Page 24 - Florida Sentinel 3-2-18

Sports
Dwyane Wade Dedicates Rest Of
FAU WR John
Teddy Bridgewater
Season To School Shooting Victim
Franklin III Runs
Reportedly Expected
Who Was Buried In His Jersey
Blazing 4.19
To Become Free Agent
Miami Heat hoop star Dwyane Wade vowed to speak out for those who can no longer be heard after he learned that Florida school shooting victim, Joaquin Oliver had been buried in his basketball jersey.
40-Yard Dash
Oliver, 17, was an avid fol- lower of the Miami Heat, and was excited that Wade had left the Cleveland Cavaliers and returned to Miami early this month.
The day before hitting the game-winning jumper to beat the 76ers, Wade dedicated the rest of his season with the Miami Heat to Oliver. The teen had immigrated to the U.S. from Venezuela when he was a toddler and had become an American citizen the year
before a gunman killed him and 16 other people at Mar- jory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14.
Oliver’s parents told the Al Punto talk show on Sun- day that their son had been buried in Wade’s jersey.
Wade tweeted: “This is why we will not just SHUT up and dribble!” He was referring to a comment from Fox News host Laura Ingraham about NBA stars LeBron James and Kevin Durant.
Franklin was a well-trav- eled college player who will be looking to make it as a wide re- ceiver in the NFL.
Franklin began his career as a quarterback at Florida State. He transferred to East Mississippi Community Col- lege, serving mostly as a backup quarterback, then transferred to Auburn where he was a third-string QB.
He ended up at Lane Kif- fin’s FAU program last year as a graduate transfer, playing wide receiver.
Dwyane Wade (r) has dedicated the sea- son to Joaquin Oliver (l).
One name to watch out for at the NFL Combine will be John Franklin, III.
A YouTube video shows Franklin run- ning a blazing 4.19 40-yard dash time.
JOHN FRANKLIN, III
Teddy Bridgewater’s
contract situation with the Minnesota Vikings had the potential to get very sticky this offseason, but apparently the team is not planning to make life difficult for its for- mer first-round pick.
A reporter reports that Bridgewater is expected to become a free agent.
Bridgewater began the season on the physically un- able to perform list, as he was still recovering from the de- vastating knee injury that forced him to miss the entire 2016 season. Since he was not on the active roster by Week 7, the Vikings could have ar- gued that the final year of his contract should toll.
However, Bridgewater said publicly that he was ready to play before the team activated him, and he could have filed a grievance claim-
TEDDY BRIDGEWATER
ing that the team chose to keep him inactive even though he was cleared by doc- tors.
There’s still a chance the Vikings could bring Bridge- water back, but it sounds as though they are not planning to use the franchise tag on him or Case Keenum.
Reports have indicated that Minnesota is eyeing a much bigger fish on the free agent market and has little in- terest in re-signing any of its three quarterbacks from 2017.
FRIDAY, MARCH 2, 2018 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 17-A