The Jamaican ladies team finished the first day of the 67th Caribbean Amateur Golf Championship atop the leaderboard, driven by stellar performances from Kierra Williams and Emily Mayne. Both golfers shot an even par 72, securing Jamaica's leading position as they vie for the George Teale Trophy.
Puerto Rico trailed closely with a plus one score, while the Dominican Republic held third place with a plus 13 score.
On the men's side, the Jamaican team, competing for the Hoerman Cup, ended the day in third place with a plus eight score. Contributions came from Oshae Haye (71), Rocco Lopez (72), Ryan Lue (76), and Aman Dhiman (77). Puerto Rico led the men's team section with a minus three score, followed by the Dominican Republic in second place with a plus one score.
The championship, featuring nine teams, is being contested at the Iberostar Golf Course in Bavaro, Dominican Republic.
Individually, Jamaica's ladies occupied three of the top five spots. Puerto Rico's Arabella Lopez led with an impressive six under par 66, six strokes ahead of her closest rivals. Tied for second place were Kierra Williams and Emily Mayne, each posting an even par 72. Mattea Issa followed closely in fourth place with a one over par 73. Holly McClean of the Cayman Islands was in fifth place with a three over par 75, while Jamaica's newcomer Kingston Burke was joint 16th with a 13 over par 85.
Among the Jamaican men, former national champion Oshae Haye was the best placed, ending day one in joint fourth place with a one under par 71. The leaders in the men's individual section were Rodrigo Huerta of the Dominican Republic and Marc Alvero of Puerto Rico, both shooting three under par 69. Juan Cayro Delgado of the Dominican Republic was in third place with a two under par 70.
Other Jamaican men's scores included Rocco Lopez (even par 72), Ryan Lue (four over par 76), Aman Dhiman (five over par 77), Jack Stein (seven over par 79), and national champion Zandre Roye (nine over par 81).
The golfers look forward to the second round of competition, set to commence at 8:00 am on Thursday at the same venue in the Dominican Republic.
DJ LeMahieu drove in a career-high six runs with a grand slam and two-run double and the New York Yankees completed a three-game sweep of the slumping Philadelphia Phillies with a 6-5 victory on Wednesday.
In a season-long slump, LeMahieu entered with a .173 batting average and 13 RBIs, but the two-time batting champion hit his third career slam and had his first game with two extra-base hits since Aug. 25.
He joined Joe DiMaggio at Cleveland on May 23, 1948, and Yogi Berra at the White Sox on Aug. 2, 1958, as the only Yankees players with six RBIs who drove in all of New York’s runs.
Nestor Cortes earned his first road win of the season, allowing three runs and three hits in 5 1/3 innings with six strikeouts. He had been 0-5 with a 6.18 ERA in 11 road starts this season.
Clay Holmes worked around a leadoff single in the ninth for his 22nd save in 30 chances.
The Yankees have rebounded from a 10-23 slide with five straight wins and remained a half-game behind AL East-leading Baltimore.
Weston Wilson homered and Nick Castellanos had three RBIs for the Phillies, who have lost four in a row and 11 of 15, trimming their NL East lead over Atlanta to 6 ½ games. Two-time NL MVP Bryce Harper went 0 for 5 with two strikeouts, hit into a game-ending double play and is in a 1-for-30 slump.
Cease leads surging Padres past Dodgers
Dylan Cease won his fourth straight start and Luis Campusano homered as the red-hot San Diego Padres rolled past the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-1 for a two-game sweep.
Jurickson Profar and Campusano each drove in two runs as the Padres won their ninth in 10 games to pull within 4 ½ games of the NL West-leading Dodgers.
Pitching in his first start after throwing a no-hitter, Cease limited the Dodgers to one run and three hits over 5 2/3 innings while striking out six and walking three. He improved to 4-0 with a 0.33 ERA in his last four starts.
Clayton Kershaw was roughed up for seven runs – three earned – and six hits in 3 2/3 innings in his second start of the season.
He failed to record a strikeout for the first time in 424 major league starts, a streak that had been the longest since the mound was moved to its current distance in 1893.
The Dodgers have dropped 10 of their last 12 road games.
Holliday hits grand slam for first career home run
Jackson Holliday celebrated his return to the major leagues with a grand slam for his first career home run in the Baltimore Orioles’ 10-4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.
