Florida Sentinel Bulletin

Joyce Grendel, an 18-year-old girl high school senior from Ohio recently tweeted at NFL cornerback Joe Haden. Grendel’s only request was that the football star take her to the senior prom after her date bailed on her at the last minute. To Grendel’s surprise, the Cleveland Browns player agreed and picked her up in his white Lamborghini, admitting that he too was nervous about the evening.

Haden never got to attend his own senior prom.

Tampa Bay defensive end Da’Quan Bowers has torn his right Achilles tendon during an offseason workout and will undergo surgery.

The second-year pro out of Clemson was a second-round pick in the 2011 draft. He started six of his 16 games as a rookie, finishing with 25 tackles.

Bowers was injured at the team’s practice facility on Thursday.

Also, the Bucs announced undrafted college free-agent quarterback Jordan Jefferson was released.

CLEVELAND — Cleveland’s smooth, playmaking point guard, Kyrie Irving has been chosen as the NBA’s Rookie of the Year.

Irving’s selection is hardly a surprise since the 20-year-old led all first-year players in scoring — 18.5 points per game — and renewed hope for Cleveland’s franchise. He’ll receive the award Tuesday.

Irving is the second Cavaliers player to win the award, joining LeBron James in 2004.

Irving’s is the final postseason award to be announced by the league.

Irving recently treated himself to a postseason vacation in the Bahamas. In June, he’s expected to play on the Cavs summer league team in Las Vegas and will be part of a U.S. Select Team which will train against the American Olympic team going to the London Games.

ORCHARD PARK, NY – The Buffalo Bills have agreed to a one-year contract to sign free agent quarterback Vince Young, providing them an established backup and a bona fide threat in their wildcat formations.

It is reported that the contract is worth $2 million with another $1 million available in playing-time bonuses.

Listed at 6-foot-5 and 232 pounds, Young has a strong arm and also presents dual threat as a runner, a combination that has the potential of complementing head coach Chan Gailey’s offensive attack.

General manager Buddy Nix said the addition of Young will create more competition at the backup spot behind starter Ryan Fitzpatrick. Young will compete with returning backup Tyler Thigpen for the No. 2 position.
Overall, he has a 31-19 record in 50 career starts, with 8,964 yards passing and 1,459 yards rushing. He’s thrown for 46 touchdowns while throwing 51 interceptions. He also has 12 touchdowns rushing.

MADRID – A fired-up Serena Williams sent out a warning to the young pretenders of women’s tennis when she powered to a crushing 6-1 6-3 victory over world number one Victoria Azarenka to win the Madrid Open on Sunday.

The 30-year-old former number one, seeded ninth at the premier clay event in the Spanish capital, extended her winning streak to 13 matches and looks to be coming into top form right on time for the French Open starting later this month.

“I belong on a tennis court and that’s where I feel amazing,” she added.

During his recent appearance on Dr. Phil, receiver Terrell Owens said that he has squandered most of the $80 million he has earned while playing pro football.

Owens now says he didn’t squander $80 million.

Appearing on 790 The Zone in Atlanta, Owens said that he isn’t broke, and that the suggestion that he lost $80 million was “skewed.”

“I’m not broke,” Owens said.  “My broke, for the normal person, is not their broke.”

“My circumstances have changed,” Owens said.  “That means I don’t make the same amount of money that I used to make.  With my financial situation, people are asking how did I blow $60 million or $80 million?  Those numbers are skewed.  If you just kind of factor in the numbers of what I made and how many years I’ve played.  Other than that, I don’t know what else to say…. I’m not an extravagant living-type person.  I didn’t blow my money.  My money was stolen and mismanaged.”

He still wants to return to the NFL, but he stopped short of claiming that he has been blackballed. “To say I’m blackballed, that’s a strong topic,” Owens said. “I really don’t want to take it there.  My thing is, just let me have an opportunity to go out on my own terms…  I know I can still play.”

BY LEON B. CREWS
Sentinel Staff Writer

In 1971 when Howard W. Blake and G.S. Middleton ended decades of being Hillsborough County’s top two African American high schools, Middleton head football coach, Alonzo Ashwood, was only 3.

Coach Ashwood grew up in Ybor City before his family moved to West Tampa, and said he feels connected to the history of both schools. “I know about the history of those two programs, and I’d like to see them return to the days of glory they had before desegregation.”

When Coach Ashwood arrived at Middleton in 2011, he immediately set out to recapture that spirit and glory by launching an effort called the Tiger Club.

“It’s starting to come along fine, and I’ve talked with Coach Billy Reed and Fred Hearns, as well as members of what would have been the 1972 class, Ralph Kyles, Alfred Pyles and Ron Peterson just to name a few.

‘I’ve attended their meetings, as well as meetings with the 1959 graduating class, and all of them are excited about what we’re trying to do.”

Coach Ashwood said the group gave him some ideas on how to make things better at Middleton when it comes to school spirit.

“I know when we start winning, we know the support will come. What’s more important to me is how my guys are improving in the classroom.

“When I arrived here, there were 12 guys determined to be ineligible to play because of their grades. That number is down to 6, and I’m working on getting it down to zero.”

Coach Ashwood said right now, 10 people are members of the club, and he expects that number to go up. “My goal is to create unit within the Tiger community, and bring back some of that old school spirit.

“I want the Blake-/Middleton game to be the extravaganza it was before desegregation. I might not have been a part of that rivalry then, but I’ve been told about the games at Phillips Field, and how passionate the two schools were about those contests.”

Among the benefits a member of the Tiger Club gets is free admission to games, photo identification, refreshments, a tee-shirt, and much more.

Coach Ashwood said anyone seeking more information about the Tiger Club, e-mail him at aashwood32@yahoo.com or just go on Facebook to Middleton Tigers.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers decided they needed to take a long look at former Louisiana State University quarterback, Jordan Jefferson. He showed enough at minicamp to be offered a contract with the Bucs.

Jefferson had been considered on the edge as an NFL talent. He  ranked 315th out of the 315 players rated by NFL.com at the league’s scouting combine in February.

But the Bucs see some brilliance in Jefferson, a 6’5”, 233 pound former team captain at LSU, and report he has an NFL-caliber arm.

First-year head coach, Greg Schiano said he feels there’s a lot of upside with Jefferson, and they are going to work with him and just take it from there.

Before the national championship game, Jefferson threw for 684 yards and six touchdowns, but looked out of place against Alabama, completing 11 of 17 for 53 yards and an interception. He went undrafted and unsigned as a college free agent.

It wasn’t until the Bucs invited him to Tampa for a tryout at their rookie minicamp last weekend that Jefferson got a chance to prove he can play in the NFL.

He made the most of the opportunity and warranted a contract and an extended look through the summer.

Former NFL receiver Cris Carter recently admitted to putting “bounties” on opposing players during his playing career.

Carter says he did it for protection and also admits paying bounties for teammates of his while a player on the Minnesota Vikings in the late 90s. This supports the idea that bounties have been part of the game for decades prior to the actions of the New Orleans Saints.

“I’m guilty of it,” Carter said. “It’s the first time I’ve ever admitted it. But I put a bounty on guys before. I put bounties on guys. And the guys tried to take me out; if a guy tried to take a cheap shot on me, I’d put a bounty on him, right now.”

Carter also provided great insight regarding the concussion issue.