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Everyone is necessarily the hero of his own story

By Raju Mandhyan

TWO INCIDENTS incited me to pen this story about storytelling.

The first was a conversation at my old school, the University of Asia Pacific, about “Building a Storytelling Culture” with Bong Mojica, Roni Balbieran, and X. Vallez from the same school. The second was my taking an online masterclass on writing by the illustrious Malcolm Gladwell of the New Yorker.

The point I’d like to highlight is a quote by Franz Kafka, cited by Gladwell in his class. The precision and the depth in the quote excite me as much as it did the gentleman journalist. “Everyone is necessarily the hero of his own imagination.”

Everyone! Every time and necessarily by default when they tell a story snipped out of their own lives they end up making themselves the protagonists of their own imaginations. Even if it is a story about them being victimized the audience ends up sympathizing and glorifying the storyteller. Whether it be a story of a failed journey, a business mishap, or a relationship breakdown, you as the storyteller still end up winning all the accolades. Go ahead and try telling a story about when you came down hard on someone in your life. Or, go ahead and share a story about how you played office politics to get ahead in your career. There is always a good chance that your audience will offer you some consolation and urge you to go on and live your life because you might have had a good and valid reason to be the hero, even if you were of the “anti” kind.

Thus, I have always been cautious of responding to the question “what happened?” when talking about a business mishap, a relationship breakdown, or when I came down hard on someone else. No matter what I do, I end up painting a picture that is a figment of my own imagination, my own perspective, and my own biases. And stories, in essence, have such power and beauty in them that they draw in all around them and drench them with your views of life and the world, even if you did not intend to do so.

By sharing these insights with you, I aim to caution you from thoughtless storytelling and urge you into using stories powerfully towards a higher and a better purpose. Yes, we all necessarily have biases and when we let our positive and affirmative biases seep into our stories we build bridges towards a brighter future.

A couple of years ago, when I was wrapping up the writing of my book, the HeART of the STORY, I was asked by some of the readers and participants of my seminar of the same title: “Must the leader-storyteller always make himself the hero, the protagonist of the story, and how?”

And, my answer was: “A leader-storyteller doesn’t always have to make herself the protagonist of the story. She can conjure up fictional characters and incidents to put across a point or state a truth, taking care and making sure that the yarn she spins doesn’t become too flimsy or synthetic. She can also use other people and tell stories of their sojourns and successes. Here, she does have to make sure that she adds life and vibrancy to their emotions and experiences.

“Now, if and when she does tell or write herself in as the protagonist then she has ease back from brow-beating and glorifying her own skills and capabilities as a hero. If she doesn’t then it comes across as egoistical talk and creates a rift between the audience and herself. Our audiences, our clients, give us their trust and faith only when they sense and are assured that the leader is not self-focused and is focused on their welfare and a greater good.

“As a leader when we are using ourselves as the protagonist then our character plays out best when it is humble, ordinary in ways, transparent, and achieves breakthrough results through reflection, self-correction and living up to the values she espouses.”

When you lay your eyes upon this article, chances are that the year will have turned and if you plan on making any new resolutions then resolve to be choosy and use the power of storytelling with caution and a lot of compassion towards the change you create every single day, with every single word of yours. Remember, everyone is necessarily the hero of her own story.

 

Raju Mandhyan author, coach and learning facilitator.

www.mandhyan.com

Trump’s trade wars expose an abiding truth

By Pankaj Mishra

AS THE year ends, a partial and brief cease-fire seems imminent in Donald Trump’s trade war on the world. The United States and China may sign a deal as early as next month. But make no mistake: The protectionist impulse behind the trade war remains as ineradicable as ever.

Nor should it be forgotten that economic nationalism has guided the destiny of all major nations since the 19th century.

According to the ideological prejudices of the present, built up over nearly four decades of globalization, free trade and deregulation represent the natural order of things. History, however, tells us that the United States was a protectionist power for much of its existence, and the tariff was a crucial factor in its dethronement of Britain as global economic leader by the early 20th century.

As William McKinley put it in 1890: “We lead all nations in agriculture; we lead all nations in mining; we lead all nations in manufacturing. These are the trophies which we bring after 29 years of a protective tariff.”

