CARIFTA GAMES PREVIEW
Blue Chip throwers aiming to medal again
By TENAJH SWEETING
The Blue Chip Athletics Club, powered by Norwegian Cruise Line, has produced some of the premier field event athletes in the country.
Junior throwers Taysha Stubbs, Dior-Rae Scott and Annae Mackey are among some of the best throwers the club has developed over the last few years, with all three ladies claiming medals at the 2024 CARIFTA Games in St George’s, Grenada.
The throws trio has once again made the CARIFTA cut for Team Bahamas and
are expecting to haul away medals in their respective events.
Stubbs won gold in the under-20 girls’ javelin throw event one season ago. It was her first appearance at the junior regional meet and she erupted for a massive personal best of 50.94 metres.
The 17-year-old Queen’s College student has surpassed the CARIFTAqualifying mark of 39.75m at every meet she has competed in this season and hopes to hit the medal podium at the 2025 CARIFTA Games in Trinidad & Tobago.
“It feels really good. I know I am not close to where I want to be for the season and I know God still has a lot in store for me so I am just gonna continue trusting him and continue putting in the work to break records and standards,” she said.
She recently came first at the 2025 Splice and Connect/ Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA) CARIFTA Trials with a season’s best heave of 47.76m.
It was the closest she has gotten to last year’s personal best mark.
The CARIFTA gold medallist said she still has some work to do ahead of the Easter weekend competition but remains optimistic going into the meet.
Her plan is to shatter the U20 girls’ javelin CARIFTA record of 51.13m set by Grenada’s Candesha Scott in 2016.
“My goal is definitely to shatter the record. I know
I still have a lot in store for me so I definitely just wanna exceed my expectations, my coaches and the
people who believe in me,” she said. Scott, 17, has moved up to the under-20 division
after dominating the javelin throw event at the
By TENAJH SWEETING
THE 2024-25 National Basketball Association (NBA) regular season was filled with highs and lows for Bahamian big man Deandre Ayton and the Portland Trail Blazers.
The Trail Blazers’ window for play-in contention came to a close oddly with their 120-109 win against the San Antonio Spurs over the weekend.
Both the Spurs and Trail Blazers were still in the running for the play-in tournament but were ultimately eliminated due to Sacramento’s 120-113 win over Cleveland.
As for Ayton, he has been shelved for the last 26 games after sustaining a left calf strain against the Denver Nuggets back in February. Prior to the injury, Ayton was averaging 14.4 points per game (ppg), 10.2 rebounds while shooting 56.6 per cent in his second season with the Trail Blazers. Despite owning a 35-44 (win/loss record), the Blazers were rolling at some points during the regular season.
The team reeled off a sixgame winning streak from January 28 to February 8. Portland now has two games remaining before the end of their season and will miss the postseason for the fourth consecutive year. It remains unlikely that Ayton will suit up again for the Blazers this season.
THE MASTERS ENDS THE 9-MONTH WAIT FOR GOLF’S MOST ANTICIPATED MAJOR
By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — For a sports renowned for moving slowly, the Masters can’t get started fast enough.
Wednesday at Augusta National was filled with anticipation, not to mention a bit of pollen from a glorious spring day in the South, as players filed out of the clubhouse for a final dress rehearsal at what has become the most anticipated major of the golf season.
Rory McIlroy walked out of the clubhouse through a crowd under the live oak tree and headed out for a quick nine holes in his bid for an elusive Masters green jacket, the final piece of the career Grand Slam. He played a money game with Tommy Fleetwood, Jon Rahm and Shane Lowry before heading over to the Par 3 Tournament. The Masters is so different from the other four majors. It has the smallest field (95 players) on the
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
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MEDAL HOPEFULS: Junior javelin throwers Taysha Stubbs and Dior-Rae Scott, right.
CARIFTA GAMES PREVIEW
First time CARIFTA qualifier T’arjahnaye Green expected to
make a name for herself
EVERY now and then, there comes a young athlete with tremendous promise and lofty goals.
