Unique Day Has Familiar Gruden Ending Martin Fennelly, The Tampa Tribune, published 5 October 2008 Was that Warrick Dunn who just singled or was it Akinori Iwamura who just broke off a 38-yard run? There had never been a day like this in Tampa Bay sports history. The Amazin' Rays were in Chicago for Game 3 of their ALDS with Chicago. Meanwhile, the 3-1 Bucs were a mile high to face the Broncos. Today might represent some sort of channel-changing record for Tampa Bay sports. What to watch, and when? Maybe Bucs on TV, Rays on the radio. Or maybe the other way around. Bad day all around for the locals. Start with the Bucs, 16-13 losers. To the B List, with a little R List thrown in: Gruden and Garcia, together again! Jeff Garcia was listed as the second quarterback on Sunday. Any day now, by the looks of things, he should be listed as the first quarterback. Like it matters. Brian Griese, shoulder, questionable. Bucs offense, more questionable. Aki singles home a run for a 1-0 Rays lead. Looking around Invesco Field, it was hard to believe that this is the same place where Barack Obama accepted the Democratic nomination for president. Obama's latest attack ads focus on John McCain being for the same old Bucs offense. White Sox tie it at 1. Just checking here, but weren't the Broncos giving up 400 yards and 30 points a game coming into Sunday? And why did the Bucs cave and not even take a single shot at the end zone with 18 second and one timeout left in the first half, settling instead for Matt Bryant's field goal to tie at 6 as time expired? Little rule of thumb: You play to lose and you lose. Griese might be the all-time leader for five-yard completions on 3rd-and-4. Davin Joseph is back, and that is never bad news. Give me Josh Bidwell punting in thin air, in any air, any day. Matt Garza let down; Dewayne Wise, two-run double in fourth, White Sox up 4-1. I counted Dexter Jackson slipping down only twice on first-half punt returns. Jeremy Trueblood gutted one drive with a holding penalty. He had two more penalties later. Sick of it yet? Yes, that was our good old friend, Mikey Pittman, ramming it up the middle for 16 yards on 3rd-and-5 on the Broncos' third-quarter TD drive. Longest Bucs pass play: 17 yards. It's the fault of the Bucs defense, you know, at least in the back of Gruden's mind. Did you know that the D didn't score a single point Sunday? And they didn't stop the Broncos after the Bucs made it close late. Yeah, shame on them. You can just hear Gruden as he sent Garcia into the game: "Forget about all that Favre stuff - and the Griese stuff - oh, and the Luke McCown as second quarterback stuff. I'll phone the rest into your helmet. No go get 'em, kid." By the way, when they bothered running, the Bucs averaged 7.8 yards per carry in the first half. "I'm Barack Obama, and I disapproved this game plan." Getting a first down the Buc Way: Garcia throws pick, picker fumbles, Bucs recover. 1st and 10! Sure, toss sweep on third and 20 in the fourth quarter. Did you see it? Unwinnable. Unwatchable. But they rallied. Yes, they did. Garcia led the Bucs downfield and at the end, a short TD to Ike Hilliard. Nice 90-yard drive. Quarterback controversy, anyone? I don't think it matters who's in there when Gruden is calling the shots he's calling. How the Rays doing? Oh.