Page 14 - Florida Sentinel 8-27-19

Sports
Ray Lewis, Lamar
Dwight Howard
Lakers Working Out Marreese Speights
MARREESE SPIEGHTS
The Los Angeles Lakers are exploring a number of op- tions to improve their front- court in the wake of DeMarcus Cousins suffer- ing a torn ACL, and Mar- reese Speights is another veteran they are taking a look at.
Speights is scheduled to work out for the Lakers on Friday. New Lakers coach Frank Vogel was among those who attended Speights’ free agent workout last month, so he will be get- ting a closer look at the big man.
DeMarcus Cousins Gets Married
To Morgan Lang In Atlanta
DEMARCUS COUSINS AND MORGAN LANG
Continuing his hectic off- season, Los Angeles Lakers center DeMarcus Cousins celebrated inarguably the busiest day of his summer in marrying girlfriend Morgan Lang.
Cousins and his new spouse got hitched in Atlanta, Georgia, at the St. Regis, per Instagram.
As for the nuptials, Cousins and Lang had flow- ers arranged as tall as the 6- foot-11 center :
Cousins and Lang were engaged since July of last year, finally tying the knot over the weekend in the Peach State.
Odom To Compete
Will Get Chance To
Make Good On Old
On ‘Dancing With
Lakers Tweet
The Stars’
Dwight Howard’s re- turn to the Los Angeles Lak- ers revives a whole lot of interesting storylines that started in the 2012-13 sea- son.
Howard spent one year with the Lakers, a season plagued by injuries and clashes with teammates in- cluding Kobe Bryant. That year saw the Lakers under- achieve relative to expecta- tions with a 45-37 record, and they were swept in the first round by the San Anto- nio Spurs, the eventual Western Conference cham- pions.
After the final game of that sweep, Howard thanked Laker fans, and posted a tweet that is sud- denly relevant again over six years later: “I hope I get the chance to make it up to you!” Thank u la.”
Times have changed since that tweet was sent.
DWIGHT HOWARD Howard is now 33 and has
a reputation as a poor team- mate, and the NBA has changed and become more of a shooter’s game. That has left old-fashioned centers like Howard to play catch- up. The Lakers have essen- tially brought him in because they believe he’s been hum- bled, and he looks likely to have a rather short leash if he intends to keep his roster spot.
The latest season of the hit TV show “Dancing with the Stars” is going to feature a strong presence from the sports world.
ABC revealed the full celebrity cast of DWTS on Wednesday’s edition of “Good Morning America,” and two of the contestants are Ray Lewis and Lamar Odom. The latest season will pre- miere on Sept. 16.
Lewis has worked in var- ious TV roles since retiring after the 2012 season, while Odom has been adamant about wanting to continue his professional basketball ca- reer. The former Los Angeles Laker spent a very brief stint with the BIG3 basketball
LAMAR ODOM AND RAY LEWS
league recently but never ap- peared in an actual game. He recently expressed interest in returning overseas to play.
One of the things Lewis became known for during his NFL career was his famous celebratory dance, so perhaps he will incorporate some of those moves into the show.
NBA Investigation Clears Luke Walton Of Sexual Assault
Contract Extension
Caris LeVert Gets
A joint investigation by the NBA and Sacramento Kings cleared coach Luke Walton of allegations of sexual assault, citing no suf- ficient basis to support the allegations.
The Kings and the NBA issued a statement Friday, saying their investigation de- termined that there was not enough evidence to back the allegations made by former reporter Kelli Tennant. Notably, Tennant did not speak to investigators, and the probe could be re- opened if new evidence comes to light.
Tennant accused Wal- ton of forcibly kissing and groping her in her hotel room while she objected. The alleged incident hap- pened when Walton was
LUKE WALTON
still coach of the Los Angeles Lakers in May 2017.
Walton will embark on his first year as Sacramento’s head coach this season. He’s fresh off three seasons with the Lakers, in which he went 98-148 as head coach and failed to make a playoff ap- pearance.
CARIS LEVERT
LeVert, 25, averaged 13.7 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game last season. The former No. 20 overall pick averaged 21 points per game during the team’s play- off series against the Sixers. He was limited to 40 regular season games last year due to an ankle injury that turned out to be not as bad as initially expected.
Allegations
The Brooklyn Nets are keeping another member of their core together for the next few years.
Caris LeVert has agreed to a three-year, $52.5 million contract extension with the Nets, ESPN’s Adrian Woj- narowski reported on Sun- day night. LeVert is set to earn $2.6 million in the up- coming season, so the con- tract extension does not start until the following year. That means LeVert would be under contract with the Nets through the 2022-2023 sea- son.
The extension means the Nets now have Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, DeAndre Jordan, Spencer Dinwid- die and LeVert all under contract for at least the next three seasons.
$52.5 Million
From Brooklyn Nets
PAGE 14 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, AUGUST 27, 2019