Sapp retirement party to benefit cancer center

   Warren Sapp always gave the fans their money's worth. He could be loud, bombastic and controversial, but for the nine seasons he played for the Bucs, he set the standard at the defensive tackle position.

   He finished his career with 96.5 sacks, eight Pro Bowl appearances and a Super Bowl championship.

   Sapp is retiring after 13 NFL seasons, the last four in Oakland. He says his retirement party Saturday night at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino is a gift to Tampa fans.

   Tickets are $75 and available on TicketMaster and on-line at www.QBKilla.com. Proceeds will benefit the Tampa Children's Cancer Center.

    ""They always said I wasn't a social guy,'' Sapp said. "So let's get together and have a social gathering and give the money to the kids. They always say I never interacted with the fans. I swear I did. I know I used to stand on my feet and they would stand on their feet at Raymond James Stadium. I put on a show for a long time and I want to say, "Thank you.' So let's throw a nice party.'

   I had an interesting discussion with Sapp about his career and his future that was posted earlier today. As always, there were some surprises, like the news that he is considering an offer to appear on Dancing with the Stars!

   If you want to send No. 99 out in style and contribute to a good cause, check out his party Saturday night.

    

Comments

[colt]

His greatest remark was having Ian drive DUImeg to the party so he wouldnt get arrested again.. Sapp is funny and will do great on air for the NFL

[Kurt]

Thanks for a HOF career in a Bucs uniform! And thanks for still thinking of the kids after retirement. I also want to shout out to the most forgotten Tampa Bay coach Sam Wyche who drafted Lynch, Brooks and Sapp and deserves just as much credit as Dungy for building the league' best defense over that 10 year span. Ironically, Alstott was Dungy's best pick. Looks like Kiffin is at it again and shame on you Sapp for putting him down.

[Rerun]

Good point Kurt. Everyone always gives Dungy the credit for building the defense, but he drafted a sleu of busts on defense. Wyche definitely drafted the nucleus of our great defense. I guess Gruden wasn't the only one who was handed a little somethin' somethin'. A good analogy would be; Wyche made the batter, Dungy baked it and Gruden put the icing on top. Also remember, Wyche was hamstrung by Culverhouse and committee and never really had a chance to put all the pieces together.

[George Leslie Hicks]

I want to thank Mr Warren Sapp all the Great years he showed Hurt and Healthy. I wish that those persons had kept Him and John Lynch together as well as Coach Dungy. I really believe they would have had at least another Super Bowl championship also. Its a shame the ownership just couldn't wait a year or two more. I really believe Tampa now would have started to compare them to the Bears, Cowboys, 49er's and the Steelers. But that is where the years roll by. I applored Warren Sapp to come beack to Tampa to Retired Here. GO BUCS

[Aussie Buc]

Mr Sapp, you are the reason I started supporting the Bucs!

[Duane]

Good to see Sam Wyche get the kudos for getting the right ingredients. Dungy and McKay definitely drafted some clunkers. If they weren't holding this to benefit kids with cancer, with the number of fans Sapp was nice to during his career they could have held the party in a phone booth.

[George C. Costanza]

I think we shall not see his like again

[Fred]

The day Derrick Brooks and Warren Sapp were drafted was the day the Bucs took off the training wheels. There will never be another defense with a stretch run like that. They shut down the 'greatest show on turf' and changed the league's image of a defense. He may not be everyone's role model, but he never asked to be either.

[Tony M.]

It's amazing how underrated that defense still is.

Sapp, you were awesome and I never got over you and Lynch leaving.

I hope you win Dancing with the Stars.

[Scott]

Sapp and Selmon two of the greatest Buccaneers ever. He always got the stadium rocking. Thanks 99!!!

Scott

[Tim]

Kurt, you are right on the mark. Its about time someone gave credit to Wyche for drafting Sapp, Lynch, and Brooks AND getting Hardy that really change our defense and attitude. Dungy was very fortunate to inherit such great players that were perfect for his system. Dungy's downfall was he had no clue and/or philosphy about the offense-NO OFFENSIVE TOUCHDOWNS IN 3 STRAIGHT PLAYOFF GAMES.

