Page 15 - Florida Sentinel 1-5-16 Edition

Sports
Colts' Josh Freeman: Throws First
Jameis Winston: Bucs Will Have 'Relentless Mindset Of Being Able To Persevere'
JAMEIS WINSTON
Jameis Winston ended his rookie season with two in- terceptions, a blowout loss and a promise.
"We're going to create a mindset this offseason, I guar- antee it," Winston said fol- lowing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 38-10 loss to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. "We're going to create a win- ning mindset, a relentless mindset of being able to perse- vere over adversity. We'll have that next year."
Winston offered a strong message to his teammates that the failures of 2015 -- a year in which Tampa Bay (6-10) actu- ally won four more games than it did in 2014 -- aren't accept- able, and he offered a chal- lenge for those who remained with the team to refocus this offseason after wrapping up a fourth straight loss to division- winning Carolina.
"We've got to fix the whys on this team," Winston said. "Why are we playing football? We have too many different whys right now. When we get that same why, when we be- come that true family, we're going to be hell."
The abundant potential of this team was a popular topic after Sunday's blowout loss, with coach Lovie Smith and virtually every player in the locker room looking toward 2016 with optimism. But Winston found it tough to shrug off the way 2015 fin- ished, from his own struggles Sunday to the overall mindset of a team that he believes has failed to build the chemistry needed to succeed.
Beauty Unlimited
DINAH
This week’s Beauty Unlimited feature, Dinah, is prepared to face whatever challenges lie ahead in her quest for success. Dinah feels her biggest chal- lenge is herself, and she’s confident she can over- come any obstacle in her path. Congratulations to Dinah as this week’s Beauty Unlimited feature.
Touchdown In Over Two Years
Former Buc and Indi- anapolis Colts player Josh Freeman completed 15 of 28 passes for 149 yards, a touch- down and an interception in his first NFL action since Week 7 of 2013 against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday. He also rushed eight times for 24 yards. The Colts won 30- 24.
The once-promising quar- terback out of Kansas State has seen his career spiral into mediocrity since some prom- ising early years with Tampa Bay, and he squandered an opportunity to impress with both Andrew Luck (ab- domen/kidney) and Matt
JOSH FREEMAN
Hasselbeck (shoulder/ribs/ back) out. The fact that realtor Ryan Lindley was trusted to run the two-minute drill over Freeman should tell owners all they need to know about the 27-year-old's chances of regaining an NFL starting job next season.
Browns Fire Mike Pettine, Ray Farmer
The Cleveland Browns have fired coach Mike Pet- tine and general manager Ray Farmer following a 3-13 season.
Pettine went 10-22 in two years and dropped 18 of his final 21 games after a promis- ing 7-4 start in 2014. The Browns announced Pettine's and Farmer's dismissals shortly after the team's 28-12 home loss to the rival Pitts- burgh Steelers, who wiggled into the AFC playoffs.
"We greatly appreciate Ray's and Mike's dedication and hard work while with the Cleveland Browns," Browns
MIKE PETTINE
owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam said in a letter to fans. "We've made this deci- sion because we don't believe our football team was posi- tioned well for the future. We are all disappointed with where we are, and we take full responsibility."
Derrick Rose To Have MRI Monday
Missing his third consecu- tive game due to a sore right hamstring, Derrick Rose could only watch and cheer on his Chicago Bulls teammate Jimmy Butler as he scored 40 points in the second half against the Toronto Raptors on Sunday. While Rose's hamstring officially kept him out, he has also been experi- encing some soreness in his right knee -- the same one that underwent two surgeries in the past two years -- and will undergo an MRI Monday.
Rose is not too concerned
Clemson-Alabama An Ideal Showdown For The National Title
DERRICK ROSE
about the soreness in his knee and believes that he may have "overworked" himself. The Bulls are having an MRI on Rose's right knee more for precautionary reasons, just to make sure it is just soreness and not anything major.
Wild Card Weekend
Saturday, Jan. 9
AFC:
No. 5 Kansas City at No. 4 Houston, 4:35 p.m. ET (ABC/ESPN)
AFC:
No. 6 Pittsburgh at No. 3 Cincinnati, 8:15 p.m. ET (CBS)
Sunday, Jan. 10
NFC:
No. 6 Seattle
at No. 3 Minnesota, 1:05 p.m. ET (NBC)
NFC:
No. 5 Green Bay at No. 4 Washington, 4:40 p.m. ET (Fox)
It's No. 1 Clemson vs. No. 2 Alabama for the 2016 Col- lege Football Playoff Na- tional Championship on Jan. 11 in Glendale, Arizona.
Dabo Swinney faces his alma mater, where he was a pre-“Bring Your Own Guts” walk-on wide receiver and an assistant coach before Nick Saban's “Process” ushered Alabama back to dominance.
Clemson threw a pizza party for 30,000 fans when the Tigers got selected for the CFP. ESPN had to turn
on the lights at the Alabama football offices for the selec- tion show in Tuscaloosa, where it was business as usual for the Crimson Tide.
Clemson goes for its sec- ond national championship ever and first since 1981, when an Alabamian named Danny Ford led the Tigers to the mountaintop.
The Crimson Tide will try to win their 16th national championship -- at least that's how many Alabama recognizes -- and Saban's fourth title in seven years.
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