TampaBLAB

Leftwich still a team captain, and other rumblings

Well, the fall shipment of crazy must have arrived in local stores because Sarasota's resident windbag, Rich "If You Don't Agree With Me, I'LL YELL LOUDER!" Swier, has already gotten his quota. And then some.

In a Sarasota Herald-Tribune op-ed piece regarding the recent spate of murders in Newtown, which is the red-headed step-child of the City of Sarasota, the author deduced that "illegal guns, drugs and gang activity seem to play significant roles in much of the violence" and that "to stem the shootings, stem the source: the all-too-easy flow of weapons into the wrong hands." Which to me, sounds like pretty straightforward stuff.

It's your typical S H-T non-controversial (who would argue with ending the near-nightly violence in a neighborhood?) editorial that only expresses some pollyanna banalities. Like "better parenting, better educational achievement, better economic opportunity and a better cultural attitude" would do the trick. Ya think????

But when it comes to non-controversial, feel-good ideas, our man Rich Swier can find a sinister, anti-American conspiracy in the best of them. To wit, his comment regarding the editorial:

"........I just watched a video of black gang members beating each other with 2x4s in Chicago. So what do we do? 2x4s are easy to get and cost nothing, do we outlaw 2x4s? Of course not, the problem is a lack of the rule of law in Newtown, so what else is new. Drugs, single parent homes, and a high rate of HIV/AIDS due to male sex with males makes Newtown a deadly place.

I was at the Bullet hole several months ago and watched a black woman buying a gun to protect herself. What we need to do is arm the citizens of Newtown like we did in Baghdad. That is the solution.

If the police can't handle the violence perhaps an armed citizenry can. That is what the Second Amendment is all about.

I am speechless. Almost.

When 2x4s kill as many people as do guns, then give me a call.

I'm not sure how a high rate of HIV/AIDS factors into people shooting other people, but the guy has a doctorate in something or other, so he must be right. Right?

And, as an aside to all you guys out there traveling through Newtown, apparently it's prudent to never bend over to tie your shoes there.

But perhaps the craziest thing he writes--and he writes some crazy shit--is that the way to curb the gun violence in Newtown is to give everybody there GUNS! Like we did in Baghdad. (We did?) Somehow, I think I'd feel safer walking through Newtown than I would walking through Baghdad, but, hey, that's just me.

His last "thought"--and I'm being generous here--is to pretty much foment vigilantism, calling the police ineffective and deciding that flooding the neighborhood with guns will handle the situation, because "that's what the Second Amendment is all about."

OK, I'm calling "bullshit" on that one.

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Everybody conveniently forgets about the "well-regulated Militia" part and only has the "keep and bear Arms" part tattooed on their hineys. We already have a "well-regulated Militia" called the National Guard. And by "well-regulated," our forefathers were not referencing daily bowel movements.

Now, I wonder what could have gotten Rich Swier so riled up. Maybe he feeling his oats with his recent victory in the battle of "Unconditional Surrender." Maybe he's gearing up for his "Drill, Baby, Drill" off the Florida coast campaign.

Or maybe just hearing about the upcoming release of "Going Rogue" by Sarah Palin got his juices flowing. Yee-haw.

I fully support what Annie at PHD in Parenting had to say about this #NestleFamily shitstorm on Twitter. The issue isn't about Twitter drama. The issue isn't about Mommy Bloggers. The issue is global.

I found this quote from the World Health Organization (PDF) that Annie shared particularly compelling.

"The protection, promotion and support of breastfeeding rank among the most effective interventions to improve child survival. It is estimated that high coverage of optimal breastfeeding practices could avert 13% of the 10.6 million deaths of children under five years occurring globally every year."

If everyone had to put up with a bunch of snark, misplaced breast vs. bottle debates and nasty behavior, at least many were exposed to something outside of our wanky social sphere.

