Our dubious method of picking sheriffs

The Tampa Bay area has morphed from having legitimate lawmen as sheriffs to politicians heading their sheriff’s departments. Hillsborough County will have an “election” this fall to choose a sheriff. Unfortunately, as has become the custom, former sheriff David Gee “retired” before the end of his term and engineered the appointment of Chad Chronister – giving him incumbency. Chronister has already accumulated a war chest of a quarter million dollars which, in itself, is just sick. The same thing happened in Pinellas a few years back with politician Jim Coats “retiring” so fellow politician Bob Gualtieri could assume incumbency and have a huge advantage in the sheriff’s election. Long time Pinellas residents remember when we had true lawmen such as Don Genung, Jerry Coleman and Everett Rice heading the department. It appears that on either side of the bay, that era is over – making for not the best leadership and not serving area residents well.

Tampa Bay, politics and stuff:

1. Quote of the week: from a recent “politifact” article: To make a point, politicians are increasingly picking out just facts that make their case. But hasn’t that been politifact’s business model since its inception?

2. Spectrum cable bills going up again – if ever there was an area of commerce crying out for competition, it’s the cable industry. Unlike other quasi monopolies, there is no government oversight – there should be.

3. Related to number two above, a little tip: if you are not a cable junkie who has to have 500 channels, ask about Spectrum’s TV Choice plan. They aren’t going to tell you about it until you ask where they want their equipment dropped off.

4. Good grief! A virtually rain-free State Fair run - when was the last time you remember that happening?

5. You’ve lived in Clearwater a long time if you ever stopped into Kelly’s Sundries on Drew Street in Skycrest. As a kid, that’s where you bought your model airplanes and you always left with Mr. Kelly’s “take it easy now” echoing out the door.

The diamond, the media and other stuff\

6. Each year, baseball geek sites have this inexplicable love for the Rays. Baseball Prospectus’ PECOTA rankings (to show how geeky, it has both the words empirical and algorithm in it) have the Rays at 84 wins and a wild card berth. We’d wager some serious money against that outcome.

7. Whether or not you’re a big fan of ESPN, their 30 for 30 show featuring Bill Belichick and Bill Parcells is a must watch for both the serious and the casual NFL follower.

8. Philadelphia sports scribe Geoff Mosher recently penned a fascinating article on the future of Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles. It’s worth a trip to the Fan Rag sports site for a read.

9. He was in nearly three dozen movies, but we all remember him warmly as the plain spoken Martin Crane on Frazier. The great character actor John Mahoney died two weeks ago at age 77.

10. We also note the passing of a colorful baseball figure who had one sweet swing. Tito Francona hit as high as .363 in his 17 seasons – doing that in 1959 with the Indians, the team his son Terry now manages.

Common sense returns to the baseball marketplace

Websites that deal with baseball hot stove deals are singing the blues over the lack of movement particularly in the free agent market. Sure, there have been some blockbuster trades involving stars like Stanton, Ozuna, Cole and Longo. But some top notch free agents remain unsigned with spring training days away. The labor union is whispering the “C” word (collusion). But the vast majority of observers are seeing baseball execs finally coming to their senses and not offering ridiculous contracts that will have 40-year old designated hitters or pitchers earning a king’s ransom based on their performance from six years ago. Scott Boras might not like it, but to most baseball observers, it’s downright refreshing.

SNEAK PEEK AT NEXT WEEK: Finally, the correct time; baseball fan’s delight