In a story unrelated to a hair stylist, Disney NFC South blogger Pat Yasinskas claims the Bucs are on the short list to be the next team featured on the HBO football reality show Hard Knocks.

And Yasinskas seems to think this could be a good thing for the Bucs organization, so he wrote on ESPN.com.

That, of course, comes only if there is a labor agreement and teams go to training camp in July or August. But the Bucs have been involved in talks, although no deal has been finalized.

This would make plenty of sense for the Bucs. They’re a team that struggled with attendance last season. Not a single game sold out at Raymond James Stadium and segments of the team’s fan base have not been positive about ownership.

As owner of the most popular Bucs-only website on planet earth, Joe would love nothing better than to see a profanity-laced, behind-the-scenes reality look at the team.

What freakin’ theater.

Raheem eating fruit and sharing core beliefs. Donald Penn bitching about weigh-ins. Aqib Talib squawking in his funny voice about his swag and life lessons learned in anger management.  The film room giggles of Barrett Ruud getting steamrolled by no-name running backs. Eric Yarber vibing on camera. … Oh, Joe would have great fun.

But Joe the fan yearing for a Super Bowl title doesn’t want to see the Bucs on the show.

The potential for team chemistry to be ripped apart is way too great. Spin it however you want, football teams are too big and fragmented for Hard Knocks not to cause disruption.  

Joe knows it absolutely galled Bucs fans to watch the putrid Seahawks host a home game in the opening round of the playoffs, against the Saints no less.

Seattle was horrible and its division, the NFC West, was worse. But because the NFL covets divisions and more so division winners, the Seahawks got to host a playoff game.

The Bucs slapped around the Seahawks rather easily just a few short weeks before the playoff game and, of course, a week later the Bucs handed the defending Super Bowl champion Saints a loss at the Superdome to end the regular season.

The Bucs lost a playoff tiebreaker to the Packers, which eventually won the Super Bowl.

Good guy Stephen Holder of the St. Petersburg Times reports that the NFL is not about to expand the playoffs or see to it that a rotten team like the Seahawks host a playoff game.

Falcons president Rich McKay, chair of the league’s Competition Committee, said that there won’t be any discussion about changes to playoff seeding at [the] NFL meetings in New Orleans. A number of proposed rule changes are debated and voted on each year at the meetings, but the playoff reseeding issue never even made it onto the agenda based on feedback from individual clubs, McKay said.

“It was something we talked about, it was something we put in the survey,” he said. But he added, “It is something that we feel like (teams) did not have an appetite for right now. It is a topic that I am sure we will continue to discuss downstream, but not something there will be any proposal about this year.”

Joe can live with that a whole lot better than Richie McKay doing his best to change the fabric of the NFL. If people wanted to watch flag football, these high school seven-on-seven tournaments would play before thousands of fans, not just a scattering of parents, coaches and media types.

People want football. Physical football. Punishing football. Don’t kill the golden goose, Richie. People like kickoff returns. People like guys who aren’t paying attention to get leveled. This is football!

As for reseeding the playoffs, Joe’s on McKay’s side here. What’s the point of having divisions if you are not going to reward division winners? As for the Bucs missing out on a tiebreaker, maybe they should have beaten the Lions at home?

Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik has said as much.

Buzzing around the NFL owners meetings and likely holding clandestine meetings with high-ranking NFL operatives, eye-RAH Kaufman of The Tampa Tribune has Twittered an official death bell of the Tiki Barber-to-the-Bucs rumors.

Ira: You can put those Tiki Barber to the Bucs rumors officially to rest. If Tiki returns to the NFL, it won’t be with Ronde in Tampa Bay.

Joe’s glad this is over (hopefully).

A running back that’s been on his couch for four seasons, not to mention 35 years old, is a gigantic longshot that the Bucs don’t need gamble on. In Joe’s gut, he believes a Tiki signing would have taken too many carries away from LeGarrette Blount and possibly delayed his maturation.

Now the Bucs can focus on the more important backfield task — re-signing Cadillac Williams.