Here's how I feel:

• I believe that breast is best for my children.
• I believe that breastfeeding is a personal choice.
• I believe that many women begin formula feeding without being given the educated choice to try breastfeeding. And I believe that formula companies sometimes contribute to that chain of events. Other times, it's a social thing.
• I believe that those who cannot breastfeed are not given proper support either.
• I believe that formula is sickeningly expensive.
• I don't believe in attacking bloggers for attending an event. Bloggers aren't the problem.
• I believe bloggers should retain their voices and do their homework when working with corporations.
• I don't trust a massive corporation to reach out to those who are suffering.
• I don't think that an individual's boycott is going to hurt anyone. I think it's rude and silly to criticize someone for choosing not to purchase a corporations products for whatever reason. Blood diamonds, chocolate, animal rights issues. It's okay to stick to your beliefs.
• Yes, we can and should approach companies we don't agree with. But dude. Do you expect honest responses from multi-billion-dollar corporations every time you disagree or sense injustice?
• I don't think that today's discussions were critical of formula feeding in general.
• I believe everyone who spoke up criticizing Nestle (not the bloggers) had every right to and I'm not trying to downplay that.
  
• I look forward to seeing how Nestle handles all of this on Twitter.
  

But our arguments on Twitter today? Will change nothing.


I don't know where to start, so I'm starting somewhere simple. A few months ago I bought one of these bracelets for my son and that got me thinking today. I encourage people who are upset to research ways they can help, whether it's through positive activism and awareness, donating time, or donating money.

Because people are so touchy and defensive about the formula part of this issue, I'm choosing to focus on water. Though I'd love to find some ways to help support breastfeeding education for new moms who don't have any medical contraindications to breastfeeding. Please share them if you know of any.

These are just a few resources I found. Please feel free to share others you are aware of. I encourage people to research the organizations they support to ensure that those organization's' agendas align to their beliefs.

I've found some great information at the World Health Organization.

Charities you can look into:

The Water Project

Millions from One

Charity: Water

A Child's Right

Do you have others you recommend or support?

More games to be televised

Some people aren't happy with the cuts that were made yesterday -- two promising prospects and the necessity to trim down the roster.

There are a pair of telling quotes about one of the cuts however.  Damian Cristodero got the following remark from Rick Tocchett regarding Matt Lashoff:

"I don't think he came into camp vying for a job," coach Rick Tocchet said. "He's a good prospect, and I think he's going to be a good defenseman, but I don't know if he had a good camp. I think there's an urgency to his play that has to be shown. I was disappointed in his camp, yeah. I thought he would have been a little bit better prepared knowing the numbers on defense and the competition."

General manager Brian Lawton further drove home the point on Lashoff:

"What happened to him, in some degree, was it was a little overwhelming for some of the younger players in regards to the level of competition," Lawton said. "Matt and I discussed that, and he probably didn't respond the way he needed to find long-term success. But that's part of being a younger player, and he'll be stronger for it."

That tells the tale of one of the two cuts..  A tight roster and a poor camp will get you every time.  But what about Mike Lundin?  Many a fan were rooting for him to make the team.  Coach Tocchet summarizes it as exactly what it was:  The odd man out.  The music stopped and Mike was the one left without a chair.

"A tough one," Tocchet said. "Mike Lundin played really well. ... It's not like Mike Lundin did anything wrong."

Cristodero made another vital point that fans need to remember regarding either player rejoining the team this season: Neither player will face re-call waivers to be promoted back to Tampa Bay. If there were to be injuries, or perhaps roster space created by way of trade, Mike Lundin could find his way to Tampa (in contrast, last season after his demotion, the Bolts would have had to expose Mike to waivers in order to recall him). As for right now, though, he's a Norfolk Admiral.

Roy Osherove has just posted a guest post from me on Team Leadership called Leading Through Learning: The Responsibilities of a Team Leader on his new blog about Team Leadership called Five Whys. Thanks for the opportunity to post Roy!

