Hubert Mizell
Steelers' Stewart star of season
It'd be easy to vote for Brett Favre or Kurt Warner, former MVPs still unsurpassed in the NFL, but my dimpled chad for this year's trophy will be cast for Kordell Stewart.
Gary Shelton
Bucs defense of old returns
TAMPA -- On the night the stars returned to Raymond James, the first snapshot you may want to frame was this.
Bucs
In their grasp
TAMPA -- Even as they stretched the wins together, it looked as if the Bucs might fall short of a new series of chances in the postseason.
Defense outshines one of the best
TAMPA -- About 11 months ago in Tampa, the Ravens won the Super Bowl with what many believe was one of the best defenses in history.
Ravens offense falters
TAMPA -- The signs were there early that things weren't going to go smoothly for the Ravens offense.
Brien gets the job done
With Martin Gramatica out of action, the newest Buc boots three field goals.
Yoder bullies Ravens rookie
TAMPA -- Bucs reserve tight end Todd Yoder put on a special-teams clinic for Baltimore long-snapper Joe Maese Saturday night.
College football
How did we get here?
The road to Pasadena for college football's national championship has been anything but a smooth ride.
Miami Memories
Their names are Ahman Green, Mike Rozier and Tommie Frazier, Craig Erickson, Bernie Kosar and Ken Calhoun. And Bob Devaney and Tom Osborne, Howard Schnellenberger, Jimmy Johnson and Dennis Erickson. They played for or coached Nebraska or Miami and they wear national championship rings.
A lot to live up to
LOS ANGELES -- On a crisp, cold winter day in the nation's heartland, the shadows can loom large.
Against odds and advice, WR excels
TAMPA -- South Carolina junior receiver/tailback Ryan Brewer had a breakout game in the 2000 Outback Bowl, when he was named MVP after leading the Gamecocks to a 24-7 win over Ohio State.
Higher level, same game, Tressel says
TAMPA -- Sometimes while on the sideline at Youngstown State, coach Jim Tressel said he could hear individual voices in the stands when there were just a few thousand in attendance.
FB refuses to mope about misfortune
LOS ANGELES -- Najeh Davenport always envisioned ending his college career on the west coast, with his Hurricanes playing for the national championship.
6 Gators checking draft prospects
MIAMI -- Two more Florida players have petitioned the NFL about their draft status, bringing to six the Gators trying to find out where they stand with pro scouts.
UF may need to start over
MIAMI -- It's the reality of college football that at the end of each season, change occurs.
Top sports stories of 2001
One death, then thousands mar year in sports
The world of sports is supposed to enable us to put aside the real world, to engage in the fantasy of believing that victory and defeat really are as important as life or death.
Sports figures who died in 2001
In our mind's eye, we still see them behind the wheel heading for a checkered flag, on a sideline masterminding another victory, on the field swinging for the fences, hitting the jumper, breaking through the line, chipping to the green ... or we still can hear voices and sounds coming out of speakers so brilliantly that we saw what they were seeing and believe we were actually there.
Reader views
Spurrier should take notes from Miami
The more I hear Florida coach Steve Spurrier speak, the more I understand why he is nationally disliked.
Olympics
Olympics rings and things
CITIUS, ALTIUS, FORTIUS AND DANGEROUS: Shooting for the stars is the Olympic ideal.
Speedskater slides past adversity
SALT LAKE CITY -- Apolo Anton Ohno is not exactly sure why he stopped jogging on that miserable, rainy day on a seaside road outside Seattle.
College basketball
Gators use second-half burst to win
GAINESVILLE -- Vanessa Hayden recorded the second triple double in school history Saturday, leading Florida to a 73-47 victory over Kent State in the final of the State Farm Classic.
USF has easier time of it
TAMPA -- Maybe all that was needed was a little legitimate competition to jolt South Florida out of its holiday doldrums.
Seminoles bull their way to win
TALLAHASSEE -- It is not uncommon for Florida State's Nigel Dixon to have a substantial size advantage over the opposing center.
NFL
Raiders looking old and tired
What's wrong with the Raiders?
Lightning
No winner to name Ice Palace
TAMPA -- At the start of last season, CEO Tom Wilson said he hoped to have naming rights for the Ice Palace in place by December 2000. A year after that target date, a deal is still not imminent.
Off game for 'Bulin Wall'
TAMPA -- Nikolai Khabibulin said he began feeling the difference three games ago against the Canadiens.
Children with cancer get Lightning party
Lightning players and coaches had a day that put things in perspective when they hosted a dinner and Christmas party for 22 area families with children diagnosed with cancer.
Preps
Chiefs hold off Cowboys
TAMPA -- Chamberlain and Gaither had plenty of reasons to be pleased after Saturday's final of the Chamberlain Christmas Tournament.
Bulls' defense too much for Wharton
SEFFNER -- Balance is a pretty big deal with the Bloomingdale Bulls.
Bears take another from Pirates 35-29
NEW PORT RICHEY -- Crystal River has come so close to beating Central this season, but each time the Pirates have fallen far, far short at the end.
North Cobb cruises by Ridgewood 64-41
TAMPA -- In the fourth quarter, North Cobb's (Ga.) Latice Lewis tried to knock the ball loose after it got stuck in between the backboard and the rim. Her fingertips grazed the ball, but she failed to get the ball down.
Rams run out of energy
NEW PORT RICHEY -- Ridgewood took a 6-0 lead in the 13th annual William G. Hulton Port Richey Rotary Ram Classic championship Saturday against Jacksonville (N.C.).
Clearwater drills Boca Ciega 71-16
ST. PETERSBURG -- Who needs Boca Ciega's Kelcie Rogiers-Jensen or Clearwater's Dominique Redding playing in the championship game of a big-name tournament when you have Anisha Turman?
Another heartbreaker
ST. PETERSBURG -- Coach Dan Wright was concerned by his team's inability to make free throws, particularly in the fourth quarter.
Devil Rays
LaMar says cuts in payroll won't cut Rays' productivity
Cutting major-league payroll is not the only way the Rays are trying to cut costs.
Outdoors
Daily fishing report
Inshore fishing has nearly shut down because of the huge drop in water temperature, but offshore action should pick up.
