The Rays tie record in futility. By:Scott Puffer

On June 25th the Tampa Bay Rays dropped a game to the Arizona Diamondbacks losing 1-0 at Tropicana Field. In a game that was supposed to be about the Upton brothers playing in a game against each other for the first time, it became much more than that. Arizona starting pitcher Edwin Jackson Started out very shaky at best.The Arizona pitching coach made a trip to the mound,and there were relief pitchers warming up in the bullpen in the third inning.

And then something amazing happened!...

Edwin Jackson not only makes it out of the third inning after walking the bases loaded, but stays in the game and goes on to throw a "no-hitter" against the Rays!

(Here comes the history part)

The Rays became the first team since the 2001 Padres to be no-hit twice in a season, and the first team in history to be no-hit three times within a one-year span. On July 23 2009 Chicago White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle hurled a perfect game versus Tampa Bay. In the two that have come against the Rays this season, the first on May 9th was also a perfect game by Oakland's Dallas Braden. That brings us back to June 25th and Jackson's "no-no" at the Trop. Edwin Jackson walked eight batters and hit a player with a pitch on 149 pitches, the most pitches ever for a no-hitter in MLB history.

It was an incredible performance, thus making this this (in my opinion) the greatest no-hitter in recent history if not ever! You see the other pitchers (Buehrle and Braden) were in control the entire game, where Jackson was on the verge of getting yanked and battled back to earn his.

This is my opinion on this game, now I would like to hear from you! Tell me what you think the greatest no-hitter was and why.

Crawford's hit lifts Rays. By:Scott Puffer

Just as he did in 2003 against the Boston Red Sox ,Ray's left fielder Carl Crawford ended Tuesdays home opener in dramatic fashion. Though it wasn't a walk-off home run this time, Crawford's 2 rbi walk-off single was enough to rally Tampa Bay past the Baltimore Orioles.

The Orioles would jump out to a 2-0 lead on the strength of two solo HR's hit by Adam Jones and Luke Scott off of Ray's starter James Shields who matched a career high by allowing three home runs.

Sean Rodriguez, in his first game as a Ray, got the rally started with a one-out single. Kelly Shoppach, pinch-hitting in his first at-bat as a Ray, followed with a double high off the left-center field wall.After the Orioles intentionally walked Jason Bartlett, Crawford delivered the winner to right off lefty Mike Gonzalez."That definitely felt like an '08 win,'' Crawford said. "We did that a lot. Hopefully we can get that feeling back.''

It was the second time Crawford had a walk off hit on opening day —in 2003 he hit a three-run homer to beat the Red Sox.


Rays 4, Orioles 3

Spring Training By:Scott Puffer

The Tampa Bay Rays dropped another spring training game today for their second straight loss in as many days losing 9-6 to the Detroit Tigers. In Saturday's loss the Marlins "out duelled' the Rays 8-5 to give Tampa Bay a(MLB Best) record of 9-3 this spring.

The biggest surprise for me this spring has been the play of second baseman Sean Rodriguez who was acquired in the Scott Kazmir deal last season. Rodriguez is batting .400 this Spring with 4 HR's and 9 RBI's and 4 walks with a OBP of .483 in only 10 games so far.

The Ray's seem to be playing very consistent baseball so far and I am extremely happy with the fact that our starting pitchers have been involved from the beginning the year ,unlike last spring where the starters didn't pitch consistently until the very end of of the exhibition season. I truly believe that the extremely slow start that the club got off to last season that put them in a hole too deep to climb out of, was because of the year long "babying' of pitchers.

It is still fairly early in Spring Training ,but this exhibition season has the feel of two seasons ago when the Ray's won 19 Spring games and they seem to have the same "fight" in them to go out and win every game!

We all know what happened two seasons ago... I'm just saying... The Ray's are built to win and some experts have picked them to win the AL East again.

What are you thoughts and comments?
React to me!...

SUPER BOWL XLIV

SUPER BOWL XLIV...Who ya got? The Colts an Saints will square off tonight in south Florida and I would like to hear from you on who you think will win the game! I think that the experience of Manning and the Rest of the Colts will be key in stopping the Saints. New Orleans has never been to a Super Bowl I Feel that they are satisfied just getting to the "Big Game", while the Colts are trying to win it all again at the site of their last Super Bowl victory in 2006. I am also biased because those "stinkin" Saints are in my Buc's division and I hate them!!..lol. That being said I like the Colts and QB Peyton Manning to win their second Title in the last three years!

