It has been a tough season for the man who promised a tough team. Besides Tampa Bay's 1-10 start, rookie coach Raheem Morris is grappling with the failure of the Buccaneers to bring his NFL vision to life in 2009. ...more

December 4, 2009

Tarnished Star One of my stars fell a little lower in the sky. I am a big fan of Tony Dungy. He is a wonderful role model for young and old alike. But I was dismayed to see him play the race card in Sunday's Trib ("The Sidelines Still Lack Diversity At Colleges," Views, Feb. 22). ...more

February 25, 2009

In the past month, we witnessed the inauguration of our first African-American president and also saw Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers become the second African-American head coach to lead his team to a Super Bowl win. The fact that there was very little talk of Tomlin's race in the week leading up to the game suggests just how much progress has been made in terms of black men in leadership positions in the NFL. ...more

February 22, 2009

Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Tony Dungy, in a New York Times op-ed piece, is asking college athletic directors to ignore pressure from alumni and boosters and hire the best coaching candidates "regardless of race." ...more

February 20, 2009

Watching Mike Tomlin now, it almost seems funny to remember how many eyebrows were raised two years ago when Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney made him the surprise choice as the team's new head coach. There were no doubt many of the same concerns about Tomlin then as there are now about his close friend, Raheem Morris. Was he ready? He had only one season as a defensive coordinator (with Minnesota) after spending five seasons as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' defensive backfield coach. ...more

February 2, 2009

The three words I'm about to type in the next paragraph may not make it through the filters the NFL planted in our computers, designed to prevent anything but "happy" things from being printed during Super Bowl week. I'm going to risk it anyway. There's no buzz. ...more

January 30, 2009

HEAD GAME Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger is used to hearing the concussion questions. He suffered his latest Dec. 28 against the Browns. According to reports, that was documented concussion No. 3. He suffered two in 2006. ...more

January 29, 2009

Fate has rarely been kind to the Arizona Cardinals and those who follow the team. Phoenix is known as the Valley of the Sun, but around the National Football League it was simply a valley. It was a deep, dark, seemingly inescapable land where losing was a way of life and pride went to die. ...more

January 29, 2009

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell says the harsh economic climate won't put a damper on Super Bowl festivities. ...more

January 21, 2009

CARDINALS (12-7) ROAD TO TAMPA Wild Card: beat Atlanta Falcons, 30-24 ...more

January 19, 2009