Tropicana Field

Colin Thompson, a senior at Archbishop Wood, was selected to play in the Under Armour All-America football game at Tropicana Field in Tampa, Fla. on Jan. 5, 2012. Thompson, a 6-foot-5, 255-pounder who rated the No. 1 tight end in the nation by ESPNU, will receive his game jersey at Archbishop Wood High School on Tuesday.  

With the Phillies in the World Series, who wants to watch their prospective opponents battle it out when they can see Steve Harvey rehash some vintage comedy? Technical problems kept last night's American League Championship Series game off the tube until the bottom of the first inning, after Tampa Bay Rays centerfielder B.J. Upton had tied an AL record with his seventh home run in the playoffs to give his team the lead. Cable's TBS, which telecast the game, said two circuit breakers tripped at its Atlanta transmission headquarters, knocking out the master router and its backup, making the network unable to transmit the live feed from Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., across the country.

The Tampa Bay Rays' one-year run from baseball's poorest record to the World Series has been widely described as magical. But the real magic in Tampa-St. Petersburg this October may be taking place beyond the range of Fox's cameras. Because the Rays did the unthinkable once, winning the 2008 American League pennant to get to the Series, they may soon get to do it again. The Rays, with their tiny fan base and outmoded, revenue-deprived, domed stadium, weren't supposed to be able to reach the Series.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Every city's fans react differently to a World Series. In New York, they manage to balance blasé and arrogant. In St. Louis or Milwaukee, they see it as some sort of civic validation. In Philly, we get drunk. Here in Tampa-St. Petersburg, they've apparently confused the event with Smurf Night at the county fair. They ring cowbells and get blue mohawks. I am trying to fathom what might drive a Floridian to get a mohawk, let alone a blue one. Perhaps it's the traffic.

The Tampa Bay Rays came to Philadelphia yesterday with renewed confidence after Thursday's 4-2 win over the Phillies tied the World Series at one game apiece. The Rays had dropped the opener, 3-2, Wednesday at Tropicana Field. In the American League Championship Series, the Rays also lost the opener at home, 2-0, to Boston. We know how that one turned out. The Rays won the second game in Tampa, 9-8, in 11 innings and took off from there, eventually ousting the Red Sox in seven games to win the ALCS.

Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon wanted to wait another day to announce his starting pitcher for Game 1 of the World Series against the Phillies tomorrow at Tropicana Field. All signs, however point to lefthander Scott Kazmir. "I will set that up [today]," Maddon said yesterday in his Tropicana Field office. "I want to be able to talk to all the guys first, talk among ourselves first and talk to the pitchers. " Kazmir last pitched Thursday in the Rays' 8-7 loss to Boston in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series.

It took two decades for Tampa Bay to get a major league team. It will take at least one more day to get a win. Playing like the expansion team they are, the Devil Rays fell flat in their first game, an 11-6 loss to the visiting Detroit Tigers yesterday. "There was a lot going on, but we're not going to make excuses," Tampa Bay's Larry Rothschild said after his debut as a major league manager. "We just got beat. " Joe Randa and Joe Oliver each drove in three runs and Luis Gonzalez hit a two-run homer as the Tigers ruined the day for a sellout crowd of 45,369 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla. "This is one of 162. Unfortunately, it was a big one - Opening Day - but the others won't all go like this," said Tampa Bay's Kevin Stocker, the former Phillies shortstop.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Back on the road in the playoffs, the Texas Rangers won again. Colby Lewis outpitched all-star David Price, Mike Napoli hit a go-ahead two-run homer, and the defending AL champions survived a shaky night from the bullpen to hold off the Tampa Bay Rays, 4-3, Monday night in Game 3 of their postseason series. The Rangers' fourth straight division series road win matches the third-longest streak in major-league history and gives Texas a 2-1 lead heading into Game 4 Tuesday at Tropicana Field.

Matt Garza pitched seven strong innings in his first outing since throwing a one-hitter, and the Tampa Bay Rays beat visiting Boston and nemesis Tim Wakefield last night, 3-1. The win extended the Rays' lead in the American League East to 2 1/2 games over the second-place Red Sox. Garza (7-4) allowed an unearned run and five hits, and Dioner Navarro snapped a fourth-inning tie with an RBI single off Wakefield (5-6), whose 19 career victories against Tampa Bay - nine at Tropicana Field - are the most by an opposing pitcher.

