01162017 sports

SPORTS SECTION E

MONDAY, JANUARY 16, 2017

Lo and Schmit win marathon

By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

he 8th edition of Sunshine Insurance’s Marathon Bahamas Race Weekend featured an increased number of participants and several new winners that headlined the field in 2017.

The overall winner, first to cross the finish line at Arawak Cay, was Leigh Schmit of Northampton, Massachusettes in 2:52:24 seconds. Two years after finishing the race in second place overall, the 44-year-old Schmit took top honours this year by outracing defending champion Amos Desjardins of Alexandria, Virginia.

Desjardins took second in 3:04:55, nearly 10 minutes behind his winning pace of 2:56:32 set last year.

The top overall female finisher was 33-year old Chen Lo of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Relatively new to the sport, it was her eighth time contesting a marathon and her first visit to the Bahamas.

Lo, who finished in 3:17:57, said she was impressed with her entire experience in the Bahamas and plans to return to compete in the near future.

“It was a beautiful course. It was hilly at the beginning but it didn’t take much adjustment and I loved it. The weather was perfect

T

SEE PAGE 2

US DEFEATS BAHAMAS TO RETAIN TITLE

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net THE United States of America, with the addition of the husband-wife team of Robert and Michelle Williams, proved once again to be the cream of the crop, beating the Bahamas 4-1 to retain their title in the fourth IC Tennis Tournament.

In the showdown between the two undefeated teams on the final day of competition on Friday at the National Tennis Centre, the USA prevailed with a 4-1 victory over the Bahamas to cart off the Deltic Trophy with 16 points, one ahead of the Bahamas.

Canada clinched third place with a close 3-2 decision over Barbados, which featured Bahamian ‘Ageless Wonder’ Leo Rolle. They both earned eight points. The International team, comprising of players

BIG WEEKEND FOR BAHAMIAN CONNECTION IN INDIANA TRACK MEET CHEN LO crosses the finish line to win the marathon yesterday.

Photo: Terrel W Carey/Tribune Staff

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

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NFL Weekend, Pg 5

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High jumpers qualify for CARIFTA WHILE the throwers didn’t get a chance to compete on the infield, three high jumpers took advantage of their opportunity to jump in the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium as they surpassed the Carifta qualifying standards at the T-Bird Flyers Track Classic.

The two-day meet, held on Friday and Saturday, saw the throwers competing on Saturday morning at the University of the Bahamas playing field because the infield of the new stadium was off limits to all competitors.

X-Treme Athletic teammates Benjamin Clarke soared 2 metres or 6-feet, 6 ¾-inches and Christopher Johnson did 1.90m (6-2 ¾) for first and second in the under-18 boys division to surpass and equal the qualifying mark of 1.90m (6-2 ¾).

And in the under-20 boys event, Karl Alcine, another X-Treme Athletic athlete home from school at Edward Waters College in Jacksonville, Florida, cleared 2.05m (6-8 ¾) to match the qualifying height. He also attempted 2.08m (6-9 ¾), but fell short.

This year’s Carifta Games is set for April 15-17 in Curacao and all three competitors indicated that it’s their goal of representing the Bahamas in the biggest junior meet in the Caribbean.

“I came a bit late and so I had to catch up,” Alcine said. “Last year, I qualified, but I was left off the team by one centimeter so this year I hope I can redeem myself and make the team,” Alcine said.

“We all train together and we know everybody can jump, so it was good to come home and get this chance to compete with them.

I hope that we can all go to Curacao in 2017.”

Clarke, a 15-year-old 10th grader at St Augustine’s College, said he felt he could have jumped higher, but after feeling a little

WILD CARD

IT was another big weekend for the Bahamian connection at their dual meet against Indiana in Bloomington, Indiana.

But, this time, it was sprinter Carmiesha Cox and Kinard Rolle who starred.

Cox, a senior, won the 60m dash with a time of 7.52 seconds as freshman Sekayi Bracey got a personal record and a new spot on the programme top 10 list. Bracey finished runner-up with a time of 7.56 seconds, which gives her the No. 8 time on the Purdue lists. With the addition of Bracey, six of the top eight fastest 60-metre dashers in programme history have come since 2015.

Devynne Charlton, coming off her Purdue record breaking performance in the event the weekend before, finished third in the race with a time of 7.56 seconds to complete the Purdue sweep.

SEE PAGE 4

FALCONS FLY PAST BIG RED MACHINE, 65-55

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

CARIFTA high jump qualifiers Christopher Johnson, Karl Alcine and Benjamin Clarke.

Photo: Kermit Taylor/Bahamas Athletics

WHEN it wasn’t Frantwion Newton, it was Adam Johnson or Sherman Johnson who helped the defending champions Jordan Prince William Falcons to slow down the St Augustine’s College Big Red Machine senior boys basketball train at Jordan Prince William on Friday.

Newton pumped in a game high 32 points and Johnson powered inside for 15, while Marshall chipped in with eight as they led the Falcons past the Big Red Machine 65-55 in a matchup of two undefeated teams in the Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools’ regular season.

“A win is a win. I ain’t satisfied because defensively, we still have to put in a lot of work,” said Falcons’ head

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PAGE 2, Monday, January 16, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

Baseball leagues open the new season

By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net BASEBALL is arguably the sport with the most populous and effective development programme in the country and two of the local leaders began their seasons last weekend.

Freedom Farm Baseball League and Junior Baseball League of Nassau hosted opening ceremonies at their respective home complexes on Saturday, January 14.

Each of the leagues fields several hundred boys and girls ranging from age 4-18 in many different divisions.

Freedom Farm has fielded 42 teams this season with over 800 athletes.

They gathered with parents, sponsors, coaches, family and friends to worship at Holy Cross Anglican Church to open the year.

Following the service,

the seven baseball divisions lined up for a parade of players to the Freedom Farm complex in Yamacraw.

Senator Greg Burrows said the league has serviced the community as they celebrate the 29th season under the theme “Be Our Brother’s Keeper.”

“This message has been a part of Freedom Farm. For 29 years we have done what we do and try to get young people engaged in wholesome activities and in this case it is through baseball,” he said.

The group of student athletes were addressed by a number of special guests on the day, both during the service and at the opening ceremony once they arrived at the park.

Lucius Fox of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Todd Isaacs Jr of the Cleveland Indians, and Jas Chisholm

of the Arizona Diamondbacks, all former Freedom Farm products, were on hand at the opening ceremony.

JBLN announced 28 baseball and five softball teams comprising 422 student athletes for the season.

They hosted opening ceremonies at the JBLN Field of Dreams with a similar opening event.

Opening day featured a procession of the participating players, appearances by alumni and dignitaries from the Bahamian sporting community, followed by the opening pitch and play in various divisions.

Play in both leagues continue until June, after which, attention will shift to the Bahamas Baseball Federation nationals where they will compete against leagues from Grand Bahama and other Family Islands.

OPENING day featured the opening pitch and play in various divisions.

Photo courtesy of Freedom Farm Baseball League

MARATHON FROM PAGE 1

and the humidity was low, which is the conditions we really want. I was happy I was able to make the most of it,” she said. “It was my first time in the Bahamas and my first time running in the Bahamas. It was very organised and everyone involved in the event was pleasant. It created a real atmosphere you love being around. I will be back to compete here and I would recommend other runners to come here and do the marathon. It’s just such a great place to be, I can’t think of anything better than running in paradise.”

The first Bahamians to cross the finish line were Antoine Bosfield in 3:04:55 and Sidney Collie in 3:012:20.

The first Bahamian female finisher was Suzy Eneas, 13th overall in 3:36:43.

The Master’s division was dominated by the husband and wife duo of Roni and Mari Kauri.

Natives of Finland, both 48-year-olds were among the top eight finishers in the event.

Roni finished fifth in 3:14:00 while Mari was eighth in 3:28:02.

“I would say it was typical Caribbean conditions which is pretty great. It was cool in the morning, which was perfect. It was cool and comfortable while we in the midst of the difficult parts of the run and it got warmer as things went on, so that’s perfect,” Roni said.

Mari added: “It was okay.

It was more windy than I thought it would be, which made things just a little bit tougher but I really enjoyed it.”

Both veteran runners, Roni was competing in his 103rd marathon while Mari ran her 52nd marathon.

