I’ll be honest with ya, when it comes to hockey I’m like the Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer. As a football fan and a Floridian the concept of playing on ice confuses and befuddles me. But that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy tonight’s come-from-behind over-time victory.

I had the good fortune to be at the game, which might be the best Bolts game I’ve ever been to. When Boyle scored his second goal the Ice Palace absolutely exploded. I didn’t see a single soul sitting down for those last 20 seconds of the third. And when St Louis scored the game winner? Pandemonium broke loose. The Bucs needed some lucky breaks (i.e. a couple of well-timed Atlanta penalties) to win, but at least they were able to take advantage of them.

In the short term, Tampa gains some ground on division leading Atlanta. But in the long term could this game be the spark to shake the Bolts out their funk up until this point? Before the game the Bolts where 11-10-1, the very definition of average. And as much as it pains me to say it, the Bolts are the best pro team in Bay area right now.

A couple of months ago, Mike Chen approached me about a contest he was running on his web site for the best worst player in the NHL — someone who was mediocre and who would be the best mediocre player in the game this year. I laughed at the idea but I’m playing along…

…yet it seems like hockey fans around the internet have taken that idea and run with it.

In a move that mimics Netroots activism in politics (rallying people online to achieve major goals), NHL fans on Hockey’s Future’s message board started a write-in campaign for Vancouver Canucks player Rory Fitzpatrick in an effort to mock the NHL’s All-Star voting system by skewering the results. Yeah, I just used some harsh phrasing to define the moment but you know what? I get a kick out of this and I’m all for it. I don’t just get a kick out of this, but I’m amazed that this movement has legs. Check out Calgary Puck, Something Awful, Lets Go Wings, TMLFans.ca and Canucks Central message forums. Myspace and Facebook social networks also have groups devoted to this Western Conference write-in campaign

And yes, this movement has it’s own website as well (sadly pathetic but it serves it’s purpose).

So whattaya say? Vote for Rory as your western conference write in vote!

It’s Something Awful’s sports argument Wiki.

The Something Awful community has there say of snark, sarcasm and black humor about teams, players and sports in general on the aforelinked web site. From cringe-inducing weak barbs such as calling the Devil Rays “The first AAA Team ever to play in the American League East” to the golden and sadly accurate description of the Toronto Maple Leafs:

As a result of this, every time the free agency, the Toronto-based hockey media and Maple Leafs fans everywhere begin wildly speculating as to just how eager the sport’s biggest stars are to fulfill their lifelong dreams and come to their favorite organization, and happy they will be to sign for league minimum in exchange for playing for the greatest team in the history of athletic competition.

Providing a list of the players who want to play for the Maple Leafs would surely be a waste of time and bandwidth because odds are that if you can name an NHL player, he would give his left leg to be a Maple Leaf for just one shift.

Maybe that’s a little cruel, but if Doug hadn’t basically recited above talking points to a T last year here on Boltsmag I woudl try to be kind and dismiss everything as hearsay.

Of course the Lightning aren’t left out of the fun but fortunately, their profile is too weak to care.

The St. Pete Times reported this morning that Marc Denis will be starting in goal tonight versus Les Habitants de Montreal. It will be Marc’s first start in several games. Poor play before his benching and strong play by rookie Johan Holmqvist had both done their part to vanquish Denis to the bench.

There are bloggers as well as general readership throughout the sports blogosphere that, at one time or another, have known about or partaken in conversation on the FanHome sports network. FanHome was the leading sports message board community in the past, having a membership of over 40,000 and boasting a robust community of baseball aficionados, knowledgeable hockey fans, a passionate basketball community and the like. It’s worth repeating that during it’s height, there were players both reading and posting on the network. Baseball relief pitcher Dustin Hermanson had posted news of his 2001 off season trade from the Montreal Expos to the St. Louis Cardinals on FanHome’s Montreal Expos forum (which was a happening place, quite contradictory to the atmosphere at Olympic Stadium) before either team announced the deal, or the news wire was made aware of the trade.

To give a comparison, FanHome at it’s high was much like Daily Kos is now — boasting a huge readership and daily traffic that eclipsed anything comparable at the time, sans ESPN and the media’s own message forums.

