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: The General

When they decide to create a Mount Rushmore of the greatest college basketball coaches, one of the first images on that mountain will be Indiana great Bobby Knight, a four-time NCAA champ – one as a player at Ohio State and three as a coach of the Indiana Hoosiers. The General, as he was known, passed away last week at age 83. He also coached at Army, where he mentored another great coach, Mike Krzyzewski. Knight was an acquired taste; the only thing that mattered to him was results - the last undefeated season, an incredibly high graduation rate no doubt due in part to his experiences as both a soldier and coach at West Point. To his true believers, he could do no wrong as witnessed by Indiana University president Myles Brand being burned in effigy when he fired the ultra successful (and volatile) coach. After a short stint at Texas Tech, Bobby Knight went on to be an outstanding commentator at ESPN. The man left an indelible mark on college basketball.

Tampa Bay, politics and notes:

A Vietnam-era veteran’s thought: The most joyous words they ever uttered came upon exiting a military transport at Travis Air Force Base and arriving at the Delta counter at San Francisco Airport, “Tampa, one-way.”

We always try to use this week to say thanks to organizations in our community who do nice things for vets this week – and year round like those much appreciated vet’s parking spaces at Lowe’s.

Our friend TL points out that just 66 years after the Wright brother’s first flight, man landed on the moon. Some of our Moms and Dads experienced both. Amazing!

Unions have reached agreement with automakers’ big three. Now, the next question: will the average American still be able to afford a car?

Just 15 years ago was the Madoff scandal and we were told never again. Now, con artist Sam Bankman-Fried is scheduled to spend many, many years in Club Fed. But the regulators – they just roll along. It’s probably time for their incompetence or worse to earn them a suite next door to Bankman-Fried.

In the 1970s and 80s if a new strip center went up in the bay area, the chances were better than even it was built by one of Mel Sembler’s companies. The former ambassador to Australia and Italy and GOP stalwart died last week at age 93.

This week in 1969 (Nov. 10): Sesame Street premiers on PBS.

Sports, media and other notes:

A dozen toys are on the finalist list for induction into the Toys Hall of Fame this year. The honorees will be announced later this week and we’ll do our annual feature on the Hall in early December.

November lunch date: – It’s the 103rd anniversary of broadcast news (KDKA in Pittsburgh) and three current and former local anchors, we‘d like to join us at lunch: Bob Hite, Gayle Sierens and Russell Rhodes.

Topping the charts fifty years ago this week was Midnight Train to Georgia by Gladys Knight and the Pips.

Idle thought: Have you noticed the lack of customer traffic in the candy aisles of major grocery stores? The spiraling cost of sugar has a lot to do with it.

Answer: Luis Arraez. The question: who was the most overlooked player in the 2023 MLB season? The Miami second baseman became the first player in history to win the batting championship in the AL and NL in consecutive years.

A coda to our Bobby Knight story, one of the clauses he insisted on having in his contract was that he would make no more than any professor on the Indiana campus. Run that one by today’s college coaches.

…one last thing: Now the free agent fun begins

With the World Series ending (congrats to the Rangers), the baseball world turns to free agency, one free agent in particular. Sure, some outstanding players like Aaron Nola, Cody Bellinger, Max Muncy, Craig Kimbrel and Jordan Montgomery are out there. But the glaring spotlight will be on Shohei Ohtani, the unique pitcher/DH. First here are some teams who will not seriously pursue him or he will reject – the former being the Braves and Astros (neither are really big spenders and with their rosters, they don’t need to be); also the Yanks, Mets and Angels have the wherewithal, but neither of the trio is poised to win – a high priority with Ohtani. If we had to list a top three, remembering he probably prefers the west coast, we’d pick the Dodgers, Mariners and the Padres in that order. Two teams on the fringes to keep an eye on – the Giants and the Rangers. We’ll be watching.

UP NEXT: Tucker Carlson; Gulf Oil; Stuffing

Thank you to all our vets

110523/698

Sorry, time does not permit replies to comments.