Not only that, but Gotham was a repeat. So did you catch any of the dynasty in the making? Did you see any of the coronation? Did you watch UConn win a ring for the last finger on its hands. Turns out, you were in rare company. Like an old episode of Glee, people seem to be tiring of the familiar. According to ratings, a dwindling TV crowd watched the UConn-Notre Dame game in Tampa last week. At a time that…
I am not going to the Tampa Bay Rowdies opener tonight. I could just kick myself. There is a buzz in the air about the Rowdies opener. Maybe it says terrible things about me, or about the team, but I don’t remember a buzz for last year’s game. Or the year before’s. Or the year before that one. If nothing else, however, the Rowdies have earned themselves another look with all of the improvements. Have you seen Al Lang? The…
There are new seats behind him. There is fresh paint in front of him. The slogans of a team are around him. The sound of an earthmover beeps as it hurries through the day. For Thomas Rongen, it seems as good a spot as any to talk about growth. Of a sport. Of a team. Of a man. Rongen, 58, sits on a bench at Al Lang Field, and the sailboats drift past. The Tampa Bay Rowdies team he coaches has…
In a certain little corner of the world, covered with fresh green and gold paint, it is a time for a team. So far, granted, not enough people have paid attention. That will change. Not enough victories have been celebrated. The team believes that, too, will change. If one man is right, it may be time for the Rowdies to be born again. Just you watch. Farrukh Quraishi sits in his office, St. Petersburg and the future behind him. He…
For now, it belongs to us. You can admire it, the way the lights bounce off it. You can imagine how it will look in the trophy case next to the others. You can think about the talent and dedication it took to earn it. Then you could wave it goodbye. The women’s Final Four trophy, like a lot of others, is on its way somewhere else. We haven’t won enough trophies here. The Super Bowl XXXVII trophy. The 2004…
This day works. Just ask the man in the tan sports jacket walking around the infield. This day works, although so many days of baseball do not. This day works, although individual ticket sales are down, and season ticket sales are down, and sponsorship sales are down. This day works, although much of his team is starting over in a market that seems to have no patience for it. This is Opening Day, after all. This is the day the…
Right now, he is a long way from being Doug Williams. Right now, he isn’t even up to Trent Dilfer, OK? For long-time fans of the Tampa Bay Bucs, it might seem like an old horror movie remade. A quarterback the local team has signed on for fresh hope. Given the history of the team, can a Super Bowl be far behind? In the case of Josh Freeman and the Miami Dolphins, why, yes, it can. The Dolphins claimed Freeman…
