Earlier start time doesn't help the Bucs

No one wanted to see the Chargers and Bucs play at 8:15 p.m. Sunday. Big game sure, but we shouldn’t have to wait all day to start a game between one team that is 9-5 (the Bucs) and another that is 6-8 (the Chargers).

Thank goodness for the NFL’s flex scheduling.

Now the Bucs and Chargers kick off at 1 p.m.

And that is actually bad news for the Bucs.

Why?

Good question.

Here’s why.

The Chargers need a win and a loss by the Broncos to set up a winner-take-all game next week for the division title.

The Broncos play at 4 p.m. If they win, the Chargers are out regardless of what the Chargers do against the Bucs.

So, if kickoff were still 8:15 p.m., the Chargers would already now their fate. If the Broncos win, it wouldn’t matter what the Chargers do. Think mail it it.

But now that it is at 1 p.m. start, the Chargers are still playing for a playoff spot. They have something to play for, which means they should give the Bucs a better game than if they were already eliminated.

Not that it should change the way the Bucs approach the game. They need a win to enhance their playoff chances.

But it will change the way the Chargers approach things, and that could mean a tougher afternoon for the Bucs.

Bucs Bryant makes a point

Do your homework, Antonio Bryant said more than once Wednesday when asked about his big season. What he’s doing this year is nothing new to the Bucs receiver, who is heading toward a career year in receptions, yards and touchdowns.

Bryant not only is miffed that reporters, especially those on ESPN, keep referring to the “baggage” he brings to a team, but he is also steamed that nine receivers were picked ahead of him in the 2002 draft.

And Bryant is well aware of what those guys are doing these days. Compare them to Bryant’s season and the answer is not much.

Here is a breakdown of the first 10 receivers drafted in 2002:

Donte Stallworth, 13th pick, 14 catches, 141 yards, 1 TD.

Ashley Lelie, 19th pick, 11 catches, 197 yards, 2 TDs.

Javon Walker, 20th pick, 15 catches, 196 yards, 1 TD.

Jabar Gaffney, 33rd pick, 33 catches, 378 yards, 2TDs.

Josh Reed, 36th pick, 41 catches, 454 yards, 1TD.

Tim Carter, 46th pick, not playing.

Andre Davis, 47th pick, 10 catches, 155 yards, 0 TDs.

Reche Caldwell, 48th pick, not playing.

Antwaan Randle El, 62nd pick, 48 catches, 557 yards, 3TDs.

Antonio Bryant, 63rd pick, 936 yards, 5 TDs.

Smith: NFC special teams player of the month

Bucs returner Clifton Smith was named the NFC’s special teams player of the month for November.

Smith had 11 punt returns for 199 yards (18.1 avg.) and one touchdown. He also registered 16 kickoff returns for 498 yards (31.1 avg.) and one touchdown. Smith’s punt return average of 18.1 yards this season ranks first in the NFL and his 31.1 yard kickoff return average ranks second in the NFL. He is also the only player in the NFL to have a kickoff return for a touchdown and a punt return for a touchdown this season.

Smith was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for Week 9 as he became the second player in team history to return a kickoff for a touchdown with a 97-yard touchdown return at Kansas City (Nov. 2). He finished the game with two punt returns for 27 yards and six kickoff returns for 232 yards and a touchdown. His 97-yard kickoff return was also the longest kickoff return in team history and the 259 total return yards (232 kickoff return yards and 27 punt return yards) set a franchise record for the most return yards in a single game.

Smith had four punt returns for 90 yards, including a touchdown, and five kickoff returns for 142 yards, including a long of 49 yards at Detroit (Nov. 23). With his 70-yard punt return for a touchdown, Smith became the first Buccaneer since 2004 to record a punt return for a touchdown and he became the first player in franchise history to return both a kickoff and a punt for a touchdown.

Smith had five punt returns for 82 yards (16.4 avg.), including a long of 42 yards, and three kickoff returns for 76 yards vs. New Orleans (Nov. 30).

Smith’s honor marks the seventh time in team history that a Buccaneer has been named NFC Special Teams Player of the Month. Kicker Matt Bryant (December 2007), Punter Josh Bidwell (November 2005), Kicker Martin Gramatica (November 1999, October 2000 and December 2002), and returner Karl Williams (December 1996) have previously been honored.

Gruden: Kiffin rumors not a distraction

The reports that Monte Kiffin is heading to the University of Tennessee to join his son, Lane, on the Volunteers coaching staff will not present a distraction to the first-place Bucs, said Bucs coach Jon Gruden on Monday morning.

"A lot of our coaches are sought after every year, and Monte's sought after every year,'' Gruden said during his Monday morning press conference."He should be. I'm not worried about any distractions. We've got a great opportunity ahead of us, and we want to take advantage of it.''

Lane Kiffin is scheduled to be named the Vols coach at a 2 p.m. press conference today. ESPN is reporting Lane will bring his dad with him as the defensive coordinator.

Monte called those rumors “speculation” after Sunday’s win against the Saints, and ESPN has been known to be wrong.

Kiffin is in the first year of a multi-year contract, and the Bucs have never been in the habit of letting coaches out of their contracts to pursue other jobs.

If the rumors are true and Kiffin were to leave, Gruden said he expects Kiffin to finish the season with the Bucs, who are 9-3 and tied for first place in the NFC South with Carolina.

Barber NFC defensive player of week

Bucs cornerback Ronde Barber was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week for Week 12, marking the eighth time in his career Barber earned the honor.

Barber intercepted a pair of passes in the Bucs win last Sunday at Detroit, returning one 65 yards for a touchdown. It was his 13th career score. His 11 regular season touchdowns off interceptions is most among active players.

This was the 33rd time a Buc has been named NFC Defensive Player of the Week and the second time this year. LB Derrick Brooks won the award in Week 4.

Bucs postgame notes

Some notes from the Bucs win Sunday at Detroit ...

- After trailing the Lions 17-0 after the first quarter, the Buccaneers scored 21 points of their own in the second quarter, tying for the third-most points scored in a quarter in team history and helping the team to tie for the second largest comeback win in franchise history. It was the first time the Buccaneers had scored 21 points in a quarter since December 17, 2006 when the Buccaneers scored 21 points vs. the Chicago Bears in the fourth quarter. The 17-point comeback win is the largest comeback victory in Bucs history that did not require OT and was the team’s third comeback win of the season. In Week 9 at Kansas City, the Buccaneers launched a 21-point comeback defeating the Chiefs 30-27 in OT, their largest comeback win in franchise history. After trailing 24-3 in the second quarter, the Buccaneers came storming back, outscoring the Chiefs 27-3. The team’s first comeback win of the season was from 10 points down at Chicago (9/21/08) in Week 3 for a 27-24 overtime victory. Tampa Bay had trailed 24-14 in the fourth quarter. Prior to that, the last time Tampa Bay won a game after trailing by 10 or more points in the regular season was on December 12, 1999 against Detroit. The Buccaneers trailed 10-0 before rallying for a 23-16 victory.

MOST POINTS SCORED IN A QUARTER

24, vs. Chicago, 12/22/96 (2nd)

24, vs. Green Bay, 11/22/81 (2nd)

21, 14 times, last at Detroit, 11/23/08 (2nd)



TOP COMEBACK WINS IN TEAM HISTORY
Deficit Opponent Date Score

21 (Trailed 24-3) at KC 11/2/08 W, 30-27 OT

17 (Trailed 17-0) at DET 11/23/08 W, 38-20

17 (Trailed 23-6) vs. CHI 1/2/83 W, 26-23 OT

17 (Trailed 17-0) at BAL 9/9/79 W, 29-26 OT

15 (Trailed 15-0) vs. CHI 9/20/98 W, 27-15

15 (Trailed 21-6) vs. DET 12/26/82 W, 23-21

14 (Trailed 14-0) at SD 11/17/96 W, 25-17

14 (Trailed 14-0) vs. MIN 10/7/84 W, 35-31

14 (Trailed 14-0) at DET 9/16/84 W, 21-17

13 (Trailed 13-0) vs. WAS* 1/15/00 W, 14-13

13 (Trailed 13-0) vs. PHI 10/6/91 W, 14-13
*Playoff Game

- RB Clifton Smith recorded the first punt return for a touchdown of his career on a 70-yard return in the third quarter. With the score, Smith became the first player in Bucs history to return both a kickoff and a punt for a touchdown, with both occurring this season. In Week 9, Smith returned a kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown, the longest in team history, sparking a 21-point comeback win for the Buccaneers over the Kansas City Chiefs. He also finished that game with a single game team record 259 total return yards. Today, Smith finished with five kickoff returns for 142 yards (28.4 avg.) and four punt returns for 90 yards (22.5 avg.) and one touchdown for a total of 232 return yards.

