On the heels of some crazy opening round games to March Madness at the Forum, April still left a lasting impression on the Bay Area's sports scene. Check it out...

April 6th:
Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg brings the IRL to town. A 19-year old rookie, Graham Rahal, crosses the finish line before everyone else to earn the victory in his FIRST ever IRL race.

April 8th:
The Lady Vols of Tennessee cut down the nets after a 64-48 beatdown of Stanford in the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship Game here in town, earning head coach Pat Summit her eighth national title.

April 15th:
Lightning star Vincent Lecavalier underwent successful surgery to repair his dislocated shoulder. Vinny hurt that shoulder back on April 3 in a game against Washington.

April 23rd:
More Bolts action...Hollywood producer Oren Koules finally came up with the cash he need to purchase the Tampa Bay Lightning. Oddly enough, Bill Davidson chipped in to get the deal done.

April 26-27th:
The Bucs pick up seven new players in the NFL Draft. They use their first round pick, No. 20 overall, to nab speedy cornerback Aqib Talib from Kansas. The Bucs also pick up WR Dexter Jackson, OG Jeremy Zuttah, DT Dre Moore, QB Josh Johnson, LB Geno Hayes and RB Cory Boyd.

April 30th:
The Rays wrap up their most successful opening month in franchise history with an 8-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles. The Rays won 14 games in April and sit near the top of the AL East division. First month highlights include back-to-back sweeps against the Blue Jays and Red Sox at home where Akinori Iwamura hit a dramatic homer and Andy Sonnanstine and James Shields dazzled on the mound.

April was good to Tampa Bay! Can't wait for May!

-Bobby Lewis