TOP OF THE WEEK:

We begin with a tale of three households: Household One occupied by a really famous Tampa couple (see face value disclaimer above) who do not pay their mortgage for three years and somehow talk their bank into refinancing the debt. Household Two has same approximate debt to value ratio as #1, has never missed a payment and gets an average of six letters a month asking them to refinance with no closing costs. Household Three also has never missed a mortgage payment but has a kid in college and really could use some relief from the amount they lay out each month. Approximately same value ratio as Numbers One and Two and their bank won’t budge on a refinance. Some nonsense about ratio of what they make to what they pay for housing. Hey, they have been making the payments every month for years – doesn’t it make sense they could handle a lesser monthly payment brought on by a refinance? Oh, the bank did have one suggestion – start missing some payments and maybe they would consider it. You get the feeling that if you peek around the curtain at this bank you would behold the Mighty Oz back there with his smoke and mirrors.

THIS WEEK’S TEN:

1. Item: Tampa city council votes to allow sale of beer, wine and liquor at Westshore Plaza AMC Theaters. Do the esteemed council members not follow current events? Again to quoting a great American, “What could possibly go wrong?”

2. Is it any surprise that the first real MLB replay controversy involved a blown call by ump Eric Cooper? Cooper is not the worst umpire in the game (certainly not the best) but he has a proclivity for blowing calls in high profile situations. By the way, we wish a complete recovery to Tim McClelland out for the year with a back injury. McClelland gets a lot of flak for his deliberate manner calling balls and strikes but the fact remains he is one of the three or four best umps in the game.

3. As we close in on Derby Day, our crack sports prognosticator Mohammed Walled (pronounced wall-ED) reminds us all “A slow horse eats just as much as a fast horse.”

4. What isn’t fun this time of year is getting a letter from the IRS when you are a conservative Republican. Fortunately for the person in question, the gist of the letter was you’re getting a rather large refund, and we can’t pay you right away – honest!

5. Rev. Manuel Sykes has announced his candidacy for the District 13 Congressional seat this fall.  While Sykes is a political novice, he brings one thing to the table that the last Democratic candidate lacked; he’s been a resident of Pinellas County for more than six weeks.

6. The best candidate to replace former county administrator Bob LaSala might be right under the noses of the Pinellas County Commission – Assistant County Administrator Mark Woodard. Woodard is a bright young guy with a strong financial background and obviously knows his way around Pinellas County and its players. But the county will no doubt launch a national search – it’s what every governmental unit larger than Nokomis does - with mixed results.

7. Talk about short sighted. Major insurance companies that write Medicare supplements are cheaping out and dropping silver sneakers coverage for their clients. This is the same thing that Florida Blue, United Healthcare and others touted – that including these gym memberships would make for healthier clients and reduce debilitating conditions (not to mention fewer claims).

8. In a related note, aren’t there times when you want to take virtually every major insurance company CEO and give them a blindfold and a cigarette?

9. Thumbs down to SiriusXM for dumping all the DJs on the 50’s (actually fifties and early sixties) Channel. What the snotty nosed kids running the network don’t realize is how much guys like Chicago’s Dick Biondi, Atlanta’s Skinny Bobby Harper, Detroit’s Scott Regan or Tampa Bay’s Rock Robbins (the last two were actually the same guy) were part of what made fifties and early sixties radio so magic. Major mistake pulling pros like Pat St. John and Norn N. Nite off the channel and turning it into a bland jukebox.

10. Great timing by the city of Clearwater, planning the Iron Girl race and its attendant traffic screw ups on Palm Sunday. What’s the matter - weren’t Easter and Christmas available dates?

IN CLOSING:

Since Tony LaRussa traded in his uniform a couple years back, the brightest mind now occupying a dugout is in Baltimore – Buck Showalter. Like LaRussa, he sometimes rubs people the wrong way, but his baseball wisdom is unmatched. Also like LaRussa, he has built winners in more than one market. Two young Turks who may grow into the next Showalter or LaRussa are the Card’s Mike Matheny and Detroit’s Brad Ausmus – although it’s going to take both a few years to fill the large shoes that previously occupied their dugouts – LaRussa and Jim Leyland.