“People like to use the term destination marathons nowadays and this event, this venue, it falls in line with that because to me this is perfect. It’s very close to downtown, they beach is right here and the organisation is very very good.

You can walk from hotels to the attractions to see the city,” Roni said, while Mari added: “It was very well organised, even down to something as simple as registration, which most people may not think about, but it was a major attraction to us.”

Now relocated in Sammamish, Washington, the couple stopped short of guaranteeing their return to defend their titles in 2018 but encouraged other runners to add Marathon Bahamas to their yearly schedule.

In the half-marathon Jonathan Volpi continues to dominate the Marathon Bahamas course.

Volpi, 33, returned to clinch his fourth victory in the last five as he crossed the finish line in the 13.1 mile half marathon in 1:14:43 secs.

He finished ahead of his winning time of 1:15:03 set last year.

“It’s a good race and it’s not too far away,” said Volpi in his reason for re-

FULL MARATHON WINNER Leigh Schmit at the finish line yesterday.

Photos: Terrel W Carey/Tribune Staff

HALF MARATHON WINNER Jonathan Volpi (right) at the finish line yesterday.

HALF MARATHON WINNER Florencia Morales crosses the finish line yesterday. turning for the event. “It’s a completely different atmosphere with an unique crowd of spectators. Plus, we had a lot of international competitors here this year. So it’s a lot of fun.”

Local runner Keithrell Hanna, 43, finished second to Volpi once again in 1:21:21.

“The competition was tight. The gentleman from the United States, I tried to beat him, but he was just running and running. He was at a pace a little faster than mine. But I couldn’t catch him. I just thank God for getting second place. I like the competition. I hope that I can use this to get better and better because one day I hope to run the marathon in the Olympics for the Bahamas.”

Hanna won the event in 2015 while Volpi’s first place finishes came in 2013, ’14, ’16 and ’17.

Florencia Morales, 38, of Argentina was the top female finisher in the half marathon in 1:29:44.

A wide cross-section of local participants take part in the marathon relay.

The relay is a four-person team event with pre-set running distances of 6.2,

6.9, 5.6 and 7.5 miles.

Mandahl Neymour and In the male category, the Melvin Rolle) were second Bald Eagles team of Jason in 3:44:27 secs and ScallyMaynard, Desmond May- wags (Simon Townend, Jacnard, Nikita Sumner and queline Townend, Nicola Bradley Thomas took first Wright and Chris Wright) place in 3:09:26. finished third in 3:54:27 Bahamas Youth Net- secs. work (Eveng Jolmis, LeonOne of the highlights of ardo Swain, Jude Vilma Marathon Bahamas is traand Daniel Weightman) ditionally the High School was second in 3:27:04 and Relays segment.

GBPA Warriors (Keithrell The St. Anne’s Blue Hanna, Leroy Pinder, Max Waves team of of Omavi Williams and Robert Wil- Collison, Phillip Armbrisliams) was third in 3:35:54. ter, Vincent Gardiner and In the female division, Reagan Cartwright finished the GBPA Pacers (Maybell first overall in 3:09.40 secs.

Bridgewater, Cosetta Hall, The Westminster College Shareka Hanna and Gwe- Diplomats (Rotavieo Adnique Musgrove) returned derley, Joshua Forbes, Taas champions in a time of miko Taylor and Brandon 4:13:28 secs. UoC (Shaneka Bastian) finished second in Cartwright, Marcia Con- 3:19:04 secs and the St Austantakis, Sherell King gustine’s College Big Red and Kelly Weightman) was Machine (Tario Beckles, second in 4:13.43 secs and Gabrielle Thompson, TyMellow Yellow (Alexandria son Moss and Ryan Bethel) Gatis-Davis, Karla Lisgaris, were a close third in 3:19:06 Susan Saunders and Jennif- secs. er Treco) finished third in Shelly Wilson, vice presi4:38:17 secs. dent of Sunshine Insurance In the Co-Ed team divi- and a board member of sion, Jay Fitness (Yunelis Marathon Bahamas, said Lightbourne, Donovan the fifth edition of the High Rolle, Tamika Roberts and School Relays continues to Cameron Roach) took first make a difference in the in 3:26:23 secs). lives of young Bahamian Run Dat (Pearline In- men and women. graham, Gayla McPhee, The event continued to

receive support from Scotiabank, the Windshield House and Parts Locator and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.

“Hopefully you will see this populated with schools across the United States, that is the next step,” said Evon Wisdom of the Ministry’s Sports Unit. “We will continue to explore opportunities for exposure for our student athletes in as many avenues as we can.

This event is in line with that thought process and it continues to expand each year.”

The marathon route began at Junkanoo Beach (west of downtown Nassau) heading east through downtown Nassau over the western Paradise Island bridge and immediately returning over the eastern Paradise Island bridge. The route continued east to Montagu Beach with a westward turn onto Shirley Street all the way to Cumberland Street north.

At Bay Street, the course continued to the west, hugging the northern shores of Cable Beach, Delaporte and West Bay Street with the turnaround ¼-mile west

of Compass Point returning to the most eastern entrance to Arawak Cay for the oceanfront finish.

The half marathon also began in the same fashion as the full marathon, but the turnaround was at the second roundabout on the new Cable Beach strip before it returned to Arawak Cay for the finish.

As for the relay, the exchange zones and distances: leg 1 – 6.2 miles - start in front of McDonalds, Downtown; leg 2 – 6.9 miles McDonalds to east of Sun Fun Resort (in front of the ‘castle-type’ oceanfront house –green/white); leg 3 – 5.6 miles - East of Sun Fun Resort to turnaround point (west of Compass Point) to Cave’s Height and leg 4 – 7.5 miles - Cave’s Height to Arawak Cay. Race Weekend began with the hosting of the Susan Koman 5K run/walk, which started at Montagu Beach and finish east of the old Paradise Island bridge adjacent to the police station.

Spencer Deleveaux was the first male finisher in the run in 17:36 and Sophie Hill took the females’ category in 23.50.

Marathon Bahamas is sponsored by Sunshine Insurance, the Ministry of Tourism, Atlantis, Focol, BTC, Arawak Homes, Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Cleveland Clinic, Dasani (CBC Bahamas), NAD, Royal Star Assurance, Scotiabank and Subway among many others.

Proceeds from the event go to assist the Cancer Society of the Bahamas, the Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation, the Sister Sister Support Group and the Cancer Support Group of Grand Bahama.

Sunshine Insurance (Agents & Brokers) Ltd, with MARSH, its international affiliate, in its role as the lead sponsor and organiser for Marathon Bahamas, has fostered a strategic partnership between Marathon Bahamas and Susan G Komen for the Cure, the global leader of the breast cancer movement and the world’s largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists - a partnership that could significantly impact the health of Bahamians, especially in the areas of breast cancer and other women’s health issues.

“Sunshine Insurance has been doing this since 2010 and it began the initiative we started because we obviously care about the public’s health,” Wilson said.

“Recognising the challenge that cancer presents in the Bahamas, we started this initiative to raise education and awareness as it relates to cancer. The Susan G Komen Bahamas Race for the Cure specifically addresses breast cancer, however Marathon Bahamas raises funds for many other charities beyond breast cancer.

“Really our focus has been on creating that awareness and changing the lifestyles of Bahamians. It is an annual event, not only to raise money for the beneficiaries but also to bring attention to the dreaded disease that affect so many of our Bahamian people.”

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, January 16, 2017, PAGE 3

Our sports officials need to be commended SPORTS officials in the Bahamas are moving in the right direction and they need to be commended.

In the past I have been critical of sports development in the Bahamas, even going as far as to offer my unsolicited advice through this column and requested comment when asked faceto-face by people in positions to advance the level of sports here.

In an article entitled ‘Finding a niche’ published in The Nassau Guardian last week, Sports Unit Director for the Ministry of Education, Evon Wisdom, laid out the thought process behind his unit’s push to set up several new sporting disciplines throughout the education system in the country.

The most notable aspect of this in my opinion had to be his indication that a need was identified in sporting disciplines recognised at Olympic level.

He stated directly: “What you had in the past were individuals that took it upon

themselves to learn or take up a niche sport. Now we are making it open to all students, allowing them the opportunity to pick and choose what they may be interested in.”

