Tampa Bay Sports Blog

The blog world is a wild place. I have learned a lot of things the hard way since I started doing this last year and it has humbled me like nothing else I’ve done. I have done a lot of things in my life that have molded me into the man that I have become. My mentality and my world has constantly changed in my life and I know it always will. There were so many seemingly harsher things that I’ve dealt with and learned from like street fighting, USMC boot camp, parenthood, etc., that I thought it would be easy to jump right in to the blog thing and roll along without a problem. It’s a totally different animal than anything else I’ve done.

I started this thing as a hobby site and it remains one and, for those of you that read already know, I’m still trying to find a direction to take this thing as it evolves. I’m not trying to be a journalist, become a writer or get credentialed in any way. That’s where I find such a huge difference between myself and most others out there. Rays Index brought something to my attention tonight that made me think about things and really made me laugh. Rays Renegade wrote a piece on how bloggers don’t get respect enough to get media credentials and it was really very funny to me.

This guy may be a true journalist and, if what he says he’s done is true, has some real stones in trying to work his way into the mainstream media. What was so funny and confusing to me was his statement about how he has been in the industry for four years and can’t understand why bloggers can’t get credentialed easier. If he was truly a journalist in the industry I would think he understands why bloggers don’t get that kind of respect.

Since I got involved in this world I have learned a few things that hold true. First is this. You have to earn your respect whether you’re a journalist or not. I have found that most other sites and blogs that cover the same teams you do don’t want to recognize that you even exist, especially if you don’t comment on their site. When they do recognize you it’s always a negative thing that starts it. When Rays Index first started throwing me links it was because of the Barry Bonds and Brendan Harris posts I wrote. Cork tore me apart on the Harris thing, but I stayed with what I was doing and he has gave me some encouragement and I thought that was extremely cool of him. I give him a lot of credit with this type of thing because he doesn’t care if I’m here or not. He acknowledges me and does his thing. I can’t say the same for most other sites I’ve tried to deal with like DRaysBay, BucEm, the other Tampa Bay Sports Blog and so on. I realize that there may be a sense of someone like me invading their territory or something like that, but if you read what I write and how often I write, these guys should know they have nothing to worry about. Greg Auman has also been very helpful with me. He first approached me when, as I tried to cover the USF Bulls, I forgot to put a link in a post about where I got my info from and he quickly let me know that was wrong. That was my ignorance in the blog thing and he recognized that and offered me a little guidance from that point on. Greg and Cork are the only positive people I have met on the net though and that makes the first point for this guy. The blog world is petty and competitive, so how much more so is it when you’re a blogger dealing with real journalists? Like them or not, journalists have already paid there dues in college, internships and what not. They have EARNED the right to get credentialed by major teams in sports. There are plenty of people out there that can put a thought, article or an interview better than journalists can, but you always have to pay your dues in life. Shouldn’t a journalist know this?

Something else I’ve learned is this. There are way more bloggers than journalists. Ok, I know that’s a dumb statement, but it’s relevant. Everyday a new blog pops up about the Rays, Bucs, or whatever team you follow. Knowing this, anyone should know that getting credentialed as a blogger is going to be that much tougher. Let’s try to relate it like this. If you’re an athlete in high school and you’re one of the rare superstars with silly talent, you’re going to get recognized and given tons of opportunities. If you’re not, than it’s going to take longer and some other things will have to come into play. You need to be in the right place at the right time, be exceptional in another way, know someone, etc. These are the stories everyone loves to hear. We love to hear how Kurt Warner bagged groceries before getting his shot or how a guy like Earnest Graham finally breaks through after years of being a special teams player. If a blogger breaks through into the mainstream media and earns his respect, which this guy could do, it would be one of those heartwarming stories. The problem right now is he is acting like he has earned it already by starting a blog. Anyone can do that, just look at me.

It is all strange and funny to me. The blog world is odd, yet interesting. It can be used as a platform to showcase one’s journalistic talents, but it’s a long road that way. It’s like a high school football player with bad grades going to junior college. They can make it, but it’s not the route someone ideally takes to get there. It’s all strange to me. I’ve been doing this for almost a year now and I still have much more to learn than most. I admit to being ignorant to the blog thing, really the whole internet thing in general, but I go on because I like to voice my opinion. I feel my writing is coherent enough, even though I may not always get the point across that I want to, that the people who read what I write enjoy it. I don’t expect anyone to follow my site to depend on current news of their favorite teams here, I think they come to hear my opinion and get a different perspective on it. That’s it. Obviously this guy is trying to be a journalist of some sort and that shows a completely different goal than mine, but what I’ve learned from my experience tells me he’s doing a bad job of it right now. From what I’ve read of his stuff, he’s a good enough writer, but was accused of plagiarism by a couple of commenter’s on Rays Index. That’s a big deal. I believe he has done it also, only because it was pointed out that a commenter noticed it, the post was modified. That shows there was something wrong with what he was doing. One thing I know about writing is this. If you write it, stick by it. I have written some things on this site that, when I go back and read them, I would like to change or delete. I don’t because I wrote it and I need to stand by it. You can’t change the past, writing or otherwise, so you shouldn’t mess with it. When you make mistakes you can’t remove them, you learn from them. That’s life. Writing is the same in this and it should be. If you want someone to take you seriously, you can’t backtrack and remove what is regrettable or wrong, you learn from it and live with the body of work you produce. Like what I write or not, agree with me or not, I live with what I write on this site. If I go away because I suck, that’s what it is and I learn from it and life goes on. If people like me and keep coming to the site, it all goes on and life is still the same. In this sense I can’t relate to this guy at Rays Renegade. He is striving for more than I am with what he’s doing and his life seems dependant on it. I feel that he wrote what he did in an attempt to gain attention to himself. If he didn’t, he’s an idiot. That may not stop him from getting where he wants to go, but he’s still an idiot if he thinks this.

