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   A Pompano Beach store manager talked an apparently armed man out of holding her up by talking religion with him, MiamiHerald.com reports.

   When confronted with a gun, Nayara Goncalves said, “You can do whatever you want, but I’m just going to talk to you about Jesus, my God, before you leave.” Turns out they even talked of a pastor they both knew.

   Before the man left, he said he was brandishing a BB gun, not a real one.

   “I believe him when he said he wasn’t a bad guy. … I believe that he was just desperate, like he said,” Goncalves said.

Report: Rams come to terms with Sam Bradford

With the Buccaneers and Penn agreeing on a long-term contract, does that mean that Barrett Ruud is next? LT Donald Penn threatened a hold-out, very publicly, for quite some time. The Bucs were also very rigid in saying that they would not negotiate new terms for Penn. While Penn showed up at Fan Appreciation day, he also made it a point to miss OTA's and the first day of Training Camp (even though the first practice will be on Saturday). I thought that Donald Penn had all the leverage in the situation, as the coaching staff and GM were likely cringing at the idea of starting Demar Dotson. While Dotson is a young player with plenty of potential (most likely at guard), there is a large drop-off between Penn and the youngster. While common-place amongst NFL players, Penn may not win any awards for the manner in which he handled himself. In fact, the organization probably won the PR war during this saga. However, his diligence in holding out quite literally paid off.

In a completely opposite fashion of how Donald Penn handled himself, Barrett Ruud was asking for roughly the same thing, a long-term deal. However, when the off-season workouts (both voluntary and mandatory) rolled around, Ruud was there. When offered a 1 Year Tender, Ruud signed it.  Ruud supported Penn in his holdout, but it was clear that Penns path would not be his own.

"I fully support Donald, and hopefully things get worked out. That’s all I know about that part. … Until you get a decent contract, you kind of think about that every year..."

Ruud has certainly vocalized his displeasure with his contract and his hopes for a new one. I also believe though that Ruud understands his production took a steep decline last year from 2008. In my opinion, there is no doubt that with a return to that T2, that it will be quickly corrected. The feelings seem to be much more mixed on Ruud than in regards to Penn. Penn is clearly an elite talent who ate too much. Ruuds abilities have come into question quite a few times with readers of this site and fans in general. I must admit that I am quite a supporter of his. Regardless, what does Penn's new contract mean for Barrett?

Well, first, it means that the Glazers will spend the money to lock up the talent they currently have on their roster. Something that many fans, including myself, have questioned. It also means that they are looking for fewer distractions and more cohesiveness in the locker room. I don't particullary see Ruud being a source of conflict, but I also think it is a little bit of a distraction. With the money being spent on Penn, I would also not be surprised to see Ruud amp up the negotiations through the media more now.

What do you think Bucs Nation? Is this any indication that Ruud will see a new payday in the near future, or will this dispute carry on into next off-season?

Penn just agreed to a long-term contract

More photos » Chris O'Meara - AP

Raise your hand if you feel you're underpaid, but will play hard to get your big payday.

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Finally.

For the first time since April 23, meaningful football are upon us at One Buccaneer Place.  The players showed up today for the start of training camp, and already the day has brought us a nice little cache of noteworthy nuggets..... 

-First, let's start with the actual appearance of players at camp, or lack thereof.  All players reported for camp, except for Donald Penn and Gerald McCoy.  Both players remain unsigned.  They would techically become holdouts if they're not in camp tomorrow when the first practice starts.  Can't say this is a surprise for either player, especially for McCoy.  As everyone knows, rookie holdouts are fairly commonplace, but almost always get resolved before the bulk of preseason is over.  However, agent Ben Dogra and Mark Dominik are negotiating the tems of a potential deal for McCoy, so hopefully something will get done soon...even though it probably won't get done until Suh and possibly Bradford ink the dotted line.  As for the other holdout who ISN'T negotiating a deal with the Bucs right now...........

-.............John Romano has a terrific piece up examining Donald Penn's current situation and how a holdout would be bad for both sides, but much worse for Penn.  He goes back in time and notes the Glazers' pattern of holding firm against holdouts and the adverse results for a couple of notable Buccaneers (see Errict Rhett and Keenan McCardell).   My take is that, while I have no idea what will happen regarding a long-term deal with the Penn, he's not going to pass up $3.168 million and the Bucs likely aren't going to cut him or trade away his rights.  Ultimately, when you take away all the posturing and lines in the sand, they both need each other- at least for 2010- and are going to have to live with each other for the next season if they can't get a deal done, so Penn might as well get paid doing it.  Also, the more time he misses from the preseason and/or season (if it gets that far), the further behind he puts himself and the more difficult it will be to get in game shape....and working out individually is a far cry from getting live game action and enduring the physical grind of camp.  I don't think he wants to put himself in such a tough position in an all-important contract year.

UPDATE

Per Jason La Canfora via Twitter shortly before 7 pm ET, Donald Penn has agreed to a long-term deal with the Buccaneers and is on his way to Tampa to sign.  More details to come later, but this is great news.

