2015 Stanley Cup Final Game 2 recap: Lightning tie series with 4-3 win

Originally published at RawCharge.com on Saturday, June 6th

After fighting off an early case of deja vu (getting a 1-0 lead before finding themselves down 2-1), the Tampa Bay Lightning go on to a 4-3 win over the Chicago Blackhawks in a thrilling back-and-forth Game 2 of the 2015 Stanley Cup Final, tying the best-of-seven series at a game apiece.

The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 at Amalie Arena in Tampa Saturday night, to tie the 2015 Stanley Cup Final at a game each.

Up and down, back and forth, two conference champions challenged each other all night long with the Tampa Bay Lightning coming out on top this time.

There were quite a few similarities between this one and Game 1 on Wednesday. From the start, the Lightning came out strong and established the pace and tempo. This time, however, the Blackhawks were not overwhelmed and stayed with the Lightning, as evidenced by the fact that the shot differential was a mere 12-11 edge for the Lightning, heading into the first intermission.

The Bolts got good looks in flurries around the net, generating more scoring chances early in the first period than they did all of Game 1. Blackhawks netminder Cory Crawford was the difference early on, denying the Lightning any good second chances.

The Lightning got the much-coveted first goal of the game when Cedric Paquette scored at 12:56. The goal was originally credited as unassisted but helpers were later assigned to Ryan Callahan and Victor Hedman.

Just like Game 1, the period ended with the Lightning up 1-0.

Deja vu set in early in the second when Chicago tied the game at 3:04 on a goal by Andrew Shaw. At the time assists were credited to Andrew Desjardins and Johnny Oduya, but Oduya's was later credited to Marcus Kruger.

A little over two minutes later, very similar to what happened in the third period in Game 1, the Blackhawks took the lead on a goal from Teuvo Teravainen at 5:20. Marian Hossa and Patrick Sharp chipped in with help. Unlike Game 1, however, there was lots of time remaining.

Opting not to waste any of that time, Nikita Kucherov answered on behalf of the Lightning less than two minutes later, scoring at 6:52. Jason Garrison and Braydon Coburn offered assistance on the play.

Tyler Johnson scored at 13:58 to retake the lead for the Lightning. He was assisted by Kucherov.

Once again, just like Game 1, the Lightning took a one-goal lead into the final period, this time up 3-2.

During the first period the two teams shared a 50% success rate in faceoffs, but in the second and third periods, Chicago owned a decisive edge, winning 74% in the second and 71% in the third. This, combined with Chicago pressing resulted in the Lightning mustering only two shots in the third.

At 3:38 of the third, Brent Seabrook tied the game for the Blackhawks, receiving the benefit of what certainly looked like could have easily been called goalie interference on Marian Hossa. It wasn't and Patrick Sharp and David Rundblad picked up assists on the play.

Around the nine minute mark, Lightning starting goaltender Ben Bishop left the game and was replaced by Andrei Vasilevskiy.

The Lightning, on the second of back-to-back power plays, took the lead again at 8:49, with Jason Garrison netting the eventual game winner with helpers coming from Hedman and Callahan.

Afterward, Bishop returned to the game briefly, only to leave again, Vasilevskiy would pick up the win, turning away all five shots he faced in 9:31 total combined ice time. For his part, Bishop stopped 21 of the 24 shots that came his way in the other 50:31.

For those wondering what was/is going on with Bishop, unfortunately there is no news available at this time. He wasn't available to the media post game because he was "receiving treatment" and coach Cooper refused to even address the matter.

"All right, before we get going, and I hate to be that guy, and I know I talk way too much when I'm up here, I will not answer questions about the goaltending and what happened tonight. I apologize for that." - Cooper's opening remark at his post game press conference,

Okay then. The matter is now open to baseless speculation, but that's really not what we do here at Raw Charge so we're going to leave that alone for now. Make no mistake, it's the story for the Lightning as the series moves forward until the team issues official communication that renders it not.

Going back to what happened on the ice Saturday night, the Blackhawks pulled their goalie for an extra attacker with about 2:00 remaining but were unable to score the equalizer.

The series is now tied at one apiece and will move to Chicago for Games 3 and 4, with Game 3 scheduled for Monday night.

Game notes:

• Jonathan Drouin made his first appearance in the 2015 NHL Final. Vladislav Namestnikov was scratched.
• Vasilevskiy is the first goalie to win his first postseason game in relief in a Stanley Cup Final game since 1928.
• Johnson now holds sole possession of the Lightning franchise record for goals scored during a postseason. He breaks a tie that he held with former Bolts Ruslan Fedotenko and Brad Richards
• This was the tenth game the Lightning have won when scoring first in this postseason, in which they are now 10-1 under those circumstances.
• The Lightning are now 4-0 in Game 2's during the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
• Tampa Bay's power play has now scored in eight of their last 13 games, going 15 for 43 (35%) over that stretch.
• The Tampa Bay Lightning honored Phil Esposito as the 53rd Lightning Community Hero of the season during the first period of tonight's game. Esposito, who received a $100,000 donation from the Lightning Foundation and the Lightning Community Heroes program, will donate the money to the Wounded Warrior Project and youth and amateur hockey programming in the Tampa Bay region. The Lightning legacy can be traced back to Esposito, one of the NHL's most prolific goal-scorers and NHL Hall of Famer, who 23 years ago believed that hockey could succeed in the city of Tampa. His efforts as co-founder helped Tampa win the vote of a permanent franchise by the National Hockey League's Board of Governors on December 20, 1991, which is the beginning era of the Tampa Bay Lightning. It is because of the seed Esposito planted that the Tampa Bay Lightning organization continues to embody and have a significant impact on the city of Tampa by bringing fans together, giving back to the community, stimulating economic activity in the Tampa Bay region, and soon undertaking a major urban development.

A new cause to fight for!

