Page 14 - 6-30-15 Tuesday's Edition

Sports
Jameis Winston: 'I Know People Are Going To Look At Me'
Michael Sam Returns To Montreal
MICHAEL SAM
MONTREAL -- Michael Sam is ready to resume his pro football career.
The Alouettes said Friday that Sam has returned to Mon- treal and attended team meet- ings Sunday before resuming practice Monday.
Sam tweeted Saturday that he had returned to Montreal.
LeBron Will Become Free Agent Wednesday
LeBron James, one of the best players in the NBA.
LeBron James will bypass his $21.6 million player option with the Cleveland Cavaliers and become a free agent on July 1.
The move, which was ex- pected, marks the third time in the past six years that James will be an unrestricted free agent. This time is expected to have a different outcome, as James intends to re-sign with his current team, sources said.
Last week, Cavs general man- ager David Griffin said the team had been in regular con- tact with James since the end of the Finals and that he was "very engaged" in discussions about the roster. Sources told ESPN, however, it is James' intention to stay somewhat re- moved from the Cavs' free agency until other free agents are handled.
James is also likely to see how Kevin Love's free agency plays out before finalizing a deal. The Cavs are confident they will be able to re-sign Love and have been since they traded for him in August. Though they cannot formally make an offer until Wednesday, the Cavs for months have planned to extend a five-year, maximum contract for Love in excess of $110 million despite his shoulder and back injuries last season.
Russell Wilson Want To Be With Seahawks For
BEREA, Ohio -- Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston has no plans to hide from the public. The draft's first overall pick said Friday at the NFL rookie symposium that he plans to be active on social media in his NFL career.
"Social media can help you in so many ways from a positive standpoint," Winston said during the Play 60 youth clinic at the Cleveland Browns facil- ity. "I can't control what people put on social media about me, but I can control my actions and what I do."
Winston drew criticism when he posted a picture of himself on Instagram eating crab legs after the draft. When he was in college, he was cited for shoplifting crab legs from a Tallahassee-area grocery store.
Jameis Winston isn't shy- ing away from social media, saying it "can help you in so many ways from a positive standpoint."
He emphasized Friday that what he does will speak more for him than anything that he
'Really, Really Long Time'
JAMEIS WINSTON
posts, or that is posted about
him.
"It's about my actions,"
Winston said. "I got to be a quarterback. When I'm off the field, I got to be a quarterback; when I'm on the field, I got to be a quarterback.
"I know people are going to look at me in each and every way. I just smile, man."
Odd phrasing, but the point was clear: Winston said he has to remember he represents himself and his team with his every action.
One of the summer's key sto- rylines is whether or not Rus- sell Wilson is going to get a new deal from the Seahawks before 2015 and the final year of his rookie deal starts. Most of the talking's been done through backchannels -- Wil- son reportedly wants to be the highest-paid player in the NFL -- or through not-so-veiled comments about being moved around before.
But Wilson made it very clear about his preference while speaking at a Russell Wilson Passing Academy in Madison, Wisconsin, saying he wants to stay with Seattle for a "really, really long time."
"The contract will work itself out," Wilson said. "I'm ex- cited about it and I'm excited about hopefully being a Seattle Seahawk for a really, really long time. So that's the goal."
The quarterback also made a point of saying he's more fo- cused on the kids at his pass- ing academy than he is with his contract.
Wilson wants to stick in Seattle.
There's a surprising amount of friction between the Sea- hawks and Wilson's repre-
RUSSELL WILSON
sentation when you consider some advice agent Tom Con- don offered over the weekend on another quarterback's con- tract. Condon noted "quar- terbacks always get done" when asked about Eli Man- ning's upcoming deal.
Franchise quarterbacks don't hit the open market. Wilson isn't a perfect pocket passer and he's not completely devel- oped. But, he's a proven win- ner.
He might very well end up playing for $1.5 million in 2015. But at some point the Seahawks are going to pay him and he's going to end up stay- ing in Seattle for a long time.
Buccaneers WR Mike Evans
Full Of Surprises Off Field,
But No Longer A Secret On It
The first thing Ashli Dotson thinks you should know about her fiancée is that he digs movies about teenage wizards. "The funny thing when I met him was that he loves Harry Potter, because he doesn't look like he watches Harry Pot- ter," Dotson told USA TODAY Sports recently, sitting next to Tampa Bay Buccaneers wideout Mike Evans at an upscale seafood restaurant on the eve of the team's recent minicamp.
"Because she thought I was a gangster," Evans added, a smirk breaking through his tough mug. "Everybody thinks I'm a thug or something like that."
Appearances can be deceiv- ing, not unlike how playing on one of the NFL's worst team in The Year of The Rookie Re- ceiver can obscure what Evans accomplished in 2014 with the Bucs, whose bet on Johnny Manziel's Heisman Trophy accomplice paid imme- diate dividends.
Already a 1,000-yard re- ceiver in the NFL while still learning the game and growing into his 6-5 frame at age 21, Evans describes himself "as a humble guy who minds his own business and just loves to play football and loves to com- pete" — at anything, anywhere, anytime.
Dez Bryant's Agents Met With Cowboys On Friday, Source Says
MIKE EVANS
"I was going to ask you to see who ate their food faster," Evans said, "but you had a bigger steak."
Surrounded by men in suits on this night, Evans inhaled his sea bass entrée in sandals, sweatpants and a T-shirt that exposed part of the web of tat- toos on his arms.
He isn't big on interviews or appearances. He lacks pre- tense. He is, in some ways, the antithesis of flashy draft class- mate Odell Beckham Jr., who collected the offensive rookie of the year award (with 42 votes to Evans' one) days after hosting a Super Bowl week fashion show.
"He's a pretty simple guy," Dotson said, touching off a brief debate with Evans over whether that's an insult.
With the deadline to agree to a long-term deal July 15, Dez Bryant's agents and the Dal- las Cowboys had their first face-to-face meeting in nearly four months this week at the team's facility, sources said.
Dez Bryant and the Cow- boys have to agree to a long- term deal by July 15 or he would have to play the season on the franchise tender offer of $12.823 million -- or not play at all.
The meeting took place Fri- day.
Both of Bryant's agents, Tom Condon as well as Kim Miale of Roc Nation, met with the Cowboys, sources said.
Last month, Cowboys execu- tive vice president Stephen Jones said the team would make a push to sign Bryant to a deal, but much work remains before that actually happens.
Bryant has yet to sign his $12.823 million franchise tag tender in hopes of a deal with larger guaranteed money. Bryant's camp has threat- ened the receiver will miss reg- ular-season games even though there would be no fi- nancial incentive. After July 15, Bryant has to play the sea-
DEZ BRYANT
son on the tender, and the two sides could begin negotiations again after the season.
The only benefit to Bryant missing games would be if the team would agree not to use the franchise or transition tag on him in 2016. The Cowboys have a similar clause in place with defensive end Greg Hardy.
Bryant missed most of the Cowboys' offseason program, showing up for a handful of workouts and an organized team activity. He attended the final day of the Cowboys' mandatory minicamp June 18 but did not practice.
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