Arena

Ex-Storm players primed for 'statement' matchup

A trio of Buffalo receivers hopes to leave Tampa Bay with regrets for trading them.

By FRANK PASTOR
© St. Petersburg Times
published March 8, 2003

TAMPA -- Call it a homecoming of sorts, the kind where you kick in the door, beat up your brothers and knock over the trash can as you leave.

When Buffalo receivers Gunnard Twyner, Sir Mawn Wilson and James Bowden return to the St. Pete Times Forum tonight to face their former team, the Storm, what follows will be part game, part grudge match.

There has not been a reunion like this since the last Dallas movie.

"They've got a couple of our castoffs that are going to come down here, and this is their game, baby," Storm coach Tim Marcum said. "This is the game that they've already made a statement."

Translated loosely, that statement is, "How do you like me now?"

After struggling to establish a niche or, in Wilson's case, get on the field in Tampa Bay, Twyner and Wilson appear to have found homes in Buffalo.

"I wasn't given the opportunity and Sir Mawn Wilson wasn't given the opportunity to succeed in Tampa," Twyner said. "Now, we want to show everyone in Tampa, 'We were here, this is what you had, and this is what you ain't got no more."'

Storm fans might not recognize the pair.

Twyner, inconsistent in two seasons with Tampa Bay, has thrived as Buffalo's offensive specialist. He ranks second in the league in yards per catch (16.2), sixth in receiving yards (517), ninth in receptions (32) and 10th in receiving touchdowns (nine).

"He's their go-to man," Marcum said. "He's a talented receiver, no question about it."

Wilson, plagued by injuries during three years with the Storm, had nine receptions for 88 yards and three touchdowns last season. The Tampa Catholic graduate has matched (nine receptions) or surpassed (104 yards) those numbers in four games with Buffalo.

Bowden was traded after a 2001 season in which he accounted for 2,550 all-purpose yards and 30 touchdowns and earned second-team All-Arena honors. He signed with Buffalo on Tuesday.

Destroyers coach Ron Selesky also has Storm ties.

Selesky served as Tampa Bay's director of player personnel from 1997-99. He returned in the same capacity for a month in the offseason then became Buffalo's coach.

Though his second stint with the Storm was short, Selesky helped attract players such as Kelvin Kinney, Gary Compton and Clif Dell and re-sign John Kaleo and Lawrence Samuels.

"When (the opening) came up, I talked to Coach Marcum about it, and he helped solidify my decision and said if you get an opportunity to be a head coach and it makes sense not only for me but my family, too, I'd be a fool not to take it," Selesky said.

Though his players have their reasons for wanting to win, Selesky said the game has a larger meaning for his team after last week's 40-13 loss to Chicago.

"The reason why this game is so important isn't because it's the Tampa Bay Storm," Selesky said. "It's because we're coming off a big loss where we got egg on our face and didn't play up to our potential, and we need to do the right things to be able to get back on track."

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