Bucs sign LaVar Arrington

So this is the reason Shelton Quarles agreed to take a pay cut.

While certainly unexpected, I can't overstate how much signing LaVar Arrington helps the Bucs. Still in the prime of his career, Arrington is a playmaker who instantly improves a defense. Arrington was forced out of Washington after a falling out with defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. Bucs fans will most likely remember Arrington as the guy who returned a Simms interception to the six yard line, setting up a Clinton Portis touchdown in our playoff game.

Arrington has great sideline to sideline speed, but is most feared for his pass rushing skills. After all he did end Troy Aikman's career. Expect to see Arrington start at the strongside linebacker position replacing Ryan Nece. More on this tomorrow.

Bucs sign tender for offensive tackle...

Torrin Tucker. Details?

The Cowboys have seven days to match the Bucs offer. Since Tucker was an undrafted free agent the Bucs would not have to give up any draft picks if the Cowboys do not match the offer. (Although don't expect the Tribune to know that.)

Tucker (if signed permanently) would compete with Kenyatta at the right tackle position. Yada, yada. Bucs add more depth to offensive line. Yada, yada, yada. Bucs take on another low risk-low reward type player.

Some more love for George Mason

First, I can't get enough Mason stories. This is the best sports story you will see the rest of the year and Coach Larranaga is one of the most entertaining coaches out there.

Second, I'm still rooting for Florida come Saturday. I live in Virginia now and I love the underdog angle, but I grew up rooting for the Gators. That being said I won't be too disappointed if Mason wins.

Anyway, one of the students at Mason has a blog, and it turns out that blog is pretty good.

Of course, this is all hearsay, but my friend overheard a conversation between [ESPN's David] Alrdridge and a typical Mason undergrad female that went something like this:

Aldridge: “So, who was George Mason?”
GMU Girl: “Ummm, I think he was, like, the president or something?”
Aldridge: “The president of the school?”
GMU Girl: “No, of the country!”

Clearly these two have no idea that Mason was a branch of UVA until the show “24” came out four years ago, at which point the school became its own entity and was named after Xander Berkeley’s character.

And, on a final note, I agree with Billy Packer (for once), most of the students who went to Mason weren't smart enough to get into W&M or UVA (or even Tech). Mason, you'll always be a commuter school to me.

Best Bucs Quote of the Day

"I personally think they should throw the ball to Keyshawn every play and not throw to Steve Smith. Know what I mean? I'd do that if I was them. Throw him the ball."

-Coach Gruden on Keyshawn's arrival in Charlotte

More on the Quarles deal

The Shelton Quarles pay cut has got me thinking what the next step is for the Bucs. Restructuring Quarles contract essentially guarantees he'll be around for another two years, but remember that Barrett Ruud is still waiting in the wings.

This is an idea I've batted around before last season, but I could see Monte moving Quarles to the strongside (or Sam) linebacker (replacing Ryan Nece) and promoting Ruud to the starting Mike position. Of course, the Bucs would keep Derrick Brooks on the weakside.

Come draft day, the Bucs could draft (assuming they're still available) Ernie Sims or Chad Greenway to play outside linebacker. Sims or Greenway would back up Brooks and Quarles for a year or two, and then step into the starting spot. The Bucs could then draft an offensive tackle in the second or third rounds.

Mike takes pay cut

Do you think it's any coincidence that after Derrick Brooks announced he was taking a paycut, Shelton Quarles did the same thing? That's the value a guy like Brooks brings to your team which the Randy Mosses (who claims to be a team leader) of the world will never have. Humility is a virtue to Brooks, and that attitude permeates to the rest of his Bucs team mates.

Anyway, thanks to Quarles (the middle linebacker or Mike) the Bucs have some extra money to spend in free agency. Scheduled to make $3.1 M in '06 and $3.75 M in '07, Quarles has restructured his contract to make $1.3 M each of the next two years.

Now here's hoping the Bucs actually spend that money on some additional players.

Follow up to the Mason post from yesterday

Some numbers I've wandered upon in the last day...

~3 Million: The number of brackets entered on ESPN.com

1,854: The number of ESPN brackets which picked Mason to make it to the Final Four

4: The number of ESPN brackets which correctly picked all Final Four teams

And it turns out one of those last four mistook George Mason for George Washington. (Really what's the difference between Fairfax and Foggy Bottom?)