Smith’s touchdown today was the first punt return for a touchdown by a Buccaneer since December 19, 2004 when WR Joey Galloway returned a punt 59 yards for a touchdown against New Orleans. He is just the sixth player in franchise history to return a punt for a touchdown and his score marked just the 10th punt return for a touchdown in team history.

MOST PUNT RETURN TOUCHDOWNS IN TEAM HISTORY
Player Years TDs

Karl Williams 1996-03 5

Ronde Barber 1997-present 1

Joey Galloway 2004-present 1

Jacquez Green 1998-01 1

Clifton Smith 2008-present 1

Vernon Turner 1993-94 1

- CB Ronde Barber recorded his first two interceptions of the season, today, giving him a franchise-best 35 for his career. On his second interception, Barber returned the interception 65 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter, his 13th career touchdown (including postseason). Barber now has 11 career regular season touchdowns on fumble/interception returns, most among active players and third in NFL history. It was his sixth career multi-interception game, with the last time occurring vs. Philadelphia (10/22/06), both of which were returned for touchdowns.

MOST CAREER TOUCHDOWNS ON FUMBLE/INTERCEPTION RETURNS(ACTIVE PLAYERS)
TDs Player Current Team

11 CB Ronde Barber Tampa Bay

10 S Darren Sharper Minnesota

8 DE Jason Taylor Washington

7 LB Derrick Brooks Tampa Bay

7 CB Dre’ Bly Denver

7 S Mike Brown Chicago

7 CB Ty Law N.Y. Jets

7 CB Charles Woodson Green Bay

MOST CAREER TOUCHDOWNS ON FUMBLE/INTERCEPTION RETURNS All-Time in NFL History

TDs Player

13 Rod Woodson

12 Aeneas Williams

11 Ronde Barber

10 Ken Houston

10 Deion Sanders

10 Darren Sharper

9 Eric Allen

MOST CAREER TOUCHDOWNS BY A DEFENSIVE PLAYER IN TEAM HISTORY (Includes Postseason)
CB Ronde Barber 13

65-yard INT return at Det. (11/23/08)

29-yard INT return vs. Atl. (12/16/07)

41-yard fumble return at Atl. (11/18/07)

66-yard INT return vs. Phil. (10/22/06)

37-yard INT return vs. Phil. (10/22/06)

18-yard fumble return at N.O. (10/10/04)

9-yard fumble return at Wash. (9/12/04)

29-yard INT return vs. Ind. (10/6/03)

92-yard INT return at Phil. (1/19/03)*

36-yard INT return vs. N.O. (12/23/01)

37-yard INT return vs. N.Y. Jets (9/24/00)

24-yard fumble return vs. Chi. (9/10/00)

23-yard punt return at Chi. (11/29/98)

* Postseason



MOST INTERCEPTIONS RETURNED FOR TOUCHDOWNS IN TEAM HISTORY (Includes Postseason)
CB Ronde Barber 8

LB Derrick Brooks 7

- The Buccaneers added their fourth defensive touchdown on the season, tying for the second most in team history (also 1987, 1983 and 1977), when CB Ronde Barber returned a QB Daunte Culpepper pass 65 yards for the score. After scoring a total of two defensive touchdowns in all of 2007, the Bucs defense topped that mark with three defensive scores in the first four weeks this season. It was the most in that span since the 2002 season when the team scored a defensive touchdown in four of the first five games. That season the Buccaneers defense scored in a total of five regular season games and added four more defensive touchdowns in three postseason contests.

- DE/DT Jimmy Wilkerson recorded his third and fourth sacks of the season, giving him a career single-game high two sacks. It is the second week in a row that Wilkerson has recorded at least one sack and marks the first multi-sack game of his career. Prior to this season Wilkerson had one career sack in 72 career games. This season Wilkerson has four sacks, third-best on the team, while seeing action in all 11 games as a reserve.

- RB Warrick Dunn recorded his second touchdown of the season and the 49th of his career on a 13-yard run in the second quarter. With his 28th touchdown as a member of the Buccaneers, Dunn moves into sole possession of sixth place on the Buccaneers all-time touchdown list, surpassing Mark Carrier (27 touchdowns from 1987-92). He also moved into fifth on the Buccaneers all-time receptions list, passing Kevin House (286 from 1980-86) as he now has 290 as a Buccaneer. Dunn finished the afternoon with 14 rushes for 90 yards (6.4 avg.) and a touchdown recording a season long 40-yard run in the third quarter to go with five receptions for 37 yards. Dunn is now eight receptions shy of fourth place in Bucs history for receptions behind Keyshawn Johnson (298 from 2000-03) and one touchdown shy of fifth place in Bucs history for total touchdowns behind Joey Galloway (29 from 2004-present).

- QB Jeff Garcia finished the afternoon 13-of-18 for 165 yards and two touchdowns for a passer rating of 137.5. He moved him into eighth place ahead of Shaun King (4,064 from 1999-03) on the Buccaneers passing list. With 4,223 passing yards as a Buccaneer, he is now 349 yards shy of seventh place on the Bucs all-time passing yardage list behind Brian Griese (4,572 from 2004-05, 2008-present).

- WR Ike Hilliard recorded his team-leading fourth touchdown reception of the year on a 36-yard pass from QB Jeff Garcia in the second quarter. It was Hilliard’s 35th career touchdown reception and his longest reception of the season.

- For the second consecutive week, TE Jerramy Stevens paced the tight end position with starter Alex Smith out due to injury. In the second quarter, Stevens caught a 24-yard touchdown pass from QB Jeff Garcia. It was Stevens’ second touchdown of the season and the 21st of his career.

-DE Gaines Adams recorded his team-leading fifth sack of the season in the second quarter, giving him 11 sacks for his career. In the fourth quarter DE Greg White recorded a sack. He now has 4.5 sacks this season, second-most on the team, and 11.5 sacks in his career.

- K Matt Bryant recorded his second-longest field goal of the season when he connected on a 48-yard attempt in the fourth quarter. His season long 49-yard field goal came in Week 6 vs. Carolina (10/12/08).

Bucs Graham out for season

It is official: Bucs running back Earnest Graham is out for the season with a right ankle injury suffered during his first carry in last Sunday’s win against Minnesota. He was placed on the Injured Reserve list Wednesday.

Graham started all 10 games for the Bucs and led the team in rushing (563 yards) and touchdowns (four). His 23 receptions for 174 yards ranked him fifth on the team.

The injury came one year after Graham established himself as the feel-good story of the Bucs 2007 season. He was the special teams lifer who took advantage of playing time created by injuries to Cadillac Williams and Michael Pittman and proved he could be a feature back in the NFL.

Now, Graham’s injury opens the door for Williams’ return.

The Bucs also placed linebacker Geno Hayes on the IR on Wednesday. Hayes injured his knee covering a kickoff late in last Sunday’s win.

In related news, the Bucs signed running back Noah Herron and linebacker Matt McCoy on Wednesday.

Herron has appeared in 23 games in four NFL seasons. He has 273 yards and three touchdowns on 85 carries and has caught 29 passes for 211 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

McCoy played three games for the Bucs earlier this season before being released Oct. 18.

Lynch on Lynch

Thought you might be interested in reading the transcript from John Lunch's Q&A during his press conference Monday when the former Buc announced his retirement.

(On RB Barry Sanders)
“He was the best player that I ever played against. I say that and I think that the quarterback position, they can control the game so when you play against [Joe] Montana and [John] Elway and all that but just in terms of toughness of player I was that eighth guy in the box and that was always a good thing except when you played Barry because that was your guy. He would look you up and find out where you were.
"The longer that I played against him I started to embrace him and enjoy it. Once I started doing that the better it was. He was unbelievable. You had to play team defense against, and you had to trust your buddies. I am in a number of car commercials and that is something that normally I wouldn’t be proud of. One of the proudest moments of my career was, I got a letter from Barry when he went into the Hall Of Fame and he invited me to his party. I didn’t know Barry, I had been to one Pro Bowl with him, he simply wrote in the letter, I always respected the way you played and I would like you to be there and I was able to be there, so that was a big deal.”

(On be eligible to be elected to the Hall-Of-Fame with Warren Sapp)
“If that ever were to happen, it would be incredibly humbling. My thoughts on that, Herm Edwards use to say, ‘every time you go on that field, autograph your performance.’ I tried to do that every time I stepped on the field and if people see me worthy of that someday, I would be extremely humbled. But, I did my job and we will see how that goes. But that class, those are some great friends and I hadn’t heard that. I obviously knew all those guys were retired, but I hadn’t thought about that so that is pretty cool.”