The argument for economic nationalism against a manufacturing giant such as Britain was simple. British free-traders claimed that their ideology was best placed to bring prosperity and peace to the world. Their critics in countries less economically advanced than Britain, such as Germany’s Friedrich List, the 19th century’s most influential economic theorist, argued that free trade could only be a goal rather than the starting point of modern development.

Economic self-strengthening for nations required that they protect their nascent industry until it becomes internationally competitive.

Notwithstanding Britain’s rhetoric, which periodicals like the Economist amplified, it had arrived at free trade after a successful policy of tariffs. It also used military power to acquire foreign markets for its surplus goods and capital. In the late 19th century, one aspiring power after another set out to match the British; the Americans were not alone. Italy, while seeking to modernize its economy, imposed massive tariffs on France. Germany and Japan nurtured domestic manufactures while trying to shield them from foreign competition.

Even Britain, following its settler colonies Australia, Canada, and South Africa, came to abandon free trade by 1932. The United States’ protectionism peaked with the infamous Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930.

The US moved swiftly to embrace free trade after the Second World War only because its manufacturing industries, dominant over the world’s war-ravaged economies, needed access to international markets.

Even then the Cold War’s military and diplomatic urgencies turned the United States into an unlikely protector of Japan’s manufacturing industries as they were rebuilt into world-beaters. Trade practices of the kind deemed unfair by Trump today — ranging from loans and subsidies to national conglomerates and restriction of imports — were key to the rise of not only Japan but also such East Asian “tigers” as South Korea and Taiwan.

Trying, albeit much less successfully, to build a manufacturing economy, India imposed some of the world’s highest tariffs. After a short-lived experiment with trade liberalization, which resulted in a $53 billion trade deficit with China, India today has retreated into its old protectionist crouch.

It is hard to see what else it can do. The rise of China as a manufacturing powerhouse has made even the United States renounce the posture of international co-operation it assumed after the Second World War.

The multilateral institutions such as the World Trade Organization that the US helped set up no longer seem to serve its purposes. Moreover, the argument, first widely heard in the US during the debate over NAFTA in the 1990s, that free trade enriches the wealthy at the expense of the poor and the middle class, not to mention the environment, has become politically much more potent.

It is clear today that the advocates of free trade ignored for too long the volatile political problems rising from wage stagnation and income inequality. Upholding the economic law of “comparative advantage,” they also managed to downplay the higher law that governs international economic relations: might is right.

Following the British “imperialism of free trade,” powerful countries have consistently practiced what they denounce in others. For instance, the United States, while insisting that other countries reduce state intervention, has nurtured high-tech industries in ways that violate WTO agreements (and which are shielded from sanction only by the fig leaf of defense requirements).

The bluff of free trade, first called in the 19th century by an industrializing America against Britain, lies exposed yet again as China aspires to be the 21st century’s new hegemon. Free trade turns out to be something that helps a rising great power, until it doesn’t, and which most countries claim to practice while trying to subvert its principles as much as possible.

Trump’s trade wars are, of course, dangerously reckless in a world more interconnected than ever before. But they have served to clarify the challenge ahead: to devise multilateral institutions that acknowledge protectionism rather than free trade as the deeper and more enduring reality of global economic history.

 

BLOOMBERG OPINION

In the Star Wars economy, one thing doesn’t pay

By Adam Minter

JUNK IS surprisingly pervasive in Star Wars, playing an understated role in nearly every film in the series. In The Phantom Menace, we meet young Anakin Skywalker, the future Darth Vader, working at a small electronics scrap yard and repair shop. In A New Hope, Luke Skywalker’s uncle buys R2-D2 and C-3PO from a group of Jawas, a species that drive massive, sand-crawling junk trucks. The recently released Rise of Skywalker is largely a coming-of-age story for Rey, the last of the Jedi, who spent her youth scavenging electronic scrap on Jakku, a remote outer planet.

As a third-generation descendent of earthbound scrap-metal recyclers, I’ve subjected myself to repeated Star Wars viewings (even of the bad films), partly just to spot all the junkyard tidbits. Over the years, I’ve developed a theory or two about the waste and recycling economy in the series, and enjoyed sharing it with (primarily) other junkyard descendants. But in 2018, I realized there might be a larger audience for these insights.