[Kinn Corn Karn]

Tim, Kurt & Rerun..... Thank god!!! I thought I was the only person on the planet that didn't think Dungy was the second coming of Christ! I loved Wyche's creativity on offense. I'll always remember the wideout screens to Courtney Hawkins! God bless Dungy in Indy, but I was the happiest SOB when we cut ties with him. Gruden won a freakin championship with the same talent base that Dungy's joke-of-a-staff could only muster field goals with! Long live Bucco Bruce!

[B]

Fittingly, the '99 defense was the best I've ever seen.

Period. Maybe the best ever. Better than than the '85 Bears IMHO because the Bears' offense was better.

'nuff said. Sapp, good luck and God bless.

[DR]

Not sure why the Dungy hating started on this blog, thanks Kurt, but you guys are way out of line. Defense won the Super Bowl for the Bucs. All Gruden did was add a couple of role players to the team. Dungy already had the key pieces installed on the offense, Brad Johnson and Keyshawn. He never did use Dunn and Alstott in the right way and he gave his offense to incompetent leaders. He deseves blame for that, but don't discredit the fact that he turned a losing franchise into winners. I agree with B, that '99 defense may have been the best defense ever. They're forgotten because they didn't get the prize they were so close to getting. That defense won Tampa the big prize. Tampa's offense is still terrible. Thanks Gruden... for nothing. Gruden will always walk in Dungy's shadow. Gruden took over a great foundation built by Dungy.

[DR's dad]

DR, While Dungy did turn Tampa into a winner, it was Sam Wyche who supplied the players that made it possible. The core of the defense was Wyche's guys.

Dungy also fired the best offensive coodinator he ever had with the Bucs, Les Steckel, and hired Shula who was clueless.

The Bucs NEVER would have won a Super Bowl with Dungy here. Iin fact, the defense peaked in 99 and was starting to age by the time 02 rolled around and Gruden won it.

A coach other than Dungy could have won two or three SB's with that team.

[DR]

Trying to give Wyche more credit than he deserves. Wyche was a horrible coach. Thats why he wasn't considered ever again for a coaching job. That's why he's coaching high school right now.
What did Dungy do to you losers? As far as a person, he's a good guy who, in my opinion, is overly religious. He's a great coach. Period. You can't argue that fact. He made bad offensive decisions as far as hirings, but he brought Monte Kiffen to Tampa. Kiffen is the best coach on Tampa right now. His defense won Tampa a super bowl. Tampa, right now, desperately needs a competent offensive coordinator. They will never go anywhere with their OC right now. Their defense is good but nowhere near as dominant as the '02 defense.

[Kurt]

I never said Dungy was a bad coach, although he was terrible at game-planning playoff games. I think he was a great guy. However, he did not draft Sapp, Brooks and Lynch; the nucleus of the greatest defense ever (my opinion of course,) and the main reasons we won a superbowl. He had nothing to do with drafting Sapp; that was the entire point of the earlier post; not to bash Dungy.

[Skylar]

I disagree DR; our defense will be very dominant this year. We were ranked #2 last year and about 1/2 second pass rush speed away from being just as dominant as the old defense. We improved at every position with youth and veteran leadership. Once again, you belittle the accomplishments of others with little factual backup. Your statement..."They will never go anywhere with their OC right now." is blatently inept in that it ignores that our OC has already done it all. I'm just sayin...

[DR]

You're just saying something stupid. The defense won the super bowl. Not the offense. That's like saying the Ravens offensive coordinator was a genius too. The Ravens won the super bowl with offense too with your way of thinking. Comparing this year's defense to the '02 defense is another stupid comment. If you haven't noticed, the offenses in the NFL are at its weakest level ever, in my opinion. The Bucs had to prepare for the offensive power houses of nobody last year. The 2nd ranking is a little obscure. The QB play is terrible in the NFL. I'm not knocking the Bucs defense, they do look very good, but until they prove on a year in and year out basis that they can be like the 99-02 Bucs, than I'll be impressed.
Kurt, I agree with the draft pick argument and I know you don't knock Dungy like the others.

[Skylar]

Calling me stupid does not make you any smarter DR, nor does it support your argument. Warren Sapp said it best: "Gruden made the offense accountable," and that's why we were able to take the next step and win the SB. I'm making legitimate points concerning the team, based on factual evidence, and I don't see the need to denegrate my views based on your opinions.

I agree that the QB play in the NFL is and always has been relegated to a select few. However, our defense won several games last year and, with the addition of a cover-corner, some good linemen and a slew of linebackers, they should move to the number 1 spot again and win many games for us.

