This week’s dining suggestion (see back story in Jan. 1 RANTS) we are coming up on the time of year when seating gets a little tighter at our favorite restaurants. But the Farmer Boy Restaurant on Drew just east of Hercules always seems to have an open table or two. Very good breakfasts and lunches and if you’ve never sampled their incredible Greek salad dressing, buy a bottle and take it home.

Latvala for governor? Not so fast

At the outset, we acknowledge Jack Latvala has done a lot of good things for Pinellas County. Some critics would say too much as he is no stranger to political pork. Jack is a big man on campus in Tallahassee helming one of the Senate’s most powerful committees. But a large presence in Tallahassee doesn’t necessarily translate to statewide acceptance – even recognition by the average voter. Here at home, he has been on the wrong side of a few issues, notably, the ill-conceived Greenlight Pinellas initiative. And, as many will tell you, he is right up here with Trump as a bully. It’s sad to watch a veteran politician cast about for a new job when term limited out (a good reason to repeal term limits, but a subject for another column). We just don’t see a good match for Jack Latvala and the governor’s race. We hope he will take a step back and see that as well.

Tampa Bay, politics and stuff:

1. So Charlie Crist’s millionaire wife was cut three or four checks totaling around $7,000 for her work in his congressional campaign? You’ve got to be kidding. Already some of his liberal supporters are starting to sour on the one month U.S. rep.

2. Why no comment on the latest downtown Clearwater study – price $400,000? Because we’ve seen this movie before and like Gone with the Wind, it always ends the same – and then is added to a shelf full of similar reports.

3. The Sunset Point 19 Shopping Center is a hot mess right now – virtually impossible to get into. Several empty storefronts. But the good news is Bed, Bath and Beyond is not going away. It will actually expand in the space formerly occupied by Publix. And it will be joined by their sister store, World Market along with another new store to Clearwater – Five Below.

4. Some self-righteous Pinellas County mom was all over the news a couple weeks ago blasting Amazon because her six-year-old saw some graphic images while searching on line for some innocuous item. This is so symptomatic of today’s society blaming someone else for your lack of parenting skills i.e. letting a six-year-old go on the internet without parental supervision.

5 It’s one of the most wonderful times of year – Girl Scout cookie time. Pass the Thin Mints, please.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. Quote of the week: 'We expect to be playing games in October,’ - Ray’s manager Kevin Cash. Frankly, unless there is marked improvement, many folks expect Kevin Cash to be seeking other employment in October.

7. Interesting landing spot for Bubba the Love Sponge – 820 AM. While the station has 50,000 watts, it has a very directional signal making it hard to hear in certain parts of the bay area. After dark (and before sunrise) it drops its power to 1000 watts. Some toasters have more wattage.

8. Moonlighting, Morning and We’re in this Love Together – just three great songs of many from jazz-oriented vocalist Al Jarreau who died last week at age 76.

9. Looking at today’s tattered jeans a lot of young people wear and paid for in that condition would make P.T. Barnum wish he had been a clothier rather than a circus impresario.

10. You’ve lived in the bay area a long time if you shopped at department stores bearing the names Gayfers, Iveys or JByrons.

A no-brainer for the City of Clearwater

If the city of Clearwater gets nothing else from the downtown study mentioned above, they need to pay attention to a line from the report regarding the parcel of downtown land controlled by the Clearwater Marine Aquarium: "redevelopment uses meet the community's vision and productively contribute to downtown”. It’s no secret that the Church of Scientology is also eyeing the property and anything the church would do with the property does not meet the criteria set out by the study’s authors. It’s time for the city that seems to have enough money for a $200,000 rebranding campaign or $700 to spend on clerk’s desk chairs to step up and buy this property before it slips away. The future usage can be sorted out later, but the property needs to revert to city hands. Keep your eye on this one.

SNEAK PEEK AT NEXT WEEK: GOODBYE TO CHANNEL 16

Prior to this week’s dining recommendation, a correction to our comments about the Ozona Pig a few weeks back. Their go-to irresistible dessert is not peach cobbler but another southern delicacy – banana pudding as we were reminded during a recent visit. Now, this week’s dining suggestion: (see back story in Jan. 1 RANTS) our kids’ favorite special occasion place – Outback. It’s hard to beat a good steak and, of course, a bloomin’ onion.

The art of selective reporting

First, to our knowledge, we have never met the director of the Pinellas County Construction Licensing Board, Rod Fisher. And all the local newspaper has written about him and his organization might, emphasis might, be true. But here's the rub. What is attributed to the board headed by Fisher can be found in numerous other county and city organizations across the bay area - supervisors playing favorites with certain employees, office romances and much more. But it goes unreported. It's kind of selective reporting - for what reason we don't know. It could be old scores to settle or "maybe we can get some sort of award" for this particular story. There can be numerous reasons why some things like this get coverage and others don't. We're just not sure the reasons are always honorable.

Tampa Bay, politics and stuff:

1. Taxi companies want TIA to change the way they charge the cabbies fees. As it now stands, they are charged a modest amount for every passenger who lands at TIA. Cab companies want to base it on actual fares carried out of the airport. There’s a reason the fees are set the way they are. The alternative would make it way too easy to “cook the books”.

2. Suffice to say that this blog and U.S. Rep. Kathy (still trading on Mom’s name) Castor and U.S. Senator Bill (empty suit) Nelson seldom agree on anything. But we appreciate their reaching across the aisle with Republicans in an effort to stop the ridiculous government proposals that would crush the Tampa cigar industry and put hundreds out of work.

3. Quote of the week from ultra liberal Senator Elizabeth Warren: I will not be silent while the Republicans rubber stamp an AG who will never stand up to the@POTUS when he breaks thelaw. True, unless POTUS happened to be a Democrat. Warren was notably silent on our most recent AG’s airport meeting with Bill Clinton. Now she is being portrayed as some sort of martyr by left wing pundits like Gail Collins and others.

4. Just once on Fox News Sunday, Meet the Press or 60 Minutes, when the host says “welcome to (fill in the show)”, wouldn’t you like to see the guest be honest and say “I really don’t want to be here”.

5. Ah, fan day at the Tampa Bay Rays. You could get an autograph from a Rays player if you are a season ticket holder. But you don’t have be a season ticket holder to buy one of their new $40 spring training caps. And we wonder why the Rays are the weakest draw in baseball.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. Add us to the long list of people who at 28-3 said “the heck with this, I’m going to get some shuteye”.

7. Word floating around major league baseball is that the Marlins have been sold for approximately $1.6 billion. There are two big howevers – (1) most reputable sources value the team at just slightly more than half that amount and (2) the purported purchaser is a little light in liquid assets -something that major league baseball looks at very closely.

8. Some push back on last week’s (RANTS – Feb. 5) list of five managers we would hire in that there was no mention of former Ray - Joe Madden, World Series winner. First, you or I could have managed the Cubs roster last year and won. And Joe is just a little too kooky for this baseball traditionalist. And perhaps we should have given some recognition to the Yank’s Joe Girardi who does a very good job under a huge microscope.

9. Our Rants and Raves focus group, comprised of four old, cranky people, made a recommendation over a year ago that a trap door spring open when a counting-challenged grocery patron tried to have the 11^th item rung up in the ten-item aisle. They now have another astute idea - a trap door that swallows up the entire car of someone who brings a transaction requiring more than three minutes to the drive-in teller.

10. You’ve lived in the bay area a long time if you ever dined at the Careless Navigator on Treasure Island – a first class restaurant.

This Bud is not for us

We guess Budweiser thinks they are off the hook for their commercial that continued to fan the fires of the immigration issue during the Super Bowl. Their explanation is the commercial was conceived long before the controversy over illegal immigrants. That is like saying we were already in the North Atlantic when we spotted the iceberg, so we did nothing. The company that used to warm our hearts with Clydesdales and spotted dogs should have put the brakes on the controversial commercial and perhaps substituted the ads America looked forward to each year. We are not beer drinkers but if we were, we would never touch a can of their sugar-laced alcohol again. This is what happens when an American company is gobbled up by foreign interests. And a coda to this story – thanks to Synovus, an American banking company based in Columbus, Ga., for including a Clydesdale in their commercial.

SNEAK PEEK AT NEXT WEEK – GOVERNOR JACK - WILL FLORIDIANS SALUTE THAT FLAG?

We open this week with yet another dining suggestion (see back story in Jan. 1 RANTS). Journey to West Hillsborough and Lois in Tampa (the closest location) and treat yourself to a great Cobb Salad at Zaxby’s. Their cookie milkshake will help offset the good effect of eating a salad. Recent good news, there will finally be a Zaxby’s in Pinellas – on Ulmerton Road, we’re told.

Solid idea from the PSTA

We are quick to admit we are not the biggest booster of the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA). Their ill-fated Greenlight campaign and its related misinformation schemes were beyond the pale. But now, PSTA is the father of an incredibly good (we might even say great) idea. Under the plan, already run on an experimental basis with good success, transit riders will be able to get a lift from the bus stop closest to their home for right around a dollar. The “final mile” will be provided by Lyft, Uber, a taxi company or, for the disabled, one of the county’s wheelchair transport companies. The plan eliminates a long walk for the elderly and disabled from their home to the bus stop – often a disincentive for potential riders. It seems to have promise. We’ll keep an eye on it.

Tampa Bay, politics and stuff:

1. A recent snippet from that little wordsmith of cuteness, Daniel Ruth: “the Cold War between the Oval Office fabulists and the purveyors of facts will never thaw”. We assume by purveyor of facts he’s referring to his own paper along with The Washington Post and The New York Times. And we assume he wrote that with a straight face.

2. Quote of the Week: “A judge who likes every outcome he reaches is very likely a bad judge” – America’s next Supreme Court Justice, Judge Neil Gorsuch.

3. By the way, nice pick Mr. President, even the far left is searching for bullets to fire and can find none.

4. Two really good people passed away in the last ten days. First, we note the passing of longtime acquaintance Fred Brown at age 89. An area businessman for decades, Rotarian and traveler, Fred saw one of his fondest wishes come true last fall when his beloved Chicago Cubs finally won the World Series for the only time in his life. Second, Pinellas County lost a dedicated jurist and civic leader with the passing of Skip Schafer. Skip succumbed to cancer at age 69.

5. You’ve lived in Clearwater a long time if you purchased books at the original Sandy Book Store on Court Street at Osceola.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. A few weeks back (RANTS – Jan. 15), we reported that most observers felt the Rays left money on the table in the Drew Smyly trade. Now, most of those same experts are saying the Rays got the best of the Dodgers in the Logan Forsythe trade which netted uber-prospect Jose De Leon.

7. Our first pre-season baseball predictions: a team that made the playoffs last year that won’t in ‘17 – Toronto Blue Jays who are losing a huge part of their lineup - and the team that missed the playoffs that won’t this year – the St. Louis Cards who have missed the playoffs two years in a row just once in this century – and have added a guy who wins wherever he plays – Dexter Fowler. Our official predictions will come at the end of spring training from the nearly world famous Achmed Walled (pronounced wall-ED).

8. The football situation in San Francisco is getting more and more bizarre. John Lynch is a great guy but a GM - probably not. And Kyle Shanahan seems to be taking the coaching post pretty much because he missed out on the job he really wanted – Denver. Wish he would have waited another year for a better opportunity than the crazy farm on the left coast.

9. ESPN’s dropping of The Sports Reporters is pretty much a mercy killing. It had grown old and tired – much like Pardon the Interruption which should be next on the chopping block.

10. Memo to Ashton Kutcher: Contact us when you find meaningful work.

Baseball – five guys we’d want to talk to if we owned a MLB franchise

So we cashed a really, really big lottery ticket and rather than invest it wisely, we decide to buy a major league baseball team. Here are five guys we would try to persuade to come manage our team. First call would be to Bruce Bochy, a future Hall of Famer who has done a lot with a little managing the Giants. Once Bruce turned us down, next call to Buck Showalter who wins everywhere he goes – again like Bochy, usually with less than overwhelming talent. Third call goes to Terry Francona, just a solid baseball man, who could just as easily be the first or second call. Then, hello KC is Ned Yost home? His run with the ordinary talent on the Royals has been impressive. Surely, one of those four would say yes; if not the next long distance call would also be to Missouri and the steady Mike Matheny of the Cards. Note that three of the five were major league catchers. Francona and Showalter were both first basemen/outfielders, but we will overlook that.

SNEAK PEEK AT NEXT WEEK – THE ART OF SELECTIVE REPORTING

As is the custom this year (see back story in Jan. 1 Rants), we open with a dining suggestion – no, these are not paid plugs – not that we would be above that. This week, rather than a meal – a late night treat. It’s hard to beat the many flavors of Blizzards at DQ on Gulf to Bay Blvd, the north end of Clearwater Beach or other locales.

Another large slice of Americana gone

For a family on Florida’s Suncoast, it went like this: Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Eve and Day and a few days later, on to the Bayfront Center for the Ringling Brothers circus. The Bayfront Center has been gone for over ten years, but the circus lived on until the startling news recently that it was closing down in just a few months. Changing attitudes, a lengthy suit by animal rights advocates (in which the circus prevailed) and escalating costs have robbed our next generation of something so integral to growing up in America.

Tampa Bay, politics and stuff:

1. Related to our lead story, one of the animal activists seemed rather pleased to take credit for her organization putting about 500 people out of work. May your household be visited by the same plague, madam.

2. Liberal editorialists bemoaned the fact that Donald Trump’s inaugural speech didn’t sound like that of his predecessors. Hello! The electorate spoke loudly that they didn’t want a clone of Trump’s predecessors.

3. A lot of folks seemed impressed by the number of people who showed up for Washington’s women’s march. Much more impressive is the number of women (and men) who could not choose whether to show up because their lives were ended prematurely by abortionists.

4. In a related note, it’s estimated that at least 20 percent of we the electorate based our presidential vote on the current (and coming) vacancies at the Supreme Court. This week comes the moment of truth as President Trump announces his nominee. The individual needs to be conservative and able to be confirmed by the Senate – a tall order.

5. You’ve lived in the bay area a long time if you woke up in the morning to guys like Paul Hayes (WSUN), Scott Farrell (WFLA), Rick Morgan (WDAE), Harry Lytle (WTAN) or Jim Stanley (WLCY).

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. She was the consummate girl next door – America’s sweetheart. With a shadow of a tear, we say goodbye to Mary Tyler Moore, age 80.

7. In addition to our dismay at Lee Smith again being rejected by Hall of Fame (RANTS – last week) voters, we were stunned that Yankee catcher Jorge Posada did not generate the required five per cent to stay on the ballot. The six time All-Star was one of the two or three best catchers of his era and while not a sure thing in our eyes, drawing less than five percent is an out and out insult to a fine career.

8. We were slow getting around to this book (it was a best seller in 2015), but if you are a 20^th century history enthusiast, get a copy of Erik Larsen’s Dead Wake. It’s an outstanding account of the sinking of the Lusitania which proceeded the U.S. entry into World War I and one of a dozen or so most outstanding history books we’ve encountered.

9. As our dear, sweet daughter would remind you, a significant day is just two weeks away – February 14. In her mind, it has nothing to do with Valentine’s Day. It’s the day pitchers and catchers report – proving she was raised well.

10. Our Rants and Raves focus group (comprised of four, old, cranky people) have selected their most annoying words or phrases in the English language. They are “you know”, “whatever”, “it is what it is” and “quick question” (they’re never quick and they are never singular).

USF’s Antiqua gone; is Harlan next?

A little less than three years ago (RANTS – May 4, 2014), we welcomed Mark Harlan as USF’s new athletic director. Most of us looked the other way when he stumbled badly on his first major hire – basketball coach Steve Masiello who, unfortunately, did not have a college degree despite a resume that indicated otherwise. The subsequent hire, Orlando Antiqua, was excused from his duties earlier this month. Now it would seem USF has made a good hire in Charlie Strong to helm the football program. Strong had better pan out and the basketball hire also needs to be good or the next vacancy in the athletic department may be the AD position.

SNEAK PEEK AT NEXT WEEK – THE PSTA’S SOLID IDEA

Continuing our dining suggestions (back story in Jan. 1 Rants) we open this week with a BBQ suggestion at one of the best such joints south of eastern Carolina. The Ozona Pig off Alternate 19 is a little hard to find but well worth the search. Good pork and a way too tempting peach cobbler. Closed on Sundays.

The devil’s in the details regarding medical pot

“It is incumbent on the qualified ordering physician to follow the law when diagnosing patients and determining if medical marijuana is an appropriate treatment”. That pronouncement came from the Florida Department of Health. Pretty much the same language exists for other narcotics, and we all know how well that has worked out over the years in the Sunshine State with folks flowing across state borders to see their friendly physician, some in downtown Clearwater, for their drug of choice. Florida’s oversight better be pretty specific and pretty strict with offending physicians otherwise, it will be Alice’s Restaurant.

Tampa Bay, politics and stuff:

1. Here’s a thought regarding the anticipated pot-related epidemic in Florida. In exchange for the privilege of using medical marijuana, you forfeit your driving privileges thereby protecting the rest of us on the road. Hey, if you’re that “sick”, you probably should not be behind the wheel of a car anyway.

2. Post inaugural factoid: U.S. Rep John Lewis of Georgia made a big thing of skipping the inauguration of Donald Trump along with several other left wing legislators. It isn’t the first time for the congressman who has skipped others. This seems to be less principled than just being a sore loser when things don’t go your way. By the way, only two of the boycotters are from Florida – Rep. Alcee Hastings who is somewhat to the left of the Castro brothers and freshman Rep. Darren Soto, who may still be trying to find his seat rather than actually boycotting the event.

3. In a related note, it has been asked more than once over the past week: “What would have been the media reaction if an equal amount of GOP legislators had boycotted the original Obama inauguration”? As one pundit correctly opined, “Their heads would have blown off”.

4. Congratulations to former Pinellas County commissioner Steve Seibert selected as executive director of the Florida Humanities Council – the latest step in his life of service to this county and this state.

5. You’ve lived in the bay area a long time if you owned a Blue Boy power mower made by P & E Machinery in Largo. They were virtually indestructible.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. A tip of our baseball cap to Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines and Ivan Rodriguez on their election to Cooperstown. All three were on our very unofficial ballot a couple weeks back (RANTS – Jan. 8). We still can’t understand the voters’ reluctance on Lee Smith, one of the four or five most dominant closers in history. This ballot was Smith’s 15^th and final appearance – a shame.

7. Spring training news – Braves to move from Disney World to North Port. It could have been St. Pete – thanks, Rays.

8. Every year Tampa Bay’s most successful coach, Jon Gruden, is the subject of a coaching rumor. This year it was the Indianapolis Colts. The rumor went nowhere – good for Jon and good for us the viewers.

9. This just in from the 5:05 Newsletter: Note: To all the foreign countries that contributed to the Clinton Foundation: There will not be a rebate.

10. Just what is the point of Fox Network’s Red Eye? For a network that does a good job of counterbalancing outlets like NBC and CNN, the show is an embarrassment.

Sports voices we’ll never forget

There was a piece in the news the first of the month about 88-year-old Keith Jackson. First, we were shocked that Jackson was 88 and then self-persuaded to write this piece about the five voices in sports that will remain with us always. Jackson was the preeminent college football announcer. It wasn’t a Saturday afternoon without his voice booming into your living room. Prior to Jackson, there was Lindsey Nelson – every bit as identifiable as Keith. In football and baseball and probably six other sports, there was Curt Gowdy. In the sixties and seventies, a sport wasn’t worth watching unless Gowdy had a role in it – such a pro and so versatile. Last fall (RANTS – Oct. 9, 2016), we did a piece on the gold standard of baseball broadcasters – Vin Scully. You didn’t have to be a Dodger fan to love Vin Scully. I guess you did have to be a Braves’ fan to enjoy Skip Caray; his acerbic way and repartee with fellow announcers Don Sutton, Pete van Wieran and Joe Simpson made watching the often awful Braves a pure joy. We can still hear and cherish all five of those voices.

SNEAK PEEK AT NEXT WEEK – A SLICE OF AMERICANA GONE

We continue our 2017 dining suggestions (back story in Jan. 1 Rants) with a question – how long has it been since you have been to the granddaddy of finer restaurants in Clearwater – Bob Heilman’s Beachcomber on Mandalay on Clearwater Beach? Their famous fried chicken, hot brown and incredible grouper are just three favorites off a great menu.

After eight years of Obama, the best we can say: we survived

For approximately fifty percent of the American population, there will be a collective sigh of relief this Friday when the Obama administration comes to an inglorious end. A corrupt Justice Department, sanctuary cities, mass pardons of felons, incredible foreign policy failings and, of course, the fatally flawed Obamacare. This is the legacy America’s 44^th President leaves behind. Donald Trump is admittedly an unknown quantity but if he delivers on about 25 percent of his promises, America should recover nicely over the next four years.

Tampa Bay, politics and stuff:

1. Sanctuary cities mentioned above are in the crosshairs of the Trump administration with the cutoff of federal funds looming for those municipalities that do not cooperate with federal immigration authorities. But it is a little known fact that several Florida counties serve as sanctuaries including Pinellas and Hillsborough.

2. A cold front last weekend threw a bit of a damper on beach activities for those attending the national championship. But Clearwater and the bay area had a great run during the months of December and early January.

3. The temporary four-way stop at Ft. Harrison and Drew last week reminded us of a thought expressed by one of Clearwater’s city council people – that there is absolutely no need for a traffic light a block west at Drew and Osceola.

4. We are embarrassingly late in noting the December passing of Bronson Thayer, a major player in banking and other businesses on both sides of Tampa Bay. Thayer’s biggest role on the Pinellas side was oversight of the venerable Bank of Clearwater. He was 77.

5. Guys, you’ve lived in the bay area a long time if you bought a shirt or pair of slacks at Fremacs.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. Congratulations to Meryl Streep on her lifetime achievement award from the Golden Globes. Madam, you are a very skilled actress but nobody outside of Hollywood gives a damn about your political views.

7. Yet another “borrow” from the always informative 5:05 Newsletter: Carrot Top First Headliner to Agree to Perform at Trump Inauguration. There was no word in the newsletter about Gallagher’s availability.

8. Consensus around major league baseball is the Rays did not get nearly enough for lefty Drew Smyly.

9. With the Chargers relocation, a lot of noise is also being made about the Oakland Raiders possibly relocating to Las Vegas. It seems like a match made in heaven, renegade team in a renegade city.

10. Our Rants and Raves focus group (comprised of four old, cranky people) wonders why Gen X and Millennials never carry a single dime with them and go into full panic mode when they encounter a situation where they can’t use plastic.

MLB, NFL, NASCAR, NCAA: 5 things we would to like to see in 2017

First, we’d like to see the newest, longest World Series drought end and the Indians win the Series. Second, a healthy return to auto racing by Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Third, it’d be nice to see the Rays and Braves become competitive again. Fourth, we’d wish the same for a once proud football franchise – the Cleveland Browns. And just for kicks, we’d like to see a sixth or seventh seed win the NCAA Basketball Championship.

SNEAK PEEK AT NEXT WEEK – CURT, KEITH, LINDSEY, SKIP AND VIN – FIVE MEMORABLE VOICES

Continuing our opening dining suggestions for 2017 (see the back story in last week’s RANTS), we stay in a breakfast mode this week with Clearwater’s Wildflower Café on Fort Harrison Avenue– a bit on the pricey side but with some not so mundane breakfast specialties including a couple daily quiches and occasional offering of fried green tomatoes.

Kiran Patel: Clearwater could use another six like him

Health care magnate Kiran Patel is obviously a disciple of urban planner Daniel Burnham who famously proclaimed “make no small plans”. Patel, like Burnham, does not think small. His Wyndham Hotel on Clearwater Beach (Presidential Suites at 4K per night we’re told) is about to open for business. Now moving on from that not so small project, Patel plans to convert the former Clearwater Christian College site into a center for osteopathic learning. We like so many Clearwater residents, hated to see the college close its doors but Patel’s proposal could create a world class draw to the magnificent site on Tampa Bay.

