Tonight the Tampa Bay Buccaneers held a VIP party at One Buc Place. Luckily, I was invited and jumped at the chance to see the facilities and meet Coach Schiano. He is as advertised. He spoke about the culture change taking place here in Tampa. He stressed accountability and leadership. After speaking he welcomed questions. The first question asked was "Why did you get rid of our #1 receiving threat?" He answered the question as PC as he could from a high level. He basically said he thinks the move makes the team better, even though it may not seem like it now. After he answered this question I started clapping...However, I noticed I was the only one clapping...he looked at me at said "Thanks"...

Here is a clip of him speaking about the NFL draft and Mark Barron during the party.

Schiano talks about Mark Barron.

I spoke to him later and told him that I loved what he is doing here in Tampa. I told him that I loved the Eric Legrand signing and I also agreed with him about Winslow. He thanked me and said "Ya gotta do what ya gotta do". I can't wait to see how he turns this team around. Great character man that demands accountability and discipline.

If you're interested in seeing photos touring One Buc Place...make the jump.

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via i345.photobucket.com

I received an invitation this week to attend a cocktail party at One Buc Place. It caught me somewhat off-guard because I am no longer a season ticket holder. (I did have season tickets up until 2008.) When I called to let them know that I would be attending the party I asked out of curiosity if I was targeted because I am a former ticket holder. The rep told me that since the organization has made so many changes that it was their goal to get as many fans inside One Buc Place as possible to talk about the new "culture changes" taking place. They are excited to spread this message to their fans.

Many of you know any good organization starts at the top and trickles down. The Bucs are going full steam ahead at winning back the Tampa Bay community and their fanbase. For this, I commend them. I truly believe the Buccaneers' best days are in front of us.

You are cordially invited to an exclusive cocktail event on Wednesday May 23rd at 5:30pm at the home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers One Buc Place

At the event you will have unprecedented access to all of the players' areas of the Buccaneers training facility, including the locker room, press room, strength and training areas, equipment room, player lounge, meeting rooms and much more. You will also have an opportunity to hear from Buccaneers Head Coach Greg Schiano.

If Michael Bay were to team up with the NFL, the end product would have been the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft. It was a tulmultuous Blitzkrieg that left the most ardent draft surveyors dizzy in it's wake. The draft day Meltdown was set in motion before the commissioner had even stepped to the stage. Emotions ran high in the confusion. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the Bucsnation.com Draft Day Meltdown. Consider it an honor if you made the cut.

**As always with the Meltdown, proceed with caution (Strong Language)

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As you all know the NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell came down hard on the New Orleans Saints earlier today levying harsh punishment for implementing a bounty system over the past 3 seasons. Coaches/players suspensions, fines, and stripped draft picks are being flung around. The carnage has begun.

The real fun can be found as the Meltdown occurs on Saints' blogs across the interwebz.

This Meltdown consists of the anti-Christ, Hitler, New England clam chowder, drug tests, eunuchs, cart-offs, pancreatic cancer, BP CEO Tony Hayward, burning Fleur-di-lis, apologies, and the Pope mobile.

Kudos to Saints fans, as they did not disappoint while sharing their discontent.

Enjoy the meltdown after the jump (Caution: Strong language)

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Upon hearing the news that Brian Schottenheimer would be interviewing for our vacant offensive coordinator position, I relayed the news to a few co-workers who happen to be New York Jets fans. I just wanted to get a feel for how the fanbase felt of his coaching abilities. I do not follow the Jets so I had no idea. Needless to say, they were not fans. I was forwarded an email that was passed around their fanbase satirically mocking Schottenheimer's resume. Here is the copy and paste. It is somewhat humorous so take it for what it is...

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This Sunday the Buccaneers travel north to Atlanta to take on the playoff bound Atlanta Falcons. This game is essentially an exhibition game. Atlanta may rest their starters as they will surely play in the NFL Wild Card round the following week.

After a nine game losing streak, the Bucs need a win. This win could give them the series sweep over the Falcons. That feat hasn't been done in some time. A win could also give them a big boost in momentum going into 2012. As players and professionals, we know (hopefully) the Bucs are playing to win. However, as a fan...what would you like to see?

Poll

You're a die-hard Buccaneers fan. Do you want the Bucs to beat the Falcons in what is essentially a meaningless exhibition game, or do you wish for a Falcons win, in hopes of a higher draft pick for Tampa Bay in the upcoming NFL draft?

25%

Bucs sweep the playoff-bound Falcons! Bucs are 1-0 in 2012.

9 votes

75%

Falcons win! Good! We have a higher draft pick.

27 votes

36 votes | Poll has closed

Can you pull for Auburn?  Is it humanly possible as an Alabama fan?

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2011 ALABAMA FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Date	Opponent	Site
Sept. 3	Kent State	Bryant-Denny Stadium
Sept. 10	at Penn State	State College, Pa.
Sept. 17	North Texas	Bryant-Denny Stadium
Sept. 24	*Arkansas	Bryant-Denny Stadium
Oct. 1	*at Florida	Gainesville, Fla.
Oct. 8	*Vanderbilt	Bryant-Denny Stadium
Oct. 15	*at Mississippi	Oxford, Miss.
Oct. 22	*Tennessee	Bryant-Denny Stadium
Oct. 29	Open Date
Nov. 5	*LSU	Bryant-Denny Stadium
Nov. 12	*at Mississippi State	Starkville, Miss.
Nov. 19	Georgia Southern	Bryant-Denny Stadium
Nov. 26	*at Auburn	Auburn, Ala.

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 Since it is spring break and things are slow, I have decided to bestow upon the RBR readers a hypothetical question.  While driving into work yesterday, I tuned into the Dan Patrick Show on the radio.  He  posed the question,  "Would you as a fan, rather have your basketball team play in the NCAA tournament and lose in the first round, or not make the NCAA tournament but win the NIT tournament?"  Obviously, there are pros and cons to each.  Which would you rather?  Please discuss.  Roll Tide! 

Let me preface this by saying I am happy to hear that Brandon Deaderick is going to be ok.  A million BCS Championships aren't worth the life of any young man on our team.  However, this incident, along with Upshaw's arrest, the "fishing trip", and the practices being missed by multiple players due to sickness (flu) has me worried about our mental focus.  I hope I am wrong, but this feels a lot like it did before the Sugar Bowl.  (A favorite to win but dealing with off the field distractions)  Against Clemson, we were focused and were given no respect and our players had something to prove. 

Again, I hope I am wrong, but I would rest easier knowing we were 100% focused on the task at hand.  I believe there is a good possiblity that we are somewhere below 100%.         

Unfortunately, I work near a Florida State fan and he decided to pick an argument with me regarding Non-Conference Strength of Schedule considering he really doesn't have anything else to argue in light of FSU's recent past.  He sent me this link  http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/story/12022376 and decided to berate Florida and Alabama due to their lack of playing a tough non-conference schedule. 

My argument is to drop this whole notion of "non-conference" schedule and just worry about the schedule as a whole.  Alabama played 6 ranked teams last season, and other than Clemson and Utah, they were all SEC teams.  Should we discredit the games against Georgia, Ole Miss, LSU, and Florida since they were conference games?  Absolutely not!  Some of you may dissagree with me, but I beleive there is a difference between playing in the ACC and the SEC.  If you play in the ACC or Big East , you may need a strong nonconference schedule.   Here in the SEC, the conference alone will allow you to play the best teams in the nation.  I call to end this non-conference schedule strength b.s.  All conferences ARE NOT equal.