Florida Sentinel Bulletin

On Tuesday during an interview on WDAE 620AM radio, Hall of Fame quarterback, Fran Tarkenton, tore into Tampa Bay Buccaneer quarterback, Josh Freeman, belittling him and was quoted as saying, “sometimes he plays at a nice level, but just plays God-awful and has proved he can’t play.”

After being told about Tarkenton’s comments, Freeman said, “anytime you have negative football plays or don’t convert on third down, it’s frustrating. You go out there with a goal in mind and you want to see it through. “It’s preseason, and no, it doesn’t count, but to us it still matters. I know during the game with the Patriots everyone was frustrated on the sidelines. We wanted to get a drive going. “I think Tarkenton’s perception would have been different if I had done a better job of avoiding at least one of the sacks.”

Freeman’s father has advised him to not let anyone pollute his thought process, his mind, and tell him you’re great or you’re awful, either way. He told him to avoid favorable commentary as well.

Usain Bolt sprinted past Carl Lewis into the world track championship record book by completing a triple gold-medal performance Sunday in Moscow while anchoring Jamaica to victory in the 400-meter relay.

His march to greatness continues, and Bolt says he’s not going to slow down. He tied the American sprint legend with his 10th world championship medal. Each has eight gold medals, but the scale tips in Bolt’s favor because he has a pair of silver medals, while Lewis has a silver and bronze.

CLEVELAND — The Cavaliers have signed Anthony Bennett, the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft, to his guaranteed rookie contract.

Financial terms were not immediately known, but the deal can be worth up to $22.8 million over four years. Bennett was somewhat of a surprising selection by the Cavaliers, who believe the 6-foot-8, 240-pounder from UNLV can play power forward.

He’s recovering from shoulder surgery, but the Toronto native is expected to be ready for the start of training camp. He averaged 16.1 points and 8.1 rebounds as a freshman with the Runnin’ Rebels.

Ty Lawson and his pregnant girlfriend, Ashley Pettiford aka Ashley King from Bad Girls Club, have joint mug shots.

This is not the best of looks for the NBA star who was arrested and released on bond over a domestic violence incident.

Pettiford was also arrested and the details surrounding this case are ugly. According to the report, police were called to Lawson’s Denver home around 9 a. m. last Saturday morning in response to a report of a domestic argument involving Lawson and his girlfriend, Ashley — who is six months pregnant.

Lawson was placed under arrest on suspicion of domestic violence, as well as criminal mischief (for throwing Pettiford’s phone) and harassment.

Pettiford was arrested for criminal mischief (for destroying Lawson’s phone) and domestic violence. They have both since been released on $1,000 bond.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers exposed their lack of depth Friday night in their 25-21 preseason loss to the New England Patriots.

With starters Carl Nicks and David Joseph missing from the offensive line, and newly acquired cornerback, Darrelle Revis missing from the defense.

Depth on the offensive line and defensive back was badly exposed.

Ted Larsen was in for Nicks, and Mike Remmers was in for Joseph. The result was quarterback Josh Freeman being sacked on three of his six drop backs. He never got the opportunity to develop any kind of momentum on offense.

Freeman’s counterpart, Tom Brady, went 8-for-8 on his first drive that ended with a 26-yard touchdown pass to Danny Amendola, and a 2-point conversion.

Freeman completed a 4-yard pass to tight end Tom Crabtree, and running back Mike James ran 11 yards to give the Bucs a first down. But Freeman was sacked twice in the next three plays.

The Bucs had a scare on the first play of the second drive when running back Doug Martin went down after taking a knee to the head. He’s expected to recover.

The Bucs also lost cornerback Anthony Gaitor to a hip injury, and receiver Tiquan Underwood to a knee injury.

This Saturday, the Bucs will travel to South Beach to face the Miami Dolphins.

In one short year, the Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks have elevated their rivalry to new heights. The battle for the city of New York has become ferocious, as the hatred between both NBA sides has become legitimate.

Knicks point guard Raymond Felton and Nets forward Paul Pierce have become the latest to feud.

Felton recently made it very clear that the Nets will never take over the hearts and minds of New York. Despite making the postseason last season, Felton believes that the words on the front of their respective jerseys say it all:

“They will never take over the city. Because we’ve got ‘New York’ on our chest,” Felton said Sunday. “They’ve got ‘Brooklyn’ on their chest, and we’ve got ‘New York.’ They’ll never take over the city.

“[Pierce] saying that is just him talking. At the end of the day, it’s all about rivalries. We understand that — he knows that, I know that. He’s just trying to fuel it.”

Knicks fans are certain to agree.

The Knicks and Nets played four times during the 2012-13 NBA regular season, splitting the season series 2-2. In the offseason, Brooklyn added long-time, high-profile Knicks rivals in Pierce and Kevin Garnett, while New York tried countering with the acquisitions of Andrea Bargnani and Metta World Peace.

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.