One stunner from Mark Dominik’s news conference today, especially for Joe who talked to Brian Price in Bradenton last month, was Dominik saying that Price “looked good” today at the facility.

Dominik clearly was speaking in the context of Price’s health, not regarding his threads or tattoos.

Joe’s hopeful, but hardly about to count on Price and his return from a freakish, serious injury. In case you missed it, here’s a late-June interview with Price from JoeBucsFan TV:

Sounds like Raheem won't get his quarterback

As one might expect, Bucs rockstar general manager was peppered with questions today about Barrett Ruud at his 4 o’clock news conference. The GM was given every opportunity to give Ruud an endorsement, but it never happened.

Instead, Dominik deflected some questions about Ruud toward discussion of “Mike linebacker” Mason Foster.

Maybe Dominik’s focus on Foster was more contract negotiating ploy than anything else, but that remains to be seen. However, the GM previously had repeatedly said through the offseason that a priority was re-signing his own free agents.

Dominik announced that Foster has signed a four-year contract, and Dominik said he’s very confident that his coaching staff has proven itself with young players last year.

“Young players will be able to blend in quickly,” Dominik said. “In four weeks, [Ted Larsen] was our starting guard.”

Dominik went on to cite Larsen, LeGarrette Blount and Dezmon Briscoe has proof guys can develop and be ready to play at a high level quickly.

After hearing the news conference, Joe would put the odds of Ruud returning at about 10 percent.

Bucs wide receiver Arrelious Benn talks about his battle back from a knee injury and how he passed the Bucs physical today in this St. Petersburg Times video.

Bucs rockstar general manager Mark Dominik will entertain all kinds of questions from the media today at 4 p.m.

Surely, someone will ask him why Aqib Talib hasn’t been cut yet, as the St. Pete Times reported would happen when the lockout was lifted.

Dominik hasn’t spoken publicly in a while, and Joe suspects lots of good nuggets will come out of this. Of course, Joe will keep you updated here.

You can listen live to Dominik via Joe’s partners at WDAE-AM 620, and on the station website, 620wdae.com. Josh Freeman also will be a guest on 620 right after Dominik on The Steve Duemig Show.

Former Bucs defensive tackle Chris Hovan, the renowned face painter who blew out his back in a few short moments while on the St. Louis Rams last year, is looking for a new job — in the NFL.

Hovan joined The Fabulous Sports Babe Show today on 1040 AM to talk all things football, free agency and more.

Asked whether he wears face paint around the house, Hovan said, ‘No.’ But he did say he sometimes paints up during a good old fashioned animal hunt. In fact, Hovan said he was donning face paint recently when he shot a wildebeest. And Hovan went on to say he slightly likens hunting to the kill-or-be-killed mindset needed on the football field.

This took Joe back a bit. To the best of Joe’s knowledge, the wildebeest only patrols the African terrain. Joe’s just trying to get a visual of Hovan bringing face paint through customs, or shopping for it among the locals in, say, Tanzania.

Now that Joe’s got that off his chest, Hovan went on to say the Bucs’ young defensive line is just a bunch of “puppies.” He said Roy Miller, his former Bucs teammate, is a very hard worker, but Hovan doesn’t see anyone on the line being able to step up this year and solve the Bucs’ woes against the run.

Real football chatter and free agency rumors were the talk of the morning on “The Blitz,” co-hosted by Adam Schein and Rich Gannon, heard exclusively on SiriusXM NFL Radio today.

Various free agents on the market were discussed and when it came to Bucs middle linebacker Barrett Ruud, the duo were quite clear: If the Bucs are to make the next step and get to the playoffs, signing Ruud is a simply must, even if Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik has to overspend to ensure Ruud does not bolt the Tampa Bay area.

Adam Schein: Barrett Ruud is one of the best free agents out there. I believe this Rich. Tampa has to spend some money. Why not spend it on Barrett Ruud?

Rich Gannon: I like Barrett Ruud a lot. He’s not a sexy linebacker. He’s not an explosive tackler. But you get leadership with Barrett Ruud and you get intelligence to make the right calls. There’s a comfort level between him and Raheem Morris and that defense. The Bucs are too good to let him go. They are on the verge of a playoff run. They have to sign Barrett Ruud.

But here’s the glaring element both Schein and Gannon missed: Let’s say Ruud walks, upset the way he is crucified locally, largely unjustly. Imagine the Bucs defense being called by a rookie linebacker playing out of position, who has never had a rookie minicamp or even an OTA under his belt, with so many inexperienced defensive linemen playing in front of him? That has disaster written all over it.