The bottom line in all this is this. All journalists can be bloggers if they are required or choose to be, not all bloggers can be journalists. Blogging is great because it’s freedom of speech at it’s best, but it doesn’t make you a journalist. I’m a blogger, but I will never be confused for a journalist. It’s a comparison that can’t be made and that’s why bloggers don’t get credentials. If you need to actually think to figure that out than there is something wrong with you. There are bloggers out there that are better than the journalists that cover what they do, but it doesn’t mean they have earned anything more than the journalists they are better than. I know people in the marketing department with the Rays, Lightning and Magic. I can get tickets from them at will and my site has even been brought to ownership’s attention with these teams. I was offered credentials to a couple of Lightning and Rays games but, while taking the free tickets they offered me, I have no desire to go into the press box for these games. I found it laughable that I was offered this and I’m sure any of you reading this do as well, but it’s the point of knowing people here. I was offered these things because of me being the person I am, not the writer I am. If this guy is going to go about things the way he is, it’s going to be a very long road. I would bet that he’ll be writing about some other team and pulling the same crap before the Rays give him anything, but what do I know. I never ask for comments on anything, but I would really like to see some comments in this post. I want to hear your opinion on this post, so please take the time to let me know what you think.

Technorati Tags: Earnest Graham, Kurt Warner, Orlando Magic, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Tampa Bay Rays, United States Marine Corps, USF Bulls

The Bolts pulled out a tough win last night against the Canadiens, and with each victory like this the light shines through the ugliness that has darkened this franchise for over a year now. It was a doubly god victory considering all the “Vinny to Montreal” talk and Vinny definitely looked fired up for this one. Lecavalier fired off 8 shots on goal and had a goal and an assist in the win. Marty also had one of each and Mike Smith played very well in the net as the Lightning won at home 5-3.

The Bolts are now 7-3 in their last 10 games and look like they’re playing with a lot more confidence than at any point this season. The team is also 9-5-1 since Marty blasted his team and St. Louis is backing up his words in every possible way. Damian Cristodero pointed this out last week and he was right on the money with his words about Marty. The little big man has been a scoring machine over the last month and the rest of the team is feeding off of him. I go back to my statement of making him co-captain. Cristodero also wrote about the Lightning’s chances of making the playoffs this year, this one I’m not so sure about. I would love to see them get in, but it seems like a pipe dream at this point and shouldn’t be what this team gets judged on at seasons end. If these guys can continue to play above .500 and show improvement on both sides of the ice it would go a long way toward next season and they should be looking more at the continuity of the team right now. There still seems to be a lot of trying to find the right guys going on and that is what needs to settle down before we start talking playoffs.

All in all though, this team is improving and it is a beautiful thing to watch when Vinny and Marty are playing well together. Watch the video of Marty’s goal last night and see what I’m talking about.

Video courtesy of NHL TV.

The Magic host the Celtics tonight at 8pm on TNT. It’s the biggest game of the year so far for the Magic, who are currently the best in the NBA. Enough said.

Technorati Tags: Boston Celtics, Orlando Magic

I’ve got some personal issues that have come up and these things will be eating up most of my time over the next few days so things will be slowed down dramatically. In the meantime I’m going to have Steve help me out with some site updates and what not. Any ideas you have that could improve the site please leave in the comments or email me. Thank you for your understanding.

The playoff games yesterday were outstanding. I found myself just completely drawn to both games and could barely move while watching them, which was bad because I was at work. Oh well, my job is safe. There wasn’t much else on so I decided to watch a little of the Phoenix/Edmonton hockey game and I learned something real quick. If it’s not the Lightning, I don’t really want to watch it. I used to love watching hockey of any kind, but I just couldn’t do it yesterday. I will watch Ovechkin, Crosby and even Jarome Iginla, but that’s pretty much it. Anyway, here’s what I thought of the two playoff games.

Though I’m not a fan of either team, my hatred of Philly led me to root for the Cardinals. After watching the game I really don’t think that either one of those teams stood a chance against the Ravens or the Steelers. Warner still looks as scared as a man can possibly look on the football field when anyone gets a shot at him. I can’t wait to see the look on his face when the Steelers get a hold of him. It’s not going to be pretty. The Arizona defense looks to be good enough and Larry Fitzgerald is just a freak. Fitzgerald is playing like a man amongst boys and it should be fun to watch what he does against the Steelers.

The Ravens/Steelers game was sick. I really mean sick. The hitting that went on in that game hurt me just watching it. I jumped out of my chair and had a sick feeling when I saw that hit on Willis McGahee from Ryan Clark and I can only hope that Willis recovers from that. That was one of those hits that kills guys careers and it still makes me ill when I just even think about it, much less see it. I must send out my best wishes to McGahee and his family after that one. There was a ton of hitting in that game and it looks like the Steelers are on their way to another Super Bowl win. I’m rooting for them too because of Mike Tomlin. He looks like an outstanding guy to play for and it would be pretty cool for him to come home to Tampa and win a Super Bowl here. That’s about it for now, I’m looking forward to the Cavs/Lakers game tonight and I’m not sure if I want to even try to watch the Bolts invite Brad Richards back to town. That one could be ugly. I know I’ll end up watching it though and I can only hope that if the Stars win, it’s Brad doing the damage.

