Page 26 - Florida Sentinel 4-14-17

Sports
Doug Martin Expected For Bucs Workouts Next Week
Tom Brady Is King Of The Jersey Game
TOM BRADY
Tom Brady continues to be a radio-friendly unit shifter. The New England Patriots quarterback had the top-sell- ing jersey from April 1, 2016 to February 28 of this year, ac- cording to an infographic re-
leased by NFL Shop.
Ezekiel Elliott and Dak
Prescott, the Cowboys' rookie sensations of 2016, took the second and third spots, re- spectively. Giants wide re- ceiver Odell Beckham, Jr. and Brady teammate Rob Gronkowski rounded out the top five.
Tiger Woods Congratulates Rival Sergio Garcia After Masters Win
SERGIO GARCIA AND TIGER WOODS
Tiger Woods has had a few different rivals over the course of his career, but his ri- valry with Sergio Garcia has been among the most heated.
It started heating up during the 2002 U.S. Open at Beth- page, the site of Tiger’s se- cond U.S. Open, and flared-up again following the 2013 Play- ers Championship. Tiger topped Sergio again on that occasion, but Sergio certainly got in his shots.
“He called me a whiner. He’s probably right,” Garcia says. “But that’s also probably the first thing he’s told you guys that’s true in 15 years. I know what he’s like. You guys are finding out.”
In any case, maybe the pair are turning over a new leaf, be- cause following Sergio Gar- cia’s stunning victory at the 2017 Masters, Tiger tweeted a short — but sweet — congratu- latory message.
Von Miller Predicts 2017 Is 'Gonna Be My Best Year'
Can Doug Martin sal- vage his career in Tampa?
Speaking at the NFL Scouting Combine early last month, general manager Jason Licht and coach Dirk Koetter were non- committal on Martin's fu- ture with the team.
The veteran running back is expected to rejoin team- mates for the start of offsea- son workouts next Monday. Now the Buccaneers are pre- pared to give him a second chance.
Suspended four games for violating the league's per- formance-enhancing drugs policy, Martin served one of the those games in last season's regular-season fi- nale. He entered the offsea- son in danger of nullifying the remainder of a five-year, $35.75 million contract signed in March of 2016.
Having completed his re- habilitation, however, Mar- tin is now doing "amazing.”
As long as he's fully com- mitted to football, there's lit- tle incentive for the Bucs to
DOUG MARTIN
cut ties. Because he's sus- pended, he doesn't count against the offseason roster limit.
That's not to say Licht will resist pulling the trigger on a running back in the early rounds of the 2017 NFL Draft (April 27-29 in Philadelphia).
At the very least, Martin is low-risk insurance in Tampa Bay's backfield. If he stays healthy and motivated, perhaps he can even recap- ture 2015 All-Pro form in a bounce-back season.
One vote.
That's what separated last year's Defensive Player of the Year, Raiders pass-rusher Khalil Mack, from Broncos whirlwind Von Miller, the ill-fated runner-up.
"I pretty much didn't have an offseason last year with so much stuff," Miller said of last year's hold out that kept him away from the team until mid-July. "I wasn't gonna use that as an excuse, but I lost by one vote. The year before, I don't know how many votes it was that I lost by. I got close this year. ... This is part of life, I'm not just gonna stay stuck in the past."The MVP of Super Bowl 50 made it clear on Tuesday that he views that loss as tangible motivation heading into this season.
Miller, 28, then previewed what Broncos fans -- and op-
VON MILLER
posing passers -- can expect come September.
"I feel like this Von coming up is going to be my best Von that I put forward. It's gonna be my best year, that's what I'm going for," Miller said. "I have a full offseason, full OTAs, I'm gonna be here every single day training. It's not all luck. ... Now it's just all football. I'm here, I'm settled in. It's time to go play."
Before Moving On, Falcons'
Matt Ryan Watched Super
Bowl Loss Day After Day
Matt Ryan, who guided the Atlanta Falcons to an im- probable Super Bowl run, didn't try to quickly block the game from his mind despite the fact a 25-point lead turned into a 34-28 overtime loss to the New England Pa- triots. He also fumbled in the fourth quarter that basically allowed the Patriots to get the ball back for the tying score. In other words, Ryan blew the game.
Instead of decompressing for a bit, Ryan jumped right back into things as if he were preparing for a game the fol- lowing Sunday. That meant watching the game film.
And watching it some more.
"I watched it the day after. I watched it two days after. And then I watched it three days after," Ryan told 680 The Fan radio in Atlanta dur- ing a Monday interview prior to his charity golf tourna- ment. "For me, it was one of those things, I think; you kind of want to be able to deal with it appropriately.
MATT RYAN
Maybe that's different for everybody. Some people bury it away. ... For me it was, 'All right, let's watch.'
"Does it feel the same way it felt as we were going through it? I think everybody is going to be really hungry to get back there because the one thing I'm proud of is we have a young team. We were ready to play. I thought we played well. And we were right in the mix and fell a lit- tle bit short. But we should have every bit of confidence that we're going to be right back there next year and get- ting a different outcome be- cause we're going to be more experienced."
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