Or, say, for the sake of argument, Ruud bolts the Tampa Bay area and the Bucs are able to lure Paul Posluszny from Buffalo. Free agents are not allowed to work out with their new team until Aug. 4. Poz hasn’t played in a 43 defense of any sort since he was a junior at Penn State when he was the national defensive player of the year. So Poz is going to be able to learn the Bucs defense in five weeks? Of course he won’t.

Like it or not, popular decision or an outrage to fans, the absolute best thing for the Bucs in this zany, unprecedented offseason is to re-sign Ruud, even if it requires overpaying the man.

Either way, Dominik pays through the nose financially, or Raheem Morris and the Bucs pay with a porous defensive front that may remind Bucs fans of the horrific sieve that was the Jim Bates Experience.

As Joe first reported last week, it is now official. Bucs preseason broadcasts have moved to WTSP-TV Channel 10.

What Joe did not know last week, however, was who would be the duo in the booth for the Bucs.

Recently, the broadcast duo was Chris Myers and John Lynch. TBO.com confirmed the duo would return to the booth for Bucs preseason TV broadcasts.

The broadcast team will remain the same as it has been the past two years, Bucs co-chairman Bryan Glazer said in a news release, with Chris Myers handling the play-by-play and former Bucs standout John Lynch providing color analysis.

Joe is happy Lynch is back. The man is damned good behind the mic. Joe wonders if roller derby girl Nicole Darin or Tammie Fields may prance the sidelines as the on-field reporter?

Showing up to Lambeau Field this morning, soon-to-be free agent linebacker Nick Barnett learned from Packers general manager Ted Thompson that his days in Green Bay are done, short of him re-signing for the league minimum.

If the Packers cannot find a suitor in a trade for Barnett, he will be released, the ninth-year veteran said.

The Packers starting inside linebacker appeared on “The Blitz” with Adam Schein and Rich Gannon, heard exclusively on SiriusXM NFL Radio, and said there are four teams he wants to play for:

San Diego.

Tampa Bay.

Philadelphia.

New York Giants.

Barnett said he wanted to play for one of those four teams, if released, because “those teams are one step away from a Super Bowl and I want to play in a Super Bowl.’

Gannon asked Barnett whether with a new defense and unable to practice with his new team until Aug. 4, if that was enough time to learn a new defense. Barnett didn’t think that was much of a factor.

“If I was in my second year, yeah, but this is my ninth year,” Barnett said. “Picking up terminology, having gone through four different coordinators and playing a 4-3 and a 2-3, I can get the terminology down.”

Asked if he was healthy by Gannon, Barnett emphatically barked, “110 percent healthy!”

Though few knew whether Barnett would be cut or not, Barnett to the Bucs is not really a novel concept. If Barrett Ruud truly is fed up with the haters in the area and wants a new home, and Paul Posluszny is locked up by the Bills, Barnett wouldn’t be a bad addition by the Bucs.

Barnett to the Bucs is hardly a novel concept. The way Joe looks at it, sans Ruud, the Bucs could do much worse than Barnett.

Perhaps the famous Gene Deckerhoff scream, “Run, Micheal, Run,” will take on a new meaning this week for Bucs wide receiver/return man Micheal Spurlock.

As in Run, Micheal, Run — out of town.

Per Pat Yasinskas, NFC South blogger for ESPN.com, the Bucs only slapped a right-of-first-refusal tender on Spurlock, as opposed to other restricted free agents that got much higher tenders, meaning the Bucs were far more interested in protecting — and paying — other guys.

Tampa Bay has six restricted free agents. Kicker Connor Barth and tackle James Lee would bring second-round draft picks if they leave. Defensive tackle Frank Okam would bring a fifth-round pick and safety Corey Lynch would bring a sixth-round pick. Cornerback Elbert Mack and receiver Micheal Spurlock come only with the right of first refusal.

Joe’s a bit squeamish about Spurlock not getting the love. The guy made a pile of big catches (17 total for 250 yards), knows all the receiver positions, and is an above average kick and punt returner.

Sure, the Bucs have another quality return option in Sammie Stroughter, and Preston Parker might get there with more work (assuming he makes the roster).

Spurlock could still come back, but Joe is preparing to say goodbye to an historic Bucs figure, the man who finally took a kick return to the house. Joe suspects Rich Bisaccia is working the phones.