Readers under 30 might not get some of the irony in this post, since they may not fully comprehend the defensive end manbeast greatness that was Ed “Too Tall” Jones, who played in the 1970’s and 1980’s.

Just think of a 6-9 dude with a giant wingspan who was fast, athletic and exceptionally huge — quit football for a year to box — and was damn good.

Too Tall, a likely Hall of Famer one day, hooked up with Raheem Morris recently and hit it off, per a story on Buccaneers.com. And Too Tall then was invited to One Buc Palace for a grand tour and some quiet time with Raheem and general manager Mark Dominik.

In the story, Dominik gushed over the greatness of Too Tall and quoted Too Tall’s three Pro Bowls and other accolades from his memories of the great Dallas Doomsday Defense.

This made Joe smile.

Joe can’t resist pointing out that Too Tall, if he were, say, a 2011 free agent in the middle of his career, would be exactly the type of player Mark Dominik’s would be completely disinterested in publicly. Too Tall wouldn’t fit the plan. He’d be too old, far too costly, and take the Bucs down the satanic path of free agency.

In his 30s, and just after returning to football from boxing, is when Too Tall had those three Pro Bowl years Dominik referenced in the story.

Joe understands the Bucs’ plan of building through the draft, but Joe also understands the Bucs are yearning for a defensive end, have a pile of money to spend, and there is DE talent out there in the biggest free agent class in history.

Joe wonders whether 60-year-old Too Tall will be the best free agent DE to visit One Buc Palace this year.

Tiki Barber wants to play football again (now that he’s broke).

Tiki Barber wouldn’t mind playing football with his twin brother, Ronde, who recently re-upped for another season with the Bucs.

Raheem Morris hasn’t exactly closed the door on the possibility. But Brad Briggs of the NationalFootballPost.com scoffs at the notion. He believes Tiki is a better fit elsewhere.

The Bucs have made an impressive turnaround with young general manager Mark Dominik by going the young route. Quarterback Josh Freeman, wide receiver Mike Williams and running back LeGarrette Blount were key pieces for a 10-win team last season. There are young building blocks on the defensive side of the ball too. It’s not like the franchise owes Ronde a huge favor, the kind it would take to sign his brother, who hasn’t played football since 2006.

Brett Favres comebacks made more sense than the one Barber is attempting. Yes, the Bucs want to pair Blount with a veteran back, one with skills suited for third down. It’s something Barber did well in his prime. It’s also something Cadillac Williams does well. The Bucs’ former first-round draft pick will be an unrestricted free agent, but Tampa would like him back. Re-signing Williams makes infinite more sense than entertaining the idea of signing Barber.

Joe could understand signing Barber, but like Briggs, Joe is of the mind that the Bucs should re-sign Caddy rather than taking a flyer on Tiki.

Second only to the Bucs missing the playoffs last year for Joe on the sickening scale was when rookie wide receiver Arrelioius Benn went down late in the season with a knee injury. Joe was nearly sick to his stomach.

Benn played in one of those damned, gimmick spread-option offenses in college, which have zero comparison to an NFL offense. Hateful Bucs fans mocked Benn early because the guy was learning a brand new offense, much like learning a new language.

Once Benn began grasping an NFL offense, he turned into First-and-Benn. He lit up Arizona, lit up Washington and was about to become a force as a wide receiver, pulling attention off of fellow rookie wide receiver Mike Williams to compose a lethal air attack when Kellen Winslow was thrown in.

An alleged Bucs fan decided to pepper Disney blogger Pat Yasinskas, typing for the Stalinist outfit BSPN, all but claiming Benn is a bust and the Bucs need to look to add a receiver in the draft.

Calvin (Newport News, VA)
Hey Pat. Do you feel like the Bucs should consider looking at another receiver? I feel like Williams came along fine, but Benn didn’t have a great rookie season (2nd round pick, 395 yards 2 TD’s). I’m not saying replace Benn because he still has time to prove himself, but I wouldn’t say he’s above having some competition come in.

Pat Yasinskas
Maybe take a shot on a WR later in the draft. But I’m not down on Benn all that much. He was starting to come on a little before he got hurt. Coaches still like him and they’ve got a few other guys there as well. I wouldn’t panic and draft WR early, but wouldn’t hurt to add another a bit later in draft.

