08292016 sports

SPORTS SECTION E

JUNIOR ROWING

Stanhope, Page 3

MONDAY, AUGUST 29, 2016

‘Golden Girl’ Shaunae Miller happy to be home

By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net THE threat of impending weather posed a major setback in the celebrations planned for Olympic champion Shaunae Miller. However, the Bahamas’ latest “Golden Girl” was just happy to be home.

Miller was welcomed by fans, family and well-wishers on Friday afternoon, both at the Lynden Pindling International Airport and at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium.

“I’d just like to thank you guys for all of the support and prayers.

God really was listening and I just thank him so much. I went out there and put my all on the line for Team Bahamas and we came

out with the gold medal so I’m just so thankful,” Miller said. “My parents and my family were there in Rio supporting me and we’ve been through so much to get to this point. This has been a long journey and I have so much more years in the sport, it’s an exciting time.”

Her tour on Friday also included a courtesy call to the Office of the Prime Minister, however, a motorcade in her honour was postponed due to inclement weather.

Miller said she was eager to celebrate the accomplishments of the entire team, which continues to bring recognition to the country through the power of sport.

“It’s a pleasure to be back home and celebrate with the Bahamas.

We were hoping to celebrate with

OLYMPIC champion Shaunae Miller smiles during a courtesy call on Prime Minister Perry Christie.

Photo by Kemuel Stubbs/BIS

the entire team, but due to the weather they couldn’t be here.

“As a team we had so much fun.

I think that we took down one of our best teams if you look at all the performances. The one who I was mostly impressed with was Pedrya Seymour. Most people don’t know but she used to be a 400m hurdler, now she’s doing the 100m hurdles so her and her coach are doing a great job,” she said.

“People always look at the Bahamas and think that we’re such a small country, but the thing that they’re missing is that we’re a powerful country as well. We’re full of talent and I continue to stress that so much. Last year I went to the family islands and I started talking to some of the kids and that’s truly where all the talent is at. We have islands full of kids with great

talent and potential and we just try to inspire them.”

Miller comes off the feat which made her one of the most talked about stories in track and field this year when she stumbled across the finish line to claim the Olympic title and hold off a late surge by American Allyson Felix in a personal best time of 49.44 seconds.

The 32-member Team Bahamas finished the Rio Olympic Games with two medals, several national records and an historic appearance in a new discipline.

Team Bahamas wrapped up its competition at the Olympic Stadium on Saturday night in the grand finale with the quartet of Alonzo Russell, Michael Mathieu, Steven Gardiner and Chris ‘Fireman’

SEE PAGE 3

Carina crowned bikini champion

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

T

he Bahamas Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation crowned a few new champions during their 2016 Bahamas National Bodybuilding and Fitness Championships at the Melia Hotel on Saturday night.

Leading the way was Jamiel Hamilton, the heavyweight champion, who pulled over the men’s open bodybuilding crown in the posedown over champions Lynden Fowler in the lightweight, defending champion Jimmy Norius in the welterweight; Mario Sweeting in the light middleweight; Vincent Paul in the light heavyweight; Orrick Newbitt in the middle heavyweight and Bernard Davis in the men’s super heavyweight.

“I’m very grateful right now. I put in a lot of hard work this year and it has paid of,” said Hamilton, a member of Club One Fitness, coached by federation president Joel Stubbs.

“I’m thankful right now in being crowned the Mr Bahamas 2016 champion. I’m actually lost for words. I just think that everything worked in my favor.”

Hamilton admitted that the competition was extremely tough, but he was thrilled to have overcome all of the odds to move to the next level and that is to be able to represent the Bahamas at the Central American and Caribbean Championships at the end of September.

Other winners, who are hoping to join Hamilton when the federation announce the selection of the CAC team are Deekel Nesbitt as the overall figure champion; Endierich Rahming, the repeat men’s open physique champion and Carina Ferguson, the women’s bikini champion.

Also, Theo Burrows picked up the men’s fitness title and Cara Saunders walked away with the newly implemented Women’s Wellness division, which is a combination of figure and bikini.

Dekel Nesbitt, repeating as the women’s open figure C champion over fellow Grand Bahamians Charnice Bain and Tina Malcolm, is hoping that winning the overall tite will help her to defend her

SEE PAGE 4

By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

CARINA FERGUSON, the women’s bikini champion, receives her award from Amy Sands following the Bahamas Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation’s National Championships at the Melia resort, Cable Beach, on Saturday night.

SEE THE RESULTS AND MORE PHOTOS ON PAGE 4 Photo by Michael O’Brien

Bahamas’ top players to represent Great Britain at World Baseball Classic qualifier

By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net INEFFICIENCY at the local administrative level still prevents the Bahamas from fielding its own national team for International Baseball Federation (IBAF) sanctioned events. However, Bahamian players continue to find avenues to compete internationally.

Several of the country’s top players will represent Great Britain at the 2017 World Baseball Classic qualifier, September 22-25, hosted at MCU park in Brooklyn, New York.

Veteran players Antoan Richardson (Southern Maryland, At-

TOTTENHAM EXPANDS ITS OUTREACH PROGRAMME TO BAHAMAS

ANTOAN RICHARDSON

ALBERT CARTWRIGHT

lantic League) and Albert Cartwright (Ottawa, Can-Am League) will suit up for Team Great Britain

for the second time at the WBC and will be joined by Ali Knowles (Garden City, Pescos League),

Jasrado Chisholm (Arizona Diamondbacks, MLB), Kyle Simmons (Pittsburgh Pirates, MLB), Todd Isaacs (Cleveland Indians, MLB), Reshard Munroe (Cincinnati Reds, MLB), Byron Murray (San Francisco Giants, MLB) and Champ Stuart (New York Mets, MLB).

Brazil, Great Britain, Israel and Pakistan will compete over the course of the four-day contest to decide the 16th and final entry in the 2017 WBC. Great Britain will be managed

by Liam Carroll as the team bids to make its second appearance at the WBC. With Richardson and

SEE PAGE 3

ENGLISH Premier League powerhouse Tottenham Hotspur is set to expand its grassroots outreach programme to the Bahamas.

The Bahamas will be the third location for what the organisation calls its “Super Clubs” following behind its satellite programmes in Tallahassee, Florida and East Bay, California.

Tottenham will partner with the Albany Resort and Windsor Preparatory School for the initiative.

The programme will offer the club’s resources such as elite level training and facilities to develop local talent scouted by the academy training and global coaching team.

Teams in the Tottenham Hotspur Bahamas programme, which will be based at Windsor School, will participate in the Bahamas Football Association Youth league.

Trials for the U-17 and U-14 teams will take place in the near future.

Grant Cornwell, head of Global Coaching, Tottenham Hotspur, said: “The club has a fantastic track record in developing young players through its academy and we aim to take these methods throughout the world and give more young people the chance to improve their game by working with our authentic coaching team.”

