Chris_Field's Blog

Just kidding.

Just thought that might generate some reaction.

But, you know, NASCAR does need a good villain....

Come on Dale Earnhardt Junior fans, tell me why Kyle Busch deserves to eat dirt !!!

Big Brown wins the Kentucky Derby and Eight Belles finishes second.  The lone filly in the field breaks both front ankles.  Eight Belles must be euthanized on the track.  Track veterinarians say the injuries she sustained were too severe to even attempt to move her.  They couldn't splint one leg and have her put her front weight on another.  Sadly, this is a real risk every horse race. 

How to cover this was a tough call live for the broadcasters and with the follow-up stories in sportscasts.  If this had been the winner that  broke down, there would be no question - that's the only story that matters.  But,  Big Brown won the Run for the Roses and  Eight Belles was put down.  You have to try to cover both.  We tried to no avail to find someone - an owner, trainer, jockey - associated with one of the Derby teams who's comment could put this into some perspective.  Maybe in the coming days we'll see  this conversation, but on the day of the derby perhaps there was simply too much confusion.

As sad as this is for the Eight Belles family,  winning the Kentucky Derby is one of the greatest moments ever for the Big Brown group.  A day of triumph and tragedy in the span of minutes at Churchill Downs.             

The Bucs do draft a cornerback, he's just not the player everyone expected.  Word had it that if USF's MIke Jenkins was available at 20, the Bucs would draft him.  Instead they draft Kansas junior Aqib Talib.  Jon Gruden admits he falls in love with, imagines coaching just about every talented player he meets.  He went so far as to say "my guts are ripped out of my body right now".  Coach Gruden might have gone with offense, with a wide receiver if he was the lone decision-maker.  He says that's why he trusts general manager Bruce Allen to make this final call.  Monte Kiffin's thrilled with Talib.  The Bucs defensive guru calls this a passing league, says you can't coach speed.  Monte thinks Talib's a playmaker who has the skills, the ability and the attitude to compete for a starting job immediately.  One big question surrounds Aqib Talib's past:  3 positive tests for marijuna use at Kansas.  The Bucs must be confident the drug use really is in his past, a factor that did make him drop down most draft boards.

The Bucs follow with pick number 58 (trading down from 52 with Jacksonville).  They pick a familiar name:  Dexter Jackson.  This version's a kick returner from Appalachian State.  He made a name for himself scoring 2 touchdowns in that upset win over Michigan then landing on the cover of Sports Illustrated.        

What do you think of the Bucs draft decisions? 

Evan Longoria joins the Rays and already infuses the Rays with energy.  The smattering of fans Saturday night at the Trop go nuts over his first career hit and RBI.  And just like Carlos Pena fed off Carl Crawford's 1,000th hit Friday night, Pena feeds off Longoria's first hit Saturday night.  Pena cranks out the long ball - his third in two games, sixth homerun of the season.  My 5 year old knows Pena and Crawford by name;  I'm sure he'll get to know Longoria pretty quickly too...  

I can't believe this kid.  Stephen Curry has scored 103 points through 3 games to lead little Davidson to the elite 8.  Making this all the more surreal from my perspective - I knew Stephen when he was a little boy.  I was friends with his mom and dad, Dell and Sonya,  when I lived near Charlotte.   I stayed at their house back in  '94 when the Final Four was in the Queen City, attended a number of Hornets games and events as a guest of the Currys (before I covered sports fulltime),  shot around in their driveway with Steph... So, yeah, I feel really old.  But, this 6 year old kid  - grew up so fast!  He's 20 now and has suddenly become a college hoops super star over the last couple weeks.  I'm kind of glad I wasn't able to fill out brackets this year... I would've picked at least 1 Davidson upset, but 2 - even 3 -  or more?!?!  I wish for more...  I'd like to see this Cinderella story end at San Antonio.  I hope it does not end for a very long time for Stephen Curry, though.  He deserves the glory.  Consider this one scenario:  Seth Greenberg - whom Tampa Bay remains fond of... Seth talked to Steph about playing for Virginia Tech ( the Curry's alma mater), but,  Coach Greenberg wanted him to walk on.  Stephen said "no thanks".... He was not wanted by any of the big schools in his North Carolina backyard.  Well, everyone wants a piece of this skinny 6'3" kid now ... And he's handling  every bit of this humbly, with grace, and with the skills of a future NBA star.  Dad Dell says Steph's already a better player than he ever was...

