Gnorb.NET

35 - 36

Just finished watching what’s been, hands down, the most exciting game of the season for the Buccaneers. 36 - 35 over the Washington Redskins. If you didn’t see it, you missed a seriously, extremely, absolutely great game.

Talking points:

• The Defense: Good stuff, especially from Rice. Allowed too many running yards, though.
• The Offensive Line: Great job protecting the QB. Much improved.
• Mike Alstott: The A-train’s back, baby, and he looks as good as ever. Way to pound it in!
• Joey Galloway: I feel the need… the need for speed! (That’s what I’m talk’n about!)
• Chris Simms: Talk about improved! This guy not only looked like an NFL-grade quarterback, he looked like an All-Star. Rookie mistakes? A few, but he still performed when he needed to. I BELIEVE!

As for any Redskins fans, that was a superb game. No shame in this one. Only way it could’ve been any better or more exciting was if it had gone into overtime.

Just finished watching the Bucs/49ers game. The game’s not over yet (there’s about a minute left), but with the way the Bucs are playing, short of a miracle, we’re gonna lose to the worst team in the league. (sic) At least Tampa’s succeeded in one thing: making the niners look like the niners of old.

The Bucs deserved to lose this game. That’s what you get when you overlook a team that’s got nothing to lose. Gah!

At least the ‘phins beat the New Orleans Baton Rouge San Antonio Saints.

13 - 27

(Normally I wouldn’t really bother putting up a score like this, but considering what I went through last week, I feel it fitting. )

Being a Tampa Bay Bucs fan living in the Miami/Fort Lauderdale area isn’t easy. This past week, the Bucs played the Dolphins, and because of it I took a lot of crap during the week about how the Bucs were a weak team who, at 4-1, had yet to play a team with a winning record; How the blood would flow from the field in Tampa when the Bucs played the Dolphins, who now sported a rejuvenated Ricky Williams, as well as one of the best rookies this year in Brown (RB); How Tampa couldn’t do squat without “Cadillac” Williams.

Looks like a lot of people forgot that Tampa’s still got a heck of a ground game, a nice set of receivers, strong depth at all positions, and — of course — the top defense in the NFL, which has allowed no more than 16 points a game yet this season. But who cares about these details, right?

As of Sunday, October 16, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers went from being a 4 - 1 team to being a 5 - 1 team, beating the Miami Dophins, who are now at a sorry 2 - 3.

Revenge is a dish best served cold. Just like sushi.

By the way, the Bucs are now at 5-1. Did someone say “playoffs”?

(Note: It’s true, the Bucs have yet to play a team with a winning record. In fact, except for their division rivals in the NFC South, they don’t play many tough teams this year. It’s not their doing, though. I mean, who could’ve guessed when making out the schedules that the NFC North would suck harder than a Hoover this year? Heck, most people predicted the Bucs to be something closer 1-4 at this point in the season.

And, for the record, so long as it doesn’t adversely affect the Bucs, my attitude is “Go Dolphins!”)

Edit: I’ve been listening to a bit of sports talk from 620 WDAE, and it sounds like a few people over in Tampa are ticked at Gruden for “disrespecting” Mike Alstot, and not letting him play. After listening to people calling in, I can’t help but think of the following expression: “You can tell the size of a man by the size of the things that make him angry.” Some of these guys are seriously — I mean seriously — ticked that Alstot got only one play yesterday. These guys are yelling bloody murder! Over what, football?! Gimme a break. Guys, stop playing your Madden 2005 and watching Sports Center, and go work your third job, lackeys; your kids’ mommas can use the back-owed child support.

Gotta say, though, the DJ’s egging the crowd on rather nicely. Bravo, Sports Animal!

The US is ranked #6 in the world in soccer, while Puerto Rico is ranked #194. In other news, Puerto Rico has a soccer team.

After someone mentioned playing FIFA 2005 for the XBox (or PlayStation 2, I forget which), I decided to drop by the FIFA website to see how US men’s soccer was doing. For years, the US has been the laughing stock of the soccer world, even after we hosted the World Cup, and after making a strong showing in the last World Cup tournament. To my surprise, the US is doing very well in the rankings.

In fact, they’re at #6 in the FIFA rankings, doing better than powerhouses like England, Germany, Colombia, France, Ireland, Spain, and about 195 other countries. I’m not a huge soccer fan — most Americans aren’t (neither are most Puerto Ricans, for that matter), though I do watch a match once in a while, which is more than I can say for baseball — but this is pretty cool. Maybe the sport will finally be a little more respected in the US. I’m guessing this won’t happen ’till the US men’s team wins the Cup, like the US women’s team did a few years back. Good luck on that, though if Brazil can lose to France, they can lose to anyone.

Just for kicks, I decided to see how Puerto Rico was doing.

Wow. Puerto Rico actually has a soccer team.