Page 23 - Florida Sentinel 1-1-16 Edition

Sports
Michael Bennett On Todd Gurley: 'He's No Marshawn Lynch'
Heisman Trophy Winning Quarterbacks Face Off In Season Finale
There’s no better enter- tainment in professional foot- ball than to have a pair of Heisman trophy winning quarterbacks facing each other in their team’s final game of the 2015 regular sea- son.
On Sunday, January 3rd, The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will hit the road and travel the Charlotte, North Carolina to face the NFC South and NFL leading Carolina Panthers.
For Panthers quarterback Cam Newton, he will be try- ing to finish the regular season on a winning note as his team heads for the playoffs. He is also certain to be named this year’s MVP.
The Panthers have man- aged to stay healthy through- out the season, and their defense has improved each week.
Panthers head coach, Ron Rivera, knows all too well what it takes to win a Super Bowl as he was a member of the 1985 Chicago Bears Super Bowl team.
JAMEIS WINSTON
The Tampa Bay Bucca- neers will try to finish a season they had high expectations for at the beginning, especially with first round pick and Heisman Trophy winner, quarterback Jameis Win- ston. Winston should be named this year’s Rookie of the Year.
Although the Bucs im- proved on last season’s 2-14 record, their 6-9 record this season fell short of their ex- pectations, and a lot of their
CAM NEWTON
games were close losses.
The Bucs will be at home during the playoffs, but the coaching staff will be working hard to fix what’s broken with the team, and start looking at potential draft picks for the
2016 season.
Most fans think the Bucs
should focus on their offensive line and depth at wide receiver in this year’s draft.
Kickoff for Sunday’s game will be at 1 p.m.
Todd Gurley did his part to help the St. Louis Rams stun the Seahawks with a 23-17 win Sunday, but one of Seattle's top defensive players wasn't willing to give the rookie run- ning back any compliments after the game.
Gurley missed the first matchup between the Rams and Seahawks in Week 1 (won by St. Louis 34-31 in overtime) when he was working his way back from a torn ACL he suf- fered in 2014 while he was at Georgia. On Sunday, Gurley rushed for 85 yards on 19 car- ries and scored the eventual winning touchdown, a 2-yard score in the fourth quarter.
Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett, however,
MICHAEL BENNETT
came away unimpressed. "He's average to me, per- sonally," Bennett told re- porters. "I've seen better running backs. He's no Mar-
shawn Lynch."
Game Day Is Like Christmas For Kids Who Get TD
Footballs From Cam Newton
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A foot- ball sits under the Christmas tree at Michael Arellano's home.
Nothing else. Just a football.
It's not wrapped. It's not even new.
But it might be the best pres- ent Michael will get this year, maybe ever, and it wasn't even for Christmas.
Michael, 11, got the football from Carolina Panthers quar- terback Cam Newton after Newton threw a touchdown pass in a Nov. 22 victory over the Washington Redskins.
"I wanted to cry," Michael said in a recent visit to Bank of America Stadium to share his
Michael Arellano re- ceived his football from Cam Newton on Nov. 22.
experience. "Cam, he's my hero."
Bucs Lose To Bears In Final Home Game
The Tampa Bay Bucca- neers (6-9) once again found themselves plagued by turnovers in their 26-21 loss to the Chicago Bears in their final home game of the sea- son.
For the fourth time in their last five games, the Bucca- neers failed to cause a turnover, but the one consis- tent piece of their offense, running back Doug Martin, fumbled twice against the Bears, both leading to points on the board for the Bears.
The Bucs also continue to suffer with dropped passes by wide open receivers, and an offensive line that has leaks
The Buccaneers lost their final game at Raymond James.
everywhere.
If things weren’t bad
enough, quarterback Jameis
Winston threw a goal-line interception in the third quar- ter that prevented the Bucs from adding to their one point lead. Winston finished the game with 295 passing yards and a pair of touchdowns.
The Bucs must now pre- pare for their final game of the season in Carolina against the NFC South and NFL leading Carolina Panthers, who are coming off their first loss of the season to the Atlanta Fal- cons.
The Bucs will not be in a favorable a position this year for the draft as they were last year, but most sports analysts feel they will be looking to im- prove their receiver corps, of- fensive line, and depth on defense.
Peyton Manning 'Furious' And 'Disgusted' At HGH Report
Denver Broncos quarter- back Peyton Manning said he is "furious" and "disgusted" at an Al Jazeera report that identified him as one of several high-profile athletes who were supplied performance-en- hancing drugs from an anti- aging clinic.
The Al Jazeera undercover probe, which was posted on- line early Sunday morning and aired on television later in the day, reported that Manning was given human growth hor- mone in 2011 while he was re- covering from neck surgery. The report cited a man named Charlie Sly, who allegedly spoke to an undercover re- porter working for Al Jazeera.
Manning addressed the re- portduring an interview Sun- day with ESPN's Lisa Salters, accusing Al Jazeera of defamation and adamantly denying that he ever used HGH.
PEYTON MANNING
"Absolutely not, absolutely not," Manning said. "What hurts me the most about this, whoever this guy is, this slap- stick trying to insinuate that in 2011, when more than less I had a broken neck -- I had four neck surgeries. ... It stings me whoever this guy is to insinu- ate that I cut corners, I broke NFL rules in order to get healthy. It's a joke. It's a freak- ing joke."
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