankees sign Aaron Judge, 20 other pre-arbitration-eligible players to one-year contracts for 2019
Opening Day is less than three weeks away and the Yankees recently wrapped up their final little bit of offseason business. The Yankees have signed their 21 pre-arbitration-eligible players to one-year deals for 2019, reports the Associated Press. That's everyone. The entire 40-man roster is under contract.
As a reminder, players with less than three years of service time do not have arbitration rights. The team can pay them pretty much whatever they want, though they usually negotiate with the player and agree to a salary to maintain a good relationship. The Yankees agreed to deals with everyone this year and did not unilaterally renew anyone, which they did with Dellin Betances back in the day.
Here, via the Associated Press, are the salary details. Because I like you, I've gone through the trouble of including each player's year-to-year raise in parenthesis, assuming last year's salary information is available. The Major League minimum rose from $545,000 last season to $555,000 this season.
Service Time (Years.Days)
MLB Salary
MiLB Salary
Gary Sanchez 2.086 $669,800 ($49,400) $310,200
Aaron Judge 2.051 $684,300 ($62,000) $311,150
Chad Green 2.050 $598,650 ($27,850) $285,400
Jordan Montgomery 1.153 $596,600 ($16,150) $290,225
Jonathan Holder 1.144 $580,300 $262,947
Luis Cessa 1.131 $578,975 ($10,050) $210,768
Ben Heller 1.096 $555,000 ($7,525) $273,738
Clint Frazier 1.057 $563,300 ($4,100) $222,711
Miguel Andujar 1.020 $617,600 ($71,800) $269,216
Domingo German 1.017 $577,500 ($29,275) $190,150
Tyler Wade 1.007 $572,000 ($20,700) $155,692
Luke Voit 0.169 $573,200 ($27,600) $145,673
Gleyber Torres 0.162 $605,200 ($60,200) $240,210
Kyle Higashioka 0.124 $562,900 $160,207
Jonathan Loaisiga 0.047 $560,550 ($15,550) $92,766
Stephen Tarpley 0.030 $557,250 $90,400
Chance Adams 0.025 $556,725 $90,400
Domingo Acevedo 0.001 $555,000 $90,400
Albert Abreu 0.000 $555,000 $90,400
Thairo Estrada 0.000 $555,000 ($10,000) $90,400
Joe Harvey 0.000 $555,000 $45,300
Unless the two sides agree to a long-term contract, all pre-arb players sign non-guaranteed one-year split contracts that pay them one salary in the big leagues and another in the minors. Non-guaranteed means the team can release the player in Spring Training and pay him only a fraction of his contract. I don't expect that to happen with anyone though. I'm just saying.
Most teams, including the Yankees, have a sliding salary scale based on service time for pre-arb players, with escalators for All-Star Games and awards voting, things like that. Minor league salary is determined by big league service time and tenure on the 40-man roster more than anything. This is Harvey's first year on the 40-man. It's Abreu's and Estrada's second and their minor league salaries are almost exactly double Harvey's. The math is easy enough.
It goes without saying many pre-arb players are grossly underpaid. Judge at less than $700,000 is one of the best bangs for the buck in baseball. Players make nothing early in their careers, and it used to be that teams made it up on the back end during free agency. That isn't really the case anymore. The MLBPA should push for increased pay for players with 0-6 years of service time. I'm not sure increased spending on free agency is realistic in the analytics era.
The Yankees have already signed Luis Severino and Aaron Hicks long-term this spring, and reports indicate they're talking extensions with others as well. Impending free agents Dellin Betances and Didi Gregorius are presumably the top priorities. Judge and Sanchez are in their final dirt cheap pre-arb season, so I'd assume the Yankees will talk to them about an extension at some point. They might enjoy the huge six-figure production in 2019 first.
Filed Under: Transactions Tagged With: Aaron Judge, Albert Abreu, Ben Heller, Chad Green, Chance Adams, Clint Frazier, Domingo Acevedo, Domingo German, Gary Sanchez, Gleyber Torres, Joe Harvey, Jonathan Holder, Jonathan Loaisiga, Jordan Montgomery, Kyle Higashioka, Luis Cessa, Miguel Andujar, Stephen Tarpley, Thairo Estrada, Tyler Voit, Tyler Wade

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Colter Wall's 'Punchy' Third Album
We Review The New Album From The Country Troubadour
On August 31st 2020 » By Andrew Winistorfer
Every week, we tell you about an album we think you need to spend time with. This week's album is Western Swing & Waltzes and Other Punchy Songs, the third LP from Canadian country troubadour Colter Wall.
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Colter Wall has never made the same album twice. His first one, 2017's self-titled debut, was like a Townes Van Zandt album from the wilderness, a sparse, desolate album filled with men making bad decisions on bad drinks. Then 2018's superlative Songs of the Plains was like a modern Marty Robbins record, an album filled with outlaws, damsels in distress, and tales from the edge of society, which, for Wall, is Saskatchewan. For this year's third album, he stays in Marty Robbins' era, but leans more toward Hank Snow territory: The characters in these songs aren't outlaws, but instead just normal folks living in the country milking cows, riding horses, and drinking at the Holiday Inn. It's called Western Swing & Waltzes and Other Punchy Songs not as a lark, but because it's the most accurate way to describe this set. It's an album that imagines country as it was in 1965, when it was centered on good songs about the struggle of everyday folks. It's one of 2020's most calming, centering LPs.
On his first two albums, Wall worked with Young Mary's Record Company and super-producer Dave Cobb; this time out, he's on his own, self-producing this record for La Honda Records, a new indie that he's the central star of. Cobb always produced Wall as a moody, back alley crooner, with heavy atmospherics on everything; this record, conversely, sounds positively chipper, as Wall's distinct baritone is malleable and varied over these 10 tracks. When I interviewed him in 2018, he mentioned not wanting to be pigeonholed into a specific mode of country music, and he definitely does a lot of work to prove that here.
Western Swing opens with its title track, a big, boisterous song about raising cattle, which if you follow Wall on Instragram, know is one of his central day-to-day concerns. The song's jocular harmonica solo is a new look for Wall, as is the song's loping tempo. "High and Mighty" finds Wall and band at a hoedown, singing about a tough horse, and "Rocky Mountain Rangers" goes near bluegrass with its tale of western lawmen. And he delivers a spritely faithful cover of Marty Robbins' "Big Iron," one of the singing cowboy's fastest songs. The Colter Wall that made songs that were perfect for Sons of Anarchy is off to the races and doing new things. Wall's voice has always been central to his appeal, but one of the best parts of charting his evolution through his records is how well he's grown into that voice as he gets more confident. It's hard to remember that he's in his mid-20s when you hear him open his mouth and the sounds of the past come out. As he's gained control over his instrument, he's been able to do impressive things with it on record, and there's an absolute show-stopping moment on the back half of Western Swing. "Cowpoke," a shuffling herding song, starts as a floating waltz shuffle, with Wall softly crooning the verses. But then he starts yodeling in a higher register in the choruses, and its like fireworks emit off the album; there's no one else who can sing like this right now, and no one else making albums like this right now. By the time the song ends, you realize Wall is a singular talent, and you can't wait for whatever's next.
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Andrew Winistorfer
Andrew Winistorfer is Vinyl Me, Please's Editorial Director, VMP Classics & Country A&R, and an editor of their books, 100 Albums You Need In Your Collection and The Best Record Stores In The United States. He's written Listening Notes booklets for 19 Vinyl Me, Please releases, and co-produced Nat Turner Rebellion's Laugh to Keep From Crying. He lives in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Read More Column Album of the Week


