The famous $9.95 roundtrip chauffeured luxury bus to Tropicana Field is back for its third season!
Get your seat on the No Excuses Tour chauffeured luxury bus to Tropicana Field, courtesy of Paradise Worldwide Transportation, Lee Roy Selmon’s and Joe, departing from Selmon’s locations in Carrollwood and near International Plaza.
You get to ride in style — with beer and food in hand — and get dropped off right at the gate!!
Click on through to buy a seat and get all the details at NoExcusesTour.com.
Don’t flush your gas and parking money down the toilet. More 900 fans have enjoyed the Tour. Get on board! Check out the BayNews9 video on the tour below.
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Per Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune, charges in New York against Bucs defensive end Da’Quan Bowers for packing heat in a New York airport have been dropped.
@RCummingsTBO: Da’Quan Bowers gun charges reduced to disorderly conduct violation, per his attorney. Fined $250 with a $120 surcharge.
So this helps clear up the defensive end question for the Bucs in the upcoming draft. In the state of New York, gun charges usually are very, very, very harsh and there was no guarantee that Bowers wouldn’t serve some sort of jail time in 2014.
Now that this incident is behind Bowers, who told authorities he accidentally had his rod in his carry on luggage, Joe has a hunch the No. 13 pick will go defensive tackle.
Or to the Jets for youknowwho.
UPDATE: Mike Garafolo of USA Today has reaction from Bowers’ counsel, Dennis Coppin.
“(Da’Quan is) very happy, and honestly the Queens County District Attorney’s office investigated the case thoroughly and he was honest when he had the gun,” Coppin said. “He turned it over to the first gate agent he saw. He did the right thing, and they did the right thing in their investigation.”
Coppin added, “Sometimes with these cases, you have to use common sense. Obviously, a lot of people are anti-guns or what not, but you just can’t have a blanket rule that applies to (all cases).”
Late Tuesday, Joe updated a story to include breaking news that Eric Wright was given zero guaranteed money in his restructured contract with the Bucs.
Clearly, rockstar general manager Mark Dominik played his best hand with Wright. He told Wright he was wanted but got Wright to ditch his $7.75 million salary for this season and agree to $1.5 million or so, only if he makes September’s final roster.
Wright’s alternative was to be a good Buccaneer Man and wait to be cut, and/or wait for a better restructuring offer from the Bucs.
Now while Joe thinks Wright is overrated and unreliable, Joe won’t think that if Wright proves himself otherwise over the next 4 1/2 months, and then Wright would be worth $1.5 million plus incentives.
It’s interesting to Joe that Wright bet on Tampa Bay being his best career option knowing the cornerback market for him could improve considerably as injuries mount through offseason activities and preseason games. After all, Wright’s a confident young veteran, and the Bucs’ scouting and coaching staffs obviously think he’s a solid player. Yet Wright, a California guy with a baby on the way, opted to stay in Tampa Bay with no guarantees.
Also, Wright knows the Bucs are hunting Darrelle Revis and will be drafting cornerbacks, and he might have to compete with a true icon, Ronde Barber, for playing time.
Sometimes, Joe likes to mock the mockers. Depending on who you trust and who you believe, Bucs’ selection with the No. 13 pick, if they pick at No. 13, is all over the map.
Joe has noticed that veteran NFL player personnel man Gil Brandt has not wavered one iota on who he thinks the Bucs will pick in the first round. That would be Alabama offensive tackle D.J. Fluker.
Now there are many eyebrows raised at picking Fluker in the first round. First, that would not address the many holes on defense, gaping holes.
There’s also the financial aspect to look at picking Fluker. Clearly if the Bucs select Fluker, he would play right tackle. Rarely are tackles drafted high in the first round to play right tackle (unless your franchise quarterback is left-handed).
If Fluker is drafted, Joe would take a stab and say that Fluker will eventually be groomed to replace incumbent left tackle Donald Penn down the road.
And if the Bucs do draft Fluker, Joe thinks it would be time to put to rest the notion that Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman needs more toys.
Joe Caporoso, the owner/operator and editor of the Jets blog TurnOnTheJets.com, must really be suffering from cabin fever in the worst way.
Why? Because he is beginning to sound like a man grasping in vain for a flotation device as he struggles to keep his head above water before succumbing to the sea.
