After the craziness of all four major professional sports playing at once, it was nice to sit back, relax and breathe this weekend. The Red Sox are champions yet again, the NBA has begun in style and our beloved Tampa Bay Buccaneers have once again given us a reason to turn off our televisions in rage.
Bucs Officially Walk the Plank:
Minaret writer Marcus Mitchell put it well by saying: “Who needs a girlfriend when you have the Bucs to break your heart?” Mitchell and countless other Bucs fans across the state were forced to endure a brutally painful loss to the Seahawks in what could have been a statement game for the team.
Up 24-7 late in the game, Tampa Bay had a chance to prove that their winless season wasn’t a total waste; instead, they floundered in a very typical Bucs fashion and lost in overtime, 27-24.
I apologize for ripping the Bucs on a consistent basis, but it seems every week they find a way to work themselves into the major headlines by all the ridiculous mistakes they make. In many ways, the Buccaneers’ season has been like a house of cards. After the first card fell, the rest followed quickly in succession.
In week one, it was Lavonte David’s penalty gaffe that cost the Bucs a valuable victory over the Jets. In week two it was the inability to contain a Saints’ comeback in the fourth quarter, and this week the wheels came off entirely.
To say I’m surprised wouldn’t be the right word. I think “confused” better describes my attitude toward these putrid pirates. Coming into the season, I thought they’d be at least a .500 team. A younger, more naive version of me once thought, “How can a team with Vincent Jackson, Darrelle Revis and Doug Martin be THAT bad?” After this Sunday’s loss, I now know the answer to that question.
Pay Up, Penn State:
It’s been almost two years since the Joe Paterno/Jerry Sandusky scandal surfaced at Penn State, and the school is still paying compensation to all the victims. According to The Daily Beast, Penn State has been mandated to pay a whopping $60 million (about $2.3 million per victim) to the 26 young men affected.
While I agree that PSU should be required to help out these victims, I don’t think that simply giving them money will even come close to remedying the years of psychological and mental scarring that these boys had to endure.
The selfish decisions that Jerry Sandusky made have had massive repercussions on what was once an untarnished, pristine university. Professors, students and other sectors on campus are now losing money because of the massive cover-up that took place in the Penn State football program. “These 26 victims are only the tip of the iceberg of the lives that Sandusky has ruined,” Slade McLaughlin, an attorney for one of the victims, told The Daily Beast in response to the settlement.
The NBA is Back!
In happier news, the NBA has returned from its long hiatus and hasn’t ceased to impress. I know it’s still early in the season, but who would have predicted that the reigning champion Miami Heat would have already lost two games (once to the 76ers, once to the Nets)?
It seems Dwight Howard’s redemption experiment has been working so far with Houston, as he and the Rockets went 3-0 in dominant fashion this week. It may be premature to say, but I believe D12 has finally found his niche in H-town. Sure, he may have to share a good chunk of the limelight with fellow star James Harden, but at least he’s on a team that has solid chemistry and produces wins. If all he wants is to win championships, he’s in the right place.
One team to look out for is the reloaded Detroit Pistons. They’re a defense’s worst nightmare in the post with the dynamic trio of Andre Drummond, Greg Monroe and Josh Smith. They are also led once more by Pistons great Chauncey Billups. I’m not sure why, but seeing Billups in a Pistons uniform feels right. Maybe this nucleus that Joe Dumars has assembled will go on to become the Pistons of the early 2000s that featured Rasheed Wallace, Tayshaun Prince and Billups as their stars.
Well, folks, it wasn’t the most exciting weekend in sports, but there was still plenty of good times to be had––unless you are a Bucs fan, of course. Don’t worry Bucs faithful, Marcus Mariota is looking pretty good this year.
Griffin Guinta can be reached at griffin.guinta@theminaretonline.com.