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Longir-e Vosta (, also Romanized as Longīr-e Vosţá and Longīr-e Vostá; also known as Longīr-e Mīānī) is a village in Dorunak Rural District, Zeydun District, Behbahan County, Khuzestan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 552, in 118 families.

References

Populated places in Behbahan County

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Tales of days gone by permeate the hues of patina of every rotting corpse that lies above ground in a hidden auto cemetery on The Niagara Escarpment in Ontario Canada. Hundreds upon hundreds of decaying bodies are plotted in fields void of asphalt but generous in oil soaked soil. Tattered interior cloth and leather dance in the wind. Glass crackles and breaks with time. Previously enjoyed vehicles that now lay dormant becoming one with Mother Nature. This is truly a place where rust never rests in peace only pieces. Find more images at Auto eROTica.
Since his days in college all Danny has ever done is shoot. Documentaries and live events have taken him to over 44 countries worldwide during the last 30 years. From the monsoon soaked jungles of Burma to the bone chilling environments of the Arctic, Danny has experienced it all only to go back and do it all over again. Throughout his career there have been incredible shoots such as secret shows with the Rolling Stones, the Olympic Games and almost every professional sport that plays on the planet. Since 1991 he has been the principal videographer for TSN's Motoring TV.


Comments Off on Faux fur or real fur, which one is better for the planet?
It's about the consumer-friendly product, yes, but for this ex-Googler, it's especially about the right employees.
The vast majority of people are willing to do the right thing if given the chance, especially when it comes to preserving the planet for future generations. The challenge is empowering people with the tools and knowledge to make better purchasing decisions for energy-efficient products. Figuring out how to engage the consumer market, which spends $1 billion on energy-consuming products per year in the U.S. alone, is where Enervee comes in.


NANKANA SAHIB (PAKISTAN), Nov 15 ? The Chief Executive, Gen Pervez Musharaf, has given the green signal for constructing a 1.5- km-long corridor along the Indo-Pakistan border connecting Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib?as proposed by the Aukaf Board? where Sikh devotees will be able to pay obeisance without a passport/ visa.
This has been done to mark Yatri Year, to be celebrated all over Pakistan in 2001, in an apparent move to woo the minorities.
In an exclusive interview to TNS, Lt-Gen (retd) Javed Nasir, Chairman of the Pakistan Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (PGPC), said proper fencing along the proposed corridor would be done from the security angle. A 40-metre footbridge would also be constructed across the Ravi so that Sikh devotees could visit Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara throughout the year. However, the Sikh shrine would be opened only during the day for a limited period.
The Kartarpur Sahib shrine is located on the western bank of the Ravi. The gurdwara was built by Maharaja Bhupinder Singh, a ruler of Patiala state. During 1947, when it was still under construction, Partition took place and the work was stopped. The gurdwara became dilapidated. In the recent past, new minarets were constructed and a facelift was given to it. However, the gurdwara has not been opened to devotees so far.
Lt-Gen Nasir claimed that the gurdwara could not be opened to devotees as its kutcha track, which remained partially under water, could be negotiated only by small vehicles.
The PGPC Chairman said that the Government of Pakistan would write to Akal Takht Jathedar to take up the matter with the Indian Government so that it could allow Sikh pilgrims to visit the shrine without any hassle.
Appreciating the proposal of the Pakistan Government to construct a corridor up to the gurdwara, Mr Paramjit Singh Sarna, a former President of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, urged that this (corridor) should be extended up to Nankana Sahib so that Sikh devotees could have easy access to the birthplace of Guru Nanak Dev.
Our Delhi Bureau adds: Official sources in New Delhi refused to comment on Pakistan's proposal to build a corridor along the Indo-Pakistan border to the Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara. They said that the jatha which went to Pakistan earlier this month was not an official one. The government or any of its agencies had not received any such proposal from Pakistan so far.


What's new: JTC Group (LON:JTC) has published results for 2018 which exceed consensus and Zeus Capital's expectations (see Exhibit 3).
 Work won in 2018 increased 9.0% YoY to £9.7m, while annualised value of the new business pipeline increased 25% to £32.0m.
Outlook: Management guides to 8% to 10% net organic growth and 30% to 35% EBITDA margin. 2017 acquisitions are "fully and successfully integrated" and 2018 "integrating as planned". With "new business enquiry picking up", "strong M&A pipeline" and many "new hires", JTC is set for a year of strong growth.
Zeus view: These results confirm the quality of JTC's business, its management control and its acquisitions. We see the new hires at Board level and the c. 30% increase in staff to 700, as increasing JTC's capacity.
Today we increase our 2019 and 2020 forecasts to reflect acquisition of Exequtive Partners ("EP"), which was announced on 26 March 2019 (see Exhibit 1). Our forecasts ex-EP were consistent with management guidance. Our forecasts ex-EP were consistent with management guidance of 8% to 10% organic revenue growth and 32.5% EBITDA margin +/- 2.5%.
Valuation: JTC, at 300p a share, is trading on a 2019 PER of 13.7x, based on what we believe to be prudent forecasts.
JTC shares have de-rated to a prospective PER of under 14x from 18x at IPO and a high of 25x in June 2018. We see these results as exceeding our expectations on both quality and quantity of revenue and EBITDA growth.