Holliday, the No. 1 pick in the 2002 draft and baseball’s top prospect, was back in the majors after he went 2 for 34 with 18 strikeouts in April. In his first game back, he grounded out twice before connecting for a 439-foot blast with the bases loaded in the fifth to give the Orioles an 8-3 lead.
Grayson Rodriguez (13-4) tied for the major league lead in wins after giving up three earned runs and six hits in six innings with three walks and eight strikeouts.
Colton Cowser also went deep for the first-place Orioles, who have won four of five after losing five of six.
Baltimore lost All-Star third baseman Jordan Westburg to a broken hand after he was hit by a pitch immediately before Holliday’s slam.
Jarrett Allen has become the latest Cleveland Cavalier to sign a maximum contract extension since the conclusion of the 2023-24 NBA season.
Allen signed a three-year, $91million extension with the Cavaliers on Wednesday, according to multiple sources.
The deal will guarantee him $131million over the next five years.
Allen joins Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley as Cleveland players to ink extensions this off-season, as the franchise has established itself as a legitimate contender in the Eastern Conference.
The 26-year-old Allen averaged a career-best 16.5 points along with 10.5 rebounds in 77 games last season. His shooting percentage of 63.4 ranked fourth in the NBA.
The 22nd overall pick of the 2017 draft by the Nets, Allen spent his first three-plus NBA seasons in Brooklyn before Cleveland acquired him in January 2021.
He was named an All-Star in his first full season with the Cavs in 2021-22, when he averaged 16.1 points and a career-high 10.8 rebounds.
In 252 games in a Cavs uniform, Allen has averaged 15.1 points, 10.3 boards and 2 assists while shooting 64.2 per cent.
The Cavs reached last season's East semi-finals before being ousted by the eventual champion Boston Celtics with Allen sitting out the entire play-off series due to a rib injury and Mitchell missing the final two games because of a left calf strain.
In the four post-season games he played before his injury, Allen averaged 17 points on 67.6 per cent shooting and 13.8 rebounds.
Mercedes have revealed George Russell's own weight loss during the Belgian Grand Prix contributed to his disqualification.
Russell had pulled off a remarkable victory from sixth on the grid by using a one-stop strategy, edging to victory ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton by half a second.
However, the 26-year-old's car failed a post-race weight check, coming in at 1.5kg below the weight limit, and Hamilton was promoted to first place.
A report after the race confirmed the car had initially been compliant with the minimum weight but by keeping the tyres for longer, they lost more rubber.
The underbody 'plank' still complied with the regulations during the post-weight check, but had eroded more than expected.
Now, Mercedes have explained how the car lost so much weight during the race.
"The car can lose quite a lot of weight during the race. You get tyre wear, plank wear, brake wear, oil consumption.
"The drivers themselves can lose a lot, and in this particular race, George lost quite a bit of weight.
"George's car was the only one that had the problem, and it is because things like the tyre wear was much higher. It looks like we lost more material on the plank.
"We will collect all that data though, look at how we can refine our processes because, clearly, we do not want that to happen in the future."
Rory McIlroy says winning a gold medal at the Paris Olympic Games would be one of his "biggest achievements" in the last 10 years.
McIlroy is competing in his second Games having narrowly missed out on a podium finish in Tokyo after losing a seven-way play-off for bronze.
It has been a tough season for the Northern Irishman, who suffered U.S. Open heartbreak after letting his lead slip on the final four holes before he failed to make the cut at The Open earlier this month.
McIlroy's last major win came in 2014, with his wait for a fifth title now stretching into an 11th year. But making his return to the summer tournament, the Northern Irishman is ready to challenge for the top prize.
"For me, it's well documented I haven't won one of the big four in 10 years so it [a gold medal in Paris] would be one of, if not the biggest, achievements of my career in the last 10 years," McIlroy said.
"I've obviously had a bit more time off than I wanted with not playing the weekend at The Open, but I'm excited to be here and at a golf course where I've got a lot of fond memories from the Ryder Cup a few years ago.
"I was really close to winning a medal last time – I said I'd never tried as hard to finish third in my life – so once you're in there and especially if you are in contention for a medal, you feel the buzz of it, and it's really cool."
Golf returned to the Olympic schedule in 2016 after a 112-year hiatus, though only six of the top 12 male players in the world competed at Rio, with none of the then-top four involved.
