Nothing like some good news on a warm, humid weekend around here (in New England.)

The Bucs announced this week that Gene Deckerhoff, their longtime play-by-play announcer, is coming back for his 36th season in the booth. He will once again be joined by former tight end Dave Moore.

For any Patriots fans around here who may see this, Deckerhoff is the Gil Santos of Tampa Bay. He is the only Buccaneers’ radio announcer I’ve known, and I’ve been following the team for about as long as Gene’s been calling the games. Some would say he’s a homer. That’s true, but I don’t have a problem with that when your audience is primarily Bucs’ fans. People felt the same way about Jack Edwards, who retired as Bruins’ play-by-play announcer earlier this year.

Anyway, when Gene says ‘put toe to leather’ on September 8th, we’ll all know the new season is underway.

Photo Courtesy: Pewter Report