SPORTS
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 4, 2025
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 4, 2025
By BRENT STUBBS Chief Sports Editor
eronaye “Tweety”
VCharlton, considered one of the future prospects for the women’s national basketball team, is eager to see what the future holds for her as she now plays at the women’s division one collegiate level.
The former, who ended up completing high school at Norcross High in Georgia, has transferred from the University of North Alabama and will be playing for the Austin Peay State University.
“It’s been very different from playing here in The Bahamas,” said Charlton about making the transition. “Working under coach (Anthony) Swaby and (Donnie) Culmer and (Terrence ‘RedEye’) McSweeney, it’s a
lot different being in the United States.
“They teach differently. They have a sense of humour and I can take it, but going to new schools and with new coaches, I have to take it, but not be so serious. I have to learn from everything they have to offer.”
At the age of 14, Charlton left the Jordan Prince Williams High School to pursue her dreams of playing in the United States. So far, she said she’s had no regrets.
After graduating from high school, Charlton said she had hoped to complete her tenure at North Alabama. But with a new coach coming on board who “didn’t recruit me, or know my talent,” Charlton said: “I decided to transfer to a school where the coach knows me and has seen me play and just off that.”
So far, Charlton said she’s enjoying her new environment at Austin P.
“I have been getting to know my coaches and my teammates,” Charlton said.
“They understand me. They want to get to know The Bahamas. They are even planning a trip to come to The Bahamas to play basketball in a tournament here.
“They want to get to know my family and the environment that I came from.
“That is good to know because they want to know more than just basketball about me.”
As she prepares for the transition to Austin P, Charlton said her goal is to be much better than she was when she was named to the 2023-2024 AllAtlantic Sun Conference Freshman Team, averaging 2.2 points per game while
shooting 45.5 percent from the floor to last season when she appeared in 18 games, averaging 2.2 points per game while shooting 45.5 percent from the floor.
“I want them to see a whole new Veronaye Charlton at this new school,” she said. “I will also be wearing a new number as I try to rebrand myself.”
Having worn number 11 just about all of her life, Charlton said the only number available is No.3 and she hopes to make the best of it.
“I want to change it to something lower and three was available,” said Charlton, who will turn 20 on July 13.
She noted that playing in division one will be much
By BRENT STUBBS Chief Sports Editor
SHE has one of the most inspiring performances at the CARIFTA Games in Trinidad & Tobago. But long/triple jumper Jazae Johnson and her coach James Rolle feel she’s just scratching the surface of greatness.
In the games at the Hasely Crawford Stadium over the Easter holiday weekend, Johnson posted the longest winning leap of 19-feet, 11-inches or 6.07 metres in the region for a 14-year-old athlete.
She came back in the triple jump and added the silver to her collection with a leap of 39-4 (11.99m), losing the gold to Grenada’s Christanna Charles with 39-6 1/2 (12.05m). She closed out the games with a silver medal on the 4 x 100m relay.
On Saturday and Sunday at the Thomas A. Robinson Track and Field Stadium, Johnson will be back in action as she competes in the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations’ North American, Central American and Caribbean NACAC Age Group Championships.
But instead of doing the jumps, Johnson will test
her hands at the pentathlon, which comprises five events over the two days of competition.
Johnson, a ninth grader at St John’s College, has been competing since she was four years old. She actually started to excel as a high jumper, but she made the switch to the horizontal jumps and she’s been pleased with her success, especially at CARIFTA.
“I feel ecstatic. I knew that I could have done better, but I was pleased with the jump that I achieved,” she said. “I knew what I went there to do and I did it.”
At her age, Johnson said she was extremely thrilled to clear over six-metres, but next year, she hopes to be back and to surpass the games’ record of 20-1 3/4 (6.14m) that fellow Bahamian Jackie Edwards established in 1987.
“My approach is not consistent, but once I get one big jump, that is all I need,” said Johnson as she reflected on what she needs to concentrate on.
When she realised that she wasn’t afraid of height, for instance, standing on top of the monkey bar rather than putting her hands to pull up on it, she had the eagerness to jump.
harder, but she’s prepared to put in the work to succeed. “It’s not always going to be peaches and roses, so you just have to take the punches and keep growing and know that all days are not going to be bad,” she projected.
“You just have to push yourself mentally and lean
IN pursuit of another dominating performance in the region, Bahamas Aquatics has released the names of a 40-member team that will represent The Bahamas at the Goodwill Games in Barbados.
