Page 14 - 4-14-15 Tuesday's Edition

Sports
Jameis Winston To Visit Jets,
Bulls Tab Former Taggart Backup QB As RBs Coach
WILLIE TAGGART
The University of South Florida announced that Donte Pimpleton, formerly Willie Taggart’s backup quarterback at Western Ken- tucky University, was ap- pointed running backs coach. Pimpleton also served three seasons on Taggart’s staffs at WKU.
Spurs Scorch Suns For 11th Straight Win And Move Up To No. 2 In West
SAN ANTONIO -- The San Antonio Spurs have refused to pay attention to the standings or any other team over the past month and a half, instead focusing on their own game.
The rest of the Western Conference better be paying attention to the surging Spurs.
Tim Duncan had 22 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Spurs to their 11th straight victory, 107-91 over the Phoenix Suns on Sunday night.
San Antonio moved into second place in the Western Conference and took a half- game lead over idle Memphis in the Southwest Division.
"We are just going to play the games," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "Wherever we end up, that's what we'll do. We can only control our game."
And that has resulted in the defending champions win- ning 21 of 24 games to vault up the standings.
The Spurs, who appeared in danger of missing the play- offs after going 4-5 on their annual Rodeo Road Trip in February, are primed to host a first-round series.
"I had a headache last night trying to figure out who I wanted to win or lose, or what I want the outcome of the game to be," Duncan said. "I actually sent a mes- sage to Tony (Parker) to try to figure it out, because he al- ways knows. So, we're just going to try to win our games and whatever comes out of it comes out of it."
Russell Wilson Won't 'Kill The Dream' Of Playing Baseball
RUSSELL WILSON
Who May Trade Up In Draft
Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston is sche- duled to visit the Jets some time this week, ESPN re- ported, citing league sources.
It's very unlikely that Winston will be available at the sixth pick, when the Jets are scheduled to draft. Jets GM Mike Maccagnan re- portedly "hasn't ruled out the possibility" of trading up to draft Winston.
The Jets have also worked out Oregon quarterback Mar-
JAMEIS WINSTON
cus Mariota and UCLA's Brett Hundley. Baylor's Bryce Petty will also take a pre-draft visit to the Jets this week.
Buccaneers Fans Seem To Want Winston
Let the rumors start to fly as fast as a 97 mph fastball.
In the midst of negotiat- ing a new contract, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Rus- sell Wilson didn't squash the idea of playing baseball during the NFL offseason in an interview with HBO's "Real Sports" that will air April 21.
"I never want to kill the dream of playing two sports," Wilson said. "I would honestly play two sports."
Seahawks QB Russell Wilson hasn't let the possi-
bility of playing professional baseball go.
Host Bryant Gumbel pressed Wilson on what is preventing the 26-year-old from becoming the latest two-sport star.
"I don't know," Wilson said sheepishly. "I may push the envelope a little bit one of these days."
Wilson, who was a two- sport star at NC State, has spent a day at Texas Rangers spring training in Arizona each of the past two years. On March 28, he hit a home run during batting practice.
At a time when off-field concerns could cause some in ownership with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to lobby against making him the first overall pick in the 2015 draft, the fans feel differently.
Stadium Club members attending a Thursday ques- tion-and-answer session with coach Lovie Smith and G.M. Jason Licht made it clear that they want Winston.
Winston’s appearance in the brief video clip that kicked off the team-sponsored Front Office Forum in the East Club of Raymond James Stadium sparked a raucous round of applause, the first and per- haps loudest of the evening.”
Fan demand will be a fac- tor, especially with the NFL suspending the blackout rule. Fear of not seeing the game will no longer motivate fans to
Avid Buccaneer Fan
choose not to stay home; teams now will need a reason to get customers to pay for the privilege for seeing the game in person. That means teams will need: (A) to win; and/or (B) to have players that fans want to see in person.
If fans want to see Win- ston, that’s another item to balance against concerns re- garding his off-field issues — along with concerns that he’ll struggle at the next level after throwing 18 interceptions in 2014.
Making Playoffs A Long Shot For Miami Heat
Gholston Repays
When Goran Dragic first learned he had been traded to the Heat, he was hopeful about the opportu- nity to play a leading role in the playoffs for the first time in his career.
Dragic boarded a plane for Miami in mid-February expecting to team up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh for a post-All-Star playoff push.
Before that plane landed, Dragic learned that Bosh was in the hospital with an undisclosed medical condi- tion. It was a surreal turn of events for the 28-year-old guard, and one that ulti- mately contributed to the sit- uation the Heat now finds itself with two games left in the regular season.
After losing nine of its past 12 games — and six of its past seven — the Heat (35- 45) is hoping for an unlikely series of events to get it into the postseason.
First, Miami must defeat the Orlando Magic on Mon- day to keep from being elim- inated from the playoff hunt, but even if the Heat wins that game and then knocks off the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday, it still needs a lot of help.
Gas-Station Attendant
With Interest For Kind Act
Not only must the Heat win out, but the Brooklyn Nets must lose their remain- ing two games. If the Nets de- feat the Bulls on Monday, the Heat is out. Brooklyn finishes the season against the Magic on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the Heat also needs help from the Indiana Pacers. The Heat trailed the Pacers by two games after In- diana’s victory on Sunday against the Oklahoma City Thunder, and the Pacers hold a playoff tiebreaker against the Heat in the event both teams finish with identical records.
A victory by the Boston Celtics against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday further decreased the odds of the Heat making the playoffs. The Celtics (38-42) edged closer to the postseason with the victory. The Nets lost Sunday, giving the Heat the smallest amount of hope.
Five years after being on the receiving end of an act of kindness, Tampa Bay Bucca- neers defensive end William Gholston returned to repay the favor.
As a high school senior in Detroit, Gholston ran out of gas and wandered into a nearby BP station without any cash. Attendant Mo- hamed Gabasha gave Gholston a container of gas and a ride back to his car.
On Friday night Gabasha saw Gholston for the first time since the incident. Gholston returned to the station to thank Gabasha and gave him $100 to repay him with interest.
"It was amazing, how he actually came back," Gabasha told the newspa- per. "He just said 'Thank you for that day.' It was really, re- ally nice."
Gabasha took a cell phone video of the moment,
WILLIAM GHOLSTON
which was posted on Reddit.com by his cousin, Younis Shariff.
Gabasha had no way of knowing Gholston would end up playing for the Bucca- neers. Gabasha has been a fan of the Bucs.
"I'm a big fan of the Tampa 2 [defense] and was a really big fan of the Bucs when they won their champi- onship," Gabasha said. "I'm a big fan of [receiver Mike] Evans. He's going to be one of the best. I was so disap- pointed the Lions couldn't draft him."
PAGE 14 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, APRIL 14, 2015