This is a paragraph from an article that I read from ESPN.com earlier today. This maybe should have been a fanshot, but since nobody reads those....here ya go:

"Officials are held accountable for their calls. They are graded on every play of every game," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Monday. "Ed has been an outstanding official for many years, but he will be marked down for this call. Under our evaluation system, an official's grades impact his status for potentially working the playoffs and ultimately whether or not he is retained."

To read the rest of this artice, here's the link: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3589407

The main reason for this post is because last week we talked about umpires and accountability for their screwups (attn: Doug Eddings) I remember someone saying MLB umpires would never be fined unless they were paid more. I'm not sure of the pay scale between the NFL and MLB, but I certainly applaud the NFL for holding referees accountablefor their actions. They don't  dscriminate either because Ed Hochuli is probably the most respected ref in the NFL. Now it doesn't say if and how much he was fined, but at least the NFL is doing something about refs/umps who make mistakes by implementing a "point system" which could eventually end in their firing. MLB needs to take a page out of their book. This post is more directed towards fielding umpires and not umpires who call balls and strikes.

We have found that there is water on Mars. We know there is a chance that Brett Favre may be traded within the NFC conference, maybe the division.....but what we don't know is why on God's green Earth didn't Andrew Friedman and DRO did not make a deal. I know that they did a great job accumalting the fine talent we have in our minor league system, but you can't bronze them and put them on a shelf! There is no way we need as many of the fine pitchers that we have and all I can say is that I hope he does something with some of them in the off season.

Ahh....I feel better already! Bring on Rocco and Price. GO RAYS!!!

The guy is batting near .300 with 18 HRand 60 RBI. He also has 26 2B and .833 OBS. I love Aki and he works well with Barty, but certainly wouldn't mind having Jorge back (even though he plays 3B now)

GO RAYS GO RAYS GO RAYS GO RAYS GO RAYS GO RAYS GO RAYS GO RAYS

GO RAYS GO RAYS GO RAYS GO RAYS GO RAYS GO RAYS GO RAYS GO RAYS

GO RAYS GO RAYS GO RAYS GO RAYS GO RAYS GO RAYS GO RAYS GO RAYS

GO RAYS GO RAYS GO RAYS GO RAYS GO RAYS GO RAYS GO RAYS GO RAYS

Check out this link.http://www.sbnation.com/users/Brad%20Ziegler/blog (I'm not sure if you have to join A's nation to view it)  It has to be THE coolest I've seen on SB Nation. After blowing me (and the Rays) away, I decided to check out the A's blog for info on Ziegler. He actually blogs on the site! I found that very interesting reading his info. Would it not be cool if we had Longo blog on our site? Anyways, here are his #'s this season(including Triple A). Needless to say that this guy is lights out....even if it took him awhile to get it together.

2008 MLB Stats:1-0, 0 SV, 0.00 ERA, 21 G, 23.2 IP, 13 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 10 K, 6 BB

2008 AAA Stats: 2-0, 8 SV, 0.37 ERA, 19 G, 24.1 IP, 15 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 20 K, 4 BB

1 ER in 48 IP - Holy crap! Must've took him getting beened in the head for him to turn it around.

The word on the street is deafening. Every bar I go into, every SportCenter I watch, you can't get away from it. Brett Favre could be a Buc sooner than we think people. Favre was reportedly seen dining with Bruce Allen at Flemings in Tampa, He also reportedly toured One Buc Palace as well. Reports from both Bays is that the Bucs are offering Chris Simms and a possible 2nd round pick for Favre,

It all makes sense.  I believe this deal could go down (alhough I prefer a lower draft pick) and Brett Favre could be a Buccaneer by the time Training Camp breaks. Obviously this would give Jeff Garcia his chance to retire and become his wife's permanent cabana boy. Or, if he chooses to annoy another team I am sure he would fetch a mid round pick or better. Chicago and Minnesota as well as Miami would probably take him off our hands. Bruce Allen and company will get this done if it is at all possible.

Oh think of the possibilities....Brett Favre and the Bucs, the Bucs and Brett Farve. Could it possibly happen? With the fact that Jeff Garcia wants a healthy raise and Bruce Allen and company are not foolish enough to give it to him, there is a significant chance that Brett Favre could end up a Tampa Bay Buccaneer (sorry, I'm choking on my spit right now). I have always dreamed that one day we could have a QB of Favre's ability, but never in my wildest dream did I think we could actually have the man himself. Old or not, the guy is a legend who can still play the game.

