Barret Robbins doesn't remember Super Bowl XXXVII

Former Oakland Raiders receiver Tim Brown called out his former coach Bill Callahan for allegedly sabotaging the Raiders in their Super Bowl blowout loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  

When he made those allegations Brown mentioned that Callahan changed the game plan and center Barret Robbins begged Callahan not to change it.

"Barret Robbins begged Coach Callahan, 'Do not do this to me. I don't have time to make my calls, to get my calls ready. You can't do this to me on a Friday,'" Brown said. 

Every former Raider teammate this side of Jerry Rice that has spoken out on this subject says that Brown's allegations are a bunch of bull. Robbins had something to say about it. He said he has no memory of Super Bowl XXXVII. Anyone in the know remembers that Robbins disappeared in Tijuana two days before the Super Bowl.

During an interview with Sports Radio 610 in Houston, Robbins said he has no recollection of the events that took place.

“I would be absolutely wrong to tell you that that was the case,” Robbins said during an interview with Sports Radio 610. “If Tim Brown goes on record and says that he changed the game plan on Friday, I don't remember. Because you've got to understand, I was going through a manic episode that had lasted more than two weeks. At that point in time, when we went to the Super Bowl, I was having to shoot my foot up, I was having acupuncture, going through a lot of pain. It was a lot of stress. Pain is a big trigger when it comes to bipolar (disorder) -- that was something I was going through, as well as self-medicating.”

“I'm not going to say that I remember the exact meeting that took place, but I haven't heard anybody deny it,” Robbins said.

I'm no psychiatrist but that pretty much explains why he was in Tijuana on a bender before the game and was unable to play.

What I remember is that Tampa Bay's defense pretty much knew what the Raiders offense was going to throw at them all game and it resulted in Rich Gannon probably having the worse game of  his life.

Hopefully this will be the end of this particular story.

Rays' Evan Longoria opening a restaurant

Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Evan Longoria has entered the restaurant business. Longoria is a part owner/investor in Ducky's Sports Lounge in South Tampa.

Located just west of downtown (1719 W. Kennedy Boulevard), the 5,700-square-foot boutique sports lounge will be the only restaurant in South Tampa to feature four lanes of mini bowling – a smaller, simpler form of the sport that does not require special shoes, uses a smaller ball, and incorporates two, 80-inch high-definition projection screens in the middle of each lane for optimal game viewing.

“Ducky’s will have a little something for everyone – mini bowling for friends and families, a convenient happy hour spot for the downtown crowd and an incredible game-watching venue for sports fans,” said Keith Goan, one of Ducky’s owners. “It’s exciting to be a part of the current wave of development along Kennedy Boulevard and to bring this unique concept to the area.”

Hopefully this will be a sound investment for Longoria, since there have been many stories of professional athletes making bad financial decisions and going broke. Also, for Longoria's sake, this place doesn't end up on Bar Rescue or Kitchen Nightmares.

Giants' Ramses Barden feels it's best to move on

There comes a time in someone's career where it's best for a team and a player to part ways. It's happened with the Detroit Lions and Titus Young, but that was a situation where the Lions had no choice but to cut him loose. New York Giants receiver Ramses Barden feels that he needs to move on and get a fresh start in his career.

The Giants drafted the Cal Poly product in the third round of the NFL draft in 2009. He was thought of as a sleeper pick. Barden has good size (6-6) and decent speed, but it never translated to success on the field. He had a few moments (caught nine passes for 138 yards in a win over Carolina), but not enough for the Giants to make him a priority in free agency. Barden knows it's time to find an opportunity elsewhere.

“I’m really seriously kind of excited for the offseason, because as much fun as I’ve had in New York — and yeah, I’m comfortable there — it’s probably best for me to start looking other places for a new system, for a refreshed sense of welcoming,” Barden said. “I think everybody can benefit from newness in their lives. This is going to be one of those for me.”

Maybe Barden will go somewhere and finally breakthrough. The potential is there and maybe he just didn't fit the Giants' system. He did get stuck behind some good receivers (Nicks, Rueben Randle, Victor Cruz). Maybe he goes somewhere and gets a sufficient amount of playing time to prove himself.

If it doesn't work out for him then it never will.