Month: April 2020

After rewatching the Godzilla Shōwa Era of films I was looking for something new to get my kaiju fix. Look no further than “Ultra Q”!

Created by longtime Godzilla special effects wizard Eiji Tsuburaya in 1966, the original goal of the series was to be a Japanese Twilight Zone and Outer Limits style series featuring a creature of the week, but ultimately turned more into a Tokusatsu or a live action Japanese series or film with a heavy use on special effects.

The short lived series only lasted one season, later turning into Ultraman making it the first in the Ultra Series of Tokusatsu shows. Each episode features a singular story dealing with some sort of giant monster or alien threat on the earth. There are some reoccurring characters throughout the series like Professor Ichinotani who usually gives his observations on the situation.

The first episode pulls you right in with a battle between Gomess a lizard monster created from an old Godzilla suit and Litra the guardian bird that protects the twin from Gomess. If you need your fix of kaiju this is the series for you the Meteorite Monster Garamon and the Arctic monster Pegulia are my favorite two in the series both having appearances in two episodes of the series. The Garamon episodes are probably my favorite, watching him kangaroo hop through a city instantly made him one of my favorite kaiju, and the reason I initially checked out the series.

With Quarantine in full effect, “Ultra Q” should definitely make these hard times a little better, because who doesn’t love giant monsters!

After drafting OT Tristan Wirfs to anchor the offensive line with their first pick, the Buccaneers looked to use the rest of the draft to fill in some missing pieces in what already looks like a playoff bound team.

Instead of reaching on a RB after Wisconsin stud Jonathan Taylor was picked up by the Colts, Bucs GM Jason Licht beefed up an already stacked defense drafting Safety Antoine Winfield Jr with their 2nd Round pick. Our secondary is very young but as the team grows it will continue to get better, Winfield Jr adds to that bringing ball hawk interception skills. Winfield Jr also specialize in his run defense often picking up the middle of the field tackles.

In the 3rd Round the Bucs finally secured a RB drafting Vanderbilt standout Ke’Shawn Vaughn to share carries with ROJO, which hopefully will take some of the load of Brady. To me he seems like a Doug Martin style running back, short but once he gets through the hole he has potential to take it to the house.

In the 5th Round the Bucs got Brady another possible weapon on offense getting another Minnesota player Tyler Johnson at WR. I can’t see him being a week one starter but it never hurts to give Bruce Arians even more weapons to draw up plays for.

Later Round Picks usually don’t get that much love but the Bucs added another Nebraska DT Khalil Davis with their 6th Round Pick. Davis joins fellow Cornhuskers Suh and fan favorite Lavonte David on Todd Bowles squad. Even if David doesn’t get much playing time due to Suh and Vea he can lessen the load on those two if he has a productive rookie year. I’ll definitely be looking out for Khalil Davis to make some big plays on D!

Later in the 7th Round the Bucs added another defensive player Temple OLD Chapelle Russel. They also went for RB Raymond Calais out Louisiana. Hopefully if Vaughn doesn’t get it going Calais could help take the load of ROJO this season.

With such a huge free agency and a team already on the cusp of a playoff birth, the Bucs leave the 2020 Draft with a franchise caliber OT and probably two more players that will probably see game time if not be starters with Winfield Jr and Vaughn. Time will only tell if the 7th Rounders make the team but I think Khalil Davis will stick around for a year or so. If they where able to get Jonathan Taylor at RB that would have given them an A+ grade but for the 2020 NFL Draft,I give the Bucs an A-.

The Buccaneers didn’t take any chances leaving Tom Brady unguarded this season by moving up one spot to select Tristan Wirfs OT from Iowa with the 13th pick.

It is likely that Wirfs will start at Right Tackle and the Bucs are looking for Wirfs to be a Frank Gruber esque cornerstone lineman for years to come. Having a great balance of speed and strength, Wirfs might not be as big as the other tackles drafted before him,but he is quicker on his feet running a 4.86 40 time weighting in at 320 lbs. His crazy jump out of a pool has been shown over and over again on sports center, showcasing his leg strength.

Personally I feel the team got a steal with Wirfs at 13. Becton I felt lacked the maturity to be a starting tackle for Tom Brady as a rookie. Wirfs is just a small town kid from a single mom living out his dream.

Although picking a Tackle with your first pick is not a flashy move, Tristan Wirfs has a bright future ahead of him rocking Pewter and Red, I know I’ll have my Wirfs jersey on during game days.

When he’s not being kicked out of a park for practicing football, it seems Tom Brady making some behind the scenes dealings after the Buccaneers acquired Patriot legend and future Hall of Fame TE Rob Gronkowski for only a 4th Round Pick.

With rumors of Bucs former first round pick TE O.J. Howard being on the trade block, after having a piss poor season last year, it was surprising to see Howard not involved in the trade. Personally I think they should hang on to Howard just in case Gronk needs a breather. If the team decides to move on they should get no less then a 2nd Round Pick.

