After all these years I finally see real promise in our o line. These guys are BIG. They are young and I hope they are nasty. When you play smash mouth football you have to have guys that will smash some mouths.

Maybe we can run the ball now. We do have the backs to do it now and hopefully they will have some holes to run thru. Bennett looked great, Darby has real promise and we all know Dunn gets it done.

Hope springs eternal!  GO BUCS

I was looking thru my articles that I save on the Bucs and saw the caption "Gruden critical of Sims". Some things are etched in stone--Derrick Brooks, Rondi Barber and Brian Kelly at cornerback, Brian Griese at quarterback. Some are not. That job once belonged to Chris Sims, but in the wake of the Bucs' 20-17 loss to Jacksonville, there were indications Coach Gruden suddenly may be holding Luke McGown in higher favor. There is no question Gruden was more  pleased with the play of McGowen than Simms. After all, McGown's engineering of the offense got the Bucs a touchdown, while Simms resulted only in a pair of field goals............"I thought Luke McGown showed tremendous poise in moving our team in a crisis situation where we had to score twice" said Gruden who was nowhere near as complimentary of Simms. Gruden, in his THIRD year of tutoring Simms questioned Simms' decision-making on some plays and took too long to get into the groove, Gruden seemed to have some concern with his execution.

This was from Roy Cummings, Tampa Tribune, August 22, 2005!!! I took a second look and then a third! As I had just watched the Bucs beat the Patriots 27-10 on Sunday!  Also, Brian Griese got the first touchdown in the first few minutes of the game and when Chris Simms was up, he only got a field goal!!  Sounds like the Twilight Zone!

Lucy

Even if you don't play for Joe Maddon, you know he only has a few rules for his Rays:

1) Play hard.

2) Run hard to 1st base.

3) Approach every game the same.

B.J. Upton knows the rules.  He's been talked to about them, benched already for breaking them August 6th.  And now, yanked in the middle of Friday night's game and benched again for not running hard.  Sure he thought there were 2 outs on the grounder.  But Joe Maddon does not want to hear any excuses.  Hustle's a big reason the Rays win so many games in the 9th inning, the reason they win so many games - period.  You've got to hand it to Maddon for sitting Upton when he and the Rays need him more than ever -  to cover all the injuries....  and to cover center.  The missed catch when Justin Ruggiano took Upton's place Friday night broke up Matt Garza's no hitter.

The Rays clubhouse was purged of punks.  But their ghosts seem to be haunting B.J. Upton.  He did apologize to Joe Maddon, so maybe Upton is coming round - he just needs to keep running hard.   Just wait  - B.J. Upton's hustle on the bases will win a big game soon,  giving even more credence to following the "Ray Way" of doing things.

OLYMPIC…GOLD…or Not ?

Most of us have watched at least Some of the 2008 Olympics!   The Rules for Winning, are Very Strict… to say the Least!   Drug and Gender tests are only a few.  Most do not know that in the Early 60’s, the Russian had MEN… competing as WOMEN… till the Olympic Committee instituted GENDER tests with Hair Follicles.  The LIES and the Cheatings have… Become More Elaborate!”

The Young Girl that sang only LIP SYNCED… a song sung by Another!  The Fire Works Display were “Digitally Enhanced” and were nothing but… “LIES… mixed with TRUTH!”  How many of US… were Upset?  How many of US… Protested the… “LIES?”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7jcvq1lXOw&feature=r
elated

It seems that World Wide… ‘Lies Have Replaced’… “The TRUTH!” 

Of course, you won’t allow that kind of… “TREACHERY”… in your Banking and Credit Cards!  And you won’t allow that kind of … “TREACHERY”… when it comes to your Employee Benefits, Retirement and Vacation and Others! You will not allow that… “TREACHERY”… when You Shop… or… go to the Pharmacy!  Just “How Much… ‘TREACHERY’… will you allow with Your Mate? ? ?

