A weekly look at the Tampa Bay area and national politics from a conservative viewpoint – plus a helping of sports and lifestyle items. Warning: not everything printed here should be taken at face value.

Drejka trial – no winners, only losers

The spectacle that was the Michael Drejka trial ended with a trail of losers beginning with four kids who have no father. Their mother whose thoughtless parking in a handicap zone started the tragic chain of events has no boyfriend to help her raise those four kids. Drejka, himself, is a victim but that was self-inflicted. Other folks who came off not so well included our sheriff who went ready, fire, aim in declaring Drejka home free on a stand your ground basis and then had to moonwalk after the state attorney correctly said not so fast. But the state attorney’s boys, particularly Fred Schaub came off as courtroom bullies during the trial while Drejka’s defense team was laughable. Then there’s “Florida’s Best Newspaper” whose inflammatory articles leading up to the trial defied any standard of objective journalism. As a community, it was not one of our proudest times from start to finish.

Great Tampa Bay, politics and stuff:

1. How heartwarming to see the gaggle of power trucks assembling in and around St. Pete College Saturday night along with large buses hauling utility workers to the area to stage for wherever they may be needed. It’s the same feeling we experienced two years ago when we saw so many such trucks headed south on I-75 in the wake of Irma. God speed folks.

2. Several leading conservatives feel that Elizabeth Warren will be the Democratic presidential nominee in 2020. We feel that may be wishful thinking from the right.

3. While the proposed land lease to the Belleair Golf Club looks like a win-win, the fact is the property in question was donated by the Hallett family for non-commercial use. We too often forget our history in the quest for current satisfaction.

4. Quote of the week: from some liberal media drivel – “Abortion rights remain at risk”. There’s something at risk in the abortion struggle but it’s not “abortion rights”!

5. You’ve lived in Clearwater a long time if you remember dining in at the Pizza Hut on Missouri Avenue. It’s been shuttered for years. Now comes word that Pizza Hut will be closing another 200 dine-in locations across the country.

Sports, the media and other stuff:

6. In a bittersweet moment this coming weekend, the University of Florida will pay tribute to George Edmondson – the man who led the “two bits” cheer for the Gators for some six decades. The “two bits” cheer will be led by his family. Edmondson, of Tampa, died earlier this year at age 97.

7. A more recent loss to the bay area occurred last week with the passing of banking executive and community leader Dave Carley who headed both the Bank of Clearwater and Citizens Bank during his illustrious career.

8. We are feeling at home in our new digs now that we found the box with the picture of Jeff Blauser and Mark Lemke posed in front of the famous press box fire at Fulton County Stadium the night Tampa’s Fred McGriff joined the Braves in 1993. It now, again, graces our desk.

9. Number of the Week: 43 – the number of consecutive losses by Dunedin High’s football until their season opening win. This is hard to imagine for the older crowd who remember Dunedin as quite competitive in football and basketball and a sheer terror in baseball.

10. At the MLB 5/6 mark, there are still 2 ½ races left. The Central Divisions will get the most attention with two teams (Cubs and Cards) vying for the NL title and Cleveland and Minnesota dueling in the AL. Atlanta’s 5 ½ game lead (at press time) looks safe, but they have seven left with Washington and their stacked rotation. The Yanks and Astros are battling for the best AL record and the always preferable opportunity to play a wild card team in the first round.

Number 24 in a landslide

An argument can be made that the Hall of Famers Mickey Mantle and Duke Snider weren’t even the best centerfielders in their own town in the 1950s. The third name in the Terry Cashman song Willie, Mickey and the Duke lead the trio in homers, RBIs - and stolen bases wasn’t even close. Willie Mays was probably the best fielder of the three in the golden age of baseball in the Big Apple. Some other pretty fair players wore #24 like Hall of Famers Ken Griffey, Jr., Early Wynn and Ricky Henderson, but Mays always ranks among the best 5 to 10 players in the history of the game.

UP NEXT: Good Vibrations; Come As You Are; St. Pete Housing Mess

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