SPORTS SECTION E
THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 2017
World Relays to make a ‘Bahamazing’ return By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net
formances I’m looking forward as I’m excited to see how they mash up the track in 2017. Much anticipation will be placed on our athletes,” Carey said. “Our athletes continue to strive for the best and as small as our nation is, we are chest to chest with the big boys at the finish line in every major sporting event around the world. We are known to walk quietly but to carry a big stick. As large as those other countries are and as disciplined and famous as their athletes are, they respect us greatly for the contribution we have made towards sports internationally. The local organisers of these relays are very excited about hosting once again and of course much anticipation is being
‘RENO’ TO FACE MEXICAN GUTIERREZ FOR MIDDLEWEIGHT TITLE JAN. 28 By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net
placed on the performance of our athletes as many of them will be competing for the Golden Baton.” Corporate Bahamas would again be called upon to ensure the Bahamas is able to maintain a positive showing as hosts. Hosting the event will require 500 event volunteers and 100 organising committee volunteers. “Hosting the relays is a costly venture, therefore we call upon corporate Bahamas to give and give generously to ensure that international standards are met and kept,” Carey said. “The Good Lord loves a cheerful giver and so do we. When we talk about corporate sponsorship we look at the
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MINISTER of Youth, Sports and Culture Dr Daniel Johnson gives remarks yesterday during a press conference held by sporting officials to announce this year’s IAAF World Relays Bahamas. Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff “We also presented the gargantuan idea of the Bahamas becoming the permanent home of the World Relays so the name Bahamas becomes synonymous with each other. We are the only country to have hosted the event,” she said. “Our citizens and athletes should be proud of this as a major source of exposure to give them an opportunity to shine in their own backyard and compete against some of the best athletes in the world.” As they prepare to venture into the third event, Carey said Bahamian athletes should have much to prove on the track as well. “Our women’s 4x4 team set a new national record in Rio and that will be just one of the per-
Conference, 2&3
TUREANO Johnson is set to return to the ring in just over a week and while his focus is on the task at hand, his ultimate goal remains his quest for an upset win over the unified middleweight champion. Johnson (19-1, 13 KOs) will face Antonio Gutierrez (21-2-1, 9KOs) of Mexico on the Francisco Vargas-Miguel Berchelt card, which is scheduled for January 28, at the Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California. Johnson was featured on Craig Scott’s #Breakout series where he discussed the matchup against the 22-year-old Gutierrez and looked ahead to Gennady “GGG” Golovkin. “Gutierrez is a decorated fighter. He is from a very strong heritage of the Mexican background. Mexican fighters have a tendency to be very tough and very good. This fight is no pushover at all. He poses a great threat in the front of me but I’m sure I’m capable of overcoming this match.” Johnson, 31 injured his shoulder in a unanimous decision win over Irishman Eamonn O’Kane on October 17, 2015. With the win, he became the mandatory number one contender for the International Boxing Federation’s (IBF) middleweight title. He further damaged his shoulder just ahead of his scheduled fight with IBF middleweight champion Golovkin. That fight was set to take place on April 23, but Johnson was forced to pass on it to undergo surgery. He remains steadfast in his aim to challenge Golovkin in 2017 and fulfill his duty as the mandatory challenger. “I suffered a rotator cuff tear in the first round of that fight.