Everybody loves it so much when I use this blog as a call to action, right? Mostly because it's a call from me to act on behalf of me. And that's just charming. Well, as it turns out my friend Karen has nominated me as a candidate for a CBS Tampa's Most Valuable Blogger Award! And not only are we nominated, but we're one of five finalists in our category ("Dining/Entertainment"). Now, as with all awards, it's an honor just to be nominated (giggle) but the real purpose is to win. That's where, once again, you come in. There are five or six finalists in each category and the eventual winners will be determined by votes from the general public (you).
Below are some questions and answers that will cover everything you need to know. You're welcome. Oh, and thanks.

What the hell is this now?
It's CBS Tampa Most Valuable Blogger Award! Were you not paying attention to the whole expository section above? Try to keep up please.

Aren't you already campaigning for a loofah or something like that?
Loafie. Yes, I'm also trying to win a Creative Loafing Best of the Bay award, or "Loafie". And you can still vote for that here, if you haven't already done so. This is different.

Which award is more prestigious?
Whichever one I win.

What if you win both awards?
Yay! Happiness, sunshine, rainbows and unicorn vomit (it smells like berries!) all across the land.

What if you win neither?
Boo! Gloom, sadness, despair and unicorns shot on sight like that rabid dog in "To Kill A Mockingbird".

"Sorry Scout, but Boo Radley was a stupid name for a unicorn anyway."

How is anything about this blog 'valuable'?
Well, think about in terms of 'most valuable' awards that are handed out in sports. The guys who win those awards are the ones who post the most impressive statistics. It's really more like 'best' than 'most valuable'.

How is anything about this blog 'best'?
Next question please.

What's at stake here?
The prestige of actually being recognized with an award = knowing that somebody loves me. Also, popular vote winners from each category will win a $50 Amazon gift card and one Overall Editor’s Choice winner will also win a $50 Amazon gift card.

Of course, the placement of this logo should have absolutely
no influence on the selection of the Overall Editor's Choice
winner. But hey, Amazon.com is really, really great!

What's involved with voting?
By clicking here the link above or on the logo in the side column there to the right, you'll be taken to the site where you can vote for one nominee in each category. You can...and should...vote once a day, every day through September 9th.

Cripes. Every day?
Every single day.

I like being told what to think and do. Who should I vote for?
You should not end sentences or questions with prepositions.

Sorry. Who should I vote for, you jackass?
Okay, here is a complete list of CBS Tampa's Most Valuable Blogger Awards 2011, by category, with brief descriptions and followed by my official recommendations...

Dining/Entertainment

• Breezin Entertainment Blog » "Fun guide to fun things"
• I Love The Burg  info » "Invaluable for folks living in Downtown"
• Soundcheck » "Great local music blog"
• Tampa Bay Dining Out » "Check this blog out before you go out"
• Tampa Bay Food Monster » "Brought to you by the good taste of the Food Monster"
• Ridiculously inconsistent trickle of consciousness » "Love his witty humor and take on life! Its a fun daily read :)"

RECOMMENDATION: The Trickle! Because Love + Witty + Humor + Life + Fun X smiley face = WINNER!
 
Local Affairs

• Tampa Do Gooder » "Come on! Do some good!"
•  The Bay buzz » "Inquiring minds want to know..."
• The Grade Book » "Great education blog for northwestern Fla."
•  The Real Estate Sizzle » "If real estate were steak, this guy would have a ranchful."
•  The Tampa Bankruptcy Blog » "If you're in bad shape, this blog actually can help."

RECOMMENDATION: Tampa Do Gooder. I know the author, Dawn Morgan, and she really is the Tampa Do Gooder! She recycles and everything!

SPORTS

• Bucs Beat » "Great Bucs commentary."
• Bucstop.com » "The mixture of video quality, its devotion to the history of the Bucs franchise"
• Tampa Bay Sports Blog » "Great blog for sports in Tampa"
• The Gator Report » "GO Gators!!!!"
• The Heater » "This guys really knows baseball"
• The Seminole report » "GO Noles!!"

 RECOMMENDATION: None. Four of these six nominees are under the masthead of the St. Petersburg Times. I'm sure they're fine and I guess they're eligible for consideration but blogs that have the resources of a major daily newspaper at their disposal don't really need an award like this, do they? So instead, I'm going to recommend you read John Fontana's Raw Charge.com. Because it should have been nominated, hockey season is coming up and oh yeah, full disclosure: I'm a contributor there too. Boom.

Health, Fitness and Medical

• City Bike tampa » "Biking blog with a ton of good stuff"
• Pilates Tampa Blog » "Not the 'PIRATES' Tampa Blog, pilates is better for your health."
• Run Tampa » "Good running blog, very inspiring."
• Tampa Thyroid Blog » "Know your thyroid, read this blog."
• Tampa Yoga Blog » "We're so much cooler than pilates. So. Much."

RECOMMENDATION: A tie between Pilates and Yoga because I sense that it wouldn't take much to start a rumble between them and I think we'd all like to see that.

 
Lifestyle and Family 

• One Life In St. Petersburg » "Great life-affirming blog"
• Out in Left Field » "Far out there, but funny"
• Pop Life » "Not just a great Prince song..."
• Tampa Bay Life » "Life in Tampa Bay"
• Whoa, Momma » "The grand-daddy of mommy blogs..."

RECOMMENDATION: Out in Left Field. It's written by longtime nemesis respected peer Catherine Durkin Robinson and our alliance, formed in pursuit of mutual Loafies, remains strong. After all this time, I actually met her in person for the first time last week. She's cool.

 
Everything Else 

• Bizarre Florida » "Tres bizarre est tres chic"
• Tampa Bay Arts Blog » "Great resource for Tampa arts and culture"
• That's Glitchy » "ThatsGlitchy.com is the newest premier source for 80s and 90s babies with ultimate reading and viewing pleasure."
• The Daily Loaf » "And who doesn't need at least one loaf per day"
• The gadget guy » "Great advice"

RECOMMENDATION: That's Glitchy. Glitchy is a great, underused word.