Damien Michelmore, vice president, Albany, said: “We are delighted to partner with Tottenham Hotspur’s Global Coaching team to offer every child in the Bahamas the opportunity to play and train as a team under the Tottenham Hotspur brand. Everyone involved is excited about the collaboration and the chance to develop young talent on the island.”

The Bahamas has previously established ties with the club as Joe Lewis, chairman of the Tavistock Group and owner of the Hotspur, resides in the country.

In May 2014, the Hotspur and Jamaica’s “Reggae Boyz” competed in an exhibition match, just the third event hosted at the new Thomas A Robinson stadium.

The Spurs were held to a goalless draw by the Jamaican national side in the entertaining post season friendly.

Tottenham is currently ranked seventh in the EPL standings and played Liverpool to a 1-1 draw Saturday afternoon. They face Stoke City on September 10.

PAGE 2, Monday, August 29, 2016

THE TRIBUNE

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, August 29, 2016, PAGE 3

STANHOPE FINISHES 22ND OVERALL IN WORLD JUNIORS SINGLE SCULLS WITH a time of 8 minutes 51.43 seconds in his semi-final rowed in difficult conditions, Bahamian William Stanhope finished 22nd overall in the world junior championships single sculls in the Netherlands.

Stanhope, who trains locally with the Nassau Rowing Club, had only been training in this boat class for less than three months and had never raced it before. Being in a new climate

after long flights to Europe also took a toll on his immune system.

After finishing fifth in his heat earlier in the week, he dominated his repechage on Wednesday to secure a place in the quarter-finals.

There he took fifth place in 7 minutes 59.21 seconds to earn him a place in one of the three semi-finals. One British commentator called him “the metronome” for his calm, consistent rhythm.

WILDCATS GET 12-6 WIN OVER THE OPERATORS, TRUCKERS ROLL OVER THE ELITE WARRIORS 10-3

BAHAMIAN William Stanhope (left) met the Lightweight Men’s Single Sculls World Champion, Paul O’Donovan from Ireland, at the World Rowing Championship Athletes Village in Rotterdam.

TOP PLAYERS IN WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC QUALIFIER FROM PAGE 1 Cartwright on the roster, Great Britain went 1-2 during the 2013 Qualifier played in Regensburg, Germany, where it debuted in the WBC. Their tournament highlight was a 12-5 win over the Czech Republic. Cartwright was the leader for the team, batting. 455 with a home run during the three-game span.

At the time of his WBC debut in 2013, Richardson said that while the Bahamian players were grateful for the opportunity to compete internationally with Great Britain, the ultimate goal was to play for Team Bahamas in the near future.

“It was a fortunate situation for us with the loophole of our parents being born in the Bahamas while it was still a British colony, before independence, so that made us eligible to play for Great Britain,” Richardson said. “This is strictly because the Bahamas does not have a team entered and that is something that we as players feel the need to change in the near future.”

Richardson said the Bahamas has to do a better job at the administrative level to ensure that the talented pipeline of youth and collegiate players are afforded an avenue to play as their careers continue in hopes of fielding a team for

the current edition of the WBC. “There’s nothing more than we would love than to suit up in the aquamarine, gold, and black but right now we are not afforded that opportunity because back home the game is not organised at the senior level. We have a thriving junior programme and a deep talent pool of college players, but for this tournament we will need senior players,” he said. “That is why it is important to get the older guys playing back home. Baseball needs a home in the Bahamas and the game needs to be played at a higher level if we want to compete on the international stage.”

The bureaucracy surrounding the local game has hampered the production of a once thriving senior baseball league in the Bahamas that has not taken the field in over a decade.

The Bahamas Baseball Federation (BBF) was formed nearly 15 years ago after being previously being governed by the Bahamas Baseball Association (BBA).

Despite the fact that the BBF is currently the only functioning baseball body in the Bahamas, the IBAF recognises BBA as the parent organisation.

“We know there is a lot of red tape surrounding the game and right now baseball is not being played at the senior level,” Richardson said.

“That is at a severe detriment to the game because baseball needs a home and it needs to be played to return to the level that we once were. We have the opportunity to do that now.”

In October 2014, Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Dr Daniel Johnson announced an historic agreement between the organisations touted as “resolving the lengthy and damaging dispute” between the BBA and the BBF. The agreement in place stated that the BBA would remain the authority for the sport throughout the Commonwealth of the Bahamas and the BBF would join forces in the selection of the national teams to compete at world level tournaments that are ratified by the Bahamas Olympic Committee.

Next month’s event will be the final Qualifying Round of the 2017 WBC. Teams which participated at the 2013 WBC were automatically qualified for the 2017 tournament except the four nations which ended up last in their respective groups-Australia, Brazil, Mexico and Spain which had to play in the qualifiers along with 12 other national teams. A total of16 teams will participate, divided into four groups of four teams each.

The qualifiers will be organised as four independent modified double-elimination tournaments featuring four teams each. The fi-

nal game will be winner-take-all, even if won by the team emerging from the loser’s bracket. That is, the team emerging from the winner’s bracket might be eliminated despite losing only one game.

Australia, Mexico and Colombia won their qualifiers and will participate in the 2017 tournament.

In their respective brackets, both Australia and Mexico were top seed (signified by home-field advantage) as well as the team that had competed in the 2013 tournament. However, Colombia defeated top seed Panama as well as 2013 participant Spain to advance.

The first World Baseball Classic was held in 2006, and the second took place three years later. The World Baseball Classic is an international baseball tournament sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and created by Major League Baseball (MLB), the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA), and other professional baseball leagues and their players associations around the world.

It is the main tournament sanctioned by the IBAF, which names its winner the “World Champion.”

It previously coexisted with Olympic Baseball (until 2008) and the Baseball World Cup (until 2011) as IBAF-sanctioned tournaments, but the other two have been discontinued.

‘Golden Girl’ Shaunae happy to be home FROM PAGE 1 Brown securing the bronze medal in the men’s 4 x 400 metre relay.

Miller, in thrilling fashion, became the first individual gold medallist for the Bahamas since Tonique Williams-Darling in 2004.

The Bahamian contingent also

included Emily Morley, who made history as the first Bahamian to compete in rowing, along with swimmers Arianna VanderpoolWallace, Joanna Evans and Dustin Tynes.

Morley made it to the E Final in the Women’s Single Sculls, while Vanderpool-Wallace just missed

getting into the final of the 50m free, her specialty. Evans set two national records in the women’s 400 and 200m freestyles. She also contested the 800m free, her specialty.

After missing the latest meet in the IAAF Diamond League meetings this weekend, Miller

now stands in second position in the women’s 400m with 30 points behind Jamaica’s Stephanie AnnMcPherson who leads with 31.

Natasha Hastings of the United States is third with 28 points. The Diamond Race includes two more meetings, September 1 at Zurich and September 9 at Brussels.

SPORTS NOTES

PONY PLAYERS REPRESENT BAHAMAS IN CARIBBEAN WORLD SERIES QUALIFIERS THIS summer, players from PONY (Protect Our Nation’s Youth) Baseball Bahamas took part in the Caribbean Zone World Series Qualifying Tournaments, thanks to donations from corporate sponsors like Domino’s Bahamas.