That line stood out for me for a number of reasons, but mainly because it spoke to the void that exists in our national approach to sports.

The Bahamas is known for the standard of athletes it produces. With that said, it is almost amazing when one has to note that many of these athletes are not, early on in their lives, interested in the sports that they show so much tremendous talent in.

We produce world-class track athletes, great basketball players, excellent volleyball players ... the list goes on. However, these are athletes placed in to these moulds and, over time, crafted into the stars that they often become.

Take the case of Shaunae Miller. In the wake of her gold medal win at the 2016 Summer Olympics,

FOURTH QUARTER PRESS

BY RICARDO WELLSedia.net rwells@tribunem

“THE REALITY IS THAT WE HAVE STUDENTS COMING UP EVERY DAY, SOME OF WHOM ARE ACADEMICALLY INCLINED AND READY TO ASCEND TO THE NEXT LEVEL. HOWEVER, IN ADDITION TO THE GROUP, WE HAVE STUDENTS WHO STRUGGLE ACADEMICALLY AND NEED THAT ADDED HELP - THAT IS WHERE ATHLETICS COMES INTO PLAY. EXPANDING OUR SPORTING DISCIPLINES EXPOSES OUR CHILDREN EVEN FURTHER TO THESE AVENUES AND GIVES THE BAHAMAS MORE OPPORTUNITIES TO SHOW WHY WE ARE GREAT.” she travelled home and attended several celebrations in her honour. At the time

her high school coach made note of how many sports Shaunae had tried her hand

at before being steered to the track.

The push towards the establishment of these new disciplines - such as judo, equestrianism, archery and bowling - doesn’t delve into disciplines completely foreign to us as a country.

What it does do is place the actions associated with these disciplines on bigger national stage and basically inviting our naturally talented youth to consider disciplines that go overlooked.

The Bahamas possesses enough raw talent in amateur boxing that, if pushed towards judo, could produce a potential future world champion.

According to the 2015 scholarship statistics, there were 2,528 Division One wrestling scholarships offered. That in addition to 1,907 Division Two and 2,650 Division Three opportunities.

If done correctly, in a country as athletically pronounced as the Bahamas, we can produce two to three student athletes capa-

ble of capturing these types of scholarships.

Moreover, according to those same statistics, Division One schools awarded 740 scholarships in equestrianism alone. Avenues abound.

The reality is that we have students coming up every day, some of whom are academically inclined and ready to ascend to the next level.

However, in addition to the group, we have students who struggle academically and need that added help - that is where athletics comes into play.

Expanding our sporting disciplines exposes our children even further to these avenues and gives the Bahamas more opportunities to show why we are great.

I commend those in the position to make things like this happen.

• Ricardo Wells writes Fourth Quarter Press every Monday. Comments to rwells@tribunemedia.net

Robinson finishes in four-way tie for 30th at Latin America Amateur Golf Championships

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net IT wasn’t the type of performance that Devaughn Robinson and Steven Kemp expected at the Latin America Amateur Golf Championships in Panama City over the weekend.

They both chalked it up to a learning experience after Robinson finished the four-day tournament yesterday in a four-way tie for 30th after he shot rounds of 74-73-73-72 for a 292, while Kemp missed the cut on Friday in his debut with two rounds of 78-83 for 161.

Afterwards, both players put their performances in perspective with The Tribune.

“Not a whole lot went wrong,” Robinson stated.

“It was an extremely difficult test of golf and I let a few minor details elude me

which snowballed into bogeys or weak pars.”

Robinson, who was hoping to improve on his 32nd and 19th positions in his first two appearances over the last two years respectively, said this has definitely caused him to regroup.

“It’s back to the drawing board,” he said. “I learned a ton about my game and I have a clear idea on the areas of my game that I need to focus on going forward.

I’m satisfied with the state of my game considering the limited practice time, and short playing schedule.”

As he looks ahead to the future, 28-year-old Robinson admitted that he has some work to do.

“I need to work a bit closer with the Ministry and my team in Houston in efforts to play in more events,” said Robinson as he prepares to get back to work at the Ministry of Tourism in

STEVEN KEMP

DEVAUGHN ROBINSON

Houston, Texas.

Based on what he saw, Robinson said it was even tougher for Kemp as he got his feet wet in the tournament.

“On that golf course, it doesn’t take a lot to shoot a big number so my opinion on Steven’s performance is understanding,” he said. “It could have happened to the best player in the field.”

Despite not getting out of the 36-hole cut to play in the final two days of competition, Kemp said his performance taught him quite a bit about himself.

“I didn’t manage to make the cut because I drove the ball so poorly off of the tee.

This course punishes you if you’re not in the fairway,” Kemp said.

“Also, this is only my

HYO JOO KIM LOOKS FORWARD TO DEFENDING HER TITLE IN PURE SILK-BAHAMAS LPGA CLASSIC HYO JOO KIM came to the fourth annual Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic last January just hoping to begin the year with a top-10 finish. She succeeded – by finishing first.

With a closing 7-under-par 66 at the Ocean Club Golf Course at Atlantis Resort, Kim beat the 2015 champion, Sei Young Kim, Anna Nordqvist and Stacy Lewis by two strokes for her third LPGA title.

Twenty years old at the time of the win, Kim, of Kangwon-do, South Korea, finished with an 18-under 274 total to pocket $210,000 and 500 CME Globe points.

Naturally, she is hoping for the same kind of start to her year the fifth edition of the prestigious tournament is held January 23-29 at the Ocean Club. Kim figures she’ll be comfortable enough.

“On this particular field where I managed to pull off some great drives and putts last time, I am definitely more confident on this course than on others, but I do also feel slightly burdened by the fact that I haven’t had a LPGA win since then,” Kim said via e-mail.

“It is an honour to be starting the season off with an interview as defending champion, and I am glad to be participating as defending champion for this year’s tournament.”

Interestingly, Kim faced a similar challenge last year when she arrived at the Ocean Club.

“Claiming the title at Pure-Silk Bahamas LPGA Classic last year was a greater pleasure for me because it was my first win in 10 months,” she pointed out. “Rather than overachieving, I will strive to stay focused and avoid missing opportunities that come around.

“I wish to look at the big picture, all four rounds of this tour-

NATALIE GULBIS RECEIVES SPONSOR EXEMPTION INTO TOURNAMENT FIELD nament, to compete to the best of my abilities. I would like to thank all my fans for always supporting me, I will do my best to kick off the 2017 season with good news.”

Kim will have to defeat another strong field of 108 competitors if she intends to repeat. Four of the top-10 on the 2016 LPGA money list are among early commitments: Ariya Jutanugarn, Brooke Henderson, Sei Young Kim and Brittany Lang.

In addition to Sei Young Kim, past winners Jessica Korda and Ilhee Lee also are entered.

In other news, Pure Silk announced that it is awarding its sponsor exemption to veteran and past major winner Natalie Gulbis.

The popular Gulbis has 37 career top-10 finishes and career earnings of nearly $5 million. A threetime Solheim Cup player for the United States, Gulbis won the 2007 Evian Masters. She did not make a cut in a limited schedule of eight events in 2016.

“Pure Silk is excited to give its sponsor exemption to the 2017 Pure Silk Bahamas LPGA Classic to Natalie Gulbis,” said Jeff Chilcoat of Sterling Sports Management. “Natalie has been a brand ambassador for Pure Silk since 2012 and has a rich history on the LPGA Tour. Natalie joined the LPGA in 2002 and won the 2007 Evian Masters. She is proud to be a three time Solheim Cup member and the winner of the 2007 William and Mousie Powell Award.”

The Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic will be the fourth golf

HYO JOO KIM event in The Bahamas in two months and the third in the month of January, capping an exciting run of professional golf on the island nation. The Hero World Challenge, hosted by Tiger Woods, was held in December and the Web.com Tour started its season with two events: the Bahamas Great Exuma Classic and the Great Abaco Classic.

“These professional golf tournaments provide us with an opportunity to demonstrate the versatility of our Island destination and our ability to host major sporting events,” said Virginia Kelly, director of sports tourism marketing for Bahamas Ministry of Tourism.

second big event so I think nerves also played a part. I took eight years away from the game and only got back into in 2016 so I’m pleased that in such little time I was able to get my game to where it is.”

