In defense of the Gators

I'll just get it out of the way, I still think Florida should be the favorites to win the NCAA Championship.

Everyone and their mother are dogging the Gators right now because they've lost 3 out of their last 4 games, and if you've seen any of these games you would to be dogging them to. The Gators came out expecting their opponent to roll over, and then looked confused when their opponents refused to roll over. Still, I think the Gators are a lock to get to the Final Four.

(They ARE the Champs) It's a double edged sword wearing the crown. Sure, you're the king of the hill, but at the same time every peon out there wants a piece of you. Every SEC away game for Florida this year has been the biggest game for their opponent all season. Just look at the Tennessee game, the Vols second biggest alum (behind Larry the Cable Guy) Peyton Manning was at the game and fem fatale coach Pat Summit tried her best to fulfill my fantasy. Nobody could have beat the Vols the way they were playing last night. The Vols shot a .580 field goal percentage and went 21-34 from the 3 point line. NBA team don't shoot that well.

(But it is No Big Ten) The SEC is better this year than most people realize. Just looking at the RPI rankings they are the second best conference behind the ACC, which is even more amazing considering there is only one legit contender in the conference. It was just a few years ago that Kentucky ruled what was essentially a football conference. But times have changed since the SEC was the worst basketball conference and now there is not a bad team in the SEC. Vandy, LSU and Tennessee are all better teams than people give them credit for.

(They Still have Talent) Come Tournament time all that matters, unless your name is George Mason, is how much talent you have. Only two teams can rival Florida's talent (Kansas and UNC). The next week will be the biggest test of Billy Donovan's career seeing as how he has to pick up his team and motivate them to play their best starting. But fortunately, Billy has plenty of talent to work with starting with Al Horford. Horford, not Noah or Brewer, is the backbone and best player on the Gators. Over the past few weeks when the shit hit the fan, it was Horford that stepped up his game. Green may score the most points and Noah may get the most attention but it is Horford that does all the little things such as guarding the opposing team's best player. Next you watch the Gators pay attention to Horford, the rest of the team thrives off what he does.

Anyway, consider me firmly on the Gators bandwagon come March. I think they are the best team in the country. But hey, if I'm talking crazy tell me I'm crazy.

You Should Have Picked Tails

Bucs lose coin flip, pick fourth.

This shouldn't really change the draft all that much since most mocks have the Browns picking Adrian Peterson. Which means Calvin Johnson is still on the Bucs radar, although don't expect Gruden to tip his hand. Although even with Bruce Allen trying to rig the flip the Bucs couldn't win.

Allen actually supplied the only necessary equipment, a special commemorative coin presented to him on behalf of the commander of MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa. A beautiful, multi-colored coin emblazoned with a motto that always inspires Allen – “Mission First. People Always. America Forever.” – it is almost always in his possession. MacDill representatives gave it to Allen before a game last season to recognize the outstanding relationship the team and the military have long enjoyed.

Around the Ebays

(Here Come the 'One Last Stop' Cliches) A bit of good news to lead off the post, the A-Train has declared his intention to return for next season. Since Gruden has already said he would welcome Alstott back all that remains is for the two sides to work out a contract for one more year. The St Pete Times reports the deal would be in the $1.5 million range.

(Is 'Thrashers' the Worst Nickname in the NHL?) The Bolts finish up their two week stretch of division games tonight against Atlanta. Winner of the game takes the division lead. Normally I would point you in the direction of BoltsMag but John has apparently decided to take this game off.

(When are They Bringing Back the Hit Show?) One of this sites favorites blogs, Rays Index is back and bringing the big stick. With the start of spring training, The Professor, is all over the Devil Rays and which pitcher bears a striking resemblance to Bruce Sutter.

(Sign Andre Wadsworth!) Scott continues to make the argument for keeping Simeon Rice, and I'm starting to buy what he's selling. What with the dearth of free agents and the ass load of cash teams have from the new CBA/TV deals I get the feeling we are about a month away from seeing some baseball style exorbitant contracts. By comparison Rice's contract may not seem so painfully high.

i know it's not football but...

It's almost March when means the second best time of the year (or maybe the best if baseball and football in October is not your thing) is just around the corner. Despite Florida's loss I still think they have to be the favorites to win the Tournament, mostly because they have the exact same team which won last year. Every team Florida has played has been gunning for the Gators, much the same way every team looks forward to playing the Super Bowl Champions.