Good Lord, does this guy in Virginia not have NFL Sunday Ticket? Did he not watch any Bucs games? The absolute only reason Benn may not develop is because of his knee, not because he’s a bust.

This is a perfect example of someone looking at stats and not putting the numbers in any context or perspective.

Draft guru Justin Pawlowski, The Commish of WDAE-AM 620, is a huge fan of the NFL Scouting combine. Oh yes, The Commish considers it an extraordinarily valuable exercise.

But pro days? Well, The Commish isn’t sold.

In today’s draft podcast, The Commish explains in great detail why pro days are stupid. Some great points, for sure. He also shares takes on pro days and Martez Wilson from the astute Chris Landry of FOX Sports.

Click the arrow below to listen, or download here.

[audio: 32011podcast.mp3]

Don’t forget to follow The Commish on Facebook, and shoot him your draft questions for Wednesday’s “inbox,” commish@620wdae.com.

Many Bucs fans mocked Joe for his insistence that pining for Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik to sign Nnamdi Asomugha is crazy talk. Not only do the Bucs have much, much, much bigger needs than throwing megacash on a cornerback, the Bucs secondary is the one area of the team where an upgrade is not needed.

It seems the numbers crunchers at FootballOutsiders.com  agree with Joe. Aaron Schatz decided to put his Excel spreadsheet to work and found out that Bucs reserve cornerback E.J. Biggers was one of the top 10 cornerbacks in the NFL last year.

Per Schatz, Biggers was targeted 65 times by opposing quarterbacks and 63 percent of the time the passes were incomplete (for perspective, Darrelle Revis, the top-rated cornerback, had a success rate of 70 percent). Of the passes that were completed against Biggers, receivers only had an average of 2.9 yards after catch, or the all important, YAC, which is pretty impressive.

Yes, the Bucs secondary is in good hands and there is no need to run and get a high-priced free agent there when money could be spent elsewhere to bolster the Bucs roster.

Joe hopes this silliness of acquiring Asomugha would just fade away.

Of course, Mark Dominik, Raheem Morris and members of the Bucs contingent interviewed loads of players at the NFL Scouting combine. But Joe’s always intrigued when a guy gets his share of extra time, especially when he’s a quarterback, and even more so when he’s been arrested for shopping mall shenanigans.

In this interview below, NFL Draft guru Justin Pawlowski chatted with quarterback Josh Portis, a Division II star who bounced from the University of Florida to the University of Maryland before landing at a no-name school in Pennsylvania.

Portis, a big-time athlete, detailed his interactions with the Bucs. “They interviewed me multiple times.” Click the arrow below or download here.  

[audio: joshportisinterview.MP3]

Portis smells like a guy Dominik might jump on after the draft. 

With Josh Johnson a good bet to bolt in free agency after the 2011 season, and Rudy Carpenter being Rudy Carpenter, there’s no reason to think the Bucs aren’t doing some legitimate sniffing of quarterbacks this spring.

Sure, the lockout could be over in a matter of days (Joe hopes). But if it lingers, Gerald McCoy, Donald Penn and Ted Larsen stand to miss out on some cash, per the numbers gremlins at ESPN.

Tampa Bay. Donald Penn is scheduled to receive a division-high $400,000 workout bonus and defensive tackle Gerald McCoy has a $300,000 bonus. The only other Tampa Bay player with a workout bonus in his contract is Ted Larsen and that’s for $7,280.

BSPN points out that most players in line for an offseason workout bonus have to attend about 85 percent of the voluntary sessions. A lockout means no offseason, so no cash to earn for these guys.

Joe has some concern about Penn. Obviously, the Bucs were throwing him the big workout money to help keep him balooning up in weight. Maybe Penn’s not as focused without the incentive. 

As for Larsen, that $7,280 would buy a lot of Saltines and anchovies. Joe hopes he’s not one of those food stamp candidates Jeff Faine talked about.

Joe gets the messages, e-mails, Twitterings from Bucs fans: They are worried such a young team will crumble and fall apart with the lockout in place, that team unity will fold.