IS the momentary pleasure worth… the Selling of One’s Self?  Is that part of YOU… that is the Inner YOU… willing to put up with… “Treachery?”  Or will YOU… Say… “ENOUGH is Enough”, Stop… NOW!

Isn’t it ‘ENOUGH’… that we pay so much for Everything?   Our American Jobs have gone, ‘Overseas’.  Our National Wealth… is transferred OFFSHORE when “Buy American” is simply A Dead Concept!   Our Deficit is in the Trillions of Dollars, and growing… Each Minute!  Soon it will devour… what we falsely Call… “One Nation under GOD!”

(Son 2:15)  Take us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines; for our vines have tender grapes.

Thanks for your Ear!  Roger / Florida / USA. //Email// mark101112@yahoo.com

End…!

For the last several years our beloved Bucs have traveled down I-4 to practice in Kissimmee. This pumps hundreds of thousand of dollars into their local economy and is at the very least an aggravation to Tampa fans to drive that far to see the practices. I was very unhappy to discover Saturday night that the preseason game was not even televised in the area. Thanks for nothing to the Orlando television stations or whom ever is responsible for this. Bring back the practices to Tampa!

I could not be happier. Brett is in NY and we can get down to the business of playing football.  Like many others I am sure that our QB's feel betrayed and humiliated. I never have liked Bruce Allen.  With our O-Line looking pretty solid this year and what i think is a great herd of running backs the Buc's have a real good chance to go all the way.

I would be thrilled to see Chris Simms  have a comeback year!  Go Bucs

Bruce Allen finally address Brett Favre.

Q: How extensive were the talks with the Green Bay Packers?

Allen: I wouldn’t classify ‘em as extensive at all. They had talked to just about every team in the league. By reading your stuff and the people covering it closely it was clear they didn’t want to send him from the beginning to a team in the NFC.
There was no negotiation. There was never any substantive talk about what they would take to trade him. All of that was speculation. From the beginning it was clear that it was a bad situation in Green Bay and they had to deal with it in anyway they could.

Q: So you had no negotiations whatsoever about getting Brett Favre?

Allen: No. It never got that far.

Q: How far did it get?

Allen: They were looking for a place to send Brett, and they found it with the Jets.

Q: How interested in acquiring Brett Favre were you?

Allen: It really never got to that. We always look at any type of scenario we can find that can help the Buccaneers. That is our No.1 priority - helping this team. Whether it’s a double trade, a triple trade or in any form that can help the Bucs. We will always listen.

Q: So why let the speculation go on this long if you had no interest in Favre?

Allen: I can’t control speculation. There is rumor on top of rumor. Somebody said the wrong thing, I have no control over that. I think I had two conversations with Ted Thompson over the last two months and so, we had a very good understanding of what took place.

Q: How much interest did Brett Favre have in coming to Tampa Bay?

Allen: There are quite a few players in the league that have an interest to come to Tampa Bay. Without getting into the tampering rules of the league, I think that’s a credit to what we’re doing. This system would fit a lot of players.

Q: Again, How much interest did Brett have in playing for the Bucs?

Allen: I’ll let him talk about his situation. I think there were about 18 teams that had permission to talk to him. The fact that he did want to play here, we considered that.

Q: How did you try to sell him on the Buccaneers?

any form that can help the Bucs. We will always listen.

Q: So why let the speculation go on this long if you had no interest in Favre?

Allen: I can’t control speculation. There is rumor on top of rumor. Somebody said the wrong thing, I have no control over that. I think I had two conversations with Ted Thompson over the last two months and so, we had a very good understanding of what took place.

Q: Again, How much interest did Brett have in playing for the Bucs?

Allen: I’ll let him talk about his situation. I think there were about 18 teams that had permission to talk to him. The fact that he did want to play here, we considered that.

Q: How did you try to sell him on the Buccaneers?

Allen: Really, it never got to any of that. He wasn’t a free agent. We never really believed they were going to release him. They were clear from the beginning that that wasn’t their intention. It wasn’t that type of process.

