Florida Sentinel Bulletin

LAS VEGAS –  Manny Pacquiao was taken to the limit Saturday night before escaping with a majority decision win over Juan Manuel Marquez in their welterweight title fight.

Pacquiao won on two scorecards, while the third ringside judge had it a draw. It was a narrow escape for the Filipino congressman, who took as much punishment as he got over 12 rounds.

The third fight between the two was as close as the previous two, and by the time they finished 12 rounds the outcome was still in doubt. Pacquiao won some rounds with sheer aggression, while Marquez won others with brilliant counter-punching, keeping Pacquiao from getting inside.

VALENCIA, Venezuela – His eyes tearing up with emotion, Washington Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos embraced his rescuers Saturday and said he had wondered whether he would survive a two-day kidnapping ordeal that ended when commandos swept into his captors’ mountain hideout. Ramos said that he was thankful to be alive.

The authorities were still searching for at least four Colombian men who escaped during the rescue, Tareck El Aissami said.

Ramos, 24, was seized at gunpoint outside his family’s home Wednesday night and whisked away in an SUV. It was the first known kidnapping of a Major League Baseball player in Venezuela. El Aissami said investigators’ first break in the case came when they found the kidnappers’ stolen SUV.

Once investigators thought they had found the general area where Ramos might be, President Hugo Chavez personally authorized an aerial search mission and teams also set out on foot in the mountainous area, El Aissami said. He said the teams searched most of the day on Friday and finally came upon the remote house where Ramos was being held.

The two-day search involved about 200 police and National Guard troops as well as helicopters.

Stephon Marbury has been surprisingly on point. All the way back in January, for example, the former NBA All-Star now playing in China was one of the first to publicly predict that the NBA players would “cave.” 10 months later, the National Basketball Players Association has reportedly offered billions of dollars worth of concessions without obtaining a single improvement to the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Marbury took to Twitter to address another lockout hot topic: NBA legend and current Charlotte Bobcats owner Michael Jordan’s role as a hard-liner in these negotiations.
Marbury, as per usual, minced no words: Micheal Fake Jordan is a sell out. #Period. He forgot which hole he came out of. I said it “Stephon X Marbury.

ST. LOUIS — Illinois linebacker Trulon Henry will miss the rest of the regular season after he was shot in the hand during a shooting at a large house party near campus hours.

Coach Ron Zook said on Sunday the incident happened after the slumping Illinois lost their fourth game in a row.

Henry had surgery Sunday to repair the injury.

Henry was not attending the gathering but – “being the leader that he is” – only went to there to clear out the other players after learning the get-together was “getting a little crazy,” Zook said.

The loss of Henry – a 27-year-old senior and two-year starter who last year played safety – could compound the troubles for Illinois (6-4, 2-4 Big Ten). Illinois lost 31-14 to Michigan on Saturday.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers football team were in the Big Easy Sunday to face the New Orleans Saints, but it appeared whatever they needed to win the game was left in Tampa. Lackluster wouldn’t come close to describing the Bucs 27-16 loss Sunday in the Super Dome.

This was the third loss in four games for the Bucs who are now 4-4 and looking up at the Saints and Atlanta Falcons. Even the Carolina Panthers are starting to make a push.

The Bucs will stay at home this Sunday, and welcome the Houston Texans in a 1 p. m. kickoff game.

Gerald McCoy, who just returned to the lineup after sitting out a few games, was lost for the season with an arm injury.

PHILADELPHIA  — Joe Frazier, the former heavyweight champion who handed Muhammad Ali his first defeat, yet had to live forever in his shadow, died Monday night after a brief  fight with liver cancer. He was 67.

The family issued a release confirming the boxer’s death.

Frazier, who took on Ali in three momentous fights in the 1970s — including the epic “Thrilla in Manilla” — had been under home hospice care after being diagnosed just weeks ago with the cancer that took his life, a family friend said. Until then, Frazier had been doing regular autograph appearances, including one in Las Vegas in September.

Floyd Mayweather Offers To Pay For Joe Frazier’s Funeral

The death of boxing great Joe Frazier on Monday night has touched millions, including a deep admirer of the sport’s history, unbeaten world welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr.

On Twitter late Tuesday after hearing of Frazier’s death, Mayweather tweeted, “My condolences go out to the family of the late great Joe Frazier. #TheMoneyTeam will pay for his Funeral services.”

Mayweather has committed to such a gesture before, earlier this year paying for the funeral of a one-time opponent, Southland former world champion Genaro Hernandez.

Frazier, who died at 67 of liver cancer, had struggled financially after his boxing career ended. He made public appearances to earn income.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – In a massive shakeup, Penn State football coach Joe Paterno and school president Graham Spanier were fired Wednesday night by the board of trustees amid the growing furor over how the school handled child sex abuse allegations against an assistant coach.

The longtime coach, the winningest in major college football, was ousted at the end of day that began with his announcement to retire at end of the season, his 46th.

After hearing news of the firing, Paterno released a statement, saying: “I am disappointed with the Board of Trustees’ decision, but I have to accept it. A tragedy occurred, and we all have to have patience to let the legal process proceed. I appreciate the outpouring of support but want to emphasize that everyone should remain calm and please respect the university, its property and all that we value.”

Tiger Woods took the high road in making his first public comments about his former caddie, Steve Williams.

“Stevie’s certainly not a racist, there’s no doubt about that,” Woods said in a packed press conference. “It was a comment that definitely shouldn’t have been made, and he certainly regrets that comment.”

Woods said he and Williams met face-to-face in Sydney, Williams apologized and the two shook hands.

The former world No. 1 was seemingly the last person to comment on the inflammatory insult that stunned many.

“My aim was to shove it up that black a———,” Williams said.

Although the event was billed as a bawdy roast in which all comments would be off the record, the racial comment—made into a microphone on stage, and in front of several players, media and others—made its way around the world quickly.

“It was hurtful, certainly,” Woods said. “But you know, life goes on.”

As for their relationship in the future, he added, “We’ll see what time does. As we all know time heals all wounds.”

LINDEN, N.J. — Santonio Holmes overcame sickle cell to become a Super Bowl MVP and one of the NFL’s best wide receivers.

Watching his young son, Santonio III, suffer with the disease has the New York Jets receiver determined to try to help find a cure. Holmes raised nearly $34,000 for Sickle Cell Anemia research with a charity bowling event Monday night attended by dozens of teammates, including Mark Sanchez and coach Rex Ryan.