Bucs hold the fate of two coaches

In a bit of irony, the fate of two coaches could be determined Sunday when the Buccaneers play the Carolina Panthers. If favored Carolina wins, they could salvaged something from a disappointing year by breaking even with a victory next week over hapless Buffalo. With a loss to the Panthers, Tampa Bay could go winless since they won't be favored in any of their remaining games. Although Panthers coach, John Fox, has guided Carolina to a Super Bowl, the team usually follows winning seasons with losing spells; and this year is no different. Following last season's 12-4 record, Carolina is 1-3. To make matters worse, there is turmoil in the Panthers' front office with owner, Jerry Richardson's, two sons leaving after fighting over a successor. The founder is recovering from a heart transplant; meanwhile rumors persist his daughter may take over the club, or the Panthers could be sold. None of this helps Fox as Panther fans continue to blame him for this season's collapse. A lost to the rival Bucs would probably determine Fox destiny in Carolina. Bucs coach, Raheem Morris, on the other hand, would be hard pressed to keep his job if Tampa Bay goes 0-16. Consider this: during training camp, Morris pointed to the Panthers as a model franchise replete with the kind of players the Bucs should emulate. Perhaps, Morris was listening to the same guy who convinced the Indians to sell their land for 0.10 cents an acre. Of course, not all of this falls on Morris: Discontent is simmering over general manager, Mark Dominick's, decision to hire defensive coordinator, Jim Bates, whose Denver Broncos defense ranked 29Th in the league; and true to form, the Buccaneers are 29Th. Bates came under more criticism when former Buccaneer, Steve White, questioned why a coach would have former defensive end, Gaines Adams, line up on the left side for two plays, and then switch him over to right side on third down. According to White, a defensive end spends his first two plays setting up the offensive tackle for an unexpected move on third down. Clearly like so many others including Jeff Jagodinski, Bates was not thoroughly vetted during the hiring process. For all intents and purposes, the owners of the Buccaneers, the Glazers, should not get a free pass either. The family is deeply in debt after using mostly junk bonds to finance their acquisition of soccer power, Manchester United. The Glazers, moreover, have refused to sign free agents and cut payroll during the off season by releasing Derrick Brooks, Ike Hillard, as well as Cato June. More than likely, the Panthers win 24-14, and Fox lives on to fight another day. Morris, though, should spend some of his free time updating his resume.

Bettors note

I like the Giants to win in New Orleans, and Atlanta over the Chicago Bears.

Top 5
New York Giants
New Orleans Saints
Indianapolis Colts
Minnesota Vikings
Denver Broncos

The Bucs; Raheem Morris; and Stepin Fecthit?

For those of you too young to remember, old school actor,Stepin Fecthit, was the lazy character portrayed by Lincoln Perry in the 1929 film, "Show Boat." Although Fecthit's role as a listless African-American humming"Ole Man River" still haunts black men, Fecthit laughed all the way to the bank. While no one is indirectly lampooning coach, Raheem Morris, he is, in a round about way, turning the Tampa Bay Buccaneers into a parody. The organization is by all standards a joke. Let's begin with the abrupt firing of former coach, John Gruden. One of the owners, Joel Glazer, insists he fired Gruden because he listens to the fans; it turns out, however, the Glazers terminated their feisty coach when he berated them for asking him to change the offense. The Glazers, furthermore, say its not about the money; so why did they release Cato June, Derrick Brooks, and several more holdovers just before they were due million dollar signing bonuses? But this gets better still, the Tampa Bay media joined in the feeding frenzy by demanding Gruden's head: naturally, they assumed the Bucs would hire former Steeler coach, Bill Cowher or Mike Shananhan. The Glazers, though, doubled crossed everyone by renting Raheem. Consequently, Morris tries to explain away this winless state affairs by insisting his team has to grow up. Gruden, for all his drawbacks, was able to work around the penny-pinching Glazers by employing troubled free agents like Antonio Bryant also Jeff Garcia. These guys became quick fixes by allowing the Bucs to stay competitive while other teams were busy retooling. Similar to Stepin Fecthit, Raheem minces words and stutters while trying to describe a team constantly being spoofed in the local press. To be honest, things don't get any better this week when
Tampa Bay plays the Philadelphia Eagles; only a hoodlum would allow his children to witness this iminent bloodletting. In the end, the sad thing about Stepin Fecthit: despite making millions, he went bankrupt; but unfortunately for Raheem Morris, time isn't money.

In Miami, The Numbers Don't Add Up.

