The first round of the NFL play-offs is this weekend, and it is littered with back-up quarterbacks being forced into starting duty and features one clash between traditional powers. Here are previews and predictions. All times UAE.
Oakland Raiders at Houston Texans: Sunday, 1.15am
Poor Oakland. Their season has been a magical ride, winning 12 games with their first post-season berth since the 2002 season. But they lost MVP candidate Derek Carr to injury two weeks ago, then his back-up Matt McGloin went down last week, forcing third-string rookie Connor Cook to make his first NFL start in a play-off game. Not ideal. Luckily they face Houston, who despite winning the AFC South might be one of the worst teams in the league. The winner will likely have to face the New England Patriots next round anyway, so neither team are poised for a sustained run.
Prediction: Raiders 20, Texans 16
Detroit Lions at Seattle Seahawks: Sunday, 5.15am
The Seahawks are here on the back of their defence, as per usual, but the unit have not been as dominant since losing strong safety Earl Thomas for the season a few weeks ago. For the Lions, quarterback Matt Stafford has had a great year, but is playing with a splint on his throwing hand that has made some of his passes erratic lately. Russell Wilson and the Seahawks have been a great play-off team in recent years. They should have little trouble with a Lions team that beat up on weaker opponents and are just lucky to be here.
Prediction: Seahawks 24, Lions 14
Miami Dolphins at Pittsburgh Steelers: Sunday, 10.05pm
Miami are one of the year’s surprise teams, winning 10 games and advancing to the play-offs for the first time since the 2008 season. Quarterback Matt Moore has been OK since taking over for injured Ryan Tannehill, but the offence runs through breakout star Jay Ajayi, who finished fourth in rushing this year. Their defence is not stacked enough to slow down a Pittsburgh offence that boasts play-off-tested Ben Roethlisberger and stars Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown. Miami’s first play-off trip in eight years will be a short one.
Prediction: Steelers 30, Dolphins 13
New York Giants at Green Bay Packers: Monday, 1.40am
This is the game of the weekend, with two Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks — New York’s Eli Manning and Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers — going head to head. The Giants’ defence had a remarkable turnaround this season, making up for a lacklustre offence that relies too heavily on receiver Odell Beckham Jr. The Packers come in as one of the league’s hottest teams, winning six straight games, and Rodgers has played as good as ever in that stretch. The Giants are one of few teams with the secondary manpower to handle Green Bay’s offence, which could be slowed down already with weather conditions at Lambeau Field expected to be below freezing. Still, it is hard to see Rodgers losing right now.
Prediction: Packers 23, Giants 20
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Bio
Born in Dubai in 1994
Her father is a retired Emirati police officer and her mother is originally from Kuwait
She Graduated from the American University of Sharjah in 2015 and is currently working on her Masters in Communication from the University of Sharjah.
Her favourite film is Pacific Rim, directed by Guillermo del Toro
What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
Company%20Profile
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If you go
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Nairobi, with fares starting from Dh1,695. The resort can be reached from Nairobi via a 35-minute flight from Wilson Airport or Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, or by road, which takes at least three hours.
The rooms
Rooms at Fairmont Mount Kenya range from Dh1,870 per night for a deluxe room to Dh11,000 per night for the William Holden Cottage.
Heavily-sugared soft drinks slip through the tax net
Some popular drinks with high levels of sugar and caffeine have slipped through the fizz drink tax loophole, as they are not carbonated or classed as an energy drink.
Arizona Iced Tea with lemon is one of those beverages, with one 240 millilitre serving offering up 23 grams of sugar - about six teaspoons.
A 680ml can of Arizona Iced Tea costs just Dh6.
Most sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, five teaspoons of sugar in a 500ml bottle.
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
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RESULTS
5pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000, 2,400m
Winner: Recordman, Richard Mullen (jockey), Satish Seemar (trainer)
5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh 70,000, 2,200m
Winner: AF Taraha, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
6pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic Prestige (PA) Dh110,000, 1,400m
Winner: Dhafra, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Colts Classic Prestige (PA) Dh110,000, 1,400m
Winner: Maqam, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel
7pm: Handicap (PA) Dh85,000, 1,600m
Winner: AF Momtaz, Fernando Jara, Musabah Al Muhairi
7.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000, 1,600m
Winner: Optimizm, Patrick Cosgrave, Abdallah Al Hammadi
Roll of honour 2019-2020
Dubai Rugby Sevens
Winners: Dubai Hurricanes
Runners up: Bahrain
West Asia Premiership
Winners: Bahrain
Runners up: UAE Premiership
UAE Premiership
}Winners: Dubai Exiles
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes
UAE Division One
Winners: Abu Dhabi Saracens
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes II
UAE Division Two
Winners: Barrelhouse
Runners up: RAK Rugby
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BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
Scream%20VI
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THE SPECS
Touareg Highline
Engine: 3.0-litre, V6
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Power: 340hp
Torque: 450Nm
Price: Dh239,312
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5