Gruden is not an offensive genius (although he himself has never claimed to be one,) but he has built this offense to run the ball. The players we need are here now and that's what I believe we are going to do; impose our will on others. This is not a finesse team; it is an old school, smashmouth type group and it should be a great year for Tampa Bay Bucs fans.

[DR]

You're quoting Sapp on offense? haha You keep praising the Bucs defense for being #2 last year, and they do deserve praise, but do you realize Gruden's offense has only cracked the top 18 once in his 6 year tenure. Praise that. The only time he did, #10 overall, was in 2003 when the team was 7-9. In 2002, his offense was ranked 18th. The bottom half of the league. That's really accountable. Don't forget either that the defense scored 21 points in that super bowl and created turnover after turnover. Any offense, even Dungy's, would have scored points after the the opposing defense's back has cracked in half. A great defense can make an offense look good. The Bucs defense won them the super bowl. There is no argument to that. Look what happened to the Bucs when the defense didn't perform as well as it did, they tanked. The Bucs need a legit offensive coordinator, an OC that creates plays so that his players abilities are maximized. There is nothing more disgusting than watching an endzone fade route go to Galloway. He has never outjumped or outplayed a DB for the ball. He is too undersized. But Grudumb will call that play.

[Kurt]

So easy to criticize isn't it...the facts remain though; 3 division titles and a SB victory in six years. I'll take those numbers over criticism of an endzone fade route any day. Anybody who thinks Gruden is a bad coach does not see the big picture. He's not only a good coach; he's a great coach. I hope he is here for a long time coming.

[DR]

Great coaches go to the playoffs at least back to back years. Gruden hasn't done that as a Bucs coach. We'll see if he can do that this year. Again, you show a loser mentality praising a coach for winning division titles. What's a division title mean with a home playoff loss? Absolutely nothing. Ask Marty Schottenheimer that. Ask Jerry Jones, Wade Phillips, and the rest of the Cowboys that? Even better, ask Bill Bellichick and his team how proud they are of their division title. Didn't mean much for Tom Coughlin and Bill Cowher. Obviously, the Bucs goals were far less than the Giants, Cowboys, and Patriots last year, but don't forget, the Bucs only beat out 3 horrible teams in their division. 2 of their 9 wins were against teams with winning records. Not really impressive. It's not like Gruden has to compete against the Packers, Bears, Vikings, and Lions 8 games a year like Dungy did. Don't claim rebuilding either. That's a BS cop out. If the Bucs had a quality offensive coordinator last year, they would have had a better record and would have done better against the Giants.

[Kurt]

DR, your hate for Gruden blinds your vision. Winning the division is a great accomplishment every time it happens. There is no such thing as a crappy team in the NFL, even if they lose all their games, they can put together a win on "any given Sunday." Tom Landry won only 2 Superbowls in 20 years as coach, yet he is considered to be one of the all-time greats. Why? Because he won division titles and consistently had his team in the hunt. Gruden brings the same thing to this organization. And, just because you think it is a cop-out (probably because it hurts your argument considerably,) the rest of us know that losing those picks and having to purge our roster in order to get out of cap hell hamstrung our ability to rebuild at a reasonable pace; yet we still one a division title with a terrible QB (Simms.) Any reasonable person realizes these factors had a lot to do with our ups and downs the past couple of years. To belittle those major factors is to show how little you really understand about the integral nature of an NFL franchise. Stop being such a hater and realize the good that this coaching staff has done for our franchise, including though not limited to, Jon Gruden.

[Skylar]

Kurt, why bother? All your logic and good sense will never penetrate the thick skull of DR. Everyone in the continental US knows that Gruden is one of the best coaches in the game, as supported by his numerous accomplishments with the Raiders and Bucs. Zealots like DR don't even realize that his old school, smashmouth style allows the defense to be dominant. They think that he is trying to be flashy on offense. It's almost funny how everybody expects him to be some kind of offensive guru when in fact he obviously likes to run the ball and let the defense win games. The pieces are finally in place and our franchise is about to go on a long run of domination. Ball control is the name of the game DR; not fade routes. Gruden is 16-0 when we don't turn the ball over; that's not a stat you'll find on any bad coach.

