Lightning come back to beat Habs

The Lightning defeated les Canadiens de Montréal, 4-3.

Although the Canadiens are about in the same dissappointing boat as the Lightning this season, being able to fight back from 3-1 down has got to feel good for the Bolts. They have come out of the Christmas break with two home wins, and hopefully the momentum is beginning to build in the locker room.

Steven Stamkos is back on a scoring hotstreak, and he netted his 23rd of the year versus the Habs to open the scoring. Montreal would go on to score 3 straight, but the Bolts got back into the game with JT Wyman's first NHL goal and Marc-Andre Bergeron's 4th of the year. Vinny Lecavalier put the Lightning back on top about halfway through the third period, and Mathieu Garon's great play kept the Canadiens out of the net despite a massive flurry late.

The Lightning look to gain two more points against the Hurricanes on New Year's Eve.

Lightning beat down on Flyers

The Lightning defeated the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-1.

Steven Stamkos scored twice, Mathieu Garon stopped 31 shots and the Lightning picked up two points over a very good team in Tampa Bay's return to the ice from the Christmas break.

The Flyers outshot the Lightning 17-4 in the first period and 12-4 in the third, but Garon stood strong in net. Several highlight-reel saves kept the Flyers from scoring, and the Lightning's offense was able to give some support and ended up scoring 5 goals.

Hopefully this big win against one of the top seeds in the Eastern Conference spurs some confidence in the Bolts. After many games on the road to start the season, the schedule is finally balancing and the Lightning will play the majority of the rest of their games inside the soon-to-be Tampa Bay Times Forum. They're going to need to take advantage of the home ice and string some more wins together.

Lightning buried by Avalanche

The Lightning lost to the Colorado Avalanche, 2-1 in overtime.

I was unable to catch Friday's game, but from what I've read, the Bolts came out flying in the first period while falling off for most of the second and third. It's entirely possible that the Mile High altitide issues of Denver had an effect. That and some more dumb luck on the Bolts' part led to Tampa Bay's first loss in overtime since October 15.

At least the Lightning were able to get a point. They've picked up 5 of the last possible 8 points, which isn't mind-blowing but is certainly an improvement.

Lightning fall flat on West Coast

The Lightning lost to the San Jose Sharks, 7-2.

Given that this game started at 10:30 PM, it's likely that not many people in the Tampa Bay area were able to stay up and watch. Much like the Bucs' blackouts, this was probably for the best. I for one could only last through the 5th San Jose goal with a few minutes remaining in the first period. The Sharks came out flying, and the Bolts looked asleep. West Coast trips tend to make East Coast teams look sluggish, but the last Lightning game was on Saturday, so they had a few days to travel and get accustomed to the time change.

The only bright spot of the day was the return of Marty St. Louis, who played for the first time since he basically broke his face during a December 8th practice. Previously thought to be out indefinately, possibly well after Christmas, Marty added another part to his "tough guy" resume. St. Louis has had to deal with his fair share of injuries, and coming back so quickly from this one is amazing. The fact that he scored a goal in his first game back adds to the impressiveness. He was wearing a full face cage on his helmet, as he likely will for some time. I think all Lightning fans hope he begins to wear a visor when the cage finally comes off.

Bolts win 2 straight

The Lightning defeated the Calgary Flames, 5-4 (OT) and the Clumbus Blue Jackets, 3-2.

The Bolts have won two in a row for the first time since sweeping a home-and-home series against the Panthers on the weekend after Thanksgiving. They still haven't looked too great in doing so, and have a long way to go until they reach the level of play they had in last year's playoff run. But this is a good start; it's great to rebuild some confidence, and have now gotten three wins since the Marty St. Louis injury. Despite the poor start to the season, the Bolts are only 5 points out of a playoff position.

