Florida Sentinel Bulletin

SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco 49ers added another member of last season’s Super Bowl-champion New York Giants on Wednesday, agreeing to terms with veteran running back, Brandon Jacobs on a one-year contract.

Jacobs was released March 9 by the Giants after he failed to reach agreement on a restructured deal.

He is expected to play behind Frank Gore and could share the backup role with second-year pro Kendall Hunter.

Jacobs spent seven seasons with New York, winning two Super Bowls and beating the 49ers 20-17 in overtime of the NFC championship game at Candlestick Park on Jan. 22.

MIAMI — Dwyane Wade and LeBron James were only a few miles away from Trayvon Martin on Feb. 26, participating in the NBA All-Star game on the night the unarmed black teenager wearing a hooded sweatshirt was shot to death by a neighborhood crime-watch volunteer.

They never knew the teenager, but on Friday they decided it was time to speak out – as did many others around the NBA.

Wade posted a photo of himself from a previous photo shoot wearing a hooded shirt, otherwise known as a hoodie, to his Twitter and Facebook pages on Friday morning.

A couple hours later, James posted another photo – this one of 13 Heat players, all wearing team-logo hoodies, their heads bowed, their hands stuffed into their pockets. The photo was taken at the team hotel, and Heat coach Erik Spoelstra called it “a powerful statement.”

“As a father, this hits home,” said Wade, who has 10- and 4-year-old sons.

Among the hashtags James linked to the team photo: “WeWantJustice.” The National Basketball Players Association issued a statement saying it was saddened and horrified by the killing, demanded an arrest and accused the police department in Sanford, Fla. – where Martin was shot – of “racial bias.”

“It really is a tragic story,” Spoelstra said. “And the more you learn about it, the more confused you get.”

Former Buc QB Josh Johsnon will be reuniting with his former college coach, Jim Harbaugh, for the 2012 NFL season as Johnson has just signed a two-year deal with the San Francisco 49ers.

Johnson played for Harbaugh at the University of San Diego where he set the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision record for passing efficiency. Johnson played his first four seasons in the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and will now reunite with Harbaugh in San Francisco.

The 49ers still have Alex Smith on the team so it isn’t clear what role Johnson will have on the time.

Niners general manager Trent Baalke, said: “Josh is a promising young player that has experience in our offensive system. He is a skilled athlete with good arm talent. Josh has shown promise in limited action, both as a backup and starter at the NFL level. We are pleased to add him to our team.”

Bert Sugar, who was as much a part of the fight racket over the past 50 years as the boxers he loved to cover, died Sunday at a hospital in Mount Kisko, N.Y., of cardiac arrest, following a long battle with cancer.

Sugar, 75, was never seen anywhere without his fedora and his large stogie. He often wore brightly colored clothes, particularly loud pants, and was easily recognizable in any crowd. He loved boxing and was a throwback to an era when it was one of the three biggest sports in the country, along with baseball and horse racing.

In addition to loving boxing, he loved talking about it and helping others to understand its history. He was a regular on talk radio shows around the country and had worked for HBO Sports in recent years promoting pay-per-view cards by doing a series of interviews.

New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton will lose more than $5.8 million as a result of his suspension by the NFL, sources said Friday.

A league official says Payton’s suspension ends after the Super Bowl, Feb. 3, 2013 in New Orleans. That means his suspension, which begins April 1, will run just more than 10 months.

Payton’s yearly salary, according to the sources, is $7 million.

Former NBA All-Star, Allen Iverson, has signed a one month contract with a basketball team in the Dominican Republic.

Milton Nunez, club president of the Pueblo Nuevo team said that the 36-year-old point guard was due to arrive in D.R. on Sunday (March 25th) and will be playing in a game the same day.

NEW ORLEANS, LA – The New Orleans Saints’ crush-for-cash bounty system already cost them head coach Sean Payton for all of next season and general manager Mickey Loomis for half of it, plus two second-round draft picks and a $500,000 fine.

Former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, who oversaw and contributed money to the illegal fund, was suspended indefinitely.

NFL Network analyst Warren Sapp says he’s “heard” who the whistle-blower in the Saints bounty case is.

When a Twitter follower of the former NFL player guessed Jeremy Shockey, Sapp responded, “BINGO!”

Shockey, a former tight end in New Orleans from 2008-2010, would have witnessed the first two years of the bounty program under def. coordinator Gregg Williams which paid defensive players for harming opponents.

Shockey responded incredulously to Sapp’s tweet: “really?? Wow did I also have something to do with the um scandal?”

Sapp was originally critical of the unidentified Saints’ “snitch” when the NFL released its findings in early March. Falcons wide receiver Roddy White expressed a similar sentiment in a tweet Wednesday: “By the way y’all got a lot of snitches in your locker room and organization no loyalty”

Shockey is now a free agent after spending a season in Carolina. Both players attended the University of Miami, and Sapp spent 13 years in the league before retiring in 2007.

MIAMI  — Quarterback David Garrard signed a one-year contract Monday with the Miami Dolphins and said he was told he’ll be given a shot at the starting job.

He’s not sure yet who else will be part of the competition, though.

The Dolphins reached agreement with the former Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback after failed courtships with Peyton Manning and Matt Flynn. They also hosted San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith for a visit Sunday and may still consider signing him.

The 34-year-old Garrard, a starter for Jacksonville from 2005-10, didn’t play last season. He was released five days before the opener by the Jaguars, and Miami courted him last year after quarterback Chad Henne’s season was ended by a shoulder injury.