(On going into the media)
“I am trying to shift focus there and call it like I see it. This has been a great opportunity, I had some opportunities right when I left the Patriots, but I really wanted a year at home to just kind of hang out and be at home and kind of just let things come. I’ve been humbled with all the nice offers and what not but this Fox thing turned out perfect. They said that they use to send guys over to Europe but they don’t have that any more, so if we get a game would you be interested. This is a tryout to see if they like me and a tryout for me to see if it something I like. We will see. It’s unbelievable, I watch games in a different light now, I am listening to them. I never have listened to them, but now I am listening to them, seeing what they are saying and how they are saying it. I am looking forward to it. I love the game and I think it gives me an opportunity to stay around the game. I am very excited for it.”

(On when he knew it was time to retire)
“I think you are right, I probably should have listened to my heart because my heart was telling me it was time to be done, but my competitiveness was saying do one more year, get an opportunity to win a championship, give it all you got for one last year. I have to tell you, I try to live in the moment a lot, but I knew the Super Bowl was down here in Tampa and I said, ‘boy if I could ever just do that, what a way to end a career, and I could announce it down there.’ I tried to stick it out. One of the coolest things of my career, New England brought me in there, like they do, they utilize veteran players so well, and they wanted to play me at some linebacker and various ways to use me. After being there a week, coach Belichick said ‘you know the problem with you is your best position is the one you played fifteen years at and been to nine pro bowls at, safety and we don’t need any safeties.’
"So, I kind of knew that things weren’t going to work out. We had some real honest conversations. We went to play the New York Giants, the last preseason game, and Coach Belichick called me in there and told me he was going to play me like the starters. He was going to give me a series. I said, ‘coach, if you would, I know you are trying to prepare for a season, but I would like to play the entire game,’ and he looked at me and said ‘alright, you got it.’
"I am sure if you look at the media reviews, there were 70,000 people, but I am telling you there weren’t more than 30,000 at the start and at the beginning of that fourth quarter there were maybe 10,000 people in the stands and I don’t think I have ever had so much fun playing football.
"We had a goal line stand, I made three tackles and I was out there with rookie free agents and I had more fun playing football that day. I played the first real good football I had played that preseason because I just let it go. I had so much fun and I remember walking off that field thinking if that was the last time it was all right and that was an awesome experience.”

(On if he has any desire to get into coaching)
“There would be a desire to get into coaching; I know I would love it. But, Mike Tomlin sent me a text today saying that if I was thinking about getting into coaching to call him so he could talk me out of it. He said to spend time with my family and I am really looking forward to doing that. Maybe some day. I am coaching little league, the Tigers here and we are having a lot of fun doing that. I am looking forward to coaching some soccer and things like that.”

(On what this day means to him)
“It is awesome. I keep saying it, but I have been so blessed and have so many people that are so special to me and to have them make special efforts to be here, see a lot of old faces that I haven’t seen for a while is just awesome. As I thought about what I wanted to say, of course you get nostalgic, but really I wanted it to be about what this game has meant to me and why it has been so special to me. That is kind of what I feel on this day. I really feel like it is the end of one phase, but again, it is just starting is so many things. I am looking forward to it.”

(On being able to spend time with his family)
“It has been good. I talked to Linda early on and she said do you miss it, and I said of course I miss it, she said you will miss it 10 years from now. I wish I could play forever but you can’t. I always told myself that as long as it was in heart, I would continue. As I said, last season I started having some feelings that maybe it was time and as I said I don’t have any regrets but you always have to listen to your heart and it was time and I’m happy.”

(On what made the group in 2002 the right group)
“I think first of all, that belief that I talked about. It was hard to believe because they had lost for a long time and it was a way of doing things that it just seemed no matter what we did, some things wouldn’t pan out. You had those feeling at times that here we go again. We needed to change that culture and we did.
"We obviously drafted great players with great talent but I think it was much more than that; it was a mind set, a mental toughness that we kind of acquired. Derrick [Brooks] and Ronde [Barber] will get a great chuckle out of this, but I remember some of the old days when we use to play ‘Buc Ball’, and maybe lose 9-6 and Tony Dungy would come in there, in front of the team and say ‘defense we have to play better. I don’t know how do you give nine points to that team. Offense, great job way to control the clock, you gave us a chance to win.’
"Derrick and I, that is how we were raised and I tell you, things happen for a reason and that served me so well for the rest of my career because you expect it. Our job was to have the other team score less points than us and finally I said, you know what, he is right. It was an awesome group of guys and you talk about that core that changed a lot of attitudes around here and I will never forget that.”

Bucs Graham could be out for season

Earnest Graham’s first carry in Sunday’s win against Minnesota might be his last of the season.
The Bucs running back left the game with a leg injury that appears to be an ankle sprain.

“Earnest Graham’s ankle looks to be a serious injury. His status for the rest of the season is very much in question right now,” Bucs coach Jon Gruden said Monday morning. “I don’t have the exact medical terms. I would say it doesn’t look like he’s going to be able play any time soon. We’ll get final results here in next couple hours.”

Bucs linebacker Derrick Brooks referred to Graham’s injury as an ankle sprain when talking about how the team will miss Graham in the coming weeks.

With Graham down and Michael Bennett no longer with the team, the Bucs will press Cadillac Williams into service a bit sooner than they anticipated.

“We’ll see what happens,” Gruden said “We’ve got a very good back here in Warrick Dunn. He got a lot of yards yesterday from scrimmage. We’ll see how it goes. Clifton (Smith) has to do a better job taking care of the ball. All those backs will have to step up. It was good to have (fullback B.J.) Askew back. (We) may have to have him carry the ball also.”

Buc Ball 19, Vikings 13

This was the kind of game Chris Hovan remembered from his days playing for the Minnesota Vikings. Bring a pretty good offense to Tampa Bay and watch it get stepped on by the Buccaneers defense.

It happened Sunday in the Bucs 19-13 win against the Vikings.

Hovan, the defensive tackle who began his career with the Vikings and is now a key figure on the Bucs defensive line, played a big role in the Bucs win, getting his first sack of the season and providing the first line of defense as the Bucs held Adrian Peterson to just 85 rushing yards.

That’s “just” because Peterson, who leads the NFL in rushing, entered the game averaging 140 yards during his previous four games and 112 for the season.

The Bucs defense also had a season-high five sacks.

The Bucs had one touchdown drive and used four field goals from Matt Bryant to improve to 7-3 and keep pace with first-place Carolina (8-2) in the NFC South.

“It’s Buc Ball,” Hovan said. “I remember when I used to come down here early in my career and play against the Bucs, same formula for winning. Buc Ball: play great defense, score (19) points, and get a win.”

Allen: Bucs never interested in Favre. What?

Bucs general manager Bruce Allen told the assembled members of the media Thursday morning that the Bucs never had any interest in trading for Brett Favre and denied the reports that said the Bucs made an offer for the Packers quarterback, who was traded to the New York Jets late Wednesday night.

Allen said he knew the Packers had to trade Favre but also knew they would never do so to another NFC team.

When asked why he or coach Jon Gruden never came out and put an end to the speculation that dominated nearly the first two weeks of Bucs camp at Disney’s Wide World of Sports, Allen said, “I can’t control the speculation. It was rumor on top of rumor.”

Except one of those rumors of Favre being interested in the Bucs and of Favre talking with Gruden came from a source very close to the situation – Brett Favre.

Believe what you want.

Garcia: I am the quarterback

Jeff Garcia is the starting quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

If you don’t believe me, just ask Garcia, which we did Monday morning after his first workout with the team this camp.

Garcia said six times that he is the starting quarterback and once that he is the guy.

Kind of feel bad for Garcia. After all, he did lead the Bucs to the division title last season and did finish the year at the Pro Bowl in Hawaii.

He can’t get his contract reworked, and he can’t escape the shadow Brett Favre’s situation has thrown over Bucs camp.

But the NFL is a business, which is why Garcia is asking to have his contract reworked, and teams spend everyday looking for ways to upgrade every position.

If the Bucs can upgrade at quarterback, they will.

If that upgrade includes Favre, it will, providing the Bucs can work out a trade with the Packers.

Until then, Garcia is the Bucs starting quarterback.

Just ask him. He’ll tell you.

'Football is played on a gridiron ...'