However, eight years on from its reintroduction, only two of the top 10 golfers will not be in Paris, with Patrick Cantlay and Bryson DeChambeau ineligible for the United States due to four Americans sitting above them in the rankings.
DeChambeau, who won the U.S. Open in June, plays on the breakaway LIV circuit, which does not qualify for ranking points.
Only seven LIV players will be in the Olympic field, and McIlroy had little sympathy for those who missed out, despite recently taking a more accepting view of the tour.
"I think that's the nature of qualification for the Olympics," McIlroy added. "You could have the fifth-best sprinter in the world but if he's from a certain country, he's not able to make it.
"So I think it's just the way that the qualification works in the Olympic Games, and that's not just in golf.
"It's hard to compare the golf that they play to the golf that we play.
"That's the reason they didn't get world ranking points. If you want to qualify for the Olympics, you knew what you had to do.
"Just like if you wanted to qualify for the Ryder Cup, you knew what you had to do. They were very aware of the decision they made when they did."
Williams team boss James Vowles admitted he was surprised that neither Red Bull nor Mercedes wanted to sign Carlos Sainz for the 2025 season.
The Spaniard signed a two-year contract with the option to extend at Williams earlier this week, ending speculation surrounding his future.
Ferrari had confirmed earlier this year that he would not continue with them past the end of the season, having signed Lewis Hamilton from Mercedes to partner Charles Leclerc.
While Sainz was initially seen as a candidate to replace Hamilton, Mercedes look set to promote 17-year-old Andrea Kimi Antonelli instead, while Red Bull preferred to extend Sergio Perez's contract for the next two years.
Vowles was full of praise for the 29-year-old, explaining how it was an easy choice to bring him into the team.
"Look at Carlos," said Vowles. "Look at every team he has been in. They have improved significantly - and I get why.
"After spending the last nine months talking to him at least weekly, what I've realised is he is a performance machine.
"He will do everything in his power to transform himself and the team around him. And that's powerful. That's worth more than what he can drive the car at.
[He is] one of the top four drivers - if not at times the number two driver on the grid. Why wouldn't you want that in your stable?"
Sainz has achieved three Formula 1 wins to date, including a victory at the Australian Grand Prix in March, and currently sits fifth in the drivers' championship.
He is only 15 points behind team-mate Leclerc, who sits in third, while his five podium finishes this season have also helped Ferrari to third in the constructors' championship, where they sit 63 points behind leaders Red Bull.
There is speculation that Mercedes could make a swoop for Max Verstappen for the 2026 season, despite his Red Bull contract running until 2028.
With so many F1 futures up in the air, Vowles was surprised to find out there was not more interest in their new driver.
"Red Bull have a constructors' championship at risk - I would have Carlos alongside Max [rather than Perez]," he added.
"Mercedes have more info than I do. It's more than likely that they are very confident in the direction they will be travelling in. Whether that will be Max or Kimi, I'm unsure - but they're not fools.
"Red Bull will also have reasons behind it that I won't be aware of because they are multiple world champions. They don't make decisions lightly, but I was surprised."
Jazz Chisholm hit a pair of home runs for the second straight night, Gleyber Torres hit the go-ahead sacrifice fly in the 12th inning and the New York Yankees outlasted the Philadelphia Phillies 7-6 on Tuesday.
Chisholm, acquired from the Miami Marlins on Saturday, matched his two-homer performance from Monday and drove in five runs for the Yankees, who have won four straight games.
After the Phillies jumped out to a 4-1 lead, Chisholm hit a solo homer off All-Star Aaron Nola in the sixth inning, then launched a three-run shot off Matt Strahm in the seventh to put New York ahead.
Philadelphia tied the game in the bottom of the ninth when Josh Rojas scored on a Clay Holmes wild pitch.
Both teams scored in the 11th to extend the game before Torres’ sacrifice fly allowed Austin Wells to score the decisive run.
Michael Tonkin, who blew a save opportunity in the 11th, pitched a perfect 12th to seal the New York victory.
Will Warren got the start for the Yankees after Gerrit Cole was scratched a few hours before first pitch due to general soreness.
The Phillies still lead the majors with a 65-42 record despite dropping nine of their last 12 games.
