Jeanne Zelasko continues to insist Rays play in Tampa

Shooting from the Lip
Looking back at a weekend of televised sports ...

Worst host
That's it. From now on I’m calling Fox baseball host Jeanne Zelasko by another name. Let's call her Jean Zelasko. Or just J. Zelasko. Or how about Peggy?

As long as Peggy is going to keep calling the Rays by the wrong name -- as she does week after week after week -- then maybe we should just call her by the wrong name. Peggy did it again Saturday, calling the team the "Tampa'' Rays five times in the pregame and postgame shows. This is something I've written about four or five times already, and I'm not the only one who notices. My e-mail was flooded Saturday by readers complaining about Peggy relocating the team.

For most of this season I've thought she was just being lazy. But I'm starting to wonder if she's just incompetent. After the Rays clinched a playoff spot Saturday, Zelasko said, "A congratulation to Tampa the city.'' This is plain inexcusable because she does this every week. At some point, doesn't someone at Fox say something to her so she stops embarrassing herself? Please?

Best analysis
Once we got past Jeanne Zelasko's geographically challenged comments, Fox pregame analysts Kevin Kennedy and Eric Karros had good insight and high praise for the Rays. First Karros said, "I think  … the manager, Joe Maddon, impacts this team more than any other club in baseball.''

Then Kennedy showed he really paid attention, reminding everyone of spring training when Rays prospect Elliot Johnson bowled over Yankees catcher Francisco Cervelli, breaking Cervelli's wrist and drawing the ire of Yankees skipper Joe Girardi.

"I think it goes back to spring training with Joe Maddon backing up his guy … and saying, 'Hey, we play to win in spring training.' I talked to a lot of people, and they absolutely agree with that. That was the turning point, right there in spring training.''

Worst announcer
The unfortunate part about the Rays clinching a playoff spot Saturday was that longtime Rays TV announcer Dewayne Staats didn't get to make the call because the game was nationally televised on Fox. We were stuck listening to Fox's Mike Joy, who should be called Mike Joyless. Joy could not have been less dramatic if he tried. He called the entire game as if it were a spring training, split-squad game.
After Evan Longoria caught the final out, I couldn't tell if someone turned off Joy's microphone or Joy fell asleep. Too bad Rays fans were robbed of a thrilling final call.

Best letting up
After the Miami game, I criticized the Gators for kicking a late field goal. So it's only right that I point out they didn't run up the score, even though they could have, against Tennessee. On their final drive, they ran the ball up the gut even though they could've tacked on a field goal. But still, what is quarterback Tim Tebow doing in the game with three minutes left and the Gators leading by 24?

CBS's Gary Danielson thought the same thing. "I don't agree with this, I have to say,'' Danielson said as Tebow scrambled. "I don't care about the running up the score. It doesn't matter to me. But I just don't understand my quarterback getting hit in a game that's over.''

And even though coach Urban Meyer says Tebow was still in because his backup was hurt, Florida has only two quarterbacks?

Worst game
Florida State-Wake Forest on Saturday night might have been the worst college football game ever played. This could've been the game that turned Florida State's fortunes around, but it only reminded us of how far the Seminoles have slipped. "What's different about this Florida State team?'' ESPN2 analyst Bob Davie asked. "So far, nothing.''

Best coverage
Too bad that most of us around here were consumed by the Rays and Bucs all weekend because the coverage of America's victory in the Ryder Cup was outstanding. NBC, as expected, had its A game, showing once again it covers golf better than any network. And ESPN's coverage was thorough and thoroughly engrossing. ESPN also gets a pat on the back for its outstanding all-day coverage of the final game at Yankee Stadium on Sunday.

Best analogy
CBS's Gary Danielson is a pleasure to listen to each week, and he is maybe a half-notch better than Todd Blackledge and Kirk Herbstreit, both with ESPN/ABC, as the best of the college football analysts. His best line from Saturday's Florida-Tennessee game: "The anticipation of (Florida QB Tim) Tebow playing -- it's like a Mike Tyson fight when he was knocking out those guys in his prime. You gotta watch it. You can't take your eyes off this guy.''