The defense and goaltending has still had its facepalm moments, but luckily the offense has seen some life. Steven Stamkos, who at this point in his career has proven to be a very streaky scorer, is currently in one of his hot streaks. He now has 20 goals on the year, tops in the NHL. Blair Jones has also scored a few recently, which is great to see for a guy who has had so much success in the AHL but has struggled to make things happen in the NHL. The most promising development recently has been the signs of competency in the power play unit.

The Bolts need to continue the improved play, preferably for an extended period of time. They need to string together wins, or at the very least OT losses, to try and climb in the standings.

Padres get huge package for Latos; Where were Rays?

The San Diego Padres sent pitcher Mat Latos to the Reds for Yonder Alonso, Yasmani Grandal, Brad Boxberger and Edison Volquez. Alonso, Boxberger, and Grandal are all rising prosepcts, and the Rays had shown interest in both Alonso and Grandal. Volquez had a rough year last season, but he's shown promise as a ML starter since going to the Reds in the Josh Hamilton trade.

The package for Latos was massive for one pitcher. And while Latos is very good, he's not that good. This package, if offered, may have been close to making Andrew Friedman trade James Shields. Using this trade as a benchmark, it would seem like the Rays could have at least gotten Alonso and possibly Grandal for Wade Davis (The Rays don't need starting pitching, so including Volquez would not be needed). It's a bit interesting that Freidman was unable to pull off a deal. Maybe the Reds just really, really wanted Latos.

This trade does, however, open some possibilities for the Rays. There has been talk that the Padres may flip Alonso or trade their own Anthony Rizzo. Both are near-MLB ready first base prospects, so keeping both would be a waste. Considering the Rays had shown interest in Alonso and how first base is a position of need for Tampa Bay, I would expect the Rays to pursue one of them.

Tampa Bay's soccer team is officially the Rowdies once again

Back in 2008, the Bay Area rejoiced at the news that the Tampa Bay Rowdies would be returning to action. The original Rowdies, founded in 1975 in the North American Soccer League, was Tampa Bay's first major sports franchise and is heavily rooted in the sports history of the area. That team eventually folded in 1993, but in 2008 it was announced that a new incarnation of the Rowdies was set to begin play as an expansion franchise in the USL First Division in 2010.

Unfortunately, a trademark dispute foiled the plans of using the Rowdies nickname. The team that bore the traditional green-and-yellow stripes was forced to be formally called FC Tampa Bay, and existed for 2 season with that name. In everyone's hearts, however, they were still the Rowdies.

But now, that trademark issue has been resolved, and Tampa Bay's soccer team is officially the Rowdies once again. The ownership group revealed the "new" logo on Thursday, which is almost a direct throwback to the original team script. The star on top honors the original team's championship, also the first in the Bay Area.

In my opinion, I think taking the old logo and modernizing it would have been a better approach to the new logo, sort of as an homage to the past but representative of the future. Sharper edges and crisper lettering would have been great updates. That said, I also think the new logo is great in itself as a throwback; either way, everyone is glad that they are once again the Rowdies.

TBSB Update and some mini - recaps

I'm deeply sorry for not having much new content recently. Some laptop issues and the final stretch run of the school semester have been a hinderance to any new posts.

Since my last article, several Ligtning games and a Buccaneers game have taken place, and in all honesty there has not been much to write about anyway.

The Bucs finally had a quick start to a game, jumping to a 14-0 lead over the Jags, but they then proceeded to revert to their terrible selves a few minutes into the second quarter, giving up 28 points (14 of which came on fumble-return TDs) in around eight minutes. The Bucs had a franchise-record 7 turnovers on the day, plus 12 or so more penalties, and the 41-14 loss basically personified the Bucs' season so far. The absolute freefall from a 4-2 start almost ensures some form of change in the offseason: either with one or several coaches, the player personnel, and possibly even in the front office. Losing 7 straight is unacceptable in the NFL, especially they way they have lost them, and Geno Hayes' statement that the coaching staff made no adjustments during halftime of the Jacksonville game (only encouraging the players to play harder) is a sign that the coaches don't know what to do.

