Leighton Levy

Leighton Levy

Leighton Levy is a journalist with 28 years’ experience covering crime, entertainment, and sports. He joined the staff at SportsMax.TV as a content editor two years ago and is enjoying the experience of developing sports content and new ideas. At SportsMax.tv he is pursuing his true passion - sports.

Kyle Myers intends to come good with the bat to spur the Barbados Royals to their third title when the 2022 Hero CPL final gets underway at the Providence Stadium in Guyana on Friday night.

Rovman Powell said it would mean the world to him should he lead the Jamaica Tallawahs to the 2022 Hero CPL title when they take on the Barbados Royals in the finals at Providence, Guyana on Friday night.

Reggae Boyz central defender Damion Lowe said the team is in good spirits and looking forward to their friendly against two-time world champions Argentina in New Jersey on Tuesday.

Stafanie Taylor scored an unbeaten half-century to lead the West Indies Women to a four-wicket victory over New Zealand in the final ODI match at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua on Sunday.

Taylor scored an 89-ball 51 before retiring as the West Indies Women, chasing 168, scored 169-6 with 38 balls remaining for a consolation victory in the three-match series.

Lauren Down scored 53 and Amelia Carr, 30, in New Zealand’s total of 168 in 48.1 overs. The West Indies Women bowled well to restrict New Zealand and were led by their captain, Hayley Matthews, who dismissed Down, finishing with figures of 2-23 from her 10 overs.

Spinner Karishma Ramharack took 2-28 and Afy Fletcher 2-31 as the attack gave the batters an achievable target.

After the West Indies lost the wickets of Natasha McLean and Shakibi Gujnabi early in the chase, Matthews scored 40, and with Taylor, put on 81 for the third wicket before she was dismissed by Brooke Halliday who took 1-16 from her four overs.

Taylor retired hurt shortly thereafter leaving, Aaliyah Alleyne to score an s unbeaten 27  as she and Shakera Selman (5) took the West Indies Women across to victory.

 

 

 

Olympic sprint relay gold medallist Briana Williams is about to launch a new chapter of her track and field career under the guidance of new coaches to begin the 2022/2023 track season.

Newly appointed Reggae Boyz head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson believes his first order of business is to develop a national philosophy on how Jamaican wants to play football.

Former Jamaica national football footballer Christopher Zaidie died on Sunday after a bout with cancer. He was 55.

Between the 1980s and 1990s, Zaidie, a midfielder, was a staple in local football in Jamaica.

As a member of the St. George’s College Manning Cup team between 1980 and 1984, Zaidie was teammates with the likes of Ziggy Marley, Andrew Price, Christopher Morgan, Michael Forbes, Nicholas Zaidie, Brian Hamilton and Garfield Pearcy. Under the guidance of the late coach Dennis Zaidie, he won the coveted triple twice – Manning Cup, Nutrament Shield, and Olivier Shield in 1983 and the Manning Cup, Walker Cup and Olivier Shield in 1984.

Dennis Zaidie and Jackie Bell, who coached Premier League club Santos, would perish in a motor vehicle accident in Mexico in 1986 having gone there to watch a match in the FIFA World Cup.

Chris would go on to represent Jamaica during the 1994 World Cup campaign, playing six matches between 1992 and 1993.

Price, who is now the head coach at Jamaica Premier League club Humble Lion and three-time Manning Cup champions Calabar High School, has been close friends with Zaidie since they played against each other in Alberga Cup football in the late 1970s– Zaidie for St Peter and Paul, Price for Alpha.

“Chris was more than a teammate, he was a friend and a brother and somebody who I could depend on and he could on me,” Price recalled of Zaidie, who at the time of his death worked as a teacher in Miramar, Florida.

“We were close from we were kids and played Alberga Cup football. We ended up at George’s and as schoolboys played for Kingston Lions in the now defunct Caribbean semi-professional league and Boys Town FC.”

Zaidie is survived by his wife Debbie and two children.

Goalkeeper Andre Blake has been added to the Reggae Boyz squad selected to play Argentina on September 27.

The 31-year-old Reggae Boyz’s captain exclusion from the squad had prompted speculation that the players’ remarks on social media suggesting that the hiring of a new coach would change nothing for the current administration.

Icelandic coach Heimir Hallgrimsson was on Friday introduced as the new head coach of the Jamaica National Senior team in what Jamaica Football Federation President Michael Ricketts described as a game-changing event.

Having signed a four-year contract, the 55-year-old dentist who guided Iceland to FIFA World Cup qualification in 2018 has been tasked with aiding the development of Jamaica’s football and qualifying for the 2026 World Cup that will be held jointly by the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Ricketts described the signing of Coach Hallgrimsson as the ushering in of a new era that will see the controversy-plagued administration change direction.