The local franchise contributed $3,000 to the overall costs for 60 players and 12 coaches to make trips to Aruba, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico for various games. At the tournaments, young players saw how their skills stacked up to regional counterparts as they vied for a spot in the PONY World Series.

Started 14 years ago, PONY Baseball Bahamas continues to be an avenue for players to receive athletic college scholarships and serves as a path to professional sports contracts. Kids learn the fundamentals of baseball in a safe, wholesome and competitive environment focused on teamwork, sportsmanship and community service.

Worldwide sports programme attracts more than 500,000 junior athletes from some 35 countries.

THE Sunshine Auto Wildcats and the Commando Security Truckers continue to stake their case for the women’s and men ’s pennants as the New Providence Softball Association continued its regular season action Saturday night in the Banker’s Field at the Baillou Hills Sporting Complex.

In the ladies’ opener, Sunshine Auto doubled up the Bommer G Lady Operators with a 12-6 victory as Mechelle Moss outduelled Diva Burrows from the Lady Operators on the mound in the pitcher’s showdown.

Moss also helped her own cause as she led the Lady Wildcats’ offensive attack, going 3-for-5 with four runs batted in and three more scored.

In a good production night for Sunshine Auto, Donette Edwards helped out by going 2-for-4 with a RBI and a run scored and Larika Russell and Tamika Davis were both 2-for-5, scoring a run apiece.

For Bommer G, Sophia Cartwright was their bright spot as she went 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI. Likewise, Commando Security put on another spectacular display as they knocked off the BTC Elite Warriors 10-3 in the men’s feature contest behind the winning pitcher performance from Thomas Davis.

The losing pitcher was Jeffrey Woodside.

For the Truckers, Ramon Storr had a good night at the plate, going 2-for-3, driving in two runs and scoring as many runs, while Terran Wood went 1-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored.

In a losing effort for the Warriors, Sherman Ferguson went 1-for-3 with a RBI and a run scored.

The NPSA will continue its regular season action on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at the Banker’s Field with double headers starting at 7 pm each night.

Teams are now trying to solidify their positions for the postseason.

The playoffs is scheduled to get underway next month with teams vying to qualify to represent the NPSA in the Bahamas Softball Federation’s National Round Robin Tournament that will be played in October.

The NPSA is now headed

by Henry Dean.

WOMEN’S RUGBY SEVEN EVENTS THE Bahamas Rugby Union is scheduled to hold a series of women’s 7s events over the next few months as the team prepares for the Caribbean Championships in November.

This is the first for the Bahamas and Telle’s Auto Work and Lock Solutions are sponsoring the event.

Also on Saturday, September 3, the BRU is slated to hold the Neville 7’s touch rugby tournament as a part of the continuing fund raising efforts for Damian Neville’s medical expenses. Details to follow.

BOYS PONY Baseball Players off to World Series tournaments.

“At the core, the PONY Baseball programme represents positive team play and allows our young athletes to set educational and professional goals while preparing them for life beyond the field,” said Shirlen Godet, Domino’s brand manager. “We were pleased to

sponsor the teams and will continue to back youth-focused activities in the future.”

Terran Rodgers, tournament director of the local programme, thanked Domino’s for making the recent trips possible.

“Donating to our programme

gives deserving Bahamian baseball players the opportunity to showcase their tremendous talent on a larger stage,” he said.

“We are thankful to Domino’s for their support and appreciate their commitment to youth development.”

ROAD RACE BAHAMAS SICKLE CELL MARK the date down: Saturday, September 10, starting at 6 am from Goodman’s Bay. That’s when the third edition of Bahamas Sickle Cell Association’s Fun Run/ Walk promoting healthy lifestyles and raising awareness and funds in aid of Sickle Cell Disease, will take place.

Together, with the support of the community, the association said they want to break the sickle cycle.

Interested persons are urged to contact the Bahamas Sickle Cell Association at telephone 242-436-7130 or 242-427-4849, email bahamassicklecell@gmail. com or visit their website at www.bahamassicklecell.org

PAGE 4, Monday, August 29, 2016

THE TRIBUNE

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS: Various winners of the BBPF’s 2016 National Bodybuilding and Fitness Championships.

New champions crowned FROM PAGE 1 CAC crown that she won here in Nassau last year.

“I felt like I brought a better package than what I had in Freeport a couple weeks ago, so that was my biggest goal,” said Nesbitt. “So I was very happy with my performance.

Even before I knew what the results were, I was very pleased with the package that I brought.”

Looking at the field of competitors she faced, Nesbitt said it was by far the most intense, but she was elated to have prevailed with the overall title.

“This was a year that wee had some high quality competitors competing, so everybody brought some pretty solid physique, so it was stiff competition all around,” she said.

The physical fitness instructor said she was just glad to be the champion and now she has her sights set on a more loftier goal.

“I’m going to go back home and try to continue to improve. That’s all I can do right now,” Nesbitt stressed. “I got a gold medal last year, so I know they are expecting a lot more from me this year. So I hope I can go back and fine tune and go to CAC and do it all over again.”

And in the process, she would like nothing better than to earn her professional card as the overall fitness champion.

Nesbitt won the national title in the posedown that featured Christy Ann Butler, the B divisional champion; Lakeisha Miller, the D champion and Julia Mellor, the B champion.

Like she did at home in Grand Bahama, Carina Ferguson once again dominated the women’s bikini division.

After beating out two masters competitors in Sharon Bethel and Stacy Sargent, Ferguson got through the posedown with Rosan Knowles, A class champion; Shikara Ferguson, B class champion; Allyssa Fox, C class champion; Akeela Nesbitt, D class champion and Maria Michopoulou, the F class champion.

“I knew I had a lot of work to do because we had different competitors coming in, but I put in the time and effort,” Ferguson stressed. “I put the blood, sweat and tears into it and it has paid off.”

Adding the national title to the Northern Bahamas crown she secured in Grand Bahama a few weeks ago, Ferguson said she’s proud of herself because she has accomplished her goals.

But she admitted that it’s not over yet. She wants to go to CAC and prove her worth.

“I want to let them know that I’m ready all the time,” she said.

There was a stiff battle for the women’s physique, but when it was all said and done,

Tammy Stubbs carried the title to Grand Bahama as she dethroned Lorraine LaFleur.

“I feel very good about my performance tonight. I know I looked really good. I tried to look as close to the criteria that they were looking for, so I felt very good tonight,” Stubbs stated.

“The competition was stiff.

This division is always stiff because Lorraine has always been the top athlete here, so she pushed me to fight and fight. I know I have to get past her if I want to get somewhere.

So I worked hard to get past her.”

Stubbs said she too is eager to go to CAC and perform at a higher level.

Despite the loss, LaFleur said she was content.

“I was happy with my performance. I felt I did what I had to do like I did every year,” she said. “I’m ready to go to CAC and put on a show.”

