Ex-Bucs part of numerous NFL camp storylines

The Wake-Up Call greets you each weekday with news, views and a few Tampa Bay area sports offerings to anticipate for the day and night. We encourage suggestions and contributions.

Good morning!

They are no longer with the Bucs. But their storylines remain fascinating.

As NFL training camps begin, here are the league's 10 most interesting ex-Bucs players or coaches you will be hearing from this season.

1. Jeff Garcia, Quarterback, Oakland Raiders - Garcia, the classic overachiever and only the third Pro Bowl quarterback (2007) in Bucs' history, is returning to his hometown area. He will put everything into taking away the starting job from JaMarcus Russell, the classically gifted pass-thrower and No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 draft. Interestingly, while the Garcia/Russell duel rages, another ex-Buc name lurks on the depth chart - Bruce Gradkowski.

2. Chris Simms, Quarterback, Denver Broncos - With Jay Cutler dealt to the Bears, the Broncos already have named Kyle Orton as No. 1 quarterback. But first-year Denver coach Josh McDaniels said Simms still can win the job in training camp. Simms, a starter when the Bucs reached the NFC playoffs in 2005, suffered a ruptured spleen the next season and is only now returning to complete form.

3. Martin Mayhew, General Manager, Detroit Lions - In his first full season running the team, Mayhew is trying to reverse the fortunes of a franchise that went 0-16 and hasn't won a championship since 1957. This guy won't panic. At Florida State University, he played cornerback opposite Deion Sanders. With the Washington Redskins, the other corner was Darrell Green. So, yes, Mayhew, a member of the Bucs' secondary for four seasons until his 1996 retirement, is accustomed to being overlooked and underestimated.

4. Joey Galloway, Wide Receiver, New England Patriots - He's 37 and certainly slower than he used to be. But surrounded by sensational wideouts Randy Moss and Wes Welker - while catching passes from Tom Brady - it's not difficult to imagine Galloway making huge contributions in New England.

5. Thomas Jones, Running Back, New York Jets - He's still cranking along. He led the AFC in rushing last season with 1,312 yards, caught 36 passes and accounted for 15 total touchdowns. But he was a no-show for offseason workouts and the Jets drafted Iowa running back Shonn Greene in the third round, so the clock might be ticking. Jones has rushed for 5,924 yards in the five seasons since leaving Tampa Bay as a free agent.

6. Mike Tomlin, Head Coach, Pittsburgh Steelers - Eight years ago, people wondered why Tony Dungy hired Tomlin, a 29-year-old secondary coach from the University of Cincinnati, for his staff in Tampa Bay. Now Tomlin is trying to become only the seventh head coach in NFL history to repeat as Super Bowl champion.

7. Lorenzo Neal, Fullback, Oakland Raiders - Neal, who played for the Bucs in 1998, returns for his 17th NFL season (with his eighth different NFL team). The Raiders' first-round draft choice, Maryland wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, was 6 years old when Neal was initially selected as a fourth-rounder by the Saints in 1993. Nearly a generation later, you can make an argument that Neal - short on ego, long on work ethic - is the league's best-ever blocking back.

8. Micheal Spurlock, Return Specialist, San Francisco 49ers - Before he showed up in 2007, the Bucs were 0-for-1,864 on kickoff-return touchdowns. So for the rest of Spurlock's life, he's interesting enough for us.

9. Rod Marinelli, Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Line, Chicago Bears - So where does Marinelli's career go from here? He was fired as head coach after Detroit's 0-16 season. Now he's back as a position coach, where he'll work with the likes of Tommie Harris and Alex Brown. Marinelli was hired by Bears coach Lovie Smith. In 1996, as they began on Dungy's original Bucs' staff, they were roommates.

10. Clyde Christensen, Offensive Coordinator, Indianapolis Colts - Christensen was elevated to this position by Jim Caldwell, who is taking over for Dungy. Chrstensen's first go-round as offensive coordinator was rather unsuccessful - the 2001 Bucs have difficulty moving - and those struggles directly led to Dungy's firing in Tampa Bay. With Dungy retired, Caldwell looking to prove himself and quarterback Peyton Manning getting restless, Christensen is on the spot.