Most forgotten event
The Davis Cup used to be as much a part of the sports landscape as any event. This weekend, if you didn't know the semis were being played, you wouldn't have known it at all. They were completely lost, at least in the United States, among baseball, pro and college football, NASCAR and the Ryder Cup. In case you missed it, and you probably did, the United States-Spain semi was played in what has to be the coolest stadium in the world, Las Ventas, which hosts bullfights. Oh, and the U.S. lost when Rafael Nadal beat Andy Roddick in singles.

Final thought
We tend to get caught up in the Rays, but Mike Lupica made a great point on ESPN's Sports Reporters: "There's nothing not to like about the Rays. There are so many parts about this that are like the ’69 Mets. But the Cubs winning the World Series -- when they win the World Series … is the last big thing in sports.''

Reasons to like the Red Sox

Wednesday's Two Cents ...

The list
The last time the Red Sox were in town, I poked a stick into the beehive that is Red Sox Nation by listing 10 reasons to hate the Red Sox. Why 10 reasons? Because we didn't have room to list 20. (By the way, No. 11 on the list would have been: Because Red Sox fans can't take a joke.) Anyway, there are a few things about the Red Sox that are okay. So, in the interest of fairness, here are 10 things about the Red Sox and their history that are cool:
1. Bill "Spaceman'' Lee. The ace of the Cosmic All-Stars pitching rotation.
2. Fenway Park. Still the best digs in baseball.
3. Terry Francona. Sox skippers seems like a decent enough fella.
4. Jerry Remy. One of the better TV analysts in baseball. Should be on Fox's Game of the Week.
5. Fans take the game seriously. (Maybe a little too seriously, but at least they go to games.)
6. Actually, I'm going to have to stop here because that's all I can think of. Sorry.

E-mail of the day
NFL referee Ed Hochuli is getting bombarded with e-mails from angry Chargers fans after he blew a call that helped the Broncos beat San Diego on Sunday. Hochuli ruled an incomplete pass on a play during which Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler fumbled and the Chargers recovered, leading by seven in the final minute. Denver scored a touchdown two plays later then won the game on a two-point conversion. Anyway, here's the e-mail Hochuli sent to many of the fans who are writing him to complain:

I'm getting hundreds of e-mails -- hate mail -- but I'm responding to it all. People deserve a response. You can rest assured that nothing anyone can say can make me feel worse than I already feel about my mistake on the fumble play. You have no idea. … Affecting the outcome of a game is a devastating feeling. Officials strive for perfection -- I failed miserably. Although it does no good to say it, I am very, very sorry.
Ed Hochuli

Maybe instead of peppering Hochuli with e-mails, the Chargers fans should be writing their team complaining about losing two games by giving up last-minute touchdowns.

Word of the day
And today's word, boys and girls, is "awesomeness.'' That's the word Dale Earnhardt Jr. used to describe what winning NASCAR's Chase for the Cup would mean to him.

"It would improve my overall awesomeness,'' Junior said. Nice word.

"Yeah. I worked on greatness for a while, but I tapped it out,’’ Junior said.

What do you care?
This is not to defend the Rays' support this season, or lack thereof. The Tampa Bay market should be embarrassed by this season's attendance. But it still kind of rankles us when outsiders take swipes at us, such as Steve Buckley, the otherwise fine columnist from the Boston Herald, who wrote, "Now it's time for MLB to take care of another disaster: The so-called Tampa-St. Petersburg 'baseball market.' Seriously, if the plucky, exciting Tampa Bay Rays make the playoffs, shouldn't their games be moved to a place where fans actually care about the product?''

I thought I would just throw this out there. Led by rookie sensations Fred Lynn and Jim Rice, the Red Sox made the playoffs in 1975 for the first time in eight years. Know what their average attendance was that season for the plucky, exciting Red Sox? 21,857. Or exactly 7,915 fewer people than attended Monday night's Sox-Rays game. And was anyone suggesting playoff games be moved out of Fenway in 1975?

There are reasons to doubt this market, but let's give it more than one winning season before we start suggesting moving playoff games, don't you think?