(And yes, that's a rhetorical question since one is the center of power for the White House, State Department and World Bank, while the other is the center of suburbia.)

What They're Saying

New gimmick I'm trying out here at the Best Bucs Blog where I share some of what other people are saying about that day's hot topic. Besides giving you an opportunity to read another opinion, it lets me write an entire post without having to voice my own creative or original thoughts...much like cutthroat. (I kid, I kid)

The NFL Competition Committee is talking about placing a 15 yard penalty on endzone celebrations which would essentially end the touchdown celebrations I have come to know and love from guys like Steve Smith and Chad Johnson. As you can probably already tell I think this is the worst idea since New Coke. Here is what some other people around the blogosphere are saying about this...

From MightyMJD:

You remember how much everyone enjoyed Chad Johnson’s and to a less extent, Steve Smith’s, touchdown celebrations last year? The NFL didn’t like it. They saw you smiling, they saw you laughing, they heard you talking about it with friends and co-workers… and they will have no more of it. Soon, they will send security guards into the stands to slap the beer out of your hand and punch you in the face if you smile.

From Stampede Blue:

We suggest [Chad Johnson] follow the strategy of the receiver Chad most wants to emulate: Marvin Harrison. Harrison, at age 33, is a first ballot Hall of Famer if he retired right now. Right now, at 33, he's still better than the younger and faster Chad Johnson. He has scored 110 total TDs in his career, and after each and every one he has simply handed the ball to the ref and jogged to the sideline.

That's cool. Jim Brown cool.

From Deadspin:

The ball is not to be used as a prop, because the ball is sacred, the ball is sacrosanct, the ball is life.

Sheesh.Talk about sticks in the rectal cavity. Tell ‘em, Chad! “Of course you cannot stop someone as creative as me. How can this bother someone as creative as me?”

Preach on, Chad. Preach. On.

I can understand why the NFL wants to do this but in the end it seems kind of counterproductive. I have coworkers who know nothing about the NFL, but they'll be talking the following Monday about what Chad Johnson did the other day. Which can be a good thing 'cause C.J. is a much better ambassador for football than T.O. (although it's a shame Chad plays for that loser of a franchise in Cincy).

"By George, the dream is alive"

So I'm listening to Fairfax Supervisor Jerry Connolly (the very definition of a grandstanding politician) talk about George Mason and he mentions that "he knew they could do it." Which is obviously a lie, nobody except Phil's mom, picked Mason to get to the Final Four.

Mason was the most overlooked team in the country. Overlooked by the national media (at the end of the season Mason did not receive a single AP vote) and given one of the last five at-large bids in the tournament, few people believed Mason could even beat Michigan State in the first round. But why did nobody predict Mason's success?

1.) Soft Schedule

Mason played one ranked team all year (Wake Forest when they were at 18) and lost. Mason did beat Wichita State at Wichita (which is the win that got them into the tournament) but a win over another mid major is not enough to get Mason much national attention. Even now people are beginning to overlook Mason's second victory over the Shockers in favor of the Michigan State, UNC and UConn wins.

Looking at Mason's record pre-tournament there was nothing to indicate they were capable of making their Final Four run.

2.) Soft Conference

This pretty much goes hand in hand with the previous point, but not many people considered the Colonial Athletic Association to be on par with the ACC or Big East this year. In fact, 200 Best Bucs Points to the person who can name four CAA teams without looking. And I'll know if you're lying since my alma mater is one of those teams (Go Tribe!).

3.) Local media

Mason plays twenty minutes from the two other Georges (-town and Washington) who along with Maryland have stolen the local headlines all season. Maryland and Georgetown carry all the prestige in town and GW finished the season with the best record in the NCAA. Local sports reporters are by nature lazy creatures, and most are not going to look long and hard for a different story.

Many national journalists (and ESPN) find their stories from reading the local guys, so if the local sports reporters are not talking about Mason, there was a pretty good chance nobody else was going to either.


Of course, that has all changed now. From now on George Mason will be synonymous with Cinderella. Next year, come tournament time people will be asking who that year's George Mason will be.

