Page 14 - Florida Sentinel 8-9-16 Online Edition

Sports
Jameis Winston Gives
Tony Dungy Pays Homage To African- American Coaches Who Paved The Way
Impassioned Speech At Practice
Florida State fans remem- ber Jameis Winston's fa- mous speeches before and after big games, now Tampa Bay Buccaneer fans are see- ing Winston's leadership skills first-hand as well.
On Saturday morning, prior to the start of Bucca- neer practice, Winston brought the team together for a quick message about the importance of each and every practice.
JAMEIS WINSTON
"Look down deep in your heart and see if you want to win today."
In his Pro Football Hall of Fame induction speech, Tony Dungy, former Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Indianapolis Colts head coach and the first African-American head coach to win a Super Bowl, paid homage to 10 special men who paved the journey for his coaching career and his life's work:
"Willie Brown, Buck Buchanan, Earnel Dur- den, Bob Ledbetter, Elijah Pitts, Jimmy Raye, Johnny Roland, Al Tabor, Lionel Taylor and Allan Webb," Dungy told the crowd.
"Now those names might not be familiar to you, but those were the African-Ameri- can assistant coaches in the NFL in 1977, my first year in the league," Dungy said. "It was a small group of men, just 10 of them, if you can believe that -- African-American assis- tant coaches in the NFL. Many of them never got the chance to move up the coaching lad- der like I did, but they were so important to the progress of this league.
"Those men were like my dad. They didn’t complain about the lack of opportunities -- they found ways to make the situation better. They were
TONY DUNGY
role models and mentors for me and my generation of young African-American coaches, like Ray Rhodes, Terry Robiskie and Herm Edwards.
"We were in the '80s, try- ing to decide if we could make a career in coaching or not. Without those 10 coaches lay- ing the groundwork, the league would not have the 200-plus minority assistant coaches it has today. And we would not have had Lovie Smith and Tony Dungy coaching against each other in Super Bowl XLI.
"So tonight as I join Fritz Pollard as the second African-American coach in the Hall of Fame, I feel like I'm representing those 10 men and all the African-American coaches who came before me and paved the way. And I thank them very, very much."
A recurring theme
throughout the speech was overcoming disappointments. He noted that he went un- drafted in 1977, which devas- tated him. He also talked about when he was traded to the 49ers and when he was let go by the Buccaneers following a playoff loss right after the 2001 season.
He thanked the late Den- nis Green, who died last month at 67. "He went out of his way to teach me the re- sponsibilities of being a head coach," Dungy said of Green, noting that he helped him pre- pare for a head coaching job and also showed him that you can win while being a loving husband and father.The rest of Dungy's speech was devoted to thanking people who helped him along the way, including Chuck Noll for giving him his start in coaching, the Glazer family and Rich McKay for giving him his first head coaching job with the Bucca- neers and Jim Irsay and Bill Polian for giving him the op- portunity to lead the Colts.
Dungy added, "I thanked him many, many, many times over the years, but I really wish I could thank him one more time tonight for everything he did to help me take that final step."
Kellen Winslow, II To Work Out For Packers
Former Tampa Bay Buc- caneers tight end Kellen Winslow, II, who has been out of the NFL the past two seasons, will get the chance to catch the eyes of the Green Bay Packers.
Winslow's tryout, sched- uled for Sunday, was first re- ported by NFL Network. The sixth overall pick in the 2004 NFL draft tweeted Saturday night thanking the Packers.
Winslow has not played since 2013, his lone season with the New York Jets. He caught 31 passes, including two touchdowns, in 12 games that year. He missed four games because of a suspen- sion for violating the NFL's policy on performance-en- hancing drugs.
He also was arrested that year for possession of syn-
KELLEN WINSLOW, II
thetic marijuana. In the po- lice report, he was accused of lewd conduct, but no such charges were filed.
Winslow, 33, had his best season with the Cleve- land Browns in 2007, when he caught 82 passes for 1,106 yards and five touchdowns. That came three years after he suffered a broken leg early in his rookie season of 2004 and missed all of 2005.
