Buccaneers

Normally, when children find out they are going to Disney World, all they can think about is riding roller coasters and meeting Mickey Mouse. But 13-year-old Brandon Oliver has more important business on his mind: winning the Super Bowl. Oliver and his Charm City Buccaneers teammates are heading to Orlando, Fla., to compete in the Pop Warner Football National Championships, which begin today at Disney's Wide World of Sports complex. Their first game is Tuesday against the Tri-Town Raiders of Indiana.

Chicago (3-3) at Tampa Bay (2-3) Time: 1 p.m.Line: Buccaneers by 8.Vs. spread: Bears 5-1; Buccaneers 2-1.Last week: Bears lost to Eagles, 20-16. Buccaneers had a bye.Series: Bears lead 30-12.Last meeting: Buccaneers won, 31-17, on Oct. 29, 1998, at Chicago.Outlook: The Buccaneers have won the past three games against the Bears, averaging 172.3 rushing yards during that streak. Trent Dilfer bashers beware: the Bears are one team he has owned. In his past five starts against the Bears, he is 4-1 with a passer rating of 107.8.

Chicago (0-3) at New England (3-0)Time: 1 p.m.Line: Patriots by 12 1/2Vs. spread: Bears 1-2; Patriots 2-1Last week: Bears lost to Lions, 32-7; Patriots beat Jets, 27-24, in OT.Worth watching: Talk about a tough spot: Rick Mirer gets first start at QB for Bears against Drew Bledsoe. Mirer was the second pick of the '93 draft behind Bledsoe, who leads the NFL in passing and has thrown an NFL-best 10 touchdown passes.Outlook: Patriots have league's leading rusher in Curtis Martin (395 yards, 4.5 per carry)

T. L. Latson tied a school record by hitting all nine of his field-goal attempts as Charleston Southern topped UMBC, 68-46, last night before 1,328 at CSU Fieldhouse.The Buccaneers (12-10, 7-3) moved into second place in the Big South, and has downed UMBC (3-19, 1-9) five straight times.Alhamisi Simms led the Retrievers with 14 points and Tony Thompson had 13. UMBC shot only 30 percent (15 of 50) from the field and was out-rebounded 34-28.

University of Maryland quarterback Scott Milanovich has agreed to a two-year contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.Milanovich's agent, Tony Agnone, said the deal was completed Sunday night shortly after the seven-round NFL draft.Milanovich will be reunited with his former quarterbacks coach at Maryland, Clyde Christensen, who now works in the same capacity with the Buccaneers.It was Christensen who urged the Bucs' staff to sign Milanovich, who owns 12 passing records at Maryland."Once we got into the middle of the seventh round and he was still on the board, I told them they needed to get this guy," said Christensen.

PBS' "Masterpiece Theatre" officially turned 25 Wednesday and got a new name that will be with it at least until the end of the century: "Mobil Masterpiece Theatre."Mobil is the only corporate underwriter the network's longest-running drama series has ever had, but the company is "downsizing" and already has dropped its sponsorship of "Mystery!" as of the end of this season, so its continued sponsorship of "Masterpiece Theatre" was not a certainty until quite recently.As a condition of renewing its support of the venerable series through the 1999-2000 TV season, Mobil asked for the name change, which its executives believe will give the company increased visibility.

Bengals (2-3) at Buccaneers (3-2)2 Vito Stellino covers pro football for The Sun.

Newt drops impolitic positions quicker than Bill. Turns out, he has more of them.The price for a failed football team went over 200 mill.They are not called the Buccaneers for nothing.

Baltimore's National Football League hopes, which seemed to be fading in recent weeks, received new life yesterday when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers went up for sale and Peter Angelos said he would take up the chase.Officials running the team for the heirs of deceased owner Hugh Culverhouse said they would prefer to sell to someone who would keep the team in Tampa, Fla., but did not make that a condition of sale.Mr. Angelos, majority owner of the Orioles, who is trying to bring an NFL team to Baltimore, said he would renew his offer for the Bucs.

Baltimore's National Football League hopes, which seemed to be fading in recent weeks, received new life yesterday when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers went up for sale and Peter Angelos said he would take up the chase.Officials running the team for the heirs of deceased owner Hugh Culverhouse said they would prefer to sell to someone who would keep the team in Tampa, Fla., but did not make that a condition of sale.Angelos, majority owner of the Orioles, who is trying to bring an NFL team to Baltimore, said he would renew his offer for the Bucs.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers fired coach Jon Gruden and general manager Bruce Allen yesterday after the team collapsed after a 9-3 start and missed the playoffs for the fourth time in six years. Gruden, who helped lead the Buccaneers to a victory over the Oakland Raiders in the January 2003 Super Bowl, was Tampa Bay's coach for seven years. Allen was general manager for the past five seasons. The Buccaneers were tied for first place in the NFC South heading into December but finished with losses to the Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons on the road and the San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders at home, where they had been 6-0. One more win would have landed an NFC wild-card berth.

