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FLORIDA 2003 - TRAINING CAMP (PART II) |
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| P | We arrived in Tampa with just a couple of days of camp left? Why? Blame the league. After the Claymores announced the WB weekend, the league decided to move the season forward 1 week after a lot of fans had already made their Spring plans. Clearly some people think the fans just jump on a plane on a whim, and don't appreciate the time and expense in setting up these trips ... |
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But that just meant more time for baseball! Preston's Toronto Blue Jays who spring train at Dunedin, had a pretty decent spring until we arrived. We saw them a blow a 3-0 lead and lose to the Twins 4-3. They also blew a 5-0 lead and lost to the hated Yankees 12-6. In between they managed to beat the woeful Devil Rays 9-5. |
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Yes we hate the Yankees, but at least they thank you for coming ... |
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More time for hockey too! The once woeful Lightning have enjoyed a turnaround season by clinching a playoff spot - only their 2nd ever. During the 2nd period of the their 2-2 with the Devils, they announced that playoff tickets were going on sale and their great mascot Thunderbug was going to live on the roof until they sold out the 1st playoff game! |
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The next night Thunderbug was still up there. But at least he had a TV so he could watch March Madness! |
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We were at the St. Pete Times Forum (ex Ice Palace) to watch Arena ball. This game can feel like a blur, with points filling the scoreboard every minute. The Tampa Bay Storm, also enjoying a good season, held off Shedrick Bonner and the Arizona Rattlers 68-39, outscoring them 40-7 in the 2nd half. John Kaleo threw 8TD's for the Storm. (Sadly ex Claymore Hurley Tarver was no longer on the Storm active roster) |
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We did however attend 1 Claymores practice. Two guys Preston caught up with were CB Dyshod Carter (left) and WR Jon Minardi (right) as our paths have crossed before. |
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In 2000, at a game in Boulder when Kansas St thumped Colorado 44-21, the hometown Buffaloes scored a consolation TD in the 4th quarter. Further review of the play here showed that Minardi (#2) caught a TD over Carter (#35) in the front of the end zone before getting pushed back! |
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Neither guy had known about this! Jon felt quite good about it, but Dyshod wasn't so keen on us flashing the picture about the locker room. But relax Dyshod - you've only got to remind Jon what the final score was that day! |
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Another familiar face at camp was Old Man Couper (here getting covered by Carter). Let's hope he has a better un-retirement season than Cris Carter! |
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The Claymores offensive success this year will be led by QB Craig Nall (#1) and RB Ken Simonton (#35). The passer from the Packers was clearly the #1 guy by all accounts, and the nifty little RB from Oregon State should provide us with some big play potential. |
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We would have been able to give you some more analyses on the teams, but the final scrimmages were rained out... |
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While in Hooters in Clearwater we found evidence of a new Claymores fan - none other than Colts head coach Tony Dungy! |
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The Road to Hampden and World Bowl XI starts here! |
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