I have seen players for the past 30 years abuse officials verbally in NFL games, and very seldom is a fine mentioned. I did see Warren Sapp's "incidental contact" with an official as he skipped onto the field. He only brushed this guy (he didn't even move or stagger at the time), and for them to levy a $50,000 fine on Sapp just for that and verbiage is garbage.
I do hope that he appeals and gets to tell his side.
It just points out what my wife and I have noted for years: The Bucs get more penalty attention than most other teams.
An example is the Simeon Rice call for "leaping" to block a field goal. That's almost never called. You see that in a lot of games and there's never a penalty called.
-- Jim Wright, Clearwater
In regards to Gary Shelton's column (Mighty have fallen, and America loves it, Oct. 12), I'm not so sure it has as much to do with the team as it does the fans. The entire football world knows that these self-proclaimed "diehards" were nowhere to be found during the pre-Dungy era, when the team was lucky to pull off a handful of wins each season. It is these kinds of fans who draw the ire of real football fans, because everyone knows that the Bucs are saddled with a fan base that consists mostly of bandwagon jumpers.
The same can be said of the Lightning, which had to win a few playoff games to get people to come out to see it.
In my opinion, that is the worst kind of sports fan and one who deserves any and all ridicule that comes his way.
I respect the Bucs as a very good football team, but watching them lose brings me a certain sense of joy. The team deserves to win, but the fans don't.
-- James Walker, Clearwater
When will Warren Sapp stand up and accept responsibility for his words and deeds? Instead, he offers more excuses than a juvenile caught with his finger in the pie.
-- Don Donlon, South Pasadena
I think Warren Sapp deserves the $50,000 fine. I watched his "bumping" of the referee. It was deliberate. The ref had his back to Sapp and there was plenty of room to go around him. Sapp chose to bump him. His arrogant tactics and trash talk are obnoxious and I'm surprised he has gotten away with it as long as he has.
-- Dorothy Karkheck, Dunedin
With all the focus on LaVar Arrington wanting to "get" Warren Sapp and the Bucs, Brad Johnson had a score of his own to settle, playing one of his best games as he used a bunch of reserves and castoffs to shred an overanxious Redskins defense. And no doubt causing brash Redskins owner Dan Snyder to shake his head and muse, "Gee, why can't I find a quarterback like that?"
-- Frank Achinelli, Palm Harbor
The Cubs and Red Sox made the playoffs.
The Buccaneers offense is rated higher than the defense.
If the Bucs special teams can start producing and actually return a kickoff for a touchdown, the world will be coming to an end soon.
-- Craig Roberts, Zephyrhills
[Last modified October 19, 2003, 02:03:50]