Florida has been playing much closer games than most people have realized, and were actually down by 11 to Alabama at half time last week. Billy Donovan's team have not been playing with a great deal of fire, while Vanderbilt undoubtedly considered Saturday's matchup their most important game all year. Not that I blame either team. The closest Vandy will come to the National Championship is beating Florida, while Donovan has to prepare his team for another month and a half of basketball.

Which leads me to my second point, I think the Gators stand a better chance of winning the National Championship if they lose in the SEC tournament. Everyone knows the Gators have the talent to win it all, it simple comes down to whether they want it enough. Getting handed a loss in their conference tourney would give the Gators that chip on their shoulder to motivate them come NCAA Tournament time. After all it worked last year.

Finally, be sure to check out my sunshine state roundball update at the Sticks, this and every Monday until the NCAA Tournament.

Oh yeah, Vandy's coach is a dick.

Consider this neither here nor there

Every couple has their list (or at least they should). Number One with a bullet on mine has been Christina Ricci. Which is why I thought I had died and gone to heaven when I saw this.


I don't know if it's the chains or Christina running around in her skimpies in the preview, but I want to let my future wife know (because I'm sure she reads this) that she is welcome to join me here in Northern Virginia.

Provided she brings the chains.

It's that damn Lecavalier, he's so hot now

Did you know Vinny Lecavalier is the leading scorer in the league right? I had no idea until Oiler of the Sportsfrog and Breakaway Beach clued me in this morning. It seems the Bolts have been on bit of run the past few weeks....

Overshadowed a bit by the Pittsburgh Penguins recent 11-0-2 run, the second hottest team in the NHL right now has to be the Tampa Bay Lightning.

After dusting off the Coyotes 5-3 last night, the Lightning have won 13 of their last 16 games and have moved just 3 points out of the Southeast Division leading - and currently slumping - Atlanta Thrashers. Tampa Bay also has played two less games than Atlanta has, entering Wednesday's action.

Martin St. Louis is tied for third in total goals scored, and both of the Bolts stars are behind only one player in total points (Sidney Crosby). Their goal play and defense has still been dreadful compared to their Stanley Cup run, but the Bolts have four straight division games on their schedule coming up and a chance to move into first in the division.

(HT to Oiler)

This Post Contains Nothing About the Bucs

Bit of catching up to do....

(A Very Well Trained Monkey) First, as you can tell from the right hand side, I have been fired from AOL's Buccaneer Fanhouse. Citing something about downsizing/outsourcing/globalization I have been handed my pink slip. Quite frankly it was painful to get cut, mainly because the Fanhouse is a unique collection of some of the best bloggers on these here intertubes and ebays (minus yours truly now) but such is business. I believe either someone from India or possibly a well trained monkey will be taking over the Buccaneer Fanhouse. Still I recommend checking it out if you have not done so.

(Something about Closing Doors and Opening Windows) If you are starting to get the ski withdrawal shakes, which is a common affliction affecting Northern Virginia's 20-something female population, you can find me at the Sticks of Fire. If you are not familiar with the Sticks it is the best (and only) collection of Tampa Bay bloggers you can find. I am already writing on local college basketball over there and you can expect to find more draft goodness as April closes.

(So I Lied) This post does contain something about the Bucs. Be sure to catch Scott's position review at The Official Tampa Tribune Buccaneer Blog BucShots. If I could ever find the motivation to do something like this it would not be half as good.

...and my new first round pick for the Bucs is now Amobi Okoye. Check later as I change my prediction on a lunar cycle basis.

One of these two is now writing the Buc Fanhouse

repeat after me. i am. sofa king. retarded.

For those paying attention at home I was 0 for 4 on my Super Bowl predictions, and was wildly off on my prediction of a Bears Super Bowl win, and thus owe BucStats a solid dose of my own humiliation. Check it.

Just for the record Scott, I'm a rebel and I will damn well seperate points with a number, period, parenthesis, semicolon and question mark if I feel like it. Thats just the kind of education you receive from The Streets U.

As for the draft, it's on like Donkey Kong. I think the Bucks will take Al Hordford with their first pick, which would be a steal since I believe Big Al is the most talented player on the Gators. Noah gets all the love cause he's so damn quirky, but Horford is the backbone of the number one team in the country. (Seriously, I'll take Calvin for your double or nothing.)