At present there is a 14-year-old athlete who attends Queen’s College who wants to be a medical doctor and an Olympic athlete. Her name is T’arjahnaye Green and she is a track and field athlete who concentrates on the discus and shot put.
T’arjahnaye is no ordinary athlete at only 14, but she is poised to put the track and field world on notice. Already she has helped the Queen’s College Comets to the High School Championship. Now she is heading to the CARIFTA Games after qualifying in the girls’ under-17 discus and shot put.
T’arjahnaye, a ninth grader at Queen’s College, is a bona fide athlete in the discus and the shot put, even at such a young age. She started throwing the discus at the tender age of 10 years old, when many youngsters didn’t even know what the discus competition was all about, especially girls.
But this young lady was focused and just a few years later we can see the trajectory and realise that she always knew what she wanted.
In her first competition in the BAISS girls’ under15, young T’arjahnaye threw 13.25 metres to impress everyone. Then she competed again in the girls’ under-15 division and threw 13.49m. And she competed in another track meet and threw in the same girls’ under-15 a whopping 20.58m.
ON THE PODIUM: T’arjahnaye Green on the medal stand to receive her gold medal for winning the under-15 girls’ discus.
In the Star Trackers Meet she threw for 19.00m. There was no question in anyone’s mind that this young lady is truly a gifted athlete in the discus and the shot put.
T’arjahnaye has joined up with the Blue Chip Throwers Club and trains under the watchful eyes of coach Carrington Maycock who is assisted by Naquel Harris. Their star thrower
has lofty ambitions and so far is on track to accomplish all of them. Her mother Patrice Riley always knew that she had a gifted athlete and guided her to fulfill her dreams. She also has three brothers and three sisters, but she is clearly the athlete in the family. Having just qualified for the shot put and discus, T’arjahnaye is now headed to represent The Bahamas
COMET POWER: T’arjahnaye is proud to represent her Queen’s College Comets.
for the first time in her young career at the CARIFTA Games which is being held in Trinidad and Tobago, April 19-21. The Bahamas’ young team of field athletes are all excited
Blue Chip throwers Taysha, Dior-Rae and Annae aiming to medal again
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under-17 level. She got off to a slow start at the beginning of the season but saved her best performance to date for the CARIFTA Trials.
The St Augustine’s College (SAC) student erupted for a new personal best of 47.09m. The under-17 girls’ javelin CARIFTA record holder talked about how it felt to make the team
once again and outlined her expectations going forward. “It feels amazing. I just want to thank God for giving me this opportunity. This whole season hasn’t been going too well for me but to be able to just keep
pushing and remaining faithful and be able to do it is just surreal. I just want to do a massive personal best – throw over 50m and medal,” she said.
She is also looking forward to battling in the age group alongside her clubmate Taysha Stubbs.
“It is gonna be a great competition. We plan to go back and forth and not let anybody else get in our competition, just one and two,” she said.
Mackey, 18, will have two chances at medalling at the upcoming CARIFTA Games. She qualified in the under-20 girls’ shot put and discus events.
Last season, she won silver in the under-20 girls’ shot put event with a throwing distance of 13.58m. She has elevated that mark to a personal best throw of 14.27m this season.
The QC senior student was just one spot shy of medalling in the under-20 girls’ discus event.
She was grateful to make the CARIFTA cut once again and shared her goals for the competition.
to represent their country and make a good showing. For T’arjahnaye this will be an experience she has been looking forward to and she’s expected to represent The Bahamas in many
more international events to come. For now, we wish The Bahamas all the best and will certainly be looking out for the discus competition with young T’arjahnaye.
“My goal is just to execute my techniques. My techniques have been getting better but I just want to see the results of my hard work and just see what all I got,” she said.
“It’s a good feeling to know that I will be able to compete in my last year and do my best.
“I am stronger and better technique wise. I am just waiting for the peak to see
what my results will be,” she said.