The team, headed by coach Dwayne Davis Jr, will compete in the games from August 15-17 and the goal is to complete a three-peat of the championship title.
Dwayne Davis Jr, who first served as an assistant coach in 2023 before he took over last year as the head coach, will be back in that capacity and will be assisted by Drew Lightbourne and Ashton Knowles.
Davis Jr indicated that he’s confident that they can accomplish their feat, even though the Goodwill Games is more of a developmental meet and the majority of the swimmers that make Goodwill go on to represent Team Bahamas at the CARIFTA level.
“The team is a wellbalanced team, just like previous years. It’s very well-balanced from top to bottom,” Davis Jr said. “So I’m looking for some big performances from this team.
“Last year, we almost doubled the points of second place Jamaica and we hope to do the same thing when we go down to Barbados.”
This year, the CARIFTA team went to Trinidad & Tobago and clinched their seventh straight title. The Goodwill team is hoping to continue their winning
By Miguel Fernander
THE Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA) is all set to host its North American, Central American and Caribbean (NACAC) Age Group Championships this weekend.
A mandatory technical meeting is scheduled for 6pm on Thursday, June 5, at the old Thomas A. Robinson Track and Field Stadium where the championships is scheduled to start at 11am on Saturday and continue at 2pm on Sunday.
The competition is in two age categories: U13 (11-12 years old): Competing in a Pentathlon 60m dash, 800/1000m, long jump, high jump and baseball throw. U15 (13-14 years old): Competing in a Heptathlon 80m dash, 1000/1200m, long jump, high jump, baseball throw and shot put. This championship is governed by the NACAC Age Group combined with event scoreboards, and photo finish technology will be in use.
Athletes, coaches and federations are urged to review all rules ahead of competition to ensure compliance and performance readiness.
BASKETBALL SMILES
IT’S that time again as Basketball Smiles returns to The Bahamas.
Scheduled for June 16-18 at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium, the basketball clinic conducted by veteran American basketball coach Sam Nicholls is designed for boys and girls between the ages of seven and 17 years old. The girls’ clinic is slated to run from 9am
to noon and the boys will follow from 1-4pm. Interested persons are urged to contact coach Patricia “Pattie” Johnson at HO Nash Junior High School or call 5653675 for more details.
BASKETBALL MHB CAMP THE Marvin Henfield Basketball Summer Basketball Camp is scheduled to run from
SEE PAGE E3 June
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extremely hard on and off the track. “I’m just trying to keep her humble so that she can perform at her best,” said Rolle, the head coach of Jumpers Inc, a club Johnson is a part of.
“Last season, I told her that the focus was on the long and triple jump for CARIFTA and if she stayed focussed, she could win and then the age group would be a plus.”
Having accomplished one half of the goal, albeit with a gold and silver, Rolle said he was surprised that her long jump leap was one of the best ever posted by a 14-year-old for her age.
“She has a lot of potential. She just has to stay
humble and want it more than me as her coach,” Rolle said.
“This weekend, she will be doing the multi-event. I expect that she will be just as outstanding as she was at CARIFTA. She’s going to be good. She’s going to give it her best. Win, lose or draw, it will be a plus for her.”
This weekend, Johnson admits that there’s a lot of events in the pentathlon that she’s not familiar with, but she’s just going to go out and put her best foot forward.
And already she’s focusing her attention on CARIFTA 2026 in Grenada.
“For 2026, I want to accomplish a jump of
20-2 1/4 (6.15m) in the long jump, so I’m going to work really hard to try and achieve that,” she insisted.
“And in the triple jump, I want to jump at 41-0 1/4 (12.5), so I’m going to work hard to achieve those goals.”
In the meantime, Johnson said with a grade point average of 3.4, she wants to remain on Emerald Club or the Honour Roll list.
“So I just want to stay on that,” she summed up. “So I just want to work hard, study and do the best that I can in my exams.”
Johnson, who switched from Jordan Prince Williams for grade eight at St John’s, is the daughter of Latoya Johnson and Jocelyn Gedeus.
on your teammates and talk to your coaches. I know it’s going to be difficult, but I’m prepared to go through it.” At five-feet, four-inches, Charlton said she knows she will have her challenges playing against the bigger girls, even in the backcourt where the guards are going to be taller.
“But I just hope to rely on her speed, but at the same time, not to try to force it and get blocked,” she said.
“So I will have to learn to be more aggressive in passing the ball and wait for the best opportune time to shoot the ball.”