Caporoso claims Jets general manager John Idzik is going to successfully blackmail Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik not just for this year’s No. 13 pick, but for up to four draft picks total in return for cornerback Darrelle Revis or else Idzik will turn in Dominik for tampering.
@TurnOnTheJets: Re: the tampering discussion on Bucs/Revis – They are fair points but I think Idzik wouldn’t go public with the charges but would rather [p]ressure the Bucs behind the scenes to get as much as possible out of the trade for Revis, which I’m guessing happens in the next 7-10 days … Maybe he throws in a tampering charge threat behind the scenes to get another draft pick but I doubt he goes public with filing process [y]ou aren’t going to burn the bridge with your only trading partner, when you could get 3-4 picks from them
This is so absurd, Joe doesn’t know where to begin. Joe has written time and again that if anything, it is Dominik who has Idzik boxed in, not the other way around. Dominik and the Bucs do not need Revis. It’s really that simple. Now that the Bucs signed Eric Wright, Dominik drafts two corners in the first two days of the draft and the secondary issue is wrapped up. Done.
Does Caporoso really believe Idzik would try to shake down and strong-arm Dominik for four picks, including the No. 13 selection, or he will run to NFL warden commissioner Roger Goodell? And what crime exactly is Idzik going to cry to Goodell about that the Bucs committed That the Bucs linked to an NFL Network video on their site? Really? Really?
Or that somehow it’s a cardinal sin to talk to Vincent Jackson’s agent, who just by coincidence is also Revis’ agent?
Caporoso seems like a good guy. And he has a helluva blog. But is sure seems like Caporoso needs some Florida warmth and sunshine. Cabin fever really screws with your mind, man.
It is really this simple: If Idzik is catching heat from Jets owner Woody Johnson, Dominik has Idzik over a barrel.
In this New York Daily News roundtable video, a group of annoying yet entertaining New York media dive into the Darrelle Revis saga. Theories floated include painting Jets general manager John Idzik as a tough guy and Darrelle Revis as overrated.
For Gators fans who were hoping that somehow, if the Bucs traded for Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis, backup quarterback Tim Tebow would make his way to Tampa Bay, the only way Tebow will find himself at the Stadium on Dale Mabry Highway is either on another team’s roster or if he buys a ticket.
That’s the word from New York Daily News Jets beat writer Manish Mehta, who Twittered that Tebow has not been in any of the (alleged?) trade talks between Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik and Jets honcho John Idzik.
@MMehtaNYDN: It was an interesting thought, but I’m told Jets + Buccaneers have not discussed Tim Tebow as part of a potential Darrelle Revis trade.
Joe could have told people this. The absolute only way Team Glazer would want Tebow is to sell a few thousand tickets to Gators types who still view Tebow as a misunderstood John Elway (as Joe has pointed out many times before, in today’s NFL economic structure, attendance revenue from a couple thousands seats is irrelevant).
Besides, didn’t Bucs coach Greg Schiano say he wanted competition at quarterback?
In a very eye-opening (ear-opening?) interview of Bucs beat writer Woody Cummings of TheTampa Tribune with Joe’s good friend, “The Commish,” Justin Pawlowski of WHFS-FM 98.7, Cummings claimed high-level sources at One Buc Palace have told him there really are no significant talks currently between the Bucs and the Jets for cornerback Darrelle Revis.
His information reinforced what Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik told Pat Kirwan and Tim Ryan, co-hosts of “Movin’ the Chains” last month, heard exclusively on SiriusXM NFL Radio; the Bucs don’t even know if the Jets want to trade Revis and, apparently, the Jets have cold feet.
“There is so much speculation out there [on what the Jets are asking for]. Bottom line here, as I have been told by some people very high up in the Buccaneers organization, is that the Jets have still not decided if they even want to trade Darrelle Revis,” Cummings said. “They are struggling to find anybody other than the Bucs to ensure they can get a decent deal or a deal much to their liking. That may be a part of their indecision to even move this player.
