The Glazers are spending money. The Glazers are spending money. The Glazers are spending money.

Joe’s doing his Paul Revere act here to announce that the Bucs will be signing Donald Penn to a long term deal. Krispy Kremes, orange soda and trans-fat laden food for everyone.

And Joe is smiling inside and laughing at all those Bucs fans and observers who thought Penn had no leverage. Hahahaha. 

Penn had plenty of leverage, it seems. Jason LaCanfora, of NFL.com, is reporting the Bucs and Penn will sign a deal on Saturday.

The sides have come to terms on the major issues of a deal, but they’re still working out some language, according to the source. Both Penn and his agent, Rocky Arcineaux, were en route to Tampa on Friday night, and they will meet with Bucs officials Saturday, when the lineman is scheduled to sign the deal.

How bout that Team Glazer! Way to go. Way to do the right thing. No wonder Raheem The Dream isn’t nervous.

Kidding aside, Penn earned this money. He’s an excellent football player. Hopefully, he can become truly great in a Bucs uniform.

Man, Joe is fired up for training camp.

And Joe is fired up to have Raheem The Dream back in front of the microphone. What a treasure he is, so darn entertaining. (Joe will have more gems from Raheem The Dream’s afternoon news conference later.)

First off, Raheem The Dream took a question from a reporter who asked about the prospect of Demar Dotson or James Lee as his starting left tackle, “Are you nervous at all?”

Here’s Raheem The Dream’s unedited response:

“Nervous is not a word that I would normally use to describe anything that I do. But, you know, you look at that side, no matter what, no matter who’s over there, that’s the hot corner, that’s third base, that’s a great place to look if you’re a defensive coach looking at your offense. Your quarterback’s blind side. How well he’s protected. You know, how great those cutoff blocks are. How big that man is out there. He’s probably the premier rusher on that football team. That’s always a nice place to start to see the initial get off. That’s always a nice place to start when you’re reporting a story. That’s always a nice place to start usually when you’re trying to figure out how well the offense is going to do that day. So I’ll be watching that side. Just like normal. I’ll have my eye over there. We have got a brand new player there that played there for the whole OTA days. The beauty of it is he got all the reps. The beauty of it it won’t be a lack of knowledge. It won’t be a lack of experience in practice. And we look forward to watching him grow and do all that stuff.”

For those who need a translation (or a bottle of aspirin), the head coach said left tackle is extraordinarily critical and he’s extremely well aware that Dotson and Lee have no experience.

The call-it-as-he-sees-it Bucs beat writer for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Tom Balog, notes that the flurry of first-round pick signings today doesn’t mean Gerald McCoy will be wearing his big boy pads this weekend at Bucs training camp.

McCoy, the third overall pick, is not signed. His money people are apparently squabbling over contract length, per Balog.

Berry, the No.5 overall pick taken two spots below McCoy, signed with the Chiefs for $34 million guaranteed, as part of a five-year deal that makes him the highest paid safety in league history.

 Knowing how the Glazers do business, and how McCoy’s agents expect to push the envelope beyond the guaranteed amount that Berry will be get, it could be days or weeks, before McCoy is in the fold. McCoy’s agents and Buccaneers general manager Mark Dominik are fighting over how many years the contract should be, with Dominik wanting to lock up McCoy for six years, while the agents try to limit the deal to five years.

Balog goes to talk tough when it comes to Team Glazer willingness to spend money on Donald Penn. It’s an interesting read.

Joe sincerely hopes McCoy is ready to go by Monday at the latest.

Helmet-wielding, cabbie-pouncing Aqib Talib is a man the Bucs hope and pray is on the right path, so writes Tampa Tribune uber columnist Martin Fennelly.

Fennelly talked to Talib, Ronde Barber and Mark Dominik, and penned a column that left readers with the feeling that nobody is quite certain Talib can avoid another outburst that could derail his promising career.

But Talib says he now understands that to be the man, you need to act like one. He has visited with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. Talib had to pay out after the incident with the cabbie. Maybe it helped.

“Sometimes you got to get your head beat against a wall, take money out of your pocket, go see the NFL boss,” Talib said. “That’ll make you wonder ‘What the hell am I doing?’ My father and brother keep telling me ‘Don’t (mess) this up,’ you got what you wanted since you were 5 years old.”

Now Joe knows journalists pick and choose what angles and quotes they want to use in a story, but Joe found it interesting that Fennelly didn’t quote Talib being remorseful or even imply as such. Odd.

