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.

Leading off: Finding a mayor for Clearwater

Clearwater has an election next spring. Voters will elect a council majority – two council members and a mayor. The mayor’s job, while largely ceremonial as compared to St. Pete or Tampa, does give the city a “face.” The sitting mayor resigned earlier this year and a former mayor has the interim job. He says he will not run. Two potential candidates have surfaced, both with less than sterling credentials. One has never held public office in Clearwater. The other, while a sitting council member, has been a divisive force in her short tenure on the dais. Who else, you may ask. There are a few qualified “old hands” out there, but they are either too old or have had quite enough of politics in their life. Perhaps, an outstanding candidate will surface. But the deadline for qualifying is just five weeks away. Time draws short.

Tampa Bay, politics and stuff:

Have you ever been less proud of your government than you are at this stage of your life?

Regarding student loans and other matters, it seems the current occupant of the White House regards Supreme Court decisions as suggestions.

A recent survey says that more than a few college faculty members are at least considering leaving Florida for other, more liberal, states. Is that necessarily a bad thing? It might help to better balance our state’s faculties that are wildly left of center.

With Election Day a year and a month away, oddsmakers are clinging to their prediction of a Biden-Trump rematch with Trump gaining a narrow victory. If Trump is removed on a technicality, then Vegas likes DeSantis. That would be fun to watch given the local bi-weekly’s blind hatred for our Governor.

Need a side hustle? UPS plans to hire 100,000 people to handle the holiday rush this season.

There are few things less distasteful than a non-routine trip to the dentist, but a recent tooth extraction by Dunedin’s Dr. Michael Yuan couldn’t have been more pleasant.

If you got to know seasonal resident, Jimmy Stinchcomb of Sand Key, you counted yourself lucky. Jimmy, a decorated Korean War veteran, extremely successful businessman and a man who seemingly never had a bad day, passed away in his native Ohio last week at age 96.

This week in 1963 (Oct. 10): the second of the 27 James Bond films, From Russia with Love, debuts. It and its’ follow-up, Goldfinger were two of the five highest grossing films of 1964.

Sports, media and other stuff:

Related to our historical note above: in no particular order, the five best songs from Bond movies, Nobody Does It Better (from The Spy Who Loved Me) – Carly Simon; All Time High (Octopussy) – Rita Coolidge; Goldfinger – Shirley Bassey; From Russia with Love – Matt Monro and For Your Eyes Only – Sheena Easton.

Most people felt the Eastern Divisions of the major leagues were the strongest, but only the Phillies survived the first playoff round with the Rays, Blue Jays and Marlins making early exits. On to Round Two.

The 5:05 Newsletter reports on a collectable sale: Elvis’ Smith & Wesson sold at auction for $200,000. The next day a bill for 60% arrived from the estate of Colonel Tom Parker.

Related note: One of Bill O’Reilly’s “killing” series, Killing the Legends, reveals just how badly the scheming Tom Parker damaged Elvis’ career.

If you’re really old (and we are) it’s nice to see the Detroit Lions being a competitive football team again. It’s been a long time since Bobby Layne, Hopalong Cassidy, Leon Hart and Joe Schmidt.

Last, but not least, Happy 40^th Anniversary to the Clearwater born and bred Hooters restaurant chain.

…and another thing: How not to win a pennant

First a number: $202 million, which was this year’s payroll for the Los Angeles Angels. The payroll was the seventh largest in baseball, exceeded by four NL teams (Dodgers, Mets, Padres and Phillies) and two AL teams (Blue Jays and Yanks). All those teams were in the playoffs last year. The last time the Angels finished above .500 was in 2015. The last time they made the playoffs was 2014 – the longest drought in the majors. In a recent ESPN ranking of the top 100 players, the Angels’ Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani were the top two. No other Angel cracked the list. By comparison, both the Astros and Braves had eight in the top 100 and the Blue Jays and Mets, seven each along with the Padres and Phils (all 2022 playoff teams) with six apiece. In simple terms, the Angels are top heavy with payroll and are begging for a rebuild, as painful as it would be to rid themselves of MLB’s top two players. The Angels parted ways with manager Phil Nevin at the end of the season, a victim, like his Mets counterpart Buck Showalter, of a poorly constructed roster. If the Angels want to stop losing, as a great American is fond of saying, the problem is obvious.

NEXT UP: Local bands; Blockbuster; Get a job

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