Florida Sentinel Bulletin

David Price likely headed for a car wash after the incident.

Tampa Rays pitcher David Price is 6-foot-6, but even he doesn’t want to tangle with a man in midstream.

The star was attacked by a man he caught peeing on his car after a charity fundraiser Friday night, according to the St. Petersburg Times. The 26-year-old left was not injured, but the man pushed him and threw a wild punch after the pitcher approached him outside the restaurant, where Price had been serving as a celebrity bartender.

“I was relieved with how it turned out,” Price joked later.

Price, 26, followed up his breakthrough 2010 season, in which he won 19 games, with a somewhat disappointing 12-13 season for the Rays. Still, he is considered one of baseball’s top young pitchers. His manager, Joe Maddon, was hosting the charity event at Tampa’s 717 South restaurant and was no doubt glad to see his star avoid any injury at the hands of the unidentified peeing man.

The drama surrounding Chris Paul and the NBA is not just bad news for the New Orleans Hornets on the court. It also could be very bad news for the future of that franchise and other NBA teams in smaller and less attractive markets.

Since a team cannot control a player’s rights once they hit free agency, there’s nothing to stop them from joining up with other stars in big markets and forming super teams. It has become the haves vs. the have-nots.

ORLANDO, FL — Magic CEO Alex Martins says he met with center Dwight Howard and is still holding out hope that the franchise will be able keep him.
Martins made his comments Monday.

Howard can opt out of his current contract in July 2012.

CORVALLIS, Ore. — Oregon State defensive tackle Fred Thompson died Wednesday night after he collapsed while playing basketball at a campus recreation center.

Thompson, just four days shy of his 20th birthday, was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital in Corvallis, where he was pronounced dead.

Thompson, 6-foot-4 and 317 pounds, was a true freshman from Richmond, Calif., who played at Oakland Tech High School.

He was part of the 2010 recruiting class but delayed his enrollment until this January. He spent this season recovering from shoulder surgery and was considered a grayshirt.

Coach Mike Riley was on a recruiting trip, but was expected back at Oregon State on Thursday.

SAN FRANCISO — Federal prosecutors have asked a judge to send former baseball slugger Barry Bonds to prison.

In court documents filed late Thursday, prosecutors objected to a recommendation by a federal probation officer that Bonds get only probation when he’s sentenced for obstruction of justice on Dec. 16.

In the documents, prosecutors asked that Bonds be sentenced to 15 months in prison.

Bonds, 47, was convicted in April of obstructing a grand jury’s sports doping investigation with an evasive answer.

Prosecutors dropped three other counts charging Bonds with making false statements after the jury deadlocked on those charges. They accused Bonds of lying to the grand jury when he denied knowingly taking performance-enhancing drugs and said he allowed only doctors to inject him.

ORLANDO, FL — Whether Dwight Howard winds up parting ways remains to be seen, and Howard said Sunday that he is experiencing a new silence with Magic general manager Otis Smith.

Howard made a formal request to the Magic last week to be traded. While Howard participated in his third training camp practice Sunday, he said he hasn’t spoken with Smith about where the progress of his request stands.

“He hasn’t said anything to me since then,” Howard said.

Asked if it had been complete silence, he again responded: “He hasn’t said anything to me.”

Howard acknowledged for the first time on Saturday that he had asked for the Magic – the only team he’s played for in seven NBA seasons – to trade him. Smith previously granted New Jersey, Dallas and the Los Angeles Lakers permission to talk to Howard’s agent, Dan Fegan, about possible deals.

The All-Star center is eligible to opt out of his current contract in July 2012.

EL SEGUNDO, CA – The Lakers traded forward Lamar Odom and a second-round draft pick to the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday night for a first-round pick and an $8.9 million trade exception, capping Los Angeles’ stunning 72-hour breakup with last season’s Sixth Man of the Year.

The Lakers and Mavericks reached a swift deal after Odom learned Thursday that Los Angeles was attempting to trade him in a megadeal for New Orleans superstar Chris Paul.

After the NBA blocked that trade, Odom declined to report to the Lakers’ opening day of training camp on Friday. Odom then requested a trade in a meeting with general manager Mitch Kupchak, and the Lakers improbably swung a deal with the rival Mavericks, who swept Los Angeles out of the second round of last season’s playoffs.

ATLANTA — Roy Jones Jr. won a 10-round unanimous decision against Max Alexander on Saturday night, snapping a three-match losing streak.

Neither fighter made a big impression, and there were no knockdowns in the fight at the Atlanta Civic Center. But Jones fought the more stylish fight while winning all three judges’ cards: 100-90, 99-91 and 100-90.

The 42-year-old Jones (55-8-1) rarely pressed over the first seven rounds, but put together several combinations in the eighth and 10th rounds to beat Alexander (14-6-1).

THOUSAND OAKS, CA – Greg McLaughlin, the tournament director of the Chevron World Challenge, was standing on the first tee before the start of the final round when he was asked his thoughts on the day.

“I hope Tiger Woods wins today,” he said. “All the proceeds benefit the Tiger Woods Foundation.”

McLaughlin first met Woods 20 years ago and gave him his first PGA Tour sponsor exemption, to the Nissan Open at Riviera, when Woods was 16. McLaughlin now is president of the foundation.

Woods has been giving his Chevron World Challenge earnings to his foundation since the charity event began in 1999. McLaughlin also revealed that

Woods has done the same with money earned from two official PGA Tour events that also benefit the foundation – the Deutsche Bank Championship, which began in 2003; and the AT&T National, which began in 2007.

Woods has won the Chevron five times, Deutsche Bank once and the AT&T National once. After his win Sunday at Sherwood, Woods’ earnings from all three events are now $12,510,777.