SB Nation Tampa Bay: All Posts by Jane Graveshttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/49019/tb-fave.png2010-12-30T12:43:28-05:00https://tampabay.sbnation.com/authors/jane-graves/rss2010-12-30T12:43:28-05:002010-12-30T12:43:28-05:00Going Outback Bowling
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<p>Outback Bowl beginnings -- we remember. Boston College versus Georgia. The inaugural Hall of Fame Bowl. Tampa Bay had hit the bowl circuit. </p> <p>Picture it.</p>
<p>A cold, rainy December night in Florida. 1986. I was home from college. Should have been out carousing with friends or staying at home carousing with friends – doing those things that college co-eds do when home on holiday break. But I wasn’t. My slightly surly self was with my parents, my dad resplendently sporting a dusty yellow sports coat, at The Big Sombrero. In rain gear. All to watch the very first major bowl game played in Tampa Bay.</p>
<p>Boston College versus Georgia. The inaugural Hall of Fame Bowl. Tampa Bay had hit the bowl circuit.</p>
<p>I went to the game at the request of my dad, who was on the bowl organizing/steering committee. They wanted a good turnout for the first game and I was another semi-warm-mostly-damp body with a ticket. I was a little nonplussed by the game itself, still being in school up in Gainesville, but the halftime show artist piqued my interest. The Godfather of Soul. James Brown. Not bad, eh?</p>
<p>However, due to the constant rain and the Hardest Working Man in Show Business’s more pressing interest to stay inside and dry, the halftime show was cancelled. Even the fireworks were cut.</p>
<p>Color me disappointed. We left at halftime, the rain getting the better of us and my dad’s official duties done. I sat in the backseat of the car on the drive back over the Howard Franklin, singing "I Got You (I Feel Good)" loudly, with the emphasis on Mr. Brown’s signature "Heh!"</p>
<p>The bowl game’s come a long way since that first game. It’s moved to a regular spot on the New Year’s Day football schedule. Hosts the third pick of teams in the SEC and Big Ten Conferences. It’s big time. And the area does a marvelous job as host.</p>
<p>I have a special place in my heart for this game. I’ve been in the stands for many of them in all kinds of weather and physical conditions. I’ve sat through rain and heat and cold to watch some good, some bad, always entertaining football. And the 11 am start time also provided its own share of excitement. A morning game the day after a big night out – Happy New Year!!! – makes for some interesting states of mind and being. Ah, youth.</p>
<p>The Outback Bowl has become a warm and welcoming part of the Tampa Bay community. Enthusiastic fans come and make a holiday of it – good for them, great for our economy. It’s a low-stress sort of game, with teams playing for honor and for fun. It’s a nice way to both end a season and start the year. Although this year’s matchup – the Florida Gators versus the Penn State Nittany Lions – does bring a bit of a brighter spotlight with it, as it features two notable coaches, one retiring very publically and one an indisputable legend.</p>
<p>And as I watch the game Saturday, cheering loudly for my Gators, I’ll smile at halftime, thinking about what might have been way back when at that first game. Then I’ll probably put on some James Brown and dance around my living room, singing loudly.</p>
https://tampabay.sbnation.com/2010/12/30/1904201/going-outback-bowlingJane Graves2010-12-23T08:33:51-05:002010-12-23T08:33:51-05:00One (Good?) Letter Deserves Another
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<p class="MsoNormal">Dear NFL,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hey there. How’s it going? Guess you’re a little busy right now, huh, with it being end-of-season and all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are playoffs approaching and we all know it takes time and energy to get ready for a big event. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Which is why it was so nice of you to send that apology note to Kellen Winslow down here in quiet little Tampa Bay. So it really wasn’t a pass interference move he made. Good to know. After the fact…</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It’s a hollow victory of sorts, this letter and admission. Game’s long been over. If that call hadn’t been made and the play had stood as a touchdown, might it have made the difference in which column that game’s outcome had been notched?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Coulda.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Woulda.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Shoulda.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Didn’t.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Truth be told, your missed call shouldn’t have been the crux on which the final score of the game hinged. The Bucs should have been able to win that thing without needing to depend on a single officiating moment, botched or not. And apparently, it’s not the first such piece of apologetic communication y’all have sent to the Buccaneers this season.