Home for the past three weeks, Charlton said she got a chance to “eat some good Bahamian food, conch salad, conch fritters because I won’t see that for a minute,” she stated.
But, at the same time, Charlton said it was good for her to work out with the coaches who have been around assisting her since she was playing at the age of 13.
“It’s been hot, but I’ve been keeping the coaches on their toes,” said Charlton of her sessions with
Swaby and Culmer. “They have been pushing me to get better.”
Swaby said Charlton is just another addition to the development of the women’s programme.
“Hopefully there will be tournaments where these groups of young ladies can get a chance to compete,” Swaby said.
“That would give the federation a chance to put together one of the best women’s national teams that we have ever assembled.”
Swaby thanked Culmer for coming out to assist the players as they returned home.
For Culmer, he said he was pleased to continue to work with Charlton. “She comes in and she puts in the work,” he insisted. “I’ve known her since she was at Prince Williams,” he said.
“She’s a hard worker and I just want the best for her.
“Whatever you tell her, she will try to do it. She listens attentively. I love working with her, I believe if I had her when I coached the national team in Cuba, we would have done much better than bronze.”
Charlton thanked God, her parents Verron and Christen Charlton and has
streak in August.
In combining the two junior meets, The Bahamas is being considered the most dominant country in the region.
“Compared to CARIFTA, which is four days, Goodwill is just three days, Friday, Saturday and Sunday and it’s only afternoon sessions, unlike CARIFTA which has morning and afternoon sessions,” Davis Jr said.
“But we expect to go to Barbados and win. We want to show that The Bahamas is the swimming capital in the region in the junior competition. Anytime we wear The Bahamas on our chest, our swim caps or on our bags, it’s an honour, so every swimmer who goes to CARIFTA, almost always ends up on the CARIFTA team.”
Bahamas Aquatics, headed by president Algernon Cargill, released the
names of the following swimmers to continue the winning trend.
Female competitors
Age Category 8 & Under
- Nyla Beneby, Skyrah Chambers, Shiloh Ferguson and Charlotte King. Alternates - Payton Bostwick and Celeste Johnson.
Age Category 9 - 10
- Hannah Astwood, Katelin-Dahlia Hanna, Rinia Johnson and Grace Nottage. Alternates - Samaiya Coleman and Leah Rolle.
Age Category 11 -12Makayla Ferguson, Delneia Hamilton, Reniyah Rolle and Catrell Taylor. Alternates - Emma Wallace and Isabelle Wiberg.
Age Category 13 -14 - Samirah Donaldson, Madyson Julien, Asha Seymour and Jaylah Threadgill. Alternates - Christin-Alyssa Clarke and Gillian Albury.
Age Category 15 -17Trinity George, Alanna Murray, Anjaleah Knowles and Alexia Zatarain. Alternates - Jayla Marie Rolle Adaiah Smith.
Male competitors
Age Category 8 & Under
- Jamari Bridgewater, Lynden Feaste, Connor Ferguson and Avyn Mckenzie. Alternates - Mason Sadowski and Ari Rolle.
Age Category 9 - 10Kymani Cooper, Mason Hanna, Dylan Musgrove
and Breon Stuart. Alternates - Cole Albury and Benjamin Cartwright. Age Category 11 -12Tajj Archer, Adrian Dean, Bison Duncombe and Sean Munroe. Alternates - Suraj Rolle and Kriston Rolle. Age Category 13 -14 - Tyler Cartwright, Ayriel Moncur, Benicio Robinson and Harold Simmons. Alternates - Blake Comarcho and Sean Norville-Smith. Age Category 15 -17Jahan Chatlani-Pickstock, Michael Fox, Rafael McBroom and Dijon Simmons. Alternates - Noah Knowles and Orion Moss.
“We have some new faces on this year’s team, but we also have a lot of swimmers who are returning from last year,” Davis Jr said.
“So it shows that the swimmers are very competitive because anyone of them could have made the CARIFTA team or will make the team in the future.”
The team is scheduled to leave on August 13 and return home on August 18, hopefully with the threepeat in their luggages, according to Davis Jr.
“The team this year is very strong and well-balanced, similar to the years in the past,” Davis Jr said.
“So I expect the results to be the same, win.”
THE South Beach Pools have been without an operable Automated External Defibrillator (AED) for several months and with summer quickly approaching, and the expectation for the pool to be in high usage, MP Bacchus Rolle thought it fitting to provide the pool with an AED.
AED is a portable, user friendly medical device designed to treat people experiencing sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) by administering a controlled electric shock to the heart.