P.S No team that lost to the Buccaneers in the regular season has ever gone on to win the Super Bowl!!

Have I given you enough to talk about? Colts and Saints fans (or football fans)...REACT TO ME! Give me your reason why your team will win.

Heating up the "stove" By: Scott Puffer

With about 28 days until spring training and 60 days until opening day, the Tampa Bay Rays are giving us something to talk about. The Rays announced Wednesday that they have signed three players adding one to the 40-man roster,and giving the other two minor league contracts with invitations to spring training. Mike Ekstrom was claimed off waivers from the Padres and added to the 40-man roster and catcher Alvin Colina and left-handed pitcher Heath Phillips were signed and are invited to join the Rays in spring training.

In 2009 Ekstrom (26yrs old) pitched in 12 games over two stints with the Padres. He spent the remainder of the season with Triple-A Portland, where he went 4-2 with a 1.73 ERA in 42 appearances (one start). The Oregon native was selected by San Diego in the 12th round of the 2004 First-Year Player Draft. He is also a four-time All-Star over six Minor League seasons and was the Padres' Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2006.

Alvin Colina the 28 year old catcher has played parts of 11 seasons in the Minor Leagues,and appeared in two games for the Colorado Rockies in 2006. He hit .262 with eight home runs and 42 RBIs in 67 games with the Triple-A Gwinnett Braves in 2009.

Heath Phillips,27 was a member of the Rays' organization briefly in 2008, when he appeared in nine games (three starts) for Triple-A Durham. He was selected by the White Sox in the 10th round of the 2000 Draft,and pitched six games in relief for Chicago in 2007. This past season he went 8-7 with a 4.99 ERA in 27 appearances with Triple-A Omaha in the Royals' organization.

Anaheim 2, Tampa Bay 1 By: Scott Puffer

The Anaheim Ducks skated into the St. Pete Times Forum Friday night looking to snap a two game losing streak where they had lost three out of their last four road games. The lightning on the other hand were trying to extend their season best streak of three games winning four of their last five games.

Tampa Bay struck first when Martin St. Louis scored his (15) goal of the season which gave center Steven Stamkos his (26)assist at the 9:47 mark of the first period. Tampa Bay would take that 1-0 lead into the locker room for the first intermission.

The Ducks would answer the lightning's goal at the 6:36 mark of the second period with a power play goal(ppg) from James Wisniewski. The goal was Wisniewski's (3)goal of the season and his(2)ppg, with assists going to Ryan Getzalf(37) and Ryan Whitney for his(20) assist of season.

The two teams would take this 1-1 tie through the end of regulation and a scoreless overtime period. On to the shoot-out ,which went as follows:

Shootout Summary:

Shootout GOAL scored by Steven Stamkos on Jonas Hiller (Backhand 7 ft)
Shootout attempt by Corey Perry SAVED by Antero Niittymaki (Wristshot 17 ft)
Shootout attempt by Jeff Halpern SAVED by Jonas Hiller (Wristshot 12 ft)
Shootout GOAL scored by Ryan Getzlaf on Antero Niittymaki (Wristshot 8 ft)
Shootout attempt by Brandon Bochenski SAVED by Jonas Hiller (Wristshot 11 ft)
Shootout GOAL scored by James Wisniewski on Antero Niittymaki (Wristshot 21 ft)

Lightning goalie Antero Niittymaki stopped 31 of the 32 shots he faced,but in the end it was the Anaheim Ducks escaping with the 2-1 victory!

"2010 Buccaneers Draft"

With the stench of the Buccaneer's 3-13 season squarely in the rear view mirror,the team is preparing to stop to re-fuel. The next stop is this years NFL Draft in April where the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have five out of the top ninety-nine picks to fill some of their many needs.

This years Draft is supposed to be the deepest in many years because of more juniors leaving early in order to beat the impending lock-out or "work stoppage" in 2011. The discussion of a rookie salary cap also has underclassmen scrambling to declare for the Draft. With Tampa Bay having so many prime picks they can't afford to miss as in years past i.e.taking Gaines Adams at number four, and moving up to get(bust) Dexter Jackson.