We listened to George Carlin’s album “Class Clown” in my basement with the volume turned down very low, and we laughed at the seven dirty words you couldn’t say on TV, even though we didn’t know what some of the words meant.

Ah, yes, growing up in the 1970s.

Mom was upstairs getting dinner ready and couldn’t figure out what the heck was so funny. She just heard my friends and I break into periods of uncontrollable laughter.

Silence. Laughter. Silence. Laughter. Silence. Laughter.

There were two types of kids in my Catholic grammar school: those who listened to George Carlin records in their basement with the sound turned down and those who didn’t.

And those who did could recite the seven dirty words you can’t say on TV.

Those who didn’t have probably gone to bigger and better things than those of us who did, but, I’m sure, without have half the fun.

Carlin, who died Sunday, is gone having helped changed comedy for the better. He forced comedians to stray from the traditional standup of a series of jokes about your wife or your mother-in-law to a series of observations, some well-thought, about life.

I’m at that point in my life where dirty words no longer automatically make me laugh. I now want an effort from my comedians, and Carlin gave us effort.

Sometimes, it seemed like no effort at all, just common sense, and we were left with a sense of “Why didn’t I think of that?”

I’ll leave you with one of my favorites from King George and one of his cleaner routines.

Enjoy.

Baseball and Football

Baseball is different from any other sport, very different. For instance, in most sports you score points or goals; in baseball you score runs. In most sports the ball, or object, is put in play by the offensive team; in baseball the defensive team puts the ball in play, and only the defense is allowed to touch the ball. In fact, in baseball if an offensive player touches the ball intentionally, he's out; sometimes unintentionally, he's out.

Also: in football, basketball, soccer, volleyball, and all sports played with a ball, you score with the ball and in baseball the ball prevents you from scoring.

In most sports the team is run by a coach; in baseball the team is run by a manager. And only in baseball does the manager or coach wear the same clothing the players do. If you'd ever seen John Madden in his Oakland Raiders uniform, you'd know the reason for this custom.

Now, I've mentioned football. Baseball & football are the two most popular spectator sports in this country. And as such, it seems they ought to be able to tell us something about ourselves and our values.

I enjoy comparing baseball and football:

Baseball is a nineteenth-century pastoral game. Football is a twentieth-century technological struggle.

Baseball is played on a diamond, in a park. The baseball park! Football is played on a gridiron, in a stadium, sometimes called Soldier Field or War Memorial Stadium.

Baseball begins in the spring, the season of new life. Football begins in the fall, when everything's dying.

In football you wear a helmet.In baseball you wear a cap.

Football is concerned with downs - what down is it?Baseball is concerned with ups - who's up?
In football you receive a penalty.In baseball you make an error.

In football the specialist comes in to kick. In baseball the specialist comes in to relieve somebody.

Football has hitting, clipping, spearing, piling on, personal fouls, late hitting and unnecessary roughness.Baseball has the sacrifice.

Football is played in any kind of weather: rain, snow, sleet, hail, fog... In baseball, if it rains, we don't go out to play.

Baseball has the seventh inning stretch. Football has the two minute warning.

Baseball has no time limit: we don't know when it's gonna end - might have extra innings.Football is rigidly timed, and it will end even if we've got to go to sudden death.

In baseball, during the game, in the stands, there's kind of a picnic feeling; emotions may run high or low, but there's not too much unpleasantness. In football, during the game in the stands, you can be sure that at least twenty-seven times you're capable of taking the life of a fellow human being.

And finally, the objectives of the two games are completely different:

In football the object is for the quarterback, also known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his receivers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy's defensive line.

In baseball the object is to go home! And to be safe! - I hope I'll be safe at home!

One man’s opinion of the coolest helmets

I’ve always liked the Bucs old helmets.

Orange was my favorite color when I was a kid, and I’m still partial to it now.

The Bucco Bruce logo was unique and bit on the cool side. What wasn’t to like? OK, the play of the guys wearing those helmets.

But I don’t think the old uniforms were the cause of the Bucs failures. I think it was the old players.

Anyway …

The Bucs old helmet is today’s topic because it came in second in Matthew J. Darnell’s ranking of the 11 coolest football helmets in pro football history. Here is a link to his blog:

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Review-The-11-Coolest-Helmets-in-Pro-Football-H?urn=nfl,86651

Some of the reader comments are interesting, like those pointing to the omission of the Raiders and Vikings.

But ranking the helmets of pro football teams – and not just the NFL but any helmet of any pro league – is not an easy task, and I applaud Matthew for his effort.

Besides, I would probably come up with similar teams at the top of my list.

I might go with the Colts first, because I don’t think anything says pro football more than Johnny U looking downfield with the blue horseshoe on the sea of white.

The Packers is pretty cool, too. And so is the Chiefs helmet. And the old Patriots.
Outside of the Seahawks and Browns, I don’t think there is a bad helmet in the NFL. I’m not a big fan of the Rams current helmets. Or the Panthers.

Check out the Iowa Barnstorms of the Arena Football League. Now that’s a good look.

It's a draft, not a marathon

The professional sports leagues are criticized for not being fan-friendly, which, in a lot of cases they are not. Witness the world champion Red Sox opening their season in Japan and not Boston.

Money speaks louder than us.

But the NFL cut us all some slack by shaving time off this weekend’s draft, and for that I say, “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”

Giving 15 minutes for each selection, last year’s first round went a record 6 hours, 8 minutes.

Now, for the hardcore, mock-draft-publishing fan, that’s probably three hours too short. But for the rest of us, those who have a life, that’s way too long.

Come on, 6 hours and 8 minutes of Chris Berman? What did we do wrong?

Apparently that was way too long for the NFL execs, too, because they shortened the first round to 10 minutes per pick and cut the second round from 10 minutes to 7. The final five rounds will be 5 minutes per pick.

Of course, they pushed the start back to 3 p.m., which means the draft will run well into the evening, which still stinks if your job is to cover it, but hey, we’ll take the shorter rounds and be thankful for that small gift from the NFL gods.

Now, what can they do about Mel Kiper’s hair?

Kiper: Bradenton represents in first round of draft

Mel Kiper, Jr., speaks, so let us listen.

ESPN’s draft guru reveled his mock draft Monday and it looks pretty good for a pair of Bradenton cornerbacks.

Kiper has Lakewood Ranch High product Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie going 10th overall to the New Orleans Saints and former Southeast High standout Mike Jenkins going 20th to the Bucs.

It will be interesting if that holds true.

Players from Manatee County have been drafted before, even as high as the first round. Peter Warrick of Southeast was the fourth overall pick in 2000, going to Cincinnati.

But we’ve never had two go in the first round, and Kiper said two weeks ago on a conference call that both are certain first rounders.

The Bucs could use a cornerback, so it would be great if they took Jenkins or Cromartie.

The draft is April 26 and 27.

Stay tuned.

Tiki and Ronde to speak at USF

If you like your football players thoughtful, insightful and witty than you may want to make that drive up Interstate 75 to the University of South Florida on April 10 to hear what Ronde and Tiki Barber have to say.

The two all-pro twins will speak at the USF Sun Dome at 7 p.m. as part of the University Lecture Series.

Student tickets are free with a valid USF ID and are provided on a first-come, first-served basis. Faculty, staff and alumni can purchase tickets for $3. Admission for the eneral public is $8.

Tiki and Ronde have volunteered their time on a number of issues, including literacy. They have served as national co-captains of the National Education Associations "Read Across America" literacy celebration and they have written three successful children's books: By My Brothers' Side, Teammates and Game Day.

Those interested can view more information at http://uls.usf.edu or call (813) 974-6107.

Bucs in the middle of the pack?

Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports ranked all 32 NFL teams and placed Tampa Bay just a notch above the middle, ranking the Bucs 15th.
Here’s what he had to say about the defending NFC South champs:

“A lot of money was spent in the offseason on a lot of aging veterans who appear to be on the downside of their careers. But does anyone really expect guys like Warrick Dunn, Marques Douglas and Jeff Faine to turn this into an NFC powerhouse?”

Indianapolis, New England and Dallas are the top three teams in the league, according to Robinson.
He ranked New Orleans 12, Carolina 26 and Atlanta dead last.
Click here http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=cr-rankings032408&prov=yhoo&type=lgns to view all of Robinson’s rankings.

Gruden's call to arms

I never heard anyone say, “Quarterbacks are like pitchers. You can never have too much of either.”

But that seems to be Jon Gruden’s motto.

The Bucs now have five quarterbacks on their roster – Jeff Garcia, Brian Griese, Luke McCown, Bruce Gradkowski and Chris Simms. That’s six if you count Jake Plummer.