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ith just 93 days left before the “Bahamazing” return of the IAAF World Relays, preparations have begun in earnest as the Bahamas Government and the local organising committee announced the official launch of the third edition of the event. This year’s signature event for the Bahamas is now scheduled for April 22-23 at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium. A joint press conference was held yesterday at the stadium where Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA) president Rosamunde Carey led the group that unveiled plans as the event is set to return to the Bahamas. Carey, who also serves as the CEO of the IAAF World Relays Bahamas 2017, said the LOC is looking forward to once again producing another world class international event, which rivals other international events hosted in other parts of the world. “For the third time the Bahamas will host the World Relays. Having proven ourselves as a viable sporting nation, capable of pulling off an event of this magnitude and attracting a whose who of track and field,” she said. “I look forward to a seamless production of this sporting and touristic event. The IAAF has entrusted the BAAAs and the Bahamas at large with a precious gem which we have successfully nurtured since 2014.” The only country to host the event since its inception, the Bahamas also successfully won the bid to host in 2019 and have placed bids for 2021 and 2023. The IAAF opted not to hold a World Relays last year because of the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
NFL PICKS
Todd Isaacs Jr looks to up his game with Cleveland Indians
Champ Stuart invited to Mets spring training
By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net
By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net
LOOKING to build on his AllStar effort of last season, Todd Isaacs Jr looks to elevate his game and his place in the Cleveland Indians organisation. As he heads into next season, the 20-year-old outfielder said his next assignment will be dictated by the work he has put into the offseason and his performance in spring training next month. “It all depends on how I do in spring training. I’m preparing everyday. Working hard everyday just trying to make sure I’m mentally and physically ready everyday. They tell you to come to spring training ready, don’t come there to get ready. From day one to camp’s break you have to be getting after it,” he said. “My offseason training is really intense. I do most of my training at this facility in Miami and they really get me ready. They push me to every limit. Everyday it’s something tougher and much harder on us but they help me to get ready and to stay durable the whole year. The training I get in the US is on another level but we do our best when we’re home in the gyms, we run the beach and we hit the field everyday so we try our best to incorporate that but it’s nothing like what we get over there.” Isaacs was selected to the AllStar roster in the New York Penn League where he hit .333 with 20 RBI, six home runs, 14 stolen bases and an .898 OPS for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers in the Class A Short Season. “This whole year, the sequences of events have worked out in my
TODD ISAACS JR favour. Out of spring training I went to extended which is 30 more games. Basically they don’t keep stats but it’s a grind so you go out there early in the mornings, practice, get the work in and play games,” he said. “The whole time I started to learn more about myself, more about my swing but my eyes started to open up to the different parts of my game I can control and work on. I was always a person that would go in the cage and just hit thinking I’m fixing something but I never really understood what I was doing. One day I had a conversation with my coach – he asked me my end goal in baseball and I told him to be the first ever Hall of Famer out of the Bahamas. He said you have to play everyday as a stepping-stone to getting to that goal one day.”
His improvement with the Scrappers followed a struggle in the Arizona Rookie League where he hit just .214 in 34 games. Isaacs called it a “humbling experience” but one that was necessary for his growth and development as a player. “It was tough. All my life I had been able to fit in on teams and automatically create my persona on the team and almost be the man. When I went to Arizona it was a step back. I wasn’t playing everyday, I wasn’t doing well, I didn’t know what was going on, I wasn’t playing my position. There were so many things that were going the wrong way and I took it the wrong way so I just dug myself into a deeper hole,” he sai. “I needed that to humble me to show me that you have to compete everyday. You can’t go out there and think they have to give it to you. You really have to go out there and earn that so everyday I go out there I work hard thinking about what I felt back then and I never ever want to feel that ever again. So that’s’ what motivates me to keep moving forward and making sure that I create my persona as a leader on a team and someone you can count on. I’m thankful that it happened early in my career. I was able to bounce back and had the year I had and I’m able to keep going. Isaacs was chosen by the Cleveland Indians in the 19th round as the 574th selection of the 2015 MLB Draft, following a critically acclaimed year with the Palm Beach State Community College Panthers. In 2014, he was originally draft-
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CHAMP Stuart continues to progress in the New York Mets organisation and will have another opportunity to progress with the franchise. Stuart, 24, was one of 13 intriguing minor league prospects to receive an invitation to the club’s Major League spring training next month. Pitchers and catchers will report to St Lucie, Florida on February 12 followed by Stuart and the other position players one week later. Organised Grapefruit League action begins on February 24, with the Mets playing their first home game one day later, against the Washington Nationals. Following a stellar regular season, Stuart was named to the roster of the Scottsdale Scorpions of the Offseason Arizona Fall League. The Scorpions have MLB affiliations with the Mets, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Angels. The Arizona Fall League attracts many of the top prospects in the minor leagues. Late in the minor league seasons, MLB clubs hold a position draft to determine the players who will participate in the AFL. Most are Double-A and Triple-A players. The league is designed for these prospects to refine their skills and perform in game settings in front of major and minor league baseball scouts
CHAMP STUART and team executives, who are in attendance at almost every game. In 19 games, Stuart hit .300 with 12 runs scored, five RBI, 12 stolen bases an OBP of.329 and OPS of .729 with one home run. In 2016 he had a season of several milestones, including an appearance as a pinch runner in the final Grapefruit League game for the Mets in spring training and a stellar season with the Port St Lucie Mets in Single-A Advanced which led to a Double-A call up with the Binghamton Mets. Through 114 games in both leagues, Stuart hit .240 with 34 RBI and eight home runs. He has also totalled an OBP of .319, slugging percentage of .349 an OPS of .663 and 40 stolen bases. Last summer, Stuart was one of 10 Bahamian players to compete for Team Great Britain at the World Baseball Classic Qualifier in Brooklyn, New York. During the tournament, he hit .467 with an PS of 1.233, OBP of .500, with three RBI and 11 total bases.