SPORTS
MONDAY, MARCH 31, 2025
‘Ageless wonder’
Timothy Munnings sets another world record
By BRENT STUBBS Chief Sports Editor bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
Timothy Munnings can celebrate again with another world record - this time in the men’s 400 metres indoors at the World Masters Association’s Indoor Championships.
Munnings, who established the world outdoor 400m record outdoors last year, inked his name on the indoor record yesterday in the men’s 55-59 400m in a time of 52.82 seconds to blow away the field.
Americans Lee Bridges and David Henry picked up the silver and bronze in 53.45 and 54.99 respectively.
“This one really feels good because this is my last chance to run in this particular age category, so I was happy to come out with the gold medal and the world record,” said Munnings, who noted that he had some family members there supporting him and he didn’t want to let them and the country down.
“So it was a good way for me to complete this indoor season.” Munnings, 58, was a part of a five-member team representing The Bahamas that won two medals at the week-long competition at the Alachua County Sports Center in Alachua County, Florida.
The other medal - a bronze - came yesterday as well from Michael Armbrister in the men’s 65-69 long jump with a leap of 15-feet, 63/4-inches or 4.73m. Poland’s Wieslaw Musial took the gold with 17-4 (5.28m) and American
Ronald Humphrey got the bronze with 15-93/4 82m). Armbrister also competed in the men’s 400m final where he placed fifth in 1:00.77. Great Britain’s
BAHAMIAN Olympian
Lamar Taylor closed out his collegiate swimming career at the University of Tennessee by inking his
name on the Volunteers men’s 400m freestyle relay team at the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Swimming Championships over the weekend.
As the meet came to a close on Saturday at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatics Center in Federal Way, Washington, Taylor swum a split of 41.02 on the second leg on the team of Gui Caribe (40.57), Nikoli Blackmon (41.35) and Jordan Crooks (39.36) as they touched the wall in a new NCAA championship record time of 2:42.30 to erase their own national record.
Matt Kredich, the director of swimming and diving at Tennessee, could hardly contain himself when he spoke about the feat.
“That 400 free relay title has been a long time coming,” he said. “There were six guys who competed all year to be on that relay, and when they compete, they make each other better.
“The first three legs were fantastic, but to set it up for Jordan Crooks, who has redefined speed
and redefined sprinting, nationally and internationally, to hand it off to him as his last swim ever, that was an exclamation point on a career that I’m still in awe of and one that is worthy of a lot of different honours,” said Kredich. It marked the first time Tennessee won the event since 1979 and gave the Volunteers its third NCAA title of the week - its most since having four in 1996. As a programme, the Vols now boast 49 all-time titles. Taylor, 21, anchored the Vols to another title in the 200m freestyle in 1:12.84. Crooks, Caribe and Blackman competed in that order before Taylor brought it home for another triumphant performance.
Taylor also led off the 200m medley team of Kevin Houseman, Caribe and Crooks that clocked 1:20.50 for second place.
Taylor, a transfer from Henderson State, said he was thrilled to have been a part of history - again.
“The performance was great, I was able to lower my best times in all of my events and we defended our relay NCAA recordbreaking performance,” he said. “My best performance this week would have to be winning the B final in 100 free.”
In that 100m free, Taylor was a third-place finisher in 45.51 as he trailed Crooks with another NCAA record-breaking
By BRENT STUBBS Chief Sports Editor bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
MALCOLM Menzies and Kami Roach repeated as the men and women champions of the 2025 Powerade Potcakeman Triathlon yesterday at Jaws Beach.
The sprint distance triathlon featured a 750 metre swim at Jaws Beach, a 12-mile two-loop course around Albany/Clifton Pier and a 5-kilometre bike ride on the road. It was organised by Baark!, who presented awards to the winners in all of the age groups.
The 16-year-old Menzies, preparing for the open water swim at the CARIFTA Swim Championships over the Easter holiday in Trinidad & Tobago, took the men’s title swim, bicycle and run race in 59.58 seconds over Grand Bahamians runner-up Launy Duncombe in 1:05.52 and third place finisher Ayden Bain in 1:10.08.
“It was very good. It was pretty cloudy, so it wasn’t that hard, but it was very windy on the bike, but overall, it was a very good day out,” Menzies said. As the swim was his strongest component of the competition, Menzies said he worked extremely hard in it because he wants to be ready to compete at CARIFTA.
But he admitted that he improved on his bike in training over the past six months and he had a really good run to cap it off. “It
‘COACH YO’ AND HER LADY REBELS ARE ELIMINATED
By BRENT STUBBS Chief Sports Editor bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
COACH Yolett McPheeMcCuin and her Ole Miss Lady Rebels women’s basketball team’s run at the 2025 NCAA Division Women’s Basketball Tournament came to an end on Saturday. In the round of the Sweet 16 at the Spokane Arena in Spokane, Washington, the Lady Rebels fell 76-62 to the UCLA Lady Bruins. It’s Ole Miss’ 12th appearance in the Sweet 16 in its programme history, pushing their overall record in the March Madness top collegiate tournament to 22-11. And McPhee-McCuin, a native from Grand Bahama, said they appreciated the hospitality they received from the city of Spokane, but they wanted to make their presence felt in the tournament and they did. “When I look at this season, no one wanted us, no one thought we would be here and we’re still here
SPORTS
PICKLEBALL EXHIBITION THE Bahamas Pickleball Federation is scheduled to hold a Pickleball Exhibition on April 5 at the Mall at Marathon next to John Bull from noon to 4pm. Admission is free, but space is limited. The event is being sponsored by Domino’s Pizza, the Mall at Marathon, the Sports Center and High Noon Sun Sips.
BASEBALL/ SOFTBALL RELOADED INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT
THE Reloaded baseball and softball programme for boys and girls is scheduled to hold its fourth invitational tournament April 18-21 at the Baillou Hills Sporting Complex. The event, organised
SEE PAGE E2 March
TIMOTHY Munnings proudly holds the Bahamian flag on top of the medal dias at this year’s World Masters Indoor Championships at the Alachua County Sports Center in Alachua, Florida.
BAHAMIAN swim sensation Lamar Taylor, second from right, celebrates with his Tennessee Vols men’s relay team.