Technorati Tags: Alexander Ovechkin, Arizona Cardinals, Baltimore Ravens, Brad Richards, Dallas Stars, Jarome Iginla, Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald, Mike Tomlin, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburg Steelers, Ryan Clark, Sidney Crosby, Super Bowl, Tampa Bay Lightning, Willis McGahee

The Magic are tearing through the NBA right now with a 33-8 record and look like serious title contenders right now. The improvement on both sides of the court is relevant to everyone picking up their game. Turk is what he always has been, a cold blooded beast that attacks other teams defense’s with the reckless abandon of a football player. Dwight Howard is dominating inside the paint and has dramatically improved his defense, namely his shot blocking skills. Rashard Lewis has gotten with the program and has shown a much tougher side to him on both ends of the floor. Courtney Lee is doing right now what we expected from Mickael Pietrus and when Pietrus is healthy again the bench will get that much deeper. Aside from Lee, we’ve seen all of these guys play at this level before during their careers. The one guy that has really taken giant steps forward is Jameer Nelson, and that has translated into the Magic taking a giant step forward.

Nelson is having a career year for the real Orlando Blue Man Group and is bringing the team with him. If anyone said they didn’t notice before, the Laker game should’ve gotten their attention. Nelson outplayed Kobe Bryant in the fourth quarter of that game and led the Magic to the most notable victory this season. That win not only solidified them as a top tier team, but served notice to the rest of the league that they can beat anyone anywhere. Now I’m not comparing Nelson to Bryant, that would be silly, but I’m saying that it’s time to start giving the man some run as a legitimate MVP candidate. He’s not putting up numbers like Bryant, James or Wade, but he’s doing as much for his team as anyone. He’s hitting clutch shots, spreading the ball around and helping create opportunities for Lewis, Turk and Howard to get theirs. The team has improved as much as Nelson has and that’s no coincidence.

Nelson is not only putting good numbers up, he leads all guards in field goal percentage. That’s right, he’s shooting at a better clip than James, Bryant, Wade or any other guard you want to name. He’s twentieth in the NBA in overall FG% and that’s comparing him to guys like Howard and Shaq who get most of their points off dunks and easier shots inside. He’s also fifth in the NBA in 3-point percentage and he’s doing all of this while basically being the fourth option offensively here. I’m not trying to make a case for the guy to be the MVP, but he should at least be in the conversation. When a player improves as much as Nelson has, and subsequently his team does as well, it’s time for everyone to take notice of it. I would just like to see him mentioned within these MVP rankings I see tossed up and, other than Third Quarter Collapse and Orlando Magic Blog, haven’t seen too much about Nelson put out there. Like I said, he’s not top three or maybe not even top ten, but he should at least be in the same class as Paul Millsap and Allen Iverson right now, don’t you think?

Technorati Tags: Allen Iverson, Courtney Lee, Dwight Howard, Hedo Turkoglu, Jameer Nelson, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers, Mickael Pietrus, MVP, Orlando Magic, Paul Millsap, Rashard Lewis, Shaquille O'Neal

Orlando capped of their 4-0 road trip last night with another convincing win, a 106-88 victory in Denver. The Nuggets are a good team but the Magic turned it up in the fourth quarter to run away with it. Turk, Nelson and Lewis took it to the Nuggets combining for 77 of the Magic’s 106 points. This win was impressive because of the night before. After the game they played the night before against the Lakers, you could see a letdown game coming. They didn’t let that happen and are establishing themselves as THE force to be reckoned with in the NBA. They have the best road record in the league and have done so while beating teams like the Lakers, Nuggets, Spurs, Hawks and so on in their buildings.

That Laker game was everything I thought it would be by the way. Jameer Nelson stepped up again with 28 points, which included 15 in the fourth quarter. Howard showed Andrew Bynum that he still has some growing up to do as he dominated the paint despite getting into early foul trouble. It was an outstanding game and I come away even more impressed than I already was. It was nice to see Jameer hit the big shots in the fourth, especially as Kobe missed. Everything is going pretty well right now, hopefully they’re not peaking too soon, and I am now looking forward to the future match-ups with the Celtics, Cavs and Pistons.

Technorati Tags: Andrew Bynum, Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Courtney Lee, Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons, Dwight Howard, Hedo Turkoglu, Jameer Nelson, Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers, Orlando Magic, Rashard Lewis, San Antonio spurs

I have to admit I was a little surprised to learn that the Gruden/Allen era came to an end on Friday, but was happy I was at work when I heard it. My immediate reaction was laughing and jumping for joy, but as I let it settle in I tried to put things into perspective. When Gruden first arrived in Tampa I was as excited as anyone else with the thought that he would be bringing his high powered offense to the Bucs. Matching that offense with the defense we had in place, I thought we were looking at least one Super Bowl victory, but had thoughts of a couple in my head.

After winning the Super Bowl in his first season with the team I couldn’t have been happier. Since then the team has been up and down and things have slowly gone downhill. All of the excuses we’ve heard made for Gruden are partially true. The injuries, salary cap, draft picks and what not, but it all comes down to the fact that the team has no direction. The spats with players, the lack of major free agents being brought in and the botched draft picks sealed Gruden’s fate. 

I think this is the best thing that could’ve happened for the Bucs and Jon Gruden. Gruden will get another job and, if he learns from his mistakes here,  will do a much better job than he did here. I have not been a fan of Gruden’s for many reasons, but he’s very young by coaching standards and has a long time left to re-establish himself in the NFL. Jon will most likely take the ‘09 season off and jump back into the ranks the following year. He should work with kids in his time off so he can learn some patience with younger players, QB’s namely, as that is the biggest knock on him there is.

