The NFL kicked off its full schedule of games yesterday, and perhaps the Tampa Bay Bucs' stirring upset victory over Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers in the Convention Bowl will get reluctant fans to start purchasing tickets (some as low as $30) for the Greg Schiano-led squad's next game at Raymond James Stadium. That takes place in 20 days against the Robert Griffin III-led Washington Redskins.
Last night also featured the successful debut of four-time MVP Peyton Manning in an orange uniform, as he led his new Denver Broncos over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
And in the NFL's best match-up of the day, the San Francisco 49ers looked like they are for real in 2012, knocking around the Green Bay Packers 30-22 in a game that wasn't as close as the final score indicated (the game also featured a 63-yard field goal by the Niners' David Akers, tying the record for the longest kick ever, a record that has stood up for 43 years now).
But Tampa really should be excited about football moving down to the college ranks, where USF pulled off the greatest last-minute comeback in that program's short history against Nevada, 32-31.
Now on to the news. Momentum, such as it is, seems to be on President Obama's side after the Dems' successful convention in Charlotte last week. The big event locally over the weekend was President Obama's Saturday morning half-hour appearance out in the Pinellas County town of Seminole.
Seeking to control the narrative, both Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan took to the (Non Fox News) Sunday morning shows yesterday to talk about their prescriptions to heal America if elected. Mitt's interview in particular, was illuminating.
And CBS's 60 Minutes opened its new season last night with the very hyped-up interview with a member of the Navy SEAL team that took down Osama bin Laden in Pakistan last year.
This article appears in Sep 6-12, 2012.