Page 26 - Florida Sentinel 2-10-17

Sports
Mike Tirico To Take Over 2018 Olympics Hosting Duties
District
Charles Oakley Arrested After
Dolan Wanted Him Out Of There
Championship
Fighting In Stands At MSG, Says James
After serving as NBC's stu- dio host for the past 11 Olympic Games, Bob Costas will step aside in favor of Mike Tirico beginning in 2018.
Tirico will take over the role for the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, following a stint as the daytime host for NBC's coverage of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Costas made the official announcement alongside Tirico and Matt Lauer.
Costas, 64, said the fol-
Games Friday
It was a crazy night at the Garden Wednesday, that saw a Knick legend hauled out of the arena by security, handcuffed and taken to jail in front of a stunned star-studded crowd just a few feet from Garden chairman James Dolan.
Charles Oakley, known for his physical style of play that made him an All-Star and helped the Knicks reach the NBA Finals in 1994, vehe- mently denied that he yelled at the Knick owner moments be- fore being thrown out by sev- eral security guards.
Oakley told the Daily News moments after being released from Midtown South police station at around midnight that the Garden security asked him to leave because Dolan did not want him there.
“I was there for four min- utes,” Oakley said late Wednesday night. “I didn’t say anything to him. I swear on my mother. They came over and wanted to know why I was sit- ting there. I bought the ticket. I said why do you guys keep staring at me. Then they asked me to leave. And I said I’m not leaving”
What followed next is the ugliest chapter yet in a rapidly deteriorating Knicks season, all on full display in front of a na- tionally televised audience and
MIKE TIRICO
lowing, per Scott Stump of Today.com: "It has been both a privilege and an incredible personal and professional ex- perience to have been part of NBC's Olympic coverage all these years."
District championship games in basketball will be held tonight (Friday) in vari- ous schools around the county. All games begin at 7 p. m.
Hillsborough High (23-3) defeated King High (12-14) Wednesday night, 85-62 to ad- vance to the Class 7A, Region 2, District championship game. They will meet Cham- berlain High (15-8), 7 p. m. at King High School.
Tampa Tech (21-0) de- feated East Bay High (24-12) in its Class 8A, District 9 game, 69-56. Tampa Tech will take on Plant City High (18-8), who defeated Bloomingdale High, 61-55, at Strawberry Crest on Friday.
In Class 6A games held at Robinson High School, Jesuit High (21-4) defeated Jefferson High (4-22), 76-37. Friday evening, Jesuit will take on Spoto High School (11-9), which defeated District host, Robinson High School (12-11), 70-52.
Steph Curry Bluntly Disagrees With Under Armour CEO Calling Trump An ‘Asset’
STEPHEN CURRY
Under Armour and, in par- ticular, CEO Kevin Plank have received criticism since Tuesday, when he described President Trump as “an asset.”
On Wednesday, one of the company’s most highly paid ambassadors, Steph Curry, made it clear that he does not think of Trump that way and expressed concern about whether Plank sent the right message about being “inclu- sive.”
Of Trump being called an “asset,” Curry said, “I agree with that description, if you remove the ‘et.’ ”
CHARLES OAKLEY
the league’s commissioner Adam Silver. Oakley was confronted by security, force- fully shoving one guard and ap- pearing to strike another before he was physically re- moved from the stands.
However, sources at the Garden and police sources dis- pute Oakley’s account of the altercation, saying the scuffle was provoked by the former Knick yelling at his longtime nemesis Dolan.
Oakley was asked by sev- eral members of Garden secu- rity to leave, and then was seen shoving the swarming security guards.
Oakley was then escorted through the tunnel, taken to the floor by NYPD, and cuffed. According to police, Oakley was charged with three counts of misdemeanor assault, one of criminal trespass.
A source said that Oakley declined legal representation because he was only hit with a desk appearance ticket.
Joe McKnight's Shooter Enters Not Guilty Plea
The man who fatally shot former NFL player Joe Mc- Knight formally pleaded not guilty Monday to a second-de- gree murder charge.
Ronald Gasser, 55, of Terrytown, had initially been arrested on a manslaughter charge following McKnight's Dec. 1 death. Last week, he was indicted on a second-de- gree murder charge, which carries a mandatory life sen- tence. He's jailed on $750,000 bond.
"It was a case of justifiable homicide," defense attorney told reporters after a brief ar- raignment hearing at the Jef- ferson Parish Courthouse in the New Orleans suburb of Gretna.
Authorities have said 28- year-old McKnight, who was Black, and Gasser, who is white, were driving erratically
Ronald Gasser killed Joe McKnight in road rage inci- dent.
and yelling at each other prior to the shooting. The con- frontation took place as they were traveling over the Mis- sissippi River on a heavily traveled bridge that links downtown New Orleans to its west bank and adjoining su- burbs in neighboring Jeffer- son Parish.
Authorities said the shoot- ing happened after both cars had stopped and McKnight approached Gasser's vehicle. Gasser shot McKnight three times.
Antonio Brown Says He Has 'Growing Up To Do,' Vows To Rebuild Trust
Steelers wide receiver An- tonio Brown acknowledges that he plans to make changes in light of the Facebook Live incident after Pittsburgh's playoff win in Kansas City.
Brown, whose broadcast of the team's postgame locker room scene drew sharp criti- cism from coach Mike Tom- lin, told Bleacher Report that such an incident won't happen again.
"The big thing I learned is that I have some growing up to do, and I'm going to do it," Brown told the website while making the media rounds at the Super Bowl in Houston. "I learned a lot from it and will keep learning. I'm going to re- build the trust with my team- mates and coaches. I promise you that."
Brown called the incident a "dumb mistake" during the interview. A few weeks earlier, Tomlin labeled Brown's ac- tions selfish and inconsiderate
ANTONIO BROWN
and said he hoped his star player wouldn't run himself out of town because of judg- ment lapses.
Brown struck a contrite chord shortly before the AFC title game against New Eng- land, apologizing for the dis- traction and owning up to his mistake in a news conference.
The video caught Tomlin telling his Steelers they "spot- ted these a--h---- [the Patri- ots] a day and a half" in game prep. The Steelers lost 36-17 to the eventual Super Bowl champions.
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