I found this link on ESPN that actually breaks down every team's chance of landing Favre. See this link: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=williamson_bill&id=3474482. Hey, I say why not? I mean, we have a near 40 year old at the helm already so the only difference is that one is a Super Bowl winner and future Hall of Famer and the other is just a whine ass? Guys of the likes of Josh Johnson could learn a thing or two from the old man.Obviously there is no selling Jon Gruden. I'm sure he is watching this situation very carefully. I say to Bruce Allen: Take a chance because you never know when this train is going to stop again.

From Rays Rule aka TheUltimateBucFan

Check this out....

http://tampabay.rays.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080613&content_id=2907810&vkey=news_tb&fext=.jsp&c_id=tb

Most of the Rays call the incident over, including Shields and Maddon. The Rays shouldn't get suckered into Papelbon's nonsense. Let MLB handle him and fine his sorry ass. We had too many guys out for the last brawl. Let's not make the same mistake. But if we do go at it, make sure Jonny Gomes is leading the charge!

I first mentioned this guy last week. He is a 38th round pick in 2007 draft. Definitely looks like one to keep an eye on. He'll probably take David Price's spot at Vero once both are promoted.

Also, how about Heah Rollins? He pitched a 3 hit shutout yesterday. He has seemed to struggle a bit this year with Vero Beach, however, I think once he settles in that he'll be a force. He did lead the Rays minor league system in wins with 17 last year.

Obviously it won't be Glover, as we can all see Maddon is in love with him. Balfour was the man brought up, but he is out of options. My choice is Glover.....but the wise choice is who? In all likelihood it is Justin Ruggiano who has been bounced like a yo yo all year.

In an unrelated story, what the hell is up with Matt Garza. I sure as hell hope he isn't pulling the same crap he did in Minnesota with his attitude. All we need is a situation where Garza and Navi don't get along. I'm sure Riggans can catch for Garza, but DRO better set this straight before it gets out of hand.

Waited in line for 30 minutes for tickets in the heat and it was worth every minute of it. Every time I go to a game, there is never a wait, I just walk on up and get my tickets. Today against the Whitesox, it was sweet to see so many fans come out and support this team. I hope its a sign of things to come. Oh yeah, this was also won of the most memorable games for me with Gross' walk off homer

Is anyone else annoyed about hearing how we lost out on Josh Hamilton? Jeez, if hear another inerview about how the Rays screwed up I think I'll throw up. I KNOW and DRO knows that they screwed this one up. But must we be reminded every minute of the day? Don't get me wrong, I mean I am happy for the guy and actually root for him win when we don't play him, but since the Rangers came into town that's all I freakin hear. It don't help that hit a Grand Slam tonight either. The artice in St. Pete Times really rubs it in talking about some of the forgetttables that are no longer Rays that were left on the 40 man instead of Hamilton. See this: http://www.tampabay.com/sports/baseball/rays/article523621.ece

Anyone remember some of these guys? Like Marcos Carvajal RHP, or Brian Stokes RHP, or how can you forget Shinji Mori, who wasted space on our club by retiring the following year? Oh well, let em rub it in. We derserve it I guess.

I believe that the Rays may go with only 11 pitchers. It’s been tough for the relievers to get some innings lately, especially the way the Rays starters have been pitching. Also, with Aybar coming back, I don’t think that there is a more deserving guy to go other than Glover. First off, Aybar is out of options and apparently has the DRO convinced that he should be on this team. Secondly, I don't think there is a person on this blog that wants to see Glover here anymore! Maybe he clears waivers and gets his head out of his ass and actually starts pitching in Durham. Otherwise let him go, but PLEASE do something. The position players are holding their own for now. There may come a point we have to release/send down Zobrist/Gomes/Hinske/Floyd. Those are the guys IMO that would be let go/traded or DFA if we keep 12 pitchers (and the choice would probably be Balfour or Thayer if we did indded keep 12 pitchers).

I have a sweet lot of Sonnanstine 2006 Bowman Chrome RC's up for sale on Ebay (I'm asking for $1000). My wife and I are due with our 3rd child in June and I unfortunately need to unload some cards. I have a but load of Bucs and Rays cards. Just ask me for what you want and I'd be happy to try and accommadate. I know this not the venue for promoting trading cads, but I'm trying to exhaust my options. Thanks!