That year, China — for decades the world’s biggest importer of recyclables — started imposing stringent restrictions on what recycled stuff it would still accept from overseas. In the aftermath, prices for recyclables dropped steeply, raising costs and reducing profits for businesses around the world.

(Some spoilers for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker ahead. — Ed.)

Alas, Star Wars doesn’t offer any advice on how to find new markets for used plastic detergent jugs. And no, Rey can’t conjure the Force to boost the price of used cardboard boxes. But if you watch the films carefully, they have a good story to tell about turning waste into something that people might want — and, even better, buy.

The Star Wars universe generates tons of trash, much of it recyclable. Yet for all the scrap yards and scavengers, you see very little actual recycling. Mostly, the metal, plastic and paper seems to get tossed out with the trash. My favorite example occurs in The Empire Strikes Back. At a crucial moment, an Imperial star destroyer dumps stadium-sized chunks of metallic garbage into space before jumping to hyperspace (this, according to Han Solo, is Imperial protocol). From an earthbound perspective, this is commercial suicide: Metals are the world’s most recyclable materials, and even villains know there’s money to be made in selling them.

But a similar pattern repeats throughout the series. In The Force Awakens, early scenes on Jakku are dominated by the wreckage of an immense star destroyer. It’s reminiscent of the huge seagoing vessels that are run onto the beaches of India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, then disassembled by hand and recycled in a matter of months — down to the individual screws. Crash a star destroyer in Alang, India, one of the world’s hubs for beaching and recycling ships, and pieces of it will be on sale in local markets by lunchtime.

The reason for this seemingly irrational behavior is that the Star Wars universe doesn’t suffer from a scarcity of resources. There are dozens of mining outposts mentioned in the series, and there always seems to be another planet waiting to be exploited. In a galaxy that enjoys such surpluses, recycling won’t save much money. And the Empire, with its massive spending on planet-destroying weapons like the Death Star, doesn’t seem overly concerned about the environment.

So what, then, is the business model that supports so many junkyards and scavengers? Rey, the Jawas, and everyone else who scavenges in the series recognize that there’s more value in a working gadget or spare part than in the raw materials that constitute them. The value is in the energy, engineering, and manufacturing required to make the stuff. So, for example, that crashed star destroyer on Jakku isn’t stripped for metal; instead, we see Rey risk her life to scavenge it for reusable components that she can sell. Characters from Chewbacca to Luke Skywalker later demand her recovered parts for the devices and ships that they’ve learned to repair on their own.

That business model wouldn’t work for plastic recyclers here on Earth. But the so-called e-waste industry — a category that includes everything from used smartphones to server racks — is rapidly diversifying into business models that look very similar to those practiced by Rey and the Jawas. At a time when recycling markets are depressed, these businesses need a new revenue stream. So rather than trying to recover raw materials that aren’t financially attractive at the moment, they’re seeking out whole gadgets and the parts within them.

Robin Ingenthron, the head of Good Point Recycling, tells me that his company was making about $60 a week selling gadgets for reuse out of its scrap pile in 2015. As commodity prices fell, he reoriented the business to extract parts from old televisions and better identify the reusable gadgets already on offer. Today, sales of reusable stuff account for more than $50,000 a month, and around a third of the company’s revenue. Sims Recycling Solutions Inc., one of the world’s biggest electronics recyclers, has steadily shifted away from its traditional shred-and-recycle model to incorporate more reuse and refurbishment in recent years. Others are going even deeper, recovering specific chips from motherboards for reuse.

This might come as a surprise to earthly environmentalists. But in the Star Wars universe, it’s the way business has always been done. In this respect, at least, the series may offer a model that works just as well here as it does in a galaxy far, far away.

 

BLOOMBERG OPINION

Nation at a Glance — (12/27/19)

News stories from across the nation. Visit www.bworldonline.com (section: The Nation) to read more national and regional news from the Philippines.

Nation at a Glance — (12/27/19)

Good year for combat sports in 2019

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter

THE YEAR 2019 could well go down as one of the better years for combat sports in the country as various disciplines of the sporting form had their moments front and center.

From good old boxing to mixed martial arts to jiu-jitsu and kickboxing, Filipino athletes this year impressively showed what they are made of, moving one local fight analyst to say it bodes well for combat sports going forward.