Having gotten a taste of a higher level of competition, Robinson said he’s eager to get back for another tournament.

“I look forward to playing in our national amateur event and to make the Herman Cup team,” he said. “I would like to play in more competitive events to get used to the pressure but it’s not realistic to travel that often.”

And even though he fell short, he said he would be delighted to be able to watch Robinson compete with the contenders for the title.

“Devaughn played solid golf. A lot of par saves kept

him going,” he said. “The greens are very tricky to putt on as they are super grainey and burnt out so I think he should be very satisfied with his performance this week.”

Kemp, also 28, said he would now concentrate on his family planning as he and his wife, Hayley, are expecting their first child.

He’s also here at home working in the construction industry, applying some of the skills he developed when he was employed in the mining industry in Australia for a year and-a-half.

Toto Gana from Chile won the title after he beat out Alvaro Ortiz from Costa Rica andJoaquín Niemann, his compatriot from Chile, on a second round playoff hole.

They finished in a threeway tie for first place with a total of 279 at the end of the competition.

PREPARATIONS UNDERWAY FOR $1.4M TOURNAMENT FOR the third time in its fiveyear history, the Pure Silk-Bahamas Ladies Professional Golf Association Classic will kick off the LPGA season.

Preparations are underway for the $1.4 million tournament scheduled for January 23-29, 2017, at the Ocean Club Golf Course on Paradise Island. It marks the second tournament in as many months in the Bahamas following the Hero World Challenge hosted by Tiger Woods.

Expectations are high for more drama at the Ocean Club after the proceedings of the 2016 tournament. Hyo Joo Kim captured her third title on the LPGA Tour with a final round 7-under par 66 and 18-under 274 total to defeat Stacy Lewis, Anna Nordqvist and 2015 champion Sei Young Kim by two strokes. Meanwhile, Ha Na Jang made history during the third round by holing her tee shot at the short par 4 eighth hole for the first albatross in LPGA Tour history on a par 4.

“This is certainly an exciting time for golf in The Bahamas with Ha Na Jang’s albatross at the 2016 tournament and the return of golf great, Tiger Woods at the 2016 Hero World Challenge,” said Virginia Kelly, director of sports tourism marketing for Bahamas Ministry of Tourism. “We are looking forward to not only hosting another successful year of the Pure SilkBahamas LPGA Classic, but we also are in eager anticipation of The Bahamas taking it’s position as a choice destination for golf in the Caribbean.”

“As a title sponsor of the tournament and an official LPGA partner, we are extremely excited to support the LPGA and are proud to continue our part-

nership with an organisation that empowers and showcase the best female of professionals in the world,” said John Price, president of Perio Inc., parent company of Pure Silk.

Officials of the Pure SilkBahamas LPGA Classic announced today that they are accepting volunteers to work at the tournament. Volunteers will receive an official Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic logo shirt and cap, free breakfast and lunch on assigned workdays, a tournament badge, free parking, and an invitation to the volunteer celebration party. There is no fee to volunteer. Those interested in supporting the tournament should view the list of committees and register at .http://www. puresilkbahamasclassic.com/ volunteer For questions, contact Emily Norell, Tournament Director, at emily@globalgolfmanagement.com “With the start of the 2017 LPGA season in January we are excited to be the first event,” Norell said. “Going into our fifth edition of the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic we understand the importance of being the lead event and how volunteers play such an important role to ensure a positive start.

The program has grown over the years and includes more than 400 volunteers.

“The Bahamian community has been dedicated to working hard and putting 100 per cent effort into making this event the success that it is today. Over 15 local groups are involved tournament week including banks, Rotary clubs, schools and the Bahamas Golf Federation. We can’t say thank you enough and this tournament truly would not be possible without them.”

PAGE 4, Monday, January 16, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

ACTION HEATS UP IN THE NPBA OVER THE WEEKEND THE New Providence Basketball Association continued its regular season action over the weekend with games played at both the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium and the AF Adderley Gymnasium.

• Here’s a summary: Regulators 72, Pros 68 Eugene Bain pumped in 21 points in 27 minutes to lead the Mr Ship It to another victory in Saturday night’s feature contest at the AF Adderley Gymnasium as they improved to 7-1 for second place in the John Archer Division.

Bain also added four steals.

Brian Bain helped out with 18 points and 12 rebounds; Robert Missick had seven points, eight rebounds, three assistant and two steals and Simon Cruz contributed six points.

Judino Wilson had a game high 24 points with six steals four assists and three rebounds in a losing effort for the Isand Game Pros, who dropped to 1-6 to remain in fifth place in the Vince Ferguson Division. Duran Burrows had 12

points and Chico Francis had 11 points and 23 rebounds.

Giants 84, Mingos 78 Commonwealth Bank pushed their John Archer Divisional lead to 8-1 as they spoiled the homecoming game for the University of the Bahamas on their designated home turf of the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium as Tehran Cox led a balanced scoring attack with 19 points on Friday night.

Jeffrey Henfield had 17 points and seven rebounds; Michael Bain Jr had 15 points, five rebounds, four assists and steals and Mark Hanna came of the bench and added 11 points and five rebounds.

The Giants built a 21-15 first quarter lead that they extended to 45-34 at the half. They fell behind 61-60 at the end of the third, but bounced back to out-score UB 2417 in the fourth.

Kemsy Sylvestre had 21 points, 15 rebounds and four steals for the Mingos, formerly the Caribs,

who suffered their second straight loss and are now 5-2. Ramon Dames had 16 points, seven assists, four steals and three assists; Jason Stubbs had 13 points and five rebounds and Justin Smith had 10 points, seven rebounds and four steals.

Rebels 84, Pros 72 Mekel Rolle, in 31:48 minutes, exploded for a game high 31 points as the Rhythm Rebels won their division one opener on Friday night to pick up their first win in nine games on the season.

Craig Buchanan had 12 points; Rashard Williams had 11 points, 11 assists and four assists; Theo Ferguson came off the bench with 10 points and 11 rebounds and Alexander Rolle also had 10 points of the bench.

Island Game got 17 points from Patrick Leadon with dsix rebounds in the loss. Derrick Fergudon came off the bench and netted 14 points; Keithan Gray had 11 points and nine rebounds and

Chico Farrington added 10 points eith 15 rebounds, three assists, three steals and three block shots.

The NPBA will continue its action tonight with another double header at the AF Adderley Gymnasium. In the 7pm opener, the Legends will take on the Mail Boat Cybots and in the feature contest at 8:30pm, the Pirates will meet the PJ Stingers.

Kings 73, Ballers 51 Ricardo Kemp came off the bench and scored 23 points in 22:33 minutes to secure the first win in four games for Bargain Wholesale in their division II contest on Saturday night.

Dennis Turnquest had 11 points, Leon Rahming had 10 and Antoine Levarity nine to help out.

The Kings jumped out to a comfortable 21-8 first quarter lead and pushed it to 41-15 at the half and they were never challenged the rest of the way.

Koby Mackey had 12 points and seven rebounds and Leealo Fer-

US DEFEATS BAHAMAS TO RETAIN TITLE

FROM PAGE 1

from various other countries including the Bahamas, rounded out the field with the fifth and last place finish with just three points.

“I think we played very well together,” said Robert Williams, who at one was the winningest player at Duke University. “We knew that the Bahamas was going to be tough, but we came here with a team that we felt was capable of pulling it off and we did. We had a number of players who stepped it up and got the job done.”

Williams and his wife, Michelle, played together for the first time outside of the USA where they have dominated a number of doubles competitions. But Michelle, who held her own at the University of Tennessee, admitted that in coming to the Bahamas for the

first time, they didn’t know what to expect.

Holding a 2-1 lead going into their pivotal match, the Williams knocked off Kim O’Kelly and Neil Mactaggart to seal the deal.

“It was a great experience. We’re happy to be here, but flattered that we were a part of the winning team,” she stressed. “Everyone here treated us so great.

They are so kind and we are having a fabulous time. The weather is great. It’s windy, but it’s winding down.”

Williams said she just hopes that the Bahamas allows them to come out and compete because they love everything about the tournament, especially winning.

Whether they are back or not, team captain John Antonas said they will have to be better prepared.

“We know what we have to do,” Antonas said. “This is a high level of tennis, de-

MAS KIMBALL represents the Bahamas in yesterday’s match.