Dopirak scorching in Las Vegas

First baseman Brian Dopirak (Dunedin) is batting .340 in 13 games since being called up to Triple-A Las Vegas, the Pacific Coast League affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Wednesday night, Dopirak was 2-for-4 - with two home runs and seven RBIs - against Portland.

Three straight wins for Redmond

Gwinnett Braves right-hander Todd Redmond (Northside Christian) won his third straight game on Thursday night, beating Rochester 2-1 in the Triple-A International League. Redmond (6-6, 4.54 ERA) allowed six hits in seven innings. He struck out seven batters and walked just one.

Longoria popular with his peers

Rays third baseman Evan Longoria received 35 percent of the vote in a Sports Illustrated poll of 380 major-league players who were asked, "Which young player will end up in the Hall of Fame?''

St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols was next at 9 percent (although SI explained that Pujols, 29, was perhaps no longer perceived as a "young'' player for the puposes of this poll). Others were San Francisco Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum (7 percent), Florida Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez (6 percent) and Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun (5 percent).

Players in the poll could not vote for a teammate.

Ex-Ray note of the day

Oakland Athletics second baseman Adam Kennedy, who was in spring training with the Rays and played at Triple-A Durham before being traded (for Joe Dillon), was 10-for-22 in a four-game series at Boston. Since 1954, no batter with a minimum of 150 plate appearances has hit better at Fenway Park than Kennedy (.404). Roy Howell batted .388 at Fenway from 1975-84.

La Russa ranks 41st on elite list

The Sporting News, utilizing a panel that included seven World Series-winning managers, four Super Bowl champion coaches and the all-time winningest coaches in the NBA, NHL and college basketball, has named 50 greatest coaches of all time.

St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa (Jefferson), the architect of World Series champion teams in 1989 and 2006, ranked 41st on the list. Florida State University football coach Bobby Bowden was 24th (and since you asked, Penn State's Joe Paterno was 13th).

The top 10:
1. John Wooden, men's college basketball.
2. Vince Lombardi, NFL.
3. Bear Bryant, college football.
4. Phil Jackson, NBA.
5. Don Shula, NFL.
6. Red Auerbach, NBA.
7. Scotty Bowman, NHL.
8. Dean Smith, men's college basketball.
9. Casey Stengel, MLB.
10. Pat Summitt, women's college basketball.

Lakeland, Plant in ESPN's rankings

The Lakeland Dreadnaughts are No. 6 and the Plant Panthers are No. 20 in the ESPN.com RISE high-school football rankings for the Southeast region.

The top five teams are No. 1 Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas, No. 2 Byrnes (S.C.), No. 3 Miami Northwestern, No. 4 Prattville (Ala.) and No. 5 Valdosta (Ga.) Lowndes County.

Other Florida teams in the top 20 are No. 7 Palm Beach Gardens Dwyer, No. 9 Miami Central, No. 12 Jacksonville Bolles and No. 13 Pahokee.

Birthday wishes

Happy birthday to Bucs defensive back Marshall McDuffie, a rookie free agent, who played at Durant High School and Florida International University. McDuffie got a minicamp invitation in April, then showed enough to stick for training camp. Today, McDuffie turns 23.

The Answer Man

Chicago Bears running back Rick Casares, formerly of Jefferson High School, was the first Hillsborough County player to make the Pro Bowl (or the game's pre-merger forerunner, at least, in 1955).

Friday trivia

Here's our daily sports trivia question, featuring a Tampa Bay/Florida spin. Try your luck by commenting below.

Before winning Super Bowl XXXVII, the Bucs had 37 of their former players play in the Super Bowl for different teams. Who was the first ex-Buc to make a Super Bowl game?
Check for the answer in Monday's Wake-Up Call.