“The Philippine combat sports scene in 2019 had quite a good year. In boxing, it was bannered by Manny Pacquiao. Who would have thought that the fighting senator will still be lacing up a pair of boxing gloves at this day and age? Aside from Pacquiao, Jerwin Ancajas demonstrated his staying power at 115 pounds. Pedro Taduran and John Riel Casimero ended the year as world champions,” said fight analyst Nissi Icasiano in an interview.

“In MMA, it has been a rollercoaster ride, especially Team Lakay, which experienced some ups and downs throughout the year. In matches that carried significant bearing, most of them fell short. But I am glad that they managed to punctuate the year on a triumphant note. In addition, they still have two world champions in Joshua Pacio (in ONE Championship) and Stephen Loman (in Brave Combat Federation),” he added.

He went on to say that it was not only confined to pro boxing and MMA, which took headlines for combat sports for much of the time in previous years, with the 30th Southeast Asian Games which the country hosted recently proving to be a good platform.

“The good thing about this year is that other martial arts got a much-needed exposure. The recently-concluded SEA Games was a great platform for sports like jiu-jitsu, kickboxing, Muay Thai and even wrestling. It’s a step forward for the holistic growth of the entire industry. On the amateur boxing side, the Filipino people got a taste of how brilliant the pugilists we have on the national team such as Eumir Marcial, Nesthy Petecio and Josie Gabuco,” Mr. Icasiano said.

Asked which among the key moments stood out for him in 2019, Mr. Icasiano said Mr. Pacquiao and Nonito Donaire Jr. provided it while giving props to MMA fighters Pacio, Loman and Rolando Dy.

“The two key moments in combat sports that I would like to think that left a mark were Manny Pacquiao’s victory over a prime Keith Thurman last July and Nonito Donaire’s bout against Naoya Inoue. Over the course of 12 rounds, Pacquiao proved that he could still take care of business against an elite opponent. Boxing’s only eight-division world champion silenced his doubters and looked absolutely marvelous in his scintillating victories over Lucas Matthysse, Adrien Broner, and now Thurman,” he said.

“Meanwhile, though he yielded to the Japanese hard-hitter, Donaire shattered the mystique of Inoue. He showed the world that the Japanese knockout artist possesses some vulnerability. It was a gutsy effort on the part of the Filipino Flash, but it only shows that it is doable, especially since Casimero eyes a date with Inoue next year,” Mr. Icasiano added.

Further, “In MMA, though Joshua Pacio deserves to be called the Filipino MMA Fighter Of The Year, Stephen Loman broke out of the shadows of his Team Lakay brothers in 2019. That rousing performance at Brave Combat Federation’s debut in the Philippines last March made casual fans realize there is something more on that Team Lakay roster. Rolando Dy had a great run this year, but the momentum got derailed when he lost to Do Gyeom Lee in UAE Warriors.”

WHAT IS IN STORE FOR COMBAT SPORTS NEXT YEAR?
Mr. Icasiano said at the moment nothing is etched in stone yet but nonetheless expects Mr. Pacquiao and Team Lakay to create noise anew as well as the national athletes who are eyeing spots in the Tokyo Olympics.

“Nothing is set in stone yet for 2020. But I hope to see Jerwin Ancajas finally get a high-profile opponent next year. Manny Pacquiao is expected to be back in action against either Danny Garcia or Mikey Garcia. Team Lakay will start their 2020 campaign as early as January,” the analyst said.

World championships gold medal winner Petecio would have automatically qualified for the Olympics next year but since the event was organized by AIBA, it is not recognized as a qualifying event, hence she and other Filipino boxers have to go through the qualifiers early next year.

Clippers rally past Lakers

LOS ANGELES — Kawhi Leonard had 35 points and 12 rebounds to lead the visiting Los Angeles Clippers to a come-from-behind, 111-106 win against the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday evening.

Montrezl Harrell scored 18 points off the bench, and Paul George had 17 points on five-for-18 shooting for the Clippers, who are 2-0 against the Lakers this season.

With 3.6 seconds to go and the Clippers up by three, Patrick Beverley blocked a LeBron James 3-point attempt. George then made two free throws to seal the outcome.

Kyle Kuzma scored a season-high 25 points off the bench for the Lakers, who have lost four in a row. They hadn’t dropped consecutive games all season before the current skid. Anthony Davis scored 24 points, and James finished with 23 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists.

