Gruden and Darth Vader?

Apparently the dark side has possessed Bucs' coach, John Gruden; I swear, his latest tantrum is so Darth Vader. One of my favorite scenes from the "The Empire Strikes Back" was played out in real life following the Bucs defeat in New Orleans. In the film, the captain of the Death Star reports to Lord Vader that young Luke Skywalker has escaped. Vader replies, "You have failed me." The skipper drops dead, and Vader counsels his startled Lieutenant not to make the same mistake. I don't know if veteran quarterback, Jeff Garcia, is a Star Wars junkie; but he certainly understands the feeling of being made the scapegoat for a disappointing lost. Granted, Garcia played poorly; however, he was no worse than Ronde Barber, Aquib Talib, or the invisible man: Gaines Adams.
Now, Brian Griese must assume the reins of a slothful offense lacking play makers, intelligent design, and swagger. If you watched week one of the NFL, it's hard to believe Tampa Bay is better than the Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, or the Carolina Panthers: Four teams the Bucs will face during the next five weeks. If Tampa is lucky, they'll beat the Falcons Sunday; otherwise "All Hell is going to break loose." John Gruden, meanwhile, and his out of touch GM, Bruce Allen, must be held accountable for these "God Awful" draft picks. The latest disaster is this wimp, Dexter Jackson. His idea of returning a punt is falling down at the slightest hint of being tackled. After complaining about a lack of quality receivers, the Bucs by-passed Texas' Linus Sweed, plus Michigan's Mario Manningham. To make matters worse, we learn Tampa Bay actually scored more points under Coach, Tony Dungy, than Gruden. Now, I wonder if Dungy would have opted not to dress explosive running back, Michael Bennett, for the game against the Saints. The poor draft picks, keeping Michael Bennett on the bench, and changing quarterbacks after one game are just several crack head decisions made by Gruden. The coach better hope the Falcons aren't for real; otherwise to quote Darth Vader, "You've got some explaining to do, Captain."

Rays: OPS!

Uh Oh; just when you thought it was safe to bury the Yankees, they show signs of life by winning two consecutive games against the Rays. Suddenly, the Bronx Bombers have been upgraded from critical to guarded condition. Once left for dead, the ageless Yanks could be alive and kicking if they sweep the series tomorrow. For the second night in a row, the Rays appear to be sweltering under the heat of a pennant race while the Yankees are looking cool as a cucumber. At one time during the game, the Rays had the bases loaded before hitting into a double play. Yet with two runners on base, they watched outfielder, Eric Hinski, meekly fly out to left field. The play seems to underscore why a veteran team like the Yankees can't be counted on to fold. New York entered this series trailing Tampa Bay by 12 games in the loss column. More than likely, they'll be leaving town only 9 down with 26 to play. In baseball, that's a lifetime. Do you believe the concentrated pressure of their inaugural race is wearing down the Rays? Out of the blue, a team built on speed plus defense looks lumbering and all thumbs. A club reveling in the image of David could be more vulnerable than Goliath. Even New York mayor, Rudolph Giuliani, a noted Yankee fan declared,"No lead is safe." Uh oh!