Sticks of Fire: a Tampa blog

Would you believe that Warren Sapp could actually win this thing?  He’s made it to the top three.

You do realize that if he wins, he will never shut up about it.

First we got news that Warren Sapp was going to Rhumba across our television sets (and he is apparently doing something right, now in the top six five).

But now we get the news that Warren’s good buddy (heh!) Keyshawn Johnson is doing interior design in his own reality show! Can you imagine: “Just give me the damn paint swatches“?

What’s next?  Mike Alstott on Nanny 911?

In 1976, Tampa Bay got it’s first of the four major pro sports teams, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  It wasn’t long before meeting Philadelphia teams in the playoffs became a sort of tradition.

In fact, in their first-ever playoff appearance,  the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 24-17.  That was December 29, 1979.

The first playoff appearance for the Tampa Bay Lightning was also against a Philly team.

Unfortunately, the Tampa Bay Lightning lost to the Philadelphia Flyers (4 games to 2) in the first round of the 1996 Stanley Cup Playoffs.  Those games at Thunderdome versus the Philadelphia Flyers once held the record for fans in attendance at an NHL game.

And yes, Philly ended up beating Tampa Bay a couple of more times in season-ending tournaments.

At the turn of the century, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers twice reached the Wild Card Game against the Philadelphia Eagles.  The Eagles beat the Buccaneers in both years.  21-3 at Philly in 2000, and 31-9 at Philly in 2001.

After that, the tide began to turn.

In 2002, the Buccaneers had to travel to Philadelphia for the NFC Championship.  Tampa Bay won on the road for the first time in their playoff history, in the last football game played at Veterans Stadium.  The Bucs beat the Eagles 27-10 en route to their first Super Bowl appearance.

In 2004, the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Philadelphia Flyers (4 games to 3) in the 2004 Eastern Conference Finals to advance to their first Stanley Cup Finals appearance.

Trouble is that none of those teams from Philly went on to win a championship.  The Bucs won the Super Bowl after beating the Eagles in 2002, while the Lightning won the Stanley Cup after beating the Flyers in 2004.  In fact, the city of Philadelphia has not won a championship in the major sports since 1983 (and that was in something called “basketball“).

• Philadelphia Eagles - the NFL team’s last championship was in 1960 - 48 years ago.
• Philadelphia Flyers - the NHL team’s last championship was in 1975 - 33 years ago.
• Philadelphia Phillies - the MLB team’s last championship was in 1980 - 28 years ago.
• Philadelphia 76ers - the NBA team’s last championship was in 1983 - 25 years ago.

Twenty-five years since a championship in that town.  PhillySucks.com says it best:

“4 teams, 100 seasons, 0 parades.”

Plus, the Phillies are the only American pro team to LOSE 10,000 games.  They blame it all on some Curse of William Penn.  No wonder the Jan Brady of Northeast Cities has the least happy fans.

Anyway, in both hockey and football, Tampa Bay vs. Philadelphia has become quite a fun rivalry.  And now a Tampa Bay team has the opportunity to beat a Philadelphia team in baseball, too.  It all starts Wednesday.

Update Tuesday 10am:  Gary Shelton also notes that it is always Philly, as does the NYT’s Ben Shpigel.  Mick Elliott agrees, but finds out that Philly doesn’t really notice.

We’ve got a lot to cover sports-wise in Tampa Bay and I have been delinquent so we’re covering everything in one post.

RAYS
Let’s get this out of the way - the loss yesterday was a punch to the gut.  It was depressingly ugly but it happened and there’s nothing that can be done to change it.

I think the Rays will win tomorrow and should win convincingly.  Look at it this way: it took a miraculous rally for the Red Sox to get their first win in Boston.  Now the series moves back to St Pete where the Rays have two things going in their favor: 1) they have their ace Jamie Shields starting against a struggling Beckett, and 2) a young Rays team that will have the home crowd behind them.  Momentum is a funny thing in baseball (as the Rays found out last night) and can swing back to the Rays’ favor very easily.

BUCS
Is anyone else excited about the throwback game for next year?  Not only do we get the creamsicle jerseys but the Bucs will introduce a Ring of Honor, both of which have been a long time coming.

It’s been difficult to get a read on the Bucs playoff chances so far; the Bucs have a better team than last season, but the NFC South is also more competitive.  No team in the division has a losing record and the worst team in the division (Saints) is the only divisional opponent to beat the best team (Bucs).  The Falcons have been the surprise team (as a result of a series of events which began with the police raiding a dog kennel in Virginia) but I have my doubts about Atlanta’s staying power.  The Falcons have been riding the Matt Ryan wave but every rookie quarterback has weaknesses and it’s only a matter of time before Ryan’s weaknesses are exposed.

I’m sticking with my preseason predictions, the Panthers are going to be the Bucs main competition for the division title.  Based on last week’s results that bodes well for the Bucs.  The Bucs should continue to be in good shape with Jeff Garcia as the starter (despite what Jon Gruden apparently believes) and will be in better shape once Joey Galloway returns.  More importantly the Bucs defense has returned to dominance.