After trailing by as many as 15 in the third quarter, the Clippers pulled even at 86-86 entering the fourth.

James hit a pull-up jumper to give the Lakers a 101-94 lead with 6:39 left, but seven straight points by the Clippers tied the game again.

Leonard twice made two free throws to give the Clippers a four-point lead, the second time with 2:03 left, and the Lakers managed just one point the rest of the way.

The Lakers led by seven twice in the second quarter before an 8-0 run by the Clippers moved them ahead 43-42.

James missed his first seven shots before making a layup with 5:28 left in the second quarter to move the Lakers back ahead 44-43.

Both sides continued to trade leads for the next couple minutes before the Lakers closed on a 17-2 run to take a 63-51 lead into the break.

After trailing by as many as 15 with 9:26 left in the third quarter, the Clippers used a 16-3 run to pull within 71-69 with 6:44 remaining.

Clippers reserve guard Landry Shamet sank a 3-pointer with 2.6 seconds left to tie the score at 86-86 heading into the fourth.

The Clippers improved to 12-3 this season with George and Leonard in the lineup.

The Clippers beat the Lakers 112-102 in the season opener on Oct. 22, one of three double-digit losses for the Lakers. In that contest, Clippers were without George, who missed the first three weeks of the season while rehabilitating two offseason shoulder injuries.

WARRIORS 116 — ROCKETS 104
Glenn Robinson III and Draymond Green each bombed in a pair of 3-pointers in a late flurry as Golden State rallied to stun Houston in San Francisco.

All five Golden State starters scored in double figures and the Warriors limited Houston to 16-of-51 shooting on 3-point attempts. Damion Lee paced the Warriors with 22 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. Green and D’Angelo Russell went for 20 points apiece, Robinson added 18, and Willie Cauley-Stein scored 10. Green grabbed 11 boards.

The Rockets’ Russell Westbrook led all scorers with 30 points, but he shot just 11 of 32 overall and missed all eight of his 3-point attempts as Houston saw a four-game winning streak come to an end.

76ERS 121 — BUCKS 109
Joel Embiid had 31 points and 11 rebounds — his seventh game this season with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds — to lift host Philadelphia past Milwaukee.

Ben Simmons had 15 points, 14 assists and seven rebounds for the Sixers, who won their third in a row and tied a franchise record with 21 made 3-pointers. Tobias Harris scored 22 points and went 5 of 7 from beyond the arc. Josh Richardson added 18 points, Furkan Korkmaz scored 16, and Al Horford had 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Khris Middleton led the Bucks with 31 points. Giannis Antetokounmpo added 18 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists, but he shot 8-for-27 and missed all seven 3-point attempts. George Hill scored 15 points for Milwaukee.

CELTICS 118 — RAPTORS 102
Jaylen Brown scored 30 points, and Boston ended Toronto’s 34-game home winning streak against Atlantic Division teams.

Kemba Walker added 22 points for the Celtics, who have won four in a row and have captured the first two games between the teams this season. The clubs meet again in Boston on Saturday.

The game was the first Christmas Day home game for the Raptors in their history. Fred VanVleet had 27 points for the Raptors, who have lost two in a row. Chris Boucher added a career-best 24 points, and Kyle Lowry contributed 14 points. — Reuters

Ginebra Kings’ Brownlee, Meralco Bolts’ Durham looking forward to Big Dance reengagement

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter

FACING in a Philippine Basketball Association finals for the third time in the last four years, imports Justin Brownlee of the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings and Allen Durham of the Meralco Bolts said the championship feeling does not get old even as they said they are looking forward to playing anew in the Big Dance.

Catalysts once again in their respective team’s causes once again, Mr. Brownlee and the Kings battle Mr. Durham and the Bolts in the best-of-seven championship series of the Governors’ Cup which begins on Jan. 8.

It will be the third time that Barangay Ginebra and Meralco will dispute the title for the season-ending PBA tournament after 2016 and 2017 which the Kings took each time.

Mr. Brownlee said it is a experience they want to repeat as they go for another championship.

“I’m super motivated. I wish we would’ve had that three-peat last year but unfortunately, we came up short,” Mr. Brownlee was quoted by the official PBA Web site as saying as he spoke of making it to the finals once again after missing out on retaining their title last year.

