Florida Sentinel Bulletin

Christopher Moorhouse, a Detroit Red Wings fan plead guilty to engaging in a prohibited activity and was fined $200 for throwing a banana at an African American hockey player during a game in London, Ontario.

In a pre-season game between the Detroit Red Wings and the Philadelphia Flyers, Moorhouse threw a banana at Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds, while Simmonds was trying to score.

Moorhouse, who was charged with engaging in a prohibited activity, could have been hit with a more serious offense or even a hate crime.

NEW YORK— Barry Larkin was elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame on Monday with plenty of room to spare.
The former Cincinnati Reds shortstop was chosen on 495 of 573 ballots (86 percent) in voting announced by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

Larkin was on the ballot for the third time after falling 75 votes short last year.

He will be inducted July 22 in Cooperstown along with the late Ron Santo, elected last month by the Veterans Committee. “I am so humbled by the experience and so excited about being the newest member of the Hall of Fame,” Larkin said on a conference call.

NEW ORLEANS — The Alabama defense took no chances in the rematch.

When Jordan Jefferson dropped back to pass, he was swept under by a tide of crimson. When the LSU quarterback took off running, he must’ve felt like Alabama had a few extra players on the field.

Courtney Upshaw, Dont’a Hightower and Co. sure made it seem that way.

With a smothering display of old-school football, the No. 2 Crimson Tide blew out the top-ranked Tigers 21-0 in the BCS championship game Monday night.
Coach Nick Saban’s Tide also moved into the top spot in the final Associated Press poll for the eighth time, tying Notre Dame for the most of any team in college football.

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward has two years and $4 million left on his contract, but word came Monday that his teammates were thinking that the 35-year-old, four-time Pro Bowler was ready to hang up his cleats.

By day’s end on Monday, though, Ward had posted on his Facebook page that he wasn’t going to end his career with the Steelers’ disappointing loss to the Denver Broncos in the first round of the playoffs. The former “Dancing with the Stars” champ will be back next year.

Coaches benched Steelers safety Ryan Clark this week due to fear of the complications that he faced last time he played in Denver, which included life-threatening illness.

Four years ago, the combination of Clark’s sickle cell trait and Denver’s high altitude caused organ damage, and surgeons had to remove his spleen and gallbladder.

One in 12 African-Americans has sickle cell trait. However, having the trait rarely causes such extreme illness.

Sickle cell trait is different from sickle cell disease. Usually people with the trait have no symptoms and live normal lives without worry. Having sickle cell trait means a person has only one copy of the sickle cell gene. Those with the disease inherit two copies — one from each parent.

With sickle cell disease, red blood cells become sticky and look like a C-shaped farm tool called a “sickle” during times of bodily stress. Weather changes, illness, dehydration, low oxygen and high altitude are all triggers.

Sickle cells block arteries, causing severe pain throughout the body. Because sickled red cells die quicker, those with the disease have anemia. Sickle cell disease also raises the risk of infection, stroke and vision loss.

Since Denver is a mile above sea level, the low oxygen caused Clark’s cells to sickle, damaging organs, including his spleen.

This level of severity is unusual since he only has the trait, making the case that sickle cell trait may not be as benign as once thought. Sickle cell trait has also been highlighted in the media recently for its link to sudden cardiac death.

The biological mechanism is unclear. But, scientists know that rigorous athletic activity in athletes with sickle cell trait in intense heat, while dehydrated or without appropriate conditioning raises the risk of sudden death.

PITTSBURGH – The Pittsburgh Steelers’ potentially long road through the AFC playoffs won’t include running back Rashard Mendenhall.

Mendenhall tore the ACL in his right knee in Sunday’s 13-9 win in Cleveland and will require surgery, knocking him out of the postseason.

Mendenhall sustained the injury late in the first quarter while getting tackled following a 5-yard gain. The team’s leading rusher clutched the knee immediately and had to be helped off the field. He was on crutches following the game and coach Mike Tomlin indicated Mendenhall would at least miss this weekend’s Wild Card game against Denver.

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.