ESPN's Chris Berman
Seahawks' Bennett Has No Issue With Being Kicked Out Of Practice
Says Goodbye
To Tom Jackson In
Seattle Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett said Saturday that he has no issue with coach Pete Carroll throwing him out of practice earlier in the week.
"He said he just wants to show the team if he kicked me out as one of the best players on the team, then he'll do it to anybody," Bennett said. "Just a message. And it's cool with me. I understand what the standard is that's upheld for me and the rest of the players.
Bennett got into a scuffle with several Seahawks offen- sive linemen Thursday and
Emotional Sendoff
Hue Jackson 'Very Close' To Naming Browns' Starting Quarterback
Tom Jackson has been a fixture of ESPN’s football
MICHAEL BENNETT
spent the final portion of prac- tice on the sideline.
"We can't play like that," Carroll said afterward. "You get in a skirmish, you get thrown out. That's what hap- pens. So that happened today. And that's just the way you do it, the way we do it."
Cleveland Browns coach Hue Jackson hasn't made an official decision about his starting quarterback yet, but he seems to be closing in on one.
After Robert Griffin, III delivered a solid scrimmage performance for the second straight day during an after- noon, non-contact workout at Ohio Stadium, the depth chart appears to be taking shape. But Jackson isn't ready to make a definitive call quite yet.
"Oh, I'm close, very close," Jackson said Saturday. "We'll know here pretty soon exactly what we're doing. I'm going to go back and talk to the people that I trust, that I spend a lot of time with mak- ing these kinds of decisions, and we'll move forward."
As the Browns press on in training camp, the next step is preparing for Friday's presea- son game at Green Bay. And after Griffin tossed a pair of touchdowns in the Horseshoe one night after delivering a handful of big plays in a more meaningful scrimmage, he appears to be on track to
coverage TOMJACKSON
ROBERT GRIFFIN, III
claim that starting job.
On Saturday, he was the
first quarterback on the field and again took the majority of the first-team reps.
But like Jackson, Grif- fin was in no rush for the Browns to solidify his stand- ing in his battle with Josh McCown.
"It's just about coming out every day and proving it," Griffin said. "You know, we want to make sure that every- body earns their spot, earns their keep, and that's every- body's goal every time they step on the field. They want to put their best foot forward and show Coach what they can do, and he believes in all of us.
"It's a lot of fun every day to just go out and prove it."
Darrelle Revis Says Scuffle With Brandon Marshall 'Just Football'
since being
hired back
in 1987.
Earlier this week, the former Broncos linebacker announced he was retiring from the net- work.
Jackson became a house- hold name thanks to “NFL Primetime,” the innovative highlights show he co-hosted alongside Chris Berman until 2006, when NBC acquired the exclusive rights for extended highlights on Sunday nights as part of its NFL broadcasts.
For fans (like myself) who grew up watching football in the pre-internet days of the 1990s, "Primetime" was appointment viewing, not just for the scores and highlights, but for the en- gaging commentary Berman and Jackson offered on a weekly basis.
Jackson's solid, no-non- sense analysis paired perfectly with Berman's quick wit and amusing nicknames, and often finished his sentences (espe- cially when it involved a player from the University of Louisville, Jackson's alma mater).
AND CHRIS BERMAN
A day after New York Jets star wide receiver Brandon Marshall and star cornerback Darrelle Revis had to be separated following their skir- mish in 11-on-11 action at Fri- day's practice, Revis brushed the whole thing off as one of those things that happen all the time in training camp.
"It's just football, man," Revis said. "It's nothing more."
On Friday, the two stars matched up against each other several times, and the compe- tition became increasingly heated, with plenty of trash talk flying around. At one point, Marshall brought up
the name of
Houston
Texans wide
receiver De-
Andre
Hopkins,
who burned
Revis badly
in a game DARRELLE
last season. REVIS Finally, in an interval be- tween plays, Marshall walked from the offensive sideline to- ward Revis, the two started jawing at each other, and Marshall swiped at Revis with an open hand, which did- n't connect, before coaches and teammates separated
them.
PAGE 14 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2016