SPORTS SECTION E
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2017
Chavez Young and Canadians win title By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net CHAVEZ Young’s late season addition to the Vancouver Canadians gave the second year pro an opportunity to join a championship-winning team. The Canadians clinched the Class A-Short Season Northwest League title with a 2-1 win over Eugene Emeralds at Nat Bailey Stadium in Vancouver, Canada, on Tuesday night. An offensive struggle for both teams, the Canadians managed only two singles en route to their fourth Northwest League title and first in six years.
Vancouver previously won the league crown in 2011, 2012 and 2013 but was defeated in the finals in 2014. Vancouver has now won four championships in seven years since becoming a Single-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. The Emeralds led 1-0 in the fourth but a rotation of five Canadians pitchers limited them to just four hits. They took the lead the following inning and held on down the stretch for the title. Young had his best outing in game one of the four game series. It was the only game he recorded a hit and he finished 2-4 at the plate,
CHAVEZ YOUNG in action.
including a solo home run and two runs scored. His home run gave the Canadians a 2-1 lead in the third inning before they went on to take a 1-0 lead in the series. The 20-year-old outfielder cooled off for the remainder of the series and finished 0-10 in the final three games. He joined the Canadians on September 6 for his second stint with the club after he completed play in the Appalachian League with the Bluefield Blue Jays. In June, Young began the season with the Canadians but appeared in just five games before he was reassigned to Bluefield.
Buddy takes leader role By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net fter a busy offseason, Buddy Hield and the Sacramento Kings will be back with the organisation in an official capacity with 2017-18 training camp set to tip-off in less than two weeks. Training camp opens Tuesday, September 26 and will run for approximately a week before the NBA preseason gets underway. Sacremento will open the preseason at home against the San Antonio Spurs on October 2 and they travel to face the Spurs on the road just days later on October 6. They get their first opportunity for a back-toback when they face the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland Trailblazers on October 8-9 respectively. Those games are followed by a matchup with the Los Angeles Clippers October 12 and the preseason concludes October 13 against the defending champion Golden State Warriors. The Kings open the regular season Wednesday, October 18 against the Houston Rockets. This will be Hield’s first training camp with the Kings after he joined the team in midseason as a trade piece last season. In his first full season with the team, Hield is looking to take on a leadership role with the Sacramento Kings and represent the “culture change” the franchise is eager to make. Hield turned down an opportunity to appear at the Basketball Without Borders Americas camp hosted in the New Providence last July and opted instead to attend the Kings’ Summer League minicamp to set the tone as a leader to the younger players on the roster. “It’s my role now, it was a
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role for me since I was in college and I’m just trying to make that translate. I know we added some new vets to the team, but I’ll still take on a leadership role, even when they get here, trying to be the leader the young guys need me to be. Somebody has to make a change and we’re trying to change the culture around here,” Hield said. Hield is expected to lead a young core on the roster that includes fellow second-year players Skal Labissiere, Georgis Papagiannis and a starstudded rookie class featuring No.5 selection in this year’s draft: De’Aaron Fox, Justin Jackson, Harry Giles, Frank Mason III and European import Bogdan Bogdanovic. The Kings also picked up veteran leadership in free agency with the additions of George Hill, Vince Carter, and Zach Randolph. Hield was named to the 2016-17 NBA All-Rookie First Team this offseason. He became the 16th player in Kings franchise history and the 11th during the Sacramento era to earn All-Rookie Team distinction, a list that includes teammate Cauley-Stein (2015-16 All-Rookie Second Team). He played 57 games with the New Orleans Pelicans before he was traded to the Kings in February. In 25 games for the Kings, Hield made 18 starts and averaged 15.1 points and 4.1 rebounds per game and 42 per cent shooting from three-point range. On the season he averaged 10.6 points, 3.3 rebounds on 42 per cent shooting from the field and 39 per cent from three-point range. He finished fourth in 3-point and free throw percentage, 8th in field goal percentage and 11th in rebounding among all rookies.
