They are central characters in heart-breaking stories from the NFL's unsettling off-season.
Two men with the homonym names who embody the antonyms of "good" and "bad" in sports.
Peyton and Payton.
Peyton Manning's split with the Indianapolis Colts was devastating to their devotees and disappointing to those who relish the quaint notion of a player's career going sunup to sundown with one team.
But his dignity, on full display during the departure from Indy and nationwide tour in search of a landing spot, brought relief to most aggrieved parties.
Then there is Sean Payton, the New Orleans Saints' coach-in-purgatory, punished in response to a repulsive hit-to-hurt format that rewarded individuals on the defence for injurious plays.
There might be no blood on his hands - the bounty system was hatched by the former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams - but they are unmistakably dirty. Some break-ups between a team and its transcendent athlete turn bitter enough to qualify for an episode on Divorce Court.
But even if player Peyton, who is destined for the Hall of Fame, is being replaced by a kid yet to take a snap in the league, he showed not a speck of spite.
He said this: "It truly has been an honour to play in Indianapolis."
And this: "I will leave the Colts with nothing but good thoughts and gratitude."
And this: "Thank you very much from the bottom of my heart.
"I truly have enjoyed being your quarterback."
There was no need to have hooked up player Peyton with a lie detector to verify the honesty in his farewell remarks.
Then, as he crossed the country on job interviews - the job candidate, in a twist, interviewing potential employers - player Peyton exhibited humility by agreeing to throw for teams.
The workouts were beneficial to him, too, in the wake of multiple neck surgeries.
But, still.
Few athletes on his stratospheric level would bother contacting the unsuccessful suitors to alert them that he had chosen someone else.
Yet when the Denver Broncos won the sweepstakes, player Peyton phoned the other teams before informing Denver and expressed appreciation for their interest in him.
No wonder why, for years, parents have named their babies after player Peyton, though it might be happening less often in Tennessee, where he is revered still from his college days in the 1990s.
"He was nice enough to call me and tell me he wasn't going to be our man," said Bud Adams, the Tennessee team owner, even though no rejected team was more crushed than his Titans.
As for coach Payton, when league investigators phoned him to inquire about the knowledge of a bounty arrangement, he lied.
Compounding the sin, he advised his assistants to lie about it.
The NFL instructed coach Payton to check into whether such a programme existed.
He ignored the edict, according to the league's report, and made no inquiries with his staff.
Ah, cruel karma. Coach Payton has previously violated the concept of sportsmanship to a lesser degree.
With victory over the Atlanta Falcons assured on a late December night last year, he dialled up repeated pass plays during the fourth quarter, pouring it on so Drew Brees could break the single-season passing-yardage record.
Never mind that another game remained on the schedule.
More: coach Payton moved his family to Dallas at a sensitive time when New Orleans residents, most famously Brees, stayed in a pledge of faith with a city rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina.
More: coach Payton was implicated, though not by name, in a lawsuit by the Saints' one-time security chief stemming from a felony theft of an prescription drug from the team's medicine cabinet. The security man claims he suffered lost wages for resisting attempts at a cover-up allegedly ordered by the general manager Mickey Loomis, who was exiled by the league for a half-season over his own see-no-evil approach to the bounties.
All of you new moms and dads: make sure it is spelt Peyton, and not Payton, on those birth certificates.
Even with his inventive offensive mind, it would serve coach Payton right to never work a sideline again. His failure of responsibility has damaged a proud franchise, which paid a hefty fine and was stripped of two high draft picks.
It might be enough to drive Brees, beloved in New Orleans, to another team after this year.
Justice in sports does not always prevail. In this instance, assuming kind karma allows player Peyton to do his hand-gesturing, signals-barking, touchdown-tossing thing again, it will.
The Broncos' contract promises player Peyton US$18 million (Dh66.1m) this season.
Coach Payton begins a suspension today that extends through the Super Bowl and will cost him $5.8m in salary.
Player Peyton earned it.
So did coach Payton.
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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.”
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
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Ain Dubai in numbers
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
Leaderboard
15 under: Paul Casey (ENG)
-14: Robert MacIntyre (SCO)
-13 Brandon Stone (SA)
-10 Laurie Canter (ENG) , Sergio Garcia (ESP)
-9 Kalle Samooja (FIN)
-8 Thomas Detry (BEL), Justin Harding (SA), Justin Rose (ENG)
MATCH INFO
Barcelona 4 (Messi 23' pen, 45 1', 48', Busquets 85')
Celta Vigo 1 (Olaza 42')
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, last-16 second leg
Paris Saint-Germain (1) v Borussia Dortmund (2)
Kick-off: Midnight, Thursday, March 12
Stadium: Parc des Princes
Live: On beIN Sports HD
