Page 24 - Florida Sentinel 4-15-16 Edition

Sports
Jameis Winston Drops To 230 Pounds
Jay-Z To Jameis Winston: ‘ I’m Coming For Your Job’
JAMEIS WINSTON And JAY Z
On Wednesday, hip-hop leg- end Jay Z stopped by One Buccaneer Place for a quick workout in the team’s weight room. While he was there, he met with second-year players Jameis Winston and Dono- van Smith. Before he left, Winston presented him with a No. 4 Jersey with his nick- name, “Young Hov” written across the nameplate.
“You know I’m coming for your job, right?” he joked as Winston handed him the cus- tomized jersey.
Jay Z’s wife, Beyonce, is hosting a show at Raymond James Stadium on April 29th, which brought the couple to Tampa.
40 Percent Of Former NFL Players Suffer From Brain Injuries, New Study Shows
San Francisco 49ers inside linebacker Chris Borland (50) celebrates after a fumble by New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (not pictured) in New Orleans, LA. Borland, a leading rookie then, retired from the NFL over health concerns re- lated to repeated head trauma.
A study that will be pre- sented at next week’s American Academy of Neurology (AAN) meeting offers one of the most conclusive pieces of evidence yet of a definitive link between brain injury and playing foot- ball.
It shows that “more than 40 percent of retired National Football League players ... had signs of traumatic brain injury based on sensitive MRI scans called diffusion tensor imag- ing,” according to a press re- lease from the AAN.
This isn’t the first study of its kind. Last year Frontline re- ported that researchers with the Department of Veterans Af- fairs and Boston University found chronic traumatic en- cephalopathy (CTE), which the Mayo Clinic defines as “brain degeneration likely caused by repeated head traumas” that is “a diagnosis only made at au- topsy,” in 96 percent of the NFL players they examined and in 79 percent of football players at various levels of play.
LeGarrette Blount Re-Signs With Patriots
‘Slim’ After Hiring MJ’s Ex-Trainer
That didn’t pre-
vent the Bucca-
neers from
selecting Win-
ston with the first-overall pick
in last year’s draft.
And, for the most
part, Winston
justified the Buc-
caneers’ decision,
throwing for more
than 4,000 yards
and 22 touch-
downs while giv-
ing Tampa Bay a legitimate quarterback hope for the first time since — well, let’s just say Josh McCown, the Buc- caneers’ opening-day starter in 2014, didn’t exactly inspire much hope.
Winston’s performance (and because other quarter- backs dropped out) landed him a spot in the Pro Bowl and, after spending time in Hawaii with players like Rus- sell Wilson and Julio Jones, he apparently de- cided that he did, actually, need to slim down.
According to reporters, Winston is down to 230 pounds. Actually, make that 230 pounds “slim,” according to Winston. He even hired Michael Jordan’s former trainer, Tim Grover, meet- ing with him once a month in addition to working with Buc-
deal, with Ian Rapoport of NFL Network confirming the news, adding Blount signed a one-year deal.
Albert Breer of NFL Net- work added the deal includes $760,000 in base salary with a $100,000 signing bonus, $100,000 roster bonus and $1 million in incentives.
Blount enjoyed a solid 2015 campaign with the Pa- triots before it came to a pre- mature end after a Week 14 hip injury. He rushed for a shade over 700 yards and six touchdowns in 12 games as part of the team’s multifac- eted backfield attack.
Before Jameis Win- ston even entered the NFL, questions about his weight emerged. Those questions existed, in large part, due to this photograph.
Jameis Winston ap- peared to be slimmer when he made a public appearance last month.
caneers strength coach Dave Kennedy.
While trying to improve his chemistry with Mike Evans, Winston is apparently run- ning every route with him.
“He goes out there and he’ll run a 50-yard route, I will sprint 50 yards down the field, wherever he had caught the ball,” Winston said, per the Tampa Bay Times.
And that has Winston looking good (according to Winston).
“I do believe I get better every single day and I look good,” Winston said.
Now, it’s worth remember- ing that Winston said last July that he was “back at a good weight” when he weighed 236 pounds. So, it’s not as if Winston drastically lost weight for the upcoming season.
LEGARRETTE BLOUNT
Veteran running back LeGarrette Blount reached an agreement to return to the New England Patriots on Tuesday, the team an- nounced.
Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald first reported the
World’s Best Female Gymnast Wins Pacific Rim All-Around Title
Simone Biles is the world’s top gymnast.
Simone Biles began her preparations for the Rio Olympics in dominant fash- ion Saturday night, when she won the all-around title in the Pacific Rim Championships to lead the U.S. women to the team title.
The 19-year-old Biles, the three-time world all-around champion, finished first in the vault, balance beam and floor routine and third in the uneven bars to win the all- around title with 62.45 points in her season debut.
Aly Raisman, a three- time medalist at the 2012
Olympics who struggled in the world championships last year, finished second at 59.90.
The U.S. swept the top five spots. Fifteen-year-old Lau- rie Hernandez was third, followed by Brenna Dowell and Ragan Smith.
The U.S. won all four events en route to a team score of 243.200. Canada was second at 219.100, followed by Australia at 217.850.
Biles was pleased with the floor routine, which drew a tremendous response from the crowd.
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