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I suppose this latest missive could be subtitled “Ooops, we did it again.” Bad calls are part of the package. Fans are used to it…. BOOOOOOOOOOO. THAT CALL SUCKS! (Sorry. That was an involuntary response from this fan. I’m not disgruntled. After decades of watching football, I’m just programmed that way.) Players are resigned to it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bert Emanuel probably still has nightmares even ten years after That &#%* Call in the NFL Championship Game.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">While I’m all for good manners and such, I’m not sure that writing these “Man, we screwed up out there on the field.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sorry, dude.” letters are all that helpful. You know you blew it. We fans know you blew it. The team knows you blew it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Owning your mistakes is an honorable thing – but in cases like this, when frankly, it only contributes to a moral victory, it’s a lot of a little too late.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When I chat with Santa later today about my wish list for those around me, I’m going to ask him for some wisdom, focus and good judgment for all those officials. An extra dose couldn’t hurt. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll ask him to throw in some antacids for everyone whose job description includes “working with the New York Jets.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Y’all have your hands full.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Feet too.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Cheers and happy holidays!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Love,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Faithful Football Fan Janey</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
https://tampabay.sbnation.com/2010/12/23/1893141/one-good-letter-deserves-anotherJane Graves2010-12-12T10:05:28-05:002010-12-12T10:05:28-05:00The Good, The Bad And The Weird
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<p>It's been a weird, weird week in the world of sports, especially here in Tampa Bay. Don't you think so?</p>
<p>And while the Major Weirdness focused its stun gun on the sport of baseball (and y'all know exactly what I mean... more about that later) and college football (Urban out! Will Muschamp, hello!), there's been some Weirdness afoot in football too. At this point in the NFL season, that's to be expected. Just ask the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.bigblueview.com/">New York Giants</a>, held hostage by the weather in Kansas City and their opponents for the week, the Minnesota (Tundra) <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.dailynorseman.com/">Vikings</a>, who heard the KABOOM as the roof of the Metrodome collapsed thanks to a whole lotta snow. If that's not symbolic of the Vikings' season, I don't know what it. But i digress...</p>
<p>The Weirdness hit our erstwhile <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.bucsnation.com/">Buccaneers</a> where it hurt the most -- on the injury front. <span>Cody Grimm</span>. Ouch. <span>Jeff Faine</span>. Whoa. <span>Aqib Talib</span>. Damn. These outs couldn't come at a worse time -- although there's never really a good time for such things -- with the end of the season fast approaching and the playoffs on the horizon. </p>
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<p>The Bucs are hanging in our nation's capital today, bringing their impressive road record to face those <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/teams/washington-redskins">Washington Redskins</a>. This is not A Big Game in the sense of those against NFC South rivals (see: Atlanta) or an NFL Big Boy (see: Baltimore.) But with only a handful of games to be played in the regular season, it's not to be discounted or taken lightly. </p>
<p>And I don't think it will be. We've watched this team grow up this year right before our eyes -- or, more precisely our ears, thanks to those NFL blackouts. Ahem. This is a team that believes in itself. And it shows. Yes, there are mistakes still being made, mostly because this is a group of players still fairly fresh out of college. But youth will be assuaged with time. Then look out.</p>
<p>Today's game will be fun to watch. Hopefully <span>Josh Freeman</span> (also the starting QB for The Ignorant Sluts, my still-in-second-place fantasy team) will get to take some chances that will pay off. <span>LeGarrette Blount</span> should run and run and run. Crossing my fingers that the Bucs' run defense -- led by a maturing <span>Gerald McCoy</span> -- continues to find its stride. And maybe the distraction of the latest antics in the ongoing soap opera of Fat <span>Albert Haynesworth</span> (seriously -- suspended without pay for the balance of the season? You can't make this stuff up.) will be one of those intangibles we love to speculate upon.</p>
<p>All I ask is that the Weirdness go manifest itself someplace else on someone else. Call it an early Christmas wish.</p>
<p>Go Bucs!</p>
https://tampabay.sbnation.com/tampa-bay-buccaneers/2010/12/12/1871163/the-good-the-bad-and-the-weirdJane Graves2010-12-07T17:11:19-05:002010-12-07T17:11:19-05:00The Moral of a Moral Victory
