Florida Sentinel Bulletin

Since replacing Jim Leavitt as head coach, the University of South Florida Bull football team has fell deeper into obscurity.

That fall has cost head coach, Skip Holtz, his job, as the school announced his 3-year tenure was over. Holtz compiled a 16-21 record in those three years. This year, the team finished 3-9 after this weekend’s 27-3 rout by Pittsburgh. Officials at USF said Holtz was incapable of turning USF into a destination program, therefore clouding their effort to recruit top high school players.

Although this year’s team was packed with seniors, the team still surrendered 94 points in their last three games. Possible successors for Holtz’s job are Mario Cristobal, Houston Nutt, Dan Quinn, Mark Snyder, and Willie Taggart.

LAGUNA NIGUEL, CA — Ozzie Smith turned gold into cash. The Hall of Fame shortstop sold his 13 consecutive Gold Glove Awards from 1980-92 for $519,203, SCP Auctions said Sunday.His 2011 St. Louis Cardinals‘ World Series ring sold for $51,364 and his 2006 ring went for $42,448. Both were gifts from the team.

The prices include a 20 percent commission, known as a buyer’s premium. Two pairs of Muhammad Ali boxing gloves used during fights each sold for $385,848. They were used against Sonny Liston on Feb. 25, 1964, and for his first bout against Joe Frazier on March 8, 1971.

This week, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be packing their cold-weather gear for a visit to the mile-high city of Denver. They will be facing off against the Peyton Manning-led Denver Broncos, who have taken command of the AFC West.

The Buccaneers (6-5), are coming off a 1-point loss to the NFC South Division leading Atlanta Falcons, and will be without the services of cornerback Eric Wright (pictured), who has been suspended for four games for alleged use of performance enhancing substances. The Bucs also put often injured offensive lineman, Jeremy Trueblood, on injured reserve, probably ending his career in Tampa. Trueblood, 29, was in the final year of a two-year, $10 million contract and will be an unrestricted free agent in the spring.

The Bucs also put safety Cody Grimm on injured reserve, and claimed receiver/returner David Gilreath off waivers from the Pittsburgh Steelers. Other roster moves by the Bucs was the release of guard Christ Scott from the practice squad, and his place being taken by safety Sean Baker. The Bucs also resigned guard/tackle Derek Hardman to the team’s 53-man roster.

On Sunday, the Buccaneer defense will be facing the league’s hottest quarterback in Manning, and at the same time trying to keep pace in the NFC South. The Bucs are currently in second place, 4 games behind the 10-1 Atlanta Falcons, who have a game Sunday against NFC South foe, the New Orleans Saints. Sunday’s game will be televised at 4:05 p. m.

After seasons of being offered 1-year contracts and no long term deal, former Tampa Bay Rays center fielder, Melvin Emanuel “B. J.” Upton, is heading to Atlanta to join the Braves.

Upton’s deal is reported to be $75.25 million over 5 years, the largest free agent contract awarded by the Braves. The contract is pending Upton passing a physical. Upton had turned down a $13.3 million, one-year offer from the Rays in October, because he sought a more lucrative long-term deal. He will receive an average of $15.5 million a year over the life of the contract.

As compensation, the Rays will get a pick in June’s draft that will come between the first and second rounds. Upton is expected to replace Michael Bourn in center field for the Braves. Other than the Braves, the Philadelphia Phillies had shown interest in Upton. The Rays accepted the fact they couldn’t compete with Upton on the open market, just as they had with left fielder, Carl Crawford after the 2010 season.

The qualifying offer was made to make sure the Rays would get a compensatory draft pick. Upton was the only center fielder in Major League Baseball to play at least 144 games each year over the past five years, and was the longest tenured Ray at the end of the season.

Upton was the second overall pick in the June 2002 draft and was projected to be the Ray’s shortstop of the future. He turned 28 in August. Upton leaves the Rays as the organization’s all-time leader in walks (430) and strikeouts (1,020).

ALLEN PARK, Mich. – Ndamukong Suh’s reputation for being a nasty player was born as an NFL rookie.

