Page 14 - Florida Sentinel 6-20-17

Sports
Bucs Coach Dirk Koetter On Jameis Winston: He's Aiming To Be Elite
DIRK KOETTER AND JAMEIS WINSTON
Adrian Peterson Purchases Pair Of Yeezys For FB John Kuhn
Yeezy Boost V2s
John Kuhn and star run- ning back Adrian Peterson have spent most of their ca- reers playing for two rivals, the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings, respec- tively.
But this season, they'll both suit up for the New Or- leans Saints. It'll be Kuhn's second year with the team.
Peterson is aware that Kuhn will play an integral role in his success this sea- son, so the former Vikings star went out of his way to give the fullback a fresh pair of cream Yeezy Boost V2s to show his appreciation.
And from the look of things, it gave Kuhn some added motivation to block for the seven-time Pro Bowler.
Usually, offensive lines reap these types of benefits, but the popular Kanye West shoe, designed by Adi- das, is both expensive and hard to come by.
Andre Ward Finishes Sergey Kovalev In Eighth Round, Retains Titles
Andre Ward, left, delivers the final blows before defeating Sergey Kovalev in the 8th.
The Tampa Bay Bucca- neers wrapped up their three-day mandatory mini- camp a little early Thursday, and one player wasn't too happy about it -- star quar- terback Jameis Winston. Coach Dirk Koetter said that if place-kickers Nick Folk and Roberto Aguayo each made four in a row -- which they did -- the Bucs could call it a day.
Teammates celebrated and everyone retreated to an ice cream truck adjacent to the practice field. Winston eventually did too (he got wa- termelon-and-green apple- shaved ice) amid a swarm of fans wanting his autograph. But the former first overall draft pick wanted to get more work in.
guy in the huddle who wanted to keep going," Koetter said, emphasizing that the difference between Winston in 2015 and now is that he knows he can play in this league.
"He knows he can be a successful player," Koetter said. "Jameis -- no one has higher expectations for his performance than he does. I mean, he's aiming to be elite, not just one of 32. And be- cause he has such high ex- pectations, and we have high expectations, it's a never- ending process. We're hard on Jameis and he's hard on himself. Always improving, but not where it needs to be."
Whatever doubts there were after Andre Ward was handed a highly controversial unanimous decision and three light heavyweight world title belts following his No- vember showdown against Sergey Kovalev, there were none remaining Saturday night.
The pound-for-pound elite fighters met again in a re- match before a crowd of 10,592 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, and Ward left no doubt this time, knocking Kovalev out in the eighth round, much to the de- light of the pro-Ward crowd.
Kovalev was known as the big puncher of the pair, so it was a satisfying conclusion for Ward, who unleashed some firepower on the "Krusher" in the final mo- ments of the fight against an opponent who had promised to knock him out and end his career.
Ward had landed several hard body shots that Ko- valev visibly reacted to.
Ward said he noticed that and continued to go down- stairs.
"I've never been the best, but I've always worked the hardest," Ward said. "I could tell he was reacting to my body shots, and I knew I had him then. I knew he was hurt. It takes something to do something."
It had been a competitive fight until the eighth round, when Ward landed a fero- cious right hand on the chin and Kovalev turned jelly- legged. Kovalev (30-2-1, 26 KOs) was badly hurt, and Ward went right at him and began firing away.
Ward (32-0, 16 KOs) backed him into the ropes and landed three more left hands to Kovalev's gut, in- cluding a low blow that was not called by referee Tony Weeks. But the shots forced Kovalev to bend over, and he looked spent, so Weeks jumped in and waved off the fight at 2 minutes, 29 sec- onds.
The Golden State War- riors' victory parade didn't stop after their champi- onship celebration in Oak- land, California, on Thursday.
It continued to Las Vegas, and it will extend into the weekend.
After the Warriors cele- brated their second NBA championship in three years in Oakland, team owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber boarded one of MGM Resorts' private jets along with Kevin Durant, Dray- mond Green, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguo- dala and other Golden State players and flew to Las Vegas.
The Warriors were greeted by MGM Resorts chairman and CEO Jim Murren as they got off the plane, and the group conducted a cham- pagne toast before boarding
Vince Young Waived By
Jameis Winston led the Bucs to a 9-7 record last year, their first winning season since 2010.
"Jameis [was] the one
Warriors Fly To Las Vegas, Attended
Andre Ward-Sergey Kovalev Fight
Golden State Warriors victory parade on Thursday con- tinued to Las Vegas.
Vince Young's comeback has hit a major hurdle after the former NFL quarterback was waived by the CFL's Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Young tore a hamstring earlier this month and had missed out on the Roughrid- ers' preseason game against Winnipeg.
Leigh Steinberg, Young's agent, announced the release Saturday on Twit- ter.
Young was expected to miss four to six weeks with the injury. The Roughriders open their season June 22.
buses for the Aria Resort & Casino. When the Warriors arrived at the facility, they were greeted by the UNLV men's basketball team, cheerleaders and school president Len Jessup.
The Warriors were in Las Vegas through the weekend and attended the Andre Ward's light heavyweight championship fight against Sergey Kovalev on Satur-
day at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. Ward knocked out Kovalev in the eighth round.
Ward, an Oakland native, recorded hype videos for the Warriors that were played at Oracle Arena during the postseason. Ward and Du- rant both are represented by Roc Nation, and Durant has visited Ward's training camp in Oakland.
VINCE YOUNG
Young, 34, signed a two- year contract with a second- year option with the Roughriders in March.
CFL's Roughriders After
Hamstring Injury
PAGE 14 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, JUNE 20, 2017