In the men’s open physique, Endierich Rahming beat out Kaif Young in the E class and repeated as the overall champion over Alberto Armbrister, the B champion; Gemo Smith, the C champion and Theodore Pyfrom, the D champion.

There was a vintage showdown in the men’s masters division with baseball/football Hall of Famer Sidney ‘Butts’ Outten beating out another legend Arthur Eldon.

Outten, who turns 72 on December 30, kept the audience entertained as he strutted his muscles during his routine, just like he did since he first entered the stage in 1961.

“It’s really a lifestyle. You have to keep your body fit,” Outten advised. “I try as much as I can to stick with my diet.”

For 59 years, Eldon has been a household name on the bodybuilding scene. If anybody remembers, he and Kingsley Poitier were the first to represent the Bahamas at Mr Universe in New York.

At age 74, the Abaco native was making his first appearance in the Nationals in about eight years as he’s spent a lot of his time competing in Florida.

Eldon, quite pleased with his second place finish, also made history when he was the first Bahamian to grace the cover of a magazine before Joel Stubbs followed him as the second.

The duo also contested the open bodybuilding competition where Eldon was third in the light heavyweight behind champion Vincent Paul and runner-up Adiah Hope, while Outten was runner-up to Grand Bahamian champion Orrick Nesbitt in the men’s middle heavyweight.

The nationals also produced a few interesting combinations with the mother/daughter duo of Lorraine LaFleur and Allyssa Fox; the father/ daughter combo of Orrick and Akaela Nesbitt and the husband/wife pair of Desmond and Chanice Bain.

ENDIERICH RAHMING, men’s physique champion.

DEKEL NESBITT, women’s figure champion.

THE RESULTS HERE’S a look at the results of the Bahamas Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation’s National Bodybuilding Championships held at the Melia Hotel on Saturday: Men’s Grand Masters 70-plus - 1. Sidney Outten; 2. Arthur Eldon.

Men’s Masters - 1. Jimmy Norius; 2. Valdez Campbell; 3.

Mario Sweeting.

Women’s Fitness B Class - Julia Mellor.

Men’s Fitness - 1. Theo Burrows; 2. Rashad Cunningham.

Women’s Open Figure B Class - 1. Christy Ann Butler.

Women’s Open Figure C Class - 1. Dekel Nesbitt; 2. Charnice Bain; 3. Tina Malcolm.

Women’s Open Fitness D Class - 1. Lakeisha Miller; 2.

Lyndsay Curry.

Women’s Physique Open 1. Tammy Stubbs; 2. Lorraine LaFleur; 3. Tanya Moxey.

Men’s Junior Physique - 1.

Ryan Lewis.

Men’s Open Physique B Class - 1. Alberto Armbrister; 2. Stephen Robinson; 3. Darwin Higgs.

Men’s Open Physique C Class- 1. Gemo Smith; 2. Ryan Lewis.

Men’s Physique D Class - 1.

Theodore Pyfrom; 2. Deangelo Duncombe; 3. Henry Cooper.

Men’s Open Physique E Class - 1. Endierich Rahming; 2. Kaif Young.

Women’s Wellness - 1. Cara Saunders.

Women’s Junior Bikini B Class - 1. Allyssa Fox. Women’s Junior Bikini C Class - 1. Akaela Nesbitt; 2.

Aaliyah Rigby.

Women’s Masters Bikini 1.

Daphne Porter-Fox; 2. Sharon Bethell; 3. Stacy Sargent.

Women’s Open Bikini A Class - 1. Rosan Knowles; 2. Jill Brown; 3. Daphne Porter-Fox. Women’s Open Bikini B Class - 1. Shakira Ferguson; 2. Tanza Thompson.

Women’s Open Bikini C Class - 1. Allyssa Fox. Women’s Open Bikini D Class - 1. Akaela Nesbitt; 2.

Aaliyah Rigby.

Women’s Open Bikini E Class - 1. Carina Ferguson; 2. Sharon Bethell; 3. Stacy Sargent.

Women’s Open Bikini F Class - 1. Maria Michopoulou, 2. Terez Nairn; 3. Linda Pierre.

Men’s Classic D Class - 1.

Desmond Bain; 2. Rashied Edgecombe.

Men’s Classic E Class - 1. Andrew Sweeting; 2. Wellington Wallace.

Men’s Open Bodybuilding Lightweight - 1. Lynden Fowler.

Men’s Open Bodybuilding Welterweight - 1. Jimmy Norius.

Men’s Open Bodybuilding Light middleweight - 1. Mario Sweeting.

Men’s Open Bodybuilding Light heavyweight - 1. Vincent Paul; 2. Adiah Hope; 3. Arthur Eldon.

Men’s Open Bodybuilding Middle heavyweight - 1. Orrick Nesbitt; 2. Sidney Outten.

Men’s Open Bodybuilding Heavyweight - 1. Jamiel Hamilton.

Men’s Open Bodybuilding Super heavyweight - 1. Bernard Davis; 2. Valdez Campbell.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, August 29, 2016, PAGE 5

With Broncos, Patriots flawed, no clear favourite in the AFC

By DENNIS WASZAK Jr AP Sports Writer NEW YORK (AP) — No Manning. No Brady, for the first four games. No clearcut favourite in the AFC. With the regular season about to kick off, it’s anybody’s guess who’ll be the conference’s representative at the Super Bowl in Houston in February.

The defending champion Denver Broncos will try to become the first team to repeat since New England in 2004-05. But they won’t have the retired Peyton Manning leading the way.

Or even Brock Osweiler, who bolted from the Broncos and headed to Houston.

Instead, Gary Kubiak and the Broncos have been trying to sort out a quarterback mix that includes veteran Mark Sanchez, 2015 seventh-rounder Trevor Siemian and rookie Paxton Lynch, the team’s firstrounder this year.

“You want to see the other guy succeed, you want to see the team succeed,” Sanchez said. “So, whatever it takes to win, that’s what we’ll try to do.”

While their quarterback situation might be a big question mark, the Broncos know they’ve got one of the league’s best defences back, especially with the return of Super Bowl MVP Von

Miller.

“If we’re like last year, our team didn’t worry about the other side of the ball,” defensive coordinator Wade Phillips said. “They worried about how well they played. That’s what we want to do. We have to outplay the other team’s defence. If they hold our team to not much, then we hold them to less. That’s the way we play the game.”

New England knows who its quarterback will be at the start of the season. Jimmy Garoppolo steps in for the suspended Tom Brady, who’ll have to sit four games as a result of his role in the “Deflategate” scandal.

That might make the Patriots’ stranglehold on the AFC East appear looser after winning the division the last seven years. Well, not so fast on writing off Bill Belichick’s bunch.

“Belichick is Belichick,” Buffalo safety Corey Graham said. “He’s one of the best, so when it’s all said and done, you know he’s going to get those guys prepared and make sure they’re ready to go.”

Pittsburgh might have as good a chance to win the AFC crown as anyone, especially if Ben Roethlisberger remains healthy.

