Florida Sentinel Bulletin

PHILADELPHIA — Michael Vick pointed to the scoreboard on his way to the locker room after suffering a concussion, reminding hecklers the Eagles were winning.

Without Vick, Philadelphia couldn’t hold onto the lead and lost 35-31 to the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday night. The Eagles (1-1) may again be without Vick for their home opener against the New York Giants.

Coach Andy Reid didn’t rule out Vick’s return this week, but head athletic trainer Rick Burkholder wouldn’t give a time.

Vick was injured in the third quarter when he was spun around by a defender and slammed into right tackle Todd Herremans. His neck whipped back and he bit his tongue, which led to him spitting blood on his way off the field.

Vick wasn’t woozy and seemed fully alert. He certainly was aware of the score – 31-21 in favor of the Eagles – when he pointed it out to fans in the Georgia Dome on his way in for tests. Vick barely failed those baseline tests, so the medical staff kept him on the sideline.

If a man contacts you and says he is the third-string quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles, be suspicious.

Someone is impersonating Vince Young, according to the agency that represents the veteran NFL quarterback.

“I heard that he has been taking money, taking pictures with little kids at hospitals,” Young said on Monday. “It’s been real sick.”

EAG Sports Management company said in an email that it had become aware of a man posing as the quarterback in the D.C. area. According to EAG Sports Management agency, since June the man was collecting money for appearances as the quarterback, “conning unsuspecting women and some men into believing his scam.”

The impostor struck several times in the past week or so, according to the Vince Young Foundation — the non-profit for which the impostor has said he is taking money.

Looks like Kobe Bryant will be able to get by in the event of an NBA strike, now that an Italian club is offering the guard $600,000 per game.

Bryant who lived in Italy as a youth while his father played pro ball there, would be a huge attraction for Virtus Bologna.

The team’s owner, Claudio Sabatini told an Italian blog of the offer, which would start on Nov. 13 when the Italian League hoops season opens. The deal would have NBA opt out for when the stateside lockout ends.

BY TED TAYLOR

The Rattlers of Florida A & M got a taste of big time college football on Saturday evening in Tampa, but it was not a good taste. The University of South Florida Bulls crushed the Snakes to the tune of 70-17, in Raymond James Stadium before a crowd of 50,128.

USF took the opening kickoff and marched 64 yards in six plays scoring on a 43-yard bomb from quarterback B. J. Daniels to receiver A. J. Love in just 1:46.  From there the romp was on.

USF followed with first quarter touchdowns on runs of 6 yards by running back Darrell Scott and 5 yards by Daniels. Each drive took less than two minutes.

Things finally started to look up for FAMU when quarterback Austin Trainor hit running back Lavante Page on a 4-yard toss.  The key play was a 48-yard interception return by cornerback Devontae Johnson.

USF was not fazed, however, answering quickly on a 56-yard run by Scott.  FAMU scored again on its next drive on a Trainor 32-yarder to receiver Edmund Baker. USF scored 21 unanswered points for a 49-14 halftime lead.

The second half began as the first half ended.  After going nowhere on the opening drive, FAMU saw USF tally again on a run of 30 yards by Scott.  The 56-14 lead was enough for the starters to retire for the evening.  Later in the quarter, Andre Davis blocked and ran in a FAMU punt from 11 yards.

The reserves scored on a 2-yard run by Marcus Shaw. FAMU second-string quarterback freshmen Damien Fleming engineered a drive that led to a 34-yard field goal by Trevor Scott.

FAMU travels to Atlanta next weekend for a battle against Southern University in the Atlanta Classic.  Southern, of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, replaces longtime opponent Tennessee State.

Pictured: The family of the late Lee Roy Selmon participated in the coin toss during Saturday night’s game at Raymond James Stadium. (Photo by Lomax McIntyre)

ATLANTA — Former Washington Wizards guard Javaris Crittenton is back in Atlanta to face a murder charge in a woman’s shooting death.

