Florida Sentinel Bulletin

Jason Collins just may be the bravest NBA center of all time. In the May 6, 2013 issue of Sports Illustrated, the Stanford grad reveals that he is gay.

The story is written in a first person perspective, and the NBA journeyman gets right to the point. I’m a 34-year-old NBA center. I’m Black. And I’m gay. I didn’t set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport. But since I am, I’m happy to start the conversation. I wish I wasn’t the kid in the classroom raising his hand and saying, “I’m different.” If I had my way, someone else would have already done this. Nobody has, which is why I’m raising my hand.

A kicker to the story is that his twin brother, Jarron, claims he had no idea.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A little known jockey and a lightly regarded horse pulled off an upset victory for trainer Doug O’Neill at last year’s Kentucky Derby.

On Saturday, he’ll give another relative unknown a chance of not only winning the big race but joining him in the record books if that happens. Kevin Krigger, the first black jockey in the Derby since 2000, will be aboard O’Neill’s Goldencents, considered a much stronger contender than last year’s winner, I’ll Have Another.

Only six trainers have won consecutive Derbies in 138 years, and no black jockey has won since 1902. The 29-year-old Krigger hails from St. Croix, Virgin Islands, and had some success on the smaller Northern California circuit before trying his luck in the big leagues of Los Angeles.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers got help along their defensive front in the fourth round of the draft Saturday. The Bucs traded up to the third spot to take Illinois tackle Akeem Spence (pictured), and then with the 126th pick, they took Michigan State defensive end, William Gholston.

Spence, 6-feet, 307 pounds, is thought to be an above average run stopper, and the 6’6” Gholston has the ability to be a dynamic pass rusher.

MILWAUKEE — The ageless Ray Allen scored 23 points, and broke the NBA career playoff record for 3-pointers, as the Miami Heat used another of their patented runs to win 104-91 at the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday for a 3-0 lead in their first-round series.

Allen’s five 3-pointers against the Bucks gave him 322 for his career, two more than Reggie Miller. LeBron James added 22 points in his standard strong performance for the Heat, and Chris Bosh had 16 points and 14 rebounds.

After losing Super Bowl XLVII, the San Francisco 49ers made a splash on the third day of the 2013 NFL draft by selecting South Carolina Gamecocks running back Marcus Lattimore with pick No. 131.

Thanks to his great combination of size, speed and overall athletic ability, the star back was considered to be one of the best prospects in the class during the regular season. In his three-year career, he totaled 2,677 rushing yards and 38 touchdowns for South Carolina.

Less than a week after Jay-Z relinquishes his interest in the Brooklyn Nets, he has signed a high profile athlete to his fledgling Roc Nation Sports that happens to be a woman.

Skylar Diggins, has officially signed with the Roc. The Notre Dame grad was welcomed into the fold via Jay-Z’s site Life+Times. Sports fans might recall that Diggins was a superstar during her Fighting Irish days.

The 22-year-old baller is still the scoring champ for women’s basketball at Notre Dame. In the 2013 WNBA Draft, Skyler was scooped up by the Tulsa Shock. She was a power player before even turning 18, and now in her ‘20s she continues to be a force to be reckoned with.

BOSTON — Kevin Garnett walked over to the Boston bench, nursing a sore hip and Celtics coach Doc Rivers asked repeatedly if his big man needed a break. It was going to take more than that to knock Garnett out of the playoffs.

”He’s good. He’s good to go,” Rivers said Wednesday during a conference call with reporters. ”He’ll practice tomorrow, and he’ll play on Friday.”

Garnett appeared to clutch his stomach while going for a rebound early in the fourth quarter, but he wouldn’t let Rivers take him out of the game. ”He got hit in the hip, very similar to having a hip pointer in football. It’s affecting him. I was concerned he was grabbing something else,” Rivers said. ”In a couple timeouts, I was asking if he was OK.”

CLEVELAND — The Cavaliers are bringing back the most successful coach they’ve ever had.

Cleveland officially re-hired Mike Brown on Wednesday, bringing back a coach who guided them to five straight playoff appearances and their only trip to the NBA Finals before he was fired following the 2010 season. Brown agreed in principle to the contract on Tuesday. The sides finalized a deal which brings in the 43-year-old to coach a young team with an All-Star player and plenty of room for improvement – a similar situation to the one Brown inherited in 2005.

Baltimore Ravens linebacker Rolando McClain was arrested Sunday night and charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest in his hometown of Decatur, Ala.

Eyewitnesses at the scene said that police officers had ordered McClain and several other people to leave the park after a large crowd had gathered there. McClain allegedly refused to do so, and began cursing at the officers. Authorities said McClain was eventually handcuffed and taken to the city jail before bonding out a short time later.

This is the second time this year McClain has been arrested in Decatur. In January, he was arrested on charges of violating rules on car window tint and trying to lie to police about his identity. He was also arrested in Decatur in December 2011, when he posed for a memorable picture after being taken into custody.

McClain served a two-game suspension last season for conduct detrimental to the Raiders, who released him earlier this offseason. He signed with the Ravens a week later. The 23-year-old McClain is a former Top 10 NFL Draft pick. He had 62 tackles and one sack in 11 games last season with the Raiders.