TAMPA, Florida // The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are eager to show NFL fans their new identity on a prime-time stage.
A team that was once accustomed to Monday Night Football, the Bucs have not hosted a game on that night in eight years. Their previous appearance was three years ago - an ugly loss that began a four-game, season-ending slide that kept them out of the play-offs and cost Jon Gruden his job as coach.
All that is history, though.
Tampa Bay are rebuilding under Raheem Morris, who is looking forward to showing off his young team against the Indianapolis Colts in the nationally televised game tonight.
"I said in the locker room, it's an opportunity to show everybody what they've been missing," Morris, the NFL's youngest coach, said.
"We're going to a big-time game and big-time environment with a bunch of guys who haven't done it before. Ronde Barber might be the only guy that's played on Monday Night Football, coaches included, so it's all hands on deck.
"Let's go play a great game on a great stage and act like we've been there before. And the key to that is to go out there and use our formula. Play fast, play hard, play consistent and do what we do."
Morris said the absence of Peyton Manning, the Indianapolis quarterback, will not take any lustre off the occasion for the Bucs, who won 10 games last season and are off to another promising start.
Barber, 36 and in his 15th season, is the lone player remaining from Tampa Bay's 2003 Super Bowl-winning team. He is the oldest player on the league's youngest team. He also knows what it is like to be a young guy heading into his first Monday night game.
The Bucs were fixtures in prime time during their best years, when the roster had a collection of high-profile personalities, including Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, John Lynch, Simeon Rice, Keyshawn Johnson, Warrick Dunn and Mike Alstott.
"When we were good back in the 90s and the early part of this decade, we were pretty well known," Barber said. "We had a lot of name guys. Guys who were popular across the league. We've yet to have that kind of exposure with the guys in this locker room, that kind of attention, so this is huge for us."
Coming off their Super Bowl title, the Bucs played on Monday night three times in 2003, going 2-1.
Barber will never forget the loss - 38-35 in overtime to the Colts. Manning threw for 386 yards and Indianapolis overcame a 21-point deficit in the final five minutes of regulation.
"Believe me, that was a great game for 55 minutes. I scored a touchdown late on an interception, but they showed their resiliency," Barber said.
"It was a frustrating loss. I still cringe when I look at those highlights on NFL Network as one of the best comebacks ever. This is our chance, this 2011 team, to prove who we are. I think we're all excited about it."
Tonight's game is important for the Colts as well, who look unrecognisable for many reasons, not the least of which is an 0-3 record and no Manning at quarterback.
Manning is recovering from off-season surgery to his neck, and with Kerry Collins, his back-up, still recovering from concussion-like symptoms after getting beat up by the Pittsburgh Steelers, Indianapolis will turn to Curtis Painter, who will be making his first NFL start at quarterback.
"You can really only get one ready, just in terms of the amount of time you have and the time you get on the field," Jim Caldwell, the Colts coach, said. "It's very difficult to get two guys prepared to play a ball game. He's [Painter] getting all of the work and I think he'll benefit from that."
Caldwell said Painter is looking forward to the opportunity.
"He's pretty excited about that, there's no question about it," Caldwell said. "You can see it. He's always pretty levelheaded, never too high, never too low, but you can certainly see the focus and intensity in his eyes."
As a rookie, he famously stepped in for Manning to try to preserve Indy's unbeaten season. The 14-0 Colts pulled their starters in the third quarter against the New York Jets, and Painter's introduction to NFL regular-season play was swift and cruel.
On the first play of his second series, the former Purdue quarterback was hit from behind by Calvin Pace. Marques Douglas recovered the fumble and scored, and a two-point conversion pass from Mark Sanchez to Dustin Keller made it 18-15. The Jets eventually won the game 29-15 as Painter was held to only completing four of 11 passes for 44 yards with an interception.
* Agencies
MATCH INFO
Arsenal 1 (Aubameyang 12’) Liverpool 1 (Minamino 73’)
Arsenal win 5-4 on penalties
Man of the Match: Ainsley Maitland-Niles (Arsenal)
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
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How to avoid crypto fraud
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Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
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Guide to intelligent investing
Investing success often hinges on discipline and perspective. As markets fluctuate, remember these guiding principles:
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
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Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
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On sale: Now
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
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Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
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Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
The specs
Engine: 0.8-litre four cylinder
Power: 70bhp
Torque: 66Nm
Transmission: four-speed manual
Price: $1,075 new in 1967, now valued at $40,000
On sale: Models from 1966 to 1970
FIGHT%20CARD
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The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Habib El Qalb
Assi Al Hallani
(Rotana)
The years Ramadan fell in May
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