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Brooks vs. Bucs: It's quite a site

By GREG AUMAN

© St. Petersburg Times,
published August 3, 2001

The two sides in the Derrick Brooks holdout haven't said much this week -- to each other, or otherwise -- but that hasn't stopped them from putting their spin on things online.

Visit the official sites -- Buccaneers.com and Brooks' hit55.com -- and you'll see two different strategies in dealing with their lingering disagreement.

The Bucs' site hasn't mentioned Brooks' holdout since its lead story Sunday, which carried the headline "Two Bucs absent from camp." The story mentions Brooks only after dropping the bomb that (gasp!) backup running back Rabih Abdullah couldn't make practice because of a family situation.

Brooks' absence was said to be "unexcused, if not completely unexpected." The story quotes coach Tony Dungy as saying he had "a lot of conversations (with Brooks) ... I know what he's thinking and what's on his mind."

Meanwhile, over at Brooks' site, the main page is still headlined "No camp for Brooks," with a story so peppered with quotes of glowing praise from general manager Rich McKay that it reads more like a letter of recommendation than it does a story about two men at odds with each other.

"Derrick is all about winning; he wants to win a championship ... he's become an extremely good tackler, too," McKay says on the site, which later quotes him as saying that "there is no issue" over a new contract.

Counters Brooks: "I've been sitting back, waiting, waiting, waiting. ... I guess we'll see. If it doesn't come to pass, we'll deal with it."

For fans wondering how far apart the sides are in terms of money, the sites don't offer much encouragement -- they're $1.71-million apart just in terms of how much they say Brooks will make in the remaining two years of his current deal.

Brooks' site laments that his contract "pays him a modest $6.79-million total," while the story on the Bucs' site identifies the remaining salaries as $3-million this year and $5.5-million in 2002.

Message boards at Brooks' site have some harsh words for the holdout. One post is signed "greedmonger@whatajerk.com" and another mocks the linebacker's NFL commercial: "Who's your favorite player?" the title reads. The answer? "No longer Mr. Derrick Brooks."

The holdout has livened things up on the boards, which had seven messages in six weeks before Sunday, but have had 50 since. It was also enough to earn him a nod last week at jerkoftheweek.com, a site that finds no shortage of nominations from the world of sports. Brooks did receive just two "jerk points" from the site, which puts him relatively low in this year's football standings, behind the likes of erstwhile Buc Alex Ardley and locals Darren Hambrick and John Capel.

TID-BYTES: The recent Olympic switch from Florida 2012 to Tampa 2012 won't be as easy online. The main image at florida2012.org has been switched, but the best new URLs are already registered. Tampa2012.org belongs to a California computer programmer who said Thursday he had not been contacted by anyone about the site. Tampa2012.com and Tampa2012.net are both registered locally. ... The Durham Bulls are selling bobblehead dolls of Rays prospect Josh Hamilton on eBay.com. Only 1,500 were made, and 167 are available for $38.50 through the auction site. The doll is actually free with purchase of a five-game Bulls ticket plan, but fans can pay for the doll and donate the tickets to local Durham charities. ... On the sick side of eBay, more than 140 Korey Stringer items have been posted since the Vikings tackle's death on Wednesday. Bidding on a lot of nine rookie cards reached $21 Thursday, while a preseason roster autographed by Stringer was bidding at $130.

- If you have a question or comment about the Internet or a site to suggest, e-mail staff writer Greg Auman at auman@sptimes.com.

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