Page 14 - Florida Sentinel 3-7-17

Sports
John Ross Is More Than Just The NFL Combine's New Fastest Man
JOHN ROSS
Keith Thurman Defeats Danny Garcia Via Split Decision To Unify Welterweight Titles
KEITH THURMAN Keith Thurman felt he
was already the best welter- weight in the world and Danny Garcia had never faced anyone like him.
"One Time" proved it to be true as he defeated Garcia by split decision (113-115, 116-112, 115-113) to retain WBA welter- weight title and capture the WBA title.
The fight saw Thurman control the majority of the bout by out-boxing and out- classing Garcia. The now-for- mer champion Garcia turned up in the last three rounds while Thurman danced around the ring, thinking he had the fight won.
Thurman runs his record to 28-0. Garcia suffers the first loss of his career and is now 33-1.
Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones Said He Won't
Rule Out QB Tony Romo Staying in Dallas
John Ross told us it was going to happen. Teammate Budda Baker did too. And then Ross lined up on the field at Lucas Oil Stadium and did the unthinkable by running a 4.22 official time in the 40-yard dash, setting a new NFL combine record.
Who is the man everyone in the NFL is talking about right now?
“A clean Tyreek Hill” is how one NFL wide receiver coach put it.
Meet John Ross. A wide receiver destined for the first round with his blazing-fast speed.
Ross was a Scout 4-star recruit coming out of Long Beach, California, and com- mitted to play wideout for the Huskies. He got off to a solid start in 2013 and began working his way into the lineup as an up-and-comer at the receiver position and as a return man.
During the 2014 season, while Ross was a backup re- ceiver, he actually started at cornerback for four games after Marcus Peters was removed from the team. That kind of athleticism and ver- satility was turning heads be- fore he was draft eligible.
Maybe Tony Romo will stay with the Dallas Cowboys after all.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones would not rule out that possibility, despite the widespread expectation that the longtime franchise quar- terback is poised to resume his career elsewhere in the wake of Dak Prescott’s emergence last season.
“There’s nothing I would rule out or dismiss as not being a possibility,” Jones said Saturday at the NFL scouting combine during a session.
For weeks, the expectation has been that the Cowboys
TONY ROMO
will grant Romo his release – barring the longshot possi- bility of a trade – as he seeks to find a team and play again.
“I don’t know that,” Jones said when asked if Romo wants to hit the market. “He’s considering options.”
Alabama NFL Draft Prospects Having Some Problems
Deshaun Watson Sets Himself Apart In Sizzling Workout At Combine
Patriots Offer
NFL teams have been well aware for months about what Alabama pass rusher Tim Williams admitted to the media on Saturday: that he failed multiple drug tests while he was at Tuscaloosa.
Williams said he failed “a few” tests in his four years at Alabama but would not con- firm what drug the positive tests were for or exactly how many he failed.
Williams’ character must also be fully vetted after the the drug concerns, along with a gun charge from last Sep- tember.
Also, Alabama linebacker Reuben Foster was sent home from the NFL scouting combine following a heated argument with a hospital worker, and was sent home Saturday.
TIM WILLIAMS
Foster, the 2016 Butkus Award winner and a potential top-10 pick in the 2017 NFL draft, was at the combine only to be measured, med- ically evaluated following ro- tator cuff surgery and interviewed by teams. He was unable to work out this week and is not expected to work out at his pro day next Wednesday because of the in- jury.
Leave it to Andy Reid to put Deshaun Watson’s sizzling workout at the NFL scouting combine on Satur- day into some sort of credible perspective.
Reid, the Kansas City Chiefs coach and renowned quarterback guru, shook his head and grinned while stop- ping in a concourse inside Lucas Oil Stadium to assess what he had just witnessed from the former Clemson star.
“Unbelievable,” Reid told USA TODAY Sports. “He had a great day. Every throw was on the money.”
That was no stretch, no puff to add to any pre-draft smoke screen.
Watson, in a group that included North Carolina’s Mitchell Trubisky, whom some consider the highest- rated quarterback in the draft, was clearly in a zone during an hour-long session with wide receivers.
This was essential to his objective for the combine, where Watson came hoping to make a statement that will help him realize a goal of being the first quarterback selected when the NFL draft
32nd Pick For Brandin Cooks
DESHAUN WATSON
begins on April 26.
“It’s a goal that I wrote
down and that’s what I want to achieve,” Watson told re- porters on Friday. “But if it happens it happens. That’s out of my control. I can just bethebestIcanbeinthis process and continue to get better.”
Before Saturday, Watson was last seen on a football field in January leading the Tigers to a national champi- onship and an upset victory of Alabama that avenged a loss in the title game the pre- vious year.
In showcasing his arm be- fore GMs, coaches, scouts and even a handful of team owners, Watson (6-2, 221) had the same zip he pos- sessed on the night that he stung ‘Bama for 420 yards.
BRANDIN COOKS
The New England Patriots saw an opportunity to add an outstanding playmaker.
In exchange for New Or- leans Saints wide receiver Brandin Cooks, who is on the trading block, Bill Be- lichick and the Patriots of- fered a package of assets which included their No. 32 pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, according to NOLA.com.
According to reports the offer was to swap picks. New England wasn’t offering No. 32 straight-up.
The Patriots have spent the previous two training camps with the Saints where Be- lichick has gotten a good look at the speedy receiver.
Cooks finished the 2016 season playing 16 games, and 78 receptions for 1,173 yards and eight touchdown recep- tions.
NBA Players Break Triple-Double Record And It’s Only March
There are still seven weeks left in the NBA season! The NBA has evolved this season in a way few anticipated, with breakout performances from stars nearly every night across the NBA.
Russell Westbrook is chasing Oscar Robertson in a historic triple-double race, but Westbrook isn’t the only one racking up triple doubles this year.
From James Harden to LeBron James, they’re popping up all over the league more than ever.
Thanks to Ricky Rubio on Saturday, the NBA has now set a new record for triple-doubles with 79 this
OKC’s Russell Westbrook leads the pack.
season — breaking the record of 78 that was set in 1988-89. When you consider it’s the beginning of March, the NBA is obviously poised to blow by the old record in the final month and a half of the sea- son.
PAGE 14 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, MARCH 7, 2017