Gruden can fill a starting rotation on a baseball team with his quarterbacks and have one left over.

Why, when a team needs help at other positions, would the Bucs trade a draft pick for a back-up quarterback?

Well, Griese knows Gruden’s offense and he was available.

And Gruden likes Griese. It’s not hard for the coach to remember the Bucs 5-1 start in 2005 with Griese at quarterback.

This doesn’t look good for Simms, unless he wants to move to wide receiver, or Gradkowski, unless he wants to switch to cornerback.

This could also be the groundwork for a trade. Say Simms for a receiver or a corner or an extra pick on draft day.

Rave reviews for Jenkins, Rodgers-Cromartie

Tony Pauline, who runs the draft site TFYDraft.com, ranked Mike Jenkins and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie as the top two “risers” in April’s draft based on their performances at the NFL Scouting Combine, which ended Tuesday at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis.
Here’s what Pauline wrote for SI.com:

On Jenkins:
Jenkins was clearly the class of the cornerback position Tuesday. He started swiftly, clocking in the mid 4.3s in the 40. Jenkins continued to impress with a great practice session, showing some of the finest footwork, hip movement and hands of the day. He also completed 18 reps on the bench, one of the better marks for his position. Scouts came away thinking Jenkins had solidified himself as the top corner in the draft.

On Rodgers-Cromartie:
Scouts expected Rodgers-Cromartie to deliver a fine performance, and he did not disappoint. He unofficially timed as the fastest defensive back at the combine, as both his 40s hovered around the 4.3-second mark, with some scouts clocking him as low as 4.28 seconds. Rodgers-Cromartie may push himself into the first round after his Senior Bowl and combine performances, which would make him the first Tennessee State player to do so since Ed "Too Tall" Jones.

SI's take on Jenkins, Rodgers-Cromartie

Bucky Brooks of Sports Illustrated ranked the cornerbacks in this year’s NFL Draft, listing Mike Jenkins (Southeast High/South Florida) second behind Troy’s Leodis McKelvin. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (Lakewood Ranch High/Tennessee State) is fifth behind Aqib Talib (Kansas) and Brandon Flowers (VaTech).

Here’s Bucky’s take on the two local lads:

On Jenkins …

Jenkins is an athletic cover corner with good speed, quickness and movement skills. The All-America is not a polished technician, but excels in man coverage due to great instincts and awareness. He shows good ball skills and flashes an explosive closing burst. Jenkins finished the season with three interceptions and recorded 27 breakups over the past two seasons. Scouts love his competitiveness and envision him developing into a solid starter as a pro. Jenkins also brings return value, as he averaged over 30 yards on seven kick returns and scored one touchdown. Jenkins ranks second on most draft boards, but could push McKelvin as the top corner with an impressive showing at the combine.

On Rogers-Cromartie …

Rodgers-Cromartie is a great athlete with outstanding speed, quickness and cover skills. The small-school All-America shows outstanding promise and potential as a press-man corner. His exceptional length gives him an advantage at the line, and he flashes enough body control to shadow from a trail position. Not only does Rodgers-Cromartie excel in press coverage, he flashes the footwork and athleticism to develop into a solid cover player from a few yards off. His ability to guard the top receivers in the Senior Bowl alleviated scouts' concerns about his ability to handle a jump in competition. Expect Rodgers-Cromartie to come off the board at the top of the second round.

Shop Bradenton if you need a cornerback

The NFL Scouting Combine begins Thursday at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, and three Bradenton football players will find themselves at center stage at some point.

They are cornerback Mike Jenkins (Southeast High, University of South Florida), Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (Lakewood Ranch, Tennessee State) and safety Nehemiah Warrick (Bayshore, Michigan State).

Depending on which mock draft you believe, Jenkins is either the top-ranked cornerback in the draft or the second-ranked. Rodgers-Cromartie’s stock went up after his MVP performance at the Senior Bowl.

Warrick can move up the draft board with a strong showing.

Frank Coyle, a former NFL scout and noted authority on the draft, ranked the top-100 players in the draft. Jenkins came in at 16th overall and second at corner behind Oklahoma’s Reggie Smith. Rodgers-Cromartie was 41st overall and seventh among corners.

Here’s a look at Coyle’s take on the 14 corners in his top-100.

The complete list can be found at nfldraft.rivals.com.

Coyle’s Web site is www.draftinsiders.com.

(* denotes underclassmen)

14 overall. * Reggie Smith - CB - 6' 200 lbs. - Oklahoma
This early-entrant has fine triangle numbers (height, weight, speed) and big-play ability. He should develop into a shutdown pro defender.

16. Mike Jenkins - CB - 6' 200 lbs. - South Florida
This athletic corner had an impressive final season and hopes to shine at the NFL Combine.

21 . Leodis McKelvin - CB - 5'11" 185 lbs. - Troy
McKelvin is a quick cover man and return specialist. He hopes to display his fine athleticism at the NFL Combine to hold this ranking.

26. * Aqib Talib - CB - 6'1" 180 lbs. - Kansas
With some development, this ball-hawking corner has the talent to become a shutdown cover man in the NFL.

29. Antoine Cason -CB - 6'1" 185 lbs.- Arizona
This rugged corner has good coverage skills and ball skills. However, he faces some questions about his speed.

31. * Brandon Flowers - CB - 5'9" 190 lbs. - Virginia Tech
Flowers is a quick, tough corner who has good coverage skills. He has the technique and playmaking ability to match up with the best receivers.

41. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie - CB - 6'1" 185 lbs. - Tennessee St
This athletic corner has been a shutdown cover man, but against lesser competition. He answered questions about his ability when he starred during Senior Bowl week.

53. * Justin King - CB - 5'11"185 lbs. - Penn St
This agile corner is a very good athlete. He could solidify a top-50 grade if he performs well this postseason.

55. Chevis Jackson - CB - 5'11" 190 lbs. - LSU
Big, athletic corner has performed well against top receivers and looks to move up with a big NFL Combine effort.

58. Terrell Thomas - CB - 6' 200 lbs. - USC
Strong senior cornerback impressed against top receivers at the Senior Bowl. He elevated his rating after an inconsistent final season.

73. DeJuan Tribble - CB - 5'9" 190 lbs. - Boston College
Tribble is tough, smallish cornerback who struggled through a tough week at the Senior Bowl practices - which has him falling in the rankings a bit.

80. Tracy Porter - CB - 5'10" 185 lbs. - Indiana
Athletic senior cornerback performed well at the Senior Bowl and looks to finish with a strong NFL Combine.

84. Charles Godfrey - CB - 6' 205 lbs. - Iowa
This veteran corner had a solid career against NFL-caliber receivers, and displayed that again at the Senior Bowl.

90. Simeon Castille - CB - 6' 190 lbs. - Alabama
This Tough instinctive prospect has good ball skills and tackling skills, which may warrant a switch to free safety.

Bennett suddenly a valued Buc

Michael Bennett didn’t exactly set the town on fire last season during his limited role in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers backfield, yet the team chose to resign the veteran running back acquired midseason in a trade with Kansas City.

The reasons: Bennett’s potential and the knee injury to Cadillac Williams.

A former first round pick by Minnesota in 2001, Bennett has one Pro Bowl year on his resume.

But the bigger picture is the loss of Williams, who tore the patellar tendon in his right knee. Bucs general manager Bruce Allen predicted Williams will return next season without losing a step, but this is probably more wishful thinking than anything else.

Williams’ injury is a potential career-ender.

If he does return, it won’t be until the middle of next season, and who knows when he will regain his old form and how much of that old form he can regain.

Earnest Graham, who rose from third string running back/special teams specialist last season to lead the team in rushing and touchdowns, will enter camp as the No. 1 running back.

Michael Pittman said he was going to explore free agency.

Free agency and the NFL Draft can also change the landscape in the backfield, but for now, Bennett is suddenly a valuable member of the Bucs running game.

What's in a name? A great catch.

Denver has “The Drive,” San Francisco has “The Catch,” and Boston College fans have the “Hail Flutie.” So, naturally, the city known as the “Big Apple” has to have a catchy nickname for one of the greatest catches in Super Bowl history: Eli Manning’s 32-yard completion to David Tyree on the last-minute drive that set up the winning touchdown in the Giants’ Super Bowl victory against the Patriots.

It took a week, but readers of Newsday came up with this: Destiny’s Catch.

Now, one could argue that it shouldn’t have taken a week to name a catch; that if the name didn’t come to mind right away, then perhaps there really wasn’t a suitable name out there.
One could argue that.