Q: Bruce, are you saying you made no trade offer to the Packers for Brett Favre?

Allen: Green Bay never told us what they were interested in trading him for.

Q: Did you tell them what you were interested in giving? Did you make an offer to them

Allen: No.

Q: How did Jeff Garcia handle this

Allen: In our league, you have to deal with whether you’re going to draft somebody in the first round, and if it’s a running back, how is that going to affect the players on the team. They are all professionals. They understand the business. If you look at every quote from the coaching staff through the organization it’s all been quite positive on Jeff ever since we acquired him.
It’s really a situation where, this is a very popular player in our country. It’s a very difficult situation that Green Bay might be over now. Hopefully everybody can move forward. What we’ve been concentrating on is our team and getting our team ready.

Q: Why did you never do anything to eliminate or minimize the speculation?

Allen: I think you’ve all talked to our players in the last few weeks and if you see their quotes you can see everybody was positive about Jeff. They said we have no control over it and I think if you went to our dining room you’d see a lot of people laughing about the speculation. It won’t affect him [Garcia].

Q: Why didn’t you just say Jeff is our QB and end it?

Allen: I think if you look at the quotes over the last year or two years, In fact, when Coach Gruden named him the starter at that Chamber of Commerce meeting a year ago, it was why are you going to name him the starter. Coach Gruden and Jeff’s relationship goes back a ways. We’re going to compete on the football field. There are 80 guys competing to make the football team. The American way is competition. I don’t think any outside forces are going to affect our football team.

Q: If Garcia was your quarterback, why did you continue talking to Green Bay?

Allen: I’m not going to get into specifics. I think it was a difficult situation to begin with.

Q: If you knew from the beginning Green Bay wasn’t going to trade Brett to an NFC team, why did you ask permission to talk to him and ask Jon Gruden to talk with him?

Allen: First of all, I said earlier, I think it was 18 teams were interested in Brett Favre. When this all started, we had never talked to him. I can’t control the speculation. We can’t control rumors and in this situation there were rumors coming out of six different markets.

Q: But Brett Favre and [his agent] Bus Cook said the Buccaneers were specifically part of the deal. Were they lying?

Allen: The fact that a player wants to play for us, once again, I think is a compliment to this organization. I’ve not ever turned my back on people who want to come to the Buccaneers.

Q: Do you expect Jeff Garcia to believe what you’re saying, that you had no interested in Brett Favre and that he was never going to be part of the team?

Allen: We said we never believed they were going to trade him to the Buccaneers.

Q: So you did have interest in acquiring him?

Allen: No. We have interest in anything that can help this football team.

Q: If you never believed they were going to trade him, why even talk to Green Bay? Eighteen teams did not talk to Brett Favre.

Allen: Are you sure?

Q: Yes. So Why talk to Brett Favre if you had no inkling whatsoever that the Packers were going to him to nothing other than an AFC team?

Allen We’re going to listen and see if there is a way it can benefit the Buccaneers. We’re going to keep our ears open.

Q: Were you sitting on the sidelines waiting to see if something fell apart with Jets?

Allen: There are so many things you can try to interrupt.

Q: How do you get Jeff’ mind right to lead this team?

Allen: Jeff is a great competitor. His No.1 attribute is his competitive spirit. Right now, we want to get Jeff healthy, get him back on the practice field. Nothing will change the competitive nature of Jeff Garcia.

Favre will not improve the Bucs. I totally agree Chip!

How sick are we of this sheet? Please Brett just go to NY.  How much money do u need? Please stop the whining. Live with your decision.

omg!!

why do  the  tampa bay bucs do for  big name player and  they never work out nmost of them at least look  at the former player that the bucs have   used and  never workd out  onl made tampa  look like fools  and laughing stocks

The Bucs don't need Brett Favre, he is not an upgrade, he is not (in Gruden's offense) going to be that a difference maker.

There are two parts that I don't like, first, Favre isn't willing to come in and be a distraction to the Packers, doesn't want a QB controverey in Green Bay, but he has no problem doing that with the Bucs?