Tampa Bay, politics and stuff:

1. What a mini-season for the bay area! In addition to the traditional holiday visits to families, we’ve had the St. Pete and Outback Bowls and, this week, the national championship game - tourism on steroids.

2. You need to tip your cap to the crew at Raymond James Stadium. Three major games within ten days – quite an accomplishment.

3. Word on the street is a new buyer for the old 1100 Building at MLK and Cleveland is waiting in the wings to be the building’s savior. Pardon us if we remain skeptical.

4. There are only a few minor elections in 2017, but some big contests coming up in 2018 – governor and U.S. senator among others. The governor’s race promises to be crowded but the best thing the Republican Party can do is to focus on ridding the state of the empty suit we’ve been saddled with in the senate for the past 16 years.

5. You’ve lived in the bay area (or anywhere else) for a long time if that big mahogany cabinet in your living room with the small black and white picture bore names like Motorola, Philco, RCA, Westinghouse or Zenith.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. The Hall of Fame announces their new entrants next week. If we had a ballot (and we, of course, don’t), it would include Jeff Bagwell, Vlad Guerrero, Mike Mussina, Tim Raines, Pudge Rodriguez and Lee Smith.

7. In a related note, the next three HOF ballots each include a slam dunk first ballot guy – Chipper Jones (2018), Mo Rivera (2019) and Derek Jeter (2020).

8. Alan Alda and Wayne Rogers were the lead actors in M*A*S*H but the show featured an extremely strong supporting cast, among them Jamie Farr (Klinger), Edward Winter (Col. Flagg) and Father Mulcahy portrayed so well by William Christopher. One of TV’s most famous priests died last week at age 84..

9. Upon further review: a few weeks back (RANTS – Dec. 11, 2016), we mentioned that former USF and now Oregon head coach Willie Taggart would not have cupcakes like Cincinnati and UConn on his schedule. It appears that Southern Utah and Wyoming will take that role next year – but both teams were .500 or better albeit in weaker conferences. Sandwiched in between the two “should wins” is Big Ten power Nebraska fresh off a nine-win season.

10. You would think Charter Communications could have come up with a better name to replace Bright House than Spectrum – which sounds like a nefarious organization in a James Bond flick. That being said, they have a couple tech guys named Dennis and Jim who should win some sort of Nobel Prize for their expertise and patience with low tech folks like most of us baby boomers.

NFL Notes:

We’re sorry to see Gary Kubiak, a solid NFL coach, leave the sidelines but given his health history over the past five years, it’s understandable although a big loss for the Broncos. As if their quarterback didn’t create enough drama this season, the 49ers are looking for their fifth coach in just over two years – firing Chip Kelly after just one season along with the GM to boot. In Chicago, the Bears apparently are sticking with John Fox to oversee their complete unraveling. The Bears are 9-23 in Fox’s two seasons in the Windy City. Meanwhile, the New England Patriots have had the same coach for 16 seasons and the Pittsburgh Steelers have had one less coach (three) than the above mentioned 49ers over the past 47 years!

SNEAK PEEK AT NEXT WEEK: GETTING READY TO BREATH A SIGH OF RELIEF

A new feature for 2017 honoring and stealing from Tom McEwen

Tom McEwen was the finest sports columnist to ever appear in a Tampa Bay area newspaper. The Tampa Tribune scribe did so much to further the sports environment in the bay area. One of the charming things about Tom was the way he lead off his morning column with a breakfast suggestion. It went something like this: As you enjoy a pair of extra-large eggs, soft scrambled along with three crisp strips of bacon and a glass of 100 percent Florida orange juice – at which point he would launch into his column. During 2017, we are leading off the blog each week with a dining suggestion, some homemade, but most of the dine out or bring in variety as a tribute to one of our nation’s best and our own Tom McEwen. This week’s appears below; the rest will be just under the dateline each week. Enjoy.

As mentioned above, in an obvious steal from and bow to a great journalist – the Tribune’s Tom McEwen, we are beginning each of our 2017 blogs with a dining suggestion. To kick off the new year, knowing most of us overspent during the holidays, how about a low cost breakfast at McDonalds? We find their Egg McMuffin quite enjoyable if not all that healthy.

Tampa Bay, politics and stuff:

1. As mentioned before, we agree with liberal columnist John Romano about once a year. Starting the year off right, we do concur with his opinion that Derby Lane would make the most sense for a new Rays’ stadium. Actually, it was the first choice of many in the late 80s until some backroom deals that would make a Chicago politician blush located it in south St. Pete.

2. Welcome home from Hawaii, Mr. President. Not sure why you needed a vacation when in just a couple weeks, you’ll have all the free time you want. Yippee!

3. A left wing legal think tank recently criticized Florida’s laws on felons voting. Their convoluted arguments made little sense but their report offered one scary fact – there are 1.6 million felons living in Florida – that’s one in twelve of our approximate 20 million population.

4. Did you see that commercial during the holidays with about a dozen out of work actors (man, does Loretta Swit look awful) urging electors to ignore we the people’s wishes and vote for Hollywood’s choice for President? Geez.

5. You’ve lived in Clearwater a long time if you ever dined at the Oyster Bar.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. Our farewell to Wayne Rogers last week reminded us of our favorite M*A*S*H episode titled Adam’s Ribs. The show touched so many ex-GI’s who when stationed overseas, in addition to their loved ones, also pined for a certain taste of home – for us it was the legendary Italian hoagie from the Philly Hoagie Shop on Cleveland Street. The machinations of Trapper John (Rogers) and Hawkeye (Alan Alda) to get some precious Chicago ribs to Korea created one of the finest half hours in television history.

7. A thought from Dr. Don Ardell’s Ardell Wellness Report: Living a long life appeals to everyone; getting old? Not so much to anyone.

8. It’s the last week of the NFL regular season which means Black Monday is coming. One name that will be mentioned as a potential head coach after the dust has settled is Lion’s offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter. He has turned the Lions around and what a joy it would be to have the NFL’s greatest name as a head coach.

9. Recent headline in “Florida’s Best Newspaper” – Allegiant shares ValuJet blueprint. Gosh, where have we heard that before? - here over six months ago (RANTS – May 8, 2016).

10. Those of you who think “fake news” is a new phenomenon obviously are not long time readers of the 5:05 Newsletter. Here’s one of their latest pieces of breaking news: Reports say former vice president Dan Quayle may be in line for a position in the Trump Administration. I’m thinking maybe, “Spelling Zar.”

Time to get running events off Clearwater Beach

The latest foot race on Clearwater Beach may have been the last straw. As usual, the race gummed up traffic on and off the beach during the busy holiday season. Worse, this time, December 17, a confusing pattern of traffic cones resulted in a head on collision on the race course. These races bring hardly any “bed nights” to the city and overall very little economic impact unless you count perhaps a post-race energy drink or cup of coffee. The resulting traffic mess plays hob with businesses on Clearwater Beach. We’ve spent millions of taxpayer dollars on various trails throughout the county. We need to use them and avoid the stress on the singular connector to Clearwater Beach.

SNEAK PEEK AT NEXT WEEK – ONE ENCOURAGING CLEARWATER PROJECT – ONE NOT SO

As 2016 draws to a close, a few of our favorite things from this year

Tampa Bay, politics and stuff:

1. In this election year, a thought from one of our greatest Presidents: When offered corporate positions at large salaries after leaving the Oval Office, he declined, stating, "You don't want me. You want the office of the President, and that doesn't belong to me. It belongs to the American people and it's not for sale" - Harry S. Truman – how we miss you, Harry.

2. Within a week, the FBI announces it has concluded its investigations of Hillary Clinton - and D.B. Cooper - so many punchlines, so little space.

3. You’ve lived in Clearwater a long time if your economics teachers were Emmett Lowery at Clearwater High and/or Scott McCuskey at St. Pete Junior College’s Drew Street campus. What a lot of people didn’t know about these two great men was that Lowery was the successful head basketball coach at the University of Tennessee before semi-retiring to Clearwater. And McCuskey was a World War II Naval ace with more kills than any other pilot at the Battle of Midway.

4. Florida Highway Patrol reports that crashes at the 22 intersections in Tampa monitored by red light cameras have risen 15 per cent since the camera’s installations. Folks, do we need any more proof that these things are nothing more than a Waldo-like revenue source?

5. A tip of our Rants and Raves cap to Gulfport – the latest bay area city to realize the folly of red light cameras. The only question is – why did a city of 12,000 people and about 12 streets need them in the first place?

6. (Prior to David Jolly returning to the House race) Wouldn’t it have been a hoot to have Marco Rubio rent a condo in downtown St. Pete thereby establishing residency and run for David Jolly’s Congressional seat? Nah, no one would buy that. Oh wait…

7. Two things that dominated the Pinellas (and Tampa Bay) landscape for years that have become endangered species – bowling alleys and golf courses.

8. We understand it doesn’t affect world peace or anything, but we’re dumbfounded that our Florida Legislature couldn’t come up with a “fair to all” piece of legislation regarding Lyft and Uber. We will continue to have a couple dozen jurisdictions enforcing a couple dozen dissimilar laws regarding the ride providers.

9. Quote of the week: “Never underestimate what a little free food and drink can buy you” – Anon.

10. Ultra-liberal Supreme Justice Ruth Ginsberg recently alluded to moving to New Zealand if Donald Trump were elected. Let’s say you set up GoFundMe account for her move – what would it take to raise the necessary funds – about a minute and a half?

11. Remember when you needed something done at work (vacation, leave etc.) you went to the personnel department? Now Pasco County’s school system has a Human Capital Partner. Who comes up with this stuff?

12. The new Crabby Bill’s at the Clearwater Marina is scheduled to open in March. That will be just short of ten months start to finish or about the same amount of time it took for the Mexican restaurant in the Marina to pick out window treatments.

13. We remember hearing several elected officials on the Metropolitan Planning Organization circa 2000 correctly predicting that making Ft. Harrison Avenue single lane would turn it into a parking lot. Their objections fell on deaf ears. It might be time to revisit that decision.

14. (From September) Just an idle thought: if Hillary Clinton is elected president, will the Clintons return the furniture they took from the White House when they left in 2001?

15. Ayn Rand quote worth pondering: “When the law no longer protects you from the corrupt but protects the corrupt from you – you know your nation is doomed”.

16. (From October): Oh yes, there’s a presidential election, too. Don’t know about you, but for the past twenty years or so, we’ve just pulled the lever for whomever Barbra Streisand thinks we should vote for (see disclaimer at top of blog).

17. (From November) - A not so outrageous prediction: whoever prevails in the presidential race this week will be our nation’s first one-term president in two decades.

18. Was anybody surprised by the recent findings that I-4 is the most dangerous interstate highway in the country?

19. From November: Unofficial election results show Donald Trump losing the District of Columbia by an astounding 93 to 4 percent. That speaks volumes of what this presidential race was all about.

20. (From September) Quote of the week (maybe the year): “I admire Hillary Clinton for her honesty” - Charlie Crist in his televised debate with Rep. David Jolly.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

1. In this, let’s say unusual, election year a thought from free thinker Robert Ingersoll circa 1892, “Each side would be glad to defeat the other if it could do it without electing its own candidate.”

2. Our Rants and Raves focus group (comprised of three old, cranky people) when asked to come up with the worst ideas of the last half century listed social media, subprime loans and New Coke (margin of error 50 per cent or so).

3. Have a suspicion that some of these folks pounding the desk about privacy rights in the Apple debacle are the same folks we hear going blah, blah, blah on their cellphones on the sidewalks and in the aisles of the supermarket for everyone to hear.

4. Here’s something to put in the “futures” file. If all else fails and the Rays leave the bay area, we’d put our money not on Montreal or Charlotte or Mexico City but on San Antonio, Texas, a sports hotbed with 1.3 million people and lots of disposable income.

5. Idle observation: if you’ve shopped for a new bike recently you, no doubt, have noticed they cost more than your first car. And, of course, if you’ve shopped for a new car lately, you find they cost more than your first house.

6. Our Rants and Raves focus group (comprised of three old, cranky people) feels the top three ideas of the past half-century are the cellphone , the IPod and, with many thanks to Al Gore, the internet.

7. Again, a piece of brilliance from the 20-year-old, but always fresh 5:05 Newsletter: “Cuba News: A lot of people are saying President Raul Castro disrespected President Obama by not greeting him at the airport. Seriously? Our countries have been enemies for 60 years. I can’t even get my best friend to pick me up at the airport”.

8. Should Hillary Clinton find herself in the White House, do you think there will be a spot in her administration for her de facto press secretary – NBC’s Andrea Mitchell?

9. Poor Andy Jackson – if they had written a blockbuster Broadway play about him, he wouldn’t lose his place on the twenty dollar bill. Really? A Treasury Secretary stays and a President and war hero is removed?

10. Playoff note - beyond cool: the only way to describe the Mets having Itzhak Perlman play the National Anthem prior to their play-in game with the Giants. Ain’t nobody taking a knee during that performance!

11. Our Rants and Raves focus group (made up of three old, cranky people) has two questions: (1) Have you ever asked a young person why they wear their baseball cap backwards? (2) Have you ever received an intelligent reply?

12. That tower of pop culture, the 5:05 Newsletter provides this gem: “Just when you thought 2016 could not get any worse, Yoko Ono announces a reissue project of her studio albums from 1968 to 1985”.

13. Sports factoid: Bartolo Colon made his major league debut the same day Atlanta’s Turner Field opened. The new Braves pitcher’s career has outlived a major league stadium!

14. Honest, we are not making this up. There is now an app that can lead you to a McDonald’s location that serves their McRib sandwich. Have you ever seen one of those – or worse, eaten one?

15. A thought from one of our Rants and Raves focus group (comprised of four old, cranky people): Smart phones seem to make people dumber.

16. The University of Louisville basketball program has had just four head coaches in the last 72 years!

17. In the light of all of this year’s coverage of the bay area’s newspaper shakeup, we jumped for joy when we saw the term RUTHLESS at the bottom of page one. Alas, it wasn’t what we thought it meant.

18. Guys, do you want to feel really old? Honor Blackman, the James Bond babe in Goldfinger, will turn 91 this year. Oh, the humanity!

19. (From March) With the regular season just days away, Baseball Prospectus, which bases its predictions very heavily on sabermetrics, says the Rays will win the Eastern Division. Would like to believe that but….

20. Columnist George Will on the 2016 presidential campaign: “It is easy to disregard or even disparage gentility — until confronted, as Americans now are, with its utter absence”.

And what we meant to say was…

1. Our crack sports prognosticator Achmed Walled (pronounced wall-ED) likes the Panthers by a whole lot over the Broncos. Seems like that Phillips guy out in Denver really knows how to prepare a defense.

2. Now with the departure of a mediocre bureaucrat who headed what passed for economic development for the past many years, the city has an opportunity to bring in another major player to do the same. The economic climate is right; will the city council have the initiative to get Clearwater on the economic development fast track? Put this one down as we should know better. While other governmental units upgrade their economic development efforts, Clearwater remains in neutral.

3. Neil McMullen, who traces his roots back to Largo’s first Mayor, has entered the race for Largo city commission against incumbent Curtis Holmes. Not to take anything away from McMullen, but given Commissioner Holmes’ missteps (RANTS – Sept. 28, 2014), you could probably run Curly or Moe against him and win. But then again, never give too much credit to the electorate. St. Pete voters recently elected a candidate with a rap sheet. Second part was right – McMullen lost by less than 300 votes.

4. Finally: “Donald Trump’s poll numbers don’t match Hillary Clinton’s electoral map realities”. Clinton’s lies upon lies upon lies caught up with her. But wait, this wasn’t published here. This was front page St. Pete Times Labor Day by Adam Smith. But then who believes the St. Pete Spin Doctors any more than we believed Clinton?

Our Last Song Together (again, apologies to Glenn Yarbrough)

And sadly this year, the man whose song inspired this portion of our year- end blog is part of this segment. Yarbrough, one of the greatest voices of the folk/pop era, passed away this year at 86. We say goodbye to him and others who have touched us over the years.

On the last day of 2015, we lost both songstress Natalie Cole who had her own catalog of great songs but moved us most with her duet with father Nat on Unforgettable and renaissance man Wayne Rogers, best known as Trapper John on M*A*S*H, but also a force behind the camera plus a renown investments expert.

Maurice White, the genius behind the unique sound of Earth, Wind and Fire.

Bob Elliott of radio and TV’s celebrated humor team Bob and Ray.

Antonin Scalia, a rational conservative voice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Bud Collins who made pro tennis as interesting as it can be.

Hubert Mizell, long time chronicler of sports for the St. Pete Times.

J.B. Johnson, a stalwart servant of the city of Clearwater – the moral compass of its City Commission in the late 1990s.

Nancy Reagan, who with her husband Ronald, comprised one of the most admired “first couples” in American history.

A man who made the most of a middling major league career, baseball announcer, Today Show host and raconteur Joe Garagiola.

Doris Roberts - it was hard not to see a little bit of your own mother (particularly if you are Catholic) in the Emmy winner’s portrayal of Ray Romano’s mom in Everybody Loves Raymond.

A great journalist and the last of the pioneering hosts of 60 Minutes, Morley Safer.

Abel Fernandez, amateur boxer and later actor, who played agent William Youngfellow on the Untouchables, at age 85. His passing leaves only Nick Georgiade (agent Rico Rossi) as a surviving member of the TV classic’s cast.

The man who for the better part of a decade was indeed “the greatest” – Mohammed Ali.

Auto dealer, civic leader and philanthropist, Dan Carlisle.

Dave Somerville, the lead singer of perhaps the greatest doo-wop group of the 50s – the Diamonds.

Prominent socialite and outstanding aviator Betty Perkins who lived her 98 years to the fullest.

Elie Wiesel, humanitarian and visiting professor at St. Petersburg’s Eckerd College.

Noel Neill, the original Lois Lane of the Superman franchise.

Garry Marshall, like Wayne Rogers above, a force both in front of and behind the camera – think Happy Days and Pretty Woman.

In the space of a week, we lost WQYK morning personality Dave McKay and ESPN’s incomparable John Saunders – two broadcast pros.

Monsignor Laurence Higgins – perhaps the most influential Catholic priest in the history of Tampa Bay.

One of the three most dominant golfers of the past half century – 87 year-old Arnold Palmer.

Jack Riley, whose portrayal of the super neurotic Elliott Carlin on the Bob Newhart Show was one of the masterpieces of that era. He also appeared in Seinfeld, MASH and a host of other comedies.

At way too young an age, Jose Fernandez without a doubt the best 24-year-old pitcher in baseball – arguably the best of any age pitcher.

From October: Jerry Coleman, a former Pinellas County Sheriff, nice guy and a lawman’s lawman, passed away last week at 76.

Also in October: His real name was Robert Veline. As Bobby Vee, he rode the King-Goffin Take Good Care of My Baby to the top of the charts in 1961 – just one of his half dozen top ten hits. Bobby Vee passed away last week at age 73.

Ralph Branca who gave up “the shot heard around the world” in the 1951 Giants –Dodgers playoff died on November 23 at age 90.

The Brady Bunch’s Florence Henderson, one of “America’s Moms” of the 60s and 70s, at age 82.

To some he was a hero, to most a despot; Cuban dictator Fidel Castro died at age 90.

David Stone, banker and major player at Clearwater’s Chamber of Commerce and Ruth Eckerd Hall to name just two of his many contributions - a terrific guy.

John Glenn, U.S. Senator and the last of America’s original 7 astronauts.

Zsa Zsa Gabor who preceded the Hiltons and Kardashians in being famous for being famous at age 99.

Finally, our greatest personal loss of 2016 occurred on November 12 when we said goodbye to our loving tuxedo cat Wally, age 13 – named after Yankee icon Wally Pipp – how he got his name is a long story.

SNEAK PEEK AT NEXT WEEK: A TRIBUTE TO AND A RIP OFF FROM TOM McEWEN

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night

Donald Trump begins every Sunday by reading this blog

By now you are probably familiar with the disclaimer at the top of our weekly offering. And President-Elect Trump does not read our blog – yet. He hasn’t had time with little things like assembling a cabinet, saving a thousand jobs at Carrier and, our favorite thus far, deciding that Boeing might be asking “just a little too much” for a new Air Force One fleet. As we said four months ago (RANTS – August 14) fasten your seat belts, it’s going to be a bumpy night. But sooner or later, the Don may get around to absorbing the superlative advice we offer up to our government leaders each week.

Tampa Bay, politics and stuff:

1. We mentioned Boeing above as our favorite Trump move so far. Close behind is his selection of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to head the EPA – an organization that has completely lost its way. No two Washington bureaucracies need a sharp refocusing or out and out elimination than the EPA and the IRS.

2. Other than the two above mentioned quagmires, no other agency we can think of needs to be euthanized more than Hillsborough County’s Public Transportation Commission (PTC). The agency, beholden to the taxi industry for four decades, has outlived its usefulness and now a bill in the Florida legislature would eliminate the body. All good and well but the legislature also needs to adopt statewide standards for Lyft and Uber to avoid conflicting county by county regulations regarding the transportation services.

3. As the new session of Congress gets ready to convene just after the new year, Pinellas voters will realize the consequences of their congressional vote last fall. Instead of a well-connected, majority party congressman, Pinellas now has a guy who will occupy an office and little else.

4. Remember when Bill Miller, Barry Goldwater’s running mate in the 1964 election, was featured in American Express’ “do you remember me?” ad campaign? We forecast a similar future for Tim Kaine.

5. You’ve lived in the bay area a long time if you, your kids or grandkids enjoyed “Breakfast with Santa” at one of the Maas Bothers’ restaurants. Speaking of which, there is a cool short history of the beloved department store chain by Michael Lisicky which would make a great stocking stuffer.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. A few folks are voicing their displeasure at USF’s rush in hiring a new head coach without vetting other possible candidates. But the chances are Charlie Strong is probably the best candidate they could have come up with whether they took a few days or weeks or months in the process.

7. Are we the only ones who cannot figure out why Lane Kiffin, the highest profile coordinator in college football, would take the job at Florida Atlantic? USF, maybe (don’t think he was considered), but a team that hasn’t had a winning season in almost a decade – and in a nothing conference to boot?

8. Our modern day Jimmy the Greek, Achmed Walled (pronounced wall-ED), predicts the NCAA championship will shake out this way: Alabama over Washington and Ohio State taking Clemson with the Tide rolling in the title game in Tampa. There’s more on the playoff below.

9. Holiday note from the jolly elves at the 5:05 Newsletter: “And suddenly those annoying neighbors who leave their Christmas lights up all year long look like geniuses.”

10. Fifty years ago, as 1966 closed, the top three songs in America were an eclectic mix of the Monkees I’m A Believer and two novelty songs - Ocala’s Royal Guardsman’s Snoopy Versus the Red Baron and just down from number one – Winchester Cathedral by the New Vaudeville Band.

Tampa, here we come! The flawed NCAA football tournament

Okay, first let us be perfectly clear on two points. (1) Penn State got jobbed by the selection process. When you win what likely is this year’s toughest football conference and defeat one of the teams selected ahead of you, something simply isn’t right. (2) Despite Penn State being mistreated, there is no good reason to expand the post season to eight teams. There occasionally will be an injustice but that is not a rationale to water down the post season and stretch it out until the start of spring training (slight exaggeration). Let’s stay with four and thoroughly enjoy the economic benefits of having one the country’s biggest sporting events here in the bay area.

