UNFNole (now known as MNielson) inspired me with his rant on the NFL two days ago.  No, this won't be an article blasting the NFL or the NFLPA where we discuss the group think, combined idiocy, and a perceived immortality of the sport, even though prior work stoppages have shown that damage is possible to the golden goose.  I promise I won't touch on any of that, at least in this article.

Instead I want to talk about something else that probably bothers most people.  As a Bucs fan and a football fan, I peruse various websites, newspapers, blogs and such for my information.  As a fan, I rely on what I hear on ESPN, FOX, CBS etc and what I read on various sites like PFT, ESPN, and others.  I'm only as good as the information I can find.  As a writer, the same is true, with the difference being that often times I (and we as a staff) pen an article relying on the information out there.  We formulate opinions and ideas based on what we know and often times use other articles or quotes (properly credited of course).  It's the nature of the beast.  As I don't have access to Raheem Morris or the locker room, I rely on those that do in order to bring you news.  To bring you opinion, it's reasoned analysis along with an understanding of the game.  At times we take leaps of faith.  We speculate on what may have happened and I'd like to think that we are pretty clear as to when we do so.

So what brings on this little self-righteous rant?  In perusing various unnamed websites/blogs, I'm amazed at the level of ill-informed nonsense being posted on blogs.  And I'm not talking about the commenters of any site, but the main writers of these sites.  Some have a fundamental lack of understanding as to how the game works, both on and off the field.  I can honestly say that I read through the entire previous CBA, page for page.  I'm certainly not an expert, but I'm able to opine on some things having read through it.  If/when a new CBA comes out, I'll probably do the same.  So while I'm not an expert, I feel I've done some research and can spit out somewhat intelligent opinions with reasonable basis in logic and fact.  And I would put money on the research the rest of the staff does here.  Again, we do speculate from time to time (and we clearly note it as such), but Sander, CraigT, MNielson and jardlg all do their homework before posting a factual article. 

So as a reader, as a fan, when you're looking for information on your favorite team or sport, remember the source where you find your info.  All sites are not created equal.  Some are fantastic due to the amount of access they have.  Some sites have great minds or great writers.  Others just have a forum to post but have no real knowledge, access or insight and instead form half-baked opinions and portray them as fact. 

I'll tell you that even though this is an unpaid gig for me, I take it seriously.  I fact check every single thing I post, I research everything I post.  Opinions are just that, but those are distinct from what we convey to you as being true, factual events.  Remember that when you are looking for Bucs info.  We don't just blast out misinformation as it happens, we actually do the legwork.  Most sites do, unfortunately some don't. 

I'm off the soapbox for now.  We've just completed the first full week of the lockout and we're going nowhere fast.  With the NFL and NFLPA fighting like two kids (Come to the draft rookies, no don't go to the draft rookies), it will take some swallowing of pride to get back in the same room right now.

I've been on the blog for almost two years, so allow me to indulge in a little boasting.  Mrs. Buc Wild delivered our first child, Buc Wild Junior (a boy) on Monday.  The fanbase of Tampa Bay Buccaneers supporters grew by one, so the future of the Bucs and Bucs Nation is set up to be in good hands. 

I'll be absent from the site for a little bit, but me and my boy will be back to Bucs Nation sooner rather than later.

After all the smoke has cleared, it's down to myself and BucBurgh412 for the Bucs Nation 2010 Fantasy Football championship belt.  On the strength of the resurgence of Michael Vick, the Steelers' D/ST, and a ground game of MJ-D, Rashard Mendenhall, and Ahmad Bradshaw, BB has surged into the championship game and leads after Thursday's game 41-7. 

Meanwhile, the sure hands of Calvin Johnson and Roddy White and the productivity of Chris Johnson have carried me most of this season.  Josh Freeman's steady play has been a help in winning close matchups.  I'll also be counting on the Ravens' defense to learn from its mistake in the first matchup and shut down Peyton Hillis today.

With the Minny-Philly game being postponed to Tuesday night at 8 pm and the NO-Atl game taking place on Monday night, this matchup won't be decided until late Tuesday night.  May the best team hoist the belt, BROTHER!

CBSSports.com is an SB Nation partner and paying sponsor of the SB Nation football communities.This post is one of a series of sponsor endorsed posts relating to the CBSSports.com Fantasy Football Commissioner League.

The answer is...of course you do. SBNation is hosting a contest, thanks to their sponsorship with Samsung, to give one lucky fan a nice Home Theater addition. I work in an electronics retail store and have been able to demo these on several occasions. Trust me when I tell you it would make Bucs games much better.....or worse, depending on which side of the ball we are on.

Things are very, very interesting after 6 weeks of play in the Bucs Nation Fantasy Football League.  As we get ready to pass the halfway point of the fantasy football season in most standard leagues, virtually every team is still alive for the playoffs.  In fact, given the logjam of 3-3 teams in the middle of the pack, all but one team are only a game out of a potential playoff spot.  Here's where everyone stands to date:

With Week 2 approaching, just wanted to post a reminder to everyone that joined the Bucs Nation ESPN Pick Em League to get their picks in.  We had a decent turnout in Week 1, so lets keep those picks coming in.  Right now, the leader has 13 games picked correctly, with a few people lagging behind by a few games. 

If you didn't join Week 1 and want to be a part of it, here's the link.  It just requires an ESPN username and you'll be set.  Happy picking in Week 2.

It was tough......so tough that I had to revert to drawing names out of a hat...... but the Bucs Nation fantasy football league through cbssports.com is set.  There are 5 writers and 5 readers participating in the league.  The writer entrants are myself, Buc Wild, UNFNole, LeeCaz, and Sander.  The reader participants are RJBlitz02, Joe Grizzly, Bucnut1, Cracker Ball, and BucBurgh412.  Like I said, it was impossible to choose and would have been pretty much arbitrary to decide on who to extend an invitation, especially given the high level of interest, so I put the names of the folks who responded to the previous posts into a hat and drew names. Seemed to be the only fair way to do it.

For those who did not receive an invitation, or if there's anyone out there still looking to set up a league, you can put up a fanpost to gauge interest on starting another Bucs Nation league.  If there's enough interest, I might throw my hat into the ring again.  There's still time to put together a league and conduct a draft on Tues/Wed.

Thanks, and happy fantasy footballing.

CBSSports.com is an SB Nation partner and paying sponsor of the SB Nation football communities.This post is one of a series of sponsor endorsed posts relating to the CBSSports.com Fantasy Football Commissioner League.