   Suddenly, those 15-foot Burmese pythons don’t sound so bad. An eastern diamondback rattlesnake found in St. Augustine over the weekend is estimated variously from 6 feet to 10 feet. And a diamondback, besides being highly venomous, can strike a person two-thirds of its body length away. Judging by the photo on staugustine.com, we don’t have any problem with an estimate of 10 feet.

   Problem is, according to the St. Augustine Record, that nobody measured the snake. The person who called Sunday night reported a “possible 6-foot long snake.” Deputies arrived and said 6 feet was a gross underestimation. Sgt. Chuck Mulligan, a spokesman for the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, saw the snake only in photographs but estimated it was at least 10 feet.

   However, the deputies didn’t measure the rattler before it was killed and removed by an animal trapper.

   Joy Hill, a spokeswoman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said herpetologists who saw the deputies’ photographs confirmed it was an eastern diamondback but couldn’t say how big it was. “It’s the biggest diamondback I’ve seen,” said Hill. The largest confirmed eastern diamondback was 8 feet long.

"Last week Democrats released a health care bill which essentially said to America’s seniors: drop dead."

Ginny Brown-Waite, on the House floor on July 21, 2009

Brown-Waite is notorious for makinpuerto ricansg bizarre quotes. For instance: she was under the impression Puerto Ricans are not United States citizens.

“Second, the bill sends hundreds of millions of dollars to people who do not pay federal income taxes, including residents of Puerto Rico and territories like Guam. I do not believe American taxpayer funds should be sent to foreign citizens who do not pay taxes. Americans want an economic stimulus for Dunnellon, Brooksville and Clermont, not for San Juan or Hagatna. As the legislation moves forward, it must be changed to ensure that only federal taxpaying American citizens receive rebate checks."

The Jones-Shafroth Act granted Puerto Ricans American citizenship. Brown-Waite would know that fact, if she was familiar with the invention known as Google.

My favorite Brown-Waite quote is her describing her relationship with K Street lobbyists.

“I have to go up to total strangers, ask them for money and get them to expect me to be there when they need me. What does that sound like to you?”

That is a question best left for Eliot Spitzer and David Vitter.

Hat tip to Ron Mills.

I realize I may be late in posting this but I promise to be more consistent.  If there are any recipes you would like me to share, let me know; will post with pictures too. We usually can go more than 2 weeks because I purchase extra food items when on sale.  Love having extra ground [...]

See you at Bamboozle Cafe in downtown Tampa for Open Mic Night to talk bicycling. Karen Kress of the Tampa Downtown Partnership and Anna Vasquez and Nico Stearley from HOK architects will join the discussion. Starts at 7PM.

A quick, reactionary look to the news that Phillips has been placed on Injured Reserve. 

Jermaine Phillips was a free agent at the end of 2008. After testing the market and not finding an offer or suitor that appealed to him, the Bucs offered him a one year "prove it" deal.  I was a little surprised that he garnered virtually no interest on the open market.  He's still young for a defensive back, having turned 30 this year.  He has an injury history, but for someone who flies around, it would seem he could have been a viable replacement somewhere.

Well, here we are in September of 2009 and Phillips didn't even make it out of the first month.  

He entered the league in 2002 as a rookie out of Georgia.  He was on the Super Bowl team, though he didn't play much.  Excluding 2009, over the next six seasons, Phillips would play a full slate of games only once, in 2006.  Discounting the rookie season and this year, he averaged 13 games a year, with an average of 12 starts a year. 

The knock on Phillips has been tackling (missed tackle stats are not kept) and durability. I wondered how he compared to his peers at the strong safety position. 

