Storm drop season opener to Chicago

The Tampa Bay storm lost to the Chicago Rush, 70-48.

While everyone was busy watching college basketball, the Lightning or the Rays on Saturday night, the Storm opened the 2012 campaign in Chicago with their new logo and uniform. Unfortunately, the new look was not enough to help an offense that finished last in the league last year.

QB Stephen Wasil got the starting nod over former USF Bull Matt Grothe, and he had a decent debut, completing 26/44 passes for 328 yards and 4 TDs. He did add 16 rushing yards and 3 TDs on the ground, but he also threw 2 interceptions, one that was returned for a touchdown on the opening drive of the game. Not a good start to the season. Prechae Rodriguez added 12 catches for 187 yards and 3 TDs, but it was not enough.

Despite the rough start, the game was tied at 35 all at halftime. But the Storm were outscored 35-13 in the second half, and Tampa Bay fell to 0-1.

The Storm's home opener at the Tampa Bay Times Forum is next week on Friday, March 16th at 8 PM. They take on the Georgia Force.

An idea for new Buccaneers uniforms

In April, the NFL will make a switch in jersey manufacturer from Reebok to Nike, who will finally bring their Pro Combat system to the pros (as opposed to college football). NFL officials have said that the change will not bring any dramatic uniform design changes, as logos and uniforms are controlled by the individual teams, who need to apply to the league to approve any uniform changes. Nike will supposedly only be bringing their advanced clothing material, and not their...creative side (see: Oregon Ducks).

However, some teams may decide that a modification could good for the team. Generally, unless a logo and jersey is historically significant (Packers, Steelers, etc.), it can be a good idea to keep things fresh every 10 or 15 years. If anything, it can serve as motivation to get fans to buy new merchandise. I feel that the Bucs could use a change.

They last changed their image in 1997, going from the creamsicles and Bucco Bruce to red, black, pewter, and orange with the Skulls and Swords. The Bucs won a Super Bowl in these uniforms, but they have also have had many rough seasons, including a 3-13 and 4-12 season the last three years. With a new coaching staff and hopefully a new direction, new Nikes, and an increasingly outdated jersey, a fresh look seems appropriate.

With that, here is my proposal for a new logo and uniform.

LOGO:

The logo is an adaptation of the current secondary logo, the pirate ship. I feel this logo has a much sharper feel to it, providing the feeling of sleekness and speed. The logo is also more linear, providing for that feeling of moving forward. This represents progress and a new direction, much like the angle in the new Lightning logo. The logo in the center sail is also the secondary logo, a "TB" standing for Tampa Bay and based off of the current Buccaneers font, which will be retained.

HELMET:

The new helmet will have a black base with a white facemask. The side logo will be the secondary TB logo. The center stripe is based on a stripe system that will be consistant throughout the uniform, which is seen on the current uniforms' numbers and pants. The stripe order is white-black-orange-red-orange-black-white.

HOME JERSEY:

The primary home jersey will have a red base, white shoulders with the primary logo, and black and white paneling down the side. The sleeves, part of the new Pro Combat system, add an extension to the uniform and use the same stripe system seen on the helmet. The numbers also tap into this format. The design of the numbers comes from the Buccaneers font, and these numbers were used on the Buccaneers practice uniforms from a few seasons ago. I have always liked these numbers and thought they fit the theme well, so they are used here.

AWAY JERSEY:

The away uniform uses basically the same design as the homes, but with some colors inverted. I debated making the shoulders red, but that would not flow as well with the sleeves or with the logo.

PANTS:

The pants are the exact same as the current secondary pants. These pants are my favorite part of the current uniform set, and they utilize the striping system, so no change is needed.

Perhaps the most controversial aspect of my designs is the lack of pewter. Honestly, I never have cared for pewter; it's such an irregular color that is hard to match and not very cohesive with other colors. Red and black have a sharp contrast, but pewter really muddies the water in my opinion. I think that limiting the color scheme to red, black and white with some orange highlights really sharpens the uniform.

