Florida Sentinel Bulletin

Every NFL team fears losing a crucial player during a meaningless preseason game, and the New York Giants came close to that happening on Sunday when Victor Cruz exited due to a heel injury.

According to NFL.com’s Kimberly Jones, electric wide receiver Victor Cruz was forced to leave the game against the Indianapolis Colts with an injury.

Over the last two seasons, Cruz has established himself as one of the most dangerous pass-catching threats in the league. After breaking out in a massive way in 2011, he salsa’d his way to another 86 catches for 1,092 yards and 10 touchdowns last season.

PITTSFORD, N.Y.—Buffalo quarterback EJ Manuel had what Bills coach Doug Marrone would only call “a procedure” on his left knee Sunday morning and will miss the rest of the preseason.

Marrone, who declined to characterize the medical attention the quarterback received as anything other than a “procedure,” says it was “very, very minor” and that Manuel has a good chance of returning before the start of the regular season.

Manuel was hurt in Buffalo’s preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings on Friday. He did not leave the game due to injury but had swelling in the knee Saturday morning. Marrone said that Manuel will miss the rest of the preseason and be evaluated daily after that.

The Bills chose Manuel out of Florida State with the 16th overall pick in the draft.

BY KRISTOPHER COLLEY, II

As the money and gigantic contracts flow in Major League Baseball, it is easy to predict that teams that cannot afford the price tags of certain players will get left in the dust.

This has not been the case for the Tampa Bay Rays in recent years. Year in and year out since a World Series run in 2008, the Rays under Manager Joe Maddon have been a perennial American League playoff contender.

Their 2013 campaign has been no different so far; the Rays boast a 66-48 record and are in great shape to make another postseason run.
Since the Rays do not have the enormous payroll of other competitors, they are forced to win games with quality young prospects, great production and execution, and splendid pitching.

They have a team Earned Run Average (ERA) of 3.82 and a Batting Average Against (BAA) of .238, which is second best in the AL.
Their pitching staff has stars: ace David Price (6-5, 93 strikeouts), Matt Moore (14-3, 115 strikeouts), Jeremy Hellickson (10-5 107 strikeouts), and emerging star Chris Archer. Archer has been sensational this season winning 6 games and posting a 2.71 ERA, all while showing flashes of a future ace in the making.

The offseason move to acquire Wil Myers from the Kansas City Royals’ farm system is arguably the best move the Rays have made in years. Myers brings a dangerous and consistent bat to a lineup that has been known to go dormant at critical moments. Since Myers was called-up on June 18th, the Rays have posted a 31-14 record including winning 16 of 18 in a stretch in July.

Maddon somehow consistently gets his team to perform and to compete at a high level even when they are supposedly the underdogs. They have the third lowest payroll in the majors, but the fifth best record this season.

Needless to say, the remaining month and a half of the regular season will be an intense and entertaining one, but the Rays are poised and are ready to make a run. If their bats continue to stay warm and their staff keeps dealing, the sky is the limit for the 2013 Tampa Bay Rays.

Kristopher Colley, II is an aspiring sports writer and reporter. He is a junior at Morehouse College.

On Friday night (tonight), the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be in Foxboro, Massachusetts to face the New England Patriots in their second pre-season game.

The Bucs and Patriots have been practicing together all week, and on Wednesday, everyone took a deep breath when Patriots quarterback, Tom Brady (pictured), went down holding his knee.

Brady was injured when Buc defensive end, Adrian Clayborn, bull-rushed offensive tackle Nate Solder, who fell into Brady.

MRI results revealed Brady’s knee didn’t suffer any structural damage. The injury occurred to the same knee where Brady tore his ACL in the first week of the 2008 season.

Brady was examined again Thursday, and is expected to play.

Greg Oden has every reason to be frustrated and disappointed. The former No. 1 overall pick out of Ohio State has endured three micro fracture knee surgeries, the last in February 2012, and hasn’t played an NBA game since Dec. 5, 2009.

This was not the career Oden envisioned.

The former Portland Trail Blazer, however, was all smiles during a press conference at St. Vincent Sports Performance on Saturday.

He will leave Indianapolis Monday morning after signing a two-year, $2.173 million deal with the two-time defending champion Miami Heat. The second year is a player option.

SEATTLE — Kevin Durant hoisted 62 shots and scored 63 points, and played all but 15 seconds in 51 minutes of game time.

All that, and he still had time to pose for pictures and sign autographs when his car was surrounded by fans as he tried to leave.

If there was any questioning if Seattle still loves Durant, it was put to rest last Sunday.

Durant took part in the Jamal Crawford Summer Pro-Am in Seattle on Sunday. It was his first time back in Seattle in a basketball capacity since the SuperSonics left for Oklahoma City in 2008.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have opened their preseason, and judging from last Thursday’s game, they still have a lot of work to do.

Last season’s Super Bowl champion, the Baltimore Ravens, manhandled the Bucs 44-16. The Buccaneer backups and special team players all got a “F” on their first report card. The Ravens dominated the game when their backups came onto the field, exposing a lack of depth on the Buccaneer roster.

Buccaneer starting offensive linemen, Davin Joseph and Carl Nicks are both returning from injury and sat out the game. Ted Larsen and Cody Wallace took their places, and the absence of the starters was apparent on the team’s first drive. The Bucs did get a spark from Brian Leonard, a backup running back, and wide receiver Kevin Ogletree.

Although the Bucs gave most of their starters limited work, a few players did stand out, particularly Da’Quan Bowers, Johnthan Banks, and Dekoda Watson. Gerald McCoy played well, but the Bucs never really put any pressure on Joe Flacco or the other quarterbacks. This year, the Bucs hired Dave Wannstedt as Special Teams coordinator, and it appears he has a lot of work to do.

Next, the Bucs will travel to New England to face the Patriots, then on the road again the next week to face the Miami Dolphins. They will finish their preseason at home against Robert Griffin, III and the Washington Redskins.

Plaxico Burress’ second chance with the Pittsburgh Steelers may not go beyond its first season.

The veteran wide receiver was carted off the field during the team’s training camp practice on Thursday. Burress suffered a torn rotator cuff and is likely to miss the entire 2013 season.

The biggest question, however, is whether the injury is severe enough to end Burress’ career after 11 non-consecutive seasons in the NFL. In a statement issued Friday, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin confirmed Burress will need his shoulder surgically repaired.

Dwyane Wade is doing what he can to keep the memory of Trayvon Martin alive.

The latest gesture by the three-time NBA Champion is sporting a hoodie along with his two sons on the September issue of EBONY magazine. The EBONY cover is one of four the magazine has released with the headline “We Are Trayvon.”

Other covers feature Martin’s brother Jahvaris Fulton, as well as his mother, Sybrina and father, Tracy Martin. Director Spike Lee and actor Boris Kodjoe are featured on the other two covers wearing gray hoodies with their sons.

“It was a pleasure to stand with my 2boys on this issue for Trayvon Martin,” Wade captioned his Instagram photo with.

The 31-year-old father added the hashtags #Wearetrayvon and #standforwhatyoubelievein.