Florida Sentinel Bulletin

STORRS, Conn. — Kemba Walker powered Connecti-cut to a third national title and in return, the school put the star guard’s name and number on the wall of Gampel Pavilion.

It was a surprise moment during Tuesday’s victory rally before about 7,500 rabid UConn fans who came to the arena to celebrate Monday night’s 53-41 win over Butler, and chanted “Kemba Walker,” and “One more year.”

The junior playmaker, who averaged 23.7 points during the NCAA tournament, cried and pulled his championship hat over his eyes as a drape that covered his banner was pulled away. He became the 14th Connecticut player to join the “Huskies of Honor” wall – the first to receive the honor while he was still in school.

“It’s like a dream come true,” Walker said. “Every kid wants his jersey or his number to be retired and this is pretty special.”

MIAMI — The accused shooter in the 2007 killing of former Washington Redskins star Sean Taylor wants the media barred from a key hearing.

A Miami-Dade County judge set a hearing Wednesday on the request from 20-year-old Eric Rivera, Jr. His attorney contends that an upcoming hearing on what evidence will be allowed could jeopardize Rivera’s chances for a fair trial.

Attorneys for The Miami Herald oppose closing the hearing, arguing there’s no evidence media coverage will automatically taint a potential jury pool.

Rivera is one of five people accused in the killing of Taylor during a botched robbery at his Miami-area home.

Taylor was an All-Pro safety with the Redskins who starred in college at the University of Miami.

A trial in the case is expected later this year.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive lineman Arron Sears was released from jail on Tuesday and will enter an 18-month mental health pretrial intervention program.

Sears, 26, was held in custody for 62 days on a charge of battery on a law enforcement officer. The incident occurred in June at Tampa General Hospital, where Sears was hospitalized under the Baker Act.

After Sears failed to appear for a court hearing, he was found wandering on a busy road in November and arrested on an outstanding warrant. He was released on $2,000 bail.

When Sears missed another court appearance in December, Circuit Judge Kimberly Fernandez issued another warrant. Sears was arrested on Feb. 2 and held without bond until he was released on Tuesday.

Florida center Mike Pouncey visited the Dallas Cowboys’ Valley Ranch facility Wednesday and tweeted that he expects to wear the silver and blue next season.

“Headed back to Pittsburgh … would be shocked if i wasn’t in a dallas uniform next year! The draft is April 28th so we will see … To all the steelers fans I would love to be playing for the steelers and if I had a choice i would but it isn’t my choice,” Pouncey posted on his Twitter account Wednesday.

Pouncey’s twin brother Maurkice, also a center, was drafted by the Steelers in the first round of the 2010 draft.

ST. PETERSBURG – It wasn’t just Rays fans who flocked to Tropicana Field Friday for the Rays season opener against Baltimore.

The festivities of the game were interrupted by angry protests against Gov. Rick Scott that were organized via Facebook and Twitter in the weeks before the game.

“We got wind of this on the Internet,” said Michelle Cairms of Clearwater, a state worker.

Scott threw out the ceremonial first pitch Fridat night at Tropicana Field in downtown St. Petersburg.

Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter took advantage in advance, rousing the public to demonstrate against some of Scott’s more unpopular decisions in his first few months as the state’s chief executive. They include plans for state spending cuts and turning down billions in federal rail funds.

Hundreds of protesters lined the main entrance to the Tropicana Field parking lots on both sides of the street. Throughout the afternoon they chanted “Boo Rick Scott,” which was the stated purpose of the Boo Rick Scott social media campaign by activists.

Some ticketholders to the April 1 game even tried to bring in homemade signs to the stadium denouncing the governor. People also chanted inside the stadium when the governor made the first pitch.

The common denominator voiced by the protesters — who seemed to have different reasons for coming — was plans by Scott to slash different state programs.

Mark Feldman of Port Richey alleged that the governor is a felon and is serving illegally, because of Scott’s former ties to Columbia/HCA, which paid more than $600 million in fines for illegally billing Medicare. Scott was forced to resign as the company’s CEO in 1997 during the federal investigation.