“It feels good to be in the Finals, but this point we’re not satisfied. We want to feel that greatest feeling. I’m just super proud of everybody, it just feels great and hopefully, we can get another one,” he added.

The Kings finished fourth in the elimination round before eliminating and crushing the grand slam hopes of the San Miguel Beermen in the quarterfinals.

In the semifinals, they got off on the wrong foot and was routed by the Northport Batang Pier, 124-90, in the series opener, but won the next three games in the best-of-five to make their way to the finals.

BETTER CHANCE
While they have to break through against the Kings in the finals, Mr. Durham said third time could well be the charm for them, thanks to a souped-up lineup that he thinks could get the job done.

“It’s going to be fun. As a competitor, you want to play against the best and he (Justin Brownlee) has shown he’s one of the best imports in the PBA year after year so definitely, it will be a battle,” Mr. Durham said.

“I actually think they (Ginebra) are a better matchup for us compared to TNT (in the semis), who got shooters all over, and I think we’ll be able to use (Raymond) Almazan a little bit more as they’re a bigger team,” he added.

The Meralco import further said that apart from Mr. Almazan, Allein Maliksi and Bong Quinto further shore up their team, which would go a long way as they battle the Kings anew.

The Kings were the second seeds after the elimination round, beating the Alaska Aces in the quarterfinals and outlasting the TNT KaTropa in the semifinals which went the full route of five games.

Game One of the finals is on Jan. 8 at 7 p.m. at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Kobe, Andre Paras with Chooks-to-Go help out in relief efforts in Davao

KOBE and Andre Paras together with Chooks-to-Go on Dec. 23 made sure to give back to the victims of the earthquake that struck Davao Del Sur last Dec. 15.

The almost 200 families relocated to the basketball courts of Barangay Lower Limonso in Padada were given a pleasant surprise as the Paras brothers helped out in the relief operations.

“Despite the holidays, Kobe, Andre, and the entire Davao Business Center of Bounty immediately said yes when I told them about this surprise. They really wanted to help out our brothers and sisters in need,” said Ronald R. Mascariñas.

“It’s sad to know na very recent ang nangyari pero halos nakalimutan na ng mga tao like nothing happened,” lamented Andre. “They need our help that’s why when I heard Chooks is going, I took the opportunity. I really wanna be here.

“Kahit mabawasan lang ang stress nila at mapangiti namin sila even for a day malaking bagay na ‘yun.”

Each family was given groceries, sleeping bags, bottles of mineral water, and goodies for the kids. Also, they were given warm meals for the day.

Besides this, Mike Swift also hosted some parlor games, including the Chooks-to-Go chicken eating contest.

“I’m just glad we were able to make them smile despite everything that has happened to them,” said Kobe. “They deserve to have a Merry Christmas.”

With this, Kobe is dedicating all his games next season to them.

“What they are going through right now is hard. Knowing their stories inspires us to do more,” admitted Kobe, who is entering his second year with the UP Fighting Maroons.

“For every game, I will play next season, I will always have them in my mind and in my heart.”

Bengals, Browns end disappointing seasons with rivalry matchup

CINCINNATI — With the top pick in the 2020 NFL Draft dubiously secured, the Cincinnati Bengals enter their regular-season finale on Sunday against the visiting Cleveland Browns with the usual rivalry matters on their mind.

“I know the city wants us to beat Cleveland, as they should,” Bengals coach Zac Taylor said.

Despite defeating just one other team on their schedule to date, the Bengals (1-14) have remained competitive in several games down the stretch.

After opening December with a 22-6 home victory against the New York Jets, the Bengals lost 27-19 at Cleveland in Week 14 and absorbed a 38-35 overtime loss at Miami in Week 16. Cincinnati forced OT against the Dolphins after rallying from a 23-point deficit midway through the fourth quarter.

Taylor beamed about his players’ energy and resolve in mounting the comeback.

“A lot of the things that we preach, and how we talk about what a Bengal is — a physical, hungry, accountable teammate who’s willing to do his all to get the job done — I saw that so many times,” Taylor said. “We were on the road, and in a game that we could have been out of early — but we weren’t. Our guys fought to the very end, and those are the things we need to continue to build off of.”