There seems to be confirmation of the Bucs’ first big raise of the offseason. That salary floor is getting within range of binoculars!

The cash goes to solid kicker Connor Barth, who the Bucs made a wealthy young man with a restricted free agent tender, so reports Stephen Holder of the St. Pete Times.

Barth, who said he is anxious to rejoin the team and excited to stay in Tampa, said his understanding is his tender comes with a salary of roughly $1.9 million, a considerable salary for a young kicker in the NFL.

The last kicker the Bucs paid that kind of dough was Mike Nugent, and that didn’t turn out well back in 2009. But the silver lining was Barth arriving off the scrap heap, and he belted three 50-yarders in one game that year, which certainly sold Joe.

Kickers are typically a wacky, inconsistent breed, but hopefully the Bucs have struck gold with this kid.

Of course, the most polarizing Bucs news in the next week will be the signing — or non-signing — of Mr. Barrett Ruud.

Joe’s heard Home Depot is already running low on tiki torches and other angry-march-friendly flammable items.

One man sure to lose it if Ruud re-signs is former Bucs guard Ian Beckles, the WDAE-AM 620 radio personality who thinks Ruud is softer than silk. Beckles continually finds new ways to explain his disdain for Ruud’s play, as he did on the air Monday.

“In all the years I’ve been around football, I’ve never heard of a finesse middle linebacker. [The Bucs] broke that mold,” Beckles said.

Joe’s never heard of a finesse middle linebacker, either. And maybe there is no such thing.

Regardless, Joe expects the Bucs to offer Ruud exactly what they think he’s worth.

Into the wee hours of the morning Bucs rock star general manager and his minions continued to gather up undrafted free agents and another player that caught Joe’s eye was a running back from Oklahoma, Mossis Madu, per the Twitter feed of NFLDraftInsider, who was keeping a running log of undrafted free agents.

Looking at his numbers, Madu seemed to peak as an underclassman but that was partially because he switched positions in the backfield and sort of struggled. Why would he switch positions if he was any good? Well, the Sooners had some tailback named DeMarco Murray on the roster.

The NFL is littered with quality players who were buried on a college depth chart because the guy ahead of them was an All-American. In fact, Joe remembers a quarterback who won a Super Bowl for the Bucs who once was buried on the bench at Florida State.

As far as the undrafted free agents who have agreed to terms with the Bucs, Madu piques Joe’s interest the most.

Joe wants to take a moment to welcome readers new and old to his not-so-humble home on the Internet.

Joe sees his traffic meter reaching new heights today, plus bile, fury and excitement brewing in the comments. The end of the asinine lockout has brought back some familiar names and Joe has approved many new posters.

As the post-lockout insanity takes its full form Tuesday, with teams signing undrafted free agents, Joe just wants to let it be known that Joe reports a hell of a lot here, but ultimately Joe only fires off what he finds interesting. And that’s not every last snoozer of a transaction.

But Joe will be break his ass to bring you all things Bucs, including intriguing information on undrafted free agents — Joe’s already started — and especially when it comes to restricted and unrestricted free agency (starting Friday) and training camp (also starting Friday), and all the usual pile of diverse stuff delivered here.

Joe doesn’t sleep.

The next week will be unprecedented in NFL history, and Joe expects it will result in its share of theatrics right on JoeBucsFan.com.

Welcome, 2011.

Word is beginning to trickle out about at least one guy Bucs rock star general manager Mark Domink has agreed to terms with as an undrafted free agent — undrafted free agents cannot be signed until tomorrow.

Thanks to Twitter, Joe learned that Tennessee middle linebacker Nick Reveiz has agreed to terms with the Bucs.

Interesting that Reveiz played middle linebacker in a Tampa-2 coached by none other than former Bucs defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin.

Though you don’t expect much from an undrafted free agent, with no OTAs or rookie minicamps this year, Reveiz, given his background, should have a shorter learning curve than most.

Arguably Reveiz’s best game last season came in a lopsided loss to Alabama in which he had four solo tackles and seven assists. In his final college game against North Carolina, Reveiz blew up with 11 solo tackles.

"It's time to ... put your face on people."

Saliva soaking your keyboard as you yearn to watch Bucs football?

Joe feels your pain.

So Joe is ecstatic to report the Bucs will be practicing Friday at 5:15 p.m at One Buc Palace and the session will be open to the public.