On the ice, the Lightning have been almost as bad, going 1-7-0 in the last 8 games. Dwayne Roloson is looking like what a 42-year-old goalie should probably look like, and Mathieu Garon has not been much better. The defense has been bad and the offense putrid, especially on the powerplay. At this point, the shorthanded team actually has a better chance of scoring than the Bolts when we have the man advantage. The Lightning have been fighting a number of issues, which I'll hopefully have a full post up on within the coming days.

How hot is Raheem Morris' seat?

During yesterday's game, DT Brian Price committed a personal foul penalty that negated one a third-and-long situation for the Panters by giving them a first down. Raheem Morris told Price to go home - not just to the locker room, but home.

This was a desperation move for Morris. Apparently nothing he has said or done the last six weeks has encouraged his team to stop commiting stupid and costly penalties, so doing something drastic just as sending a player home was seemingly his only remaining option. All signs point to Morris having lost control of his team, and this was an attempt to gain it back.

But why did he choose Brian Price? Price is a tough guy, having worked through some painful leg injuries in the offseason and each week this season while still playing in top form. And besides from perhaps a few offsides calls, Price has generally been good with avoiding penalties; I believe Sunday was his first personal foul of the year. At the very least, he isn't the face of the Habitually Idiotic Club, as that would go to Aqib Talib and Kellen Winslow. So why not send one of them home with their next penalty? Or even a while ago? What about Talib's punch that took away a goal line stop a few weeks ago, or Winslow's penalty that cost the Bucs a potential scoring drive last week? Price clearly was just in the wrong place at the wrong time: next to the detonation of a ticking time bomb.

Sure, Morris has ample cause for frustration. As do the other coaches, players, owners, fans and anyone else involved in this pathetic team right now. A coach can only go so far to prepare his players, and it is up to the actual players, well, to play, and to play well. Often times coaches get the short end of the stick, as they can only do so much before it's up to the players. That's why I think a lot of heat on Florida Gators coach Will Muschamp is premature - it's only been a year, and he had to deal with countless injuries to an already undermanned and undertalented team, and he had few options with the players given to him.

That said, this does cut both ways, and there are several signs pointing to a poor job of coaching and preparing these players. The first of these is the slow starts. On both offense and defense, the Bucs have come out slugglish, and it takes a while for them to get into a rhythm - if they get into one at all. A lot of this can be traced to coaching and routine. I've heard several times that the Bucs are one of the last teams to come out to warm up in the NFL. Coming out even just a half an hour earlier could do wonders for this team.

Another major sign of poor coaching is the lack of progression in the players. On such a young football team, there needs to be constant improvement, as the young players become more experienced and acclimated to the rigors of the league. Most players on the Bucs, however, have either been stagnant in their development or even have shown signs of regression, such as QB Josh Freeman.

The issues don't even evolve around a lack of actual talent, such as Muschamp's problem is. Morris appeared to be unhappy with the personnel he's been given to work with in his postgame press conference, but the cupboard is far from bare. Freeman, Blount, Williams, Winslow, Penn, Joseph, Faine, Benn, Parker, Barber, Talib, Price, Clayborn, Bowers, Bennett, Haynesworth, Miller, and McCoy all have either been productive in the past or have a great deal of natural talent. Some of the other pieces could use an upgrade (Hayes, Black, Biggers, Lewis), but the core group of talent is there.

Finally, there's the lack of discipline. Obviously I don't have access to the Buccaneer locker room or practices, but all indications point to Raheem, like the Rays' Joe Maddon, being a player's coach. This can be good to an extent, as a coach that players like tend to create a better, more productive atmosphere. However, there comes a point where coaches can become too hesitant to punish a player for stupidity, and so they never learn. And with so much apparent stupidity and lack of discipline on this team, this may be the case with Morris. And maybe sending Price home was his way of trying to change that.