Unnecessary apology of the day
ESPN's Monday Night Football marked the start of the NFL's celebration to honor Hispanic Heritage Month. So after the Cowboys' Felix Jones ran back a kickoff for a touchdown, ESPN aired a replay of the Spanish-language call of the run. Analyst Tony Kornheiser said, "I took high school Spanish and that either means, 'Nobody is going to touch him' or 'Could you pick up my dry cleaning in the morning.' It's one of those two.''

Then in the fourth quarter, Kornheiser apologized, saying, "I said something before I shouldn't have said. I apologize for it. Not my first mistake. Undoubtedly, it won't be my last, but a 100 percent apology.''

The apology wasn't necessary because there was nothing offensive about the comment. Tony K wasn't making fun of anyone except for himself for having not learned Spanish in high school. File this under: No Big Deal.

Three things that popped into my head
1. USF quarterback Matt Grothe was on the Jim Rome radio show Tuesday. He plays quarterback a tad better than he sounds on radio.
2. Let's say the Oakland Raiders eventually fire coach Lane Kiffin. Does anyone even want that job anymore? Would you?
3. It still seems so strange that the Bucs have started (and have a quarterback controversy), that the Lightning opened training camp with new coach Barry Melrose and that we have a nationally ranked college football team at USF … and the Rays, in September, are the story of the day. 

USF Bulls off and running again

Shooting from the lip
Looking back at a weekend of televised sports ...

Best team
Haven't we seen this before? USF's football season is looking eerily similar to last year's breakthrough season -- a fast start highlighted by an early season weeknight victory on national television. And, based on the Bulls' schedule, they might again run their record to 6-0 and move into the Top 5 in the polls. In fact, if they keep winning, they should be favored in every game going into the regular-season finale at West Virginia.

After watching USC destroy Ohio State on Saturday night, it's hard to imagine USF could compete with a team like that, but it does appear to be, so far, the class of the Big East. Two ESPN analysts are already singing USF's praises.

Todd Blackledge said, "South Florida has kind of positioned themselves now as the team to beat in the Big East.''

College GameDay's Kirk Herbstreit added, "For South Florida, this is huge. This is one of those years when everybody is trying to figure out early: Who's the team to beat in each conference? This team, I think, has established itself as the team to beat in the Big East.''

Worst pick
I hate to pick on College GameDay's Lee Corso, but he chose UCLA to beat Brigham Young on Saturday. Final score: BYU 59, UCLA 0 — the Bruins' worst loss since 1929.

Biggest criticism
No doubt that Yankees catcher Jose Molina was miffed about being hit with a pitch in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader with the Rays. And, yes, he did slide far outside the basepath while trying to break up a double play on the ensuing batter. But it seemed as if Rays announcer Dewayne Staats was a little hard on Molina while watching the replay.

"That's really cheap!'' Staats said. "That's terrible. That had personal rancor involved with that move right there.''

Maybe Staats was right. Maybe Molina was looking for revenge. Personally, I think he was just trying to break up a double play. My thought is if Staats is going to call out a guy for being dirty, he'd better be right -- and again, maybe he was -- because that's a pretty serious accusation.

Strongest comment
We probably all agree with what Rays TV analyst Joe Magrane said Saturday, but it was still a strong comment: "I think it has become obvious that Matt Garza has the best stuff on the staff.''

Nitpick of the week
Notre Dame honored former coach Lou Holtz and his 1988 national championship team over the weekend. Holtz even gave a pep talk to the Irish Friday night -- a pep talk that was broadcast by ESPN, Holtz's current employer. Holtz does a good job not showing any favoritism while broadcasting. Still, is it a good idea for ESPN to show one of its employees giving a pep talk to a team that he occasionally must analyze?

Best feature
ESPN's College GameDay showed part of a touching piece on the Iowa football team, which spent part of its summer helping rebuild the high school football stadium in Parkersburg, Iowa, which was hit by a monster tornado in May. Be sure to check out the entire piece on Tuesday night's E:60 at 7 on ESPN. Bring tissues.