Talib is a true Pro Bowl talent, who’s barely a half-notch below the upper echelon in the NFL. The guy’s ready to be a stud.

Joe sincerely hopes Talib never forgets that he could land in jail if he screws up before his court-ordered anger management classes are completed. 

Stay cool, Talib.   

Longtime player personnel executive and now superanalyst for NFL.com and NFL Network Mike Lombardi has identified three should-happen trades that would benefit all NFL teams involved.

No. 3 on his list is the Bucs moving Donald Penn to Dallas for the Cowboys’ 2011 first round pick and their new starting left tackle, Doug Free, who is slated to take over for Flozell Adams this season.

The Cowboys have an outstanding team — a Super Bowl-caliber team — with some slight concerns at left tackle. Penn would solve those problems by giving Dallas a blue-chipper at one of the game’s most important positions. Penn could be the missing piece for the Cowboys to reach the Super Bowl in 2011. They can easily extend his contract by giving him a deal in line with D’Brickashaw Ferguson’s recent extension with the Jets.

The Bucs would gain a first-round pick next year and would still have a potential solid starter to help them protect Freeman’s blind side this season. They can sell this trade to their fan base by saying this was a concept deal. Trade a proven asset that was not going to re-sign to a proven contending team and invest in the future.

The Bucs save money, build for the future with a draft asset, and Dallas get its missing piece. For the Cowboys, trading for Penn is a luxury they can afford.

There’s quite a bit more to Lombardi’s story, in which he questions Mark Dominik’s power and ability. Ouch!

Interestingly, Joe proposed a Penn-to-Dallas trade before the NFL Draft – one of very few hypothetical trades Joe publishes – and many commenters in that thread called Joe a circus buffoon for even thinking of such a thing. …Hmmm.

If you read Lombardi’s full take, which is that the Bucs don’t want to pay Penn so they might as well get good value for him, it’s hard to argue with his reasoning.

While it's great that Raheem the Dream has affection of his players, at the end of the day, it's really a non-factor. It's about wins and losses.

Joe was in a conversation this morning with a highly respected Bucs beat writer discussing why some Bucs fans have the torches lit for Raheem the Dream.

Said reporter Joe spoke with claimed that the Raheem the Dream haters are wrong on many levels and one aspect they overlook is how the players love Raheem the Dream.

Joe replied that, in Joe’s eyes, this should be a non-factor and Joe puts zero weight in such a crutch/excuse.

Case in point: Joe isn’t sure he has to remind fans the Bucs lost 13 games last year. If, as this reporter suggests, the team quit on Raheem the Dream or there was a mutiny, what would be the result, the Bucs would have lost 14 games instead?

Now in a perfect world, it’s fantastic the players have so much respect for Raheem the Dream. Joe’s not saying this is a negative in any way. Of course it’s a positive, noble if not coveted trait. But what matters most are results.

Joe doesn’t notice many warm and fuzzies from players who toiled for Tuna Parcells or Bill Belicheat. Joe noticed on the NFL Network’s broadcasts of America’s Game series that to this day Larry Csonka talks about what an ass Don Shula was to play for.

Terry Bradshaw and Chuck Noll were so at odds that Bradshaw nearly wilted under Noll’s boot.

From what Joe can tell, players despised George Halas; Mike Ditka rarely says anything kind about his former coach. It’s well known that Vince Lombardi treated players like dogs.

That’s not to say players must loathe their coaches in order to win. While Bill Walsh was a taskmaster and accepted no mistakes, he treated his players with a great deal of respect and it seems the players respected Walsh just as much.

Joe knows of no insubordination with Joe Gibbs, though Joe Theismann and Gibbs were, for a period, at odds before kissing and making up and thus, winning a Super Bowl together. Kenny Stabler and Phil Villipiano would throw themselves under a moving truck for John Madden the way they speak of their old coach.

For every example of a team liking its coach and winning, Joe can also find an example of a team winning despite possessing a vile hatred of the coach.

So Joe doesn’t count the Bucs liking Raheem the Dream as a positive or a negative. In fact Joe believes it’s a wash.

No matter how much players like or hate a coach, at the end of the day, it’s if you win or lose.

Joe came across an interesting nugget while surfing the net, rounding up Bucs news last night.

