Florida Sentinel Bulletin

ST. PETERSBURG, FL  — Joe Maddon said he planned to sleep well, regardless of whether the Tampa Bay Rays got the help they need to keep their playoff hopes alive.

“I’ll find out tomorrow morning,” said Maddon, who then was asked if he expected to sleep well. “Absolutely. Like a baby.”

Bad news awaited the manager when he woke up Tuesday — his team was eliminated from postseason contention.

MIAMI — Dwyane Wade will not be wearing Jordan Brand sneakers and apparel.

The Miami Heat guard said Tuesday that he has parted ways with the brand. His contract expired at the end of September and the sides made what Wade called a mutual decision to not extend the agreement.

Wade said his time with Converse and Jordan has been an “unbelievable nine years.”

Wade made the switch from Converse to Jordan Brand in 2009. Both are owned by Nike.

Wade, who counts Michael Jordan as his idol to this day, said Tuesday that he still feels “honored to have represented my favorite player of all time and his brand.”

He has not unveiled plans for what shoe he will wear with the reigning NBA champion Heat this season.

NEW YORK — First, Darrelle Revis. Now, Santonio Holmes.

Holmes has a Lisfranc injury in his left foot, likely leaving the New York Jets‘ struggling offense without its top playmaker for the rest of the season.

Holmes went down on the first play of the fourth quarter of the Jets’ 34-0 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday after catching a short pass.

Complete with its water slide, theater and two-story wine cellar, the Windermere home of Super Bowl champion Warren Sapp will be auctioned off Nov. 1 as part of his bankruptcy case.

Designed by architect Terry Irwin and built in 2005 by Akers Custom Homes for $7 million, the 10,000-square-foot house in the Lake Butler Sound gated subdivision includes a dock, lazy river and, inside the Tuscan-style dwelling, four bedrooms.

Fisher Auction Co. of Pompano Beach will handle the auction, which is scheduled to take place at 11 a.m. at the Orlando Airport Marriott.

The former star for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers said that he filed for bankruptcy to avoid jail time.

Sapp had plans during the home-buying frenzy to build a low-income housing project in Fort Pierce, but the market soured after he had invested in the deal. Because of the debt, his NFL earnings were garnished for 11 months and his bills went unpaid.

So far in the 2012 season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have both won and lost a close, low-scoring game—both finished with the score of 16-10—and have been the victim and aggressor in a second-half comeback attempt.

The latest comeback attempt was Sunday at Raymond James Stadium where Tampa Bay erased a 21-6 halftime lead by scoring 16 unanswered points, only to fall to a last-second field goal.

In Week 2 Tampa Bay led the New York Giants 24-13 before New York scored 25 points in the fourth quarter to win by a touchdown.

The Bucs’ most recent loss, Sunday’s 24-22 loss where Billy Cundiff nailed a 41-yard field goal with three seconds remaining to seal Tampa Bay’s fate, answered some questions and still leaves a few to be determined.

Freeman didn’t torch the Redskins defense, but in putting up 299 yards on 61.5 percent passing, the young passer showed his mettle.

Forced into passing action because of their 15-point deficit, the Buccaneers gave Freeman the green light and scaled back the running plays for Doug Martin and LeGarrette Blount.

Williams led the team with 115 yards receiving on four catches. Jackson caught six balls for 100 yards. It was the first time in Freeman’s four-year career he had two receivers reach the 100-yard receiving mark.

If the Buccaneers needed proof that Freeman could handle throwing a lot in a game, Sunday’s performance should lay most of those questions to bed. Still unanswered is how are the Bucs going to improve enough against the pass.

Tampa Bay ranked 30th entering Sunday’s game in pass defense and allowed rookie Robert Griffin, III to throw for 329 yards. That’s the third quarterback in four games to go over 300 yards, and Tony Romo was close at 283 yards passing in Week 3.

The Buccaneers sit at 1-3, tied for second place in the NFC South, and still desperately need to find a way to slow down opposing quarterbacks. Greg Schiano and his staff must address that issue.

CHICAGO — Manager Joe Maddon and the Tampa Rays have been down this road before. Almost out of the race for a playoff spot, yet fighting to the end.

That approach worked a year ago when the Rays staged a stunning final-game rally to beat the Yankees and win the AL wild card. Now, after downing the fading White Sox on Sunday with David Price (pictured) getting his 20th win, the Rays still have a chance to make the postseason.

“It’s always about maintaining a slight mathematical chance. We were in the same boat last year. It could become a little bit better with some cooperation, but either way we just have to go home and play our game,” Maddon said Sunday after his team’s 6-2 victory.

Tampa Bay has played its best ball at the right time, winning 10 of 11 to stay in the race for the second wild card.

Price (20-5) improved to 12-1 with a 2.26 ERA in his last 18 starts, allowing two runs and five hits in seven innings. He became the fourth 20-game winner of the season, joining Washington’s Gio Gonzalez (21-8), the New York Mets ‘ R.A. Dickey (20-6) and the Los Angeles Angels ‘ Jered Weaver (20-4).

Florida State has found its identity.

Consider the Seminoles the following: kings of the second half; rulers of quarters three and four; emperors of the end.

For the second time in as many weeks, the Seminoles on Saturday responded to an early, hard jab in the gut with a rally that spanned the game’s final 30 minutes and propelled them to yet another meaningful victory in this march toward what some believe is a possible national title.

FSU’s 30-17 win over USF on Saturday night showcased exactly what coach Jimbo Fisher had hoped to prove: that his team would not have a Top-10 hangover, and slip into the trap that a supposedly inferior opponent posed.

MEDINAH, Illinois – The Ryder Cup began the weekend and Tiger Woods paid homage to basketball legend Michael Jordan.

This year’s host club for the Cup was some 30 miles west of the city Jordan ‘owned’ during his storied tenure with the Chicago Bulls. Jordan  served as an ‘adviser’ to this year’s team and Woods was happy to have him.

The world’s greatest golfer told reporters his first meeting with Jordan involved lots of drinks, despite having to play in a golf tournament the following day.

“I still shot some really good numbers that day and made an eagle on the last hole to win,” Woods told reporters.

Jordan is a member of the Medinah Country Club and was a constant fixture in the locker room, according to U.S. Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III. Woods said having one of the world’s greatest athletes around was “incredible” for this year’s team.

“I consider him like my big brother,” Woods said. “I may take that for granted, but some of the other guys that don’t really know Michael, I think it’s a real treat for them.”

People who heard the yells of a boy shouting for help in a Portland, Oregon building led to the arrest Sunday evening of a basketball coach on assault and kidnap accusations. Police were dispatched about 5:40 p.m. to an apartment after neighbor John Blair heard a boy yelling, “Help me, get me, help me get me out, let me go.”

Blair said he found the 13-year-old boy wearing only his underwear and “screaming for his life.” ”I asked Leslie what was going on. He said, ‘I’m just having a spat with my friend and I said it looks more than that,’” described Blair.

Blair said the child continued to lunge towards the door and that’s when Lewis grabbed the boy by the neck and pulled him back into the apartment. When officers arrived, a man told them he saw a boy wearing only underwear trying to run from an apartment, and then a man ran up to the boy, grabbed him by the neck and pulled him back in, according to court documents obtained.

The officers went to the unit pointed out by a witness and knocked on the door.  The affidavit of probable cause said that Leslie Lewis opened the door only slightly but an officer saw a boy inside, nearly naked and trembling.

Lewis was arrested and detectives from the county child abuse team took over the investigation. The child, 13, was taken safely from the apartment.  He did not suffer serious injuries. The boy told investigators that Lewis had whipped him with a belt and photographed him naked.