One thing directed at Jon Gruden directly here. Please Jon, DO NOT BECOME A COLLEGE COACH! You are an NFL coach and do not need to torture teenagers and their parents at the college level. I am a lifelong Notre Dame fan (stop laughing!) and have heard the rumors over and over again about Gruden coaching Notre Dame. While I think he would be one of the best on-field coaches Notre Dame could employ, I don’t want to see him cussing out any kids on the sideline in college.

Moving on to Bruce Allen now. I’m glad he’s gone and think he needs to choose a new career path. Allen seemed to bring this area nothing but trouble and mediocrity. He was touted as a capologist and the team is well under the cap, but it’s easy to stay under the cap when you don’t sign any big name free agents or refuse to negotiate with current players when they deserve it. If Gruden gets away from this guy his coaching career will improve because of it. Good riddance to Bruce Allen.

Knowing now that Raheem Morris and Mark Dominik have replaced Gruden and Allen I’m excited at the thought of the team going in a new direction. I think that this will be a good move. Morris seems to carry much respect from the players and coaches and looks like he will be a good figure at the top. We all need to see his decision making on the field still so I’ll reserve judgement on him til then.

In capping this whole thing off I would like to re-state something I’ve said in the past. The Super Bowl we won here is Gruden’s, not Dungy’s. Jon Gruden won that Super Bowl and did something Tony Dungy didn’t here, so beg all of you out there that continue to say “it was Dungy’s team” to stop it. Give the man his credit. You all know that I’m no fan of Jon Gruden, but I give the man his due. He’s a Super Bowl winning coach and he will not be out of work for too long. I wish him the best of luck and hope he has learned from his missteps here and takes the next step in making his career a successful one. I won’t miss Gruden, but I’m happy with the Championship he brought to us.

Technorati Tags: Bruce Allen, Jon Gruden, Mark Dominik, Notre Dame, Raheem Morris, Super Bowl, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tony Dungy

I’m not going to bother going over it too much because I’m sure everyone out there saw the aerial bombing that the Magic dropped on Sacramento on Tuesday, but it was amazing to watch. Normally when teams get hot like that you just sit back and wait for them to cool down and see what happens from there. It never happened and the Magic embarrassed the Kings at home 139-107. It was awesome and got me extremely excited for tomorrow’s game with the Lakers.

I could be setting myself up for a huge letdown, but I’m excited none the less. I can’t wait to see if they can keep the hot shooting going, how Courtney Lee does defensively against Kobe Bryant and if the Magic can beat one of the NBA’s best on their home floor. If they pull out the win I think it go a long way toward this team believing that they can go all the way and give them a little more swagger in future match-ups against Cleveland and Boston. This team has come a long way this year and there is no ceiling on what they can do. I once again encourage everyone to watch this team that hasn’t yet and I think you’ll be hooked when you do.

Technorati Tags: Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Courtney Lee, Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers, Orlando Magic, Sacramento Kings

I’ve been attempting to watch as many Lightning games as possible this season as I work 60 hours a week and I find myself wondering, why? If there were Rays, Bucs, Magic and Lightning games on all at the same time, they basically go in that order as I choose to watch them. My first love is baseball and so on, but I love my hometown teams and have stuck with them through thick and thin. I’m really having a hard time with the Lightning though. It’s not just because they’re bad, it’s because there is no direction. I gave the Rays too much attention under Naimoli because they were going nowhere and I knew it, but stuck with them. I give the Bucs too much attention now because Gruden gave me a Super Bowl and I try to pretend he’s not as big a piece of crap as he his because of it, but I stick with them. The Magic give me every reason to believe now, but those Grant Hill years were tough.

The Lightning aren’t giving me anything right now and I keep looking for the silver lining. The problem is that I’m having trouble holding on to it. I posted before that I’m optimistic about them, and I still am, but I’m having a real hard time keeping that attitude. They play well on some nights and that gets me a little. Rick Tocchet is a very likable coach who seems to be the type of guy we want here, and that’s good. The problems still linger though.

The first problem is the ownership. They have been a cluster fuck since they got here. The hiring and firing of the Mullet, the trade of Dan Boyle,the constant rotation of players in and out, and now more Vinny crap. I have no problem with ownership moving a crazy amount of guys if they’re trying to find their way, that’s acceptable. I do have a problem with them moving Vinny right now though.

If they pull this crap on Vinny it will destroy every relationship with the players they have, or could have in the future. Don’t sign a guy to big extension, tell him he won’t get traded, and then trade him. I already wonder if there is any ethics left in our society, please don’t make it any worse. I’m one of the few in the area that thinks Vinny has underachieved since his arrival, but I don’t see the need to move him now. If they would have done it in the off season, I could have accepted it, but to do it now is just dumb. You’re not going to get enough in return now to justify the move and make this team competitive, so please don’t do it.

I truly believe that Oren Koules and company could improve their standing here if they don’t move Vinny. We all know the circus that has invaded town since Koules got here and we know how bad this team has played, but if they go nuts and move the face of the franchise now, I don’t see how they recover. There’s no shot of them turning around and selling the team for more money either so that’s out. Maybe these are just rumors like in the past, but I believe them more now because our ownership is so stupid. We’ll see what happens, but I’m still clinging on for dear life with this franchise and I hope they give me something more to hang on to before I start recording Seinfeld reruns over Lightning games.