Not me, though. I just spent a week on Long Island, and I’m not about to rattle the cage of New York Giants fans.

Here are the 10 finalists:

The Perfection Connection.

Hail Manning.

The Miracle.

The Great Escape.

Destiny's Catch.

The Hail Mara.

The Hat Trick.

The Perfection Rejection.

The Dream Catch.

Eli Shuffle.

Actually, the play, in which Manning spun away from three defensive linemen, and threw a bullet to Tyree, who used his helmet to make the catch, deserves two names, and I would go with “The Great Escape,” for Manning’s shuffle, and “The Hat Trick” for Tyree’s heads up play.

Alas, only one would do, and Giant fans voted for “Destiny’s Catch.”

It sure was a perfect connection, a dream catch to Giants fans and those rooting against perfection.

I wonder if 20 years from now we’ll need just two words to remember that play.

Destiny’s catch.

Catchy.

I guess.

Four wrongs make a Super Bowl champion

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

That’s four wrongs for me, or one for every Giants postseason victory during their incredible run to the Super Bowl title.

I picked them to lose every stop of the way, and yet they beat the Bucs, they beat the Cowboys, they beat the Packers and they beat the Patriots, denying New England a perfect season and stamping Glendale, Ariz., as the little town where dynasties go to die.

Undefeated teams vying for championships are now 0-2 inside University of Phoenix Stadium, while underdogs with little chance of winning -- Florida (over Ohio State) and the New York Giants -- are 2-0.

Show of hands: Who wants to be the next undefeated team to play for a championship in Glendale?

Is this a good time to slip in that I had an inkling the Giants would beat the Patriots? That the Giants were playing the best football, and in championship games, it’s not the best team, but the team playing the best who wins? That the Patriots looked awfully beatable the last month?

No? I can’t slip that in?

OK, fine.

Not that my Super Bowl inklings ever pan out. I did think the Broncos were going to beat the Packers and was right there. But I thought Buffalo would win every Super Bowl it played in, and, well, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong.

I was right on one point. Tom Brady would make plays in the fourth quarter to give the Patriots the lead. But the amazing Brady was one-upped by Peyton Manning’s little brother.

I’m big on Eli Manning, I even liked him back in his Ole Miss days.

I thought he showed incredible poise Sunday night and not just during the winning drive, but afterwards when he lifted the Lombardi Trophy and thanked Giants fans for their support.

How easy would it have been for Eli to grab the trophy and say, “Hey Giants fans! I what? I what? How do you like me now?”

Oh, they love him in New York now, and they will continue to love Eli right up until the start of next season. Then it is back to, What have you done for us lately?

Right now Eli could run for mayor of New York City and win.

Right now, he could get a six-year, $133-million contract from the Mets if he could throw baseballs past hitters like he did footballs past defensive backs during the last month.

Eli is the Manning.

The Giants are the champions.

The 1972 Dolphins live.

And I was wrong.

I can live with that.

Going out on a limb with the Patriots

Pick the Patriots, my buddy Jason begged.

Jason is a coworker. He noticed I picked the Giants to lose all three of their playoff games.

Jason is also a Giants fan.

Jason wants me to pick the Patriots to win the Super Bowl and hopes the trend of my being wrong continues.

OK, I’ll pick the Patriots, but not because of some covert plan to give the Giants the title.

I’m picking the Patriots because I just don’t see any way they can lose.

Yes, I know the Giants almost beat them during the regular season finale in a game in which the Giants had nothing to lose. Well, now they have something to lose: the Super Bowl.

Yes, the Giants have the pass rush to rattle Tom Brady, and the running game to smack the heart of the Patriots defense.

Yes, the Giants have confidence in quarterback Eli Manning, who during the last month strung together the three best games of his career.

But …

It’s tough to pick against a team that has won 18 straight; a team that was outplayed by an injury-riddled Chargers team in the AFC title game and still won.
This Patriots team knows how to finish games.

They’ve blown teams away. They’ve kept games close and waited for the other team to make a mistake.

They’ve gotten lucky, too. Witness the incredibly stupid timeout called by the Baltimore coaching staff on a 4th-and-1 play the Ravens actually stopped, except they didn’t, because, unbeknownst to the players, the play was whistled dead before the ball was snapped.

No timeout, and New England is 17-1 today.

But with that timeout, and some late Brady magic, the Patriots sit on the doorstep of history.

This is the game they’ve been waiting for since early in the season when they realized no one in the AFC would stop them.

Forget “Spygate” and all revenge theories that people seem to think motivate the Patriots. The Patriots are motivated by two things: They want to win the Super Bowl. They haven’t won one since Feb. 6, 2005.

In their minds, they are long overdue.

All those other games in which they struggled yet somehow won, those were just the necessary paperwork leading up to the Super Bowl.

And now it is here.

Yes, the Giants are on a roll. But the Bucs and Cowboys and Packers are like nothing they will face in Glendale, Ariz.

Can the Giants win? Sure. In boxing lexicon, they have a puncher’s chance.

And if they do, it will go down as one of the greatest upsets in pro football history.

If the Patriots win, we will witness the conclusion to the greatest season in pro football history.

I think it will be a close game. I think the Giants might even hold a second-half lead. But the Patriots will find a way to finish, whether the defense forces a late turnover or it is Brady to Randy Moss or both.

So, here you go, Jason.

Patriots 31, Giants 27.

Can't go to England if you can't find the end zone

No need to book those flights to England. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers aren't going.
That's how it looks now, even though the NFL has yet to announce the two teams who will play in England next season.

Word out of San Diego is it will be the Chargers and New Orleans Saints, with the Saints giving up the home game. That New Orleans will play only seven times inside the Superdome next season is good news for fans of the other NFC South teams.

The NFL picked the Saints and Chargers because of their ability to score. San Diego was ranked fifth in the NFL in 2007 with 25.8 points a game. New Orleans was 12th with 23.7.

The Bucs were 18th with 20.9.

If you are trying to promote the NFL overseas, you'd want to do it with a high-scoring game, not the 13-10 snooze-fest the New York Giants and Miami Dolphins played this past season in London.

Considering how a trip to England can knock a team off its game for a couple weeks, all those trips inside the red zone that resulted in field goals for the Bucs in 2007 might prove to be a good thing.

Playing in Tampa a no-brainer for Irish

Coach Jim Leavitt and his USF Bulls have never been shy about accepting a challenge, and nothing says “challenge” like brining your team into South Bend, Ind., to play Notre Dame, no matter how much “fight” is in the Fighting Irish that fall.

The Bulls will do just that in 2011 and will get $925,000 for their efforts.

The game could pay off in bigger ways for USF if the Bulls come away with a victory.

Who knows what the state of either team will be in three years?

Regardless, this is a great game for USF. Think of the exposure they’ll get from playing Notre Dame on network TV. Plus, getting nearly $1 million won’t hurt, either.

But the thing I’m kind of stuck on is how come the Bulls couldn’t make this into a home-and-home series? Notre Dame is expected to sign home-and-home agreements with three other Big East teams. Why not USF?

I’m not blaming USF here.

It could be the Irish project the Bulls to be among the top teams in the country by then and would rather not risk playing the Bulls at Raymond James Stadium.

But Notre Dame is a national program with a national fan base.

There are certainly Irish in Tampa Bay. I can name four off the top of my head.
And the Irish recruit in all corners of the country.

So, why not bring the team south to sunny Tampa so your Florida boosters and, more importantly, Florida recruits can see the mystique of the Irish up close?

You think Notre Dame would see the logic in that.

Tom! Tom! Tom! How's your ankle?

Stop the presses! Tom Brady has a high right ankle sprain.

That’s according to one Associated Press source.

No, another source told the AP it’s only a mild sprain.

Sprain? What sprain?

The New England Patriots quarterback was spotted Monday in New York’s East Village dinning with girlfriend Gisele Bundchen wearing what one observer reported as “cowboy boots.” But a photographer snapped a shot of Brady wearing something out of coach Bill Belichick’s closet and sporting an open-toed foot brace as he carried a few things from Bundchen’s apartment.

This is why I hate the extra week between the conference title games and the Super Bowl. Non-stories grab the headlines.

Brady’s ankle, injured or not, will drive the bus until the teams arrive in Glendale on Jan. 29 for media day, when Brady will be grilled like this:

“How is your ankle?”

“It’s fine.”

“Can you play Sunday?”

“Yes.”

“How is your ankle?”

“It’s fine.”

“Can you play Sunday?”

“Yes.”
“How is your ankle?”

“It’s fine.”

“Can you play Sunday?”

“Yes.”