Bucs offensive coordinator Greg Olson soothed Bucs fans fears when he told eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune those concerns are empty. The Bucs will be ready to play when the lockout is over, whenever it is over.

“We knew this might happen,” Olson said, referring to the lockout imposed by team owners when the labor agreement with the NFL Players Association expired late last week. “We’ve made all the measures we had to do, staying within the rules. We should be fine. Every team is the same in this situation, working under the same rules.”

Though Olson didn’t comment specifically about Josh Freeman’s plans to have the Bucs work out as a team, reading between the lines it is quite clear: It’s going to happen.

Which should cause union-first Jeff Faine to have some restless nights.

Ah, yes. It’s yet another episode of JoeBucFan TV.

Brooks Reed is on the move

Draft boards are moving and shaking everywhere as hopefuls have pro days, get fat, get fit and show their true character.

NFL Draft guru Justin Pawlowski, The Commish of WDAE-AM 620, fires out his latest rankings, all part of the exclusive draft coverage on JoeBucsFan.com. Grab a cold one and catch up on everything right here.

By JUSTIN PAWLOWSKI

Quarterbacks
1. Cam Newton – Auburn
2. Blaine Gabbert – Missouri
3. Ryan Mallett – Arkansas
4. Christian Ponder – FSU
5. Jake Locker – Washington

The more we find out about this quarterback class, the more questions we have.  Newton has the most talent and upside, but could also be a colossal swing and miss.  Gabbert is starting to have many questions raised about his accuracy outside the hash marks and deep.  Locker, Ponder, and Mallett all have their own concerns, but now are all getting rumblings of possibly going in the first round.  Andy Daulton and Colin Kaepernick miss out on the top 5, but could become solid 2^nd round picks. 

Running Backs
1. Mark Ingram – Alabama
2. Mikel Leshoure – Illinois
3. Ryan Williams – Virginia Tech
4.Shane Vereen – Cal
5. Kendall Hunter – Oklahoma St.

I’m still not enamored with this year’s running backs.  Ingram is a solid back that could have a great career if he gets behind a big offensive line.  Leshoure has great vision with the power to make his own hole.  Williams might be the most talented back if he can stay healthy.  Vereen and Hunter are starting to rise up boards with good speed and the ability to run between the tackles.

Wide Receivers
1. AJ Green – Georgia
2. Julio Jones – Alabama
3. Titus Young – Boise St.
4.  Leonard Hankerson – Miami
5. Jonathon Baldwin – Pitt.

Jonathan Baldwin’s poor pro day has him slipping a bit.  He lacks explosion in and out of his breaks, but still has great size and soft hands.  Titus Young is a game breaker, while Hankerson is solid.  One name that I’m starting to consider in the top 5 is Greg Little from North Carolina.  He has some character concerns, but is as talented as any receiver in this draft.

Tight Ends
1. Kyle Rudolph – Notre Dame
2. Luke Stocker – Tennessee
3. Jordan Cameron – USC
4. DJ Williams – Arkansas
5. Virgil Green – Nevada

 The NFL is becoming all about receiving tight ends which is why four of my top-5 tight ends are receiving threats.  Cameron, Williams, and Green could all be interchangeable and should all be nice threats in the seem in the NFL.  Stocker’s the draft’s top balanced tight end with great ability in blocking.  If Rudolph stays healthy, he’s a 1^st round talent, but he hasn’t stayed healthy which should force him to drop.

Offensive Tackles
1. Tyron Smith – USC
2. Gabe Carimi – Wisconsin
3. Anthony Castonzo – Boston College
4. Nate Solder – Colorado
5.Derek Sherrod – Miss. St.

The only change here is Castonzo moving up to 3.  He does lack lower body strength, but does have a lot of potential as a left tackle in the NFL.  I like Carimi a lot as a right tackle and think a team like the Dolphins and Eagles make a lot of sense for him.  Sherrod just had his pro day and might have solidified a spot in the first round.

