Sometimes there are stories that warm even the coldest of hearts. Stories that restore your faith in humanity. On October 16, 2010 Rutgers linemen Eric LeGrand was paralyzed after trying to make a tackle on a kickoff. Nineteen months later and LeGrand is still fighting to ]]>

Sometimes there are stories that warm even the coldest of hearts. Stories that restore your faith in humanity. On October 16, 2010 Rutgers linemen Eric LeGrand was paralyzed after trying to make a tackle on a kickoff. Nineteen months later and LeGrand is still fighting to walk again–a testament to his will and determination.

Today, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers recognized LeGrand’s efforts by signing him to their offseason roster. It should be noted here that LeGrand’s coach in college, Greg Schiano, is now in charge of the Buccaneers.

“Leading up to the draft, I couldn’t help but think that this should’ve been Eric’s draft class,” said Schiano. “This small gesture is the least we could do to recognize his character, spirit, and perseverance. The way Eric lives his life epitomizes what we are looking for in Buccaneer Men.”

Take a moment to think about the Bucs gesture here. Sure, there are those that will say it’s a savvy PR move. Sadly, I can’t refute that statement with any facts. But Schiano and LeGrand seem to have developed a special relationship after the incident. A relationship that Schiano has not forgotten despite his move to bigger and better places.

In a world of NFL tomfoolery with Sean Payton placing bounties on players in an attempt to injure them, here you have what I consider the polar opposite. A man in Schiano fighting for a player to come back from injury.

Think about that the next time someone says the NFL was too hard on the Saints organization.

Ten wins should have been enough to get the New York Giants into the playoffs. Unfortunately, for them and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, it was one of those rare times where a good record was not rewarded with a post-season berth.

Giants head coach Tom Coughlin wanted to let the ]]>

Ten wins should have been enough to get the New York Giants into the playoffs. Unfortunately, for them and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, it was one of those rare times where a good record was not rewarded with a post-season berth.

Giants head coach Tom Coughlin wanted to let the critics know how he felt after Sunday’s win against the Redskins. Suffice to say, he occasionally lets his ass do the talking.

Tom Coughlin To Critics: ‘They Can Kiss My Ass’ (VIDEO) [Huffington Post]

Guyism’s daily look at what’s hot in the world of sports.

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Amazingly, as the NFL regular season concluded, the second longest winning streak behind the New England Patriots belongs to the lowly Detroit Lions. Yes, after starting the season 2-10, the Motown scrappers somehow ]]>

Guyism’s daily look at what’s hot in the world of sports.

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Amazingly, as the NFL regular season concluded, the second longest winning streak behind the New England Patriots belongs to the lowly Detroit Lions. Yes, after starting the season 2-10, the Motown scrappers somehow put together four straight wins to finish the season. Whether or not, they’ll be able to parlay that into some momentum next season remains to be seen but for a franchise that was so devoid of wins, it can only help.

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Some might call them unlucky, others might say they lost games they should have won down the stretch. Regardless, the New York Giants and Tampa Bay Bucs are on the outside looking in for this year’s playoff run despite both winning 10 games. The Giants can point to their unbelievable collapse against Philly as the main culprit while Tampa Bay lost to the aforementioned Lions at home just in the last few weeks. A true case of “nobody to blame but yourselves.”

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And of course, with two teams missing the playoffs with 10 wins, there had to be a team that made it with a losing record. Congratulations to the Seattle Seahawks that won the abysmal NFC West with a 7-9 record. And they aren’t going to make any apologies for it either. “There is no apologies for making it into the playoffs. The easiest way to make it to the playoffs is to win your division, period, point-blank,” Seattle safety Lawyer Milloy said. “We did that.” If you’re looking for a team to bet against, yea, the Seahawks are a good choice.

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John Fox, who coached the Carolina Panthers to a NFC title in 2003 and who still has a winning record for the franchise looks to be on his way out. In recent years, Fox’ teams have not fared so well, missing the playoffs the last two seasons respectively. However, it seems only a matter of time before the coach is picked up by another franchise, possibly the Browns as the coaching dominoes fall in the next few days.

Guyism’s daily look at what’s hot in the world of sports.

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In a most surprising move, the Milwaukee Brewers made a trade that sent pitching prospects, shortstop Alcides Escobar, and outfielder Lorenzo Cain for Royals pitching phenom Zack Greinke. Many had thought Greinke would ]]>

Guyism’s daily look at what’s hot in the world of sports.

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In a most surprising move, the Milwaukee Brewers made a trade that sent pitching prospects, shortstop Alcides Escobar, and outfielder Lorenzo Cain for Royals pitching phenom Zack Greinke. Many had thought Greinke would end up in a more prominent spot, perhaps in Texas or Detroit. But the Brewers were the team most willing to part with prospects and a team that Greinke couldn’t veto a trade with.

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Earlier in Sunday’s NFL action, DeSean Jackson returned a punt as time expired giving the Eagles an incredible comeback win over the Giants. It was the first time in NFL history that a punt had been returned for a TD in regulation with no time remaining. Needless to say it was the biggest play in Sunday’s game…..until Dan Connolly came around. The 313-pound offensive linemen did the unthinkable, returning a kickoff 71 yards to the Packers 4-yard line. Even if you hate the Patriots like I do, it was one of the best football moments you’ll ever see.

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Connecticut women’s basketball coach Gene Auriemma calls those rooting against his team “miserable people”. Apparently, you aren’t allowed to root for the underdog anymore. Auriermma’s team has dominated the college landscape for the better part of 3 years having not lost since 2007. While many enjoy watching a team like UConn blow out their competition, I fall more into the category of, “it’s bad for the game”.

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The UConn women’s team might be on a historical winning streak, but it was the Detroit Lions who were drawing attention from fans Sunday. After 26 straight road losses dating back to 2007, the Lions beat the Tampa Bay Bucs in overtime 23-20. The team has come close several times away from Ford Field this year, most notably week 1 when they were robbed of a victory on the now infamous “Calvin Johnson rule”. But this time, even the officials couldn’t stop the Lions or Dave Rayner’s short field goal in overtime to win it.

The Tampa Bay Buccanners cheerleaders attended the Howl-O-Scream event at Busch Gardens. While I’d love to tell you more about this event, I’m slightly distracted by videos of half-naked woman running around and screaming. Undoubtedly, most of our readers are probably in the same boat.

An NFL coaching staff will spend countless hours in the off-season recruiting free agents, updating their draft boards and planning schemes for the upcoming season. Some coaches even take it as far as sleeping in their offices to show their dedication. So naturally, it would make ]]>

An NFL coaching staff will spend countless hours in the off-season recruiting free agents, updating their draft boards and planning schemes for the upcoming season. Some coaches even take it as far as sleeping in their offices to show their dedication. So naturally, it would make sense for other parts of the organization to follow their lead. That of course brings us to one of the intangibles of a solid NFL team, the cheerleaders.

Just like the coaching staff, they bolster their team with free agents every year. And frankly, we don’t give these girls the credit they deserve for all their hard work. A round of applause for the ladies of the Tampa Bay Bucs cheerleader audition.