And on and on …

Kind of makes you long for Tonicca. That’s the Tony Romo-Jessica Simpson affair.

Brady said Tuesday he will play against the New York Giants. That the injury is nothing he ever had before, and the brace is just a precaution.

Hey, if you can slip your dogs into cowboy boots, how bad can the ankle really be?

By the way, did you hear San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers actually had knee surgery the week before the AFC Championship Game? Talk about gut check.

Anyway, back to Brady.

The last time he entered a Super Bowl with an ankle injury was after the 2001 season. Remember? He was injured in the first half against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC title game. Drew Bledsoe came in and saved the day.

Brady was just fine during the Super Bowl as the Pats beat the St. Louis Rams.

In fact, he was the MVP.

Eli came of age in Tampa

Let’s go back to the final play of the third quarter in the playoff opener between the Giants and the Buccaneers, because that’s when I think the Giants became a championship team.

It was third-and-7 from the Giants own 11. The Bucs trailed by 10, sure, but they thrived on making plays in those situations all season – an interception, a sack and a fumble – something that would swing the momentum in their favor. After that it would be the Jeff Garcia Show.

Instead Eli Manning completed an 11-yard pass to Amani Toomer and drove the Giants downfield for the clinching touchdown.

I felt it then and I especially feel it now, that play was a turning point for Manning, who until recently, had this habit of throwing interceptions in situations such as that.

I knew he played well the previous week against New England, but that was a game the Giants weren’t supposed to win. They played loose, because they had absolutely nothing to lose.

But against the Bucs, the entire season hung in the balance.

And Manning rolled to his right, stepped away from the pass rush and delivered a dart to Toomer.

The Giants won 24-14.

They won the next week at Dallas and then again Sunday at Green Bay.

Along the way Manning outplayed Tony Romo and Brett Favre.

This is the same Manning who is booed at home and ripped in the New York media. His former teammate Tiki Barber wasn’t shy about ripping Eli, either, and, well, look who’s going to the Super Bowl?

Sometimes it takes the smallest of plays for things to turn in your favor. Manning completed that pass and, just like that, the field position wasn’t all that bad.

His receivers, who dropped 42 passes this season (a stat that would make Tom Brady look like a bad quarterback) began holding on to passes.

Manning hasn’t thrown the ball deep in the postseason, just deep enough to keep the offense moving toward the end zone.

In turn, during the last three weeks, the Giants have looked like the second-best team in football.

Now they get to play the best – New England, which outscored the Giants 38-35 during the regular season finale.

Some will say Manning turned the corner that night.

Not me. I think it came a week later against the Bucs.

The Giants were playing for pride against the Patriots. They were playing for keeps against the Bucs.

And now, with Manning playing as you would expect a No. 1 overall pick to play, the Giants have a chance to take down the Patriots on Feb. 3 in the Super Bowl.

Who knew an 11-yard pass could go that far?

I like the Pats and the Pack

Who is going to the Super Bowl?

Here’s my humble opinion, but keep in mind, Jimmy the Greek I’m not. I’m 4-4 over the first two weekends of what some, including Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden, have been calling the “tournament.” I prefer “playoffs,” but what do I know?

Here we go …

San Diego at New England
I didn’t think the Chargers would get past Indianapolis, but they somehow managed to limp out of the RCA Dome with a stunning upset behind a back-up quarterback and a back-up tailback.

The Chargers beat the Colts because they didn’t make the crucial turnovers, something the Patriots never seem to do.

Also, the Patriots proved in their win in the divisional playoffs against Jacksonville that they will take what the defense gives them. Tom Brady is patient almost to perfection. Take away Randy Moss and Brady finds other ways to beat you.

At this point of the season, you see teams lose more than you see teams win. Teams, like the Cowboys did against the Giants, play their way out of the postseason by dropping touchdown passes, committing drive-killing penalties and throwing interceptions.

To beat this Patriots team you need help from the Patriots, and that’s the problem. The Patriots never beat themselves.

Patriots 31, Chargers 13.

New York Giants at Green Bay
It will be Brett Favre weather since the Packers quarterback is 43-5 in games played when the temperature is 34 degrees or below.

It could be below zero at kickoff with a wind chill pushing 30 below.

I’m not sure that is anybody’s weather, but those conditions always seem to favor the home team.

Giants quarterback Eli Manning does not play well on cold, nasty days. But the Giants have the running game to help him out.

Problem is the Packers have a running game, too, and Favre is adept at passing in the cold.

The Giants have won nine straight games on the road, including playoff wins at Tampa Bay and Dallas, so home field hasn’t been an advantage for either of their “tournament” opponents.

It will be today, though. Favre and the cold will be too much for Eli and the G-Men.

Packers 23, Giants 17.

What if Eli is a Lombardi fan?

Did you see where the FOX affiliate in Green Bay is pulling Saturday’s scheduled “Seinfeld” rerun because New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning is a fan of the show?

“Eli, no ‘Seinfeld’ for you,” Jay Zollar, the station’s general manager shouted in a video on the station’s Web site.

That might be taking it a little too far, but Zollar is doing his best as a loyal Packers fan to not make Manning’s stay in Green Bay this weekend a pleasant one.

The station conducted an online vote to see which show Packers fans want to watch instead of Jerry and his whacky crew.

The choices were a Vince Lombardi special, a local show with Packers receiver Donald Driver and infomercial for The Good Feat Story featuring Emmitt Smith and a M*A*S*H rerun.

No surprise that Lombardi was running away with the vote. Though, personally, I would like to see which M*A*S*H episode they had in mind before casting my vote.

I might be inclined to vote for Hawkeye if it was an early episode with Trapper and Henry.

Maybe the one where Hotlips and Frank try to have Henry court-martialed. You know? The one with “Bouncing Betty bouncing along.” That was a good one.

In Volek we trust

Did you notice the exchange between LaDainian Tomlinson and Philip Rivers during the second half of Sundays’ AFC Divisional playoff game between the San Diego Chargers and the Indianapolis Colts?

Rivers had just returned to the sideline after having his injured knee examined, and Tomlinson, also sidelined with a knee injury, must have asked Rivers if he would return to the game. When the quarterback said no, Tomlinson’s head jerked to his left, and he wore a pained expression as he disappeared among his teammates.

Calm down, LaDainian.

No Rivers, no problem.

The most stunning story of the weekend was Billy Volek, the Chargers' seldom-used backup quarterback, who replaced Rivers and eventually led the Chargers on an eight-play, 78-yard touchdown drive, covering the final yard himself to compete the Chargers' 28-24 upset over the defending Super Bowl champions.

You can understand Tomlinson’s reaction. Chargers were limping off the field in bunches, and what chance did they really have of knocking off the Colts without their No. 1 quarterback, right?

Sure.

We all saw it coming, right?

Sure.

Volek completed 3 of 6 passes during the regular season for 10 yards and zero touchdowns.

Tomlinson completed one pass during the regular season that went for a 17-yard touchdown.

So the No. 1 running back had more passing yards and passing touchdowns than the backup quarterback.
And, still, the Chargers won.

Volek moved the Chargers all the way to the AFC title game.

Even the great Peyton Manning couldn’t produce that kind of magic.

Rivers, with a sprained MCL, is listed as questionable for this Sunday’s AFC Championship Game at New England.

The Chargers are going to need an awful lot of Tomlinson, or they will all be wearing the same expression Tomlinson flashed to Rivers last week.

I like Colts and Cowboys

Two more Division playoff games, two more predictions.

Saturday I was 2-0 making me 4-2 overall this postseason.

Here we go:

San Diego at Indianapolis

Speculation is Indianapolis coach Tony Dungy will retire after this season, which means he could be coaching his last game today. He won’t, though … coach his last game today.

Forget Peyton Manning’s six interceptions when these teams met in San Diego during the regular season. The Colts offense was beat up and Manning was still beating himself up for blowing a 10-point fourth quarter lead to New England the week before.

The Colts are rested and playing at home.

San Diego was unimpressive in a win against Tennessee in the Wild Card round.

It’s hard to believe this Chargers team can steal one on the road in the playoffs.

Indianapolis 34, San Diego 10

New York at Dallas

It seems odd that in the long history of the New York Giants, they’ve never played the Dallas Cowboys in the playoffs. Well, they never played Tampa Bay, either, until last week.

The Cowboys are charged with beating a team for the third time in one season, which is hard but not impossible. The Giants are nearly unbeatable on the road, having won their last eight after opening the season with a loss, where? In Dallas.

Why? Because the Cowboys were able to stop the Giants pass rush, and Tony Romo has been able to make big plays.