Photo: Terrel W Carey/Tribune Staff spite the fact that we are all very old players. They have a much deeper pool with a lot more resources to work with, but we just have to get our best players to come out and compete if we stand a chance at beating them.

They are just that good and it showed in their performances.”

Robert Williams and Stuart Chase defeated John Antonas and Guillaume Bouffard 6-2, 6-1; Chum Steel and Don Keenan lost to Neil Mactaggart and Mas Kimball 6-3, 6-1; Michelle Williams and Ga-

briela Chase def. Sue Kimball and Kim O’Kelly 6-1, 6-3; Michelle and Robert Williams def. Kim O’Kelly and Neil Mactaggart 6-0, 6-1 and Norma Taylor and Stuart Chase def. Sue and Mas Kimball 6-1, 6-3.”I think we went out there and we played our best tennis,” Mactaggart said. “We won all of our matches until we played the United States and they just played better than we did today (Friday).

We had fun. We just wished that we would have won, but we gave it our best shot.”

O’Kelly, former multiple

coach Ernest Saunders after they improved their win-loss record to 7-0. “We have a bigger picture and that is to win another title, but we have to take it step by step.

“We know that SAC will always come out and give us a good fight. They have a lot of pride and we expected that, but once we keep our head up, the sky is the limit for us.”

Although the game was more keenly contested than the final score indicated, Johnathan Johnson scored 26 points, Joel Johnson had 14, Cornelius Clyde seven and Eugene Higgs six in a losing effort.

“The effort was there, but

the execution wasn’t there. We could have done a better job,” said SAC’s coach Jason Edwards as they dropped to 6-1. “They scored the majority of their points of the dribble and that was the main problem. We had a lot of unforced turnovers. We were worrying too much about the man in the middle.”

But Edwards said he has a resilient team and he expects that they will be back next week as they get ready to wind down the regular season and prepare for the playoffs and a possible rematch with Jordan Prince Williams in the championship.

Jordan Prince Williams delighted their home crowd as Newton hit a pair of three pointers as they opened a 12-0 spurt in the first quarter and held on for a 14-6 advantage at the initial

break.

SAC turned things around in the second quarter and trailing by six, Joel Johnson, Clyde and Xavier Dean hit three consecutive baskets to tie the score at 20-20. Newton, however, came up with back-to-back baskets to put the Falcons back up 24-20.

Johnathan Johnson then connected on a jumper and hit oneof-two free throws to bring the Big Red Machine within one, 2423, at the half.

To start the third, Jordan Prince Will went on a mini run that saw Ray Martin and Wilfred Ferguson both canned a threepointer and Marshall’s lay-up pushed their lead to 36-27. SAC refused to roll over and play dead, cutting the deficit to one again, 36-35, thanks to two baskets a piece from Johnathan and

Joel Johnson.

A pair of free throws from Johnathan Johnson tied the score 40-40.

But lay-ups from Adam Johnson and Newton extended the Falcons’ lead to 44-40 at the end of the final break.

Each time SAC attempted a comeback at the beginning of the fourth, Newton and Adam Johnson was able to keep Johnson Prince Williams out front.

Then Adam Johnson went to work, scoring on a jumper, was fouled, missed the free throw on an attempted three-pointer, but grabbed a long rebound and went back inside for a two-handed dunk and a 58-61 lead.

Newton then completed a three-point play and scored on a lay-up for a Falcons’ 63-53 lead and they held on for the win.

High jumpers qualify for CARIFTA FROM PAGE 1 twitch in his leg, he decided to shut it down.

“It was a good competition.

I just felt like I needed to hold my phases a little longer,” said Clarke of his performance. “My approach was much smoother, but I just have to go back to the drawing board and brush up on a few things and by the Carifta trials, I should do my very best.”

Johnson, an 11th grader at Queen’s College, said he didn’t want to get left out of the excitement within their club, headed by coach Keno Demeritte.

“It feels good because I did it last year, so it’s good to come back and do it again,” Johnson said. “I just really have to work on my approach and my arch.

Once I get them down pack, I should be ready to go.”

Although they competed away from the spotlight at the stadium, Jordan Lewis of the Blue Chip Throwers Club tossed the under-18 boys discus 47.62m (156-2) to also qualify.

Meet director Foster Dorsett said it was unfortunate that the meet was smeared by not having the throwers compete in the sta-

dium. But he noted that the meet was still a very successful one.

“I felt good about the meet itself in terms of the turnout of the athletes, the support of the coaches and the parents. I was very impressed with what I saw,” said Dorsett, as he also commended the Bahamas Association of Certified Officials (BACO) for the role they played in working the two venues.

“It’s unacceptable that we have a national stadium and we can’t use the infield. I think it was a disadvantage to the field competitors because they didn’t get to compete in front of their family and friends. The field at the university was not as conducive as this one.”

Dorsett said when he applied for the use of the stadium, the National Sports Authority advised him that under no circumstances would the infield be available to use as they had just laid down a new surface that they paid thousands of dollars and they didn’t want it to be damaged.

The old Thomas A. Robinson Stadium, by the way, is currently closed as the NSA is undergoing major renovations to the infield as well, so the throwers are be-

ing asked to compete elsewhere, including the University of the Bahamas.

On the track, Denvaughn Whymms of Club Monica and SAC won the under-128 boys 100 metres in 10.79 seconds to qualify for Carifta on Friday night.

Whymms also claimed the 200m title in 21.97 and the long jump with 6.61m.

On Saturday, Devine Parker of Bahamas High Performance and St Anne’s High School qualified in winning the under-18 girls 200m in 24.47.

The meet featured a number of outstanding performances from the age group athletes. The University of the Bahamas, preparing to travel to Purdue University next month to compete in their first indoor meet, also participated.

UB, coached by Rupert Gardiner and assisted by Ednal Rolle, was led by Gagrielle Shannon, who won the open women’s 400m in 1:01.46 and Ken Munnings took the open men’s high jump with 2.0m (6-6 ¾).

Some other performances of note came from Sasha Wells of Club Monica, winner of the women’s 1 00m in 12.38 and the

Athletico 74, Hype 50 Gregory Seymour came off the bench in 28:50 minutes and lit up the nets for 21 points and 10 rebounds for the Godfrey McQuay Division front running 4-1 Athletico in their division II contest on Saturday night.

Tehrad Rahming chipped in with 13 points and 17 rebounds; Cameron Adderley had 12 points and 14 rebounds and Jammaris King had 10 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Athletico Bahamas led 12-11 after the first quarter, 25-20 at the half and 49-40 at the end of the third to hold on for the win.

Kenneth Johnson had 18 points, nine rebounds and three steals to lead Hype Basketball, who are now 3-2. Andreas Black had 12 points and eight rebounds and Christian Johnson had 10 points, five rebounds and four assists.

women’s national champion, returned home from Philadelphia where she now resides with her husband, said she really wanted to win.

“It’s good to be home. I just wished we could have done better in that last match,” she stated. “But I’m happy, just happy plying again for the Bahamas.”

However, O’Kelly said they have the ability to dethrone the USA, but they have to train.

“We all need to train. We all need to play a lot more,” she pointed out. “The team that we played is made up of national champions, hard court champions and players who go from tournament to tournament to play.

We just need to train. I’m going to train. We have to get them next year.”

In securing third place, Canada won over Barbados with the following results posted: Rob Bennyworth and Fraser MacDonald def. Raymonde Forde and Peter Symmonds 6-1, 7-6; Peter Clarke and Owen Pellew def. Leo Rolle and Ian Gentle 6-0, 6-0; Pam

FALCONS FLY PAST BIG RED MACHINE, 65-55 FROM PAGE 1

guson had 11 points in the loss for the Future Ballers, who are still winless at 0-5.

100m hurdles in 14.74; V’Alonee Robinson of TWD Athletics winning the open women’s long jump with 5.63m (18-5 ¾).

Darvinique Dean of Kids Athletics doubled up in the under-10 girls 100m in 15.06 and 200m in 30.94; Megan Moss of Club Monica picked up her pair of victories in the under-16 girls 100m in 12.51 and 200m in 24.68; Sierra Sears of Fast Forward won the under-16 girls 800m in 2:33.56 and 1,500m in 5:35.94; Carnitra Mackey, also of Fast Forward, took the under-16 girls shot put with 10.82m (35-6) and javelin with 28.84m (94-7) and Tiffany Hanna of Triple Threat won the open women javelin with 19.78m (64-10) and discus with 38.53m (126-5).

