Florida Sentinel Bulletin

Former Tampa Bay Buccaneer defensive tackle, Warren Sapp, was elected to the Professional Football Hall of Fame Class of 2013.

Sapp will be inducted on August 3rd in a ceremony in Canton, Ohio. He joins defensive end, Lee Roy Selmon, as Hall of Famers who spent the majority of their career with the Buccaneers.

Sapp was drafted in the first round (12th overall) by the Buccaneers in the 1995 NFL draft. He played nine years for the Bucs, playing in 140 games and starting 130, while also starting in nine postseason contests, and helping led the Bucs to the 2002 Super Bowl Championship. Sapp holds the Buccaneers’ single-season sack record, recording 16.5 sacks in 2000. His 96.5 career sacks ranks as the second most by an interior lineman in NFL history.

Named the 1999 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Sapp made six All-Pro Teams and seven straight Pro Bowls. He was also voted to both the NFL’s 1990’s and 2000’s All-Decade Team.

DALLAS — A North Texas jury has found the 22-year-old son of former NBA player Nick Van Exel guilty of murder in the shooting death of a longtime friend.

A Dallas County jury deliberated about 2½ hours before returning its guilty verdict Thursday against Nickey Maxwell Van Exel. The penalty phase begins Friday.

Prosecutors had sought a capital murder conviction. They say Van Exel fatally shot Bradley Bassey Eyo in December 2010 and dumped his body at Lake Ray Hubbard on the eastern outskirts of Dallas.

Since the team selected him in the fourth round of the 2010 draft, wide receiver Mike Williams has outplayed the contract he signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Though a deal is far from being finalized, the Bucs have begun negotiating with Williams’ agent, Hadley Engelhard, aimed at extending his contract. Williams was the 101st player selected, and played his college ball at Syracuse University. He signed a four-year, $2.33 million contract that included escalator clauses that allowed his pay to increase to $1.4 million for the 2013 season.

But Williams began playing at a rate well above his pay scale leading all NFL rookies with 65 receptions for 964 yards and 11 touchdowns during his first season. The following year, Williams caught 65 passes again, but his yardage and touchdowns slipped.

In 2012, Williams made a comeback, catching 63 passes for 996 yards and a team leading nine touchdowns.

Along with pro bowler, Vincent Jackson, Williams helped form one of the best big play receiving duos in the league.

Tiger Woods started his 2013 PGA Tour season in style on Monday, breezing to a four-stroke victory in the Farmers Insurance Open at cold and windy Torrey Pines Golf Course in La Jolla, Calif. He earned $1,098,000.

It was the 75th triumph of his PGA Tour career by Woods, second only to Sam Snead (82). He also became the first player in PGA Tour history to win on the same course eight times. In addition to seven Farmers Insurance Open titles, Tiger also won the 2008 U.S. Open on the South Course at Torrey Pines, which also concluded on a Monday.

WASHINGTON — Olympic gymnast Gabrielle is donating personal items to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Douglas won Olympic gold at the age of 16 in the 2012 London games. She was the first African American woman to win gold in the individual all-around competition. The U.S. women’s team also won gold.

The Virginia Beach, Va., native is giving the museum the leotard she wore during her first competitive season in 2003. She’s also giving the wrist tape and uneven bar grips she used in the 2012 Olympics, as well as her mother’s ticket to the games, personal photos and her Olympic credentials. The items go on display Friday at the National Museum of American History. The Black history museum is slated to open in 2015.

After the Dallas Mavericks’ NBDL affiliate Texas Legends reached out to Allen Iverson in an attempt to lure the former star back into the NBA, the iconic basketball player has respectfully declined the offer.

“I thank Donnie [Nelson] and Dallas for the consideration and while I think the D-League is a great opportunity, it is not the route for me,” Iverson revealed on Twitter. “I realize my actions contributed to my early departure from the NBA, should God provide me another opportunity I will give it my all.”

MOBILE, Ala. — Florida State’s E.J. Manuel passed for a touchdown and rushed for another on the South’s first two drives in a 21-16 victory over the North in the Senior Bowl on Saturday.

Manuel and running backs Stepfan Taylor and Mike James combined to put the game for senior NFL prospects away on the South’s final drive. Stanford’s Taylor carried five times for 32 yards and caught a 6-yard pass from Manuel.

Manuel converted a fourth-and-1 play on a sneak to set up a 5-yard touchdown run for Miami’s James with 2:41 left. Manuel was named the game’s Most Outstanding Player. Brigham Young defensive end Ezekiel Ansah received the honors for the South team while Purdue defensive lineman Kawann Short was the North’s top player.

BOSTON — Boston Celtics star point guard Rajon Rondo will miss the rest of the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.

The news came during Boston’s 100-98 double-overtime win over the Miami Heat on Sunday in which Ray Allen returned to his old home court for the first time. ‘’New guys are going to get an opportunity now,’‘ Boston forward Paul Pierce said. ‘’These guys haven’t had a chance to really showcase what they can do.’‘

For the past five seasons, Pierce, Allen and Kevin Garnett made up the Big Three. After Allen signed with the Heat as a free agent in the offseason, Rondo joined that group – and became the team leader with his ability to run the offense. He was chosen as the starting point guard for the Eastern Conference in the All-Star game in Houston on Feb. 17. Now the Celtics hope he can be ready for the start of next season.

‘’How far is that?’‘ coach Doc Rivers said, ‘’I don’t even know how long that is. Eight months? Nine months? So he’ll probably be ready, but I don’t know.

SAN FRANCICSO — Criminal charges won’t be filed against 49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree after an alleged sexual assault in a hotel after the team’s playoff victory over the Green Bay Packers, San Francisco’s district attorney said Friday. After examining information submitted by police, District Attorney George Gascon said his office determined that no charges would be filed “at this time.”

“The San Francisco Police Department – Special Victims Unit completed and submitted a thorough investigation of the allegations against Michael Crabtree,” Gascon said.