Caribbean Sports Roundup

By NAN Sports Editor

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. Aug. 23, 2019: Here are the top stories making Caribbean sports news for the week ending, Aug. 23, 2019:

Patriots Jamaican Born Player Indicted For Cocaine Possession

New England Patriots safety, Patrick Chung, has been indicted on a charge of possessing cocaine in New Hampshire. Authorities said Chung, 32, knowingly possessed cocaine on June 25 while in Meredith. Chung’s arraignment is scheduled for Aug. 28th. Chung has played for the Patriots for nine of his 10 NFL seasons, winning three Super Bowls during that time.

Ex-MLB Players Linked To Caribbean Drug Ring

Former MLB World Series champions, Dominican Republican-born Octavio Dotel and Luis Castillo, were named Tuesday as part of “one of the most important drug trafficking structures in the Caribbean region,” according to the Dominican Republic’s attorney general.

Castillo and Dotel, both originally from the Dominican Republic, were implicated along with 16 others in an operation to shut down a drug ring run by César Emilio Peralta, according to a press release from Attorney General of the Dominican Republic Jean Alain Rodríguez.

Caribbean Roots Players For US Open

Top seeded Caribbean roots players, reigning women’s singles champion Naomi Osaka of Japan, and Gael Monfils of France, are among the 32 men and 32 women who will be seeded in the singles draws at the 2019 US Open. The Open will run from Mon, Aug 26th – Sun, Sep 8, 2019

No West Indies Player Makes ICC Men’s Top 10 Batting Ranks

The latest ICC Men’s Batting Rankings are out and no West Indies batsman has made it into the Top 10 ranks. Those in the top 40 on the test batting ranks are Kraigg Brathwaite and Jason Holder at 36th and 37th, respectively.

In the ODI batting ranks, Shai Hope made the top 20, ranking at 14th while in the T20I rankings, Evin Lewis made the top 20, ranking at 16th.

The news comes as the West Indies face India in the final two test matches of their series and as iconic former skipper, Brian Lara, said while is impressed with the talent available in West Indies cricket today, he wants the youngsters to work on the “mental aspect” of their game.

“Where I feel I can make an impact is their mental approach to the game. I feel as if I was to strike on one thing that I was decent at was mentally where I prepared myself strongly,” Lara told Windies Cricket’s official website. The practical side is there for the young players,’ but I feel mentally they can grow a little bit and learn a little bit more.”

West Indies Versus India Test

Meanwhile, the first test match between the West Indies and India opened Thursday in Antigua. India ended the day on 203 for six as play on day one wrapped up.

Wins For Some Windies Players

West Indies captain Jason Holder has been named Player of the Year and Test Player of the Year by the West Indies Players’ Association/Cricket West Indies at its annual awards in Antigua on Monday night.

Holder is the first West Indies player to become the top-ranked Test all-rounder since Sir Garry Sobers in 1974.

Meanwhile, Shai Hope lifted the award for ODI Player of the Year for the second year running while Guyanese allrounder Keemo Paul walked away with the T20 Player of the Year Award. Oshane Thomas was rewarded for his strong year with the Emerging Player of the Year Award.

Among the women, Women’s Player of the Year Deandra Dottin’s outstanding year was rewarded with the Women’s Two Player of the Year and the Women’s ODI Player of the Year Awards.

Other awardees on the night included First-class team of the year: Guyana; Championship player of the year: Rakheem Cornwall; Super 50 Player of the year: Yanick Ottley; Caribbean T20 player of the year: Andre Russell; Under-19 player of the year: Joshua Bishop; Under-19 team of the year: Trinidad & Tobago; and Umpire of the year: Joel Wilson.

Here’s What This Analyst Is Saying About This Haitian American Player

ESPN’s Mike Reiss believes Haitian American Patriots player, Sonny Michel, will score more than 12 touchdowns next season.

Michel, the 31st pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, got his career off to a hot start with New England last year, appearing in 13 games with seven starts and rushing 209 times for 931 yards and six touchdowns. In Super Bowl LIII, in which the Patriots beat Todd Gurley and the Rams 13-3, Michel had 94 yards and one touchdown on 18 carries.

Michel was a hammer close to the goal line last season, doing some of his best work in the playoffs (6 touchdowns),” Reiss writes. “While it remains to be seen what the identity of the Patriots’ offense will be this season, protecting Tom Brady with a running game that sets up play-action opportunities in the passing game makes a lot of sense. So Michel, assuming good health, should be a central piece of the attack.”

Win In Singapore For Alia

Jamaica’s Olympian and swimming sensation, Alia Atkinson, has claimed another gold – this time the gold medal in the women’s 50-meter breaststroke competition at the FINA World Cup in Singapore. Atkinson set a new season’s best time with 30.31 seconds. Her performance moved her up to fifth fastest in the world. Atkinson swam the 50-meter distance faster than she did at the World Championships and finished ahead of Breeja Larson of the United States.