It seems former Bucs receiver the White Tiger, Joey Galloway, is in the news, and for all the right reasons. Per Rick Maese of the Washington Post, who covers the Redskins for a living, Galloway began Redskins training camp as the team’s No. 1 receiver, so Maese twittered Thursday, via TheRedZone.com.

Yes, that Joey Galloway, 39-year-old wide receiver Joey Galloway who failed at his last stop with the Patriots and has caught a total of twenty passes in the last two years.

Yeah, the White Tiger is 39, but he’d still be starting if he was with the Bucs. Joe wonders what that high school offensive line coach would have done with the White Tiger if he was still around?

Former Bucs secondary coach and NFL head coach Herm Edwards was chatty last night about the Bucs as he Twittered the night away.

In fact, Herm was in such a good mood, he believes the Bucs have a shot at a solid defense this season.

@reggiellerbe: coach what you think about my Bucs and their D?

@HermEdwardsESPN: I see a big improvement, especially if the 2 young DT play well.

Joe’s not so sure about that. Doesn’t Herm know that rookie defensive tackles struggle? Joe’s been over this too many times to count.

Keeping on the defensive theme, the subject in particular turned to Aqib Talib, the gifted cornerback many believe is on the verge of stardom. While Talib may have some off-field issues, Herm believes victories will help cure Talib of whatever demons he fights away from One Buc Palace.

@RJBrown129: Bucs CB A Talib make the pro bowl?

@HermEdwardsESPN: He has enough talent, can he Keep his focus. It aiso helps when you win and play good D

This is a puzzling take. Does Herm believe the Bucs’ woeful season last year directly contributed to Talib’s, um, incidents? Or is Herm insinuating that Talib wasn’t playing good defense, and that drove Talib off the edge away from football?

Joe has learned that the Cody Grimm mystery that has gripped Bucs fans has come to an end.

The Bucs seventh round pick has signed less than 24 hours before having to report to camp. This nugget of breaking news comes by way of Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune via the TBO Bucs Twitter feed.

The Bucs have agreed to terms on a deal with LB/SS Cody Grimm, the first of their three seventh-round draft picks.

Now that leaves Gerald McCoy, the third overall pick in the 2010 draft, as the lone unsigned Bucs draftee.

At the risk of Joe potentially ascribing a motive, Joe was beginning to wonder if Grimm either wanted to be a rare seventh-round draft pick hold out, or if he just wanted to watch his dad, Russ Grimm, be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame next Saturday.

The way things currently stand, the left side of the Bucs offensive line is a grave concern.

First, Donald Penn is holding out for a better deal from Bucs general manager Mark Dominik, with no end to the standoff in sight.

Then there is Jeremy Zuttah at left guard. As a rookie, he was stellar when filling in for the injured Davin Joseph at right guard. But at left guard filling in for Arron Sears, Zuttah, to be polite, struggled.

That has led Vacation Man of BSPN, an outfit so in bed with jocks that prophylactics are not necessary, to suggest that Zuttah’s starting gig at left guard is hardly secure.

Aphex in New York writes: What are your thoughts on the Buccaneers O line? I think Jeremy Zuttah has a lot to prove… there are rumblings that Zuttah is not physical enough in the power man blocking scheme that the Bucs are getting back to like during the Gruden years.

Vacation Man:  The Bucs weren’t thrilled with Zuttah’s play last year. That’s why they signed Keydrick Vincent, who has a good chance to start. Zuttah could be headed for backup duty.

Whether Vincent is the answer, well, Joe believes time will tell. Joe does believe it’s entirely possible that Zuttah is much better fitted for the right side of the ball. Problem is, there’s a logjam there for Zuttah.

It appears that some people are of the belief that the Bucs are singling out disgruntled Bucs left tackle Donald Penn in a game of chicken between Bucs general manager Mark Dominik and Penn’s legal camp.

Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune writes that premise is utter nonsense, and details why on the TBO.com’s Bucs blog.

Lest you get the idea that disgruntled left tackle Donald Penn is being singled out in some way, the Bucs have made it cleat that they have not entered into long-term contract negotiations with any of their restricted free agents.

Nor, it seems, do they intend to anytime soon.

With training camp reporting day now just a day away, the Bucs appear poised to wait possibly until a new collective bargaining agreement is reached before opening long-term contract talks with their RFAs.

Joe believes Penn is holding out not just for the obvious reasons, but also because, well, training camp sucks. Joe’s guess is Penn shows up sometime after the Jacksonville game (Aug. 28).