“The federation has been making important internal changes that will position the federation to fully support what we will announce today as well as a number of other national activities,” he said during the press conference to announce the new coach at the Jamaica Pegasus in Kingston on Friday afternoon.

“The changes I will not speak about too much except to say that the call to action for optimism is based on efforts that we will all make effective immediately. On behalf of the Jamaica Football Federation, I wish to formally announce that Mr Heimir Hallgrimsson has accepted the offer of the JFF to become the head coach of the senior men’s national team for a period of four years.”

Declaring that he chose to take the Jamaica project because of the great potential for success, Hallgrimsson was under no illusions regarding to the magnitude of the undertaking.

“When I was looking for projects to coach, I was really selective. It was not about money, it was about the project and for me, it was a perfect match to come now to Jamaica and to try to fix what is broken, obviously, there are some obstacles we have to cross and we have to improve some big things but for me, it was a perfect match. I see so much potential here and if I compare this one to the Icelandic project I think the potential is much more than in Iceland,” he said.

That said, Hallgrimsson is also aware that he does not have much time to right the many wrongs of Jamaica’s football.

“We have a year until we start playoffs (World Cup qualification) the group stage of the World Cup so we have to start quickly and try to stabilize the Jamaica national team. The second job is assisting in the improvement of football here in Jamaica through coaching education of elite players and we are happy to be a part of an assist in that,” he said.

“While going this, we all know that in every match there is pressure to win. There is an expectation to win and no coach will survive in his job without winning football matches. So two different things, first to develop talent and the second to improve the national team and I think both of these projects can support each other.”

To do that, Hallgrimsson will bring with him two other coaches, who he believes will be assets to his plans.

“I will bring two coaches with me. One assistant his name is John Wall. He is a teacher, has a BA in Sports Science, coached at many levels in Sweden. He was a tactical coach for the Finnish national team. He is good in player development and really useful in the transition getting local players to a higher standard and eventually and hopefully to the national team,” he said.

“The other staff member I will bring with me is Gudmundur Hreidarsson. He will be our goalkeeper coach. I worked with him for seven years in the national team. All the years I was there he was the goalkeeper coach. He is, in my opinion, one of the best ones I’ve seen. He has the highest education possible for goalkeeper coaches in Europe, very experienced.”

Hallgrimsson’s first test will be against Argentina in less than two weeks and he believes that the encounter against the number-four ranked team in the world will be a blessing in disguise.

 “It’s a great opportunity because they will expose all of our weaknesses, especially defensive weaknesses,” he said.

“Probably, we will be defending more or less, most of the game so it’s really a good chance to see how are when we compare to the best in the world.”

 

 

 

 

The fastest woman alive and the fastest man in history strutted on the catwalk recently during New York Fashion Week.

Natoya Goule won the 800m but Shericka Jackson finished a shocking fifth while Kirani James suffered a mild upset in their respective events at the Galà dei Castelli meeting in Bellinzona, Switzerland on Monday.

Goule ran a solid 1:59.05 for an easy win in the 800m. Taking control of the race with just over 400m to go, the Jamaican sped away from the field leaving Anita Horvat in her wake.

The Slovenian clocked 2:00.76 for second place with Anna Wielgotz of Poland finishing third in 2:01.24.

In what must have been the surprise of the meet, Jackson, whose 10.71 makes her the second fastest woman in the world this year, was fifth in the 100m in 11.19.

Marie Josee Ta Lou, meanwhile, won impressively in 10.86 ahead of Great Britain’s Daryll Neita (11.00) and Egypt’s Hassant Hemida (11.07), who were second and third, respectively.

Murielle Ahoure-Demps was fourth in 11.18.

Ackeem Blake ran 10.09 for fourth place in a closely contested 100m dash that was won by American Brandon Carnes in 10.04.

Ferdinand Omanyala of Kenya was second in 10.05, the same time given to the USA’s Kendal Williams who was third.

Andrennette Knight ran 52.23 to finish third in the 400m that was won by Lada Vondrova of the Czech Republic in 51.60. Laviai Nelson of the United Kingdom was second in 51.72.

Even though world-record holder Wayde van Niekerk was down for the 400m, James on the basis of his consistent performances this season must have been favoured to win the one-lap sprint.

But no one told the South African who edged the Grenadian to win in a meet record 44.33 to James 44.38. Zakhiti Nene of Africa ran 45.75 for third.

Earlier, Damion Thomas ran 13.38 for second place in the 110m hurdles race which American Jamal Britt claimed victory in 13.18.

