The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

IT IS not how you start, nor how you get there. Most importantly, it’s how you finish.

• The Finish Line, a weekly column, seeks to comment on the state of affairs in local sports, highlighting the highs and the lows, the thrills and the spills and the successes and failures.

THE WEEK THAT WAS

The Bahamas Basketball Federation and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology collaborated to pull off another success National High School Basketball Championships in Grand Bahama over the weekend.

The titles were split as the Gate Way Academy Eagles took the Family Island title to Bimini, the Jordan Prince William Falcons brought the senior girls’ crown to New Providence and the St George’s Jaguars kept the senior boys hardware at home in Grand Bahama.

While the BBF and the ministry should be commended for showing the top senior high schools in the tournament, let’s hope that it can be extended to include the junior high and even the primary school teams.

At all levels, the schools have demonstrated that they have the capability to compete at the national level, as evident not just in their respective school leagues, but the various invitational tournaments held before and during the seasons.

The good thing with the national tournament is that it pits the private schools against the government schools, which bodes well for providing a ranking for the teams across the board.

Maybe, moving forward, the organisers could look at the possibility of matching at least the champions and runners-up in each division or the top four teams that make the playoffs to compete.

In that way, the teams will have an added incentive during their regular season to look forward to achieving at the end of the season. Just some food for thought.

The same could be the standard set for the nationals in all of the other sports, if the government and private schools can get on the same page in synchronising their sporting calendars for the entire year.

Richardson retires

There’s a saying that all good things must come to an end. Just ask Antoan Richardson.

In the revival of the Bahamas’ appearance in professional baseball, Richardson spent 12 years with eight organisations, three in the Major League, in a journey that got started 19 years ago when he left St Anne’s High School to attend American Heritage High School in Delray Beach, Florida.

Richardson, 33, would go on to obtain an athletic scholarship to attend Palm Beach Community College and Vanderbilt University as he was drafted four times before he finally signed with the San Francisco Giants in 2005 to begin his professional career.

But it was not until 2011 that he was promoted to the MLB as a member of the Atlanta Braves. He eventually played for the New York Yankees in 2014 and the Texas Rangers in 2015 before he finished up with the AAA Oklahoma City Dodgers in 2016.

In an unprecedented move by a professional Bahamian athlete, Richardson invited the local media to officially announce his retirement. He’s probably one of the few high profile Bahamian athletes to do it the way he did here at home. The majority of the athletes just walk away.

Richardson cited his lack of passion for the game, coupled with his inability to get back to top form after two surgeries in 2015 and his desire to launch his non-profit Limestone Foundation as his reasons to hang up his glove and take off his cleats as he calls it an end.

It’s been a long ride and the five-foot, eight-inch right hand outfielder-turned pitcher should be commended for his ability to inspire a number of players, including Albert Cartwright, to follow in his footsteps.

As he walks away from the sport, Richardson said he was delighted to have had the opportunity last year to suit up with Cartwright and eight other Bahamian players to play for Great Britain in the World Baseball Classic Qualifier in Brooklyn, New York.

The team didn’t win but it provided the impetus for what could come with so many players in the pipeline and a new Andre Rodgers Baseball Stadium being constructed and the possibility of the Bahamas eventually fielding its own team to try and qualify for the classic in the future.

Richardson could have easily pursued a career in track and field where he was a talented quartermiler or in football as an offensive linesman with his speed during his prime in high school.

But he admitted that in the sport of baseball, which was his third love, he managed to excel in a longevity career as he pioneered the next generation of players that came after the era of the initial five Major Leaguers – Andre Rodgers, Tony Curry, Wentie Ford, Wilfred Culmer and Ed Armbrister.

It’s been a tremendous run for Richardson and I want to wish his every success as he ventures into the new phase of his life as he works on mentoring the next crop of local players to continue the Bahamian legacy in the professional ranks.

The Week Ahead

So the National High School Track and Field Championships, hosted by the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, has been postponed this weekend and will now be staged next weekend.

According to reports, the Nationals had to be postponed because there was an oversubscribed entry list from the Family Islands and there weren’t sufficient hotel rooms to accommodate them this weekend.

The Nationals is now scheduled to be held on Thursday and Friday, prior to the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations’ test run for the IAAF World Relays on Saturday and Sunday at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium.

Although it’s a major disappointment for those teams and athletes who were looking forward to making the trek here this week to compete, at least they will have an additional competition either to compete in or to watch.

And at least there won’t be a clash with the Bahamas Swimming Federation as they host their final trials for the CARIFTA Swimming Championships this weekend at the Betty Kelly Kenning Swim Complex.

Over the past few years, both the BAAA and the BSF have clashed with the staging of their National Championships in June. But by having these two events split up over the next two weekends, it should work in favour of the two sporting bodies.

The BSF is preparing to select its 36-member team this weekend to represent the country in their quest to regain the title they relinquished to Guadeloupe last year in Martinique when the Carifta Swimming is held here over the Easter holiday weekend.

And next weekend, the BAAA will be putting their finishing touches on their preparation for the staging of the third edition of the IAAF World Relays April 22-23 at the stadium.

More details are expected to be released at a press conference today.