Tampa Bay Rants and Raves is a weekly airing of national and local politics, sports, lifestyles and nostalgia items from a very politically incorrect viewpoint. As always, beware - some of what is printed here should not be taken literally.

Correction to last week’s blog

Like most “great journalistic efforts,” Tampa Bay Rants and Raves is mostly written in advance. Like a magazine, the aim is not timeliness – particularly with what’s going on in Europe. But we did sneak in a last minute item last week about the price of gas ($3.79). It was incorrect before the end of the weekend. We know all about the squeeze on Russian oil etc. But, that being said, this is just another large miscalculation by the clueless occupant of the White House. President Trump, love or loathe him, left us with energy independence. Biden took, what 48 hours, to negate that and start buying oil from our “friends” in Russia and the Middle East while eliminating 11,000 jobs. Even someone who actually has cognitive acuity might not have foreseen the Ukraine mess, but face it, every time some sheik in the Middle East sneezes, the price of oil goes up. Now, here we are with the nagging annoyance of $4 plus a gallon gas for a lot of us and a food, rent or gas decision for those less fortunate. A real mess and we’re not sure Biden and his team are smart enough to dig their way out of it.

Great Tampa Bay, politics and stuff:

Observation: Here we are at the most critical point in history since World War II with the weakest president since the Great Depression.

Number of the week: $2.15 – the price of gas at the beginning of 2021. Let’s see, what has happened in the interim? Oh, yeah – see lead story.

Related - Pete Buttigieg has advice for Americans upset with surging gas prices, buy an electric car. Talk about a self-fulfilling prophecy – mess up U.S. energy supplies bad enough and let’s go electric! Our out of touch transportation czar fails to mention that electric cars cost about $15-20 grand more than a comparable gas vehicle

Editorial comment from the ersatz 5:05 Newsletter: I can’t believe sending Kamala Harris to Europe didn’t work.

Coke, Pepsi and McDonalds are just some of the brands shutting down in Russia. But when Starbucks ceases operations – isn’t that when civilization as we know it begins to crumble?

Proof there is a modicum of sanity remaining in the world as Ft. Lauderdale fires its mixed-race, gay Police Chief for blatant reverse discrimination in hiring and comments that pictures in the department conference room were “too white” and “I’m going to change that.”

As we roll into midterm elections, our advice to GOP candidates please, please forget about the 2020 voting fraud arguments – and don’t hitch your star to Donald Trump.

THIS WEEK IN HISTORY (1918): IN THE 1ST NHL CHAMPIONSHIP, THE TORONTO ARENAS (NOW MAPLE LEAFS) BEAT THE MONTREAL CANADIENS, OUTSCORING THEM 10-7 IN A TWO GAME SET.

Lighter stuff:

Seen on a bumper sticker, everybody can’t be Irish, somebody has to drive!

The millionaires and billionaires finally come to terms. Are we supposed to jump for joy – after their greed has cost Florida small businesses and workers a month and a half worth of spring training revenue?

Freddie Freeman to the Rays? With their payroll? Without doubt, the most ridiculous sports rumor of the year.

Keep your eye on Detroit Tiger pitching prospect, Jackson Jobe. Last week in Tiger’s minor league batting practice, he gave up his first home run – ever.

You’ve lived in the Bay Area (or anywhere else) a long time if you remember when your office got the last word in technology – an IBM Selectric Typewriter which first hit offices in the summer of 1961.

The ultimate sports experience

What’s on your sports bucket list? Some typical responses are The Masters for golf enthusiasts, The Kentucky Derby if you follow the ponies or perhaps the World Series or the Super Bowl. Your Humble Blogger has attended one of those events, the fall classic, but it doesn’t crack our top three. Those would be the Indy 500 -1969, the only year superstar driver Mario Andretti won the “greatest spectacle in auto racing.” Walking past driving legend A.J. Foyt in the pits was a plus, not to mention the pageantry at Indy. Number 2 on our list is an oddity – attending a MLB doubleheader in two different cities. Business had us in Philadelphia, and we caught an afternoon Phils-Cards game, then rushed to the airport and touched down in Miami in time to attend a Braves-Marlins night game with our family who had come in from Disney World. But our greatest thrill was taking our Durham-born wife to an always sold-out Duke Basketball game. To this day, we will not tell her what we paid for those tickets (they were less than the $3900 minimum ticket for last week’s Coach K finale). The atmosphere in that relatively small venue is unlike any other we’ve ever experienced. The fans are as much fun to watch as the game. And after the game, unlike in even most high school gyms, you can walk the floor and even sit in the chairs just vacated by future Final Four players – or Coach K himself. It’s a tough ticket (497 consecutive sellouts), but worth every penny.

UP NEXT: Changing Brian Wilson’s grade; Super Test; City election

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