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Terrorist bomb hits close to home for ATP official

close to home for an official on the Island for the XL Bermuda Open tennis tournament.Mr. Gayle Bradshaw, the ATP Tour Supervisor,

close to home for an official on the Island for the XL Bermuda Open tennis tournament.

Mr. Gayle Bradshaw, the ATP Tour Supervisor, was born in Oklahoma and yesterday said he was shocked by the news of the blast which destroyed a federal building.

Although he has lived in Georgia for a number of years, the Oklahoma native said he has an aunt in Oklahoma City. But he remains confident that she was not a victim of the bombing. "She would have no reason to be in the building,'' said Bradshaw yesterday from the Coral Beach Club where the Open is being played.

"I called my mother last night and she said she had tried to get in touch with her sister after the blast but authorities were asking people not to use the phones (if it was not necessary),'' said Bradshaw.

*** From the "anybody can make a mistake'' department, this gem from a recent edition of Lloyd's List. The UK broad sheet that highlights news in insurance, shipping, energy, trade and finance took up a half a page in a portrait of the new Governor-General of Bahamas, Sir Orville Turnquest, on his "crusade to expand his country's financial sector''.

Along with the article is an aerial picture with the caption "Sunny outlook: Hamilton, capital of Bahamas, is trying to attract money from Hong Kong.'' What!!? We didn't know Hamilton was the capital of Bahamas, too.

One looks a little closer at the three-column picture and it appears that that's the Princess Hotel on the end. There's the Bank of Bermuda building, the cruise ship docks, the loading docks, RHADC's quay.

Hey, that is Hamilton -- Hamilton, Bermuda.

*** In the beginning were the Hell's Angels and their Harleys. Now make way for The Posse, with their own brand of super mean machines! Okay, the good ole Bermudian scooter may not be the coolest motor in bikedom, and the revs may not sound too groovy.

But, hey, with a flick of the wrist you can get quite a ring-a-ling-a-ling from its bell, and who's complaining anyway? Certainly not tennis aces, Todd Martin, Alex O'Brian and Grant Connell, who, with coaches Dean Goldfine and Robert Van't Hof, make up The Posse.

The five have been on the Island doing what they do best at the XL Bermuda Open at Coral Beach Club.

But, aside from the tennis and admiring the scenery, what really sent them into overdrive were the scooters. So much so that they decided to form their own bike gang.

"They have never been to a country like Bermuda where everybody rides scooters. They have really taken to it,'' explained one official.

Notebook this week caught up with one Posse member revving up his red little number, Canada's Connell.

With a grin, Connell gave a demonstration of the bell.

"I feel a bit of a wimp really on this bike,'' Connell admitted at the sound of the tinkling.

"But I really love riding around the Island. This Country is unique.'' Spies have reported seeing the Posse hitting the roads at night, and targeting such night spots as Elbow Beach.

The bike craze, however, has claimed some casualties among the stars.

Take Australia's Jamie Morgan, for instance, who came to grief at a bend in the road...ending up in a hedge.

"It was the first time I've ridden a bike, and I was not sure how much gas to give. I obviously gave the bike too much!'' OKLAHOMA NATIVE -- ATP Tour Supervisor Mr. Gayle Bradshaw.

Todd Martin