by Carter Brantley

Hey, remember all those concerns we had last week about the Bucs potentially being able to even win the division?

Well, they’re still there, as the Bucs had one of the more impressive choke jobs in recent memory, losing 29-28 Thursday night against the Falcons, falling to 7-7 for the season. 

The Bucs put themselves in Prime (yuck, this feels like an ad for CEO, entrepreneur, born in 1964, Jeffrey, Jeffrey Bezos) position to get back on track by taking care of the ball early on and targeting the best receiver in Bucs history, as Evans had over 100 yards receiving in his first game back from a collarbone injury. 

And yet, the team blew it in epic proportions, surrendering a 2-touchdown lead in the 4th quarter to lose on a game-winning Zane Gonzales kick. 

The defense even had Atlanta pinned back in a 3rd and 18 situation with a chance to ice the game with under 2 minutes left to play. 

Nope. 

A few plays later, and Atlanta is watching the game winning kick sail through the uprights. 

To try to focus on the positives, Evans was not alone in his contributions, as Chris Godwin and Devin Culp hauled in a couple of touchdown passes from the seemingly rejuvenated Baker Mayfield, and Sean Tucker hammered in a short touchdown rush to finish off an early touchdown drive for Tampa Bay. 

The creamsicle jerseys were out and in full effect, as the stadium was hopping and charming with all of the retro decor, and even the pirate ship was covered in Christmas lights to celebrate the holiday season.

Baker Mayfield had an overall solid game but his late-game interception was all folks will likely remember, as it allowed this massive comeback from the Falcons to take place. 

Can’t be a creamsicle Buccaneers game without Tampa Bay doing something stupid. 

On defense they did a poor job limiting a Falcons offense that was led by tight end Kyle Pitts and running back Bijan Robinson.

Pitts got off to a smoking start, with a pair of touchdown receptions and over 100 yards receiving in the 1st half alone. 

Robinson managed to rack up over 150 yards from scrimmage with a rushing touchdown sprinkled in to make the score respectable in the 4th quarter, but the former Longhorn suffered a costly turnover in the 4th quarter that set the Bucs up for an easy touchdown that should have put the game out of reach for those Dirty Birds. 

The Creamsicle Crew’s problems certainly aren’t getting any better, with the Carolina Panthers getting to play those now-3-10 Saints (thanks to these damn Bucs) this weekend, hoping to advance their cause in winning this sorry division. 

The Bucs have to face Bryce Young and those pesky Panthers twice before season’s end, 2 games that will play a large role in deciding who comes out on top of this garbage heap they call the NFC South. 

Obviously the return of Evans and 2nd year wideout Jalen McMillan looms large for the Bucs as they get a much-needed boost to what was a bit of a stagnant offense in the middle of this roller coaster season, but will it even matter? 

It’s certainly a Bucs life, because the Bucs are back in the loss column in embarrassing fashion for a 2nd straight week, with a trip to visit the Panthers coming next week. 

But hey, at least they didn’t commit like 100 penalties. 

Let ’em Run “Rear View Mirror” and look ahead to next week’s races

Let ’em Run took a look at The Cigar Mile and The Remsen, which were run at Aqueduct for the last time. At the conclusion of this meet, “The Big A’ will be no longer, as it will be taken down. Our colleague, John Kostin was there for the races.

These are the insights and breakdown of the races that were worth using the “Rear View Mirror.”

Aqueduct

Race 7 Alw 88K

On our Podcast and in the article on Florida Sports Talk, the #6 Life and Times was touted as a “can’t miss” lock, and many had the same feeling. This runner out of Justify, will be one to keep an eye on moving forward. We laid out a chalky P5 that got us to the last leg ready for a payoff…but more on that in Race 11.

Race 8 The NY Stallion Series

Viewers of the Podcast heard John break the race down perfectly. He laid out the top three finishers, and particularly the winner #8 Braverthanyoubelieve, as well as the #10 Hot Currency and #12 Daniella Maria.