MALE and female winners Malcolm Menzies and Kami Roach.
TIMOTHY Munnings after his world record performance.
Queen’s College Comets celebrate their BAISS track & field title with motorcade
CELEBRATION MODE: The Queen’s College Comets celebrated their 2025 Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools (BAISS) Track and Field Championship with a motorcade on Friday. Photos: Dante Carrer/Tribune Staff
SPORTS
CALENDAR FROM PAGE E1
Stephen “Bishop” Beneby, is being sanctioned by the Bahamas Baseball Assocation, headed by Clarence “CJ’ McKenzie and will be sponsored by Pro Youth Foundation. It will feature baseball teams for boys and softball teams for girls from Grand Bahama and New Providence. It’s also anticipated that some teams from the Family Islands will also be in New Providence to participate. SPRING FLING INVITATIONAL THE Fast Track Athletics Club is scheduled to hold its 4th annual Spring Fling at
the Grand Bahama Sports Complex May 16-17.
The event is open to competitors from throughout The Bahamas. The action is slated to begin at 5pm on Friday, May 16 and at 10am on Saturday, May 16. It promises to provide fast competition, perfect prep for championship season and an unmatched island atmosphere in Grand Bahama. The entry fee is $5 for children and $10 for adults. For more information on the meet, persons can email fasttrackmanagement00@ gmail.com
BASKETBALL PEACE ON DA STREET FAMILY NIGHT PLANS are underway for the staging of the Peace on Da Streets’ Basketball Classics’ Road to 30 years of existence.
The event, being organised by the Hope Center under the theme “Shooting hoops instead of guns,” will be held from July 14-19 at the Michael ‘Scooter’ Reid Basketball Center. The highlight of the event will be the Family Night, scheduled for Sunday, July 20 at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium when the finals in all of the divisions will take place, starting at 3pm. There will also be the Mr Ship It Three-point shootout and the Joe’s Slam Dunk Contest. The night will conclude with the exciting Clergy versus Politicians match-up. Lots of prizes, including round trip tickets, will be up for grabs.
NPBA: Rockets sweep Giants, High Flyers tie the series 1-1
By TENAJH SWEETING Tribune Sports Reporter tsweeting@tribunemedia.net
THE 2024-25 New Providence Basketball Association (NPBA) postseason action intensified over the weekend at the AF Adderley Gymnasium.
In division one play, the Caribbean Moonshine Rockets, formerly known as the Discount Distributors Rockets, sent the TMT Giants home with a 2-0 series win on Friday night.
The defending champions spanked the TMT Giants 69-52 in game two of the best-of-three opening series.
The Sand Dollar High Flyers locked their series up at one game apiece with the Everybody Wins Shockers.
The High Flyers stunned the Shockers 87-68 to force a ‘do-or-die’ game three.
On Saturday, the High Flyers’ division two team defeated the TYT Enterprises Rockets 74-63 to take a 1-0 lead in the bestof-five semifinals.
High Flyers vs Shockers
The High Flyers made their imprint on the game early on Friday night against the Shockers.
The team pushed ahead 40-29 at the halftime break and continued to dominate the game throughout three quarters.
Sand Dollar point guard
Jeremy Neely drained a tough triple at the midway mark of the third to help his team to pull away 51-39.
The High Flyers owned a 55-40 advantage with 3:49 remaining in the quarter but that deficit shifted to 22 points (66-44) going into the final period and at that point the game was a foregone conclusion.
Sand Dollar head coach Donnie Culmer spoke about his team’s competitiveness in the recent win.
“Finally, we had a good practice and the guys came out tonight and they executed. We did what we knew that we could do and in the first game we had a double-digit game and just let it slip away. All we gotta do is get back to the drawing board on Sunday and come in here on Monday and close it out,” Culmer said.
The decisive game three will be played tonight at 8:45pm.
Rockets vs TMT Giants
The Rockets made the TMT Giants look small in game two of their twogame sweep.
The defending champions blasted out to a 30-17 cushion at the 4:56 mark of the second quarter.
They never lifted their feet off the gas and emerged with a 44-17 lead at the intermission.
Despite the TMT Giants knocking down a few threes, the Rockets never gave them a chance to cut it close down the stretch.
The Rockets’ Devon Ferguson drove the ball in for a smooth layup that changed the score to 58-35 late in the third.
The TMT Giants were simply overwhelmed in the third period and got outscored 27-9 before running out of gas the rest of the way.
Rockets head coach Barrington Carter was not entirely impressed with the way the defending champions played but was grateful to close out the series.
“It feels great to get the win but at the end of the day I feel like we need to get one or two things
better. Down the stretch we did one or two things that I didn’t really like that we will fix going into the next series. We know in the next series we might be in a dog fight as the defending champions and everyone will be coming out here to
beat us so we cannot be making careless turnovers. People are also scouting us so we have to be ready for anyone at any given time,” Carter said.
The 2024-25 NPBA postseason resumes tonight at 7:45pm. In division two
play, the Cyber Tech Blue Marlins will match up against the Your Essential Store Giants in the first game of Monday’s double header. Sand Dollar will look to close out the series against the Shockers in game three at 8:45pm.
BAISS SENIOR DIVISION SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIPS SET
By TENAJH SWEETING
WHILE the junior clubs established their championship matchups on Thursday, the senior teams finalised their bracket on Friday as the 2025 Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools (BAISS) Soccer Playoffs continued at the Roscow AL Davies Soccer Field.
The Lyford Cay International School senior girls, the reigning national soccer champions, laid waste to a familiar foe in the St Andrew’s Hurricanes. The Dragons weathered the Hurricanes 4-0 to advance to the final round of competition to face the Queen’s College Comets.
Over in the senior boys’ bracket, the Hurricanes blitzed the St John’s College Giants 3-2 in penalties to meet Windsor School, the defending champions, in the finals.
Lyford Cay vs St Andrew’s The Dragons made it look easy against the Hurricanes and standout performer Issa Bournas played a pivotal role in the team’s efforts. She found the back of the net at the 25th, 40th and 68th minutes to put together a hat trick.
