So long PTI; you used to be so good

A few weeks back, we not so regretfully pulled ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption from our list of daily recordings (nobody watches anything live anymore, do they?) The reasons are numerous – first, it has become pretty much a basketball only show because that is where the co-hosts’ knowledge lies. The other three major sports do get passing mention IF – the team lies along the I-95 corridor or in co-host Michael Wilbon’s home town of Chicago – come on, just how much coverage is a 6-10 football team (the Bears) worth? They sure got more PTI exposure last year than a 6-10 team in Tampa Bay. Yet another issue, both Wilbon and his tag team partner, Tony Kornheiser, fancy themselves sociologists – they aren’t. Then there’s Wilbon’s blind hatred for any athletic team south of his home town – particularly Notre Dame, the Atlanta Braves and the Alabama Crimson Tide – three teams that have routinely vanquished his favorite teams over the years. PTI used to be so good, but then both co-hosts became more than a little full of themselves, so we say farewell. We’ll probably return briefly in the fall to see the reaction when Wilbon’s Chicago Cubs, to use a Kornheiser term, choke like dogs in the MLB playoffs – if they make it. 

Around Tampa Bay:

1. A thank you and best wishes to Janet Clark who will leave the Pinellas School Board after twelve years of service and return to the classroom. There have been higher profile school board members over the years but none were more devoted to our children and the folks who educate them.

2. Charter Communications has made several promises in regards to their acquisition of Bright House – faster speed, all digital systems but the promised change that will make most of their customers jump for joy is their pledge to bring all their overseas call centers back to the U.S.

3. With its biggest legal challenge out of the way, the Clearwater Marine Aquarium should be able to move ahead with its expansion plans on Island Estates. Is the heavily residential community the best place for such a facility? No, but the aquarium has been a good neighbor to our community and the plans will alleviate several existing neighborhood issues while improving the aquarium.

4. Speaking of the aquarium, perhaps it could channel other attractions here and elsewhere and offer some deeper discounts to locals during “off season”. It would likely be a win-win for both the aquarium and the local community.

5. You’ve lived in Clearwater for a long time if you remember that 1977 was the first year that beer was served at the Phil’s original home – Jack Russell Stadium. And it’s a double treat if you’ve purchased a brew from Howard the Beer Man who works primarily behind home plate during the spring. He is a hoot.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. Spelling Bee Notes: Is there no one named Johnson, Smith, Brown, Jones or Williams (our nation’s five most common surnames) who knows how to spell?

7. Why is it that every time you see the term “free trial”, you want to run fast in the opposite direction? Probably because you should.

8.. Factoid - In addition to being the oldest guy to ever launch his first career home run, Met’s pitcher Bartolo Colon is the only player left in the major leagues who played for the Montreal Expos.

9. Another thing about Colon, he has the most wins of any active major league pitcher with 221 at this writing. Durability is something that factors into what makes a great pitcher. For example, Jake Arrieta and Stephen Strasburg, both being hailed as the next coming of Cy Young, have a combined 121 wins over a combined 14 seasons – 20 less than Jared Weaver in three less seasons. Let’s not start engraving the Cooperstown plaques just yet.

10. On the advent of summer, here are five great “summer songs” – there are dozens more, Hot Fun in the Summertime, Theme from A Summer Place, See You in September, Surf City and All Summer Long (the concluding song in American Graffiti – one of the great summer movies).

Baseball is life:

A friend sent us a piece recently that compared baseball to everyday life. Both can be tedious. You can tune out for a while and then easily return. And baseball, unlike football or basketball, does not require you to be a 375 pound lineman or a 7-footer with a wing span similar to a B-52. A baseball player can look like your accountant (Greg Maddux comes to mind); a college professor (Carlton Fisk) or your next door neighbor (Yogi Berra, if you lived in an Italian neighborhood). But most of all, something that differentiates baseball from the other two major sports is no cheerleaders. Vive la difference!

SNEEK PEEK AT NEXT WEEK – A SUGGESTION TO HONOR SOME EARLY ROCK LEGENDS