BOLTS
The NHL season has started and four games in the Bolts have yet to record a victory.  It’s easy to neglect the Bolts considering the success of the Rays and Bucs but their struggles since winning the Stanley Cup are troubling.  You would think that the implementation of a salary cap would benefit a small market team like the Bolts but tying up a majority of their cap in three players may have been a bad idea.  Now the Bolts appear in full on rebuilding mode and headed for a second straight losing season.

In the name of SECURITY, you will now be groped at all Buccaneers games at Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium, even though these pat-downs don’t work.

In the name of SECURITY, x-ray photos of you will be taken at the Tampa Airport beginning next Friday, even though these create images of you virtually nude.

Don’t that make you feel secure?

You have to wonder if the Tampa Tribune is going for some sort of world’s record in poor decision making. After the week they had, how else would you explain the puff piece Q & A with Buccaneers tight end Jerramy Stevens in Anwar Richardson’s “Wide Right” column published on Sunday?

Stevens, who has a history of arrests for assault with a deadly weapon, marijuana possession, sexual assault and drunk driving (if you want details, click here, but prepare for a long read… and to be thoroughly sickened) is in his first season with the Buccaneers.

“I can remember the worst beating I got. It wasn’t painful because of the physical part, but it was painful because of the trauma of the situation. When I was a little, I set these trees on fire by my house and I called the fire department. I was putting it out, and right as I was getting it out, my dad pulled up and that trauma from the look in his eye lasted a lifetime for me.”

(Cross posted at Ridiculously inconsistent trickle of consciousness)

Tampa on TV:

Warren Sapp is on Dancing With The Stars starting tonight.  So much for the former QB Killa.

Matt Lauer and the Today Show is live from UT in the morning.

If you are going to any Buccaneers games at Raymond James Stadium this year, you may want to chill on the getting obnoxious part.

Wanting to make the football game experience more family-friendly, the NFL announced tougher rules on your actions in the stands back in August. It includes bans on:

• Behavior that is unruly, disruptive, or illegal.
• Drunkenness and signs of alcohol impairment that result in irresponsible behavior.
• Foul or abusive language or obscene gestures.
• Interference with the progress of the game, including throwing objects onto the field.
• Failing to follow instructions of stadium personnel.
• Verbal or physical harassment of fans from the opposing team.

What?  People get drunk at football games?  Well these rules will teach ‘em.  Or not.

During the week one games, a reporter in Pittsburgh found there were still drunk, obnoxious fans at Heinz Field!  Shocking!

To help cut down on all that fanatical behavior, your Tampa Bay Buccaneers have gone a step further, and are giving your seat neighbor an opportunity to tell on you via text message:

On Sundays, fans dealing with abusive spectators can text (813) 277-6501 with their problem and location, and a security or law enforcement officer will arrive.

I’m sure that’ll do the trick.

I love making predictions, especially with the Bucs. Never mind that most of the time they are wrong. So here are my educated guesses on the season for our local NFL collective…

JON GRUDEN WILL KEEP HIS JOB
No subject more sharply divides Bucs fans than their opinions on the head coach. And while I understand where the anti-Grudenites are coming from (losing record in the regular season and playoffs since the Super Bowl run), I have given Gruden the benefit of doubt the last few years. For the first few years, Gruden did not have any high draft picks because of the deal with the Raiders, which cost the Bucs four high draft picks. This put Gruden in a hole, which he is just now digging his way out of. The Bucs will not win in the playoffs this year, but they are building a team that will win soon.

Speaking of winning…

THE BUCS WILL WIN 10 GAMES
Let’s go through the checklist:

1. Weak Division
2. Easy Schedule
3. Great Defense

The Panthers will put up more of a fight this year, but the Bucs are still the best team in a weak conference. The Bucs almost got to 10 wins last season (9) and with the Panthers on their heels, Gruden will not have the option of resting his players for the last two weeks.

JEFF GARCIA WILL PLAY 13 GAMES - AT MOST
Does anyone else cringe every time Garcia rolls out of the pocket? Even from game one last year against the Seahawks, Garcia missed playing time after getting hit while scrambling. Garcia’s best quality (his ability to scramble and make a play) may also be his worst ability, since it increases the likelihood he will be knocked out of the game by a defensive end or linebacker.

BUCSTATS.COM WILL PUBLISH A PICTURE GUARANTEEING NO MORE MAINSTREAM BLOGGING JOBS
In fact, this has already happened several times so this isn’t really prediction. Not that I’m complaining.

DEXTER JACKSON WILL RETURN A KICKOFF AND A PUNT FOR A TD IN THE SAME GAME
This is definitely going out on a limb, but the rookie from App State will be a game changer on special teams. By the end of the season teams will be kicking away from him.

CADILLAC WILL NOT PLAY A DOWN THIS SEASON
I would love to be wrong about this prediction, but I don’t think Cadillac is far enough in his rehab to play football without risking further injury. On the other hand, I think Earnest Graham will have an outstanding season for the Bucs, behind an offensive line that is developing into one of the best in the NFL. Graham does not have the breakout speed that Cadillac does, but he makes up for it with his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield (he might even be a better receiver than Clayton), and will be a top ten fantasy running back this season.

(Note: For those who keep track of such things I have not been around the Sticks much the past few weeks. With Bucs season upon us expect that to change. Coverage of the Bucs will be plentiful on the Sticks for the next five months.)

You have a prediction regarding the Bucs? Throw them in the comments.