Florida Sentinel Bulletin

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.

INDIANAPOLIS – Reggie Wayne has broken the NFL record for most consecutive games with multiple receptions. Cris Carter held the previous mark of 58. Wayne now has had at least two catches in 59 straight games.

Wayne tied the mark last week at New England, and broke it in front of his home crowd late in the first half against Buffalo. The Pro Bowl receiver also passed former Redskins receiver Art Monk for 12th on the NFL’s all-time receptions list during the first half of Sunday’s game. Monk finished his career with 940.

Wayne now has 943, and Wayne played a key role in a late first-half drive that ended with a 19-yard field goal from Adam Vinatieri as time expired.

New York Giants running back Andre Brown suffered a broken fibula in the team’s blowout victory Sunday over the Green Bay Packers and is out for the season, Giants coach Tom Coughlin said after the game.

As the Giants’ second, change-of-pace option to starting running back Ahmad Bradshaw, Brown is a significant loss for the team currently sitting atop the NFC East. He rushed 60 times for 321 yards and seven touchdowns this season.

If the Tampa Bay Buccaneers proved one thing Sunday, it’s that they are resilient. Falling behind to the Carolina Panthers on the road, the Bucs never stopped playing hard, and were able to keep their win streak alive with a 27-21 overtime victory.

The Bucs rallied from 17 points down, securing the victory with a 15-yard pass from Josh Freeman to Dallas Clark. Freeman struggled early in the contest and finished the evening completing 25 of 46 pass attempts for 248 yards, 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. His counterpart, Cam Newton, finished with 16-of-29 completions for 252 yards and one touchdown.

Rookie running back Doug Martin reached the 1,000 yard mark, rushing for 138 yards on 24 carries. He still has 6 games remaining in the regular season. The Bucs held a 10-0 lead in the first quarter until Freeman’s pass was intercepted by Captain Munnerlyn, and returned 74 yards for a touchdown. The Panthers ended the half with a 1-yard touchdown run by Jonathan Stewart, and a 14-10 lead.

The score was 21-10 in the fourth quarter before the Bucs scored 17 unanswered points in regulation and overtime to secure the win.

The Bucs have now won four straight games.