Buccaneer's GM Mark Dominik came out this past week and said that the Buc's would be spending "little to no money in free agency", and instead be building "through the Draft".I agree that you need to build a team with the Draft, but you also need veterans and leaders and after cutting Derrick Brooks they had NO leaders! I think that the Buccaneers need to address the following positions in this years Draft:

Safety- Tampa Bay spent most of the season trying to hide safety Sabby Piscitelli in coverage. One Possible answer is taking Tennessee's Eric Berry with the third overall pick.Berry is a play maker and he can be the leader of a defense right away.

Defensive Tackle- Buc's desperately need a pass rusher and their current DT's are under-sized. Most likely DT Ndamukong Suh from Nebraska will be gone,so I like DT Gerald McCoy from Oklahoma . McCoy is a beast in the middle and he can play both the pass and the run. He is definitely a top 5 Draft Prospect and I think he can impact the team immediately.

Wide receiver- With WR Antonio Bryant all but gone and Michael Clayton and his 16 catches (as a #2 WR) pondering skipping town,the Buc's need to address the Wide-out position. If they are going to take a WR early Dez Bryant WR from Oklahoma State is my choice.

The Buccaneers actually need one more good player on the OL and three WR's on the offensive side of the ball,but their main problem is on defense. Tampa Bay averaged giving up 160yds per game rushing,and gave up nine pass plays of 40 yards or more in 2009. Although the team's 3-13 record was less than stellar,they showed signs of promise and "buying into" coach Morris and his system. They did win two out of their last three games (both road games),and came from behind to beat the New Orleans Saints who are in this years Superbowl!

Reaction!

If you mess with the BULL,you get....the BOOT!

USF fans... Your new football coach is Skip Holtz! How do you feel about this?
Their last few seasons were carbon copies of one another starting 5-0 by beating up on the " cup cake" teams Like Wofford, Elon,Western Kentucky,and Charleston Southern and then falling apart once they get into conference play. Give Jim Leavitt all the credit in the world for building the team from nothing, but that's it!

I got tired of Jim Leavitt's hyper-act watching him embarrass himself and the program on National T.V by coming out after half time with a bloody nose from head-butting a player that had a football helmet on!...BY THE WAY BATTERY (ON JOEL MILLER ) IS A CRIME the last time I checked! I hated to watch USF get over-hyped (mainly by it's students and fans) and then come crashing down to Earth by playing undisciplined football. Now we all understand why.

Skip Holtz is a better coach Who has won the Conference USA Championship the past two seasons, and as far as recruiting talent he coached Titans RB Chris Johnson.Even before this latest incident I felt that he wasn't the right guy to get the team the"over the hump" and now maybe USF will finally beat Pitt,Cin, and Rutgers and have a shot at winning a Big East Championship!
REACT!

KEEP FOX ON!

Fox and Time Warner/Bright house need to do what ever it takes to come to an agreement and keep fox on our cable system. It is NOT right to monopolize most of the NFL games, American Idol,NCAA bowl games, and Most of the good HD programming that is on prime time TV and then rip the broadcast signal away from us at perhaps the most compelling time in the television season with hardly any warning at all. They(fox) have also managed to monopolize most major sporting Championship series' ie: The World Series and Super Bowl, and as a Florida Gator fan I am appalled that they have decided to use Tim Tebow's last game as a Gator as a pawn to hold millions of fans hostage!

KEEP FOX ON!

To make your point go to http://www.keepfoxon.com/ and let your voice be heard!

THIS JUST IN: Hades HAS BEEN HIT BY A BLIZZARD!

BREAKING NEWS: The schools are closed, the Lake of fire is now buzzing with ice skaters, and the ski slopes are full of people skiing and sledding due to the fact that "Hell has indeed frozen over". Why you ask?... Because against all odds and with a rookie quarterback the 0-7 Buccaneers BEAT the Green Bay Packers 38-28 to earn their first victory of the season.

The game started out just like every other Buc's game this season with Aaron Rogers hitting WR James Jones on a 74 yd touchdown strike completely torching CB Elbert Mack just three minutes into the game. At this point you're thinking "Here we go again" this is going to be ugly, but then after the Bucs go three and out and on the Packers second possession something happens...

The Packers tried to throw across the middle of the field and "Burnt Toast"RRrr Elbert Mack intercepted an Aaron Rogers pass returning it to the Green Bay 6 yd line setting up the Bucs first TD of the day (a 6 yd TD to Derrick Ward) and rookie QB josh Freeman's first ever touchdown pass in the NFL. The Packers regained the lead on their next series to go up 14-7 on a 2yd run by Ryan Grant with 2:39 left in the first Quarter and held the lead until something amazing happens...