Best of the Bay update: An endorsement from Peter Schorsch!

We're heading toward the finish line in this year's Crative Loafing Best of the Bay competition and yesterday, yours truly received a pretty impressive endorsement from none other than Peter Schorsch. Peter is the author of SaintPetersBlog and he's not campaigning for an award this year (wink), but he won last year's Editor's Choice award winner for Best Blog. Check out what he says about the big dumb purple blog you're looking at right this very second...

"Clark over at Ridiculous Inconsistent Trickle of Consciousness is an interesting writer, but he posted just 15 times in August, 17 times in July and 21 times in June."

In other words, the award winning Peter Schorsch simply can't enough of The Trickle, baby!

Now of course, I've gotten out of the business of aggressive, confrontational, obnoxious, abrasive and shameless pandering campaigns for awards (wink), having aligned myself with Catherine Durkin Robinson in a cooperative effort to hopefully get her the award for Best CLTampa.com Contributor while she supports me in the race to be named Best Local Blogger and/or Best Local Personality. So this unabashed and enthusiastic testimonial of support is appreciated...and a little embarrassing. Thank you, Peter, honestly! I appreciate you being such a dedicated fan that you would devote a whole post on your blog to appeal to the hearts and minds of your considerable and learned audience of readers to cast all their votes for me. I'm blushing here!
To everyone else here who may or may not love me this blog as much as Peter does, all I can do is hope that you see fit to participate in this contest that will determine nothing less than what is truly The Best of the Bay and all it has to offer, for once and for all or until 2012, whichever comes first.
God bless you and God bless the United States of America. And don't forget to reduce, reuse and recycle. For the children. 

It's that time again, and if you can't beat 'em...

Once again, Creative Loafing Tampa Bay is opening the polls for Best of the Bay. Once again, I really, really, really want to win an award or two (not that I'm greedy). However, unlike 2009 and 2010, in 2011, I don't have the time, energy or resources to mount an effectively imaginative campaign of my own. What this means is I couldn't come up with any cheap ideas. Expensive ideas, sure! Lots of those! But all things considered, it's best that I not spend any money on something like this (things considered: I never win and I have no money). So instead, I've decided to ride the coattails of swim in the wake of beg like a dog under the table in hope of getting some sloppy second table scraps from join forces with multi-award winner Catherine Durkin Robinson, author of "Out in Left Field" and all around overacheiver, about whom I have never, ever said anything remotely negative or critical in any way. This was actually her idea:

"How about we team up - me for best contributor and you for best blog? Or Twitterer?" -- CDR, July 29, 2011, via Twitter

I like it! So here's how it works: I am offically endorsing Catherine Durkin Robinson with my vote in the 2011 Creative Loafing Tampa Bay "Best of the Bay" poll in the category of Best CLTampa.com Contributor. Why? Well, in my opinion, she is the best contributor to CL Tampa.com. Plus, here are just a few of Ms. Durkin Robinson's credentials...

• She's a published author: "Olivia's Kiss" and "Learning Curves".
• In addition to Creative Loafing, her columns have appeared in the Washington Post, Tampa Tribune, St. Petersburg Times, Sasee Magazine and Canyon News among others. 
• She's a wife and mom.
• She fancies me (unverified, but pretty sure).

Of course she does.

From this point on, the campaign IS ON and when I shill for your votes for me as Best Local Blogger and/or Best Local Personality to Follow on Twitter, I will be shilling for Catherine as well. In exchange, she will quid pro quo me back. Hey, collusion cooperation is kinda fun!

And while you're at it, feel free to cast a vote for Raw Charge. John Fontana busts numerous humps (one of them being mine) to make it Tampa Bay's best hockey blog and he deserves a dang award for it too.

 
So get to votin'! You can vote once per email address and you have to vote in at least 20 categories to qualify. That's to try to keep it local and cut down on ballot box stuffing, which I don't agree with as both of those things hinder my ability to win, but whatever.

Happy Labor Day means I'm happy to be laboring

Still my favorite souvenir

As of last week, I'm back to work in the exciting world of sports and entertainment (although in spite of how the headline reads, I'm off today; coming up with headlines is hard), taking a position in the ticket office at the St. Pete Times Forum, home of the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning. That's where I worked before I left the industry (although it's not exactly my old job) so I guess this is a double comeback and I'm really happy about it. Although, I'm not in love, that's perfectly okay. Following the theme of last Friday's post about Dirk Hayhurst's philosophy about loving the game of baseball, I think I've finally learned the lesson that love isn't always the answer when it pertains to what you do for a living. It's possible to enjoy what you do and take satisfaction in it without loving it. Investing love in a job is not likely to yield the kind of return you might think you deserve and sets you up to be disappointed and bitter. It's taken this long to learn that lesson because for a long time, I had jobs that I truly loved and that often loved me back.


