Page 14 - Florida Sentinel 2-2-16

Sports
Buccaneer Players
NFL Players Seek Justice For Darling Family
Perform Well In Pro Bowl
On Tuesday, several mem- bers of the National Football League (NFL) will seek justice for the family of a deceased player.
In 2001, 18-year-old De- vaughn Darling was a fresh- man linebacker for Florida State University’s football team when he collapsed and died on February 26th while participating in a series of in- tense conditioning drills.
His family, including his twin brother - former NFL star wide receiver Devard Dar- ling - is still waiting for the Legislature to sign off on a set- tlement deal reached in a wrongful death suit filed three years after Devaughn’s death.
The event will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Febru- ary 2, 2016 in Room 333 of the
anapolis Colts, Tennessee Ti- tans; Nick Maddox: Cleve- land Browns; Greg Jones: Jacksonville Jaguars, Houston Texans, New Orleans Saints; Myron Rolle: Tennessee Ti- tans, Pittsburgh Steelers; Jesse Solomon: Minnesota Vikings, Dallas Cowboys, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, At- lanta Falcons, Miami Dol- phins; Atrews Bell: Minnesota Vikings; Peter Boulware: Baltimore Ravens; and Leroy Butler: Green Bay Packers.
The claim bill necessary to pay the settlement agreement (SB 16) is sponsored by Senate Democratic Leader Arthe- nia Joyner (D-Tampa). The House measure (HB 3513) is sponsored by Rep. Mia Jones (D-Jacksonville). Both are awaiting hearings.
Buccaneer Pro Bowlers: Lavonte David, Doug Martin, Logan Mankins, Gerald McCoy, and Jameis Winston.
DEVAUGHN DARLING
Capitol (House side), 400 South Monroe Street, Talla- hassee, FL 32399.
To spur legislative action, fellow NFL veterans and cur- rent players, along with prominent attorney Willie E. Gary will join Devard, Leader Joyner, and Rep. Jones in a press conference to seek answers for the pro- tracted delay.
The NFL veteran and cur- rent players attending event includes: Corey Simon: Philadelphia Eagles, Indi-
Sunday’s Pro Bowl game in Honolulu, Hawaii was a great opportunity for some players to once again show their stuff.
Michael Irvin’s team posted a 49-27 win over Jerry Rice’s team with Russell Wilson of the Seat- tle Seahawks being named the game’s MVP. He threw for three first-half touch- downs.
Wilson, however, wasn’t the only star of the day as Buccaneer rookie quarter- back, Jameis Winston, threw for two second-half touchdowns, and Buccaneer running back, Doug Mar- tin, scored on a 3-yard run.
Winston finished the
game completing 6-of-12 passes for 113 yards, one of them a 53-yard touchdown pass to Delanie Walker, and a 7-yard strike to DeAn- dre Hopkins. Martin fin- ished the game with 20 yards on 7 carries, including a 13- yard run.
Minnesota Vikings quar- terback Teddy Bridgewa- ter, threw a pair of touchdown passes, one of them a 2-yard toss to Dar- ren Sproles.
The Buccaneer defensive players, Lavonte David and Gerald McCoy, also made their presence felt by Rice’s team, harassing the quarterback and clogging up holes for the running game.
Calvin Johnson Told Lions He Plans To Retire
Detroit Lions superstar re- ceiver Calvin Johnson told his family and a close circle of friends before last season that 2015 would be his final year in the NFL, and he delivered the same message to coach Jim Caldwell the day after the regular season ended, sources told ESPN.
Caldwell told Johnson
CALVIN JOHNSON
not to rush his decision — to take his time, sources told ESPN. Out of respect to Caldwell, Johnson agreed to do just that, according to sources.
The Lions have not given up hope that Johnson could change his mind, but one per- son who knows Johnson well said, “He’s pretty content with his decision.”
After nine seasons in the NFL, Johnson’s body is beaten down. He has battled lingering ankle injuries and general body soreness to the point that it makes it difficult for him to return for another season during which time he would turn 31 years old.
so sore, and his conviction so strong, that he shared his de- cision to retire after the 2015 season with only two team- mates — quarterback Matthew Stafford and line- backer Stephen Tulloch, with the request that they keep it private and confiden- tial, according to sources.
Stafford and Tulloch honored the request, and the rest of the Lions organization did not learn of Johnson’s plans to retire until after this season, according to sources. At that time, the Lions issued a statement from Johnson that said, “Like many players at this stage of their career, I am currently evaluating op- tions for my future. I would expect to have a decision re- garding this matter in the not-too-distant future.”
The Lions, in turn, said, “We obviously have profound respect for Calvin and cer- tainly understand and appre- ciate his decision to give proper thought and consider- ation to his football future.”
Johnson’s body has been
NBA Bans Midcourt Sideline TV
Cameras, Effective Immediately
In an effort to protect play- ers and referees, the NBA has banned midcourt sideline tel- evision cameras, effective im- mediately, sources said.
The edict comes a little more than a week after ref- eree Scott Wall rolled his ankle when he tripped over a midcourt cameraman in the Memphis Grizzlies’ 102-101 win over the Nuggets on Jan. 21 in Denver. LeBron James suffered an ankle in- jury when he tripped over a midcourt camera during Game 1 of the Eastern Confer- ence Finals last season in At- lanta.
The ban will affect national television games in which
REFEREE SCOTT WALL
cameramen were permitted to sit on each side of the floor at midcourt. Those positions were able to get high-quality, low-angle shots of both the floor and the benches.
Saturday night’s Cleveland Cavaliers-San Antonio Spurs game, televised nationally on ABC, didn’t have such side- line cameras.
PAGE 14 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2016