Suh slammed two quarterbacks to the ground by grabbing their helmets two years ago, and his image became even more notorious last season when he infamously stomped on an opponent. The NFL fined Suh $30,000 on Wednesday for unnecessary roughness because he kicked Houston Texans quarterback Matt Schaub in the groin area. The previous day, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the league didn’t suspend him because it couldn’t reach a judgment on his intent.

“I was dragged to the ground,” Suh said. “A lot of things happen to me. “It’s part of the game.”

SANTA CLARA, CA – NaVorro Bowman had to tell someone about his hefty new contract before it became public. And there was pal Patrick Willis first thing Tuesday before they began their morning workout. The 49ers’ inside linebacker pair of Bowman and Willis will be lining up together on San Francisco’s talented defense well into the future if all goes as planned.

On Tuesday, Bowman reached agreement on a five-year contract extension through the 2018 season – a deal worth $45.25 million, with $25.5 million in guaranteed money.

Miami Dolphins defensive back Jonathon Amaya was cuffed by Miami Beach police in the wee hours of Monday morning for allegedly choking a cab.

The 24-year-old had flagged down a cab outside a Miami nightclub at around 4:30 a.m. When the cab pulled up to Amaya, he reportedly asked the driver, Jonathon Vunge, if he would to take him to a destination beyond the outskirts of the regular route. Amaya allegedly handed Vunge a $100 bill for his trouble and the driver agreed to take him. Vunge then told police investigators that as they drove, Amaya suddenly became “aggressive” and he felt threatened by his behavior so he returned the player back to the spot where he had picked him up.

According to the 44-year-old driver, Amaya then “leaned forward and wrapped his hands around his neck and started choking him.” When police were called to the scene, Amaya was still inside the car and Vunge was frantically telling them that the NFL player had tried to kill him.

The “Dirty Birds” of Atlanta have extended their NFC South lead to four games over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after their 24-23 win Sunday at Raymond James Stadium.

The Falcons (10-1) exploited a weak Buc secondary by highlighting Julio Jones (pictured), who grabbed 6 passes for 147 yards, and a crucial 80-yard third quarter touchdown. The Bucs (6-5) didn’t have a bad offensive performance with Josh Freeman completing 19 of 30 passes for 256 yards. Rookie running back, Doug Martin, had 21 carries for 50 yards and a pair of scores.

The Bucs entered Sunday’s contest, blacked out locally, among the leaders in the NFL when it comes to turning takeaways into touchdowns. But on the two occasions they were able to take the ball away from the Falcons, they only managed a pair of field goals. The Falcon defense concentrated their efforts on stopping the Buccaneer ground game, and were successful. The Bucs added a new wrinkle to their offense when wide receiver Mike Williams took a lateral from Freeman, and tossed a 28-yard pass to Vincent Jackson that led to a field goal.

It won’t get any better for the Bucs Sunday as they hit the road to face Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos in a 4:05 p. m. contest.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Hector “Macho” Camacho was a brash fighter with a mean jab and an aggressive style, launching himself furiously against some of the biggest names in boxing. And his bad-boy persona was not entirely an act, with a history of legal scrapes that began in his teens and continued throughout his life.

The man who once starred at the pinnacle of boxing, winning several world titles, died Saturday after being ambushed in a parking lot back in the Puerto Rican town of Bayamon where he was born. Packets of cocaine were found in the car in which he was shot.

Camacho, 50, left behind a reputation for flamboyance – leading fans in cheers of “It’s Macho time!” before fights – and for fearsome skills as one of the top fighters of his generation. In between, he fought some of the biggest stars spanning two eras, including Sugar Ray Leonard, Felix Trinidad, Oscar De La Hoya and Roberto Duran.

No arrests have been made, and authorities have not revealed many details beyond the facts that police found cocaine in the car and that the boxer and his friend, who was killed at the scene, had no idea the attack was coming. “Apparently, this was a surprise,” said Alex Diaz, a police spokesman. Survivors include his mother; three sisters, Raquel, Estrella and Ester; a brother, Felix; and four sons, Hector Jr., Taylor, Christian and Justin.