The Sun Dome is the arena on the Tampa campus of the University of South Florida and that's where I started in the industry. It remains to this day the best job I've ever had. While the organization that managed the building at that time was professional, it was run very much like a family. The facility itself was old and the university didn't give us much of an operating budget so there were some serious challenges to be dealt with on a regular basis. No suites or posh amenities, our concession stands were small and outdated, old, broken seating sections, etc. Upper management took genuine interest in the staff as individuals and encouraged us to take opportunities to develop professionally while maintaining concern for us as human beings. The culture of the company was that we were expected to work hard and make do with less but that our efforts for doing so were sincerely appreciated and they let us know it. As a result, I learned ticketing, got to do marketing and promotions, went to school and earned a certificate in public relations, was involved heavily in event planning and arena operations and gathered a great collection of memories. I got to meet and speak with lifetime crush Sheila E (protocol dictates that staff didn't bother performers; protocol be damned when it comes to lifetime crushes). As part of marketing, promotions and public relations, I used to pick random names from the lists of those who bought tickets to our shows and welcome them on our scoreboards, something for which most arenas charge. People would see their names up there and ask why, which gave us the opportunity to reply that we were just happy that they were there. This usually confused them but also made them happy, which is probably my favorite combination of feelings. I loved going out on the arena floor behind the barrier in front of the stage before a concert started, and snapping pictures of fans with their cameras from the perspective of the stage. One time, a group of kids came down from Orlando for a heavy metal show with enough money for tickets, transportation and nothing else. They were camped out at our doors in the hot sun all day long. I visited them several times during the day, bringing them water, taking them inside for bathroom runs and then had pizza delivered for dinner. Later, they presented me with a thank you note they had written on the back of a flyer that I had framed and put on my wall. This kind of thing was not only tolerated but encouraged. More importantly, I had the privilege of meeting and working with some of the finest all-around people I've ever met, some of whom remain very close friends.
As a company, we generated sufficient revenue to finish in the black every year and we liked working with each other (occasional squabbles that popped up from time to time that would happen in any company...or family, for that matter...notwithstanding) so we considered ourselves successful and we, all of us, loved it. I left when the athletic administration (under the "leadership" of athletic director Doug Woolard) began asserting control and drove out the people who had established that culture, causing me to not love it. Everybody who stayed then has left since, many of them in a mass-firing a couple of months ago...now that USF has come up with some money and the building is finally being renovated after years of neglect. So much for love.

"This is just symbolism; I actually ripped the
guts out of the Sun Dome years ago."

From there, I went to the St. Pete Times Forum. It was a much more corporate environment but I still enjoyed it. The Lightning are my favorite team in any sport so that was a thrill in itself. I even got to be in the full staff photo taken with the team. 

There I am!

Plus, the people there from top to bottom were great and we still managed to have a lot of fun. I left there shortly after the team and lease to the building was sold to a group that would eventually turn out to be the worst sports owners in the history of Tampa Bay, which is saying something. I'd like to say that I knew that would be the case and that's why I left but that wouldn't be true. The truth is that the hours were crazy, there was a lot of stress and I was getting burned out. One night, I had an epiphany. My friends had scheduled a night out and had rented a limo for the occasion. I had to work a concert that night (I don't remember who; events were beginning to blur together at that point) but they invited me to join them when I finished and had sent the driver to wait for me. As soon as I got the concert promoter to sign some paperwork, including the receipt for $25,000 in cash I needed to give him, I was free. All I had to do was wait for him to come out of the bathroom. As 20 minutes passed, I thought about how the enjoyment of my personal life was being held up by having to wait for someone to finish his either overly intense or overly leisurely bowel movement so I could hand him several thousand dollars and it occurred to me that I was not loving the business and it was definitely not loving me.
That was the exact moment I decided I needed to leave. My experiences and memories were so great that I didn't want to taint them by becoming jaded and miserable, so I left (on very good terms) to try something else.
I could write something about where I've worked since but it's best if I just say that I'm thrilled to be back at the Forum. Especially since the owners who were in control when i left the first time are out of the picture now. And while things didn't work out like I wanted after I left, I still think the decision to leave was sound when I made it and I don't regret it. Just like I think the decision to go back, with a fresh perspective, is sound now.

Guest Author: John Fontana

John "Johnny Fonts" Fontana is one of the managing editors at Raw Charge.com, and is, in effect, my boss. Even if he weren't, I'd still be inclined to say good things about him. He's been covering the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning for over seven years now but I've only been a high-maintenance pain in his ass for the last year and a half so we're still in the honeymoon phase. It helps that we have things in common, such as an appreciation for the Beatles and of course, Lightning hockey. And as bloggers who function both in and outside of the mainstream media, we both like to keep our eyes on trends taking place in the media. Here are some thoughts from John in the wake of the Tampa Tribune announcing that they are on the verge of cutting more costs, which means laying off even more staff.

I don’t know much of the long-time history of the Tampa Tribune. I have heard about days of yore when the Trib was a broader newspaper that reached out to more people across the region. There was a time when it was a force, when it’s writers and personalities held sway in both local and state happenings.



Of course, times have changed. The entire media landscape has changed. The common response when talking about print media troubles usually sounds like, “What’s a newspaper?”


The history of the Tampa Tribune that I’ve seen unfold before me over the past decade is the Tribune – with thanks to the influence of it’s corporate parent, Media General – and affiliated entities tied to it, cut-cut-cut-cut-cut-cut and cut some more. The cuts, early on, were fed to customers with the reasoning In Order To Serve You Better.


The only thing that the Tribune, WFLA TV, TBO.com (and other properties) are serving through substantial, repetive cuts in staff and coverage, is the corporate bottom line.


Richmond, Virginia based Media General has cooked up yet another restructuring in Tampa this week, because the last In Order To Serve You Better didn’t quite work out. Several of the head cheeses at the Media Center in downtown Tampa have been “re-assigned” (nicey-nice speak for shit-canned) in a falling-upwards kind of fashion that reminds me of politics of the recent past: You screw up, you get commended and potentially a medal because you did what was asked of you, even if it didn’t work.


With WFLA’s influence in local TV on the wane, with the Tribune’s cost-cutting antics destroying coverage and circulation, and with TBO’s inept layout that hides content and limits it’s exposure (and potential page views)… Well, this ain’t exactly serving anyone better except corporate management’s whims.


And while another truffle shuffle of corporate big wigs takes place, the promise of more staff cuts looms. I’m mortified at the thought of what cutbacks and layoffs are to come. The Tampa Tribune, WFLA, TBO, and all other parties tied to Media General’s interests in Tampa have been nipped and tucked so many times over the past decade that… Hell, I don’t even have a comparison to make.


