Florida Sentinel Bulletin

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.

LAS VEGAS — Boxing champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. is a perfect 42-0 in the ring and has dodged significant jail time several times in domestic violence cases in Las Vegas and Michigan.

But his courtroom streak came to an end Wednesday when a Las Vegas judge sentenced him to 90 days in jail after he pleaded guilty to a reduced battery domestic violence charge and no contest to two harassment charges.

The case stemmed from a hair-pulling, punching and arm-twisting argument with his ex-girlfriend Josie Harris while two of their children watched in September 2010.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. will likely turn 35 behind bars. He’ll have time to think about his future and whether it will ever include a fight with Manny Pacquiao.

“Punishment is appropriate,” Justice of the Peace Melissa Saragosa said after a prosecutor complained that Mayweather has been in trouble before and hasn’t faced serious consequences.

“No matter who you are, you have consequences to your actions when they escalate to this level of violence,” she said.

Good behavior could knock several weeks off Mayweather’s sentence, but he will likely serve most of the sentence set to begin Jan. 6, said Officer Bill Cassell, a Las Vegas police spokesman.

Mayweather and his manager, Leonard Ellerbe, declined comment outside the courtroom.

On Monday afternoon Miami Dolphins owner, Steve Ross fired head coach Tony Sparano with three games left in the regular season. The end came after three straight losing season capped by last Sunday’s humiliation 26-10 defeat by the Philadelphia Eagles.

Todd Bowles, the Dolphins assistant coach / secondary coach, will become the team’s interim coach.

Bowles, 48, was a starting safety for the 1987 Washington Redskins team that won Super Bowl XXII 42-10 over the Denver Broncos and had an 8-year NFL career with the Redskins and San Francisco 49ers.

He previously served as the assistant head coach / secondary for the past four seasons taking over in January 2008. Prior to joining the Dolphins, he spent the previous three years as the secondary coach with the Dallas Cowboys.

Bowles was born on November 18, 1963 in Elizabeth, NJ, and is a graduate of Temple University.

He and his wife, Taneka, reside in Parkland. Bowles has a daughter and three sons.

CHICAGO — It seemed like something out of a movie script the moment the Chicago Bulls took Derrick Rose with the No. 1 pick in the draft.
The latest twist? A maximum contract extension.

That’s just another milestone in a rapid and steady rise for the point guard from the city’s South Side to stardom with his hometown team.

The reigning NBA MVP agreed to a five-year contract extension with the Chicago Bulls worth approximately $94 million.