With Mike Evans already being a freak of nature, Brady will have two big security blankets on the field just in case he finds himself in harms way. After a year of resting I am sure Gronk is ready to get back at it with another chance at the Super Bowl with his BFF Brady.

Life is good these days being a Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan with two of my all time favorite players reunited at long last, let’s just hope the season actually starts.

As a life long Patriot fan living in the Tampa Bay Area I have always rooted for the Buccaneers as well due to being my home town team. Now after the signing of Tom Brady to the Bucs this off-season the fandom struggle is real deciding which team to love more.

After experiencing the Tampa Bay Vipers games and the final Bucs game against Atlanta, my mind was pretty much made up that I was going to get Buccaneers Season tickets regardless what QB was at the helm. One of my life long dreams and goals is to have Patriots season tickets but living in the Tampa Bay Area makes that difficult. For now the best option I have is to root for both teams while still enjoying the in game experience of live football at one of the NFL’s hidden gems stadiums Raymond James.

Growing up I can remember my Grandma Judy having the Bucs game on every Sunday when Chris Simms and Cadillac Williams started on the team. I remember the excitement the area and team had surrounding the drafting of Josh Freeman who we thought would be our QB of the future. The signing of Tom Brady is a huge moment for the team and the Tampa Bay Area putting us in the National spotlight.

People might say that it makes me a bandwagon fan to root for the Patriots and the Bucs but who cares? I’m not going to miss out on seeing the final years of my favorite player and hero play for my home town team, it’s sort of like Tom brought the Patriots to Tampa Bay. I hope over the next few seasons regardless if we win a Super Bowl or not, it is definitely going to be a fun experience hearing the cannons fire at Ray Jay for years to come.

With the Buccaneers picking up the biggest free agent signing of all time with Tom Brady, the new look Bucs look to protect their investment with the No.14 overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft.

My preferred pick for the Bucs is Louisville OT Mekhi Becton. Although he has some weight issues, Becton ran a 5.10 in the 40 yard dash weighting in at 368. His combination of speed and strength are just what the Bucs need to improve the running game which in return will open up the passing game for Brady. His availability to play left and right tackle would allow him to be a day one starter. Becton was recently flagged for a failed drug test, but has reached out to teams. This might lower his draft stock allowing the Bucs to select him at 14 without trading up.

If Becton is gone by the time we pick at 14 the Bucs should definitely draft Georgia OT Andrew Thomas. Being the Top Blocker in the SEC is no easy feat going up against some of the nations best defenses like Alabama and LSU, Thomas could potentially be the cornerstone piece the Bucs are looking for on the offensive line.

Bucs GM Jason Licht has been hit or miss over the years when it comes to the draft notoriously picking a kicker in the 2nd round. This year is pretty much can’t miss for him. There is plenty of top level tackles that could eventually becoming this generations Paul Gruber who held down the Bucs offensive line from 88-99 after being selected 4th overall in 1988. It’s simple just draft a tackle!!!

When the reboot of the XFL was announced in 2018 I was ecstatic when the league awarded Tampa Bay with one of its inaugural franchise. At the time “XFL Tampa Bay” would later be announced as the Tampa Bay Vipers, bringing spring football to the Bay Area for the first time since the Tampa Bay Bandits played in the USFL in the early eighties. The two year build up was worth it for me as an inaugural season ticket holder I could not wait for February 2020 to come soon enough. After five weeks of playing the Vipers went 1-4 but showing signs of turning around with 3 Home games still remaining. Unfortunately the Fang Gang will never get to see the rest of the season lived out. Due to the Coronavirus Outbreak the season and it appears the league it’s self has been canceled.

No official termination of the League has been announced but last week the XFL laid off its employees except a few in the main office, with no plans of returning in 2021. As a diehard fan the news couldn’t have been worse. The supporters group Fang Gang apart of the Vipers Life Group was just on the cusp of becoming not only the official supporters group of the Vipers but also the first official supporters group in league history, showing the league had a growing fan base.

At this point the suspension of the league makes sense due to the uncertainty of when sports can be played again. If the NFL season is indeed pushed back it would have definitely compromised the XFL 2021 Season making it pointless to make plans for it. This past week would have been the final regular season week of play meaning the league payed all its employees until the final week like they said they would. Vince McMahon who owns the league under Alpha Entertainment is already facing financial issues due to Coronavirus’s effect on Wrestlemania and WWE.

I personally feel the League will resume operations and play again, it just might not be until 2022. I will continue to always be a Vipers fan and member of the Fang Gang and Vipers Life. Our power as fans can keep the team alive and well showing the higher ups that the love for the league and Spring Football can still be financially profitable once things go back to normal. But if it is the end I will always cherish my memories of being in the Snake Pit section 135 Row B yelling Slatt and swinging my snake around with the rest of the gang. Hopefully in the near future we can all fill Raymond James with hissing sounds once again. For the love of the Vipers.