“This initiative came about as a result of a visit I had at the pools recently and the staff made some suggestions, one of which was the need to have this equipment and we responded,” said MP Rolle. “So today, we are happy to partner with South Beach Pools to ensure that the residents and others that visit the pools will have a safe experience.”
Accepting the donation on behalf of the Ministry of Youth, Sports & Culture, permanent secretary
Neil Campbell thanked MP Rolle for the donation. He indicated that the device appropriately equips the
and ensures that they could adequately respond to any medical emergency. And “in a timely fashion
THE University of The Baha-
mas men’s soccer team has had some players called up to the Bahamas men’s senior national soccer team and that continued as three players were called up to play in the upcoming FIFA World Cup CONCACAF Qualifiers.
Those players are midfielder
Kevin Thomas and defenders
Junior Kelly and Joshua Johnson.
Kelly has been selected to the team before, but it is Thomas and Johnson’s debut. “I’m liking the new rotations and plenty of young players and players that want to play,” Kelly said. “We are looking for some good results and everyone is enthusiastic.
The Bahamas will play against Grenada at 7pm on Wednesday, June 4 in Grenada. They will then
June 23 to July 11 for players aged 6-17 years old. The camp will be held in the gym in the back of the old Coca-Cola headquarters, now Love 97, on Thompson Boulevard. There is limited space with spots booked at $300 per athlete. To register, persons can visit www/marvinJHenfield. com or contact Henfield at 828-2353.
NPSA OPENING
THE New Providence Softball Association, under new management, opened its 2025 season on Saturday in the Bankers Field at the Baillou Hills Sporting Complex. The league, headed by newly elected president Addie Finley, got started with its developmental game between the Reloaded Players and the Bowe team. But the Bowe
team refused to continue as a result of a player who was deemed ineligible to play. The development is new and we will iron it out. After the game was stopped, the Titans didn’t field enough players in time for the men’s game and they ended up losing to the Renegades by default. The ladies’ game, however, was played and turned out to be an exciting one between the Black Scorpions and Sunshine Auto Wildcats. The Black Scorpions went ahead and had the Wildcats at mercy rule in the fifth inning after scoring seven runs. But the Wildcats clawed their way back and won 16-15. Tonight’s schedule 7:30pm - Gremlins vs Renegades 9pm - Ballers vs Platinum Pool Sharks
Thursday
7:30pm - Bowe Team vs Cyber Tech Lady Marlins 9pm - Gremlins vs Chances Mighty Mitts
travel to Barbados to host Costa Rica at 7pm on Saturday, June 7. Thomas, who is excited to represent the country, said that it is an honour to wear the national team colours.
“As a footballer it is a dream come true to represent your country,” Thomas said. “I am proud to do so. I am looking forward to playing at a high level.” Johnson
tried out for the team in the past but was injured. Now he is healthy he tried out again and made the team.
“I am looking to improve and be better than I did going into it,” Johnson said. “I am looking forward to playing at a high level.”
Kelly said he was happy to have his UB teammates with him on the team.
Saturday 6pm - Cyber Tech Ladies vs Reloaded Players
7:30pm - Platinum Pool Sharks vs Black Scorpions
9pm - Sunshine Auto Wildcats vs Ballers
CYCLING NATIONALS
THE Bahamas Cycling Federation has announced that its 51st national road championships is all set to take place from June 6-7 in Mount Thompson, Exuma. The registration closes at 12am on June 2, 2025.
12th BOWLES CAMP
THE International Basketball Association Bahamas will host its 12th annual Denykco Bowles Elite Skills Basketball Camp at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium. Under the theme “Developing Champions on all levels,” the co-ed camp for boys and girls will run from June 23 to July 19.
For more info, interested persons can contact
466-0049 or email ibabahamaspamthers@gmail. com or log into info info. ibsbsshamas. SOFTBALL THOMPSON/ WILLIAMS MEMORIAL SLOW PITCH TOURNAMENT
THE Friends for Life Committee will host a joint Paul ‘Dingus’ Thompson and Cornelius ‘Money’ Williams Men and co-ed slow pitch invitational tournament over the Labour Day and Whit Monday holiday weekend, June 5-9.
The event will be staged at the Grand Bahama Sporting Complex softball field in Freeport, Grand Bahama and is expected to feature teams from Eleuthera, New Providence, Grand Bahama and the United States of America.