Former editor Denise Palmer was throwing around the word Hyper-local during the last revamp and restructuring of the Tampa Tribune and Media Center operations. Now? A memo informing employees of the staff changes this week said focus should be on “the core market” where most of the circulation is based. In laymans terms, in order to serve themselves better, the plan is to focus on Tampa alone and stress where they sell the most newspapers. They just said it this time without buzzwords.


In essence, Media General’s plan is to make sure the Tampa Tribune and Media Center operations further contract to small-time status, comparable to other assets owned in the south by the company – small market TV stations and newspapers.


Is that really the wisest course of action in the 14th ranked media market in America?


For a long time, the wisest thing Media General could have done for itself would have been to dump what was once known as their “crown jewel” in the Tampa Tribune/WFLA/TBO property, not because it was junk but because it held value while the company didn’t know how to effectively manage it. That’s still the best course of action. The region is too big for rinky-dink direction.


Of course, no one is buying newspapers these days – that’s the rub. Someone would have to go out on a limb to make an investment in a property like the Media Center and it’s media entities within.


Whatever the case, I’m most worried about the staff that remains on right now at the Media Center. Everything is once again on the chopping block In Order To Serve You Better. And good employees will once again be sent packing with cuts because management doesn’t have a clue what to do besides contract a major metropolitain news organization into a neighborhood leaflet.

Drafty

I enjoy sports and enhancing the enjoyment of sports is my enjoyment of the fantasy sports. No doubt you've heard of this. It's now a multi-million dollar enterprise in it's own right, with magazines, web sites, talk radio and even television programs. The concept is pretty basic. You draft and trade for a collection of real life players on pro teams and then use your sports accumen to make line-ups that pit the best of your players against another person's players. Based on the real life statistics produced by of those players, your team earns points. The winner is the person who can most effectively manage his or her team to earn points and defeat their opponents. The reason it's called "fantasy" sports is because you get to be the coach, general manager and owner of a team of players! That concept sounded like a great deal of fun to me and is what attracted me to the fantasy sports realm. I relished the idea of having my own team and doing whatever I wanted with it. For instance, I made up team colors, logos, stadium names and even front office employees whose exploits I would detail in regularly issued press releases. Like this one, from my hockey team, the Wimauma Surf Midgets:

WIMAUMA, FL (October 15, 2001) - After extensive negotiations, the Wimauma Surf Midgets have reached an agreement to sell the naming rights to their home arena. The building, formerly the Wimauma School Book Depository and Sheep Shearing Pavilion, will from now on be known as the Sip N Zip Arena.

"We're very excited to have this partnership with the folks at the Sip N Zip convenience store", said Surf Midgets president and general manager Buddy 'Bud' Buddweiller. "Sip N Zip presented a much more attractive bid than the ones we got from Buy N Fly, Gulp N Go or even Shop N Suk".

After some initial resistance, the Wimauma City Council supported the re-naming of the semi-historic building. "I didn't know that they had the legal right to sell the name", said councilman Luther Gringo. "But then, I didn't even know we hadn't torn the place down after the '95 fire so I guess it don't really matter".

The financial benefit of this move is expected to pay immediate dividends for the Surf Midgets, currently in 3rd place in the Red Rocket Fantasy Hockey League. "Now we can finally put a down payment on that puck refinisher we've been looking at!", said head coach Lester Guy.

Unfortunately, most people who get into fantasy sports don't have any interest in nonsense like that. For them, fantasy sports is just another form of gambling and they invest as much creativity into it as you would in buying lottery tickets. Of course, they would have you believe that there's much more skill to it than that; it's more like handicapping thoroughbreds. Ok, I'll concede that. But I know more people who've pocketed cash scratching off lotto tickets than those who've picked derby winners. I'm just sayin'.

Anyway, yesterday I went to a draft party for a new football league I'm joining this year. The draft is the one time during a fantasy season where all the particpants are in one place, sharing camaraderie. I didn't enjoy myself, as is always the case with gatherings like that. As I allude to in the profile, the concept of male bonding is completely lost on me. A Guy's Night Out (Men! Hanging out with Men! Doing Manly things!) is pretty much my idea of a totally wasted evening. All nice enough guys at this particular draft party, but I just don't crave any desire to spend my precious leisure time among guys. For one thing, you always get the sense that everybody is trying a little too hard to get their testerone on. Everybody wears a football jersey, everybody drinks beer from cans and everybody swears a lot. Ok, I like to wear jerseys (I didn't yesterday, though) but I hate the taste of beer from a can and I already think I swear too much so I frequently find myself making a conscious effort not to. At this party yesterday, there was actually a guy playing DJ with an assortment of porn DVDs all afternoon. I guess a banner stating "THERE'S A WHOLE BUNCH OF GUYS IN HERE BUT ABSOLUTELY NONE OF US ARE GAY" in the front yard probably violated some neighborhood deed restriction. Also, anytime you get more than four guys together in any kind of sports environment, you're just about guaranteed get at least a few of the hyper-competetive jock wannabes. They're either guys who were super stud athletes in high school or guys who didn't play sports at all in high school but they're from somewhere else and nobody knows that about them, so now's their chance to show them (whoever 'them' is). You find A LOT of these guys in rec league softball but they're also heavily involved in the fantasy sports scene. They tend to laugh really loudly when somebody drafts Deshaun Foster without knowing his 40 yard dash time is 3/80ths of a second slower than it was last year. They're assholes and I find assholes tedious. Not that there were any assholes at this thing yesterday. As far as I could tell, there weren't. But it still wasn't really my kind of thing. So while everyone else spent the time between their draft choices contemplating the combined all-purpose yardage of somebody named Santonio Holmes, I was looking at the clock, wondering if I'd get out of there in time to have a quiet dinner with some friends before going back to their apartment to do some more work on the documentary film we're producing on women leaders in Tampa Bay government.
So why do I do it? Well, like I said, it is fun. Even if nobody else enjoys the silly stuff I waste time on, I do. Like the fight song I wrote for my beloved Wimauma Surf Midgets:

"Hail, Hail Wimauma

Onward maroon and black

For we are the mighty Midgets of the Surf

Always on the attack

We rant, riot, rock and rave

As we seek the perfect wave

We never, ever get uptight

Or too depressed about our lack of height

So

Bow, bow to Wimauma

Legends of the ice

For we are the mighty Midgets of the Surf

And we're cheap at half the price"

Plus, maybe this year I'll win the motherf***ing championship and show those c***suckers who's the man! WHO'S THE MAN? WHO'S THE GODDAMN MAN?!?

