07092025 SPORTS

2025

Yankees move ‘Jazz’ back to second base

By BRENT STUBBS Chief Sports Editor

While he prepares for the Major League’s 2025 All-Star Classic next week, Bahamian Jasrado

‘Jazz’ Chisholm Jr has been moved back to second base for the New York Yankees.

The Yankees made the announcement yesterday, indicating that Chisholm Jr will go back to his original spot in place of DJ LeMahieu, who is heading to the bench.

The Yankees had utilised Chisholm Jr at third base but, hampered by a sore shoulder, he made some wayward throws lately and New York struggled on defence at times.

Chisholm Jr returned at second in last night’s series opener against the Seattle Mariners, with Oswald Peraza starting at third.

While he was moved around on the infield, Chisholm Jr performed exceptionally well on the offensive end to be selected as a reserve for the American League for the All-Star Classic.

He, along with left fielder Max Fried, has been selected to join starter Aaron Judge for the Midsummer Classic, which is set to be played at Atlanta’s Truist Park on July 15.

Yankees’ manager Aaron Boone and his coaching staff will handle the chores for the American League team.

DENYKCO BOWLES BASKETBALL CAMP

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This is the second AllStar honour for Chisholm Jr. He was first named to the classic in 2022 with the Miami Marlins, but didn’t play because of an injury.

Now playing his first full season with the Yankees, Chisholm Jr has been selected again.

This time, he earned it by slashing .245/.341/.500 with nine doubles, 15 home runs, 38 RBIs and 10 stolen bases in 59 games.

The 27-year-old Chisholm Jr, who was reactivated from the injured list on June 3, is slashing .308/.380/.589 (33-for-107) with 17 runs, six doubles, eight homers, 21 RBIs, 13 walks and four stolen bases.

Tonny Simon Jr receives water polo scholarship

By BRENT STUBBS Chief Sports Editor

NOBLE Preparatory Academy 2025 graduate Tonny Simon Jr is heading to McKendree University in Lebanon, Illinois on an academic and athletic scholarship for water polo.

Simon, 17, will be joining the Bearcats water polo team in August on a Dean’s Scholarship that is worth about $8,000 for academic and athletic purposes.

“Getting the scholarship meant a lot to me. It has shown that the hard work I have put it in over the years was recognised,” Simon Jr said. “It’s also a big help financially and motivates me to keep going harder.”

The son of former volleyball players Shantia Edrica McPhee and Tonny Simon Sr, he thanked his family for the time and money they invested in him since he started swimming at the age of six before he transitioned into water polo three years later with the Mantas water polo team because of his size.

He has represented The Bahamas on various international teams, including the CARIFTA Games and the Junior Olympic Games. “I feel really proud

of how far I’ve come,” Simon Jr said. “ I’ve been in this sport since I was about nine years old. I’ve competed at various levels including numerous CARIFTA Games, Jr Olympics and countless international tournaments. I’ve invested a lot of time and effort to improve.”

Now that he’s preparing to enrol in college where he will pursue a degree in computer science, Simon Jr said he expects it to be a challenging experience.

“I believe that I am ready to learn and compete at a higher level,” he said. “I’m looking forward to learning from my teammates, coaches and professors.

“I also want to stay focused academically and make the most of the opportunity.”

Noble Prep Academy’s president Geno Bullard said ever since Simon Jr transferred from Temple Christian for grade 10, he has been an exemplary student, graduating with distinction.

“We’re so fortunate to have a student of his calibre, real disciplined, always on time,” Bullard said.

“Tonny has never had an infraction where we had to call his parents.

“He has been nothing but an asset to NPA and

are grateful to have had him as a student and we

By BRENT STUBBS Chief Sports Editor bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

ALTHOUGH he didn’t achieve his ultimate goal, Bahamian Kendrick Thompson said he was still extremely pleased with his men’s decathlon bronzemedal performance at the Decastar Meet over the weekend. Competing against a top-notch field of competitors from around the world at the Stade Pierre

Paul Bernard in Talence, France, Thompson accumulated a total of 8,177 points in the gruelling, 10-event competition. He was beaten out by Puerto Rico’s Ayden Owens-Delerme, who captured the gold with 8,478 and Estonia’s Johannes Erm, who got the silver with 8,236. While none of the competitors surpassed the qualifying standard of 8,550

THE SPORTS CALENDAR

SUMMER FEST

TOURNEY

July

THE Crusaders/ Warhawks Volleyball Club, in conjunction with the Bahamas Volleyball Federation, is scheduled to host its inaugural Summer Fest Beach Volleyball Tournament from July 10-13 in Rolleville, Exuma. The tournament, sponsored by Fidelity and Rubis, will feature a men’s 2-on-2 and women’s 3-on-3 format. Cash prizes of $1,000 will be awarded for the winners and $500 for the runners-up in both divisions. Interested teams are urged to call 422-4550 or 801-3131 for more details.

GOLF CHALLENGE THE Strikers’ Three Club Challenge is slated

SEE PAGE B12

Decathlete Kendrick Thompson reflects on his bronze-medal feat

FROM PAGE B11

points for the World Championship in Tokyo in September, Thompson, with his season’s best, moved into 17th place in the world standings.

