Florida Sentinel Bulletin

It started early Saturday when Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward was arrested in Georgia on drunk driving charges. Later that day, Ward’s manager said that not only did Ward “cooperate fully with the police and truthfully answered all of their questions … From our preliminary investigation we can tell you that we are confident that the facts will show that Hines was NOT impaired by alcohol while driving.”

Whatever legal fate awaits Ward, it didn’t take long for Ravens running back Ray Rice to share his thoughts on the matter, tweeting Saturday: “Well it looks like Hines Ward will miss week 1 when the lockout ends DUI charge not a good look.”

As it turns out, the Steelers face the Ravens in Baltimore in Week 1.

Looks like someone was paying attention when Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade tweeted “Any1 hiring?” at the start of the NBA lockout earlier this month.

Besides Turkish basketball teams and balloon artist booking agents, fried chicken chain KFC has inquired about the Heat guard’s services should the NBA lockout cut into the 2011-2012 regular season.

KFC U.S. General Manager John Cywinski sent Wade an open letter Monday, offering him to return to the chicken chain where he worked before he became an NBA star.

LAS VEGAS — NFL football player Adam “Pacman” Jones might face up to a year in jail in Nevada for violating a probation stay-out-of-trouble order following his weekend arrest in Cincinnati, the top prosecutor in Las Vegas said Monday.

Clark County District Attorney David Roger said that before he takes the case to a Nevada judge, he’ll review police accounts of the arrest of the 27-year-old Cincinnati Bengals cornerback on resisting arrest and misdemeanor disorderly conduct charges at an Ohio bar.

Jones was sentenced to one year of probation in February for his role in a 2007 Las Vegas strip club melee that left three people shot.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A lawyer says NFL star Terrell Owens has paid the child support he owes, so the mother of the child is dropping her attempt to hold him in contempt of court.

Melanie Paige Smith had filed court papers on June 20 in Atlanta, saying the wide receiver had refused to pay the full $5,000 a month he owes.

Her lawyer, Randall Kessler, has now filed court papers to dismiss the request that Owens be held in contempt. The court documents state that Owens has paid child support for June and July. Kessler said Monday that’s he’s glad the matter has been resolved.

Owens, from Alexander City, Ala., is a free agent and can’t sign with a team until the NFL lockout is resolved.

Ronde Barber’s twin, former Giants RB Tiki Barber, told USA Today the Bucs and Steelers are on his “short list” of teams for which he wants to play as he returns from retirement.

How realistic is it that the Barbers could be reunited in Tampa Bay? “It was an entertaining thought four or five years ago,” Ronde said. “I don’t know how realistic it is now. I’ve not had a chance to talk to (GM) Mark (Dominik) or Raheem about it.

Maybe the situation would be a little different under different circumstances. But I know he wants to go somewhere where he feels like he’s wanted.

When the 49ers hired Jim Harbaugh as head coach, there was plenty of talk that the 49ers would look to acquire Buccaneers quarterback Josh Johnson, who had played for Harbaugh at the University of San Diego.

With his path in Tampa Bay blocked by 2009 first-round pick Josh Freeman, Johnson, an Oakland native, would welcome a return to both Harbaugh and his native Bay Area.

“I’d get to go home, be with my family, play for a coach that changed my life and play for a team that I grew up loving,” Johnson said on Thursday. “But reality of the situation is this is a business and we’re all seeing it with this lockout. So I’m a part of the Buccaneers and I have one year left.”

Johnson is scheduled to earn $596,833 in base salary in the final season on his four-year, $1.877 million rookie contract.

After sitting his rookie season, Johnson started four games in 2009, completing 63-of-125 pass attempts for 685 yards with four touchdowns and eight interceptions. As the No. 2 quarterback behind Freeman in 2010, Johnson completed 14-of-16 attempts for 111 yards, and has added 187 yards on 26 attempts over the 2009 and 2010 seasons.

DECATUR, GA — Pittsburgh Steelers star wide receiver Hines Ward was arrested early Saturday in Georgia on a drunken driving charge, sheriff’s officials said.

The former Super Bowl MVP and reigning “Dancing With the Stars” champ was booked into the DeKalb County jail just outside Atlanta at 3:41 a.m. and charged with driving under the influence. A jail official said he was released on $1,300 bond, though the sheriff’s office website said his bond was set at $1,000. The discrepancy couldn’t be immediately resolved Saturday.

Since being drafted in the third round out of Georgia in 1998, the 35-year-old Ward has been a four-time Pro Bowl selection and won two Super Bowls.

Dancing with professional partner Kym Johnson, Ward in May became the second professional football player to win the “Dancing” crown after Emmitt Smith won in 2006. He bested actresses Kirstie Alley and Chelsea Kane to become the season 12 champion of the TV celebrity dance competition.

BALTIMORE — John Mackey, a Hall of Fame former player for the Baltimore Colts who had battled with dementia, has died. He was 69.

Chad Steele, a spokes-man for the Baltimore Ravens, said Thursday that Mackey’s wife had notified the team about her husband’s death.

Mackey played for the Baltimore Colts from 1963 to 1971. He also played for the San Diego Chargers in 1972. He caught 331 passes for 5,236 yards and 38 touchdowns in a 10-season career.

A NFL labor agreement ratified in 2006 includes the so-called “88 plan,” named for Mackey’s number, 88. It provides up to $88,000 a year for nursing care or day care for ex-players with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, or $50,000 for home care.

CINCINNATI  — Bengals cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones was arrested Sunday in Cincinnati on misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct while intoxicated and resisting arrest, adding to the list of off-the-field troubles that have marred his career.

The 27-year-old Jones was jailed around 3 a.m. and released later in the morning. Cincinnati media outlets reported documents filed in court accuse Jones of being disorderly and shouting profanities in a downtown bar and trying to pull away as officers arrested him.

Jones denied the allegations in an interview.

“I just had surgery, so why would I be resisting arrest?” said Jones, who was wearing a neck brace. He’s been recovering from a neck injury last fall that required surgery, but he was expecting to play this year.

He said he hadn’t been drinking and was out with his wife to celebrate her birthday.