The surrogate
It begins with a woman who yearns for a baby and another who is willing and able to give her one. You can imagine the motives of the prospective parents. But what about the woman willing to carry a baby, give birth and then walk away?
Friday Night Rewind It doesn't matter which team you cheer for. We've got video previews of every high school football program in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Hernando County.
When the Bucs report to the Celebration Hotel this afternoon, their head count might come up a bit short.
Among the absentees might be defensive end Greg White, an exclusive-rights free agent who remains unsigned and therefore can't be fined for his failure to report. And it remains to be seen whether any of the unsigned draft picks will agree to contract terms in time to make this evening's first team meeting. Cornerback Aqib Talib, the first-round pick, second-round receiver Dexter Jackson and quarterback Josh Johnson, a fifth-round choice, had not agreed to deals as of Thursday night.
White's decision to not report would be his only possible form of protest in his contract standoff. He can't negotiate with any other team because the Bucs made a qualifying one-year, $370,000 contract offer after he led the team in sacks last season with eight. That offer allowed them to retain exclusive negotiating rights.
It's unclear what White is seeking moneywise, but he does wants a contract on par with second-round picks, usually a four-year deal. White's situation is complicated by his late entry into the NFL after spending his early years in the Arena Football League and playing in Canada. He turns 29 today but has just one season of credited NFL experience, which severely restricts his bargaining power.
Players who are under contract and fail to report are subject to stiff financial penalties, as much as $14,000 per day under league rules. But in White's case, he risks only falling behind in his bid to start at left defensive end. Veterans Kevin Carter, the 34-year-old former Gator, and Marques Douglas, 31, are candidates to play there, too.
As for the rookie deals, Talib's agent, Todd France, re-opened talks with the Bucs on Thursday after an earlier snag resulted in a few days of minimal communication. There appeared to be progress, and a deal could be struck today.
Stephen F. Holder can be reached at sholder@sptimes.com.
[Last modified: Jul 26, 2008 02:02 PM]
Comments on this article
by glenn
Jul 26, 2008 2:02 PM
david you are such an idiot! am a greg white fan and want him here.but he needs more than one good season to get a bigger contract.has nothing to with gruden or allen its smart. thats why nitwits like you and the rest of the bandwagon are not mgnt...
by Todd
Jul 25, 2008 6:03 PM
White needs to prove that he is able to have the same success as he did last yr. If he can come out this season and have another 9 or more sacks then give him the money. So he needs to just shut up and show up to camp!!
by John
Jul 25, 2008 3:15 PM
In a game where team chemistry is so important, what are the Bucs doing? Garcia, White, who else? This season has all the makings of another post-playoff season disaster. C'mon Allen, I paid for my season tickets, put that money to good use!
by Kristian
Jul 25, 2008 2:58 PM
I love what Greg White did last year and if he can prove himself the sameway this year then talks will happen but come on the amount of money he made last year and the money he'll make this year blows his whole salary of all his years in the AFL away
by Michael
Jul 25, 2008 2:03 PM
Davd, shut up. Greg White was not a starter last year, and had 1 good year. The fact he dosnt want to prove he can play says something to me. If he is so good, then prove it.
by Dave
Jul 25, 2008 1:45 PM
I wouldn't blame White if he held out, at all. You give your sack leader the minimum possibe? These guys(Allen/Gruden) are below being just cheap, they're an embarassment.
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