Jerry Smith Redskins TE was gay

Jerry Smith made football history in the 1970s when, as a player for the Washington Redskins, he caught more touchdowns than any other tight end in NFL history. But Smith is probably better known for being a closeted homosexual and succumbing to AIDS in 1986 at only 43 years old.

I am an amateur historian of the AFL/NFL circa 1961 - 1973 which was the pre-VCR era. This time period was the formation of the AFL and the Superbowl before tape recorder ability. Many of the networks have lost the tapes of championship games and much has vanished from history. One player was Jerry Smith.

In the Redskins Dolphins superbowl Smith was open in the endzone with seconds left but Billy Kilmers pass hit the crossbar resulting in a Miami victory. The following year the goal post were moved to the back of the endzone. Washington may have won if not for that

Swim across Tampa Bay for Earth Day

A 24 mile swim across Tampa Bay will begin Saturday morning at 7:00 am. The event is to honor Earth Day and celebrate one of the largest estuaries in the country.

The race will begin at the base of the Skyway bridge and end at the Courtney Campbell Causeway. There are about 70 swimmers in this Ron Collins event which is the longest open water swim sponsored by the United States Masters Swimming Association.

The reason I know about it is because I picked up a swimmer at the airport and took him to his hotel at the base of the Skyway bridge.

I think I'll go home and get my swim trunks.

Morris Claiborne scored a 4 on the wonderlic test and may have a learning disability

LSU CB draft prospect scored the lowest ever for a high prospect. A former coach said the kid has a learning disorder that affects his reading ability.

Considering the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are considering taking him in the fifth pick, Should this be a problem. All the signs say no.

In the 3 day mini camp underway by the Bucs, they are using 37 year old Rondie Barber at safety, and rumors that Aquib Talib is being shopped. The Bucs are very thin in the Defense of backfield.

I say they draft Claiborne over lead pants Trent Richardson from Alabama.

Anything can happen on draft day but I hope the Bucs take this kid. Our defense has been tourched in recent years and it needs the upgrade badly.

Paul the shop foreman

Paul in his office

Paul is our shop foreman. Paul was with United Cab of Tampa a few years back, then went off to Alaska to hunt big game. He is a crack mechanic and a very nice guy. He is married with three children. Not only does he make out taxi's run good, he has some good stories to tell about Alaska.

In his office is a trophy of a a moose. Not too bad. They are very large animals and not for the faint of heart to hunt. I have heard that many first time hunters are afraid to shoot one because they think all they will do is piss it off. They may be right. Sarah Palin shot one when she was a girl with her father.

On the wall next to the mount are photos of the hunt. Alaska is a sportsman's paradise with fishing, hunting and camping unlike anything you will find in Florida.

Our boss, Mr. Rob Searcy is a deer hunter but even he will go up to Alabama and Georgia to hunt. I like to camp and hike, so the big game part of Florida does not interest me.

Tim And Tom's Big Adventure (Born Yesterday)

There is nothing like getting free tickets to a Tampa Bay Rays baseball game. These are not just tickets, but Boston Redsox vsTampa Bay Rays tickets. In fact, they are too the Whitney Bank Club high price seating. This is where the fat cats and the bigwigs go to watch a game. These $175 tickets include free buffet style food and free booze. There is prime rib, shrimp, lasagna, and everything you could dream of. The wait staff serves your every need, and we Tom and I had tickets.

My best taxi driver friend Tom Castros took a high-roller to the airport this morning and they businessman said he had the tickets, but his plans had changed and he wanted to just give Tom the tickets for the $25 fare. Tom took them in a heartbeat and called me on my cellphone. I said "hell ya! Lets go!" The game was set for a 4:15 start and we were both hungry. Free drink and food...I'm all over it! We would soon be surrounded by beautiful women and the rich and powerful in the Tampa Bay area. Wait till they get a hold of us.

Since we are cab drivers, we know how to get within two blocks from the stadium without ever encountering traffic. I am not exaggerating on this. Most people are on the interstate and it is gridlock. We know a parking lot that charges only $10 to park, and you are in the shadow of Tropicania field. How cool is that? We walked right up to the stadium and got someone to take are picture. We were on our way and breaking all the rules We felt like Thelma and Louise. This was going to be awesome.

Tim and Tom outside Topicania Field

We walked up to the gate with our expensive, high baller tickets and proudly gave them to the ticket people. The lady scanned my ticket with a light and said, "I'm sorry sir; something is wrong with your ticket" I could not believe that. She did point out that we needed to go to gate 6 and perhaps everything would be all right. Tom and I headed over there. We could not believe that had happened and felt we would be fine over at gate six. Wrong. Now this was something out of a "Curb Your Enthusiasm" episode.

Sir...There is a problem

Security said that the tickets had been 'forwarded' yesterday to another party. In short, these tickets were no good. There was nothing we could do. Its bad enough to get beat out of a fare, but to go through all this and get your hopes up so high is just cruel. David Shields was pitching and I really wanted to see how good he would be against this powerful Boston batting lineup.

It was very hot and we just wanted to get to some kind of air condition. We had no water because we were going to get that in the club suite. When we went back to the parking lot, the guy asked us why we were leaving so early. We told him that we had been ripped off and he was good enough to give us a refund of the $10 parking fee. At least something went right.

On the ride home Tom's friend called and said that he has a special who gave him tickets to Sunday's night baseball game between the RedSox and the Rays and he could not go. He wanted to know if we wanted to use the tickets. We told him yes. He then said they were not just tickets - they were to the Whitney Bank Club and they were $175 which included free food and booze. Great! I can't wait for tomorrow night.

Tampa Bay Lightning - In My Financial Interest

I picked up a newspaper reporter today who was from Boston and down here covering the match between the Boston Bruins and the Tampa Bay Lightning. We had a great conversation and he told me he had lived all his life in Boston but was a rare journalist nowadays - he was impartial and objective. I agree.

ESPN is very biased against our Tampa Bay Rays and all they want to report on is how few people show up for games, and not how great our pitching is and batting. This guy has the right attitude.

He asked me If I follow hockey. "Not really," I told him but it is an economic fact that a long playoff run in NHL hockey will put money in a Tampa Bay taxi drivers pocket. I made $150 today and it has been a long time since I did that....The series is tied at 1-1 with Tampa at home ice tonight. GO LIGHTNING!!