Established in 2014 and published every Sunday, Tampa Bay Rants and Raves is a weekly airing of local and national news, politics, sports and historical notes from a politically incorrect viewpoint.

First thing on our mind:

We can breathe easy, after Monday, Joe can do no more harm.

Leading off: At last!

Didn’t it seem that the time between November 5 and January 20 lasted about two years instead of just over two months? The dumpster fire that was the Biden administration is over and members of the far left are running for cover. Joe knows his reputation is cooked, so he figured it couldn’t get much worse if he pardoned 2500 felons, mostly drug dealers, and signed into law a bunch of not needed laws that will just complicate things for the incoming administration.

Tampa Bay, politics and notes:

Related to our lead article, a note from the editorial department of the 5:05 Newsletter: “Joe Biden giving a farewell speech is like an encore at a Yoko Ono concert.”

We give a rave to Governor Ron DeSantis for selecting Ashley Moody to replace Mario Rubio in the U.S. Senate. We kind of feel like a farm team for the talent-loaded Trump administration.

State Democratic Party chairwoman Nikki Fried, showing her usual modicum of class, called her former UF classmate, DeSantis’ “lapdog.”

The Israeli-Hamas ceasefire is eerily reminiscent of the hostage release of 1981.

President Trump – even before California, the border, the economy and restoring fossil fuels, please take care of the residents of Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas who are still waiting for help in dealing with Helene and Milton.

Related: FEMA is a mess, blow it up.

Watching the small minded, ignorant questions posed to Pete Hegseth last week by Princess Elizabeth, the failed 2016 VP candidate and the moron from Hawaii, among others, you ask yourself who are the idiots who elected these people?

Somehow, America struggled along for nearly 250 years without Tik Tok.

Governor DeSantis is pushing for NASA’s headquarters to be moved to Florida from D.C. Quick, how many of you thought the headquarters was already here? It’s okay to be mistaken, because Florida is where it should be.

Can we now end the pity party for former Hillsborough State Attorney Andrew Warren? He did not fill the requirements of his job; was suspended and court after court has upheld that suspension.

Matt Gaetz is at least considering a run for governor in a couple years. Our unsolicited advice – don’t.

Some bad ideas never die. State Rep. Jim Mooney of Islamorada is renewing his bid this year to dethrone the Mockingbird as our state bird. First, it’s a neat and feisty bird and second, there are much more important things to do in Tallahassee.

It’s hard to believe we did not know this guy seven years ago, but then we became seasonal regulars at his breakfast table six or seven days a week at a local restaurant. The very personable Frank Guido died last week in his native North Tonawanda, NY at age 86.

This week in 1917 (Jan. 25) the SS Laurentic, like the Titanic a White Star liner, is sunk by German mines during World War I with the loss of 354 lives.

Sports, media and other notes:

Bob Uecker dies at age 90. See One Last Thing below.

It was a disappointing end of the year for the Bucs as their valiant defense could not atone for many offensive mistakes. But it was the only competitive game of the first weekend of NFL blowouts.

Cowboy owner Jerry Jones is still searching for the level of success achieved by the guy he fired 35 years ago when he bought the Dallas franchise – Tom Landry.

Rays move to a lesser facility and double down on the prices to their season ticket holders. Thanks for your loyalty folks!

You’ve lived in the bay area (or anywhere else) if you remember the full sized two-door coupes of the 60s and 70s like the Olds Toronado, Pontiac Catalina and Cadillac Coupe de Ville to name just a few.

One last thing: Goodbye Mr. Baseball

(The article below is reprinted from the April 14, 2019 TBRR)

There were probably better broadcasters and certainly better players, but you have to wonder if there is a more beloved person in baseball than Bob Uecker – “Mr. Baseball”. The latest testament to the love for the guy was the Milwaukee Brewers voting him a full share of their playoff bonus from last year – over one hundred thousand dollars. Uecker, being Uecker, immediately split it into quarters and donated it to four charities. The Hall of Famer has delighted folks over the years with his roles in Mr. Belvedere, Major League and his famous Miller Lite commercials – “must be in the front row!” As mentioned, he’s in the Hall of Fame – not bad for a guy with a career batting average of exactly .200 (so why don’t they call it the Uecker line?). In this era of fancy, some would say meaningless, statistics, his wins above replacement stat or WAR for his career was -1.0. The guy may not be in the front row, but he’s in the Hall and in the hearts of tens of thousands baseball fans.

UP NEXT: Newman, Presidents; PBMs; EV Pickups

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