Crittenton is charged in the death of 22-year-old Julian Jones, a mother of four who was hit by gunfire during a drive-by shooting. Crittenton has denied any involvement in the shooting.

Fulton County sheriff’s spokeswoman Tracy Flanagan says Crittenton arrived Thursday from Los Angeles and is being held at the county jail. She said he’s expected to have a first appearance before a magistrate at 11 a.m. Friday at the jail.

Crittenton was detained at a California airport two weeks ago when he was about to board a flight to Atlanta.

He was suspended from the NBA along with ex-teammate Gilbert Arenas for having guns in a locker room.

LAS VEGAS — In just one round, Floyd Mayweather Jr. got a head butt, a kiss and a hug from Victor Ortiz.

He responded with a right hand that ended a bizarre fight early.

Mayweather remained unbeaten and did it in emphatic fashion Saturday night, stopping Ortiz at 2:59 of the fourth round to take the piece of the welterweight title Ortiz brought into the ring.

The end came just as the two fighters emerged from a break, in which Ortiz had embraced Mayweather in the center of the ring. As they broke, Mayweather shot out a left hand and followed it with a right that put Ortiz down in his corner.

Ortiz struggled to get up as referee Joe Cortez called an end to the fight.

“We touched gloves and we were back to fighting and then I threw the left and right hand after the break,” Mayweather said. “In the ring you have to protect yourself at all times.”

The round was already controversial, as Ortiz appeared to head butt Mayweather intentionally, leading Cortez to take a point away from him. After the head butt, Ortiz went to Mayweather and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Seconds later they were in the center of the ring ready to resume action when two punches ended it quickly.

Mayweather earned $25 million and a portion of the gate which will come out to be $40M. Ortiz made $2.5 million, but will end up with $5M.

NFL star Nnamdi Asomugha distinguishes himself both on and off the field. The Philadelphia Eagles player was featured on The Today Show’s Extra Yard for his passion for helping others.

Dubbed “Senator” by his teammates, Asomugha earned the nickname for the great work that he does within California and other communities across the country. Coming from a family that stressed the importance of education, he started the Asamugha College Tour for Scholars. Each year, 12 students are granted the opportunity to visit universities across the country thanks to the program.

LOS ANGELES — Ron Artest’s bid to become Mr. World Peace was delayed, but not denied.

A court commissioner granted the Lakers forward’s request to officially change his name to Metta World Peace on Friday, three weeks after the bid was blocked because Artest had unpaid traffic tickets.

Artest, 31, did not attend a brief hearing Friday. Superior court spokeswoman Patricia Kelly said that Artest’s new last name will be World Peace.

His publicist, Courtney Barnes, said the player chose Metta because it is a traditional Buddhist word that means loving and kindness toward all.

“Changing my name was meant to inspire and bring youth together all around the world,” World Peace said in a statement released after the hearing. “After this short delay, my tickets have been paid and I’m glad that it is now official.”

He requested the change in June, citing only personal reasons. He is scheduled to appear on the next season of “Dancing With the Stars.”

Although the Tampa Bay Buccaneers opened their 2011 campaign with a 27-20 loss to the Detroit Lions last week, perhaps you can draw some relief in the fact the other three NFC South teams lost their season openers.

This Sunday, the Bucs will hit the road to face Donovan McNabb and the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings also lost their season opener to the San Diego Chargers, 24-17.
Buccaneer head coach, Raheem Morris, was not a happy man after Sunday’s defeat, but remained optimistic that his young team will turn things round.

Last week against the Lions, the Buccaneer offense and defense looked unprepared, although the offense started coming around in the fourth quarter.

Buc quarterback Josh Freeman will be fired up and expects a much better performance form himself and his teammates than last week. Both he and Coach Morris want to see better run blocking so they can take advantage of the bruising style of LeGarrett Blount. They also would like to see the defense do a better job against the run, a problem that has plagued the Bucs for the past two seasons.

This game will be televised and kickoff will be at 1 p. m.