But with the good came the bad for FanHome — it was launched at the tail end of the dot-com boom and when the dot-com industry went dot-bomb, leadership on the site got discouraged. FanHome ended up signing a partnership deal with TheInsiders/Scout.com that would assimilate the FanHome community into Scout.com’s network. It all went down hill from there as corporate bosses don’t care for anything but income. vBulletin message board software was replaced by the cheapish EZBoards “Anyone can do it” message boards, and the readership and membership dwindled. Loyal members stayed loyal to the FanHome.com brand however, but FanHome was all but gone.

Well, four long years after FanHome was assimilated by Scout.com, FanHome has become independent again and a re-launch of the network is looming. A lot has changed in four years, however, and one has to wonder what’s in the cards for this network if it finds it’s feet again? A message board only offers so much, and the possibilities that are out there for a large sports community are immeasurable, especially a community with a recognizable brand name among sports fans on the web (be it bad or good).

The St. Pete Times reported this morning in a short blurb on the cover of their print sports section that the D-Rays are sending out feelers for what fans would want in a new ballpark and where. Among some of the questions that are asked, reportedly, are about location (all locations provided keep the team in Pinellas County and close or in St. Petersburg), roof structures (retractable, partial or open-air) and other such things that this blogger does not know about at this time. There were also questions about improvements to Tropicana Field.

The questionnaire was sent to select residents and select season ticket holders. There was nothing provided about the method of selection or what not.

Tropicana Field is 16 years old, the stadium design itself was a relic of the 1970’s to keep the building energy efficient. The location of the stadium (downtown St. Petersburg) and it’s design have been debated and put into question time and time again over the course of the Rays existence. I found it interesting that of the sites offered in discussing a possible new venue — Tampa was not a choice location. Gateway (Mid Pinellas, a suburban corporate office area), the St. Petersburg waterfront and the current location were the choices provided (meaning the Tropicana Field parking lot).

The Rays have no hope for a new venue as long as the team stays as pathetic as they have been since their inception. It’s just noteworthy the team is putting it’s toe in the pool regarding the stadium situation.

I’m trying to get back into the swing of things, blog wise, but no promises.

There’s an interesting blame-game poll up over at Sticks of Fire about the 2006 Bucs… Ultimately where does the blame lay with how horrid Tampa Bay has become?

The first 4 answer choices are serious while the last two are just joshin’-around a bit. The Ghost of Hugh Culverhouse nor Bucco Bruce are to blame for the Bucs ills. Neither is Chris Simms spleen, if you want to go there.

So who should Tampa Bay football fans blame for this season of wither that has wrapped it’s cold dead arms around the Pirates of the Pewter Pants and dragged them down to Davy Jones locker? The Players, where the effort is half hearted or lackluster at times? Jon Gruden? Bruce Allen? Or the owners — The Glazer family?

The Glazer option feels like a cop out as the owners are ultimately in charge of everything and can be blamed for everything, while the Player option seems too direct. Players are only as good as those leading them. It’s Gruden who holds this fans ire. The loyal fan will erupt at this accusation, talking about the 2002 championship season… But ultimately what has Jon Gruden produced for the Bucs since then?

During Gruden’s tenure, he has fought for total control of operations of the Buccaneers — running out General Manager Rich McKay (in a feud ultimately sparked by a drunken triad to reporters that Gruden had over the subject of former NFL great Emmit Smith). He’s had flare ups with players and his comrade-in-arms/sycophant GM Bruce Allen has all but appeased him with regards to personnel moves. Over priced, over-the-hill players were Gruden’s preference and they have hurt the Bucs under the cap. These choices came ahead of retaining the services of safety John Lynch and others on defense. While future hall-of-famer Derrick Brooks and Ronde Barber remain on the defensive side of the ball, what once was the cornerstone of the Buccaneers — the Tampa Two — is in shambles. It should only get worse after this season with likely retirements and other personnel moves from coaches to players.

The 2002 Buccaneers were a great thrill — and the championship overdue — but sometimes I think it was the greatest mistake in Buccaneer (if not NFL) history for the Bucs to severe ties with Tony Dungy. The whole deck of cards have fallen since and discipline has been replaced with contempt. Character replaced with the Oakland Raider adage “Just win, baby.” The choice to ditch Dungy came from lack of playoff wins. How does it feel now that there is a lack of wins, period?

How the mighty have fallen.

Look, I’m a fan of Martin St. Louis. I love seeing Eric Perrin on the scoresheet…

But why do I have this feeling that Jay Feaster is going in the wrong direction with this deal?

No offense to Daniel Corso, but why trade away grit for another mite-sized player?