Florida Sentinel Bulletin

DULUTH, Ga. — Chad Ochocinco now is going to try bull riding.

The Cincinnati Bengals receiver who earlier this year had a tryout with Sporting Kansas City of Major League Soccer, has accepted a challenge from Professional Bull Riders chief operating officer Sean Gleason to ride a bull at the LucasOil Invitational this weekend in Duluth.

Ochocinco will earn $10,000 if he rides a bull. If he can stay aboard for the required eight seconds, the PBR will give Ochocinco a new Ford F-150, as well as allow him to rename the bull.

Gleason says Ochocinco is “a gifted athlete, but bull riding is a much different sport and climbing on the back of a bull in the chutes takes a little more than Twitter confidence, let alone calling for the gate [to open].”

New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush stirred up controversy again Monday with his Twitter account.

“Everybody complaining about the lockout! Shoot I’m making the most of it! Vacation, rest, relaxing, appearances here and there! I’m good!” he wrote. “Right about now we would be slaving in 100 degree heat, practicing twice a day, while putting our bodies at risk for nothing.”

The tweet drew angry responses from many of his 1.6 million followers and prompted Bush to later clarify that he was joking.

“FYI last tweet was a joke! Relax people damn it’s called sense of humor! Cry me a river why don’t you…”

DALLAS – Phil Jackson walked off the court with a tight smile, shaking hands and accepting congratulations like he has after so many series-ending playoff games.

Never like this, though.

His team didn’t win; they were crushed. Swept, too.

And he wasn’t just heading to the offseason – he’s calling it a career, ending the most successful run by any coach in NBA history.

Jason Terry and the Dallas Mavericks ended Jackson’s tenure, and the Lakers’ reign as two-time champions, with a 122-86 victory Sunday. After two tight finishes and another game that was relatively close, the Mavs turned this one into a rout in the second quarter.

Things got ugly early in the fourth quarter, with vicious, frustration-fueled cheap shots by Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum getting them ejected 45 seconds apart.

Pictured: Lakers star Kobe Bryant and coach Phil Jackson talk during Game 4 against the Mavericks on Sunday. Bryant and Jackson won five titles together in Los Angeles.

NEW YORK – Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors has won the Joe Dumars Trophy presented to the NBA player who best exemplifies sportsmanship.

Curry received 88 of a possible 347 first-place votes from fellow players. Luol Deng of the Chicago Bulls was second with 84 votes and Portland’s LaMarcus Aldridge was third with 56.

The NBA announced Thursday it will make a $10,000 donation on behalf of Curry to Habitat For Humanity East Bay, which uses volunteers to build affordable homes for families.

The NBA will donate $5,000 on behalf of each player to a charity of their choice.

PITTSBURGH — The Champion sports apparel company has ended its endorsement deal with Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall over Twitter remarks the player made criticizing people for celebrating the death of Osama bin Laden.

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported Friday that Champion “strongly disagreed” with the tweets and ended a new four-year contract the player recently signed. Mendenhall has endorsed the company’s products since entering the league in 2008.

Mendenhall on Monday questioned the public celebrations of bin Laden’s death, and whether the World Trade Center towers were really brought down on Sept. 11, 2001, only by crashing two hijacked airliners into the buildings.

Mendenhall has since clarified his remarks by saying Americans were insulted when some people celebrated the terrorist attacks masterminded by bin Laden, and that others might view Americans celebrating bin Laden’s death the same way.

If the Glazers plan to spend money when the Bucs are poised to compete for the Super Bowl, now may be the time to break out the doubloons.

The team’s official website points out that up to six of the Buccaneers’ 16 games could be played against rookie quarterbacks.

Of course, this assumes that Christian Ponder will be starting for the Vikings in Week Two, that Colin Kaepernick will be starting for the 49ers in Week Five, that Jake Locker will be starting for the Titans in Week 12, that Cam Newton will be starting for the Panthers in Weeks 13 and 16, and that Blaine Gabbert will be starting for the Jaguars in Week 14.

Five of those same games will be played by the Falcons and Saints.? The only difference is that, instead of the 49ers, the Falcons will play the Seahawks and the Saints will play the Rams.

The end result could be another season in which the NFC South produces three teams with 10 or more wins.

Los Angeles – Los Angeles police say Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver and “Dancing With the Stars” contestant Hines Ward was briefly detained at gunpoint in a mix-up over a reported stolen car, but has been released.

Sgt. Maria Morrison says Hines and a woman friend were stopped in her car at about 1:30 a.m. Thursday in North Hollywood because the woman had reported it stolen.

Morrison says Hines was taken from the car at gunpoint and handcuffed until the woman proved the car was hers. The sergeant says the driver reported the vehicle stolen on April 19 after forgetting where she had parked it. She later found it, but never canceled the report.

Police say Hines was cooperative. The woman’s name wasn’t released, but she isn’t Hines’ partner on “Dancing With the Stars.”

LAS VEGAS – Manny Pacquiao earned an unanimous decision over Sugar Shane Mosley on Saturday night, retaining his WBO welterweight title with his 14th consecutive victory.

Pacquiao (54-3-2) didn’t get the knockout he sought, but the Filipino Congressman kept his spot as boxing’s top pound-for-pound fighter, methodically beating Mosley (46-7-1) at the MGM Grand Garden.

The eight-division champion knocked down Mosley with a right-left combination midway through the third round, just the third knockdown of Mosley’s decorated 18-year career.

The 39-year-old Mosley was credited with a knockdown in the 10th round when he appeared to push Pacquiao while the champion threw a wild punch. Pacquiao finished with ferocity despite scattered boos, keeping Mosley winless in three fights.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield stopped Denmark’s Brian Nielsen on a technical knockout in the 10th round Saturday night.

In the 10th round, the 48-year-old Holyfield pressed Nielson in the corner and the bout was halted after Holyfield landed several jabs in the corner and ‘The Dane’ spat out some blood. Nielsen said after the bout he was hit by Holyfield’s headbutts.

“My goal still is to be the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world,” Holyfield said. “This fight showed other champions what I am able to do, but it also taught me I got to be better. The most important is that I didn’t quit. I am not quitter.”