-Fellow contract disputee Barrett Ruud voiced his support for Donald Penn and spoke about the mentality of a player going through contract disputes:

"Until you get a decent contract, you kind of think about that every year," he said. "I know for a lot of guys, they think about it from the time they're a rookie until they do sign a little more of a long-term deal. . .  I think there's always a lot of pressure on yourself. This league is so competitive and there's usually not a lot of guaranteed money -- not like baseball or basketball where everything is guaranteed. I think you're always under a lot of pressure from everyone to play well."

-Aqib Talib showed up for camp saying all the right things.  Regarding the change in the defense the last 6 weeks of the season, Talib offered the following insight:

"I think there were a lot better decisions,'' Talib said of the change from Bates to Morris. "A lot less man press on the line – not 40 snaps of man press on the line. These receivers nowadays, you can't really do that. You're asking for it, to lose one battle and get a touchdown called against you. I'd say a lot better decisions on defense … a lot better play-calling.''

I think Elbert Mack and the rest of the secondary would concur with that opinion.

-Stephen Holder tweeted that Derrick Ward rolled into camp in a Lamborghini Gallardo.  Hope his game is just as powerful as stylish as his ride.

-Holder also tweeted that the Bucs will be in full pads tomorrow for the first day of practice.  No nancies and punch-and-judy's.  Time to get tough quickly and become that violent and physical team that was proclaimed one year ago.

Discuss.

Bucs Nation's 2010 Buccaneer Preview, Via SBNation

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First, and foremost, vote for Clark.

Creative Loafing has opened the voting for their annual Best of the Bay issue, and the only category for which I want to make a recommendation is Best Local Blogger.

Clark Brooks runs the blog Ridiculously Inconsistent Trickle of Consciousness and is a sports blogger, covering local teams, at SB Nation. He is also, hands down, the most consistently funny writer in the Tampa Bay blogosphere. I suspect he’s the funniest writer across all local media, but in all candor most of my media consumption is through the Internet, so I can’t say too much about newspapers, radio, or television. But, I know the Internet pretty well, and Tampa is lucky to have someone as talented as Clark writing in our collective backyard.

Tampa has some excellent bloggers, but none have been so consistent, and so funny, for so long. You can vote for Clark in the category People, Places & Politics for Best Local Blogger.

***

Fusion Tampa Bay visits Pane Rustica and learns that it has expanded. They now have a bar.

“The bar is a large, beautiful U shape leaving lots of space for people to sit without feeling like the person next to you is breathing down your neck and listening into your conversation. They’ve also added cozy booths alongside the opposite wall and a few cocktail tables scattered throughout for those who would rather have a little more privacy. The decor is dark woods accented with shades of blue and the feel is much more contemporary than the adjacent olde world decor of the original dining room, but it still it blends well and the Saturday night ambiance was very chill with a twist of romantic.”

***

Smiles Go With Everything reviews Talking Dirt.

“If you’re interested in learning about organic gardening, this is the book for you. Annie Spiegelman speaks in a modern, humorous tone as she explains everything from starting a compost pile to native plants to vegetable gardens to English roses. This is a fantastic guide for both experienced gardeners and novices.”

***

Tampa Do-Gooder ruminates on her love for radio.

“God bless internet streaming…I also “discovered” KCRW in Santa Monica and XPN in Philly. And when I moved to Tampa, I found WMNF. My love for radio was absolutely restored.”

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Welcome back Tommy! Tommy in Seminole Heights has returned from his work-related African excursion. With any luck he’ll also return to regular (or at least semi-regular) posting.

Every now and then, a bizarre news item gets better with the mere addition of a photo. On June 30, Bizarre Florida brought you the story of Koral Wira, 14, who was bitten on the arm by a nearly 4-foot barracuda that leaped into the boat carrying her and her parents off the Venice coast.

On Wednesday, June 30, Field & Stream reported on Koral's story, and included seven photos taken by her parents — including this one:

It seems that after returning to shore with his wounded daughter, Koral's dad insisted that they stop and pose for a prize catch photo before heading over to the hospital. (After all, what's the rush, right?)

Koral told Field & Stream she wasn't in pain when the picture was taken, she was just still creeped out by the fish. But her arm needed 51 stitches. (She also told the magazine her stitches are out now, and her arm is healing.)

In dad's defense, he did waste no time getting to shore — he even used a fishing knife to quickly cut the boat's anchor line instead of taking time to pull it back into the boat.

But judging by his expression, you have to wonder if he wasn't just thinking about the opportunity to take this photo.

And judging by Kira's expression, she's thinking something else entirely …

   We can’t but wonder if the bay area’s famed “Botox Bandit” has struck in Fort Lauderdale.

   A woman got a $3,330 treatment at a dermatology institute and skipped out without paying, SunSentinel.com reports. “She directed me the whole time and was very demanding. She knew exactly what she wanted,” the dermatologist told the website. Leaving her purse, she said she had to withdraw money from a nearby ATM. She didn’t return.

   Fugitive Jaimie Merk, who has lived in Tampa and Clearwater, earned the nickname Botox Bandit by skipping out on similar treatments.