Florida Sentinel Bulletin

WIMBLEDON, England — Serena Williams is back, and she looks almost as good as ever.

The 30-year-old American won her fifth Wimbledon title Saturday on Centre Court, beating Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 to claim her 14th major championship.

“It’s been an unbelievable journey for me,” said Williams, who has battled health issues since winning the 2010 Wimbledon title. “I felt amazing out there. This whole tournament I felt really great physically. So I think it’s definitely the beginning of something great. I hope it is.”

After hitting a backhand winner on match point, she fell onto her back to the grass. She then rose with a grin as big sister Venus — another five-time Wimbledon champion — smiled and applauded, along with the rest of the crowd.

After shaking hands with Radwanska, Williams climbed into the box where her family was seated. She hugged her father, Venus, their mother and others.

Williams Sisters Take Doubles Title
Sisters Venus and Serena Williams captured their fifth Wimbledon doubles crown after beating the partnership of Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic, 7-5, 6-4, Saturday at the All-England Club.

The Williams sisters have now won 13 major doubles title since forging a partnership in 1999.

They have the third-most Grand Slam doubles titles among all teams in the Open Era.

MIAMI — Ray Allen lingered on the court for a bit after his Boston Celtics lost Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals to the Miami Heat last month, shaking hands and offering congratulations.

A few minutes later, Allen made a vow about his future. ‘’There’s still a lot of basketball left in my legs,’‘ he said.

The Heat apparently were listening, apparently agree – and will soon officially welcome Allen to their club.

Allen told the Heat on Friday night that he intends to accept their contract offer and leave Boston after five seasons, even though the Celtics could have paid him about twice as much as the reigning NBA champions will be able to next season. Miami could only offer Allen the mini mid-level, worth about $3 million a year.

Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson tweeted a pair of brief responses on Sunday to the news that he was arrested on Saturday and spent the night in jail.

Shortly after that, he tweeted: “Thank you for waiting for the facts. Truth will surface.”

According to reports, Peterson was arrested early Saturday at a Houston nightclub for resisting arrest. He spent the rest of the night in jail and was released on a $1,000 .

A police spokesman said that Peterson allegedly pushed an off-duty police officer who was working security.

Peterson is recovering from reconstructive knee surgery and hopes to be ready to play in the season-opener.

LOS ANGELES — New murder charges filed against former Oakland and Los Angeles Raiders lineman Anthony Wayne Smith claim two brothers and another man were kidnapped and robbed before they were killed.

A criminal complaint filed earlier this week in Los Angeles charges Smith with three additional counts of murder with special circumstances, making him eligible for the death penalty.

Smith is currently awaiting retrial in the 2008 murder of Maurilio Pence. A jury failed to reach a verdict in April.

Smith was charged with the November 1999 slayings of brothers Kevin and Ricky Nettles and the 2001 death of Dennis Henderson.

A phone message left for defense attorney Michael Evans was not immediately returned Friday.

Smith was a defensive end with Oakland and later the Los Angeles Raiders from 1991 to 1998.

The unprecedented Olympic team runoff between Allyson Felix and Jeneba Tarmoh is off.

Tarmoh withdrew from the scheduled two-woman race hours before it was to be aired live in primetime during NBC’s coverage of Olympic trials. The women tied for third in last week’s 100 meters and needed a runoff to determine who would represent the United States in the upcoming London Olympics.

Tarmoh wanted to concede her spot on Sunday, but was told to sleep on the decision by the USA Track and Field officials whose incompetence led to this controversial process. Her agent said Monday that she will not run.

Tarmoh thought she earned the spot immediately after last week’s race. A closer review by the photo official determined that the two had actually tied for the final spot on the team with a time of 11.068.

Because U.S. track had no contingency plan for such a tie, things quickly delved into chaos.

SAN JOSE, Calif.  — Now that she’s on her way to the Olympics, Gabby Douglas has a new goal.

“I’m hoping I can catch an accent,” she said. “I’ve always wanted an accent.”

The 16-year-old whose “Flying Squirrel” nickname might be the only thing more appealing than her personality. Douglas upset world champion Jordyn Wieber to win the Olympic trials Sunday night.

Led by the 1-2 punch of Douglas and Wieber, this will be the strongest team the Americans have had since 1996, one that will be not just favored, but is expected to bring home only the second Olympic team gold.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Eric Wright was arrested in Los Angeles on Monday for driving under the influence after police said he was involved in a crash near Staples Center.

The incident occurred several blocks away from the Staples Center when the Mercedes SLS that Wright was driving rear-ended a pickup truck. The driver of the truck had unspecified injuries.

Wright, who wasn’t injured, refused to take sobriety tests, authorities said. He was booked for investigation of felony DUI and bail was set at $100,000. It was not immediately known if he had posted bail.

NEW YORK — Deron Williams is moving to Brooklyn with the Nets, instead of back home to Dallas.

The All-Star point guard said on his Twitter page Tuesday night that he ”made a very tough decision today” and posted a picture of the Nets’ new team logo that accompanies their move from New Jersey to Brooklyn.

A person with knowledge of the decision said Williams told the team he was accepting their five-year contract worth $98 million. The person confirmed the agreement on condition of anonymity because contracts can’t be signed until July 11.

Williams, the top free agent available, chose to stay with the Nets over signing with the Mavericks, who hoped they could convince him to come back to the area where he grew up.

Magic Johnson‘s Atlanta-based cable network, “Aspire,” recently debuted.

The network, which will focus on family programming, has partnered with Atlanta-based GMC, which carries its own positive programming. Magic will be the majority owner. He also inked several advertising deals with Coca Cola, L’Oreal, Chrysler, Wal-Mart and Nationwide Insurance.

Magic said that his move to launch the network stems from sound business relationships and a commitment to projecting positive images of the Black community.

“I’m a great believer in partnerships,” Johnson said. “If I didn’t partner with GMC, I wouldn’t be in the business. We needed someone with some expertise. I thought it was a natural fit.” The name of the network, he added, is meant to reflect the positivity he hopes will come out of the programming.

Though the market is full of choices for Black audience, Magic says there is a void to be filled in regards to family-friendly African-American programming.