Guest Blogger: John Fontana

Today's special guest blogger is the mysterious John Fontana (or Johnny Fonts as I like to call him). I said mysterious because I've never met or even spoken to the guy, yet we've "known" each other for years now. John is the mastermind behind Raw Charge, the bay area's best blog covering the Tampa Bay Lightning (and a part of the SB Nation Tampa Bay family) and I've met some of his people (I like to imagine him as the kind of guy who "has people" and that he orchestrates their actions from the deep recesses of a shadowy lair) but have never crossed paths with the guy himself. Or have I? I don't know. Maybe I met him when he was in disguise or something and he didn't reveal his true identity. I have no way of knowing. In a way, that's good. I kind of like the idea of somebody taking Batman's approach to fighting crime and adapting it to blogging about hockey.
At any rate, Johnny Fonts is as annoyed by the endless stream of remakes & reboots rolling out of Hollywood as I am. Here is his take on the situation...

Remaking Cinema in the 2000’s



By now, you have noticed Hollywood is out of original ideas – well, unless your name happens to be Christopher Nolan and a selective few others. It’s mostly rehash left and right and in between now at your local Cineplex: Retold stories and continuations of franchises that should have ended by now.


Alas, the reboots are a way of life now in film.


Sunday night, at my older brother’s urging, I watched the 2009 film “The Karate Kid”, which didn’t exactly fit the reboot genre at all because… well, the kid wasn’t learning karate, he was learning kung fu. Details though, right? Who cares! It’s a kid martial artist!


And yet, this was a needless remake of a grand scale. “The Karate Kid” remains a classic to this day. And while Ralph Macchio had his moments of obnoxiousness in the original film, they don’t make you brush off his troubles because he’s an asshole like the current movie.


Sympathy and charaisma, who needs it when you have kun-fu fighting!


The point of this post is that Hollywood filmed a movie, loosely based on an 80’s blockbuster, using the blockbuster’s name in hopes to hit paydirt.


Why do they have to do this with classics? You’d think that an executive would look at some of the duds of the past 50 years and commission a screenwriter to draft a reboot for one of countless steaming piles of crap that Tinseltown has put out in that time.


I mean, seriously, Ishtar is not exactly sacred In it’s current version, it can do with some changes and updating and they may actually make a watchable film. Van Helsing is primed to be remade, because it really wasn’t made in the first place. It was marketed and put onto celluloid in hopes of selling toys and other monster goodies. Not much else.


They can remake the sci-fi classic Planet of the Apes but they won’t touch Waterworld, as if it was such a sacred film that it can’t be re-imagined improved upon…


I’m not entirely against reboots, mind you. Tim Burton and Sam Raimi painted themselves into corners when they did their respective superhero films (Batman and Spider-man, respectively) by killing off the villains. Christopher Nolan’s Batman films stand apart and stand above the Burton features, and Sony is in the process of rebooting Spider-man (ok, a little premature, but…).


They’re remaking Red Dawn – the hit from 1984 – but won’t touch Runaway, the Michael Crichton techno-thriller of low-tech special effects sci-fi from the same year… What is more of a threat in the modern world – technology, or the Commies? What piques the imagination more?


Let’s move away from the movies that made any money (and were considered bombs) and move to one that didn’t make any: A little flick released in 1989 called Catch Me If You Can (not the Spielberg directed movie with Leo DiCaprio). Just reading over the concept on IMDB (economic hard times! Street racing! Gambling! Teens!), it looks like it’d be in the Hollywood crosshairs. Add to it the fact the original film was only released for one week in the US and made less than $4000, and you a true candidate of a bomb that could be re-done for much higher returns.


But, no... Because half the marketing is in brand name recognition. The Day The Earth Stood Still, RETOLD! A Nightmare On Elm Street, begun anew!


No wonder people are staying home, watching reality TV, or spending more time with YouTube video clips. If we wanted the same stuff, over and over again, we’d still be watching Gilligan’s Island reruns.

Vote for me!

Creative Loafing is holding their annual "Best of the Bay" poll. You can vote on all kinds of things like best barbecue restaurant, best beach, best place to buy a bicycle and all sorts of nonsense like that. More importantly, you can vote for BEST LOCAL BLOG. I would like to take the opportunity to ask you to waste cast your vote for this one. Now, I have no delusions about thinking I'm going to win. That's an honor that will go to a good blog, an important blog, like one of the many listed in the sidebar over there to your right. In fact, I have no doubt one of them will win. But I still want votes. Call it an admirable commitment to hope and lost causes. Call it a desperate plea for attention and love. Call it whatever you want. Just vote. For me! I mean, this blog.
Now, the blogs that are listed in the sidebar are all very good. I'd encourage you to read them...later...much, much later...but don't vote for any of them. I'm not saying that every last one of those writers is a communist, illegal alien and/or a clogging enthusiast who wants to make health care coverage of any kind illegal, but I can't say with certainty that they aren't. And in this day and age and political climate, isn't that enough? You bet it it might be.
They're also selfish. They're not willing to give away an array of fabulous prizes. What's that? Did I say prizes? Yes, I said PRIZES! If I...I mean, if this blog wins Creative Loafing's Best of the Bay's category for Best local Blog, people who voted for me will have a chance to win* the following:

• My "I voted" sticker from last year's election
• A cardio workout session with Brian Blair
• A date with The 23-Year-Old
• A lap dance from Carl Crawford
• An empty trophy case from the Tampa Bay Lightning
• A delicious and shiny ham

So VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE and VOTE!

