The days that changed a town’s reputation

July 9, 2021 general

Friday, 4 a.m. Call it 500 Days that Shook the World. At least, call it 500 Days that Reinvented Tampa Bay as a sports town. Today, we strut. Today, we are full of ourselves. No one can remember the bad old days of front offices that bumped into each other. No one remembers the draft […]

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July 9, 2021 general

Friday, 4 a.m. Call it 500 Days that Shook the World. At least, call it 500 Days that Reinvented Tampa Bay as a sports town. Today, we strut. Today, we are full of ourselves. No one can remember the bad old days of front offices that bumped into each other. No one remembers the draft […]

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Lightning strikes twice as Bolts win title

July 8, 2021 general

Thursday, 4 a.m. For now, they are champions, again, and that is enough. There is nothing like watching the rehearsed steps of the last team standing, the way it smiles and waves, the way it passes the grand trophy from one player to the next, the dance steps as it moves from one section of […]

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Rays allow no hits, but don’t get a no-hitter

July 8, 2021 general

Thursday,, 3 a.m. Officially, it wasn’t a no hitter. The accountants who run Major League Baseball, the guys who make the rules, say so. On the other hand, did you see any Cleveland hits in the second game of Wednesday’s doubleheader sweep by the Tampa Bay Rays? Let’s see. None at the top of the […]

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Who should win the Conn Smythe Trophy?

July 7, 2021 general

Wednesday, 4 a.m. So who matters more: the fast Russian who keeps putting the puck into the net, or the big Russian who keeps keeping it out? That has become part of the sub-text of this year’s Stanley Cup finals. Who deserves to win the Conn Smith award: Nikita Kucherov or Andrei Vasilevskiy? The Big […]

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Montreal keeps series alive by beating Bolts

July 6, 2021 general

Tuesday, 4 a.m. Blame the posts. Blame the power play. Blame desperation, which the Montreal Canadiens had buckets filled with. Blame missed opportunities, and blame Montreal goaltender Carey Price, and blame the bounce of the puck. For whatever reason, the Canadiens live to fight another day. Montreal staved off elimination the Stanley Cup Finals Monday […]

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Rays win wacky game against Cleveland

July 6, 2021 general

Tuesday, 3 a.m. You can analyze it if you wish. You can compare the metrics, and you can hold it up the light. Still, it comes down to this: Coming from behind is better than falling from ahead. Ask the Tampa Bay Rays, who managed to fit both into their evening on Monday night in […]

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Rays break losing streak by stressing details

July 5, 2021 general

Monday, 4 a.m. They came from behind. They padded their lead. It took a while, but they hit with men on base. And in these strangest of all occurrences, the Tampa Bay Rays won a game on Sunday afternoon. After five straight losses, after 12 losses in their previous 16 games, the Rays paid attention […]

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Watch out for falling Rays; Jays win again

July 4, 2021 general

Sunday, 4 a.m. The way things are going, no one can be quite sure if the Tampa Bay Rays are chasing the Boston Red Sox … or the Baltimore Orioles. The suddenly ordinary Rays, who haven’t been good since May, took another one in the teeth Saturday afternoon. They lost their fifth straight game, this […]

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Lightning closes in on another Stanley Cup

July 3, 2021 general

Friday, 4 a.m. Hello? Is this the engraver? It’s time to start sketching out your work. Some reminders: There is an “I” between the “K” and “Y” in Vasilevskiy. Brayden Point spells is first name with an “e.” Ondrej Palat spells his first name with an “o.” Yes, Sergachev is just how it sounds. The […]

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