Padres rally in 9th, stun Dodgers in extras
Pinch-hitter Donovan Solano hit a walk-off single in the 10th inning, and the San Diego Padres stunned the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-5.
The Padres entered the ninth trailing 5-3, but solo home runs off Blake Treinen by Manny Machado – his second of the game – and Jackson Merril forced extra innings.
Ha-Seong Kim started the 10th on second base, and two walks by Alex Vesia loaded the bases for Solano. Once his hit made it past diving third baseman Kike Hernandez, the San Diego crowd of 47,559 erupted in cheers.
With a win over their rival, the Padres (58-51) improved to 8-2 since the All-Star break and continued their push into play-off contention.
The Dodgers jumped on San Diego starter Matt Waldron for five runs in the first inning, including a two-run homer by Cavan Biggio, but were held scoreless for the next nine innings.
The Padres’ bullpen allowed just two hits in six scoreless innings.
White Sox blow late lead, drop 16th straight
For the second straight night, the Chicago White Sox carried a lead into the eighth inning. And for the second straight night, the Kansas City Royals rallied for a victory.
Bobby Witt Jr.’s RBI single sparked a three-run eighth inning, and the Royals beat the White Sox 4-3 as Chicago’s franchise-record losing streak reached 16 games.
The floundering White Sox wasted a sterling outing from rookie starter Jonathan Cannon, who gave up one run and one hit over seven innings.
The loss dropped Chicago to a record of 27-83, worst in the league this season and within reach of the all-time losses record of 120, set by the New York Mets in 1962.
“It’s not for the lack of effort. We’re busting our (tails) trying to get that win,” shortstop Nicky Lopez said. “It just always seems like there’s that one inning or one situation where we have to come through and we haven’t done that.”
Michael Wacha pitched seven strong innings for the Royals, allowing two runs and five hits with five strikeouts.
Vinnie Pasquantino drove in two runs, and Michael Massey hit a solo home run.
DJ Moore had a sensational first season with the Chicago Bears in 2023.
The team clearly liked what it saw and sees him as being a key part of the offence moving forward, rewarding the wide receiver with a massive contract extension.
The Bears signed Moore to a four-year extension worth $110million with $82.6million guaranteed, according to multiple media outlets on Tuesday.
The deal is the largest in franchise history, and will keep him under contract in Chicago until 2029.
The 27-year-old Moore, who had two years left on his deal, becomes the first wide receiver in NFL history to have the first 10 years of his career guaranteed.
Moore spent his first five NFL seasons with the Carolina Panthers before being traded to Chicago last March as part of a deal for the first pick of the 2023 draft. The trade also included Carolina's first-round pick in the 2024 draft, which wound up becoming the top overall pick, which the Bears used to select Caleb Williams.
Moore's first season with the Bears was the best of his career, as he had single-season personal highs in receptions (96), receiving yards (1,364) and touchdowns (eight).
Since his 2018 rookie season, his 6,565 receiving yards ranks seventh among all NFL players. He also has 581 catches and 29 TDs.
He now will be catching passes from Williams, and be lining up opposite wide receiver Rome Odunze - the ninth pick of this year's draft.
Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago both booked spots in the last four of the 2024 CAZOVA U19 Boys Zonal Championship with wins over the US Virgin Islands and Barbados, respectively, on Monday at the GC Foster College in Spanish Town, Jamaica.
The hosts came from behind twice to secure a 3-2 win over USVI and secure top spot in Pool A and a spot in the semi-finals.
USVI took the first set 25-23 before Jamaica levelled proceedings with a 25-22 victory in the second set.
A close third set saw USVI win 26-24 to take a 2-1 lead before Jamaica roared back once again with a 25-20 win in the fourth set.
The hosts then took the fifth set 15-11. USVI will also advance to the semis after finishing second Pool A.
Trinidad & Tobago had an easier time of it than the Jamaicans, defeating Barbados 3-1 to top Pool B.
T&T won the first set 25-22 before Barbados tied things up with a 26-24 second set win. Trinidad & Tobago then won the next two sets 26-24 and 25-22 to secure their spot in the final four. Barbados and the Cayman Islands will determine who joins them in the semis from Pool B in the last preliminary round match.
In the CAZOVA U19 Girls Zonal Championship, the US Virgin Islands booked a spot in the semifinals with a 3-0 win over Curacao on Monday.