Technorati Tags: Barry Melrose, Dan Boyle, Grant Hill, Jerry Seinfeld, Jon Gruden, Oren Koules, Orlando Magic, Rick Tocchet, Super Bowl, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Tampa Bay Rays, Vinny Lecavalier

The Rays have inked Gabe Kapler to a one year $1 million deal to be the fourth/fifth outfielder for 2009. They have been fairly active with minor leaguers too but I’ll leave that stuff to Rays Index. I’m as conflicted as a person be about this signing considering he’s a reserve outfielder. I like it in a sense because Kapler’s a decent outfielder and could platoon well with Gabe Gross if needed, but why do we need a platoon backup situation? I’ve never been in favor of platoons in general because I’ve always felt that if a guy can play, he can play, screw the other crap. Stats say otherwise and that’s the world we now live in so I’ll go with it. I don’t know much about Kapler other than he was once a highly touted prospect who turned into a journeyman type that was coaching before he decided to jump back into the player ranks. The problem I have with this signing is that Kapler got a mil and Rocco got less, granted there’s incentives, from the Red Sox.

Marc Topkin tried to justify by saying that the Baldelli deal “could be” worth more because of playing incentives, but how much more? Someone is either lying or just not getting it here. If you give Roc the same deal you give Kapler, he walks. If you offer Roc the same deal that Boston did, I think he stays. Putting this into perspective, how much does anybody think Rocco is actually going to play with the Sox? If he does play enough to earn the incentives in his contract wouldn’t that mean that someone got hurt and Rocco is healthy? All that being said, wouldn’t anyone rather pay a little more for a healthy Rocco than a Gabe Kapler if they are needed full time? I understand the Rays penny pinching, but this is stupid.

I can make sense of it thinking that Fernando Perez needs another year in AAA, but how did we end up with an overrated Gabe Kapler over Rocco Baldelli. This is why Boston is the most well rounded organization in baseball right now and not the Yankees, Rays, Phillies, etc. The Rays may be the best at operating as a small market, but they aren’t there just yet. It’s a tough position for the Rays to be in here and it’s hard to pick on them for the moves that they make, since they’ve been so good under tough conditions, but this move I can’t rationalize at all. Kapler over Baldelli, really?

Technorati Tags: Boston Red Sox, Fernando Perez, Gabe Kapler, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Rocco Baldelli, Tampa Bay Rays

• Full Name: Derrick Dewan Brooks
• Birthplace: Pensacola, FL
• Born: 04/18/1973
• Position: OLB
• How Acquired: 1st round draft pick (28th overall) in 1995

What we know: Derrick went to Florida State University and was a four year letterman standout in college. While at FSU he was part of the 1993 National Championship team (bs by the way, no offense Derrick) and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in business communications, which he followed up with a masters degree later on. Derrick was one of the core members of the Dungy/Kiffin defense that would wreak havoc through the NFL for over a decade, capped off with a Super Bowl in 2003. Under the defensive prowess of Dungy and Kiffin, and alongside John Lynch and Warren sapp, Brooks was a core piece in the innovative and much copied “Tampa Two” defense that has become a staple of nearly every teams defensive schemes from High School to the NFL. Derrick is as celebrated for his charity work in the community off the field as he is for his defensive dominance on the field. He is one of the most decorated athletes in the NFL receiving multiple awards throughout his career, topped off with his Defensive Player of the Year award in 2002.

What we think: As an absolute Hall of Famer, it’s hard to find anything negative to say about Derrick Brooks. While his career is winding down, he is still a great performer on the field and a great teammate. Brooks came up as a speedy, undersized linebacker that flew around the field and punished anyone in his line of fire. He has performed at an elite level for over ten years and even though he has lost a step, still makes his presense felt. As the Bucs vaunted defense was picked on in the 2008 season, Derrick included, one thing early on really made an impression on me. Derrick was sharing large chunks of time for the first time in his career, and no one noticed because he kept his mouth shut. In a time where it seems like every athlete complains about playing time and older players clinging on to the death, even if it’s detrimental, Derrick shared time with Geno Hayes and did nothing but perform and tutor his teammate in a professional manner. Mister Derrick Brooks may be on his last leg, but I can’t think of an athlete that has made more of an impact on me, or the Buccaneers for that matter, than him.

For stats click here.

Technorati Tags: Derrick Brooks, Florida State University, John Lynch, Monte Kiffin, National Championship, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tony Dungy, Warren Sapp

I need some help with a couple things on the site at the moment. First off, I hate Brighthouse and need to change service. Can anyone out there tell me if Verizon is in Pinellas County yet? If so, how good is it? I’m also having a tough time finding a Wordpress plugin that works for a contact. I’ve tried cforms and others and haven’t been pleased with any of them so far. Anyone got any ideas?

My internet is back up, I have been down since Monday morning, and I’ll get to things after work tonight so please leave any ideas in the comments of contact me at scott@tampabaysportsblog.com.

What we have seen so far from the Orlando Magic this season has been remarkable so far and all of us fans should be excited for what may be to come. The Magic are now sitting atop the NBA along with Boston and the Lakers as the first teams to clinch the 30 victory mark and don’t look to be slowing down at all. I’ts been an awesome sight to watch this year and it has been highlighted the last week with an impressive road victory in San Antonio last night and the absolute destruction of Atlanta on Friday.

Last night’s 105-98 victory over the Spurs really set them apart as the leagues best road team and has helped them let everyone know that they’re for real and need to be in the conversation as one of the best in the NBA right now. If they keep this pace up they should be considered elite, but they need to show and prove in the playoffs to really make their mark.

