Florida Sentinel Bulletin

NEWTOWN SQUARE, PA. — Tiger Woods is using crutches and wearing a protective boot on his left leg to make sure he’s healthy enough to play the U. S. Open.

Woods doubts he’ll play the Memorial next week in Dublin, Ohio, but expects he’ll be “ready to go” for the U. S. Open June 16-19 at Congressional.

Woods is counting on proper treatment and rehab. He is bothered by pain in his left knee, left Achilles’ tendon, tightening in his calf, and sore lower back. He says doctors have not mentioned leg surgery.

“I’ve had four surgeries on it,” Woods said. “Obviously, it’s not what it was when I was little.”

Woods said he’ll start training by the end of next week. How his leg responds will determine when he can start hitting balls again – all but ruling out the Memorial.

LOS ANGELES — Hines Ward rode Steeler Nation to another championship Tuesday night: the Mirror Ball trophy in Season 12 of ABC’s Dancing With the Stars.

The All-Pro wide receiver beamed his trademark smile as he hoisted the glittering globe with dance partner Kym Johnson amid a stream of confetti and whoops from Terrible Towel-waving fans in the studio audience. In that audience was Emmitt Smith, the only other NFL player to win the trophy. Ward dedicated his last dance Tuesday to his mom, Kim Young-hee, and kissed her (and waved a Steelers Terrible Towel) afterward.

With a committed partner by his side (Johnson sustained a serious injury two weeks before the finale, causing her to wear a neck brace during semifinals rehearsals), Ward topped actress Kirstie Alley and Disney star Chelsea Kane.
It’s phenomenal,” Ward said after the show. “I’m not going to apologize for winning. I didn’t want to let Kym down all season — I wanted her to win a second Mirror Ball. (She won with Donny Osmond in Season 9). I hope I represented well.”

And he vowed to do a “tribute” to her — an end-zone dance — after every touchdown he scores next season.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers receiver Micheal Spurlock believes he is fortunate despite being part of the current NFL lockout.

Spurlock lives in Mississippi, a state that has been hit by the floods from the Mississippi River. Spurlock, however, is happy his home and family have not been victimized by the rising water.

Spurlock is from Indian-ola, located in the Mississippi Delta in the northwest section of the state.

“It’s a blessing that none of my family has been affected by it. They have been getting a lot of rain, but nothing serious,” Spurlock said when reached by phone on Thursday. “They’ve had tornadoes nearby, but the only thing that has hit them has been the rain and wind.

“It’s a blessing and a curse because a lot of other families have been losing their houses and a lot of things because of the flood. Directly, I haven’t been affected, but indirectly a lot of people working at casinos have been affected. I have a friend that lives in Greenville (Miss.) and works at the casino (Harlow’s) and he’s supposed to be laid off for six months. Indirectly, I’ve been affected.”

Spurlock said he was in Tampa two weeks ago working out with quarterback Josh Freeman, but returned home to his family.

Spurlock said he has been working out individually each day at home and preparing for the lockout to eventually end.

“I’ve been in it long enough and I know what it takes to keep my body in shape,” Spurlock said. “Even without catching the football, running routes, I’ve been working on little things. I’ve done a little running. My cardio is fine.”

Wrestling legend Randy “Macho Man” Savage died in a hospital on Friday, from injuries he sustained after he lost control of his Jeep Wrangler and crashed it into a tree in Pinellas County.

He was 58.

Savage, whose real name is Randy Mario Poffo, is the son of wrestler Angelo Poffo and brother to Lanny “The Genius” Poffo, also a wrestler.

He is survived by his wife Barbara L Poffo, 56, who made it through the crash with minor injuries.

Police reports said the couple was wearing seatbelts when the accident occurred.

One of the most flamboyant personalities in wrestling, Savage made a name for himself in the 80s with his unique nickname Macho Man, catchphrase “Oooh, Yeah!” and over-the-top sense of style.

MIAMI — Chris Bosh has fought the perception all year. He’s the third wheel, the forgotten star, the one who would never shine alongside LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.

The Miami Heat never saw it that way. This was why.

Bosh made 13 of his final 15 shots on the way to a 34-point night, James finished with 22 points and 10 assists, and the Heat remained unbeaten at home in the postseason by beating the Chicago Bulls 96-85 in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals on Sunday.

A 9-0 run in the fourth quarter helped Miami pull away for good and grab a 2-1 lead in the series.

“C-B had it going,” James said. “And when we have someone going on our team, we continue to give the ball to him and continue to feed off their energy offensively. And he brought it home for us tonight.”

Game 4 is Tuesday in Miami.

Wade added 17 points and nine rebounds for Miami, which is 7-0 at home in the playoffs and handed the team that finished with the NBA’s best record its first losing streak since Feb. 5-7. Udonis Haslem sealed it with a jumper with 1:29 left, putting Miami up 93-84.

MIAMI — James Shields shook his head in frustration after allowing a walk with two outs in the ninth inning, upset that he might not get to finish a game that he dominated.

Allowed to continue by Manager Joe Maddon, Shields completed his gem with style.

Shields finished off a three-hitter by striking out Gaby Sanchez to set a new career best with 13 strikeouts, and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Florida Marlins 4-0 Sunday to avoid a three-game sweep.

“I think I put a little stress on Joe right there by walking that guy, but he let me go out there and I commend him for that,” Shields said. “I wanted to finish it real bad.”

The record will reflect that 46-year-old Bernard Hopkins became the oldest world champion in boxing history Saturday night, thoroughly dominating Jean Pascal for the light heavyweight title in a unanimous decision.

But the agate type will only tell half the story.

Hopkins not only outpointed, outboxed and outthought the younger champion, but he pulled it off with nearly every intangible breaking against him.

He did it in Pascal’s hometown, before a hostile sellout crowd of 17,560 at Montreal’s Bell Centre, where many observers thought it’d be nearly impossible for him to win a decision.

He did it despite not one, but two potentially fatal missed knockdown calls by referee Ian John-Lewis, who failed to see when Pascal’s glove brushed the canvas in the ninth and 10th rounds.

ATLANTA — Boxing great Oscar De La Hoya has entered himself into a California rehabilitation clinic.

De La Hoya entered the clinic for “substances abuse issues” and had begun rehabilitation sometime within the past few weeks.

In a statement De La Hoya said: “After doing an honest evaluation of myself, I recognize that there are certain issues that I need to work on. Like everyone, I have my flaws, and I do not want to be one of those people that is afraid to admit and address those flaws.”

One of the greatest boxers in history, De La Hoya won 10 world titles in six weight classes and owns a career record of 39-6, with his final bout resulting in a loss to Manny Pacquaio in 2008. Upon retirement, De La Hoya started Golden Boy Promotions and several other out-of-ring ventures.

Throughout his life and career, De La Hoya said he met all challenges “head-on,” and promises this one to not be any different.

“I am confident that with the support of my family and friends, I will become a stronger, healthier person. I ask for respect and privacy as my family and I go through this process.”

When Mike Tyson was at the top of his boxing career the focus was always on his devastating punches, not his footwork.

However, now Iron Mike is showing he has the steps, on the Argentine version of Dancing With The Stars, while partnering with his wife.

Although he may not move as well as Muhammad Ali, Mike shows us that he’s still got some moves.