Florida Sentinel Bulletin

During an interview Mike Tyson was asked how he was able to get back down to his former fighting weight, to which the heavyweight champ replied:

“I became a vegan, then I lost 140 pounds…I always thought if you did cocaine, you’d stay skinny. I didn’t know you’d turn into a fat crackhead, and you know it’s nothin’ like a fat crack-head.”

Tyson was promoting his new television show about racing pigeons.

PETA Protests Pigeon Racing Outside Tyson’s Nevada Home

HENDERSON, Nev. — People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals demonstrated outside Mike Tyson’s suburban home to protest the former boxing champion’s role in pigeon racing.

BY LEON B. CREWS
Sentinel Staff Writer

Throughout the history of professional sports, only one group of people completely revolutionized athletics, and at the same time provided an outlet for African American athletes.
That group is called the Harlem Globetrotters.

Originally known as the Savory Big Five, the Harlem Globetrotters were obtained by Abe Saperstein in 1926 in Chicago, Illinois. They played their first game January 7, 1927, and officially became the Harlem Globetrotters in 1930.

Aundre “Hot Shot” Branch is entering his 8th season with the team, and recalled as a child when the team would visit his native Houston, Texas.

“I found them very entertaining, and I wrote a school report on them. Now, with the experience I’ve gained as a layer, I could write a book about them.”

Branch is in Tampa as the team will mark their 85th season with their dazzling “4 Times The Fun” World Tour. They will be at the St. Pete Times Forum Saturday to showcase their world renowned family fun and basketball entertainment.

Also in celebration of their 85th season, the Globetrotters will introduce a new groundbreaking basketball innovation, a 4-point shot.

Branch explains that the 4-point shot will be taken 35 feet from the basket, 12 feet from the NBA 3-point line.

“We are trendsetters of everything you see today. The 4-point shot will eventually catch on with college and professional teams.”

Branch said although he played basketball in high school and ran track, he was better as a wide receiver playing football.

“It was just too hot in Houston for football, so I thought basketball would better suit me.”

“Being a Globetrotter means you don’t get to spend a lot of time with your family, because you’re basically working 10 months out of every year. When I do get to spend time with my kids, I pour it on and tell them I’m doing something positive and good, and just sharing God’s blessing.”

Branch said to all the kids out there, he wants them to get their education, give 110% all the time, work hard at being a great individual, and work hard on their skills.

“Nothing worth having is easy. You have to be respectful of others and mean it.”

To date, the Harlem Globetrotters have won 22,000 games and have competed and beaten some college teams, two of them were current NCAA champions.

A former Globetrotter, Mannie Jackson, bought the team in 1993 as they were facing bankruptcy. He became the first African American owner of the team.

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is meeting Wednesday with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton before hosting a White House party to watch basketball.

In between, Pres. Obama will meet with the national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Richard Eubank.

Clinton, national security adviser Tom Donilon, CIA Director Leon Panetta and other top officials have scheduled a White House session to examine the ramifications of a no-fly zone over Libya and other potential military options, but Obama is not scheduled to attend.

Pres. Obama’s hometown Chicago Bulls are playing the Charlotte Bobcats Wednes-day night. He has invited a bipartisan group of lawmakers from Chicago and Charlotte, N.C., to watch the game with him.

CHARLOTTE, NC — Michael Jordan endorsed Derrick Rose as the NBA’s best player after seeing the new Bulls star shred MJ’s Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday night.

“He’s the MVP for the season,” said Jordan, a five-time MVP. “He deserves it. He’s playing that well. And if he doesn’t get it, you’ll see how I felt a lot of years.”

While appreciative, Rose said there’s a lot of work to be done.

“I wish, man,” said Rose, who had 20 points and six assists. “It’s a great that he said that. It’s an honor. We’re just trying to keep winning. The award will come if we keep winning. We’re trying to play hard and play together. We just have to keep playing aggressive, and play with an edge.”

The serial rapist who was convicted of raping a woman in Center City while her boyfriend was bound and gagged, was sentenced to 84 to 230 years in prison Thursday.

Former university basketball player Domenique Wilson, 25, of Philadelphia was convicted of raping a 25-year-old woman.

Wilson was also convicted of attacking a group of University of Pennsylvania students and raping one of them.

Wilson’s sentence will be served consecutively with a prior sentence in Clinton County of 70 to 196 years in prison. In that case, the West Philly High School basketball star and former Lock Haven University basketball player was accused of raping two Lock Haven University students in their apartment in February 2009.

Altogether Wilson has been sentenced to serve 154 to 426 years in prison, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

Wilson was declared a violent sexual predator in court.

As confusing as this may sound, Lebron James and Michael Jordan are being sued by Lebron Jordan.

CEO of shoe company Lebron Jordan Inc., Aaron Fraser insists that “Lebron” and “Jordan” happen to be the names of his godsons and he has a right to the moniker that is amidst legal controversy.

When backlash and cease-and-desist letters came at the upstart company, it seemed highly likely that they would fold quietly.

Instead, LJI is suing the Miami Heat star and arguably the greatest basketball player ever for $150 million each citing that the two icons have damaged his brand.

Reps for Nike and Live Nation threatened to sue the shoe company and LJI believes that the negative publicity has injured their business deals. The company Lebron Jordan is financed by revenue from Fraser’s Gotham Dating Partners Inc. and has suffered a loss of customers since the issues with their name arose.

The lawsuit claims that Lebron Jordan Inc. has every right to the name since it has not been trademarked.

MIAMI — When the Miami Heat ended practice Sunday, Dwyane Wade went home to his sons.

That will be a regular event going forward.

Ending a long and often-vengeful fight, a Chicago court has awarded Wade sole “care, custody and control” of his two sons. The boys arrived in Miami on Friday, shortly after the ruling was filed, and Wade said that “a huge weight is off my back.”

“My life changed in a huge way,” Wade said. “Mentally, I’ve been preparing for it for over a year now. To me, it’s bigger than that. For me, it shows a lot of people that you need to fight to be in your kids’ lives sometimes. You fight until you can’t fight any more. That’s all I was trying to be, a father in his kids’ lives.”

AUBURN, Ala. — Auburn coach Gene Chizik has dismissed four players from the national champions after they were arrested on robbery and other charges early Friday morning.

Auburn police said (l-r) Shaun Kitchens, Antonio Goodwin, Dakota Mosley, and Mike McNeil were each charged with five counts of first-degree robbery, one count of first-degree burglary and one count of third-degree theft of property.

Police said in a statement that three black males entered a residence with five occupants at 12:25 a.m. Friday and one was armed with a handgun. Mosley is white.

Police said there were no injuries reported. The four were in a vehicle stopped by police based on a description given by the victims, and officers recovered a pistol and property reported stolen from the residence.

Two teams that appear very interested in Cam Newton are the Bills and Vikings. Bills general manager Buddy Nix and coach Chan Gailey both are southerners who love players from the SEC. And Gailey, who made his NFL name by turning Kordell Stewart into a star, surely could figure out how to use Newton.

As for the Vikings, they found Newton charismatic in their talks with him at the combine.