Offensive Guards/Centers
1. Mike Pouncey – Florida
2. Danny Watkins – Baylor
3. Stefan Wisniewski – Penn St.
4. Rodney Hudson – FSU
5. Clint Boling – Georgia

No change here, but Pouncey is starting to get a lot of attention.  We could end up seeing Pouncey go in the teens somewhere.

Defensive Ends
1. Rober Quinn – North Carolina
2. Da’Quan Bowers – Clemson
3. JJ Watt – Wisconsin
4. Cameron Jordan – Cal.
5. Aldon Smith – Missouri
5. Ryan Kerrigan – Purdue

I refuse to leave Kerrigan off this list.  He has done everything he can to be one of the top defensive ends.  Aldon Smith, in my opinion, is starting to slip a little because he hasn’t displayed dominant speed and quickness this offseason, and that’s supposed to be his game.  Da’Quan Bowers pro day is April 1^st.  On that day he’ll either become the top defensive end or he will slide down this list and the overall draft board.

Defensive Tackles
1. Marcell Dareus – Alabama
2. Nick Fairley – Auburn
3. Muhammed Wilkerson – Temple
4. Corey Liuget – Illinois
5. Stephen Paea – Oregon St.

Muhammed Wilkerson is starting to make some real noise.  He can play in either the 4-3 or 3-4 defense, which makes him valuable to every team.  Liuget and Paea will be solid late 1^st or early 2^nd round picks.  Dareus is getting more and more noise as a potential 1^st or 2^nd overall pick.

Outside Linebackers
1. Von Miller – Texas A&M
2. Brooks Reed – Arizona
3. Akeem Ayers – UCLA
4. Dontay Moch – Nevada
5. Bruce Carter – North Carolina
5. Mason Foster – Washington

I’m not sure anyone is getting as much attention and buzz right now as Brooks Reed is.  He is flying up draft boards and should find himself selected in the first round.  I have Moch over Carter due mainly to Carter’s health concerns.

Inside Linebackers
1. Martez Wilson – Illinois
2. Colin McCarthy – Miami
3. Nate Irving – NC St.
4. Greg Jones – Michigan St.
5. Kelvin Sheppard – LSU

Not much has changed with the middle linebackers so far.  Wilson is by far the top middle linebacker in this class, but could also play outside.  Greg Jones had a solid pro day and should end up as a solid pro, but I don’t think he’ll be an impact player.  Sheppard is big, but lacks elite speed.

Cornerbacks
1. Patrick Peterson – LSU
2. Prince Amukamara – Nebraska
3. Jimmy Smith – Colorado
4. Aaron Williams – Texas
5. Brandon Harris – Miami

Jimmy Smith has special talent, but his character issues might be too much for teams to ignore.  Brandon Harris is small, but tough and should be a solid 2^nd round pick.  Williams has versatility to play corner or safety.

Safeties
1. Rahim Moore – UCLA
2. Quinton Carter – Oklahoma
3. DeAndre McDaniel – Clemson
4. Deunta Williams – North Carolina
5. Chris Culliver – South Carolina

I do not like this safety class. Quinton Carter is one name to keep an eye on.  He’s a big hitter with great character.  Rahim Moore is very good in coverage, but not a complete player.

Not everyone important to the Bucs is locked out of One Buc Palace.

The Bucs have been kind enough to open their doors to cheerleader hopefuls and help them train and stretch before embarking on quest to make the official hottie cheerleading squad this Spring. These workout sessions will continue for weeks.

And the Bucs have been kind enough to share the above insider photo and more via the team’s official Facebook page.

Joe chose this particular photo to protect the women’s identity. Though Joe suspects some of the more bizarre stalkers readers in his audience can still recognize these cheerleader hopefuls.

Good luck, ladies.

The Tampa Sports Authority, apparently not too worried that their stadium, The CITS, will soon be deemed outdated by the lords of the NFL in order to host another Super Bowl, are instead fretting about things they cannot control.

Take the lockout. The fact the NFL owners and the NFLPA are a labor war has the beancounters at the Tampa Sports Authority chewing their fingernails.

If any games are lost this season, the Tampa Sports Authority has contemplated raising parking costs to $30 as well as raising the prices for beer, as if the prices aren’t obscene enough already.

