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Tuesday, September 28, 2010

DEAR RAYS, THIS RELATIONSHIP IS NOT WORKING OUT....AND IT'S NOT US, IT'S YOU!!!!

I have been in Tampa for 13 years and have never been able to figure out why the Tampa Bay Devil Rays(the team name when I moved down here) were located in St. Petersburg. Tropicana field was built for another team from what history I have gathered and they bailed on the idea for some reason or another. The team has changed owners a couple times with the previous owner Vince Nimoli being a huge creep from all accounts. The new owner, Stu Sternberg comes in gives free parking with 4 or more people in the car, bring your own food and drink to the stadium, hires a good manager and keeps the front office somewhat intact. Great right? Yet noone shows up. Sure we have heard about the economy, unemployment etc. But according to ESPN and all the local media and the star athletes on the team that is no excuse. Just ask David Price and Evan Longoria they will tell you to your face that the broken economy and unemployment is not an excuse. Let me ask you, would you rather go to a Rays game or go job hunting? I would rather go to a Rays game if I had a job and I know that if I didn't have a job, that my time would be spent looking for one. Even at 7:05pm on a Monday night when the games are on. I may watch it on television while job hunting on monster.com or I might catch the last 3 innings later say around 8:30pm after I put my kids to sleep on a school night. I would love to go see the Rays try to win the division more than almost anything but if I had no job guess what? If I had no job, I'm not going. I won't even bring up location because I live in North East Tampa and it's a drive to get there.

Now you read all this and think of the relationship between the Rays and their broke fans and question where can all this lead? Sure the fan is down but we can watch it on TV, but all you hear is the drive by media ripping the fans for not coming out. The stars and leaders on the team telling you they are embarrassed on the turn style count. Maybe Stu should not have let the cat out of the bag publicly last week when he said he is slashing the payroll next season. And this was just before the Yankee series, the biggest series of the season. Attention Rays PR dept. do not punish the fans who are single parents, unemployed, or worse off in a bad economy because those that are hoping for the return of the economy are the same one's that will not buy tickets next season if you keep this up! Right now Rays this relationship is on you! If you and the negative media want to see fans show up, sponsor a job fair after the games instead of concerts and play in front of a packed house every game from now till the end of the World Series! The Bucs are another story!

Friday, September 24, 2010

DOWN A SAFETY, WHAT CARD SHOULD THE BUCS PLAY NEXT? THE YOUTH MOVEMENT POINTS TO THE ROOKIE CARD!

The unfortunate turn of events in the Buccaneer's safety spot, being the suspension of Tenard Jackson, has Tampa rookie Cody Grimm next in line! From the preseason games I attended, the rookie has more of an instinctive play style which should translate into a full time starting spot. He has got to play out of his mind to keep the starting job though. Sabby Piscatelli was over his head all last season and looks lost to me this year as he is pressing too hard and lacks the instincts needed for the position. Dropping him third on the depth chart, he will enjoy 5-10 snaps a game to give both Grimm and fellow new comer Corey Lynch a breather. Lynch is a winner, I like his style. Out of Appalachian State, Lynch was signed off the Bengals practice squad last season. No relation to John Lynch but he respects John greatly. He even wore 47 with the Bengals. Not here though.

I dig the youth movement of the Bucs, but they need to transition and justify their decisions better. Growing resentment from the fan base and negative press from the drive by media has these guys wearing a black eye. The press had us geeked up for a possible bucs game cameo on Sunday but hopes were dashed as the Glazers were focused on the opening of the Glazer Childrens Museum this week instead of getting Ray Jay seats filled. Nothing wrong with the opening of the museum, I like the fact that they put forth 5 million to the cause. But put someone out in front of Ray Jay to get those tickets sold the fans deserve TV. Another Black out for the Steelers game, a black eye for the Glazers. WOW!

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

NOT A BAD TIME FOR BAY AREA SPORTS TEAMS!!

Tampa Bay has never been called a sports mecca but as of late, the area boasts some great coverage. You see the Rays Baseball team everynight playing their hearts out trying to win their division for the second time since 08. The Buccaneers Football team is 2-0 with Pittsburg Steelers coming to town this weekend, their first home game that is not blacked out due to lack of attendance. It could be their only televised home game of the season. The Lightning Hockey team full of stars, newly acquired Coach Guy Boucher and GM Steve Yzerman are already creating a buzz with a new owner in Jeff Vinik. Good to see hockey people involved with the transition to championship expectations. Aside from the pro teams locally USF Football program has been nationally televised playing Florida and Plant High School was on ESPN affiliates two weeks in a row. Even though they were drilled in both games it was good to see them in the spotlight.


