Before long, Jaromir Jagr will set the NHL record for most goals by a player 43 or older.
He has a team-leading seven so far, and he needs nine more to establish the new mark.
Let us hope that this – and any other record the ageless wonder reaches this season – happens during a road game, because Jagr’s Florida Panthers play before embarrassingly small audiences.
This Panthers team have too few fans.
Their average attendance last year was a league-low 11,265. The figure so far this season is given as 12,830. That works out to 75.3 per cent of capacity.
But a lot of those paying customers are either invisible or not bothering to show up. Consider the scene when the Buffalo Sabres visited last week.
A bunch of rows, each about eight seats long, near the Buffalo net went: empty row, empty row, empty row, three people in a row, one person, two people. Near centre ice was a five-row rectangle that was empty. Not one fan.
At the Florida end of the rink, in a corner section of prime seats, the fans-per-row went like this: one, one, one, one, one, zero, one, one, one, zero. This is attendance so low it could be rendered as binary code.
Jagr and the Panthers deserve better, and before the NHL expands (front-runners: Las Vegas and Quebec City) the team ought to haul themselves out of Miami, a city with a spotty reputation for supporting its major teams. Baseball’s Marlins last season ranked 28th among 30 teams. The NFL Dolphins were among the bottom seven in seats-sold percentage.
Oh, and the owner of that record for most goals by a player who began the season age 43 or older? That would be the great Gordie Howe, who scored 15 goals at age 51, as a Hartford Whaler, in 1979/80.
rmckenzie@thenational.ae
Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
Schedule
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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
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.
Stamp duty timeline
December 2014: Former UK finance minister George Osbourne reforms stamp duty, replacing the slab system with a blended rate scheme, with the top rate increasing to 12 per cent from 10 per cent:
Up to £125,000 - 0%; £125,000 to £250,000 – 2%; £250,000 to £925,000 – 5%; £925,000 to £1.5m: 10%; Over £1.5m – 12%
April 2016: New 3% surcharge applied to any buy-to-let properties or additional homes purchased.
July 2020: Rishi Sunak unveils SDLT holiday, with no tax to pay on the first £500,000, with buyers saving up to £15,000.
March 2021: Mr Sunak decides the fate of SDLT holiday at his March 3 budget, with expectations he will extend the perk unti June.
April 2021: 2% SDLT surcharge added to property transactions made by overseas buyers.
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
