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 Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto):

“I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and to fill him with a terrible resolve.”

Leading off: The coaching carousel and Florida

The coaching carousel has certainly changed the landscape in Florida. In the past week, the presumed front runner for the University of Florida job wound up in Baton Rouge to lead the LSU Tigers. We’re not sure who cooled more on the matchup Florida or Lane Kiffin, but the best coaching candidate in the country got away. Meanwhile, USF’s Alex Golesh is heading to Auburn, a burial ground for head coaches (4 coaches in the last 7 years). His own star is somewhat tarnished by USF’s end of the season collapse that cost them a potential playoff spot. The Bulls have turned to Ohio State Offensive Coordinator Brian Hartline, probably a good head coach hire for a mid-major. The Gators pivoted to Tulane’s Jon Sumrall in yet another attempt to make do with a mid-major coach. Thus far, it hasn’t gone very well. Will this time be different? We hope so.

Tampa Bay, politics and notes:

Monsignor John Cippel, who served six parishes in the Diocese of St. Petersburg including the pastorate at Clearwater’s St. Cecelia Church, passed away last week at age 92.

The Aldi-Winn Dixie marriage didn’t last long. The Florida-based chain is buying back all of its stores from Aldi, and at the same time, selling off stores outside Florida to more or less get back to its roots.

Factoid (with thanks to our friend Doug): Did you know that Harry S. Truman was sworn in holding a Gideon Bible?

Postal note from the 5:05 Newsletter: I bet there are a whole lot of people in Hollywood who are tired of Post Office notices constantly popping up in their inboxes to report that Your Package has Been Destroyed by the US Navy.

This week ten years ago in TBRR: It took one year and 45 days to build the Empire State Building. It has taken over twice that long to build a Mexican restaurant on top of the Clearwater Marina.

Sports and random notes:

Ad blast from the past: The 1931 Coca Cola ad which first depicted Santa Claus as we know him today. The enduring image of Santa was the work of artist Haddon Sundblom.

Christmas factoid: The movie Home Alone was not shot on a set but in an actual home. The man and wife who owned it stayed on during the shoot along with their 6-year-old daughter. They were cramped but had the benefit of access to the food truck all through the shooting.

Perhaps we’re the only person who suddenly woke up and realized the Chicago Bears are a force to be reckoned with in the NFL.

It’s an understatement to say that it was not a good year for football in the Sunshine State. The final Athletic 136 has playoff eligible Miami at #8; bowl eligible USF at #33; huge disappointments UF and FSU at #63 and #64 respectively. UCF wobbles home at #81, while bowl eligible FIU just misses single digits at #100 and FAU finishes at #112. Only one major college team finished winless and at #136 – UMass. Wait until next year!

As we start the long trek to March Madness, a list of the top 5 (actually 6) winningest programs in history: UCLA (10 titles); Kentucky (8); North Carolina and UConn (6 each) and Duke and Indiana (5 each).

You’ve lived in the bay area a long time if you remember when the link between Clearwater and Tampa was called the Davis Causeway.

One last thing: Focus group on Christmas gifts

As we head into the Christmas season, we asked our TBRR focus group about their favorite Christmas presents – as a child and as an adult.

Our leadoff hitter remembers the famous Toni doll as the favorite gift of her youth. She still has it. Her gifts as an adult are more family oriented – her engagement ring in 1968 and the birth of her only grandchild two days after Christmas 15 years ago.

Our second contributor struggled with one specific gift from her childhood, but was quick to mention a gift during her adult years – tickets to a Rolling Stones’ concert.

The Clearwater native of our elite group also mentioned concert tickets – to Neil Diamond with her daughter. Her childhood favorite was the favorite of many a young girl at Christmas, a Madam Alexander doll.

Another of our group remembers a childhood gift of a Voltron Castle from the mid-eighties animated series and as adult, gifts of Disney annual passes for his family and weekend passes to Universal Studios where their daughter could experience Harry Potter Land.

Our westernmost group member provided this reply: As a kid, I remember being very excited about the Playstation 2 my brother and I received when I was probably about 9. We were a non-videogame family up until that point so it was a big deal. As an adult, a friend once got me a subscription to Universal Yums, which sends you unique snacks from different countries around the world every month. It was fun to try new kinds of chips and candies in unusual flavors.

Our northernmost member offered these special moments: As a kid, it was traveling to Florida from New York to surprise his grandparents and uncle for Christmas.  As an adult, it was his girlfriend agreeing to marry him.

Another of our long time Focus Group members mentions a BMX bicycle as his favorite childhood toy. In adult life, a family cruise, because it was the gift of time with their extended family. Hard to argue with that! 

Our cleanup hitter listed a Lionel train from his childhood – a gift he’s sure his Dad played with after bedtime a lot of nights. His favorite gifts in his later years were simply the look on his wife’s face when she opened gifts of trips to Cameron Indoor Stadium and a few years later, Alaska.

Next time, to kick off a hopefully joyous year of Focus Group items, we will ask our group about people who make them laugh!

UP NEXT: Dynasties; Chief Charley’s; 12 Days’ Price

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