Bournas spoke about how it felt to will her team to the victory. “It felt really
THE LYFORD Cay International Dragons advanced to the championship round of the 2025 Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools (BAISS) Soccer Playoffs after defeating the St Andrew’s Hurricanes 4-0 in the senior girls’ division on Friday at the Roscow AL Davies Soccer Field. Over in the senior boys’ division, the Hurricanes held off the St John’s College Giants 3-2 in the penalties.
good. I started off the game not playing the best but after a while I got into the game so I was able to get it going,” she said. After taking a 1-0 advantage going into the second half, the Dragons, coached by Sara Ilgenfritz and Annisa Albury, scored three more times in the second half to put away the Hurricanes.
Head coach Annisa Albury expressed how it felt to make it to the final stage.
“It feels great. We have been working really hard with the girls. We had a little rough patch this season but we have been
really pushing for this. We are the defending national champions so we are super excited to defend our title again and win the BAISS championship,” she said.
Coach Albury emphasized the team’s confidence headed into their championship matchup against the QC Comets.
“Our confidence level is high. Our school puts a lot of effort into our programme and we are just super excited to continue,” she added.
St John’s College vs St Andrew’s The second matchup of Friday went down to the final three whistles
between the Giants and Hurricanes.
The contest went to extra time after the score was levelled at 1-1 to wrap up regulation.
The Giants and Hurricanes both had some close calls with extra time on the clock. SJC battled directly in front of the goal at one point but were unsuccessful on their point blank attempts.
The game would be decided on penalties and the Hurricanes prevailed 3-2 with a championship berth on the line.
The Giants missed a crucial chance to win the game but Matthew Holst rattled in the match-winning penalty kick on the Hurricanes’ final attempt to clinch the victory.
He spoke about how it felt to win the game for his school.
“It feels great. Going into the penalties, I felt a lot of confidence in our goalkeeper and their goalkeeper as well because they are both very excellent players. Going into the penalties, I felt a lot of confidence being surrounded by my comrades who have helped me get to this point throughout the season.”
Interim head coach Sam Robinson was proud of the way his team competed but also gave special credit to the Giants for pushing them to the brink.
“I think the boys played really well. I have watched them all season and this is
Jeff ‘August’ Williams dies at 84
THE second annual Mario Bowleg and Island Care’s Foundation Best of the Best will come down to a clash of the titans in Grand Bahama. The reigning Grand Bahama and Hugh Campbell Basketball Classic champions Tabernacle Baptist Falcons will take on the Sunland Stingers for the tournament’s title 5pm today at the St George’s Gymnasium. In the semifinal game on Saturday, Tabernacle Baptist pulled off a 59-34 win over the Agape Christian Academy.
Ginno Murray scored a game high 20 points in the win. Canaan Davis had 13 in the loss. And in the other half of the bracket, Sunland Baptist Academy pulled off a 63-43 rout over the CI Gibson Rattlers. Brian Cezalien canned a game
the best game they have played. This is my first game coaching them as the normal coach is away and they couldn’t have done better. I had full confidence when they went to penalties and I told the assistant coach ‘this is going to be a win’. They practiced it before we came out just in case and they nailed it,” he said.
Coach Robinson said the team’s confidence is high headed into the finals against Windsor.
“Confidence is high. I have not seen the boys play better, full credit to St John’s, I watched the last game they played and they were solid but that was another level. They pushed us all the way and they were a cracking team but getting through that we are now fully confident for the finals.”
The junior and senior championship rounds are all set.
The juniors will fight for the crown on Tuesday and the seniors on Thursday.
performance in 39.83 and Caribe, who was second in 40.51 for a sweep by Tennessee.
In another individual event, Taylor was fourth in the 100m backstroke in 45.51 that saw his teammate Harrison Lierz take the top spot on the podium in 44.40.
As a team, Tennessee ended up fifth in the team standings with 104 points, the highest finish for the Vols’ since placing third overall in 2001, improving on their sixth-place last year. It was their first back-to-back-to-back top 10 finishes at the NCAA Championships since doing it from 1993-2001.
As for Taylor, his collegiate season and career might by over, but he said there’s still a lot of swimming ahead of him this year.
“My expectations for the rest of the season is to keep lowering my times and hopefully make a semi final or a final at Worlds this summer in Singapore,” he summed up.
It would be his third appearance at the global competition, having swam at the short course World Championships in 2021 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates and in Melbourne, Australia.
He also competed in the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, and the 2024 Olympics in Paris, France.
JEFF WILLIAMS
ON THE REPLAY: The Caribbean Moonshine Rockets, formerly known as the Discount Distributors Rockets, sent the TMT Giants home with a 2-0 series win on Friday night. Photo: Chappell Whyms Jr
March Madness guide: All No. 1 seeds in the Final Four after wins by Houston and Auburn
By The Associated Press
AND then there were 1s.
With wins by Houston and Auburn on Sunday, next weekend’s Final Four will have all four No. 1 seeds for the second time in NCAA Tournament history.
The only other time since seeding began in 1979 was in 2008, when Kansas, Memphis, UCLA and North Carolina went to the Final Four — in San Antonio, no less.
This year also marks the first time higher seeds went 12-0 in the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight, capping a year of chalk that ends on the Riverwalk.
Houston gave Tennessee a lesson in defensive dominance, shutting down the Vols for a 69-50 win to reach the Final Four for the seventh time. The Cougars held Tennessee to 15 first-half points and 29% shooting overall, including 5 of 29 from 3.
Auburn survived an injury scare to star forward Johni Broome and Michigan State’s gritty style to pull out a 70-64 win in the South Region final.
Broome left the court with a right elbow injury and returned a few minutes later to finish with 25 points and 14 rebounds.
Coach Bruce Pearl’s Tigers are in the Final Four for the second time, having gotten there in 2019.
Florida was the first team to reach the Final Four with an 84-79 win over Texas Tech in the West Region final on Saturday. Duke followed by shutting down high-flying Alabama for an 85-65 win in the East Region final. That sets up an allSoutheastern Conference national semifinal between Florida and Auburn, with Houston facing Duke in the other. May the best 1 win.