By STEVE CAMPBELL
JoeBucsFan.com analyst

Steve Campbell from time to time writes a column for Joe, often dealing with the offensive line. Campbell once upon a time in a different life was an offensive lineman on a prominent BCS college team.

With the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2010 training camp set to open this weekend, there are plenty of things to look forward to. One thing Bucs fans may not be looking forward to is the blindside protection of franchise quarterback Josh Freeman by a converted basketball player who has never started a game.

While the physical attributes of Demar Dotson (6-9, 315) are definitely intriguing, throwing an inexperienced player in at left tackle is suicide in the NFL. And that is exactly what is staring in the face of the Buccaneers right now because of the situation with Donald Penn and his contract.

Penn is not expected to be present Friday when the rest of the Bucs report. The left tackle skipped the entire offseason workout program. He was tendered as a restricted free agent for $3.168 million and when the June deadline passed, the Bucs reduced that offer by $100,000, the most they were allowed to slash it.

The impression I get from the Bucs fans, is that the Bucs are being “cheap” and they ought to break the bank on Penn, because he is a “great” or above average player at a premium position. Unfortunately, when I watch tape of Penn from last season, I don’t see a great or even an above average player.

Looking back, the Buccaneers have had some really poor players manning left tackle. I’m old enough to remember Ed ‘Too Tall’ Jones and Harvey Martin abusing Gene Sanders in the 1981 divsional playoff game in Dallas. From 1988-1999, the Bucs had a very good left tackle in Paul Gruber. Had he not played on such poor teams, Gruber would have been a more household name, but he was more than solid every year he played here. Since, it has been really bad.

Pete Pierson and George Hegamin took turns playing there in the 2000 season. The Bucs then drafted Kenyatta Walker in the first round in 2001 and actually tried to make him a left tackle in his rookie year, even though he played right tackle all three years in college. 

Roman Oben played decently there in the Super Bowl season of 2002 and just average in 2003 before he was on his way to San Diego. The 2004 season brought us the failed Derrick Deese experiment. In 2005 and 2006 it was (gulp) Anthony Davis. Luke Petitgout signed a big deal in 2007, but he hurt his knee in the fourth game and was done for the year.

Which brings us to Penn.

Penn has been the starting left tackle since the fifth game of the 2007 season. Initially, Penn played pretty well for an undrafted free agent with little to no experience. In the first half of the 2008 season, Penn along with the other members of the offensive line, played above average football. The line as a whole regressed as that season went on, and they carried their below average play into the 2009 season. In particular, Penn’s play has regressed over the last couple of years. In both 2008 and 2009, Penn has noticeably gained significant weight in both seasons. Penn was reportedly over 360 pounds at the end of the season.

I’m not a huge fan of statistics to value offensive lineman, but unless you’re watching game film, that’s all you have to go on.

Two websites, ProFootballFocus.com and FootballOutsiders.com do a nice job at breaking down the offensive lines. Here’s what I discovered about the Bucs left tackle holdout: Penn only gave up five sacks in 2009, which is dead middle of the pack for all offensive tackles. But where it gets ugly is allowing quarterback pressures, allowing quarterback hits, and penalties. Of the 75 offensive tackles listed, Penn was ranked 66th, 63rd, and 67th respectively. As a team, the Bucs had the highest yards-per-carry average when they ran off left tackle and around left end. So, Penn is underrated as a run blocker, but way overrated as a pass blocker.

Forgetting all the statistics, I definitely side with the Bucs in this debate.

I don’t really want to invest in a player long term who has the propensity to gain weight as the season goes on. What does it say about a player who gains 60 pounds in a contract year? How much weight would he gain once you broke the bank on him and signed him to a long term deal? Is he really a great left tackle? Sometimes I think we’ve been blinded by so many bad players at that position in Tampa that we think average is great. I keep hearing that we’re going to get Freeman killed. Can Dotson or Xavier Fulton do much worse than 63rd on allowing quarterback hits?

The numbers say Penn is an average player. I think Bucs general manager Mark Dominik wants to see Penn play a whole season at 320 pounds and play well, before he does the long term dance with him.

With outstanding left tackle prospects Gabe Carimi (Wisconsin) and Anthony Castonzo (Boston College) lurking in the April 2011 draft, and the potential for the Bucs to be drafting in the top 10, Penn may want to re-think his stance.