Worst sport
Anyone notice how the Yankees' Alex Rodriguez acted like he was backing out of the batter's box and got Rays starter Matt Garza to balk in the Saturday night game? A-Rod was the first one to start yelling for a balk, meaning he knew what he was doing. And it was a cheap thing to do. What is this, Little League?
Of course, this is the same A-Rod who once slapped  a ball out of a player's glove and once yelled, "Mine!'' on a popup and confused the fielders into letting the ball drop, so it really shouldn't be surprising he would pull a stunt like that. But still, he's way too good of a ballplayer to continually do stuff like this.

Boldest prediction
"Drew Brees is your NFL MVP and the New Orleans Saints are going to make it to the Super Bowl. I also believe that the Arizona Cardinals are going to make it to the playoffs as well.''
-- CBS's Boomer Esiason

Worst performance
Swimmer Michael Phelps might have been the worst host in Saturday Night Live history. Not just worst athlete-host. Worst host ever. Poor guy. He's a swimmer, not a comedic actor. He proved that in painful fashion Saturday night, not that the writers did him any favors. His one good line was, "This is like the ninth greatest moment of my life.'' Phelps, of course, won eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics.

Best joke
Saturday Night Live did offer up the best joke of the weekend. During the "Weekend Update''’ segment, Seth Meyers said, "Injured New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady will be replaced by Matt Cassel, an untested, inexperienced backup -- earning him the nickname 'Sarah Palin'.''

Best insight
East Carolina's hot start (3-0, including victories against West Virginia and Virginia Tech) means one thing: Don't expect coach Skip Holtz to be there a long time. CBS college football pregame host Tim Brando said, "Let me tell you something about Skip Holtz. He's the hottest commodity in coaching right now and when an SEC job opens up, he is going to be the first one called.''

Three good quotes
"They honestly looked like an NFL team against a college team.''
-- ESPN Sports Reporters' Mitch Albom, talking about USC's 35-3 victory against Ohio State.

"I'm not positive he can get that locker room back.''
-- NBC's Peter King, talking about the Titans' troubled quarterback, Vince Young.

"It would be one of the great baseball stories of all time.''
ESPN Sports Reporters' Mike Lupica, talking about the Rays making the postseason.

Three things that popped into my head
1. If you were Rays manager Joe Maddon, wouldn't you be tempted to put David Price in the starting rotation?
2. If you are an Ohio State fan, aren't you tempted to ask if coach Jim Tressel might be a tad overrated, especially when it comes to big games? Not only do the Buckeyes lose these big games, they get crushed.
3. If you were Michigan football coach Rich Rodriguez, wouldn't you be tempted to call West Virginia and ask the Mountaineers if they would take you back?

Rays are fun even when they lose

Shooting from the Lip
Looking back at a weekend of televised sports ...

Best and worst weekend
This weekend should've been right up there among the best sports weekends of the year. The Rays are in a pennant race. The Bucs opened the season. A good U.S. Open was coming to a close. And there was college football. Then the whole thing crumpled.

The Rays? Swept. The Bucs? Losers. The U.S. Open's Super Saturday? Ruined by rain. Instead of watching sports all day and night, you probably turned to Oxygen, half-hoping to run into a Snapped marathon. The killer was the Rays' heartbreaking loss Saturday, when they rallied to tie in the ninth, took the lead in the top of the 13th, then lost on a two-out grand slam in the bottom of the inning. That was followed by a maddening 1-0 loss Sunday.

But here's the thing: No matter what the Rays do from here on out -- even if they completely fall apart and miss the playoffs -- they have made this year, and even the past weekend, special for the Tampa Bay area. All you really want from the team you follow is more good days than bad, more days of pleasure than frustration, or worse, apathy.

The Rays have certainly given that. And when was the last time you whipped a pillow at the TV screen during a Rays game in September? When you think about it, that's a good thing.