But no! That won’t happen this season. Team Glazer, riding their white horses, have offered to cover any shortfall the Tampa Sports Authority may suffer so that fans aren’t squeezed any more, so reports Michael Sasso of the Tampa Tribune.

The options for tackling the funding problem weren’t pretty. The sports authority has contemplated tacking a 15 percent charge onto concessions and a $5 charge onto parking. That would have applied to even non-football events, such as this weekend’s Kenny Chesney concert, Hart said.

So concert parking might have risen to $30 from $25.

The other option was for the Bucs to make up the stadium shortfall. The team has agreed to pay to cover the potential gap so the sports authority doesn’t have to tack on the extra surcharges.

Bravo gentlemen, bravo! Joe stands up from his barstool and roundly applauds.

Now the truth is known: It is the Tampa Sports Authority that rapes honest citizens for the $8 beers and $25 to park in a dust patch.

The looming and likely rookie salary cap that would come with a new NFL labor agreement has some wondering whether that could tempt the Bucs to trade up in the draft?

Obviously, those first-round picks become much more valuable if they’d be guaranteed, say, 75 percent less than what they got last year.

Draft guru/TV star Justin Pawlowski, The Commish of WDAE-AM 620, explores this and more of your draft and Bucs questions in his Commish’s Inbox podcast. He even takes on the notion that drunks are scaring away Bucs fans from the C.I.T.S.

Just click the arrow below or download here. All part of the unmatched draft coverage on JoeBucsFan.com.

[audio: 31611commishinbox.mp3]

Covering every inch of the NFL Draft, resident JoeBucsFan.com guru Justin “The Commish” Pawlowski, via his draft rumors page at 620wdae.com, has captured a Twitter message from Associated Press writer Mark Long that claims Florida center/guard Mike Pouncey thinks the Bucs are high on him.

Not the biggest shock in the world, especially if you read The Commish’s in-depth take here last week on why Pouncey might be just what the Bucs are seeking in the first round.

Of course, the Bucs will do plenty of interviews. But the buzz around Pouncey is even more interesting given that it seems the Bucs may have passed on a face-to-face with defensive end prospect Justin Houston. Update: National Football Post now says he is coming to visit the Bucs.

Joe loves all this draft gossip. (Oh, and Pouncey told the AP that he’d love to play for his hometown Bucs.)

Joe would hardly cry and moan if the Bucs draft Pouncey. Arron Sears’ tragedy aside, it’s hard to go wrong with depth and big-time talent on the O-line.

Joe’s inbox has fielded its share of questions asking whether the lockout is affecting traffic at JoeBucsFan.com.

Great question!

The answer is, No. At least Joe doesn’t think so.

Joe’s well on pace to best February’s record traffic numbers, and Joe’s traffic should be up about 80 percent in March from March 2010. Joe was looking for a 100 percent increase in March (there’s still an outside shot) so perhaps that’s lockout related.

Anyway, no matter what happens with the lockout, Joe will be working tirelessly for Bucs fans daily — and resuming his postgame column on the popular JoeRaysFan.com on opening day.

If you’re a business owner wondering why you don’t have more customers, e-mail Joe today to jump on board the most cost-effective advertising opportunity in the history of the Tampa Bay area, joe@joebucsfan.com. … Or you can keep doing what you’re doing.

Joe’s getting annoyed with NFL superwriter Peter King’s attitude.

The way King is writing for Sports Illustrated it seems he thinks the owners’ lockout of the players should still mean a business-as-usual, made-for-TV NFL Draft. What is he thinking?

While the draft will go on as planned in late April — thank the heavens — players are considering hosting their own live draft-day programming, where essentially the draft picks will hang out and talk to media not part of the official NFL draft broadcast. So Roger Goodell will call their name and team on BSPN and NFL Network, and then the draftee will hug his new teammates on, say, TNT, broadcasting the players’ little draft festival.

Of course, that would cut the testicles off the official NFL broadcast, cost the league advertising money, and make for a legendary day of channel-flipping across the country.

Exciting television, in Joe’s eyes. But King seems bitter.