A weekly look at the Tampa Bay area and national politics from a conservative viewpoint – plus a helping of sports and lifestyle items. Warning: not everything printed here should be taken at face value.

TBRR turns five

Some five years and over 200,000 words later, here we are at age five. What have we accomplished? Not much that is socially redeeming. But hopefully, we‘ve made you think once in a while; laugh out loud occasionally and probably ticked you off more than once. We’re proudest of our initial thrust of helping beat back the incursion of some Thonotosassa carpetbagger in a Pinellas County congressional race; of our stand against a Clearwater strong mayor and, in a lighter vein, our yearlong tribute to Tom McEwen and some good dining spots in the bay area. Our greatest regret was our unsuccessful crusade against legal medical pot – especially now watching all the predictions of the law enforcement and medical experts who opposed it come to be. Oh well, onward and upward, here’s the start of year six ….

Great Tampa Bay, politics and stuff:

1. Leading off with a lighter note and one of the best ever from the marquee of the Gassman Law Firm – Bye Bye Miss American 3.14159265……..

2. Not too many observers were surprised to see Jane Castor and David Straz emerge as the leaders in last week’s primary. Straz will again outspend Castor in the general election, but can he outpoll her? The smart money says no.

3. Speaking of elections, four months have passed since Florida’s gubernatorial and Senate races but the whining continues. Yeah, and Nixon probably got jobbed by Illinois in 1960, but somehow we’ve gotten over it.

4. Okay, Daylight Savings Time begins this week which means Congress has approximately eight months to act on the will of Floridians and pass on our initiative to make DST year-round in the state. Time to generate an email to Scott, Rubio, Crist, Castor, Billirakis and company to fast track this!

5. Snippet from the last 5:05 Newsletter: Seattle became the first major U.S. city to completely ban plastic straws and utensils in all restaurants. San Francisco, sensing a threat to its status as the leader in Progressivism, responded by banning food and beverages in all restaurants.

Sports, the media and other stuff:

6. Shame on the Straz Center for adopting what amounts to seat licenses for their performances. More and more limited income individuals are being squeezed out of attending the performing arts.

7. Are we the only one surprised that one of the Harper/Machado duo did not choose an AL team where they could get a day off a week as a DH? Perhaps both players feel that Armageddon (the DH in the NL) is not that far off.

8. On the same subject, is there a bigger horse’s rump in baseball than Scott Boras?

9. And this breaking Harper news, Bryce made his debut last Saturday and was walked twice by the opposing pitchers. We weren’t at the game but we’re sure the always congenial Philadelphia fans treated those pitchers with their usual grace.

10. Khris Davis, outfielder, Oakland As – the answer to the question “What major leaguer has hit the most homeruns (133) over the last three seasons? Playing for a west coast team, his considerable pop is one of the best kept secrets in baseball.

Fun with great numbers:

Last year, we had an enjoyable time picking the best pitchers and position players from all 30 franchises from the past six decades. This year, we’re going to have fun with numbers – selecting the greatest player to wear each individual number. Who was the best 6 – Musial or Kaline; how about 20 – was it F. Robby or Schmidt; and we’ll tip you off in advance - #3 is a runaway. We’ll kick it off in next week’s TBRR.

Next week: The number one #1; keep your eye on this bill; robocalls

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