They won the sets 25-12, 25-10 and 25-12 to top Group B ahead of Curacao and Aruba who will face off to determine the other semifinalist from the group.
Barbados defeated hosts Jamaica on Sunday to book their spot in the semifinals from Group A.
The Bajans recovered from a 23-25 first set loss to win the next three sets 25-23, 25-17 and 25-21 and book their spot in the semis.
Jamaica, who were playing their first game in the tournament, will face Trinidad & Tobago to see who will join Barbados in the semis.
Barbados defeated T&T 3-1 to open the tournament on Saturday.
A very youthful Jamaican team has settled and hit the ground running in the Dominican Republic as they fine-tune their strokes ahead of the three-day Caribbean Amateur Golf Championship.
The tournament is scheduled for July 31 to August 2 at the Iberostar Golf Course in Bavaro.
Team manager Sebert Walker said that the team, which travelled to the Spanish-speaking Caribbean island on Sunday, had their first of two practice sessions on Monday and that it went well.
He explained that the second practice on Tuesday, will include two new players—Kingston Burke and Kierra Williams—who travelled from the United States to meet up with the team on location.
The full team of male and female players is composed of Aman Dhiman, Oshae Haye, Rocco Lopez, Ryan Lue, Zandre Roye, Jack Stein, Kingston Burke, Mattea Issa, Emily Mayne, and Kierra Williams.
Meanwhile, Jodi Munn-Barrow, president of the Jamaica Golf Association (JGA), has high expectations for the team.
“The Jamaica Golf Association is very pleased with the team that will be representing Jamaica at the Caribbean Amateur Golf Championship. It is quite an historic moment as all the team members are under the age of thirty, including some of our juniors who will be representing us at the junior championship the following week in Kingston,” Munn-Barrow said.
“We know that the members will be playing their hardest. They had an extra practice round today (Monday), and they are really eager and are looking forward to the start of the event. We wish them all the best, and we know that they will make Jamaica proud,” she added.
Sergio Perez will retain his seat for the back half of the 2024 Formula One season, so says Red Bull boss Christian Horner.
Perez has endured a difficult campaign so far this year. After four podium finishes across the first five races of the season, the Mexican has not finished higher than fourth across the next nine events.
Red Bull have Yuki Tsunoda and the experienced Daniel Ricciardo waiting in the wings, but Horner indicated there will be no change for the second half of the season.
"Checo remains a Red Bull Racing driver, despite all the speculation of late," Horner told Dutch publication De Telegraaf.
"We look forward to seeing him perform on circuits where he has done well before."
Red Bull lead the way in the constructor standings, while Max Verstappen is the top driver.
However, the team have had a wobble in recent weeks, with Verstappen having gone four races without a win for the first time since 2020.
Emma Raducanu had to fend off jet lag as she overcame Elise Mertens in the first round at the Washington Open.
Making her first appearance since she lost in the last 16 at Wimbledon, Raducanu prevailed 6-2 3-6 6-4 over Mertens, who she also defeated at the All England Club, on Monday.
The 21-year-old elected to skip the Olympics to focus on her hard-court form and prepare for the US Open, which she won in 2021.
Raducanu's Washington campaign started with a stern test against Mertens, with the match dragging on well beyond 11pm local time.
And Raducanu conceded it was a struggle as she grappled with jet lag.
"I was playing some pretty good tennis in patches throughout, especially in the first set and moments in the third set," she said.
"I lost some focus in the second. It's not easy playing at 11:30. I got here Thursday night so I'm still jet-lagged.
"I was telling myself, 'I'm not leaving. This is not happening. You're not losing this match'.
"I've been training and playing so good in practice. I've been really on it. So on the court, I was telling myself: 'You've been so focused for so long. There's no way you're not going to try right now. You're going to fight until the very end. You didn't put all that work in for nothing'."
"I'm happy with how I pulled myself out of it, but I do need to focus."
Aaron Judge and Jazz Chisholm each hit two home runs, Ben Rice and Anthony Volpe also went deep and the New York Yankees handled the MLB-leading Philadelphia Phillies 14-4 on Monday.
Judge increased his major league-leading totals to 39 home runs and 99 RBIs. Chisholm, who logged his first professional start at third base, went deep for the first time in a Yankees uniform.
Chisholm, who played in his second game for New York since being traded by the Miami Marlins, borrowed Judge’s bat to hit both his home runs.