Unretired quarterback Brett Favre left Green Bay yesterday, and it appears to be for good. The Packers said last night they traded the three-time NFL Most Valuable Player to the New York Jets. The Jets would obtain Favre, 38, for a draft pick that could rise in value depending on how the Jets perform in the 2008 season, FOXSports.com reported. ESPN.com confirmed those details. The Jets declined to comment on the report. According to FOXSports.com, Favre spoke with Jets coach Eric Mangini and others in the New York organization for the first time late Tuesday as they tried to convince Favre he would be a good fit in New York.

Mike Alstott made it official yesterday. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers fullback retired. It was pretty much a foregone conclusion. Alstott had spent this entire season on injured reserve and had only 81 touches in the 2006 season. But with Alstott leaving the NFL stage, we are seeing perhaps the last of a breed: the fullback who was truly an offensive weapon. And that's too bad because the fullback, to me, was the quintessential football player. Big and bruising but athletic enough to put points on the board.

Normally, when children find out they are going to Disney World, all they can think about is riding roller coasters and meeting Mickey Mouse. But 13-year-old Brandon Oliver has more important business on his mind: winning the Super Bowl. Oliver and his Charm City Buccaneers teammates are heading to Orlando, Fla., to compete in the Pop Warner Football National Championships, which begin today at Disney's Wide World of Sports complex. Their first game is Tuesday against the Tri-Town Raiders of Indiana.

Patriots (5-0) @ Cowboys (4-0) -- This is the game where the NFC finds out if the Cowboys and their quarterback, Tony Romo, are for real. Dallas has a short week after tonight's game. Titans (3-1) @ Buccaneers (3-2) -- Vince Young had a rough game yesterday, and it won't get easier against the Tampa Bay defense.

Bears (1-3) @ Packers (4-0) -- Chicago's season is on the brink as the Bears face a must-win situation in Green Bay. Buccaneers (3-1) @ Colts (4-0) -- A trip to Indianapolis will determine if Tampa Bay is on the comeback trail or just treading water in the NFC.

CLEVELAND -- Derrick Brooks returned one of Tampa Bay's four interceptions 21 yards for a touchdown and the Buccaneers won their first road game in more than a year, 22-7, over the dreadful Cleveland Browns yesterday. The Buccaneers (4-11) had lost eight straight outside Florida since winning at Carolina on Dec. 11, 2005. But they had little trouble with the Browns (4-11), who lost their third straight, managed 187 yards of offense and were taunted by their fans. Cleveland avoided being shut out for the second straight Dec. 24 when cornerback Daven Holly returned a fumble 40 yards for a score with 11:33 left.

The Oakland Raiders were more than capable of coming unglued without any help, but the deafening record crowd of 70,744 at M&T Bank Stadium got credit for an assist after the Ravens' 28-6 victory. "All 53 of their guys must have been blown away," tight end Todd Heap said, "because I was blown away." Though the Raiders did not cite the crowd noise as a major factor in their second offensive collapse of the young season, it probably was not a coincidence that they mishandled four snaps and turned the ball over six times.

As much as the Ravens promote change, their formula for success on the field hasn't evolved much. They've brought in strong-armed quarterbacks such as Elvis Grbac and Kyle Boller. Both were supposed to put the vertical passing game into the offense. The Ravens brought in Jim Fassel to replace Matt Cavanaugh as offensive coordinator and put some life into a predictable offense. But so far in the preseason, and in the 27-0 season-opening win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, the Ravens' blueprint looks exactly like the one laid out during the 2000 season when the Ravens won the Super Bowl.

TAMPA, Fla. -- The most hardcore Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans are a hardy bunch - you would be, too, if you walked around Raymond James Stadium looking like an extra from Pirates of the Caribbean - but even they give way for "The Sign Man." "The Sign Man," aka Russ Barner, has developed a reputation as the organization's No. 1 loyalist. The 63-year-old chiropractor has created hundreds of signs supporting the team. He also has sent the players and coaches off on their road contests and has stood outside the airport as early as 5 a.m. to greet them on their return flights.