Tampa Bay's Front Offices Keeping Busy

Aside from the craziness that surrounds a Lightning playoff run and the tough decisions that come with a battle for first in the AL East, the front offices of Tampa Bay's pro teams are quite busy with a number of non-personnel moves.

First, with the NFL lockout extending into the summer, the Buccaneers announced a four-day furlough for all front-office employees. The team says more are possible if the lockout extends into the fall, but this could actually work out quite well for employees. If the season gets underway in September (as many experts expect), the employees will be reiumbursed for the furlough, meaning four extra vacation days. Additionally, the Bucs say the move helps avoid layoffs.

And the Rays quietly made another committment to the region, giving the Tampa Bay Partnership free ad space on the left field wall at The Trop. The private group, which the Rays are paid members of, promotes business development across Tampa Bay. While the team has been criticized for its lack of marketing around the region in recent years (possibly tied to attendance efforts?), this shows they're still activly courting business partnerships and plan on remaining in the region in the long-term.

Re"Discover"ing the Orange Bowl

Determined to get out of the proverbial cellar among America's big-four credit companies, Discover Financial Services is buying the title sponsor rights to the Orange Bowl.

It may not mean much to fans since most still choose to call it the "Orange Bowl," but I'm guessing most could still name the company Discover displaces as title sponsor. The answer is FedEx, which had been the title sponsor for an astonishing 21years previously.

The bowl and ESPN will now call it the "Discover Orange Bowl" through 2014...even if fans refuse to. The four-year deal could be worth close to $80 million.