Get your fill early on November 23rd

...'cause the Bucs are playing their first Turkeyday game.

(Which means expect to hear plenty of Troy Aikman and Joe Buck.)

Just a damn fine tournament

Much love to Mason and Florida for their wins today. That makes one team from the Colonial Athletic Association and ZERO teams from the ACC, Big East and Big Ten (+1) in the Final Four. A strong argument is getting stronger that Hofstra should have been invited to the tournamnet. Hofstra had a nearly identical resume to Mason, but Hofstra beat Mason TWICE in the last two weeks of the season.

Very good first two rounds.

Very, very good Sweet Sixteen.

Great Elite Eight.

I don't think there's anyway the Final Four could live up to the excitement of the previous two weekends.

Walker to remain a Buc

Anyone else notice the Bucs are waiting until Friday evenings to make major roster moves? The last couple of Saturdays I've woken up, only to be the last person to find out about the latest big signing. But not today suckas. Today I'm on top of my shit.

Anyway, if I can get back on topic here, the Bucs resigned Kenyatta Walker, which despite Kenyatta's disappointing and dreadful play is a good move. The Bucs need more depth at offensive tackle even if Kenyatta can not block a crash test dummy. Although, it would still be a good idea if the Bucs draft a tackle to compete with Kenyatta for the starter's spot.

Bucs looking for popcorn seller

Word is that Raiders cornerback Charles Woodson was in Tampa yesterday to talk about a possible job with the Bucs. Of course, the problem with that is the Bucs are set at corner with Ronde Barber and Brian Kelly firmly entrenched in the starter spots. So what could Woodson do to help the Bucs?

"Charles will do anything, including selling popcorn, if it's going to help his team win," said Woodson's agent, Carl Poston.

I say Gruden and company hold Woodson to that offer, sign him up and then have him hawk popcorn in the stands for home games. And if (God forbid) Barber or Kelly go down with an injury in the middle of a game, Monte has a guy in the stands already warmed up from lugging around popcorn and ready to go. It's a win-win.

Great White Hype

Great night of college basketball, and those of you who went to bed early missed two great finishes. J.J. Redick, Adam Morrison and Kevin Pittsnogle all went out in dramatic fashion, and in a single night the Great White Hype is over.

As good as the games where yesterday, tonight's game have been the ones I have anticipated the most. A rematch between two midmajors, a promising uptempo game between Villanova and Boston College, and a matchup between two NBA quality big men in Joakim Noah (Florida) and Roy Hibbert (Georgetown). Of course, you know who I'm rooting for...

Go Shockers!

(Tip of the hat to Bad Jocks for the pic find)

A bad week gets worse

Keyshawn now a Panther.

My initial reaction? Good signing by Carolina who will compliment Steve Smith well. Mr. Just-Give-Me-The-Damn-Ball adds some much needed depth to their receiving corp. And with Keyshawn back in the NFC South expect ESPN to mention the little tift between Keyshawn and Gruden a few times (and by few I mean so many times it makes your ears bleed) over the next couple of months.

Keyshawn has already sent a signed copy to Jake Delhomme

Hey Super Fan

You go to all the Bucs home games. You own the Bucs Super Bowl DVD and go to all the fan days. You even take days off from work to drive to Orlando in the summer for training camp. But would you spend five years in jail to watch your team win the Super Bowl? Tank Carter did.

A judge increased jail time from six months to five years for the brother of Pittsburgh Steelers safety Tyrone Carter because he failed to report to prison on time for driving with a revoked license.

Tank Carter went to the Super Bowl instead and said he had no regrets.

"Even knowing what I know now, I would do it again. It was the greatest game in my life," said Carter, who watched the Steelers beat Seattle from the 50-yard line in Detroit on Feb. 5 and partied with rapper Snoop Dogg after the game.

Some kind of parallel can be made here with the original meaning of fanatic, but I'll skip that and just mention that if you're going to spend five years in jail there's no better way to go in than how Tank did. (Of course, in one of life's cruel ironies what are the chances some Seahawks fan makes Tank his bitch?)