SNEAK PEAK AT NEXT WEEK – OUR ANNUAL RETROSPECTIVE

Day by day, we’re losing our greatest men and women

Last week’s somber memorial at Pearl Harbor reminds us that of the 16 million men and women who served the United States in World War II, only 620,000 remain. The vets are dying at the rate of 500 a day. They and their civilian counterparts were, as Tom Brokaw so correctly puts it, our greatest generation. Allow us to tell you the answer we got when we asked our Dad what he did in the war. He helped end it. Your HB (Humble Blogger’s) Dad was too old to serve in World War II but was part of the Manhattan Project which ended the war without the Allies having to invade Japan at the cost of hundreds of thousands of lives. As a result, several younger brothers he had serving in the war, all came home safely. After the war, he was involved in another project that helped keep the peace – as a member of the nuclear propulsion team for our first atomic submarine – the U.S.S. Nautilus. Yes, we’re proud.

Tampa Bay, politics and stuff:

1. More on a great generation: there were two Cs (Carpenter and Cooper), two Gs (Glenn and Grissom) and three with S as the first letter (Schirra, Shepherd and Slayton) – that’s how this middle schooler remembered the original 7 American astronauts. With the death of John Glenn last week, this great generation has left us.

2. Okay Donny, you’re President-Elect now despite Jill Klein’s machinations - time to start acting presidential. Step one – close down your damned Twitter account.

3. Ever wondered why two branches of the federal government (legislative and judiciary) don’t have term limits but the third does? We’ve often advocated for reasonable term limits for the Supreme Court (maybe 12-15 years) and the legislature maybe two – six year (Senate) or six two year (House) terms.

4. Over two and a half years ago (RANTS – May 18, 2014) we challenged the city of Clearwater to do something about the embarrassment at Cleveland and MLK formerly known as the 1100 Building. Today the structure is in the same or worse condition as 2014.

5. You’ve lived in Clearwater a long time if you remember when the paving on Drew Street ended just beyond its intersection with NE Coachman Road.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. A recent check of EBay showed the recalled Newsweek “Madam President” edition selling for $125 and up. It no doubt will someday be as valuable a publication as the famous “Dewey Defeats Truman” gaff of the Chicago Tribune – now worth between $400 and $800.

7. From “USA Today Fictionalized”, otherwise known as the 5:05 Newsletter this gem: Vice President-elect Mike Pence went to the theater to see the hit show “Hamilton” and ended up being lectured by the cast. Later the ghost of Abraham Lincoln appeared to Pence and said, “Could have been a lot worse bro.”

8. Little known fact: We know our premier forecaster of things baseball and other sports, Achmed Walled (pronounced wall-ED) is 3 for 3 in World Series picks since our blog’s inception. But the rest of the story: although not a “policy wonk”, he is perfect in Presidential predictions for four decades. A few networks and newspapers might want to dial him up in 2020.

9. Kudos to Georgia State University for preserving a big chunk of Atlanta sports history. The university has purchased Turner Field and the site of Fulton County Stadium. Turner will be used for the GSU’s football stadium and a baseball stadium will be erected on the site where Hammerin’ Hank hit #715 and the Braves won their only World Series in the last 60 years.

10. If his health returns, Wilson Ramos, the new Ray’s catcher could be the biggest steal of the offseason. The guy can hit and calls a great game behind the plate.

Willie, we hardly knew ya

Alas, our alma mater, the University of South Florida is again in search of a head coach. This is the bane of second tier football programs; you will always be a farm system for the big five conferences. Truth be known, Willie Taggart would have been better served by staying a couple more years at USF and advancing to a really good job. And that would have happened if Temple’s Matt Rhule had not passed on the Oregon job to go to Baylor. We’re not quite sure that Taggart is ready for prime time. Despite a couple winning seasons at USF, he is a sub .500 coach for his career. We wish him well at Oregon where, happily for the wardrobe, the colors are almost the same as USF, but he will not see a lot of Cincinnati, SMU and UConn on his PAC-10 schedule.

SNEAK PEEK AT NEXT WEEK: GUESS WHO READS THIS BLOG EVERY SUNDAY MORNING?

Nikki Haley: Is the U.N. a better place than S.C.?

First, full disclosure, just two weeks ago (RANTS – Nov. 20), we ventured a guess that the very bright Governor of South Carolina, Nikki Haley, could someday become this nation’s first female President. Now, we wonder about her latest career move. She goes from Governor of a very vibrant state to a job where you can easily become invisible unless there is an international crisis of some sort. Only one U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. has ever become President – George H. W. Bush and he had a stack of other credentials. Then again, no South Carolina Governor has ever become President. But the dynamics of South Carolina have changed over the last many years in great part due to Haley. Will her U.N. job be a dead end for her political career? For her sake and our country’s, we hope not.

Tampa Bay, politics and stuff:

1. With a couple phone calls, Donald Trump keeps Carrier Air Conditioning and over a thousand American jobs in Indiana rather than move to Mexico - this while the Obama administration was sitting on its hands. Sadly, the far left will look at saving over a thousand jobs as somehow a bad thing.

2. The new vision for Clearwater’s waterfront is promising, but the devil is in the details (read financing). Several years ago, Clearwater voters turned down a proposal where a major developer would pony up all the money. This time around, it’s going to have to be a mostly public funded project – there’s the rub.

3. Buoyed by his successful campaign to put medical marijuana in the state constitution, of all places, and the success of businessman Donald Trump on the national level, personal injury attorney John Morgan thinks he’d be a nifty governor for the Sunshine State. Don’t pick out furniture for the executive mansion just yet, John.

4. This year Clearwater has lost a lot of civic leaders who did much to shape our city over the last several decades. The latest – David Stone, banker and major player at Clearwater’s Chamber of Commerce and Ruth Eckerd Hall to name just two. A terrific guy.

5. You’ve lived in Pinellas County a long time if you remember when Boot Ranch was a boot and little else.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. We note that Washington Post Executive Editor Marty Baron is coming to St. Pete next week to commiserate with fellow lefties on how they were so wrong (not to mention unethical) in last month’s election - hardly a victory lap.

7. Sports factoid: Bartolo Colon made his major league debut the same day Atlanta’s Turner Field opened. The new Braves pitcher’s career has outlived a major league stadium!

8. Observation: Garrison Keillor used to be so refreshing. Now he has morphed into a mean-spirited old man.

9. Just a random thought, can you imagine George S. Patton coming back to earth and observing and reacting to what is going on at our coddled college campuses today? Oh, the humanity!

10. Holiday factoid: the Rockettes were founded in St. Louis not New York, but they have been dazzling audiences in the Big Apple since 1932.

Alert to Waldo and Lawtey: this can replace your speed trap dollars

The price of parking is getting out of hand: Madeira Beach is the latest community to up the ante on parking to $2.50 an hour - about the same you would pay to park for an eight hour day at Disney World. The rationale behind the increase is that other cities are raising their rates and Madeira Beach doesn’t want to be left behind. Parking now represents the second highest revenue source in the beach community - shades of Waldo and Lawtey with their former speed traps. There will soon come a time when tourists (and locals) will push back on these shakedowns. It has already happened on Clearwater Beach when parking officials increased (and later reversed) parking fees by over 300 per cent.

SNEAK PEEK AT NEXT WEEK – USF’S WILLIE TAGGART NEEDS TO STAY PUT

Has the Electoral College outlived its usefulness?

U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer has introduced legislation aimed at eliminating the Electoral College. The California Democrat was strangely silent on the subject in her career until the Democrats lost the electoral vote and the White House a couple weeks ago. Would the lack of the Electoral College spell victory for Hillary Clinton? Probably not, as the campaigning would have been dramatically different if the race was decided on popular vote. Donald Trump concentrated on the states that paved the way to an electoral victory. Had the rules been different, the concentration would have been only on populous states like Florida, Texas and other large, conservative states. Trump played by the existing rules, and you can’t change the rules when you’re trailing with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. A final thought, if you would enjoy California and New York determining who your President will be for the balance of your lifetime, by all means, abolish the Electoral College.

Tampa Bay, politics and stuff:

1. Unfortunately when Donald Trump takes office on January 20^th, a lot of his early efforts will be devoted to undoing some bad things Barack Obama cobbled together unilaterally. The good news is Trump can unilaterally undo them but it will be time consuming and will draw away from his efforts to move ahead on the breakthroughs he has promised the American people.

2. Vice-President Elect Mike Pence acted with distinction in response to the classless actions of some actor when Pence was attending Hamilton last week. During the presidential campaign, Pence consistently acted more presidential than any of the other three candidates on the major party tickets and continues to do so.

3. Technology: of which we know little. Trump administration is planning to crack down on international hackers. We would also like to see them get heavy handed with punks who spread viruses, etc. A dozen or so well publicized jail terms would probably get these miscreants’ attention. What they do is no different than a thug taking a hammer to an automobile.

4. Give Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn credit. As the city ponders razing its outdated downtown library, Buckhorn is advocating for a higher use of that precious property – rather than a library – a lesson lost on other bay area communities.

5. You’ve lived in Tampa Bay (or anywhere else) a long time if you remember NBC Radio’s Monitor – one of the great programs in radio history – a forerunner of what you hear on NPR today. It aired locally weekends on WFLA – then an NBC Radio affiliate.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. Your HB (Humble Blogger) is a huge baseball fan but not a collector. We own only two autographed baseballs – one from the 1960 Pirates World Championship team and the other of Ralph Branca who gave up the “shot heard round the world” in the 1951 playoff between his Dodgers and Bobby Thomson’s Giants. Branca, who was also a very accomplished amateur golfer, passed away last week at age 90.

7. Another iconic loss this past week – The Brady Bunch’s Florence Henderson, who along with Barbara Billingsly, Donna Reed and Marion Ross, were the “American Moms” of the 60s and 70s, passed away at age 82.

“7 ½”. We would be remiss in not noting the passing of Fidel Castro at our deadline. There was little middle ground with Castro. Depending on your viewpoint, we was either a hero or a despot.

8. From the publication that can make even a Cleveland Browns fan smile, the 5:05 Newsletter: Rumors are that Sarah Palin may be appointed Secretary of the Interior and oversee the National Park Service. When they heard that, bears were like, “Well, we had a good run.”

9. Factoid – if you were born 100 years ago this year, the population of the United States was roughly 100 million – pretty much the same number of Americans who will be traveling this holiday season – amazing!

10. Speaking of the holiday season, it is the most wonderful time of the year for the late artists Bing Crosby, Vince Guaraldi, Bobby Helms and David Seville. Each of these artists’ biggest hits was a Christmas tune – White Christmas (the biggest selling single of all time), Linus and Lucy, Jingle Bell Rock and The Chipmunk Song respectively.

Your call is NOT important to us

Back in the dark ages when your HB (Humble Blogger) operated a business, one of his operating canons was “If I am unable to provide a human being to answer my customers’ calls and queries, I will close the doors”. Fortunately, that never transpired. Your HB, now semi-retired, has another canon – if I have a choice in providers or vendors and they cannot answer my call with a human being, I will go elsewhere. Unfortunately, in some areas such as medical specialists, power companies and government entities, you don’t have that choice. Those entities know it and treat you accordingly.

SNEAK PEEK AT NEXT WEEK: IS THE U.N. THE BEST CAREER MOVE FOR NIKKI HALEY?

The Trump Administration: think of what you will have to do without

The first person who comes to mind is Loretta Lynch. We’re guessing Justice Ginsberg won’t live up to her oath to move to New Zealand if the Don were elected – pity. The EPA seems to be in Trump’s sights. As stated here before – (RANTS – Sept. 28, 2014), the EPA had noble beginnings but has become nothing but an instrument to shake down businesses. Obamacare may not entirely go away but hopefully will be radically modified. And although the President-Elect only briefly touched on it during his campaign, the IRS needs some major work – if not elimination.

Tampa Bay, politics and stuff:

1. It appears that Vice-President Pence will play a major role in a Trump administration – a refreshing change from the norm. We’ll spot you Biden, now name the last four vice-presidents In U.S. history. And for extra credit – the Vice-President who was an Army General, won the Nobel Peace Prize and wrote a number one song?

2. It’s not that many in our country aren’t ready for a woman President. They just weren’t ready for that woman President. If we were handicapping who would be the first, we think our chips would be on South Carolina governor Nikki Haley.

3. Liberal’s heads are blowing off over President-Elect Trump’s selection of Senator Jeff Sessions as Attorney General. But when you compare him to his two predecessors in the Obama administration, he is a breath of fresh air. We don’t see him having covert airport meetings with folks like Bill Clinton or virtually putting our police forces on trial with broad brush accusations.

4. As the Obama administration now counts down in weeks to its conclusion, the question is where will this presidency rank among our nation’s leaders? Certainly in the bottom half – perhaps near the top of the bottom third based on opinions of various scholars who study the presidency.

5. You’ve lived in the bay area (or anywhere else) for a long time if you remember waiting until after 6 p.m. to make long distance calls to get the lower rate. Mention that to a millennial and note the blank stare.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. A casualty with the end of the election cycle was the Fox program Special Report with Brit Hume. The veteran journalist agreed to step in after the sudden departure of Greta Van Susteren – but only through the election. The show’s ratings nearly doubled. Now, Tucker Carlson takes over the time slot. The first few editions have been promising.

7. Honest, we are not making this up. There is now an app that can lead you to a McDonald’s location that serves their McRib sandwich. Have you ever seen one of those – or worse, eaten one?

8. Starved baseball fans would enjoy two shows making the rounds on the MLB Network this offseason. They are one hour capsules of two legends of the broadcast booth – Harry Caray and Bob Uecker.

9. Our Rants and Raves focus group (comprised of four old, cranky people) couldn’t understand why so many people were getting worked up over Donald Trump’s stance on a former Georgia Tech football coach. They had forgotten his name was Bobby, not Frank, Dodd.

10. Tampa Bay fans only thought the Bucs were the most inept team in the NFC – then the Chicago Bears hit town.

The New York Times mea culpa

The New York Times says it has rededicated itself to honesty in reporting. We would like to believe that, but wonder if it would have been business as usual had the election result been different. To their credit, the Times at least admitted going overboard in their zeal to get Hillary Clinton elected – or Donald Trump not elected. No such utterances from other media outlets that were equally beyond the pale such as NBC, The Washington Post or CNN to name only a few of many.

(The four V-Ps prior to Biden were Cheney, Gore, Qualye and Bush the elder. The overachiever was Charles Dawes, V-P to Coolidge. The Nobel was for his post-World War I work in Europe and the number one song - Tommy Edwards’ 1958 hit It’s All in the Game.)

SNEEK PEAK AT NEXT WEEK – TIME TO SAY GOODBYE TO THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE?

 Trump defeats NBC, Ellen DeGeneres, The New York Times and, oh yes, Hillary Clinton

And Donald defeats assorted other left wing wackos as well. It all came down to this: despite the spin efforts of several national networks, the St. Pete Times and every “celebrity” in California, the American public just was not going to trust the oval office to a serial liar and her ilk. Is Trump our dream choice? Heck no, but he resounds with folks who really believe the swamp, starting with Obamacare, virtually everybody in the Justice Department and the IRS, needs to be drained while jobs are being moved back onshore.

Tampa Bay, politics and stuff:

1. Not all was worth cheering last Tuesday. Pinellas County lost an effective voice in the U.S. House, David Jolly, largely due to judicial meddling in the electoral process. And Floridians unbelievably okayed a constitutional amendment expanding the use of medical pot despite warnings from folks who know better than us – like law enforcement leaders and state and national medical associations.

2. In a note related to the above item, as of press time, newly elected Charlie Crist had not announced what office he will seek in the next election cycle.

3. There were a couple local surprises where Dunedin Mayor Julie Bujalski was re-elected despite being considerably outspent by Commissioner Bruce Livingston. And Curtis Holmes held on to his commission seat in Largo (by less than 250 votes) despite his several ethical missteps over the past few years.

4. Political factoid: Unofficial election results show Donald Trump losing the District of Columbia by an astounding 93 to 4 percent. That speaks volumes of what this presidential race was all about.

5. Historical note, the very first Publix in Lakeland is now a bar; the second a thrift store. And what will fill the space that was the Publix at Sunset Point Road and U.S. 19? Rumors continue to fly but nothing solid.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. We tip our cap to Google for their recognition of the 100^th anniversary of TV legend Walter Cronkite’s birth. Our favorite Cronkite reflection: “Press freedom is essential to our democracy, but the press must not abuse this license. We must be careful with our power."

7. A couple new sitcoms worth a view – Kevin Can Wait and Man with a Plan starring successful sitcom guys Kevin James and Matt LeBlanc.

8. The Diamondbacks have selected Torey Lovullo to be their manager. Lovullo is a media darling particularly in Boston where he was on the Red Sox staff, but his resume is rather thin. Phil Nevin who managed the Arizona Triple A team and knows the organization better would seem to have been a better choice. Arizona’s loss is San Francisco’s gain as Nevin wound up on the Giant’s coaching staff.

9. Over the last two years, only one small market team has advanced to the playoffs each year – Kansas City two years ago and Cleveland this past season – although both made the World Series. That’s a disturbing trend that MLB needs to look at rather than some of the other silly things they ponder.

10. Okay, we admit it, we took great joy in watching most of the media fall over themselves Tuesday night trying to explain why this all happened despite their smug assurances that their girl would lap the field. Several, including Clinton cheerleader Andrea Mitchell, were near tears, while other effete “journalists” sniffed about how gender and racial bias played into the Trump win.

He IS our President

Watching the collection of bozos carrying signs and destroying property after the Trump election victory brought us back to eight years ago when Barack Obama won the presidency. Folks who disagreed with that selection were not out rolling police cars and smashing the storefronts of businesses. Now, many of us (those low life, uneducated deplorables) get to have our President – a President who, among other things, values all forms of human life and will appoint Supreme Court Justices with similar values. It’s our turn to have our President – despite all the protesters who, in essence, are saying you don’t get a turn.

GOODBYE TO WALLY, OUR LOVING TUXEDO CAT. WE LOVE YOU AND WE WILL MISS YOU.

World Series: Achmed now 3 for 3!

When we established this blog a little over two and a half years ago, we added a little known, mysterious man from the east to prognosticate sports. He specializes in baseball. Since our inception, Achmed Walled (pronounced wall-ED) is a perfect three for three in postseason predictions even picking the Cubs this year who never win anything. Granted, he and the Cubs should send Christmas cards to the entire Cleveland outfield whose Bad News Bears play in the last two games of the series handed the Chicago nine a gift they have not savored in over a century. And finally, no, Achmed is not comfortable in giving you six numbers between 1 and 53 for this Saturday night. We know, we asked.

Tampa Bay, politics and other stuff:

1. A not so outrageous prediction: whoever prevails in the presidential race this week will be our nation’s first one-term (or less, pending indictments) president in two decades.

2. Sad commentary: Social Security recipients who will be receiving a gigantic three tenths of one percent increase in their monthly payment will see that wiped out by an increase in their city of Clearwater water bill each month - so much for COLA adjustments.

3. Obamacare premiums going up an average of 25 percent – wow, who saw that coming?

4. While we are more than happy to see all the awful political attack ads leave, brace yourself, there is still a month to go with wall to wall Medicare enrollment ads.

5. You’ve lived in Clearwater for quite a while if you remember when there were no neighborhoods named Morningside, Countryside or Island Estates.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. A second not so outrageous prediction: the Chicago Cubs could be the first team since 2000 to win back to back World Championships. The Yankees won their third in a row in 2000 – something no team had done since the Oakland As in 1972-74. But that’s us talking not the above mentioned Achmed, so don’t call Vegas just yet.

7. Have you ever seen an uglier football game than last week’s Bucs loss to the Oakland Raiders? Oakland completely dominated the Bucs but kept aiming their six-shooter directly at their foot – setting an NFL record for penalties along the way - an exciting, but awful game.

8. With the election soon behind us, what are Fox and MSNBC going to do for the next two and a half years – other than take potshots at each other?

9. A thought from one of our Rants and Raves focus group (comprised of four old, cranky people): Smart phones seem to make people dumber.

10. The premier publication of the 21^st century, the 5:05 Newsletter, recently featured this tidbit on another well-known publication: “Playboy Magazine’s circulation has risen thirty percent since it stopped running photos of nude young women six months ago. The magazine has adjusted to the sexual fantasies of a new generation of young male readers. This month’s issue features the iPhones of Australia”.

Argument grows stronger for “robo umpires”

Games 3, 4 and 6 of this year’s World Series made the strongest case yet for human ball and strike callers to be replaced by robotic umps in the future. John Hirschbeck’s work in Game 3 was universally panned – the strike zone was a moving target all night long in the 1-0 thriller. The next night, Marvin Hudson had a strike zone the size of a smallish cupcake – particularly on the outer half. In Game 6, while “Country Joe” West was consistent, he treated the outer half of the plate like it was in the next county. Lastly, you cannot mention postseason umpiring without a nod to the late Eric Gregg’s butchering of Game 5 of the 1997 National League Championship where the strike zone was slightly wider than an aircraft carrier. It’s going to take some time and experimentation, but too much is at stake in the World Series to allow human error or exhibitionism to decide the outcome.

SNEAK PEEK AT NEXT WEEK – ABOUT THAT 2020 PRESIDENTIAL RACE….

The sad state of Tampa Bay print journalism

A family member visiting Atlanta brought us a copy of the Atlanta Journal Constitution (AJC). It was a Sunday edition with 18 pages of sports (as compared to 10 locally), a larger national section and a slightly larger and more comprehensive local section. This despite the fact AJC’s circulation is a bit less (about 9000) than our local daily. For what it’s worth, the usual Sunday puff pieces were about the same. The real difference was the balance of the news reporting in the Atlanta paper. A whole lot more facts with a whole lot less opinion on the news pages. When you go to the op/ed pages, you see perhaps a slight lean to the left, but not a lot. All in all just a great example of what a newspaper should be – much in the vein of what used to be The Tampa Tribune in its heyday. Seeing the AJC makes us lament just how far print journalism has fallen in the bay area.

Tampa Bay, politics and stuff

1. Addendum to our lead article: if you think what passes here as journalism is the same all over the country, go on line and sample a few other metro papers – perhaps starting in San Diego and working eastward, along with a few national publications like the Wall Street Journal.

2. Our two favorite local political commercials - first, the Crist ad where our chief executive describes three-party Charlie as “a public servant who has always put the people first”. And Mr. Obama can still look himself in the mirror? The other is the Democratic Congressional Committee’s really bad photo shop job appearing to make David Jolly look like he’s shaking hands with Donald Trump. And we’re expected to trust these folks?

3. There is a great deal of angst over Amendment One. Anti-forces tell us it is a total sellout to utility companies despite its positive wording. That is a bit of a stretch, but the amendment sure won’t be harmful to our powerful utility companies and probably deserves a “no” vote.

4. Was anybody surprised by the recent finding that I-4 is the most dangerous interstate highway in the country?

5. Forty years ago this month, Pinellas County Administrator Merritt Stierheim resigned to take a similar position with Dade County. He had previously served as Clearwater’s City Manager. He’s still in government in south Florida.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. As the election cycle runs down, the media is getting a bit thin skinned about justifiable complaints regarding their attacks on office seekers. Apparently it is okay for them, to criticize but not themselves to be criticized. The ultimate piece of nonsense was a column penned by a Jim Rutenberg of the New York Times who claimed the media feels threatened. Give us a break!

7. In their coverage of Amendment Two, Bay News Nine simply did a rundown of why John Morgan thinks widespread medical pot is a good idea – no mention of the implications of putting something like that in our state constitution. We’re quite sure the coverage’s slant had nothing to do with the fact that Morgan spends thousands of dollars each month in ads with the news outlet.

8. His real name was Robert Veline. As Bobby Vee, he rode the King-Goffin Take Good Care of My Baby to the top of the charts in 1961 – just one of his half dozen top ten hits. Bobby Vee passed away last week at age 73.

9. Idle observation: during the final week of the baseball season, in a commercial break of a Blue Jays – Red Sox game, there were back to back promos for shows entitled Real Housewives of Southern California and Dance Moms. First, why run these during what is a heavy male – oriented event and, more importantly, do people really watch those two shows?

