Page 29 - Florida Sentinel 3-31-17

Sports
Bucs Mike Evans: No Contract Expected Before Regular Season
Myrtle Winston, Grandmother Of Bucs QB Jameis Winston, Dies
Tampa Bay Buccaneers All-Pro receiver Mike Evans, whose fifth-year op- tion the Bucs are expected to pick up in May, doesn't fig- ure to have a new contract before the 2017 regular sea- son.
Evans has shown his value on the field with a com- bined 3,578 receiving yards and 27 touchdowns over his first three NFL seasons
Owners Vote 31-1 To OK Raiders Move; Dolphins Vote Against
The Oakland Raiders will move to Las Vegas after gar- nering enough votes from NFL owners on Monday to re- locate to Southern Nevada.
The Raiders received 31 of 32 votes to approve the move. Only 24 votes were needed.
The Miami Dolphins were the only team to vote against the move.
Dalvin Cook: Reuniting With Jameis Winston Would Be 'Something Special'
DALVIN COOK
Former Florida State run- ning back Dalvin Cook has made no secret about how much he loves Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston. After his pro day on Tuesday, Cook told reporters that he believed he and his former college teammate could do "some- thing special" together.
At the combine earlier this month, Cook said it would be a "dream come true" to play with Winston.
If the Bucs did want to se- lect Cook with the 19th over- all pick, they'd need some help by benefiting from some teams simply refusing to draft a running back that high.
Evans has plenty of time to hammer out the details of a long-term deal that would presumably keep the wide- out in Tampa for the prime years of his career.
The Bucs would also have the option of utilizing the franchise tag on Evans for the 2019 season in the un- likely event a new contract hadn't been agreed upon by that point.
MIKE EVANS
Jameis Winston’s grandmother passes away at the age of
Cam Newton Promoting Football In Mexico; Says He’s Part Mexican
70.
Jameis Winston’s
beloved grandmother has died. Myrtle Winston passed away earlier this week at the age of 70 in Bessemer, Alabama. Her life will be cele- brated in a service at the New Bethlehem Baptist Church on Saturday.
She was the reason Jameis Winston stayed home in Alabama during the NFL draft, so they could share that moment together, rather than him walking across a stage. Her Type 2 diabetes didn't allow her to travel.
She was the reason he was hoping he would be selected by the Buccaneers, because she would be 21⁄2 hours from Atlanta and less than five from New Orleans.
She was there for his first win as an NFL quarterback, in Week 2 inside the Superdome in New Orleans. She proudly wore a No. 3 jersey that read "Grandma" on the back, while
sitting in a wheelchair. She had to get clearance from her doctor to be at the game, which took place a few days after her birthday.
"My grandma never came to my college games, so that was amazing to see her out there. To see her out there on the sideline before the game, I was pumped up," Winston told reporters, his face beam- ing with excitement.
According to reports, she was the reason he wanted to make it big time. When he got his first NFL contract, his first big purchase was a fancy re- cliner chair for her. For years, she had been sitting on hard wood.
She was the reason he be- came heavily involved in the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. That's why he wore powder-blue cleats that said "Type One to Type None" for the NFL's My Cause My Cleats game.
During an interview with Mexican sports outlet La Afi- ción, Carolina Panther QB Cam Newton was asked about his debut trip to Mexico, revealing that he was actually of Mexican descent. “[I’m] Mexican.
I’m a little bit of everything, African, Mexican, American. Everything,” the Carolina Pan- thers quarterback quipped.
As part of a special NFL out- reach program, Newton vis- ited Monterrey this past weekend to install football clinics at the Estadio Gaspar Mass for Mexican youth. In a roundtable discussion that in- cluded sports analyst Ed- mundo Reyes, Newton expounded on the trip’s signif- icance, promoting American football as an international
Carolina Panther QB Cam Newton is setting up football clinics.
sport.
As far as the love he’s re-
ceived from Mexican fans? Newton was surprised to have been met with such en- thusiasm: “As soon as I touched down in Monterrey, the love has been overwhelm- ing. There’s a lot of people at the airport, so much love and support. I was blown away.”
Father Of California Basketball Stars Shopping Reality Show And Documentary
Harbaugh: Colin Kaepernick
LaVar Ball is reportedly working to secure multiple projects featuring his family, including a potential re-ality television series and a docu- mentary. TMZ Sports reported Tuesday that Ball’s produc- tion company, Big Baller Media is behind both attempts to land financial backing. Ac- cording to reports "no con- tracts have been signed though.
A trailer for the documen- tary is already in the can, while the reality show is still being developed.
Ball has received "several offers," but it's unclear how close he is to reaching an agreement on one or both projects.
The outspoken patriarch has made more headlines dur- ing March Madness than any player actually on the court during the 2017 NCAA tourna- ment, including his son, UCLA guard Lonzo Ball.
Will Get Signed, Doesn’t Believe
He's Being Blackballed
A few people have taken a hard stance that former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick is still unsigned strictly because of his political views.
Others have insisted he’s unsigned only because of football reasons.
Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh had a strong message on the Kaepernick topic. First of all, he thinks Kaepernick will be signed.
“He’s too good a player,” Harbaugh said, according to Nora Princiotti of the Washington Times. “I mean, he’s got to prove himself as a player. Colin knows that, he’d be the first to tell you
JIM HARBAUGH AND COLIN KAEPERNICK
that. You know, when you’re the quarterback and you don’t win, you’re going to have to answer for that. But he’ll get a chance again. Someone’s going to sign him and he’ll play in this league probably for a long time.”
That said, he also thinks the notion Kaepernick is being “blackballed” by the NFL is wrong.
LaVar Ball, his boys and his wife.
He's made a wide range of outlandish statements, rang- ing from saying Lonzo is al- ready a better player than Golden State Warriors super- star Stephen Curry, a two- time NBA MVP, to claiming he would have "killed" Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jor- dan, one of the greatest play- ers in history, one-on-one.
He is also the father of 2 star high school basketball players, LaMelo, a sophomore who scored 92 points in a game this season and LiAngelo, a sen- ior who is normally the Chino Hill High School Huskies’ top scorer.
PAGE 16-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, MARCH 31, 2017