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...

Bolts win fourth straight heading into All-Star break

The Lightning defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets, 4-2.

The Lightning have now won 4 straight games, and within that span they have moved from last to 11th in the Eastern Conference. If they can stay hot, they may be able to sneak into a playoff spot, and of course everyone there starts at 0-0-0. There's still obviously a long way to go, however.

Much of the Lightning's struggles have been due to injuries, which hoepfully will be resolved with a lengthy break for the All-Star game in Ottawa. But this recent streak has been due in large part to the successes of the recent call-ups to replace the injured players. Pierre-Cedric "Nacho" Labrie (who reminds me a lot of former fan favorite Evgeny Artyukhin), Trevor Smith, and Breden Mikkelson have been impressive in their time with the Lightning. And last night, Mike Angelidis scored his first NHL goal in his debut, and Evan "Yo-Yo" Oberg finally got to play after numerous call-ups, healthy scratches, and demotions. I remember a few years ago, the Lightning had a poor farm system; now, it's showing strength.

REPORT: Bucs and Oregon HC Chip Kelly close to deal

Numerous reports have stated that the Bucs are in the stages of finalizing a contract with Oregon Head Coach Chip Kelly, or that there is at least a great deal of mutual interest.

If Tampa Bay lands Kelly, it would certainly be an interesting hire. Many Bucs fans had thrown his name around, but not many expected he would actually get interviewed, let alone accept the job. It's very surprising that this would happen; almost no word of this connection came out until late Sunday night. Oregon also has immense funds, considering their close relationship with Nike, so it's likely that the Glazers would be writing a large check. Kelly, who had signed a 6-year deal two seasons ago, just recently completed construction of a new home in Eugene.

Keep in mind that the deal is not finalized yet, and there's still time for it to fall through. But Kelly could bring a lot to the Bucs: leadership, energy, discipline, and creativity. I mean, who didn't like watching Oregon's offense tear through defenses the last two years? Some concerns exist about his lack of NFL experience and how his spread offense will translate, but he beat current NFL coaches Pete Carroll and John Harbaugh several times in the PAc-10/12. He also has a 2010-11 BCS Championship game and a 2011-12 Rose Bowl victory to his credit.

If anything, Kelly would certainlt bring big-name recognition and excitement to the Buccaneers.

UPDATE:

Kelly has turned down the Buccaneers. The Bucs reportedly offered $6 million a year (would have been 4th highest in the NFL), but Kelly decided that he should stay in Eugene.

Projecting the Rays' opening day roster

With the signing of Carlos Pena yesterday, the roster seems to be just about set. There have been some talks of the Rays being interested in another back-up middle infielder, and a trade is likely to clear the log jam for the #5 starter, but at this point we can begin to see how the opening day line-up will look like.

Here are our projections based on what the Rays have now:

LINE-UP

Vs. RHP
Starters
1. Desmond Jennnings, LF
2. Ben Zobrist, 2B
3. Evan Longoria, 3B
4. Carlos Pena, 1B
5. Luke Scott, DH
6. B.J. Upton, CF
7. Matt Joyce, RF
8. Jose Molina, C
9. Reid Brignac, SS
Bench
Jose Lobaton, C
Elliot Johnson, IF
Sam Fuld, OF
Sean Rodriguez, IF

Vs. LHP
Starters
1. Desmond Jennnings, LF
2. Ben Zobrist, 2B
3. Evan Longoria, 3B
4. Carlos Pena, 1B
5. Luke Scott, DH
6. B.J. Upton, CF
7. Matt Joyce, RF
8. Jose Molina, C
9. Sean Rodriguez, SS
Bench
Jose Lobaton, C
Elliot Johnson, IF
Sam Fuld, OF
Reid Brignac, IF

Notes:
Joe Maddon will continue to platoon SS unless Reid or Sean begin to stand out. Joyce will probably be platooned as well, but for now he gets the shot to play everyday. Elliot Johnson remains as a back-up without options, but I wouldn't be surprising if he was replaced by Russ Canzler, Will Rhymes or another free agent/spring training invite. For now, Fuld beats out Brandon Guyer for the 4th OF spot, because he's the #Legend and his speed and defense will be vital late in games. Guyer may very well take the spot as he's a righty, but he still has options, unlike Fuld.

STARTING ROTATION
1. James Shields, RHP
2. David Price, LHP
3. Jeremy Hellickson, RHP
4. Matt Moore, LHP
5. Jeff Niemann, RHP

Notes:
Complete Game James gets rewarded for his fantastic season with another opening-day start. Price may be even better than the last two years though, if he can bring in an above-average change-up. ROY Hellickson looks to have another strong year, and hopefully he can get that K/9 up. A full year of Matt Moore is bound to be exciting, as he may have the most raw talent and polish out of any of the starters. Niemann gets the #5 spot as Wade Davis is the most valuable trade bait and thus most likely to be dealt. Alex Cobb and Alex Torres will serve as insurance in Durham.

BULLPEN
Mid. Brandon Gomes, RHP
Mid. Jake McGee, LHP
Mid. Fernando Rodney, RHP
LOOGY. J.P. Howell, LHP
ROOGY/Groundball. Burke Badenhop, RHP
SU. Joel Peralta, RHP
CL. Kyle Farnsworth, RHP

Notes:
There is no actual "long relief" slot, but it will be more of a platoon as Gomes has gone 3+ innings several times, and McGee is a former starter who can work a few himself. Badenhop, a sidearm pitcher, is good against righties and has good ground ball numbers for when that double play is needed. J.P. "The Dude" Howell will hope to right the ship after a horrible 2011 with a full healthy offseason, but even with his struggles last year he was still pretty good against lefties, so he will be slotted in that role. Rodney had his struggles the last few years himself, but he's a former closer and can be used in higher-leverage situations. Finally, the 1-2 punch of Peralta and Farnsworth looks to have the same success as last year.

Carlos Pena comes home

One of the most beloved players in Rays history is returning to the Bay. Los is coming back.

Carlos Pena agreed to a one-year, $7.25 million deal on Friday. This signing fills the void a first base, and definately is a great signing. Even with Casey Kotchman's great season in 2011, his success was not likely sustainable, and Pena is an upgrade - plus, he came a bit cheaper than most expected.

Pena is still much the same player he was in his first tour of duty with the Rays. He's a power hitter that strikes out and walks a ton; he doesn't hit for great average but he drives in runs and plays great defense. He's a good fit for the Rays' plan. Not only that, but the fans love him and his optimistic attitude, and Los loves the area.

It sure is going to be nice hearing "Olé, olé, olé" during his home run trots once again.

Fight SOPA and PIPA

On January 18th, popular websites such as Wikipedia and Reddit went dark in protest of two proposed bills, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA).

While copyright protection and the fight against piracy are certainly meritable things, SOPA and PIPA are absolutely the wrong way to go about it. With just a sliver of suspicion of possibly illegal acts by even one user of a website, these bills would give the government the right to essentially shut down entire websites. Things like Wikipedia, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and even search engines like Google would be eliminated. These sites provide a wealth of information and provide a theater for free speech.

Below is a video by Sal Khan, the head of the fantastic instructional website Khan Academy, outlining the basics of these bills and the details of the threats to the freedom and liberty of the people of the United States. Sal does a great job at explaining the situation, so please watch the video to learn why SOPA and PIPA need to be stopped.