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Entries from November 2015

Kobe and the End of Eras: His and His Style of Play

November 30th, 2015 · No Comments · Basketball, Kobe, Lakers, NBA

Kobe Bryant’s decision on Sunday to announce his retirement, effective at the end of the current season, was timely and proper and even a bit quixotic, coming as it did in the form of a poem written by the player and posted on a somewhat obscure players forum. What he addressed in those words was […]

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The Big Sunday: Too Much News

November 29th, 2015 · No Comments · Abu Dhabi, Boxing, English Premier League, Football, Motor racing, soccer, Sports Journalism, Tennis, The National, UAE

As a sports editor, it is easy to wonder why various fields of endeavor cannot arrange their schedules so that they don’t overlap and dilute their audience — as well as the media recognition they might get that night or the next morning. Today, for instance, we had at least four events that could have […]

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Fliers End with Dubai Splashdown

November 28th, 2015 · No Comments · Dubai, The National

“Flugtag” came to Dubai this weekend. It’s a Red Bull promotional notion, in which people/daredevils are invited to build a flying machine, push it off a 30-foot-high ramp and see how long they can remain airborne. Generally, less than five seconds. It’s a silly competition, but something you have to watch, like train wrecks — […]

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The Emirati Thanksgiving

November 27th, 2015 · 1 Comment · Abu Dhabi, The National, UAE

Our seventh Thanksgiving celebration since moving to the UAE, and our most Emirati version yet. Yes, the actual holiday was yesterday, but I was pulling a desk shift in the office … and people in the UAE can’t be expected to know that the dinner should have gone on the day before. When you’re out […]

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UAE Seems Intent on Setting a World-Record Record

November 26th, 2015 · No Comments · Dubai, The National, UAE

I am going to make a sweeping statement. Nobody loves Guinness world records as does the UAE … and, specifically, the people of Dubai. Dubai has some legit, significant world records. Absolutely. Led by the world’s tallest building — a record regular folks have paid attention to, probably going back to the Tower of Babel. […]

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For Kobe Bryant, the End is Here

November 25th, 2015 · No Comments · Basketball, Kobe, Lakers, NBA

How many more games do the Lakers give Kobe Bryant to demonstrate he has something left? How many more games does Kobe give Kobe? He was 1-for-14 with four points last night in the 111-77 humiliation at the hands of the champion Golden State Warriors, who set an NBA record by winning their 16th game […]

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Al Ahli Players Get $135,000 Bonus for Finishing Second

November 24th, 2015 · No Comments · Dubai, Football, soccer, UAE

This is a very UAE thing. You do well in a major competition, especially a major soccer competition, and you can expect a little something to show the appreciation of the rulers. In this case, it was announced today that every player on the Al Ahli side, which reached the final of the Asian Champions […]

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UAE Road Trip Part Dieu: Going Back Not the Way We Came

November 23rd, 2015 · No Comments · Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Football, soccer, tourism, Travel, UAE

Everyone who does a road trip of any significance knows … if at all possible, you want to return by a route different than the one you took for the first half. Not a lot longer, but a little longer is OK … because you don’t want to see the same stuff twice. Obviously. What […]

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Fujairah: The UAE’s Internal Vacation Destination

November 22nd, 2015 · No Comments · Abu Dhabi, Dubai, tourism, Travel, UAE

(Above, the sunrise in Fujairah, over the Indian Ocean.) This is a pretty easy question to answer. If you live in the UAE and prefer to stay in-country for vacation … but want something not at all like home … where do you go? Fujairah. This is the emirate unlike the other six.

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Road Trip! All Seven Emirates in One Day

November 21st, 2015 · No Comments · Abu Dhabi, Dubai, The National, tourism, Travel, UAE

Six years here, and we had not seen all seven of the emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates. Which was a wasted opportunity. Because the UAE encompasses only 32,278 square miles (a little smaller than Maine, a bit bigger than South Carolina, which are 39th and 40th among the 50 U.S. states) we […]

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