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Sports
Warrick Dunn: 'It's Time For Jameis Winston To Be What Everyone Wants'
WARRICK DUNN AND JAMEIS WINSTON
Retired NFL Players Want Parents To Stop Kids From Playing Tackle Football
Retired players say boys should not play tackle foot- ball until they are 14.
A group of former National Football League greats -- in- cluding Hall of Famers Harry Carson of the New York Gi- ants and Nick Buoniconti of the Miami Dolphins -- is urging parents not to let their children play tackle football until they're at least 14 years old.
The group is instead en- dorsing a program called "Flag Football Under 14," launched by the Concussion Legacy Foundation.
The program aims to edu- cate parents and young players about chronic traumatic en- cephalopathy. Sometimes called CTE, it is a degenerative brain disease caused by re- peated blows to the head, and has been detected in more than 85 percent of tackle football players studied over the past 10 years, according to the founda- tion.
Gronkowski In Good Spirits Following Concussion
ROB GRONKOWSKI The news surrounding Rob
Gronkowski seems to be pos- itive for now.
Gronk was concussed on a hit to the head from Barry Church late in the second quarter of Sunday’s NFC cham- pionship game. He is currently in the league’s concussion pro- tocol, but he is said to be in good spirits.
Working in Gronk’s favor is the bye week between the conference championship games and Super Bowl. That gives Gronk extra time to re- cover for the big game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Unfortunately, Gronk en- ters yet another Super Bowl for New England with questions about his status. The Patriots will hope to have him healthy for the game.
Colin Kaepernick, J. J. Watt Among 5 Finalists For Award
Former Tampa Bay Buc- caneers running back War- rick Dunn recently shared his thoughts on Jameis Winston in an interview with Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times, where Dunn made it incredibly clear that he believes the 24- year-old quarterback has an very bright future in the NFL.
Dunn said that despite being a turnover machine and making numerous costly mistakes throughout his first three seasons, one key to Winston’s future success is him remaining focused and
putting an end to his stub- born knack for taking on too many roles and doing too much at once.
“I still think he’s talented but it’s time for him to take that step, that leap, Dunn said. “It’s time for him to be what everyone wants him to be, to make sure he’s consis- tent.”
Winston has already seen a ton of success in the league. He has already made a Pro Bowl appearance and became the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for over 4,000 yards in his first two seasons under center.
Quarterback Colin Kaepernick and Texans de- fensive end J. J. Watt are among the five finalists for the NFL Players Association's Byron "Whizzer" White Award.
The award annually recog- nizes players for exceptional community service in their team cities and hometowns.
Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton, Eagles defensive end Chris Long and Broncos line- backer Von Miller are the other finalists.
The winner, who will re- ceive $100,000 for his founda- tion or a charity of his choice, will be announced Feb. 1 at the NFLPA's Super Bowl news conference.
The award is named after former NFL running back and Supreme Court Justice
COLIN KAEPERNICK
Byron Raymond "Whizzer" White.
Kaepernick, a free agent, has spoken out on behalf of racial and social justice. He pledged $1 million to organi- zations working in under- served communities.
The quarterback earned the Week 1 NFLPA Commu- nity MVP after making his ninth $100,000 charitable do- nation to four charities and hosting a back-to-school give- away in New York.
Ex-Steeler James
Jadeveon Clowney is hoping the Houston Texans will work out a contract exten- sion for him.
The Texans have a club op- tion for the former No. 1 over- all pick, and then Clowney is set for free agency after that. Clowney’s agent Bus Cook said at the Senior Bowl Tues- day that his client would like to get an extension done.
Brian Gaine is the Tex- ans’ new GM who would get it done as opposed to the previ- ous GM, Rick Smith.
Jadeveon Clowney Seeking Contract Extension From Texans
Harrison Headed To
JADEVEON CLOWNEY
season as a pro. The 24-year- old played a full slate of games for the first time in his career. He recorded 59 tackles, 9.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and a touchdown.
Super Bowl Patriots
What a surreal moment, watching James Harrison interact in the middle of the New England Patriots locker room — of all places — amid the buzz of yet another Super Bowl trip.
Harrison, for so long one of the faces of the rival Pitts- burgh Steelers, stood at his locker passing out swag to some new teammates: Hats and T-shirts, in Patriots blue and red, bearing his nick- name, Deebo, which derives from the hyped character from the Friday movies.
“Yeah, I’ll rock it,” de- clared cornerback Johnson Bademosi, whose stall is ad- jacent to Harrison’s. “That’s one way to support your teammate, by wearing his stuff.”
This was just one of the signs of Harrison's transi- tion to the domain of Bill Be- lichick and Tom Brady. Another indicator showed up Sunday, near the end of the AFC title game, when Harri- son barreled through the middle and converged with
Clowney had his finest
Shaq’s Son Snubbed; LeBron
JAMES HARRISON
Kyle Van Noy to blast Blake Bortles for a fumble that cost the Jaguars 9 yards on their last desperate posses- sion.
It was precisely why Be- lichick signed Harrison, 39, right after Christmas — his ability to provide major heat with a championship on the line.
Mike Tomlin’s team sure could have used that a week earlier, falling to the Jaguars in a shootout when Bortles was never sacked.
Yes, Belichick beat Tomlin again, even though a much-anticipated rematch in the AFC Championship Game never materialized.
Shareef O’Neal, 18, the son of NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal, is a top high school recruit who committed to Ari- zona last year and by all ac- counts has what it takes to have a successful hoops career of his own.
But, he was left off of the McDonald’s All-American Game roster this year. Le- Bron James (the MVP of the game in 2003) didn't approve of the snub ... and spoke out on social media.
"Nephew listen, Even though we all know you should have made that McDonalds game use it as motivation to prove not to those who didn’t vote you in, not to those who is actually in the game but more importantly to yourself that u belong!"
Matt Barnes went harder
Shaquille O’Neal (l) in col- lege and son Shareef O’Neal (r). Sharif, the 6’9, 18-year-old son of NBA great, Shaq did not make the McDonald’s All-American game roster, although he is one of the top high school players in the country.
-- saying McDonald's made a "huge mistake" and that he won't let his kids have nuggets anymore ... "NO MORE NUGGETS!"
As for Reef, he wrote, "Everything can’t go perfect ! I just gotta move on.. this hurt me but it ain’t stopping me."
And Others Comment
PAGE 14-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, JANUARY 26, 2018