Established in 2014 and published every Sunday, Tampa Bay Rants and Raves is a weekly airing of local and national news, politics, sports and historical notes from a politically incorrect viewpoint.

 

First thing on our mind:

I didn’t make it to the gym today. That makes five years in a row.

 

(Our year end review: modified a bit from years previous)

 

Tampa Bay, politics and notes:

 

(Jan.) After a deflating presidential bid, Gov. Ron DeSantis should take heart. He’s in the middle of a very successful run as governor, and he is still a young man with a lot of opportunities ahead.

(Feb.) A bad month for media as The LA Times dumps a quarter of its newsroom employees; The St. Pete Times drastically reduces its presence in Tampa and CNN goes through its third reorganization within 18 months.

(Mar.) Bruce Rector becomes Clearwater’s new mayor in a landslide. Ryan Cotton and Mike Mannino take their seats as new members of the city council.

(April) The first of the Biden-backed Trump show trials begins. Hillsborough County closes five schools. Some private schools announce waiting lists.

(May) President Trump “convicted” in kangaroo court in NYC. The eighth anniversary of the death of journalism (Tampa Tribune) in the bay area. Retiring University of Tampa president Ron Vaughn retires leaving a 30-year legacy of success.

(June) Hunter Biden: guilty on all counts. Guess which felon has the best chance of a pardon? See December below. We are old enough to remember how another Democratic president, this one with a spine, reacted to a Soviet threat to the western hemisphere. Joe melts down in presidential debate.

(July) Total chaos – assassination attempt on President Trump; Coup d’état staged by Obama and fellow henchmen. America left with the weakest presidential candidate in decades. Trump selects Vance as running mate. Harris picks Elmer Fudd.

(August) Liberal Washington Post on the Harris economic plan, “It’s hard to exaggerate how bad this policy is.” RFK, Jr. drops out, endorses Trump.

(September) Trump debates Harris and her two ABC debate partners. Second assassination attempt on Trump. Hurricane Helene ravages Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas.

(October) The worst Tampa Bay hurricane ever? Hurricane Milton will probably hold that dubious honor. Among the storm’s casualties is Clearwater’s Jazz Holiday which resumes in ’25.

(November) Democracy defeats Socialism on November 5. Florida well represented in the proposed Trump cabinet. Florida voters swat down the dangerous Amendments 3 and 4.

(December) Daddy pardons Hunter. Then he forgives 1500 other felons. An 88-year Florida tradition ends this week with the last water skiing show at Lego Land formerly known as Cypress Gardens.

 

Sports, media and other notes:

 

(Jan.) The changing sports scene: Nick Saban retires from Alabama; 2800 college players enter transfer portals and the venerable Sports Illustrated lays off the majority of their writing staff.

(Feb.) Constants and changes: The Chiefs again are Super Bowl champs and a full one-quarter of NFL teams change head coaches for the 2024 season, not to mention at least that many quarterback changes.

(March) – South Carolina wins the women’s NCAA tournament, but Iowa’s Caitlin Clark captured the heart of America. UConn makes it two in a row and six overall on the men’s side. And Jim Calipari leaves Kentucky after 15 years for the hoops job at Arkansas.

(April) – Golfer Nelly Korda could not lose in April. Yanks and Braves jump out despite devastating injuries to Cole and Strider. Calls to the Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling’s hotline double since Florida okays sports betting. Then there was Ohtani-gate.

(May) Mystik Dan wins the Derby in a three-way photo finish. Weather plays the spoiler in a driver’s (Kyle Larson) latest attempt to run both the Indy 500 and Charlotte’s Coca Cola 600 on the same day.

(June) The University of Tampa wins their ninth Division II national baseball championship. The Boston Celtics capture the NBA championship. Birmingham Southern bows out of the Division III baseball tournament on the day after their school closes forever. The last of the great NY centerfielders, Willie Mays dies at age 93.

(July) Steven Stamkos ends a 16-year run with the Bolts. Troubled CNN cuts another 100 jobs.

(August) More bad news for far left media as the St. Pete Times cuts 250 jobs. Week One – first major upset Ga. Tech over FSU. (Turned out that really wasn’t an upset). Gators stumble badly out of the gate.

(September) For the fans of 18 teams - Pitchers and Catchers report – Feb. 10, 2025. In September’s “game of the month” Bama defeats Georgia. And the majors’ all time hit leader Pete Rose dies at age 83.