Random side note on the Bolts, what the hell happened to this team? Was losing the Buhlin Wall that big of a loss to the team? They looked primed for a one of those 5 or 6 year dominating runs, then the strike hits, and the Bolts can't find a decent goalie. John?

And your Super Bowl winner will be......

Before I get to my Super Bowl pick, I would like to mention that I correctly picked da Bears to make it to the Super Bowl before the season started. Suck it Nostradamus AND Miss Cleo. My prognosticating powers are only rivaled by the Sex Cannon's sexual prowess. (We'll just conveniently ignore that I also picked the Bengals to make the Super Bowl.)

Anyway, my pick for el Bowl del Super are the Chicago Bears. And here's why...

(Piss Poor Excuse for Game Analysis) Call me misguided but I have faith in the Sex Cannon. Grossman does have a history of sucking but the games he shat the bed have been unimportant. Take the Bears last season game against the Packers, in which Sexy Rexy went 2-12 for 33 yards passing and three interceptions. That game was meaningless to the Bears, they had already locked up homefield advantage throughout the playoffs.

On the flip side, Peyton Manning has a history of shitting the bed when there is any kind of pressure on him to succeed. This year's AFC Championship is the lone exception to Peyton's long history of choking. Peyton never beat the Gators or won a National Championship when he was at Tennessee. At Indy, Peyton pads his stats against piss poor teams, and then struggles against quality teams. Has everyone forgotten the crime against humanity that was the Colts-Ravens kickfest from just a few weeks ago? Adam Vinatieri is the only reason the Colts beat the Ravens, who are a much better team than the Pats.

My key to the game is a player who nobody has talked about all week, Cedric Benson. In the interest of full disclosure, Benson killed two of my fantasy teams when I made the mistake of actually believing he would be the starting runningback for the Bears. That aside the Tampa Two defense both teams deploy has always been susceptible to a power running game. The Tampa Two relies on speedy under-sized defenders who can be pushed off the line more easily. Of all the four featured runningbacks in today's game, Benson is the only true power back. Even before I saw there was a forecast for rain in Miami today I believed Benson would be the difference in the game.

(Lame Attempt at Comedy) As I did last year, I have a Super Bowl wager with the purveyor of Buc Stats AND Buc Shots. I have the Bears, Scott's taking the Colts. Loser has to supplicate themself before the winner. If my prognosticating skills hold true to form check back in a week to see my humiliation.

Anyway, have a good time at your assorted Super Bowl parties and remember to enjoy what truly matters tonight....the commercials.

Covering Super Bowl Coverage: What Super Bowl?

The two week buildup to the GREATEST SPORTING EVENT EVER is probably slightly uneccessary. In fact, I am absolutely sure it is uneccessary, seeing as how (gamblers take note) the starting defensive end for the Bears has been out drinking in Miami at least twice this week. But has the 2 week delay had a negative effect on the Super Bowl?

The Chicago Tribune actually ran a story today entitled, "Super Bowl hype: Had your fill yet?" Not surprisingly most of the comments on the story ranged from "of course not!" to "da Bears" to "I like Polish sausage." Not that I blame da Bears fans (kilbasa is delicious), 'cause there just hasn't been that much hype. GC at the Sports Frog ran with this story earlier in the week but the hype isn't what I've come to expect from el Bowl del Super.

And ticket buyers, or lack thereof, would tend to agree with me. For the low, low price of $1500 you can buy your self a ticket to the game. Ticket prices have dropped by as much as a grand, mostly because ticket brokers overspeculated on demand and now the hype hasn't lived up to the hype. Even Miami hotels have had to drop room prices so they are only charging twice their normal rates.

So don't come crying to me about how your life life sucks, these poor ticket brokers and hotel owners have had a pretty shitty week.

RANDOM SIDE NOTE: How great woudl it be to be a fly on the wall in Miami? I'm not talking about the Playboy parties, night clubs, or watching Michael Irvan snort coke off a hookers ying-yangs. I'm talking about watching the pasty mid-westerners interact with the denizons of Miami. If my buddy Plugs from Cincinnatti has taught me anything, the midwest does not mix well with South Florida (or Mons Venus).