The Steelers went 10-6 and won a playoff game last season despite a down year for

BRONCOS’ Von Miller (58) makes an outside rush against the Carolina Panthers’ Mike Remmers (74) during the NFL Super Bowl 50 football game in Santa Clara, California. While their quarterback situation might be unsettled, the Broncos know they’ve got one of the league’s best defences back, especially with the return of Super Bowl MVP Von Miller.

(AP Photo/Gregory Payan) their playmaking quarterback because of injuries.

Wide receiver Antonio Brown, among the most dynamic offensive players in the league, broke his own franchise records by catching 136 passes for 1,834 yards.

Running back Le’Veon Bell is back from torn knee ligaments and should provide a boost, but will be suspended the first three games of the regular season for missing multiple drug

tests.

The Steelers will also have to contend with AFC North rivals Cincinnati, which has made the postseason five straight years.

Quarterback Andy Dalton is recovered from a broken thumb that kept him out of the Bengals’ first-round playoff loss to the Steelers. He was having a breakout season when he got hurt last December, setting a team record with a passer rating of 106.3.

But Marvin Lewis’ offence will have a different look this season with coordinator Hue Jackson leaving to become Cleveland’s head coach and wide receivers Marvin Jones (Lions) and Mohamed Sanu (Falcons) signing elsewhere as free agents.

The AFC South could be a toss-up, with Andrew Luck back from an inconsistent and injury-plagued season for Indianapolis.

Houston has a new quarter-

back in Osweiler and running back in Lamar Miller, but star defensive end J.J. Watt is still recovering from back surgery. Jacksonville is coming off a 5-11 year, but showed promise with quarterback Blake Bortles’ breakthrough season with receivers Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns, who combined for 24 touchdown catches.

Any stumbles by Denver might create an opening in the AFC West for Kansas City, which was a win away from the AFC title game despite not having running back Jamaal Charles for most of the season because of a torn knee ligament.

Oakland also appears to be a team on the rise, led by quarterback Derek Carr.

The Raiders could get off to a good start because they face just one playoff team from last season (Kansas City) in their first eight games.

“I believe we have a chance to be better,” Broncos general manager John Elway said. “There’s no question that the Raiders are better, the Chargers and Kansas City are going to be better, so that what makes it tough. Our division is one of the top divisions in the league now. It’s going to be a battle within and that’s why every game is going to count.”

LILLY KING EMBRACES ROLE AS POSTER CHILD FOR CLEAN SPORT

By MICHAEL MAROT AP Sports Writer BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Swimming star Lilly King is holding her ground on doping.

She wants cheaters out of the pool — and out of international sports.

On Friday, A little more than two weeks after the 19-year-old won the first of two Olympic gold medals, King embraced her new role as the unofficial spokeswoman for clean athletes everywhere.

“I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing,” she said during a news conference at Indiana University.

“If you’re going to be the poster child for anything, I think that’s a good thing. But I think if I feel the need to have the final word on something that’s doping-related, then I guess I’m fine with speaking out about that.

“I know I’m right on every single thing about this,” she added later.

King arrived in Rio as a firsttime Olympian and one of America’s rising young swimmers.

While she wound up claiming gold in the 100-metre breaststroke and on the 400 medley relay team, it was what took place on the pool deck that turned her into a polarising figure.

After a television camera cap-

LILLY KING, of the US, celebrates after winning the gold medal in the 100-metre breaststroke final at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

(AP Photo/Michael Sohn) tured King wagging her finger at Russia’s Yulia Efimova in the 100 breast semi-finals, King won her heat, climbed out of the pool and in a television interview explained she was no fan of athletes caught “drug cheating.”

The comments were directed at Efimova, who took the silver in the 100 breast and then beat King

in the 200 breast.

Before returning home, Efimova called King “immature” and criticised her rival for creating a “war” on the Olympic stage.

King didn’t back down then and refused to do so again Friday.

“Actually, I had no intention of planning to speak out. ... That was really just me being myself,” she

said. “I didn’t really think I was saying anything horrible, I was just kind of speaking my mind.”

Other American swimmers and Indiana coach Ray Looze, who was on the coaching staff in Rio, immediately backed King.

Their position hasn’t changed, either.

“She was speaking her mind, saying what everyone else was thinking,” said Cody Miller, who attended Indiana and also brought home two medals. “There are people who were missing out on swimming in the Olympics because of people who didn’t deserve to be there.”

Even with the Olympic Games over, King can’t escape the controversy.

She’s become a target of critics on social media, especially from Russia. King said the comments come from Russia and are “quite interesting” even though she can only read about half because she’s not fluent in Russian.

Others are a little more disconcerting.

“It is a little frustrating sometimes, like when I post a picture of me and my friend on Instagram and they’re saying things like ‘You don’t deserve your gold medal,’” she said.

But now that King is back on home soil, preparing for her

Triggs earns first win as Athletics power past Cards ST LOUIS (AP) — First Stephen Vogt delivered the lineup card to the umpires.

Then he connected for a three-run home run that helped the Oakland Athletics beat the St Louis Cardinals 7-4 yesterday.

Khris Davis also homered, his 34th, in support of rookie Andrew Triggs’ first win. Triggs (1-1) allowed three runs on four hits, walked none and struck out eight in six innings.

The Athletics have won four of their past five games and before each of the wins, Vogt has handled the duties of taking out the lineup card.

“Whatever works,” said Vogt, who went to the pregame meeting in his catcher’s gear. “You’ve got to keep it rolling.”

Triggs, who was called up from Triple-A Nashville for the eighth time earlier this month, said about 15 family and friends made the trip from his hometown in Nashville to watch the game played with the temperature 92 degrees at first pitch.

“Once you get through

those first couple of innings with that heat, you’re maxed out in sweat so there’s not much more you can do,” Triggs said. “A win’s a win but it’s sweeter because I had a pretty big crew here.”

“He’s getting rewarded with a beer shower,” Athletics manager Bob Melvin said. “To pitch as well as he has and work himself into the rotation, it’s very rewarding to get him a win.”

Jaime Garcia (10-10) gave up a three-run homer to Vogt with in the third and a two-run shot to Davis, his 34th, with in the first. Garcia has allowed seven homers in his past three starts after giving up six in his first 13 starts. Both homers against the Athletics came with two out.

“We’ve seen it a few times where he gets some quick outs and something happens and it rolls out of control for a little while,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said.

“You make mistakes and stuff happens fast,” Garcia said. “I need to do a better job than that.”

The Athletics led 5-1 af-

ATHLETICS starting pitcher Andrew Triggs throws during the 1st inning of yesterday’s game against the Cardinals.

(AP Photo/Billy Hurst) ter Vogt’s homer — his 11th of the season and first off a left-hander — but the Cardinals closed to 5-4 in the seventh behind Matt Carpenter, who doubled twice, homered and scored his team’s first three runs. His homer in the third extended the Cardinals’ streak to 17 games with a homer, matching their season best.