Here's the Deal, the Bucs don't need him....he's missed OTA's, mini camps, he's missed the first 10 days of training camp.

Favre doesn't fit Gruden's system. He wants a ball control, no turnovers, run it 30 times a game offense. Favre likes to sling it. In the last 3 years, Favre has thrown 66 touchdowns, and 62 interceptions....

thats not the balance Gruden wants.

The Packers over achieved last year, going 13 and 3 with one of the easiest schedules in the league, but they were only 8-8 the year before and a nightmare 4-12 before that....

Here is why I think the Bucs are chasing Favre, merchandise money, club seat sales and national television exposure, even if this team is 2-6 halfway through the season, they will still get national games, because of Brett Farve.........

Simply put, the Bucs need to stick with their own 38 year old quarterback.

For the first time since begin carted off the field with a calf injury last Thursday, Jeff Garcia made an appearance at practice Tuesday. After undergoing therapy on his leg, Garcia walked on to the field with about a half an hour of practice left.

With his return still unknown, Garcia all but ruled himself out for Saturday's preseason opener down in Miami.

“I don’t think I’ve been ruled out, but I think it’s highly unlikely,” said Garcia. "It’s just one of those things. I haven’t practiced in a few days and I’m sure coach wouldn’t want to throw me out there not having practiced."

“Also it’s preseason,” he added. “It’s not a sense of getting ready for this one, but making sure I’m ready for the opener of the season.”

With Garcia relegated to watching from the sidelines. Luke McCown and Brian Griese took advantage of the extra reps. The two combined, completing the first 19 of 20 attempts during the 7-on-7 drills. During the morning practice in pads, the offense went turnover-free, thanks to five drops by the Bucs linebackers. For the second day in a row, McCown earned praise from his head coach.

"He’s got flash playmaking ability. He’s also, as I said, there’s too many lightning strikes around me,” Gruden said. “We had a couple fumbled exchanges, we had a forced ball turnover in the red zone yesterday, he threw an interception in the move-the-ball period. The highs are high and the lows are low. I just look for a little more consistent ride. I don’t like a bumpy ride, but I’m pleased with him.”

In all, six Bucs starters were unable to practice. Joining Garica were B.J. Askew (ankle), Antonio Bryant (knee), Jovan Haye (groin), Sammy Davis (hip), and Joey Galloway (groin).

The Bucs spent the afternoon with the pads off, in shorts.

The team is scheduled for two more full days of practice on Wednesday 8:30 a.m. - 11:10 a.m. and 2:45 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

After getting punished for poor play on Sunday, the Bucs bounce back on Monday morning with improved play. It wasn't perfect, but Jon Gruden will take it knowing that his players are starting to wear down mentally as they hit the halfway point in camp.

"I saw some improvement [today]," Gruden said. "The guys are practicing hard. It’s very competitive. Every time the defense stuffs the offense, you want to be mad if you’re an offensive coach. When we get a big explosive play offensively, you want to be mad if you’re a defensive coach.

"But when you go back to your room to look at the tape, there are some very good things that we can build off of. When you’re playing your backup quarterbacks and some other backups at fullback and at wide receiver, it can be a difficult test. That’s why we’re out here. There are going to be some growing pains, but I really like the progress that we’re making and I’ll leave it at that."

Running the first unit for the injured Jeff Garica, Luke McCown stood out. McCown, who today was listed as the second string quarterback on the team's deepth chart kept a strong hold on his spot going 7 for 9 during the first set of 9-on-9 drills inside the redzone. In one span he tossed perfect 2 td's in the matter of 3 passes with one pick in between. The interception came from an incredible effort by rookie Elbert Mack.

"I’ll say this, the two [touchdowns] that he made were great throws, big time plays," Gruden said. "The interception that was thrown, it was a great play by the right corner. What we need to do with this young quarterback is continue to work with him. He has 10 or 12 outstanding plays a day, explosive plays. But he’s got four or five times where lightning strikes too close to me.