“He is not eligible to even be governor because he is a felon,” Feldman claimed. “He has no right being in office.”

Feldman has been to previous Scott demonstrations and plans to go to future gatherings. As a result, he was not surprised by the size of the group of protestors.

“This is exactly what I thought it would be,” Feldman said. “Every time I come out to one of these, it gets bigger and it will only continue to get bigger.”

Basketball Hall of Famer, NBA analyst and Vice President of the Atlanta Hawks, Dominique Wilkins got into a small altercation after a basketball game Wednesday night.

Rashan S. Michel

After the Hawks beat the Magic, former NBA referee Rashan S. Michel allegedly punched Dominque because he owed him money for suits he made for the ex-All-star.

Michel reportedly hit The Human Highlight Film in the chest and hit a security guard before he was arrested.

According to Michel’s eye, and NBA.com’s Sekou Smith, Wilkins got in three “solid” punches during the brief fight, while his assailant landed none.

Michel, however claimed that he approached Wilkins about the $13,000 that he owes him for the suits and a security guard grabbed him while Wilkins himself swung first.

The 51-year-old is still adding to his highlight reel.

Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon has been advising former Auburn quarterback Cam Newton as he prepares to enter the NFL. And Moon believes that much of the intense scrutiny and criticism that Newton has experienced arises from racism.

Mike Freeman spoke with Moon about Newton. Freeman says that Moon was “extremely angry” regarding the manner in which Newton is being treated.

“A lot of the criticism he’s receiving is unfortunate and racially based,” Moon told Freeman. “I thought we were all past this. I don’t see other quarterbacks in the draft being criticized by the media or fans about their smile or called a phony. He’s being held to different standards from white quarterbacks. I thought we were past all this stuff about African-American quarterbacks, but I guess we’re not.

“Of course there is racism in every walk of society. We’ve made a lot of progress in this country. But racism is still there. I just thought in the sports arena we were beyond it. I think the way Cam is being treated shows we’re not.

The Atlanta Police im-pounded former NBA All-star Allen Iverson’s Lamborghini, after ‘The Answer’ was pulled over for expired tags.

Iverson was riding shotgun in his silver 2009 Lambo when he was pulled over by police who noticed the vehicle had expired dealer’s tags.

Police gave Iverson a ticket and impounded the vehicle before the former NBA scoring champion slipped into a Rolls-Royce, driven by his friends, that was tailing the sports car.

As recently reported, Iverson’s Denver mansion went into foreclosure earlier this month after Iverson stopped making the payments on the $3.8 million home.

Iverson was playing with Besiktas of the Turkish League after not being picked up by any NBA team as a free agent.

He left the team midway through the season due to a calcium deposit discovered in his right leg.

He is back in the United States reportedly awaiting surgery.

ESPN basketball analyst Jalen Rose has been yanked off the air by the network for failing to report to his employers about his recent DUI arrest in Michigan until three weeks after the incident.

News recently broke that the 38-year-old former NBA player was arrested for DUI after flipping his SUV. That incident actually happened on March 11, and Rose just recently informed his employers. As a result, ESPN is stripping Rose of his on-air duties until further notice.

“Jalen has accepted full responsibility for his actions. Both parties are taking this very seriously, and as a result, we’ve agreed that he will not be on our air while he addresses this situation,” says ESPN spokesperson Josh Krulewitz.

Rose, who recently jumped into the media spotlight after a fuss was made over comments he stated about Duke players on the recently premiered Fab Five documentary, issued a statement apologizing for his actions earlier this week:

“On March 11th, I was driving to my home when I was involved in a single vehicle automobile accident. I voluntarily submitted to blood alcohol screening because I was confident it was safe for me to drive. Although I was not feeling impaired, the results of these tests indicate that my blood alcohol level was above the legal limit. I regret the decision to drive home that evening and am grateful that no one was hurt in the accident. I apologize to my family, my employer and each and every one of my supporters for my lapse in judgment. I am particularly sorry for disappointing those who trust me to serve as a role model for young people. I accept full responsibility for my actions and look forward to a resolution of the legal matter as soon as possible.”

Rose is scheduled to appear in court on April 20.