If there are not enough automatic qualifiers for the event, World Athletics will rely on the rankings by the decathletes to fill out the field of 24 competitors for the championships.

Thompson, the 27-yearold former national record holder who survived a series of injuries last year to return to competition this year, admitted that it wasn’t what he expected, but he was satisfied with his final outcome in France.

“It was a great performance. After all, I scored over eight thousand points,” he said. “It wasn’t the score that I wanted, but I’m happy with it because it was a season’s best and I improved in some of the events.”

After completing Saturday’s first day of the first five events in second place behind Owens-Delerme, Thompson struggled in two of his final five events on day two on Sunday in the discus throw and the pole vault, which eventually dropped him into third place.

“I got a little carried away in the discus with some ups and downs with my throws and the pole vault,” he said. “I am expecting to get some poles for the pole vault, so once I get them, I will be working on improving in that event.”

Thompson was second overall in the 100 metres in a season’s best of 10.65 seconds for 940 points, second in the long jump with a personal best of 25-feet, 3 1/4-inches or 7.70m (985 pts), 9th in the shot put with a season’s best of 48-1 1/4 or 14.66m (769 pts), tied for seventh in the high jump at 6-5 1/2 or 1.97m (776 bpts) and third in the 400m in 48.56 (882 pts) on day one.

On day two, he was second in the 110m hurdles in a personal best of 14.19 (950 pts), 13th in the discus throw with 131-2 or 39.98m, ninth in the pole vault with 14-10 1/4 or 4.53m (769 pts), won the javelin throw with 201-7 or 61.44m (760 pts) and ended up seventh in the gruelling 1,500m in 4:39.73 (682 pts).

He noted that the competition was extremely tough with all of the competitors coming out to produce their A-game.

“We had guys from all over Europe there, including Germany, Switzerland, Estonia, even the United States and Puerto Rico,” Thompson pointed out.

“So we had a strong field there, a lot of well-known decathletes there.” Throughout the competition, Thompson said they were allowed to play their favourite music and he selected a Bahamian song, Man-In-Law by Keno Hall.

“Every time they played the song, the crowd was standing on their feet and cheering me on,” he said.

“They loved it. I think it was the number one song played there.”

As he returns home, Thompson said he will take a week off to recuperate before he starts training again, working specifically on his discus and pole vault.

“If I can do that, my scores can change tremendously,” he said.

“In all of my other events, I was right up there at the top of the standings. Those two events are my priority to get my scores higher.”

Thompson will have enough time to prepare for his next event, which will be the North American, Central American and Caribbean Track and Field Championships, which is scheduled for August 15-17 at the Grand Bahama Sports Complex in Grand Bahama.

“I just have to get my body recovered from the meet this weekend,” he said.

As he sits into the ranking for the World

Championships, Thompson said he just hopes to continue to push forward to get back to the World Championships.

“I really believe that I could go for the gold this time around,” he projected.

“This was a good test for me and I think despite

not performing well in the discus and the

vault, I proved that I am right there,” according to Thompson.

DENYCKO BOWLES ELITE SKILLS BASKETBALL CAMP HOSTS ITS ANNUAL PARENT INTERACTION DAY

By Jonathan Burrows

IT was all smiles and sweat at the Denycko Bowles Elite Skills Basketball Camp yesterday, as the camp hosted its muchanticipated annual Parent Interaction Day.

Held at the Kendal G.L. Isaacs Gymnasium, the day was all about strengthening the bond between campers and their families, as parents and siblings joined their children on the court for a morning of basketball drills, workouts and shared laughter.

The event kicked off with a dynamic warm-up led by coach Bowles, followed by a series of station-based drills designed to give parents a taste of what their children experience during the weeks-long camp.

From defensive slides and cone dribbling to passing relays and shooting drills, the gym was filled with the sounds of bouncing balls, encouraging others, and a few friendly laughs as parents did their best to keep up with the young athletes.

“Allowing the parents to see exactly what they have invested in for these past four weeks has been vital and very essential for them.

“The kids are very excited, and it allows the parents to get a better understanding and

appreciation of the level of work and discipline that it takes for our kids to make it to the next level,” said Bowles about the importance of a day like Parent Interaction Day for the campers and also the parents.

Stephon McQueen, a professional basketball trainer from the United States and a former college player at the University of North Carolina, was also in attendance, as this is his fourth consecutive year at the camp.

He also commented on the importance of parents being involved in today’s workout.

“It’s awesome and great for the kids and the parents and also for the community because word of mouth is the best way to spread the word, so when these parents go home today and tell other parents about their experiences, hopefully it will encourage others to bring their kids down,” said McQueen.

For some parents, the experience was both humbling and inspiring.

“I’m here with my sevenyear-old son, Raynard, and I love it, and I feel like it’s good for the kids, especially those who are passionate about basketball,” said Lashae Bonaby, mother of Raynard.

“It was very fun, we worked really hard.

“And I feel like I’ve lost about five pounds already,” she added.

As the session wrapped up with scrimmages

To

between parents and campers, the gym echoed with laughter and applause.

Parents left with a better understanding of their children’s dedication, and kids beamed with pride knowing

their parents were right there beside them, sharing every dribble.

The Denycko Bowles Elite Skills Basketball Camp continues this week with skill-focused sessions