I heard the grumbling and understood the complaint:  no top seed, no 2nd seed  - not good for the opening round of the NCAA tournament at the Forum...

Well, what do you think now?  We forgot about that 12-5 seed upset trend, forgot about what makes the opening days of this tournament the best days in all of sports. 

It's the college kids -  like Drake's Adam Emmenecker, he of the 4 majors - like Western Kentucky's D.J. Magley, the freshman from Bradenton Christian.... It's these kids playing with everything they've got - win or lose.   Their pure excitement's contagious. 

Then, when you throw in a buzzer-beater like WKU's overtime win over Drake - that's when you remember all the magic of March Madness.  And we went 4-for-4 with upsets at the Forum Friday.... unbelievable! 

I don't hear anyone complaining now.  

Punishment pending for Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch after their scuffle Saturday night...

The crash in Bud Shootout practice was the least of it.  After,  Busch rams Stewart a couple times on their way off the track, then Stewart tries to block Busch form entering the garage.... later, inside the hauler with NASCAR officials Kurt insults Tony, so Stewart punches Busch in the face (allegedly) !

Well, I'm all for passion and personality in this sport, but come on fellas.  This reminds me of my sons when they spiral out of control.  I'd put these drivers in "timeout" if I were Mike Helton, but maybe that severe punishment's reserved for jumping out of cars and duking it out on the track.  Now THAT I admit I want to see, even though I'd still come with the harsh criticism...because even my 3 and 5 year old boys are never that bad!  HA!  

I've said it for 2 weeks now: I'll expect the Patriots to win, but I'll root for the Giants.  America loves the underdog.  And, we all want to see a great game.

Nothing against the Patriots making history, but I'm going all the way out on that limb now - I'm picking the Giants.   Let's go with a reversal of their regular season score just to make this even more dramatic:  38-35, New York wins this time.

Why not?  The Giants have nothing to lose.  The Patriots have the pressure of perfection hanging over them... they just might finally implode.  Eli Manning just keeps getting better and Tom Brady was "off" in the AFC Championship game.  If the Giants defense can get to Jeff Garcia, Tony Romo and Brett Favre, why not Tom Brady?

Plus, this whole "Spygate" thing now with the Patriots allegedly taping the Rams walk through the day before Super Bowl XXXVI, which New England won by a field goal... This is the type of scandal that CAN distract a team at this critical time.  Count St. Louis fans as pro-Giants now too.  The bad karma might just be too much for the Patriots to overcome...

I can't believe I'm bringing "karma" into this.... But that said, isn't this fun??!!  I cannot wait to hear all the talk before the walk... The players will tell us none of it has any effect on them, BUT, the louder they protest the harder they fall....         

Mike Alstott has been unable to hide his emotions ever since he injured his neck and had to deal publicly and privately with the fact that his NFL playing career would end sooner rather than later with the Bucs.

At the official retirement announcement, Thursday morning at team headquarters,  Bryan Glazer recalled his favorite A-train plays.  The Bucs executive vice president singled out the Super Bowl touchdown run.  He says he's happy Alstott scored during this team's greatest time.

I'm particularly fond of the 2-point conversion in November of 2005.  Fans had been shouting for Mike for weeks... His role diminished, Jon Gruden under fire, the surgery to fuse vertebrae in the rearview mirror, Mike Alstott steps up to win the game over the Redskins 36-35.

He choked up that evening after the game when I asked him how much that moment meant.  Mike Alstott never took anything for granted.  He was the epitomy of a  team guy.  When the spotlight shined on him, he was all the more humble and grateful for the opportunity to make money playing football.  He leaves us with many fantastic memories and an important, yet simple lesson about how hard work pays off.  

