A weekly airing of national and local politics, sports, lifestyles and historical notes from a very politically incorrect viewpoint, Tampa Bay Rants and Raves has been published since 2014. As always, beware - some of what is printed here should not be taken literally.

First thing on our mind (courtesy of our Saintly Wife)

Enjoy the little things in life because one day you’ll look back and realize they were the big things.

Leading off: Must we build presidential libraries?

In Chicago, the tribute to Barack Obama’s ego is hundreds of millions of dollars over budget, about three years behind schedule and just a tangle of lawsuits working their way through federal courts. In Miami, there is controversy over a proposed Trump library location, and the guy isn’t yet out of office. Joe Biden, thankfully, is out of office and his library will presumably be built in Delaware. Fortunately in all three cases, by law, funding for the libraries must come from private donations, not public funds. That has become problematic for the Biden project as several potential donors pulled out after Biden’s controversial pardon of his son. Even though the construction costs must come from private funds, several presidential libraries have run out of operating funds and thus become a burden for taxpayers where they are located.

Tampa Bay, politics and notes:

“Aggressive and audacious” is how the Rays new owners describe their plan to pursue a new, fixed roof stadium for Tampa Bay. If it was “audacious,” it would be a moveable roof playground, rather than a fixed roof dungeon.

The Hubbard family which has three generations worth of aquatic business ventures is bidding to take over the across the bay ferry service between Tampa and St. Pete. Given their track record over the decades, if anybody can make a go of it, the Hubbards can.

It appears that New York’s AG Letitia James will on the other side of the court room next time around after being indicted by a federal grand jury for bank fraud.

Unintended consequences: As an offshoot of Florida’s liberalized pot laws, a District Court of Appeals has ruled that police officers may not search cars based on the smell of marijuana. Not good.

Idle musing: we wonder how many companies lose significant business with ridiculous surcharges on credit card payments. Processing credit cards is simply a cost of doing business.

Factoid: the Town of Belleair was first known as Belleair Heights.

Nobel news from the 5:05: The Nobel Committee announced that it has chosen Greta Thunberg to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for her pivotal role in bringing an end to the war in Gaza by scolding world leaders into submission.

By the way, did she ever graduate from high school?

Sports, media and other notes:

Sister Jean Delores Schmidt, the beloved chaplain of the Loyola men’s basketball team died last week at age 106. If you’ve never read her 2023 book, Wake Up With A Purpose, you should.

After watching last week’s Bucs-Seattle game, we probably should be prepared to lose another offensive coordinator to a head coaching job. As for our defensive staff, the lucky last minute pick aside, they should be shuffled off to Dry Gulch A&M.

Further to our “One More Thing” article last week, corruption certainly isn’t confined to pro sports as three players associated with the Fresno State basketball team have been banned from further competition due to performance manipulation. Meanwhile, six other schools and 13 players are under investigation regarding prop bets which should be banned in all areas of sport for so many reasons (See TBRR 6/22/25).

Pat Murphy’s Brewers dispatch the Cubs and their high paid manager, Craig Counsell. Feels like the Cubs did the Brewers a favor when they forced them to replace Counsell with the reigning National League Manager of the Year.

You won’t be hearing the “See Youuu Later” home run call anymore as veteran Washington Nationals play by play man, Bob Carpenter, retires after 40 years behind the mic.

This week’s Athletic 136 has Miami, who has beaten everyone in sight, at #1 over Ohio State who has played only one decent opponent. FSU drops to #19 while USF jumps to #21. The others: Gators (#44); UCF (#79) and FIU and FAU (#121 and 122 respectively). UMass continues to anchor at #136 while Belichick’s Tar Heels fall to #93.

Someone we’d like to meet: Russell Rhodes of Channel 13 – in fact the whole morning news team - Jen, Charlie, Dave and the rest.

So when does a joke become a “dad” joke? When it becomes apparent. (Sorry!)

Five very good songs you’ve probably never heard: Dance Til the Sun Comes Up; (Dexter French/Wolfgang Black); I Am Hawaii ; (Douglas Gamley Orchestra) Summer Symphony (Jack Gold Chorus); Ocean Drive Sunday (John Franklin); Guess You Had to be There (Brian Wilson/Kacey Musgraves).

One last thing: Baseball movies

The passing last month of Robert Redford again brought up the question of the best baseball movies of all time with many opining Redford’s The Natural was the best. Our vote is none of the above. As a baseball purist, or as some would ascribe, cantankerous old (fill in the word), they all fall short. If we absolutely had to pick one, it would be Eight Men Out, but that movie was more or less based on an actual event. Over the years, we have more enjoyed the bizarre in baseball-related movies like Major League or the baseball segments in 1988’s Naked Gun with Leslie Neilson masquerading as an umpire or 1989’s Dream Team with Stephen Furst’s disordered character continually quoting “The Scooter” during an ill-fated trip to Yankee Stadium. None of the fictional movies can compare with Maz in 1960, Ozzie in 1985 or Kirk Gibson in 1988. That was real drama.

NEXT UP: $40 million? Ticket scams; ComicSans

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