After missing out on last years Action Figure Of The Month pledge, I had no choice but to go all in on the latest Toy Pizza pledge. This time the world of Pangea Island has been opened up adding even more layers to the Knights Of The Slice lore.
Initially I wanted to do the $250 pledge, but went with the $65 so I could at least get 1 of each figure. I wasn’t really sold on Cen-5 at first but after learning more about his backstory from the livestream he is a welcomed addition to the KOTS. The accessories pack accompanying Cen-5 might be the best of any figure so far, especially his little mining buddy.
Cromega is hands down my favorite design so far and I plan on buying several color ways of him. It will be interesting to see the role Cromega plays in the future.
With the various hints dropped by Jesse,I can only assume the next addition to KOTS will be of the more aquatic fare. Maybe we will find out what lies beneath Pangea Island.
With all of the Tampa Bay Area’s sports teams playing out of their mind this season. With For The Bay Clothing Company fans are able to rep their home teams with a little bit more of a local flavor. Sort of a For the Bay by The Bay mentality. The company adds a local flare to team merch that the official merch is missing sometimes.
This Stanley Cup Finals shirt is dedicated to the Lightning’s victory song.
So far For The Bay offers hats and shirts representing Tampa Bay Hockey,Football, and Baseball. The 813 shirt and hat is probably the most popular. I personally am waiting for a 727 one to rep but until then I will just stick to the Tampa Bay hockey shirts. I picked up both the Gravy Train and Stanley Cup champs shirts. The quality is top notch as well as speedy shipping. Each package comes with a wrist band and sticker as well as a custom note depending on the order.
One of my favorite Stanley Cup shirts.
My next pick up will be the Tampa Bay Football one with the throwback creamsicle orange, they are definitely a vibe. I hope in the future For The Bay will release some Tampa Bay Soccer merch for the green and gold. With the XFL returning I am sure the TB Fang Gang would love to do a collaboration for the 2022 relaunch of the XFL and Tampa Bay Vipers. I hope in the future maybe Jit Camp and For The Bay Clothing can do a NBA2TAMPABAY collab shirt.
With Green Light Cinema having its opening weekend I had to come out and support the growing cinephile scene in the 727.
“The Nest” and “12 Hour Shift” are the first two films on the slate.
I was hoping to see some classic art house flicks but Green Light is really off to a great start with their opening film “The Nest”. Director Sean Durkin known for his 2011 film “Martha Marcy May Marleane” brings us a new kind of family drama with “The Nest”. Durkin shoots and sets the film up with such a sense of dread that at times it has a horror vibe. Jude Law is always on the top of his game but for me the standout of the film is Carrie Coon. As the film goes on she begins to smoke more and more cigarettes portraying to the viewer her state of mind after her family is moved across the pond.
They aren’t recliners but I’ll take it.
From a theater aspect I feel it is the perfect setting for a local art house theater. Parking is close by which is always a plus and concessions are on hand before and during each showing. The picture and sound quality was top notch, as well as theater temperature not being to cold or to hot. The seats don’t recline but they also don’t hurt my ass like some of these big chain seats do.
I am looking forward to attending Green Light at least once a week. I feel the film choices will take me out of my comfort zone, opening me up to the vast reaches of the cinematic landscape I have yet to conquer.
After months of waiting St.Pete is finally getting its own Art House Cinema. Located on 221 2nd Ave North, The Green Light Cinema will be opening it’s doors for the first time this week end, with three showings Friday through Sunday 2 p.m., 6:30 p.m., and 9:15 p.m.
The inaugural film at Green Light will be one of the latest offerings from IFC “The Nest”. Jude Law stars in this 2020 family drama which should be a great start to build the Green Light audience. I think it is a good choice to start with a more current film before the theater rolls out the classics.
I plan on catching one of the showings this weekend. There is definitely a place in St.Pete for an Art House Cinema scene, making Green Light Cinema a St.Pete Cinephiles Church.
When you think NHL, “The Original Six” immediately come to mind. Despite the 2020 Stanley Cup Finals being held in the Edmonton bubble, the two teams representing the Eastern and Western Conferences hail from the south.
Over their almost 30 year history the Tampa Bay Lightning have been one of the best teams in the league.
