Hey, just so you know ... this post is now about 13 years and 3 months old. Please keep that in mind as it very well may contain broken links and/or outdated information.

After finishing with only 3 wins last year, my Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the defending Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints 23-13 to close out the regular season with a 10-6 record. Unfortunately, with the Bears losing to the Packers and the Giants defeating the Redskins, there will be no playoff games for the Bucs (I blame the OT loss against the Lions two weeks ago … thanks for the apology but I’d prefer the 11-5 record and a trip to the post-season instead).

The turnaround from a 3-13 season to 10-6 is a franchise record. Too bad a lot of local folks didn’t get to see a lot of those victories. Unfortunately, the Bucs set another record this year: the only team to have every home game blacked out.

And my Cleveland Browns had another disappointing season, finishing 5-11 just like last year. 🙁

Time to switch to winter sports … the Tampa Bay Lightning are currently leading the Southeast Division and are #2 in the Eastern Conference. I’ll be heading to a game in Chicago in early April to see them play the Blackhawks, but next up is Spring Training  … only 74 days until my annual trip.