10. Speaking of commercials this factoid: Mike Rowe, the ruggedly handsome guy you see on the Wagner brake commercials as well as numerous Ford spots, has a background as an opera singer.

Terry Francona – one of the best

The last two or three postseasons have opened the eyes of the causal baseball fan to a couple of managers who are incredibly underrated. The reason could be their teams play in relatively small markets. But those small market teams consistently overachieve. The teams (and managers) are Kansas City’s Ned Yost and Cleveland’s Terry Francona. Yost’s record speaks for itself – one World Championship and a couple bad hops or bad calls away from a second over the past three years. Francona has taken a patchwork pitching staff all the way to the World Series with brilliant strategy and bullpen management. We saw what he could do in Boston but that team was loaded with Schilling, Martinez, Ortiz, Pedroia and Ramirez. Name five players on the Indians unless you are a diehard fan of the Tribe. We might achieve eight names, but we sure know the manager’s name and he has done a heck of a job in 2016.

What President-Elect Trump’s first actions need to be

Given the latest unbelievable leaks from the Clinton campaign, it’s obvious our Justice and State Departments need a thorough housecleaning. You so wanted to believe FBI Director Comey’s actions in the email scandal were honorable. As more information comes out, it’s becoming painfully obvious we misjudged the man. He, along with other decision makers at the Justice Department including the Attorney General, should not be required to write the ceremonial resignation letter – why waste paper. The same applies to the State Department. Kerry would go just on merit or lack of. But career bureaucrats who are desperately praying for a Clinton victory should not renew any leases should Trump prevail. And even if Clinton wins, to retain what little credibility she has with the American public (less than a third trust her), the czarina needs to get rid of the miscreants in both departments.

Tampa Bay, politics and stuff:

1. Ayn Rand quote worth pondering: “When the law no longer protects you from the corrupt but protects the corrupt from you – you know your nation is doomed”.

2. There’s another county-wide election that we did not review last week – the county commission where incumbent Charlie Justice faces off against businessman Mike Mikurak. Both have impressive resumes but Justice has received nothing but government paychecks his entire adult life while Mikurak has written paychecks most of his. It seems a businessman like him usually has a higher value of a buck – our bucks.

3. If you ever had any doubt about how the major networks lean in this election cycle, read The Wall Street Journal’s Kimberley Strassel’s (10/13) detailed analysis of Clinton/Trump coverage by ABC, CBS and NBC.

4. Jerry Coleman, a former Pinellas County Sheriff, terrific guy and a lawman’s lawman, passed away last week at 76.

5. You’ve lived in Clearwater a long time if you remember when there was a Waffle House in downtown – at the same site of today’s Mr. Submarine on Cleveland Street.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. Sports quote of the week: Toronto’s Jose Bautista on rookie Indians pitcher Ryan Merritt: "With our experience in our lineup, I'm pretty sure he's going to be shaking in his boots more than we are." Remind us how that worked out, Jose.

7. Do you think in the 50 plus years of the franchise the Buffalo Bills ever had more of America rooting for them when they played the 49ers last Sunday? And this week, our Bucs will be America’s favorite team.

8. So female comedian Amy Schumer has trashed the Bay Area during a New York performance. Will we ever recover?

9. That tower of pop culture, the 5:05 Newsletter provides this scary thought: “Just when you thought 2016 could not get any worse, Yoko Ono announces a reissue project of her studio albums from 1968 to 1985”.

10. We conclude this year’s running series of music acts that saw their very first charted song go to number one (and like the artists a few weeks back, never hit the charts again) – The Silhouettes, Eric Weissberg, Marvin Hamlisch, Jan Hammer and Bobby McFerrin. The songs were Get a Job, Dueling Banjos, The Entertainer (from The Sting), Theme from Miami Vice and Don’t Worry, Be Happy.

A note on our music notes:

As we’ve mentioned before, your HB (Humble Blogger) spent his high school senior year, college years and several beyond as a broadcaster spinning the hits on two local stations as well as brief stints in Panama City and Armed Forces Radio before being kicked upstairs into management. As such, we have compiled a fairly significant record collection and some knowledge of the history behind the recordings – occasionally offered up here. But we are still in our sophomore year compared to some guys who have made a career of knowing stuff about the music we grew up with. Specifically, we need to mention Lou Simon whose 60s Satellite Survey weekly on Sirius/XM is a fountain of information; Jerry Osborne’s excellent weekly internet column Mr. Music probes deeply into pop music history; finally there is a terrific reference book - Joel Whitburn’s Top Pop Singles. These three men are well worth a read or listen if you are into pop music. Before we conclude, we need to mention one other guy responsible for our music education – the late Jim Quinn of Tampa Bay’s U-92 who was an encyclopedia of pop and rock history.

SNEAK PEEK AT NEXT WEEK – WHAT A FIRST CLASS NEWSPAPER LOOKS LIKE

David Jolly – part of some clear cut choices this election season

Absentee ballots are out and it’s time to mark them – sometimes while swallowing hard. Let’s start with an easy one - David Jolly. He continued the strong representation that Bill Young provided Pinellas for years in Washington. He’s not headed back up there to seek his next job – or party. If it weren’t for our court system bleeding over into the legislative process, this wouldn’t even be close. Like the presidential race, you have to swallow hard when you pull the lever, but Marco Rubio is worlds ahead of Patrick Murphy and his rather, shall we say, shaky resume. Two other notes: did you even know Pinellas County’s sheriff was up for re-election? And don’t forget to flip over the ballot to the other side where there are several significant general items including the onerous Item 2 to legalize medical pot in Florida through “regulated centers” across the state. What could possibly go wrong?

Tampa Bay, politics and stuff:

1. One further note on Item 2 on this year’s ballot. The overriding reason to defeat it is that something like this simply doesn’t belong in a state constitution where you have to move heaven and earth to remove or modify it. If you really believe we need more access to medical marijuana than already exists, contact your state legislator and urge them to do it the right way – through a law – not a constitutional amendment.

2. Would have laughed if the reasoning wasn’t so pathetic in some local endorsements by the St. Pete spin doctors. First there were 12 reasons to favor Murphy over Rubio. You only need one reason to reverse the argument – Murphy is consistently dishonest – channeling the top of the Democratic ticket. Then there was the line about Blowing in the Wind Charlie being “forced” out of the GOP. What “forced” him out of his NPA status? Maybe it’s his incurable quest to do what’s best for Charlie at the moment.  

3. Oh yes, there’s a presidential election, too. Don’t know about you, but for the past twenty years or so, we’ve just pulled the lever for whomever Barbra Streisand thinks we should vote for (see disclaimer at top of blog).

4. In Dunedin, there is an interesting mayoral race between incumbent Julie Bujalski and council member Bruce Livingston. They seem to agree on more things than they disagree – two good people in a city government with a lot of good people who lately just don’t seem to get along.

5. You’ve lived in the bay area a long time if you remember Channel 8 anchor Arch Deal’s near fatal parachute jump over forty years ago. Deal was back to work in three months.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. We trumpeted the elevation of Lester Holt to the anchor’s chair at NBC after Brian Williams’ fall from grace. Regretfully, since Holt’s ascension, NBC Nightly News has tilted even further to the left.

7. Does LSU really think they’re going to have the cream of the coaching crop dialing them up to replace Les Miles who did a whole lot with a just above average program? And while we’re on the subject of LSU, their fans and fellow crackpots need to understand emergency response to a dangerous storm overrides football every time – even in the SEC.

8. There’s a reason you don’t use closers in non-save situations. Both the Mets’ Jeurys Familia and Dodgers’ Kenley Jansen illustrated that in the first week of the playoffs.

9. With a parting of the ways between the White Sox and Robin Ventura inevitable, the South Siders made a good move in promoting Rick Renteria to the top spot. Renteria, you may remember, was pretty much hosed by the Cubs a couple years ago so they could hand over the team that Renteria had prepared to contend to Joe Madden.

10. I need an ID to drive; to get insurance coverage; to use the gym; to check out a book at the library. What is so suppressive about me needing an ID to vote?

A major fire and Fred McGriff

The small office where this weekly drivel is produced is lined with baseball photos and artwork. Best of the bunch is not some heroic homerun or catch, but a photo of two of our favorite screwballs, Mark Lemke and Jeff Blauser, grinning on the playing field with an inferno in the press box of Atlanta’s Fulton County Stadium in the background – a gift from our dearest Braves fans – our wife and daughter. The blaze coincided with a Braves hot (pun intended) streak that allowed them to run down the San Francisco Giants for the third of their 14 consecutive division titles – a major league record. It was also the first night in a Braves uniform for Tampa native Fred McGriff who played a major role in turning the season around and propelling them to a World Championship two years later.

SNEAK PEEK AT NEXT WEEK – WHAT PRESIDENT ELECT TRUMP'S FIRST ACTIONS SHOULD BE

Vin Scully: The gold standard of baseball broadcasters

In his misspent youth, your HB (Humble Blogger) was a broadcaster. As such, there were folks in our profession whom we held in great admiration – local guys such as early mentors Scott Dilworth, Harry Lytle and Roy Nilson along with a competitor for several years – Jack Harris. On the national front, NBC’s giants, Huntley and Brinkley along with syndicated radio commentators Earl Nightingale and Bruce Williams were much admired. But the man who stood above all others was a gentleman who combined our two youthful loves, baseball and broadcasting, into a symphony – Vin Scully. The Dodger great retired at the end of the season and the game will never again be quite the same.

Tampa Bay, politics and stuff:

1. Message for Hillary, in light of Bill’s comments on Obamacare perhaps you want to send the hubby off on a fact finding mission to Angola or somewhere until the election is over.

2. Local Democrats who usually want a voter registration for anything that is breathing go crazy over Pinellas’ plan to register voters at local Chick-fil- A restaurants. Seems the chain is too pro-life and (in an unpardonable sin) not open on Sundays. Do they think potential voters will be brainwashed?

3. Wednesday, October 5^th was Walk/Bike to School Day. The idea is noble but unfortunately unrealistic in this day and age. We can remember pedaling our bike from our parent’s home in Skycrest to the Clearwater Marina without our folks worrying. Today with ridiculous traffic and bad people, it simply isn’t safe for our kids and grandkids – unless, of course, you walk or pedal with them.

4. Memo to Donald: if you get elected and start bringing jobs back onshore as you promised, make call centers the first priority so all of us can understand the person on the other end when we call the cable company or make a hotel reservation. And why is it that these companies give folks who obviously live thousands of miles away from the USA Americanized names like Bob, Carol, Ted and Alice? Do they think they are fooling us?

5. You’ve lived in the bay area a long time if you remember all the excitement about the possibility of the San Francisco Giants (or the Twins or the White Sox) moving to the area.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. A follow up to the historical note above, a guy who never got nearly enough credit for the bay area finally having baseball is former St. Pete assistant city manager Rick Dodge.

7. Buck Showalter takes a ton of heat for not using his ace reliever in a non-save situation in the wild card loss to the Jays. After all, look how well that worked out for the Mets.

8. Playoff note - beyond cool: the only way to describe the Mets having Itzhak Perlman play the National Anthem prior to their play-in game with the Giants. Ain’t nobody taking a knee during that performance!

9. Sadly, lost in all the well-deserved plaudits for Vin Scully was the retirement of another incredibly good broadcaster – the Padres’ Dick Enberg. One last time – “Oh my!”

10. Newsweek may be gone, but we still have the indestructible 5:05 Newsletter which provides this offering: “Donald Trump cancelled a rally scheduled for Portland, Oregon. This was devastating news for Portland’s conservative community…a guy named Steve”.

Some sports heroes for old guys

We’ve mentioned this before, you really feel old when there is no longer a player in a major sport older than you. For this dyed in the wool baseball fan, it was Pete Rose who hung them up at age 45. But you have to love guys like Rose who still performed at a high level into their forties and beyond. Guys like Harry Gant who won at NASCAR’s highest level at age 52; George Blanda who played in the NFL until age 45; basketball’s Robert Parish, who was still battling under the boards at age 43 and this era’s ancient phenom, Bartolo Colon, who at age 43, wants to come back and pitch for the Mets next season You like the guy even more if the athlete, like Colon, appears to be as far out of shape as you. Rock on, Bartolo!

SNEAK PEEK AT NEXT WEEK – SOME CLEAR CHOICES IN THE 2016 ELECTION SEASON

A huge loss

This space was supposed to be filled with a fond farewell to Dodger’s broadcaster Vin Scully. It will appear next week. We think the broadcasting legend would understand. On just so many levels, the loss of Miami ace pitcher Jose Fernandez is one of the greatest losses the game has ever endured. Tampa Bay area graduate, Cuban refugee, face of the Miami franchise and the one pitcher who the other 29 general managers in baseball, given the chance to build a rotation, would take above every other pitcher in the major leagues – just 24 years old and already a dominant force. What a tragedy – harking back to the loss of Indians’ pitchers Tim Crews and Steve Olin in a similar boating accident during spring training 23 years ago. A third pitcher, Bobby Ojeda, was seriously injured but survived. In both cases, there is tragic irony. Twenty-three years ago, the Indians had a chance to play an impromptu game with the Dodgers but Manager Mike Hargrove had promised his guys a day off and nixed the game – thus the ill-fated fishing trip. Fernandez was scheduled to pitch against the Braves on Sunday, but the Marlins pushed him back a day to go against the Mets. Had Fernandez pitched Sunday, there’s no way he’s out on a boat the night before. A huge, huge loss.

Tampa Bay, politics and stuff:

1. Normally notes like this one go in the section below. But Arnold Palmer was a sports figure who transcended sports. When you think of the game of golf, three names stand out above all others – Woods, Nicklaus and Palmer. And now Arnie’s Army no longer has its general.

2. Seldom has the sports world suffered two such great losses within 24 hours. Somewhat lost in all that was a very classy move by Boston’s David Ortiz to request a day honoring his last appearance at the Trop be cancelled in honor of Jose Fernandez.

3. Dunedin plans to spend $81 million to bring its spring training facilities up to speed. Two requests from an occasional visitor: (1) bring the audio and video systems up to something above the current Little League level and (2) Please – replace those horrendous seats. Thanks.

4. In a combined article, The New York Times and Washington Post declare Hillary Clinton the winner of last Monday’s debate. Due to deadline constraints, the article was written the previous Saturday – see disclaimer above.

5. You’ve lived in Clearwater a long time if you ever dined at the Garden Gate Restaurant in Sunshine Mall across from Jim Stewart Shoes.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. So Time Magazine put Colin Kaepernick on its cover a few weeks ago. It’s not the first instance when Time has put someone who doesn’t particularly like America on its cover. Just look at their 1938, 1939 and 1979 men of the year.

7. The Baltimore Ravens who couldn’t get out of their own way with a 5-11 record last year are off to a 3-0 start this year however (and it’s a big however) their opponents thus far are a combined 1-8. There be stormy waters ahead.

8. Despite protests from virtually all corners, Slate is moving ahead with plans to forecast voting results before the polls close in several states including Florida. The idea is fraught with problems including the possibility of “cooking the books” as Slate is hardly viewed as a neutral source of information.

9. Jane Pauley becomes the first person not named Charles to host CBS’ extremely popular Sunday Morning magazine-style show. While a credible host and journalist, she has some very large shoes to fill following in the footsteps of the “Charlies” – Osgood and Kuralt.

10. During 2016, we have been occasionally spotlighting musical acts that achieved immediate success with their first charted song going all the way to Number One. Here are five more: The Elegants, Zager and Evans, The Singing Nun, The Hollywood Argyles and Laurie London. The songs were Little Star, In the Year 2525, Dominique, Alley -Oop and He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands. These five acts share something else in common – they never had another song hit the charts at any position!

Can our sports prognosticator Achmed make it two in a row?

After predicting last year’s World Series down to the number of games prior to the playoffs, Rants and Raves’ crack predictor of things sports, Achmed Walled (pronounced wall-ED) this year likes the Twins over the Braves in 7 – no wait, that was 1991. Achmed sometimes forgets his meds and gets confused. After proper dosage, he sees two teams who have not been to the Fall Classic for a while (one in 2011, the other 1945) doing battle. Achmed likes the Chicago Cubs over the Texas Rangers in six games. Ah, that toddling town.

SNEAK PEEK AT NEXT WEEK – SAYING GOODBYE TO VIN

Celebrating a giant in Clearwater politics

Ten years ago this week, former Clearwater Mayor Gabe Cazares passed away. The man knew everybody in town; was a champion for the Hispanic community; but most of all, is remembered for his valiant fight against the Church of Scientology. It was Cazares who, along with a few others, sniffed out what the “United Churches of Florida” was up to. It was Cazares alone who withstood vicious harassment by the Church of Scientology involving what federal investigators found to be a smear campaign against the Clearwater Mayor. Gabe later served on the Pinellas County Commission, but it was as the crusading mayor of Clearwater where he made his indelible mark.

Tampa Bay, politics and stuff:

1 Quote of the week (maybe the year): “I admire Hillary Clinton for her honesty.” - Charlie Crist in his televised debate with Rep. David Jolly.

2. A parting gift from the Obama administration - a proposed petroleum tax that will add just short of a quarter to your gas pump price.

3. Several state legislators are echoing this blog in calling for a statewide set of regulations for Lyft and Uber. Great idea, but do it! Tallahassee has had this on their plate for the past three sessions and each time punted.

4. One of the many great things about Pinellas County is its countywide library cooperative which allows any city’s card holder to use other libraries or better yet to just sit at your computer and order a book in a not so near library delivered to your home library - and happy 100^th birthday to the Clearwater Public Library.

5. You’ve lived in Clearwater a long time if you remember 1963 when Clearwater’s first McDonald’s (across from CHS) offered its first non-hamburger sandwich – the Filet o’ Fish. It cost 29 cents. We predict it will catch on.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. The Bucs came back to earth in rather convincing fashion in Week 2. After a relative cupcake in Week 3, they face last year’s Super Bowl contestants back to back. They will need the bye week that follows Denver and Carolina.

7. Commentator George Will, who is so quotable this time of year, wishes that the American electorate would spend as much time on selecting a president as they do selecting a new car.

8. We frequently comment on commercials (including today’s concluding note). One that recently caught our attention was the guy who makes shirts in America taking Donald Trump to task. Small nitpick - while the guy makes shirts in America, he makes them on machines made in China, Taiwan and Vietnam.

9. Fox News Network’s 7 p.m. slot has nearly doubled its audience since Brit Hume took over from Greta Van Susteren. This is not a slam at Van Susteren but a tribute to the respect Hume commands. The semi-retired commentator will stay on through the election season.

10. A huge tip of our cap to Doctors Richard Abdo and Tim Kelly who collectively ended three months of pain and incredible ridicule from “friends” as we hobbled around on a walker for several weeks. As stated here before, good accountants, attorneys, doctors and Realtors are worth their weight in gold.

How many commercials does it take?

Watching a car dealer on TV last week spouting about his decades of “integrity” got us wondering just how many commercials does it take to overcome a factual story told over and over by a former customer? Guy’s car is damaged while in for service. Dealer tells service man to call customer telling him the service man will be docked for the repair unless the customer agrees to pay the $300 or so bill. The customer reluctantly pays it while encouraging service man to go work for a more reputable dealership, and has probably told the story over several dozen times – now one more. Pretty short sighted – not to mention a complete lack of “integrity”.

SNEAK PEEK AT NEXT WEEK – THE VOICE OF THE GAME HANGS THEM UP

What will the cabinets look like?

So far, we have had more of a peek into what a Clinton cabinet will look like as opposed to that of Donald Trump. Clinton has emphatically stated that fifty per cent of her cabinet will be comprised of women – qualifications be damned. You can be pretty sure given the fractious tenor of the campaign, there will be no Republicans and probably very few moderates. Trump, a business man, will probably draw from the business community which tends to tilt conservative. Doubt there will be any Silicon Valley types – probably more eastern and midwestern folks. Unlike Clinton, gender will probably not play as big a role as qualifications. We would not be surprised if Carly Fiorina is part of a Trump administration as well as Dr. Ben Carson. Advantage Trump.

The bay area, politics and stuff:

1. So, Mr. Obama, do we the American taxpayers get our money back for the days you take off to campaign for Hillary Clinton rather than doing the job we pay you to do albeit badly?

2. We don’t often agree with Tampa mayor Bob Buckhorn, but his one word characterization of the Hillsborough Public Transportation Commission (dinosaur) is spot on. The TPC is a throwback to the days when palms were greased for taxi licenses and airport access. It needs to go away.

3. Just an idle thought: if Hillary Clinton is elected president, will the Clintons return the furniture they took from the White House when they left in 2001?

4. Clearwater Beach and Island Estates residents are somewhat bummed by the sign surrounding the Publix rebuild forecasting a reopening a full year from now.

5. As gas hovers above two dollars a gallon, you’ve lived in Clearwater a long time if you remember the “gas wars” of the late fifties and early sixties that often saw gas under twenty cents a gallon.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. From the world-wide leader in satire, the 5:05 Newsletter, this gem: A ballot measure in November will allow Californians to vote on whether or not to legalize recreational marijuana. Californians will have the option to vote “Yes” or “Hell Yes.”

7. Just like Colin Kaepernick, we’re not sure what soccer player Megan Rapinoe accomplished by taking a knee recently during the playing of the National Anthem – except that now perhaps more than 100 Americans know who the heck she is.

8. In a related note, it was heartwarming to see the Little League champs from Endwell, NY standing by their fellow ballplayers, the New York Yankees, during the Anthem at the Stadium on the eve of 9/11. Nary a pro or little leaguer took a knee.

9. Another Yankee note: they have called up rookie outfielder Mason Williams which, no doubt, will have every ballpark he visits scrambling around for a copy of Classical Gas to play when he steps up to the plate.

10. We apologize for being about three weeks late in noting the passing of one of the great character actors of the 70s and 80s. Jack Riley’s portrayal of the super neurotic Elliot Carlin on the Bob Newhart Show was one of the masterpieces of that era. He also appeared in Seinfeld, MASH, Saturday Night Live and a host of other comedies.

A somewhat misguided vet        

In a recent op/ed piece, a veteran of some recent conflicts made a pitch to those of us from the Vietnam era to reject Donald Trump’s candidacy. In the piece he suggests that many, if not most, of us have yet to forgive the traitorous actions of Jane Fonda during that war. He is right. That same support and comfort she gave to our enemy at the expense of American soldiers is now being lavished on Hillary Clinton by Ms. Fonda. Need we say more?

SNEAK PEEK AT NEXT WEEK – CELEBRATING A GIANT OF CLEARWATER POLITICS

 Third party candidate? Run, don’t walk.

So many Americans look at the two major party candidates in this year’s presidential election and feel impending doom – with good reason. Many, as many as ten per cent according to some polls, are flirting with the idea of a third party candidate. The major third party candidate is Libertarian Gary Johnson. We only ask you listen to him in an interview before deciding. He is pro-abortion, pro legalization of pot, doesn’t seem to see much need for a national defense. And last week, NBC (Network Backing Clinton) made a great deal of Johnson not knowing what Aleppo was – which the network never explained is a battle torn city in Syria. Need to know more? Again, watch an interview. He is a former governor of New Mexico, one step up from Mayor of Taos, who comes off as just a bit wacko. His official photo bears a bit of a resemblance to David Miscavige. Other than that, he’d make a heck of a president – for a third world country.

Tampa Bay, politics and stuff:

1. There are the conspiracy theorists who claim FDR knew about Pearl Harbor in advance; then there are the multiple JFK assassination scenarios; now we have Bob Graham still beating the drum over his 9/11 conjectures. Give it up, Bob.

2. Clearwater’s purchasing manager Alyce Benge probably didn’t endear herself to fellow city employees who handle big construction projects when she discovered the city’s bidding process on projects over 2 million dollars has been handled incorrectly for two decades. Revamping it might slow projects down a few months, but Benge did the right thing for Clearwater taxpayers.

