Florida Sentinel Bulletin

Pittsburgh Steeler running back Chris Rainey, who was arrested Thursday morning and charged with simple battery (dating violence) for reportedly slapping his unidentified girlfriend around, has lost his job over the incident.

Just hours after the arrest hit the media, Rainey, the fifth-round 2012 draft pick, was let go by his team. According to the team’s general manager, Kevin Colbert, “Under the circumstances and due to this conduct, Chris will no longer be a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers.”

Rainey and his girlfriend supposedly fought over his cell phone. The unidentified female reportedly got in to Rainey’s roommate’s vehicle.  A witness told police that Rainey then approached the woman on the passenger side of the car and began tugging at her to get out.  He was also reportedly seen slapping the woman across the face with an open hand.

Both Rainey and the female victim then fell to the ground. The victim was able to run away, but Rainey chased after her because his cellphone was in a bag the victim was carrying. Rainey grabbed the bag again and they both fell to the ground again. Neither party suffered visible injuries from the encounter. Multiple witnesses confirmed the incident.

Rainey’s girlfriend later stated Rainey didn’t hit her.

An MRI has revealed that rookie quarterback Robert Griffin, III’s right knee has sustained partial tears of the anterior cruciate and lateral collateral ligaments.

Redskins Coach Mike Shanahan said Griffin is scheduled to be examined Tuesday in Pensacola, Fla., by orthopedic surgeon James Andrews to determine whether the test results show new or previous injuries.

It was not immediately clear whether surgery would be required or how long Griffin would be sidelined if the partial ligament tears are determined to be fresh injuries. Griffin suffered a torn ACL in the same knee in 2009 while he was in college at Baylor, and has been playing in recent weeks with a mild sprain of the LCL.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — If the Los Angeles Lakers are going to crawl out of the hole they’ve dug for themselves with their current losing streak, they’ll have to do it without their All-Star big men — center Dwight Howard and forward Pau Gasol — who are both out indefinitely with injuries, the team announced Monday.

Howard is sidelined with a torn labrum in his right shoulder while Gasol has a concussion.

AUSTIN, TEXAS — University of Texas women’s track coach Bev Kearney resigned last Saturday and acknowledged in an interview that she had an intimate relationship with an athlete in her program in 2002.

Kearney, who won six national championships since 1993, was placed on paid leave in November as university officials investigated unspecified issues within the program.

In a statement released Saturday night, university officials said the relationship was first reported to the school in October and the school was taking measures to fire Kearney before she resigned.

If you wanted to see a competitive college BCS National Championship football game Monday night, I know you were disappointed. At the end of the first quarter, it was apparent to everyone sitting inside the stadium in Miami Gardens that the Irish of Notre Dame had bitten off far more than they could chew.

For the second straight year, head coach Nick Saban took his team to the national championship game, and walked away a winner. As a matter of fact, it’s Saban’s third championship in four years. When the dust finally settled Monday night, the Crimson Tide had rolled over the Irish 42-14. Monday night’s game exposed the Fighting Irish as being terribly overmatched, and out of its league.

The rest of college football has to catch up, because the Southeast Conference (SEC) claimed its 7th straight national championship. The last time a non-SEC won a college championship was the Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush led Trojans of USC.

Alabama punched the Irish in the mouth the entire game with its massive offensive line, and the one-two punch of running backs Eddie Lacey and T. J. Yeldon. It was obvious Notre Dame hadn’t faced this level of competition en-route to their undefeated season.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Doug Martin was named Friday as one of the five finalists for the 2012 NFL Pepsi Max Rookie of the Year award.

In addition to Martin, who broke Bucs rookie records for rushing yards (1,454) and all-purpose yards (1,926) in a season, Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin, III, Colts quarterback Andrew Luck, Redskins running back Alfred Morris and Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson were nominated as finalists.

Martin finished the season ranked fifth in the NFL in rushing with 1,454 yards and scored 11 rushing touchdowns. His 1,926 yards from scrimmage were the third most for a rookie running back behind Eric Dickerson and Edgerrin James, both of whom eclipsed the 2,000-yard mark as rookies.

Young quarterbacks have been the dominant storyline of the 2013 season. Of the 12 NFL playoff teams, six start quarterbacks that are either in their first or second year. The days of needing an established veteran at the quarterback position may be over. Of those five young starting quarterbacks, three are African-American.

Rookies Robert Griffin, III and Russell Wilson played each other in the premier wildcard game last weekend, with the Washington Redskins losing to the Seattle Seahawks Sunday afternoon. 49er QB Colin Kaepernick will play the Green Bay Packers Saturday.

Pictured: QBs Colin Kaepernick, Robert Griffin III and Russell Wilson. 

BALTIMORE – Ray Lewis’ last ride now will take him to Denver. Anquan Boldin, Joe Flacco and a staunch Baltimore defense made sure of that Sunday.

Boldin set a franchise record with 145 yards receiving, including the clinching touchdown in the Ravens’ 24-9 victory over Indianapolis in an AFC wild-card game. The win delays star linebacker Lewis’ retirement for at least another week as Baltimore (11-6) heads to Denver next Saturday.

The Broncos beat the Ravens 34-17 three weeks ago. Lewis even lined up at fullback for the final kneel-down in his last home game of a 17-year career, then went into a short version of his trademark dance before being mobbed by teammates.

Friday, ESPN columnist Jemele Hill revealed media members are not immune from criticism themselves.

Hill posted a letter she received from ‘some guy’ after several appearances on “The Herd” with ESPN radio host Colin Cowherd last year. The letter is filled with racist language directed at Hill.

In addition to her role as columnist for ESPN.com, Hill appears on a variety of other platforms for the network. She’s made appearances on ESPN radio and television shows such as First Take. She just completed her first college football season as a sideline reporter for both ESPN and ESPN 2.