I went to NFL.com and sorted all players by position type and focused on strong safeties.  I pulled eight starting strong safeties over the last few years to see how many games they played on average.  I won't include their rookie year unless they started over 10 games and I won't include 2009 as it is not a completed season.  (It should be noted that the players I picked were those listed at SS on NFL.com and those that I knew had been in the league longer than 3 years) 

These are games played with games started in parenthesis

Marquand Manuel - 15.29 (7.43)

Troy Polamalu - 14.66 (14.4)

Bob Sanders - 9.75 (9.75)

Roy L. Williams - 14 (13.57)

Chris Hope - 15.2 (12.5)

Adrian Wilson - 14.57 (14.29)

Mike Brown - 11.11 (11)

Renaldo Hill - 13.71 (11.71)

Flip falls right in that range.  Very few players see a full season.  It could be a product of the position.  Usually brought into the box and moving forward at the tackle, perhaps this sees an increase in injury.  Strong safeties are also seen as the "big hitters' on the team, and I would fathom a guess that the more violent the pursuit or collision, the higher the likelihood of injury opportunity.

This may be it for Phillips in Tampa.  But as a fan I'm weary and would warn others that if his performance isn't up to your standards, that's one thing, but to knock his durability.  Well, he falls right in line with these other eight players.  With no real depth at safety, we either roll the dice with Sabby next year, bring Flip back, or draft a game changer (which seems to be the most popular opinion.  Personally, I'd rather draft DL and bring in a free agent/servicable guy in the secondary, if possible).   We likely won't know if he will be a Buccaneer until mid March or April, so for now, thanks for the memories Flip.

Note: These opinions were copy and pasted from DRays Bay, without permission. Any edits were made solely for formating purposes, so there are some grammatical and spelling errors, as well as jokes in bad taste. My opinions stated in this roundtable are based upon 6 games I saw of Josh Johnson's senior season at San Diego.



PlayOnWords: Which of you tards wrote that JJ is a 3rd round talent?

Suttree: THIS GUY.

PlayOnWords: That your legit opinion? Never saw him play in college; or, as FreeZo's commie brethren in Asiatown call it - university.

Suttree: Actually, yeah. His tools are as good as anyone drafted in the first round, his only negatives are competition (which Joe Flacco/Tony Romo/Steve McNair and others have squashed as being a legitimate criticsm), an iffy deep ball (though excellent arm strength), and on the thin side (though plenty tall).

He could be a Randall Cunningham that doesn’t turn over the ball. No matter who you’re playing, you don’t throw 1 interception wihout some degree of intelligence, patience, and ability to read a defense.

Suttree: In all seriousness, I'll take Josh Johnson murdering II-A competition then Josh Freeman performing poorly against the Big 12. Especially when the only tool Freeman has on Johnson is size.

rglass44: He could be a Randall Cunningham So Steve Young?

Suttree: Honestly? There's a big disconnect between where he is and where Steve Young was with the Niners (obviously), but he's cut from the same mold.

rglass44:  Cunningham without the TOs= Steve Young...
 
Suttree: Well, you say a guy's upside is Randall Cunningham and you're okay. You say a guy’s upside is Steve Young and people immediately laugh at you, but depending upon how his deep ball has developed, this could be the case.

rglass44: Well, you say a guy's upside is Randall Cunningham and you're okay. Especially if he’s black…

Suttree: Beyond Steve Young, name me a list of quarterbacks known for their mobility and short to intermediate accuracy.

rglass: Rich Gannon

Sandy Kazmir: Joe Montana
Ken Stabler
Rich Gannon

Suttree:Gannon and Montana were mobile, but not to the degree that Johnson is.

Sandy Kazmir: We've seen him execute one run, and he has said he would prefer to be a drop-back passer than running around like a fool.

Suttree: Oh, he is much more of a drop back passer. Actually, Gannon is probably the most apt comparison. Johnson plays a very simple game and it’s fantastic.

rglass44: Jeff Garcia PLEASE GOD NO

P Brady: Garcia throws INT. He’s basically Fran Tarkenton.

Suttree: Oh no, Johnson's much more patient in the pocket and has a better arm. Though, vintage Garcia was pretty badass.

