tampa-bay Page 44 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Nobody Wants To Be The Next Rex Ryan
HBO's trying to pick a team to follow for this year's edition of "Hard Knocks," but between the uncertainty of the lockout and the sometimes unwanted publicity generated by recent shows, they can't find their franchise. The Broncos have made clear that they're not interested, and last week the Bucca...

Your Lightning-Bruins Game Two Open Thread
In Game One Saturday night, Tampa Bay blitzed the Bruins, scoring three goals in a span of 90 seconds in the first period, winning 5-2....

Your NHL Playoffs Open Thread
Depending upon when you read this, game one of the Eastern Conference Finals is just about to start, has already done so or did so long ago. Which means you either have no idea, are finding out or long ago learned whether the Tampa Bay Lightning or Boston Bruins are leading the series. Tense action...

The NBA Playoffs Are Less Important Than Hockey, Oprah
One of the underrated subplots of the playoffs is when non-sports events get scheduled for our nation's arenas, and the conflicts it causes when a team goes deep. We've had two notable instances of it already, with the Lightning and Bulls running up against two of the most powerful forces in enterta...

David Price's Cartwheeling Home Run Trot Is What All Home Run Trots Should Be
Rays pitcher David Price knocked one into the right field seats during batting practice yesterday, and because pitchers in the American League don't get out much, he took advantage of the moment. We appreciate his cartwheels, his somersaults, and that gleeful flip of the bat, because even Little L...

Your NHL Playoffs Open Thread
Two second-round games tonight for your viewing pleasure: Caps and Lightning, which appears on your Versus right about now, and the Canucks and Preds, which will be on at nine, 10 p.m. Halifax time....

Manny Ramirez Isn't Really Going Away
Perhaps you thought Manny Ramirez had faded away into that flickering twilight, where we'd reminisce about what a truly spectacular athlete he was. Some folks, Joe Posnanski foremost among them, would argue for Manny's Hall of Fame credentials, while others would want him nowhere near Cooperstown....

Here Are Both Of Last Night's 2OT Cockpunches
Playoff hockey overtime might be the single greatest thing in the sports world — assuming your team isn't involved. Then it's a war of nail-biting, heart-stopping attrition, destined to end in glory and highlight compilations for one side, and wondering why you even bothered staying up late for th...

Floyd Mayweather Accompanied 50 Cent To Fight Night At Foxwoods And All He Got Was Booed
Your morning roundup for April 17, the day burglars everywhere accept the fact that trying to rob 81-year-old stroke victim/Korean vet Bobby Smith means they'll get a piping-hot frying pan filled with potatoes across the head....

Manny Ramirez Has Retired From Baseball After "An Issue" With Its Drug Program
Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports that after the MLB alerted Tampa Bay's Manny Ramirez to "an issue" under its drug program, the two-time world champion chose to retire "rather than continue with the process." [@BillShaikin, ESPN]...

Things Are Not Going So Hot For Aqib Talib And Family
Police in Garland, Texas have issued arrest warrants for Bucs corner Aqib Talib (left) and his mother (right) after the pair allegedly shot at Talib's sister's boyfriend, Shannon Billings, on March 21. (Also pictured: Sad Jayhawk, who must be sad about this.)...

Someone Stole Evan Longoria's AK-47
On Saturday, someone broke into the house that Longoria, David Price and Reid Brignac were renting for Spring Training. (Yes, it's precious that they're living together.) While they were at a game, someone entered through an unlocked window and removed $56,000 worth of " jewelry, cash, computer equi...

Watch Manny Ramirez Almost Kill Roy Oswalt
Roy Oswalt was struck "in the upper body" with a line drive hit off of Manny Ramirez's bat today in Port Charlotte, Fla. Crossing Broad captured the video, and while at first glance it appears to hit him in the back of the head, initial reports state that he was struck above the right shoulder and...

Orioles Fan Booted From Spring Training Game For Yelling Racist Comments At B.J. Upton
In his updated account of today's big Spring Training matchup between Tampa and Baltimore, Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times noted that Rays Manager Joe Maddon "had a fan - who was in in Orioles jersey - removed from the stadium after he was making racist comments about B.J. Upton."...

Tampa Bay's Dwayne Roloson Makes Incredible Save, Compelling Case That Hockey Is Also Still Going On
Here's a great save from Dwayne Roloson in the Tampa Bay-Montreal game that somehow found a channel to exist on last night. The Canadians won in a shootout, 3-2, so Habs fans will not get the chance to protest the NHL's overtime rules....

The Devil In Tampa: Remembering The Penny-Pinching, Snack-Policing, Nut-Cutting Days Of Vince Naimoli
In his new book, author Jonah Keri covers the rise of the Tampa Bay Rays under the stewardship of two Goldman Sachs alums and a private equity banker, who in 2008 managed to do to the rest of the American League what some of their former colleagues were doing to the U.S. economy. Before their arriva...

Rich Eisen Sets Personal Best In The 40, Still Loses To Slowest NFL Combine Participant
Your morning roundup for March 3, the day NFL lockout talk gets real....

Rays' Spring Training Stadium Infested By Bats, Covered In Bat Shit
Alternate headline: Bats! Bats! Oh God So Many Bats! Exterminators say they'll have the situation under control by the start of Spring Training games, but their solution amounts to building a big house just for the bats just outside the stadium. I hope they release the bats for game-winning home run...

Confusion Over Garza-Benoit Confusion Finally Resolved
So the Chicago Sun-Times wasn't the only paper to mix up Matt Garza and Joaquín Benoit. The Daily Herald made the same mistake. But don't blame the papers. The error originated with a bad cutline from a wire photographer. Asshole....

<em>Chicago Sun-Times</em> Mixes Up Its Latino Baseball Players
The Cubs on Friday traded for Tampa Bay pitcher Matt Garza. Apparently, this confused the Chicago Sun-Times, which slapped a full-page photo on its back cover of...Joaquín Benoit. Both pitchers are right-handed. Both have facial hair. Let's stop there....