“The Bucs have not decided if they want the player. So when you get two parties supposedly involved in the trade or a potential trade, and that is really the best way to look at it: supposedly involved in a potential trade because obviously nothing is happening, and either side has not decided what they want to do or which direction they want to go, you are not going to have a deal. Again, as I said before, I think the media is more interested in this deal than either team at this point. I think that is an absolute fact that the media is absolutely obsessed with this story. The two sides are like, ‘Eh, I don’t know if I want to move the guy.’ … ‘Eh, I don’t know if I want the guy.’ So nothing is happening.”
What Cummings said makes all the sense in the world. If you are Idzik and you are being boxed in by Dominik, you too would try desperately to find another suitor to try to get that third party and Dominik into a bidding war.
This is one reason why Joe is hardly convinced a Revis trade happens the week of the draft (just days away) as many have speculated. Virtually the only option Idzik has to prevent Dominik from fleecing him is to find another team interested in Revis. Thing is, some team would have to do some serious heavy lifting in a handful of days to clear cap space for Revis.
The Bucs already have the cap space.
To hear Pawlowski’s entire interview with Cummings, click here.
Now that, for the time being, we know troubled cornerback Eric Wright will return to the Bucs, please allow Joe to make a simple request to Mr. Wright:
“Improve your tackling.”
The TV watchers at ProFootballFocus.com put down their notebooks and closed their Excel spreadsheets long enough to type out who the worst tackling cornerbacks were last year in the NFL.
Perhaps not so shockingly, two of the worst 15 tacklers playing cornerback wore pewter and red last season, fan favorite E.J. Biggers and Wright.
In the sordid list linked, Biggers was the seventh-worst tackling corner and Wright was No. 13.
Now Joe knows that Bucs coach Greg Schiano is a big stickler on tackling. Joe hopes that maybe, inspired by his friend, safety Dashon Goldson, and additional coaching from Schiano and his staff, Wright improves on this depressing number.
It looks like the New Schiano Order and Leeman Bennett are on the same page.
Back in January, Joe chatted with Bennett, the former successful Falcons head coach and not-so-successful Bucs head coach, and asked him to name standouts from his East-West Shrine Game experience. Bennett coached the West squad this year.
Only one name came out of Bennett’s mouth, Keith Pough, a strong-side linebacker prospect out of Howard University.
Bennett said Pough (6-2, 241) is a complete, physical player who quickly showed he was a leader on the field and in the locker room. Pough is projected to be a mid-round draft pick, but his 4.87 40-yard dash time at the NFL Scouting Combine, and playing in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference against the likes of Morgan State, Savannah State and Delaware State, won’t help him.
Now, via draft guru Justin “The Commish” Pawlowski of 98.7 FM, it seems the Bucs and Ravens are showing the most interest in Pough. Pawlowski Twittered that he talked to Pough yesterday and Pough gave him the scoop.
Pough seems to have the makings of the proverbial “Buccaneer Man.” He was a two-year captain at Howard and is the son of a high school football coach. Being a late physical bloomer factored into his college options, per Joe’s research.
Bowers is back in court tomorrow in Queens. He’s still on the docket, and his Feb. 18 charge is the same — criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, a felony that carries a minimum sentence of 3 1/2 years.
Though there is no official designation of tomorrow’s proceedings, it appears to be an arraignment. Joe was told by a New York court official that Bowers must be in court by 9 a.m., where he will wait for his name to be called among about 60 defendants scheduled for the same court.
Joe will bring you the latest tomorrow as information becomes available.
One would think beat writers around the NFL know their teams quite well, at least more than a draft guru sitting in a room with a laptop, a coffee pot and trays of cheese danish.
Therefore, Joe was eager to see how the NFL beat writers first-round draft would go on NFL Network. Essentially, the NFL AM crew took a break from dance talk to interview a writer from each NFL city — in draft order — to get their pick.
The Bucs finally came up and Stephen Holder of TampaBay.com claimed the third cornerback off the board with the Bucs’ 13th overall pick, Xavier Rhodes. You can see the video here.
Writers selected cornerback Dee Milliner for the Lions with the fifth overall pick and Miami was granted CB Desmond Trufant with the 12th selection. Interestingly, the Jets’ beat writer didn’t have his team snatching a corner with the No. 9 pick.
This all intrigued Joe, mainly because veteran NFL scout and former NFL personnel man Chris Landry just said there are only two cornerbacks worthy of first-round grades, and one of them is not named Rhodes.