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<p>Well well well.</p>
<p>There they sit. Our 2010 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Holding down the bronze medal in arguably the most competitive division in the NFL this year, the NFC South. Thinking about the playoffs and wondering if a current 7-5 record with three games left in regular season play can be improved upon enough to garner a spot.</p>
<p>There's been a lot of talk about the performance of the team by a lot of people -- with the wins coming at the expense of teams with losing records, blowout losses to two perennial Super Bowl contenders and games where successful outcomes were missed by <i>that much</i>, to borrow a phrase from Maxwell Smart.</p>
<p>The news this week that <a href="http://tampabay.sbnation.com/tampa-bay-buccaneers/2010/12/6/1859500/add-injury-to-insult-faine-talib-done-for-year" target="_blank">Aqib Talib and Jeff Faine have seen their last stint on the field this season</a> seems to propel the playoff hopes even farther into the distance. Losing those gents to the sidelines impacts the team on both sides of the ball and provides a final bitter exclamation point to a series of personnel losses that have forced the team to shuffle the lineup deck more than we'd all like.</p>
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<p>So right now, the Bucs are a long shot to make the playoffs this year. Frankly, did anyone, aside from those on the team itself, think that statement would have ANY legitimacy at this point in the season when the ball was kicked off in Week One? If you did -- and you're being really truthful -- then a John McKay golf hat off to you. </p>
<p>One can talk about moral victories, but that's usually a bit of smoke and mirrors to distract from the sound of heartbreak. But after watching one of the better games played this season this past Sunday, as the Bucs, led by Bucco Bruce and resplendent in Creamsicle Orange, played toe-to-toe football with the division leading Atlanta Falcons, I'll take the moral victory, painful as it may be right now. For it not only is another smack on the pile of rubble made by this team as it tore through the meager expectations laid on it by everybody and his brother when the season began, but a sign of things to come for a young squad that has just begun to realize its potential and a young head coach with an abundance of creativity, a whole lot of nerve (the good kind) and beaucoups confidence. </p>
<p>For the first time in a long time, I'm excited to see what the Bucs will do on the field. Both now and in the future.</p>
<p>Is it Sunday yet?</p>
https://tampabay.sbnation.com/tampa-bay-buccaneers/2010/12/7/1862035/the-moral-of-a-moral-victoryJane Graves2010-11-29T21:00:13-05:002010-11-29T21:00:13-05:00Nursing The Off-Season Baseball Blues
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<p>Buy me some peanuts and cracker jacks – I’ve got the off-season baseball blues.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Buy me some peanuts and cracker jacks – I’ve got the off-season baseball blues.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I’m missing the boys of summer, y’all. The crack of the bat, the infield clay flying, even the banter of the announcers and the ubiquitous Just for Men ads. The absence of baseball on my telly every day is making me sad.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Don’t get me wrong – I’m still in sports girl mode. I love football, but it’s not played every day, although we are coming to that time of year when game times get spread out a bit over the week. But since my cable provider chooses not to “provide” the NFL Network, I’m a bit screwed when it comes to watching a Thursday night game. Anyhoo.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Still learning about hockey (more on that later!). Dig basketball, but my favorite team isn’t local.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And then there are my Gators… Please -- no wisecracks. My orange and blue heart is more black and blue these days.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It’s not like baseball’s not in the news right now. Trade rumors and names of players both coming and going from teams are flying fast and free like seagulls at the beach with a tropical storm in the Gulf. Madness. My Twitter feed is chalk full of speculation about moves the Rays may or may not make.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I blink and I miss something. Frankly, I can’t keep up with the conjecture and… that’s OK with me.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Yeah. It’s OK.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And no, contrary to an accusatory label someone threw at me, that doesn’t make me a bad fan.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It’s a given that the composition of the Rays is going to be very different next year. Carl Crawford will be off to another ball club, as will Rafael Soriano, along with a few more guys still to be determined.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sure, I’ll miss them – they’re fun to watch and were an asset to the team. Will I mourn them when they’re gone – probably not.