I was recently touched by a radio commentator bragging about the number of pro football players coming out of Miami Dade county: I ponder, on the other hand, why he failed to mention a more telling statistic: the amount of young African American males from Miami Dade county going to prison: about one out of three. The sum just doesn't add up. For every black male making it to the National Football League, there are hundreds more being shackled. On the flip side,there are no men in the NFL from New York's heavily Jewish Westchester county, yet they have plenty of guys in law school, Med School, and Ivy League graduate schools. So you tell me, what's wrong with this picture? Perhaps one explanation comes from the U.S. Census Department showing 40% of African American males are unemployed; well I can see why when the leading employer is the NFL and NBA; sure, they're just begging for job applicants. The trouble is some black fathers excoriate their sons when they fumble a football or miss a layup, but they could care less when the kid doesn't turn in his homework, or cusses out his teacher. At least these dads, nevertheless, are showing up for something beyond a prison work detail. Still, this disparity may explain why New York's graduation rate for blacks is a paltry 26%. You know what else is the pits; according to a recent study, the financial plight of African Americans is nothing short of abysmal; consider this: 1/200,000 have a chance of playing in the NBA. 1/3,000 will earn a Ph.D 1/400 will become a doctor, while 1/20 will be incarcerated. So what is the NFL doing to turn these numbers around, absolutely nothing. Oh occassionaly, a player may visit an inner city school while reading to a few kids during a swank photo shoot, but that's extent of it. While we look on with pride at all the players from football producing states like Florida, California, also Texas, Rome is burning, and one day, we may all end up choking on the smoke.

Is Quarterback, Mark Sanchez, all hype?

Before the NFL draft, ESPN analyst and former Raven, Trent Dilfer, was touting USC signal caller, Mark Sanchez, as the second coming of Joe Namath; according to Dilfer, Sanchez was the only can't miss hope in the draft. All these revelations from a former player who couldn't throw a pea into the ocean...much less a football. If this is all true, nevertheless, why is Sanchez struggling to beat out unheralded, Kellen Clemons? Following reports out of Jets training camp, Sanchez struggles with reads while throwing untimely interceptions; hardly sounds like John Unitas to me. Making matters worse though, even if Clemons out performs Sanchez in preseason, the Jets are obligated to start him since he inked a five year sixty million dollar deal; but this kind of quandary just highlights why the NFL needs to institute a rookie salary cap during the next collective bargaining session. Sanchez's stock rose during involuntary workouts at USC where he wasn't facing the likes of Jared Allen, Joey Porter, or Demarcus Ware. Now, Its becoming very clear many agents are colluding with these so called forecasters to drive up the price of untested prospects. Consider this, of the 28 players who made the NFL All Rookie team, 12 were drafted in the first round. The remaining athletes were taken in the later rounds including the Chiefs, Brandon Carr: the 140th pick. Fullback, Payton Hillis was 227th overall selection while Defensive end, Jason Jones was 54th, and Desean Jackson 49th. Drafting, therefore, is an inexact science; clearly, the best gems are discovered in the later rounds. Of course, this isn't to say Mark Sanchez will not develop into an outstanding professional football player; however committing 60-million dollars to an athlete who struggled to beat out several also rans at USC begs the question: are the blind leading the blind.

When Confronting McNair, What's A Girl to Do?

Looking back on the McNair tragedy, it's easy to argue that men are genetically predisposed to mate with as many females as possible; but, "This night out on the town backfired." Focus on her frame of mind for a minute. When a 36-year old athlete hands a youngster the keys to his Bentley, what's a girl to do? When a man co-signs for your brand new Cadillac Escalade, what's a girl to do? When a man takes you to his small hometown and parades you around in front of his family, what's a girl to do? When a rich man gives you the keys to his luxury condominium, what's a girl to do? When a man promises you he's divorcing his wife while leaving behind four young sons, what's a girl to do? In order to entice this kid, McNair allegedly did all these things. Of course, no one expected 20-year Sahel Kazemi to take her life, let alone, McNair's, but she did. Suicide, unfortunately, is the third leading cause of death among young people ages 20-24. Taking one's life, moreover, isn't something old people normally do since they have the life experiences to know tough times don't last forever. By the time you become an adult, most men realize women give sex in exchange for love, and males give love in exchange for sex. Any man risks a woman's fury when he shortchanges her by making promises he can't keep. Regardless of how you feel about this young lady, suicide prevention experts say particularly for young people: relationship breakups are one of the leading causes of suicides, followed by social struggles, and drug addiction. Sahel was toiling with all three. Sure, the young lady made a poor choice, but McNair - a man with a loving wife plus four young sons - didn't help the situation. In Sahel's defense, portraying her as a rebuffed gold digger misses the point on the importance of mentoring our youth. A womanizer like McNair should not have been trying to take advantage of naivete. With all her problems, Sahel never asked anyone to push her over the cliff, instead she really needed a helping hand to pull her back into reality. Perhaps in death, Sahel may have taught us a lesson: Sometimes life does follow the script.

