Page 14 - Florida Sentinel 12-19-17

Sports
Jerry Richardson Selling
Marvin Lewis Denies That He Has Made Decision On His Future
MARVIN LEWIS
Unsurprisingly, Cincinnati Bengals coach Marvin Lewis is downplaying reports that he has already decided to part ways with the team at season’s end.
After a blowout 34-7 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, Lewis denied reports about his future, saying that he didn’t even know where such stories had come from.
A source had reported ear- lier Sunday that Lewis has de- cided to leave the Bengals after the season. Obviously, Lewis isn’t going to confirm this with two games yet to go. He has no real choice but to deny every- thing.
Overturned Jesse James Touchdown Costs Steelers Against Patriots
Carolina Panthers
An overturned touchdown in the final minute of Sun- day’s New England Patriots- Pittsburgh Steelers game cost the Steelers a likely victory.
Jesse James caught a ball and just crossed into the end zone for what initially went down as a touchdown to give the Steelers a 30-27 lead with 28 seconds left in Pitts- burgh on Sunday night. How- ever, the play was reviewed by the officials, who decided to overturn the call because James lost control of the ball in the end zone.
After initially saying the call on the field would stand, CBS’ announcing team of Jim Nantz and Tony Romo changed their tune upon realizing James failed to maintain possession.
Amid Investigation
Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson is selling the team amid an investiga- tion into allegations of work- place misconduct.
The Panthers posted a statement from Richardson on their website late Sunday in which the franchise’s only owner said it was “time to turn the franchise over to new ownership.” The statement says Richardson will put the franchise up for sale at the end of the season.
Richardson’s decision to sell the team came quickly. On Friday, word emerged that Richardson was being investigated for workplace
JERRY RICHARDSON
misconduct. On Sunday, SI provided a detailed report about the alleged misconduct. They said that Richardson had reached four settlements over his workplace miscon- duct, all of which required confidentiality from the vic- tims.
JESSE JAMES
Because the call was re- versed, the Steelers went for it on second and goal. They completed a pass but it was short of the end zone. On the next play, Ben Roethlis- berger faked a spike and de- cided to try and force a play in the end zone. His passed was tipped and intercepted by the Patriots, who won 27- 24.
Cam Newton's 4 TDs Propel Panthers To Win vs. Packers In Aaron Rodgers' Return
Antonio Brown Has Partially Torn Calf Muscle, Likely To Be Back For Playoffs
CAM NEWTON
The return of Aaron
Rodgers was supposed to save the Green Bay Packers' playoff hopes.
Cam Newton had other plans.
The Panthers quarterback threw for four touchdowns as part of a stellar afternoon that saw him lead Carolina to a 31- 24 win over the returning Rodgers and his Packers.
Rodgers looked notice- ably rusty against a swarming Panthers defense, throwing for 290 yards and three touchdowns against three in- terceptions. It was his first game with three interceptions since Nov. 8, 2009. The Pro Bowl quarterback returned Sunday after a two-month with a broken collarbone.
Newton, by contrast, was brilliant throughout. The 2015 NFL MVP threw for 242 yards and four scores with 60 yards on his 13 carries. The passing game looked rejuve- nated with a seemingly healthy Greg Olsen, who led all pass-catchers with 116 yards and a score on nine re- ceptions.
Floyd Mayweather-
As if losing to the New England Patriots in the fash- ion they did wasn’t already bad enough for the Pittsburgh Steelers, the team may also be without Antonio Brown their next two games.
A source reported on Sun- day night that Brown has a partially torn calf muscle. Schefter says Brown is un- likely to play in Week 16 at Houston, but that he is ex- pected to be back for the play- offs.
Brown was injured early in the huge AFC game on a pass in the end zone that fell incomplete. He had to be helped off the field and then was taken in for examination. He did not return after that, and the latest word from the team was that he was taken to
Ezekiel Elliott Filmed Documentary While
FLOYD MAYWEATHER AND CONNOR MCGREGOR
The pay-per-view numbers for the Conor McGregor-Floyd Mayweather Jr. boxing match have finally been released, and they’re pretty sizable.
Showtime announced on Thursday that the boxing match between McGregor and Mayweather in late Au- gust did 4.3 million pay-per- view buys in North America.
The large amount places the McGregor-Mayweather fight as the second-most purchased pay-per-view fight in history behind Mayweather’s 2015 fight with Manny Pacquiao, which did 4.6 million buys.
Mayweather has now been part of the four-most pur- chased pay-per-view fights in history, and the only two that did over 4 million. His 2007 fight with Oscar De La Hoya generated 2.4 million buys, and his 2013 fight with Canelo Al- varez did 2.2 million buys.
Training In Mexico During Suspension
Ryan Shazier Attends Steelers- Patriots Game, Gets Big Ovation
Conor McGregor is Second-Highest PPV Fight In History
ANTONIO BROWN
the hospital for further evalu- ation of his calf.
Brown had two catches for 24 yards in the game. The two catches gave him 101 re- ceptions on the season, mak- ing him the first player in history with five straight 100- catch seasons. The 11-3 Steel- ers visit the Texans in Week 16 and host the Browns in Week 17 before the playoffs begin.
Ezekiel Elliott is set to return from his six-game sus- pension next week, and it sounds like we are eventually going to get an inside look at exactly what went on in his life during his time away from football.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports that Elliott has spent the last six weeks training at Diamante Luxury Resort in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. During that time, the star running back has been filming a full-length docu- mentary.
According to Rapoport, Elliott is in “terrific shape” and seems to have lost a little weight. He has also been meeting with mentors in ad- dition to personal trainers so he can address some of the as- pects in his life other than just
EZEKIEL ELLIOTT
football.
The Cowboys are still in
the playoff hunt, but they ba- sically need to win out in order to have a shot. They need to survive one more game without Elliott, but it will be a tough one on the road against the Raiders. If Dak Prescott can lead the team to another win, Elliott has already given us a bold prediction for his first game back.
The Pittsburgh Steelers had an unexpected guest in attendance for Sunday’s game against the New England Pa- triots, and fans could not have been happier about it.
During the first quarter, Ryan Shazier was shown on the big screen at Heinz Field. The Steelers linebacker had a big smile on his face and was clapping enthusiastically.
Shazier recently under- went spinal surgery, so the fact that doctors even allowed him to leave the hospital was a great sign. He has been ruled out for the remainder of the season. Tracy Wilson of CBS said Shazier had a de- fensive play book in his hand,
RYAN SHAZIER
and many Steelers players had no idea he would be in at- tendance.
The Steelers were able to FaceTime with Shazier fol- lowing their win in Week 14, and some players paid tribute to him during pregame warmups last week and this week.
PAGE 14 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2017