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a target="_blank" href="http://tampabay.sbnation.com/2010/8/23/1636404/a-tampa-bay-sports-girls-creed">I’m all about the team when it comes to my sports loyalties.</a> And I’m all about moving forward when it comes to my sports teams, rather than dwelling on what was or might have been. Your millage may – and probably – does vary. That’s what makes being passionate sports fans great –- we all have our own unique way to look at things.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Who knows what the 2011 Rays will look like? At this point, I think the most likely answer to that rhetorical question is “no one.” Some may bemoan this, but it kind of excites me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Right now, me, myself and I are happy to take a team with a bit of unknown potential with the ability to perhaps surprise to one with the weight of expectation bearing down on it.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So you numbers gurus and conjecture fans, have fun with the what-ifs and rumors. Enjoy the possibilities and general manager/player chess matches.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll be over here, having a hot dog and a beer, watching football and basketball and trying to figure out hockey while I wait for pitchers and catchers to report.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tick tick tick…</p>
https://tampabay.sbnation.com/2010/11/29/1819698/nursing-the-off-season-baseball-bluesJane Graves2010-11-28T06:46:55-05:002010-11-28T06:46:55-05:00Another Big game, Another Show
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Dear Bucs,</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Hope this finds you well and settled in the lovely city of Baltimore. Y’all have some serious business to attend to this afternoon and I’m sure you’re prepped, psyched and ready to go. That’s what I want to believe, anyway.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There’s lots of talk afoot about this team and its record being a smokescreen masking an average ball club, thanks to the losing records of opponents and that classic "strength of schedule" argument. And it’s true that your three losses came at the hands of teams with winning records. But y’all are a better team – both physically and mentally -- here in late November than you were earlier in the season when the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.canalstreetchronicles.com/">Saints</a> and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/">Steelers</a> came to town and ran roughshod all over you and the RayJay turf.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I firmly believe that – and I suspect y’all do too.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"></span></p>
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<p> </p>Fact is, on any given Sunday (I know that’s a cliché, but work with me here) any team in the NFL can beat any other team in the NFL. Just ask those Saints about your meeting with them late last season. You’ve used this concept to your advantage this year and it’s paid off. I hesitate to say that today’s game against a tough <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.baltimorebeatdown.com/">Ravens</a> team will be the make-or-break game of the season. That’s a lot of pressure and there’s more football to be played this year. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But it is an important game – one that will test yet again what some call the "character" of this team. I hope you are ready to rise to the occasion.
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<p class="MsoNormal">By the way – how old is <span>Ray Lewis</span> anyway? Hasn’t he been in opposing offenses’ faces since Johnny Unitas was taking snaps? Seriously?</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">But I digress.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Today, y’all need to play your game on the field and in your head. <span>Josh Freeman</span>, I’m counting on you in particular, partly because you’re the starting QB for my fantasy team, The Ignorant Sluts, but mostly because you have emerged as the on-field leader for this squad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As you go, so does the team.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">I’ll be watching this afternoon (hey, it’s an away game!) and expect to see y’all do what you do best – play never-say-die football.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Have a great game – and go Bucs!</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Love, Janey</p>
https://tampabay.sbnation.com/tampa-bay-buccaneers/2010/11/28/1839990/another-big-game-another-showJane Graves2010-11-14T10:00:56-05:002010-11-14T10:00:56-05:00Banishing the Game After Hangover
