A weekly airing of national and local politics, sports, lifestyles and historical notes from a very politically incorrect viewpoint, Tampa Bay Rants and Raves has been published since 2014. As always, beware - some of what is printed here should not be taken literally.

First thing on our mind:

Welcome back, senseless Eastern Standard Time.

Leading off: We expected more

A year ago this week, the American voting public pulled back on the throttles of the Titanic and saved our nation from the iceberg that was Kamala Harris and Elmer Fudd, her running mate. But pardon us if we’re disappointed. The Trump administration started with such promise, but they have ventured down so many blind alleys that they have lost momentum. Give them an “A” on the illegal immigration issue and Gaza; all this tariff stuff has mucked up what could be a thriving economy and, let’s face it, Bobby Kennedy is a disaster. And while this issue won’t affect any of our incomes, pensions or Social Security, the idea of minting a coin for our 250^th birthday with Trump’s image is beyond stupid. Don, you have a little over three years to go, get back on track.

Tampa Bay, politics and notes:

By good fortune some thirty years ago, we landed in spring training seats next to Bill and Pat Vaughan, two retired educators from Virginia. Thus began a long friendship. Bill, an Army Air Corps veteran, Ford Mustang restorer and a guy who never met a stranger passed away last week at age 92. How we will miss him!

Addendum to our lead article above: the “No Kings” nonsense is just that. At least we know who is making decisions at the White House as opposed to the four years previous.

Idle thought: Is there any difference between a boat loaded with guns and ammunition to kill Americans and a boat loaded with fentanyl that did the same thing to over 20,000 of our citizens last year?

Media note: The newly appointed head of CBS News Bari Weiss, recently asked the presenters of 60 Minutes why the country thinks they are biased. The answer is simple – because they are.

Now here’s an idea your low-tech Humble Blogger could get behind: AirPods that offer, though AI, instant translation. There are currently five languages available with more on the way.

Factoid: Of the 1,789,000 military personnel who served in the Korean War, just over half survive today.

Medical news from the 5:05 Newsletter: Genetic researchers say they have found evidence of alien DNA in humans. I didn’t think much of it until I visited Wal-Mart after midnight and now I believe.

Sports and random notes:

June Lockhart, who starred in the successful TV shows Lassie and Lost in Space, died last week at age 100.

Sports high note: Ray-J to host the 2029 NCAA championship.

Mark Kelly out at LSU, a school like Florida, that doesn’t seem to be able to hire a coach that “meets their standards.” It appears the problem was not exclusively on the sidelines. And Governor Landry, you have more important issues than LSU’s football team.

Yo, Trailblazers, nice job of vetting Chauncey Billups.

Six of the seven Florida teams in The Athletic 136 tumbled last week with only idle UF maintaining its #40 spot. The others Miami down two to #8; the Bulls fall eleven spots to #29; FSU dropped a spot to #56; UCF was down three to #80. FIU and FAU remain sub 100 at #107 and #109 respectively. Indiana stays on top and UMass continues to anchor.

Ridiculous fact of the week: Caitlin Clark makes less than an NFL practice player.

Great way to start – Florida interim coach draws nationally ranked Georgia in his debut.

Someone we’d like to meet: Joe Simpson, the no-nonsense, old school radio commentator for the Atlanta Braves.

Now that postseason is over, it’s time to ship all those defective PitchCom devices back to China and go back to one finger (fastball) two fingers (breaking ball) or three fingers (changeup or splitter) which seemed to work well for over a hundred years.

Netflix joins the MLB broadcast mix next year, further watering down the baseball package you pay for each season. Among other things, Netflix will broadcast the single Opening Day matchup between the Yanks and Giants.

You’ve lived in Clearwater a long time if you danced the night away at Studio 19.

One last thing: powerful Dodgers, luck prevail

The powerful LA Dodgers, with a great deal of help, came back from the brink to become the first team in a quarter century to win back to back World Series titles. Barely avoiding a sweep on their home turf due to an umpire meltdown in game three; followed by a fortuitous ninth inning in game six, the richest team in baseball rode Yosinobu Yamamoto and some clutch hitting to their ninth World Series championship. Their touted offense disappeared with not a player hitting over .269 as compared to four Blue Jay regulars whacking the ball at a .348 pace or higher. While the Blue Jays go home to lick their wounds, the Dodgers, with some obvious flaws, will spend megabucks to correct them in the offseason. They are already the favorite for the 2026 crown.

UP NEXT: Cranberries; “A” date; Best football venues

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