As always, we open with this week’s dining tip (see back story in Jan. 1 TBRR). Up in Tarpon and out in Countryside, you’ll find a pair of exceptional breakfast/lunch restaurants – Rodie’s. The Tarpon location will remind you of the revered Robbie’s Pancake House; the Countryside location gives off a First Watch feel - can’t go wrong with either.

Tampa Bay Rays and MLB delusional?

Recently, MLB commish Rob Manfred visited the bay area and declared the clock is running on finding a new stadium for the Rays. First it’s about an 8 in 10 chance that new location will be in Hillsborough County. More importantly, it won’t matter. Sooner or later (we’d prefer sooner so a bunch of taxpayer money isn’t wasted), major league baseball is going to have to conclude that Florida is a lousy baseball market. The Marlins built a palace in South Florida and are drawing empty seats. Now, the excuse for their second from last MLB attendance is the location of the palace. Don’t we study location to death before we plant a shovel? The Rays attendance is so abysmal (last in MLB) that no baseball palace, no matter where, is going to revive it. It’s just the nature of the market. We hope the powers that be will realize it before a bunch of money that could go to schools, roads and other necessities is foolishly wasted.

Tampa Bay, politics and other stuff:

1. It’s almost amusing watching the local media doing a soft shoe regarding the fire at Robert E. Lee Elementary in Tampa.

2. Extremely cheap shot by “Florida’s Best Newspaper” at Florida utilities for not undergrounding more lines while they are busting their hump to restore power. You think closing a nuke plant is expensive (read rate increases)? Many communities have opted to underground lines on their dime. And the rest of the story which we seldom get from “FBN”; underground lines are very often subject to failure due to flooding – just ask power customers in Jacksonville. Perhaps a new low by the Times - well for this week anyway.

3. Irma inconvenienced us all but aren’t some of us acting like whiney little snowflakes when our power is out an extra 12 hours while people in the Caribbean and the Keys have no roofs over their heads?

4. St. Pete Mayor’s race: Are these two guys trying to throw the election to their opponent? Latest less than smart act is Kriseman’s very transparent attempt to politicize the storm recovery efforts. And he’s not alone among bay area politicians.  

5. You’ve lived in Clearwater a long time if you remember names like City National Bank, Bank of Clearwater, First National Bank and First Federal Savings and Loan of Clearwater.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. Takeaways from Buc’s Week 1A – let’s not get too giddy about a win over the Bears and why does John Fox (9-25 with the Bears) still have a job?

7.The Bucs and Lightning’s ticket policies designed to keep “away” fans from choice seats ignores a universal truth – most of us in the bay area are from elsewhere and were Bear or Red Wing fans about 25 years before either the Bucs or Lightning existed.

8. Quote of the Week: (related to #7 above) – “I didn't know we had that many people from Chicago, Illinois, Midwest area in Tampa, but I guess we do” - Chris Archer after noting all the Cubs fans in the stands at the Trop. Really Chris? You are just noticing that?

9. We fall on our sword for our feature on M*A*S*H last week with no mention of Edward Winter. He only appeared in seven episodes of the show over the years as Col. Flagg of “military intelligence” but each one was a classic. Also needed to mention Gary Burghoff – the only carry over from the movie.

10. It’s reported that Brad Ausmus is out as Detroit’s manager. He can have a choice of three or four jobs next year if he wants them. A good fit would seem to be Atlanta where Brian Snitker is rumored to be on the way out.

Yet another Irma note

An amazing number of businesses, and worse, churches refused to allow visiting utility trucks assisting Duke Power to use their parking lots as staging areas – choosing instead to lawyer-up with worries of liability etc. One such group of Samaritans was refused by 13 businesses and, incredibly, seven churches before finding a staging area in the parking lot of Light of Christ Catholic Church in northeast Clearwater. These guys were our heroes and we’re refusing them staging areas? Hats off to Father Bill Wilson and his parishioners at Light of Christ for making the workers welcome while they helped restore normalcy to our community.

SNEAK PEEK AT NEXT WEEK – WORLD SERIES PICKS TO CLICK