Florida Sentinel Bulletin

LOS ANGELES — LeBron James racked up a silky-smooth triple-double. Kevin Durant dropped 34 points in 30 minutes.

Amare Stoudemire slammed and jammed his way through Staples Center for 29 points.

And the NBA’s younger stars still were thrilled when Kobe Bryant took home one more MVP trophy from the All-Star game Sunday night.

“Everyone wanted him to get the MVP,” said Miami’s Dwyane Wade, last season’s MVP. “He came out very aggressive, as aggressive as I’ve seen anybody in an All-Star game.”

Bryant won his record-tying fourth All-Star MVP award Sunday night with 37 points and 14 rebounds in the West’s 148-143 win over the East. Bryant was well aware he had a chance to tie Bob Pettit’s mark – and so were his fellow All-Stars.

“He deserved it,” Durant said. “Thirty-seven and 14? That’s unbelievable numbers. I wanted him to get 40, but the old fella kind of tired out a little bit.

Blake Griffin leaped over a car and threw down a two-handed dunk to the accompaniment of a gospel choir, winning the Slam Dunk contest in iconic style before his hometown fans on All-Star Saturday.

The Los Angeles Clippers rookie caught a pass out of the sunroof from teammate Baron Davis and easily cleared the hood while the Crenshaw Select Choir sang “I Believe I Can Fly” at midcourt.

The inventive slam drove home the obvious point of the All-Star weekend’s silly Saturday: Griffin has both the raw athleticism and the showtime flair to be the NBA’s next big star.

Finalist Javale McGee of Washington and Toronto’s DeMar DeRozan didn’t stand a chance despite their own inventive dunks at Staples Center.

3-Point Shootout
Miami’s James Jones held off Boston teammates Paul Pierce and Ray Allen to win his first 3-point shootout at All-Star Saturday.

INDIANAPOLIS — Bob Sanders couldn’t stay healthy and the Indianapolis Colts couldn’t afford to keep investing in the oft-injured safety.

Team owner Jim Irsay released the 2007 NFL defensive player of the year on Friday, announcing the decision less than 24 hours after he told reporters he would make a decision about Sanders’ future before March 3.

The move was not a major surprise. After winning the league’s top defensive honor, Sanders signed a five-year, $37.5 million contract but played in only nine regular-season games over the next three seasons.

The Philadelphia Eagles quarterback, Michael Vick, will be an Eagle at least through next season. The Eagles have tagged free agent Michael Vick as their franchise player. That means Vick will be an Eagle next year.

The Eagles will have to pay Vick a salary equal to the average salary of the top paid quarterbacks in the league. It is believed that salary is around $20 million for the year. Both Vick and the Eagles hope to agree to a deal before next season.

Thousands upon thousands of high school football players have just signed college football scholarships. Included among those colleges are: Florida A&M, Texas Southern, South Carolina State, Hampton, Alabama State, Alabama A&M, Alcorn State and Howard.

Also, Jackson State, Southern, Tennessee State, Savannah State, Praire View A&M, North Carolina Central, North Carolina A&T, Norfolk State, Morgan State, Mississippi Valley State and Arkansas Pine Bluff are all Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), joined with other colleges to sign football players.

None of these schools signed a single player from Hillsborough County. Somebody needs to contact these schools and let them know that not only do we play football in this county, but we have some excellent athletes.

Grambling signed D. J. Williams, the son of former Tampa Bay Buccaneer, Doug Williams.

Bethune Cookman signed Quentin Williams, Dominic “Nick” Addison and Kevin Williams. I give Cookman an ‘A’ for recruiting in our county. Grambling a ‘C’ and all the other HBCUs a ‘F.’

Wilder-Williams Face Off
Plant High School’s James Wilder and Jefferson’s Quentin Williams did not face each other on the football field last season, but the two high school superstars faced off on the ballot for the honor of receiving the Black Diamond Award for the Top Amateur Male Athlete Of The Year award.

Jefferson’s Laurie Beatty and Sickles’ Amber Henson are the finalists for the Female Athlete Of The Year award.

All four of these athletes had outstanding seasons in their respective sports. While Wilder and Williams were football players, Henson and Beatty are basketball players.

The male and female winners will be announced on February 26th at the Annual Black Diamond Ceremony to be held at the Performing Arts Theater located on the campus of Howard W. Blake High School. The public is invited. The event starts at 5:45 p. m