Page 12 - Florida Sentinel 6-4-19

Sports
Baker Mayfield Says
Patriots To Receive Super Bowl Rings During Party At Robert Kraft’s Home
TOM BRADY AND ROBERT KRAFT
The New England Patriots will celebrate their most re- cent title Thursday night as they receive their Super Bowl rings. Members of the team and coaching staff will attend a private party at owner Robert Kraft’s home in Chestnut Hill.
Defensive end Trey Flowers, who signed with the Detroit Lions in the off- season, and former defensive coordinator Brian Flores, who is now the Dolphins head coach, will be among those in attendance.
The last time Kraft hosted the lavish gathering, team members opened ring boxes to find jewelry made up of 283 diamonds. That number cele- brated New England erasing a 28-3 deficit en route to a Super Bowl victory over the Atlanta Falcons.
No details have been re- leased about what this year’s ring will look like.
Stephen Curry's 23
He’s Recruiting
Lead Warriors Past
Gerald McCoy
Kawhi Leonard, Raptors
Baker Mayfield is look- ing forward to a full house at Browns mandatory mini- camp next week, and if he gets his way, Gerald McCoy will be in the house, too.
Mayfield acknowledged at his youth ProCamp here Saturday that he’s been ac- tively recruiting his fellow former Oklahoma Sooner to the Browns.
“I have been, but we’re going to stick to just camp questions,’’ Mayfield said after coaching and playing football with more than 500 kids at Mayfield High School.
While Mayfield was up bright an early Saturday to arrive at the field before the start of the 9 a.m. camp, McCoy was already at a workout facility in Florida, getting ready to be in some- one’s minicamp soon.
“A lot to think about!!’’ McCoy wrote Saturday on his Instagram story, with the time stamp of 7:13 a.m. em- blazoned at the top. “This is how I clear my head. Going to work!!’’
McCoy’s former Bucs teammate, Noah Spence, also posted on his Instagram account, “Look who in here early morning on a Sat. I guarantee my dog bout to kill
To Even Series At 1
GERALD MCCOY AND BAKER MAYFIELD
it!! Been killing it in OTA’s now he in here on Sat while everybody else sleeping. Watch this!!
McCoy, 31, is taking the weekend to mull offers from the Browns, Ravens and Pan- thers, whom he visited on Friday. He spent last Thurs- day and Friday in Cleveland, and then Tuesday and Wednesday of this week in Baltimore.
McCoy’s priority is to make the playoffs for the first time in 10 seasons, and the talent-laden Browns offer him a chance to do that. Odell Beckham, Jr. has lobbied for him on social media, and Freddie Kitchens said Thursday he’s optimistic the Browns will land the six-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle.
The Golden State War- riors are back in control of the NBA Finals after evening the series at 1-1.
Klay Thompson scored 25 points to lead Golden State to a 109-104 win over the Toronto Raptors in Game 2 Sunday. Stephen Curry added 23 points and three steals in the road win at Sco- tiabank Arena, giving the Warriors the opportunity to win it all if they hold at home.
Toronto had stormed back with a 10-0 run over the final five minutes to cut the deficit to two, but Andre Iguodala sealed the victory with a three-pointer with 5.9 sec- onds left.
Kawhi Leonard led all scorers with 34 points, but the Raptors still saw their five-game win streak come to an end. The squad had won six straight home games and had a lot of momentum after Game 1, but the series is all
STEPHEN CURRY
square after the latest result.
Warriors Are Still The Better Team Even Without KD
After Game 1, the narra- tive quickly shifted from the Warriors being better without Kevin Durant to questions about whether they could win a title without a healthy ver- sion of the forward.
Game 2 didn't prove either correct but instead showed this is still an elite squad when its best players are clicking.
Calvin Johnson Willing To Mend Relationship With Lions If They Return Money
Former U. S. President Barack Obama Attends Game 2
Of NBA Finals
ADAM SILVER AND BARACK OBAMA
A month ago at the Detroit Lions’ Taste of the Lions event, team president Rod Wood said mending the fran- chise’s relationship with for- mer receiver Calvin Johnson was a high priority for the team.
“I had it on my agenda today to talk internally about some things to re-approach him about getting back in- volved (with the team),” Wood said. “That’s on the agenda this year, reaching out to him.”
On Saturday, Johnson laid it out pretty plainly on what the team needs to do to get the All-Pro receiver back in their good graces.
“The only way they’re going to get me back is they
CALVIN JOHNSON
put that money back in my pocket,” Johnson told the Detroit Free Press on Satur- day at his local football camp. “Nah, you don’t do that. I don’t care what they say. They can put it back, then they can have me back. That’s the bot- tom line.”
The dispute over the two sides is over Johnson’s sign- ing bonus. When the receiver
retired in 2016, just four years after signing a seven-year ex- tension, the team asked for him to return at least $1 mil- lion of the $3.2 million pro- rated signing bonus they were entitled to have. Though by the book, the Lions were well within their rights to claim that money, some franchises look down upon touching a players’ signing bonus in cases of an early contract break, es- pecially when that player is such a hallmark of the fran- chise. Teams do occasionally ask for signing bonuses back— the Seahawks are currently suing Malik McDowell for that exact reason. However, you rarely see it with a player as important to the franchise as Johnson was.
Former U.S. president Barack Obama is attending Game 2 of the NBA Finals in Toronto between the Raptors and Golden State Warriors on Sunday night. The Warriors won 109-104.
Obama, a well-known basketball fan, has been in Canada for the last few days and spoke in Ottawa on Friday night.
Obama sat alongside NBA commissioner Adam Silver in the lower bowl at the game
and was seen walking with Raptors president Masai Ujiri before tip-off.
The crowd at Scotiabank Arena chanted “MVP” during a second quarter break in the action and gave Obama a standing ovation.
Obama served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. He hosted the Warriors at the White House in February 2016 after they won the NBA title a year prior.
PAGE 12 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, JUNE 4, 2019