Eli Manning has played big in each of the past two games. Is he really improved enough to play big three straight weeks? Not when Week 3 is against the Cowboys in Dallas.

Dallas 23, New York 13

More playoff games, more playoff guesses

Since 2000, home teams have held a decided advantage over their visitors during the Divisional Playoff games, winning 20 of the 28 games with sweeps in 2002 and 2004.

Both AFC teams won on the road last season, but those teams were New England (at San Diego) and Indianapolis (at Baltimore).

There are two games Saturday. Here’s a look at each. (Last week: 2-2)

Seattle at Green Bay

Seattle looked strong beating Washington in the Wild Card round, but the Packers and the Wisconsin winter pose another set of problems.

Brett Favre has been tough to stop this season.

This Seattle team is much better than the one that lost there in overtime during the 2003 Wild Card weekend. The Seahawks will try to attack Favre just like they did last week against Redskins quarterback Todd Collins.

The difference is Collins is not Favre, who has seen everything a team can possibly throw at him.

Favre should have enough magic to advance the Packers to their first NFC title game since 1998.

Green Bay 31, Seattle 20

Jacksonville at New England

Jacksonville has the running game to control the clock and keep the ball away from Tom Brady and the defense to pressure Brady. Problem is the Patriots can score in a hurry, so time of possession is not necessarily the Jaguars friend.

The Patriots are rested and focused. It’s no longer about going undefeated. It’s about winning the Super Bowl, and the Patriots have some experience with that.

Jacksonville had a great regular season and an emotional win at Pittsburgh in the Wild Card round. That they are even thought of as having a slight chance to pull the upset speaks of how good this team can be. And they can be that good, just not on Saturday in New England.

The Jaguars will keep it close early. The Patriots will dominate late.

New England 41, Jacksonville 17.

Keyshawn? In Tampa? Really?

He said it on ESPN on Sunday morning before the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New York Giants kicked off in the NFC Wild Card game, but did anyone believe Keyshawn Johnson when he said the Bucs contacted him about joining the roster for the postseason?

No, not with the history between Johnson and Bucs coach Jon Gruden, right?
But call the Bucs did.

Bucs general manager Bruce Allen confirmed that Thursday during his season-ending press conference.

“Yes we did,” Allen said. “It was after Maurice Stovall got injured and it was to put (Johnson) on an emergency list, see if he was in shape. His legs. We saw that he was still talking well and stuff. But Keyshawn and I have a long-term relationship before he even played in the NFL and it was something that if, we needed, we just wanted to make sure. We do that at every position. He’s probably the only sportscaster we contacted.”

And Gruden was OK with this?

“Yeah,” Allen said. “And so was Keyshawn.”

Kind of makes sense.

Johnson should be in good enough shape to run a few patterns, which is all the Bucs would have asked from him, and the Bucs certainly could have used another pair of hands in the loss to the Giants.

But Gruden did have a little sideline spat with Joey Galloway, so maybe the Bucs didn’t need Johnson after all.

Remember the Colts?

Has a potential back-to-back Super Bowl champion ever flown under the radar quite like the Indianapolis Colts?

No reason to see why they can’t repeat except for, well, You Know Who.

New England’s run to a perfect season has cast such a shadow over the NFL that even the Colts and Peyton Manning are afterthoughts.

Blowing a 10-point, fourth-quarter lead at home to the Patriots during the regular season and showing up flat the following week at San Diego is not exactly the way to enhance your status as a possible repeat champion. But the Colts were without a few starters in those games, and Manning’s awful night in San Diego could be attributed to a post-Patriots hangover.

That no one is giving any team a chance to beat New England in the postseason may be the best thing to happen to a defending Super Bowl champ. The pressure is all on Tom Brady & Co.

The Colts can go about their business without having to defend their status as defending champs.
What championship team wouldn’t want that kind of non-pressure?

Bucs loss not a matter of R&R

It is time to put to rest talk of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers being too rested for last Sunday’s NFC Wild-Card Game against the New York Giants, a game in which they looked out of sync and lost 24-14.

The Bucs were banged up near the end of the season, and resting as many starters as he could was not the worst idea Bucs coach Jon Gruden ever had.

I can’t see how feeling refreshed during the first playoff game is a handicap.
Besides, if the Bucs were rusty, how do you explain their dominance in the first quarter?
The players still practiced during the weeks leading up to the game against the Giants. They just avoided the pounding on the two previous Sundays.

What ended the Bucs' season more than anything else was the play calling in the second quarter that seemed to forget a successful running game, the play of Giants quarterback Eli Manning and the Giants pass rush that pressured Bucs quarterback Jeff Garcia into a bad day.

Throw in a substandard core of receivers and you have the makings of an early playoff exit for the Bucs.

It wasn’t a case of the Bucs being too rested on Sunday. It was a case of the Giants being too good.

Two more playoff games, two more predictions

Day 2 of the NFL playoffs.

Two more games, two more predictions.

New York Giants at Tampa Bay

It’s easy to pick the Bucs because of the Eli Manning factor, but the Giants quarterback played well in the loss to New England during the regular season finale. Was that enough to awaken the potential everyone once saw in the former No. 1 pick? I’m not sold, especially when he will face the Bucs' defense.

The Giants pass rush will be a factor, as will 6-foot-4, 264-pound running back Brandon Jacobs. If the Bucs have any weaknesses, it’s stopping the rush and stopping big, powerful running backs.

That said, Bucs quarterback Jeff Garcia was brought to town for one reason, and that is to win playoff games.

A rested Bucs team with Garcia at quarterback should be enough to move the team to the second round.

I see Garcia making a few plays late to clinch the victory.

Bucs 19, Giants 13.

Tennessee at San Diego

The Titans just made the playoffs with the help of an Indianapolis squad that basically took the night off.

The Chargers have won their past nine and are playing at home. That ought to be too much for the Titans, who might not have starting quarterback Vince Young for long if Young’s injured quad is a problem.

Expect San Diego cornerback Antonio Cromartie, who led the NFL with 10 interceptions, to get another one today.

Chargers 34, Titans 10.

Record: 1-1.

Playoffs: Two games, two predictions

Two playoff games Saturday, two playoff predictions.

OK, here we go …

I like Washington at Seattle because Cinderella teams do win in the first week of the playoffs. The Redskins (9-7) come under that category. Quarterback Todd Collins has been unbelievable after going 10 years between starts, and the team is playing for the memory of Sean Taylor.

That alone might be enough for a road victory, but consider this: The Redskins needed wins in their past two games to reach the playoffs and they did just that. So, while this is the playoff opener for Seattle (10-6), it is basically the third week of the playoffs for the Redskins.

Redskins 23, Seahawks 17.


I like Jacksonville at Pittsburgh, but I’m not sure why, other than the fact Jacksonville won there in the snow a few weeks ago, and Pittsburgh is playing without leading rusher Willie Parker.

Ben Roethlisberger will have to beat the Jaguars with his arm, and he might not get the chance if the Jaguars running tandem of Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew controls the clock.

It will be a night for defense, but the Jaguars will have just enough offense to advance.

Jaguars 17, Pittsburgh 16.

Nice job, FAU

Florida played an exciting game against Michigan on New Year’s Day in the Capital One Bowl. The Gators lost, sure, but it was still one of the better bowl games played this season.

Florida State hung in there with Kentucky better than anyone expected given the Seminoles were without 36 players, who missed the Music City Bowl because of injuries or suspensions for their involvement in cheating on the final of an online music course.

South Florida bombed against Oregon, losing by five touchdowns.

UCF played a sleeper against Mississippi State.

Did anyone notice the only Florida college football team to win a bowl game?

That would be the Owls of Florida Atlantic, who rolled past Memphis by 17 points in the New Orleans Bowl.

It was the first bowl victory in the first bowl trip for Howard Schnellenberger’s crew.

Nice job, coach.

At least someone upheld the lofty tradition of football in this state.

Hail to the Citrus Bowl

Normally I’m not a big fan of the Florida Citrus Bowl.

It’s not a very attractive stadium. Traffic is usually a problem. And it always seems way too hot, even by central Florida standards.

But fill the place with 69,748 fans, including two marching bands, and bring in a pair of top programs like Florida and Michigan and have them play in a New Year’s Day bowl game. I have to admit, the dump has some charm, especially when Florida and Michigan are going up and down the field to the tune of a 41-35 victory for the Michigan Wolverines as they did Tuesday in the Capital One Bowl.

Besides, can the surroundings really be that bad when the Michigan band is playing, “Hail to the Victors Valiant?”

The answer: Nope.