(NOTE: Odds of winning = a snowball's chance in hell. Some...okay, all...prizes may...okay, will...be unavailable due to various factors such as that permission was not granted, or even sought, from the people listed, the item has been sold on Craigslist or the item never existed in the first place. Honestly, you should know better by now.)

PS: Vote!

Interview: Steve Jerve

Steve Jerve is the Chief Meteorologist at News Channel 8 (WFLA) television here in Tampa. He is a full member of the American Meteorological Society and is a Certified Broadcast Meteorologist (CBM), a designation awarded by the AMS. He's also the first dude to do an interview on this prestigious blog, in which he offers an endorsement for an extremely worthy award candidate (guess who?), mentions robots a couple of times, offers some good advice and reveals something you never, ever knew about television news. Sound juicy? Read on, you hair-twirlers.

How many people do you deal with on a given day who want to discuss the weather?
Probably 5-10 people, depending on how much I'm "out" shopping or whatever.

Ever wish they'd ask about something else?
I don't mind, it's nice they know who I am and weather is a subject everyone talks about.

I'll change things up; What do you think the deal is with the Rays this year?
The Rays are young. I was at the no-hit game against Arizona. I found from my experience in sports that the majority of your success or failure is how you approach it mentally. They're one of the best teams in the league and experience may give them more consistency.

Let's go back to weather; Ever had anybody blame you for bad weather?
Oh yeah, but most of the time they're joking.

Do you get along with the meteorologists from other stations?
Yeah, I get along great with them.

Do you guys text each other when one of you obviously blows it?
I don't have a lot of contact or get to see them much on air because I'm on when they're on. How important is being able to move in front of the weather map?
It's important, especially if you stand in front of New Port Richey a lot, you'll hear about it.

Are there people who wash out of the field because they just can't do it?
Never heard of anyone who couldn't point, but you gotta act natural, robotic just doesn't work.

What's the Storm Team headquarters like? Is it a bunch of guys hanging around playing cards waiting for some action, like a fire station or the Superfriends?
You described it perfectly, it's like you've been here before. It has some features of the Batcave, except more computers.

Do you have a favorite weather-related phrase or term? I do: Smudgepot!
I like smudgepot, you don't get to see them much anymore, they're old school. I kind of like "hodograph", which is not a child's game from Milton Bradley.

Any idea what the hell a Klystron9 is?
Yea, it's a really cool Doppler radar, or one of Saturn's moons, but definitely one of the two. What's a better movie, "Anchorman" or "Groundhog Day"?
"Groundhog Day", it's about a weather guy and I love the overall message of the movie. Live every day, even if you're in Punxsutawney.

You have an iPhone app; the Weather Shaker. How does it work?
The Weather Shaker gives you a quick look at the weather, temps, radar, forecast and all you gotta do is shake your iPhone.

Why a shaker? Because it's funny to watch people do it?
Shaking is low tech, and a bit retro, also strengthens the arms.

This is a request from a female reader: "Ask him how he gets his hair to do that Kewpie Doll thing and is it part of a comb-forward strategy". I have absolutely no idea what she's talking about.
I get it to do that by actually being a live Kewpie doll. Man, I'm just glad my hair is still there.

Channel 8 operates out of the same facility as the Tampa Tribune. Have you ever had to shoo Curtis Ross (Tribune pop music writer) out of your work area?
Not yet, although we have some of the biggest HD monitors in the building. Maybe I'll catch him watching "Transformers" in here one night.

You're on Facebook, Twitter and FourSquare and I've seen you out at social media events. Is social media something you're active with for work or fun or both?
Mostly for business on social media, but I think it's quite a phenomenon. As I use it more, it's becoming the major way of communicating with friends and our viewers. I like it a lot.

What's one thing most people don't know about tv news that you can reveal here for the first time ever?
We are all evil robots. Or, all of our news is done live, you can take your pick.I'm pretty determined to win at least one of Creative Loafing's Best of the Bay 2010 Readers Poll awards this year ('Best Local Blogger' & 'Best Local Personality to Follow on Twitter'). I voted for you; can I count on your vote in return?
Sure, I'll be happy to vote for you.

Could you say something to Gayle Sierens about it too please?
You'll have to pitch Gayle yourself. :)

Anything you'd like to mention that I didn't ask about?
Have a hurricane plan. Everyone's home and life is different and each requires a unique plan. Even if you never have to have it, at least it's in place, but if you do need it, you'll be VERY happy you did. I've been through hurricanes, and they are the real deal.

This, yet again, one more time (until next year etc.)

Isn't voting so much fun that you wish you could do it more often than every three or four years or whatever it is?
It is, you do and YOU CAN!

Creative Loafing's annual "Best Of The Bay" polls are now open..."It's time to vote for the tastiest restaurants, the baddest local bands, the politicians who inspire and infuriate you — even for your favorite acupuncturist. Now in its 27th year, Creative Loafing’s Best Of The Bay has long been a local institution, but it’s one that always depends on you. You suggested the categories, you submitted the nominations, and now you’ll decide who wins. Your voice, your choice."

Once again, this blog (actually, me as the blogger of the blog) is nominated. It has never won. A blog now in its 12th year has never won a BOTB. Not that longevity merits a "Best of" award, but I'm going to pretend that it does so I'm asking that if you vote (and of course, you don't have to), please vote for it (me) as "Best Local Blogger". It's located under the "People, Places, Politics" tab.