For more details, interested persons can email friendsforlife242@gmail. com
“It is great to have my teammates from UB with me because I trained with them throughout the year,” Kelly said. “It is good to have some chemistry links already bonded and when we are on the field together is clockwork.” Kelly added that it speaks volumes of the quality of the programme at UB. The team left for Grenada on Monday.
PEACE ON DA STREET FAMILY NIGHT
PLANS are underway for the staging of the Peace on Da Streets’ Basketball Classics’ Road to 30 years of existence. The event, being organised by the Hope Center under the theme “Shooting hoops instead of guns,” will be held from July 14-19 at the Michael ‘Scooter’ Reid Basketball Center.
The highlight of the event will be the Family Night, scheduled for Sunday, July 20 at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium when the finals in all of the divisions will take place, starting at 3pm. There will also be the Mr Ship It Three-point shootout and the Joe’s Slam Dunk Contest.
The night will conclude with the exciting Clergy versus Politicians match-up.
Lots of prizes, including round trip tickets, will be up for grabs.
BASEBALL ANDRE RODGERS SENIOR NATIONALS
THE Bahamas Baseball Association is set to hold its Andre Rodgers Senior National Baseball Championships June 6-9 at the Andre Rodgers Baseball Stadium. During the championship, the BBA will honour Feed ‘Papa’ Smith for his contribution to the sport as a player/coach and administrator over a number of years.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP)
— Kelsey Mitchell had 23 points, Lexie Hull scored all 14 of her points in the second half and the shorthanded Indiana Fever, playing without Caitlin Clark, beat the Washington Mystics 85-76 last night to snap a three-game losing streak.
Clark was out with a left quad strain, while veteran guard Sophie Cunningham exited early in Friday’s loss to Connecticut and did not play against the Mystics.
The Fever scored 31 points in the third quarter — after scoring 38 in the entire first half — to take a 69-55 lead.
Aari McDonald, making her Indiana debut, made the Fever’s fifth 3-pointer of the third with 2:29 left. Washington scored the opening 12 points of the fourth quarter to get within 69-67 on layup by
Sykes.
But Indiana scored seven straight points to pull away. Hull made an open layup for a 78-73 lead and she helped force a jump ball at the other end. The Fever won the jump ball and Mitchell completed a threepoint play, after a reverse layup, for an eight-point lead at 1:28. Aliyah Boston added 10 points for Indiana (3-4). Kiki
By The Associated Press
SEATTLE (AP) — A’ja Wilson had 19 points, seven rebounds and three steals, Jewell Loyd hit two free throws with 6.1 seconds left, and Las Vegas gave up most of a 17-point lead before the Aces beat the Seattle Storm 75-70 on Sunday.
Loyd, who was traded to Las Vegas in January after 10 seasons with the Storm, finished with 10 points and seven rebounds. Jackie Young added 12 points.
Dominique Malonga scored Seattle’s first eight fourth-quarter points and Erica Wheeler added eight more to help the Storm cut their deficit to three points when Gabby Williams made a layup with 37.8 seconds left. The Storm forced a shot-clock violation to take possession with 13.1 seconds remaining but the 6-foot-6 Malonga missed a turn-around jumper in the lane over Wilson, the WNBA defensive player of the year in 2022 and 2023. Loyd’s free throws capped the scoring.
The 19-year-old Malonga was the No. 2 pick in April’s draft, part of the package Seattle received in return for Loyd, who requested to be traded.
Rookie Aaliyah Nye scored a season-high 10 points for the Aces, and Chelsea Gray also had 10 points.
LIBERTY 100, SUN 52
NEW YORK (AP) — New York matched its own WNBA record by hitting 19 3-pointers with a victory over Connecticut.
The victory was the largest in franchise history, eclipsing a 43-point win over Washington in 1998. New York fell short of the all-time scoring margin record of 59 points held by Minnesota in a victory over Indiana in 2017.
Sabrina Ionescu led New York with 18 points while Jonquel Jones added 13 points and 11 rebounds. Breanna Stewart and Leonie Fiebich also had 13 points. All four sat out for nearly the entire fourth quarter.
Still, New York improved to 7-0 for the first time since the 1997 season.
New York also hit 19 3-pointers against Chicago on May 22 to break the previous league record. The Liberty almost eclipsed that mark through three quarters as they hit 18 3s in the first 30 minutes, but they went cold in the fourth from the outside, only making one.
The Liberty finished off a busy week by winning their fourth game in six days. They now have a bit of a break now with their next game in Washington on Thursday.
