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Tampa Bay Lightning First Quarter Report

Posted: 29th November 2009 by JC De La Torre in NHL
The Tampa Bay Lightning concluded a solid first quarter of the 2009-10 NHL season with a winning record and some confidence. There have been playmakers, some solid goal tending, and something the team lacked last season: defense. If the playoffs were to begin today, your Tampa Bay Lightning would be among the elite eight in the Eastern Conference. In fact, three Southeast Division teams would be there, including ...
It's gone from bad to absolutely ludicrous hasn't it? This season with Raheem Morris. A season that makes Richard Williamson look like Don Shula and Ray Perkins actually Hugh Culverhouse's Vince Lombardi. This is what happens when a neophyte General Manager and a neophyte Head Coach strip the team of veteran talent to "retool", leaving a leadership void throughout the organization. It goes beyond that, though. We understand where this has come fromùthe top. ...

Tampa Bay-New Orleans: Saints Get a Freebie, Blast Bucs

Posted: 22nd November 2009 by JC De La Torre in NFL
Sooner or later it was going to happen. It's happened to Drew Brees. It's happened to Peyton Manning. It's been happening to Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco, Mark Sanchez, and Matt Stafford. Josh Freeman had a horrible Sunday, accounting for four turnovers (three interceptions) in the Saints' 38-7 demolition of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Freeman was inaccurate for the majority of the ballgame, missing several open receivers and throwing off the mark that ...

Young Bolts Still Learning How To Win Consistently

Posted: 22nd November 2009 by JC De La Torre in NHL
You get nights light these with a team still trying to figure it out. In a 3-1 loss to a team the Lightning need to learn to squash, Tampa Bay was beaten soundly. It happens in an 82 game schedule, you'll have an off night or two. Even the Penguins have clunkers. For a young hockey team like the Lightning, every single opportunity at two points is crucial. On this night, against the ...

Stadium Journey: Inside Raymond James Stadium

Posted: 18th November 2009 by JC De La Torre in NFL
This article was originally printed at Stadiumjourney.com , a website dedicated to describing to fans what the experience is like at particular venues of stadiums. It was written by me and is provided to you here at Bleacher Report with the expressed written permission of the site owner. Thanks, JC. Since itÆs construction in 1998, TampaÆs Raymond James Stadium has been regarded as one of the greatest fan experiences you can ...

Tampa Bay Buccaneers-Miami Dolphins Preview: One for the Road

Posted: 14th November 2009 by JC De La Torre in NFL
The Josh Freeman Fun Train heads to Miami for the young quarterback's first taste of life on the road in the NFL. All is fine and dandy when you have the crowd behind you, but how will the rookie handle a hostile atmosphere? If there was any city in the NFL the Bucs would want their young QB to get his first road start in the leagueùit's Miami. Many Dolphins fans ...

Quirky Schedule Helps Tampa Bay Lightning Get Some Early Season Wins

Posted: 13th November 2009 by JC De La Torre in NHL
It was a wild night at the St. Pete Times Forum Thursday night as the Tampa Bay rallied from a pair of two goal deficits and defeated the Minnesota Wild in a shoot out, 4-3. The victory was the first shoot out win of the season for Tampa Bay, which had failed to score on 14 shoot out attempts before Vincent Lecavalier and Steven Stamkos went 2-for-2 on the night. It was ...

Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ First Half Report: A New Hope

Posted: 12th November 2009 by JC De La Torre in NFL
Not a lot went right for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first half of the 2009 season. They were blown out in five of their eight games and they find themselves at the bottom in most statistical categories in the league. There's been confounding choices by both management and the coaching staff. With that said, the Bucs may have found a quarterback. With Josh Freeman looking like a veteran tossing three ...

Buccaneers-Packers: Bucs Exorcise Demons of Bucco Bruce for First Win

Posted: 9th November 2009 by JC De La Torre in NFL
Hey Hey Tampa Bay, the Bucs Know How to Shine Hey Hey Tampa Bay, the Bucs Know How to Shine In the Bucs' retro weekend, the surreal experience in Raymond James Stadium where the Bucs and their fans went back in the time machine, wearing the creamsicle uniforms, playing '70s music and some how, some way rallying from an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit behind rookie QB Josh Freeman to pull off a stunning ...

Tampa Bay Lightning’s Victor Hedman Learns The Hard Way

Posted: 7th November 2009 by JC De La Torre in NHL
The Lightning's top draft pick, defenseman Victor Hedman, has been sensational all season. Teamed with fellow Swede Mattais Ohlund, the hulking Hedman leads all NHL rookies in ice time.á He is also averaging 24 minutes a game, is a plus one in plus/minus, and has four points. The 18 year old learned a tough lesson Thursday night in Ottawa, when notorious cheap shot artist Chris Neil took a run at him ...