Oakland went up 7-4 in the eighth when reliever Jonathan Broxton was charged with two runs while getting only one out.

Vogt drove in his fourth run on an infield grounder.

Ryon Healy doubled in the third to extend his hitting streak to 14 games, the longest active streak in the majors.

St Louis brought the tying run to the plate with one out against Ryan Madson but Randall Grichuk lined out to third and Greg Garcia flied to centre for the final out. It was the closer’s 27th save in 33 chances.

The Cardinals, who completed their home stand 2-4, finished interleague play 1-8 at home and 8-12 overall. Oakland finished 7-13.

TRAINER’S ROOM Athletics: INF Billy Butler (concussion) is expected to be cleared to return today.

Cardinals: SS Aledmys Diaz (right thumb) will see a hand specialist today to determine when he could return. Diaz has not played since July 31.

sophomore season at Indiana, the hardest part will be getting ready for dual meets that lack the intensity of international competition.

And at least she is surrounded by fans who largely agree with her opinion that the sports world needs to be cleaned up.

“The support has been great, especially from the people back home,” King said. “There’s something about people who are probably my parent’s age about the US-Russia thing, which I didn’t even really think about. But the support has been absolutely unreal.”

The other big swimming controversy — Ryan Lochte’s tale about an alleged robbery — also has caused a stir on campus.

King called it “sad” that Lochte stole the spotlight from the “greatest” American swim team in history.

Looze, meanwhile, was upset that the evolving story overshadowed the second week of the Olympics. And when Looze returned to Bloomington, Indiana, he also had to engage in damage control.

“I have a Brazilian on my (Indiana) team and another Brazilian coming in and I had to apologise to both of them last night,” Looze said. “I told them it’s not representative of our country.”

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL STANDINGS

PAGE 6, Monday, August 29, 2016

THE TRIBUNE

Few contenders, more pretenders in NFC

By ROB MAADDI AP Pro Football Writer THE last four teams to play for the NFC championship have the same goal: Super Bowl or bust.

Carolina, Arizona, Seattle and Green Bay are still the class of a conference that has far more pretenders than contenders. It’s a smart bet one of the four teams will be in Houston playing for the Vince Lombardi Trophy in February.

Reigning NFL MVP Cam Newton led the Panthers to a 17-1 record before Von Miller and the Broncos stifled them in the Super Bowl. Carolina returns the bulk of its roster except AllPro cornerback Josh Norman, now in Washington.

The offence should be even better because star receiver Kelvin Benjamin is back after a knee injury forced him to miss last season.

“Given the talent we have on the offensive side, it’s about every guy maximising their role,” Newton said. “We don’t want to look back and say we didn’t maximise our opportunity with all these talents.”

The last eight teams to lose the Super Bowl have won at least 10 games the next season. But no team has reached the title game a year after losing since the 1993 Bills.

“You can never be satisfied,” Panthers coach Ron Rivera said. “We didn’t win the Super Bowl. So that right there is enough for us to stay motivated and keep moving toward our goal.”

The Cardinals were 13-3 last year and are 34-14 under Bruce Arians. A blowout loss at Carolina in the NFC title game was a bitter end to a fine season. Carson Palmer is coming off his best season, but threw four interceptions against the Panthers. Palmer turns 37 in December, so there’s urgency to win now.

Seattle also was knocked out of the playoffs by the Panthers. The Seahawks might have even more depth than they did when they almost won consecutive Super Bowls in 2013-14.

Running back Thomas Rawls — Marshawn Lynch’s replacement — and tight end Jimmy Graham are back from significant injuries that ended their 2015 seasons early. Russell Wilson led the NFL in passer rating and is still improving.

“We know what it takes to win a lot of games,” Wilson said.

Aaron Rodgers and the Packers are looking to rebound after Minnesota ended their four-year reign in the NFC North. Star receiver Jordy Nelson is back after missing the season with a knee injury. Running back Eddie Lacy slimmed down. Even Rodgers altered his diet after minor knee surgery in the offseason. If everyone around him stays healthy, Rodgers should return to MVP form.

He had 3,821 yards passing, 31 touchdowns and eight interceptions in a “down” year for him in 2015.

The Vikings round out the top 5 in the NFC. But

VIKINGS running back Adrian Peterson (28) gets the ball from quarterback Teddy Bridgewater (5) during the first day of NFL football training camp at Mankato State University. Minnesota’s offence still relies on Adrian Peterson, who led the league with 1,485 yards rushing last season. The Vikings round out the top 5 in the NFC. But they need much more production from Teddy Bridgewater to have a chance to win the conference. (AP Photo/Andy Clayton-King) they need much more production from Teddy Bridgewater to have a chance to win the conference. Bridgewater finished in the bottom third of the NFL in most quarterback categories last season.

Minnesota’s offence still relies on Adrian Peterson, who led the league with 1,485 yards rushing last season. If the 31-year-old Peterson slows down, the Vikings could be in trouble.

Whoever wins the NFC

East could be an underdog in the playoffs, though a home game comes with winning the division.

The Redskins finished first thanks to a breakout year from Kirk Cousins.

They added Norman in free

agency to bolster a poor defence. But no team has repeated in the division since the Eagles won four in a row from 2001-04.

The Giants have a new coach, Ben McAdoo, and revamped defence. They re-signed Jason Pierre-Paul and added defensive end Olivier Vernon, defensive tackle Damon Harrison, cornerback Janoris Jenkins and linebacker Kennan Robinson.

With Eli Manning and Odell Beckham Jr leading the way on offence, New York could end its four-year playoff drought.

McAdoo is one of four new coaches in the NFC. The Eagles hired Doug Pederson to replace Chip Kelly, who took over in San Francisco. Tampa Bay hired Dirk Koetter.

Tony Romo’s back injury means Dallas might start the season with rookie Dak Prescott at quarterback. If so, it tempers the excitement surrounding running back Ezekiel Elliott, the No. 4 overall pick.

Matthew Stafford and the Lions have to adjust to life without Calvin Johnson.

Megatron retired in the offseason.

Drew Brees is playing for a new contract at age 37, so the Saints could be a surprise team. The Falcons aim for consistency after losing eight of 11 following a 5-0 start. The Rams try to bring a winner to town in the NFL’s return to Los Angeles. The Bears will go as far as Jay Cutler takes them, usually nowhere.

CITY BEATS WEST HAM 3-1 TO KEEP PACE WITH UNITED, CHELSEA

By STEVE DOUGLAS AP Sports Writer MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester City kept pace with likely title rivals Manchester United and Chelsea by beating West Ham 3-1 yesterday for a third straight victory in the early stages of the English Premier League season.

However, what started as a lesson in pass-and-move, attacking football by City under new coach Pep Guardiola turned into a nervy finish at Etihad Stadium.

Raheem Sterling and Fernandinho scored in the opening 18

minutes for City, which carved West Ham open at will in a dominant first-half display that showed Guardiola’s influence is already rubbing off on his players.