The BAAA selected a 78-member team to represent The Bahamas at the 2025 CARIFTA Games scheduled for April 19-21 in Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago.
The Bahamas placed second last year with 33 medals at the 2024 CARIFTA Games in St George’s, Grenada.
JUNIOR thrower Annae Mackey.
Blue Chip Athletics Club has seven throwers headed to CARIFTA Games
By TENAJH SWEETING Tribune Sports Reporter
THE Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA) has fielded one of the strongest teams in recent memory to represent the country at the 52nd CARIFTA Track and Field Championships in Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago, April 19-21.
It is the time of year when athletes peak and coaches and performers alike get to see their hard work pay dividends on one of the biggest stages at the junior level.
The Blue Chip Athletics Club, powered by Norwegian Cruise Line, had seven throwers selected to the CARIFTA team on Monday and they are all vying for podium finishes at the three-day meet.
Head coach Corrington Maycock expressed his excitement about the throwers being named to the team.
“It is becoming a norm with us as far as producing
SPORTS CALENDAR FROM PAGE E1
with the exciting Clergy versus Politicians match-up.
Lots of prizes, including round trip tickets, will be up for grabs.
BASEBALL/ SOFTBALL RELOADED INVITATIONAL
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 by 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.
RESURRECTION
10K RUN/5K WALK
“Arise and Shine” is the theme for the Resurrection 10K run, 5K walk, bike and breakfast fellowship as they encourage persons to “push your limits, cross the finish for change.”
The event, powered by Unity Initiative, is scheduled for Easter Monday, April 21, starting at 5:45am from the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium.
the amount of throwers for each national team. I think with coach Astwood and coach Harris we did an unbelievable job getting these kids ready for this moment. Each year we start in June and this is our goal to make sure we have qualified kids and kids that can medal. We want them to gain experience but also to win medals.
“This is a young group but we are looking for unbelievable performances from them,” he said. The throws club has accumulated an excess of 20 CARIFTA medals within the last five years, including three out of four gold medals in the javelin events at last year’s CARIFTA Games in St George’s, Grenada.
Coach Maycock shared his expectations for the seven throwers headed to T&T.
“We don’t count our eggs before they hatch but we just want to make sure they are prepared. This week and next week we
The categories include 12-and-under, 13-17, 18-39, 40-59 and 60-and-over for male and females.
Trophies and medals will be presented to the top finishers in all categories.
“Come one, come all as we celebrate” is the call for all physically challenged, families, churches and all civic groups.
For more information, persons can contact Votebcp242@gmail.com, telephone 242-524-1798 or log onto www.bcppaerty. org FAST TRACK ATHLETICS 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.
For more information on the meet, persons can email fasttrackmanagement00@gmail.com
are gonna fine tune them to make sure that they could represent The Bahamas very well and whatever happens, happens,” coach Maycock said. Although a majority of the Blue Chip throwers have at least one CARIFTA appearance under their belt, there are also some newcomers in the fold for the 2025 CARIFTA Games.
Ahkeel Williams, 14, has certainly come into his own at the under-17 level in the boys’ javelin throw event.
Last season, he hit the qualifying mark of 44.95m multiple times but was unable to make the team due to age.
This season, Williams secured his spot on the team with a personal best throw of 60.15m at the 2025 Splice and Connect/ BAAA CARIFTA Trials last weekend. He expressed that it was an honour to finally make the team.
“It feels good. I just want to see what God has
in store for me. My goal is to go after the CARIFTA record and throw further,” he said
The under-17 boys’ javelin CARIFTA record currently sits at 68.84m. It was set by Antigua and Barbuda’s Maliek Francis at last year’s CARIFTA Games.
CARIFTA newcomer T’Arjahnaye Green flew under the radar for most of the season but she made her performance count at the CARIFTA Trials. She threw 39.12m to surpass the CARIFTAqualifying standard of 34.85m and booked the ticket for her first CARIFTA Games appearance. Despite the first-timer jitters, she is ready to embrace the opportunity.
