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By GARY NAGER Editorial

For those of us who love sports, October really is one of the best times of the year. The Major League Baseball regular season ends and the march towards the World Series begins. At our press time, the Tampa Bay Rays stood third in the American League’s East Division, and were solidly holding onto the second of three A-L Wild Card spots, 1/2-game ahead of the Seattle Mariners for the third spot and 4-1/2 games ahead of the Baltimore Orioles with only nine games remaining. If they do hold on to a Wild Card spot, it would be the fourth year in a row the Rays would be in the playoffs and the eighth time in their 25 years as a MLB franchise.

The NFL and NCAA football seasons, both of which started in September, are in full swing. In college football, only the Florida State Seminoles (4-0) were ranked in the NCAA’s top-25 (23rd) and were one of only two major football programs in the state with an above-.500 record (the University of Central Florida was the other, at 3-1).

Even so, all of the teams have had their share of excitement, as my alma mater, the University of Florida Gators (2-2), upset 7th-ranked (at the time) Utah 29-26 in week 1, and their two losses — to the ranked University of Kentucky (by 10) and University of Tennessee (by 5) were both close enough to offer Florida fans hope for a decent season.

The UCF Knights lost by only 6 pts to 2-2 Louisville, which also stomped USF and lost by 4 to FSU. And, while the Bulls were only 1-3 on the young season, they could and probably should have beaten the Gators at Florida Field, before losing by only 3 points.

In the NFL, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers fell to 2-1 on the young season, after losing to Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers when QB Tom Brady (photo) couldn’t get the snap off in time to try a 2-pt conversion (which meant the Bucs had to convert from the 7 yard line, instead of the 2) that would have tied the game with just 14 seconds left.

Considering that Brady’s top receivers — Mike Evans (suspended a game for his sneak attack on Marshon Lattimore of New Orleans in the Bucs’ win over the Saints in Week 2), Chris Godwin (hamstring) and newly signed Julio Jones (knee) — all missed the Green Bay game. The Bucs had to sign and quickly activate former Buffalo Bills WR Cole Beasley (who caught three Brady passes for 12 yards in his Bucs debut against the Pack) to help.

Thankfully, the Bucs’ defense has been pretty solid, as Brady and the offense have been sputtering, with only three Brady TD passes in those first three games and no rushing TDs. Even so, the Bucs are still expected to provide plenty of excitement this year and, if Brady gets most or all of his receivers back before the end of the regular season, another solid playoff run is a definite possibility.

But, for hockey-crazed fans like me, the best thing about October is the start of another National Hockey League season, especially with the Tampa Bay Lightning coming off a surprisingly successful 2021-22 season that ended with a 4 (games)-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche in the Stanley Cup finals — after Tampa Bay had won the previous two Cups.

Surprising? Yes! The Bolts were underdogs in all four of last year’s playoff series and finally ran out of gas against Colorado. Although not an excuse, part of the Lightning’s problems stemmed from the lower-body injury (later reported as a torn quadriceps muscle) that star center Brayden Point suffered in Game 7 of the opening round series against Toronto. Point then missed all of the games against the Florida Panthers in Round 2 and the Eastern Conference Finals against the New York Rangers and was never at full strength against Colorado in the Finals.

If Tampa Bay’s top players — Point, goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, forwards Nikita Kucherov and (captain) Steven Stamkos and defenseman Viktor Hedman — can make it through the always-rough NHL regular season relatively healthy, and last year’s top lineup additions Brandon Hagel and Nick Paul, and rising young stars like Mikhail Sergachev and Anthony Cirelli can continue to develop, we could well see the Bolts hoist yet another Cup at the end of the 2022-23 season.

Oh, stay tuned for an opportunity to win some free tickets to an upcoming Bolts game from your community newspaper!

Tom Brady (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

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Publisher & Editor /Ad Sales Gary Nager Managing Editor / Photographer John C. Cotey Correspondent Celeste McLaughlin Lead Video Producer/Multimedia Specialist Charmaine George Graphic Designers Morgan Conlin Valerie Wegener Billing Assistant Jannah Nager

Nothing that appears in Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News may be reproduced, whether wholly or in part, without permission. Opinions expressed by Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News writers are their own and do not necessarily reflect the publisher’s opinion. The deadline for outside editorial submissions and advertisement reservations for Volume 30, Issue 22, of Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News is Monday, October 17, 2022. Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News will consider previously non-published outside editorial submissions if they are double spaced, typed and less than 500 words. Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News reserves the right to edit and/or reject all outside editorial submissions and makes no guarantees regarding publication dates. Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News will not return unsolicited editorial materials. Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News reserves the right to edit &/or reject any advertising. Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News is not responsible for errors in advertising beyond the actual cost of the advertising space itself, nor for the validity of any claims made by its advertisers.