His now-famous sports bar won't open for another four hours, but Mark Ferguson is operating at full speed. ...more

October 18, 2008

Ferg's Sports Bar and Grill, at 1320 Central Ave., is party central for the Tampa Bay Rays baseball games, played across the street at Tropicana Field. ...more

October 17, 2008

Seniors Daija Barrett and Melissa Tullo leaped up in unison above the net to make a perfect block against the Palmetto middle hitter and came down into the waiting arms of their teammates as if they'd won a championship. ...more

October 9, 2008

Asking prices for Tampa Bay Rays playoff tickets at Tropicana Field have been seen as high as $19,999. ...more

October 7, 2008

Joe Maddon said it after his team lost Game 3 of the American League Division Series, and he repeated it more than once before Game 4. He was not at all concerned that the Rays' first setback would linger, and he was proven right Monday. ...more

October 7, 2008

Star Of The Game: Rays' Bullpen Last season, it was one of the most motley crews ever assembled in major-league history (6.16 ERA, worst since the 1950s). This season, the Rays' bullpen has been strictly lights out. Scott Kazmir, despite early pitch-count troubles, got into the sixth inning. From there, it was closed out by Grant Balfour, J.P. Howell and Chad Bradford. In two playoff games, Tampa Bay relievers have retired 18 of 23 batters (61/3 innings, one run allowed on a homer, no walks, nine strikeouts). "They don't have a legit closer, and I see they have lefty, righty, lefty in the bullpen," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "That's why they have the brightest men I've seen in the game right now." ...more

October 4, 2008

Dave Webster and his wife, Leslie, Tampa Bay Rays fans for a decade, plan to drive 1,750 miles from El Paso, Texas, to St. Petersburg this week in the hope of finding tickets for the Rays' playoff home stand Thursday and Friday. ...more

September 30, 2008

The Tampa Bay Rays, who clinched the American League Eastern Division title over the weekend, will host a pair of celebrations leading up to their first playoff appearance. ...more

September 29, 2008

For the better part of the Major League Baseball season, Tampa Bay Rays executives have bemoaned, albeit diplomatically, attendance at Tropicana Field. They campaigned to build more public support for the team, whose first winning season has led to its first playoff berth. ...more

September 25, 2008

Tickets for the Rays' first two home playoff games officially sold out Tuesday night, about 12 hours before they were to go on sale to the general public. ...more

September 24, 2008