Injury-hit West Ham improved in the second half and Michail Antonio’s 58th-minute header made City work for its win, which was sealed by another goal by Sterling in injury time when he rounded the goalkeeper and scored from a narrow angle.

At least one perfect record will go when United plays City at Old Trafford in the first round of games after the international break.

It’s early days, but it could well be a shootout for the title between the three teams already at the top of the standings. City currently is ahead of United and Chelsea on goal difference — and Guardiola said there plenty more to come.

“Of course, there is still room for improvement,” Guardiola said, “but we have been playing well and hopefully we can continue doing that.

“We have to make an amazing performance to win at Old Trafford. I can imagine the atmosphere. I am looking forward to live that experience.”

Arguably Guardiola’s big-

gest achievement in his first few months at Etihad Stadium is getting the best out of Sterling, who lost his place in the team at the end of last season — his first at City — and then had a poor European Championship campaign with England.

Now, he is showing the kind of form that persuaded City to spend 49 million pounds (then $76 million) to sign him from Liverpool last year. Creating more space for him to run at defenders seems to be the key difference in Sterling this season.

“We try to help him to say, ‘If you stay in that position, you re-

ceive the ball quicker,’” Guardiola said. “After, when he receives the ball, it is completely his talent.

Man City bought this player because they believe.”

City has won all five of its competitive matches under Guardiola, including two victories over Steaua Bucharest in Champions League qualifying.

In the other game yesterday, Middlesbrough maintained its unbeaten start to life back in the Premier League by drawing 0-0 at West Bromwich Albion in a game of few clear-cut chances.

Middlesbrough has five points from three games.

Rosberg wins eventful Belgian GP to close gap on Hamilton

By JEROME PUGMIRE AP Sports Writer SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS - Nico Rosberg won an incident-packed Belgian Grand Prix featuring a chaotic start, wild overtaking, a heavy crash, safety cars and a red flag.

The Mercedes driver’s win yesterday saw him close the gap to nine points on teammate Lewis Hamilton, who finished third behind Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo as the resurgent Australian driver secured a third straight podium finish.

“It’s been a great weekend, very, very happy with that result,” Rosberg said after his 20th career win and first in Spa. “Congrats to Lewis; last place to third must be pretty impressive.”

Rosberg started from pole position with teenager Max Verstappen also on the front row. Hamilton started from the back row with Fernando Alonso, after both incurred multiple grid penalties for extra engine part changes this weekend.

“Lewis wasn’t out there to battle it out, so that made it an easier weekend,” Rosberg said. “It all worked out fine.” For him at least.

Verstappen was involved in a first-turn collision with the Ferraris of Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel that shaped the race. It had a beneficial effect on Hamilton and Alonso, who avoided the early carnage, then gained places when the safety car came out after Danish driver Kevin Magnussen’s crash.

Magnussen emerged from the wreck, hobbled away and was taken to hospital for checks for a cut to his left ankle. He escaped serious injury. German driver

MERCEDES driver Nico Rosberg, of Germany, celebrates on the podium yesterday after winning the Belgian Formula One Grand Prix in Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys) Nico Hulkenberg was a season’s best fourth ahead of Mexican Sergio Perez and Vettel, while Alonso was seventh, Raikkonen ninth and Verstappen 11th.

The race start was clean enough for Rosberg, but it was mayhem behind him.

The 18-year-old Verstappen, the youngest driver to ever start on the front row, was overtaken by Raikkonen and Vettel, and then aggressively tried to go for the inside heading into the first turn, even though there was very little room.

The impeded Ferraris were squeezed wide and, as a consequence, Raikkonen came across and nudged

into the side of Vettel. Verstappen blamed them, saying “they just turned into me” but the incident was the latest of several involving the Red Bull driver.

Verstappen had become the youngest driver to win a race when he clinched a brilliant victory at the Spanish Grand Prix in May. Verstappen’s talent is undoubted, but his aggression is not to everyone’s liking.

Later in the race, he again infuriated Raikkonen, a rare feat considering the Finn’s nickname is “The Ice Man” for his usually unflappable demeanour.

Raikkonen came in for a front nose change but the

pit crew also had to put out a small fire under his car.

Others struggled as the manic tempo continued.

Spaniard Carlos Sainz lost control when his rear right tyre blew out, sending him pirouetting to a halt on the grass. He then acrobatically drove back across the track, with his rear right wheel up in the air, before parking at the side of the track. The incidents prompted the safety car to come out on lap three, and when the race re-started a lap later Sainz, Marcus Ericsson, Jenson Button and Pascal Wehrlein - who hit Button from behind - had all retired.

The safety car emerged again after Magnussen lost control of his Renault coming out of the top of the hill at Eau Rouge, spinning at speed and slamming backward into the barriers.

On lap 10 of 44, the race was halted as the red flag came out, because the barrier into which Magnussen crashed needed repairing.

When the race resumed 20 minutes later, the top five was Rosberg-Ricciardo-Hulkenberg-AlonsoHamilton. In a fascinating sub-plot, Verstappen and Raikkonen were involved in another incident as Verstappen appeared to nudge him wide. Raikkonen, who

is twice Verstappen’s age, let his frustration out, saying “his only interest is to push me off the track”.

Then, as they battled for 13th place, Verstappen zigzagged in front of him as he tried to hold position, prompting Raikkonen to use an expletive when describing Verstappen’s driving as “ridiculous”.

After the race, Verstappen hit back at Raikkonen.

“It’s a big lie. I was defending my position, if someone doesn’t like it that’s their problem,” he said.

“It’s good TV if someone is moaning.”

Hamilton overtook Hulkenberg on lap 18, leaving just Ricciardo and Rosberg ahead of him but with no traffic, Rosberg was pulling away. The reigning champion came in for soft tyres on lap 22 and was down in ninth when he came back out after a slow pit stop.

But with others changing tyres, he was soon back up to third.

“This is the best result I could have hoped for,” said Hamilton, who said on Saturday that he was aiming for a top-10 finish. “Our performance today was stronger than I expected.

Third (place) is something definitely helped by the safety car.”

DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP: 1 L Hamilton 232 points; 2 N Rosberg 223; 3 D Ricciardo 151; 4 S Vettel 128; 5 K Raikkonen 124; 6 M Verstappen 115.

CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPIONSHIP: 1 McLaren Mercedes 455; 2 Red Bull 274; 3 Ferrari 252; 4 Force India 103; 5 Williams 101.

NEXT RACE: Italian Grand Prix, September 4

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, August 29, 2016, PAGE 7

For US Open’s new roof, a question of changing conditions

By RACHEL COHEN AP Sports Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Novak Djokovic won’t mind if it rains for the next two weeks in New York.

The US Open’s Arthur Ashe Stadium is now covered by a retractable roof.

And based on his experiences at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, which already have one, the 12-time major champ expects more humid conditions once the panels slide shut — which make for a slower court.

“It allows returners like myself to get into the rally rather than seeing missiles pass by from the serves,” Djokovic said.

