College Football
Manning applauds Winston’s two-sport pro pursuit
NEW ORLEANS – If Jameis Winston needed any more validation of his decision to play two major college sports, the Heisman Trophy winner from Florida State found it Monday when he accepted the Manning Award as the top quarterback in college football.
Archie Manning, for whom the award is named, also was a two-sport athlete at Mississippi. Similar to Winston, Manning played baseball and football, the main difference being that Manning played shortstop, while Winston is a relief pitcher and part-time outfielder.
Winston has started talking about the possibility of playing in Major League Baseball and the NFL, as a select few athletes such as Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders have done.
Winston has been selected in the MLB draft once, by the Texas Rangers in the 15th round in 2012.
MLB
‘Wizard of Oz’ wants to turn opening day into a holiday
NEW YORK – Ozzie Smith wants the federal government to make opening day of the Major League Baseball season a national holiday.
The Hall of Fame shortstop is leading a campaign to collect 100,000 signatures within 30 days under the We the People petitioning program, which would trigger a review by the Obama administration. The effort is being backed by Anheuser-Busch InBev’s Budweiser brand.
The 59-year-old Smith, known as the “Wizard of Oz” for his great glove, played for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1982-96 after spending his first four big league seasons in San Diego. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2002.
Famous Jameis goes 0-for-2 against the Yankees
TAMPA, Fla. – Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston had a chance to play against the best in baseball, too.
Florida State’s quarterback in the fall, Winston entered the Seminoles’ exhibition game against the New York Yankees on Tuesday in the fifth inning as the left fielder. He went 0-for-2 with a groundout and a strikeout.
Winston led the Florida State football team to the 2013 national championship in a 34-31 victory over Auburn on Jan. 6. The 6-4, 230-pound sophomore has allowed one hit over four scoreless innings in three games as the Seminoles’ closer this season.
nba
Raymondo-Felton turns in Raymond Felton’s gun
NEW YORK – New York Knicks point guard Raymond Felton was arrested Tuesday on weapons charges after a lawyer for Felton’s wife turned in a loaded gun allegedly belonging to the basketball star, saying she didn’t want it in her home, police said.
Felton turned himself in at 12:50 a.m. Tuesday, not long after the Knicks lost to the Dallas Mavericks in a buzzer-beater at home, police said.
Raymondo-Felton is a student at the Fordham University School of Law, a spokeswoman confirmed. Court records show she filed for divorce from Felton last week.
World Cup Ski Racing
Sweden beats Norway to win World Cup team event
INNSBRUCK, Austria – Maria Pietilae-Holmner remained unbeaten in all three rounds to help Sweden win a World Cup parallel slalom team event Tuesday.
Pietilae-Holmner and teammates Anna Swenn-Larsson, Mattias Hargin and Markus Larsson were held to a 2-2 draw in the final against Norway but were awarded victory based on faster run times.
Norway competed with sisters Mona and Nina Loeseth, Truls Johansen and Sebastian-Foss Solevaag.
Switzerland placed third after beating the United States in the small final. That duel also ended 2-2, with Switzerland clocking faster times.
The men’s World Cup will continue this weekend with speed races in Kvitfjell, Norway, while the women will compete in Crans Montana, Switzerland.
Associated Press
