Florida Sentinel Bulletin

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Lakers have debuted a public-service announcement at Staples Center in response to Kobe Bryant’s anti-gay slur.

Bryant and four teammates appeared in the PSA released during the second quarter of Wednesday night’s playoff game against the New Orleans Hornets.

The Lakers speak out about respecting different kinds of people in the world, with Bryant noting that words can be hurtful in regard to sexual orientation.

Bryant was fined $100,000 by the NBA for using a common homophobic slur in frustration over a referee’s call. The Lakers agreed to work with the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation after Bryant’s apology.

NEW YORK — The percentage of black players in Major League Baseball dropped again on opening day this year even as the league again received a top overall grade for racial diversity.
MLB’s grade for gender hiring declined slightly, according to the annual study released.

MLB received an A for racial diversity, the same grade as last year, and a B-minus for gender, down from a B. Its overall grade remained a B-plus.

The percentage of Black players dropped to 8.5 percent on opening day this year, down from 10 percent at the start of last season and its lowest level since 2007. The percentage of Latino players dropped from 28.4 percent to 27 percent — MLB’s lowest since 1999’s 26 percent.

TRENTON, NJ — Nine-time Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis should be allowed to continue his bid for the New Jersey Senate because Republicans have failed to prove he doesn’t live in the state, a judge ruled Wednesday.

Administrative Law Judge John Schuster, III recommended that a petition to strip Lewis’ name from the June primary ballot be dismissed.

The judge cautioned that he had not found that Lewis, among the greatest athletes of all time, had attained residency status — only that the challengers didn’t meet the burden of proof that he lives elsewhere.

Lewis, who as a track star in the 1980s and ‘90s was noted for his blistering pace and dominance of the long jump and 100-meter dash, is a Democrat making his first run for elected office. Republicans challenged his bid to run in the primary by claiming he had not lived in the state the required four years.

The judge, who heard the case only a day before he issued his nonbinding decision, said the time constraints prohibited a record from being fully developed. That could be significant as his initial decision on Lewis’ political future is forwarded to Republican Secretary of State Kim Guadagno, who’s required to adopt, modify or reject it by Thursday’s deadline.

Pictured: Former Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis, right, gets a hug and kiss from his mother, Evelyn Lewis after he announced his candidacy for a New Jersey state Senate seat in the 8th Legislative District

One of Miami’s superstar couples may have said “I do.” But Chris Bosh, the groom in question, says he didn’t. At least not yet. The gossip website TMZ.com reported that Heat forward

Bosh, 27, married his fiance, Adrienne Williams, 26, on April 9.

The website tweeted out the news Saturday morning. A purported marriage license posted on the website says the couple was married by a member of the clergy in Miami Beach.

PHILADELPHIA — The sweep for the Heat was 95 seconds away. Miami held a six-point lead, had The Big Three on the court and a bevy of clutch plays behind them.

All the 76ers had was their unwavering belief.

When they told Doug Collins in the huddle late in the game, “We’re going back to Miami,” his reply was a simple one.

“I’ll be there with you,” said Collins, the Sixers coach.

Lou Williams proved the Sixers right, hitting the go-ahead 3-pointer from the top of the arc over a lunging Dwyane Wade with 8.1 seconds left that lifted Philadelphia to an 86-82 win over the Heat on Sunday and avoided a sweep.

NEW YORK — Veteran marketing executive Laurel J. Richie was hired to lead the WNBA on Thursday, becoming the league’s third president as it enters its 15th season.

Richie brings more than three decades of experience in consumer marketing, corporate branding, public relations and corporate management, NBA commissioner David Stern said.

She has worked for Ogilvy and Mather, and served most recently as senior vice president and chief marketing officer for Girl Scouts of the USA. She replaces Donna Orender, who resigned in December.

BY LEON B. CREWS
Sentinel Staff Writer

On April 23, 2011, the Young Lions Youth Organization and the Police Athletic League will host their 8th annual Basketball and Life Skills Camp.

The camp will be held at the Bob Martinez Sports Center on North Boulevard. Dexter Bryant, Sr., along with George Kimble, will be camp directors.

This year’s camp will have some of the county’s best coaches in Adrian Johnson (head basketball coach at Tampa Bay Vo-Tech), Andre Lewis (head boys coach at Strawberry Crest), Curtis Folsom (Middleton Girl’s basketball coach), Coach Debbie Wilburn of Girls In Motion, and the Young Lions coaching staff, headed by Zethro Monts and Nathalee Monts.