“I am a little nervous but I’d like to thank God for allowing me to get where I am now. I hope that I can come back with a medal. My goal is to throw 45m,” she said.
Wyatt Cartwright, 15, is gearing up for his
second CARIFTA Games appearance. He currently owns a season’s best heave of 59.17m in the under-17 boys’ javelin throw event.
Cartwright placed second to Williams at the trials with a throw of 52.19m, well above the CARIFTA standard of 44.95m, but he wants to break out of a recent slump heading into the junior regional showdown.
“It feels pretty good. I knew I could do it but I haven’t been at my best recently,” he admitted.
The junior javelin maestro placed seventh at last year’s CARIFTA Games with a toss of 46.22m. He has already exceeded that mark this season and wants to take it a step further.
“My goal is to try my best to make sure I bring a gold home for my country. I just want to trust my coach and do everything that he has taught me. I am aiming for 70m,” he said.
Ethan North is also no stranger to the CARIFTA
Games. He made the team by posting a personal best mark of 60.65m at the CARIFTA Trials.
He has improved drastically since his appearance last year, where he placed fifth in St George’s, Grenada.
“It feels good to make the team again.
“At the start of the season I was a little off and not sure if I would make the team but I pressed through with God on my side,” he said.
North’s goal is to throw around 65m or higher with the hope of winning a medal.
The field events will garner a lot of attention for Team Bahamas.
The latter secured 33 medals at the 51st CARIFTA Games with the field athletes racking up 23 medals out of that total.
The BAAA named a 78-member team to represent the nation at the 2025 CARIFTA Games set for April 19-21 in Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago.
MAKING THE CUT: Seven members of the Blue Chip Athletics Club made the 2025 CARIFTA Games team. The throwers include Taysha Stubbs, Dior-Rae Scott, Annae Mackey, Ahkeel Williams, Wyatt Cartwright, Ethan North and T’Arjahnaye Green.
PSG beats Aston Villa 3-1 in 1st leg of Chamions League quarterfinals
By JEROME PUGMIRE AP Sports Writer
PARIS (AP) — A wonder goal from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia upstaged a brilliant curling shot from teammate Désiré Doué as Paris Saint-Germain beat Aston Villa 3-1 in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals yesterday.
After Morgan Rogers gave Villa the lead in the 35th minute, the 19-yearold Doué drew PSG level four minutes later with the 12th goal of his breakthrough season.
Kvaratskhelia put PSG in front four minutes after the break and left back Nuno Mendes added a third goal in stoppage time at the Parc des Princes stadium with a fine finish of his own to the dismay of watching Villa fans, including Britain’s Prince William.
“I think the result reflects the difference between us and them,” said PSG coach Luis Enrique, whose side has greater firepower and showed more of a threat going forward. “Our objective is to keep the ball and be aggressive in attack.” Kvaratskhelia’s was the goal of the night. He sprinted down the left from just over the halfway line and then mesmerised Villa’s defence in a blizzard of quick feet and superb balance.
Advancing at pace with the ball seemingly glued to his right foot, he then wrong-footed defender Axel Disasi with a sudden change of direction, before rolling the ball onto his left foot in one smooth motion and blasting an unstoppable
PSG’s Desire Doue celebrates after scoring his side’s first goal during the Champions League quarterfinal first leg soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Aston Villa at Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
shot over the head of goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez. “For a coach like me it’s so great to have a player like him, with his mentality. He scored a brilliant goal,” Luis Enrique said about Kvaratskhelia.
“We tried to sign him last summer and it didn’t work out.
“We signed him (in January) when we didn’t really
expect to. He’s got everything to be part of our project.”
The return leg is next Tuesday. In yesterday’s other game, five-time champion Barcelona crushed Borussia Dortmund 4-0 with veteran striker Robert Lewandowski scoring twice either side of goals from Raphinha and Lamine Yamal.