At 11:59 of the second quarter Tampa Bay linebacker Geno Hayes storms in to block a Jeremy Kapinos punt and Ronde Barber "scoops and scores" returning the blocked punt 31yds for his 14th career touchdown. The Buccaneers first victory was the result of a complete team effort meaning...

1. Offense



2. Defense



3. Special teams

Buccaneer QB Josh Freeman was 14/31 for 205 yds 3Td/1 int and his three touchdowns in his first game is the best by a rookie QB since 1976.

Packers QB Aaron rogers entered the game vs. Tampa bay with the leagues best passer rating threw 3 interceptions and was sacked six times.His passer rating for the game was 57.6...Ouch!

This was only one win for the Buccaneers, but it was a starting point to start building on for the future. With the right players and better talent around Josh Freeman I think the Bucs will be ok, but its going to take some time!...Be Patient.

Your thoughts...

Online Gaming...At What PRICE?

I am just a bit bent on this new practice of Gaming companies charging a fee to play online! I guess that Xbox has charged various fees for their Xbox live feature which allows users to play online for as long as I can remember, so this is not my biggest problem because I'm also new to Xbox.

My problem is with the PlayStation network or (PSN) who are already "Cleaning Up" making Millions with all of the add on content to many different games which has to be purchased in the PlayStation store.This issue alone is fine I guess to a certain degree, but to expect users who purchase games to pay extra to play online where in the past the online features of those games were free is ABSURD!

Those of us who play Madden found out in this years version that in order to get the free code to play the "New" and "Highly Pimped" online franchise mode you had to buy the game new at around $65 ,so if you rented Madden 10 or bought it used you are out of luck....

But WAIT!!

Your in LUCK!...or they are. You can also purchase the online franchise feature in the PlayStation store for $10, so couple that with the add on content that pops up almost every day and Sony/ PlayStation is "Triple Dipping" and making millions. With the release of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 just days away (11/10/09) I have heard rumors of having to pay to play online for this game also, but I must say that when I spoke with one Game Stop employee about this he said that he had not heard anything about this...so I hope it's not true!

We will have to keep our eyes on this and see if this pattern continues.

Your thoughts on this topic....

We don't know what to "Bull- ive" anymore.

In a prime-time nationally televised game between two unbeaten teams in the Big East which had been hyped and touted as (8)Cincinnati's offense versus (21)USF's defense,only the Bearcat's offense showed up. I shouldn't say that the Bull's defense didn't show up at all , just not at key game changing moments of the game. In the first quarter after holding the Bearcats to a 37yd field goal, true freshman quarterback B.J. Daniels connected with WR Jessie Hester for a 28yd touchdown strike with 6:14 left in the first quarter to take a 7-3 lead. On the next USF possession Daniels threw an interception to Aaron Webster (Webster's 3rd int this season) which he returned 83 yds and set Cincinnati up on the Bulls three yard line.With a Tony Pike 3yd TD pass to Armon Binns The Bearcat's were on top once again and never looked back.

The USF bull's proved once again that they are an undisciplined football team racking up 12 penalties for a whopping 113yds with CB Jerome Murphy collecting three personal foul penalties all on his own with two penalties taking away good field position and possible points, and the other one setting up Cincinnati inside the 10yd line which led to a Bearcat touchdown. With Tony Pike leaving the game at the start of the second half with an injured left arm, and the Bulls down 17-10 I actually thought that USF had a good shot at Taking this game.Tony Pike would not return and on their first possession (after Pike's injury) his replacement Zach Collaros executed a Quarterback draw that went fo 75 yds and a touchdown.

THIS WAS THE BACK BREAKER TO USF'S DEFENSE:

You see every season The Bulls get off to a good start after playing NO ONE. The Florida state game looked big at the time, but everybody (who is not Mormon) is beating up on FSU week after week making that win not look as big as once thought.Every year USF players and fans get too full of themselves until after their first loss which seems to derail their season as evidence of two years ago when the Bulls moved up the rankings to #2 in the nation, only to be destroyed by Oregon in the Sun Bowl. Jim Leavitt is a good coach , but is not the right man to get them over the top and to a BCS Bowl.

Your Thoughts...

Which Playstation2,Ps3, Xbox360,or Wii games are you playing right now?

