Florida Sentinel Bulletin

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.”

ARLINGTON, Texas — Derek Jeter has set a major league record for the most games played at shortstop for one team.

Jeter played in his 2,303rd game at shortstop for the New York Yankees on Saturday night at Texas. It was his 2,324th career game overall since his major league debut in 1995.

Cal Ripken Jr. played in 2,302 games at shortstop during 21 seasons for Baltimore.

Only three players have played more games at shortstop than Jeter and Ripken, all playing for multiple teams.

SAN FRANCISCO – The Say Hey Kid is as popular as ever.

The San Francisco Giants honored Willie Mays on his 80th birthday Friday night with a ceremony befitting a baseball legend, complete with a celebratory letter from President Barack Obama and a video tribute that included everyone from Commissioner Bud Selig to singer Tony Bennett.

Mays was driven on a golf cart from center field to the mound and received a roaring standing ovation from a sellout crowd of more than 42,000 at AT&T Park. At one point during the montage, Mays was wiping his face and pulling down his old Giants cap.

“I’m just so happy,’” said Mays, wearing a black coat over a sharp gray suit, white shirt and orange tie on a chilly night by the bay. “When you have people like you guys to come out and cheer for me, it’s just a wonderful, wonderful feeling.”

The video shown on the center-field scoreboard before the Giants rallied to beat the Colorado Rockies 4-3 in the opener of a three-game series highlighted the Hall of Famer’s career. It also included birthday wishes from Hank Aaron, Bill Cosby and former President Bill Clinton.

Home Run King Barry Bonds, the godson of Mays, had a seperate video played after the fifth inning thanking Mays for his guidance over the years. Bonds, fresh off a federal perjury trial in which a jury convicted him on one count of obstruction of justice, said it has been “an honor for me and my family to be a part of your life.”

BY LEON B. CREWS
Sentinel Staff Writer

Last week, former University of South Florida defensive end, George Selvie (currently with the St. Louis Rams), joined his former Bulls teammate, Richard Clebert (#71 with the Tampa Bay Storm).

The two met at Tampa Park at the invitation of Clebert who is president of the Tampa Park Titans Youth Football Team.

Selvie spoke to the players, motivating them to never give up on their dreams and never allow anyone to tell them what they can or cannot do.

Selvie talked to the kids about his own experiences coming out of high school, and how he had only one Division I scholarship offer, and that was to USF.

“It was in my heart to prove to everyone who passed up on me that I could play Division I football.”

At USF, Selvie broke all the defensive line records and made All-American all four years he played at USF. He was later drafted in the seventh round by the St. Louis Rams.

“If I had left my sophomore or junior year, I would have been a top ten pick,” said Selvie. “But, I chose to stay in school and do what I promised my mother I’d do, and that’s graduate.”

Selvie told the kids that money will always be there and for them to make sure they get their education and listen to their parents.