Juan Soto also had a strong night at the plate, going 3 for 5 while driving in three runs.
Giancarlo Stanton returned from a 28-game absence due to a hamstring strain and was 0 for 4 with a walk and a run scored.
Three of New York’s home runs came off Philly ace Zack Wheeler, who surrendered seven runs and seven hits in five innings’ work as he fell to 10-5.
Luis Gil had a quality start and collected the win after giving up three runs in 5 1/3 innings with eight strikeouts.
The win gave the Yankees their first three-game winning streak since June 9-12 as they remained one game back of the Baltimore Orioles in the AL East.
Tuesday’s game, the second of a three-game set, features an enticing pitching match-up with Gerritt Cole and Aaron Nola slated to start.
Adames, Chourio homer late as Brewers beat Braves
Willy Adames hit a three-run shot in the sixth inning, Jackson Chourio added a two-run homer in the eighth and the Milwaukee Brewers rallied to beat the Atlanta Braves 8-3.
Adames had three hits from the clean-up spot, and his 17th home run of the season gave Milwaukee their first lead of the night after Rhys Hoskins’ solo shot got the Brewers on the board in the fifth.
Marcell Ozuna hit his 31st home run of the season in the fourth inning, and Sean Murphy also went deep for the Braves, who are 3-7 since the All-Star break.
Milwaukee starter Colin Rea only allowed three hits, but two of them were home runs. He pitched 5 1/3 innings with six strikeouts in the no-decision.
Skenes strong again, Pirates lifted by HR in 9th
Paul Skenes continued his dominant rookie season with six strong innings, Michael A. Taylor hit a three-run homer in the ninth inning and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Houston Astros 5-3.
Skenes received a no-decision despite allowing two runs (one earned) and five hits over six innings with six strikeouts, dropping the rookie All-Star’s ERA to 1.90.
The Pirates improved to 9-4 in games started by Skenes. Even after another successful outing, however, the flame-throwing right-hander felt he could have performed better.
“I wasn’t executing, and frankly, got lucky,” Skenes said after the game. “I was trying to find it.”
Taylor stepped to the plate with two on and two out to face Josh Hader in a 2-2 ballgame, sending a fastball over 420 feet into left-centre field for his third home run of the season.
David Bednar converted his 19th save of the season in the bottom half, but only after forcing in a bases-loaded walk to Yordan Alvarez with two outs.
Carlos Sainz will join Williams for the 2025 season, signing a two-year contract with the option to extend, ending months of speculation on his future.
The 29-year-old will drive alongside Alex Albon next season following his departure from Ferrari, who announced earlier this year that Lewis Hamilton would be taking his seat.
Sainz was initially seen as a candidate to take Hamilton's place at Mercedes, with Alpine and Sauber, who will become Audi in 2026, also in the running to get his signature.
But, he will now replace American Logan Sargeant, who looks set to stop racing at the end of the season.
"I am very happy to announce that I will be joining Williams Racing from 2025 onwards," Sainz said in a press release.
"It is no secret that this year's driver market has been exceptionally complex for various reasons and that it has taken me some time to announce my decision.
"However, I am fully confident that Williams is the right place for me to continue my F1 journey and I am extremely proud of joining such a historic and successful team, where many of my childhood heroes drove in the past and made their mark on our sport.
"The ultimate goal of bringing Williams back to where it belongs, at the front of the grid, is a challenge that I embrace with excitement and positivity."
Sainz has achieved three F1 wins to date, including a victory at the Australian Grand Prix in March, and 23 podium finishes while amassing over 1,100 points over his career.
He currently sits fifth in the drivers’ championship and has five podiums in the first half of the season.
At the Jamaica Rifle Association (JRA) Jamaica Cup on Saturday, July 27, Corporal Shayon Francis, the top-ranked female pistol shooter in Jamaica, was announced as the newest brand ambassador for Spectrum Systems Limited, Jamaica's leading roofing supplier.
Francis was previously a member of the historic Super Six all-female shooting squad that proudly represented Jamaica at the PanAmerican Handgun Championships in Florida in 2022. During that competition, the team clinched a Bronze medal and Francis has been on the rise since.
Francis now holds the top ranking as Jamaica's leading female pistol shooter. Typically, she achieves a position in the top ten among all shooters at the Jamaica Rifle Association, where her competitors are predominantly male.