“This year, for the first time we will have camp honorees,” said Bryant.

“Our honorees will be Zethro Months, Nathalee Months, and Henry Boone. The Monts have been serving the kids of Young Lions for over 13 years. They have given so much of their time to the Young Lions and we want everyone to know how much they mean to this organization.”

Also, Henry Boone will be present. Boone is at Florida A&M University, but comes back to help at the camp every year.

Abe Brown Ministries will be there to do the life skills, and Bryant said they are looking for a great time at this year’s camp.

The camp is free to ages 5 to 18 years old.

To reach Dexter Bryant, call (813) 368-9640.

BY IRIS B. HOLTON
Sentinel City Editor

When Reginald Burke, Sr. (pictured, right), moved to Tampa, he took stock of his new surroundings. And, one of the first things he discovered was, that there was not much attention focused on young African American students wishing to play basketball.

“I was shocked. The kids are not getting the looks they should from scouts and we have some very talented kids in Hillsborough County. I noticed there were no gyms in certain areas where the kids could practice and many of the parents can’t afford to pay recreation fees. I felt there were a lot of things that could be changed,” Burke said.

He met Armwood High School Coach Benjamin Bromley (pictured, left), and the two set about creating an atmosphere to encourage youngsters interested in the sport.

That was the beginning of the Bay Area Hurricanes. Formed in 2006, Bromley is the Head Coach and Burke is an Assistant Coach. The goal of the organization is to produce student athletes to play on a college level.

“We are very concerned why this county is looked over for its basketball talent. We currently have 6 All-County or All-Conference players that have also produced in the classroom. These students are from various high schools and have no other help besides the AAU Coaches and a few high school coaches to help get them to college on scholarships,” Bromley said.

Burke, who has prior experience with the AAU for the D. C. Ballers team, is a native of Buffalo, New York. He said that while they have found some sponsors in the community, (such as the owner of Beef O’Brady’s in Seffner) the organization is largely non-funded. They hold  fundraisers to help supply the needs of the team.

The Bay Area Hurricanes are currently working with high school boys, ages 14-17. They are currently working on a 13-year-old and under group, as well as an 11-year-old and under group.

Burke stated that they hope to have a girls’ league in the future, but it’s difficult to find girl leagues.

“I’m not focused on basketball. I’m focused on life experience. I want them to enjoy college, get a degree, and then if everything falls into place that’s great.”

The Bay Area Hurricanes currently have 6 seniors who are eligible for college. Those seniors are: Chris Smith, Matt Dennis, Ryan Bethony, Jamal Evans, Zak Bradley, and Reggie Burke, Jr.

Last week, Reggie Burke, Jr., became the first Strawberry Crest High School basketball player to sign a national letter of intent with the College of Coastal Georgia, in Brunswick, Georgia.

BY LEON B. CREWS
Sentinel Staff Writer

Emin Perry grew up in Tampa, and was a pretty good football player at King High school. As a matter of fact, he was so good, he got a chance to take his game to college, attending Virginia Union University and later Concord University in West Virginia.

But, it wouldn’t be football that would define Perry’s future. It would be martial arts and boxing. Perry said he’s always loved the way boxers moved in the ring.

“I really loved watching Muhammad Ali, because he was so graceful the way he moved. That’s when I thought about getting into boxing, but I didn’t like the idea of being hit, so I took a step back for a minute. I started training in Mu Thai and that got me in shape for boxing.”

Last year at the age of 26, Perry decided to get more serious about boxing. The father of two started doing a lot of running, lifting, and other conditioning exercises.

Perry signed up with USA Boxing, and had five amateur fights, winning them all, and scoring one knockout.

Perry entered the state Golden Gloves Tournament in the heavyweight division, and won three fights in three days to become the Florida Super-Heavyweight Golden Gloves Champion. The tournament was held in Port Charlotte.

Perry, now 27, said he’s anticipating turning pro in boxing and Mu Thai.

“I wish I had the experience to get into the Olympics. I’d love to represent my country, but I just haven’t had enough fights as an amateur.”

Perry has a Mu Thai fight scheduled for May 28th and says after that, he’ll get his corner-man, Ricky Tomlinson, and the rest of his people to decide when to turn professional.