Oakland, United States // Long-suffering Cleveland fans, who have not cheered a major sports champion since 1964, are on the brink of seeing the drought end thanks to the LeBron James-led NBA Cavaliers.
Trying to fulfill the dream that brought him back to Cleveland from the Miami Heat two years ago, James will power the Cavaliers into a winner-take-all NBA Finals showdown Sunday against the defending champion Golden State Warriors.
James was drafted by the Cavaliers and led them to the 2007 finals, where they were swept by San Antonio. In 2010, James left for the Miami Heat, winning two titles and making four finals before returning in 2014 vowing to make the Cavaliers a title team.
“I came back for a reason, and that is to bring a championship to the city of Cleveland,” James said. “That has been one of my goals. But I don’t add too much pressure on it. I go out and trust what I’ve been able to do, the work I’ve put into it, my teammates have put into it.”
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James scored 41 points in consecutive games to spark Cleveland triumphs and pull the Cavaliers from a 3-1 deficit in the best-of-seven series into a seventh game. It’s only the third time a team down 3-1 has gone the distance and no such team has ever claimed the crown.
“To be in Cleveland, even when we were down 3-1, it was eerie how optimistic they were. It really was,” said Cleveland’s Richard Jefferson. “It was the messages -- ‘We believe in you guys, keep going, we’re just so proud of you.’ It’s very encouraging to be part of that.”
It’s the love of a town for a team that could bring Cleveland a thrill it has not enjoyed since the 1964 Browns won the NFL crown in the pre-Super Bowl era.
“I’m fortunate to be in a position where I can be a part of something that’s very special,” said James, a former prep star in nearby Akron.
“I don’t think people imagined it this way, the route that we’ve taken, and that’s fine. Every day is not a bed of roses and you have to be able to figure out how to get away from the thorns and the pricklers and things of that nature to make the sun shine.
“If we take care of business, that’s something that our city hasn’t had in a very long time.”
The 52-year wait, the longest ongoing drought among US cities for a champion, has the Great Lakes metropolis yearning for a breakthrough.
“I love our fans,” Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving said. “I know they are diehard in terms of the years, the amount of time that has gone by for Cleveland, not delivering a championship.”
It will take mere minutes to decide the crown for a season that began nine months ago, but for some, it could be a trophy quest more than half a century in the making.
“This is what we’re playing for,” said Cavs coach Tyronn Lue. “They are really into their sports. This will be very important and very big for the city of Cleveland and for the state of Ohio to bring this home.
“I know it’s going to be going crazy in Cleveland, so hopefully we can stay the course and bring them a championship home.”
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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
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The specs: 2018 Volkswagen Teramont
Price, base / as tested Dh137,000 / Dh189,950
Engine 3.6-litre V6
Gearbox Eight-speed automatic
Power 280hp @ 6,200rpm
Torque 360Nm @ 2,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 11.7L / 100km
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Company name: Play:Date
Launched: March 2017 on UAE Mother’s Day
Founder: Shamim Kassibawi
Based: Dubai with operations in the UAE and US
Sector: Tech
Size: 20 employees
Stage of funding: Seed
Investors: Three founders (two silent co-founders) and one venture capital fund
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
HAEMOGLOBIN DISORDERS EXPLAINED
Thalassaemia is part of a family of genetic conditions affecting the blood known as haemoglobin disorders.
Haemoglobin is a substance in the red blood cells that carries oxygen and a lack of it triggers anemia, leaving patients very weak, short of breath and pale.
The most severe type of the condition is typically inherited when both parents are carriers. Those patients often require regular blood transfusions - about 450 of the UAE's 2,000 thalassaemia patients - though frequent transfusions can lead to too much iron in the body and heart and liver problems.
The condition mainly affects people of Mediterranean, South Asian, South-East Asian and Middle Eastern origin. Saudi Arabia recorded 45,892 cases of carriers between 2004 and 2014.
A World Health Organisation study estimated that globally there are at least 950,000 'new carrier couples' every year and annually there are 1.33 million at-risk pregnancies.
Brief scoreline:
Manchester United 1
Mata 11'
Chelsea 1
Alonso 43'
UAE squad
Ali Kashief, Salem Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Ali Mabkhout, Omar Abdelrahman, Mohammed Al Attas (Al Jazira), Mohmmed Al Shamsi, Hamdan Al Kamali, Mohammad Barghash, Khalil Al Hammadi (Al Wahda), Khalid Eisa, Mohammed Shakir, Ahmed Barman, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Adel Al Hosani, Al Hassan Saleh, Majid Suroor (Sharjah), Waleed Abbas, Ismail Al Hammadi, Ahmed Khalil (Shabab Al Ahli Dubai) Habib Fardan, Tariq Ahmed, Mohammed Al Akbari (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Hassan Al Mahrami (Baniyas)
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Schedule:
Pakistan v Sri Lanka:
28 Sep-2 Oct, 1st Test, Abu Dhabi
6-10 Oct, 2nd Test (day-night), Dubai
13 Oct, 1st ODI, Dubai
16 Oct, 2nd ODI, Abu Dhabi
18 Oct, 3rd ODI, Abu Dhabi
20 Oct, 4th ODI, Sharjah
23 Oct, 5th ODI, Sharjah
26 Oct, 1st T20I, Abu Dhabi
27 Oct, 2nd T20I, Abu Dhabi
29 Oct, 3rd T20I, Lahore
