Page 14 - Florida Sentinel 12-25-18

Sports
USF Started The Season 7-0,
Finished The Season 7-6
After Losing To UConn
Dez Bryant Says
Josh Gordon Officially
The wheels started falling off for USF against UConn. The Huskies, a team that fielded quite literally one of the worst defenses ever, nearly beat the Bulls in Tampa back on October 20. USF was able to fend them off by recov- ering an onside kick and avoided the upset.
But then the season got worse ... much worse, as the Bulls would lose out culminat- ing in a 38-20 loss in the Gas- parilla Bowl played at their home stadium against Mar- shall. Apparently, it’s the first time 7-0 became 7-6.
This is now the beginning of a very uncertain offseason in Tampa for Charlie Strong.
He’ll definitely be the head coach to start the 2019 season, but if USF keeps going in the wrong direction, he might not be in charge in 2020. After back-to-back two-loss sea- sons, the Bulls put together this dud of a year.
A hapless offense was probably going to get a new coordinator next year anyway, but Sterlin Gilbert left for McNeese State, and now Strong definitely has a coaching decision to make. This offense is going to be the thing that defines the rest of his tenure either way. The
Dez Bryant’s inspiration to finally sign with an NFL team this season came from an unlikely
source. Bryant sat out for most of the year until finally signing with the New Orleans Saints in
early November.
Bryant went on the radio
for an interview on Thursday and said he was ignoring mes- sages from his agent about in- terested teams. It took rapper Jay-Z reaching out to inspire him to make a move.
“Get your a– down to New Orleans,” Jay-Z texted Bryant, which inspired him to go work out for the Saints.
Bryant suffered a torn Achilles’ tendon two days after signing with the Saints, which ended his season before it really got started. The injury is ex- pected to keep him out eight months and could be devastat- ing to his career given his age (30).
Richard Sherman’s Pro Bowl Snub Was Extremely Costly
RICHARD SHERMAN
There were plenty of ques- tions surrounding Richard Sherman after he tore his Achilles last year, and the star cornerback has answered many of them by turning in a quality season with the San Francisco 49ers.
Some would say it has been yet another Pro Bowl-caliber season for Sherman, but he was left off the roster on Tues-
dayA. nd that is going to cost him a lot of money.
Sherman signed a three- year contract with the Niners last offseason that is loaded with incentives. Many of them have to do with the Pro Bowl.
Some of those bonuses and guarantees aren’t as straight- forward as they sound. Basi- cally, Sherman would have made a $1M bonus this year if he made the Pro Bowl, plus his base salary for 2019 would have risen from $7M to $8M.
Josh Gordon an- nounced on Thursday morn- ing that he is leaving the New England Patriots to focus on his mental health, but the timing of his decision hardly seems like a coincidence.
Just hours later, the NFL announced that Gordon has been suspended indefinitely for violating the terms of his conditional reinstatement.
Gordon has been sus- pended multiple times for vi- olating the NFL’s substance abuse policy, and his latest slip-up could result in a per- manent ban from the league. Even if it doesn’t, it seems un- likely that any team would sign the star wide receiver.
The Patriots acquired Gordon in a trade with the Browns earlier this year,
CHARLIE STRONG
heat’s going to get turned up because Strong’s salary takes a huge leap soon too.
The first two years of Strong’s contract took ad- vantage of the fact that there were still two years left on his contract with Texas when he was fired in Austin. USF is only paying Strong a total salary of $1M per year until his Texas buyout expires. In 2019, USF’s compensation of Strong jumps to $2.5M. Then it’s $2.6M in 2020 and $2.7M in 2021.
With an athletic director who didn’t hire him — and therefore doesn’t have that loyalty attachment — Strong’s job security is not exactly a given moving for- ward. There are certainly peo- ple at USF who think Strong is the long-term answer to get this program a conference championship — the white whale for USF right now.
JOSH GORDON
sending a fifth-round draft pick to Cleveland in exchange for Gordon and a seventh- round pick. He caught 40 passes for 720 yards and three touchdowns in 11 games with New England.
Gordon opened up last year about the extent of his substance abuse issues, and it sounds like he is still strug- gling with addiction.
Jay-Z Inspired Him
Suspended For Violating
To Sign With Saints
Terms Of Reinstatement
DEZ BRYANT
Marshawn Lynch Speaks At Oakland City Council Meeting To Keep A’s
Redskins DB Arrested After
Allegedly Assaulting Man
While Drunk In Public
Washington Redskins de- fensive back Montae Nicholson was arrested early Tuesday morning after he and a woman he was with were ac- cused of assaulting two people at a shopping plaza.
Nicholson was charged with assault and battery and being intoxicated in public. Deputies responded to a re- port at around 2 a.m. Tuesday of a fight at the One Loudoun shopping center in Ashburn and spoke with the two alleged victims when the arrived.
Officers determined that Nicholson assaulted the man and the woman he was with, 24-year-old Sydney Mag- giore, hit the female victim with a bottle and also as- saulted the male victim. Mag- giore was charged with malicious wounding in addi- tion to assault and battery.
Nicholson and Mag- giore left the scene but re-
MARSHAWN LYNCH
MONTAE NICHOLSON
turned when police were there. One of the victims said the altercation began when Nicholson and Maggiore “pulled up in a vehicle and honked the horn at them.” It was unclear if the four people involved knew one another previously.
A fourth-round draft pick out of Michigan State last year, Nicholson has ap- peared in all 14 games for Washington in his second NFL season. He has 41 total tackles.
If you’re wondering why Marshawn Lynch is so beloved by fans, look no fur- ther than the above photo.
Lynch showed up at an Oakland city council meeting on Wednesday night to advo- cate for the A’s to remain in Oakland with a new ballpark. He was wearing a hoodie with the hood on, sandals, and a backpack as he spoke.
Lynch’s point was straightforward and made sense: the area is losing the Warriors, who are moving across the bay to San Fran- cisco; the Raiders, who are moving to Las Vegas; and he
does not want to lose the A’s too. Lynch is from Oakland, went to high school there, and remained there for college at Cal. He even joined the Raiders to play for his local team.
Lynch was advocating for the A’s to get a new ballpark. The A’s have unveiled plans to build a stadium at the Port of Oakland’s Howard Terminal next to Jack London Square and are seeking progress with that proposal.
Beast Mode may not be contributing to the Raiders due to injury, but he’s doing his part for the city of Oakland.
PAGE 14 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2018