Games to watch Houston (34-4) vs. Duke (35-3). The nation’s best defensive team will face one of its best on offence. Houston has dominated defensively under coach Kelvin Sampson and this season led the nation in points allowed at 58.5 per game. The Cougars were at their smothering best in the Elite Eight against Tennessee, holding the Vols nearly 25 points below their scoring average. Houston has
some offence to go with it.
The trio of L.J. Cryer, Emanuel Sharp and Milo Uzan can take over any game at any moment. The Cougars will face their tallest order of the season against the big, athletic Blue Devils. Duke has length at every position and its own players who can fill it up, led by All-America freshman Cooper Flagg. The Blue Devils aren’t too shabby on defence, either, evidenced by their
Tennessee in the Elite Eight
(AP Photo/AJ Mast)
shutdown of Alabama, the nation’s highest-scoring team, in the Elite Eight. Auburn (32-5) vs. Florida (34-4). The Tigers won the SEC regular-season title. The Gators took the SEC Tournament title. The winner of this one gets a shot at a national title.
Auburn was arguably the nation’s best team during the regular season, spending eight straight weeks at No. 1 in the AP Top 25. The Tigers lost three
of four heading into the NCAA Tournament, but found their groove again at the right time. A first-team All-American, Broome dominated throughout the bracket and provided a lift in the second half when he left after an awkward fall against Michigan State.
Florida is back in the Final Four for the first time since 2014 with one of the nation’s most balanced teams. The Gators have plenty of size to disrupt opposing offences and All-American guard Walter Clayton Jr. has proven to be one of the game’s most clutch players, as he proved with two late 3s against Texas Tech.
How can I watch? Every game of the men’s tournament will be aired — here is a schedule — either on CBS, TBS, TNT or TruTV and their digital platforms, including Paramount+. CBS will broadcast the Final Four and national title game. The NCAA will also stream games via its March Madness Live option.
Who are the favourites? Duke is the favourite to win the title at minus-110, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. Florida is next at plus-300, Houston is plus400 and Auburn plus-500. When are the games? The Final Four is in San Antonio on Saturday, April 5, with the championship game April 7.
HOUSTON head coach Kelvin Sampson holds the Midwest Region championship trophy after defeating
round of the NCAA college basketball tournament yesterday in Indianapolis.
JUDGE HOMERS AGAIN, CHISHOLM JR GOES DEEP TWICE AS YANKEES ROUT BREWERS 12-3 TO COMPLETE 3-GAME SWEEP
By LARRY FLEISHER Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge homered in his first at-bat, Jasrado “Jazz” Chisholm Jr. homered twice and the New York Yankees went deep four more times in a 12-3 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers yesterday, a day after becoming the third team in major league history to hit nine homers in a game.
The Yankees hit a total of 15 homers and scored 36 runs as they swept the three-game series.
A day after homering three times for the third time in his career and finishing with a career-high eight RBIs, Judge hit a tworun homer off Aaron Civale (0-1) in the first inning, sending a full count 89 mph fastball into the lower left field seats.
After hitting 58 homers last season, Judge is the first Yankee with four homers in the opening three games. Judge finished with 11 RBIs in the series.
On a frigid 44-degree day, Judge was intentionally walked in the third and drew walks in the fifth and seventh innings. The two-time MVP scored New York’s sixth run on a wild pitch following his second walk.
Chisholm Jr homered after Judge’s intentional walk and went deep again after Judge’s third walk.
Among the Yankees using a torpedo-shaped bat, Chisholm Jr hit multiple homers for the third time since being acquired from the Marlins in July and sixth time in his career.
Ben Rice added a tworun homer as the Yankees improved to 3-0 in consecutive seasons for the first time since the 1994 and 1995 seasons.
Paul Goldschmidt, in his second career start in the leadoff spot, had three hits and hit an RBI single in New York’s five-run seventh.
Cody Bellinger lifted a sacrifice fly and Austin Wells hit an RBI groundout for the Yankees.
Jake Bauers hit a two-run homer off Marcus Stroman in the fourth and Sal Frelick hit an RBI single for the Brewers, who are 0-3 for the first time since 2015. Bauers also pitched the eighth inning for the second straight day. Stroman allowed three runs and five hits in 4 2/3 innings. Tim Hill (1-0) got four outs for the win.
Key moment Hill struck out Christian Yelich on three pitches to end the fifth and protect a 5-3 lead.
Key stat
The 36 runs through three games are the most in franchise history and the 15 homers through three games tied the 2006 Detroit
Torpedo-shaped bats draw attention after Yankees hit teamrecord 9 homers in rout of Brewers
By LARRY FLEISHER Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) —
New torpedo bats drew attention when the New York Yankees hit a teamrecord nine homers that travelled a combined 3,695 feet on Saturday.
Using a strikingly different model in which wood is moved lower down the barrel after the label and shapes the end a little like a bowling pin, Paul Goldschmidt, Cody Bellinger, Austin Wells, Anthony Volpe and Jazz Chisholm Jr. homered in New York’s 20-9 rout of the Milwaukee Brewers.
“That’s just trying to be the best we can be,” manager Aaron Boone said Sunday. “That’s one of the things that’s gotten pointed
out. I say to you guys all the time, we’re trying to win on the margins and that shows up in so many different ways.”
MLB has relatively uncomplicated bat rules, stating under 3.02: “The bat shall be a smooth, round stick not more than 2.61 inches in diameter at the thickest part and not more than 42 inches in length. The bat shall be one piece of solid wood.” It goes on to state there may be a cupped indentation up to 1 1/4 inches in depth, 2 inches wide and with at least a 1-inch diameter, and experimental models must be approved by MLB. Former Yankees infielder Kevin Smith posted online Saturday that Aaron Leanhardt, a former Yankees front-office staffer who now
works for the Miami Marlins, developed the torpedo barrel to bring more mass to a bat’s sweet spot.
“You’re going up with a weapon that can be better,” Smith wrote. “Your just misses could be clips, your clips could be flares, and your flares could (be) barrels. And it was true, it’s fractions of an inch on the barrel differentiating these outcomes.”