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The people made unexpectedly homeless during the pandemic
More than 253,000 people have been living in temporary accommodation during the pandemic in England, Shelter predicts (Getty)
Two weeks before Malak, 27, was due to give birth, she made her first homelessness application.
"I was sofa-surfing during my pregnancy and thought I was doing fine, but I eventually got exhausted and physically could not do it," Malak tells Yahoo UK.
"I went to the council and, after a day of endless questions, I was seen by the supply team and given a room in the metropolitan hostel.
"How can I describe the room I was given? A prison but not prison."
Read more: The simple gift you can give to help the homeless this year
Malak went back to sofa surfing as she felt it was better for her mental health. She withdrew her application and tried to go into private renting - something a Shelter spokesperson says is "very expensive and deeply unstable", especially for young people with insecure jobs - and stayed with friends.
"I managed to do that for a year, but in April I had to open up the homeless application again," she says.
At the time she was staying at her partner, Marlon's mum's house with her infant daughter Jamelia. But, as a charity worker, Malak was classified as a 'key worker' when the first lockdown hit, which meant staying there was too high risk for the household.
Eventually, she was placed in a hostel in Welwyn Garden City - which came as shock to Malak, who works in Harringay, London.
"There was no indication we would be sent so far away and I had no connection with the area. There was not even a phone call, just an email saying the TA team are allocating you this place and you have to go there," Malak continues.
NEW: Our report reveals 253,000 people in England are #homeless and living in temporary accommodation during the pandemic – the highest figure for 14 years. pic.twitter.com/bsauQYHwXF
— Shelter (@Shelter) December 17, 2020
This is when she turned to Shelter for help for her and Jamelia.
"The helpline explained to me in depth what was happening. They said the accommodation has to be suitable and distance into work is definitely one of the criteria. Another criteria was my childcare responsibilities," Malak adds.
"It's Covid, there's no way for me to get to work right now. So the adviser said straight away this is something they can raise with the people that allocated me the hostel. And she did. I 100% think that had an effect on why they moved me back to Hackney."
Read more: 5 steps you can take at home to make Christmas as Covid-safe as possible
Malak, Marlon and 16-month-old Jamelia have now been living in a small hostel room in north London for the past seven months.
Shelter says the council has told Malak she could be there for up to 12 years.
Malak isn't alone. Shelter estimates that, as of December 2020, there are 253,000 people living in temporary accommodation during the pandemic - the highest figure for 14 years.
It adds that there are now 115,000 more people stuck in temporary accommodation than a decade ago - an 83% rise.
The pandemic has had a large impact on the livelihoods of Brits this year. During the peak of the first lockdown, as many as 8.9 million Brits were furloughed and redundancies reached a record high between July and September.
According to the government's Coronavirus (COVID-19) emergency accommodation survey data, published in June this year, over 14,000 rough sleepers were provided with emergency accommodation in May alone.
Molly, 47, returned to the UK from France early last year. She had been staying in a friend's spare room up until the first lockdown in March when her friend lost her self-employed income and was forced to rent out the room.
Molly (pictured) has been living in temporary accommodation since the start of the pandemic (Crisis)
Molly was offered her friend's van, but they soon found a leak in the roof where rain was coming in.
"I had already been through the systematic process for housing support from the council, and discharged as I couldn't get all the supporting documentation together in time to support my medical history of mental health," Molly says.
"I am eternally grateful to the work and support of Crisis who alerted the council again to my renewed crisis situation of sleeping in someone's van once the first lockdown began. I really don't know where I would have ended up otherwise."
Molly says the pandemic and her subsequent housing situation has taken its toll on her mental health: "In no uncertain terms, it has taken me to my limits, and I feel that I owe my life to the solid support I have received from Crisis and other related support services from several charities, and different counselling."
Read more: Children as young as 11 are being prescribed nicotine patches by the NHS
She adds that, as she has had to move from borough to borough, she has dropped through the system for mental health support a couple of times due to the constant changing of GPs.
"It has been challenging, but I feel like I have really, really grown through this too. I have survived the year, and I am proud of myself for keeping going," Molly says.
"I've also completed a course in First Aid in Mental Health, as a step towards helping others too."
Molly credits charities like The Samaritans, Streetlink and Thamesreach, Focus E15 and her support network at the Woolwich Common Community Centre for helping her through the pandemic, as well as the Post Adoption Centre for helping her with counselling.
But - one in four people who are homeless will spend this Christmas alone. This year, more than ever, we need your help.
Change a life today. Give the gift of a #CrisisChristmas for £28.22: https://t.co/LaVO7UHrZC
— Crisis (@crisis_uk) December 8, 2020
This Christmas, Molly will be helping with the Christmas meals at Woolwich Common Community Centre, which will be open to local people who may be isolated or in need.
"I helped out last year, after the centre previously helped me with food, and it's a fantastic experience. This year it will be different and more restricted due to the Covid situation, but there will be food available and good spirits, whatever happens," Molly says.
"Afterwards I will go and visit any street homeless people I find in the local area to give any food I can and chat to them to see how they are getting on. For me, this is the best way to spend Christmas."
To give a gift of a Crisis Christmas, you can donate £28.22 at crisis.org.uk/support. To find out more about volunteering, campaigning and Crisis' year-round work to end homelessness, visit crisis.org.uk
To support Shelter this winter and give hope to all living in fear of homelessness, donate at shelter.org.uk/donate. #GiveHomeGiveHope
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Manchester United reclaimed pole position in the Premier League as Paul Pogba's stunning second-half strike earned them a 2-1 victory at Fulham on Wednesday. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side had been leapfrogged by Leicester City on Tuesday and then Manchester City earlier on Wednesday, but responded with an eighth away win of the season. United moved to the top with 40 points from 19 games, two points above City, who have played a game less, and Leicester.
Hollywood Celebrates Inauguration With Joy and Relief: 'We Did It. In So Many Ways'
From the start, the inauguration of Joe Biden as 46th President and Kamala Harris as the 49th Vice President of the United States stood to be a historic moment on multiple levels. Harris made history as the first woman and woman of color to be sworn in at such a high government level, and Biden's official transition represented a shift back to what will hopefully be a more normal administration and leadership for the country. Hollywood reacted accordingly to the day's events, with many emotionally celebrating Harris and her achievements. "In tears watching this extraordinary moment for women in the U.S. and the world," tweeted Oprah Winfrey. "SNL" star Leslie Jones also weighed in, tweeting "YAAAAAAAAASSSS SHE IS OUR VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS." And "Grey's Anatomy" creator Shonda Rhimes tweeted a photo of her children watching the inauguration with the caption "brown girls no just longer dreaming." Brown girls no longer just dreaming. #bidenharris2020 https://t.co/r6XmZuk2ti pic.twitter.com/AEtelwoHb3 — shonda rhimes (@shondarhimes) January 20, 2021 Biden's inauguration speech also drew praise, even from those such as Fox News anchor Chris Wallace. Addressing the discourse over the past four years as well as the recent riots on Capitol Hill, Biden drove home how he was planning to tackle his presidency: with unity, openness, and dedicated work. Actor George Takei tweeted an important part of Biden's speech, calling out what has been a major issue over the last few years: "We must reject a culture where facts themselves are manipulated and even manufactured." Also Read: Watch Lady Gaga Slay the National Anthem at the Biden Inauguration (Video) Not to be outdone in reactions to today's events, the official "Parks and Recreation" Twitter celebrated Biden's inauguration by tweeting a photo of Knope's Amy Poehler and Biden from when the former VP appeared on the show, fulfilling one of Leslie's lifelong dreams. In anticipation of Biden's inauguration today, social media has been revisiting the two episodes where Biden and now First Lady Jill Biden guest starred. Leslie Knope is doing great. Thanks for asking! pic.twitter.com/kqI0p0gOZG — Parks and Recreation (@parksandrec) January 20, 2021 See more reactions below. Congratulations Mr President. We are with you. https://t.co/nXINBPEbxr — Julia Louis-Dreyfus (@OfficialJLD) January 20, 2021 "May we lead not by the example of our power, but by the power of our example." That's my president. #Inauguration2021 #PresidentBiden https://t.co/SIFPfdyNI3 — Misha Collins (@mishacollins) January 20, 2021 Congratulations to our new President @JoeBiden and VP @KamalaHarris We know you will do your best to make America good again. — Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) January 20, 2021 We did it. In so many ways. We, the people. ❤🤍💙#BidenHarris #InaugurationDay #Inauguration2021 #Inauguration 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/QfyOXwcJC1 — Mayim Bialik (@missmayim) January 20, 2021 "To all the little girls watching…never doubt that you are valuable and powerful & deserving of every chance & opportunity in the world." — Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) November 9, 2016 THIS is the split screen I wanted. @MichelleObama gave those other folks the low bun. She SERVED up layers, highlights and the flip heard around the world for @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris! ✊🏾❤#BidenHarrisInauguration https://t.co/uj7kFhc5NU — yvette nicole brown (@YNB) January 20, 2021 I can finally admit it. My son was the President's Advisor for the past four years. #BidenHarris #BidenHarrisInauguration2021 pic.twitter.com/DNZkSq4G4e — Gilbert Gottfried (@RealGilbert) January 20, 2021 rewatched 'the american president' … which definitely still holds up. a nice reminder of what we have to look forward to starting late next week— character back in the WH. #BidenHarris2020 — Monica Lewinsky (she/her) (@MonicaLewinsky) January 14, 2021 Kamala Harris & her husband come out… This is a huge moment for women. A huge moment for men as a man will become the Second Gentleman. She will take the oath of office from Justice Sotomayor, the first Latino on the Supreme Court. For me, as a woman, this is deeply emotional. — Maria Shriver (@mariashriver) January 20, 2021 "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning" Psalms 30:5Tears of joy and prayers for our nation and the entire world ❤#BidenHarrisInauguration — Mariah Carey (@MariahCarey) January 20, 2021 Read original story Hollywood Celebrates Inauguration With Joy and Relief: 'We Did It. In So Many Ways' At TheWrap
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 21 — The current movement control order (MCO) can work to contain Malaysia's runaway Covid-19 infections, health experts said when stressing that weak compliance could put this...
Silvergate Capital Corporation (SI) Beats Q4 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
Silvergate Capital Corporation (SI) delivered earnings and revenue surprises of 11.90% and 7.02%, respectively, for the quarter ended December 2020. Do the numbers hold clues to what lies ahead for the stock?


