Florida Sentinel Bulletin

DALLAS — Dallas Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant is facing two lawsuits seeking more than $850,000 for unpaid jewelry bills, NFL and NBA tickets and loans.

A Tarrant County man is suing Bryant for $588,500 worth of watches, earrings, bracelets, rings and other jewelry, plus $15,850 worth of tickets and $11,000 in unpaid loans. All the transactions were between June 2009 and June 2010.

Receipts signed by Bryant show that they were supposed to be paid by July 30, 2010, “or when he signs his first Marketing or Sports Contract, which ever happens first,” the lawsuit said. The suit was filed in September and amended last week, before Bryant allegedly unleashed a tirade at a mall security officer concerned about his drooping pants.

Another lawsuit filed last week says Bryant owes a New York company $246,000 for jewelry purchases made between January and May 2010.

RICHMOND, VA. — A co-defendant in the Michael Vick dogfighting case on Monday was sent back to prison for 11 months for violating terms of his supervised release, including talking to the NFL star at a Virginia Beach nightclub last summer and then lying to his probation officer about it.

U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson told Quanis Phillips he had “failed miserably” during the past year, citing a list of transgressions: failing to report run-ins with police, failing a drug test, refusing to attend a mandatory mental health appointment and being convicted of reckless driving and driving on a suspended license.

NEW YORK — A man who arranged for a 16-year-old girl to meet former NFL star Lawrence Taylor for sex in a hotel room pleaded guilty Tuesday, agreeing to serve more than seven years in prison.

Rasheed Davis, 37, entered the plea in U.S. District Court in Manhattan to one count of inducing the interstate travel of another for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct for financial gain. Sentencing was set for Aug. 10, when Davis faces a prison term that the government has recommended should fall between seven years and nine years.

Davis was arrested after the May 6 meeting between Taylor and the girl at a Holiday Inn in Ramapo, about 30 miles northwest of the Bronx.

Taylor subsequently pleaded guilty in state court to sexual misconduct and patronizing a prostitute, admitting that he paid a 16-year-old runaway $300 for sex. Taylor said the girl told him she was 19. Prosecutors say the girl turned the money over to Davis.

BUFFALO, NY — Former Auburn quarterback Cam Newton will get one final opportunity before this month’s NFL draft to make a big impression with the Buffalo Bills.

The Heisman Trophy winner will make a pre-draft visit to the team’s facility in Orchard Park on Tuesday, coach Chan Gailey confirmed following a State of the Bills’ address to season-ticket holders at a downtown ballroom on Monday evening.

For Gailey, this will be the fourth or fifth time – he couldn’t remember – Newton has met with the Bills, who hold the No. 3 pick in the NFL draft.

And the coach considers Tuesday’s visit as potentially having the most impact, because he’ll get to spend the entire day getting to know Newton.

WEST BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Former NBA and Fab Five standout Jalen Rose is scheduled to appear in court in April after being issued a citation earlier this month on suspicion of drunken driving.

Rose, now an ESPN analyst, was driving at 2 a.m. ET on March 11 when his Cadillac Escalade went off the side of an icy road, West Bloomfield police said.

A passer-by called police, who discovered the vehicle, the Detroit News reported.

Rose declined to take a Breathalyzer and was taken to a hospital for a blood-alcohol test, the results of which were unavailable.

Police said road conditions were icy and may have been a factor in Rose’s car going off the road. Rose had no comment Tuesday night.

Connecticut’s Maya Moore joins select company as only the second women’s basketball player honored as a four-time All-American by The Associated Press.

Baylor’s Brittney Griner, Stanford’s Jeanette Pohlen, Texas A&M’s Danielle Adams and Ohio State’s Jantel Lavender also are on the team announced Tuesday.

Moore is a unanimous choice for a record third straight season, receiving all 39 votes from the national media panel that selects the Top 25. She joins Courtney Paris as a four-time recipient.

VERNON, Conn. — The man who killed University of Connecticut football player Jasper Howard during an on-campus fight in 2009 was sentenced Friday to 18 years in prison during an emotional court hearing at which he and Howard’s mother wept.

John Lomax, III, of Bloomfield, stabbed the 20-year-old defensive back in the abdomen during a fight between a group of football players and a group that included Lomax, authorities said. Investigators believe the fight started over a comment a player made about a woman.

Howard, a Miami native whose nickname was Jazz, died at a hospital from a single wound to his abdomen, just hours after helping the Huskies to a homecoming game win over Louisville.

The 22-year-old Lomax had been charged with murder, but in January pleaded no contest to first-degree manslaughter.

He broke down as he addressed Howard’s family in court.

“I know it hurts. I know it hurts.” he said. “I would never want this to happen to any family. You may despise me. I don’t despise you. We’re all God’s children.”

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Wide receiver Chad Ochocinco has caught a break.

His budding soccer career, which even he admits is a long shot, has been extended to include a practice game with a Major League Soccer team.

Sporting Kansas City has asked the six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver to play in their reserve team’s game on Monday against a local squad.

Ochocinco, who says he actually preferred soccer until he was persuaded to focus entirely on football after the 10th grade, began a four-day trial with the MLS team on Wednesday in part as a way to stay fit and keep busy during the NFL lockout. The Cincinnati Bengals star admitted he was rusty after so many years away from the game.

He seemed nervous and a bit out of shape on his first day but a Sporting KC spokesman said he appeared much more comfortable during his second practice.

Former NFL great Deion Sanders weighed in on Dez Bryant, who was recently kicked out of a shopping mall over sagging pants, and criticized the Cowboys receiver’s behavior.

Talking on the Ben & Skin Show on ESPN 103.3 FM in Dallas Friday morning, Sanders said that Bryant’s actions at the mall were “ignorant” and said he needs help.

“He needs help. He needs help,” Sanders said. “I told the Cowboys from day one that he needs help. Matter of fact, they have a team in place to help him. But you cannot tell a grown man what to do.”

Police said on Tuesday that security at NorthPark Center asked Bryant and his three friends to pull up their pants. According to the police statement, the 2010 first round pick went “into a profanity-laced tirade” and refused to leave the mall.

Sanders, who served as a mentor to Bryant in the past, said that he has ended his relationship with the 22-year-old and doesn’t plan on speaking to him.