Shayon’s upcoming 2024 schedule includes the Smoking Barrel Regional Standoff in Barbados from August 30 to Sep 1. She is also set to participate in the Fast and Furious Woodleigh Qualifier on Oct 27.
Shayon, a native of St. Thomas in Jamaica, rose to the top of her sport by virtue of commitment to excellence, determination, and hard work, constantly practicing to hone her skills to become one of the region's best shooters, male or female.
Spectrum Managing Director Andrew Stanigar is happy to have Francis on board, "We previously sponsored the Super Six shooters and also the Spectrum Shooting tournament at the JRA, so this is a continuation of our support of the sport. Shayon is the number 1 in shooting for women in Jamaica, and so, it's a no-brainer that she will be backed by the number 1 roofing company, Spectrum Systems Ltd."
As part of the sponsorship, Francis will enhance Spectrum's branding and corporate image as she will be included in advertising campaigns alongside other brand ambassadors, race car driver Sara Misir and Reggae Boyz captain, Andre Blake.
Francis looks forward to representing Spectrum Systems, “I am thrilled and deeply grateful for Spectrum Systems Ltd.'s generous sponsorship as I gear up for my upcoming matches. Although my sights are set on the ultimate goal of World Shoot in South Africa 2025, I understand the significance of each upcoming match. With Spectrum Systems Ltd. by my side, I am equipped with the resources for more training sessions, enabling me to stay primed and deliver my A-game in all the matches” she said.
A new UFC Welterweight champion has been crowned as Belal Muhammad dethroned Leon Edwards in a stunning unanimous decision victory in the main event of UFC 304 at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, England on Saturday.
In the highly anticipated rematch, Muhammad, now the first ever Palestinian-American UFC champion, put on a wrestling clinic to neutralize Leon Edwards’ striking and secure a unanimous decision win.
The judges scored the bout 48-47, 48-47, and 49-46, all in favor of Muhammad.
Muhammad’s game plan was clear from the outset as he repeatedly took Edwards down and controlled him on the ground.
Despite Edwards’ attempts to escape and land strikes from the bottom, Muhammad’s grappling prowess and improved striking kept the champion at bay throughout the 25 minutes.
“It sounds like a lot of the people booing have a lot of tears in their eyes right now,” an emotional Muhammad said in his post-fight interview.
“I’ve worked my whole life for this moment, and I’m just getting started,” he added.
Edwards put his lackluster performance down to fatigue in the week leading up to the fight.
“No surprises. My body just felt tired from round one. Congrats to Belal. He got the job done and we’ll get it back again,” Edwards said after the fight.
The Kingston-born southpaw was attempting to successfully defend his title for the third time.
Tua Tagovailoa is ready to take extra responsibility after he was rewarded with a franchise-record contract by the Miami Dolphins.
Tagovailoa penned a four-year, $212.4million extension with the Dolphins on Sunday.
It makes the 26-year-old the highest-paid player in Dolphins history and fifth highest in the history of the NFL based on average annual salary.
But with the higher salary, comes extra responsibility to push the Dolphins on, says Tagovailoa.
"I'm the highest-paid employee in this office," Tagovailoa said.
"I got to get my whatever together. I got to get that right and get our guys moving in the direction that we need to go to be able to do those things.
"We're looking forward to what we can do to help this team win more games and win games when it matters."
Tagovailoa led the league for passing yards in 2023, registering 29 touchdowns – a career-high.
And Miami coach Mike McDaniel is relishing the future with Tagovailoa at the helm.
"I'm fired up for the organisation, really fired up for Tua and the work he's done to receive something like that," McDaniel told reporters.
"I think it's a cool validation for sure.
"Quite frankly, Tua has shown me that throughout the entire offseason that he knows what time it is.
"Fortunately, him and all of his teammates can go out and determine whatever the narrative is built upon, by the way they play."
Lewis Hamilton was "gutted" for George Russell after the latter's disqualification from the Belgian Grand Prix handed victory to the seven-time Formula One champion.
Russell finished just ahead of his Mercedes team-mate Hamilton in Sunday's race to seal a one-two for the team at Spa.
Mercedes had taken a risky strategy with Russell, who went 34 laps on just one set of tyres.