3. In total fairness to Gary Johnson (lead article), there is another third (or fourth) party candidate – the Green Party’s Jill Stein. Again, watch an interview or visit Disney’s Fantasy Land. The result is about the same.

4. Both of our sitting U.S Senators as well as the Democratic challenger for a Senate seat have chosen to politicize the Zika virus in one way or another. We should be proud.

5. A follow up to last week’s historical note: You’ve lived in Clearwater a long time if you remember the fires that destroyed Clearwater Beach’s two most prominent restaurants – the Beachcomber in 1959 and the Pelican in 1974. Both were rebuilt. Your HB (Humble Blogger) dined at the Beachcomber the night before their early morning fire but swears he had nothing to do with the inferno.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. We were informed on last week’s edition of The Sports Reporters that the National Anthem is neither necessary nor relevant at the beginning of sporting events (more on that below). Wasn’t it great when sports (and sports shows) were a relief valve from all the other garbage in the world?

7. As we dry out this week, we would still like to see the Hurricane Center pick up with the first unused hurricane name from the year before so that every Tanya, Teresa, Ted and Thomas of the world could get some pub or notoriety.

8. Greta Van Susteren’s sudden departure from Fox News came as a bit of a surprise but hardly a life-threatening blow to the network. While Van Susteren was solid, she did not have the star power of the trio that follows her – O’Reilly, Kelly and Hannity. A Scientologist, Van Susteren is an occasional visitor to Clearwater.

9. In the wake of the new Apple 7 phone (which we assume will still provide privacy to terrorists) and the Samsung fires, our Raves and Rants focus group is happy to report their flip phones are performing just fine with no fires.

10. One of the best under the radar pick-ups just before the MLB trade deadline was Atlanta’s acquisition of Matt Kemp for a toxic player the Braves were about to release (and the Padres subsequently did). Since the installation of Kemp in the clean-up spot a month ago, the batting averages of the three players ahead of him have all increased a minimum of ten points each and, more importantly, the Braves have a winning record.

Our kind of hero

We guess a number of folks are labeling Colin Kaepernick as some sort of hero for his stand on alleged police brutality. Frankly, we don’t make the connection between the National Anthem and a few rogue cops but apparently he does. Our hero is a retired educator who weekly delivers food stuffs to people in need, other materials to a thrift shop that supports low income expectant mothers and collects both food and clothing for a migrant ministry in Hillsborough County. There are hundreds, if not thousands, just like her in the bay area. They all stand up for the playing of the Anthem but sadly don’t get the publicity of some second string quarterback.

SNEAK PEEK AT NEXT WEEK – WHAT WOULD CLINTON AND TRUMP CABINETS LOOK LIKE?

Where do our tourists come from?

As we near the end of our traditional summer tourism season (and it was a good one), here’s a look at where our tourists come from. These are 2015 numbers: the top three feeder markets for our tourists are New York City, Chicago and Philadelphia, putting to rest a lot of our mindset that we draw primarily a mid-west crowd. Actually, the third largest feeder market is Orlando but very few of those folks are actual Orlando residents. Mickey, Universal and the rest help our tourism – the parks are great fun but none have a beach and its related activities like Clearwater.

Tampa Bay, politics and other stuff:

1. There was no surprise in either of the two U.S. Senate races in Florida with Marco Rubio and Patrick Murphy easy winners. The only surprise is that in a state of 20 million people, they are the best two candidates we could muster.

2. On the educational front, the Pinellas County School Board, already weakened by the departure of veteran Janet Clark, took another hit with the razor thin loss of Ken Peluso, a positive force on the board. In Hillsborough, memories proved short as Susan Valdes and Cindy Stuart, the ringleaders of the infamous “Gang of Four”, both were reelected although Valdes’ victory was by less than 300 votes.

3. A few last election notes: Pinellas voters showed their savvy in electing a professional appraiser and a sitting judge over two career politicians although the judicial race was closer than it should have been. And in Hillsborough, 86-year-old County Clerk Pat Frank was re-nominated on the Democratic ticket, but then Hillsborough once elected a dead guy back in the fifties.

4. A comment from political analyst George Will last week: “30 percent of Americans can name their two U.S. Senators”. He did not specify if that included Floridians like us who know who they are but ashamed to admit it.

5. You’ve lived in Clearwater a long time if you dined at Henry Henriquez’ Pelican Restaurant on Clearwater Beach.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. Our bay area television stations need to take a bow for their excellent coverage of Hurricane Hermine. Hard to single one out as all of them were at the top of their game.

7. Interesting baseball thought #1: Marlins color man Eduardo Perez thinks if the catcher is somehow able to catch a ball after it hits a batter, the batter should not be awarded first base. Huh? He wasn’t all that good, but bring back former color man Tommy Hutton.

8. Interesting baseball thought #2: Times beat writer takes future Hall of Fame manager Bruce Bochy to task for allowing former Ray Matt Moore to throw 133 pitches in a quest for a no hitter for a contending team. Two days later, Ray’s pitcher David Archer throws just under 120 pitches in a meaningless 10-4 win over Houston.

9. For the casual Rays follower, it came as stunning news. The Rays released outfielder Desmond Jennings – another Ray’s prospect who never quite lived up to the hype.

10. Looking back: In the 60s, people took acid to make the world weird. Now the world is weird, and people take Prozac to make it normal.

Achmed looks forward to the NFL season

Our savvy sports prognosticator Achmed Walled (pronounced wall-ED) has, after laborious statistical analysis, selected his Super Bowl teams and made his annual prediction on the fate of the Bucs in 2016 (spoiler alert - he doesn’t think they will be participating beyond their New Year’s Day season wrap-up with Carolina). Traditionalist that he is, Achmed likes two teams with extensive Super Bowl resumes, the New England Patriots and the Green Bay Packers to match up. As for our Buccaneers, the soothsayer from the east sees an improvement to 7-9 under new head coach Dirk Koetter and, almost as importantly, defensive coordinator Mike Smith.

SNEAK PEEK AT NEXT WEEK – THIRD PARTY? RUN, DON’T WALK.

Kudos to the 1st District Court of Appeal

That something upsets you is not enough reason for an appeals court to overturn a valid ruling by a lower court. That was the message loud and clear to the Florida Education Association on its suit against tax credit scholarships to private schools. The tax credit plan, formulated during the Jeb Bush administration, recognized that private schools, in large measure, deliver a better level of education but many potential students were excluded for financial reasons. The monies for the program come from corporate pockets in the form of tax credits rather than taxpayer dollars. We hope the FEA will now move on and focus on making our public schools better.

Tampa Bay, politics and stuff:

1. We remember hearing several elected officials on the Metropolitan Planning Organization circa 2000 warning that making Ft. Harrison Avenue single lane would turn it into a parking lot. Their objections fell on deaf ears. It might be time to revisit that decision.

2. Proof that this blog pretty much writes itself. St. Pete City Council dominated by Democrats votes to spend taxpayer dollars on landscaping the party’s offices. The money was minimal, the action, later reversed, was moronic.

3. In case you forgot, Tuesday is primary election day with a few interesting races. In Pinellas, two of the easiest calls are judicial and property appraisal professionals being challenged by career politicians.

4. Factoid: the state of Florida has never had a Presidential or Vice- Presidential candidate on a major party ticket. It is the largest state with that “distinction”.

5. You’ve lived in Pinellas County a long time if you remember the delightful Bath Club on North Redington Beach.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. The Wall Street Journal advanced an idea that makes way too much sense to ever be adopted. Instead of building (or half building) Olympic venues to service a few weeks of competition, build four or so permanent locations scattered about North America, Europe and Asia that would not go to waste after a single Olympics – saving bundles of money. One suggestion is to have perhaps two summer and two winter sites to rotate every four years.

7. Headline that needed drastic revision from “Florida’s Best Newspaper” - Walmart expands curbside pickup program in Tampa Bay –projecting an image of a giant garbage truck with a Walmart logo on its side. The story actually had to do with grocery pick-ups at selected stores.

8. They are still four games out in the Wild Card race as this is written but keep an eye on the Kansas City Royals down the stretch.

9. Sad to say, Josh Hamilton is going to be the subject of those “whatever happened to” columns in the near future.

10. The passing of Tampa’s Monsignor Laurence Higgins marks the end of an era. He was more influential in the Catholic and secular community than most bishops – as was Clearwater’s Monsignor Thomas Colreavy in the 1950s and 60s. Both men were larger than life.

Show off on the diamond, but you better be good

Showboats like Carlos Gomez and Yasiel Puig can get away with their acts – as long as they are productive. Gomez, known primarily for Cadillac-ing around the bases after he hits a home run, and Puig who seems to delight in throwing to the wrong base or completely airmailing a throw from the outfield have worn out their welcomes in Houston and LA respectively. Gomez was released by the Astros and Puig sent to the minors by the Dodgers. When their production went south so did the level of tolerance for their acts by their clubs. Same can be said for reliever Jonathan Papelbon, not a showboat but a cancer in the clubhouse. It shouldn’t be that way but more than a few clubs will tolerate all sorts of bush league stuff – as long as the guy produces.

SNEAK PEEK AT NEXT WEEK – AN ARMCHAIR VIEW OF TUESDAY’S RESULTS

 The path to the Presidency

As we all know, Hillary Clinton is a former Secretary of State. Some other people holding that position have been elected President, but the last one was nearly 100 years ago – Herbert Hoover in 1921 and you probably know how well that turned out. She is also a former Senator – somehow representing New York. The last several Senators to reach the oval office were Obama, LBJ, Nixon and JFK – a range of pretty good to pretty bad - none Mount Rushmore material. The list of people like Donald Trump with absolutely no government service to gain the presidency is zero. How much weight does that carry? We’ll see in a few short months.

Tampa Bay, politics and stuff:

1. A follow up to our lead piece: in our history, there have been only five paths to the Presidency – Vice President, member of Congress, Cabinet Member, Governor, or General of the US Army. As mentioned, Trump is none of those. So one way or another, we set a precedent this year – either our first female or first “non-traditional” President.

2. Carrying this week’s theme one step further, the ten men generally recognized as our best Presidents came from these backgrounds: Congress (Lincoln, Madison, Monroe and Truman); Governor (FDR and Wilson); Vice President (Jefferson and Teddy Roosevelt) and General of the Army (Washington and Ike).

3. Remember when you needed something done at work (vacation, insurance etc.) you went to the personnel department? Now Pasco County’s school system has a Human Capital Partner. Who comes up with this stuff?

4. Two near tragedies averted on the water last weekend. Coast Guard boat picks up two divers whose boat drifted away – no one topside – a violation of rule number one in diving. Capt. Chris Wilke on the party boat Double Eagle II rescues five persons whose boat capsized 12 miles off shore – too long a distance for too small a boat in existing conditions with five inexperienced boaters. Think before you leave the docks, folks.

5. Speaking of docks, if you have lived (and fished) in Clearwater for a long time, you will recognize the names Bob Hylton, Joe Kratzer, Bill Meyer and Fred Price. They were the long time skippers of Clearwater’s original party fishing boats – Sea Hawk, Miss Elsie, Sea Fever and the Rainbow.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. In a natural corollary to last week’s focus group question, we asked our four old, cranky people, all baby boomers) to select the best President of their lifetimes. The results: Reagan (2), Clinton (1) and Nixon (1), making him the only President to make both the best and worst lists.

7. His voice was one of the greatest of the pop/folk era yet he was never really comfortable with his success. Glenn Yarbrough of the Limelighters, who also had a successful solo career, died last week at age 86.

8. We’re guessing it will be awhile before the International Olympic Committee again awards the games to a banana republic no matter how much money changes hands.

9. Bad idea of the week: We enjoy the Times Tom Jones but that doesn’t mean we always agree with him. His suggestion that Jeremy Schapp replace the late John Saunders on The Sports Reporters is really bad. The problem is Schapp just isn’t that good. He is part of a crew of later generation broadcasters named Buck, Caray and Schapp who, if not for their last names, would be doing weekends at TV stations in Helena, Montana. Jones’ other suggestion should fit the bill – Mike Lupica, who while opinionated, can also throttle it back when needed.

10. It’s way too early to declare the New York Yankees’ plan to rebuild a success but when two call-ups who figure in their future hit back to back homeruns in what was each player’s first major league at bat, that’s pretty impressive. Keep an eye on Tyler Austin and Aaron Judge.

About first at bat major league homers

No matter how long you watch baseball, there is still something you haven’t seen – like rookies Austin and Judge hitting back to back homers in their first MLB at bats – something that had never been accomplished. Some other interesting first homers – two Hall of Famers have done it – Cleveland center fielder Earl Averill and a guy not known for his bat – knuckleballer Hoyt Wilhelm (his only MLB homer). Some other names you may recognize who homered on their first at bat – Giants first baseman Bill White, later a broadcaster and MLB exec; another Giant first sacker Will Clark; Chuck Tanner, better known for his managerial abilities; and who could forget the first at bat homer by the pride of Clearwater, Florida – Buster Narum? Oh and one other – the only pro football and college football Hall of Famer to go deep on his first at bat – Duke University and NFL legend Ace Parker.

SNEAK PEEK AT NEXT WEEK – KUDOS TO THE 1^ST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL

Reading for the realist or perhaps the pessimist

To quote Bette Davis in All about Eve – “Fasten your seat belts; it’s going to be a bumpy night” (not ride as it is often misquoted). Whatever happens between now in November, it’s going to be a bumpy four (and hopefully no more than four) years. To prepare ourselves, we are reading biographies of the ten men generally recognized by historians as the worst presidents in U.S. history. They are Nixon, Hoover, Grant, Tyler, Fillmore, Coolidge, Pierce, Johnson the first, Harding and Buchanan. Some lists include our current president but we’ll give him the next six months to redeem himself. We’re about halfway through the list. Hope we’re wrong, but it’s quite possible whoever wins in November will become part of that list of ten in the future.

Tampa Bay, politics and stuff:

1. Now that the campaign for the White House has begun in earnest, raise your hand if you would rather have the choice of the two Vice-Presidential candidates to lead our country rather than the two freak shows at the top of the ticket.

2. Not a lot has been made of it, but as students get ready to return for the fall session, happy 60^th anniversary to our alma mater, the University of South Florida, founded in 1956.

3. Speaking of schools, the kids are back in session and it’s a quiet time here on the west coast. We can all get back to our favorite restaurants and attractions without the long waits that occur in the spring and summer. Enjoy!

4. While on the subject of spring, that’s when the new Crabby Bill’s at the Clearwater Marina is scheduled to open (March). That will be just short of ten months start to finish or about the same amount of time it took for the Mexican restaurant in the Marina to pick out window treatments.

5. You’ve really lived in Clearwater a long time if you remember the magnolia farms south of Gulf-to-Bay Blvd., bordering Belcher Road.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. Two large losses in the media world this past week. Dave McKay, for twenty years the morning personality at WQYK, one of this country’s premier country radio stations. And John Saunders, who smoothly guided the enormous egos on The Sports Reporters making it one of the diamonds of the ESPN franchise. He was a versatile sportscaster but it was his work on The Sports Reporters that will live in our memory.

7. Five MLB teams have lost 10,000 games in their history. The loveable losers are, in order, the Phils, the Cubs, Braves, Pirates and Reds. No American League team has lost 10,000 simply because that league has not been in existence as long as the NL. On track to hit 10,000 first are the Orioles and the Twins (including their stays in St. Louis and Washington respectively).

8. Lost in the sad news of Prince Fielder’s career ending is the fact that Prince and his father, Cecil, both ended their careers with exactly 319 home runs – incredible.

9. Related to our lead item, if you’re not up to reading full blown biographies of 10 (or 44) Presidents, there is an excellent book by David Whitney The American Presidents that gives you a 10-15 page mini-biography of each of our chief executives. It’s now in its ninth edition.

10. In a further follow-up to our lead piece, we asked the Rants and Raves focus group (comprised of four old, cranky people – and all baby boomers) who was the worst president in their lifetime? Their votes: Carter (1), Nixon (1) George W. Bush (2). Note: the focus group was not allowed to cast a ballot for “whoever wins this year’s election”.

Does Kevin Cash get a third year? Probably.

The Tampa Bay Rays are in full crash mode. They are in line to finish 30 games under .500 for the first time since 2007 when they were known as the Devil Rays. Manager Kevin Cash was a curious pick given the talent already in the organization – Davy Martinez, Charlie Montoyo and Tom Foley. Even so, he finished three games better in 2015 than the previous year but this year is of Titanic proportions. A lot has to do with talent (and to a lesser degree injuries) and that may be his saving grace despite heading for a possible 100 loss season. If it were us, we would cut our losses and promote either Montoyo or Foley – both much more experienced baseball men, but then we would not have hired Cash in the first place. A young team needs veteran leadership not a fresh faced kid. That being said, look for Cash to be in the dugout in 2017 but the results had best be a whole lot better.

SNEAK PEEK AT NEXT WEEK – THAT FIRST MAJOR LEAGUE HOMER

A challenge to “Florida’s best newspaper”

A couple weeks ago, one of the Times’ columnists suggested that posters on social media should follow the Four Way Test of Rotary International. First let us review the Four Way Test developed by Herb Taylor, a Rotarian and the man who headed Club Aluminum cookware. The four tenants of the test are (1) Is it the truth? (2) Is it fair to all concerned? (3) Will it build goodwill and better friendships? (4) Is it beneficial to all concerned? While we agree that social posters would be well served to follow this creed, we would like to challenge “Florida’s best newspaper” to live up to that creed in just one edition.

Tampa Bay, politics and stuff:

1. We’ve mentioned this before, the Times masthead for many years carried a quote from publisher Nelson Poynter, it read, ““The policy of our paper is simple – merely to tell the truth.” The quote was dropped several years ago.

2. Pinellas County GOP voters seem to have a fairly easy choice in the upcoming primary battle for property appraiser – a guy who has actually done this most of his life, Mike Twitty, or a career politician looking for a job, Jim Frishe.

3. Speaking of elections, our family received a well-designed post card this past week urging us to re-elect octogenarian Hillsborough County Clerk Pat Frank. The problem is our family has resided in Pinellas County for over fifty years. Glad we’re not paying for that campaign material.

4. 750,000 – that’s the number of people who attend events annually at Ruth Eckerd Hall making it the biggest drawing venue within the Clearwater city limits. Second and third are the Clearwater Marine Aquarium at 320,000 and Bright House Field at just over 300,000 - this from an interesting 2016 Community Profile published by the city.

5. You’ve lived in Clearwater for a long time if you remember when WTAN Radio fired all their announcers and had Mayors and civic leaders spinning the hits for a day – April Fool’s Day, of course.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. As we suffer through the dog days of summer, a thought from the always enjoyable 5:05 Newsletter: Southern California is in the midst of a heat wave. The temperature hit 112 in Beverly Hills. That is dangerous. Many residents of Beverly Hills are made of materials that melt at temperatures like that.

7. Continuing our series of “instant success” on the record charts, here are five more artists whose first chart recording went to Number One – Petula Clark, The Eurythmics, KC and the Sunshine Band, Sheena Easton and the Buckinghams. The songs were Downtown, Sweet Dreams are Made of This, Get Down Tonight, Morning Train (Nine to Five) and Kind of a Drag. Of the five, Clark and KC would both hit the top spot again.

8. Our Rants and Raves focus group (comprised of four old, cranky people) asks: “aren’t young people distracted enough without adding Pokémon Go?”

9. What’s up with major league pitchers (including the Rays’ Blake Snell) wearing single digit numbers? This isn’t Little League guys – pitchers wear two digit numbers and position players wear single digit numbers – unless you happen to play for the Yankees but that’s another story (all their single digit uniform numbers have been retired).

10. More on the Yankees: their original numbers designated where hitters hit in the line-up thus Ruth wore 3 and Gehrig 4 etc. The other retired single digit numbers of the Yanks – 1 – Billy Martin; 2 – Derek Jeter; 5 – DiMaggio; 6 – Torre; 7- Mantle; 8 – an oddity – both their HOF catchers Berra and Dickey wore that number and 9 – Roger Maris.

You want to believe this is the Cubs’ year but…

They have spent outrageous amounts of money; picked up a shutdown reliever at the trading deadline; and have a potential All-Star at every position but somehow, some way, the Cubs will find a way to extend their losing streak to 108 years. Here’s why: their pitching staff, particularly their starting rotation, is grossly over rated. Their manager, while seemingly everybody’s cult favorite, was badly out managed in his only World Series appearance – by Charlie Manuel, no less. That shutdown reliever has limited post season experience with five appearances and exactly zero saves – Mo Rivera he is not. Finally, the West Division leading San Francisco Giants tend to win the World Series in every even-numbered year in this decade.

SNEAK PEEK AT NEXT WEEK – “REQUIRED READING” FOR THE 2016 POLITICAL SEASON

Way, way past time to simplify insurance

Liberty Mutual Insurance has some neat commercials. Particularly enjoy the cute gal talking about her car “Brad”. They have another ad that hits home on one of the biggest problems in the industry – at least for its customers. That is the lack of a simplified, cogent explanation of what your policy covers and what it does not. It should be a page or less and in 14 point or larger type (slightly larger than newspaper type). And it should be legally required of all companies, all policies on at least a state, but preferably federal level. But to do that, legislators would have to jump out of insurance lobbies pockets. It’s hard to see that happening without a less than gentle nudge from us, the electorate.

Tampa Bay, politics and stuff:

1. Now that the national political conventions are over, is there any chance that one or, hopefully, both of the presidential candidates will start acting presidential instead of like a bully and a harpy?

2. On the eve of the Democratic convention, all the national media is ablaze with stories of the DNC’s attempts to rig the primary. Locally, it ranks page 15 in our remaining newspaper – the front page consisting of essentially an unpaid three-quarter page ad for the Clinton campaign. In the old days, you burned the books; now you just buy out the dissenting competition.

3. In an associated item, aren’t we Floridians proud of the fact we can claim Debbie Wasserman-Schultz as one of our own? Actually she’s a New York transplant – who would have guessed that?

4. A follow up to our lead item of last week on Charter’s shortcomings. Despite outages, broken promises and a general we don’t care attitude, Charter (the former Bright House) Communication’s saving grace is Frontier Communications whose massive troubles make Charter look passable. Kind of like a D making a C- appear good.

5. Beach and Island Estates residents are bracing themselves this week for the closure of the Island Estates Publix for probably a year or so while a new store is constructed on the current site. The new store will add only about an extra one thousand square feet to the current footprint. The average Publix is a third again as large. For your HB (Humble Blogger), the closing is a mixed bag – we will miss the convenience but will be better off without the easy access to a late night treat (read ice cream).

6. All these summer holidays and weekends, you can only imagine how much beer is consumed each weekend. We asked a team member at Great Bay Distributors about the biggest day or weekend for beer sales. To our surprise, it is not a summer holiday weekend, but the day before Thanksgiving.

7. In a related historical note, you’ve lived in the bay area a long time if you remember when admission (and beer) at Busch Gardens were free. Needless to say, it was a favorite stop for students of nearby USF.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

8. Chicago White Sox pitcher Chris Sale was over the top with his cutting up of some so-called throwback uniforms and his suspension justified. But he makes a good point – only the most naïve believe those uniforms are tributes to teams past. They are simply another sales item and players look and feel ridiculous in them.

9. It’s hard to get excited about the trading deadline when your favorite team is over 20 games below .500 (as are five teams including our Rays). You have to be a baseball super geek to get charged up about some A-ball stud pitcher you received for your best pitcher or hitter.

10. By the way, the actress in that “Brad” commercial mentioned above is New Jersey native Midori Francis, who has done quite a bit of stage work in the New York area.