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<p>On paper, this one should be a no-brainer. Easy-peasy. A romp, if you will.</p>↵<p>The hapless Carolina Panthers are in town today to face the Buccaneers. Normally, I don't like to label in that fashion, but aside from the hot mess that is the Dallas Cowboys, the Panthers are hanging out at the bottom of the NFL food chain right now, sporting a 1-7 record.</p>↵<p>This one should be a solid notch in the W column for the Bucs, who are favored to win this NFC South bout.</p>↵<p>Should be. But this is the "game after." The matchup following a hard fought battle against the Atlanta Falcons that was lost literally by inches. And with such things, there's always the chance for that most annoying of sporting maladies: the Big Game Let Down. A true sporting hangover.</p>↵<p>After games in which everything physically and emotionally is left on the field, the possibility for a slump the following week is pretty good. Happens all the time. In all sports. But while with, say, baseball, the "game after" is often the very next day, there's a nice block of time for football teams to recoop and reload before they take the field again. Ahem, Buccaneers.</p>↵<p>The Bucs still have a lot of ball to play. More things to prove. Expectations to exceed. Not saying they're playoff caliber yet, but they have the ability to both surprise and excite with their play for the rest of the season. Working through the potential of a Big Game Let Down would be a big step to proving their maturity. </p>↵<p>On paper, this game should be a no-brainer. But a team with much to gain, like the Bucs, should never underestimate a team who's got nothing to lose -- like the visiting Panthers.</p>↵<p>Let's go Bucs.</p>↵
https://tampabay.sbnation.com/2010/11/14/1813207/banishing-the-game-after-hangoverJane Graves2010-11-12T16:55:15-05:002010-11-12T16:55:15-05:00A Bucs' Fan's Epiphany
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<p>At the beginning of this season, I looked at this to be just another typical Buccaneer year, hoping the team would simply not suck. And then there was a moment in the game against Atlanta.</p> <p>Fact:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am a Buccaneer fan. Long time. Long suffering. My family had season tickets for the inaugural year of Bucs football, back when the team was in the AFC West (what was that about?), John McKay’s stogies were fresh and the Selmon brothers were our resident sporting celebrities.</p>
<p>Even though the team, well, frankly sucked, they were our team. Aside from the upstart, nouveaux sports from the Rowdies, the Bucs were the only pro sports team that belonged just to us. Tampa Bay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No spring training. No transplants. Ours. And we loved them, no matter how green and young and untested and awful they were.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">In many ways, I’m still that young sports fan when it comes to the Bucs. I am a faithful, loyal supporter who will always cheer for them, regardless of how terrible they are (see: most of the ‘80s and early ‘90s as example)</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But I may not always believe in what they’re doing – how they’re operating as a team, both from a management and personnel standpoint. (see: Leeman Bennett, Ray Perkins, et al)</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">At the beginning of this season, I looked at this to be just another typical Buccaneer <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>year, hoping that the team, tagged by many with that “low expectations” label, would simply not suck. They were young in age and experience, from the guys on the field to the head coach, a guy who is a year younger than the franchise itself. My expectations were firmly managed.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then the Bucs won the first game of the season. Yay! And the second. Alright! Lost a couple of big games but didn’t let that throw them off their stride. Hmmm. They bounced back and kept winning. Yes! Not always in a pretty fashion, but you don’t get style points in the NFL when it comes to records.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I’m watching – ok, listening (thanks NFL blackout rules!) to the games but my interest has gone from “this is good background noise” to “I need to stop multi-tasking and pay attention.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And then there was a moment in the game against Atlanta. Third quarter. Lots of football still to play. And the Bucs try an onsides kick. We would have gotten away with it too, if it hadn’t been for those meddling refs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m still not convinced that Connor Barth’s leg touched the ball when it did, but that’s neither here nor there at this point.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Whoa. That was a game changer – maybe not for the scuffle on the field, but for me. Right then and there… I went from loyal fan to committed, invested fan.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I believed. Because it’s obvious the team itself believes. And is committed and invested.