However, an investigation after the race found Russell's car to be 1.5kg underweight, and so Hamilton was handed the race win.
In a post on Instagram, Hamilton said: "Mixed feelings for today's result. Obviously, happy to get the win but I feel for George and it's disappointing for the team not to get the one-two.
"A lot of positives to take from today, though. At the start of the weekend, we didn't expect to be at the front or the pace we had, so it's great to see just how much progress has been made and that we are in the fight.
"We take all these positives with us into the break and will come back a stronger team ready to keep the momentum going."
In a subsequent post on his Instagram story, Hamilton wrote: "Great drive today @georgerussell63, really am gutted for you and the team losing the win and also our 1-2 which the team deserved. Let's keep pushing, work towards another 1-2 in the second half."
Russell, meanwhile, was left heartbroken by the decision, which denied him his second win of the season.
"Heartbreaking… We came in 1.5kg underweight and have been disqualified from the race," Russell wrote in a post on social media.
"We left it all on the track today and I take pride in crossing the line first. There will be more to come."
Hamilton is now sixth in the drivers' standings, with 150 points, 34 ahead of Russell in eighth.
Reigning champion Max Verstappen picked up another two points courtesy of Russell's disqualification, taking him onto 277 at the top of the standings, though the Dutchman has not won in four races, his worst such streak since 2020.
The Baltimore Orioles scored six runs in the third inning en route to an 8-6 victory over San Diego on Sunday to snap the Padres' season-high seven-game winning streak.
The AL East-leading Orioles (62-43) only had six hits but took advantage of some shaky Padres pitching to win for just the second time in seven games.
Ryan Mountcastle hit a two-run single in the third inning that made the score 4-0, and added another two-run hit in the eighth to give Baltimore a bit of a cushion after San Diego scored five straight runs to pull within one.
Cedric Mullins came up big with the bat and the glove, hitting a two-run double in the third inning and later in the eighth inning he raced down a Manny Machado drive to deep centre field and leapt at the warning track to make the catch.
The Padres (57-51) were looking to win eight straight games for the first time since last September but were undone by the wildness of starter Randy Vasquez and lost for the first time since July 19.
After posting a 1.71 ERA in his last five starts, Vasquez allowed the first six batters of the third inning to reach base before he was pulled. He walked four and was ultimately charged with six earned runs.
Xander Bogaerts helped the Padres rally with a two-run home run in the sixth inning, just his fifth home run of the season and first since May 13, but that would be as close as San Diego would get.
Guardians beat Phillies to take series between league leaders
The Cleveland Guardians rallied for a 4-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies to take two of three in this series between the two best teams in the majors.
After Jhonkensy Noel tied the score with a three-run homer in the fourth inning, Steven Kwan put the AL-best Guardians (63-42) ahead with a solo shot in the seventh.
It was the 11th home run of the season for Kwan, who leads the majors with a .342 batting average.
Philadelphia's Kyle Schwarber led off the game with a home run and added a two-run shot two innings later for his 22nd of the season. It was his 29th career multi-homer game and fourth of the season.
Schwarber, though, grounded out in the ninth inning and Trea Turner followed with a ground-out of his own, as Cleveland's Emmanuel Clase pitched a scoreless inning to nail down his AL-best 33rd save.
The Phillies (65-40) have the majors' best record, but they've lost seven of 10.
Edwards becomes second Marlin to hit for cycle in loss to Brewers
Xavier Edwards hit for the cycle for the Miami Marlins, but it came in a losing effort as the Milwaukee Brewers pulled out a 6-2 victory.
Edwards opened the game with a home run, added a double in the fifth, a triple in the seventh and legged out an infield single with two outs in the ninth to record just the second cycle in Marlins franchise history.
Luis Arráez is the only other Miami player to hit for the cycle, notching his on April 11, 2023, against the Phillies.
Edwards' lead-off homer was the first home run of his career, but the lead was short-lived, as the Brewers responded with two runs in the bottom of the first via a Jake Bauers home run.
Bauers also tripled to help the NL Central-leading Brewers (60-45) avoid getting swept by the last-place Marlins (39-67).
Devin Williams pitched a scoreless ninth inning for Milwaukee in his first appearance of the season after being sidelined since spring training with stress fractures in his back.
The two-time NL reliever of the year faced five batters, allowing a hit and a walk while striking out one.
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