On medical pot, Nelson’s memory is short

Quote of the week from current Senator Bill Nelson: “I don't want a government or a politician to get in the way of a doctor recommending what should be the treatment, the medical treatment, for that doctor's patient.” He was referring to smoking medical marijuana. Nelson’s memory is short. What he conveniently forgets is that Florida’s doctors (and law enforcement authorities) were foursquare against the half-baked constitution amendment allowing for medical pot.

Great Tampa Bay, politics and stuff:

1. We make a slight change in the header directly above in honor of one of our early career mentors. Roy Nilson, the man behind the tremendous success of WLCY radio, coined the term “Great Tampa Bay” in the early 1960s.

2. As economic commentator Stuart Varney points out, McDonalds’ move to kiosks in their stores is going to eliminate that first job option for many of our youth. It’s also just plain irritating to those of us who want to order food from a human being.

3. You wonder about the future of Tampa’s Citrus Park Mall, once a high flyer. It lost upscale pieces like Brooks Brothers and Restoration Hardware several years ago, and now a major anchor, Sears, departs. Can game rooms and tattoo parlors be far behind?

4. Treehouse update: back in January (TBRR 1/28), we profiled our favorite group on earth – the Morton Plant Wellness Center Treehouse and reported the café where they meet closed. Clever individuals they are, the boys simply started bringing Yetis full of coffee from home and continue their daily efforts to strengthen our world.

5. Not sure whether this latest tidbit from the 5:05 Newsletter qualifies as legal news or sports but here goes: “The Supreme Court has struck down a federal law that banned sports gambling. The ruling came down seven-to-two, which cost me a bunch of money because I had bet on six-to-three”.

Sports, the media and other stuff:

6. Hey Dos Equis, how did that new “most interesting man in the world” work out?

7. If the Rays are still at .500 at the end of this month, they are for real. But the odds are they won’t be. All but three games this month are against teams over the .500 mark. Stay tuned.

8. For what it’s worth, our All-Star Ballot includes three Braves, two each Indians and Angels and an all-Florida catching tandem in Ramos and Realmuto. But we’re still having trouble dealing with no voting in the parks and being able to vote up to 35 times. This isn’t Chicago.

9. He was the baseball man’s baseball man. Red Schoendienst, the oldest living member of the hall of Fame, died last week at age 95. The redhead made his mark in St. Louis, but was also part of a World Series championship team in Milwaukee in 1957.

10. Last week we reviewed the great players of the Brooklyn/LA Dodgers. It’s only logical to follow that up with a look at the best player and pitcher of their longtime rivals – the New York/San Francisco Giants. The Giants are a team with a lot of great players – Bonds, Cepeda and McCovey to name three. But the Giant of all Giants is the Say Hey Kid – Willie Mays. On the pitching side, Gaylord Perry was a stalwart for the Giants over the years but even his impressive numbers pale in comparison to those of the Dominican Dandy – Juan Marichal.

Roku – the baseball fanatic’s dream come true

If you, like us until a year ago, have never heard of Roku, you are in for a treat. The Roku device itself, sells for considerably south of $100. You pair that with a $90 or $120 investment and you are in baseball heaven. The former number gets you the MLB package, which according to your taste, can provide you with every game of your home town team with your announcers. The later number gives you the games of every major league team – the only exception if your home town team happens to be playing at the Trop but then you can rely on the Fox network. It’s relatively easy to hook up (you must have a router) and the Roku customer support is terrific. If you don’t have time to watch the whole game; Roku and the MLB package give you a condensed game of about 15-20 minutes in length usually within two hours of the game’s conclusion. With Father’s Day just around the corner, it is an ideal gift for a Dad who’s a big fan.

UP NEXT: Summer sounds; telephone invasions; Florida’s governors

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