Spear snares Grammy

Roots singing legend Burning Spear notched his second Grammy award for Best Reggae Album last Sunday. Spear, whose real name is Winston Rodney, won for the album Jah is Real ahead of fellow Jamaicans Shaggy, Elephant Man, Lee 'Scratch' Perry, and Sly and Robbie. The 64-year-old son of St Ann first won the award in 1999 with Calling Rastafari.

Breath of fresh air

Persons afflicted with asthma are now breathing easier after $3.5 million worth of Salmetide Inhaler, geared to prevent recurrent attacks, was donated to four hospitals in western and north-central Jamaica.

Among the hospitals to receive the aid are Cornwall Regional Hospital in Montego Bay, as well as Falmouth, Savanna-la-Mar and St Ann's Bay. The donation was courtesy of Indies Pharma.

Silverware for 'goldies'

Usain Bolt stuffed another piece of silverware into his overflowing closet of trophies when he was named Sportsman of the Year by the RJR Sports Foundation on Saturday but it was Melaine Walker and Veronica Campbell-Brown who created history by being the first to share the Sportswoman of the Year award. The trio dazzled in winning individual gold medals at the Beijing Olympics last August. Another golden girl, Shelly-Ann Fraser, won the People's Choice Performance Award for her 10.78s run in the 100m.

Taylor stitches up win

Quickie Jerome Taylor's leapfrogged 11 cricketers to No 6 on the International Cricket Commission's Test-bowling rankings after heroics in the first Test at Sabina Park. The 24-year-old helped topple the Englishmen, with spectacular figures of five for 11, for 51 in the West Indies' innings and 23-run victory. Taylor put another feather in his cap when he was named runner-up to the Sportsman of the Year, Usain Bolt.

Last week's losers

Heavier light bills

Electricity consumers have been zapped by the bad news that Jamaica Public Service Company Ltd rates will rise by nine per cent this month. After a series of decreases influenced by the plunging price of oil on the world market, JPS said the rapidly depreciating dollar was partly to blame for the hike. The fuel and IPP charge will be raised to $8.185 kilowatt-hours, from $8.655 applied to bills in January, the power company said.

Scolari sings the Blues

Chelsea has kicked football coach Luiz Felipe Scolari to the kerb after a string of subpar performances which have put the team out of the top three gunning for the big prize in the Barclays Premier League title race.

Scolari, a Brazilian, suffered the same fate of Avram Grant seven months earlier, as the Roman Abramovich outfit has become hungrier for the trophy after missing out in the last few years. Chelsea's 0-0 draw with Hull was the last straw. Gus Hiddink is now the man in the hot seat.

Antigua fails test

The abandonment of the second Test between the West Indies and England in Antigua last Friday covered Caribbean cricket in embarrassment as the groundsmen and administrators at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium provided a substandard outfield.

The 10-ball Test match sparked the immediate launch of a probe by Antigua Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer, who still managed to put a positive spin on the fiasco. "There can be lessons in today's aborted Test match that may pre-empt any such occurrence in cricket in the future," he said. But headlines screamed outrage at the ignominious spectacle: 'Day of shame' (The Gleaner); 'Shambles' (Britain's The Sun); and 'Dousing the euphoria' (Trinidad Express).