Random thoughts: Rays’ fans punched again

by Gary Shelton on February 25, 2018 · 2 comments

in general, Tampa Bay Bucs, Tampa Bay Lightning, Tampa Bay Rays

Sunday, 4 a.m.

Forgive me if I'm repetitive, but that hollow feeling when you read about the Rays is, too. After the injury to prospect Brent Honeywell, you have to ask, though. Is this the worst spring training a team ever had?

-- To recount: The face of the franchise? Gone. The All-Star? Gone. The MVP? Gone. One of the top pitchers? Gone. Now, one of the top prospects? Gone.

-- To sum up: Ouch.

-- Did you see that Brian Cashman called the Yankees "the little engine that could?" Baloney. The Yankees are the Concorde, serving Champagne and caviar. They are not a little engine, says Thomas the Tank.

-- Some of the most vicious hate mail ever came after I criticized curling a few Olympics ago. So I'm here to tell you they are great athletics, especially the guy with the broom who sings "bippety-boppety boo."

-- Shades of Lew Erskine. Former Bear Charles Tillman is now a member of the FBI. Now, instead of George Halas, he can embrace the legacy of J. Edgar Hoover. Right down to the red high heels.

-- UConn coach Randy Edsall says college football has become "a farm system" for the NFL. At UConn,that farm must be run by Eddie Albert from Green Acres.

-- Edsall also endorses paying players, which makes me wonder: Would UConn be the only college where a guard on the women's basketball team earned more than the starting quarterback?

-- New FSU coach Willie Taggart may have saved the Seminoles' recruiting this year.Still, the best guy he got on board was ex-coach Bobby Bowden. Dadgummit, that was a nice looking photo.

-- Say goodnight, Sean Miller. Charles Tillman and his buddies are about to get you thrown out of the game ... for good.

-- Geno Smith, the Giants backup quarterback, says he now believes the earth is flat, too. As for me, I believe that Smith will end up flat broke. Wonder which one of us is correct.

-- I wonder if Geno is trying to buy a house in Narnia.

-- Question for Kyle Mack: What, exactly, is a "bloody Dracula." And didn't Bela Lugosi land it first?

-- Still think the winless Browns of 2017 were as bad as the winless Bucs of 1976. You're certifiable. The 2017 Browns lost two games in overtime and six games by six or fewer. The 1976 Bucs lost three close games, and none in overtime.

-- Jameis Winston walked away from a car wreck the other day in Tampa. It is believed to be the finest metaphor from his 2017 season that is currently on the market.

-- The Bucs have the NFL's fourth-toughest strength of schedule for 2018. King Leonatis of Sparta has the first.

-- Just wondering: As bad as things look, should the Rays be called the Devil Rays again? Or, maybe, the Bedeviled Rays.

-- Former Bucs' quarterback Josh Freeman said one of the things he likes about about the CFL is that it has six defensive backs instead of five. In his last year, of course, Freeman thought the opposing cornerback was eligible.

-- At last, we know where the Beatles were going on the Abby Road album. They were leaving the Trop.

-- The chair that O.J. Simpson used while filming "The Naked Gun" is up for auction. So far, it has a bid of $1,499. Funny. I thought Simpson should have gotten the chair in the first place.

-- Did you see that the Rutgers' offensive line tried curling and came away talking about how difficult it was? Of course, they said the same thing about trying to play football.

-- The Chiefs' Laurent Duvernay-Tardif is about to get his medical degree. As part of his accomplishment, he wants the back of his jersey to read "Duvernay-Tardif M.D." I think it's a great idea. You could also add "Deadbeat Dad" and "Accused Adulterer" and "Chronic Holder" as the description for other players.

-- Jalen Rose says that players should boycott the NCAA Tournament until they get paid. I guess it's okay for Arizona to book its hotel rooms now, huh?

-- No one here is offended at the thought of college players making money. But there are two questions: How much do they get paid? And do all college athletes -- even in non-revenue sports -- get paid equally? And while a decent stipend seems fair, no one really thinks it would curb greed, do they?

-- Oh, and then there is this: Do you go to Arizona for the cash or Louisville for the hookers? Just wondering.

-- Ha. Earlier in the month, Russia's woman bobsledder Nadezhda Sergeeva was sporting a t-shirt that said "I don't do doping." Well, the disguise didn't fool anyone. She was busted ... for doping. Then there were those matching shirts that Bonnie and Clyde wore that said "Really. We don't rob banks. Promise."

-- A lot of NBA point guards have problems with turnovers. On the other hand, Allen Iverson just lost his third mansion to foreclosure. Yeah, that's a turnover.

 

 

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