Worst call
The excessive celebration penalty called Saturday against Washington was a joke. Quarterback Jake Locker scored with two seconds left to cut Brigham Young's lead to 28-27, but he was penalized for flicking the ball over his shoulder and hugging teammates. He wasn't taunting or drawing attention to himself but was still flagged. The extra point became a 35-yard kick, which was blocked.
"This could be a job-loser game for (Washington coach) Ty Willingham — bottom line,'' ESPN's Mark May said. "The officials took this out of the players' and coaches' hands and put it in their own, and that's wrong. It should've never happened.''

Fox's Jimmy Johnson said, "You have good coaches, you have bad coaches. You have good officials, you have bad officials. This official is an idiot for making that call!''

But ESPN's Lou Holtz had the best line: "What scares you when see officials make that call is (knowing) they can vote.''

Best and worst sight
The Cowboys' Terrell Owens scored Sunday against the Browns and celebrated by lining up like track star Usain Bolt. Then, daggumut, he was hit with a penalty. Come on, it was funny. The NFL needs to lighten up. And if you're an opponent who doesn't like seeing him celebrate like that, here's a solution: Don't let him score.

Best exchange
Fox NFL Sunday weather person Jillian Reynolds congratulated analyst Howie Long and his wife, Diane, because the Long's son, Chris, made his NFL debut Sunday for the Rams.
Reynolds: "I’m nervous. I can only imagine how Diane is feeling.''
Long: "She has been in two fights in the parking lot already.''

Favorite quote
In a feature on ESPN, Florida State coach Bobby Bowden said that character is more important than reputation.
"Your reputation, that's a photograph,'' he said. "Your character is your face. Your reputation is what people say about you. Your character is what God knows about you.''

That's really good, although I didn't think a whole lot of his character or reputation when he tagged on a touchdown with a minute left Saturday night in a 69-0 beat down of I-AA Western Carolina. Then again, the Seminoles have been so bad the past few years that they probably removed the "take-a-knee'' play out of their playbook.

Strongest quote
"Kansas City is the worst team in football.''
-- Sports Illustrated's Peter King, during halftime of NBC's coverage of Notre Dame and San Diego State.

Funniest line
ESPN's Mike Ditka when asked what he thought of the Bengals' Chad Johnson changing his name to Ocho Cinco: "I'd like it better if it was Ocho Stinko.''

Best answer
East Carolina appears to be this season's USF after stunning upsets of Virginia Tech and West Virginia in the first two weeks. Immediately after Saturday's victory against West Virginia, as fans stormed the field, ESPN's Holly Rowe asked East Carolina coach Skip Holtz how he planned on keeping his team grounded and not too excited.

Holtz gave the right answer: "I don't plan to. Right now, I want them to get excited. This is awesome!''

Best analyst
HBO's Max Kellerman blasted away Saturday night after calling Juan Diaz's split-decision victory over Michael Katsidis, and because of it, he showed again why is among the finest analysts in sports. He isn't afraid of anyone or anything.

First, during an interview broadcast in the arena with Katsidis and his trainer, Kellerman bravely disagreed with their view of the fight and their strategy heading into the later rounds. Then he scolded the pro-Diaz audience in Houston for booing Katsidis. In his best moment, he blew up at the judges for a scoring the fight so closely, even though it appeared to be a lopsided bout in Diaz's favor. Really, it appeared Katsidis won maybe three or four rounds.

"That's one of the worst jobs of scoring I've ever seen,'' Kellerman said. "It goes beyond just bad scoring. It makes you question whether there was a corruptive influence in the scoring.''

Three things that popped into my head
1. Sorry, I know he's come through most of the time, but Troy Percival still makes me nervous.
2. The Dodgers are going to win the NL West. They don't play a team above .500 for the rest of the season.
3. Which college football team had the best weekend? Southern Cal ... and the Trojans didn't even play. But they did watch next week's opponent (Ohio State) struggle against Ohio and then spent the rest of the day licking their chops.

10 reasons why it's cooler to be a Rays fan than a Bucs fan

Maybe it is cooler to be a Rays fan these days than a Bucs fan. Check out Jason Burtch. He's a 29-year-old Tampa Bay sports fan from Port Charlotte. Burtch wants Rays tickets so badly that he’s willing to give up Bucs tickets for Rays tickets. Friday, Burtch, a 29-year-old who lives in Port Charlotte, posted a message on a Rays message board wanting to trade Bucs tickets for Rays tickets.

