Page 28 - Florida Sentinel 8-28-15 Edition

Sports
Cam Newton Adds LeBron James Tribute To His Touchdown Celebration
NBA Fines Clippers $250K For DeAndre Jordan Pitch
USF QB B.J. Daniels Trying To Earn NFL Spot
RENTON, Wash. --Former USF quarterback B.J. Daniels has played football since he was 6-years-old and never played any position other than quarterback.
So naturally there was some hesitation when the Seahawks came to him asking if he would consider moving to wide re- ceiver this offseason. However, Daniels has made a fairly seamless transition to being on the receiving end of passes dur- ing training camp and is push- ing for a spot on Seattle's 53-man roster.
Daniels was a four-year starter at quarterback for South Florida before being drafted in the seventh round of the 2013 draft by the San Francisco 49ers. Daniels came to Seattle after being claimed off waivers from the 49ers that October.
After spending a few weeks on the team's active roster, he was released and signed to the team's practice squad. In two seasons in Seattle, he was in uniform for just one game.
But his athleticism has in- trigued the Seahawks and they wanted to find a way to get him
FILE - In this Aug. 21, 2015, file photo, Seattle Seahawks quarterback B.J. Daniels (5) makes a catch.
on the field. With Tarvaris Jackson entrenched as the backup to Russell Wilson, the move to receiver seemed to be the best chance for making that happen.
Daniels had served as a wide receiver on the scout team each of the last two seasons. Those glimpses while he was lining up against the Seahawks' vaunted secondary every day in practice helped fuel the idea of converting Daniels full-time.
Cam Newton’s going to score some touchdowns this season for the Carolina Pan- thers (he had five last season). And when he did he’s always pulled that Superman celebra- tion out, pretending to rip off his suit to expose the “S”.
Now he’s added the LeBron James high knee-hand pump to the celebration as a tribute to LBJ. And LeBron noticed.
Cam Newton and Lebron James
Report: NBA Says Michael Jordan Can’t Decide Who Gets Air Jordan Shoe Deal
DEANDRE JORDAN
Michael Jordan’s Air Jordan shoe brand through Nike dominates the market — 58 percent of basketball shoes sold last year were Jordans. That’s 13 times more than Le- Bron James, who has the best selling shoe among active players. Nike owns 95.5 per- cent of the basketball shoe market (according to Forbes).
One of the NBA’s concerns with Michael Jordan as the owner of the Charlotte Hornets is that he could supplement players’ salaries with shoe deals. So the NBA cut that op- tion off.
This isn’t just a Jordan rule, pretty much any NBA owner could pull off something simi- lar (at least Ballmer didn’t offer a Microsoft endorse- ment). The rule is there for a reason.
The Jordan brand is well managed and not hurting in the least. It still has deals with Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, Carmelo Anthony and nearly two dozen more current and former NBA players. There are Hornets — Michael Kidd-
MICHAEL JORDAN
Gilchrist, Cody Zeller — on that list.
In fact, Kidd-Gilchrist just took what could be seen as a below-market $52 million con- tract extension to stay in Char- lotte. Not that there was any quid pro quo here, but the NBA wants to avoid that appear- ance.
It’s easy to understand the NBA’s concern — if Jordan could say “I’ll pay you a couple hundred thousand extra to wear my shoes” it would be an unfair recruiting advantage. So they are trying to tie his hands. Not that it is impacting shoe sales, or how much Jordan rakes in from Nike.
NEW YORK -- The NBA has fined the Los Angeles Clippers $250,000 after an investigation found the team had violated league rules while trying to re- sign DeAndre Jordan last month.
The league said Tuesday that the Clippers had made a pres- entation to the then-free agent on July 2 that improperly in- cluded a potential third-party endorsement opportunity. League rules prohibit teams from arranging for others to provide compensation for a player unless it is included in a contract or is otherwise permit- ted by the collective bargaining agreement.
The NBA said the endorse- ment opportunity didn't impact Jordan's decision to re-sign with the Clippers.
Hornets Sign Michael Kidd-Gilchrist To 4-Year Extension
Chicago Bulls Star Derrick Rose Being Accused Of Gang Rape By Ex
A woman claiming to be the ex-girlfriend of Derrick Rose is accusing the Chicago Bulls superstar of drugging and gang raping her along with two of his friends.
The bombshell lawsuit, filed by a woman identified as “Jane Doe,” was first re- ported Wednesday night and names Rose, along with per- sonal manager Randall Hampton and pal, Ryan Allen, as her attackers.
Rose's lawyer, Lisa Cohen said that the lawsuit is "outra- geous." and "will be dismissed.
The sexual assault allegedly took place in August 2013, ac- cording to the plaintiff, who accuses Rose and his friends of slipping drugs into her drink at his Beverly Hills house. Although she managed to return home with the help of a friend, the alleged victim claims Rose and his crew broke into her apartment later that night and gang raped her while she was incapacitated.
She’s only coming forward with the accusations now be- cause she was “ashamed and embarrassed” at the time of the alleged rape, according to
DERRICK ROSE
the suit.
The woman, who claims to
have dated Rose between 2011 and 2013, also accuses the NBA superstar of trying to sleep with her friends while pressuring her to take part in group sex throughout the course of their relationship.
Rose's lawyer called the lawsuit "an attempt to shake down a highly respected and succcessful athlete," and said she and Rose had a "non-ex- clusive, consensual sexual re- lationship for over two years."
"We have complete confi- dence that the case will be dis- missed and that Mr. Rose will be vindicated. This lawsuit is outrageous," Cohen said.
MICHAEL KIDD-GILCHRIST
CHARLOTTE, NC -- For- ward Michael Kidd- Gilchrist has agreed to a four-year, $52 million contract extension with the Charlotte Hornets, according to multiple reports.
The 6-foot-7, 232-pound Kidd-Gilchrist is known pri- marily for his defense, but in- creased his offensive output the past season. He averaged a ca- reer-high 10.9 points, 7.6 re- bounds and 1.4 assists, though he was limited by injury to 55 games. He shot 46.5 percent from the field, and his jump shot improved from previous seasons.
Kidd-Gilchrist, 21, was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft. He was taken one spot behind his former Ken- tucky teammate, Anthony Davis.
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