Sandy Kazmir: I want to see more of it, sneak peek at my next article, if I'm still on board looks I did a data pull to look at all QB’s (on a single game basis) in their first season that had a completion % <= 40%,
QB rating <= 50.4, and at least 15 yards rushing. It’s a pretty sweet list with a quite a few good QB’s on it

Suttree: His numbers are super deceptive. Yeah, he was facing soft coverage, but he had a third down pass dropped and a sure touchdown dropped. Those two drops completely skewered his numbers.

Sandy Kazmir: What about the drops that Leftwich had 3rd down drops are absolutely killer, we have now talked more actual football in this thread than Buc Em has all day

Suttree: I feel bad for Leftwich. He's a decent quarterback in a situation that was not good for him. The receivers let him down, the play calling has been unimaginative, his tight ends can’t block, and his offensive line is decent, at best. He’s made some bad decisions, but there have been a lot of plays left on the field thanks to his receiving core.

I’m excited for Johnson because he can bring some life to the offense that Leftwich can’t without better playcalling and design. He’ll take what the defense gives him, which will mean some success for us until teams start clamping down on the underneath routes and force him to prove he can lace a pass between a corner and a safety on the sideline fifteen yards downfield.

Suttree: corp, not core.
 
Top Gun Numba 1: lol, got that one wrong too. corpS

Buc Wild: This is all the dialogue I was looking for over there. Acknowledgement that JJ has his upside but that this wasnt a Leftwich fail and he can succeed (and did) with the right scheme and help.

rglass44: Leftwich was better than Big ben in Pittsburg...

Suttree: Right. Although people say,“Leftwich has a big arm – let’s run a run heavy scheme!” that’s actually counter productive. His lack of mobility is a serious issue and by making him such an easy target (play the run on first down, understand you can blitz the offensive line because the tight ends are awful in pass protection), you expose him to getting hit on a regular basis and eventually making terrible decisions, which is exactly what happened.

Sandy Kazmir: So basically a faster Gradkowski As far as clamping down and forcing the deep ball. I think JJ has a much better arm, but he has to prove it. That deep throw down the sideline was on the money too bad no one can catch. With a top-5 pick next year I’m seriously debating whether we should just say screw the defense and get a great receiver. Our offense is a big-time playmaker away (assuming competent QB play) while our defense is an absolute mess and will not be solved by one draft.

Suttree: Better arm, less retarded than Gradkowski. Gradkowski also racked up his impressive completion percentage totals in an offense based on screen passes and wide receiver hitches. Johnson ran a pro-style West Coast offense where he was hitting slants and post patterns on a regular basis.

P Brady: I remember thinking his deep ball was a bit too floaty in college, actually. Officially now the head of the Lobstein bandwagon.

Suttree: Johnson has an issue with his deep ball, namely he doesn't consistently throw a rainbow. But, neither did Phillip Rivers. They both had a low release point, but I think Johnson can make the adjustments in his release so he can drop it over the shoulder without leaving it hanging. He’s got the arm strength for it.

rglass44: Rivers was also one of the ebst passers teh ACC has seen...

Suttree: Is dominating his competition as impressive as what Rivers did? Of course not, but it is impressive and frankly, better for his development than what Josh Freeman went through. You learn bad habits at the college level and they are tough to shake. I don’t think the speed of the game will catch up to Josh. The complexity of blitz packages and coverages? Possibly, but he’s had a whole year of breaking down tape and practicing against an NFL defense. If Joe Flacco, who looked retarded any time a team through a zone blitz at him in college, can succeed in the NFL, I think Josh Johnson has a shot.

rglass44: I still can't get over the fact that TYLER PALKO was the cause for Flacco transferring.
 
Suttree: It's outrageous, but Dave Wannstedt isn't the best evaluator of quarterback talent. Also, it takes certain situations to bring out the best in a player. Tom Brady was a huge underachiever in college, consistently beaten out by Brian Griese, but the skills we see at the NFL level were there at the college level. He just needed the right environment to bring out the best in him. Maybe it was the same for Flacco.

rglass44: I almost touched on that as well. He’s such an idiot.