There are a few things different this season than in the past that make me believe that this team is ready to snag a title and I’ll go through them quickly.

• The emergence of Jameer Nelson as a better floor captain and scorer is probably the biggest improvement in the team this season. Nelson is on pace to set or match career highs in FG %, PPG, FT %, rebounds, steals and 3 pointer %. Nelson has probably set himself up for the most improved player award at least.
• The recent addition of Courtney Lee to the starting lineup is going to do nothing but help this team that has been lacking at the SG position for some time. Lee is an animal defensively, is lightning fast and will do enough offensively to keep the job he has earned. His scoring will slowly improve as he gets more time, but I wouldn’t expect too much from him there with Lewis, Howard, Turk and Nelson doing most of the damage.
• Rashard Lewis looks like he finally understands how talented he is and has improved his game on both ends of the floor. I have dogged Lewis in the past for not driving the lane enough and I must stop that now. He could probably go to the hoop more, but with Lee in the lineup, it’s not near as necessary as before. Lee will be aggressive inside so Lewis can light it up from the outside and these guys really seem to understand that and are playing very well together.

All of these things coupled with coach Stan Van Gundy’s relentless defensive approach has set this team apart from the rest of the league and should have this team believing they can take down Boston as NBA Champs.

Technorati Tags: Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Courtney Lee, Hedo Turkoglu, Jameer Nelson, Los Angeles Lakers, NBA Championship, Orlando Magic, Rashard Lewis, San Antonio spurs, Stan Van Gundy

As I try to catch up with everything there will be some rambling and I’ll start with this, the Hall of Fame vote is stupid. Not just baseball, which brought this on, but any Hall of Fame vote. I think this because the voters, aside from most of them being guys who never played the game professionally, only look at the entire body of work instead of putting the work into the era they played in. While not showing his picks, Marc Topkin brought this on with his post regarding his ballot (why the hell are there “Rays” on the ballot anyway?. I have a ton of respect for Marc as a sports writer, but I have problems with his ballot as much as anyone else. Here’s what I took from it.

I know that Topkin has more knowledge of the game than I do and knowing he is building this story toward the big reveal, I have a hard time understanding who his picks are and why. The why is my problem. As he discusses Harold Baines’ hit count, Mar McGuire’s steroid use and Andre Dawson “playing the game right”, I get confused. How can you compare Dawson’s play to Baines’ hits? It doesn’t make any sense to me. Either go by stats or go by era and gameplay, don’t try to combine the two. This is all nuts to me.

With these votes a lot of things must be considered and I’m not arguing that, but I have a huge problem with comparing stats from the 80’s or 90’s to the 40’s and what not. You can’t compare those because the game was different in so many ways that you can’t even discuss it. In my opinion, you have to compare stats within the game as it was at the time. To say that McGuire’s HR’s don’t count as much as Mickey Mantle’s is stupid because of the evolution of sports.

Mantle played in bigger parks, against higher mounds and a bigger strike zone. That would lead most to believe that his HR’s, hits and other offensive stats were harder to come by than players today, but were they really? He didn’t  face specialized pitching, multi-cultural players or roided up pitchers, so was it really harder? Babe Ruth is praised as a the greatest player ever because hit he hit so much and was a pitcher first, but what were the athletes like then? I can guarantee you he couldn’t do today what he did then, but I can’t say he couldn’t do either, you follow? If McGuire or Sammy Sosa hit so many HR’s and people discount it because of steroid allegations, they are narrow minded idiots. If you think they were the only ones doing it you’re dumb, if you think pitchers weren’t doing it against them you’re even more stupid.

If you want to argue with that already, that’s the point. You have to judge a guy based on what he does within the era that he’s in against the stats from other guys in the era that he’s in. You can’t compare A-Rod to Hank Aaron, you have to compare him to Barry Bonds and Manny Ramirez. Steroids or not, anyone will agree that Bonds and Ramirez were the greatest hitters of their generation, the problem with these guys is that you compare them to the past guys and things get distorted then. People think less of Ty Cobb now than they did in his day because we know he was a racist, but that has no effect on how he played the game. Cobb was one of the greatest hitters of his time, and in MLB history for that fact, and his personal opinions should have no effect on that.

It’s the greatest and worst argument of all time. Let me tell you a story. My father was a gambler and used to make a living at the dog track in St. Pete (doing fairly well by the way) and there’s a story and opinion that always stuck with me. As he gambled at the dog track he met guys like Pete Rose and Don Zimmer. He hates Pete Rose because he was such a rude guy that he cussed and spoke ill in front of his less than 10 year old son (me) and ended up having to deck Rose because of his behavior. With this personal agenda and acknowledging Rose as a piece of crap person, he still states that he belongs in the Hall of Fame due to his hitting ability alone. This taught me a lot. You can hate someone and still acknowledge their accomplishments.

I’m not trying to start the argument that Rose belongs in the Hall, which I feel he does, I’m just using it as an example of a person throwing personal interests aside for the sake of the accomplishment. Rose bet on games, that’s a fact now, but whether he bet or not doesn’t effect how many hits he got while playing. These are facts and that’s that. The bottom line in all this is this, to include your personal opinions into the argument is ridiculous.

There will always be an argument as to who belongs in the Hall, but it should never include personal opinions on the person. Athletes, Actors and any of us at WORK should only be judged on the performance at work relative to the job now. Don’t judge someone on what someone did 20 years ago, it was a different time, and don’t judge work performance on who the person is outside of the job. It only matters on the performance at work.