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I posted on Twitter not long after that play: <i>dear santa, i want cojones as big as raheem's. enjoy the milk and cookies. love, janey <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23bucs"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">#bucs</span></a></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Yes, this team is still young. Still has many things to learn. Experience to gain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But they have heart. Confidence. And swagger. These guys play a kind of pure football – they’re not jaded veterans or overhyped superstars. When things are firing, they’re fun to watch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Josh Freeman to Mike Williams = great tandum (and I don’t feel that way just because they’re both starters on my fantasy football team, the Ignorant Sluts. OK, maybe just a little.) LaGarrett Blount. Rejus Benn. Potential.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I haven’t been this excited about a Buccaneer team in ages.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not because of what they might accomplish this year, but because of how they are going about accomplishing things. Sure, the defense has issues. And the offense needs some fine-tuning. But when a team is playing to be their best and expectations be damned, good things are going to happen.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I believe.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Go Bucs!</p>
https://tampabay.sbnation.com/2010/11/12/1807740/a-bucs-fans-epiphanyJane Graves2010-11-07T08:11:39-05:002010-11-07T08:11:39-05:00Bucs vs. Falcons: A Big Old Southern Scrap
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<p>Informal survey time: raise your virtual hand if you thought that the Bucs would have a 5-2 record and be tied for the lead in the NFC South with the Atlanta Falcons. Ahem. No fibbing, please. Be honest.</p>↵<p>Yeah. Me neither.</p>↵<p>But there they are -- our team of debatable defense, cardiac-revving comeback offense and a never-say-die youthful attitude, leading the division that the defending Super Bowl champ New Orleans Saints also call home. </p>↵<p>Today's matchup versus the Falcons in the Georgia Dome is another big game in a Buccaneer season that's already seen the team face two major opponents -- the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Saints -- and come up woefully short both times.</p>↵<p>And while the fearless and smart play of the Buc offense is causing skeptics and casual observers alike to take notice, it's the defense that needs to to man up and play well in order to combat the very balanced Falcons offensive attack. The potential is there and today would be a great day for it to be realized. You listening, Stylez G. White, Barrett Ruud, Aqib Talib, Gerald McCoy and company? Matt Ryan is there to be rushed and pressured and yes, sacked. In case you were wondering...</p>↵<p>True confession: my fantasy team, The Ignorant Sluts, is starting both Roddy White and Tony Gonzales today -- and no Bucs. I was thisclose to picking up LeGarret Blount, but one of my league-mates got to him a split second before I did. While I really want my FF squad to do well, I'm going to be cheering for my hometown boys all the way. </p>↵<p>Should be a good game -- yeah, I said that before about both the Steelers and Saints games, but this time I think it really will be a sporting matchup. Let's go Bucs!</p>↵
https://tampabay.sbnation.com/2010/11/7/1798962/bucs-vs-falcons-a-big-old-southern-scrapJane Graves2010-11-04T16:30:13-04:002010-11-04T16:30:13-04:00Iconic Memories
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<p>I got my baseball education in the '70s, when Joe Garagiola and Curt Gowdy were Saturday afternoon regulars with the Game of the Week and colorful characters played the game on and off the field. Because there was no team here in Tampa Bay (or in Florida, for that matter) in those days, we formed attachments to teams located elsewhere. My brother gave his devotion to the Atlanta Braves, where Chief Noc-A-Homa held court in a tipi in the outfield and Ted Turner was, well, Ted Turner. My affection was all for the Cincinnati Reds -- one of the premier clubs of the '70s. The Big Red Machine just dominated those formative years of mine. I won quite a bit of money -- well, it was a lot to a sixth grade girl -- betting with the boys in my class who thought the Boston Red Sox would take the '75 World Series. I had the last laugh (and the lunch money) on that one.</p>↵<p>I'm reminded of that series thanks to two baseball icons in the news today. Sparky Anderson, the manager of those iconic Reds teams, passed away today. In an era when personality was as much as part of the sport as the game itself, he contributed mightily on both counts. Sparky is a big part of why I love -- and know so much about -- baseball. R.I.P. Skipper. Thank you for the part you played in my childhood.</p>↵<p>Today's news also brought word that Don Zimmer, the Rays senior advisor and resident sage,<a href="http://tampabay.sbnation.com/tampa-bay-rays/2010/11/4/1793965/zimmer-will-be-back-in-11" target="_blank"> has been retained in that role for the 2011 season</a>. Zim was the third base coach for the Red Sox in 1975. I love the fact that he's still, after 60-some odd years in baseball, making a contribution -- and that his experience is valued and appreciated. </p>↵<p>Icons like Sparky Anderson and Don Zimmer don't come along often in baseball, much less any sport. Here's to them. Thank you, gentlemen.</p>↵
https://tampabay.sbnation.com/2010/11/4/1794185/iconic-memoriesJane Graves