MERCURY 85, SPARKS 80
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Satou Sabally had 24 points, nine rebounds and four steals, Kathryn Westbeld and Kitija Laksa each scored 15 and Phoenix overcame an 18-point first-half deficit to beat Los Angeles.
Westbeld made an open 3-pointer from the top of the key with 2:11 left in the third quarter to give the Mercury their first lead, 58-57, since it was 14-13 in the opening frame. Sabally added two free throws to cap Phoenix’s 23-7 run.
Los Angeles guard Kelsey Plum forced a jump ball with 1:06 left in the fourth and the Sparks took possession.
Los Angeles had three chances at the other end, trailing 80-78, but Plum missed a 3-pointer and a free-throw line jumper before turning it over on a drive into the lane. Laksa made two free throws for
Phoenix with 18.9 left and Westbeld added two at 9.9 for an 84-80 lead.
Sami Whitcomb made three of Phoenix’s 12 3-pointers and finished with 11 points. Monique Akoa Makani had 10 points and six assists for the Mercury.
Odyssey Sims led Los Angeles with 32 points on 10-of-14 shooting. Plum was 4 of 19 from the field for 15 points, and Dearica Hamby had 15 points and eight boards.
LYNX 86, VALKYRIES 75 SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Napheesa Collier had 24 points and 11 rebounds, Courtney Williams added 20 points, five rebounds and five assists and Minnesota beat expansion Golden State.
Minnesota tied with New York a top the WNBA standings after losing in the championship series to the Liberty last season.
The Valkyries made WNBA history with three consecutive sellout crowds in the first three home games at the 18,064-capacity Chase Center, which is also the home of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors. Williams hit a 3-pointer 3:01 into the third quarter that gave the Lynx the lead for good and sparked a 27-5 run, capped when Collier and Williams hit 3s 27 seconds apart to make it 83-61 with 5:43 to play.
Natisha Hiedeman scored all of her eight points and added two assists and two steals in Minnesota’s gamebreaking spurt.
Kayla McBride scored 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting and Bridget Carleton added 12 points for the Lynx. Veronica Burton hit three 3-pointers and finished with 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting for Golden State. Kate Martin added 14 points and Kayla Thornton had 11.
By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer
OKLAHOMA CITY
(AP) — It’s No. 25 Indiana vs. No. 47 Oklahoma City in the NBA Finals.
That’s not their seeding.
That’s their media market ranking. To some, that might matter. To others, it probably won’t — and probably shouldn’t — matter whatsoever.
A title matchup that starts Thursday night between the Pacers and Thunder — two young, fun teams that score a ton and are led by marketable stars in reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for Oklahoma City and Olympic gold medallist Tyrese Haliburton for Indiana — is the type of series that real basketball fans clamour for. It has everything: star power, good coaching, AllStars on both sides. And it adds to the NBA’s recent run of parity.
That’s the good news.
Here’s the inevitable other side: The ratings, especially at the start of the series, probably aren’t going to be good because the home markets are so small. Those who like the NBA won’t be dissuaded by that. Those who don’t like the NBA will tout it as great failure.
“I think this finals is a great representation with the two teams that are in it,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “You know, they’re teams that play good, exciting styles of basketball. Players that have great individual stories, teams that have a great story collectively. And we’re proud to be a part of that.”
People are watching; they just may not be watching on television. The social media tracking site Videocites says NBA content is getting consumed at a 64% higher clip than last season — 32 billion views and counting so far in these playoffs.
Gilgeous-Alexander is the most viewed player, Haliburton is No. 3 and playoff clips of those two have about 1.5 billion views between them to this point.
That’s billion, with a B. And speaking of that, there are 76 billion reasons the NBA won’t be bothered by whatever the ratings are over the next couple of weeks.
The new media rights deals — an 11-year, $76 billion pact between the NBA
and broadcast partners Disney (ABC/ESPN), Peacock (NBC) and Amazon (Prime Video) that kicks in at the start of next season — show that clearly somebody is watching NBA games or consuming NBA content. The days of straight relying on Nielsen ratings seem to be long gone, with more and more people ditching cable for streaming and more and more young fans just watching everything on their phones and often in condensed versions.
If the ratings tank for Pacers-Thunder, those deals are still worth $76 billion.
The ad buys for these playoffs have long been paid for. So, the numbers for this series are largely irrelevant to the NBA’s bottom line.
Haliburton was asked yesterday what fans who watch will see if they tune in to these finals.