My softball team plays tonight from the top of the 6th inning with runners on 1st and 3rd with two outs tied at 10. Last week the lights went out on us. This will be our final playoff push as we are dissolving this team after the season. In the upcoming off season, I hope to work on the swim portion of my triathlon training and fine tune my blog. I could really use some sideline passes to some sporting events. HINT HINT.

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Wednesday, September 15, 2010

IS IT OKAY TO LEAVE THE GAME EARLY? TOM BRADY DOESN'T THINK SO!

Now normally, Tom Brady and I see eye to eye. Today according to Boston Herald.com site Tom had this to say during an interview.....

“The road environment is very different than our friendly home crowd, who when I looked up, half the stadium was gone when we were up 21 points early fourth quarter, which I wasn’t so happy about,”

Now I have been on both sides of the crowd that leaves early in the 4th quarter of football games (and the game 7 of Stanley Cup Playoffs but that's another story)

Usually those who leave early fall into two categories, maybe three.

1. Home team blowing out the visitors.

2. Getting woodshedded at home.

3. Drunk and get thrown out by the 3rd quarter or arrested and thrown in stadium jail(nasty Philly Fan)

Now I prefer #1 and you have to understand that it is quite possible you will miss something monumental such as a record broken or a comeback. Let's face it your team needed you as the 12th man to lock it up! You also miss the hour of waiting in traffic or this, a game that I still think about to this day, every time I see or hear Peyton Manning's name.....

It was October 6th 2003. Huge build up all weekend for the epic Monday Night Tilt at Raymond James Stadium here in Tampa. Colts prolific offense versus one of the Top 5 NFL defenses of all time. Three Keenan McCardell touchdowns by the 3rd quarter had me confident this was locked up. The score was 28-7 Bucs at 3rd quarter end. My buddy Cesar and I began joking about rolling out to beat traffic etc. so we said by the middle of the 4th we would leave to beat traffic. After a good return and a touchdown by the Colts we thought maybe we should stay and watch, it could get interesting. But after after a Bucs 3 and out then a pick 6 by Ronde, we were out! By the time we got back to the car, the game was essentially tied and was going to overtime where Vanderjagt missed the winning field goal but Simeon Rice jumped on the back of one of his teammates so Indy got another chance. As we left the stadium area the Bucs lost on the 2nd chance kick and we missed it!
The Bucs also had 25 first downs that game! Wow it's been a while since they have done that.

#2 The woodshed at home. This should never happen. If it does you can listen to all of last season's post game press conferences by Bucs coach Raheem Morris to justify losing at home. All 3900 fans that watched the Bucs last season left at halftime and it could be even worse this year because the Rays are the hot ticket here in the bay area. Well, almost. The Rays couldn't even sell out the Yankee home game (economy).

Back to Tom, I wouldn't call the fans bandwagon or even compare them to the Jets fans, but I would say they were thinking ahead. The Bangles are fun to watch but you know they can't come back to maul you (oh wait!) The game was over. So from someone that has felt the pain of leaving too early, it is worth the gamble of not sitting in an hour+ of post-game traffic. Patriot fans you are great and yes, it is safe to leave early if your team is up big, I said it was okay.

That game was still great wasn't it Cesar?

Monday, September 13, 2010

UNDRAFTED TO UNTOUCHABLE-ARIAN FOSTER A WEEK ONE BEAST, HOW DID HE GET HERE?

Just a little FYI on Arian Foster

Went to Mission Bay High School San Diego, California.
Other notable alum
-Frank Zappa (Rocker)
-Marcus Smith(Buffalo Bills)
-Tawny Kataen (Famous Druggie)

College at Tennessee
-Red shirted his Freshman year.
-Freshman year ran for more than 800 yards game high of 223 vs Vanderbilt
-Known as Fumblin' Foster because of fumbles at key times.

Signed as a free agent by the Houston Texans 2009.
-Brought up from the practice squad Nov. 17 2009
-Posted the 2nd highest opening day rushing yards. Only OJ "Killa" Simpson posted more(250)

He looks like a week one stud or the Colts defense is bad. Make your own assumption.

Friday, September 10, 2010

FANTASY FRENZY: WHO TO START A TOP NOTCH TIGHT END OR A #2 WIDE RECEIVER

When I first started playing fantasy football some 8+ years back, there is no way you could convince me to start a tight end over a decent wide receiver. Times have changed, and so has my thought process. Today's top shelf tight ends are better than most #2 receivers so my draft prep has changed and so has my confidence in tight ends and here is why.

