Florida Sentinel Bulletin

Almost a week after the NFL pointed to them for failing to stop a bounty program involving some two dozen Saints players, coach Sean Payton and general manager Mickey Loomis apologized and took the blame for violations that “happened under our watch.”

“These are serious violations and we understand the negative impact it has had on our game,” Payton and Loomis added. “Both of us have made it clear within our organization that this will never happen again, and make that same promise to the NFL and most importantly to all of our fans,” Payton and Loomis said in a joint statement Tuesday.

An on-campus party turned ugly over the weekend at the University of Arizona. According to the college’s student newspaper, four Arizona football players were arrested on charges of trespassing and assault.

Per police reports, sophomore cornerback, Jourdon Grandon, sophomore offensive tackle, Fabbians Ebbele and sophomore offensive lineman, Eric Bender-Ramsay (pictured) were arrested and charged with criminal trespassing in the first degree and assault.

INDIANAPOLIS  — Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts ended their successful partnership with a tearful goodbye Wednesday, when team owner Jim Irsay released the star quarterback rather than pay a whopping $28 million bonus while there are lingering questions about his health.

“We all know that nothing lasts forever,” Manning said. “Times change, circumstances change, and that’s the reality of playing in the NFL.”

Manning and Irsay each paused frequently, fighting tears and their voices shaking, as they appeared together at a news conference at the Colts’ team complex.

BOSTON  — Nine more men are accusing a now-dead Boston Red Sox clubhouse manager of sexual abuse, including assaults at Fenway Park and Memorial Stadium, former home of the Baltimore Orioles.

Attorney Mitchell Garabedian said 11 men have now come forward to him to claim abuse by Donald Fitzpatrick between the 1960s and early 1990s.

Ten of the men worked in their teens as clubhouse attendants, including eight who worked for the Red Sox and two for the Orioles. Another man says he was 12 when Fitzpatrick lured him to his Randolph home with promises of baseball memorabilia, then molested him.

Ron Shelton, a former Orioles attendant, said Fitzpatrick molested him twice, the first time after cornering him in an equipment room in 1990 at Memorial Stadium.

Fitzpatrick, who died in 2005, resigned from the Red Sox in 1991 after the first of the charges against him. In 2002, he pleaded guilty to attempted sexual battery on a child under 12. The Red Sox have also settled a lawsuit by seven Florida men who claimed Fitzpatrick abused them.

NEW YORK  — No better place for Gabby Douglas to have a coming out party than Madison Square Garden.

Oozing class, confidence and some serious star power, the 16-year-old upstaged world gymnastics champion Jordyn Wieber on Saturday by posting the highest score at the American Cup.

The London Olympics are less than five months away, and Douglas’ emergence is further sign that the Americans might have their deepest — and most dangerous — team yet.

Wieber was the official winner Saturday, giving her a second straight American Cup title and third overall. Fellow American Aly Raisman was second.

CHARLOTTE, NC  — For a few minutes Friday, First Lady Michelle Obama turned the hardwood floor at the Time Warner Arena into an elementary school gym.
Mrs. Obama was in North Carolina for two Democratic Party events in Raleigh and Charlotte.

But before those fundraisers, she promoted the “Let’s Move!” fitness program with children from two Charlotte elementary schools. It took place after the first women’s basketball game at the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association basketball tournament.

Mrs. Obama walked to midcourt and addressed the crowd about her national anti-obesity campaign. She touted basketball as a way to keep active. “We need them to be the next generation to handle challenges,” she said.

She promised she wouldn’t talk long because “we’re going to be moving around.”

“There’s no better way than basketball to illustrate the point (of staying healthy.) We are a basketball family and my husband is a crazy fanatic about basketball,” she said.

Mrs. Obama and Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C., then took part as students from two Charlotte elementary schools competed in a relay. After the students ran the length of the court and jumped rope, Mrs. Obama and Hagan tossed them basketballs so they could take shots. Afterward, Mrs. Obama hugged some of the children to cheers from the crowd attending the conference tournament.

NEW YORK — The NFL’s investigation that found the New Orleans Saints paid bounties to players for knocking opponents out of games is far from over.

League spokesman Greg Aiello said in an email the NFL will be “addressing the issues raised as part of our responsibility to protect player safety and the integrity of the game.”

Those issues could include previous seasons, too.

Several players around the league have said the Saints and defensive coordinator Gregg Williams weren’t the only ones with such a system. Former Redskins safety Matt Bowen said Williams had a similar bounty scheme when he was in Washington.

Aiello said the league would not comment on other reports. He added that the NFL will look at “any relevant info regarding rules being broken,” saying that is “standard procedure.”

Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh insisted Sunday his team had no bounty program.

BALTIMORE — Ray Rice has been designated the franchise player of the Baltimore Ravens, who hope to buy some time while negotiating a lengthy deal for the two-time Pro Bowl running back.

Rice’s contract expired after a season in which he amassed an NFL-best 2,068 yards from scrimmage and helped the Ravens advance to the AFC championship game.

As a franchise running back, Rice will earn $7.7 million in 2012. Baltimore, however, intends to have him around a lot longer.

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers continued their offseason roster purge Friday, announcing veteran linebacker James Farrior and defensive end Aaron Smith will be released before the next league year begins March 13.

Farrior and Smith served as the backbone of a defense that led the franchise to two Super Bowl titles and three AFC championships over the last decade, a period in which the Steelers defense finished ranked in the top 10 in the league every season.

The duo join wide receiver Hines Ward and guard Chris Kemoeatu, who were told earlier this week they also will be cut as the team addresses salary cap concerns and an aging roster, particularly on defense. Nose tackle Chris Hoke retired in January due to lingering neck problems.