“I think (they’ll see) two high-level teams that play an elite style of basketball, who share the ball really well, a lot of different people that can chip in,” Haliburton said. “I think that’s the exciting part about this. I don’t want to say it’s like a passing of the torch because the old heads are still here. They’re still playing very, very well. But definitely to see two young teams, two young organisations, fighting to win a championship, I think is a very big deal.”
Late in the regular season, as numbers were bouncing back from a slow start to the season, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said the league’s ratings were down about 2% from a year ago.
“But in this environment, where particularly when you’re largely featured in legacy media and particularly cable, and no question cable subscriptions are going down, that seems like a victory,” Silver said.
In short, nobody at the league office is panicking about ratings, especially right now. Whichever team wins will be the seventh different champion in the last seven seasons, and without question the Thunder and Pacers will be featured in more national broadcasts next season than they were this season and their ratings will be higher — as proven by recent finals runs by Milwaukee, Denver and Dallas. Go ahead and expect Indy and OKC in the Christmas
Day package next season as well; neither team was among the 10 picked for that this season, which was probably a mild disappointment for the Pacers and was a huge disappointment for the Thunder.
“I’d love to play on Christmas Day,” GilgeousAlexander said earlier this season. “And I think we’re that calibre of team. The NBA makes their decisions. Can’t slight them for it. Ball’s in our court to prove to them why we deserve to be in that game.”
It can easily be argued that both teams did it right: didn’t overspend, didn’t go into the luxury tax — it’s the first finals between two non-taxpayer teams in about two decades — and tried to build around young stars. And the Thunder and Pacers were teams that combined to win 49 games just three seasons ago; their success now has to be a reason for hope for teams like Utah, Washington, Portland, Charlotte and others that have been sputtering. Turnarounds can happen, and they can be rewarded.
Some people will watch, some won’t, but true fans probably are expecting a pretty good series.
“I think that’s exciting,” Haliburton said, “for any basketball fan.”
NEW YORK (AP) —
Jasrado “Jazz” Chisholm Jr. hit a tiebreaking home run in his return from a month on the injured list, Carlos Rodón won his seventh straight decision and the New York Yankees beat the Cleveland Guardians 3-2 last night for their 11th win in 14 games.
Back from a strained right oblique that caused him to miss 28 games, Chisholm Jr pulled a fastball into the first row of the right-centre seats against Tanner Bibee (4-6) for a 2-1 lead in the seventh inning. Six pitches later, Anthony Volpe drove a sweeper into the left-field stands, giving the Yankees back-to-back homers for the fifth time.
Rodón (8-3) allowed one run and five hits in seven innings with eight strikeouts and one walk.
He extended his scoreless streak to 20 innings and retired 17 straight batters entering the seventh, when José Ramírez singled, stole second and came around when David Fry bounced a single past DJ LeMahieu at second base. Rodón stranded runners at the corners.
Devin Williams, back as closer after Luke Weaver strained a hamstring, allowed Carlos Santana’s one-out double and pinchhitter Daniel Schneemann’s two-out RBI single in the ninth, then retired Bo Naylor on a flyout for his sixth save in seven chances.
LeMahieu’s fifth-inning single drove in Chisholm Jr, who had blooped a single for the Yankees’ first hit.
Chisholm Jr moved to third base from second, where LeMahieu is starting, and made a fine throw from foul territory to retire Angel Martínez in the third. Bibee threw a seasonhigh 107 pitches, allowing
three runs and four hits in 6 1/3 innings. Fry, whose 10th-inning homer beat the Yankees in Game 3 of last year’s American League Championship Series, went 1 for 3 as the designated hitter in his first
start following reconstructive right elbow surgery in November. He struck out Sunday as a pinch hitter in his season debut.
Key moment Aaron Judge twice juggled and then dropped
Martínez’s two-out fly in the right-field corner in the sixth. But a video review ruled fan interference on the ball just over the concrete between the field and the stands.
Up
By SAMUEL PETREQUIN AP Sports Writer
PARIS (AP) — Iga Swiatek’s bid for a record fourth consecutive French Open championship will need to go through No. 1-ranked Aryna Sabalenka after both delivered straight-set victories yesterday to set up a showdown in the semifinals.
Swiatek defeated Elina Svitolina 6-1, 7-5 in the quarterfinals for a 26th consecutive win at RolandGarros, where the longest unbeaten run by a woman is 29 matches by seventime tournament champion Chris Evert.
Swiatek is trying for her fifth trophy overall on the red clay in Paris, where she has won four of the past five.
