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Sites for Sapp, Brooks show their differences

As Bucs opponents will attest, Warren Sapp and Derrick Brooks are dangerous on a football field. New official sites for them, however, present two different personas off the field.

Sapp's qbkiller.com (though quarterbackkilla.com works too) is as brash and loud as No. 99 himself. One highlight is "Tha Hit List," which shows mug shots of each week's opposing quarterback with an X over those he has sacked. The list also updated the Week 16 victim-in-waiting to show new Steelers starter Tommy Maddox. "Tha Latest" has a photo of Sapp bearing down on Browns quarterback Tim Couch.

Brooks' site, hit55.net, is also a fitting reflection for a former NFL man of the year. "Put God first in all you do," the site's main title reads, "and treat others the way you want them to treat you."

But his site misses the golden rule of the Internet: Keep things fresh. "Tha latest newz" has Brooks looking forward to a trip to Atlanta, which was two weeks ago. His latest sound bites are from the Bucs' game against St. Louis, in Week 3.

Both players opted to switch their sites to a different local company this summer after fans were redirected to a site advertising betting and ticket scalping. The new company, Studio 4 Nineteen, is based in Tampa and run by 30-year-old Pete Larios. Simeon Rice also uses Larios' company..

"The biggest thing you see with athlete sites is that they just don't get involved," said Larios, who launched his company last year. "We've got three guys who really care about their sites."

Of the three, Rice seems to be enjoying his site (simeonrice97.com) most, contributing his insights with music, movie and automobile reviews. Eminem tops his CD list, though he gives the rapper a "personal foul ... for dissing his mother on the album."

Movies? He gives a "First and Goal" to Road to Perdition and Spider-Man while tossing a 15-yard personal foul to XXX and Signs. As for cars, Rice says the 2002 Ferrari 360 Modena is "sleek, fast, exotic and just simply stunning." We'll take his word for it.

Asked about the site after Sunday's game, Rice said: "It's cool. It's strictly me. I work right with the site on everything, and I think it gives people a better indication of what I'm about. It's a lot of fun."

Sapp's site, however, is missing his personal touch.Half the fun with Sapp is wondering what will come out of his mouth next, so how about having a column? "Stats are for losers," Sapp says in an interview clip from after Sunday's game, but his site doesn't seem to mind showing off his numbers. In addition to year-by-year statistics, there's a "Victims" chart that shows how Sapp's 70.5 career sacks are shared among 33 quarterbacks, from Brett Favre (8) to little-known Jeff Brohm (0.5).

Studio 4 Nineteen (studio419.com) also is producing the official sites for two Tampa Bay Lightning athletes at bradrichards19.com and vincentlecavalier.com. Both should be up in the next month.

TID-BYTES: NBA.com conducted a survey of league general managers, who say Orlando's Tracy McGrady is the top small forward. Sixty-one percent picked the Lakers to win the title, and Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal tied as the most popular pick for MVP. ... On the new merchandise page at fireronzook.com, $7 gets you a Christmas ornament that has the site's name and reads: "Because the SEC already has one Vandy."

-- If you have a question or comment about the Internet or a site to suggest, e-mail staff writer Greg Auman at auman@sptimes.com .

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