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A revolutionary marketplace for fine art investors
The global fine art market was worth more than $45bn last year and is 'stable and robust', according to the 2017 European Fine Art Foundation report.
In uncertain times, it offers a reassuring investment opportunity; largely immune to political change, it is less volatile than currencies or capital markets and grew by 1.7% last year, with prices around 15% higher than in the market trough of November 2012.
Reyl Group gets into art lending with platform launch
Berenberg Art unit partners with London Fine Art Fund Group
IEPlus: Germany's Berenberg taps art investing with new private equity fund
The return of uncertainty fuels demand for real assets
With wealth managers looking beyond traditional investment products, there is a strong demand from investors – 88% of private offices and 75% of High Net Worth and Ultra High Net Worth individuals want art in their portfolios, according to the 2016 Deloitte Art and Finance report – but the market can be daunting to newcomers. It has a reputation for being opaque and the major auction houses charge fees of up to 30%.
Art funds offer an opportunity to manage risk – a typical portfolio could be made up of 50% Old Masters, 25% post-war or Modern greats and 25% emerging contemporary names – but they are not liquid, and tend to have a long lock-in period. With minimum unit sizes normally upwards of $0.25m it can also be difficult for new art investors to join.
But what if there was an alternative way of investing in fine art, which solved the twin problems of a lack of transparency and a lack of liquidity?
A new art investment platform is promising a unique solution by creating an online marketplace where owners, collectors and investors can meet without intermediaries to trade in real time. It is taking the idea of art funds, where art pieces are evaluated in financial terms, to a new level by giving investors the opportunity to have fractional ownership in artwork.
Maecenas will use block chain technology to tokenise and digitally allocate single pieces, or portfolios, to several co-investors who can trade with other parties though an art exchange. While the owner retains 51% of the piece's value, the remaining 49% can be traded, transforming the dynamics of the market and bringing much greater granularity to art investing. Prices will be market driven and faster digital transactions will create more data points than ever before, allowing investors to monitor the evolution of pieces in a way that has never been possible.
By making masterpieces as tradable as company shares, Maecenas will allow more complex financial instruments to flourish. A prime example of this would be exchange-traded art funds (ETFs), which would let more passive investors have exposure to liquid art-based financial vehicles without having to actively manage their portfolios.
Trading activity on the Maecenas exchange will create rich price data points that will become part of more tailored art indices that the industry can adopt as standard benchmarks for pricing and valuation of non-listed artworks – similarly to how FTSE or SP500 track prices of company shares.
This will democratise the fine art market, creating a secure, open global platform. Block chain technology has been used to bring greater transparency to the provenance of artworks; last spring, at the ICT summit in Luxembourg, Deloitte Touche unveiled its ArtTracktive proof of concept, which provides a distributed ledger for tracking the provenance and whereabouts of fine art works. But this is the first time block chain is being used to make art investment an easier, more transparent proposition. Lowering the barriers to entry will widen access to the market.
The fine art market has remained largely unchanged for 300 years, but why should it avoid the disruption that has affected just about every other sector?
'The building blocks of the art market depend fundamentally on quality and trust,' concluded the European Fine Art Foundation report. 'Key to this are maintaining reputation and credibility to ensure longevity, stability and resilience'.
An open marketplace for fine art, accessible to all, is the best way of delivering this outcome.
Miguel Neumann is founding partner at Maecenas and chief operating officer at DX Markets
Exchange traded fund (ETF)


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Der NBA-Draft 2005 wurde am 28. Juni 2005 im Madison Square Garden von New York City durchgeführt. In zwei Runden wurden jeweils 30 Spieler von NBA-Teams ausgewählt.

