John Fox, the new Denver Broncos coach, has known from the moment he took the job that Tim Tebow would be his starting quarterback sooner rather than later. He was just waiting for the bottom to fall out, and it did last Sunday.
If the whole thing felt preordained, well, that's because it was, but not by the celestial being you might have in mind. Credit for that belongs to the former Broncos coach, and failed wunderkind, Josh McDaniels.
McDaniels had no history of leading a team and was only 32 when he was hired in 2009. Yet the owner, Pat Bowlen, and his advisers were so confident in the protege of the New England Patriots coach, Bill Belichick, that they made McDaniels the de facto general manager, as well.
In short order, McDaniels chased away Jay Cutler, a perfectly serviceable quarterback, then traded three draft choices the next year to make Tebow a first-round pick and presumptive heir to the QB position. Then McDaniels went to work wrecking the rest of the roster, leaving behind as his legacy plenty of chaos and a 4-12 season, the worst in Broncos history.
Fox understood all that when he took the job. So did the former Broncos hero, John Elway, when he signed on as team president.
They knew this day was coming even after Tebow failed to win the job in training camp and long before fans started chanting his name near the end of games and threatened to take their campaign to billboards around the Mile High City.
Fox had said everything was "up for discussion" after Tebow came on in relief of the starter, Kyle Orton, last Sunday, and sparked a listless Broncos team to within a last-gasp pass of shocking the San Diego Chargers.
Tebow cobbled together two quick scores against a prevent defence, pumping his fist and breathing fire into his teammates and fans, and effectively ending any real discussion.
Never mind that back-up quarterbacks often seem to play well in the final minutes of lost causes or that Tebow also fumbled three snaps from centre in that brief relief appearance.
The Broncos have a bye this week before travelling to Miami for their next game, on October 23, and as often happens at various moments in Tebow's career, during which he has become beloved by some and reviled by others for his clean-cut lifestyle and religious devotion, the extra week to study the Broncos playbook is hardly the only star aligned in his favour.
Because the Dolphins have trouble filling their stadium in good times, and are winless at the moment, someone in the marketing department decided during the summer to stage a promotional event called "Gator Day" at Sun Life Stadium on that very Sunday.
The idea was to honour the University of Florida's 2009 college national championship team and coax a few of the Gators' alumni into buying Dolphins tickets, too.
That's because they all remember the quarterback who won that title in that very stadium two years ago.
A guy by the name of Tim Tebow.
For all that, Fox delayed the inevitable for as long as he could.
Tebow wasn't good enough to be the No 1 quarterback at the start of the season because his footwork is questionable, he cannot throw accurately and if he sees his primary receiver covered, he tucks the football into the crook of his arm and takes off.
That worked well when he was pin-balling through college-sized defensive players, but he will need luck just to survive the beating he is likely to absorb in the NFL.
He could ask Michael Vick, Vince Young and numerous other mobile quarterbacks what that feels like.
But the Broncos have a 1-4 record and Fox has little to lose in giving in to public demand.
As a first-year coach, he has a grace period built in, and Elway's implicit blessing for the move buys him more goodwill. All he has to do now is overhaul the offence and find a way to accommodate a skill set that hardly anyone was convinced would fly in the NFL, and then let Tebow work his magic.
That sounds like a recipe for 1-5, and worse, but Tebow loves few things more than a challenge.
It finally has arrived.
* Associated Press
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
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.”
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sept 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