Covering Super Bowl Coverage

I'm a bit late to the party, but it's Super Bowl week which means every journalist and wanna-be journo in the country descends on Miami with the faint hope of attending the Playmate Party, the P Diddy Party, the Maxim Party....and maybe the Super Bowl if they get the chance.

Florida icon Dave Barry eases us into the cesspool hot bath that is Miami with a guide to the city which includes everything from arriving at the airport to inept politicians.

Chances are you'll arrive -- Lucky you! -- at Miami International Airport. Here you will find a spacious, modern, convenient, well-designed, passenger-friendly, state-of-the-art facility depicted on murals showing what the airport allegedly will look like if they ever finish it. This is unlikely to happen in the current century because the airport is under the control of Miami-Dade politicians, who traditionally fall into one of three categories: (1) incompetents; (2) criminals; and (3) incompetent criminals.

Media day has become a right of passage for many journalists, as it oftens contains questions so idiotic they make Ali G look like Barabara Walters. For example....

- In a sign of solidarity with his equine counterpart, Colts wide receiver Aaron Moorehead has pledged to win Sunday's game for Barbaro.

- Bears receiver Bernard Berrian is on a mission to marry Oprah. Poor Berrian doesn't he know he's at best fourth on the Oprah list after Steadman, Dr. Phil and Dave Chapelle.

- Bears cornerback has a snappy comeback to the age old Super Bowl question, if you were a tree what kind of tree would you be? Hint, it's a Japanese tree.

(HT to With Leather for the pic. This blogging thing can be tough, considering how many Maxim pics I had to look at to find the right one.)

I want the Bucs to draft this guy?

What have I been smoking? And why does it taste like black twizzlers mixed with lemon juice?

Troy Smith would look good in a Bucs uniform. That's right, Troy Smith.

41-14. Blouses.

Wow. It's tough to imagine a championship better than beating Free Shoes University in a bowl game but on a personal level this win is better. And the only team to hold a basketball and a football championship in the same year? Even better.


It's great to be a Florida Gator.

Root Root Root for the Away Team

I did something the last two Sundays that I have never done before. It has been a couple of days now and I think I am finally ready to talk about it.

I rooted against The Bucs.

I know. I never thought it would happen either. But look at what happened when we beat the Cleveland Browns - The Bucs will be drafting either 3rd or 4th in the 2007 draft (depending on a freaking coin flip of all things) when if they had simply lost one more game we could be looking at Brady Quinn instead of Chris Leak.

Don't flip out on me Gator fans. You know you wanted Brady Quinn too.

Look, I am not proud of what I have done, but I had to root for a high draft pick. I let myself get optimistic about Chris Simms, then Brian Griese, then Simms again, the Bruce Gradkowski but I will not let myself get all worked up over Tim Rattay. You can't make me.

Here's hoping we lose the coin flip.

And that the Lions are happy with Kitna (snort).





Cross posted at Draft Day Suit

Moving to the country, going to eat a lot peaches

Considering the way the season ended with a thundering silence, I was all to ready to pull a Professor and abandon this trainwreck for the next month or so. But then somewhere between Boise State's hook and ladder touchdown and Ian Johnson proposing to the head cheerleader I rediscovered my love for the Pigskin.

It's been well over a decade since a Bucs season threatened to destroy my will to live. If not for wins over two team I love to hate (Iggles, Skins) and one team I hear far to much about (Bengals) this season would have driven me to the edge of a very tall cliff. The losses varied from gut punches (Carolina take 1, Chicago) to down right embarrasing (B-more, Thanksgiving Day Massarce). When the Bucs looked like they were about to get the ship back on track, the Panthers defense decided they liked Simms better without a spleen. Forget the Ravens loss, the Bucs season started going downhill when Tampa Bay first learned what splenectomy meant.


Let me be as crystal clear on this as possible, Gruden is one of the top ten coaches in the NFL. I have never shied away from making bold and potentially flame throwing statements so let me take this one step further and state, for the record, any one demanding the resignation of Gruden deserves to be taken out back and beaten with the stupid stick.

I could spend the next 1,000 words explaining why Gruden deserves to stay, in fact I have already made the argument for why Gruden should stay. If somebody has a rational counterpoint to my argument beyond the whole "it was Dungy's team, I HEART Alstott, why do the Bucs suck, ARGHHHHH!!!!" I would be willing to listen to it.