A new approach to post season baseball

We have ranted beyond most folks tolerances about the idiocy of having an All-Star exhibition game determine the home field advantage for the World Series. There are two solutions, neither of which is the old system of rotating between the AL and NL each year. The first which involves some possible logistics issues is having regular season records determine home field advantage. Major hurdle there is you might not know until a few days before the World Series who that is. But, it’s not much different than the current system from a logistics standpoint. The perhaps more radical approach is more of an NFL system where cities bid years in advance for the series. Then all seven games are played there with the team with the best record getting games one and seven as the home team. A variation to that theme would be selecting an AL and NL park in advance for each year’s series again with the best regular season record getting games one and seven. Perhaps there are other solutions but almost anything would be better than the current farce.

SNEAK PEEK AT NEXT WEEK – YOU WANT TO BELIEVE IT’S THE CUBS’ YEAR BUT…

 Lousy cable service – we can’t say we weren’t warned

We doubt it’s just us – eight or ten calls for assistance in the past six - eight weeks. Two telephone outages in the last 24 hours as this is written. Bright House since its acquisition by Charter Communications has gone from a serviceable system to a bloody disaster. We were told service levels would remain the same, we beg to differ. We were told rates would not go up. They have – approximately 15 per cent in our case. Charter, at the time of the acquisition, was ranked as the second worst cable company nationwide in terms of customer satisfaction. That was well-publicized, and they have lived up to that reputation. And saddest of all, for many parts of the bay area, there is no alternative and Charter knows that. The good news, long term, is these things have a way of working themselves out and some aspiring group will recognize how awful the service is and move in and take advantage.

Tampa Bay, politics and stuff:

1. In the aftermath of the Republican Convention, not surprisingly, you wondered if the same event was being covered depending on which media outlet you viewed or read. So much time devoted to the Mrs. Trump – Mrs. Obama nonsense – particularly on left-leaning NBC. If you’re going to steal quotes, you’re going to steal them from Mother Teresa, Margaret Thatcher, or Helen Keller – not Michele Obama, for goodness sake.

2. Speaking of NBC, the rumble you heard in the background of their convention coverage was award-winning convention commentators David Brinkley, Chet Huntley and John Chancellor rolling over in their graves.

3. We admire the guy and candidly we think he would have made a great president, but it was extreme bad form for Governor John Kasich not to attend his party’s convention in his own state. It puts him in the same category with pouty Jeb Bush and self-serving Ted Cruz.

4. Perhaps you read the piece recently saying legalized medical pot would be a boom to the Florida economy. We have no doubt the biggest growth industry will be in the legal field with accident victims looking for reparations and another branch of the law trying to keep stoned drivers out of jail.

5. Germaine to our concluding piece, you’ve lived in the bay area a long time if you remember Tampa’s post season Cigar Bowl (1947-54) – the first ever bowl game for the FSU Seminoles in 1950.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. While we would love to have a major league baseball game as close as the Kenyon or Dick Norris sites in Clearwater, having a Rays park there would make an even larger Frankenstein out of U.S. 19. Put us down for the Derby Lane site – a location many locals wanted 25 years ago before political deal making came up with the illogical Trop venue.

7. We bid so long to Jonathon Goldsmith, the actor who portrayed the “most interesting man in the world” for Dos Equis beer for the past decade. The character is being phased out as the company bows to differing tastes of millennials who, we guess, drink a lot of beer.

8. It continues to amaze us that only one top level women’s tennis player has been penalized for juicing.

9.The website Cheat Sheet lists their top six catchers of all time. In six through one order, Mike Piazza, Carlton Fisk, Bill Dickey, Pudge Rodriguez, Yogi Berra and Johnny Bench. It’s hard to argue with any of the six although few of us saw Dickey play. Five of the six are in the Hall of Fame and Pudge will be a first round pick when he is eligible next year.

10. Our Rants and Raves focus group (now comprised of four old, cranky people) were polled about their all-time favorite song. Their list – A House is not a Home, California Girls, Little Darlin’ and Misty. Not a bad foursome.

The watering down of American sports

First, forget about the good old days of two eight-team baseball leagues, six hockey franchises and the Syracuse Nationals basketball team. Those days are gone, but we continue to water down sports. The latest sign of the Apocalypse is the NCAA announcement that before any 5-7 football teams are considered, all 6-6 teams must be issued a bowl invite. How ridiculous. There was a day when teams finishing 7-3 would turn down a bowl bid judging themselves unworthy for such an honor. But that, of course, was when there were the Cotton, Gator, Orange, Rose and Sugar Bowls and maybe one or two others. Other exhibits include the NHL expanding to Las Vegas and the MLB flirting with expansion when several of their franchises including our Rays are on life support. But as long as we sports fans are willing to pay for mediocre performances, the bowls and major sports leagues will gladly accept our money.

SNEAK PEEK AT NEXT WEEK – MAKING INSURANCE COVERAGE UNDERSTANDABLE

Too many dots connect in Clinton case

To review: FBI director James Comey takes Hillary Clinton to the woodshed over her email practices while Secretary of State. Fresh off a private meeting with Bill Clinton, Attorney General Loretta Lynch, no doubt hoping for a few more years in the post, says the Justice Department will not pursue anything further against Ms. Clinton. On the same day as the FBI’s findings were revealed to the rest of us, President Obama chooses to make his first campaign appearance with the apparent Democratic nominee. Do you think he’s making that appearance if he doesn’t know what the findings against Clinton are going to be? No one is that stupid. Three day old fish smells better than the above chain of events.

Tampa Bay, politics and stuff:

1. Could Donald Trump have picked a more vanilla candidate than Gov. Mike Pence? Exactly what does he bring to the GOP ticket? It is said that Trump wanted someone with both executive and legislative experience. A better choice stood one state to the east of Indiana but we’ve blown that horn before.

2. Within a week, the FBI announces it has concluded its investigations of Hillary Clinton - and D.B. Cooper - so many punchlines, so little space.

3. Ultra-liberal Supreme Justice Ruth Ginsberg recently alluded to moving to New Zealand if Donald Trump were elected. Let’s say you set up GoFundMe account for her move – what would it take to raise the necessary funds – about a minute and a half?

4. The city of Lakeland is looking at valet parking in its downtown. One of the questions being posed to visitors to downtown is “How much would you be willing to pay for such a service?” Frankly, a lot of people exposed to valet parking would be willing to pay more not to resort to valet parking.

5. You’ve lived in Clearwater a long time if you remember when the city was a two-bank town – First National Bank at Cleveland and Osceola and Bank of Clearwater at Cleveland and Garden Avenue. Now you can find more banks than that on some corners.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. Breaking news: Albany cancels its fall basketball game against Duke over North Carolina’s common sense gender appropriate restroom law. There is no telling how far this will set the Duke basketball program back.

7. Baseball fans will want to remember the name Josh Bell. Pirates fans (and Cub fans who witnessed his major league debut) already know him. This Pirate first baseman of the future looks like an emerging superstar.

8. As mentioned in the May 29 RANTS, Bartolo Colon is the only remaining member of the Montreal Expos still in major league ball. The oldest surviving member of the Expos is 88-year-old ace reliever Elroy Face who made his mark with three saves in the 1960 World Series with the Pirates and over a two-year span in 1958-59 won 22 straight games.

9. A few weeks ago (RANTS – June 19) we noted the once very hot Gap Stores were facing hard times. According to the Wall Street Journal, another American fashion icon in trouble is Ralph Lauren – so much so that its namesake founder and CEO has turned over the reins to an outsider who hopefully can turn the high end line around.

10. A guy named Craig Pittman has authored a book entitled Oh, Florida! How the America’s Weirdest State Influences the Rest of the Country. Apparently Mr. Pittman was absent from American History class on the days they discussed the admissions of Colorado and California into the union.

Some takeaways from the All-Star game

It’s pretty gimmicky to have the American League as the home team in the National League park. Rotate the leagues evenly when choosing sites rather than playing blackmail with cities that refuse to cave and replace 15-year-old parks with new ones/// We respectively disagree with naming the MLB batting titles after Rod Carew and Tony Gwynn. Both Ty Cobb and Honus Wagner won more titles and frankly there were dozens of better overall hitters – Williams, Mays and Musial come to mind/// While Hall of Fame announcer Dick Enberg had a part in pre-game stuff, it would have been great to have him in the booth with Buck and Smoltz in his hometown/// It’s good to have the casual baseball fan get a look at smaller market superstars like Salvador Perez, Jose Fernandez and Jose Altuve – got to be one and maybe as many as three future Hall of Famers in that group///Lastly, stop us if you’re heard this before, determining the home field advantage in the World Series based on this game is ridiculous - more on that in a future blog.

SNEAK PEEK AT NEXT WEEK – LOUSY CABLE SERVICE; CAN’T SAY WE WEREN’T WARNED

Is the 2016 election more about the Supremes than the President?

Right out of the box, let us explain we are talking about the slang term for Supreme Court Justices and not the Diana Ross-led super group of the sixties. It is quite likely the next President will appoint as many as four Supreme Court Justices – obviously a replacement for the late Justice Antonin Scalia, a Reagan appointee and perhaps the most conservative member of the high court. Two justices will hit their eighties during the next President’s term; a third is already there. Clinton appointee Ruth Ginsburg, unquestionably the most far left member of the court, is already 83. Anthony Kennedy, a Reagan appointee and pretty much a disappointment to the nation’s conservatives, is 79. And Justice Stephen Breyer, another Clinton appointee, is 77. That’s two liberals, a so-called moderate and a rock solid conservative to potentially be replaced. This is perhaps the most compelling argument for conservatives to swallow hard, turn out and pull the Trump lever in November.

Around Tampa Bay:

1. Quote of the week: “We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented”. The late Elie Wiesel, humanitarian and visiting professor at St. Petersburg’s Eckerd College.

2. Boosters of legalized “medical pot” assure us that all will be well if the ill-advised constitutional amendment should pass this fall. Medical pot cannot be dispensed in drugstores but we can be comforted by the fact the up to 2000 pot shops to be set up around the state will be “state regulated”. Kind of like the many “regulated” pill mills around the state and we know how well that’s worked out. More on this in a future RANT.

3. A recent and very unscientific poll of the “fan experience” at major league parks had our Florida franchises ranked dead last (Marlins) and next to last (Rays). Having attended more than a few games at both venues, can’t disagree. Number one in fan experience, as you might guess, is Wrigley Field.

4. It’s gratifying to know many of the day to day items associated with The Tampa Tribune will be preserved at the Tampa Bay History Center on Old Water Street in downtown Tampa. Some of the items will hark back to the days of hand-set type and Linotype machines. The paper itself harks back to when journalism was journalism - not whatever we call today’s left and right wing advocacy organizations.

5. Guys, you’ve lived in Clearwater a long time if you got your hair cut for something like 65 cents at Howard the Traders on Gulf-to-Bay Blvd. Your Mom would give you six bits with instructions to give the extra dime to the barber. Sometimes he actually got it.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. Earlier this year (RANTS – Feb. 21) we did a piece on long-living character actors now in their middle nineties. Sadly, one of those folks, Noel Neill, has passed away at age 95. She was the original Lois Lane, first in the movies and then on the 50s TV series. Now only the relatively young Phyllis Coates, age 89, is left from the original Superman cast. She played Lois the first year of the TV series but left for another opportunity with Neill resuming the role.

7. A simple piece of wisdom from Hall of Fame pitcher Don Sutton: “When a pitcher throws a strike, four things can happen – three of them good”.

8. We know it creates slights of more deserving ball players, but we still like the rule that says each major league team must be represented on the All Star roster. It gives every one of us fans someone to pull for.

9. Poor Andy Jackson – if they had written a blockbuster Broadway play about him, he wouldn’t lose his place on the twenty dollar bill. Seriously, a Treasury Secretary stays and a President and war hero is removed?

10. Factoid: An eclectic mix of songs that closed out the first four decades of the rock era at the #1 spot. 1959 – Why – Frankie Avalon; 1969 – Someday We’ll Be Together – Supremes; 1979 – Escape (The Pina Colada Song) - Rupert Holmes and 1989 – Another Day in Paradise – Phil Collins.

At the All Star break, our all-time baseball team

This team is nowhere near the best ever although there are five Hall of Famers (plus a sixth as manager) on the squad. These are simply guys we loved to watch play because, to a man, they loved playing the game. No “why do I need to be out here making a million dollars”, no hot dogs flipping bats after a home run or pointing to the sky after a strikeout, simply guys who were fun to watch. We’ll start at catcher and our favorite Yankee – Yogi Berra, he played the game to the max and never stopped talking behind home plate; 1b – Julio Franco, who could also qualify at second, in his middle forties he was still lining drives into the right center gap and loving every minute; 2b – Mark Lemke, the man they called “Dirt” – diving after every ball, making incredible plays, getting the most out of very average talent; SS – Ernie Banks – “let’s play two” says it all; 3b – Richie Hebner, just loved to hit and you loved watching him hit, always grabbing at the back of his shirt like it didn’t fit him; OF – Hunter Pence who plays every game, no every inning, with such great enthusiasm; another terrific Giants outfielder, the “Say Hey Kid” – Willie Mays plus Roberto Clemente who simply did everything right and, like Mays, at full speed, on the field; Pitcher – Mark Fidrych in a close battle with Fernando Valenzuela - both guys were so much fun to watch on the mound and you knew they loved what they were doing; Relief Pitcher (hey, he had 154 saves) John Smoltz who had that uber-competitive streak in everything he did. DH – you’re kidding, right? Oh and a manager - hard to find anybody who was (and is) a bigger cheerleader for the game than Tommy Lasorda.

SNEAK PEEK AT NEXT WEEK – CLINTON CASE: TOO MANY CONNECTING PIECES

 Florida needs to get with it regarding texting and driving

Worlds are colliding. A few weeks back, we caught ourselves nodding our head vigorously in agreement with a Times editorial. The subject was making texting while driving in Florida a primary offense – that is a driver need not be committing another violation to be pulled over for texting. Alarming statistics show that fatal crashes caused by distractions (read texting) have increased by over a third in the past four years. Granted, distractions can be caused by things other than texting but count the number of days you have not been on the road for any significant amount of time when you have not observed drivers around you texting while they should have their eyes on the road. Three-quarters of our states have laws making texting while driving a primary offense. It is a no brainer for our legislature to enact a similar law in their next session.

Around Tampa Bay:

1. Betty Perkins was an incredible woman. Widowed three times by three very prominent men, Betty was herself prominence personified. An event wasn’t an event unless Betty was there. For many years, the same could be said for flying events as she was an outstanding pilot. She lived her 98 years to the fullest and our community was better for it.

2. A combined total of six Pinellas County commissioners and constitutional officers were elected last week without opposition. That is way too many. Names like Ken Burke, Deborah Clark and Karen Seel have strong track records attached. Others here in Pinellas and neighboring counties not so much, including one Pinellas County constitutional officer elected with absolutely no track record – a result of not so much qualifications as slick politics.

3. It apparently will not be now, but sooner or later the Rays are going to have to admit Kevin Cash was a bad hire and move on.

4. Sick dogs on Craig’s List; unlicensed contractors/con men on Craig’s List; people getting mugged after answering ads on Craig’s List. Seems there’s a lesson here.

5. You’ve lived in Pinellas County a long time if you bought furniture at Ethan Allen or later at Heritage House –now just a part of our county’s history.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. Fifty years ago this week, “Old Blue Eyes” hit the number one spot on the charts for the first time in over ten years with Strangers in the Night. It would be his last solo number one hit although he went back to the top a year later with daughter Nancy Sinatra with their duet Something Stupid.

7. From Tim Kurkjian’s extremely interesting new book I’m Fascinated by Sacrifice Flies this nugget: more hitters struck out 100 times in 2014 than in 1900-1963 combined. We will do a review /synopsis of the book in a future RANTS.

8. Best player to never make an All-Star team? By far, it’s Kirk Gibson who has an MVP trophy at home.

9. Another thought “borrowed” from the almost always correct 5:05 Newsletter: “The welcome sign on I-10 as you enter the State of California notifies visitors that You Are Now Entering a Work-Free Drug Place”.

10. Factoid: With another summer holiday with plenty of grilling and plenty of soda – here are the five most popular sodas in America: the first two belong to Coke – Coca Cola and Diet Coke; then two Pepsi products Pepsi and Mountain Dew and number five is Dr. Pepper narrowly edging out Sprite.

Now we understand why we started this blog

We’ve always credited the chutzpah of Alex Sink (failed Hillsborough turned Pinellas congressional candidate) as the inspiration for this blog. But a recent piece from a United Healthcare newsletter makes as much sense –“Learning new things can be revitalizing — and help keep your brain and memory sharp. Maybe that's building furniture, starting a blog, studying a new language or taking up salsa dancing”. Well, when you’re not handy, still scarred from Florence Gilbert’s Latin I & II classes and - have you ever seen us dance? The blog seemed a very logical choice.

SNEAK PEEK AT NEXT WEEK – 2016 ELECTION: ALL ABOUT THE “SUPREMES”

The Philadelphia Story

We’re not talking about the 1940 movie which won Jimmy Stewart an Oscar. We’re talking about the ridiculous measure in Philadelphia to add a “sin tax” to the cost of a soda (whether containing sugar or not) purchased in the City of Brotherly Love - something like a penny and a half an ounce. The political machinations surrounding the legislation were brilliant with the mayor and his minions earmarking the tax money for things like playgrounds, Pre-K education and other motherhood and apple pie items. Of course what almost always happens is the money that would have normally been budgeted for these items finds its way to less noble government endeavors (see Florida Lottery/Education). One can only imagine the Fast Eddies of Philadelphia already plotting how to bring in bootleg soda from Jersey. And somewhere out there is the making of a revival TV series: The Untouchables – Pepsi Generation.

Around Tampa Bay

1. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton calls for an end to US companies moving outside the country to avoid taxes. Meanwhile the poster child for such shenanigans, Burger King, remains a contributor to her foundation - wink, wink.

2. Last week’s Supreme Court decision affirms to the Obama White House that there are, indeed, three branches of government, not one. It also underlines a major reason to deny Hillary Clinton the White House.

3. Why is it important for us, the general public, to know the contents of conversations between law enforcement and the terrorist killer of 49 people in Orlando?

4. It’s a good idea to co-locate the libraries of the Clearwater campus of St. Petersburg College and the East Branch of the Clearwater Library. Usable public space will be slightly more than the current library. The project scheduled to open in early 2018 has been a long time coming having first been discussed in the late 1990s.

5. Albertina, Cola III, Daisy Mae, Doolie Brook, Flo-Jo and Princess. You’ve lived in Clearwater a long time if you remember these Clearwater-based charter boats from the 50s and 60s. The Daisy Mae still exists - now in its seventh generation. Bonus points if you remember their skippers – Paul Boggs, Eric Jansen, Jake Korte, Bob Bestle, Nick Lopez and Gene Spaulding.  

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. The fan balloting for the All-Star game is a joke. As this is written, KC’s Omar Infante is third in the AL balloting at second base. He was designated for assignment two weeks ago. And while we’re at it, let’s please end the craziness of this exhibition game determining home field advantage in the World Series.

7. Last in a series of sports first names that need no second name attached, this time from the NFL – Bart, Brett, Deacon, Deion, Franco and Vince.

8. Liberal blogs are making a big thing of Indianapolis’ WIBC radio dropping Rush Limbaugh’s show. Why? On the Friday Limbaugh’s run on one of Indy’s better stations ends, you can be sure he will be on the air at a station across town the following Monday.

9. Canadian singer/writer Bobby Curtola passed away last week. He was 73. Curtola had a couple medium hits in the 60s – the biggest being Fortuneteller. But his largest contributions to pop culture in the 60s were some of the classic Coca Cola jingles including – “Things Go Better with Coke”.

10. Twists and Turns: Paul Anka and Annette Funicello were an “item” in the late 1950s. Anka wrote a bevy of songs for her which resulted in an album Annette Sings Anka. On that 1960 album was a song It’s Really Love. Two years later, the words were stripped away and the song became the very familiar theme song for the long running Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.

Ichiro a great hitter but not the “hit king”

Much was made of the fact that Ichiro Suzuki surpassed Pete Rose’s major league record of 4256 hits when you combine Ichiro’s numbers in America and Japan. Rose’s record is a little sturdier than say Hank Aaron’s 755 homers – later surpassed by Barry Bonds. Many traditionalists say Bonds was "chemically aided”. But at least Bonds hit all of his dingers in the major leagues. Most baseball experts consider the Japanese majors, as well as Mexico’s, as a sort of AAAA league. Both have improved over the years but still fall short of America’s major leagues – particularly in the pitching department where their hurlers tend to be finesse pitchers rather than Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson types. Ruling here – Pete continues to wear the somewhat tarnished crown.

Florida and Pinellas political wheels keep spinning

Charlie has a new opponent. Florida has a new Charlie. And there is hope for us in Pinellas County after all. Let’s take in order. U.S. Rep. David Jolly has dropped out of the U.S. Senate race. This is somewhat of a disappointment because we had come around to believing he could win it. Jolly will instead seek re-election to his current seat even though our state’s courts have gerrymandered the heck of what has been a Republican stronghold for half a century. Even with the odds stacked against him, Jolly has the incumbency and the fact his opponent is a “which way is the wind blowing today” Democrat (this week). Meanwhile Florida’s incumbent U.S. Senator appears ready to jump back in the race after his ill-fated presidential run – a move that seems all too Charlie-like.

Around Tampa Bay:

1. Verbalized many times by people many times smarter than us – there is simply no need for anyone other than a member of the military or a law enforcement agency to possess weapons that spit out dozens of bullets in the space of seconds. The trick, of course, is making that happen. But it needs to happen.

2. In a related note, our esteemed president turns a cold shoulder to Governor Scott’s request for assistance in the wake of Orlando because Scott has justifiably been critical of Obama in the past. Come on, Mr. President, this isn’t Chicago ward politics but a nation you’re supposed to be running.

3. Two years ago this week (RANTS – June 15, 2014) we outlined some parameters for a new city hall for the city of Clearwater. That was occasioned by the Clearwater Marine Aquarium’s since rejected plan to move downtown. But the city still needs a replacement for its 50-year headquarters in the near future and it’s time, no past time, to start planning.

4. Before we turn gyrocopter pilot Doug Hughes into too much of a folk hero, the truth is he violated the law – big time. By his own admission, he’s lucky Secret Service agents didn’t blow him out of the sky.

5. You’ve lived in Pinellas County for a long time if you remember the expansive Knowles Pottery Company on Clearwater Largo Road.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. Breaking news: Toronto SS Troy Tulowitzki on the disabled list again. The veteran shortstop is very good when he plays but that has been less than half the season for five out of the last six years. (Update: as this week’s edition went on line, Tulo came off the disabled list).

7. With the baseball draft just completed, here are arguably the Top 5 Number One picks in the draft since its inception in 1966 (remember Rick Monday?). At least three are headed for the Hall, one is already there and the fifth would have been there had he played it straight. The top number one draft picks are LA’s Adrian Gonzalez, the Twins’ Joe Mauer and the Braves’ Chipper Jones. Ken Griffey, Jr. is already in the Hall and ARod would have been but for his various dalliances with PEDs. Barring career-threatening injuries, the Nat’s Strasburg and Harper will join that list in a few more seasons.

8. Here’s a follow up to last week’s baseball names – a half dozen basketball names that need no last name attached – Elgin, Kareem, Kobe, LeBron, Magic and Wilt. Stephen will soon join that list.

9. The once red hot retailer Gap has hit an iceberg and new leadership is bailing water as fast they can. Two bay area stores have closed within the last month.

10. New York Times headline – “Clinton, Trump accuse each other of being unfit for the presidency”. This time, we agree with both candidates.

In search of columnist Tom Jackson

Last week, we commented on the lack of change at the uber-liberal Times after their dismantling of the Tampa Tribune. Biggest negative in that awful occurrence was the loss of columnist Tom Jackson who should have been brought on board if the Times were truly interested in a more balanced journalistic approach. Good news is you can find Tom occasionally at SaintPetersBlog – a blog with a similar bent as this weekly offering.