The Browns (6-9) were eliminated from playoff contention with their 31-15 loss to the Baltimore Ravens last week, but they have several players vying for individual milestones.

Running back Nick Chubb boasts a 92-yard lead on the Carolina Panthers’ Christian McCaffrey for the NFL rushing title. He is aiming to become the first Browns player to accomplish the feat since Leroy Kelly in 1968.

With one more touchdown pass, quarterback Baker Mayfield can become the first Browns signal-caller to throw at least 20 TDs in successive seasons since Brian Sipe did so from 1978-80. However, two of Mayfield’s primary targets were listed as limited on Wednesday’s injury estimate, as wide receivers Jarvis Landry (hip) and Odell Beckham Jr. (groin) contend with injuries.

Meanwhile, first-year Browns coach Freddie Kitchens has deflected questions about his job status, with speculation swirling near the end of a disappointing season.

“I truly worry about today and get better today,” Kitchens said. “We have a game on Sunday that we have to start getting ready for usually about 2 p.m. every Monday. That is the only thing I am concerned about.”

Mayfield stressed that the entire roster should be held accountable and bear responsibility for a season that began with aspirations for a playoff berth but will end short of the postseason.

“Any time you have a head coach and you have a losing record, that’s the first person everyone points to, but it goes to many more things than just Freddie,” Mayfield said. “We can all be better in this process. I think that’s what it comes down to is there’s not one single thing to blame. Just overall, we all have to bring it more and more every day to meet the expectations we set for ourselves.”

Bengals wide receiver Stanley Morgan did not practice Wednesday due to a concussion. — Reuters

Eagles look to clinch NFC East by beating Giants

NEW YORK — The Philadelphia Eagles will be looking to clinch their third consecutive playoff berth when they visit the New York Giants on Sunday.

After falling to 5-7, the Eagles have responded with wins over the Giants, Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys to move back above .500 at 8-7. With one more win, the Eagles will complete a 9-7 regular season and clinch the NFC East.

Three weeks ago, the Eagles trailed the Giants 17-3 before rallying for a 23-17 victory in overtime. Though the Giants own a subpar 4-11 record, don’t expect the Eagles to take them lightly at all.

“Just put on the film and watch the Giants right now. This is a good football team. It’s a good football team,” Eagles coach Doug Pederson said. “This defense that we’re playing is a good defense and they have some young guys in the back end and they are playing really well, as well. This is a big defensive line.”

Just like the last three weeks, the Eagles will enter this matchup with an injury-riddled group. Cornerback Ronald Darby (hip) and wide receiver Nelson Agholor (knee) are out. Pro Bowl right tackle Lane Johnson (ankle), running back Jordan Howard (shoulder) and cornerback Jalen Mills (ankle) are all questionable.

But the latest blow is the fact that tight end Zach Ertz is suffering from a reported fractured rib and remains questionable. Ertz was hurt during the 17-9 win over the Cowboys last Sunday and actually returned after suffering the injury.

“Yeah, it is (a good sign) that he got back out there. It just shows his toughness and willingness to get back out there,” Pederson said. “But as you guys know, we take every injury seriously and make sure that we protect our players.”

Following the overtime loss to the Eagles, the Giants have come back with a pair of impressive performances — a 36-20 win over the Miami Dolphins and a 41-35 thriller over the Redskins.

Rookie quarterback Daniel Jones returned after a two-game absence with a high ankle sprain and sparked the Giants with an incredible effort against Washington. Jones finished 28 for 42 for 352 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions.

In the process, Jones became the first rookie in league history with more than 350 passing yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions in a game.

“He played pretty heroic,” said Giants coach Pat Shurmur.

Jones led the Giants to the win in overtime and in the process, finished his first game all season without committing a single turnover.

Running back Saquon Barkley also played a large role with a franchise-record 279 yards from scrimmage, including a career-best 189 on the ground. Watching Jones recover from an injury and some adversity to guide the team to a win was a special scene.

“Light years,” Shurmur told reporters of how Jones has developed this season. “He’s going to have a moment in the middle of February somewhere, maybe back home sitting on his couch here in Hoboken or Weehawken or wherever he lives, and goes, ‘Holy Smokes, what happened to me?’

