By Larry Harris

• Florida, We Have Ignition: The scoreboard at Tampa's Raymond James Stadium caught on fire the other day. It was probably in a snit because the Buccaneers surely didn't light it up much in 2011.

• Baseball's Strange Ways: The Philadelphia Phillies are paying Cole Hamels $15 million to pitch this summer, but early spring training stories are all about how much he will make next year, the conservative estimate being more than $100 million for a multiyear contract.

• Say Thank You: Every youngster -- or oldster -- who ever tried to throw a knuckleball should pause and voice gratitude to Tim Wakefield, who retired his flutterball the other day. Are there any more pitchers out there who even attempt to master the art of butterflies?

• Now That's Marketing: The NASCAR boys are pulling out all the stops, selling poker chips that have actually been used by those turn-left-and-pedal-to-the-metal masters.

• Into The 21st Century: NASCAR is also boasting a revolutionary program called fuel injection. Yep, the mighty carburetor has been put out to pasture. Don't be surprised if they start putting turn signals on those monster machines, but it's pretty certain Kyle Busch won't use them.

Posted Feb. 23, 2012