Kvaratskhelia belongs in such elite company. His goal was exactly the kind of effort that earned the flying Georgia winger the nickname “Kvaradona” when he was playing for Napoli, in reference to soccer maestro Diego Maradona — the Italian club’s greatest ever player — and prompted PSG coach Luis Enrique
to spend 70 million euros (then $72 million) on him in the winter transfer window.
Shortly after Kvaratskhelia’s goal, Martinez made a great save low to his right against Achraf Hakimi’s powerful shot as PSG poured forward looking for a third goal. Villa was at this stage of the competition for the first time since 1983 and dealt
well with early pressure before taking the lead with a well-worked goal.
Bustling captain John McGinn won the ball in midfield and advanced before picking out Marcus Rashford.
The forward scored a stoppage-time winner here for Manchester United six years ago.
Rashford fed Youri Tielemans overlapping down the left and he pinged a cross to the back post where Rogers was left unmarked to tap in.
The lead was brief as Doué picked up the ball on the left of the penalty area, skipped past two players and curled the ball into the top right corner.
“He’s got everything he needs to become a great player,” Luis Enrique said.
“He really doesn’t need much space to dribble.” Martinez played long balls early on to test PSG’s defence, but he was soon called into action with a flying save from Dembélé’s angled strike in the eighth minute.
He couldn’t do much about the goals that beat him, however, with Nuno Mendes showing a forward’s touch when he latched onto Dembélé’s pass, cut inside a defender and deftly guided the ball in.
“We’ve watched their last few games and know how deadly and sharp they’ve been,” Rogers said.
“They’ve put the world on notice now.”
But Villa coach Unai Emery believes he can still eliminate the club he coached from 2016-18.
“I believe we will win next week,” he said. “Villa Park is our home.”
INTERNATIONAL Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach, right, speaks next to the president-elect of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Kirsty Coventry, left, at the opening of the executive board meeting of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), at the Olympic House, in Lausanne, Switzerland, Wednesday, April 9, 2025.
(Laurent Gillieron/Keystone via AP)
FEMALE ATHLETES TO BE IN THE MAJORITY AT 2028 LOS ANGELES OLYMPICS AFTER BIG WIN FOR WOMEN’S SOCCER
By GRAHAM DUNBAR AP Sports Writer
GENEVA (AP) —
Female athletes will be in the majority at an Olympics for the first time at the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Games thanks to a big win for women’s soccer.
The Olympic women’s soccer tournament will be bigger than the men’s edition for the first time in 2028, the International Olympic Committee decided yesterday, with 16 teams for women and now just 12 for men — flipping the gender imbalance at the Paris Olympics which had 16 men’s teams and 12 in the women’s tournament.
That decision by the IOC executive board helped push the core quota of athletes for LA to 50.7%
women and 49.3% men — 5,333 for women and 5,167 for men, the IOC said.
The gap is closed slightly when athletes for the sports being added specially to the LA programme — involving 322 female and 376 male competitors — are included. Those sports include cricket, flag football and lacrosse.
The landmark progress for women athletes was made at an online board meeting yesterday cochaired in Lausanne for the first time by Kirsty Coventry as president-elect since her win last month.
In June she will formally replace her mentor Thomas Bach and become the IOC’s first female leader in its 131-year history. Two more women’s teams were added in water polo
so that tournament in Los Angeles will be equal with the men’s event with 12 nations each.
Boxing will have one extra women’s weight class to equal the men’s lineup of seven medal events.
“The message of gender equality is a really important one for us,” IOC sports director Kit McConnell said.
“We really thank LA 28 for supporting this. It’s central to their vision as well,” he added.
The case for change
The IOC’s headline decision was redressing an inequality since women’s soccer debuted at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics with just eight teams — half as many as the men’s tournament.
The board confirmed a proposal revealed last
Thursday by FIFA President Gianni Infantino when he spoke at the annual meeting of European soccer body UEFA.
