Page 27 - Florida Sentinel 12-21-18

Sports
Buccaneers To Play Spoilers Against The Cowboys Sunday
Mo'ne Davis To Attend Hampton University,
The Tampa Bay Bucca- neers have officially been eliminated from the playoffs for the 10th straight season. They still have an opportu- nity to play spoilers for the NFC East leading, Dallas Cowboys.
The Dallas Cowboys have all but locked up the NFC East crown. However, after a five game winning streak, they were shut out by the In- dianapolis Colts. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are coming off a road loss to the Balti- more Ravens where the Ravens rushed for 242 yards and lead time of possession 37-23.
The Tampa Bay Bucca- neers rush defense really wasn’t the biggest problem coming into the game. Hon- estly, the Ravens just have so
The Cowboys offense is not something the Bucs should be afraid of this weekend. They average less than 20 points per game with 19.7, 26th in the league. Dallas scored less than 23 points in nine games this year and have won three of them. If the Bucs want to win this game, their defense will need to be on top of its game.
Dak Prescott isn’t a world beater passing the ball. He ranks 17th in pass- ing yards with 3,337, 21st in touchdowns, 17, and has eight interceptions. Prescott rushes the ball well when he needs to. With 303 yards this season and five touchdowns, Prescott is effectively running the ball. The game starts at 1 p.m on FOX.
Carolina Panthers Shutting Down QB Cam Newton
CAM NEWTON
Cam Newton's 2018 sea- son is apparently over.
The Carolina Panthers star and 2015 NFL MVP did not practice Wednesday and won't play Sunday, general manager Marty Hurney confirmed.
Newton has been dealing with a sore throwing shoulder recently, and his play has suf- fered along with the club's. After a 6-2 start, the Panthers have lost six straight and have been all but mathematically eliminated from playoff con- tention. They are currently in ninth place in the NFC's ag- gregate standings.
Newton has only missed three games in his eight-year career up until now.
Statistically, he'll wind up with one of his best seasons, posting career bests for com- pletions (320) and completion percentage (67.9) under first- year coordinator Norv Turner. Newton's 94.2 passer rating trails only the 99.4 from his MVP campaign.
Play Softball
DeSean Jackson Hopes To Return To Action On Sunday
Among Notable Omissions
DAK PRESCOTT AND JAMEIS WINSTON
many rushing weapons. The Dallas Cowboys might not have Lamar Jackson in the backfield but their quar- terback is mobile enough to escape when needed. Dallas is sitting at 8-6 with the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins just one game back. They can’t afford to lose this week so expect to see them go all out.
MO'NE DAVIS
Davis will reportedly play softball at Hampton after playing basketball, softball and soccer at Springside Chestnut Hill Academy in Pennsylvania.
Former
World Series star Mo'ne Davis will reportedly enroll at Hampton University in fall 2019.
Four years ago, Davis be- came an icon in the sports world as a member of Philadelphia's Taney Dragons. She became the first girl to win a Little League World Se- ries game as a pitcher and also became the first girl in Little League World Series history to throw a shutout during post-season play.
Little League
2019 Pro Bowl Snubs:
DeSean Jackson has been out the three weeks and make no mistake about it, the Buccaneers offense hasn’t been as efficient with him out of the lineup.
Not only is he still one of the best deep threats in foot- ball, but he just opens up the offense a lot more for guys like Chris Godwin and Cameron Brate. He helps balance things out, so the
DESEAN JACKSON
Bucs will welcome him back for the final two games of the regular season.
The announcement of Pro Bowl selections annually yields plenty of second-guessing about the players who missed the cut.
A good number of worthy players made the AFC and NFC rosters on Tuesday night. There were also plenty of note- worthy exclusions.
Here are some of the biggest Pro Bowl snubs:
Mike Evans, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers — Evans is second in the NFL in receiving yards (1,328, behind Julio Jones' 1,511), which is a career-high for the fifth-year receiver. Evans also is one of just three players to start his career with five consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons, joining Pro Football Hall of Famer Randy Moss and A.J. Green. That's impressive company.
Andrew Luck, QB, Indi- anapolis Colts — Among a number of worthy NFL come- back player of the year candi- dates, Luck has the surprising Colts on the precipice of a play- off berth. After missing the en- tire 2017 season, Luck's return has been absolutely re- markable. He's currently ranked second in the NFL with 34 touchdown passes (trailing only Patrick Mahomes' in- credible 45 TDs), and has thrown for 3,951 yards (tied with Philip Rivers for sev- enth-best in the league).
Nick Chubb, RB, Cleve- land Browns — Alvin Ka- mara, RB, New Orleans Saints — The NFC's running back pool is loaded. Kamara was the odd man out after Todd Gurley, Saquon Barkley and Ezekiel Elliott
MIKE EVANS
were chosen for the Pro Bowl. Kamara's production has picked up after earning the of- fensive rookie of the year award last season.
Christian McCaffrey, RB, Carolina Panthers — McCaffrey was another vic- tim of the NFC's loaded run- ning back field. With 979 yards, he should earn his first career 1,000-yard rushing sea- son. He's also six receptions from having a 100-catch sea- son.
Joe Mixon, RB, Cincin- nati Bengals — Jared Cook, TE, Oakland Raiders — The Raiders were one of three teams — the Buffalo Bills and Tampa Bay Buccaneers were the others — without a Pro Bowl selection. Cook is having his finest season. His 848 yards receiving is fourth among tight ends (behind Pro Bowlers Travis Kelce, George Kittle and Zach Ertz).
JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers — Antonio Brown was selected to the Pro Bowl, but Smith- Schuster might be having a better season. He has more catches (95) and yards (1,272) than Brown (90 and 1,112).
The 2019 Pro Bowl will be heldonJan.27at3p.m.ETin Orlando.
Evans, Luck, Kamara
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