How's this for clutch pitching? The Phils were clinging to a one-run lead in the sixth inning. The Tampa Bay Rays put the potential tying run on base when first baseman Ryan Howard - would his defense be an issue before the Series was over? - made an error on a grounder by Carlos Pena. The temperature was rising at Tropicana Field, but Cole Hamels stayed cool. As he prepared to face cleanup man Evan Longoria, Pena broke for second. Hamels saw Pena go and threw to first.

Thousands of fans nationwide suddenly sat up Sunday night during a Twins-Rays game and muttered "Is that the Matt Geiger?" In the top of the eighth, Twins leftfielder Josh Willingham lofted a foul ball toward the seats down the first-base line. Rays first baseman Carlos Pena probably would have caught the ball, when a gigantic, bearded fan stood up and tried to grab it. The fan was Geiger, who missed the ball and wound up grabbing Pena's glove. A few minutes later, he was escorted away by Tropicana Field security.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Back on the road in the playoffs, the Texas Rangers won again. Colby Lewis outpitched All-Star David Price, Mike Napoli hit a go-ahead, two-run homer and the defending AL champions survived a shaky night from the bullpen to hold off the Tampa Bay Rays last night, 4-3, in Game 3 of their American League Division Series. The Rangers' fourth straight ALDS road win matches the third-longest streak in major league history and gives Texas a 2-1 lead heading into Game 4 today.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Back on the road in the playoffs, the Texas Rangers won again. Colby Lewis outpitched all-star David Price, Mike Napoli hit a go-ahead two-run homer, and the defending AL champions survived a shaky night from the bullpen to hold off the Tampa Bay Rays, 4-3, Monday night in Game 3 of their postseason series. The Rangers' fourth straight division series road win matches the third-longest streak in major-league history and gives Texas a 2-1 lead heading into Game 4 Tuesday at Tropicana Field.

Colin Thompson, a senior at Archbishop Wood, was selected to play in the Under Armour All-America football game at Tropicana Field in Tampa, Fla. on Jan. 5, 2012. Thompson, a 6-foot-5, 255-pounder who rated the No. 1 tight end in the nation by ESPNU, will receive his game jersey at Archbishop Wood High School on Tuesday.  

David Price allowed four hits in eight dominant innings and the host Tampa Bay Rays beat the Chicago White Sox, 5-0, last night. Price (2-2) struck out nine and walked two. The lefthander entered 0-4 with a 4.88 ERA in four starts against the White Sox. "It was a big game for me . . . The White Sox have had my number ever since I've been in the big leagues," Price said. Felipe Lopez homered and drove in three runs, helping Tampa Bay win for sixth time in seven games. Ben Zobrist had a two-run homer.

            Maybe Maddon should go back to Ray-Bans Before the season started, Rays manager Joe Maddon ditched his Buddy Holly , thick-framed glasses (in black, of course) for a slightly thinner, more modern frame (also black). "I'd been wanting to do something different," Maddon (at right) told the St. Pete Times. "The people I got the last ones from offered up some new stuff, and when she pulled these out of the box, it was exactly what I was looking for. " Much was made of this, and the Rays' season began with a with a "Joe Maddon Glasses" night giveaway on opening night at Tropicana Field.

The Tampa Bay Rays are off to the best start in franchise history and showing no signs of slowing down. They see no reason they can't keep rolling. "Everything's obviously working well right now," manager Joe Maddon said last night after Evan Longoria and Carlos Pena homered to back righthander James Shields in a 10-3 victory over visiting Oakland. The Rays have won 13 of 15, improving the best record in baseball to 16-5. Although Maddon said it's unrealistic to expect his team to maintain a .762 winning percentage over the long haul, he thinks the team has the type of attitude and work ethic needed to get back to the playoffs.

The Tampa Bay Rays rewarded super utility player Ben Zobrist for his breakout season with a $18 million, 3-year contract extension that includes two club option years and could be worth $30 million over five seasons. The club announced the agreement with the 28-year-old infielder-outfielder yesterday, when the Rays returned home to Tropicana Field after the most successful trip - 9-1 - in team history. "The Rays gave me my first chance to be in the big leagues . . . There's no better clubhouse atmosphere," said Zobrist.

B.J. Upton and the Tampa Bay Rays played the bumbling Boston Red Sox at the perfect time. Upton capped a five-run third inning with a three-run homer and visiting Tampa Bay completed a four-game sweep of the Red Sox at Fenway Park with an 8-2 victory yesterday in the annual Patriots Day game. The Rays won their seventh in a row, all on the road, and matched the team record for the longest winning streak away from Tropicana Field in one season. Tampa Bay (10-3) completed its first sweep at Fenway Park in a series of three or more games.