Page 14 - Florida Sentinel 1-17-17 Edition

Sports
New Head NFL Coaches
Jameis Winston Bucs Defensive Chargers Hope
Thanks Barack Obama
JAMEIS WINSTON
End Noah Spence Has Shoulder Surgery
NOAH SPENCE
Buccaneers defensive end Noah Spence had a solid end of the season.
The fact he did it with one good arm makes it even more impressive.
Spence had surgery Thursday to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder.
The injury happened early in the season, and he played with a harness the rest of the year. He still dislocated his shoulder in the regular season finale, but returned to the game.
The second-round pick fin- ished the year with 5.5 sacks, and was named defensive rookie of the month in No- vember.
Linval Joseph Replaces Aaron Donald In Pro Bowl
LINVAL JOSEPH
The Minnesota Vikings will have another representative in the Pro Bowl.
Defensive tackle Linval Joseph has been added to the team, giving Minnesota five players on the NFC roster in this year’s game. Rams de- fensive tackle Aaron Don- ald has pulled out of the game, opening up the spot for Joseph.
Joseph had 77 tackles, four sacks and three forced fumbles — all of which set or tied career bests — while starting all 16 games for the Vikings this season. It’s the first time that Joseph, who is in his third year of a five-year deal with the Vikings, has been named to the Pro Bowl.
He’s set to join safety Har- rison Smith, defensive end Everson Griffen, kickoff re- turner Cordarrelle Patter- son and cornerback Xavier Rhodes in Orlando after his four teammates were initially selected for the game.
Anthony Lynn Can Re-Energize Franchise
Former Florida State quar- terback Jameis Winston is thankful for President Barack Obama and the “in- finite impact” he made dur- ing his time in office.
But Winston may still be slightly bothered he never got to visit the White House after the Seminoles won the 2013 national championship.
Winston showed his ap- preciation for the departing President and First Lady, posting a picture of both on his Instagram Wednesday morning with a lengthy cap- tion.
“Thank you for the infinite impact you have made on my life in only 8 years,” Win- ston wrote.
“At 14 years old you made it clear to me that anything was possible. So I was de- voted to finding a way to meet you in the White House. When we won the 2014 BCS Championship I knew my mission was accomplished!
Unfortunately, our team never got the chance to visit you, for unknown reasons, but I still thank you for the #Change you brought to my life 8 years ago. #MyPresi- dentandMyFirstLady”
The Seminoles won the 2013 title with Winston in the midst of a rape allegation from a fellow FSU student in Dec. 2012. Winston and his accuser, Erica Kinsman, settled a civil lawsuit in De- cember 2016.
Pres. Obama delivered a farewell speech Tuesday night as the country prepares for Donald Trump to begin his run in office.
Winston was on the cusp of the NFL playoffs with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in his second year as a professional this season.
Maybe Winston will get to visit the White House dur- ing Trump’s presidency in the next four or eight years as a Super Bowl champion.
ANTHONY LYNN
In need of a jump-start after just nine wins in two seasons, the San Diego Chargers be- lieve Anthony Lynn can breathe some fresh air into this franchise in a new city.
Lynn could be viewed as curious choice as Chargers head coach. His imminent hire certainly will not be looked at as a big splash for a market such as Los Angeles.
However, perhaps Lynn of- fers the type of interpersonal skills Chargers general man- ager Tom Telesco identified as important for in a new coach: someone who can re- late to and motivate players and have a better understand- ing of each player’s individual
needs. That’s something ex-Buf-
falo Bills head coach Rex Ryan said is a plus for Lynn, who coached with Ryan from the time he took over as New York Jets head coach in 2009 until he was fired by the Bills last month.
“He gives you a player per- spective,” Ryan told ESPN NFL Nation Bills reporter Mike Rodak. “He’s been around this league a long time. He’s got two [Super Bowl] rings as a player [for Denver].
“He can relate to the play- ers. He does a great job, he knows the game. He does a good job motivating. I think he’s a team-builder. So I think there’s a lot of things to like about Anthony Lynn.”
Vance Joseph Reaches Deal To Be Broncos' Head Coach
Joey Porter Apologizes
For Putting Hands On
even more special is it's a place that's ready to win. This is not a rebuilding situation -- It's a reboot. There is a culture of winning here, and the stan- dards around here won't change -- Those are to win championships.
"I am very thankful to John Elway and Joe Ellis for this opportunity. It's in- credibly humbling to be part of an organization like the Broncos with so much history and success, especially when you see all the great things this franchise has accomplished."
The Broncos had vetted Joseph long before this week, as he interviewed for the job in 2015. Many with the Broncos say he would have been the pick back then had Kubiak not become avail- able.
Joseph becomes the sixth black active head coach in the NFL, joining Mike Tomlin (Steelers), Marvin Lewis (Bengals), Hue Jackson (Browns), Jim Caldwell (Lions) and Todd Bowles (Jets).
Officer, “Distraction”
VANCE JOSEPH
The second time was a charm for Vance Joseph.
Joseph, who interviewed for the Broncos' head-coach- ing job in 2015 when the team hired Gary Kubiak, is the team's choice to be the 16th coach in franchise history, it was announced Wednesday.
The deal is for four years, and Joseph will be intro- duced at a news conference on Thursday.
Joseph, 44, just finished his first season as the Miami Dolphins' defensive coordina- tor. The Dolphins were de- feated 30-12 by the Pittsburgh Steelersin the wild-card round Sunday.
"Becoming head coach of the Denver Broncos is a dream job for many reasons," Joseph said in a statement Wednesday. "The Broncos have an unbelievable winning tradition and great fan sup- port. But what makes this
Now that the most serious charges against Joey Porter have been dropped and he’s been reinstated by the team, the Steelers outside linebackers coach has also apologized.
“I am grateful to be al- lowed to return to our coach- ing staff this weekend,” Porter said in a statement released by the team. “I re- gret that I was involved in an incident that could have been a distraction to our team.
“Most importantly, I re- gret that I touched the police officer and I sincerely apolo- gize for that action. Thank-
JOEY PORTER
fully, no one was injured.” Of course, the “distrac- tion” was of his own making, and the fact coaches preach to players to avoid them un- derscores his mistake. Porter’s been prone to out- bursts since his playing days.
PAGE 14 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2017