Best explanation I’ve heard, and optimistic too, how refreshing. Booman Tribune ~ A Progressive Community

In a follow-up to yesterday's post about the changing landscape of publishing, I've learned that Tina Brown, former Vanity Fair editor and founder of The Daily Beast, is partnering with Perseus Books to publish books on a much faster timeline than is typically found, about four months.

Before all the fiction writers get excited, note that her publishing plans center around timely political and cultural topics as well as memoirs, and that her writers will come from Daily Beast freelancers.

Eric, of Pimp My Novel blogged today about "The Future of Publishing". This is more than water cooler chatter, folks. Publishing is undergoing a seismic shifting.



How about some fun?

Saw a link that led me back to a blog I'd stumbled across and shared earlier this year, Men With Pens, and had to borrow it.

What type of writer underpants do you wear?

I'm a granny g-string, boxers kind of gal. :)

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia
Tampa Bay Writing Examiner

Stay focused. Be deliberate. Believe.

In a follow-up to yesterday's post about the changing landscape of publishing, I've learned that Tina Brown, former Vanity Fair editor and founder of The Daily Beast, is partnering with Perseus Books to publish books on a much faster timeline than is typically found, about four months.

Before all the fiction writers get excited, note that her publishing plans center around timely political and cultural topics as well as memoirs, and that her writers will come from Daily Beast freelancers.

Eric, of Pimp My Novel blogged today about "The Future of Publishing". This is more than water cooler chatter, folks. Publishing is undergoing a seismic shifting.



How about some fun?

Saw a link that led me back to a blog I'd stumbled across and shared earlier this year, Men With Pens, and had to borrow it.

What type of writer underpants do you wear?

I'm a granny g-string, boxers kind of gal. :)

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia
Tampa Bay Writing Examiner

Stay focused. Be deliberate. Believe.

Not much. But soon, very soon …

It ain't exactly as thrilling as a roller coaster ride, but there are lots of people doing great things to help lead us to a more sustainable (and profitable) existence. In our bay area schools, no...

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Here's Richard Spayde, the pointman for the Cure on Wheels bicycle ride -- wghich is the presenting sponsor for the 2009 Bicycle Bash by the Bay set for Oct. 11 from 11 am to 4 pm in downtown St. Pete's North Straub Park.

Looking for a deep discount on Windows 7? Popular online retailer Newegg.com (and Bing Cashback participant) is selling copies of Windows 7 starting at just $99.99 The reason they’re able to sell the OS for so little is because they’re selling the OEM version. That means instead of getting a boxed copy in fancy retail packaging, you typically get just a cardboard sleeve with DVD. However, the most important thing to note is that the OEM copy is tied to one machine, specifically the motherboard of one machine. It’s the perfect choice for those who build their own PCs from scratch, a common practice among tech enthusiasts. If that suits your needs, then an OEM copy can be an affordable way to get a copy of Windows 7.

On Newegg, Windows 7 Home Premium OEM is $99.99, Professional OEM is $134.99, and Ultimate is $174.99.

(via ZDNet)

I came across Rotten Tomatoes’ “Worst of the Worst: Counting down the worst reviewed movies of the last ten years” guide last night. 

Since one man’s trash is another man’s treasure and I think really bad movies are sometimes good because they are so bad,* I’ve searched SUNCAT for titles from the bottom 20 worst movies.

The library doesn’t own all of the bottom…er….top….20 worst movies. I can’t decide if that’s good or bad. Enjoy?:

20. Crossover
18. The Master of Disguise
17. Twisted
16. Daddy Day Camp
13. Constellation
11. Merci Docteur Rey
10. Witless Protection
9. Redline
6. Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2
5. National Lampoon’s Gold Diggers
3. Pinocchio(Roberto Benigni version)
2. One Missed Call

_____________________________

*Consider the case of ”Plan 9 from Outer Space.”

Chat live with Lightning beat writer Damian Cristodero @ 1 PM EDT