Joe did some digging last night and, while chasing one story, stumbled upon another.

It all started when Woody Cummings of The Tampa Tribune Twittered that the Bucs are in negotiations with Ronde Barber to be the color analyst of Bucs preseason TV broadcasts.

@RCummingsTBO: Nothing official yet but there’s a good chance Ronde Barber will be the color analyst on Bucs preseason broadcasts this year

That started Joe working the phones, and as a result, Joe learned through three independent sources, two in the local television industry, that the Bucs’ preseason games are expected to be broadcast by WFLA-TV Channel 8, moving from WTSP-TV Channel 10, which had the local preseason rights the past two seasons.

Bucs safety John Lynch, per Joe’s sources, will not return as the Bucs color analyst for preseason TV games and will be succeeded by Barber. Lynch, who resides in Denver, grew weary of traveling four consecutive weeks 3/4 across the country each August . Now a regular-season game analyst for FOX, Lynch didn’t need the practice and certainly didn’t need the extra income, Joe was told.

Joe also learned the Bucs and WFLA have signed a TV contract but a third party — presumable the NFL? — has to rubber stamp the contract.

What is unknown is how many times games will be televised and how blackouts will be handled. Ch. 10 had broadcast some games multiple times on tape-delay when home games were not allowed to be broadcast live by NFL blackout rules.