The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

IT’S 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 the local sports scene, highlighting the highs and the lows, the thrills and the spills and the successes and failures.

THE WEEK

THAT WAS

Last week, the Bahamas Government rolled out the red carpet with the ceremony to name the road from Thompson Boulevard to the Kendal GL Isaacs Gymnasium, the Mychal Thompson Boulevard.

What a fitting tribute, although it took forever to give Thompson his just recognition for being the first foreign born player to be drafted as the No.1 pick in the National Basketball Association (NBA), who went on to win two titles back-to-back with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1987 and 1988. Thompson, who retired in 1991, was also enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

While it wasn’t the first type of recognition that was bestowed upon Thompson, this one was a little more tangible than when the government hosted the summer basketball camp in honour of Thompson and Osbourne ‘Goose’ Lockhart, who played with the world-renowned Harlem Globetrotters.

As modest as Thompson is, he will tell you that the street naming was not overdue and even if it didn’t happen, it wouldn’t have been a problem for him. But in defence of Thompson, the recognition was long overdue, but one that couldn’t have happened to a more deserving athlete.

Those of us who are old enough to remember can recall how we lined the streets to welcome Thompson home after he helped the Lakers to win the NBA title. It was a tribute that was fitting for a king, reminiscent of the celebrations that take place in the streets of the cities whenever a NBA, National Football League or Major League title is won.

Since his achievement that was heralded by so many Bahamians whether they were Lakers fans or haters, the government overlooked him for political reasons by naming the national basketball gymnasium in the country in 1990 after the late Sir Kendal GL Isaacs, a former Governor General, whose claim to fame in sports was being one of the noted tennis players.

Then just after she won both the Olympic Games (2004 in Athens, Greece) and the IAAF World Championships (2005 in Helsinki, Finland) 400 metres gold medals, the government renamed John F Kennedy Drive after Tonique Williams-Darling. It was a landmark achievement as it was the first major road to be named after an athlete in New Providence.

Thompson, at the age of 60, got to smell his flowers while he was still alive as he got to enjoy the naming during a celebratory year for his family as two of his sons, who were in attendance, won the NBA title with the Golden State Warriors (Klay Thompson) and the D-League title (Mychel Thompson) with the Golden State’s affiliated Santa Cruz Warriors.

And despite the fact that he tried to downplay the street naming, Thompson hinted at the fact that he hopes one day that he can ride through the boulevard to get to the Mychal Thompson Basketball Arena or Gymnasium, whichever one it is called when the proposed stadium is erected by the government.

People will look at something like this as insignificant, but I firmly believe that more recognition needs to be given to our athletes for their achievements.

It was also good to see the government finally took the time out to honour and recognise more than 20 Bahamian athletes by placing their images on the Sports Legends Walk that is on display leading up to the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium in the Mychal Thompson Boulevard.

Sir Durward ‘Sea Wolf’ Knowles (sailing), Thomas A Robinson (athletics), Andre Robinson (baseball), William ‘Yamma Bahama’ Butler Jr (boxing), Wenty Ford (baseball), Anthony Carroll (bodybuilding), Rick Fox (basketball), Frank Rutherford (athletics), Ed Armbrister (baseball), Captain Rollie Gray (sailing), Everette ‘Elisha Obed’ Ferguson (boxing), Cecil Cooke (sailing), Osbourne ‘Goose’ Lockhart (basketball), Mychal ‘Sweet Bells’ Thompson (basketball), Michael Mathieu (athletics), Ramon Miller (athletics), Tureano ‘Reno’ Johnson (boxing), Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace (swimming), Demetrius Pinder (athletics), Leevan ‘Superman’ Sands (athletics), Chris ‘Fireman’ Brown (athletics), Savatheda Fynes (athletics), Debbie Ferguson (athletics), Pauline Davis-Thompson (athletics), Chandra Sturrup (athletics), Eldece Clarke (athletics), Tonique Williams (athletics) and Mark Knowles (tennis) all had their images placed on the Wall of Fame.

Their portraits were all done by celebrity artist Jamaal Rolle, who is also The Tribune’s cartoonist. Hopefully, they can also erect some statues of these athletes for posterity.

And, at the same time, let me put in a plug for the road that was to be named after Mark Knowles, who carried the Bahamian flag for more than two decades in the International Tennis Federation and Davis Cup play. There was a hint that the new road that passes from the round-a-bout near the Government High School to Stapledon Gardens will be named after Knowles.

One of the names notably missing from the list of Sports Legends recognised was Roger Smith, who also had a tremendous career in tennis. If I could suggest, it might be a good idea to name the road that leads from the new Mychal Thompson Boulevard to the National Tennis Centre the Roger Smith Lane.

And if anybody is seriously taking note of my recommendations, how about a similar honour for the ‘Golden Girls’, the ‘Golden Knights’ and even possibly Frank Rutherford in athletics and boxing legend Elisha Obed.

There is a new road that extends from the round-a-bout at Government High School travelling north to the road that is adjacent to the road that travels from Thompson Boulevard to Baillou Hill Road. Why not name that the ‘Golden Girls Highway.’ There are a couple side roads that lead into the new and original Thomas A Robinson Stadium. They could be the ‘Golden Knights’ and Frank Rutherford Lanes.

At the Baillou Hills Sporting Complex, there’s a national boxing gymnasium that should bear the name of Elisha Obed, the first Bahamian to win a world boxing championship title. It seems as if nobody wants to do anything to keep the name of this legend alive while he too is still alive.

Don’t know where this will end up, but just thought it could be some food for thought and consideration.

The Week Ahead

From Toronto, Canada, where she left her mark as a Pan Am record holder and double medallist to Kazan, Russia for the FINA World Championships, Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace is expected to lead another contingent of Bahamian swimmers at the next biggest global competition.

The road to glory won’t be an easy one for Vanderpool-Wallace, although she is currently ranked at No.4 in the world in the women’s 50m freestyle. But based on the way she has been performing of late, she could end up being a spoiler in the field of world-class competitors.

And even though they are not in contention to compete for a medal, we still need to keep our eyes on Dustin Tynes, Joanna Evans, Ariel Weech and Elvis Burrows, who all make up the list of Bahamians competing in the meet, which sets the tone for the 2016 Olympic Games.

We wish our swimmers every success once again when the swimming competition starts on Sunday.