The Bucs earn another break from Jon Gruden with an afternoon at the movies, to see "Dark Knight". It replaces a scheduled "walkthrough".

Of the teams 22 starters, 4 remain on the sidelines with injuries. Jeff Garica didn't even come to practice. Joey Galloway worked on strength and conditioning, running with a weighted flack jacket. Cadillac Williams stepped up his workouts practicing cutting moves for the first time. It showed that he's not ready to return to full action yet and Joyan Haye still is recovering from his injury.

The Bucs have two full practiced planned for Tuesday and Wednesday, 8:30 am-11:10 am and 2:45 pm to 4:30pm.

At Stewy’s Skate Park

Free Admission                                             
   

Over $3,000.00 in CASH & Prizes to be given away!                  

Be sure to arrive early to get the goods!

Prizes will include Decks, Trucks, Wheels, T-Shirts, Hats, Stickers & Much More!

What? SandStorm Skate Shop 2008 End-of-Summer Skate Bash!

Where? Pioneer Skate Park (Stewy's) When? Saturday August 9th, 2008

·         Events start at 11am till 8:00pm

·         Live DJ, Radio Station & TV Coverage and Give-a-ways!

·         SandStorm Team Demo!

·         Come join us for a fun day of Skating!

·         Plenty of FOOD & DRINK!

Mini Contests:

·         Furthest Length Off the Kicker

·         Longest Manual

·         Kick Flip Challenge

·         Highest Air Out of the Half Pipe

·         Best Trick Over the Hip

·         Best Trick Over the Stair Set

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Age Divisions:

·         8 & Under

·         9-12 Yrs Old

·         13-16 Yrs Old

·         17 & Up

Sand Storm Skate Shop

5476 Springhill Dr. Spring Hill, FL. 34606 Next to 7-11

Call or Email Robert Martini for more information

sandstormskate@yahoo.com

772-933-1156

Trying to avoid the shadow of Brett Favre's drama, the Bucs get tossed back into the turmoil after watching Jeff Garcia go down with an injured leg. But before you head out to Tampa International to welcome the Green Bay castoff. Jon Gruden says Garcia's leg is a minor issue.

"I don't believe it's serious," Gruden said. "We're going to get the information. He might not have much at all. Right now, until we evaluate it further, we really can't say much else."

The Bucs are calling Garcia's injury a strained calf muscle. It occurred while he was rolling out during a scramble drill with the Bucs other quarterbacks.

"I think it was just a freak thing," Gruden said. "He was dropping back and took off as he always does, changed directions and felt a little pull in there."

"He got hurt last year in training camp and missed close to a week with, I believe, a groin strain. He'll be okay. He's very sharp mentally. I don't know how many training camps he's been through, but he'll be okay and in the time being it will give us a chance to look at your youngster [Josh Johnson] and get Chris Simms more acclimated. We've got plenty of quarterbacks in camp to pick up the slack, I know that."

Garcia was carted off the field and had a difficult time walking into the lockeroom. Gruden right now is calling this a "day to day" injury.

Garcia wasn't alone in the training room. Starting defensive tackle Joyan Haye strained a groin muscle in the morning practice, Sabby Piscitelli is also out with a knee. Joey Galloway who has missed all practices with a groin injury is expected back tomorrow.

On a positive note, the Bucs wide-receivers continue to shine. Michael Clayton has been the most consistent and Parris Warren, who galvanized the team after breaking his leg in the preseason last year is making a tremendous comeback.

"Well, not many people talked about him, said Gruden Carnell [Williams] is doing great with his rehab, but Paris Warren, he scored five touchdowns for us in the four preseason games. He made the football team, basically, with a game-winning catch against Houston, and he got hurt, ended his season. He's doing good and I think he's gaining confidence and gaining momentum right now in terms of his overall play and his stamina. But I'm really impressed with him. He's a good football player that will show up for us."