There are all sorts of battles to keep an eye out when training camp begins Saturday for the Bucs. Obviously the biggest one may be safeties Sean Jones and Sabby the Goat. But another battle that piques Joe’s interest is who will start at defensive tackle between second-year Bucs stud Roy Miller and rookie Brian Price.

It seems eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune is of the same mind as Joe. In listening various battles for starting positions, Kaufman also includes the Miller-Price duel.

Roy Miller vs. rookie Brian Price: Miller flashed enough skills in his first pro season to excite Buc coaches about his potential as a 310-pound run stuffer. The former Texas standout will need a strong camp to hold off Price, a disruptive force at UCLA who has a knack for making stops behind the line of scrimmage.

Miller had a pretty solid year last year for a rookie, better than the three defensive tackles drafted in the first round last year. Price is supposed to be an absolute stud. If Price can somehow beat out Miller, Joe believes it’s safe to assume that defensive tackle will be a power position for the Bucs for some time.

Joe’s research as to where “blacked out” Bucs home games would air in greater West Central Florida has hit a road block.

Joe has confirmed from FOX-TV in Cape Coral that the station will air blacked out Bucs games to the greater Fort Myers TV market. As for the Orlando or Gainesville television markets, the Bucs media relations team has not given Joe an answer as to whether fans will be able to view a blacked out game in those regions.  

Joe knows many fans are eager to know how they can watch their beloved Bucs, especially fans who can’t afford to go to a game, let alone enjoy themselves there.

The Bucs are trying their darndest to sell tickets in a tough economy coming off a 3-13 season. But it’s a tough proposition, especially with the Rays poised for an exciting pennant race and very likely a playoff run.

The Bucs have slashed ticket prices for many seats down to as low as $35 for adults, but per Joe’s conversations with the team’s ticket office, those seats are on the east side of the stadium in the upper deck. In other words, those fans will battle the sun in their eyes in addition to heat on many game days.

Those discount seats are still available, and Team Glazer twice mentioning a likelihood of television blackouts publicly should be an indicator that it’s going to happen for the first time since the 1990s. 

Joe will keep pressing to get answers on the blackout parameters for his readers. And Joe also will be rolling out some blackout relief next week.

The great performance X factor for most NFL teams, especially those as painfully thin as the Bucs, is injuries.

A few key guys on the shelf can nearly destroy an entire defense or offense (See Sean Mayhem circa 2009).

JoeBucsFan.com analyst Steve White, author of the heralded Bull Rush column and his own Passing On The Game blog, breaks down the Bucs defense in advance of training camp and is quite certain the 2010 edition will be give teams “major headaches,” if it can stay healthy.

White analyzes position by position on his blog. Joe’s giving you an excerpt of the look at linebackers, but you can check the whole thing out here.

The three starters at linebackers are pretty entrenched right now. It appears that Coach Morris has big plans for Quincy Black as the starting Sam linebacker, Barrett Ruud is primed to have a career year, and Geno Hayes in his second year as a starter may be on the cusp of big things. I like all three players and I think Hayes in particular may have a break out year. But after those guys there are a lot of question marks.

Adam Heyward is probably the most versatile of the backups and a guy the Bucs actually would trust if he were pressed into action. But while he is physical he doesn’t have the kind of size nor speed that you look for in a starting NFL linebacker. Then you have Jon Alston and Niko Koutouvides who will probably get first dibs on the other two backup linebacker spots but neither guy is anything special. I know a lot of people are high on late draft pick Dekoda Watson but I am not sold on how quickly he will transition from the college game. Instead I think he along with fellow rookie Rico McCoy will have opportunities to make their name on special teams this year.

Last year we kept seven linebackers and at the moment we have nine on the roster. Only two guys are going to be cut, but at this point that could be anybody not named Black, Ruud, or Hayes.

In 2009, Mark Dominik proudly pronounced that linebacker was where the greatest competition was on the Bucs.  “It’s probably our strongest position on our football team, suprisingly I bet to a lot of our fans. That our depth and our talent is pretty good there,” Dominik said. “So that’s a good battleground to watch during training camp if you want to see some real competition.”

Joe remembers those days, when Jermaine Phillips was in line to take over for Derrick Brooks and never-was-healthy Angelo Crowell was the big offseason free agent signing on defense and poised to be the strong side linebacker.

It’s a new season, though, and the Bucs have no competition for their young starting linebackers. 

