Florida Sentinel Bulletin

Philadelphia Eagles head coach Andy Reid released a statement on Wednesday confirming that Michael Vick will remain the team’s starting quarterback.

The Eagles visit the New Orleans Saints next Monday night, so the team will not be practicing — or meeting with the media to discuss the decision to remain with Vick at quarterback — until Thursday. The Saints have the NFL’s worst defense, one that is on pace to set an NFL record for yards allowed in a season, so it makes some sense for Reid to maintain the status quo at the quarterback position and hope for a win to pull even at 4-4.

CHICAGO – The Carolina Panthers suffered yet another frustrating loss and, given the events leading up to it, may have opened wounds that run all the way to the top of the organization.

But the one thing that may have come out of the latest letdown is that their most important player hit rock bottom and seemed to cope with it. In the aftermath of a 23-22 loss to the 6-1 Chicago Bears on a game-winning field goal as time expired, there were plenty of guesses about which emotional state Cam Newton might put on display.

Newton responded with determination in the face of his team falling to 1-6, five of the losses by six points or less. On display was a leader who hinted at his emotions, but never put them on display. And make no mistake, he showed himself to be a leader.

“There are a lot of emotions I have right now, but I’m not going to get into that,” Newton said following Carolina’s fifth-straight loss. “I could care less what they decide to do. My job is to be the best player that I can be, whatever they put in. I’m just going to go back doing the things they coach up on. Whether it is [offensive coordinator Rob] Chudzinski, [head] coach [Ron] Rivera, [quarterbacks] coach [Mike] Shula, and get prepared for Washington.”

PHILADELPHIA — Jrue Holiday is set to run the show for the Philadelphia 76ers for years to come. Holiday signed an extension with the Sixers just before the midnight deadline and hours after he led them to an 84-75 victory over the Denver Nuggets.

A person familiar with the deal said that the extension was for four years and worth at least $41 million. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because it is team policy not to disclose contract terms. The Sixers had until midnight to strike a deal or risk Holiday becoming a restricted free agent at the end of the season.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers this month lost cornerback Aqib Talib to a four-game NFL-imposed suspension for Adderall use. He might not be alone.

Bucs cornerback Eric Wright faces a similar four-game ban for using the same substance, which violates the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs. The NFL has yet to announce an official punishment for Wright, but losing the sixth-year veteran would further weaken Tampa Bay’s secondary on a defense that ranks 31st against the pass.

We’ve seen a rash of Adderall-related suspensions this season, and Bucs’ owner, Glazer emphasized that some players take the drug to cope with attention deficit disorder.

If Wright is lost, cornerbacks Brandon McDonald and Myron Lewis will see increased snaps across from E.J. Biggers, who has stepped in for the exiled Talib. It’s a headache this young team could do without.

DETROIT — Emanuel Steward, the owner of the legendary Kronk Gym and a trainer for boxers including Thomas Hearns, Evander Holyfield and Oscar De La Hoya, died Thursday. He was 68. Victoria Kirton, Steward’s executive assistant, said Steward died at a Chicago hospital. She did not disclose the cause of death.

Steward trained, helped train or managed some of the greatest fighters of the past 40 years out of the Kronk, a dingy, overheated basement gym that produced world champions like Hearns, Sugar Ray Leonard and Lennox Lewis.

Steward, who was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, also worked closely with Lewis during his title run, and current heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko as recently as July. Klitschko has trained recently without Steward for his fight against Mariusz Wach next month in Germany.

“His spirit is always here,” Klitschko said. “I can hear his voice in sparring while doing things, whispering in my ear. As the famous saying goes, ‘The show must go on,’ and that’s exactly the case.” Steward also worked since 2001 as a boxing analyst for broadcaster HBO.

“Manny was a respected colleague who taught us so much not only about the sweet science but also about friendship and loyalty,” HBO Sports President Ken Hershman said. “His energy, enthusiasm and bright smile were a constant presence. Ten bells do not seem enough to mourn his passing.”

A lawsuit has been filed against NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson by his former flight attendant on his private plane, Lanita Thomas.

The 45-year-old had been employed by Johnson since 2004, but was recently let go after arriving late to work.  Thomas is now suing, claiming that the Los Angeles Dodgers co-owner fired her because he wanted a “substantially younger woman” to service him in the air.

The former employee filed a wrongful termination suit in the L.A. County Superior Court. While admitting she was late for work one day, Thomas claims she was late because she was picking up fresh turkey meat for the former NBA superstar who insists all flights be supplied with only fresh snacks.

Johnson has yet to comment on the lawsuit.

ISTANBUL — Her year filled with titles and trophies over, Serena Williams can at last admit it: This was a title she had her eye on.

Not that any more evidence of her all-consuming, powerful game was needed, but Williams gave it anyway. She dismissed Maria Sharapova 6-4, 6-3 Sunday to win the WTA Championships for the third time and finish the year with another title, but not the top ranking.

“Now that I can be honest, I really wanted to win,” Williams said. “I wanted it so bad, but I didn’t want to say it. … It was really important for me to end the year with this title in particular.”

Williams ended the year with a 59-4 record and seven titles. Since her first-round loss at the French Open, she is 31-1, winning Wimbledon, the Olympic gold medal and the U.S. Open. The 31-year-old Williams became the oldest player to capture the year-end championships. But she will finish the year ranked No. 3, behind No. 1 Victoria Azarenka and No. 2 Sharapova, because she did not play as well in the first half of the year. Azarenka lost to Sharapova in the semifinals.

“I had such a good year, it was important to end on a good note,” Williams said. “It was good for my sanity to win. I really wanted it although I didn’t need it.”

NEW YORK — NFL Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor has won a lawsuit that tried to hold him accountable for having sex with a 16-year-old girl in a New York hotel room.

The jury returned its verdict Friday after hearing testimony from the now-19-year-old woman and Taylor. Taylor gave a thumbs-up to a friend in the spectator area when the verdict was announced. The former New York Giants linebacker acknowledged that he had sex in 2010 with a prostitute. He denied, however, that he ignored obvious signs she was a teen runaway in distress.

The woman had claimed that an abusive pimp forced her to have sex with Taylor for $300. She sued Taylor, seeking unspecified damages. The encounter occurred in a hotel room in Montebello, just north of New York City.

As a fan, you are very critical of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when they lose a game, no matter how close victory may have been.

If you’re a first year head coach with a new coaching staff, you’re looking for improved play, no injuries to key players, and of course, victories. In Thursday night’s game (tonight) against the Minnesota Vikings, the Bucs faced an opponent with their star, Adrian Peterson, ailing, but the team as a whole, surprising a lot of people.

As far as the Florida Sentinel Bulletin writers are concerned, the Bucs were favored to win and keep pace in what has become a pathetic start for the teams in the NFC South, with the exception of the undefeated Atlanta Falcons. Next up for the Bucs will be the Oakland Raiders, and hopes are the Bucs will start to turn things around heading down the home stretch.