He added with a chuckle: “I wouldn’t complain, honestly, to play an indoor US Open throughout the whole two weeks.”

The world’s top-ranked player insisted he won’t wake up every morning praying for rain, and his stellar return game certainly doesn’t need much help.

Roger Federer, sidelined by a knee injury, also pre-

dicted this week that the roof will aid Djokovic. The Serb begins the defence of his US Open title tonight on Ashe, where he’ll likely play all his matches.

The approximately $150 million project to construct a roof over Ashe features an air management system and sliding shutters that seal the stadium, designed to try to minimise the humidity Djokovic so enjoys.

US Tennis Association officials say tests have shown little difference in the conditions open or closed, but the proof will come once matches are first held under the roof.

When that will be is for Mother Nature to determine. Wimbledon champ Andy Murray — who has played in two Monday US Open finals because of weather delays — couldn’t help but quip: “I’ll bet it doesn’t rain this year.”

Indeed, the extended forecast as of yesterday showed little chance of rain for the tournament’s first week, though of course that can quickly change.

The US Open has two

THE PARTIALLY open new retractable roof allows a ribbon of light into Arthur Ashe Stadium at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre in New York. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) meteorologists on site at all times who use proprietary software to track the likelihood of storms. They’re located next door to the scheduling room for quick communication.

On some occasions when inclement weather is possible, the shutters around the stadium’s upper bowl will start to close and the air management system will be

activated to be ready in case the roof needs to be shut.

The tournament referee makes the final call.

It takes about seven minutes for the roof to close, and if the court is dry, tournament director David Brewer said, the overall delay won’t be much longer than that. The players won’t leave the court during the process.

If it starts raining before the roof is closed, the interruption will be longer to dry the court, though Brewer hopes to avoid that scenario as much as possible.

“Frankly because we have so many people there and because so many people have asked for a roof for so long, I think we’re going to be pre-emptive in our moves to stay ahead of the

THe WeaTHer repOrT

5-Day Forecast

TOday

OrlandO

High: 88° F/31° C low: 75° F/24° C

Tampa

Tuesday

Wednesday

THursday

FrIday

Showers and a heavier thunderstorm

Showers and a heavier thunderstorm

A couple of showers and a t‑storm

Variable clouds with a thunderstorm

Intervals of clouds and sun

Times of clouds and sun

High: 88°

Low: 76°

High: 89° Low: 77°

High: 91° Low: 79°

High: 92° Low: 79°

High: 91° Low: 78°

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

105° F

83° F

103°-85° F

106°-90° F

106°-91° F

107°-91° 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.

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Key WesT

High: 86° F/30° C low: 78° F/26° C

Statistics are for Nassau through 2 p.m. yesterday Temperature High ................................................... 88° F/31° C Low .................................................... 76° F/24° C Normal high ....................................... 89° F/31° C Normal low ........................................ 76° F/24° C Last year’s high ................................. 93° F/34° C Last year’s low ................................... 72° F/22° C Precipitation As of 2 p.m. yesterday ................................. 0.17” Year to date ............................................... 27.82” Normal year to date ................................... 24.60”

eleuTHera

nassau

High: 88° F/31° C low: 76° F/24° C

Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2016

High: 85° F/29° C low: 80° F/27° C

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tiDes For nassau High

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Today

6:12 a.m.

6:43 p.m.

3.0 3.5

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7:05 a.m.

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3.1 3.5

1:04 a.m.

1:10 p.m.

0.3 0.2

Wednesday 7:52 a.m.

8:16 p.m.

3.2 3.5

1:50 a.m.

1:58 p.m.

0.3 0.2

Thursday

8:36 a.m.

8:57 p.m.

3.2 3.5

2:32 a.m.

2:42 p.m.

0.2 0.2

Friday

9:18 a.m.

9:36 p.m.

3.2 3.4

3:11 a.m.

3:24 p.m.

0.2 0.3

Saturday

9:57 a.m.

10:14 p.m.

3.2 3.2

3:49 a.m.

4:05 p.m.

0.3 0.3

Sunday

10:36 a.m.

10:52 p.m.

3.2 3.1

4:25 a.m.

4:46 p.m.

0.3 0.4

12:12 a.m. 0.4 12:18 p.m. 0.3

sun anD moon Sunrise Sunset

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weather a little bit,” he said.

For the most part, if the roof closes during a match, it will remain shut until the end. It could then be reopened for a subsequent match.

The roof will never be partially closed to provide shade, and it will be shut only for rain, not for extreme heat. The structure supporting the roof does already provide more shade than before.

During the US Open’s first week, rain would still wreak havoc with the schedule because no other courts are covered.

Additional matches could be moved onto Ashe if need be. Brewer would prefer not to shift an in-progress match from another stadium onto Ashe, but situations may arise when that’s unavoidable.

Even if it never rains, the roof is guaranteed to be closed at least once in the next two weeks. It will be shut at the start of Phil Collins’ opening ceremony concert tonight, then slide open during the performance.

andrOs

san salVadOr

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

CrOOKed Island / aCKlIns raGGed Island High: 87° F/31° C low: 82° F/28° C

GreaT InaGua High: 87° F/31° C low: 82° F/28° C

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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 SE at 7‑14 Knots SSE at 7‑14 Knots SE at 8‑16 Knots S at 8‑16 Knots SE at 8‑16 Knots SSE at 7‑14 Knots ESE at 7‑14 Knots ESE at 6‑12 Knots SE at 8‑16 Knots SSE at 7‑14 Knots ESE at 8‑16 Knots SSE at 8‑16 Knots SE at 7‑14 Knots SE at 8‑16 Knots SE at 6‑12 Knots E at 6‑12 Knots SE at 8‑16 Knots SE at 8‑16 Knots ESE at 7‑14 Knots SE at 7‑14 Knots SSE at 4‑8 Knots SSE at 6‑12 Knots SE at 8‑16 Knots SE at 8‑16 Knots SE at 8‑16 Knots SSE at 7‑14 Knots

WAVES 3‑6 Feet 3‑6 Feet 1‑3 Feet 1‑3 Feet 3‑5 Feet 2‑4 Feet 2‑4 Feet 2‑4 Feet 3‑6 Feet 3‑5 Feet 1‑3 Feet 2‑4 Feet 1‑3 Feet 1‑2 Feet 2‑4 Feet 1‑3 Feet 1‑3 Feet 1‑3 Feet 3‑6 Feet 3‑5 Feet 1‑3 Feet 1‑3 Feet 1‑3 Feet 1‑3 Feet 2‑4 Feet 1‑3 Feet

VISIBILITY 3 Miles 3 Miles 4 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 7 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 4 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 5 Miles 4 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 3 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles

WATER TEMPS. 84° F 83° F 86° F 86° F 85° F 85° F 84° F 84° F 84° F 84° F 85° F 84° F 86° F 86° F 85° F 85° F 85° F 85° F 85° F 85° F 85° F 85° F 85° F 85° F 85° F 85° F

PAGE 8, Monday, August 29, 2016

THE TRIBUNE