(Big tip of the hat to The Sports Frog, and click on the picture for a better view, it's truly amazing the lengths some people will go to)

Not a Good Hump Day

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the center cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,

Ok, I might be overblowing this a bit, but today is not a good day to be a Buc fan, what with the news of Brian Griese's departure and John Abraham's arrival in Atlanta. First I'll touch on the Abraham news.

Atlanta's big weakness (besides Vick's arm) has been the defense's inability to stop the run. Abraham , to put it simply, is a beast and will go a long way towards correcting that deficiency. While he has had problems staying healthy, Abraham is still young (27) and just hitting the peak of his career. Finding a good offensive tackle just became a much higher priority for the Bucs.

It appears many Buc fans could care less that Griese left town...those people are idiots. While Brian certainly is not the second coming of Bob Griese (actually, he is but...well, you know what I mean), Brian Griese is familiar with Gruden's complicated offense and, more importantly, has played well in it. Stats don't lie.

Now, Simms deserves to start next season. But Simms could easily get injured or struggle as teams learn how stop Simms (as the 'Skins did in the playoffs). In which case you need a veteran quarterback who knows the offense to step in. Griese is the only guy (besides Brad Johnson) currently in the NFL who fits that bill.

Moore to remain a Buc

The Bucs resigned tightend Dave Moore today. When asked about the signing Moore responded inquisitively, "The Bucs resigned me? Dave Moore did not even know Dave Moore was still playing in National Football League. Dave Moore fearful of loud booming voice coming from what you call PA speaker."

Dave Moore, he used to be a frozen caveman, now he's a Buc.

Ike and Torrie remain Bucs

This iz soooo kool. Did u here, Bucs resigned Ike Hilliard and Torrie Cox 2day. Now the Bucs are totally going 2 da Super Bowl next year. I can't w8 4 next season. :-)


(The above is my imitation of a poster on the Bucs message board, I'm sure the real thing is much worse.)

SI hack Peter King now stealing my ideas

Sports Illustrated's lead NFL writer Peter King is well known for nonsensical ramblings (anyone remember the "Chad Johnson is cute" line?) and irrational opinions. Apparently Fatty King has caught so much flack for this he is now stooping to stealing opinions from this one horse website. Evidence in point...

Example A: Parcells is the right coach for T.O.

I wrote-

Additionally, Bill Parcells is no stranger to ego-driven personalities having coached Lawrence Taylor and Keyshawn Johnson. If any coach can get the max amount of effort out of T.O. the Big Tuna can.

Fatty King wrote-

You think Parcells hasn't had some wackos before? He put private investigators on the tail of two wide receivers the week of the Giants' Super Bowl with Denver -- and told the guys, Lionel Manuel and Bobby Johnson, he was doing it. He'll find out what it takes to deal with Owens, and for a year at least, it'll be the Nirvana Cowboys.

Extra credit to King for making this point with a far more interesting story, but then again he's been covering the NFL for about 20 more years that I have.

Example B: This is a great move for Dallas

I wrote-

This is not a good move for Dallas, this is a GREAT move for Dallas.

Fatty King wrote-

This is not a good deal for Dallas. It is a fantastic deal. Owens is a great football player in a 14-year-old boy's body.

Over looking the part were Fatty King fantasize about a 14 year old boy's body, this is almost exactly what I wrote.

Example C: The Three Big Dallas Personalities

I wrote-

All that being said, Dallas immediately replaces Philly as the NFL's favorite soap opera. I'm sure sports writers will follow Dallas's Big 3 personalities (Jerry Jones, Parcells and T.O.) like a fat kid follows an ice cream truck.

Fatty King wrote-

Either way, it's going to be great theater. "How'd you like to be ESPN this summer during training camp?'' Simms said. "There won't be time to get in the sports news of the day when Cowboys camp opens up! Half of SportsCenter every night will be Terrell Owens, Bill Parcells, Jerry Jones."

Ok, another advantage to being a writer for Sports Illustrated, you can get quotes from Phil Simms. Still, Peter King is clearly stealing my ideas.



Well, not really, since I doubt Fatty King knows what a blog is, much less ever seen mine. More likely we both came to the same conclusion on the "T.O. to Dallas story" (typing that just sent a cold shudder down my spine, like death slowly creeping up on you). So for this one time, I'll chalk this up to Peter King finally being right.