Goldschmidt, batting leadoff for the first time, opened with a 413-foot homer off Nestor Cortes and Bellinger followed with a 451-foot drive that initially didn’t register with Statcast. Aaron Judge, using a bat with a conventional shape, hit a 468-foot shot that made the Yankees the first team to homer on each of a game’s first three
Tigers for the most in MLB history. Up next Yankees right-hander
Will Warren opposes Arizona ace Corbin Burnes on
pitches since MLB’s records began in 1988.
Bellinger first was presented with the torpedoshape concept in a batting practice session last season with the Chicago Cubs but did not use it in a game.
He was given a more advanced version during spring training this year.
“I started swinging this one in spring or before spring, kind of early on, and I was like, ‘Oh it feels good,’” Bellinger said.
“It was an ounce lighter than the one I was swinging, but I think the way the weight was distributed felt really good.”
Bellinger, the 2019 NL MVP with the Los Angeles Dodgers, switched from a maple Louisville Slugger to a birch bat and cited MLB’s
2010 rule change narrowing the maximum diameter from 2.75 inches.
“I’m usually a maple guy, but birch for me allows me to get the bigger barrel because I wasn’t grandfathered in,” Bellinger said.
“So it’s all within regulation. They made sure that before the season even started, knowing that I imagine at some point the way these bats look that it’s probably going to get out at some point.”
Volpe, who homered for the second straight game Saturday, began using the torpedo in spring training.
“The concept makes so much sense. I know I’m bought in,” Volpe said.
“The bigger you can have the barrel where you hit the ball, it makes sense to me.”
Judge, who hit an ALrecord 62 homers in 2022 and 58 last year en route to his second AL MVP award, didn’t see a reason to experiment.
“The past couple of seasons kind of speak for itself,” Judge said a day after his third career threehomer game. “Why try to change something?” Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy said he knows a little about developing and designing bat designs from serving on the boards of two bat companies.
“Players are doing everything to try to get an edge today legally and I think they should,” Murphy said.
“I think whatever is good for the offensive game is good for the game,” said Murphy.
Tuesday. And Milwaukee right-hander Elvin Rodriguez will serve as an opener for today’s home opener against the Kansas City Royals.
NEW York Yankees’ Jasrado “Jazz” Chisholm Jr. celebrates in the dugout after hitting a two-run home run during the third inning against the Milwaukee Brewers yesterday in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)
NEW York Yankees’ Jazz Chisholm Jr., right, celebrates with Aaron Judge, left, after Chisholm Jr scored a two-run home run during the third inning against the Milwaukee Brewers yesterday.
(AP Photo/Pamela Smith)
JAZZ Chisholm Jr. (13) celebrates his home run during the third inning against the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday in New York. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)
JAZZ Chisholm Jr. reacts after hitting a three-run home run against the Milwaukee Brewers yesterday in New York.
NEW York Yankees’ Jazz Chisholm Jr. reacts after hitting a three-run home run, also scoring Paul Goldschmidt and Aaron Judge, during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Sunday, March 30, 2025, in New York.
(AP Photos/Pamela Smith)
March Madness: Top seeds South Carolina, UCLA reach Final Four of women’s NCAA Tournament
By The Associated Press
AT least two No. 1 seeds will be in the Final Four of women’s NCAA Tournament.
Two more could book trips to Tampa, Florida, today.
South Carolina kept its repeat championship hopes alive and reached its fifth straight Final Four with a grinding 54-50 win over Duke yesterday.
The Gamecocks will face the winner between topseeded Texas and TCU today in their bid to become the first repeat NCAA champion since UConn’s run of four straight from 2013-16.
UCLA followed that up with an impressive performance, knocking off third-seeded LSU 72-65 behind another big game by Lauren Betts.
The 6-foot-7 All-American had 17 points, seven rebounds and six blocked shots despite sitting out the second quarter.
UCLA will face the winner of today’s Elite Eight game between No. 1
seed Southern California and No. 2 seed UConn. Games to watch Texas (34-3) vs. TCU (343), Birmingham, Alabama. Former Big 12 rivals will play for a spot in the Final Four. The Frogs are in the Elite Eight for the first time.
Coach Mark Campbell’s “Under Frogs” went from having to hold open tryouts to find enough healthy players to the cusp of a Final Four behind the trio of Sedona Prince, Haley Van Lith and Madison Conner. Prince has been nearly unstoppable inside, the well-travelled Van Lith scored 26 points in a Sweet 16 win over Notre Dame, and Conner is shooting 45% from 3. The Frogs will need to click on all cylinders if they’re going to beat the top-seeded Longhorns. Texas has one of the nation’s best defences and is holding NCAA Tournament opponents to 56 points per game. The Longhorns also have AllAmerican Madison Booker. The 6-foot-1 forward was the Southeastern Conference player of the year and is averaging 16.4 points and 6.8 rebounds. She’s part of a dominating front line that includes 6-4 Taylor Jones and 6-6 centre Kyla Oldacre, so the Frogs will have their hands full inside. USC (31-3) vs. UConn (34-3), Spokane, Washington. UConn All-American Paige Bueckers has been one of college basketball’s best players during her
UCLA players react yesterday after a game against LSU in the Elite Eight of the NCAA college basketball tournament in Spokane, Washington.
time in Storrs, with the only missing part of her résumé a national championship. The 6-foot guard has done her best to get that title, dominating throughout her final March Madness. She scored 34 points against South Dakota State in the second round and topped that with a career-high 40 in a Sweet 16 win over Oklahoma.
USC will be without its best player, All-American JuJu Watkins. She suffered a season-ending knee injury against Mississippi State in the second round, but it
didn’t slow the Trojans in a Sweet 16 win over Kansas State. Freshman Kennedy Smith stepped into the void left by Watkins, scoring 19 points in the 67-61 victory. How can I watch the tournament? Every game of the women’s tournament will be aired — here is a schedule — on ESPN’s networks and streaming services with select games on ABC. Who are the favourites? The top four betting favourites at the start
Sweet 16 week were (in order): UConn, South Carolina, UCLA and Texas, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. Who is playing? There were 31 automatic bids that went to conference champions and they were combined with 37 atlarge picks by the NCAA selection committee. Selection Sunday unveiled the bracket matchups. When are the games? First- and second-round games concluded Monday on campuses across the
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country. Sweet 16 weekend (March 28-31) put games at two sites once again: Birmingham, Alabama, and Spokane, Washington. The Final Four is in Tampa on Friday, with the championship game next Sunday. A year ago, the championship game drew a bigger television audience than the men’s title game for the first time, with an average of 18.9 million viewers watching
feated South Carolina beat Iowa and superstar Caitlin Clark.