Tampa Bay always has been and probably always will be football-first town. But, actually, it is cooler to be a Rays fan than a Bucs fan at the moment. Here are 10 reasons why:

1. You can feel good about the Rays
Delmon Young is a head case and the Rays trade him. Elijah Dukes is a trouble-maker and the Rays trade him. B.J. Upton loafs and the Rays bench him. Meantime, the Bucs re-sign a player (Jerramy Stevens) who has been in one legal shenanigan after another, and use a first-round pick to draft a guy (Aqib Talib) who was caught smoking marijuana on multiple occasions in college and then got into a fight with a teammate at the NFL rookie symposium.

2. The Rays treat players better
Rocco Baldelli comes down with a mysterious illness and what do the Rays do? Stand behind him, help him, show patience and eventually work him back into the lineup. Chris Simms loses a spleen and what to the Bucs do? Bad-mouth him, bench him and, ultimately, release him.

3. It literally is cooler
Rays home game: 72 degrees, no rain, no wind, no boiling sun. Bucs games: 90 degrees, maybe a wicked thunderstorm, searing sun. At Rays games, you settle in with a cold drink and a bag of peanuts that you can bring from home. At the Bucs game, you cram into an oven and need 70 SPF and a bottle of water to just keep from passing out.

4. Rays are more family friendly
In general, the difference between a Rays game and a Bucs fan is like the difference between a movie that's rated PG and another that’s rated R. The Bucs draw more fans, but that also means more of them are drunk, obnoxious and swear like they're in David Mamet play. In short, if you have the choice to take your 8-year-old to a Rays game or a Bucs game, it's no contest.

5. The Rays owners seem like regular guys
The Glazers are probably nice people and they do wonderful charity work. But when was the last time you saw Joel and Bryan Glazer or GM Bruce Allen serving as ushers at a game like Rays owner Stuart Sternberg and executives Matt Silverman and Andrew Friedman? The Rays boys just seem more accessible and their sole focus is a baseball team in St. Petersburg. (They have nothing to do with a soccer team in England.) Plus, Sternberg gets extra points for being a Springsteen fan. We don't know what kind of music the Glazers listen to because they are so private, but something about them screams "Yanni.''

6. You don't have to sit in traffic
See, there's one advantage to small crowds at Rays games. You don't have to fill up your gas tank, leave your house four hours early and inch your way along the final five miles just to arrive two hours before the game starts. Then repeat the whole thing after the game. The Rays are a pleasant evening out. The Bucs are a hard day's work.

7. Joe Maddon seems like a nicer guy than Jon Gruden
The Bucs coach isn't paid to make friends, but to win games. I get that. But I go back two years ago when Maddon took two games off to attend his girlfriend's graduation from law school. I just don't see Gruden doing something like that. Maddon sips wine after a game. Meantime, when we think of Gruden, our first thought is seeing how many times he can use a word that starts with "F'' on the sidelines.

8. Free parking
When I see the word "free,'' my next thought is "cool.'' Cars with four or more people can still park for free at a Rays game. The Bucs charge 25 bucks a pop no matter how many people are in your car. Plus, you can get a ticket to a Rays game for a mere $9. Nine dollars can't get your front wheels into the parking lot at Raymond James.

9. Post-game concerts and giveaways
LL Cool J, Loverboy and more bobbleheads than you can shake a stick at. That's what you get at a Rays game. What do the Bucs give away? Posters that turn into flying airplanes about midway through the fourth quarter of their games. And, this has nothing to do with giveaways, but here's another reason -- there's more offense at a Rays game.

10. You can hang out after a Rays game
Okay, so downtown St. Pete isn't exactly midtown Manhattan. But at least you can walk to a couple of dozen places to grab a bite to eat and a drink, maybe even listen to a little music. There are a few popular places within walking distance of Raymond James. Sure, you can listen to music at these, uh, establishments, but you better not grab anything or a guy named T-Bone will snap your spinal cord.