Who will be the pet player of Rays’ fans in 2017?

April 12, 2017 general

Wednesday, 4 a.m. You never see him coming. You rarely suspect success. The bond doesn’t always last. But every now and then, a player worms his way into your consciousness. Every now and then, he becomes more than his average, more than his games played, more than your logic says that he should matter. He […]

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Lightning needs to remember bad moments

April 11, 2017 general

Tuesday, 3 a.m. At a time like this, a team can warm itself in the knowledge that it barely missed. Golly, it was charging at the end. Gee,  it had enough points to make the post-season in other years. Willikers , it overcame a lot of injuries. Wow, it was almost good enough. Ah, but […]

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This time, Pineda nearly perfect against Tampa Bay Rays

April 11, 2017 general

Tuesday, 2 a.m. This time, the Tampa Bay Rays ran into the good Michael Pineda. In their first road game of the year, Pineda was a stop sign. He flirted with a perfect game, sitting down the Rays’ first 20 batters en route to a two-hitter in an 8-1 win by the New York Yankees. […]

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Souza leads Rays with another three-run home run

April 10, 2017 general

Monday, 2  a.m. Finally, he is the players the Rays traded for. Finally, he is the player the Rays have waited for. Finally, he is worth Wil Meyers and worth the strikeouts and worth the low average. Finally, he is Steven Souza, and if the rest of the baseball season works out like the first […]

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Lightning closes its season with a meaningless win

April 10, 2017 general

Monday, 1 a.m. The Tampa Bay Lightning barely missed the playoffs. In some ways, that makes it more difficult. The Lightning wrapped up their regular season Sunday evening, beating the Buffalo Sabres 4-2. That left the team with 94 points, one behind both Toronto and Boston. Brayden Point scored two goals in the finale. Defensemen Victor Hedman and Braydon Coburn also scored […]

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Random thoughts: The history of the 19th pick isn’t good

April 9, 2017 general

Not to frighten anyone, but there is this. By the 19th pick, Charles McRae was gone. And Keith McCants and Eric Curry and Josh Freeman and Trent Dilfer. However, Kyle Boller went 19th. And Ashly Lelie and Ja’waun James and Jeff Otah. – Yikes. – While interviewing with a nameless team, Kutztown’s Jordan Morgan says […]

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Rays led to victory by speedy Mallex Smith in 11 innings

April 9, 2017 general

Sunday, 2 a.m. The reason he is here is that he runs so fast. Late in the evening, however, Mallex Smith could take his time coming home. It was in the bottom of the 11th inning, and Smith could walk home after teammate Brad Miller had worked a bases-loaded walk following an unusual strategy from […]

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Leafs’ comeback knocks Lightning out of the playoffs

April 8, 2017 general

The ride has ended. The Tampa Bay Lightning  are staying home. The Lightning was eliminated from the NHL playoffs Saturday night as the Toronto Maple Leafs came from behind to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins,  5-3, in Toronto. For the Lightning to make the post-season, it needed Toronto to lose to both Pittsburgh Saturday and Columbus on Sunday, […]

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Ask Gary: Should Rays sign Alex Cobb to extension?

April 8, 2017 general

(Each week, the readers take over GarySheltonsports.com and play Ask Gary. They send in a question, or a couple, on Thursday night or Friday morning and we all talk about the world of sports.  Think of it as a radio show where you don’t have to be on hold. Join us and ask a question, make a comment […]

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Rays blow lead, then come from behind to beat Jays

April 8, 2017 general

Saturday, 4 a.m. They fell behind early. They rallied. They took a big lead. They lost it. They made a nice comeback. They held it. When it was all done, the Tampa Bay Rays had won a wild one against the Toronto Blue Jays Friday night, winning by a score of 10-8 after losing a […]

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