I'm intrigued by the Rays plans to build a new open air stadium on the Al Lang site... 

Actually, I love it  - love the idea.  I've always enjoyed the Rays home spring training games.  Even at the Kevin Costner batting practice session - especially with the cooler weather - I was thinking about Progress Energy Park's great location. 

I'm concerned as anyone about who will pay for this and how.  The last thing we need is to figure out the property tax thing then add another new tax.

Here's an idea - Stuart Sternberg and his pals should bring Kevin Costner in as another partner - get him to pitch in for the new digs! 

 Maybe the Rays already had this whole Field of Dreams thing in mind when they brought Costner in.... "Hey Kev, let's make that whole baseball movie fantasy thing you do into a reality.  If you help us build it, surely they will come... They won't mind traveling over bridges, parking a mile away... We just won't need the band to play at every home game.  Cool?  Great..."

USF's third straight loss completes the nose dive from number 2 in the nation to the bottom of the Eastern Conference.  A few quick thoughts on the Bulls:

- Good thing Matt Grothe's a sophomore... 

- The growing pains USF works through this season will serve them extremely well in the near future.

- I was relieved to see more grace in defeat from Coach Leavitt after the Homecoming loss to Cincinnati.  

I know it's early, but just 3 words after Florida's routing of Tennessee:

Tim Tebow - Heisman.

What do you think?

Knowing how huge this game was for Armwood, knowing that every time players struggled through an off season drill someone would fire up the masses by starting a one word chant: "Plant, Plant, Plant..."  Knowing this, it was shocking to learn Thursday night that more than a half dozen Armwood players would likely miss their season-opener against Plant. 

I applaud Sean Callahan for sitting these guys, especially after they challenged him, questioning whether he could do that.  The game itself is not bigger than what it stands for, than what it teaches...  I trust these players learned an important lesson about responsibility and discipline and team.  That the Hawks won without them is icing. 

I'm encouraged and inspired... Coach Callahan gets it.       

I can appreciate what the Rays are trying to do with Elijah Dukes.  I can respect Stuart Sternberg's comments and plans Saturday, mostly because I remember how furious he said he was when he found out about the alleged threats of violence Dukes made against his estranged wife and children.  He wanted to release the 22 year old outfielder - cut ties with him immediately.  After he calmed down, he didn't think that would be in the best interest of everyone involved.  But, Sternberg did wait too long to share that reaction and he waited to long to fly in to town to address this problem player.  The radio rant clearly put the Rays over the top.  I'm no fan of Elijah Dukes and I'm not about to feel sorry for him.  But, despite some criticism, I am a fan of Stu and I will give him the benefit of the doubt that he's acting with compassion and trying to help a guy with more issues than even we know about.  I don't have high hopes for Dukes because he still does NOT get it.  The Rays should have allowed us to ask questions of him the day he made his pitiful statement to the media at the Trop - but again - they told us anything other than baseball would end the interview immediately.  We were asking each other as we were waiting that afternoon for Dukes to arrive, what one question would you ask him if you could.  Mine remains the same, "What's wrong with you?".  

Thank you to all the well-wishers during this final stretch of my pregnancy !

To answer the most frequent questions...

- No, I have not had that baby yet.   I'm due the last week in June.

- No, I am not having twins. 

- Yes, I do know I look like I'm about to "pop".

- We're expecting our third child.  The first was born during the Bucs Super Bowl run.  I was pregnant with our second during the Lighting Stanley Cup run.  And, this third baby was already on the way when Plant and Lakeland won state, when USF won its first bowl game, when Florida won the football national title, then their second straight basketball championship, and most recently when UT won back-to-back baseball titles. 

- I'm afraid the Rays are out of luck!  That should answer the,  "Is this is it ?!" question...

Again, sincerely, Thank You for your interest, thoughts and prayers...       ~ Chris