Sports

Year in review: 2004

Year in area had ups and downs (sometimes both at once)

By EMILY NIPPS
Published December 30, 2004

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1. Lightning wins the Stanley Cup

After spending its first decade as a league doormat, the Tampa Bay Lightning shocked the NHL in June by winning the most famous trophy in sports, beating the Calgary Flames four games to three. In the wake of the Buccaneers' 2002 Super Bowl victory, the Lightning's Cup win gave Tampa a legitimate claim to the name Titletown.

During the latter part of the season and the playoff run, sellouts became commonplace at the St. Pete Times Forum as bay area sports fans hopped on the Lightning bandwagon.

En route to putting hockey on the Florida sports map, the Lightning reaped the rewards of an MVP season from diminutive forward Martin St. Louis, stellar goaltending by Nikolai Khabibulin, the emergence of budding superstars in Vincent Lecavalier and Brad Richards and the leadership of captain Dave Andreychuk. But the transformation from laughingstock to toast of the NHL was due less to any individual than to the players embracing the all-for-one, one-for-all team concept instituted by coach John Tortorella.

2. Zook gets the hook

In late October, the tumultuous tenure of Florida Gators football coach Ron Zook came to an abrupt end that was either premature or long overdue, depending on your perspective. An embarrassing 38-31 loss to Mississippi State (a 24-point underdog) dropped Florida to 4-3 and prompted Zook's midseason firing.

The affable coach stayed on to finish out a 7-4 season (he won't coach in Friday's Peach Bowl), but his departure couldn't come soon enough for woebegone fans who were tired of seeing their Gators get "Zooked." Despite an impressive recruiting record, Zook's stint was marred by suspect team discipline and questionable playcalling, including an ill-advised trick play that dashed the Gators' hopes in the 2003 Outback Bowl.

Rumors of the return of Zook's predecessor, Steve Spurrier, began immediately after the firing and reached a fever pitch just before Spurrier announced in November that he'd accepted the top job with SEC rival South Carolina. Zook, landed on his feet, taking over head coaching duties at Illinois. The Gators didn't do badly, hiring highly sought Utah coach Urban Meyer in early December.

3. Bucs get their face rearranged

After the Tampa Bay Buccaneers finished a disappointing 7-9 season and began bumping their heads on the salary cap, general manager Bruce Allen and coach Jon Gruden decided team chemistry was overrated. It was time for some changes, even if it meant cutting ties with some of the community's most beloved Bucs.

The first of two major blows came when John Lynch, a fan favorite despite an injury-plagued 2003 season, got his walking papers after 11 years of bone-crunching hits with Tampa Bay. Then the Bucs unloaded free agent Warren Sapp, whose brash and unapologetic jawing had long served as the voice of Tampa Bay football.

These and other changes left fans feeling like it was last call. The party officially ended when the Bucs became the first Super Bowl champ to then have back-to-back losing seasons. Along the way, they booted kicker Martin Gramatica and started packing the bags of quarterback Brad Johnson.

So now former GM Rich McKay has the Falcons in the playoffs. Lynch made the Pro Bowl. And former coach Tony Dungy has a potent offense and a Super Bowl contender. What do the Bucs have? Only memories.

4. Lightning bandwagon left at the altar

The NHL locked out its players in September after failing to come to terms on a collective bargaining agreement, putting the 2004-05 season in jeopardy of being canceled. The timing couldn't be worse for the Lightning, not only because the players would love to defend their Stanley Cup title but because the hockey franchise had finally established a toehold in its football-happy market. While the Bucs' Super Bowl hangover continues into its second year, the Lightning is missing out on a great opportunity to fill the void for sports fans hungry for a winner.

Recent negotiations in the standoff have proved fruitless, as the league and the union continue to search for a middle ground that may not exist. The league insists on tying salaries to revenues (i.e., a salary cap), while the players refuse to accept any limitations on a free market. Neither side appears ready to blink.

Fans, meanwhile, grow frustrated with the billionaires and millionaires bickering over how to divvy up their ticket money. If a resolution doesn't come soon, the NHL could become the first professional sports league to lose an entire season in a labor dispute. Already plagued by instability, it may never recover.

5. Rays make (mostly good, some bad) history

The Devil Rays didn't finish last!

With a victory in their last game, the Rays won a team-record 70 and avoided the AL East cellar for the first time in their seven-year history. It might have been manager Lou Piniella's finest job. Patching together a lineup and pitching staff with a major league-low $23-million payroll, Piniella squeezed everything he could from the financially challenged Rays.

Led by a trio of young stars - Aubrey Huff, Rocco Baldelli and All-Star Carl Crawford - the Rays actually had Tampa Bay dreaming of a wild-card berth during an amazing two-week run in mid June when they won 12 straight, matching the longest in the majors.

The new Rays? Not quite. They also had a 12-game losing streak, matching the second-longest in the majors in 2004.

The Rays never finished a season with so much optimism. However, that lasted until Baldelli tore up his knee playing baseball with his kid brother in the back yard, and the Rays were priced out of the free-agent market before the opening bell.

No matter what happens, no one can take away 2004!

[Last modified December 30, 2004, 00:38:21]

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