The case for change was made more compelling because the women’s soccer tournament is a top-tier title with national teams sending their best players.
The men’s tournament, however, only rarely attracts the best players because of selection conflicts with clubs worldwide and is mostly for players aged 23 or under.
The French men’s team which took silver in Paris last year was unable to select Kylian Mbappé who had just signed for Real Madrid.
There were 16 men’s soccer teams at every Summer Games since
Moscow in 1980 through Paris last year.
The women’s lineup increased to 10 teams at the 2004 Athens Olympics then to 12 four years later in Beijing.
FIFA and Infantino had repeatedly called for equality with a 16-team women’s tournament, which would have added about 70 extra players, plus team officials, to push the limits on athlete accommodation quotas for Olympics organisers.
The solution found was to favour the women’s edition over the men’s and further drive the IOC’s policy of gender parity at the Olympics that was first reached in Paris.
Women and men competing together Golf and the 4x100 sprint relay on the track are
among events which will have mixed gender team events for the first time in Los Angeles. Other new team events will be in artistic gymnastics, archery, coastal rowing and table tennis.
A new Olympic record of 351 medal events in 2028 will comprise 161 for women, 165 for men and 25 mixed events, according to the IOC.
The Masters ends the 9-month wait for golf’s most anticipated major
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prettiest property (home of a former nursery that now boasts more than 80,000 plants of 350 varieties) and is the only major referred to as a “tournament” instead of a “championship.”
And the final act Wednesday afternoon is for players to walk over to the Par 3 course with their toddlers dressed in white coveralls to play a tournament no one wants to win — the Augusta National curse is that no one has ever won the Par 3 Tournament and the Masters in the same years.
“The buildup to this event is a lot, and the sort of anticipation and we’re waiting eight or nine months for the next major to roll around from the Open championship,” McIlroy said. “To end your preparation with an afternoon like this ... it’s such a fun afternoon.”
And then it’s time to get to work.
McIlroy comes to the Masters in the best form, having already won twice this year, and with arguably the most attention as he tries for the 17th time to join the elite list of slam winners.
The betting favourite remains Scottie Scheffler, coming up on two years as the No. 1 player in the world, already with two Masters titles. Jack Nicklaus is the only player to have won three times in a four-year span.
Scheffler said he’s feeling good, even if he didn’t sound that way with his nose stopped up.
“This rain and pollen out here,” he said. “I get out of my car in the morning, my eyes start watering. It’s a little bit worse than normal years. “I’m feeling good,” he said. “Sniffles aren’t going to stop me.” The next four days will determine who can stop him.
This is the first time
Scheffler hasn’t won going into the Masters since 2021, when he was the No. 22 player in the world without a PGA Tour victory.
National will yield or what it will take to win.
It’s about Thursday.
Scheffler is not big on looking ahead or celebrating anything behind him. His amazing season of nine wins worldwide, including Olympic gold, is a thing of the past. He doesn’t know what scores Augusta
“I focus a lot on the preparation and getting ready to play in tournaments, and then I try to — while I’m playing — have a good attitude and approach the shots the right way. And that’s what I define success as,” Scheffler said.
“When I think about getting ready for this week, when I step on the first tee on Thursday, I’m going to remind myself that I’ve done what I needed to do to play well, and it’s all about going out and competing now.”
Augusta National was in pristine condition — anyone surprised? — despite the destructive Hurricane Helene that roared through the region last September and knocked out so many of the Georgia pines.
There is a noticeable difference, though maybe not to the television viewer. CBS Sports does not plan to
show any before-and-after pictures, only what Augusta National is like now. The stand of trees down the left side of No. 1 and the right side of adjacent No. 9 is thinner. Certain points up high reveal a view of Augusta Country Club, previously hidden by trees. Jordan Spieth has quietly gone about his work this week, a player who typically can’t be ignored at the Masters because of his history. He had the lead with 11 holes to play when he was a 20-year-old Masters rookie. He went wire-towire to win in 2015 and had a five-shot lead going to the back nine in 2016 until his famous implosion on the 12th hole. Now he is on his way back from surgery on his left wrist last August, an injury that first affected him two years ago. He has flirted with contention a couple of times since his return, which was one of his goals.
