Florida Sentinel Bulletin

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Texas woman was awarded custody Thursday of her 9-month-old orphaned cousin whose mother was killed by former Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher late last year before he turned the gun on himself.

Jackson County Probate Commissioner Daniel Wheeler issued an order Thursday granting custody of Zoey Perkins to Sophie Perkins of Pflugerville, Texas, saying she was more suited than Belcher’s mother to be the baby’s guardian. During a three-day hearing last week, Sophie Perkins and Belcher’s mother, Cheryl Shepherd of West Babylon, N.Y., each argued that she would be the best guardian for the girl.

Perkins, who was Kasandra Perkins’ first cousin, is the sister of Whitney Golden Charles, whose husband is Chiefs All-Pro running back Jamaal Charles. Other than some trips to New York to spend time with Shepherd, Zoey has mostly stayed with Perkins in Texas since the shooting.

The time the girl spent bonding with Perkins played a role in Wheeler’s decision, he wrote, as did the police calls to Shepherd’s home. Zoey is set to receive more than $1 million under the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement, including $108,000 annually over the next four years, $48,000 in the fifth year and $52,000 each year until she turns 18. She will continue to receive that amount until she is 23 if she attends college.

A trust funded with money from the Chiefs owners, coaches, players, employees and the public will also help care for the child.

Game Of Thrones: Miami Heat Captures
Back-To-Back Titles

With a season, a playoffs, an NBA Finals and a Game 7 that will echo for years
to come, the Heat defeated the San Antonio Spurs 95-88 on Thursday night at
American Airlines Arena to win its second NBA championship in a row and cap
the most exciting two weeks in South Florida sports history. LeBron James won
his second straight Final’s MVP. Congratulations, Miami!

Some professional athletes are really attached to their numbers, and it appears as though Darrelle Revis is one of them.

Darrelle Revis paid Mark Barron in order to get Barron to give up No. 24 was—get this—$50,000.” It seems like keeping this jersey number is quite important to the new Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback. At least, this will count as a business expense on his taxes.

BY KRISTOPHER COLLEY, II

“They’re the best two words in sports: Game 7,” said Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra after an amazing Game 6 victory. Thursday night’s Game 7 will be Miami’s second straight win or go home game. If Game 7 is half the game Game 6 was, it will go down in history as one of NBA’s classics. A 19-7 run to send the game into overtime is incredible, but it was how it was done, which makes it memorable. LeBron James had 16 points during the comeback, 12 of them will be mythically remembered because they were scored without his trademark headband.

“Until the clock runs out, we still have an opportunity here to win this game,” said Ray Allen. Allen’s 3-pointer with 5 seconds to go in regulation tied the game and sent it into overtime. A former Boston Celtic, Allen was an offseason acquisition, giving Allen and the Heat a situation like Game 6 to eventually materialize.

Allen watched his Finals 3-point shots’ title go up in smoke in Game 5, when San Antonio’s Danny Green set it afire. But as the ball bounces, the final laugh was Allen’s in Game 6, as his corner 3 swished the Spurs’ title hopes. Game 7 will be a whole different animal, but the same beast. These two teams have the heart of a champion and will stop at nothing to achieve greatness. Both teams’ star players willed them to the brink of victory.

With so much at stake in Game 7, there is no telling the performances that will unfold or the storylines that will be written tomorrow. One thing is for sure, both of these teams are deserving of the crown. Game 7 is tonight (Thursday) at 8 P. M.

Sentinel Pick: Miami

Kristopher Colley, II is a guest writer. He is a junior at Morehouse College.

New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was reportedly questioned by North Attleboro, Mass., police on Monday as part of an ongoing investigation of a murder that allegedly took place near his home.

Hernandez isn’t out of the woods yet with regards to the investigation. Police reportedly developed an interest in questioning Hernandez after a rental car became an integral piece of evidence in the murder of a 27-year-old Boston man, whose body was found on Monday within a mile of Hernandez’s home. It’s unclear whether he was murdered in that location or dropped there.

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Veronica Campbell-Brown’s agent insists one of the cornerstones of Jamaica’s wide-ranging sprint success “is not a cheat,” even though the test results read differently.

While her case is being decided, the three-time Olympic gold medalist will sit out and her country will try to make sense of one of its longest-held fears: a high-profile track star getting busted for doping.

Campbell-Brown, or “VCB” as she’s simply known in sprinting circles, tested positive for a banned diuretic at a meet in May and will serve a suspension while anti-doping officials rule on the positive drug test, island track officials announced Tuesday.

SAN ANTONIO—Whatever dream world Danny Green has slipped into over the five games of these NBA Finals, Spurs center Tim Duncan has but one wish: “I hope he doesn’t wake up.”

It took just five games for Green to match and surpass the 3-point record for an NBA Finals, besting the 22 that Ray Allen made for Boston in the 2010 Finals—a seven-game series. Consider that Green shot 6-for-10 from the 3-point line in Sunday night’s 114-104 win for the Spurs, and in doing so, actually dropped his shooting numbers from the arc, which had been at 67.9 percent.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A contrite Chad Johnson apologized Monday for disrespecting a judge when the former NFL star slapped his attorney on the backside in court last week, and his immediate release from jail was ordered.

Broward County Circuit Judge Kathleen McHugh accepted Johnson’s apology and cut his 30-day jail term for a probation violation to the seven days he had already served since the rear-swatting incident.

Johnson, a flamboyant wide receiver formerly known as Chad Ochocinco, said in court that he’d had time to think about why his flippant attitude was wrong — especially in a domestic violence case. “I just wanted to apologize for disrespecting the court last time,” said Johnson, wearing a tan jail jumpsuit with his hands shackled at the waist. “I apologize. I did have time to reflect on the mistakes I made in this courtroom.”

Terrell Owens Visits Chad Johnson In Jail

You can call Terrell Owens a lot of things—a diva, a future Hall of Famer and even a good friend. On Saturday, Owens visited his former teammate Chad Johnson behind bars and tweeted about the experience.

The New York Giants have finally hammered out a deal for superstar receiver Victor Cruz, retaining the wide receiver’s services for next year.

The fourth-year wideout will sign his restricted free-agent tender. Cruz avoided getting into a messy situation with his contract negotiations by signing his tender.