SPORTS SECTION E
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2025
NFL Picks, Page 5
‘Jazz’ and Yanks regain share of AL East lead
NASSAU FLIGHT SERVICES BALLERS BEAT THE PANTHERS Aaron Judge ties MLB record by hitting 50 homers 75-54
for 4th time, matching Ruth, McGwire and Sosa NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge tied the major league record by reaching 50 home runs for the fourth time, hitting a pair of
NASSAU ROYAL SAILING CLUB CELEBRATION TO RECOGNISE THE ‘SHROUD’ – PAGE 2
longballs as the New York Yankees regained a share of the AL East lead for the first time since July with an 8-1 win over the Chicago White Sox. Max Fried (19-5) won his sixth straight start and became the major leagues’ first 19-game winner. Jasrado “Jazz” Chisholm Jr connected on an RBI double in the third inning to help the Yankees win last night. New York (90-68) has won seven of eight, moving a season-high 22 games over .500 and getting to 90 wins for the seventh time in the last eight full seasons. The Yankees, who had not held a share of the division lead since before play on July 3, are tied with Toronto atop the division with four games left. The Blue Jays, who have lost six of seven, hold the tiebreaker. Judge’s 50th homer, a three-run drive off
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JAZZ CHISHOLM JR., left, gestures toward teammates after hitting an RBI double as White Sox’s Miguel Vargas, right, looks away during the third inning last night. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Off the field and onto the podium: Why sport-specific performance training matters By Dr Kent L Bazard MOST athletes know the importance of practice. But when it comes to preparation, many still rely on general workouts and conditioning programmes that fail to reflect the real demands of their sport. This is where sport-specific performance training makes all the difference. Defined as training designed to replicate the physical, biomechanical, and energetic requirements of a particular sport, sport-specific training is more than just lifting weights or running drills. It is a science-based approach that blends strength, power, speed, mobility, and skill transfer — all tailored to the actual needs of the athlete. In short, it is the training that helps athletes not just look strong or feel fit, but actually perform better in their sport. The purpose of this type of training is twofold: to optimise performance and to reduce the risk of injury. By addressing the unique demands of a sport — whether that involves change-of-direction speed, explosive power, or joint
stability — athletes can build resilience while also sharpening the exact tools required for competition. This isn’t just theory. A growing body of sports science research supports the value of sport-specific training. In 2020, the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research published findings showing that resisted sprint training significantly improved acceleration in track athletes more than traditional strength training alone. Meanwhile, a large-scale review in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that sport-tailored injury prevention programs reduced non-contact ACL injuries by up to 50 percent. Other studies have confirmed that plyometric training, when aligned with sport-specific movement patterns, results in greater transfer to on-field or oncourt performance. These principles are not limited to professional sport, though they are widely used there. Elite athletes such as Serena Williams have long relied on individualized off-court programs that
DR KENT BAZARD incorporate movement circuits, mobility drills, and targeted strength routines tailored to the demands of tennis. Cristiano Ronaldo’s training plan includes sprint mechanics, weighted jump training, and deceleration work designed to mirror the specific conditions of high-level football. The Miami Heat have become known across the NBA for integrating biometric monitoring, strength asymmetry testing, and mobility-based loading strategies to extend player longevity and performance.
Olympic-level sprinters, often seen as the purest expression of athletic movement, also benefit from off-track interventions such as contrast training, rotational core work, and sprint-specific plyometrics. These methods have proven especially effective in reducing soft tissue injuries, particularly in the hamstrings, where eccentric strength is critical to speed development and injury prevention. For youth and developing athletes, the benefits are just as powerful. At Empire Sports Medicine, we routinely see athletes struggling with chronic issues such as hamstring tightness, groin pain, or shoulder dysfunction — not because they aren’t working hard, but because their training lacks specificity. Once properly assessed and placed into a sportaligned performance programme, these same athletes often see improvements not only in strength and mobility, but also in confidence, coordination, and injury resilience.
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By JONATHAN BURROWS Tribune Sports Reporter jburrows@tribunemedia.net THE Nassau Flight Services Ballers booked their ticket to the Bahamas Government Departmental Basketball Association (BGDBA) championship series with a 75-54 win over the Ministry of Youth Sports and Culture Panthers yesterday at the AF Adderley Gymnasium. The win closed out a hard-fought semifinal bestof-five series, with the Ballers taking it 3-2. The Panthers had forced the deciding game five after an 0-2 deficit. Abel Joseph led the Ballers with a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds. His high IQ and on-court coach mentality paved the way for the Ballers to execute this win. The Panthers’ leading scorer was Brandon Strachan, who finished with 19 points and eight rebounds in the losing effort. With the win, the Ballers move
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EFFECTS OF FAILED GRAND SLAM TRACK LEAGUE FELT IN DIFFERENT WAYS ACROSS WORLDS By EDDIE PELLS AP National Writer TOKYO (AP) — The failure of Michael Johnson’s attempt to transform track and field with the Grand Slam Track league hovered over big swaths of the sport’s world championships over its nine-day run in Tokyo. Dozens of athletes who competed but didn’t get paid adjusted their 2025 schedules so they could run in the league’s four events,
which turned out to only be three after the final meet in Los Angeles was scrubbed. Those who struggled at worlds — distance runners who participated in the GST stood out — could look at the need of trying to peak three or more times over the season — for the league, for their national championships, then for world championships — as part of their problem. But others who
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THE SPORTS CALENDAR BASKETBALL UPTOP TOURNAMENT THE Uptop Elite Basketball Club presents its second annual Sean TipOff Tournament from September 24-28 at the DW Davis Gymnasium for junior and senior boys’ teams. The tournament started yesterday and continues through Friday at the same time. On Saturday, the action will get
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underway at 10am. The registration fee is $250 per team and interested persons are urged to contact coach Lamont “Redhead” Armaly at 826-8306 for more information and to register your teams. BASKETBALL BBSF BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT THE Bahamas Baptist Sports Federation will
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