playoffs

Lightning loses playoff opener to the Islanders

April 28, 2016 general

Thursday, 6 a.m. “It’s just one game.” “It’s a seven game series for a reason.” “We were in the same shape last year.” And so it went. All around the locker room of the Tampa Bay Lightning were the soft, disappointed sounds of the familiar cliches of a team that had finished second in a […]

Tagged as: Bishop, Islanders, Lightning, playoffs

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As ever, the Lightning’s best hope is goalie Bishop

April 21, 2016 general

Thursday, 6 a.m. On the Tampa Bay Lightning, hope wears a mask. Don’t most superheroes? He is a large man, and when he bends, he fills the net. That’s the point. He does not allow light. He does not allow air. He does not allow possibilities. He is a man of intense focus. That’s another […]

Tagged as: Bishop, Lightning, playoffs, Red Wings

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Is it okay to hate those pesky Red Wings?

April 19, 2016 general

Tuesday, 6 a.m. By now, you are working up a pretty good froth in the name of the Detroit Red Wings, aren’t you? By now, you curl your lip when you see those thermometer-colored uniforms (red so the blood stains wash out easier). You are thousands of miles away, but you hate the feel of […]

Tagged as: Abdelkador, Hate, Lightning, playoffs, Red Wings

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Welcome back, Tyler; Johnson leads big Lightning win

April 16, 2016 general

Saturday, 5:30 a.m. He was a ghost. A memory. A reminder of what the Lightning was like back in the golden days of last year. Ah, but these are the playoffs, and the lights are bright and the cameras are rolling. And, why, hello again. Tyler Johnson is back, and just like the old days, […]

Tagged as: Johnson, Lightning, playoffs, Wings

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Lightning loses embarrassing game to Montreal

April 1, 2016 general

Friday, 6 a.m. It has happened before. I looked it up. It was a Tuesday, back in 1954. The ice was melting, and the players wore galoshes and pushed a volleyball around with brooms. Yeah, that was the last time there was a game as mind-numbingly dull as the one the Tampa Bay Lightning played […]

Tagged as: Canadians, Lethargic, Lightning, playoffs

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These days, it’s hard to believe in the Lightning

March 18, 2016 general

Friday, 6 a.m. This is the reason you doubt. This is the reason you question. This is the reason you sigh and shake your head. This why it is difficult for you to believe in the Tampa Bay Lightning. They were ahead … and then they weren’t. They were ahead again … and then they […]

Tagged as: Cooper, Lightning, playoffs, Stamkos

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For the Lightning, the playoffs must start now

February 22, 2016 general

Monday, 6 a.m. Cue the music. Start growing the beards. Turn on the bright lights. The NHL playoffs have begun. Oh, not officially, of course. There is still a little more weeding out to do. There is still momentum to be gained. But, if a team wants to play then, it had better play now. […]

Tagged as: Bishop, Lightning, playoffs, Stamkos

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As the Rays start, can they last to finish?

February 19, 2016 general

Friday, 6 a.m. The untrodden green lay behind them, a baseball field waiting to be played upon. The season lay in front, a promise of results to come. It always seems this way on the first day of Spring, bright and promising. A pitcher has yet to give up a three-run homer. A batter has […]

Tagged as: Cash, playoffs, Rays, Silverman

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Ask the Expert: Jerry Angelo

January 21, 2016 general

Thursday, 6 a.m. Jerry Angelo is a former personnel director for the Bucs and former general manager of the Bears. Each week, Angelo answers your questions regarding the NFL. Send your questions to GarySheltonsports@gmail.com with “ask the expert” in the subject line. The most interesting question will be selected. During the Divisional Playoff weekend, was […]

Tagged as: Angelo, Expert, Koetter, playoffs

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Playoffs show Bucs how far away they are

January 18, 2016 general

Monday, 6 a.m. You imagine them sitting there, awed. This is not the game they play, not really. This is not the level they reach. This is another level, another league. These are the Tampa Bay Bucs, and you can imagine them as they watch the Final Four of the NFL. Were these the same […]

Tagged as: Brady, Buc;s, Manning, playoffs

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