Dies war der letzte NBA Draft, bei dem High-School-Spieler zugelassen wurden. Seit 2006 dürfen sich nur noch US-Spieler zum Draft anmelden, die bis zum Ende des laufenden Jahres 19 Jahre alt werden und deren High-School-Abschluss mindestens ein Jahr zurückliegt. Internationale Spieler müssen lediglich die Altersbegrenzung erfüllen.

Als erster Spieler wurde der Australier Andrew Bogut von den Milwaukee Bucks ausgewählt.

Runde 1

Runde 2

Ungedraftete Spieler
 Ender Arslan (G, ), Efes Pilsen Istanbul
 Kelenna Azubuike (SG, ), University of Kentucky
 Chuck Hayes (PF, ), University of Kentucky
 Jan-Hendrik Jagla (PF, ), Pennsylvania State University
 John Lucas III (PG, ), Oklahoma State University
 Dirk Mädrich (PF, ), MTV Braunschweig
 Stefano Mancinelli (F, ), Fortitudo Bologna
 Roger Powell (SF, ), University of Illinois
 Shavlik Randolph (PF, ), Duke University
 Luke Schenscher (C, ), Georgia Institute of Technology
 Chris Thomas (PG, ), University of Notre Dame
 Jawad Williams (F, ), University of North Carolina
 Nikolaos Zisis (G, ), AEK Athen

Siehe auch
 Entry Draft

Weblinks
 NBA.com: NBA Draft 2005

2005
Basketball 2005
Madison Square Garden
Sportveranstaltung in Manhattan


"TribCast: The Cruz-O'Rourke matchup and other top midterm election results" was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
On this week's TribCast, taped in front of a live studio audience the morning after the midterms, Emily talks to Evan, Ross, Patrick and two special guests — state Rep. Celia Israel and former state Rep. Larry Gonzales — about the results of the Nov. 6 elections and what they mean for the future of Texas.
TribCast: The Cruz-O'Rourke matchup and other top midterm election results By Emily Ramshaw and Michael Rey de Leon November 7, 2018 (Audio unavailable. Click here to listen on texastribune.org.) On this week's TribCast, taped in front of a live studio audience the morning after the midterms, Emily talks to Evan, Ross, Patrick and two special guests — state Rep. Celia Israel and former state Rep. Larry Gonzales — about the results of the Nov. 6 elections and what they mean for the future of Texas. Read related Tribune coverage Point of Order: Joe Straus on the midterms, Donald Trump's tweets and the next speaker of the Texas House Look up Texas midterm turnout in your county against historic numbers Watch a special taping of our post-election TribCast "TribCast: The Cruz-O'Rourke matchup and other top midterm election results" was first published at by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
Link back to the original article, which is located at https://www.texastribune.org/2018/11/07/tribcast-cruz-orourke-matchup-and-other-top-midterm-election-results/.


Riverside County sheriff's deputies shot and killed more people last year than did the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, which serves a population twice as large, according to an analysis by The Press-Enterprise.
Since 2004, the Riverside County agency has ranked among the top in the state in fatal officer-involved shootings.
A majority of law-enforcement agencies in California do not have one officer-involved fatal shooting a year. Among those that do, the average is one to two a year.
Riverside County deputies shot and killed nine people in 2005 and 12 in 2006.
In each of those years, Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies shot and killed 10 people.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, similar in size to Riverside County's, had four fatal shootings in 2006. San Bernardino County officials were unable to provide numbers for 2005.
The Press-Enterprise analyzed state Department of Justice data on officer-involved shootings from every California law-enforcement agency from 2001 to 2005 as well as 2006 data from Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties. The state Justice Department will not release statewide 2006 numbers until next month.
Riverside County Sheriff Bob Doyle said his agency does not have an excessive number of officer-involved shootings when considering the growth in population, which has increased the number of calls for service.
"We don't have a bunch of trigger-happy deputy sheriffs," he said. "They're using their weapons appropriately when they're in those shootings. We're not seeing any kind of trend that would lead us to believe that we've had a breakdown in training."
The newspaper's analysis shows that the county's fatal shootings have increased at a greater rate than service calls have. From 2002 to 2006, calls for service rose 36 percent, but fatal officer-involved shootings increased more than 100 percent.
"If they shoot more people than LA (Sheriff's Department), that raises a red flag with me," said Samuel Walker, a national expert on officer-involved shootings.
Today, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors is expected to vote on Doyle's request to outfit deputies with less-lethal stun guns. Each Taser-brand stun gun has a pair of probes that shoot as far as 20 feet and deliver a 50,000-volt shock. The device is meant to incapacitate rather than kill.
The sheriff said he thinks Tasers will help reduce fatalities and cut the amount of money spent on claims and lawsuits filed after fatal deputy-involved shootings.
"Those are tragic situations that usually end up in high-dollar settlements whether you're in the right or the wrong," Doyle said.
Officials from the Sheriff's Department and Riverside County administrators said they did not have total amounts available on how much the county has paid in recent years.
In 2003, more than $2 million was paid in a settlement to the family of Dante Meniefield, a 23-year-old Moreno Valley man who was shot and killed by deputies in July 2001.
San Bernardino County paid $2.4 million in shooting cases from 1999 to 2005.
Doyle wants to spend $2 million to purchase 1,420 Taser-brand stun guns. If the spending is approved, this would add to a deputy's current less-lethal options of pepper spray, baton, restraint hold and PepperBall guns, Doyle said.
But Tasers aren't a perfect solution.
Around the country, some law-enforcement agencies have found that the electronic devices have not changed the number of fatal shootings and have raised other questions about police use of force. Other departments have seen a reduction in shootings.
Riverside's Leslie Braden says "something has to change."
Her brother Charles Hill was fatally shot by Riverside County sheriff's deputies in 1992, and another brother, Joseph Hill, was fatally shot by Riverside city police in 2005.
"There is a problem, if they want to admit to it or not. Every time I see an officer, I get uneasy," she said.
In the past 15 years, fatal and nonfatal shootings by Riverside County sheriff's deputies have fluctuated from a high of 21 in 1993 to a low of six in 1997. But there has been a steady increase since 2003.
In 2003, deputies shot nine people, three fatally, and in 2004, 16 people were shot, seven fatally. In 2005, deputies shot 17 people, killing nine. In 2006, deputies shot 17 people, killing 12.
So far this year, deputies have shot at eight people, killing one.
Riverside County sheriff's officials said shootings by deputies have increased at the same time that criminals in the county have become more violent and the area's homicide rate has increased.
Deputy-involved shootings usually correspond with increases in homicides, said sheriff's Lt. James McElvain, who has studied the data. But that was not that case in the most recent upswing. The number of homicides was mostly flat in 2002, 2003 and 2004, but it spiked in 2005 and dropped slightly in 2006.
Several other factors can contribute, said Tom Aveni with the Police Policy Studies Council, a corporation that researches police use of force and trains law-enforcement officers. Those can include substance abuse by residents and increases in shootings by the populace.
There are social or economic currents that people don't think about until they see the number of police shootings begin to spike, Aveni said.
Some departments have seen their use-of-force incidents decrease 60 percent to 80 percent after they obtain Tasers, said Steve Ashley, a retired police officer who now trains officers throughout Michigan on less-lethal options.
The devices also have brought down the number of injuries to officers at some departments, he said. In addition, a person who receives a shock from a Taser does not require the types of medical treatment needed by someone who has been sprayed with pepper spray or hit with a baton, Ashley said.
But Tasers have been linked to several deaths and injuries, according to the company that makes them, Arizona-based Taser International.
"Nothing that the police have is absolutely risk-free," Ashley said. "It's the very nature of the job."
Training and policies remain key in lessening that risk with Taser use and other types of force, said George Kirkham, a criminologist and professor emeritus at Florida State University who has studied stun guns and officer-involved shootings.
The devices can be beneficial when, for example, a person has a knife. One deputy can hold out a Taser, and another can have a gun for backup, Kirkham said.
However, the device should be used only on aggressive persons, and some departments have not put restrictions on the number of times it can be used, Kirkham said. In one Florida case he dealt with, a mentally ill man who had been shocked and a deputy kept ordering him to turn over, but the shock had left the man unable to move.
"The problem we're seeing is that some departments are not adequately training the officers," Kirkham said. "It should never be used gratuitously."
Tasers have been controversial since agencies first began using them in the 1990s. Groups such as Amnesty International and the American Civil Liberties Union have opposed the devices, contending that policies should limit their use and that more research needs to be done on the shock's effects on the body. Studies by those groups have tied more than 150 deaths across the country to the Taser.
But according to the Taser company, there have been 12 deaths nationwide in which a forensic pathologist has listed Taser shock as a contributing factor.
Amnesty International recommends that agencies wait until more medical testing has been completed, said Dalia Hashad, director of the group's USA Program. The organization is awaiting testing on the effects the shocks have on people who use drugs or are young, elderly or mentally ill.
"We need to know what this weapon does when it hits different types of human bodies," Hashad said.
Samuel Walker, professor emeritus at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, has written several books on police shootings and use of force.
He said there is not enough data to show whether equipping deputies with Tasers reduces the number of officer-involved shootings.
Nationwide, about 11,000 out of more than 17,000 law-enforcement agencies have Tasers, according to the Taser International.
Doyle said the Sheriff's Department will closely track all use of Tasers to see whether the weapon alters the number of times a deputy has to shoot. The device records each time it is used and the duration of each shock.
Deputies will first have to learn to trust the Taser as an option for dealing with unruly suspects, he said.
"You need to be confident that you can use it if you have to," Doyle said.
Staff writer Paige Austin contributed to this report.