On the boys’ side, Darius Pratt of the Roadrunners won the under-12 100m in 13.94 and the 200m in 28.60; Raymond Oriakhi of Club Monica was a triple threat clinching the under-16 200m in 23.70, the 400m in 52.16 and the 400m hurdles in 59.91 and Bronson Rolle of High Performance pulled of a double feat in the open 400m in 49.08 and the long jump with 6.47m (21-2 ¾).

Olley and Janice Longhurst lost to Marie Gentle and Julie Salomon 6-2, 4-6, 106; Pam Olley and Fraser MacDonald def. Julie Salomon and Peter Symmonds 6-3, 6-1 and Owen Pellew and Margot Thomson def. Marie Gentle and Leo Rolle 2-6, 6-4, 12-10.

During the week, the USA won all of their matches, including a 4-1 win over Barbados, 3-2 over Canada and 5-0 over the International team. Before losing the big one, the Bahamas blanked Canada and Barbados 5-0, but won 4-11 against the International team.

While Canada lost to both the USA and the Bahamas, they won 3-2 over Barbados and the International team. Barbados got their lone victory by beating the International team.

The weeklong tournament comprised of each country playing against each other in two men’s doubles, a ladies doubles and two mixed doubles.

The teams with the best combined scores were declared the winners.

BIG WEEKEND FOR BAHAMIAN CONNECTION IN INDIANA TRACK MEET FROM PAGE 1 Cox also won the 200m dash with a meet record. She posted a time of 23.88 seconds to break the meet record of 24.09 seconds that she set in 2015 and Charlton took the 60m hurdles in a time of 8.39 seconds to lead another sweep for the Boilermakers, coached by Bahamians Lonnie Greene and Norbert Elliott.

Meanwhile Kinard Rolle won the men’s 400m dash with a meet record. He continued the hot start to his sophomore indoor season with a winning time of 47.63 seconds, which broke a 17-year old meet record. Shawndail McLaren was runner-up with a time of 48.45 seconds. Obokhare Ikpefan and Kyle Webb were fourth and fifth, respectively, both turning in times of 49.24 seconds.

The same four men who competed in the 400m dash teamed to win the 4x400m relay. Webb led off and gave Purdue a slight lead before Rolle took the stick.

He maintained approximately the same margin, before handing to Ikpefan. Ikpefan wheeled around and handed off to McLaren with Indiana in the lead by about five meters. McLaren used the final 100 metres to catch and pass the Hoosiers with a winning time of 3:11.02. That time broke Purdue’s previous meet record, set in 2015, by 2.01 seconds.

The Boilermakers are back in action next week with a trip to Kentucky for the two-day Rod McCravy Invitational on Friday and Saturday.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, January 16, 2017, PAGE 5

Half Mary? Clutch Rodgers leads Packers past the Cowboys 34-31

By SCHUYLER DIXON AP Sports Writer ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Aaron Rodgers didn’t need another Hail Mary this time.

Maybe just call it a “Half Mary.”

Rodgers threw a 36-yard pass to a toe-dragging Jared Cook on the sideline, and Mason Crosby kicked a 51-yard field goal on the next play as time expired, sending the Packers to the NFC championship game with their eighth straight win while thwarting a Dallas rally in a 34-31 victory in the divisional round of the playoffs Sunday.

The throw on the run from Rodgers to Cook came on thirdand-20 with 12 seconds left, and after the Cowboys tied the score twice in the final 4:08 after trailing by 18 in the first half and by 15 to start the fourth quarter.

“I love the opportunity to go out there and make plays,” said Rodgers, who threw for two touchdowns to give him 21 during the winning streak, although he threw his first interception during the run.

“I was disappointed we had a chance there at 28-13 to go up three scores and make it really difficult for ‘em and I threw a pick there on third down. We were able to come down and have two

PACKERS QB Aaron Rodgers (12) celebrates after winning yesterday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington, Texas. (AP) good drives toward the end of the game.”

Dallas’ rally was led by rookie sensations Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott in their playoff debuts, and the first two career postseason touchdown catches for star receiver Dez Bryant along with the first for 14th-year tight end Jason Witten.

“We’re not going to stop no matter what the score is, no matter the game,” Prescott said. “It shows the true character of this team.”

Crosby’s winner was the third field goal of more than 50 yards in the final 1:33 — two from Crosby and one from Dallas’ Dan Bailey.

And Crosby had to make the winner twice after Dallas coach Jason Garrett called timeout before the first attempt.

“It’s kind of a blur right now,” Crosby said. “When we have 35 seconds on the clock and that our offense can move the ball into field goal range and a manageable kick, that’s just special.”

Rodgers, who sparked last week’s wild-card win over the New York Giants with another Hail Mary before halftime, is headed to an MVP showdown with Atlanta’s Matt Ryan next Sunday.

It will be Rodgers’ third NFC title game — all on the road for

Green Bay (12-6) — and he got there in his first game at the home of the Cowboys since he won his only title as the Super Bowl MVP six years ago.

Cook, who had six catches for a team-leading 104 yards, kept both feet inbounds with a knee just above the ground out of bounds on the decisive play. The play was confirmed on review.

“I saw him rolling to the right it was underneath coverage in front of me,” Cook said. “If I got over the top of them, Aaron would put the ball in the right place. Put it right on the sideline with enough room to get my feet down. It was a heck of a throw by him.”

Prescott, whose 11-game winning streak during the regular season sent Tony Romo to the bench when he returned from a preseason back injury, rallied the Cowboys in a way that probably made Dallas’ 10-year starter proud.

The Cowboys (13-4) almost became the third team in the Super Bowl era to win in the playoffs after trailing by 15 in the fourth.

The first was Dallas in 1972, when “Captain Comeback”, Roger Staubach, rallied the Cowboys in San Francisco.

Instead, top-seeded Dallas ended up with its fifth straight loss in the divisional round and a 21-year

drought in trips to the NFC championship game.

In the same position nine years ago, the Cowboys lost to the New York Giants, the biggest disappointment of Romo’s tenure.

“I thought we were a team that was capable of taking this thing all the way,” owner and general manager Jerry Jones said. “I know we are now after that second half.”

Prescott — a fourth-round pick who was supposed to be the No. 3 quarterback before injuries changed everything — got Dallas’ rally going with a 40-yard touchdown toss in the first half to Bryant, the first playoff TD for the star receiver.

Then he set the stage for the first tying score on a 6-yarder to Jason Witten to get within 28-20.

After a 7-yard scoring pass to Bryant — who had nine catches for 132 yards — Prescott ran in the tying 2-point conversion with 4:08 to go.

Rodgers led the Packers to a go-ahead 56-yard field goal from Crosby with a big boost on a pass interference penalty against rookie Anthony Brown that wiped out an interception from Jeff Heath, whose pick earlier in the game helped Dallas rally.

The Cowboys answered with a 52-yarder from Bailey with 35 seconds remaining.

LEWIS SCORES THREE TDS, PATRIOTS ADVANCE TO AFC TITLE GAME 34-16

By KYLE HIGHTOWER AP Sports Writer FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — The New England Patriots are headed back to a familiar spot: the AFC championship game.

Dion Lewis had a 13-yard touchdown reception , a 98-yard kickoff return for a score, and a late 1-yard touchdown to help the Patriots hold off the Houston Texans 34-16 on Saturday night and advance to an NFL-record sixth straight conference title game.

New England will host the Steelers, who beat the Chiefs 1816 last night, for the right to play in the Super Bowl in Houston on February 5.

“Whoever we play next week is going to be a great football team,” Tom Brady said. “We’re going to have to play better than we played tonight on offense.”

Lewis became the fifth Patriots player to score three touchdowns in a playoff game. He’s also the first player in the Super Bowl era to score on a rush, a catch and a kick return in a postseason game.

“I just approached it that I would be in there on every play.

That’s just the way I prepare,” Lewis said. “So when it does happen, I won’t be surprised. I’ll always be ready.”

Bill Belichick’s Patriots (15-2) survived a gritty effort by the Texans’ top-ranked defense, which intercepted Brady twice. Houston’s special teams also forced a third turnover.