Sabalenka ousted 2024 Olympic gold medallist Zheng Qinwen 7-6 (3), 6-3 to reach the semifinals in Paris for the second time.
All three of Sabalenka’s Grand Slam titles came on hard courts — two at the Australian Open and one at the U.S. Open.
Having been searching for her best form in recent months and after a tough three-setter in her previous match, Swiatek was in total control at the start against No. 13 seed Svitolina. Swiatek had to work harder in the second set, dropping her serve in the fourth game after hitting two straight unforced errors into the net.
But Swiatek broke back immediately and took advantage of Svitolina’s poor service game to break again with a thunderous forehand return and move up 6-5. Swiatek sealed the win with an ace.
Swiatek has won five of the six matches she has played on clay against Sabalenka.
“The Madrid final against her is one of the best and most exciting finals that I have played,” said Swiatek, who has not won a title or reached a final since her victory at Roland-Garros last year. “It is always a challenge against Aryna.”
Sabalenka is trying to reach her sixth Grand Slam final, and first at
setback was a good thing in the middle of an already exhausting season.
“I was actually glad I lost that match, because I needed a little break before Roland-Garros,” said Sabalenka, who hasn’t dropped a set in this tournament. “Today, I was just more fresh. I was ready to battle, I was ready to leave everything I had on court to get this win.”
Who plays at Roland-
Garros today?
ARYNA Sabalenka of Belarus plays against China’s Qinwen Zheng during their quarterfinal match of the French Tennis Open at the Roland-Garros stadium in Paris, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP
Christophe Ena)
Roland-Garros. “I’m super excited to go out there and to fight and to do everything I need to get the win,” Sabalenka said.
She overcame a shaky start and windy conditions to improve her record against Zheng to 7-1.
Sabalenka had lost their most recent contest — at the Italian Open on clay. But she said that
Sinner will try to join his countryman in the semifinals by defeating unseeded Alexander Bublik on Day 11, while 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic takes on No. 3 Alexander Zverev at night in the last men’s quarterfinal.
The two remaining women’s quarterfinals start off the day in Court PhilippeChatrier, with No. 2 Coco Gauff vs. No. 7 Madison Keys in a matchup between two Americans who each has won a Grand Slam trophy, followed by No. 6 Mirra Andreeva vs. 361stranked French wild-card entry Loïs Boisson.
THE ROLANDGarros logo is illuminated in the stands during a secondround match between Britain’s Jack Draper and France’s Gael Monfils during the French Tennis Open at the RolandGarros stadium in Paris, Thursday, May 29, 2025.
By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Tennis Writer
PARIS (AP) — It’s tough enough for any player to deal with Carlos Alcaraz at the French Open. When you’re not at your absolute best against the defending champion, as was the case for Tommy Paul in the quarterfinals last night, there’s no chance.
No. 2 seed Alcaraz returned to the semifinals at Roland-Garros for the third consecutive year with a 6-0, 6-1, 6-4 victory over No. 12 Paul, who had his right thigh heavily taped and was unable to run, serve or hit groundstrokes at full force.
“I’ve felt better, you know?” said Paul, who had leg and abdominal muscle issues during the tournament.
“Obviously, I went into the match like, ‘I want to win the match.’ But pretty early on in the match, it was pretty obvious that I wasn’t moving amazing.”
Didn’t help his cause that Alcaraz was at his very best.
“Today was one of those days that you’re feeling great. You feel like every shot was going to be in,
every shot was going to be a winner,” Alcaraz said. “You play with a lot of confidence. No fear of anything.”
It took just 52 minutes for him to collect the first two sets. The 22-year-old Spaniard compiled a 23-5 edge in winners in that span, and the final totals were 40-13.
“He played some great tennis. Returned very well. Had me on my back foot all the time. Playing so fast,” Paul said.
“Even on the changeovers, I felt like he was getting up with 20 seconds left. I was like, ‘You got to slow down.’”
Things got more competitive in the third set, which Paul led 4-3 as some spectators at Court Philippe-Chatrier chanted his first name. But Alcaraz grabbed the next three games to wrap things up after a little more than 1 1/2 hours. “At Grand Slams, the less time you spend on court, it’s great to save energy for the next matches,” said Alcaraz, who is seeking his fifth major trophy.“Can’t ask for a better performance.”
He is the first reigning men’s champion in Paris to get back to the semifinals the next year since 14-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal in 2021. He improved to 20-1 on red clay this season and leads the men’s tour with 35 wins and three titles. Alcaraz’s opponent in the semifinals