[DR]

Losing those picks came at the price of Gruden. You can't use that as an excuse. Apparently, you feel that those 2 picks were too much. A division title means something to the owner who will make extra money from a home playoff game. Many "experts" agree with me. A team doesn't give a crap about a division title. They want to play at home, but when it comes to the playoffs, making it is all that matters. Last year, the Bucs lucked out. The Giants deserved a home game more than the Bucs. They had a better record and played in a far better, the best division, in the NFL. Obviously, the Giants played like the far superior team in Tampa. Winning the division with 5 teams is a greater accomplishment than winning a division with 4 teams, thats a fact. When the NFL went to a four team division, it lessened the accomplishment of winning the division. 33% of the league's coaches are division champions. Jack Del Rio, who outcoached Jon Gruden last year with a 3rd string QB who never played an NFL game before, didn't win his division last year, is he not a great coach? Bill Cowher won his division many times and the year he didn't win his division (in a 4 team format), he wins the super bowl. Do you think he holds his division championships higher than his super bowl trophy? My point is there are teams that don't win a division that are far better than teams that do win divisions. the 8 division format allows that to happen. You put last year's Bucs in a Packers, Vikings, Lions, and Bears division and they definitely don't win the division.
I'm not going to touch you blaming players for Gruden's failures. Those players haven't developed for a reason, lack of leadership and guidance. Gruden's offense has done nothing since he has been here. The Bucs won the super bowl with the 24th ranked offense in the league! The defense won the super bowl and it has been the lack of offense that has kept them from being a consistently winning team. If you don't want to fire Gruden, than you should be begging for an offensive coordinator.

[Skylar]

It was 4 picks DR; 2 firsts and 2 seconds. Obviously, winning the SB is the ultimate goal of professional football teams, so your point is mute. Winning the division guarantees a home game in the playoffs and is typically the first goal a team sets for the season. (It is possible to have more than one goal.) Concerning the Jags game: If I recall correcty, Garcia missed a wide open Galloway in the first half for a TD and also missed Hilliard on the last play of the game for a TD. We also beat them in every statistical category (except turnovers.) I'm at a loss as to how that is being outcoached? And btw, Del Rio is a pretty damn good coach too, so your point is not very clear. Anyway, I'm tired of debating the same thing with you all of the time. Now that the team is rebuilt, I know the Bucs are going to be dominant for years to come. Why don't we just let it play out and then one of us can say, "I told you so," at the end of the year (like I did so many times to you last year:)

[Bo]

Check your math DR. If there are 4 teams in each division, then 25% of the teams are division winners; not 33%. None of your points are valid really, but I guess you just love to look at your writing, eh? You talk about "luck" and factors that aren't quantifiable while everyone else loads up on the stats to refute your "ideas." Can't you see that you don't provide very good arguments? At least Aaron, Kurt and Skylar use some factual information when debating their points. You realize that we easily could have been 11-5 or even 12-4 last year with a couple of different plays right? Hell, if Garcia played well in the Jax and Lions games, there are two more wins right there. That's if just 1 player did a little better job. We took the last 3 games off! I don't understand your hatred to the coach as it is unfounded in reason and untrue in fact.

[DR]

Bo, I have provided plenty of stats that prove your love for Gruden wrong. Great coaches have better than .500 records with their team. Gruden is 48-48. Far below Dungy's record with his terrible offense. I said the Bucs were a bad team and their record proved me wrong but their horrible performance at Raymond James proved me right when everything was on the line. The Bucs will be dominate for years to come???? How so? That's a blatantly ignorant comment with no facts whatsoever to prove that. The defense looked good at times last year, but if the pass rush is inconsistent like it was throughout the season, they will give up 20+ points which their offense can't put up. For years to come...Garcia to Galloway in 2010? Who do the Bucs have to replace those mediocre stars? You guys were the same clowns who were predicting big things from the Bucs 2 years ago, after they went 11-5. What did they do? Oh yeah, 4-12. How soon we forget. With the talent the Bucs have, i have them winning between 4-8 games this year. The oddsmakers have them at 8 with less than 8 being their prediction.

[BuffetKilla99]

Wassup fans? Even you WHITE BOYS that I don't like too much! he he

My retirement party is on hold until I see what Brett Favre is going to do in '08. I really want to ride his coat tails to Canton.

PEACE OUT!

[rman]

hey thats cool becouse i dont like black boys to much. oh and you aint sapp.

give the bucs credit we never cheated yo win our rings

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