The Internet Of Things: Environmentalist's Heaven Or Hell?
The Internet Of Things: An Environmentalist's Heaven Or Hell?
Back in early December, The Guardian ran an article asking whether the Internet of Things will save or sacrifice the environment. As you'd expect, the answer is far from clear. Some environmentalists worry about the effects of producing, installing, and powering those billions of extra devices; others urge the use of IoT sensor networks to help us monitor and curb resource consumption and emissions.
Even if we achieve a situation in which physical IoT devices have a net positive effect on humanity's carbon footprint, there is still the massive data transmission and storage growth to consider. Speaking as an executive of a company providing the cloud-based data platform for IoT networks, I can say that it's in our best interests to keep energy consumption as low as possible, because it costs less. That's why data centers are built with energy efficiency top of mind.
Ultimately, whether or not the IoT turns out to be an environmentalist's dream will depend on how we apply its concepts. If it's primarily used to stream endless high-quality video feeds 24 hours a day or for power-hungry gimmicks and trivialities, the footprint will be far worse than if it's used directly to get resource and energy management under control. It seems unlikely that the private sector and consumers alone will summon the collective motivation to veer in the direction of the latter, so policy will need to keep up and be sound and assertive.
The attitude of disposability in Western society today is another issue altogether. Perfectly functional year-old smartphones and computers are piling up in landfills across the globe as consumers struggle to resist the lure of the latest model. Can the IoT buck this trend by being founded on sensor networks built to last? With the world trending away from centralized hardware and toward cloud-based software, it could be that upgrades to the virtual aspects of IoT will be enough to satisfy our lust for innovation, while the sensors hum away out of sight and out of mind.
Register here to listen to an SAP Live webcast in which IBM's IoT guru Michael Martin discusses the possibilities and challenges of our connected future.
John Graham is president of SAP Canada. Driving growth across SAP's industry-leading cloud, mobile, and database solutions, he is helping more than 9,500 Canadian customers in 25 industries become best-run businesses.