(AP Photo/Jenny Kane
RACHEL THOMPSON HOLDING HER OWN AT COLUMBIA COLLEGE
By BRENT STUBBS Chief Sports Editor bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
GRAND Bahamian
Rachel Thompson, who embodies hard work, dedication and determination, continues to make her presence felt with the Columbia College women’s tennis team.
Last week, Thompson and Columbia College fell short against Brenau University (Georgia) 5-2 at home on her 17th birthday on Tuesday before they rebounded on Wednesday for a 3-0 whitewashing of Southwest Virginia Community College.
Against Brenau University on Tuesday, Thompson pulled out two big wins as she teamed up with Natalia Diaz to win 6-4 at the number two doubles spot before winning her singles match in a 10-8 third set tiebreaker after splitting the
first two sets 6-3, 3-6. The performance was a bittersweet one for Thompson as she played on her birthday, one day after she returned from The Bahamas where
‘COACH YO’
she attended the funeral on Saturday of her cousin, Lucas Wildgoose, who was only eight weeks in age.
“I played my heart out on the court in his honour,” said Thompson after returning from Grand Bahama for the funeral to continue her collegiate season.
Against Southwest Virginia the next day on Wednesday, Thompson and Diaz again paired up for a win over Angela Kiesel and Meagan Helton.
Thompson didn’t get to play singles as the match had already been secured.
“I feel a sense of accomplishment and pride.
Achieving a dual win on my 17th birthday, especially during an emotionally challenging time, feels rewarding,” Thompson said. “It was an opportunity to channel my emotions and push myself. Then to come back the following day and win doubles 6-1( no
singles match that day for me) I was elated.”
While their season will conclude in the second week of April, Thompson said she’s thankful for the opportunity to play collegiate tennis, considering the fact that she had her share of disappointment playing on The Bahamas junior girls’ national team. “Being selected for a position on the team was incredibly meaningful to me,” Thompson stated. “My first season as a college tennis player was phenomenal.”
The 5-foot, 9-inch Thompon has produced a 7-2
win-loss record in singles and undefeated in six matches in doubles.
The Koalas fall to 7-5 overall and 2-5 in the conference and next remained home to host Pikeville (Kentucky) at 1pm on Saturday before they head on the road to face Salem College (North Colina) today.
In April, they will have three more games on the road against Union Commonwealth on Wednesday, April 2, then host Johnson & Wales (North Colin) on Friday, April 4 before the finale will be at Southwest Virginia Community
College on Tuesday, April 8. The graduate of Penn Foster High School is also hoping to close out her academic year with a high grade point average as she continues her studies towards a degree in exercise science.
“I’m doing very well in all of my classes. I’m also in the honours programme so I’m always busy. I have a great family here.
“I’m truly blessed,” said Thompson, the daughter of Bahamians Janilla Carroll-Thompson and Paul Thompson Jr.
MISS LADY REBELS ARE ELIMINATED FROM NCAA MARCH MADNESS TOURNEY
and we got this far,” said McPhee-McCuin in the post-game press conference. “Unfortunately, we ran into a tough team tonight and did not prevail, but, at the end of the day, we will continue to build.
This is our second Sweet 16 in two years. If I’m not mistaken, this is UCLA’s third in a row, the third time is a charm, and we will be back again and be able to move forward.”
Two graduating players who participated in the press conference had nothing but praise for McPhee-McCuin and the way she’s been motivating them to play at a high level.
KK Deans, a 5-foot, 8-inch guard, said she was thankful for the opportunity to play at Ole Miss and for McPhee-McCuin in believing in her and all of the players she assembled as a team.
“As a programme, we are on the upward,” she said. “This is the second time in three years that we reached the Sweet 16, so I expect nothing less.
“I expect Sweet 16 to be the goal and I know she’s not going to stop until she gets to the top. So they are surrounded by a great woman, a great coach and a great coaching staff that’s going to push them every day to get to that goal.”
An emotional Tameiya Sandler, another 5-8 guard, said five years and three schools later, she finally got to find a place she could call home at Ole Miss through the transfer portal from Colorado during the offseason.
“I’m so thankful for the opportunity to play here at Ole Miss,” she said. “Coach Yo has been tremendous throughout my journey and she really helped me to find my confidence and find myself again, so I’m really thankful just to be a part of something that is bigger than myself. “It was a great journey. I’m proud of what I was able to accomplish here. I’m proud of this team. I’m proud of this programme and I know we will go on and do great things in the future.”
McPhee-McCuin, now in her seventh season at Ole Miss, concurred with her players, indicating that they have put themselves in a position to be a perennial Sweet 16 team, but it will come down to the players they surround with those returning in their line-up.
“Talent matters. Every time I hear about our team, I hear how tough we are. I never hear about coaching and I don’t understand that
because I don’t have any All-Americans on my team.
“Every team we play, they have five All-Americans. So clearing from a coaches’ perspective, something is being done right. Now the next level for us to move forward is to be able to do what UCLA did. They have been going Sweet 16, Sweet 16, Sweet 16.”
In achieving that trend, McPhee-McCuin said the Bruins were able to recruit All-American Janiah Barker and bring her off the bench and they added centre Lauren Betts and allowed her to play with Timea Gardiner.
“They went and got pieces that allowed them to move forward,” McPheeMcCuin insisted. “The next step for us is to be able to do the same.”
In making their contribution before they move on to the next chapters in their lives, Sandler paced the Lady Rebels with 14 points, three assists, two steals and a rebound and Deans had 13 points with two rebounds and a block shot. Christeen Iwuala also had 13 points and nine rebounds.
But Ole Miss didn’t have any answer for Betts, who
powered her way inside for a game high 31 points with 10 rebounds, three block shots and two assists for the Bruins. Kiki Rice added 13 points with seven assists, three rebounds and a steal.