While you're at it, please consider slinging votes (follow the rules and DON'T CHEAT!) at a couple of other things in which I have vested interests:

• "The Spike On The Mic Show" - nominated as both "Best Local Podcast" and "Best Local Internet Radio Show".
• Vivienne Brown - nominated as "Best Local Actress" (under the "Arts and Entertainment" tab) Because she was just great as The Amazing Desdemona.
• Me - nominated as "Best Local Stand-Up Comic" (also under "Arts and Entertainment"tab). I won't mind if you don't do this one because I already won it two years ago. SERIOUSLY!  I'm only mentioning it because, well, I am nominated and if I won it again, that would be kind of cool. But I don't need to win it like the blog (me) needs to win, so by all means, go ahead and vote for someone who is not me. There are lots of very good, award deserving comics nominated. Besides, as I have been told, it's just a meaningless token from an irrelevant popularity contest (until you get one, when it suddenly becomes a relevant achievement and you slap a mention of it on every piece of promotional material that bears your name after inciting your followers to send death threats to a previous winner). Oh well. As FDR once said, "Haters gonna hate, voters gonna vote".

Welcome to Tampa, where we seriously need to butch up

The Tampa Bay area has been my home for over 20 years. It's not perfect by any means and there are a lot of cities where I'm sure I could be just as happy as I am now, if not even more so. There's virtually nothing to keep me from moving away if I choose to do so, since I'm an adult and legally eligible ton travel freely between states. But I don't because I like it here. It's basically a small town with a lot of people living in it. That appeals to me. We have major and minor league sports. That makes me happy. We have pleasant winters. That pleases me. And of course we have more than our share of eccentrics, flakes, freaks, oddballs and weirdos. That makes me happier than I could ever possibly express.
Of course, there are drawbacks. It's hot and humid. We have earned a reputation for being a hotbed of sleazy entertainment in the form of strip clubs and the production of low-budget porn. The city of Tampa's downtown is a pathetic blend of terrible traffic, abandoned buildings, road construction, inadequate parking and precious little to do. None of these things bother me enough to make me want to move away. In fact, none of them make me want to do much about them other than complain now and then. I like the things I think are great and I hope we can work to correct the things that aren't so great, just like anywhere else I could live. The one drawback I wish we could really do something about right away is our insufferably thin skin.

We, as an area, spurred on by our local media, tend to get our panties into a much bigger bunch than necessary when someone from outside the area criticizes us for something. What happens is somebody says something less than complimentary about something local, and then either the papers or a radio station or a tv news reporter (or all three) hears about it and then come crying to us, "You guys, look what they're saying about us now!" This happens every time someone from ESPN says something negative about the Rays' home, Tropicana Field, which is admittedly not the world's greatest ballpark. It happened when my buddy Mike Lortz took comedian Jimmy Kimmel to task when he mentioned in an interview that living in Tampa was not something he remembered fondly. It happened again on Tuesday when local radio station 970 WFLA-AM brought an article in Salon titled, "Tampa: America's hottest mess" to the attention of their followers on Facebook:

National media begins trashing the Bay area... with a political spin. Left website "Salon" calls Tampa "America's Hottest Mess", claiming that sprawl rules and "tight fisted Tea Party politics" keeps the Bay area from having a livable urban center. It describes Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties as "birther country." Your thoughts?

This resulted in all kinds of butthurt, mostly from people who clearly didn't bother to actually read the article and the criticisms within:

"stupid people say stupid things."

"Again the Obama Herd of Sheep demonstrates and support Division, Anger and Hate! I am not surprised at all. It has become normal behavior for these people."

"Tampa has Ben T. Davis beach, okay its on the bay, but 30 minutes away are the west coast beaches: Clearwater, St. Pete, Indian Rocks, Dunedin, etc. Beautiful beaches! Those criticizing are just jealous." (I love this logic; the only reason anybody would ever criticize the Tampa Bay area is because they don't have access to a beach where they live)

"Stay out than (sic)"

"Don't get me started on a response to this ignorance. I just hope this guy writes a retract cause I have his #;) Tampa is notorious for its Hospitality in all aspects and besides that the city is run and supported by Democrats...the Rnc simply needs our votes and Tampa has the tools and safety for events like this I have seen the budgets, balance sheets etc and the revenue if any compared to tourism, growing businesses etc. is not comparable. maybe we don't want the light rail because in my opinion rails are antiques. We have the technology & innovative mind set to live in Tampa and have global & international relations. I am set up on a VPN in Tampa and work on the other side of the Bay. Meaning I can conduct business from any where in the world from Tampa. Yes traffic is a little hectic but that's due to rapid growth and world population. This convention will be successful and many more larger events will follow and we will continue to wow our hospitality visitors. Not to mention we have the best DJs, media personalities, etc on the Planet & thick skin so whatever this unheard of blogger / salon magazine has to say is meaningless."

(This last one is from someone named Eeryn Falk Lubcich, who is a managing partner of something called TampaHospitality and dismisses "unheard of" Salon and refutes the findings from Forbes contained within the article as "meaningless" by citing the mad skyllz of our globally superior DJ's. I believe she may actually have the thick skin found lacking in so many of our residents; comprising nearly 100% of what would be considered her head region.)   


 Christ, people. Pace yourselves! John Stewart and friends aren't even in town yet.

"Ooh, you're gonna get it, Tampa! You and your nearby beaches!"

Better yet, grow the hell up already. Criticism and scrutiny, whether you feel they're valid or not, whether you want them to be or not, are part of what comes with hosting high-profile events like the Republican National Convention. Comedians, talk show hosts and media pundits of all affiliations dump on cities like New York, Chicago and Los Angeles every single day and nobody, especially the people who live there, gives a rat's ass. Life is tough and everybody doesn't love you. Suck it up and put on a helmet or stay away from tv, newspapers, radio and the internet for the next two weeks.