There's a lot to like about Raheem Morris: he's young, he's energetic, he had a great reputation as a coach coming into his promotion. But perhaps he is just more suited to be a coordinator, and he is having trouble juggling the responsibilites of a head coach. Morris is far from a lock to be fired in the offseason, because of those promising qualities, but unless these problems get fixed, and fixed soon, I wouldn't be shocked at what ever Morris' fate is.

Another blackout, another black eye

The Buccaneers lost to the Carolina Panthers, 38-19.

On a day where Tampa Bay donned the creamsicle jerseys and the Bucco Bruce helmets, and honored Jimmie Giles in his induction into the pantheon of Buccaneer greats, the modern Bucs played like the inagural team that went winless in those same uniforms back in the 70s.

There are so many problems with this team that to devote an entire blog post to discussing them would be quite time consuming. However, doing so would be pointless, as the same problems that hurt the Bucs today are the same problems that hurt them last week, that hurt them early this season, that have hurt them for the past three years. It was three years ago that the 2008 Buccaneers headed to Carolina for a showdown on Monday Night Football, where they were trounced by a relentless Panthers rushing attack. That team would lose the rest of their games to somehow miss the playoffs, spelling the end of an era of dominant Tampa Bay defenses and ushering in a new era of porous ones. Since that game in Carolina, the Buccaneers have a record of 17-30, with ten of those wins coming in last year's apparent fluke of a season that was helped by an easy schedule.

Today, three years later, the Bucs still cannot stop the Carolina Panthers, a team that was only 3-8 entering the game but managed to blow out the boys in orange.

Don't blame Josh Johnson for the loss. He played well considering the circumstances, throwing for 16 of 27 passes for 229 yards, one touchdown and one interception, plus a team-high 45 yards rushing. Johnson is no slouch, and he will be a hot comodity in free agency this offseason.

Unfortunately, Johnson was one of the few bright spots of the game. The others were K Connor Barth,
who nailed field goals of 50, 47, 46 and 44 yards, and DE Da'Quan Bowers, who finished with eight tackles, 1.5 sacks, five tackles for loss, two quarterback pressures and one pass defensed. Bowers looks to be finally reaching his potential with increased playing time due to Michael Bennett's injury, and Bennett may not have a starting spot when he return from injury.

Besides that, everyone else was pretty much their usual bad selves. Missed tackles, poor reads, bad footwork and positioning, ad stupid penalties ruled the day once again. While it is up to players to actually get on the field and execute, the coaches need to show them how and work with them to improve, something that has seemed to be absent from this Buccaneers team. It's never a good sign when young talent fails to improve or even regresses over the course of the season, which seems to apply to just about every player. Forget Raheem Morris and Greg Olsen; the entire Bucs coaching staff's collective seats are starting to sizzle. And don't overlook the roles of GM Mark Dominik and the Glazers in this pitiful season. Dominik was heralded as a genius for putting together last year's overacheiving squad, but this year he looks like a fool for giving Quincy Black a massive, undeserved contract and signing only Michael Koenen in free agency. And the Glazers have done little to nothing to ameliorate the growing tension between the team and the Bucs faithful.

Lightning outplayed by Red Wings

The Lightning lost to the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday, 4-2.

On a night where a general manager faced the team he led to a Stanley Cup, Wednesday's game was just a case of the Lightning being outplayed by a better team. The Red Wings' hot goalie, Jimmy Howard, made the saves that Dwayne Roloson couldn't; Detroit's offense took advantage of the Bolts' defensive lapses, and their defense stick checked and shot blocked away Lightning scoring chances.

The Lightning actually played a strong game, including fighting back from a 0-2 deficit to tie the game at the end of 2 periods on the heels of goals by Marty St. Louis and Steven Stamkos, but the effort wasn't enough to take down the Wings.

A few days after announcing a 5-year, $20 million extension for rising star defensman Victor Hedman, the Lightning made a minor trade Friday: they acquired defensemen Evan Oberg and Mike Kostka from the Florida Panthers in exchange for F James Wright and D Mike Vernace. All players involved were playing in the AHL, so I doubt it will have any immediate impact on either team.