(October) Bally Sports drops Rays and 10 other teams. Vandy shocks #1 Bama. The Trop is ravaged by Hurricane Milton. Clearwater’s celebrated Capogna’s Dugout closes after 52 years. Dodgers take the World Series from the Yanks.

(November) Rays will move to Tampa. Their broadcast partner returns. Their long term future in the bay area very much in doubt. One Florida head football coach (FAU’s Tom Herman) down, how many to go?

(December) FIU cashiers their head coach and Gus Malzahn barely beats the broom out the door at UCF. Convoluted 12-team college football tourney kicks off. Bill Belichick heads to UNC. The Rays situation remains in flux as 2024 comes to an end. Respected sportscaster Greg Gumbel passes away at age 78.

 

 

FIVE RANTS:

 

For college students, presidents and the media who wildly mischaracterized this spring’s anti-Semitic demonstrations as “freedom of speech.”

Judge Juan Merchan should thank his lucky stars he lives in America. Otherwise, the overseer of May’s kangaroo court would be looking at prison – or worse.

Why does our government have to spend close to a trillion dollars on charging stations for EVs? Thinking back, how much did it have to spend to build gas stations? The answer is none, because private enterprise saw a demand.

To Colorado Secretary of State Gena Griswold whose attempt to derail the 2024 election in Colorado was swatted down 9-0 by SCOTUS. Honorable mention goes to her opposite number in Maine, Shenna Bellows. Hope they enjoyed their 15 minutes of fame.

Joe Biden, who simply lied both before and after his wayward son’s trial, saying he would not pardon him.

 

FIVE RAVES:

 

Hundreds of students and teachers who worked together in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton to make their schools ready to go back in session days or weeks earlier because of their help.

The Philadelphia Phillies for their one million dollar donation to help folks in their spring home to recover from the dual hurricanes.

To Kate Kelly, who retired this year after 33 years as CEO of the Kimberly Home Pregnancy Center, establishing a model of what such an organization should be.

The city of Clearwater and the PSTA for forging a deal to bring a modern transportation center to Court Street - and right next to rail tracks.

Capogna’s Dugout for 52 years of helping Clearwater celebrate events and friendships.

 

Our last song together

 

(We note the 2024 passing of people who made a difference, one way or another, in the bay area with this segment, the title inspired by the poignant Neil Sedaka song interpreted so well by the late Glenn Yarbrough.)

 

He was another one of those people who never seemed to have a bad day. Col. Tom Jones, a long time presence in the Clearwater Salvation Army and devoted Florida Gator, passed away in January.

We also note the passing of Frank Dame, who did so much to expand the Clearwater Marine Science Center while serving as its CEO. Frank was 76.

Palm Harbor’s Jimy Williams passed away in January at age 80.Manager of three major league teams during his career; he also managed to find time to touch the lives of hundreds of youth baseball players in our area.

If you owned a Rolex watch, Gary Zumbaugh was the man you wanted to know. The personable watch expert left us in February at age 77.

(From March) Sometimes bad news takes a while to reach you. Jim Alvis, a short track racing superstar, passed away last October in Dunnellon. Jim, a longtime resident of Pinellas County, was 91.

Bob Dillinger, who had a distinguished career as Pinellas County’s Public Defender, died in March at age 72.

The city of Clearwater suffered a large loss in March with the passing of Mayme Hodges. Mayme was a retired educator, former Clearwater city commissioner and just a beautiful person.

Stew Turley, who led Eckerd Drugs for over thirty years, passed away in February at age 89. Eckerd Drug, under Stew’s leadership, was a company that truly cared for its employees and its community.

Frank Palms was an F-100 pilot during Vietnam and had a distinguished career with GTE while faithfully serving his church. Frank, a Clearwater High grad, was 80 upon his passing in April.

Rich Clemow’s family-run insurance agency was built on a foundation of integrity. The Largo native was also very active in his faith. Rich, who passed away in April, was 85.

Bob Graham, who served Florida both as a governor and U.S. Senator, died at age 87.

Clearwater lost one of its finest in April with the passing of 100-year-old Herb Brown. Herb was a leading businessman and the 1995-96 President of Rotary International.