The Hall of Fame vote is similar to the MVP vote in this aspect. Example here, why the hell was Tim Tebow voted the MVP of the National Championship game over Percy Harvin? I’ve gotta believe that anyone who watched that game thought Harvin was more valuable than Tebow on that day, maybe not the whole year, but that game. Nothing will ever change in all of this, but I felt the need to put my opinion out here anyway. I’ll get to the rest of the Tampa Bay goings on later.

Technorati Tags: Alex Rodriguez, Andre Dawson, Babe Ruth, Barry Bonds, Don Zimmer, Florida Gators, Hall of Fame, Hank Aaron, Harold Baines, Manny Ramirez, Mark McGuire, Mickey Mantle, National Championship, New York Yankees, Percy Harvin, Pete Rose, Sammy Sosa, Tampa Bay Rays, Tim Tebow, Ty Cobb

The Heater has put out a post that Rocco Baldelli is all but gone. Rocco has basically become an afterthought now with the signing of Pat Burrell and the limited funds left that we assume will go toward the bullpen. That’s fine. The Rays owe nothing to Rocco and Rocco owes nothing to the Rays. I do find myself lost at the destinations that are being mentioned though. Here’s the list being reported.

• Pirates/Orioles:The Rays just got themselves out of the perennial losers club and Roc got to be a part of it, why go back to one? Either of these teams would be a horrible decision for Roc unless it was a one year deal just to prove he can play again, but he has even stated that he’s unsure if he can play the field everyday. Bad Choices here.
• Yankees: Why why why?! It’s bad enough that Roc has drawn comparisons to Joe DiMaggio, why go and put that type of pressure on yourself? Injuries, the Joe D comparison and the pressure to win would make Baldelli target practice for the firing range of reporters and fans in New York. Bad!
• Reds: Can’t DH there and they’re another non contender. The Reds could get better though and Rocco could be in a platoon situation there. This is puzzling only because of Rocco’s statements about playing the field, but if the money is right I could see it.
• Phillies: There is a combination of things I see wrong with this, though it’s not as bad a choice of the previously mentioned. First, don’t you think it would bother a guy playing for the team that just beat you in the World Series? It would bother me, but maybe I’m being a little juvenile about it. The same things about pressure and playing the field come into play here also, but the city bothers me most. Why would someone as laid back as Rocco want to go to that hellhole? The team seems classy, but the fans are the worst in sports. He might as well go play soccer in Germany!
• Red Sox: This would be the toughest for all of us Rays fans to swallow. How could Rocco do this?! I realize he’s from Rhode Island and it would basically be going home, but why? The Sox are generally a classy team and the city would embrace him like a long lost son, but why?! He could DH on occasion and be a fourth outfielder, but….never mind.

The most frustrating thing to me with all this is that all signs point to Boston. He’s a homer, a great guy and a great story. It would probably be a childhood dream come true for him, but damn, why Boston? Given the rivalry that the Rays have developed with the Sox over the years, even before the Rays were good, how could he switch sides like that? It’s just sickening to me.

I’ve heard people tell me they think Rocco should give the Rays a discount and come back for a year because they were so patient with him and his condition, but I don’t agree with that. He couldn’t help what happened and neither could the Rays. Giving guys money like the Rays gave Rocco are always a risk and that’s why. It’s not like Baldelli didn’t want to play, he couldn’t. Again, no one owes anyone anything here. My problem with this whole thing, and I think I speak for most fans, is the rivalry part of it.

The bottom line is this whole thing is this, Roc will most likely be in a Red Sox uniform next year and that will suck. It is a scenario I’m not used to as a fan. It’s not like Clemens going to the Yankees or anyting. It’s a guy going back to play for his hometown team and continuing his baseball career. As easy as that is to understand, I’d like to think that we mean as much to him here as he did to us and that would prevent him from going. It’s so hard to wrap my head around because I don’t think he’ll chase the money, I think he wants to go home. I understand it all, but it’s still hard for me to get.

For me it’s like this. I was a Marine. Marines are a department of the Navy. Anyone who’s been in the military knows there is a huge rivalry between branches and we all talk shit about each other. That being said, there is no Marine Corps football team. There’s an Army, Navy and an Air Force, but no Marine Corps. Being a department of the Navy, we root for Navy when these teams play each other, but I would never want to be in the Navy. Get it? I respect everyone, but I’m a Marine and I take pride in that and could never don another’s uniform. The problem with me relating it this way is because there isn’t big money involved. Every jarhead I know would tell you the same thing I just did, but if someone offered me a couple mil to put on the ice cream whites, well.

Capping this drawn out thing off, I wish Rocco well where ever he goes, I just hope it’s not Boston.

Technorati Tags: Air Force, Army, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Cincinatti Reds, Joe DiMaggio, Navy, New York Yankees, Pat Burrell, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburg Pirates, Rocco Baldelli, Roger Clemens, Tampa Bay Rays, United States Marine Corps

The Bolts have been a bad team for a couple seasons now and they have become a laughing stock inside the NHL with the circus that they created since acquired by Oren Koules. They are playing better lately but still aren’t anywhere close to the realm of contention and yet I still believe they will be soon. Why? I have come up with some reasons, though they may be lame, and I’ll lay them out for you.