I apologize for not having properly photoshopped pictures, but these designs were made by scanning sketches I made freehand and touching the up using Paint (I know, so advanced!). These took quite a bit of time, so I would appreciate any feedback.

A new internet meme: the Trolling Ref

Coming after last night's atrocious goalie interference call against Steven Stamkos that lead to the put-away power play goal for the Senators, I wanted to vent my frustration through a creative avenue. To do this, I decided to develop my own meme: the Trolling Ref.

The Trolling Ref is based on when referees make such bad calls that the only possible explanation is that they're simply trying to troll the team and their fanbase. This seems to occur often for all teams from the Tampa Bay area, so it seems appropriate. To create a Trolling Ref, take a picture of a ref talking to an enraged player or coach, and place a Troll Face over the head of the referee. Then add a "U MAD ____? caption, filling in the blank with the name of the team or player. Here are some examples:

Lightning active at trade deadline

After making three trades in the two weeks leading up to the trade deadline, Bolts GM Steve Yzerman made three more on Monday's deadline day.

First, Yzerman sent a conditional 2013 7th-round pick to Detroit for D Mike Commodore.

Commodore is an experienced defenseman and a Stanley Cup champion. He is 32 and a free agent at the end of the year, but he should help support the defense.

Yzerman then pulled off the biggest trade of the day, sending top prospect F Carter Ashton to Toronto for D Keith Aulie.

Aulie is also a highly-touted prospect. He is only 22, and is huge: 6' 6", 225 lbs. He will bring some size and good puck handling to the Bolts, and if he pans out will be a force on the Tampa Bay blue line for years to come. Losing Carter Ashton is a big price, but scouts tend to think the Aulie has a higher upside. The Lightning also have good organizational depth at forward (such as Labrie, Conacher, and Namestnikov) and weak defensive depth.

The final trade of the day sent D Matt Gilroy to Ottawa for D Brian Lee.

Lee is 24, 6' 3" and 205 lbs, another big body and an up-and-coming talent. Many will say trading a defenseman for a defenseman is a lateral move, but Lee is three years younger than Gilroy, and is a bit more of a stay-at-home defenseman, rather than offensive minded like Gilroy. Gilroy is also an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year, while Lee is restricted. I was really liking how Gilroy was coming along this year, but the trade seems pretty fair.

As far as new jersey numbers go, Aulie will wear No. 3 and Lee will wear No. 15, and Commodore will forego the much called-for Commodore64 in favor of 23.

Overall, I really like the trades that Yzerman has pulled off this year. These trades help set the Bolts up for both the future and the present.



Lightning: Trades, the Future, and Playoffs

Sorry for not post in a long while. It's grind time in school now, so postings may be quite spread out. I do have a project I am working on, however, and that should be out soon. But for today, I'd like to talk about the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Certainly a lot has occured around this franchise since the last time I've posted about the Bolts. They are 7-4-2 since they beat the Blue Jackets back on January 24, they have made several trades, injuries have occured, and the Norfolk Admirals are in first place and in the middle of a team-record 9 game winning streak.

The Bolts have made three major trades leading up to the deadline: Dominic Moore and a 7th round pick to the Sharks for a 2nd rounder; Pavel Kubina to the Flyers for a 2nd and 4th rounder and AHL LW Jon Kalinski; and Steve Downie to Colorado for Kyle Quincey, who was flipped to Detroit for a 1st rounder and ECHL D Sebastien Piche.

These trades were hard to swallow for many fans: Moore always showed heart and hustle, Kuby was a Stanley Cup champion with the Lightning, and Downie was the enforcer and skilled offensive player that always becomes the fan favorite. However, Steve Yzerman was able to aquire a fantastic return for 3 players that, while good, were not great, and not really a part of this team's future. Moore brought nothing special offensively, Kubina is getting older and slower by the day, and Downie took far too many penalties (although, many of those penalties were simple 2 minutes for Being Steve Downie). All three will be free agents this Summer.