The Tampa Bay Lightning and The Dallas Stars are probably the best examples of hockey flourishing in a southern market. This will be each clubs third Stanley Cup final appearance, with each club only having one Stanley Cup a piece. The Stars won their cup in 99, and the Bolts won their cup in 2004. As of right now only the Stars, Lightning and Carolina Hurricanes are the only southern teams to win a Stanley Cup with the Nashville Predators and Florida Panthers having won a conference championship in their conference. But not all southern markets have seen success.
The Calgary Flames still honor the Atlanta club from time to time.
The NHL expanded into the south with the Atlanta Flames now the Calgary Flames in the early seventies in hope of cutting off the growing rival World Hockey Association (WHA) from expanding into potential markets. The Flames during there Atlanta run were pretty mediocre only making it to the first round of the playoffs during their run in the mid seventies. With low attendance the ownership group sold the club to Calgary in 1980. Atlanta would not see pro hockey again until 1999 when the city was awarded another NHL franchise the Atlanta Thrashers. The team only made the playoffs once in their history. Due to lack of attendance the team was sold in 2011 to a group based in Winnipeg, reviving the Winnipeg Jets. This is sad for Atlanta Hockey fans hoping for their 3rd stint in the NHL.
Atlanta hosted one NHL All Star Game during their second stint in the NHL.
After the fail of the Flames, the NHL would not look into Southern Expansion until they relocated the Minnesota North Stars to Dallas which are now the Dallas Stars.
The team is currently located in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida but I see them potentially making the full change to Miami.
The expansions into Florida for the league are both hit in miss with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 1992, and the Florida Panthers in 1993. The Panthers are always in talks of relocation but I feel the league like their place in the Miami area so I am sure they are staying put.
The Hurricanes do a Storm Surge dance after each win, angering a majority of the league.
The Hartford Whalers relocated to North Carolina becoming the Carolina Hurricanes in 1997. Bringing another southern team into the league.
The teams logo is a Sabertooth Tiger due to the fossil of the animal being found in Nashville.
As of now the last southern expansion team was the Nashville Predators. The club has a huge fan base earning the “Smashville” nickname from their fans. Within the last five years the club has been in a Winter Classic and a Stanley Cup Final, and despite losing in both efforts.
This was the first Southern Winter Classic which was played outdoors at Cotton Bowl stadium.
With the league expanding into the West as of late with the Las Vegas Golden Knights and their 32nd franchise Seattle Kraken, I think it’s safe to say the NHL might look towards the South for future expansion, I’m looking at you Houston.
The Houston Aeros almost made the jump to the NHL from the WHA.
The winner of this years Stanley Cup will not only have Lord Stanley but also be the new front runners of southern hockey , proving that if you put a good product on the ice fans in any market will support a team whether it’s in Dallas or Tampa Bay. Go Bolts!
After a 3-0 victory over Miami FC, The Tampa Bay Rowdies have a strong lead in the Group H table as well as the Coastal Cup for the first time since 2016.
Stating in 2010 The Coastal Cup is a trophy awarded to the best Florida team in USL Championship. Since the Rowdies left NASL in 2016. Participation for the Cup has been put on hold until this season when Miami FC joined the USL Championship.
For a majority of the Cups history the Rowdies have the most wins with 5, and this season seems to be more of the same. The Rowdies needed a big home win on the road. Captain Sebastian Guenzatti scores his 4th goal of the season in the (38’). The future looks bright for the young fan favorite Malik Johnson scored his 2nd goal of the season in the (85’), deflating any hope of a Miami FC comeback. Keeping Juan Tejada out of the starting 11, gave them some much needed speed at the end of the game with him coming up with a goal in extra minutes (90’+4’).
The team is still undefeated with another away game on Wednesday night against ATL 2 and then back home against Miami FC for my birthday day. With a 6 point lead in the table already two more big wins against Group H teams will definitely help us clinch a playoff birth soon. With 14 points we are second place in the entire USL Championship. With a big road game coming up against ATL 2, the Mobsters & the Casuals with be distantly COYR, until the next Sunshine Series Game Aug 16 at Al Lang.
With the news of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and his team purchasing the XFL out of bankruptcy, the plans of which teams will return for the next season are still in question. Which leaves Vipers fans with only one goal in mind, keeping the Vipers in Tampa Bay.
Before the league closed earlier this year there where some rumblings about a few teams being relocated. The Vipers are apparently one of those teams due to low attendance at their only two games, one of which was a Sunday night game. The cost of playing at Raymond James might be a factor but teams like NY played in NFL stadiums as well and had smaller turnouts.