Last season I picked up multiple tight ends off waivers only because I had to start one. They were horrible! They were also on bad teams or second tier at their position. Chris Cooley literally beat me two weeks giving me losses and also opened my eyes for the following years draft. I looked at the position similar to a kicker but not this year. I picked up Shiancoe in the 7th round and Cooley in the 8th. Even though we are no longer required to start a tight end I drafted the two that I feel are primed for big seasons. Shiancoe gave me 14 pts last night as Grandpa Favre gave him many targets and Cooley now has Donovan McNabb tossing him the rock. If the matchup are right I have no problem starting both as receivers and if they both work out I plan to trade one for an extra draft pick next season.

On a side note, my running back was not there for me in the first round so I picked up Carson Palmer in the first round in hopes of trading him for something decent by week 3 or 4. This could backfire but oh well. Have a great fantasy season and stay tuned for Fantasy Frenzy posts on Tuesdays!
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Thursday, September 9, 2010

College Football Week 2: USF vs. UF In the SWAMP this Saturday!!

Florida, Florida State and Miami the big 3 in the sunshine state of Florida. USF an up and coming school located in Tampa, Florida. The location is more like west central Florida but that name does not have the same ring to it. The University of South Florida, yes that South Florida that beat Florida State last year and the same South Florida that was ranked as high as No. 2 in the polls in 2007. The Bulls went on to get woodshedded by Oregon in the Sun Bowl but that was 07 and a different team. The Bulls and new coach Skip Holtz will once again be in the conversation if they can pull off one of the largest upsets since Appalachian State beat my Wolverines at the Big House a few years back. This team has been around since 1997 beginning in Conference USA and now reside in the Big East.

THE BREAKDOWN
QB
I must say that the Gators looked a bit sluggish with Redhawks of Miami, Ohio. Definitely not what we are accustomed to here in Gator Country. It is safe to say that the Bulls have a chance if they can get pressure on quarterback John Brantley as he lacks the element of escape.
USF Quarterback BJ Daniels must play out of his mind, Florida has an elite secondary in Janoris Jenkins as well as Will "The Thrill" Hill and Ahmad Black. What I say is run the receivers downfield and let BJ run if the seams are not there. Not that easy because USF has no QB depth, their backup QB is wide receiver Evan Landi 3rd on the depth chart is a Freshman from Jesuit High School here in Tampa.

RB
Florida junior Jeff Demps and Emmanuel Moody and Sophomore Mike Gillislee are all fast and averaged over 6 yards per carry last season. Demps' speed will be of focus as the Bulls have to keep in mind not to get too deep in the backfield. USF will need to fill their gaps and bottle up the speedy backs.
USF backs are a different story. They looked mediocre at best against D-1 AA Stony Brook, with one nice run of 63 yards by Marcus Shaw. Mike Ford was let go for brushes with the law in the offseason, he really let down the program. Mo Plancher is the most experienced of the group and all 4 backs on the roster should be used situationally if that is a word.

WR
Since losing Carlton Mitchell to the NFL, USF is a bit green at receiver with the exception of Dontavia Bogan. Evan Landi had 104 yards for the Bulls against a sad Stony Brook secondary.

For UF Chris Rainey could have a field day with USF secondary. I think we will find out early in the 2nd quarter what kind of game he will have. Remember USF is pretty quick on defense so I expect one of the Gator QBs to check down in the 1st quarter and maybe an occasional shot downfield.

DEFENSE
My prediction: Florida's secondary is top notch and should lock down the receiving corp of USF. This will leave QB Daniels to improvise much like he did in Tallahassee last season.
USF's front seven will play a key role in run stopping and if they are successful, the secondary will need to play all-pro to keep the Florida receivers at bay.

Game prediction is Gators 24 USF 17

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Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Bucs Coach Arrested For DUI....Let Tampa's Football Season Begin.

Tampa Bay Buccaneer games may be blacked out this season but there should be no shortage of Buc news. When you cannot afford to pay good assistant coaches you get this!
Just days after the league decided to suspended Aqib Talib for beating a cab driver last year, Christopher Mosley Assistant Defensive Line Coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers busted for DUI Tuesday Night. Probably from drinking while watching game film and doing a shot everytime Sabby Piscatelli got burned on a play. The Bucs played like drunk pirates on defense last season and now we know why and it may not all be the Piscatelli Monsters fault. Do the depressed Buc fans deserve this now? Just wondering.

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