Straight Talk - Joe Henderson

Crawford Leads Way For Rays

When Carl Crawford dove full out Friday night to catch a line drive in the gap, ESPN baseball analyst Buster Olney predicted it would be one of the Top 10 highlights of the season.

He is right, of course. But…

Dungy Does It Again

I got back from Jefferson High a little while ago where I got to hear Tony Dungy address the student body. The school used his book “Quiet Strength” in a school-wide reading project. Here’s a column about it from Friday’s Tribune.

Let me just say this:…

All Roger Clemens Needs Now Is A Pickup Truck

If Roger Clemens doesn’t have a pickup truck and a hound dog, he needs to get them immediately. His life has become a bad country song that got worse when that didn’t seem possible. He is traveling 50 miles of bad road on bald tires.

…

Bucs Have Yet To Pick Quarterback

The Bucs quarterback of the future remains someone who isn’t here yet. They may address that today when the draft resumes, but given that they have only a handful of picks in this draft I guess they can’t address everything.

Still, you wonder if the gamble to pick up…

Picking Talib Makes Sense For Bucs

Ideally, a first-round pick in the NFL should be free of risk but that’s not the case with cornerback Aqib Talib of Kansas, taken by the Bucs at No. 20 late Saturday afternoon.

It’s not so much the three failed tests for marijuana and a two-game suspension in 2006…

Injuries Don’t Explain All Rays’ Problems

The Rays’ mediocre start can be somewhat explained by the 10 trips they have already made to the disabled list. That doesn’t explain everything, though.

Shortstop Jason Bartlett has shown the range that was advertised and has looked spectacular at times, but he…

Longoria Latest Ray To Get Long-Term Deal

ST. PETERSBURG - Just got back from the news conference to announce Evan Longoria’s new contract and a couple of things stand out.

If Longoria plays anything like everyone says he is capable of doing, the Rays got themselves a tremendous bargain. And it’s legitimate to wonder how this…

Bucs Could Do Worse Than Gamble On Chad

Chad Johnson wants out of Cincinnati again and I have the perfect place for him to go - Tampa.

He is cocky, arrogant, and more than a little wacky. In other words, he is a clone of Jon Gruden, but with a bigger…

Got A Minute? Say A Prayer For My Prediction

Twenty-five years ago, a zany coach named Jim Valvano ran all around the court in Albuquerque after his North Carolina State team upset Houston for the national title.

Upset?

I was far from the only one who picked Houston to win that…

You Must Really Want To See Some Hoops To Sit Up There

SAN ANTONIO - Saturday night just before tipoff of the UCLA-Memphis game, I snapped this picture from press row, which happens to be courtside (don’t hate me). Look at the poor folks way, way, way up top. There’s no way to accurately tell what they…