But the Texans (10-8) couldn’t find enough traction on offense

to take full advantage of the Patriots’ mistakes, settling for field goals on both of Brady’s picks.

New England led just 17-13 at the half, but pushed its lead to 24-13 early in the third quarter on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Brady to James White.

Houston’s Brock Osweiler was intercepted three times after that, and the Texans managed only a field goal the rest of game. It was the first breakout game of the season for Lewis, who spent the first eight games of the season on injured reserve recovering from offseason surgery on his left knee.

Brady finished 18 of 38 for 287 yards and two touchdowns and was showered with chants of “MVP! MVP!” and “Brady!

Brady!” late in the game. Julian Edelman was Brady’s most dependable target, catching eight passes for 137 yards.

Osweiler was just 23 of 40 for 198 yards with the two turnovers.

“You need to capitalize on great opportunities against a football team like this,” Osweiler said.

“That’s my fault, I’ll clean that up.”

When New England did have the ball in the first half, it gave Houston a steady diet of Lewis early with LeGarrette Blount coming off an illness that limited him during practice this week.

Without Blount to contend with, the Texans applied pressure to Brady.

A.J. Bouye intercepted a slightly overthrown ball by Brady late in the first quarter on a pass that bounced out of the hands of re-

PATRIOTS cornerback Logan Ryan (26) celebrates his interception with Patrick Chung, left, during the second half of Saturday’s game against the Houston Texans. (AP) ceiver Michael Floyd. That led to a 27-yard field goal that cut New England’s lead to 14-6.

On the ensuing kickoff, Lewis coughed up the ball on a hit from

Akeem Dent. Eddie Pleasant fell on it at the Patriots 12, and two plays later, Brock Osweiler hit C.J. Fiedorowicz from 8 yards out to cut the deficit to 14-13.

Brady only threw two interceptions during the regular season.

With his 28 touchdown passes, that was the lowest touchdown to interception ratio in NFL history.

Ryan leads Falcons to NFC title game, beating Seattle 36-20

By PAUL NEWBERRY AP Sports Writer ATLANTA (AP) — Matt Ryan hardly resembled a quarterback who can’t win the big games.

No, this looked more like an MVP. Returning to the postseason for the first time in four years, Ryan threw for 338 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Atlanta Falcons past the Seattle Seahawks 36-20 in the divisional round Saturday.

The Falcons are headed to the NFC championship game for only the fourth time in their 51-year history, and they’re on quite a roll with Matty Ice at the helm.

He finished up to chants of “MVP! MVP! MVP” from a raucous Georgia Dome crowd that gave the Seahawks a dose of what it’s like for opposing teams at CenturyLink Field.

“It was pretty cool considering the circumstances, too, with the game in

hand,” Ryan said. “That’s got to be as loud as it’s ever been in here.”

Ryan turned in another dynamic performance in the best season of his career, shaking off a 1-4 record in his previous playoff appearances.

In an interesting twist, his lone postseason victory before Saturday was a 30-28 thriller over the Seahawks in the divisional round of the 2012 season.

Make it 2-0 over Seattle.

After the Seahawks zipped down the field for a touchdown on the opening possession, Atlanta’s young defense largely shut down Russell Wilson & Co. the rest of the way.

Ryan and the high-scoring Falcons took it from there — getting a huge boost from a holding penalty that wiped out an 80yard punt return by Devin Hester.

Ryan hooked up with Julio Jones on a 7-yard touchdown and Tevin Coleman

for a 14-yard score before finishing off the Seahawks with a 3-yard toss to Mohamed Sanu in the corner of the end zone with just under 4 minutes remaining.

Atlanta (12-5) moves on to face either the Dallas Cowboys or the Green Bay Packers, who meet Sunday in the NFC’s other divisional-round game.

After a 26-24 loss at Seattle during the regular season, the Falcons showed off all their offensive weapons against the Legion of Boom.

Eight players caught passes from Ryan, including running back Devonta Freeman on a 53-yard play that included a dazzling fake on replacement free safety Steven Terrell right in the middle of the field.

The Seahawks (11-6-1) sure missed Earl Thomas, out for the season with a broken leg.

“It’s just really hard to think it’s over,” said coach Pete Carroll, whose team

couldn’t follow up a dominating win over Detroit in the opening round.

The game turned dramatically on a holding penalty in the second quarter that negated Hester’s return to the Atlanta 7.

Instead of having firstand-goal and a chance to extend a 10-7 lead, Seattle was backed up to its 7.

“Just a ridiculously large play in the game,” Carroll said.

Especially with what came next. After Thomas Rawls was thrown for a 3-yard loss, Wilson dropped back to pass. One problem: rookie right guard Rees Odhiambo, taking over after Germain Ifedi was injured, stepped back onto Wilson’s foot, sending the quarterback tumbling down in the end zone for a safety.

The Falcons did much better when backed up at their 1, closing out the first half by going 99 yards to make it 19-10. The drive

was extended by Sanu’s brilliant, one-handed catch for 22 yards with Jeremy Lane grabbing at his arm.

“They’ve got a lot of momentum,” Carroll said of the Falcons. “This is what they looked like the last four weeks, and they carried that into this game against us.”

CLASSY MOVE With 2 minutes to go, the Falcons had first-and-goal at the Seattle 2.

But Falcons coach Dan Quinn called for Ryan to take a knee, not wanting to pile it on against the team he previously worked for as defensive coordinator.

“It was a very classy way to end the game,” Carroll said. “I thought it was just another great statement on what a great dude he is and what a great coach he is and what a great job he is doing.”

Added Quinn: “I likely would’ve done it other times, but especially with

my respect for him.”

DYNAMIC HESTER Facing his former team, Hester certainly had quite an impact on special teams.

Even though his longest play was wiped out, he had five kickoff returns for 194 yards, including a 78-yarder.

Hester, who played for the Falcons in 2014 and ‘15, signed with the Seahawks just before the playoffs.

INJURY REPORT The Seahawks lost cornerback DeShawn Shead to what looks like a serious left knee injury. He may have torn his ACL, according to Carroll.

Seattle’s tight ends also took a beating. Brandon Williams went out with a concussion, and Luke Willson was evaluated for a possible concussion.

The Falcons lost defensive end Adrian Clayborn with a biceps injury on Seattle’s opening drive.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, January 16, 2017, PAGE 7

Ramos own goal as Sevilla ends Real Madrid’s unbeaten run

By TALES AZZONI AP Sports Writer MADRID (AP) — Sevilla fans enjoyed the last laugh over Sergio Ramos.

Sevilla twice scored late — including an 85th-minute own goal

by Ramos — to end Real Madrid’s 40-game unbeaten streak and move within one point of its rival atop the Spanish league with a 2-1 victory yesterday.

It was a tough result for Ramos, who three days ago had angered Sevilla fans after converting a penalty kick “Panenka” style in a

Copa del Rey match. Ramos said he was insulted by some supporters of his former team.

On Sunday, the Seville native was jeered nearly every time he touched the ball, and heard even more from the crowd at Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan when he found his own net with a header while trying to clear a cross.

“The goal was a normal game situation. I had one of my best games with Real Madrid playing here,” Ramos said. “I wished I could be welcomed differently, but I can’t change that, it is what it is.”

Steven Jovetic scored Sevilla’s winner two minutes into injury time to give Madrid its first defeat since a 2-0 loss at Wolfsburg in April in the quarterfinals of the Champions League last season.

Karim Benzema’s injury-time equaliser in a 3-3 draw against Sevilla on Thursday had allowed Madrid to break the unbeaten Spanish record that it shared with Barcelona.

“We played a great match but we needed another five minutes there at the end,” said Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane, who has lost only three times since taking

over the club about a year ago.

“We knew that one day this would happen, and it did today.”

Madrid had beaten Sevilla 3-0 at home in the first leg of the last 16 of the Copa del Rey two weeks ago. Cristiano Ronaldo gave Madrid the lead on Sunday by converting a penalty kick in the 67th after Dani Carvajal was fouled inside the area by Sevilla goalkeeper Sergio Rico.

It was the fourth straight league win for Sevilla, which has thrived in second-tier European competitions but hasn’t won the Spanish league title since its lone triumph

in 1946. “This is a huge victory for us,” Sevilla coach Jorge Sampaoli said. “It will give us a huge boost going forward.”

