Established in 2014, Tampa Bay Rants and Raves is a weekly airing of local and national news, sports and Tampa Bay memories from a politically incorrect viewpoint.

First thing on our mind:

Does anybody believe a presidential debate staged by CNN will be on the level?

Leading off: The hypocrisy of MLB

You cannot go more than an inning or two of baseball without watching a pitch for gambling. Yet, Rob Manfred (for the uninitiated, he runs major league baseball, God knows why) seemed shocked upon learning that five professional players, and quite possibly a sixth, gambled on the game. One player was banned for life, the other four for a year each and the other, well, that was a “special case.” Last week, it was announced that umpire Pat Hoberg was being disciplined for gambling. That bodes even worse for the sport. Point is MLB cannot have it both ways with Syracuse law professor John Wolohan saying it best, “The leagues are in bed with the DraftKings and the FanDuels of the world anyway, and casinos, so in some ways they’re taking the money and hoping things don’t blow up in their face.” It did and it will continue to do so.

Tampa Bay, politics and notes:

Related to our lead article, it was not surprising, but a disappointing non-decision by SCOTUS to continue to allow a sports betting monopoly in Florida.

CNN should get a much needed ratings boost with this week’s presidential debate. CNN has about one fourth the amount of viewers as Fox and just over half the viewers of fellow left wing network MSNBC with Newsmax closing in.

Not so idle question: If our economy is so peachy, why are Tampa Bay non-profits telling us more and more people, particularly seniors, seeking more help?

Wall Street analysts recently upgraded the Krispy Kreme doughnut company from a “hold” to a “buy”. In our household, it remains an “eat”.

Tale of two companies – EV startup Fisker has filed for bankruptcy, while Hyundai is readying a new plant in Georgia to build their IONIQ 5 EV, again proving only established automakers can stand the financial hit of EV startups.

We realize it is small consolation, but as you’re filling up, be thankful you don’t live in California ($4.93 a gallon) or Washington State ($4.41).

Biz note: If you’ve suffered sticker shock from hotel rates, you’re not alone. Analysts attribute it to revised thinking by many hotel chains in not so much seeking higher occupancy as a higher per room rate.

Katherine “Kappy” Koch passed away last week at age 96. Very active in her community, Kappy, the daughter of Judge and Mrs. Alfred Marshall, was believed to have been the oldest living person born at Morton Plant Hospital.

This week in 1950 (June 25) North Korea invades the south beginning the three-year long conflict that would conclude on July 27, 1953.

Sports, media and other notes:

The last of the three legends from the Terry Cashman baseball song Willie, Mickey and the Duke passed away last week. Willie Mays was 93 years old.

Now, there’s talk of expanding the NCAA basketball tourney by 6-8 teams. Soon it will be like football, with teams with losing records getting in.

It’s very likely that for a second year in a row, the #1 NBA draft pick will come from outside the United States.

Somewhere last week, Red Auerbach lit up a stogie.

You can understand our confusion when we saw the headline Fox tests positive for rabies, followed on the second line (after biting local resident).

Topping the charts fifty years ago this week was Gordon Lightfoot’s Sundown and in ’64, it was the Dixie Cups’ Chapel of Love.

Oh, a belated Happy Juneteenth. This is why nobody was at your bank or the post office last Wednesday.

From the 5:05 Newsletter (and a retired printer’s lament): “I hate it when cashiers feel the need to check if my money is real. If I could make counterfeit money, I wouldn’t be at the Dollar Store.”

One last thing… Two businesses of the South

Pat Watters was a Southern author who wrote tales of the region from the early fifties until his passing in 1999. He was a writer for The Atlanta Journal and later a journalism professor at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette. During his career, he crafted books on Atlanta-born Coca Cola (An Illustrated History) and Lakeland grown Publix (Fifty Years of Pleasure). Both are filled with interesting anecdotes about the growth of the companies and their leaders in the early years. If we had to choose one above the other, it would be the Publix book since very few such books exist and it is truly a “FloGrown” entity. Coke has numerous volumes out there about its legacy and the Publix book, frankly, is a more engaging read.

UP NEXT: The Sting; MLB month 3; Doing the best for America

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