Page 26 - Florida Sentinel 12-4-15 Edition

Sports
Will Smith Says He Was ‘Conflicted’ Over
‘Concussion’ Role
David Price Agrees To 7-Year, $217 Million Deal With Red Sox
The $31 million average an- nual value of the contract is the most ever for a pitcher and matches that of Tigers slugger- Miguel Cabrera, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
Prior to David Price's deal, the most the Red Sox had paid a pitcher, in annual value and overall cost, was the four-year, $82.5 million extension signed by Rick Porcello in April. Max Scherzer signed a seven-year, $210 million deal with the Nationals last winter, and Clayton Kershaw's con- tract extension with the Dodgers was for $215 million.
Price's standing as the high- est-paid pitcher might not last long as Zack Greinke could pick between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Gi- ants by the end of this week.
Price, 30, was 18-5 with an
DAVID PRICE
AL-leading 2.45 ERA last sea- son with the Detroit Tigers and Toronto Blue Jays. He was sec- ond in the AL in pitching WAR at 6.0 in 2015.
The five-time All-Star has an opt-out after three years with no deferred money. The yearly payout for Price is $30 mil- lion, $30 million, $30 million, $31 million, $32 million, $32 million and $32 million.
Winston Breaks Bucs' Rookie Passing Record
Last Sunday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers dropped to 5-6 after losing, 25-12, to the Colts in Indianapolis. In the process, though, rookie quarterback sensation Jameis Winston made history.
WILL SMITH
“I was almost called to be an activist against myself,” the actor says about his role in the NFL drama.
Amid all of the controversy that the football drama “Con- cussion” is stirring up, Will Smith says he was conflicted over playing the role of Bennet Omalu in the film.
“As an actor, you live for that type of delicious peculiarity,” Smith told GQ. “He is such a unique being. As an actor, I was excited. But as a lover of foot- ball, I was conflicted. I was al- most called to be an activist against myself.”
In “Concussion,” Smith plays Omalu, a young forensic neuropathologist form Nigeria who made the first discovery of chronic traumatic en- cephalopathy (CTE), a football- related brain trauma, in a pro football player.
In the film, he takes on the National Football League, which does everything in its power to undermine his claims.
The film has been said to shed negative light on the NFL. One of its trailers suggests the league tried to strong-arm Omalu into burying evidence of the affliction and its risks for football players. “You’re going to war with a corporation that owns a day of the week,” a fel- low doctor (Albert Brooks) advises Smith’s Omalu, re- ferring to the sacrosanct Amer- ican tradition of Sunday football.
The league is bracing for more mainstream attention on CTE while setting up its de- fense, however, the NFL main- tains that the issue is one of its top concerns.
“We are encouraged by the ongoing focus on the critical issue of player health and safety. We have no higher pri- ority,” Jeff Miller, NFL Senior Vice President of Health and Safety Policy, said in a state- ment to The Wrap in Septem- ber.
“Concussion” hits theaters on Christmas Day, and stars Smith, Luke Wilson, Alec Baldwin, Stephen Moyer, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Al- bert Brooks.
76ers' Jahlil Okafor Gets Two-Game Suspension
The Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday suspended Jahlil Okafor for two games effective immediately.
"Jahlil is a very important part of our organization and our future," the team said in a statement. "While we are dis- appointed with his recent ac- tions, we have faith in him as a valued member of the Sixers. We will provide the necessary resources to support him on his journey and will do our part to help him succeed both on and off the court."
Okafor sat out Wednesday night's 99-87 loss to the New York Knicks and will miss Sat- urday's game against the Den- ver Nuggets.
The suspension came the same day a second video was released by TMZ of Okafor's fight outside a Boston night- club last week. The initial video of the incident was posted last Thursday.
Okafor, who will turn 20 on
JAHLIL OKAFOR
Dec. 15, was caught on video engaging in a brawl with a man outside the nightclub in the early-morning hours last Thursday. The victim filed a re- port with the Boston Police De- partment, and police have urged any other possible vic- tims to come forward. The videos released by TMZ appear to show two separate scuffles.
Sixers coach Brett Brown said Wednesday that Okafor's initial account of the incident to the team did not include all of the details.
Winston threw for 245 yards in Tampa Bay’s loss, bringing him to 2,650 for the season. His total passing yards were enough to set a new Buc- caneer rookie record. Win- ston passed Mike Glennon, whose 2,608 passing yards in 2013 remained a team record for less than two seasons.
Winston and Glennon are the only rookie passers in team history to throw for 2,000 yards or more in their first sea- son. The two are among six quarterbacks to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark as rookies, as well.
At the pace he is on, Win- ston will finish the season with 3,854 yards, which would be the second-most yards in a single season in team history
by any player, not just rookies. Winston would need 4,066 yards to break the team record. Winston is also on pace to finish the season with 23 passing touchdowns, which would be the fourth-most in a single season in team history.
Below is a look at the top five rookie seasons in Buccaneer history:
1. Jameis Winston, 2015 - 2,650 yards
2. Mike Glennon, 2013 - 2,608 yards
3. Josh Freeman, 2009 - 1,855 yards
4. Bruce Gradkowski, 2006 - 1,661 yards
5. Doug Williams, 1978 - 1,170 yard
Bucs To Host The Falcons In Pivotal NFC South Game
Other than the Carolina Pan- thers, the best way to describe the remaining three teams in the NFC South is inconsistent.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will host the Atlanta Falcons this Sunday at Raymond James Stadium in a pivotal game for both teams.
The Bucs will enter Sunday’s contest with a 5-6 record, and the Falcons have a 6-5 record.
A month ago, the Bucs held off the Falcons to record a 23- 20 in overtime.
Bucs rookie quarterback Jameis Winston converted three times on third down and kicker Connor Barth kicked a 31-yard field goal to give the Bucs the win.
In this battle for second place in the NFC South, if the Bucs win, they will match the Falcons with a 6-6 record, but own a tiebreaker because of their earlier victory over the Falcons.
The Falcons have lost four
JAMEIS WINSTON
straight games, but will enter Sunday’s game with the return of running back Devonta Freeman, and wide receiver Devin Hester.
The Bucs hope to get better play out of their offensive line, wide receivers, and cut down on penalties that have cost the team several games this sea- son.
Tiger Woods: Golf Great Has 'Nothing To Look Forward To’
The 14-time major champion has sunk to world No. 400 after a litany of injuries and poor form saw him tumble down the rankings.
And the 39-year-old was in a particularly bleak mood Tues- day as he revealed his physical condition is so bad after an- other back operation that he can't even bend down to pick up a ball.
Woods underwent his third microdiscectomy surgery last month -- a procedure to re- move bone around a pinched nerve to allow space for it to heal -- and admitted he has no idea when he will be back on the course.
"I have no answer for that. Neither does my surgeon or my physio," Woods said in a press conference at Albany Golf Club in the Bahamas, where this week he will host the Hero
TIGER WOODS
World Challenge tournament that raises funds for his charity. "I also had to reset the clock each and every day and 'OK, here we go, this is a new day and this is taken for what it is.' "I listen to my surgeon, I listen to my physios, and we just take it day by day. Hopefully the day by day adds up to something positive here soon."
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