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Explore Tanzania
COVID-19 Protocols & Entry Requirements
International Travel Status
Open - Tanzania reopened its borders to international guests in mid May 2020.
Access into Tanzania
Kilimanjaro International Airport, Dar es Salaam International Airports and Zanzibar International Airport are open and so are all land borders.
Airlines flying into the country include:
- Ethiopian Airlines
- Qatar Airways
-KLM
- Turkish Airlines
- Kenya Airways
- Emirates
All travellers must fill out the Traveller's Health Surveillance form available at https://afyamsafiri.moh.go.tz/ between 48 and 24 hours prior to their arrival.
All travellers must be in possession of a valid COVID-19 vaccination certificate verifiable through a QR code. The only acceptable vaccines are those approved by the Tanzanian government and the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Guests whose vaccination certificates do not have a verifiable QR code will need a negative PCR test for entry. Exceptions are made such as CDC vaccination card which is accepted by Tanzania Health Authority.
Fully vaccinated travellers will not be required to provide a negative RT PCR test certificate, and will be exempted from a Rapid Antigen Test upon arrival in the country.
Partially-vaccinated and unvaccinated travellers will be required to provide a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR or NAATS test certificate conducted within 72 hours before departure to Tanzania.
Partially-vaccinated and unvaccinated travellers, arriving regionally by air or on land, without a negative RT PCR test certificate will be subjected to a PCR test at a cost of USD 100 and self isolate while waiting for the results.
Partially-vaccinated and unvaccinated travellers, arriving with regional and inland vessels, without a negative RT PCR test certificate will take a Rapid Antigen Test upon arrival in the country at a cost of USD 10 per person, paid in advance through https://afyamsafiri.moh.go.tz/. If the test turns positive, the traveller will be subjected to an RT PCR test at a cost of USD 50 per person, and will be isolated for treatment at the country's designated health facilities.
Travellers from the following countries, if entering without vaccination certificate, will be expected to undertake a Rapid Antigen Test upon arrival into the country:
Children aged 5 years and below will be exempted from both the RT PCR test and Rapid Antigen test requirements.
All departing travellers from Tanzania are advised to adhere to the COVID-19 requirements of their destination country.
ZANZIBAR:
Travelers flying to Zanzibar as first point of entry in Tanzania will need to fill out a Public Health Surveillance Form within 24 hours before arrival here https://healthtravelznz.mohz.go.tz/
Fully vaccinated travelers with a valid QR code on their vaccination certificate will be exempt from the PCR and rapid test requirement.
Not fully vaccinated/unvaccinated travelers will need to present a negative PCR or NAATs certificate with a QR code not older than 72 hours prior to departure. Travelers arriving from the above countries will be subject to a rapid test on arrival (USD 25 per person). Travelers arriving from the UAE (Fly Dubai, Emirates, Ethiad) will be tested for Exponential Deep Examination and subject to 35 USD fee – if found positive they will need to take a PCR test to verify.
Zanzibar rapid tests need to be pre-booked on the website https://zanzibarcovidtesting.co.tz/app/home
Hand hygiene, wearing face masks and maintaining physical distance is required at all times while in public.
Arusha:
PCR Testing is done at Selian Hospital and Mount Meru Hospital. Cost: USD 90 per person. Open daily 08:00 to 15:00.
Rapid test is done at Kilimanjaro International Airport. Cost: USD 10 per person payable cash on the spot. Guests must arrive 3 to 4 hours before their flight to do the test.
Moshi:
PCR Testing is done at KMCM Hospital. Cost: USD 90 per person. Open daily 08:00 to 15:00.
Karatu:
PCR Testing is done at Family Clinic. Cost: USD 90 per person. Open daily 08:00 to 15:00.
Dar es Salaam:
PCR Testing is done at Aga Khan Hospital and IST Clinic. Cost: USD 100 per person to be paid at the center via credit card. Hospital facilitation fee: 50 USD per person. Transport fee: will be advised at time of booking. Cash or Card accepted. Open daily 08:00 to 15:00.
Rapid test that is required by KLM is done at Dar es Salaam International Airport. Cost: USD 25 per person. Guests must arrive 6 hours before their flight to do the test. Due to the high traffic levels in Dar es Salaam guests will have to wait at the airport until their flight departs.
Zanzibar offers 3 type of tests:
1. PCR, results given in 24 - 48 hours, this can be done:
a. at Migombani center, cost 80 USD pp
b. or guest can select Mobile clinic for which the Health Authority come to the hotel the guests stay, cost 120 USD pp.
2. PCR – Rapid result, certificate issued in 3 hours, guests to arrive at the airport 6 hours prior their departure (so as to be on the safe side), cost 100 USD pp
3. RAT = rapid antigen test, this can be done at Migombani center or the airport, cost 25 USD pp, although being this an antigen test some countries (such as Kenya) will not accept is as valid document to enter the country, thus guests will have to rely on PCR.
We are only acting as a facilitator to assist guests who are booked on a safari with us to acquire their COVID-19 test. All testing is carried out by third parties with no association or affiliation to us and we are not liable or responsible for any issues, delays or problems encountered during the testing process or the performance or non-performance of the testing facilities.
Please note: The above information has been researched with the utmost care. However, we can provide no guarantee of accuracy and the information and detail change regularly. Please always check travel restrictions both in your home country and the destination you are travelling to before you book and before travel.


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Court of Chancery Explains Demand Futility Pleading Requirements in the Context of Delaware LLCs
Demand Futility, Derivative Claim, Direct Claim, Fraud
By: Scott Waxman and Zack Sager
In LVI Group Investments, LLC v. NCM Group Holdings, LLC, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware looked to Delaware corporate law for demand futility pleading requirements in dismissing a derivative claim for breach of fiduciary duties against managers of a Delaware limited liability company (an "LLC"). In addition, the Court of Chancery analyzed the requirements for a member of an LLC sufficiently to plead a direct claim against managers of the LLC and analyzed the requirements for pleading a claim of fraud.
LVI Group Investments involved two Delaware LLCs that merged their businesses into a single Delaware LLC (the "Merger") called NorthStar Group Holdings, LLC ("NorthStar"). As a result of the Merger, the two merging LLCs became the members of NorthStar. One of the members, LVI Group Investments, LLC ("LVI"), owned 62.5% of NorthStar, while the other member, NCM Group Holdings, LLC ("NCM"), owned 37.5% of NorthStar. Pursuant to the merger agreement (the "Merger Agreement"), LVI was required to submit to NCM consolidated financial statements of its subsidiaries (the "LVI Financial Statements"). After the Merger, certain LVI projects suffered losses and NCM made allegations that the LVI Financial Statements contained material misstatements. Eventually, LVI, not NCM, filed a complaint alleging fraud, fraudulent inducement, and unjust enrichment and pleading claims for indemnification and a declaratory judgment against NCM with respect to certain representations and warranties made by NCM in the Merger Agreement. NCM, in turn, filed a counterclaim pleading five counts against, among others, LVI and two of its officers, Scott State and Paul Cutrone (LVI, State, and Cutrone being collectively referred to herein as the "Counter-Defendants"). Counts I and II of the counterclaim consisted of claims for fraud and fraudulent inducement against the Counter-Defendants and NorthStar alleging that the Counter-Defendants knowingly made or caused to be made false representations of material facts in the LVI Financial Statements and knowingly misrepresented that the LVI Financial Statements were prepared in accordance with GAAP. Counts I and II also alleged that the Counter-Defendants concealed substantial losses that they knew would occur. Count III was a claim for indemnification against LVI arguing that LVI was required to indemnify NCM under the terms of the Merger Agreement in connection with losses suffered from the inaccurate representations and warranties. In Count IV, NCM asserted a direct claim against State and Cutrone, as officers of NorthStar, for breaching their fiduciary duties to NCM by, among other things, knowingly failing to follow GAAP, manipulating NorthStar's financial statements, and manipulating costs and revenues of LVI projects. In Count V, NCM asserted a derivative claim on behalf of NorthStar alleging that State and Cutrone breached their fiduciary duties by intentionally failing to comply with GAAP and manipulating NorthStar's financial statements.
The Counter-Defendants moved to dismiss certain counts of the counterclaim for failing to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. The Counter-Defendants first argued that Counts I and II failed to plead fraud with the requisite particularity. NCM's fraud claims alleged that: (i) LVI and its agents made certain financial representations, (ii) those representations were made to NCM during the Merger negotiations, (iii) those representations have proved false or inaccurate, (iv) the Counter-Defendants knew that those representations were false or inaccurate when made, and (v) NCM reasonably relied on those representations to its detriment while LVI profited therefrom. The Court held that these allegations satisfied the particularity requirements. While the Court acknowledged that one of the required elements – knowledge and intent regarding the false or inaccurate representations – was pled with general averment, it held that this element need not be pled with particularity.
The Court then analyzed NCM's allegations that State and Cutrone breached their fiduciary duties by using their positions as officers of NorthStar to conceal the fraud described in Counts I and II. The Court granted the Counter-Defendants' motion to dismiss Count IV because NCM failed to plead a direct claim. The Court cited El Paso Pipeline GP Co., L.L.C. v. Brinckerhoff, in which the Delaware Supreme Court stated:
"whether a claim is [direct or derivative] must turn solely on the following questions: (1) who suffered the alleged harm (the corporation or the suing stockholders, individually); and (2) who would receive the benefit of any recovery or other remedy (the corporation or the stockholders, individually)? In addition, to prove that a claim is direct, a plaintiff must demonstrate that the duty breached was owed to the stockholder and that he or she can prevail without showing an injury to the corporation."
The Court held that Count IV's allegations that State and Cutrone, as officers of NorthStar, tried to conceal fraud was direct harm to NorthStar and the requested relief – removal of State as an officer of NorthStar – would benefit NorthStar, not just NCM. According to the Court, the benefit of removing an officer alleged to have breached fiduciary duties ran to NorthStar directly, and only indirectly to NorthStar's members.
The Court then dismissed the derivative claim in Count V because NCM failed to adequately allege demand futility. The Court looked to Delaware corporate law for the standards to apply to a derivative claim in the LLC context. The Court noted that it is a fundamental tenet of Delaware corporate law that the board of directors, not the stockholders, manage the business and affairs of the corporation. As such, if a stockholder believes that an officer of a corporation is breaching his or her fiduciary duties and wants to bring a derivative suit against such officer, the stockholder must first make a demand that the board of directors pursue the cause of action. Demand is unnecessary if the stockholder can demonstrate that the board of directors would be incapable of acting in the corporate interest, thus making demand futile. A fact-intensive, director-by-director analysis is required to meet the pleading standard for demand futility.
Here, the Court found that NCM made cursory allegations that fell short of the particularity requirements. NCM alleged, for instance, that seven of the eleven board members of NorthStar were former managers of LVI who, except for one, had ownership interests in LVI. Referring to one broad group of seven board members and claiming that they have an interest in LVI and stand to personally benefit from the actions of State and Cutrone does not constitute a fact-intensive, director-by-director analysis required to plead demand futility. According to the Court, in order to adequately plead demand futility, NCM needed to describe the facts of the alleged interest and how it was material to each such director.
LVI Group Investments
Chancery Court Holds That Stockholder Vote on Merger Was Neither Fully-Informed nor Uncoerced
Chancery Court Dismisses All Claims for Breach of Fiduciary Duty, Fraud, and Company Dissolution Brought by Creditor


