Joey Galloway's favorite movie is Clash of the Titans. Shelton Quarles likes to write calligraphy. The best advice Ronde Barber has ever heard? "Don't get beat deep."
It's amazing the things you learn when you give NFL players the forum to say whatever they want. With a ton of interviews and player journals, fans can pick up inside -- albeit sometimes random -- insights from the players themselves at nflplayers.com.
Every Bucs player has a page, and while some just have the basic height-weight vitals, many have interviews and journals, some as recent as a week or two. Earlier this month, cornerback Brian Kelly wrote about how he was wearing a face shield in preseason camp because his nose was badly sunburned in the August sun last year.
"It's killing me right now because I've dropped about two balls trying to wear that thing," wrote Kelly, reassuring fans he won't be wearing it during the regular season.It's a site even the most ardent Bucs fans might not know about, which might be why players are often candid in their entries. Former Bucs safety John Lynch opened up in March after he signed with the Broncos, happy to find how warmly his new team embraced him. Of Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer, Lynch wrote: "My son's name is Jake, and he has a picture of Jake Plummer hanging in his room that says "From one Jake to another. Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be strong safeties. Start throwing."
Lesser-known players have some of the most honest and impressive journal entries. Safety Scott Frost, a star quarterback at Nebraska whom the Bucs released during camp, wrote about how Derrick Brooks is the greatest player he has ever lined up with, about how "I dream about taking a snap in the NFL," but also about how he has learned that "football is what we do, but not who we are."
Martin Gramatica checked in Aug. 12, explaining his switch from No. 7 to No. 10 was a superstitious move and a nod to his favorite soccer player, Diego Maradona. Tailback Brandon Bennett wrote an entry last year on the "Life of a Third-Down Back," detailing even his game-day breakfast of "cantaloupe, pineapple, strawberries and two waffles."
YOU'RE THE COACH: Bucs fans can represent their team in "Home Team Challenge," a new contest that will rank the league's 32 teams based on how their fans fare in a fantasy football contest. Bucs fans can find a link at buccaneers.com. Each week, fans will have 300 points to spend on eight players. The challenge is budgeting money carefully: Spend 90 points on Priest Holmes, just to throw out a name, and you might be picking 5-point benchwarmers with your last few selections. Fans get to pick a new lineup every week, and the fan with the best showing among Bucs contestants wins season tickets for 2005.
BUCS BYTES: One of the classier things you'll find on a Bucs fan page is the "In Memoriam" page at thejollyroger.com, which pays tributes to former Bucs ranging from John McKay to Ricky Bell to Neal Colzie. ... Mike Alstott's official site, atrain40.com, still leads with news of Alstott's season-ending injury last year. After that's updated, maybe they can go after the site's "News" page, which still proudly checks in with "Tampa Wins the Super Bowl!!!" At least Warren Sapp's qbkilla.com has been updated to show him in a Raiders uniform. The only actual link on the site is to the store, which features silver-and-black "SAPP ATTACK" shirts.
-- If you have a question about the Internet or a site to suggest, e-mail staff writer Greg Auman at auman@sptimes.com
