Page 24 - Florida Sentinel 6-23-17

Sports
Jameis Winston's
Warren Sapp Will Donate His Brain To Concussion Research Foundation
WARREN SAPP
Former defensive tackle and NFL Hall of Famer War- ren Sapp spent 13 seasons in the trenches enduring brutal collision, after brutal collision. Sapp now becomes the latest former NFL player to pledge their brain posthumously to the Concussion Legacy Foun- dation, who works on reduc- ing concussions in sports and developing more knowledge on the affects of Chronic Trau- matic Encephalopathy (CTE).
Sapp made his announce- ment via a video released on the Player's Tribune. His deci- sion came after he received an email from ex-NFL running back Fred Willis outlining quotes from NFL owners denying the correlation be- tween concussions, CTE, memory loss, and suicides.
Chauncey Billups Interviews For Cavaliers' Vacant GM Position
CHAUNCEY BILLUPS
Chauncey Billups aka “Mr. Big Shot ”could soon have a new title.
The former All-Star guard met Tuesday with Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert about a position in Cleveland’s front office, a person familiar with the encounter told the Associ- ated Press.
Gilbert is looking for a gen- eral manager — after parting ways with David Griffin on Monday as the Cavs regrouped after losing to Golden State in the NBA Finals.
Griffin’s contract expires on June 30, and he and Gilbert decided to mutually part ways after being unable to negotiate an extension and not sharing the same vision for the team’s future.
O.J. Simpson Goes Before Parole Commission On July 20th
Message To Bucs Nation:
'Don't Sleep On Our Defense'
O.J. Simpson could have a shot at freedom pending a parole hearing with the Ne- vada Board of Parole Com- missioners in late July.
Simpson, now 70, is scheduled for a parole hear- ing at 10 a.m. on July 20, of- ficials announced on Tuesday. Even if Simpson is granted parole in July, he won’t be released until Octo- ber.
The former NFL star has been incarcerated for 10 years. He was convicted of several felony charges, in- cluding first degree kidnap- ping, armed robbery and conspiracy to commit a vio- lent crime.
The charges stemmed
The Tampa Bay Bucca- neers offense has certainly made headlines all offseason long after the Bucs added sev- eral dangerous weapons for Jameis Winston’s disposal.
The Buccaneers acquired former Washington Redskins stud wide receiver DeSean Jackson in free agency and somehow managed to land rising start tight end O.J. Howard, wide receiver Chris Godwin and running back Jeremy McNichols through the draft. As a result, the Bucs are poised to have one of the most lethal and ex- plosive offenses in the NFL this year.
But although the attention has primarily been on the of- fensive side of the ball this off- season, Winston says fans can also expect a incredible season from the defense as well.
Winston, who appeared on ESPN Tallahassee last week told Jeff Cameron that offenses across the league should be weary of Tampa Bay’s defense and what they could potentially have coming their way this season.
“Don’t sleep on our de- fense, Jameis said during the radio segment per JoeBucs- Fan.com. “We have some horses over there. Now, peo- ple look at how productive our offense, was but if our defense wasn’t as good as they were last year, we wouldn’t have
JAMEIS WINSTON
been in a couple of those games late in the stretch when we went on a five-game win- ning streak.”
Winston added that al- though the spotlight has been on stars like DeSean Jack- son, Howard, Brate, God- win and of course Mike Evans, the defense is just as talented thanks to numerous defensive weapons that have been added as well as several veterans that have precisely what it takes to lead the Bucs to the playoffs this post sea- son.
“Our defense is really tal- ented,” Winston added. “Coach Mike Smith has done a great job with that side of the ball. Like I say, the lead- ers they have over there: Lavonte David, Kwon Alexander, Gerald McCoy and Clinton McDonald. With the addition of Brent Grimes and Vernon Har- greaves — I mean, he’s a Gator but he’s really talented.”
O.J. Simpson has been in prison for approximately 10 years.
from a robbery at a Las Vegas casino hotel room in 2007. Simpson has previ- ously described the incident as an attempt to retrieve memorabilia and personal items from two sports col- lectible dealers.
The Atlanta Hawks Trade Dwight Howard To Charlotte
With the 2017 NBA Draft going down Thursday night (tonight), plenty of teams are already starting to make some big moves.
Earlier on Tuesday, ESPN reported that Lakers point guard D’Angelo Russell was traded to the Brooklyn Nets for center Brook Lopez and another 1st round draft pick, and now Dwight Howard reportedly just got moved.
According to reports, At- lanta Hawks center Dwight Howard has been traded to the Charlotte Hornets for
Dwight Howard is now a Charlotte Hornet.
Miles Plumlee, Marco Belinelli, and the 41st pick in Thursday’s NBA draft in exchange for Howard and the 31st pick as well.
Bucs Looking To Beat The Heat With Morning Training Camp Practices
The Tampa Bay Bucca- neers have released their open 2017 training camp schedule.
Once again, they're opt- ing for morning practices. In fact, all but one open practice will start at 8:45 a.m. and end at either 10:30 or 10:50. Last year, the majority of camp practices also began at 8:45 a.m.
During the Bucs' manda- tory minicamp last week, head coach Dirk Koetter cited the heat and humidity as reasons they'd continue practicing in the morning. The possibility for inclement weather also tends to rise as
the day goes on.
"It's just tough on those
guys," Koetter said. During minicamp, temperatures hovered between 88 and 90 degrees with 85-90 percent humidity. They are expected to be around that mark in both late July and August, when players report.
Under previous head coach Lovie Smith, train- ing camp practices began at 2:30 in the afternoon. The idea then was to "use the heat to their advantage," with Smith believing it helped them wear down op- ponents at home. Some play- ers felt it was very draining.
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