USA Today Slings Mud At Bucs
December 28th, 2013
More and more each day, it seems once honorable, mainstream media outlets (the MSM), have become little more than bad sports talk radio the way they cover sports.
This thought came to Joe’s mind when he read a piece of fiction thrown out as fact by USA Today when the outfit decided to do a power ranking of NFL coaches.
As one may guess, Bucs commander Greg Schiano was not very high on the USA Today list, coming in at No. 29, or fourth worst. Hey, Joe would bet even Schiano would admit he’s not had the finest of seasons. No harm there in what USA Today wrote (so far).
But where USA Today went from reporting to Stephen King tale-telling was this little nugget after Schiano’s ranking.
Not a lot to say about the bottom four. Their teams haven’t been good, their locker rooms are a mess, they aren’t winning this award. Moving on.
“Their locker rooms are a mess?” Really?
Now Joe can’t say he is at One Buc Palace every day, but he tries to go there no less than twice a week during the regular season, and that’s not counting all home games in the locker room and select road games when Joe enters the player’s sanctuary. Joe has not seen one scintilla of evidence of angst in the locker room among players much less the locker room being “a mess.”
In fact, Joe sees a fairly harmonious locker room. The only time Joe saw anyone getting bent out of shape is when Donald Penn reacted angrily to what he perceived was a hatchet job on sleepy, leaky Rip Van Freeman. Does that sound like a locker room that is a mess?
Shoot, Joe sees vets getting along quite well with not just fellow vets, but rookies, too. The team used to have guys, including high-profile players (not named “Josh Freeman”), who were noted pouters who couldn’t wait to get away from his teammates quick enough if he wasn’t a key cog in the game plan. Even if the Bucs won, one player would bolt off the field and out of the locker room as quickly as he could dress, sans shower, if he didn’t get his touches.
There’s none of that nonsense in the Bucs locker room now. How many times have we heard Schiano or Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik remark about the character of the players on the roster?
“Locker room is a mess?” Really?
The only good thing USA Today did with this piece was leave out a byline so the guilty reporter (?) is covered.
To throw out a lazy, damning one-liner like that when it’s not even true, for a national publication like USA Today, it is not just shameful but it makes one wonder; what other stories or nuggets of information USA Today invented out of thin air?
December 28th, 2013 at 11:03 am
FIRE SCHIANO!!!!
December 28th, 2013 at 11:35 am
We really don’t know what goes on behind the closed doors at One Buc. We see what they want us to see. If you were a player on this team, would you come out and say anything bad about the little general? Plus how can things be so giddy and harmonious when you are 4-11?
December 28th, 2013 at 11:56 am
Be careful not to bite the hand that feeds you Joe.
“JoeBucsFan.com is part of the USA Today Sports Media Group”
Yes, the quote is a little lazy but seems rather benign. I can’t help wondering if this post is your way of showing you are not beholden to the man. A way perhaps to signal that you are responsible for the changes on the site and not others?
Jimminy Christmas. Loads of reading between the lines here. USA Today has no editorial say here, nor anything to do with any navigational changes on the site.–Joe
December 28th, 2013 at 11:56 am
The rumor has been going on for 2 years now. I don’t think the national media even bothers to check anything out in depth anymore. They just take a rumor and run with it as fact.
Because the Bucs are 4-11 soon to be 4-12 the media could care less what they get right or wrong. Our team does not matter. Come to think of it even when the Bucs were winning our team did not matter either. Oh well it’s a Buc’s life.
December 28th, 2013 at 12:15 pm
I hope the locker room is a mess. If you have a group of guys that hyave lost something like 16 of their last 22 and its not a mess then you have a culture of a loser. We keep losing but “its ok guys – we will get this corrected”. Everyone was so excited when we beat a few crap teams after losing 8, i thought there was going to be a parade down Dale Mabry.
Its unacceptable to keep losing and for it to take 2 years for coaches to learn.
December 28th, 2013 at 12:54 pm
This isn’t nearly as shameful as a local king of radio insisting Schiano rigged the captain’s vote and purposefully released a former quarterback’s medical.
Now that’s nonsense reporting.
December 28th, 2013 at 12:59 pm
“Plus how can things be so giddy and harmonious when you are 4-11?”
@Mr. Patrick – Maybe the players know they only have 1 more game for the Schiano World Order to END!
Hopefully the player captains already talk to the Glazers wanting the “College Game Plans” to END!
The Glazers probably told them not to worry about the SWO. All is going to end soon….
December 28th, 2013 at 1:02 pm
Joe, you people seem to write rumours that I think are unsubstantiated; you know the leaky sleepy….
Nothing personal; a few posters on this site are occasionally afflicted with this habit.
December 28th, 2013 at 1:07 pm
FIRE SCHIANO!!!!
December 28th, 2013 at 1:15 pm
If the locker room is not a mess, I think that speaks more for the players than the coaching staff. Just my two cents.
December 28th, 2013 at 1:23 pm
Seems about right to me except I would probably rank schiano 32 out of 32 so 29 was quite generous imo.
December 28th, 2013 at 1:42 pm
Clipper:
Here is some afternoon reading for ya.
And here is some more.
December 28th, 2013 at 2:08 pm
@ Laughing Stock II
Let’s certainly hope so
December 28th, 2013 at 3:20 pm
The USA Today newspaper is a joke. Who in hell would pay 2 dollars to read what is worth a quarter?
December 28th, 2013 at 5:32 pm
Great character guys we have.
Can’t compete with the rest of the league, but hey they all love one another.
Awesome. Heartwarming. Cute.
December 28th, 2013 at 7:14 pm
@Joe. Thank you for replying without vitriol.
I had already read what you suggested.
My defense of him would be what really happened from the downfall last year to the start of the year? I can only surmise based on what I think of this 5th rate supposed HC. I don’t really want to elaborate on it.o
I just think that the whole issue was poorly handled. Maybe Freeman did not want to kiss his ring?
What I am referring to is the stuff like he is a drunk; he is a cokehead. Having a 40 year old son with multiple mental health issues, I did not enjoy some of the stupid, ignorant remarks about Freeman taking Ritalin, and/or Adderall. I guess we will always be stuck with some asshole rednecks. To those people, fuck you.
This is libelous. I am not suggesting that Joe wrote it.
I find it very odd that a young player like this would lose that much weight, and organize practices during the lockout, and then resort to the rebellious actions.
December 28th, 2013 at 7:34 pm
If bucs owners care about winning…… FIRE SCHIANO YESTRDAY !
December 28th, 2013 at 8:05 pm
fastclipper Says:
December 28th, 2013 at 7:14 pm
@Joe. Thank you for replying without vitriol.
I had already read what you suggested.
My defense of him would be what really happened from the downfall last year to the start of the year? I can only surmise based on what I think of this 5th rate supposed HC. I don’t really want to elaborate on it.o
I just think that the whole issue was poorly handled. Maybe Freeman did not want to kiss his ring?
What I am referring to is the stuff like he is a drunk; he is a cokehead. Having a 40 year old son with multiple mental health issues, I did not enjoy some of the stupid, ignorant remarks about Freeman taking Ritalin, and/or Adderall. I guess we will always be stuck with some asshole rednecks. To those people, fu*k you.
This is libelous. I am not suggesting that Joe wrote it.
I find it very odd that a young player like this would lose that much weight, and organize practices during the lockout, and then resort to the rebellious actions.
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Agree with you 100%, Clipper.