The Lady Rebels fell behind 19-12 after the first quarter and, as they outscored the Bruins 17-11 in the second half, they managed to close the deficit to just one (30-29) at the half.
But UCLA went on a 25-15 spurt in the third to push their margin up to 55-44 and they took advantage of a 21-18 spurt in the fourth to secure the deal.
The Rebels finished their season with a 22-11 winloss record and 10-6 in the Southeastern Conference. The Bruins were 33-2 and 16-2 in the Big Ten.
Appearing in its 21st NCAA Tournament appearance in programme history, Ole Miss reaches the big dance for the fourth straight season for the first time since 1989 through 1992.
The Rebels have made it past the first weekend of the tournament in over half of their appearances, making 12 Sweet Sixteens before moving on to five Elite Eights.
GRAND Bahamian Rachel Thompson continues to make her presence felt with the Columbia College women’s tennis team.
MISSISSIPPI head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin talks to players during the second half in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament against UCLA, Friday, March 28. (AP Photos/Jenny Kane)
MISSISSIPPI head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin directs her team during the first half against UCLA in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament on Friday, March 28. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)
MISSISSIPPI head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin reacts to a call during the second half of the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament against UCLA.
DEVYNNE CHARLTON
TIMOTHY MUNNINGS
Athletes of the Month
BAHAMIAN Olympians
Devynne Charlton and Timothy Munnings emerged as the best in the world during the indoors in March to be named the Tribune Athletes of the Month.
The Tribune Sports section will recognise the efforts of athletes across all sporting disciplines and award a top male and female candidate at the end of each respective month, culminating with the athlete of the year distinction.
Female Winner -
Devynne Charlton
World indoor record holder
Devynne Charlton had the race of her life in the women’s 60m
hurdles at the 2025 World Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China.
She emerged from a competitive field with a season’s best time of 7.72 seconds to run away with her second consecutive world indoor championship.
Charlton, who is no stranger to the winner’s podium, clinched last year’s event with a world indoor record of 7.65 seconds.
One season later, she put together an impressive stretch of races and outran the competition despite dealing with nagging injuries coming into the indoors.
The 29-year-old owned a season’s best time of 7.83 seconds prior to the World Indoor
Championships but upped the ante as she moved through the heats. She clocked 7.94 seconds for the fastest time heading into the semifinals. In the semis, Charlton crossed the finish line at 7.82 seconds for second place.
In her final run, she got a great start out of the blocks to wrap up the race in a winning time of 7.72 seconds. With her back-to-back world indoor titles, Charlton joined the exclusive club of Americans Lolo Jones and Nia Ali as the only hurdlers to repeat as champions in the women’s 60m hurdles.
Charlton’s victory was even more impressive when you
consider that it was only the first time in history that six athletes ran sub-7.80 seconds in the same 60m hurdles event.
Male Winner - Tim Munnings Olympian Tim Munnings has left no stone unturned in 2025 at the age of 58-years-old. While the reigning world indoor record holder secured consecutive titles, Munnings etched his name in the history books at the 2025 World Masters Athletics Indoor Championships in Gainesville, Florida. The 58-year-old Olympic bronze medallist set a new world indoor record in the masters 55-59 men’s 400m event. He finished as the masters indoor world
champion with a record-setting time of 52.82 seconds. He dipped under the 21-year-old world indoor record of 53.20 seconds, previously shared by American Charles Allie and Jamaican Alston Brown. Munnings went into the finals with the top time after recording 54.39 seconds in the prelims. If that was not enough, the Bahamian ageless wonder also broke the championship record of 54.04 seconds in the process of earning the masters 55-59 400m indoor title and setting a world record. Stay tuned for April’s edition of Tribune Athletes of the Month.
Timothy Munnings sets another world record
FROM PAGE E1
Richard White took the gold in 58.73, the silver went to Australian Rob Mayston in 59.00 and American Ronald Humphrey got the bronze in 59.31.
Armbrister had the sixth and final qualifying spot in the preliminaries with his second place in the fourth of five heats in 1:01.32.
It was redemption at the championships for Munnings, who in the past won medals as a member of the men’s 4 x 400m relay team at the 2000 Olympic Games (bronze), 2001 World Championships (gold) and 2002 Commonwealth Games (bronze).
In his first event at the championships, he got second in his heats of the men’s 200m, but was disqualified for stepping on the line in his lane.
With the disappointment behind him, Munnings picked up his second medal, adding the indoor gold to his world masters outdoor gold last year.
He did it after he posted the fastest qualifying time of 54.39
in winning the first of five heats in the preliminaries on Saturday. Americans Timothy Roland (55.41) and David Henry (55.78) trailed Munnings with the second and third fastest qualifying times.
“Going in with the leading time, it gave me a little boost of confidence knowing that I had the ability to pull it off,” Munnings said. “The heat gave me a chance to familiarise myself with the track. “Even though it’s 400m, the way you run it is different, so I was able to reflect and go over the race plan last night (Saturday), so I was ready,” As for the competition, Munnings said he expected it to be a lot stiffer, but it didn’t matter because he was well prepared for whatever came his way. He commended coach Bernard Newbold and his athletes for pushing him and preparing him for the challenge.
Munnings, the former director of sports at the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, now employed at the Ministry of Health, said he will be returning
home today and will look forward to celebrating with the Bahamian people.
Armbrister had the sixth and final qualifying spot coming out of the preliminaries with a time of 1:01.32 after he led for the first 350m before he got passed in the
final 50m heading to the finish line by Great Britain’s Tennyson James in 1:01.22.
Also on Saturday, Grand Bahamian Miriam Byfield, who missed her opportunity to advance in the women’s 200m earlier in the day in the 35-39 category, fell short as well in the 400m.
She clocked 1:02.01 for third in her heat and seventh overall. The top six competitors advanced to the final with American Odeika Giscombe leading the way in a time of 54.98.
Byfield, the youngest member of Team Bahamas, also missed the cut for the 200m after she was second in the second of three heats in 26.72 as she trailed Great Britain’s Stacey Downie, who won the heat in 25.92.
Although she gave it a gallant effort, it came up just a little short in seventh place overall, one stop below the top six that advanced to the final today.
The sixth and final spot went to American Brittan Berry in 26.51.
