Page 26 - Florida Sentinel 1-29-16 Edition

Sports
Why The Carolina Panthers Can Win Super Bowl 50
Wizards Guard Bradley Beal Day-To- Day With Broken Nose, Concussion
WASHINGTON -- Washing- ton Wizards guard Bradley Beal sustained a broken nose and a concussion after getting hit in the face by Boston Celtics forward Marcus Smart and missed Tuesday night's 106-89 loss at the Toronto Raptors. The team listed Beal as day-to- day.
Beal took a forearm to the face from Smart midway through the second quarter of Boston's 116-91 victory Monday and left the game. He did not return.
In accordance with the NBA's concussion policy, Beal will begin the mandatory return to
BRADLEY BEAL
participation exertion protocol and be cleared to play once he's symptom free during each step of the process.
The 22-year-old is averag- ing 18.5 points a game this sea- son.
Blake Griffin Out 4-6 Weeks After Breaking Bone Throwing Punch
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Here are five reasons why the Car- olina Panthers can beat the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 50 on Feb. 7 at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California:
Cam Newton: His dual- threat ability has made him ar- guably the most dangerous quarterback in the NFL. The Broncos' defense has to be wary of him running on every play out of the read-option that he and offensive coordinator Mike Shula have taken to an- other level. The Broncos, as good as they are defensively, really didn't have to respect the run against New England. They haven't faced a quarterback like Newton all season. His accuracy and decision-making now rival that of most of the top pocket passers. The stage is not too big for him. As he said this past week, "I used to dream of being in this type of position."
Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis: They're the best line- backer tandem in the NFL, Kuechly in the middle and Davis outside. (Davis injured his arm in the NFC title game;
his status will be a key storyline over the next two weeks.)
Thieves Ave.: The Panthers' secondary sometimes gets overlooked because of the front seven, but it has done exactly what it set out to do in training camp, even with the loss of two players to season-ending in- juries. The Panthers no longer are winning in spite of them. They're winning because of them. This group -- along with Kuechly and Davis -- led the NFL in interceptions during the regular season. It is led by cornerback Josh Norman, who consistently has shown the ability to shut down the oppo- nent's top receiver. Safety Kurt Coleman -- with a team-best seven interceptions during the regular season and two against the Cardinals on Sunday night -- has given this group a toughness that was sorely missing last season. That Peyton Manning has thrown more interceptions than touch- downs this season will have Norman, as he said before the NFC title game, "licking my chops."
Pahokee Native And Former FSU Star Anquan Boldin Finalist For Walter Payton Award
Native Floridian, Anquan Boldin.
If wide receiver Anquan- Boldin has played his last game with the 49ers, he could be leaving the franchise in style.
For the second straight year, Boldin, a pending free agent, is one of three finalists for the NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year award, which recog- nizes off-the-field contribu- tions to the community. The 49ers have never had a player win the award since its incep- tion in 1970.
The other finalists are Giants
quarterback Eli Manning and Saints tight end Ben Watson. The winner will be announced during the NFL Honors Award Show on Feb. 6 at the Bill Gra- ham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco.
In 2014, Boldin, 35, donated $1 million to his Q81 founda- tion, which he established 12 years ago to expand the oppor- tunities of underprivileged children. His foundation grants four-year college scholarships and his Q-Festival in his native Florida provides free weekend entertainment and annually raises about $100,000.
Boldin has also been in- volved with Oxfam America since 2010, traveling to Ethiopia and Senegal on relief missions. Boldin has met with congressional leaders about abuses in Africa. In 2014, Boldin won the NFLPA’s Byron “Whizzer” White award, a community service honor that provided $100,000 for his foundation.
BLAKE GRIFFIN
INDIANAPOLIS -- Blake Griffin has apologized for a weekend incident that has left the Los Angeles Clippers with- out their star forward for an ad- ditional four to six weeks.
Hours after the team con- firmed that Griffin broke a bone in his right hand while throwing a punch in Toronto; Griffin expressed regret for his actions in a Twitter post Tuesday night.
Sources previously stated that Griffin hit Matias Testi, the Clippers' assistant equip- ment manager, on Saturday night in Toronto.
The Clippers were in Toronto as part of a five-game road trip. They played the Rap- tors the day after the incident,
losing 112-94.
Sources told Eaves that Grif- fin and Testi were at a restau- rant when they traded insults and got into an argument. Griffin hit Testi, who then left the restaurant and went out- side. Griffin followed him out- side and hit him again. Testi had visible injuries to his face, sources told Eaves.
Both Griffin and Testi were sent home from the road trip after the incident. The two are good friends and had vaca- tioned together, sources said.
Meeting with reporters ear- lier Tuesday, Clippers coach Doc Rivers called the incident "frustrating" and a "distrac- tion" for a team that has clawed its way back in the competitive Western Conference.
Why The Denver Broncos Can Win Super Bowl 50
DENVER -- Here are five rea- sons why the Denver Broncos can defeat the Carolina Pan- thers in Super Bowl 50 Feb. 7 at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California:
Testing, testing: The Broncos might be the league's tight- game champs this season. Going into the AFC Champi- onship Game, the Broncos were 10-3 in games decided by seven or fewer points -- including their AFC divisional-round win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. While it means the Broncos did- n't always finish teams off the way you would expect a Super Bowl team to, it also means when the chips are in the mid-
dle of the table they have usu- ally found a way to win. Denver is a tough team that is used to making plays when the game is on the line. The Broncos have the league's No. 1 defense and two wins over Tom Brady since Nov. 29. The Panthers played four games in the regu- lar season against teams that were in the playoff field -- and were 4-0 -- but only one of those games was after Nov. 8. And while the Panthers' offen- sive muscle certainly con- tributed, the other three teams in the NFC South finished 14th (Atlanta), 26th (Tampa Bay) and 32nd (New Orleans) in scoring defense this season
Aqib Talib: Cam Newton The 'Most Dangerous' QB In NFL
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- The Denver Broncos' No. 1 defense is fully aware of the challenge Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton presents in Super Bowl 50.
"He's throwing the ball amazing right now,'' Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib said.”And you know what he can do with his legs. He's the best of both worlds, he's proba- bly the most dangerous [quar- terback] in the NFL right now.''
"He's throwing the ball amazing right now. And you know what he can do with his legs. He's the best of both worlds; he's probably the most dangerous [quarterback] in the NFL right now."
Broncos CB Aqib Talib on Panthers QB Cam Newton
Newton accounted for 45 touchdowns in the regular sea- son (35 passing, 10 rushing), threw for 3,837 yards, finished with a 99.4 passer rating and was the Panthers' second-lead- ing rusher (636 yards) in what
AQUIB TALIB
many in the league believe will result in his first MVP award. When asked if Newton is a unique player to face, Talib added: "Man, super unique. I never saw anybody who was that size that looks like a typi- cal NFL quarterback who can sit in the pocket and then you can run ... you probably play any position in the NFL that wanted. He's definitely a unique player. Like I said, he's probably the most dangerous quarterback in the NFL right now.''
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