Brazil’s Rafael Pereira was a close third in 13.41.

Jasmine Camacho-Quinn rebounded from the disappointment of finishing fourth at the Diamond League final in Zurich last week Thursday with a comfortable victory in the 100m hurdles.

The Puerto Rican clocked 12.72 beating American Nia Ali, who ran 12.80 for second place.

Poland’s Pia Skrzyszowska finished third in 12.95.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jamaican cyclist, Llori Sharpe is one of the main characters featured in the latest commercial released by Canyon Bicycles and which is being aired in Europe.

In 2020, Sharpe decided to focus solely on cycling after several years of competing in swimming and triathlon. She competed at several international events including the Central American and Caribbean championship swimming and triathlon events.

The 22-year-old Sharpe made history in 2021 when she signed a one-year contract with the German cycling team Canyon-SRAM Generation becoming the first Jamaican to sign with a European cycling team.

In several shots in the commercial, she is shown riding the new Canyon bicycle in the hills of Italy.

Speaking with Sportsmax.TV about the filming of the commercial that took place between June 26 and 30, Sharpe said it was a bit arduous but otherwise an interesting learning experience.

“We were in Italy for about four days, but I only had two filming days. They were pretty long actually as we had to get up around two in the morning, started shooting at about three and then finished around 12-1 in the afternoon,” she said.

“Of course, we'd take breaks throughout, but as you can well imagine, a schedule like that can be really exhausting.”

She did, however, get some time off, which she took full advantage of.

“Fortunately, I did have the rest of the day to recover and pretty much do whatever I wanted and I was even able to hop on the bike and explore for a bit,” she said.

“What I found most interesting was the amount of background work and repetition that goes into filming something as big as this project.

“I did catch a glimpse of the work involved during the team's training camp back in January as quite a few sponsors came to film for the year ahead and having been a part of this project, the experience gained is not only invaluable but would certainly put me in a better position in the event that I'm selected to do something similar.”

Seemingly introverted and soft-spoken, Sharpe revealed that it was by chance that she got to do the commercial but she is glad she got the opportunity.

“The director and head of marketing and communications told me that Canyon needed a rider for their upcoming project,” she explained.

“Luckily, I didn't have any races then so the timing was perfect for me to be a part of the filming for the new bike's launch.”

She remains hopeful that shooting this commercial will open other similar opportunities in the future.

“Can't really say as I'm not sure myself, but hopefully having been involved in this project, Canyon and or other sponsors of the team would like me to be a part of future projects and product launches,” said Sharpe who is currently back home in Jamaica for a short break before she returns to Europe when competition begins again in January.

 

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Rushell Clayton and Foirdaliza Cofil won their respective events at the Hanzekovic Memorial Meeting in Zagreb, Croatia on Sunday.

Former Cricket West Indies president Dave Cameron would only consider another bid for the leadership of the sport’s regional governing body under the right conditions because leading the CWI is too difficult.

Cameron, 51, was a director of the then West Indies Cricket Board between 2002 and 2019 and was elected president in 2013.

Cameron’s tenure as president was tinged by controversy and conflict with several West Indies players and he lost the presidency to former West Indies team manager Ricky Skerritt in 2019.

However, in recent months the Skerritt administration has come in for criticism and the West Indies teams have had a poor run of form in all formats, prompting discussion as to whether Cameron would consider another run at the presidency.

“The first time I ran for a cricket office was 2013 for president of Cricket West Indies. Prior to that my work was what put me forward and persons would come and say we need your help here or we believe you can lead here and there,” Cameron told Sportsmax. TV.

“If I am asked then obviously I would consider it but it would be under different circumstances and the situation is that we would have to find a way to get everybody in agreement because what you don’t want is the fragmentation of the boards, the issues, it’s very difficult.”

He admitted that there isn’t much appeal to stepping back into the hot seat, especially with the myriad of issues affecting the region and sports administration.

“To be honest, West Indies cricket is very difficult. It’s difficult to organize. You’re talking about 16 different countries, different parishes, different views, different races, all those things play a significant role and it’s the challenge we have in the CARICOM,” Cameron reasoned.

LIAT (the airline) has died because the governments of the OECS couldn’t get it together and agree. There is no silver bullet. There is no one man or one woman who can change the fortunes but it’s really a message that everybody could buy into, and that is kind of what I was trying to do.”

He did offer a solution to the issues that ail regional cricket.

“My view is that a merit-driven system is what works,” he said.

“As a region, full of talent, very bright people let us try and focus on a merit-based system, get the best people in all the areas and I think we will start seeing success.”

 

 

Shericka Jackson plans to go faster than her world-leading time when she competes in the Diamond League 200m final on Thursday.

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