Florida Sentinel Bulletin

AKRON, Ohio— Michael Dokes, a former World Boxing Association heavyweight champion, has died. He was 54.

The Rhoden Memorial Home in Akron said Dokes died Saturday. The boxer died in an Akron hospice from liver cancer.

Known as “Dynamite” Dokes because he packed a powerful punch, the fighter won the WBA title in 1982 by defeating Michael Weaver. He lost the title a year later when he was beaten by Gerrie Coetzee.

Dokes had a career record of 53-6-2.

A run of legal problems began late in his career. In 1986, Dokes was arrested in Las Vegas for cocaine trafficking and served two years’ probation.

In 2000, he was sentenced to 10 years in jail after pleading guilty to attempted murder, second-degree kidnapping and intent to commit sexual assault against his girlfriend. He was released in 2008.

It might be awhile before LeGarrette Blount or rookie Doug Martin is declared the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ starting tailback.

Coach Greg Schiano doesn’t see any urgency on that front.

Developing a running game is a top priority for the new head coach of a team that ran the ball fewer than 22 times per game last season, the least of any NFL team.

The Bucs traded into the first round to draft Martin, a quick and compact running back out of Boise State. That sent a message to Blount, who came to camp with his job on the line after losing five fumbles last season and experiencing a big dropoff from his 1,007-yard performance of 2010.

Schiano sent a message in the spring about the kind of offense he intends to run, first by drafting Martin and then by signing All-Pro guard Carl Nicks to a five-year contract. To the coach, establishing the ground game is a higher priority than deciding who will carry the football.

Friday, the Bucs beat the Miami Dolphins, 20-7.

As the Miami Dolphins took the field for practice Sunday, Chad Johnson was getting out of jail. Hours later, he was out of work.

The Dolphins terminated the six-time Pro Bowl receiver’s contract about 24 hours after he was arrested in a domestic battery case involving his wife.

Johnson was released from jail on $2,500 bond earlier Sunday after his wife accused him of head-butting her during an argument in front of their home. Johnson was charged with simple domestic battery, a misdemeanor.

The confrontation came barely a month after Johnson married Evelyn Lozada, who is on the reality TV show “Basketball Wives.” The 34-year-old Johnson had been battling for a spot on the team after a disappointing season with the New England Patriots in 2011.

Following Sunday’s practice, coach Joe Philbin said he would meet soon with Johnson.

Only five days earlier, Philbin said Johnson’s roster spot could be in jeopardy if he didn’t temper his freewheeling behavior. Johnson annoyed the coach by frequently using profanity during a session with reporters.

Johnson – who recently changed his name from Chad Ochocinco – was arrested Saturday after Lozada confronted him about a receipt she found for a box of condoms, police said.

According to an arrest affidavit, Lozada said she was taking groceries into their home when she found the receipt in the car trunk.
When the two were seated back in the car, they began talking about the receipt and their marriage. That’s when Johnson got upset and head-butted his wife, the report said.

Lozada ran to a neighbor’s house and called police. A responding officer said Lozada had a 3-inch cut on her forehead, according to the affidavit, while Johnson did not have any visible marks or bruises. When questioned by police, he confirmed there was an argument over the receipt, but said his wife had head-butted him.

American Claressa Shields, a 17-year-old with a megawatt smile, won gold in the 75-kilogram competition with a show of raw strength and aggression against her older Russian rival, Nadezda Torlopova, 33.

It was a win for youth and speed over strength and experience. Shields broke away from Torlopova in the second of four rounds by being faster on her feet.

That approach frustrated Torlopova in the ring.

By the third round, Shields had a five-point lead over Torlopova, and never looked back. Shields overwhelmed the Russian for a final score of 19-12.

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Gabby Douglas is really big in her hometown. Really big and painted on a wall.

The gold-medal-winning gymnast has a giant mural painted in her honor in Virginia Beach. And she loves it.

“WOW!!! This is amazing!! so honored,” Douglas tweeted Friday from the Olympics in London, where the 16-year-old won two gold medals at the Summer Games.

The mural shows Douglas holding a gold medal with an American flag backdrop. It says “Way to go Gabby.”

Brothers Todd and Eric Lindbergh spent four days painting the 9-by-30 foot mural on the outside wall of a sports bar. Todd Lindbergh says he found out that Douglas was from Virginia Beach, and the idea behind the mural came the moment he saw her on television at a medals ceremony.

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is joining NBA legend Michael Jordan and an array of basketball stars to raise money for his re-election campaign later this month.

The Obama campaign is planning a fundraising “shoot-around” and dinner in New York on Aug. 22 featuring several NBA stars, including Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks, Rajon Rondo of the Boston Celtics, John Wall of the Washington Wizards and others. Jordan, who played for the Chicago Bulls, Pres. Obama’s favorite NBA team, and NBA Commissioner David Stern are co-hosting a $20,000-per person fundraising dinner with the president later in the day.

Pres. Obama is a longtime basketball fan who regularly plays pickup games with friends and aides. His campaign held a fundraiser last February at the Orlando-area home of NBA player Vince Carter, who is also involved in the New York events.

The campaign is holding a “shoot-around” with players at New York’s Chelsea Piers sports complex, including Anthony, Rondo, Wall, Paul Pierce, Kyrie Irving, Joe Johnson and former NBA centers Patrick Ewing and Alonzo Mourning. WNBA stars Sheryl Swoopes and Dawn Staley are also participating in the event, which will cost $5,000 for a parent and child or two people to have a “shoot-around skills session” with the players. A $250 donation provides an autograph session with the players.

Pres. Obama’s campaign plans to raffle off the chance for grass-roots supporters to attend the events.

A similar “Obama Classic” basketball event planned for last December was postponed after team owners and players reached a labor deal following a lockout.

Terrell Owens has signed with the Seattle Seahawks after a year out of the NFL.

Owens reportedly signed a one-year deal worth $1 million. He had quite the impressive workout, running a 4.45 in the 40-yard dash.

The last time Owens touched an NFL football field was in 2010 when he was playing with the Cincinnati Bengals. He caught 72 passes for 983 yards and nine touchdowns.

NFL’s Plaxico Burress has to cough up $59,000 in back taxes from his Super Bowl win with the Giants or the state can seize his assets.

Burress was once flying high as a top wide receiver for the New York Giants, earning a reported $25 million on a six-year contract. Suddenly, a career that was soaring high went south quite dramatically.

While Burress played for the New York Jets last season after being released from prison, he has been having a difficult time finding a team that will give him a steady gig.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Dan Roundfield, an NBA veteran who had three consecutive All-Star seasons, has drowned off the Caribbean island of Aruba while helping his wife as she struggled in rough water. He was 59.

Roundfield, who played 11 professional seasons with Indiana, Atlanta, Detroit and Washington, had been swimming with his wife, Bernie, off the southeastern tip of Aruba on

Monday when they became caught in rough water beyond a protected reef area, said John Larmonie, a police spokesman on the southern Caribbean island.

The former All Star was apparently swept away in a strong current as he tried to help his struggling wife, Larmonie said. Police, firefighters, the Coast Guard and volunteers searched for him, finding his body about 90 minutes later, trapped by rocks underwater.