Would the Bucs “reach” for a cornerback at No. 13? Or would they be content to wait until the second round and/or trade down?
Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik, seeing the virtual wasteland of free agent corners, decided to play hardball with one already on his roster, Eric Wright, and got him for a considerably less money for another season.
As Joe wrote yesterday, the reworking of Wright’s contract was a shot across the bow at Jets general manager John Idzik. In so many words, the signing told Idzik, “You need to trade Darrelle Revis more than I need him on my roster.”
For a while there, it appeared Idzik, knowing how desperate the Bucs were at cornerback, was trying to shake down Dominik in return for Revis. Shoe’s on the other foot now.
Dominik is really boxing Idzik in a corner to lower his price, and Joe would really be thrown for a loop now if Dominik gave up the No. 13 pick in the draft this month.
Though some have speculated a Revis trade would come down the week of the draft, roughly two weeks from now, Joe isn’t as convinced.
If Dominik drafts a couple of corners in the draft, he could use one of those corners, maybe even Wright, as trade bait to the Jets, thus lowering ransom demands of draft picks.
In short, the vice on Idzik’s privates got tighter last night.
Now Joe still doesn’t know how much, if any, guaranteed money Eric Wright miraculously got from the Bucs to restructure his contract this evening.
So there’s more to learn, but according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, via ProFootballTalk.com, Wright’s new deal for 2013 is worth a minimum of $1.5 million and up to $3 million.
Joe is not pleased or soothed by the Wright signing, but Joe is withholding judgment and a full blown commentary until Joe knows whether Wright can be cut without significant financial consequences to the Bucs. And Joe wants to know more about Wright’s deal to determine whether he could be legitimate draft-day trade bait.
UPDATE: Joe has learned that there are no guarantees in Wright’s new pact. He can be released at any time through training camp with no penalty to the Bucs.
The JoeBucsFanTV studios were scurrying this evening putting the final touches on this Eric Wright video.
Joe’s pal Justin “The Commish” Pawlowski says Eric Wright is not a bum and Wright’s pill-poppin’ stupidity is the Bucs’ gain. Joe’s not sure he agrees. Do you?
Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik has retained troubled cornerback Eric Wright for another year, the team announced in a press release this evening.
Wright’s contract was restructured, per the press release. Details were not included.
So consider this Dominik’s first shot across the bow at the Jets who are trying to fleece the Bucs for multiple picks, including this year’s overall No. 13 pick, for cornerback Darrelle Revis.
As Joe has stated many times before, the Bucs have all the leverage in trying to obtain Revis. Jets general manager John Idzik’s jewels just got tighter in the vice.
Now if the Bucs draft a pair of corners in the draft, as Joe stated yesterday, watch the price for Revis drop like the price of Easter candy in May.
The Jets need to trade Revis more than the Bucs need to obtain him.
It’s also clear Dominik thought Wright was as talented as any of the free agent corners on the market.
Bucs stud left tackle Donald Penn is one of the coolest guys in the Bucs’ locker room. And recently he signed up for Twitter and has been a Twittering fool.
If you happen to be a Lakers fan in addition to a Bucs fan, Penn is a must follow.
This afternoon, Penn seemed to be teasing Bucs fans claiming there is some big news ahead.
@DPENN70: I just heard some good news Bucs fans y’all will find out soon and it has nothing 2do with Revis but will help our team out a lot #trustme
So if this isn’t Revis, what could it be?
Did Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik swing a trade for a corner other than Darrelle Revis?
Did Dominik sign a right tackle?
Did Dominik trade for a tight end?
Or, what may be more likely, has graybeard Bucs legend Ronde Barber made his decision to return to the Bucs?
For Gators fans who were hoping that somehow, if the Bucs traded for Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis, backup quarterback Tim Tebow would make his way to Tampa Bay, the only way Tebow will find himself at the Stadium on Dale Mabry Highway is either on another team’s roster or if he buys a ticket.
It looks like the New Schiano Order and Leeman Bennett are on the same page.
Not only are the Bucs banking on Da’Quan Bowers 
One would think beat writers around the NFL know their teams quite well, at least more than a draft guru sitting in a room with a laptop, a coffee pot and trays of cheese danish.
Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik has retained troubled cornerback Eric Wright for another year, the team announced in a press release this evening.