Heading into the offseason the Bucs have a shit ton of things they need to do. The defense needs to be restocked and several free agents need to be resigned. The local inksheets (specifically Gary Shelton) have argued that the Bucs need to bring in 11 players to be competitive, which is absurd. The Bucs need at least four players (all on the defensive side) to be get back to the playoffs in the wretched NFC. The NFC should be a breeze to get through, and in one game against the AFC anything can happen.


Step One: Resign Chris Simms

The Bucs already accomplished their first offseason priority, resigning Chris Simms. While this made much easier by the lack of teams bidding against the Bucs this was the first step the Bucs needed to be competitive next season. Even if Simms is a poor fit for Gruden's offense (and that's the one thing that really scares me about the Bucs chances) he's the best thing the Bucs have going on at quarterback right now.

Also, I have resisted all season from tooting my own horn on this point (note: that would be your cue to skip this entire paragraph) but not resigning Griese was easily Gruden and company's biggest mistake last offseason. I made the argument that the Bucs essentially had no offensive line and no one decent backing up Simms and was mocked, roundly. But then again, any one who defends Brian Griese deserves to be mocked.

Step 2: Resign Sean Mahan, Dewayne White, Tim Rattay, Phillip Buchanon/Torrie Cox, Blue Adams, Kalvin Pearson, Mike Alstott in that order

In the interest of simplicity I will address these one at a time...

-Mahan: Mahan was supposed to be demoted to B Squad with the arrival of Davin Joseph. Instead Mahan became the essential glue guy an offensive line needs, filling in for injured Joseph and later Dan Buenning. Throw in Mahan's ability to play center and he is a must sign for a still developing offensive line.

- White: I wasn't sold on White until the Seattle game. White played with an unmatched enthusiam against Walter Jones and pressured Hasselbeck all game. Although it sends up a red flag that White waited until the last game before he hit free agency to actually try.

- Rattay: For much the same reason I supported bringing back Griese I now support bringing back Rattay. Neither is all that impressive but at least they can run the offense.

- Buchanon/Cox: I grouping these two together because they are both, at best, nickelbacks. Both saw extensive action due to injuries at corner. Although Buchanon showed more flashes of promise and could be coached into a starting corner.

- Blue: Just because I love saying his name. Is also pretty good at special teams.

- Pearson: For reasons I mention below I could care less if the Bucs bring back Pearson. He was a decent backup strong safety. That's about it.

- Alstott: I considered moving the A-Train to the top of the list until I read that Gruden would like to bring back Alstott if he wants to play another year. Considering that Alstott has stated he only wants to play for the Bucs, this decision most likely rests entirely with Mike.


Step 3: Dump Rice, Keep Kelly

For some reason the local inksheets have hinted that the Bucs may dump Brian Kelly. Not sure why the Bucs would do that considering Kelly is vastly underpaid and one of the better corners in the league. Kelly has another year on his contract and I would like to see Gruden and company offer him a two or three year extension.

As much as Simeon Rice has done for Tampa Bay he should be cut unless he agress to lower his cap figure. Rice has one of the more expensive contracts for the Bucs, and even discounting his injury Rice was not living up to expectation this season. He had 2 sacks through 8 games, and looked a step slow all season. I know he struggled through injuries even before he sat out the second half of the season but the Bucs can find a better deal than Rice next season.

Step 4: Spend some of that cap money on the defense

If there's one theme you are going to see this offseason it's this..............RESTOCK THE DEFENSE. The Bucs have roughly $24 to $30 million in cap room next season which should make them buyers in free agency. Gruden and company have always looked for the best value in free agency so I don't expect any wild shopping sprees.

I have taken a close look at who will be free agents this offseason but some of the names I have heard brandied around are Lance Briggs, Charles Grant and Dwight Freeney. I sont know much about Briggs othen than he plays in the Tampa Two in Chicago in a position the Bucs need, linebacker. Grant and Freeney are both appealing options if the Bucs can get them a decent price.

Step 5: Draft Wisely

Much like I did last offseason I'm going to vacillate a dozen times on what the Bucs should do with their first pick. A month ago I was sold on the Bucs picking defense first, but now I'm coming around on Calvin Johnson or JaMarcus Russell. Both could be special players (especially CJ) which the Bucs could use even if they don't have as pressing of a need at receiver or quarterback.