Race 9 The Remsen

The top 2 finishers were touted by most pundits, as they met up here again, and produced the top two finishers again in this Derby Prep. Even more solid, was the fact that after the race, it was learned the winner #2 Paladin lost a shoe during the race, had plenty of kickback in his face, but persisted for the win: impressive for a young horse. I had the #11 Talkin, who got in a nice spot early, but looked very green when asked to move.

Race 10 The Cigar Mile

The favorite #7 Bishops Bay lived up to the favorite role, and wore down early frontrunner #2 Mika to just get 1st place. John indicated in the Podcast that he was worried that #2 Mika would cause some trouble up front, and that’s exactly what happened. The #6 Philleas Fog was on a lot of handicappers’ radar for his impressive victory in his initial race, but the #2 Mika was a little faster early on and wore that runner out, to set it up for #7 Bishops Bay.

Race 11 The NY Stallion Series

Local Parx runner, for trainer Butch Reid #2 Parker Boone was expected to wire the field, but was outdone by #9 Sunday Boy, who John did mention as a horse to use in your vertical wagers, and did hit the finish line first. The #13 Combat Mission, locked in second place, and was not on our radar.

Looking Ahead

This weekend, another Derby Prep race is on the tab, The Los Alamitos Futurity, on the line for 10 Derby points to the winner. John and I will also dive into two big races at Gulfstream Park’s Championship meet. Race 8, The Tropical Park Oaks for fillies, and Race 11, The Tropical Park Derby. Both races will be run on the turf, with full fields expected.

We will also continue to look at the last five races at Aqueduct. So tune in to our Happy Hour Podcast on Friday at 12:30 when we break down the two races from Gulfstream Park, and The Los Alamitos Futurity. Then return on Saturday, where John and I will be doing a live Podcast from Monmouth Park, where we are in a NHC Handicapping Contest, with cash prizes and two NHC seats awarded. So tune in, and catch us this weekend on multiple streaming apps and social channels.

And stay tuned, where “Fast horses, meet serious fun…at Let ’em Run”

The 115-year-old building will meet the wrecking ball early in 2026.

The doors are permanently closing at Matthews Arena in Boston. The final event, a hockey game, will take place between Boston University and Northeastern University on December 13^th. Northeastern University will tear down the 115-year-old Boston or Matthews Arena and replace it with a state of the art facility. The 1910 built arena was the home of the National Hockey League’s 1924 expansion team, the Boston Bruins and the Boston Celtics of the newly established Basketball Association of America in 1946. Northeastern University marketed the building as “the world’s oldest multi-purpose athletic building” and home to the “world’s oldest artificial ice sheet.” In March, 1911, the Montréal Wanderers and Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey Association played a two-game series in the new Boston arena. Two National Hockey League teams can trace their origins to the building, the  Bruins and the Carolina Hurricanes. The Carolina Hurricanes franchise began operations in the World Hockey Association as the New England Whalers in 1972. That franchise moved to Hartford in 1974 and joined the National Hockey League in 1979. The renamed Hartford Whalers remained in the city until 1997 when the franchise was relocated to North Carolina.

Northeastern University became the owner of the arena in 1979. In 2024, the school sent a letter to the Boston Planning and Development Agency outlining construction plans for a new athletic facility. The university plans to build a 290,000-square-foot facility complete with an arena and a fieldhouse with turf, basketball courts and other facilities. The Matthews Arena also played a part in the early days of Rock and Roll. On May 3^rd, 1958, a riot broke out in the arena during an Alan Freed ‘Big Beat’ Rock n Roll” show. Freed was arrested and the Boston Mayor John Hynes then banned Rock and Roll shows in Boston.

Evan Weiner’s books are available at iTunes – https://books.apple.com/us/author/evan-weiner/id595575191

Evan can be reached at evan_weiner@hotmail.com

Alan Freed was arrested after a concert at the Boston Arena