Florida Sentinel Bulletin

Savannah Brinson got a chance to show off her new engagement ring, presented to her on bended knee by Miami Heat star, LeBron James on New Year’s Eve.

The occasion: the Miami Heat’s home game against the Charlotte Bobcats. And while the game turned out to be a blowout — the Heat won it 120 to 90, going 5-0 for the late-starting season, Brinson was the one sporting the major ring.

LeBron popped the question during a combination New Year’s Eve – 27th birthday party, with about 50 friends, including some of his teammates, present.

After the big win, LeBron declared his bride-to-be, and longtime girlfriend, “very excited.”

The two are already parents — with two young sons.

Robert Griffin, III, the Baylor quarterback who won the Heisman Trophy, will declare for the NFL Draft.

The deadline to declare for the draft as an underclassmen is Jan. 15. Griffin is a junior.

A decision at this time to pursue the NFL would not be a surprise.

If Griffin does enter the draft, he’ll be a first-round pick and could even force the discussion about whether he should go ahead of Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck.

It has been a dismal 2011 campaign for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. With the drafting of young players on offense and defense, the Bucs came out of the gate with a 4-2 record. However, since their trip to London to face the Chicago Bears, the Bucs have lost 9 straight games, and haven’t been competitive in any of them.

Now, the Bucs will finish their season on the road against the Atlanta Falcons in the Georgia Dome on New Year’s Day. Kickoff will be at 4:15 p. m.

The Bucs can play spoiler by beating the Falcons and eliminating them from playoff contention.

Much talk has surrounded whether or not head coach Raheem Morris will be with the team in 2012, and the Glazers have not issued any statements about the future of their head coach.

Sports analysts have said they feel the shortened season and the youth of the Bucs on defense caught up with them, and they weren’t able to sustain any momentum.

No announcements have been made as to who will take the field Sunday, but Morris has stated more than once that starting quarterback, Josh Freeman will finish out the season.

One glowing light among the Bucs was the announcement that Davin Joseph (pictured) had been selected to the Pro Bowl. This will be his fourth appearance since 2006 when he was drafted in the first round out of Oklahoma.

Jason Pierre-Paul, a former University of South Florida star has been rewarded with his first Pro Bowl selection. Pierre-Paul has recorded 15-1/2 sacks as a defensive end with the New York Giants.

Pierre-Paul was a first-round pick by the Giants in 2010, and played in all 16 games as a rookie finishing his first season with 4-1/2 sacks.

Pierre-Paul was able to take advantage of more playing time this season due to the injuries of Osi Umenyiora and Justin Tuck.

CHARLOTTE, NC — Cam Newton broke Peyton Manning’s rookie record for yards passing in a season and set a franchise record with a 91-yard touchdown pass to Brandon LaFell as the Panthers handed the Bucs their ninth straight defeat, 48-16 on Saturday.

Newton threw for 171 yards and three touchdowns and scored on a remarkable 49-yard run up the middle in which he outraced smaller defensive backs to the end zone.

The Panthers (6-9) scored on eight of their first nine possessions and piled up 397 yards in three quarters against the league’s 30th-ranked defense. Coach Ron Rivera pulled Newton and the other key starters early in the fourth quarter.

DeAngelo Williams scored on runs of 8 and 22 yards, his sixth and seventh of the season, and Jonathan Stewart ran for 88 yards and caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Newton.

MILAN — The Williams sisters want to defend their Olympic doubles title in London next summer.

Serena Williams said Friday that she and sister Venus are eager to go for their third Olympic gold together after victories at the 2000 Sydney and 2008 Beijing Games.

First up, the sisters will play an exhibition match in Milan on Saturday against Italian duo Francesca Schiavone and Flavia Pennetta.

“We’re the defending champion and we want to defend our title and I don’t see why we wouldn’t,” Serena said of the London Games. The sisters were unable to defend their title in Athens 2004 after Serena injured her knee.

NEW YORK  — NBA fans seem more excited about basketball’s return than bitter about the lockout based on television ratings for the league’s delayed openers.

The five Christmas games Sunday averaged 6.2 million viewers based on fast national ratings, up from 6 million last year.

The Bulls-Lakers matchup was the third most-watched regular-season game ever on ABC, behind only last year’s highly anticipated Heat-Lakers showdown and another meeting between Miami and LA in 2004.

Although the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have had one of their most disappointing seasons, the consensus has been to keep head coach Raheem Morris.

There have been many published reports and callers on sports radio shows who are screaming for Morris to be kicked out, but there is also a large contingent who feel he should stay.

One suggestion out there is for the organization to bring in a defensive coordinator to reduce a lot of Raheem’s responsibilities.

The 2010 season was one of promise for the Bucs and Morris, and the team finished with a 10-6 record, barely missing the playoffs. However this season has been a disaster with the Bucs ranked 31st in the NFL in points allowed, and no team has given up more rushing touchdowns.

Most insiders believe Morris had to deal with a shortened season due to the lockout, and with a team full of rookies, the learning curve was shortened dramatically.

It is believed that if Morris is given a full season to work with his young players, especially the ones on defense, the Bucs will quickly turn things around.

Former Buccaneer head coach, Tony Dungy, has gone on record as saying replacing the head coach is not always the right thing to do, because in most cases, he’s not the reason the team is underachieving.

There will be some changes with the Bucs, and if Morris can either win their remaining games against the Panthers and Falcons, or make the team perform competitively, it may be just enough to secure his return for the 2012 season.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Aqib Talib has been placed on injured reserve with a sore right hamstring that sidelined him much of the past three games.

The team announced the move Monday, two days after Talib was able to play only one series during a 31-15 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. Defensive tackle Jovan Haye was signed to fill the roster opening.