White’s spot on when he expresses concern about depth at that position.

As the sobering reality of a Bucs preseason without Donald Penn to protect Josh Freeman sets in, Mark Dominik offered some soothing words for Bucs fans, so documented The Mad Twitterer, of the St. Pete Times.

Dominik reminds Bucs fans that there’s likely a great battle to begin at left tackle come Saturday’s first day in pads at training camp.

“Penn still is considerd a teammate and a member of our football team and I hope there is a resolution sooner rather than later. But we’re looking forward to seeing what Dotson, Xavier Fulton and James Lee can do. It’s an open competition.”

See, wasn’t that soothing?

Joe’s just not sure how Freeman can develop like he needs to in preseason games without a legitimate left tackle. Hopefully, it won’t get that far.

Taking a break this morning from ascribing motives — what some suggest Joe does — Joe came across an interesting piece by Anwar Richardson, of the Tampa Tribune, who detailed five Bucs players with something to prove.

Predictably, blocking icon Michael Clayton was atop the list. The former first round draft pick has, in Richardson’s words, vanished from his studly rookie season and is on the verge of not making the squad this year.

Clayton’s main objective should not be becoming a starter this season, but actually making the 54-man roster. Clayton has done a vanishing act since his 2004 rookie season. In April, Tampa Bay drafted rookie receivers Arrelious Benn and Mike Williams to compete for a starting spot, and they traded for Reggie Brown. Clayton typically shines during camp, but he could be the odd man out.

This intrigued Joe. Clayton may very well get caught in a numbers game but Joe believes Bucs general manager Mark Dominik will give Clayton one more chance. Perhaps Clayton could help himself, as Richardson believes, by changing his goals?

Clayton is clearly a physical player as evidenced by his solid blocking. Maybe he could be a special teams warrior, a demon coming down on kickoffs or someone who could blow up would-be blockers on the punt return team and block some punts?

Maybe there is still hope for the Bucs blocking icon?

For those obsessed with Team Glazer’s financials and how that may or may not relate to the Bucs, Joe provides occasional updates on all things Glazer kickball.

Manchester United is touring the U.S. right now. Its last stop in Kansas City turned out a cool 53,343 to Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday. Quite a shame that NFL icon and crazed soccer junkie Lamar Hunt didn’t live to see that. (Uhh, thanks for not bringing Tampa a game and boatloads of tourists and cash for the local economy).

And now Manchester United moves on to play tonight in Houston against a Major League Soccer all-star team at a nearly sold-out 71,000-seat Reliant Stadium.

Last week, a report from the Telegraph, an England fishwrap, said Team Glazer already had sold 50,000+ season tickets for the upcoming Manchester United season and was in-line with its ticket sales goals despite threats of a boycott by angry fans.

So that’s your morning Team Glazer news.

Many Bucs fans can now continue resting comfortably knowing that “money will never be an issue” when it comes to building the Bucs into a lasting contender.

Dave "Big Poppy" Ortiz

As Joe is confident most of you know, he has a working relationship with Clear Channel Radio that Joe is quite proud of if not humbled by. Joe trusts that the good people on Gandy Blvd. will let him speak warmly of a couple of employees at a CBS station today; just this once.

Today is a somber day for local sports radio, and for Joe in particular. “Big Poppy,” otherwise known as Dave Ortiz, the producer and sidekick of J.P. Peterson’s “Happy Hour With J.P.,” is leaving the Tampa Bay area. His last day on the air is Friday but he will be working a celebration of sorts today.

That is, if you call drinking at Hooters “work.” Ortiz’s final remote is at Channelside Hooters today which will also serve as a going away party.

Joe is somber because a great deal of the success Joe enjoys is indirectly if not directly due to Ortiz.

Not quite two years ago, Joe started out with no traffic and scant people even knew this site existed. But Joe started to become known widespread because of Ortiz. Joe now boasts millions of visitors.

Joe first met Ortiz before JoeBucsFan.com was created when J.P. invited Joe to do a radio spot on a May afternoon. Just hours prior, Joe had broken a national story concerning then-Florida State football coach Bobby Bowden and current Bucs rookie wide receiver/return man Preston Parker that appeared on TBO.com.

It seems Parker, then an incoming junior at Florida State, was pinched with a handgun at home in South Florida. Parker’s sin was that the weapon was not registered.

