How do you even begin to describe what’s going on in our fair multi-city metropolis these days?

You start with the Rays, of course. I won’t bother with emptying out the adjective suitcase to talk about them because that adds hype to a story that needs none right now. But here’s some stuff that may have gotten lost in all the emotion of beating Boston and going to the World Series.

* Every time I look at the replay of the final out, it’s amazing how close the Rays could have come to potential disaster. The grounder Boston’s Jed Lowrie hit at second baseman Akinori Iwamura took a wicked bounce just as it got to him. It could have bounced off his glove; it could have hit him in the throat. That was an awfully good reaction play at a time the Rays needed it most.

* The Rays are in the World Series. OK, that’s one more check off on my personal bucket list.

* OK, I confess: I wondered what Andrew Friedman was doing when he acquired Willy Aybar near the end of spring training. He has been unsung but clutch all season. The way he kept the ship afloat when Evan Longoria missed a month was huge, and he had a large role in the Game 7 win. How big did his solo homer in the seventh look when Boston put guys on late in the game? Aybar hit .421 in the series against Boston.

* Watching David Price freeze J.D. Drew with two sliders - with the bases loaded in the eighth - and then blow him away with 97 on the black, only one word came to mind: Wow!

* You might enjoy this take on things by Boston Globe columnist extraordinare Dan Shaughnessy. Veteran baseball scribe Bill Madden of the New York Daily News says Matt Garza and David Price helped the Rays prove they’re for real. And here’s a good take on things by one of the good guys in the business, Dave Sheinin of The Washington Post.

* It was interesting hearing the pundits on ESPN quickly predict the Rays will lose the Series to Philadelphia. But then, didn’t the pundits say the same thing about the Bucs when the played Oakland in the Super Bowl? That didn’t work out too badly, as I recall.

Speaking of the Bucs ... Obviously I wasn’t at that game Sunday night, but eye witnesses there said it was awfully cool when fans at Ray Jay chanted “Let’s Go Rays!” during the Bucs game. The Bucs are turning into a tremendous story in their own right. If they can win at Dallas on Sunday and then at Kansas City - two very beatable teams right now - they’ll be 7-2 heading to their open date.

The quarterback foolishness has gone away and they’re playing defense just like they always have. They’ve done it quietly, but they’re coming together as legitimate contender. Could we handle a World Series and the Bucs in a Super Bowl home game?

But then there’s the Lightning ... It’s a long season and goalie Mike Smith seems to be doing OK, but one thing is pretty clear already. You can’t throw together a whole new roster and coaching staff and expect it to work right away. There is no buzz in town about the Bolts’ whatsoever, but that may actually be working in their favor now.

USF still an enigma... I did get a chance to watch most of the USF game Saturday against Syracuse, but it’s hard to draw conclusions from blowing out an overmatched opponent. The Bulls flopped around in the first half before they what was expected, but with games at Louisville this Saturday and then at Cincinnati on Oct. 30 - the night, potentially, that Game 7 of the World Series could be played - they’ll have to get better in a hurry.

Matt Grothe is playing sensationally and they can certainly move the ball, but they seem to give up big plays on defense and the pass defense is suspect. If they can hurdle these next two games, they could head to West Virginia on Dec. 6 with a BCS berth and Big East championship at stake.