For NRA: McNair was Target Practice

In wake of Steve McNair's murder, the National Rifle Association is apt to say, "Guns don't kill people; people kill people." Of course they never add that "People kill people with guns." Once again, another individual is executed by a weapon they probably kept in their home. In case you've been living on Mars, former quarterback, Steve McNair along with his 20-year girlfriend, Sahel Kazemi, were found dead in a condominium jointly owned by McNair also sporting goods magnet, Wayne Neely. In a bit of irony, a friend of Sahel was planning on taking her to a shooting gallery since she was afraid to be alone at night. Kazemi declined the invitation, however, because she said McNair had plenty of guns lying around. According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, guns are rarely used against an intruder; in most cases, the bullets find their way into the flesh of an acquaintance. One man, for example, was so trigger happy, he shot his wife while mistaking her for a late night prowler...at least that's what he told police. Even experienced marksmen, moreover, will tell you they have to practice weekly to hit a moving target. Yet, people in this country prolong the arms race by buying assault rifles, revolvers, as well as semi automatic weapons. Aware of the carnage in Chicago's city streets, President Obama promised to confront the gun lobby in Washington, but like most of his rhetoric, it's all talk with very little action. The NRA, meanwhile, continues to promote the notion there is a big dangerous black man lurking around the corner, so shoot first. The concept is so prevalent- according to the New York Times - even black undercover police officers are mistakenly gunned down by their peers. In conclusion, I don't know who Sahel Kazemi saw in her final moments with McNair: after all, he is a big black guy; yet in the eyes of society, Steve McNair may as well had a bulls eye on his forehead.

Rays Attendance: It's the announcer, stupid.

The Rays attendance woes can be traced to several factors: the excuses vary from the team being perennial losers; to people hanging out at Florida's pristine beaches; to other entertainment options vying for a sparse dollar; To a degree, all of the aforementioned is true, but one rarely mentioned point is the momentous role a radio/television announcer plays in creating fan interest; on this principle, the Rays have failed miserably. The exciting pace of football, basketball, and hockey, allow fans to interpret the action for themselves. In those sports, broadcasters are a luxury, rather than a necessity. Baseball, however, is slow; and like a good book, the announcer reads it to the fan the same way a mother narrates a bedtime story. Consider the pleasant sounding voice of the Dodgers, Vince Scully: he became a legendary broadcaster by blending play by play with anecdotal information about players. In between pitches, he could tell what a manager can, or cannot say to an umpire that results in an ejection; in addition, he may inform you Babe Ruth's mother was a fourth generation slave. Over time, legions of new fans on the West Coast became Dodger enthusiast. On the other hand, who will ever forget the St. Louis Cardinals, Jack Buck, describing Kurt Gibson theatrical home run with the memorable phrase, "Folks, I don't believe what I just saw!" Buck like Scully, created legions of Cardinal fans throughout the Midwest with his episodic play by play; baseball became our national past time since it closely mirrors our collective evolution as a nation. No teacher can discuss segregation without mentioning Jackie Robinson in the same breath as Rosa Parks. Film maker, Ken Burns's, epic documentary reveals how much baseball is elaborately woven into the fabric of sporting Americana. An announcer's ability, therefore, to express this sport in the context of our culture conveys our heritage. So regarding Rays attendance, what's all the fuss about? Currently, Tampa Bay is ranked 23rd in attendance averaging 22,000 a game. On some nights, the figures are less than 13,000. The season began with high expectations because the club won the pennant last year. So who's the blame? Initially, former announcer, Paul Olden, was so lame, he's currently the public address announcer for the Washington Nationals. The current broadcaster, Wayne Statts, needs a good color commentator as Statts does little more than tell corny jokes. Baseball, meanwhile, becomes dreary when the announcer does not understand the subtle intricacies of the game. Of course not everyone is a Vince Scully, Red Barber, Jack Buck, or Bob Costas, but if they're not in this category, they must substitute background information with an astute analysis of the game. No one likes second guessing a baseball manager more than aficionados; the presenter, meanwhile, must be able to motivate a baseball enthusiast by calling into question a coach's strategy. If the Rays are to stay in Tampa Bay while building fan interest, they must look for an anchor who incorporates all these qualities. Otherwise, Floridians will remain content watching leggy bikini clad blonds prance around Clearwater beach.