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HIGHSHARDY NICKERSON: How much is a 34-year-old Pro Bowl linebacker worth? Jacksonville thought the 13-year veteran was worth $16-million over four years, with a $3.5-million signing bonus. Tampa Bay didn't. Some fans were bitterly disappointed, of course, that the Bucs couldn't come to terms with Nickerson, one of the franchise's most beloved players. If the offense is the problem, why not keep the defense intact? Welcome to NFL Economics 101. The only fitting thing to do is congratulate Nickerson on securing such a lucrative contract late in his career and wish him the best. Well, against the other 28 teams in the league, at least.HORACE BROADNAX: The former Plant City High and Georgetown basketball star has built once hapless Bethune- Cookman into a solid program that is contending for the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title.DAVID WEBBER: Chris' little brother made a name for himself Thursday with 51 points for Central Michigan, breaking Larry Bird's record for scoring at the school's Rose Arena.LOWSDARRYL STRAWBERRY: We don't want to pile on here, but you need to buckle down and beat this. Cocaine is a terrible addiction, but you need to fight it and enlist the help of whatever support you need. A support system is available. Take advantage of it. Not for the chance to play baseball again, for the sake of your children and your pregnant wife.MARTY McSORLEY: Hockey is a rough sport. Fighting and tough guys are part of the game. But swinging your stick at an opponent's head is not. Forgetting that means McSorley will be remembered as a ruthless thug rather than carry a legacy as a solid NHL player.ST. PETERSBURG CITY COUNCIL: It's not going to be called Tampa Bay Devil Rays Tropicana Field by anyone but the Florida Department of Transportation. It's just a technicality so the baseball team's name can be on signs directing fans to the ballpark. The council members are in a dither because the "T" word would be on a Pinellas-funded stadium. Get over it. Yes, St. Petersburg's taxpayers paid for it. So did Clearwater's, and Tampa's, and Jacksonville's, and Miami's. The whole state has contributed to the stadium. Every time we think the St. Petersburg-vs.-Tampa provincialism is dead and buried, some overly defensive politician (or someone making a grandstand play) digs it up. Maybe the council should pass a resolution that it be called: Tampa Bay Devil Rays Tropicana Field at St. Petersburg on the Florida Suncoast Presented by (your name here).NASCAR AND DAYTONA 500: Okay, folks, you probably have the most popular sport in the country, so why take your Super Bowl of racing and turn it into a cure for insomnia? Unless, of course, you really want to be like most Super Bowls: all hype, no action.- BRUCE LOWITT, ANTHONY PEREZ, MIKE STEPHENSON, JAMAL THALJI
