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 (from Mother Teresa)

“Peace begins with a smile.”

Leading off: Sports gambling cancer explodes

The arrest of Portland Trailblazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat shooting guard Terry Rozier along with various crime family figures has just blown the top off of sports gambling. A total of 31 people across 11 states were arrested in what will only be the first phase of this FBI investigation. We need to arrest the bad guys yes, but there are so many layers to this onion and we have to stop people like Fan Duel, Hard Rock and other gambling networks from buying protection from our state and national legislatures as well. It will be an arduous process, but once and for all, we need to clean up gambling on sports events.

Tampa Bay, politics and notes:

David Fischer, who served as Mayor of St. Petersburg from 1991 to 2001, died last week at age 92. Fischer was the city’s first strong mayor after years of a council-manager form of government.

Here comes Charlie (again). Charlie Crist, who has never met an election he doesn’t like, is pondering a run for Mayor of St. Pete – one of the few elective posts which he hasn’t pursued previously.

This year, the stars align and Halloween falls on the last Friday of the month. We will continue to campaign for this pseudo-holiday to be celebrated on the last Friday of October every year, giving our children two days to recover.

Biz note: AT&T says it will pull the plug on its landline service by 2029.

Wisdom from the well-respected Warren Buffett on what he looks for in an employee: integrity, intellect and energy.The billionaire continues, “Without the first one, the integrity piece, you have a clever, fast moving thief.”

Rays ownership says they are pursuing their “forever home.” There is no such thing. Just ask the cities of Atlanta, Cincinnati, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, to name just a few.

Our friend TL reminds us that the oldest continuously operated restaurant in Florida is the Columbia. In Clearwater, the granddaddy of them all is the Palm Pavilion.

Factoid: Of the world’s larger nations, France has the highest percentage of smokers at 35 percent. By comparison, 24 per cent of U.S. adults smoke. The worldwide average is just over 20 per cent.

Season opening NBA News from the 5:05 Newsletter: The National Basketball Referees Association announced it is giving LeBron James his own whistle to call his own fouls on anyone who gets within 2-feet of him. “Before now, our referees were simply too exhausted after calling fouls every time LeBron flops to the ground,” said one official.

Sports, media and other notes:

Wow! What a season. Right out of a Frank Merriwell or Chip Hilton novel, Trey Yesavage begins the season at Single-A Dunedin and concludes his year with starting the first game of the World Series.

It was not a matter of if, but when as Billy Napier is fired at UF. James Franklin, perhaps?

It’s 1966, the Camaro is introduced, the first Best Buy opens and it’s the last time Georgia Tech opened the season 7-0 before this year.

In The Athletic 136, Miami slips from #3 to #6. The Bulls beat a rummy, but still gain two spots to #18. The Gators rise seven spots to #40, but not enough to save Billy’s job. FSU drops all the way to 55; UCF is up three to #77; FIU leaps 19 spots to 105 and FAU’s loss to USF drops them to #108. Indiana remains #1 and UMass, with a last minute loss, continues at #136.

Cassette tapes are making a comeback with sales up nearly 30 per cent last year. And yes, you can still score a Walkman (used) on EBay or Amazon. Suddenly, we feel hi-tech with our iPod.

Seen on a t-shirt: “I don’t want to go through things that don’t kill me but make me stronger anymore.”

You’ve lived in the bay area a long time if you remember when the toll on the Sunshine Skyway was 25 cents.

One last thing: Postseason awards

First, the qualifier, postseason play does not count towards MVP, Cy Young or Rookie of the Year awards. With that in mind, let’s start with an easy one – NL MVP, just write in Shohei Ohtani every year and he earns it! The AL MVP is much tougher, but give us Cal Raleigh and his record breaking home run year. It doesn’t hurt that he plays a much more demanding position than his only serious challenger, Aaron Judge. Cy Young Awards in the future might also require a rubber stamp. Young second year guys Paul Skenes (just wish he pitched for a better team) and Tiger Tarik Skubal are the cream of the crop. For NL Rookie of the Year, a tough call, but like the AL MVP above, Atlanta’s Drake Baldwin plays a critical position every day and gets the nod over Cub’s ace hurler Cade Horton. In the American League, the unfortunate mid-season injury to teammate Jacob Wilson makes the Athletic’s Nick Kurtz a runaway winner.

NEXT UP: Buc-ee’s; Studio 19; Expecting better

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