If the Bucs go defense Gaines Adams from Clemson would likely be the pick. The defensive end is the top rated defensive player in the country at a position the Bucs could use help at. At the beginning of the season Adams was considered a top ten pick but was behind Georgia's Moses as the best defensive end in the country. Adams saw his draft stock continue to rise as Moses level of play dropped and Adams level of play stayed.... well, level.

This is the end, my only friend

How miserable is the NFC? I think the Bucs are still in contention for a playoff spot. What's that, there not? Then I guess this would be their last game of the season. Which means it is most likely Mike Alstott's last game of the season.

Over the last week I've written a bunch about how much Alstott means to Tampa Bay. The lunch pail Pro Bowler the largely white fan base can easily identify with. Alstott has become part of the community which is even more rare in this era of free agency.

For those interested, here is my Sticks preview, and here is my Fanhouse preview.

A quick note, I will be on the blog until about 3, then I have to get ready for New Years Eve. So if your fortunate enough to make it out to the game, enjoy. If not feel free to join me here.

Got Cash?

I've ignored this story partly because I was waiting for this picture to surface but mainly because I'm lazy. But then again the picture is pretty awesome.

As you've prob heard by now Simms has signed a two year contract with the Bucs, which, while not nearly as awesome as the shirt, is about the best Bucs fans could hope for. The Bucs didn't give up much for Simms, a $3 signing bonus with roughly $5 million in base salary plus another couple million in incentives. That's slightly more than what the Raiders paid Brooks (~$4 M a year) but slightly less than what Chad Pennington makes after he restructured his contract.

And who would the Bucs bring in if they didn't resign Simms? Gradkowski clearly can't get this team to the playoffs and Rattay's performance has been fool's gold. As good as I think Schaub is I don't think it's worth giving up a first round pick for him. And none of the rookies with the exception of Quinn look like they could start from day one in the NFL.

That being written I don't think Simms will still be in Tampa two years from now. A deep ball thrower he doesn't fit Gruden's west coast offense. If Gruden really wanted Simms he would have pushed for a three or four year deal. Instead I get the feeling Gruden will draft another quarterback either this year or next with a high draft pick. Truth be told the idea of drafting Jamarcus Russell is starting grow on me and then using some of that cap room to bring in a defensive player in addition to drafting a couple of defensive players in the first round. Restock the defense and add the quarterback for the future. I don't think the Bucs need much to get back to the top of the division.

(HT: With Leather)

It's a Celebration

In case you haven't noticed (and based on my hit meter you probably haven't) it's Alstott Week at the Buccaneer Fanhouse. Which means lots of A-Train love, 50 Reasons why Alstott is the best runningback in Purdue's history, and heavy drinking. The end of Alstott Week will be concluded with many merry festivities and numerous displays of fireworks.

Today celebration of Alstott Week features an interview with the creator of "Give Mike the Ball" who is on the Fire Gruden bandwagon.

Whatya know, the Bucs won

Considering it's Christmas and the Bucs notched their first road win of the season I should probably be in a better mood. But Terrell Owens couldn't catch a football despite 25 million reasons to do so, Tomlinson picked this week not to score a touchdown (or 4) and I am robbed of the championship in fantasy football. But I guess that's what I get for drafting T.O.

Anyway, the Bucs picked up their fourth win in what could be the most boring game all season. As well as Rattay played (even if he didn't throw any touchdowns and yes I'm bitter because he was also on my fantasy team) it doesn't matter how Rattay performed. For better or for worse this is Chris Simms team next season. Gradkowski pretty much guaranteed that a month ago.

That being written I wouldn't be surprised at this point if Gruden drafted a quarterback on the first day in the offseason. Simms is only signed to a two year contract, and Troy Smith or JaMarcus Russell would make much better fits for Gruden's offense. I think the Bucs need to draft defense on the first day but I'm willing to listen to arguments they should draft a quarterback with their first pick. Simms seems like a stop gap until Gruden can find Rich Gannon, version 2.0.

But we can worry about that later. For now, merry Christmas to everyone and here's looking forward to one last hurrah from the A-Train next weekend.

86-60

Buckeyes make good Gator bait.


Where were my seats? Up and to the right.