Page 26 - Florida Sentinel 12-9-16 Online Edition

Sports
Sacramento Kings’ Matt
USF Focused On Birmingham
Giants Will Be Without DE Jason Pierre-Paul For Rest Of Regular Season
JASON PIERRE-PAUL
New York Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul had surgery Wednesday morning to repair a sports hernia and his injured groin and is likely to be sidelined for the rest of the regular season, a source told ESPN.
Recovery time is expected to be at least six weeks, the source said, which would keep Pierre-Paul sidelined until the conference champi- onship round.
Losing Pierre-Paul, who is a free agent at the end of the season, is significant for the Giants (8-4). He was hav- ing a comeback season after losing his right index finger and parts of several others in a Fourth of July weekend fireworks accident in 2015.
Pierre-Paul posted a pic- ture from the hospital on so- cial media Wednesday morning.
Later Wednesday morning he tweeted that the surgery went well.
Bowl, Begins Search For
Barnes Accused Of
New Head Football Coach
Choking Woman At Club
WILLIE TAGGART ...Becomes Head Coach at Oregon
The University of South Florida will immediately begin a national search for a new head football coach following the resignation of Willie Taggart after a record-break- ing season.
The 10-2 Bulls posted pro- gram records with 10 regular season wins and seven confer- ence victories. USF finished the regular season in the Top 25 rankings for the second time in program history.
USF will represent the American Athletic Conference in the Birmingham Bowl vs. the South Carolina Game- cocks of the SEC on Thursday, Dec. 29 in Birmingham, Ala.
“We are pleased to an- nounce that T. J. Weist, one of our co-offensive coordina- tors will be our interim foot- ball coach for the rest of the 2016 season,” said USF Direc- tor of Athletics, Mark Har-
lan. “We will work quickly, but with careful thought and discussion to find our next football coach. We have the outstanding support of our community, and are confident that we’ll soon find the best and most qualified coach to lead our Football program. I want to thank Willie Tag- gart for the leadership, en- ergy, and excitement he brought to our program over the last four years. The achievements of our football program both on and off the field speak for themselves. We wish Willie and his fam- ily the very best.”
“We are very proud of our record-setting football sea- son,” said USF System Presi- dent Judy Genshaft. “We now have the foundation of our football program in place. We have a terrific group of student athletes who are laser- focused on the Birmingham Bowl and next year’s season. We wish Coach Taggart well.”
USF Board of Trustees Chair Brian Lamb said, “The trajectory of USF Athletics is strong. It has elevated the spirit of our campuses as well as our national profile. I know that the young men in our football program will continue to be highly successful on the field and in the classroom.”
Matt Barnes is the ex of Gloria Govan of Basketball Wives and was at the center of drama with Gloria’s one- time beau, former NY Knicks coach, Derek Fisher.
The NYPD is looking to question Sacramento Kings
player Matt Barnes after a woman accused him of chok- ing her inside of a nightclub early Monday (Dec 5).
The Kings were in town to play the Knicks on Sunday. Law enforcement sources say a 911 call was placed after midnight from Avenue Nightclub, reporting a man assaulting two women and another man, according to the website.
Barnes allegedly choked one woman that is believed to be his girlfriend during an argument, and allegedly punched two other people who tried to intervene.
Tiger Woods' Masters Futures Odds Improve: 'They Keep Betting On Him'
TIGER WOODS
Trial Of Will Smith's Alleged Killer Begins; Smith's Widow Testifies
It doesn't take much for bettors to take interest in Tiger Woods.
Woods finished in 15th in an 18-player field at the Hero World Challenge over the weekend, closing with a 4- over 76 in his first competitive tournament in 15 months.
Still, it was enough to cause a flurry of action on his odds to win next year's Masters.
On Monday, Woods could be found as low as 16-1 to win the 2017 Masters in Las Vegas.
At sportsbook operator CG Technology, more money has been bet on Woods to win at Augusta in April than any other golfer. He opened at 55- 1. "They kept betting him," CG Technology vice president of race and sports Jason Sim-
bal said.
Woods was the longest
shot in the Hero World Chal- lenge field at the Westgate Su- perBook, listed at 40-1 to win the tournament in the Ba- hamas. The SuperBook took 13 bets on Woods to win prior to the tournament. He finished 14 shots behind win- ner Hideki Matsuyama.
Matsuyama's odds to win the Masters were down to 15- 1 on Monday. He was one of five golfers with better odds than Woods.
Jason Day and Jordan Spieth were 8-1 co-favorites to win the Masters at the Su- perBook, with Rory McIlroy at 9-1. Tiger was listed at 20- 1.
The Masters will take place April 6-9 in Augusta, Georgia.
Racquel Smith, widow of Will Smith (inset).
The trial of Will Smith's alleged killer got off to a dra- matic start Tuesday, with some of his former New Or- leans Saints teammates such as Drew Brees and Steve Gleason in attendance and his widow, Racquel, testify- ing for an emotional two hours.
At one point, Racquel spoke directly to the defen- dant, Cardell Hayes, who is accused of shooting her in both legs, then shooting her husband eight times -- seven of them in the back -- follow- ing a loud argument between the two men and some of their acquaintances.
"My worst nightmare hap- pened. For no reason. He did- n't have to do that to my baby," Racquel said after de- tailing the shooting.
Then she turned to Hayes
and said, "And you know it! Or to me. I didn't do you any- thing."
Racquel detailed the two traffic incidents and the loud, profanity-laced shouting match that led up to the shoot- ing. The first was a potential hit-and-run, in which Smith's vehicle may or may not have bumped into the back of Hayes' vehicle before driving away. The second came soon after, when Hayes' vehicle crashed into the back of Smith's vehicle after he had pursued Smith - - which was either intentional or accidental, according to the competing narratives from the two sides.
Racquel admitted that her husband was upset and not calm as he argued with Hayes. But the state stressed that Hayes was the only one of the two who exited his vehi- cle with a gun in hand.
Racquel also acknowl- edged that she had to calm her husband down, listing the names of their three children and telling him, "This is not worth it." But she said Will looked into her eyes, agreed, and they began to walk away before the shooting started.
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