SNEEK PEEK AT NEXT WEEK – WHAT ANNETTE, PAUL ANKA AND JOHNNY CARSON HAVE IN COMMON

 Times: A month later – no change

Remember the Tuesday afternoon massacre a month ago when the St. Pete Times bought and immediately folded their cross the bay rival – The Tampa Tribune – at the cost of well over a hundred jobs? Bay area readers were promised a more balanced approach to reporting and opinions with the demise of the more conservative Tribune. Balanced – hardly – still the same front page coverage of a conservative politician’s perceived missteps while the gaffs of Hillary and her ilk get buried on Page 8 - if –printed at all. Perhaps the Times added a few more syndicated columnists who they may feel are conservative but not a single local columnist of any stature was added to their ranks. So it remains business as usual with Carlton, Romano and Ruth along with a few lefties from south Florida – again promise unfulfilled.

Around Tampa Bay:

1. The more you watch Donald Trump the more you tend to think he is a sleeper agent for the Democratic Party. His presumed opponent is a deeply flawed candidate yet Trump continues to do outlandish things that tend to make you forget what a bad fit Hillary Clinton would be for the oval office.

2. The Tampa Bay Rays have a new employee, Jeff Cogen, who is charged with putting more fans in the seats. Jeff, you’re new here, so we’ll repeat a couple of previous suggestions: maybe not have your front gate Nazis confiscate little Swiss Army knives from guys in their 70s (Rants – Aug. 31, 2014). We probably wouldn’t have a problem with the gatekeepers confiscating those bush league cowbells. But most of all, have your bosses get on the phone with the Marlins and offer them anything short of Archer or Longoria to switch to the vastly more popular (by about five million fans a year) National League (Rants – Dec. 27, 2015). Then when you’ve accomplished that, ask for a big raise.

3. Governor Scott in a T.S. Colin news conference last week mentioned that over a million Floridians have never experienced a serious storm. He’s right – almost two million people did not live in Florida during our last serious storms – and that’s simply the population increase not just new Floridians.

4. In a related note, we quote the Gassman Law Firm’s sign on Court Street almost as often as the 5:05 Club Newsletter. A gem from last week during T.S. Colin – Noah Reads Our Sign.

5. You’ve lived in the bay area a long while if you remember Florida State League teams – the St. Pete Saints (Yankees) and the Tampa Tarpons (Reds). Either name would have been a much better name for our MLB effort than Devil Rays.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. Here are a half dozen baseball names where you don’t need to supply the last name – Babe, Chipper, Cy, Duke, Mickey and Yogi.

7. To show what a litigious society we live in, in the past several months we have been part of class actions because, we bought a dishwasher; bought a ticket from Ticketmaster and received a fax at a business we sold six years ago.

8. Quote of the week: “Never underestimate what a little free food and drink can buy you” – Anon.

9. Watch the current edition of Family Feud and ask yourself if anything seems odd about the show. Oh, while we’re on the subject, the ultra-smooth Richard Dawson was the best of their multiple hosts over the years.

10, It hurts to see two guys who were the faces of their franchise designated for assignment in the same week. Jimmy Rollins was the heart and soul of the Phillies as was Carl Crawford for our local nine.

He, indeed, was the greatest

Mohammed Ali passed away last week at the age of 74 – a victim of Parkinson’s disease. He burst on the scene in the early sixties with a convincing win over the seemingly invincible Sonny Liston and then repeated the feat less than a year later. He went on to beat all comers, but unlike another great heavyweight, the undefeated Rocky Marciano, stayed too long at the fair. It was sad to see a guy who was so great continue on when his skills had obviously diminished. There have been so many opinions that staying on too long helped bring on Parkinson’s or that perhaps the early onset of Parkinson’s is what eroded his abilities. Either way, you would have liked to see him retire undefeated because for many years, he, indeed, was the greatest.

SNEAK PEEK AT NEXT WEEK – WHAT OUR LEGISLATURE MUST DO FOR SAFER ROADS

Maybe there is something to this email stuff

Shocking as it may seem, this blog has been wrong about a few things in the past – particularly predicting the future. Well over a year ago, we said the Hillary Clinton email issue would dry up and blow away. Now after a scathing State Department inspector general report, even some of her staunchest liberal supporters are calling her out – supporters like the New York Times and The Washington Post, the two most liberal newspapers north of St. Petersburg, Florida. Before you know it, NBC’s Andrea Mitchell, Clinton’s personal apologist, will jump on the bandwagon. We still don’t think the email scandal will materially hurt Clinton’s election chances, but as we pointed out at the top, we’ve been wrong before.

Around Tampa Bay:

1. Emails aside, Hillary Clinton is listed as a 1-2 favorite to win the election while Donald Trump is 7-4. If you are looking for a big score, go with the thought that Clinton will be indicted and lay your money on Joe Biden who is 33-1.

2. We wish the best to Seth Taylor who comes on board as the new head of Clearwater’s Community Redevelopment Agency. He brings a good resume to a big job. Clearwater, particularly its downtown, has foundered since the departure of redevelopment guru Bob Keller many moons ago.

3. The Dunedin-Toronto Blue Jays dance will only get more interesting as the year wears on. But two things stand out. The idea that the Blue Jays are not talking to other venues is hogwash. Jays’ executives would be guilty of malfeasance if they weren’t looking at other options. And second, Dunedin and the county and the state need to turn a deaf ear to so-called economists who say spring training is a lousy investment. If that were so, cities all over Florida and Arizona would be letting teams walk and that just ain’t happening.

4. Beach diners are going to have to do without a favorite spot for several months – Crabby Bill’s at the west end of the Marina. The old building is coming down to be replaced by an expanded version constructed by Alan Bomstein’s Creative Contractors.

5. Speaking of restaurants, if you haven’t visited the Beach Shanty for breakfast or lunch, it’s a nice, relatively inexpensive spot. Find it on Mandalay about six doors down from the Ron Jon Surf Shop. Good food, friendly wait staff.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. Hiroshima quote - “We have a shared responsibility to look directly into the eye of history and ask what we must do differently to curb such suffering again” – our current President. What we must do differently in the future might be to not provoke a war by a sneak attack on an American military installation. Obama promised no apology at Hiroshima but came as close as you can without issuing one - no surprise.

7. Kudos to Evan Longoria who graciously but firmly told Ray’s broadcaster Brian Anderson he is all wet about a lack of leadership in the team’s clubhouse. Anderson, a second tier former pitcher and second tier analyst, seems to think every clubhouse needs someone who shouts, throws things etc. Not true – each clubhouse is different and the Rays are actually doing quite well given their level of talent.

8. Break up the Rays West (the Padres). Last week San Diego traded away former Rays James Loney and at this writing, is on the verge of dealing James Shields. The Rays connection aside, it’s very difficult to understand what in the world the Padres have been trying to accomplish over the past two years.

9. We very often quote the long overdue for a Pulitzer Prize 5:05 Newsletter. This week, a thought a friend passed along that he swears did not come from that publication (if not, it should have), “If I had a dollar for every girl that found me unattractive, they'd eventually find me attractive”.

10. Our Rants and Raves focus group (now expanded to four old, cranky people) lists an eclectic quartet of now defunct things they miss – Howard Johnson’s Corn Toasties, the Ford Thunderbird, Farm Stores and Tampa’s Golden Gate Speedway.

Maybe there should be a Pop Hall of Fame

First off, for those of you from the Midwest, we’re not referring to Upper 10, or Squirt or Royal Crown – what we called pop is soda here in Florida. Every year we keep gnashing our teeth over the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s exclusion of early Top 40 giants like Paul Anka, Neil Sedaka and, until a few years ago, Neil Diamond. But recently we were looking over some vinyl we inherited from WTAN Radio legend Scott Dilworth (Scotty’s Swingshift). He marked what we called rock and roll played on his show as “pop” on the record labels. So perhaps that’s what is needed, a separate hall dedicated to early Top 40 acts like those above and even include some folks who are in the “other” hall like Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson, Floyd Cramer and the Drifters – the Sex Pistols and AC/DC need not apply. And while we’re at it, let’s include some folks who influenced those early rock pioneers – the Four Freshmen, with their influence on the great harmonies of the Beach Boys, are the first to come to mind. And let’s do it soon while some of these legends are still with us.

SNEEK PEEK AT NEXT WEEK – TIMES ONE MONTH LATER – NO CHANGE

So long PTI; you used to be so good

A few weeks back, we not so regretfully pulled ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption from our list of daily recordings (nobody watches anything live anymore, do they?) The reasons are numerous – first, it has become pretty much a basketball only show because that is where the co-hosts’ knowledge lies. The other three major sports do get passing mention IF – the team lies along the I-95 corridor or in co-host Michael Wilbon’s home town of Chicago – come on, just how much coverage is a 6-10 football team (the Bears) worth? They sure got more PTI exposure last year than a 6-10 team in Tampa Bay. Yet another issue, both Wilbon and his tag team partner, Tony Kornheiser, fancy themselves sociologists – they aren’t. Then there’s Wilbon’s blind hatred for any athletic team south of his home town – particularly Notre Dame, the Atlanta Braves and the Alabama Crimson Tide – three teams that have routinely vanquished his favorite teams over the years. PTI used to be so good, but then both co-hosts became more than a little full of themselves, so we say farewell. We’ll probably return briefly in the fall to see the reaction when Wilbon’s Chicago Cubs, to use a Kornheiser term, choke like dogs in the MLB playoffs – if they make it. 

Around Tampa Bay:

1. A thank you and best wishes to Janet Clark who will leave the Pinellas School Board after twelve years of service and return to the classroom. There have been higher profile school board members over the years but none were more devoted to our children and the folks who educate them.

2. Charter Communications has made several promises in regards to their acquisition of Bright House – faster speed, all digital systems but the promised change that will make most of their customers jump for joy is their pledge to bring all their overseas call centers back to the U.S.

3. With its biggest legal challenge out of the way, the Clearwater Marine Aquarium should be able to move ahead with its expansion plans on Island Estates. Is the heavily residential community the best place for such a facility? No, but the aquarium has been a good neighbor to our community and the plans will alleviate several existing neighborhood issues while improving the aquarium.

4. Speaking of the aquarium, perhaps it could channel other attractions here and elsewhere and offer some deeper discounts to locals during “off season”. It would likely be a win-win for both the aquarium and the local community.

5. You’ve lived in Clearwater for a long time if you remember that 1977 was the first year that beer was served at the Phil’s original home – Jack Russell Stadium. And it’s a double treat if you’ve purchased a brew from Howard the Beer Man who works primarily behind home plate during the spring. He is a hoot.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. Spelling Bee Notes: Is there no one named Johnson, Smith, Brown, Jones or Williams (our nation’s five most common surnames) who knows how to spell?

7. Why is it that every time you see the term “free trial”, you want to run fast in the opposite direction? Probably because you should.

8.. Factoid - In addition to being the oldest guy to ever launch his first career home run, Met’s pitcher Bartolo Colon is the only player left in the major leagues who played for the Montreal Expos.

9. Another thing about Colon, he has the most wins of any active major league pitcher with 221 at this writing. Durability is something that factors into what makes a great pitcher. For example, Jake Arrieta and Stephen Strasburg, both being hailed as the next coming of Cy Young, have a combined 121 wins over a combined 14 seasons – 20 less than Jared Weaver in three less seasons. Let’s not start engraving the Cooperstown plaques just yet.

10. On the advent of summer, here are five great “summer songs” – there are dozens more, Hot Fun in the Summertime, Theme from A Summer Place, See You in September, Surf City and All Summer Long (the concluding song in American Graffiti – one of the great summer movies).

Baseball is life:

A friend sent us a piece recently that compared baseball to everyday life. Both can be tedious. You can tune out for a while and then easily return. And baseball, unlike football or basketball, does not require you to be a 375 pound lineman or a 7-footer with a wing span similar to a B-52. A baseball player can look like your accountant (Greg Maddux comes to mind); a college professor (Carlton Fisk) or your next door neighbor (Yogi Berra, if you lived in an Italian neighborhood). But most of all, something that differentiates baseball from the other two major sports is no cheerleaders. Vive la difference!

SNEEK PEEK AT NEXT WEEK – A SUGGESTION TO HONOR SOME EARLY ROCK LEGENDS

The slippery slope of marijuana enforcement

We agree with Times’ columnist John Romano about once, maybe twice, a year. Very few guys successfully pull a Lewis Grizzard and transform from the sports department to being a good general news columnist and Romano isn’t one of them. But we digress. His argument that there should be at least a country-wide policy concerning penalties for pot possession makes sense. St. Pete wants to go their own way while even their top cop, Tony Holloway, suggests a county-wide approach. And since Tampa also seems hell-bent on making pot penalties less than a stop sign violation, why not have a region-wide policy?

Around Tampa Bay:

1. In a related note to our lead item, while bay area policy makers are moving towards virtually decriminalizing pot usage, nationwide occurrences of marijuana-related fatal vehicle accidents are jumping in our states from anywhere from 25 to 44 per cent, depending on the state. That fact is probably not reported in Marijuana Business Daily. Yes, there really is a daily publication devoted to the pot industry. Amazing.

2. Liberal spin doctors are criticizing U.S. Senate candidate Carlos Beruff because he has supported various political candidates on both sides of the aisle in the past which somehow makes him an “insider”. What it makes him is someone who cares about good government as opposed to a Pinellas political candidate a few years back who actually won an election after it was revealed that he had not even voted in the past several elections.

3. Does there come a time when the bill comes due in Pinellas School superintendent Mike Grego’s office for the underperformance of the county’s school system?

4. We know we whined and complained about road work being done on Court and Chestnut Streets during high season, but the final results are great. Traffic patterns on both streets make much more sense and avoid last minute merges.

5. You’ve lived in Tampa Bay for a long time if you remember when local artist Roger Bansemer’s hot air balloon was a familiar site in the Pinellas sky.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. Speaking of flying, a guy who set a bunch of speed records flying the Convair B-58 bomber and is in the Air Force Hall of Fame, Col. Henry Deustschendorf, worried less about flying at supersonic speed as he did about his son John who spent all day doing nothing but playing the guitar. The son turned out all right, shortening the last name to Denver.

7. Fifty years ago this week, the newest album on record store shelves was the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds – one of the two or three most important albums of the sixties. It contained, among others, Caroline No, Sloop John B, God Only Knows, Wouldn’t It Be Nice and one of the anthems of the sixties – I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times.

8. If the National Observer had a funny bone, it would be called the 5:05 Newsletter. Another gem from this great publication: A new study suggests that a chemical released when a person is hungry can lead to poor decision-making. It is what Taco Bell calls “our entire business model.”

9. Fredi Gonzalez finally stopped swinging in the wind when the Braves fired him last Tuesday. Couple things – you had to question the timing – in the middle of a road trip; why not wait until the Braves returned home? Then there was the embarrassing email from an airline confirming his ticket home before he was informed of his dismissal. Finally, this is the first time in 26 years that MLB’s ultra-stable franchise has fired a manager – perhaps that’s why they butchered it.

10. It is kind of a “circle of life” thing. Your HB (humble blogger) and young wife spent their Sunday nights watching that new CBS show 60 Minutes. Years later, our thirty something kids watch it. There have been many fine journalists on the show over the years but the three faces of 60 Minutes were Mike Wallace, Morley Safer and the irascible Andy Rooney. With Morley’s passing all three have left us and heaven’s newsroom is a lot better for it.

Some potentially successful managers just need a chance

As this is written, if the season ended today, the Phillies would be in the playoffs. The Phillies! Many prognosticators predicted they would lose 100 games this year. There have been several glass slippers that have fallen their way, but a great deal of their success has to do with Manager Pete MacKanin - a solid baseball man who incredibly was passed over for a manager’s job more than once. Some guys don’t interview well, we guess, but they know the game in and out. Finally at age 63, Pete gets his chance and the results are gratifying. Here are three more guys who have lost out in interviews that should be in a major league dugout somewhere – Dave Martinez, Charlie Montoyo and Jose Oquendo. Eventually they will be – and, like Pete MacKanin, they will be good. And, in view of the item above, the Braves, if they are smart, will talk with all three.

SNEEK PEEK AT NEXT WEEK – A ONCE GREAT SPORTS SHOW THAT’S GONE SOUTH

 Loretta Lynch attempting to defend the indefensible

The state of North Carolina has enacted a common sense law that states people must use a gender appropriate restroom i.e. the restroom that corresponds to the gender listed on your birth certificate. The Obama administration and its legal mouthpiece, Loretta Lynch, are opposing the North Carolina law threatening a cutoff of funds to vital state services. Lynch has an arduous task convincing us that our wives, daughters or granddaughters should be in the same restroom with someone who was a male six weeks or six months ago. And to top it off, she decided to play the race card – comparing the law to segregationist laws of the middle 1900s. We should expect and demand much better from our Attorney General.

Around Tampa Bay:

1. If ever there was a time ripe for a legitimate third party presidential challenger it’s 2016 with the American public apparently doomed to choose between two circus acts.

2. Almost as sad as the loss of three teenagers when the car they were driving plunged into a pond in Pinellas County is the blame being thrown at the Pinellas County Sheriff’s office by the very people who are ultimately responsible for the teen’s actions. We have become a community and nation that no longer believes in self-responsibility and continually wants to blame our shortcomings on someone else.

3. Heard from a Bright House installation tech: “We’ve never been busier since the Frontier Cable gaffs”. But beware, Charter Communications lurks around the corner and recently Bright House has been no hallmark of excellence either – your HB (humble blogger) has experienced four significant service outages in the past six weeks.

4. So, we learn that fluoride levels are below normal in Clearwater’s water supply. Geez, you’d think with the almost yearly increases in water bills, the city would be up to snuff. But the good news, we will be – in two years, maybe.

5. You’ve lived in Clearwater a long time if you remember when it wasn’t St. Petersburg College, Clearwater Campus but “Drew U”.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. The pride of Winston-Salem, NC, Krispy Kreme doughnuts, sold to a German company – oh the humanity! Krispy Kreme and its Boston-based rival Dunkin Donuts are like Ford and Chevy or Pepsi and Coke. It’s either one or the other. We’ll swallow hard (no pun intended) and ignore the fact that the better doughnut is now foreign-owned.

7. For his next birthday, give your son or grandson a baseball bat and glove. On opening day, fully 492 players on major league rosters were making one million dollars or more.

8. Fifty years ago this week, one of the two hottest new groups of 1966, the Mama and Papas surged to Number One on the charts with Monday, Monday. Their 1966 success was matched only by another L.A. group - the Monkees.

9. Borrowed from a friend’s Facebook Page. “Does it count as saving someone’s life if you just refrain from killing them?”

10. Factoid – Wally Pipp known universally as the guy who sat out with a headache in favor of a rookie named Gehrig (who played the next 2130 games) twice led the major leagues in home runs and once in triples.

The Bombers: still the greatest team in the history of the game

They rank right up there with the Yankees in baseball, the Celtics in basketball and the Patriots in football. The Clearwater Bombers put the city of Clearwater on the map. Only our world class beach rivals the Bombers for the national recognition the Bombers brought to Clearwater over the years. Dudley, Hunter, Haney, Whitlock, Tomlinson, Mason, Sprentall, Moore and Weathersby – the names go on and on. Ten times the Bombers were national champs – no small feat considering the competition from places like Aurora IL, Detroit, Stratford CN and Mountain View, CA to name a few. Soon, you’ll be able to relive the Bomber years at the museum being planned at the old South Ward School location. For those of us who packed the stands at Jack Russell Stadium on Saturday nights or for folks who only knew the Bombers by reputation, the new Bomber Museum will be something worth seeing.

Times’ takeover of Tribune – disappointing in so many ways

 It isn’t the fact that Florida’s most conservative major daily newspaper is gone. It’s the way it was handled – security people handing out boxes to people who had put in decades at the Trib; a Tribune beat writer for the Lightning being told to come home from New York – at his expense (Times management wisely rethought that one); and yeah, part of it is bay area readers are left with no option but a left wing mouthpiece. You Tribune readers are going to love Daniel Ruth, Elijah Pitts and Sue Carlton. Steve Otto and Tom Jackson, they are not. In one of our very first items in Tampa Rants and Raves over two years ago, we predicted that the bay area would be down to one or no daily newspapers within five years. Frankly, we hoped the survivor would be the Tribune and we thought it would be handled with a lot more class than the Times management exhibited.

Around Tampa Bay:

1. Kudos to the city of Clearwater for their plan to purchase the wetlands adjacent to the campus of the now defunct Clearwater Christian College.

2. In a related note, can’t help thinking what a great business campus the remaining Clearwater Christian College property would make. There are some development challenges there, but what a terrific site.

3. It might have been nice to see Hillsborough County voters at least get a chance to have a voice in whether to tax themselves for transportation improvements. At the same time, we’re pretty sure of the outcome. We continue our love affair with the automobile.

4. A sidebar to our lead item, in the light of all of last Wednesday’s coverage of the bay area’s newspaper shakeup, we jumped for joy when we saw the term RUTHLESS at the bottom of page one. Alas, it wasn’t what we thought it meant.

5. Also related to our lead item, you’ve lived in the bay area a long time if you remember when you had the choice of five daily newspapers – The St. Petersburg Times, unfortunately the sole survivor; The Clearwater Sun which provided great coverage of Upper Pinellas County; The St. Pete Independent and their famous sunshine guarantee; The Tampa Times which offered superb local sports reporting and, of course, the now defunct Tampa Tribune. We hoist a toast to great people like Mike Pride, Mike O’Keefe, Earl Emmons, Tom McEwen, Archie Blount, Ed Haver, Tom Jackson, Steve Otto and hundreds more who entertained and informed us with their prose in the afore mentioned papers.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. Luis Aparicio, Harmon Killebrew, Bill Mazeroski, Phil Rizzuto and Hoyt Wilhelm – five players from the so-called modern era of baseball who most experts agree should not be in baseball’s Hall of Fame. But since they are, two-time MVPs and more deserving players, Roger Maris and Dale Murphy, belong there too.

7. When both teams got off to an 0-9 start, hopeful Braves and Twins fans were wishing that next year will be a repeat of the 1991 “worst to first” classic World Series. Don’t think so.

8. Another item “borrowed” from that literary gem the 5:05 Newsletter: "If I had known 'cuties' were little oranges when my wife asked me to 'bring a few home' I could have avoided all these awkward introductions."

9. Idle observation: good accountants, attorneys, doctors and realtors are worth every darn penny you pay them.

10. Continuing our series of instant success on the record charts, here are another five music acts that hit Number One with their first chart record. They are Sam Cooke, Tommy Edwards, The Four Seasons, Bobbie Gentry and, no surprise here, the super group of the sixties – the Beatles. The songs were You Send Me, It’s All in the Game, Sherry, Ode to Billie Joe and I Want to Hold Your Hand. The Four Seasons would visit the top spot another two times and Beatles an incredible 18 more times.

A somber 20^th anniversary

Twenty years ago this week, ValuJet Flight 592 crashed in the Florida Everglades killing all 110 people on board. The recognized cause of the crash was improperly stowed oxygen generators which started a ferocious blaze which incapacitated the plane’s control systems. The canisters were stowed by a ValuJet vendor – SabreTech. The company was later charged with murder although, for reasons not all that apparent, the charges were later dropped. The underlying cause was very loose maintenance standards by ValuJet which later morphed into AirTran and later was absorbed into Southwest. Now, twenty years later, many aviation experts are drawing comparisons of ValuJet to Allegiant Airlines which flies out of St. Pete-Clearwater Airport and serves 114 airports – mostly smaller ones. The airline, which operates one of the oldest fleets of any carrier as did ValuJet, has been plagued with incidents and has come under heavy scrutiny from the FAA.