For Yzerman to acquire a 1st rounder, two 2nd rounders, a 4th rounder, and two players for three replaceable players and a low draft pick was a steal. The Lightning can now choose to either draft a bunch of top players this year (they will have 2 1st rounders and either 3 or 4 2nd rounders in 2012) and build up the minor league system, or perhaps trade some picks for a top-tier goalie or defenseman.

Speaking of the minors, the Norfolk Admirals are pretty good. As stated earlier, they have won 9 in a row and are in the first place in their division. This is actually hurting the NHL club; guys like PC "Nacho" Labrie, Carter Ashton, Cory Conacher, and Mark Barberio are busy helping the Ads in their own playoff push, and it is actually better for those players to gain the experience of a playoff run than to fill in for the Lightning. The Ads players on the Lightning roster right now - Mike Angelidis, Trevor Smith, JT Wyman, and Evan Oberg - have handled themselves pretty well, but their skill levels are not quite that of the others'.

So, for now, the Bolts will have to push for the playoffs shorthanded, especially with Lecavalier and Hedman out now. Do I think the Bolts can make the playoffs? Yes. But they are far too inconsistant for that to be likely. Right now, the only line that is scoring is the St. Louis - Stamkos - Purcell line. While that line has been out of their mind recently, having little support is not going to push this team to the playoffs.

Perhaps, however, the Lightning can tap into their inner Ray and pull off a miraculous late-season comeback.

ESPN's blatant bias against the Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays have made the playoffs in 3 out of the last 4 years. Twice, they have won the AL East, and they won the AL Championship once.

With a recent history of success, the Rays ought to be garnering a lot of respect nationally. Every year they're underestimated, and every year they prove the doubters wrong. With a second wild card team being added, the chances the Rays make the playoffs are even better. They have the best starting rotation in baseball, they bolstered an already strong bullpen, and they made significant improvements in 3 or 4 positions of need (1B, C, DH, SS if you count Keppinger). They should at the very least be in contention for the title of one of the best teams in baseball. Right?

Not according to ESPN.

This is a photo of a poll on ESPN's SportsNation website, where fans can vote in such polls. I'm not sure of the date that this poll was posted, so this may be old news, but to exclude the Rays is unexcusable. ESPN for the most part (with the exception of some, such as Buster Olney, who has the Rays near the top of his preaseason power rankings) is totally biased towards the big-market teams such as the Sox and Yanks. Certainly, all the teams up there deserve to be listed, but for the Rays to not be included in the discussion is just another example of ESPN's blatant bias against the Rays.



Your new Buccaneers head coach: Greg Schiano

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have hired Greg Schiano, formerly of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, as their new head coach. The deal is for 5 years and a little over $15 million.

Schiano, who took over the Scarlet Knights in 2001, only had a 68-67 career record at Rutgers, but his impact on the program went far beyond that. He was able to take a program with only one previous bowl game in their history, and was able to lead them to 6 bowls, and 5 bowl victories. He's 56-33 in his last 7 seasons, with his talent level being average at best.

Schiano is more of a defensive-minded coach, but he said that he will not be his own coordinator, and he will hire a full coaching staff that, with or without NFL experience, needs to be full of teachers as well as learners. This is refreshing, considering how the last two head coaches for the Bucs were essentially carrying two or three jobs for the price of one (Raheem as DC, Gruden as OC), which likely overwhelmed them and the results were not good.

During his introductory press conference, Schiano, who has a reputation as a disciplinarian, described the rules that he would coach the Buccaneers by: TBA, or Trust, Belief, and Accountability. These are definitely things that need to be infused into this Tampa Bay franchise.

And wow, the Bucs were able to pull another name out of thin air. First it was Chip Kelly, and now Schiano, who were never mentioned throughout the interview process by any "insiders". Not only that, but apparently if Schiano said no to the Bucs, then another mystery candidate would have been next in line.

Greg Schiano is not the biggest name, and some may balk at his overall record at a average Big East team, and others will be concerned by his lack of NFL experience. However, he seems pretty qualified with a fantastic reputation, so it seems like a solid hire for the Bucs. Now, on to the coordinators...