Page 14 - 5-5-15 Tuesday's Edition

Sports
Surrounded By Family, Jameis Winston Soaks In Joy Of NFL Draft
JAMEIS WINSTON ... all smiles after draft
Buccaneers Draft Six To Join Number One Pick Jameis Winston
Floyd Mayweather Fought A Masterful Fight, Pacquiao Disappointed Fans
BESSEMER, Ala. – When the moment of validation came on Thursday night, Jameis Winston took a seat on the edge of a coffee table in a crowded living room, sur- rounded by his parents, his grandmother, his girlfriend and a couple dozen other fami- ly members and friends.
It was 7:06 local time, and Winston clutched his Smart- phone (fittingly, a red mobile device) to listen carefully to the man on the other end of the line, Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht.
" What's up, Mr. Licht?" Winston said amid the hushed room in the center of a family friend's sprawling home.
A pause, then a response: "I'm doing pretty good."
After a brief conversation, Winston hung up and made an announcement, a few min- utes before NFL Commissioner
Roger Goodell made it official in Chicago.
"I'm going to Tampa Bay!" he screamed.
The room erupted in cheers. There were hug, whoops and a lot of hollering. An infant wailed, too, no doubt crying in joy.
Never mind walking across the stage in Chicago to christen the NFL Draft as the Bucca- neers' chosen one. This was the unique scene that the former Florida State quarterback – the first No. 1 pick overall not to at- tend the draft since Dan "Big Daddy" Wilkinson in 1994 – chose for the backdrop of his history.
"This is a surreal moment," Winston told reporters a few minutes later, having moved outside the home. "I'm so thankful, so blessed."
He was relieved, too.
"I can't wait to get to
Tampa," he said. "I have a team again."
KENNY BELL
KAELIN CLAY
JOE IOSEFA
DONOVAN SMITH
ALI MARPET
KWON ALEXANDER
Perhaps you are one of the millions of people who forked over $100 in hopes of watching the fight of the century between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. You bought into the hype and hy- steria. Mayweather was risk- ing his 47-0 record against a 36-year-old Pacquiao looking to resuscitate a flailing career. These, you told yourself, were the two best pound-for-pound fighters of this era.
How could this not be a great fight?
Mayweather’s fight was ex- cellent. It was, and if you dis- pute that, you didn’t bother watching his 47 fights prior. He boxes, he doesn’t fight. This affair was never going to feature a scene from Rocky. Mayweather danced for 12 rounds, carefully picking punches, strategically denying Pacquiao momentum.
Some call Mayweather’s strategy cowardly, others call it boring, but no one can dispute its effectiveness.
Similarly, no one can dispute that Pacquiao threw just 429 punches in the fight, landing 81. That’s approximately half the number he typically throws. Pacquiao plays for
knockouts, and it was clear from the beginning that he had no intention of even attempting to bring Mayweather down.
Spectators expecting a fight on Saturday night have Pac- quiao, and only Pacquiao, to blame for the mundane specta- cle they witnessed. May- weather executed his plan to perfection, and Pacquiao was happy to oblige. At the end of the night, Pacquiao tried to convince himself that he not only was competitive, but also won the fight, a fallacy Max Kellerman quickly put to sleep. PacMan was there for the money. He got paid to do exactly what he did.
Had this fight happened six years ago, perhaps the outcome would have been different. At the very least, it would have been more bearable to watch. A youthful Pacquiao might have turned the fight on its head with his devastating hand speed and forced May- weather to adjust – or maybe even knock him down.
But this wasn’t six years ago, it was Saturday, and Pacquiao looked old, tired, and simply happy to be there. It wasn’t the fight of the century. It was a re- tirement plan.
Bucs Clause Prohibits Winston From Playing Baseball
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and second-year coach, Lovie Smith, have concluded their 2015 draft and with the number one overall pick, Jameis Win- ston will be guiding the Bucs into a new era.
Joining Winston will be: Offensive Tackle Donovan Smith (2nd round, Penn State) Center Ali Marpet (2nd round, Hobart & William
Smith)
Outside Linebacker Kwon
Alexander (4th round, LSU) Wide Receiver Kenny Bell
(5th round, Nebraska)
Wide Receiver Kaelin Clay
(6th round, Utah)
Fullback Joe Iosefa (7th
round, Hawaii)
Floyd Mayweather Contemplates What Little Time He Has Left In Boxing
At least for the future, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won't have to worry about Jameis Winston chasing his other dream of playing pro baseball. That's because the Bucs had a clause written into the first overall draft pick's rookie con- tract that prohibits Winston from playing professional baseball.
Jameis Winston, who was drafted in the 2012 MLB draft, will not be allowed to play pro baseball per a clause in his rookie contract with the Bucs, according to a report.
Winston, who had played two seasons of baseball at Florida State, was selected in the 15th round of the 2012 MLB draft by the Texas Rangers and is eligible again to be drafted this year. The 2015 MLB draft will be held June 8- 10.
The Bucs signed the quar- terback to a four-year deal worth $24.35 million -- in- cluding a $16.69 million sign- ing bonus -- on Friday, according to ESPN NFL In- sider Adam Schefter. The deal is guaranteed and in-
JAMEIS WINSTON ... playing baseball
cludes a fifth-year option. Winston had expressed his love for both sports in Febru- ary, saying that playing both sports professionally "always
has been my dream."
After the comments, the
Bucs texted Winston to let him know that to be their choice as the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft, he'd have to give up that dream, at least for now.
Winston thrived in the closer role for the Seminoles and played some in the out- field. In 2014, he was 1-0 with seven saves and 31 strikeouts in 33 1/3 innings for FSU.
LAS VEGAS — If you lis- tened closely to Floyd May- weather early Sunday morning, hours after he de- feated Manny Pacquiao in vintage Mayweather style in the so-called “Fight of the cen- tury,” you could hear him al- ready checking out.
With a $100 million pay- check in his pocket and much more yet to come from pay- per-view, Mayweather, 38, sitting in the empty ring inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena where he picked Pac- quiao apart earlier, made it clear that the sport that has given him so much does not mean as much as it once did. He’s fallen out of love.
“My love and passion for boxing is not the same as it once was,” he said. “This is my job and I have to go out there and be at my best when I’m doing my job. And the ultimate goal was to make nine figures in one night and that’s what we did.
“I don’t want to wait until I’m almost 40 years old to start taking abuse on my body. I want to be able to have all my faculties. I invested my money
Floyd Mayweather says he doesn’t have the passion for boxing he once did.
extremely good. I can quit box- ing today and be A-OK.”
He won’t quit boxing today because he still has one fight to go on his six-fight, $200 mil- lion deal with Showtime.
He insists that his next fight in September will be his last. He’s already starting to pre- pare for the end. He said he would give up his five title belts sometime in the next few weeks to give the younger box- ers the chance to fight for them.
Asked who will be his next and presumably last oppo- nent, Mayweather shook his head. “Once again, here you guys go again. Let me enjoy my victory,” he implored. “Can I enjoy my victory, please?”
PAGE 14 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, MAY 5, 2015