I AM YOUR LEADER: Buddy Hield and the Sacramento Kings open the regular season against the Houston Rockets on Wednesday, October 18. (AP Photo/Steve Yeater)
NFL
PRO Picks, Page 3
AMERICAN FOOTBALL STANDOUTS FLY WITH THE EAGLES By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net THE Rabun Gap-Nacoochee Eagles have been a pipeline for young Bahamian student athletes in recent years and another pair has been added to the football programme this fall. Senior running back Bailey McBride and junior wide receiver Devyn Munroe are the latest Eagles to join the Rabun County, Georgia side the gridiron. McBride has been an early season standout for the Eagles and has racked up 167 yards and six touchdowns on 23 carries. He opened the season with 112 rushing yards and four touchdowns in a 50-14 win over the Carolina Gladiators in the season opener. After just two carries for -8 yards in a 47-0 loss to Franklin, he bounced back in game three with eight carries for 63 yards and two touchdowns in a 34-12 win over the Anderson Cavaliers. Munroe has just three catches for 25 yards on the season thus far. The Eagles return to the field Friday, September 15 in a non-conference game against Robbinsville (North Carolina) in the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association. In his sophomore season, his first with the Eagles, McBride appeared in just four games and totalled 74 rushing yards with one touchdown. He also caught three passes for 45 yards and one touchdown and on the defensive side, he finished with 10 tackles and one interception. As a junior, he got more opportunities to carry the ball and appeared in nine games. He finished with 410 yards and one touchdown on 116 carries. In the passing game, he also had eight receptions for 75 yards and one touchdown. Munroe also looks to build on his sophomore season with the programme when he finished with 14 receptions for 172 yards and one touchdown. His best performance came against the Hickory Hawks when he caught four passes for 63 yards and a score. As a defensive back, he finished with 13 tackles and two interceptions. Rabun Gap has hosted a series of school fairs and recruitment drives in the Bahamas to attract and recruit potential student athletes to the college preparatory day and boarding school.
Bahamian college football players in NAIA action By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net BAHAMIAN collegiate football players Michael Bullard and Dwight Butler and their Peru Bobcats will have an opportunity to play in a televised game this weekend in National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Division I play. The Bobcats will face Missouri Valley at 11am Saturday, September 16 on ESPN 3. Peru State, located in Peru, Nebraska, competes in the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) in NAIA Division I. The conference has partnered with Niles Media Group to bring wider exposure to the league and this
is the first of two televised games for Peru. After an injury shortened sophomore season, Bullard is on pace to surpass last year’s numbers and has emerged as one of the defensive leaders in his third year with the programme. He currently leads the team with 18 tackles - 10 unassisted and 1.5 for a loss. Bullard notched six total tackles in the Bobcats’ 31-14 victory against Avila University in the season opener. He finished with seven tackle and one fumble recovery in a 40-20 win over Central Methodist in game two followed by five tackles, including one for a loss in a 21-19 loss to Evangel. Butler has yet to compile any statistics for the season. In 2016, the Bobcats finished 5-6 overall and 1-4 in
BAHAMIAN collegiate football player Michael Bullard.
the HAAC. Bullard was limited to just six games due to injury in his sophomore season. He finished with 24 tackles and six passes defended on the year. His top outings of the season included four tackles and two passes defended against Avila and 10 tackles against Mid America Nazarene. In his freshman season with the Bobcats, he appeared in seven games and finished with seven tackles, four passes broken up and one interception. Butler, in his freshman season at wide receiver, caught just two passes for 12 yards. In the team’s outlook preview, head coach Steve Schneider expressed cautious optimism about the season, particularly about
the strength of conference play. Four teams in the HAAC were ranked in the preseason poll. “Our guys are excited to get the season going. We had a great offseason and are ready to go,” stated Schneider. He added: “We have a nucleus of players back. This is my sixth year as head coach and this is as much experience as we’ve had.” At the high school level, Bullard and Butler were members of the Rabun Gap Nacoochee High School programme that led the team to an historic 11-3 finish overall on the season. They led the Eagles to the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association State Championship, Division III title game.