• I like Rick Tocchet. He has the kind of personality that makes you believe he’s got things going in the right direction. He’s a disciplinarian but he seems to have a good relationship with his players and that shows the type of people skills you want in a coach and the team plays hard for him. We’ll see if his plan works, but I like him up top for now.
• We still have Marty and Vinny. Anytime a team has two scoring machines like these guys, they could get hot and jump into contention any minute. Vinny has been hampered with a bad shoulder and looks to have lost something, but he’s not old and I think we all believe he’ll take off at some point. The problem with that statement by itself is that we all have been sort of waiting for the huge season since his arrival. Vinny works hard and has a good attitude but it seems like he’s content with being a star and not a superstar. Vinny has never put together one of those seasons where he just completely distances himself from the rest of the pack and yet for some reason we still believe he will. Puzzler. Marty is Marty and there’s no denying what he is, the ultimate hockey player in someone else’s body. Hope carries us here.
• The defense and goaltenders have showed improvement. There have been a couple solid performances but it hasn’t been consistent enough yet to say they get it, but they look to be on their way. We’re all waiting for them to show more than flashes of it, but the spurts give us hope.

All in all, we may have just overrated this team the last couple years and that’s why we’ve been disappointed and they just are what they are, but I still take the road of optimism here. Even in laying these points out I’m not convinced myself, but every time I watch this team I think it’s coming. They head to Phoenix for a tough one tomorrow so maybe the good team will show and give us more hope. If not, maybe I just need to drink more when watching this club.

Technorati Tags: Martin St. Louis, Oren Koules, Phoenix Coyotes, Rick Tocchet, Tampa Bay Lightning, Vinny Lecavalier

The Magic invited the Wizards into Orlando last night for what has become common occurrence, a loss. Granted these are the Gilbert Arenas-less Wizards, but they are an NBA team none the less. Caron Butler went off for 29 points but got little help as the Magic’s balanced scoring and good defense carried them throughout. Hedo looks to be shaking off the hideous slump he’s been in the last couple games as he scored 22 on 6 of 12 shooting to lead the Magic to the 89-80 win.

Dwight Howard chipped in his usual double double with 15/16 and the good offensive numbers pretty much end there. Lewis and Nelson had 26 combined on 9 of 29 combined shooting, though they hit 4 of 10 from down town. It looks like they may be headed toward a little slump themselves but I actually would like to see that. I personally would like to see the slumps go up and down until the end of the season and have everyone get hot for the playoff run, but maybe I’m being too optimistic. My favorite thing about tonight’s game was that Courtney Lee got the start. I’m developing an Evan Longoria like man-crush on this guy and really want to see him getting more action. He’s lightning quick and very aggressive on both ends of the floor. He really plays the type of ball that need more of here and he could definitely be the guy to compliment Turk in driving the lane and drawing some fouls while Nelson and Lewis drop bombs from the outside.

This was a nice warmup game for the Magic as they head to Atlanta to take on the Hawks, who are only 4 games behind the Magic and hold the fourth best record in the Eastern Conference. Atlanta seems to be the team everyone forgets about when they’re talking about the Eastern Conference, but these guys are tough and they always give us a tough game, so the Magic better be ready.

Technorati Tags: Atlanta Hawks, Caron Butler, Courtney Lee, Dwight Howard, Evan Longoria, Gilbert Arenas, Hedo Turkoglu, Jameer Nelson, Orlando Magic, Rashard Lewis, Washington Wizards

• Full Name:Carl Demonte Crawford
• Birthplace: Houston, TX
• Born: 08/05/1981
• Position: LF
• Bats/Throws: L/L
• Years Pro: 7
• How Acquired: 2nd round draft pick (52nd overall) in 1999

What we know: Crawford was a multi-sport star at Jefferson Davis High School in Houston where he played football, basketball and baseball. He was also a member of the swim team in high school. Crawford turned down a basketball scholarship to play point guard for UCLA and a football scholarship to play quarterback for Nebraska to play baseball for the Devil Rays.

Crawford is a two time All-Star (‘04 and ‘07) who has led the American League in stolen bases four times and is one of the best defensive left fielders in the game today due to his tremendous speed. Crawford is also the Rays all time leader in At Bats, Plate Appearances, Runs, Hits, Strikeouts, Stolen Bases, Triples and Singles. He has won many awards over the years with the organization and is the longest tenured player with the team now. Crawford is also one of only eight players in baseball history to accumulate 1,000 hits and 250 stolen bases before the age of 27.

What we think: Carl has essentially been the face of the franchise since he’s been here and will continue to be while sharing the spotlight with others. Crawford had a down year in 2008 as he had his lowest output in SB’s and batting average since his rookie campaign. Although ‘08 was a down year he made it back from injuries to help the Rays through their dramatic playoff run and into their first World Series. Crawford is a talented player but I don’t think we’re going to see the power output we all have thought we would see out of Carl until he learns some plate discipline, but it’s hard to pick on a guy who produces what he has over the years for this team.

Picture courtesy of Dennis Adair on Flickr.

For stats click here.

Technorati Tags: Carl Crawford, Jefferson Davis High School, Nebraska Cornhuskers, Tampa Bay Rays, UCLA Bruins, World Series

I’m currently working on some player cards for the site. These are going to be short bio type things with basic info and a short opinion of what we think of the players on our beloved teams that we cover. I’m not a fan of profiles or anything like that because I’m not a journalist, I’m just a guy writing about things I love. I’m having a hard time currently with trying to put stats to them so if I can’t figure it out I’ll just put a link to the players stats in the post. These will be done randomly and for teams in their off-season as they’re easier to track, so for now we’ll be working on Rays and Buc players and the Lightning and Magic players will be done when their seasons are over. Post any ideas you may have in the comments of this post and I’ll have the first one out this evening.

Technorati Tags: Orlando Magic, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Tampa Bay Rays