Yes, you can watch the Bucs!!! (And hopefully Team Glazer will request the cheerleaders entertain, as well.)

Friday will be the first of nine public sessions, including a night session on Saturday, Aug. 6, at the C.I.T.S., which will conclude with a fireworks show. Way cool.

Major kudos to the Bucs for going so fan-friendly and accessible in what will be a rather bizarre training camp, courtesy of the formerly asinine lockout.

Per Buccaneers.com, practice details could change, but fans will not need tickets, as in past years.

The team’s official site will also feature Training Camp guidelines, including parking information and a map of One Buccaneer Place that allows visitors to familiarize themselves with the layout before arriving.

Joe will keep you updated, as always, but here’s the current open-practice schedule: 
 
Friday, July 29                         5:15 – 7:15 p.m.
Saturday, July 30                     2:30 – 4:35 p.m.
Sunday, July 31                       5:15 – 7:15 p.m.
Monday, August 1                   5:15 – 7:15 p.m.
Wednesday, August 3              2:30 – 4:35 p.m.
Friday, August 5                       2:30 – 4:35 p.m.
Saturday, August 6                  7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
Tuesday, August 9                  2:30 – 4:35 p.m.
Sunday, August 14                 2:30 – 4:35 p.m.

What a beautiful thing.

Joe’s a Jeremy Zuttah fan. Joe doesn’t hide it, and didn’t last year when Joe was standing on the roof pounding the drum in the preseason for Zuttah to play over Keydrick Vincent.

Remember him?

For the life of Joe, he can’t understand why some fans aren’t high on 25-year-old Zuttah, who has performed well at three positions on the offensive line in his first three seasons — and can also play a fourth position, tackle, where he played at Rutgers.

Last year, it just so happened that the Bucs offense didn’t miss a beat — and improved — when Zuttah took over for injured center Jeff Faine after eight games.

But don’t expect Faine to lose his starting center job to Zuttah, said former Bucs guard Ian Beckles during the Ron and Ian Show today on WDAE-AM 620.

“When are they going to battle, really? You can’t wear Jeff Faine out in training camp for the sake [of competition,]” Beckles said. “Sometimes you’re so valuable as a backup you won’t start. … It’s not fair, but that’s the way it is. I’ve seen that before.”

Beckles went on to make the point that Zuttah is so versatile that he allows the Bucs to dress eight offensive linemen instead of nine, which is a huge benefit and allows for another active special teams specialist.

Joe would prefer to see Faine and Zuttah slug it out and let the best man win, but if Zuttah’s not in the Bucs long term plan at center, then maybe they’re best off with him backing up Faine until they can perhaps grab the center of the future in the 2012 draft.

Being the dogged reporter he is, Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune is snooping around One Buc Palace, trying to pick up any morsel of information that, per reports, this asinine lockout seems to be in its final hours.

And there is evidence of such, per Cummings on his Twitter feed.

Meanwhile, over at One Buc Place, it’s beginning to look a lot like training camp. Fields are lined, fan seating is up.

Good to read that. Joe will have more later this afternoon when he has time to cobble together coherent thoughts.

Right now the best Joe can describe his thoughts about this asinine lockout ending is the experience of reaching the cashier after a horrible wait in line for a beer at the The CITS.

For the legions of Bucs fans near orgasm at the thought of Nnamdi Asomugha possibly wearing a Bucs uniform this week, Joe presents John Clayton’s latest from BSPN.

“The Professor” took a look at premier free agents and assessed their situations for BSPN.com. He claims the Bucs will be wooing Asomugha.

1. Nnamdi Asomugha, CB, Oakland Raiders: Julius Peppers topped last year’s market because of his ability to sack the quarterback. Asomugha, 30, the headliner of this free-agent class, closes off his side of the field to quarterbacks. Over the past three seasons, only 52 passes were completed against him. Like Charles Woodson, who left the Raiders to join the Packers, Asomugha has the type of body that could allow him to play until his mid-30s.

Leading suitors: Houston, Tampa Bay. Dark horses: Baltimore, San Francisco

Repeatedly, Joe’s been clear that the Bucs have far greater needs than cornerback, let alone one in the $18 million salary range.

But an X-factor here could be Raheem Morris’ desires and role as defensive coordinator/head coach/secondary guru. Maybe Raheem thinks he can win a Super Bowl with the greatest collection of defensive backs talent in modern times, which he very well might have if Asomugha comes to Tampa and Aqib Talib avoids the hatchet of Roger Goodell.