Madrid had won eight of its last nine games, with its only setback a 1-1 draw at Barcelona earned with a 90th-minute goal by Ramos.

Barcelona stayed third, two points behind Madrid, after beating Las Palmas 5-0 at Camp Nou on Saturday. Fourth-placed Atletico Madrid, which edged Real Betis 1-0 at home for its third win in a row, is six points behind the leader.

Madrid still has a game in hand.

Guardiola virtually concedes title after heavy loss for City

By STEVE DOUGLAS AP Sports Writer MANCHESTER, England (AP) — The Premier League season is barely past the halfway point and already Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has virtually given up on winning the title.

The world’s most coveted coach can’t have envisaged his first year in English soccer being this tough.

It takes something special to overshadow a match between bitter rivals Manchester United and Liverpool, but City’s 4-0 loss at Everton yesterday did just that.

As he slumped to the heaviest loss of his career in a domestic league match, Guardiola — with his arms folded — was seen staring into space while he sat in the Goodison Park dug-out. At other times, he had his face in his hands.

City has dropped out of the

Champions Leagues positions, into fifth place, and 10 points adrift of leader Chelsea.

Asked if the gap to first place was now too great, Guardiola said: “(To) the first one? Yes. Ten points is a lot of points. The second one is three points. We have to see.”

A fifth loss of the league season was administered by a team managed by Guardiola’s friend and former Barcelona teammate,

Ronald Koeman.

“Pep Guardiola knows it is a project at Manchester City,” Koeman said. “Of course, maybe they expected better results and a defeat like this is really strong but Pep has the experience to turn it around.”

Man United kicked off less than an hour after City’s drubbing but couldn’t get a win that would have put the neighbours tied on points, drawing 1-1 with Liverpool at Old

THE WEATHER REPORT

5-Day Forecast

TODAY

ORLANDO

High: 79° F/26° C Low: 57° F/14° C

TAMPA

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

Sun and some clouds

Partly cloudy

Mostly sunny

Partly sunny

Mostly sunny and nice

Mostly sunny and pleasant

High: 80°

Low: 67°

High: 79° Low: 67°

High: 79° Low: 66°

High: 79° Low: 65°

High: 79° Low: 66°

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

84° F

67° F

85°-68° F

91°-68° F

91°-68° F

91°-69° F

The exclusive AccuWeather RealFeel Temperature® is an index that combines the effects of temperature, wind, humidity, sunshine intensity, cloudiness, precipitation, pressure and elevation on the human body—everything that affects how warm or cold a person feels. Temperatures reflect the high and the low for the day.

N

almanac

E

W

ABACO

S

N

High: 74° F/23° C Low: 68° F/20° C

8-16 knots

S

High: 78° F/26° C Low: 66° F/19° C

8-16 knots

FT. LAUDERDALE

FREEPORT

High: 79° F/26° C Low: 69° F/21° C

E

W S

E

W

WEST PALM BEACH

N

uV inDex toDay

TONIGHT

High: 80° F/27° C Low: 61° F/16° C

Trafford.

After 21 of 38 games, City and United — the two pre-season title favourites — are outside the top four.

Two high-profile managers were always going to have their reputation tarnished this season, with six big teams challenging for four Champions League spots.

Few would have predicted they’d be Guardiola and Jose Mourinho.

High: 79° F/26° C Low: 65° F/18° C

MIAMI

High: 80° F/27° C Low: 69° F/21° C

7-14 knots

Statistics are for Nassau through 1 p.m. yesterday Temperature High ................................................... 77° F/25° C Low .................................................... 70° F/21° C Normal high ....................................... 77° F/25° C Normal low ........................................ 65° F/18° C Last year’s high ................................. 83° F/29° C Last year’s low ................................... 70° F/21° C Precipitation As of 1 p.m. yesterday ................................. 0.00” Year to date ................................................. 0.02” Normal year to date ..................................... 0.67”

ELEUTHERA

NASSAU

High: 80° F/27° C Low: 67° F/19° C

Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2017

High: 75° F/24° C Low: 71° F/22° C

N

KEY WEST

High: 78° F/26° C Low: 70° F/21° C

E

W

8-16 knots

S

8-16 knots

Ht.(ft.)

Low

Ht.(ft.)

10:34 a.m.

11:05 p.m.

2.9 2.5

4:22 a.m. -0.4 5:01 p.m. -0.5

Tuesday

11:21 a.m.

11:56 p.m.

2.6 2.4

5:13 a.m. -0.1 5:47 p.m. -0.3

Wednesday 12:09 p.m.

-----

2.4 -----

6:06 a.m. 0.1 6:34 p.m. -0.1

Thursday

12:49 a.m.

12:59 p.m.

2.3 2.2

7:01 a.m.

7:22 p.m.

0.3 0.0

Friday

1:43 a.m.

1:52 p.m.

2.3 2.0

8:00 a.m.

8:12 p.m.

0.5 0.1

Saturday

2:38 a.m.

2:47 p.m.

2.3 1.9

8:59 a.m.

9:03 p.m.

0.5 0.1

Sunday

3:32 a.m.

3:41 p.m.

2.3 1.9

9:57 a.m.

9:53 p.m.

0.5 0.1

sun anD moon Sunrise Sunset

6:57 a.m.

5:43 p.m.

Moonrise Moonset

10:04 p.m.

9:58 a.m.

Last

New

First

Full

Jan. 19

Jan. 27

Feb. 3

Feb. 10

ANDROS

SAN SALVADOR

GREAT EXUMA

High: 76° F/24° C Low: 71° F/22° C

High: 76° F/24° C Low: 73° F/23° C

N

High: 77° F/25° C Low: 71° F/22° C

E

W S

LONG ISLAND

insurance management tracking map H

High Today

High: 76° F/24° C Low: 72° F/22° C

N

S

Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

tiDes For nassau

CAT ISLAND

E

W

The higher the AccuWeather UV IndexTM number, the greater the need for eye and skin protection.

High: 77° F/25° C Low: 72° F/22° C

8-16 knots

MAYAGUANA High: 78° F/26° C Low: 73° F/23° C

Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

CROOKED ISLAND / ACKLINS RAGGED ISLAND High: 77° F/25° C Low: 73° F/23° C

High: 78° F/26° C Low: 73° F/23° C

GREAT INAGUA High: 82° F/28° C Low: 72° F/22° C

N

E

W

E

W

N

S

S

10-20 knots

12-25 knots

marine Forecast ABACO ANDROS CAT ISLAND CROOKED ISLAND ELEUTHERA FREEPORT GREAT EXUMA GREAT INAGUA LONG ISLAND MAYAGUANA NASSAU RAGGED ISLAND SAN SALVADOR

Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday:

WINDS E at 8-16 Knots E at 7-14 Knots E at 8-16 Knots E at 7-14 Knots E at 8-16 Knots E at 8-16 Knots ENE at 10-20 Knots ENE at 10-20 Knots E at 8-16 Knots E at 7-14 Knots E at 8-16 Knots E at 7-14 Knots E at 8-16 Knots E at 8-16 Knots NE at 12-25 Knots ENE at 10-20 Knots ENE at 10-20 Knots ENE at 8-16 Knots ENE at 10-20 Knots ENE at 10-20 Knots E at 6-12 Knots E at 4-8 Knots NE at 10-20 Knots E at 10-20 Knots E at 8-16 Knots E at 8-16 Knots

WAVES 4-7 Feet 3-6 Feet 1-3 Feet 1-3 Feet 4-7 Feet 3-6 Feet 4-8 Feet 4-8 Feet 4-7 Feet 3-6 Feet 2-4 Feet 1-3 Feet 2-4 Feet 1-3 Feet 4-8 Feet 4-8 Feet 3-5 Feet 3-5 Feet 5-9 Feet 5-9 Feet 2-4 Feet 1-3 Feet 3-6 Feet 3-6 Feet 3-5 Feet 2-4 Feet

VISIBILITY 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles

WATER TEMPS. 73° F 73° F 76° F 76° F 75° F 75° F 78° F 78° F 73° F 73° F 77° F 77° F 74° F 74° F 79° F 79° F 77° F 77° F 78° F 78° F 73° F 73° F 76° F 76° F 74° F 74° F