“He’ll have one of those moments because that is what happens to rookies. He’s only going to get better. He’s a very talented guy that works hard.”

The Giants, who will be looking for just their third home win all season, could be without linebacker Alec Ogletree again with a sore back. — Reuters

Lakers vs Clippers

The Lakers couldn’t have been happy with the way their match against the Clippers ended yesterday, and not just because it gave perennial irritant Patrick Beverley cause to celebrate at their expense. Even with All-Stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis starting slow, they appeared to have the set-to under control early and often courtesy of an overachieving bench. Unfortunately, they failed to sustain their momentum in the face of stellar defense and a relentless push by reigning Finals Most Valuable Player Kawhi Leonard; a lead that stood as high as 15 turned into a deficit they needed to overcome with a last-gasp trey attempt that a simple swipe converted into a turnover.

No doubt, the Lakers spent the rest of Christmas Day wondering why they snatched defeat from the throes of victory. Beverley’s outstanding showing in putting up a ridiculous plus-26 rating in 32 minutes of exposure aside, they couldn’t but have felt the win was theirs to take, and then theirs to squander. Once again, their intrinsic frailties were on display; they shot poorly from both the charity stripe and beyond the arc, and, more importantly, they had no answer for Leonard’s increasing sophistication on offense. If there was anything yesterday proved, it’s that he delivers under pressure. The numbers may point to less efficiency given his higher usage rate with the Clippers, but there can be no doubting his uncanny ability to rise to the moment.

Certainly, all superstars have no fear of failure. It’s why James, despite having made a mere two of 11 previous three-point attempts, isolated himself and rose from quartercourt with 3.6 ticks left and a tie in sight. And, certainly, all superstar stoppers — proven or otherwise — have no fear, period. It’s why Beverley welcomed, relished even, the opportunity to rise to the occasion; had he proved unable to keep leather from meeting nylon, he would simply have been an accessory to the expected. Instead, he bucked conventional wisdom, created his own destiny, and rejoiced — if too much — in the aftermath.

The Lakers and Clippers will meet again — once next month, once in March, and, if all goes according to plan, in the Western Conference Finals. And, yes, the outcome figures to be the same when they do, unless, that is, the purple and gold learn to get out of their own way. If they know what’s good for them, they’ll learn the lessons their four-game losing streak imparts, and fast. After all, it’s not how they started, but how they finish, that matters.

 

Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.

Chinese-run group tagged in P800-M drug stash

THE Chinese-run Golden Triangle syndicate might be behind the P802.4 million worth of crystal meth or shabu seized at a townhouse in Quezon City on Tuesday, the government’s chief anti-narcotics officer said on Wednesday.

Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Director General Aaron Aquino said this was their initial assessment of the 118 kilos of shabu confiscated from Chinese national Zhang Yun Quan during a buy-bust operation at his rented apartment in the village of Sienna.

The suspect is facing drug trafficking charges under the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act.

The manner by which the drugs were packed suggested the involvement of the international drug ring based in China and Hong Kong, Mr. Aquino said.

Many of the drugs had come from China up to 2017 but strict Chinese laws against illegal drugs forced drug syndicates to outsource production, PDEA said last month.

The Golden Triangle drug syndicate, which operates along the borders of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand, has become the biggest distributor of illegal drugs in Southeast Asia.

“The shabu is packed in green tea bags labelled as Guan Yin Wang,” he said in a mobile-phone message. “This is a trademark being used by the Golden Triangle international drug syndicate.”

But the anti-drug agency was still gathering evidence that would directly link the Golden Triangle drug ring to the confiscated drugs, Mr. Aquino said.

“We still need to conduct backtracking investigation to determine the confirmed source of the drugs,” he said.

PDEA has suspected the international drug ring to be the source of drugs previously smuggled into the country, including P1.9 billion worth of shabu seized in a warehouse in Cavite in February.

Mr. Aquino said they were verifying if Mr. Zhang is the same person included in the list of people who smuggled P2.4 billion worth of crystal meth placed inside magnetic lifters that were intercepted at the Manila International Container Port in 2018.

The initial result of their probe revealed that Zhang was not the same Zhang Quan tagged in the shipment at the Manila port, but Mr. Aquino said they were still validating evidence. — Emmanuel Tupas, Philippine Star

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