Olga Maltseva, AFP | Maersk's new ice-class container vessel, Venta Maersk, arrives at the port of Saint Petersburg, Russia, on September 28, 2018.
The "Venta", a Danish container ship loaded with Russian fish and South Korean electronics, arrived Thursday in Saint Petersburg, becoming the first container ship to navigate the northern Arctic as the ice pack melts and recedes.
Maersk's 200 metres, 42,000 tonne ice-class vessel was built to navigate in extreme weather and in waters as cold as -25°C. It embarked on its trial journey on August 23 from the far eastern Russian port of Vladivostok, completing the Arctic route in five weeks with the help of nuclear icebreakers.
Until now, no ship of its size has navigated the full route along the northern Siberian coast. Thanks to global warming and ice melt, the route – once navigable only by small ships and for just a few weeks every summer – is accessible from July to October. Sea ice in the Arctic has shrunk dramatically in just a few decades, losing almost half of its surface area.
Even so, the conditions for navigation remain extremely difficult and the need for nuclear icebreakers represents a significant cost for ship owners. To navigate in the Arctic, the ships must also be equipped with a sonar to help avoid icebergs and whales.
Despite the constraints, the route is of significant interest to countries like China, Canada and Russia, whose territories extend past the Arctic Circle. The route allows ships to cut the journey to European ports by two weeks compared to the Suez Canal route.
President Vladimir Putin called in September for "all interested parties to develop this promising route".
In its draft budget for 2019-2021, Russia plans to invest 40 billion rubles (€526 million) into the development of the maritime shortcut. This includes investing in port infrastructure and nuclear icebreaker construction in order to boost ship traffic.
Danish shipping company Maersk told AFP that the one-off trial crossing presented a "unique opportunity to gain operational experience in a new area and to test vessel systems and crew capabilities".
However, the company "currently does not see the Northern Sea Route as a viable commercial alternative to existing east-west routes".
But that may change soon. Russian energy expert Ruslan Tankayev believes the Northern Sea Route could be passable all year round by 2050.
He said that global warming is a "terrible evil" for countries such as Africa and Latin America, but added it could provide opportunities for Russia and Canada.
The route, he added, is not only several thousand kilometres shorter than passing through the Suez Canal but also much safer with virtually no piracy risks.
The success of this first expedition could open the route to others, notably companies interested in exploiting Arctic oil deposits. Environmental protection groups and experts have already rung the alarm about the risks associated with increased maritime traffic and oil drilling in the region.
"It's important to know what kind of fuel will be used," said Greenpeace activist Rashid Alimov.
An accidental oil spill would be very dangerous as there is practically no infrastructure to treat the consequences and oil stays in the environment longer in cold weather, Alimov said.
In March 1989, the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska created an oil slick that devastated local fauna and the indigenous populations who depended on fishing.
In an attempt to anticipate the environmental risks inherent in opening the Arctic route, the 170 member countries of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) signed a "Polar Code" that entered into force in January 2017.
Among the measures taken by the IMO to protect the arctic ecosystem are a total prohibition of any discharge into the sea of sewage, garbage or hydrocarbon waste. It also calls for "measures to be taken to minimize the risk of invasive aquatic species through ships' ballast water [a reservoir that when filled or evacuated provides stability for the ship] and biofouling".


Casey here with my DJ pick of the week from music enigma Beck. Beck recently released his cover of Colourbox's track "Tarantula" for a compilation of songs celebrating Alfonso Cuarón's 10-time Academy Award-nominated film Roma.
The compilation, out Feb. 8, also features songs from Billie Eilish, El-P, Jessie Rye, Laura Marling, Patti Smith, UNKLE and more. Listen to "Tarantula" below and let us know what you think!