“When I started back up, it was a 10-year outlook, not an April of ‘25 outlook,” Spieth said. “It’s a little too much to ask to feel I’m the best I’ve ever been coming off surgery. So I try to hit the fairway on No. 1 tomorrow and then I try to hit the middle of the green, and I go from there.
“You just take for granted being in contention on Sunday here. I was doing it a lot early on,” he said. “It’s just like there’s no cooler place to do it, no better feeling. So the goal is to get yourself on the back nine and have a chance.”
That’s the goal of practically everyone at the Masters. The preparations are over. The fun ended with the Par 3 Tournament. Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson hit the honorary tee shots Thursday morning to get the Masters started. “If you’re not ready by now, then you don’t really have a chance,” McIlroy said.
ABOVE: JON RAHM, of Spain, watches his tee shot on the fourth hole during a practice around at the Masters golf tournament, yesterday. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis) TOP RIGHT: Jordan Spieth holds his daughter Sophie on the seventh hole during the par-3 contest at the Masters golf tournament yesterday in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
RORY MCILROY, of Northern Ireland, flips his ball on the 13th green during a practice round at the Masters golf tournament, Tuesday, April 8, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
AYTON AND TRAIL BLAZERS OUT OF PLAY-IN CONTENTION
Ayton along with Eric “EJ” Gordon will be watching the NBA Playoffs from home this year.
The Philadelphia 76ers struggled with injuries at the start of the regular season despite being projected as one of the fringe Eastern contenders thanks to their offseason acquisition of Paul George.
The team never got it going and Gordon has not played in any games since early February.
The Bahamian threepoint specialist suited up for 39 games and averaged 6.8 ppg and 1.2 rebounds while shooting 42.6 per cent from the field and 40.9 per cent from deep.
The Sixers are currently stuck at the 13th spot out East with a 23-56 win/loss record.
As for Bahamian pros Kai Jones and Klay Thompson, the Dallas Mavericks remain in the hunt for a play-in spot despite dropping some games due to crucial injuries. The Mavericks own the 10th seed with a 38-42 win/loss record in the Western Conference. They are trying to hold off the 35-44
Phoenix Suns, who have been in a downward spiral since Kevin Durant’s ankle injury. Grand Bahamian sharpshooter Chavano “Buddy’” Hield is primed
to make his second postseason appearance with the Golden State Warriors but their playoff seeding is yet to be decided in the tightly-contested Western
Conference. Golden State sits at the sixth spot but the fourth through seventh seeds all had identical records of 47-32 up to press time. With less than three
games remaining on the regular season schedule, it should be interesting to see where ‘Buddy’ and the Warriors land ahead of the 2024-25 NBA postseason.
CAVALIERS CLINCH TOP SEED IN EASTERN CONFERENCE
By The Associated Press
CLEVELAND (AP) — Darius Garland scored 28 points, Evan Mobley had 21 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists and the Cleveland Cavaliers clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference with a 135-113 win over the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night.
Ty Jerome added 18 points off the bench and De’Andre Hunter scored 17 for Cleveland, which has the second-best record in franchise history at 63-16.
The Cavaliers secured the No. 1 seed in the East for the fourth time. Patrick Williams scored a season-high 21 points and made 5 of 6 3-pointers, and Matas Buzelis added 19 points for Chicago. The Bulls have clinched a play-in tournament berth and are tied with Miami for ninth in the East.
MARINE FORECAST
THE 2024-25 NBA regular season was filled with highs and lows for Bahamian big man Deandre Ayton and the Portland Trail Blazers, whose window for play-in contention came to a close over the weekend. (AP Photo)