As the league was starting to take of fan interest in the Tampa Bay community was growing with our next home game probably being our highest attended game if it was to have been played. The TB Fang Gang was ready to step in as the Tampa Bay Vipers official supporters group, and now more then ever is ready to rep the team.
The push for keeping the Vipers in Tampa Bay is not to say that Orlando shouldn’t have a team, just don’t take ours. It would make more sense for Orlando to get a new team of their own to embrace rather than taking ours. The league already invested all the time and money into creating the Tampa Bah Vipers brand and fans, with other markets like LA and NY both having low numbers it would look bad on the league to just give up on four of their charter teams after one season. The Fang Gang and fans of the Tampa Bay Vipers will fight to keep our team in Tampa Bay!
Supporters Groups are essential in the sport of soccer but slowly this trend is finding its way into other sports like hockey and baseball. With groups like “The 7 Line Army” the supporters group of the New York Mets, its time for the Tampa Bay Rays to have their own supporters group, we are The Rays Republic!
The Rays always get a bad rap for having no fans at the Trop, but with the hype built off last years playoff run and the glimpses of hope so far in this social distanced 2020 MLB Season, I feel fans will be ready to get back in the Trop and support the ball club more than ever.
With only cut outs being allowed at games for the 2020 season The Rays Republic has had time to plan out their inaugural 2021 season. All the Saturday home games are separated by Blue and Yellow representing the color the Supporters will wear for that game. Once game plans are made available the group will be offering tickets to support the club presumably in section 134/136 over in the right field corner. Rays Republic shirts will be included in the ticket package. If you already have season tickets don’t worry, you can still buy the shirt and membership separate even if you are not sitting in the section. I feel that this is a great option allowing The Rays Republic to spread across the entire Trop. By next year the group will have all the chants ready to get the Trop loud and rocking, my personal favorite being the “Choi!!” chant for Ji-Man.
With groups like “Sticks Of Fire” supporters of the Lightning and Ralph’s Mob supporters of the Tampa Bay Rowdies, I see no reason why the Rays can’t have their own supporters group. It’s actually a great step at building a loyal fan base inside the ball park, yet another reason not to move the team out of the Tampa Bay Area. For more information on The Rays Republic follow their Instgram @theraysrepublic.
With a lot of bad pressing coming out of the NAL over the past few weeks, the league had announced that the Tampa Bay Tornadoes will play their inaugural season in the NAL not AAL.
The Tampa Bay Tornadoes planned on having their inaugural season in 2020 as a part of the AAL, but due to COVID 19 the season was cancelled as well as the seasons of other pro arena leagues like the IFL and NAL.
I feel the move is a huge step up for the club. They will be joining already storied arena football franchises like the two time and defending champions Jacksonville Sharks, the Orlando Predators which sparks a new era in “The War On I-4“ rivalry. The NAL is also a better league overall than the AAL, especially on the production quality of their games.
This is a huge moment for management Alton Walker, John Amato, and Ken Nelson. The guys have worked really hard to get the team where it is today, all with one goal in mind. To reclaim Tampa Bays spot as the top tier organization in all of Arena Football.
A match up between the top clubs from Group G & Group H ended in a tie, not the outcome I wanted but I’ll take the points on the road.
So far this season I still haven’t seen the Tampa Bay Rowdies play a complete game. This was their second road test of the season taking on the Birmingham Legion who sit atop Group G. Since last season the Rowdies have always had trouble with the Legion and this game was no different. Coach Collins finally added Juan Tejada back into the lineup which added a much need speed boost on the offense. Tejada allows the defense to focus more of their attention on him allowing Sebastian Guenzatti to score a goal 51 minutes in. Goalie Evan Louro had some nice saves and is slowly becoming one of my favorites on the team.
This tie doesn’t make me as mad as last weeks home one to NCFC. Last week felt like a loss, we had a 2-0 lead at home and lost it after the half, this week we entered the half losing 1-0 and game back to tie. I like how the club never shows signs of giving up. If they can just turn up the heat more on offense I think the club will be fine going into playoffs. Next weeks game is against the Charleston Battery who is only 1 point behind us in Group H, so we need a big win at home. Hopefully I will be in attendance along with my fellow Ralph’s Mob & Skyway Casual supporters, cheering on our Rowdies!!!