Earlier that day Bowden was golfing in Tarpon Springs and told Joe he wasn’t offended by Parker’s actions. In so many words, Bowden said he was under the impression law-abiding adults in Florida can legally own handguns, though adding Parker should have registered the gun.

Bowden went on to say he didn’t blame Parker for carrying a gun because “in some areas you have to. You have to protect your family.” This of course made national headlines and it was Joe who broke the story first on TBO.com.

After Joe’s appearance with J.P., Ortiz came up to him and told Joe how much he liked Joe’s interaction with J.P. and asked Joe if he could come on the air from time to time to talk sports. Joe agreed.

Fast forward three months and this very site was born. Joe called Ortiz to ask if he and J.P. might be looking to kill airtime amd talk about this site. Ortiz said he’d study the site and call him back. Ortiz did. Joe explained this site isn’t exactly MSM and Ortiz said, “That’s just what I’m looking for. I don’t want to produce a show that’s just like everybody else. I’m looking for a different perspective.”

(Joe is confident his many displays of Carmella Garcia is what won over Ortiz.)

And Joe began weekly spots with J.P. to talk Bucs, often on Fridays.

It was those spots, and Joe’s content, that helped pique the interest of Clear Channel, which spawned Joe’s current exclusive working relationship that Joe has today.

Joe started with very little. He grew quickly thanks to Ortiz. Joe is a lot of things but being an ingrate isn’t one of them. Joe doesn’t forget when people help him out.

Ortiz has taken a position as a producer with The Sporting News Radio Network where he will enjoy a substancial raise. The only drawback is that Ortiz has to move to Houston. At least now, with a newborn baby son Dominic Brooks (named for Derrick Brooks), and his wife Karla, Big Poppy (that’s how Ortiz spells it) will now have health insurance for the star linebacker in Florida State’s recruiting class of 2029.

Strangely, Ortiz’s main duty will be as the executive producer for the Todd Wright Show, which is broadcast out of the St. Petersburg studios of WQYK, yet Ortiz will be moving from Pinellas County to Houston to produce a show broadcast from St. Petersburg.

Yeah, Joe knows. Odd.

At any rate, Big Poppy, Joe does not and will not forget. Joe will also keep in touch. Big Poppy is one of the true good guys in the media business. He’s a teddy bear of a guy. In a genre with posers and out-and-out con artists, two locally in particular that Joe won’t name, Ortiz is the polar opposite, just a genuine nice guy. Joe doesn’t know if Big Poppy has a cross word to say about anybody.

If anyone is in the neighborhood of Channelside Hooters this afternoon, there will be a going away party for Ortiz. Please stop by and say goodbye to Big Poppy.

He will be missed.

Now here’s a reason to click on this darn link to visit BucGear.com and buy a Gerald McCoy jersey:

Mark Dominik is negotiating to sign the defensive tackle rookie manbeast and doesn’t think Sam Bradford’s deal needs to get done first, so reports the Mad Twitterer, of the St. Pete Times.

Dominik said Tuesday that he is in ‘active negotiations,’ with McCoy’s agent, Ben Dogra, on either a five or six year deal.

Dogra’s firm, CAA, also represents Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford, the first overall pick by the Rams. Dominik dismissed the perception that Bradford must be signed before McCoy, who was selected third overall. But he admits Bradford’s deal could serve as a baseline for the market.

Who is Joe to quibble with Dominik thinking he can get a deal done with McCoy, the No. 3 pick, before Sam Bradford or Ndamukong Suh get signed?

Good luck, Dominik. Joe hopes it’s a swift process.

Bucs fans are getting buckled up for a painful season, and McCoy missing a chunk of training camp would surely make things feel worse.

The countdown to the start of Bucs training camp continues. Saturday is scheduled to be the first day. 

But looking across the NFL landscape, few first round draft picks have signed. Yet.

It’s a leverage tug-of-war between agents and owners. Agents are trying to get long-term deals for their clients. Cash-starved owners are trying to sign first round picks to shorter contracts.

This has not escaped the keen eyes of the TBO.com gang, specifically Anwar Richardson and Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune. In the latest TBO Bucs vlog, the duo discuss McCoy’s contract negotiations.

Just don’t expect him in camp for a few days.

First, Joe has to caution you: the audio in the vlog is not of a high quality so don’t go beating up your computer thinking it’s on the fritz. Second, is that some sort of Chad Pennington Jets shirt Richardson is wearing?