Hey I was just wondering what PlayStation 2,PS3, Xbox 360,or Wii games everyone is playing the most right now? Is it a sports game or a shooter or maybe something altogether different like a fantasy or role playing game. My favorite games right now are Madden 10, NHL 10, and NBA Live 10 for the PlayStation system.The other day when I was playing Madden I was backed up on my own 2yd line with the Buccaneers and threw a screen pass to Antonio Bryant who scored a 98yd TD and also had a 75 yd TD run with Derrick Ward in the same game against Dallas.I would like to hear one of your best moments from one of your favorite games...

WANTED : NEW OWNERS THAT WANT TO WIN!

MEMO TO THE GLAZER FAMILY: YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!


The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are sputtering into week 5 at 0-4 and I blame the Buc's owners for this season's debacle. The Buccaneers are 30 million dollars UNDER the salary cap, and have had the LOWEST payroll for the past five seasons. The bottom line is They have no cash and their interests are elsewhere ie:(Manchester United) where they also had to sell Ronaldo who in my opinion is the best player in soccer because they are strapped for cash. The Buccaneers made no significant off season moves in free agency to address the "holes" in the defense and in the 09 draft also neglected to draft defense, and instead MOVED UP to draft yet another Quarterback who is not even playing in this LOST season...

Since the 2002 season when the Bucs won Super Bowl XXXVII The price of season tickets has been steadily increasing,while the "product" and the team on the field has been has been dismantled and becoming increasingly bad. After starting the 2008 season at 9-3 the Buccaneers went on to lose their final four games(miss the playoffs), and after starting the 09 season 0-4 have lost their last eight games in a row. Year after year we always hear how they are going to make a "splash" in free agency by signing a "Tiger Woods"like free agent ie:The Brett Favre & Albert Hainsworth sweepstakes only to lose out to other teams because they can't pay the signing bonus and up front money.

We need new ownership whose interests and passion are in winning football games and not a certain soccer team in England! What are you thoughts and comments? React to me...

Week 1 Buccaneers vs Dallas

In week one the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be taking on the Dallas Cowboys in a match up that will be a definite test for this years Buccaners team. The Cowboys will be making the trip into Raymond James Stadium without T.O. (now w/ Buffalo) who was released in the off season, but still have very capable receivers in Williams, Crayton, and TE Jason Witten. The also have their Running back tandem of Marion Barber, and Felix Jones along with a Beast of an offensive line.



For the Buccaneers to have a shot in this game they need to:

1. Stop the run - The defense has to contain Barber and Jones or they will run all over them all day long.


2. Pressure the QB- The Bucs must get to Romo and pressure him. If they can't sack him, they at least have to pressure him and hurry his throws.
3. The Buccaneers MUST: RUN, RUN, RUN the football to set up play action or it's going to be a very long day.

4. Last the Bucs have to use play action to take some shots down field. When they do take the big shots down field,they MUST capitalize on them!!

With all of this said I believe it is going to be a hard fought and close game and will be the first chance to see what this years Bucs team is made of, but in the end I believe that it will be a 24-17 win for the Dallas Cowboys.

Your thoughts....React to me!

Buccaneers (2009)

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are coming off of a disappointing 2008 season to say the least, after a promising 9-3 start they ended their season in devastating fashion dropping their final four games and finishing up the 2008 campaign with a 9-7 record. After the season in a some what shocking, but "long overdue" move the bucs ownership fired head coach Jon Gruden who had a 57-55 record as head coach in Tampa Bay after seven seasons.

In the off-season Raheem Morris who was recently promoted from defensive backs coach to defensive coordinator was now named head coach of the Buccaneers at 32 years old. In yet another surprise set of off-season moves the Bucs cut two of their offensive leaders from 2008 in QB Jeff Garcia who led the team in passing with 2,712 yds passing with 12 touchdowns and 6 int's, and RB Warrick Dunn who led all RB's with 786 yds on 186 carries. This was nothing though compared to the news in February That Derrick Brooks-Long time Defensive anchor and leader (not to mention FAN Favorite) was also a casualty in the new regime

With the 2009 NFL season set to get under way in six days, we will have to wait and see what this year holds for the Buccaneers. I will say this it should be interesting from week to week with a whole new coaching staff, a new starting QB (Byron Leftwitch) who is average at best with his inaccuracy and huge baseball pitcher like windup. I also feel that they should have addressed the wide receiver position in either free agency or the draft, but they will have to work with what they have. How Do you think that the Bucs will do this year? Will they have a winning record, or be below .500 and have a rebuilding year? I would like to hear from you Bucs Fans...