The top qualifier was Milcent Ndoro of Kenya in 24.89.
Dr Brian Humblestone got disqualified in the final of the men’s 85-89 200m final after he stepped on the line. He had qualified with the fifth fastest time of 46.39 on Wednesday and was confident of a medal on Thursday. But after finishing fourth in his heat, he was given a disqualification for the lane violation. The race was won by JeanLouis Esnult of France in 36.20, followed by Karlheinz Seyerlein of Germany in 36.57 and American Robert Williamson in 41.37 for the top three medal positions. Fitness guru “Downtown” Natasha Brown, the other member of Team Bahamas, competed in the final of the women’s 50-59 long jump where she placed 20th overall with a best of 7-73/4 (2.33m). Sweden’s Annica Sandstrom captured the gold with 15-11 (4.85m), Audtralian Lenore Lambert got the silver with 15-0 (4.57m) and Monica Flcioni of Uruguay was the bronze medallist with 14-111/2 (4.56m).
MENZIES AND ROACH WIN TRIATHLON TITLES
worked very well,” Menzies said. “Me and coach have been working on getting me ready for CARIFTA, so I was pleased with my performance.” For Duncombe, he was under the weather, but he was still thrilled to know that he could have completed the course in second place. “I did this race just to get my qualifying spot for the CARIFTA Triathlon,” said Duncombe, who just missed making the CARIFTA swim team again.
“It was a good race. I felt I could have done better if I was in better health, but I will take it.”
While he trailed Menzies as he had to deal with some tightness in his chest in the swim, the 17-year-old Duncombe said he made up some ground on the bike and he was able to maintain a solid performance on the run. “I wasn’t disappointed that I didn’t make the team,” Duncombe said of the CARIFTA swimming.
“I tried my best. I couldn’t meet the requirements to make the team.
I know I just have to do better next time.”
Bain, a six-year-old 12th grader at Tabernacle Baptist Academy, said he felt good about his performance.
“I want to thank God for giving me the power and the energy to come out here and participate,” he said.
“It was a good race. I think I came out here and did my best.
“For the swim, I think I did good. Going into bike, I was pushing hard, drinking water and thanking God, even though I was hurting. Coming into the race, that was the best part because I was able to past people and encourage them as they encouraged me.”
Bain said he will definitely use this experience to help propel him to a top finish at the CARIFTA swimming next month.
Having virtually switched from competing in triathlons to just cycling, 19-year-old Roach said she had a rough time in her return from school at the University of Tampa to compete on Sunday for her third straight title.
“I haven’t trained in a long time and so I was just trying my best to keep up,” said Roach, who is training
SIENNA Culmer-Mackey
on her own because they don’t have a cycling team at college. “This one was definitely my hardest but I’m really proud of myself. I pushed everything possible I had left in the run to stay in first.”
The 28-year-old former CARIFTA and collegiate swimmer Laura Morley returned for her second appearance, finishing second in a time of 1:22.35 as she improved on her third-place finish last year.
“I just came out here to support Baark!, so I was pretty happy with how I performed today. It’s such a great event with great sponsorship,” Morley said.
“I was very strong in my swim because of my sporing background. So I did a lot of training on the bike and in running. But once I got out there in the swim, I wanted to stay up there and I had a lot of fun doing that.”
Sienna Culmer-Mackey, a 19-year-old accounting major at the University of the Bahamas, ended up third in 1:25.31. She admitted that she wasn’t training for the event, but her performance really inspired her.
“I had an amazing swim. I felt a real improvement on my bike. That was the fastest bike ride I’ve ever had and my run was pretty decent too.
“This was the first race that I didn’t finish last, so it was a big difference. Now I have to start training myself to prepare for Nationals and to get ready for the CARIFTA triathlon.”
Lori Roach, the new president of the Bahamas Triathlon Association, said
the event went very well, despite the fact that they got started about 15 minutes late.
“BASRA was out here, the water was calm, the wind died down and the competitors all got a chance to compete in a very nice atmosphere,’ she said.
“We had about 150 competitors, including 15 relay teams and almost 50 kids. So it was a great turnout. Everyone seemed to be having fun.”
three finishers in the various age groups: Male 30-39 - Felix Laroole, 1:17.13; Frank Graffam, 1:18.24; Jesus Rodriquez, 1:128.32. Felame 30-39 - Chelsea Hughes, 1:33.24; Britt Christensen, 1:34.03. Male 40-49 - Jeremy Coulombe, 1:13.34; Marc Saulnier, 1:16.29; Jonathan Pepin, 1:19.51. Female 40-49 - Ilaria Gervasini, 1:28.00; Roxanne Daunis, 1:35.55; Evelyne Nieveu, 1:38.40. Male 50-59 - Sean Farrington, 1:16:26; Ragil Cordova, 1:23.15; Juan Manuel Zatarain, 1:23.38. Female 50-59 - Sarah Farrington, 1:35.24; Jacqueline
Derbyshire, 1:41.00; Sanchia Fritzmaurice, 1:41.04. Men 60-69 - Edward Bethel, 1:21.40. Female 60-69 - Anne Lowe, 2:09.38. Male 70-plus - Ulrich Filser, 1:42.39; Greg Lowe, 1:43.13.
All Female team winners - Win or Die Trifling - Patty Barigelli, Royann Dean and Lola Knowles, 1:16.47; Triathlon Tried - Alexia Zalarain, Issa Bournas and Annie Kennedy, 1:16.49; Tem Tri Racers - Alice Huille, Haley Roberts and Abbey Paige, 1:24.30. All male team winners - Trifling Hard - Ragh Cordova, Jeff Tynes and Ragh Cordova, 1:11.12; The Mavericks - Mark Roberts, Van Der Reit and Eamonn Strang, 1:12.22; X-Drew2 - Drew Bastian, Andrew Hanna and Xavier Dames, 1:21.40. Mixed teams - Kool Kids - Patty Barigelli, Kevin Daley and Kounta Moussa, 1:02.06; Session Box - Maggie Sheehan and Amanda Darville, 1:19.22; Happy Feet - Maude Morrissette, Eric Grndron and Jade Lessard, 1:21.38.
TIM Munnings after his world record performance.