(May) We note the passing of Basil Scaglione who operated the University Restaurant near USF for 35 years, providing a hearty meal and nice surroundings for many a USF student. Mr. Scaglione was 99.

(June) Katherine “Kappy” Koch passed away in June at age 96. Very active in her community, Kappy, the daughter of Judge and Mrs. Alfred Marshall, was believed to be the oldest living person born at Morton Plant Hospital.

(July) Monte Kiffin, the architect of the Bucs’ famed and oft-imitated Tampa 2 defense, passed away at age 84.

We know this is supposed to be about local folks but, in our lifetime, there was no one whose presence on TV we enjoyed more than Bob Newhart. The man who sold millions of comedy albums in his early career and then starred in two successful sitcoms was 94.

Merrett Stierheim, who had a significant effect on Pinellas County as the City Manager of Clearwater and later Pinellas’ County Administrator, died in July at age 90.

The father of Clearwater’s Chi Chi Rodriguez Youth Foundation passed way in August at age 88. The colorful golf pro was a member of the sport’s Hall of Fame and the first native Puerto Rican to play in the PGA.

Regional sports network and minor league baseball team owner, Mitchell Mick died in August at age 94. A true character that everybody in the sports and radio biz knew and liked.

Reading of the passing of Ardith Rutland reminds us of the impact of her family in banking, shopping and philanthropy in the bay area.

One of the two women behind the beloved Olde Schoolhouse Restaurant in Palm Harbor, Patti Smith, died in September at age 75.

We never had two brothers-in-law, but two brothers. The second of those two, Paul Crisp Jr., passed away in October in Tavares. Paul had a distinguished career in the military followed by another as an educator. Our Saintly Wife’s brother was a friend and mentor.

A major loss on the local sports scene – the unexpected death of USF head basketball coach Amir Abdur-Rahim at age 43 due to complications during a medical procedure. His first year at USF was beyond promising.

We and our Saintly Wife note the passing of the man who was our first family physician, Dr. William P. Williams. The skilled and caring physician died in October at age 92.

Dr. Ralph Frick passed away in November. In addition to being an outstanding oral surgeon, he was the father of the Rotary Club of Clearwater Charities that has distributed thousands of dollars to worthy local charities over the last 35 years.

She was one-half of one of Clearwater’s nicest couples. Marilyn Chesnut passed away at age 93. She and her late husband Tommy were just a pleasure to know.

Rebecca McClimans, who with her husband Greg, oversaw numerous golf courses in the bay area, lost her battle with cancer in November. She was 66.

He was the Athletic Director at Clearwater High School for over two decades. Coach and teacher Harold Reddick passed away in December at age 87.

Bill Wallace, an outstanding basketball player at CHS, local teacher and Clearwater historian passed away in December at age 84.

 

And finally, the best of 2024 from the 5:05 Newsletter:

 

January: Earlier this month, white smoke was seen emanating from the Cracker Barrel in Tuscaloosa signifying that Alabama had selected a new football coach.

March: Following Joe Biden’s visit to Texas last week, residents woke up the morning after to find general election ballot boxes had been placed along the southern border wall that divides parts of the U.S. from Mexico.

April: Russian President Vladimir Putin won a 6th term as president of Russia. Results show 88% voted for Putin, 10% voted for Putin twice, and 2% fell out of windows.

May: Teach a man to fish and he will eat for life. Give him someone else’s fish and he will vote for you.

June: On the eve of our nation’s birthday: This country is changing faster than I prefer. I went to the grocery store for apple pie and hot dogs and they were in the Ethnic Section.

July: Some call it multitasking, but these days it’s just me doing something else until I remember what I was going to do in the first place.

August: Replacing Biden with Harris is like backing up the Titanic and hitting the iceberg again.

September: Illegal aliens released at the border seen wearing “I Voted” stickers.

Some people exercise every day. On the other hand, I’m sitting here watching a TV show I don't like because the remote fell on the floor.

October: If you are better off now than you were four years ago, you are probably here illegally.

December: Been one of those days. My ducks are definitely not in a row. I don't even know where some of them are and I'm pretty sure at least two of them are pigeons.

And our personal favorite of 2024: At the White House Easter Egg Hunt, the kids found 64,000 Easter eggs, 26 classified documents and 30 grams of cocaine.

 

NEXT UP: Shaky predictions; Top heavy USA; Conclave

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