Florida Sentinel Bulletin

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.

INDIANAPOLIS  — The NCAA slammed Penn State for the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse scandal Monday with an unprecedented series of penalties, including a $60 million fine and the loss of all the school’s victories from 1998-2011, knocking Joe Paterno from his spot as major college football’s winningest coach.

Other sanctions include a four-year ban on postseason games that will prevent Penn State from playing for the Big Ten title, the loss of 20 scholarships per year over four years and five years’ probation. The NCAA also said that any current or incoming football players are free to immediately transfer and compete at another school.

NCAA President Mark Emmert announced the staggering sanctions at a news conference in Indianapolis.

Penn State Takes Down Famed Joe Paterno Statue

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — The famed statue of Joe Paterno was taken down from outside the Penn State football stadium Sunday, eliminating a key piece of the iconography surrounding the once-sainted football coach accused of burying child sex abuse allegations against a retired assistant.

Workers lifted the 7-foot-tall statue off its base and used a forklift to move it into Beaver Stadium as the 100 to 150 students watching chanted, “We are Penn State.”

The university announced earlier Sunday that it was taking down the monument in the wake of an investigative report that found the late coach and three other top Penn State administrators concealed sex abuse claims against retired assistant coach Jerry Sandusky.

ASHBURN, Va.  — Robert Griffin, III and the Washington Redskins ended their contract impasse Wednesday when the rookie quarterback signed a four-year, fully guaranteed deal worth $21.1 million. It also includes a club option for a fifth year.

Griffin’s agent, Ben Dogra, said that the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback agreed to terms and will be in Redskins rookie camp on Wednesday.

Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch was charged Wednesday with driving under the influence by the district attorney’s office in Alameda County, Calif.

Teresa Drenick, director of communications for the Alameda County DA, said in an email that the decision was made to charge the Seahawks’ star running back. Lynch has a court date on Aug. 14.

But Lynch’s attorney, Ivan Golde, told The Associated Press later Wednesday that he feels the case could get thrown out or reduced because of discrepancies in blood-alcohol tests.