SPORTS SECTION E
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2018
12.21.18
12:30 PM ET THOMAS A. ROBINSON NATIONAL STADIUM
NFL
Brees, Page 3
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UNDEFEATED By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net
B
ahamian heavyweight boxer Amron ‘Sandman’ Sands continued his undefeated streak and improved to 7-0 on his professional career. Sands defeated American journeyman Francois Russell via second round TKO on the undercard of Friday Night Brawl, hosted at the Bryan Glazer Family JCC Auditorium in Tampa, Florida. “The fight was interesting. I had a better record, even though he was more experienced, so I was very confident headed into the fight,” Sands said. “We just stuck to the game plan, the game plan was to cut off the ring because we know he’s a mover and eventually I stopped him with a left body shot.” Sands is now in preparation for another fight on October 30 against Larry Knight in St Petersburg, Florida. “With a back-to-back, because my body is still in fight mode I just learn the other fighter, his strengths and weaknesses and it takes me about two weeks to learn,” he said. “Preparing for him won’t be a hard task because my game is already sharp, I just have to study him and that’s work in the film room and the gym.” Based in Orlando, Florida, at Orlando Boxing Academy, Sands continues to build his record in preparation for expansion. “Right now they’re building my record. Once I get to 10-0 you’ll see me branching out and fighting in other states and really expanding,” he said. “It’s a process, getting promoters used to the ‘Sandman’ and where I’m from. All of that is a part of the game - getting me used to different styles, different promoters, different crowds – it’s all a learning experience.”
Heavyweight boxer Amron ‘Sandman’ Sands improves to 7-0 in pro career The 24-year-old made his heavyweight debut with a TKO win over Julio Mendoza at the Lakeland Events Center in Lakeland, Florida, on August 5. He followed with consecutive knockout wins over Eric Evans (November 18 at the Crossroads Arena in Corinth) and Kendrick Houston (February 17 at the Orlando Live Event Center). He spoiled the debut for Darrell Parker with a TKO at the Florida State Fairgrounds Hall in Tampa on May 18. Sands made his pro debut at home on the undercard of “The Backyard Rumble” with a unanimous decision over Jerry Butler on May 26. He returned to the US and scored a knockout win over Cade Rodriguez on July 21. A former basketball player, Sands used boxing to help his recovery process following an injury, but eventually fell in love with the sport. He made the full transition and spent three years in the amateur ranks. “I hope to bring back the glory of the Ali era to the heavyweight division and to be the first Bahamian heavyweight champion. I would like to give the youth another option besides track and basketball as a sport. Baseball is making a comeback as well. Boxing is an individual sport where you determine how far you go with the right people around you and financial backing of course.” AMRON Sands squares off with American journeyman Francois Russell during Friday Night Brawl in Tampa, Florida. Photos by EGO Photography
ARCHER TO RUN FOR BAAA PRESIDENT By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net BAAA Secretary General Drumeco Archer officially announced his intentions to run for president of the organisation. Archer said his platform is aimed at bridging the gap between the administration and the athletes to ensure a cohesive system, integral for the development of the sport. The first initiative of his campaign was to issue a message to all athletes under the BAAA umbrella. According to Archer, his message to the athletes will be the centre of his team’s focus from which everything that they do will revolve. “Many of you have heard me screaming and cheering your names over the announcement system. I have spoken with many of you privately about your personal welfare as well as your athletic ambitions. “And in all of your moments both bright and dark, I have written you privately to tell you that you are the greatest,” Archer said. “I would be the first to confess that we (both athlete and administration) have a long, long way to go before we collectively can say that we have done all that we can to make our sport the best that it can be. With the good Lord’s will, I am determined to see more of you ascend to the podium, make a living from the sport and in exchange make you, your family and our country proud.” Archer ousted incumbent Carl Oliver 46-36 for secretary general back in 2015 and now seeks the highest office in the organisation. “To do this, I will need you…all of you to become a part of a mission that I call ‘Operation Goat.’ This mission is to ensure that you are our greatest priority, with a primary focus to create better
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Saunders catches first touchdown reception of his NCAA career By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net IT was a career milestone for Mavin Saunders while Chris Ferguson and the Cincinnati Bearcats became bowl eligible with their sixth straight win. Saunders caught the first touchdown reception of his NCAA career in his Kansas Jayhawks’ 38-22 loss to the No.8/9 West Virginia Mountaineers in Morgantown, West Virginia. His career-long, 18-yard reception from quarterback Peyton Bender put Kansas on the scoreboard for the first time with 12 seconds remaining in the first quarter. His touchdown reception was also the first to a Jayhawks tight end this season. The graduate transfer tight end has battled injuries for much of the year and has appeared in just
SIXTH STRAIGHT WIN FOR CHRIS FERGUSON AND THE BEARCATS three games this season. Saunders had two receptions for 10 yards in an addition to a two-point conversion in a week one upset 26-23 overtime loss to Nicholls State of the FCS. Jayhawks receiver Steven Sims also completed a reverse pass to Saunders for the successful conversion to give Kansas a 20-17 lead with 4:26 left to play in regulation. The 6’6”, 258-pound tight end has already been named to the preseason watch list for the John Mackey Award - doled out to the top tight end in all of collegiate football. In the American Athletic Conference, Ferguson and the Bearcats improved to 6-0 with a 37-21 win over
MAVIN SAUNDERS, of the Bahamas, has caught the first touchdown reception of his NCAA career. the Tulane Green Wave in Cincinnati, Ohio. With the win, the Bearcats became bowl eligible and also moved into both the Associated Press and Amway USA Today Coaches Top-25 polls Sunday.
Ferguson scooped up a fumble and ran for six yards. Those are the first yards and first fumble recovery of his career. Cincinnati tallied 446 yards of total offence, including 174 in the air and 272 on the ground.
The total yards marks the fourth game in a row the Bearcats have recorded 400 or more yards and is the third-highest total of the season behind 741 against Alabama Aand M and 659 at UConn. Cincinnati also scored three more rushing touchdowns on the day, bringing its total to 22 on the year, doubling last year’s total of 11. With their win, the Bearcats are off to a 6-0 start, their best start since the 2009 team went 12-0 before falling in the Allstate Sugar Bowl to No.5 Florida. The Bearcats are defeating opponents by an average of 18.4 points per game. In Division II, Michael Strachan continues to be the leading receiver for the University of Charleston Cougars and one of the leaders in the Mountain East Conference. Strachan recorded his third 100-yard game of the
season but his Cougars lost their second consecutive game of the season, 27-26 to the West Virginia Weslyan Bobcats in Charleston, West Virginia, on Saturday. He finished with six receptions for 111 yards and one touchdown. The 6’5”, 205-pound redshirt sophomore also had games of seven receptions for 117 yards, and the season debut of four receptions for 159 yards and one touchdown. On the season, Strachan has totalled 24 receptions for 520 yards and three touchdowns. He ranks second in the Mountain East Conference in receiving average at 21.7 yards per catch. He also ranks fourth in yards and fifth in aveage yards per game. He continues to be a two-sport star for UC and is the defending conference champion in the 200m, 400m and 4x400m relay.