Florida Sentinel Bulletin

ESPN The Magazine has a column about Michael Vick this week that features the Pro Bowl quarterback as a white man, while asking the question what if Michael Vick was white.

Author Toure penned the piece to discuss the race and class issues surrounding Michael Vick’s story, but has claimed he asked ESPN to not use the picture of Michael Vick.

Toure says that picture is both inappropriate and undermines his entire premise, which is that Vick’s story is not possible without all of the circumstances (race, class, community, family) that have made up his life.

LOS ANGELES — Ron Artest’s bid to become Metta World Peace has been delayed.

A Los Angeles court commissioner delayed ruling on a name change petition by the Lakers forward until Sept. 16.

Superior Court spokeswoman Elizabeth Martinez says the court cited Artest’s outstanding traffic warrants as the reason for the delay.

Artest did not apper in court Friday and his attorney Jill Rubin declined to comment after hearing of the judge’s decision.

The 31-year-old Artest had been counting on the name change to go through, announcing on Twitter Thursday night that he was planning a celebratory barbecue.

TORONTO — David Price blew away the Blue Jays.

Price struck out a franchise-record 14 in seven dominant innings, Desmond Jennings hit a pair of solo home runs and the Tampa Bay Rays beat Toronto 12-0 on Sunday.

“Hitting is hard enough already,” Rays catcher John Jaso said. “What David brought today made it pretty much impossible.”

It wasn’t just Price’s stuff, but a stiff wind blowing out to center field that made him so effective, giving his fastball extraordinary movement.

“I’ve never had that much movement before so it was pretty cool,” Price said. “The wind kept blowing and it was making my eyes watery all game. I knew it was blowing pretty good and I just kept throwing it.”

Price quickly matched his career high, striking out 12 through five innings. The left-hander didn’t fan anyone in the sixth, but finished his outing with two more strikeouts in the seventh, matching and then passing Kazmir (2007) and Shields (2011) for the Rays’ record.

According to Tampa Bay Buccaneer head coach Raheem Morris, his starters will see extended playing time when the Bucs face the Miami Dolphins Saturday night in their third preseason game.

The final preseason game will be September 1st at Washington, and that game is traditionally turned over to backups and undrafted free agents trying to make the final roster.

Bucs starters were pulled out early in the second quarter of their contest against the New England Patriots, who scored on four of their first five possessions on their way to a 31-14 victory at Raymond James Stadium.

The Bucs got good news with the return of cornerback Myron Lewis and defensive tackle Brian Price, who both practiced with the team Tuesday.

Morris also said they are on schedule to have tight end Kellen Winslow and wide receiver Arrelious Benn play Saturday. Benn is coming off knee surgery.

Saturday’s game will begin at 7:30 p.m. at Raymond James Stadium.

According to a source, as of Wednesday, 1,661 tickets are still available.

According to the MEAC 2011 football broadcast schedule, the Rattlers of Florida A&M University will make 5 TV appearances. Three appearances will be on ESPN brand networks.

Their television debut will be on Thursday, September 8, 2011, against Hampton (VA) University in Hampton on ESPNU. The Rattlers will face the Bulls of the

University of South Florida Sept. 17th in Tampa on the Brighthouse Network.

The team will take on Southern University in the Atlanta Football Classic on the Versus Network on Sept. 24th. The Rattlers will return to ESPNU on October 22nd to take on the Bulldogs of South Carolina State in Orangeburg.

The Rattlers close out the regular season against Bethune-Cookman University in the Florida Classic in Orlando. The game will be broadcast on ESPN Classic.

WASHINGTON — NFL defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth has pleaded no contest to a charge of simple assault to resolve a case in which he was accused of touching the breast of a waitress at a Washington hotel.

Haynesworth appeared Monday in D.C. Superior Court to enter the plea. Haynesworth had been scheduled to go to trial Tuesday on a misdemeanor charge of sexual abuse.

If convicted of the sexual abuse charge, he had faced up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000. But the plea resolves the case as long as Haynesworth stays out of trouble for the next 18 months.

The charge stemmed from a visit to the W Hotel in February.

Haynesworth was traded recently to the New England Patriots from the Washington Redskins.

Oklahoma City Thunder star, Kevin Durant is on the verge of finalizing a deal to star in a major Warner Bros. film.

The film, which has a basketball subplot, has not yet been named, but it’s scheduled to go into production in mid-September, according to sources. Filming location for the feature-length picture has been narrowed to Oklahoma City and Baton Rouge, La.

Neither Durant nor his representatives could be reached for comment.

The film, however, will mark the biggest off-the-court venture Durant has undertaken in his four-year pro basketball career. It also will solidify Durant’s growing status as a superstar.

WEST LINN, Ore. — Police have searched the Oregon home of Memphis Grizzlies forward Zach Randolph to investigate the alleged assault of a man selling marijuana.

The alleged victim tells police that Randolph was not involved in the beating.

The victim tells police he went to Randolph’s home early Saturday morning to sell marijuana. He says at least three people beat him using a pool cue following a dispute over the price of drugs.

The victim was treated for head and face injuries and released from a hospital.

Police say Randolph was in his suburban Portland home at the time of the beating. Rhodes says evidence from the home backs up the victim’s allegations.

Tampa Bay head coach Raheem Morris will treat the third game of the preseason differently than the others. For starters, he actually will game plan for the third game.

Morris is confident the Bucs will play better Saturday against the Miami Dolphins than they did last Thursday in a 31-14 loss to the New England Patriots at Raymond James Stadium.

The Bucs didn’t game plan for the quick-snap offense the Patriots used or their blitz-heavy defense. Morris said that was the biggest reason the Patriots almost ran his team out of their own building.