SNEAK PEEK AT NEXT WEEK – THE TEAM THAT PUT CLEARWATER ON THE MAP

The mess in the Clearwater Fire Department – this isn’t new

 When did the Clearwater Fire Department start to go south? Some point to the Dolphin Cove fire in 2002, others to the disgrace Chief Jamie Greer brought to the department but the fact is dysfunction in the department spans more than two decades. It was in the mid-1990s that it was discovered that firemen pensioned on disabilities were, in fact, healthy enough to tote furniture and accept employment with payment under the table. Even before that, there was a constant war between administration and the labor union representing firefighters. The low ebb came when some renegade firefighters hung City Manager Bill Horne in effigy. So where do we go from here? The short term answer is to bring in an outsider who has dealt with similar problems in a like-sized department. The long term answer for the good of the city and the entire county is to establish a countywide firefighting system.

Around Tampa Bay:

1. Marina update: Clearwater’s Marina no longer has parking rates higher than that of Disney World. The short lived increases of over 300 per cent were adjusted to a significant but reasonable hike thanks in large measure to the intervention of City Manager Bill Horne.

2. David Jolly is going to be a pariah in the U.S. House for his bill to reduce campaign contributions. It certainly won’t be the first time in the last 2000 years someone becomes a pariah for doing the right thing.

3. Speaking of Jolly, a couple folks say he should give up his Senate bid, where he leads most polls, and try to retain his seat in a now decidedly Democratic district. We are hoping he listens to other voices rather than a liberal political columnist and the mayor of Clearwater.

4. Pardon us if we’re skeptical about MOSI’s plans to move to downtown Tampa. It seems like we’re trying to pack a whole lot of venues into a very constricted space.

5. You’ve lived in the bay area (or anywhere else) for a long time if you remember these new products from 50 years ago – Apple Jacks cereal, Bounty Paper Towels, Mace, the game Operation and the Shelby Mustang.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. Number of the week – 107. That’s how many years it’s been since the Cubs won the World Series. Their overrated pitching will help make it 108 – unless they pick up a true 1 or 2 rotation guy at the trading deadline.

7. Division leader after 20 or so games most likely not to be there at season’s end. We think we’ll take all three AL division leaders as of 4/26 – Baltimore, Chicago and Seattle.

8. New company – Whoopi & Maya features pot-laced “health” products for women. Why are we not surprised?

9. Idle observation: if you’ve shopped for a new bike recently you, no doubt, have noticed they cost more than your first car. And, of course, if you’ve shopped for a new car lately, you find they cost more than your first house.

10. The creators of the Tampa Bay Rants and Raves wish to announce that at this time, we have not settled on a running mate for November.

Finding a team to root for in 2016 and possibly ‘17

Last year, your HB (Humble Blogger’s) family had T-Shirts made up that read “2015-2016; Taking Two Seasons Off; Atlanta Braves” along with a baseball diamond logo. The phrasing is in response to the Braves admitting they were trying to build a team to be competitive when they open their new stadium in 2017 and punting 2015-16. Even 2017 might be unrealistic for the Braves to be competitive again. It occurred to us if your favorite team can take a couple years off, maybe you can too. Perhaps we can find another team to root for this year and possibly next. The logical choice would be the Rays – except they play in the American League with the designated hitter, plastic turf and slightly less strategy than Chutes and Ladders. Can’t root for an NL East team – hate them all except the Phils, who, currently, are almost as bad as the Braves. Being a native Pittsburgher, we loved the Pirates for many years until they dumped our favorite manager, Chuck Tanner, who came to the Braves who had this superstation and, well, that’s how the infatuation with the Braves began. The Pirates have a scrappy manager in Clint Hurdle and one of the most dynamic players in baseball in Andrew McCutchen and they are perennial underdogs. What’s not to love? Go Buccos! At least this year.

A SNEAK PEEK AT NEXT WEEK – A SOMBER ANNIVERSARY

Tax chief Nelson to retire; probably time for a fresh outlook

Pinellas Tax Collector Diane Nelson has announced she will retire this year. This did not create quite the stir as when Pam Dubov announced she was leaving as Property Appraiser. The difference being Nelson took over a system that was running fairly well and, frankly, hasn’t done much to make it any better. Dubov, on the other hand, assumed the leadership of an office rife with corruption and turned it around. There’s another stark contrast - Nelson, like so many politicians, wants to anoint her successor which often doesn’t serve the public interest (see Sheriff, Pinellas County). Dubov, anything but the stereotypical politician, did not openly endorse someone from within her office. Fortunately, someone has emerged from the outside who appears to be an adequate replacement for the Property Appraiser. It would probably serve the tax payers of Pinellas for a set of fresh eyes from the outside the tax collector’s office emerging to improve a system that, while not broken, isn’t exactly a paragon of excellence.

Around Tampa Bay:

1. It’s official – as of April 22^nd, it now costs more to park in the Clearwater Marina for a day than it does to park at Walt Disney World. More on the unbelievable mess that is our city marina in a future edition.

2. With the spring training agreement between the Blue Jays and Dunedin a little over a year away from expiring, do you seriously think the Toronto Blue Jays aren’t trolling both Florida and Arizona for a new spring training site? Dunedin’s mayor and the Blue Jay’s president are both blowing smoke about “productive talks”.

3. Eric Lynn is a decided underdog to Charlie Crist in the Democratic primary for District 13’s Congressional seat – which, thanks to judicial meddling, is tantamount to election. But Lynn shouldn’t despair. Charlie will spend about two years in Washington before he seeks some other office.

4. The overallgoals of FAST (Faith and Action for Strength Together) are noble. But the group too often expects simplistic solutions to what are very complex problems.

5. You’ve lived in the bay area a long time if you dined at Tampa’s Hawaiian Village Restaurant on North Dale Mabry in the 1960s.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. It was hard not to see a little bit of your own mother (particularly if you grew up Catholic) in Doris Roberts’ portrayal of Ray Romano’s mom in Everybody Loves Raymond. The multi-Emmy award winning actress died last week at age 90.

7. You no doubt heard – Fed Ex guy falls asleep in the cargo bin of a jet in Memphis and winds up in Texas. So the next time you need something from Amazon or EBay quick, just have them slip it in his pocket and give him a Melatonin.

8. Looking at the Buc’s weak pre-season schedule, you can’t help but wish those games would count. Philadelphia, Jacksonville, Cleveland and Washington are not exactly Super Bowl contenders.

9. Factoid: The man first offered the role of Rob Petrie was not Dick Van Dyke but a comic who was hosting a New York-based game show Who Do You Trust – Johnny Carson. From an interesting Carson biography Here’s Johnny by his life-long second banana – Ed McMahon.

10. Our Rants and Raves focus group (comprised of three old, cranky people) feels the top three ideas of the past half-century are the cellphone , the IPod and, with many thanks to Al Gore, the internet.

Message from Schilling firing: “Just shut up”

ESPN terminated baseball analyst Curt Schilling after another offensive remark involving the former star pitcher and the gay community. No argument here. Like so many, many others, we are happy for Curt Schilling’s success on the mound, but we don’t give a damn about his political or social views. The same holds true for every other athlete, actor/actress or recording star. We simply don’t care about your views on candidates, social issues or anything else – and more importantly, exactly what qualifies you to tell us how to vote or think?

SNEAK PEAK AT NEXT WEEK – THE HOT MESS THAT IS CLEARWATER’S FIRE DEPARTMENT

Marco: Please don’t become another Charlie

Marco Rubio is, in many ways, a bright young guy. We don’t think he exhibited the greatest wisdom in launching his ill-fated Presidential campaign after just a few years in the U.S. Senate. But success can be intoxicating and Rubio’s career was flush with success before the reality of 2016. The worst thing Rubio can do now is to become this decade’s Charlie Crist – running for every available office in Florida. A little reflection is needed before he resumes his political career which we imagine he wants to do. And keep in mind Marco that folks like JFK, Reagan and FDR fell short in their first try for the Presidency. Your time may yet come.

Around Tampa Bay

1. St. Pete’s Rick Baker has decided not to challenge for District 13’s Congressional seat which the courts took away from David Jolly without one vote being counted. Baker was probably the GOP’s only realistic option for the voting public to tell the courts to let the ballot box decide who represents us. On the other hand, it’s well documented that Baker does not play well with others and a collaborative post like a Congressional seat probably wasn’t his cup of tea.

2. Related to the two top items this week, wouldn’t it be a hoot to have Marco Rubio rent a condo in downtown St. Pete thereby establishing residency and run for Jolly’s Congressional seat? Nah, no one would buy that. Oh wait…

3. The city of Clearwater lost another long-time civic leader last week with the passing of Dan Carlisle who for many years led Carlisle Lincoln-Mercury on Gulf to Bay Boulevard. Dan was very active in the Chamber of Commerce, the Rotary Club of Clearwater and various automotive and safety organizations over the years. His and wife Nadine’s philanthropic efforts made Clearwater a better place to live.

4. Last week, we did a short item on Record Store Day. Just days later, we read a piece about a local on-line record dealer down on his luck. He was getting help through GoFundMe as is our niece whose home in Pennsylvania burned to the ground a few months back. Thing is, you can help a good bit more by sending the funds direct to the person you want to help as GoFundMe takes just south of ten percent off the top of every contribution.

5. You can get pretty good pancakes at Perkins, Farmer Boys on Drew Street and Olga’s on Belcher Road, but none compare with the great cakes served up for years at the three Robby’s Pancake Houses along the Suncoast. The good news - you can still buy the Robby’s pancake mix on line or at Wilson-Sonoma.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. Much critical acclaim for Ken Burns’ latest effort – Jackie Robinson. Jackie was a heroic trailblazer, a very good, if not great, ballplayer but he was still out at the plate in the 1952 World Series.

7. Megyn Kelly meets Al Sharpton (as they did on Fox News last week). There has to be some Grade B sci-fi thriller in that meeting.

8. Disappointing falls short of our reaction to MLB Commission Rob Manfred’s condoning, no, almost encouraging, punks like Bautista and Harper and their bat flips. We can’t wait to see his reaction when a few of those showboats get the Sal Maglie/Bob Gibson treatment and are drilled.

9. Kobe Bryant is hanging up his sneakers. Let’s hope the Bryant–inspired offensive push off is retired with him.

10. Factoid: the longest running characters in TV history at 20 years each are James Arness as Matt Dillion on Gunsmoke and Kelsey Grammer as Frasier Crane spread out over eleven years of Cheers and nine of Frasier.

Let’s hear it for the Paducah Middle Class White Guys!

As we mentioned here before, we enjoy the Times’ Tom Jones. But like most of us, he jumps the tracks occasionally. A week or so ago, he was emoting about some third tier ESPN guy who wore a shirt on Mike and Mike emblazoned Caucasians. The inference being that we would hate to see an athletic team named Caucasians, or Rednecks or Effete Snobs. Not really. The vast majority of us are not overly sensitive and also realize there are greater issues such as large unemployment in Cleveland (Indians); horrendous traffic in Atlanta (Braves); and in Washington (Redskins) – where do you begin? As addressed here (RANTS – December 20, 2015) a few months back, solve these real problems, then get back to us about thin skinned people and team nicknames.

SNEAK PEEK AT NEXT WEEK – A PINELLAS UNIT IN NEED OF A SET OF FRESH EYES

Man being mentioned as possible VP candidate should be President

Super Tuesday and the Florida primary are well behind us and Trump has a commanding lead. Should the once unthinkable happen and he receives the GOP nomination, many policy wonks say an ideal running mate would be Ohio’s John Kasich. Which reminds us of an old story where one brother went hiking in a rugged forest and the other became Vice President and neither were ever heard from again. There’s another more factual story about the last Vice-Presidential candidate to be on a losing ticket and later become President. It was almost 100 years ago (FDR – 1920). And a third tale about the St. Louis Cards being most everybody’s second favorite team – because they do things right - much the same with John Kasich. For our nation’s sake, we would hope he would swallow hard and take second place on the ticket, if offered, even though he is more qualified than any other person who will get the top spot on either ticket. For his sake, we hope he remains the Governor of Ohio.

Around Tampa Bay

1. Let’s try to understand this. Hillsborough County is talking about lessening the penalty for pot possession for kids as well as adults? Should not it be the other way around? Kids are kids but adults should know better and more frequently operate cars and machinery. If anybody should be more strictly accountable, it’s adults – not kids.

2. A few weeks ago, your Humble Blogger was a guest at a beautiful home on the Withlacoochee River until recently owned by astronaut Bruce Melnick. Melnick is the only graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy to fly in space. But he is one of two graduates of Clearwater High School (1967) to do so along with Nicole Stott (1980). Not bad for our little schoolhouse on Hercules Avenue!

3. Two things that dominated the Pinellas (and Tampa Bay) landscape for years that have become endangered species – bowling alleys and golf courses.

4. After a little over a year in operation, the Capitol Theater seems to be a success. Only one thing mysteriously missing – a tasteful marquee to highlight upcoming attractions.

5. You’ve lived in Clearwater a long time if you attended that “new” elementary school established in fast growing east Clearwater in 1952 – Skycrest Elementary.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. As we close in on April 15 (actually April 18^th or 19^th this year – it’s complicated), a thought from renowned humorist Will Rogers, “Income tax has made more liars out of Americans than golf”.

7. This week (April 16 to be exact), we celebrate Record Store Day – a bow to the resurgence of vinyl in the music industry. While there are several record stores in the bay area, it’s hard to top St. Pete’s Bananas – ranked one of the top ten such stores in the country. There are two locations, but we prefer the original at 2226 16^th Avenue North – a little hard to find, but when you do, a record collector will think they died and went to heaven.

8. More vinyl - a few weeks ago, we listed five acts from the rock era who hit Number One with their very first chart entry. Here are another five – Ruby and the Romantics, the Essex, Bread, Tommy James and the Shondells and Simon and Garfunkel. The songs were Our Day Will Come, Easier Said than Done, Make It with You, Hanky Panky and Sounds of Silence. Both Tommy James and Simon and Garfunkel would hit Number One again – Simon and Garfunkel twice and all the others would enjoy additional hits on the Top 40 chart.

9. Related to above, perhaps an asterisk has to be added to Simon and Garfunkel as the boys, recording as Tom and Jerry, did have a record (Hey Schoolgirl - 1957) chart nine years before they starting using their real names and hitting the charts 17 times in the sixties and seventies.

10. As the NHL playoffs get started, this is only the second time in history (1970) that no Canadian team is in the post season. In 1970, however, there were only two Canadian teams as opposed to seven today.

Paul Boller’s companion for the election season

Paul Boller’s Presidential Campaigns takes you from George Washington, which was more like a coronation, through the emergence of Ronald Reagan in 1980. As nasty as 2016 has been, Boller’s book reveals there have been worse. There are tons of “inside baseball” in the 400 pages of the book and virtually all of it extremely interesting. You only wish there was some sort of addendum to the book covering the Bush-Clinton contest and the controversial Bush-Gore election. But he had to stop somewhere to be able to write the book – and a good one it is, a perfect companion for this time of year.

SNEAK PEEK AT NEXT WEEK – ADVICE FOR A FAILED PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE

 Protecting Clearwater’s image as a world class destination

There was a time when tourists would be “arrested” on U.S. 19 southbound and charged with bypassing Clearwater. Their sentence: a free weekend stay at a beach hotel, free dinners and fishing and sightseeing trips – all of which was heavily publicized in their home towns. A lot has changed since the innocent 1960s. Now we have scam artists, probably offshore, offering non-existent stays at the Sand Pearl and other destinations. Our city, to our embarrassment, made NBC News last week. Unfortunately, the spokesperson for the Sand Pearl came off as uncaring even though they have nothing to do with the scam. Attorney General Pam Bondi promised action on the matter – we need to hold her to it. Another thought – perhaps our city needs an ad hoc task force to again “arrest” innocent people caught up in such scams and at least give them a couple meals and maybe a place to stay until they can rearrange their shattered vacation.

Around Tampa Bay

1. Could it be that Dunedin is on its way to becoming as dysfunctional as Largo was a few years ago (or as Kenneth City is all the time)? In no special order, there’s dumping their city manager; people already sighting in on the Mayor’s chair; and now an investigation of Sunshine Law violations. This from an entity that just awhile back was a model of a well-run city.

2. Two colossal flops on April Fool’s Day – the switch from Verizon to Frontier Communications which left many bay area customers without phone, internet or cable service and the switch to “valet” parking at the Clearwater Marina which the city likes to term a “work in progress” rather than a very poorly executed plan to appease some restaurant owner whose restaurant is yet to open, at the expense of businesses that have been in the marina upwards of 50 years.

3. Before anybody gets too jacked up about a possible Derek Jeter ownership stake in the Rays, know this – the rumors are just as strong in New York about Jeter putting together a syndicate to buy the Yankees. Both have about the same odds as Goldwater in ’64.

4. Gosh, it’s been almost six months since the Church of Scientology has done something stupid enough to warrant local press coverage. That has to be some sort of record for them. Or maybe it’s just our Presidential campaigns filling up news pages with stupidity.

5. You’ve lived in Clearwater a long time if you remember the Tick Tock Lounge, also known as the Clearwater Sun annex.

The diamond, the media and other stuff

6. In this election year, a thought from one of our greatest Presidents: When offered corporate positions at large salaries after leaving the Oval Office, he declined, stating, "You don't want me. You want the office of the President, and that doesn't belong to me. It belongs to the American people and it's not for sale." Harry S. Truman – how we miss you, Harry.

7. Again, a piece of brilliance from the 20-year-old, but always fresh 5:05 Newsletter: “Cuba News: A lot of people are saying President Raul Castro disrespected President Obama by not greeting him at the airport. Seriously? Our countries have been enemies for 60 years. I can’t even get my best friend to pick me up at the airport”.

8. Had a rare chance to view the Today Show recently. Based on what we saw, Dave Garroway must to be spinning in his grave.

9. With basketball season drawing to a close, this USF grad still misses Seth Greenberg patrolling the sidelines for the Bulls. But if we can’t have him as a coach, we are glad he’s where he is – as one of the better basketball commentators on the air.

10. It was gratifying to see the Phillies extend Pete Mackanin’s contract another two years. He is a solid baseball man and, while spring training seldom relates to the regular season, the Phils looked like a winning baseball team this spring.

Closest race in NL this year might be Rookie of the Year

With the MLB season now under way, the National League is loaded with rookie talent for 2016. Dodger shortstop Corey Seager sure looks like the real deal although some folks think his future might be in the outfield or third base, Atlanta left fielder Hector Olivera has a sweet swing reminiscent of Clemente and, lest we forget, lefthander Steven Matz of the Mets is still a rookie despite his impressive end of the season last year. Just three of a very talented rookie crop this year. And in the American League, keep an eye on a couple corner infielders - Twins first baseman Byung-ho Park and Bosox third baseman Travis Shaw.

SNEAK PEEK AT NEXT WEEK – THE MAN WHO SHOULD BE PRESIDENT

Saying no to the Braves and possibly so long to the Blue Jays

MLB reporter Mark Bowman, who primarily covers the Atlanta Braves, reported recently that major league baseball has told Pinellas County it should commit its revenues to keeping the Tampa Bay Rays in the region rather than a spring home for the Braves. That’s great if the Rays stay in Pinellas County, but why would Pinellas want to spend a thin dime if a new location is in Hillsborough County? After all, how much money has Hillsborough ponied up over the years while the Rays resided in St. Pete? Another factor in relocating the Braves to St. Pete could well be a shared facility with the Toronto Blue Jays who very likely will leave Dunedin when their contract is up next year – coincidentally the same year the Braves-Disney World pact ends. It makes too much sense to locate the two teams in Pinellas as it seems a foregone conclusion the Rays will be moving to Hillsborough. With the Braves now focusing on Sarasota County, Pinellas will be left out in the cold again - a shame for a city that was at the forefront of spring training in Florida.

Around Tampa Bay:

1. Determined to outdo CSX who began the spring break season by closing down the two main arteries to and from the beach on successive weekends, the city of Clearwater chose Easter week to shut down 75 parking spots at one of the most intensely used parking lots on the beach. Who is making these ridiculous decisions and why do they still have a job?

2. With the regular season just days away, lots of baseball items including this one: something to file away as the MLB season goes on. Baseball Prospectus, which bases its predictions very heavily on sabermetrics, says the Rays will win the Eastern Division. Would like to believe that but….

3. Speaking of the Rays, we are long overdue in noting the passing of Hubert Mizell of the St. Petersburg Times – a longtime observer of sports in the bay area.

4. We understand it doesn’t affect world peace or anything, but we’re dumbfounded that our Florida Legislature couldn’t come up with a “fair to all” piece of legislation regarding Lyft and Uber. We will continue to have a couple dozen jurisdictions enforcing a couple dozen dissimilar laws regarding the ride providers.

5. Related to our lead item, you’ve lived in the bay area a long time if you remember when both the St. Louis Cards and the Yankees trained in St. Pete.

The diamond, the media and other stuff

6. He was one of the great ones. Joe Garagiola joined Bob Uecker in making the most of a middling career as a major league catcher. Baseball broadcaster, Today Show host and raconteur, Joe was always at the top of his game. His namesake Joe, Jr. was GM of the Diamondbacks and his daughter Gina Bridgeman, while not that well known in baseball circles, is a terrific inspirational writer. We join the nation and Joe’s family in grieving his passing at age 90.

7. Grandfathered, Fuller House, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 and appearing with the Beach Boys a few weeks ago at Ruth Eckerd Hall; does actor/musician John Stamos ever sleep?

8. This Thursday evening a one hour season finale of Life in Pieces airs on CBS. In our mind, it is probably the best new comedy of the season although not everyone agrees and it is on the bubble for renewal. If you’ve not seen this gem, give it a look and if you like what you see, fill in the gaps with earlier episodes from on-demand.

9. One more Rays note – viewing a lot of broadcast teams on MLB TV during the spring training season makes you have a greater appreciation of the Rays’ Dewayne Staats.

10. Not so good news if you have a Kindle that you bought in 2012 or earlier. Unless you get an upgrade; you can no longer access the Internet or download books. How to do it? You need to ask someone more tech savvy than the morons who write this piece. More planned obsolescence.

Here’s the windup and the predictions:

Our sports soothsayer Achmed Walled (pronounced wall-ED) is riding high after predicting the winner of the 2015 World Series down to the game. Here are his thoughts on 2016. In the National League he likes the Mets, the Cards and the Giants as division winners with the Pirates and Cubs as wild card entries. Biggest turnaround could come from the Diamondbacks. In the America League, Achmed is putting his money on the Yankees, Royals and the Astros (still getting used to Houston being in the AL). Achmed predicts the Red Sox and Angels will be the Wild Cards but says don’t sleep on the Rangers who could surprise everybody.

SNEAK PEEK AT NEXT WEEK: PINELLAS’ NEXT DYSFUNCTIONAL CITY

Rays to Cuba – why?

As you probably know, the Rays will be playing the Cuban National Team this week. Why – when the Miami metro area, home of the Marlins, has four times the Hispanic population of Tampa Bay? The Marlins would seem the more logical choice. Maybe they didn’t want to stick it to their spring training hosts costing them many, many room nights and other significant pieces of revenue while they’re away. Guess it would be kind of a hoot to visit Cuba and its’ 57 Chevys and see a game. Probably couldn’t afford it. But – we can afford to send seasoned baseball observers like Barack Obama, Kathy Castor and Rick Kriseman (we’re willing to bet at least one of the three knows that the Rays’ third baseman is Evan – not Eva Longoria). The Rays junket doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.

Around Tampa Bay

1. Good news for Clearwater in last week’s election. All the referendums on the Bayfront passed allowing the city some latitude in giving that area of town a much needed boost. Bit of a surprise in the one council race with Bob Cundiff’s stronger resume overcoming most of the big money that was behind incumbent Jay Polglaze.

2. As Marco leaves the arena, the pundits are, as usual, overthinking what sunk Rubio. It simply came down to the fact that when the field got down to six or so, Rubio, a 44-year-old freshmen Senator, was the least qualified and experienced of the bunch to lead America.

3. We don’t think it’s our imagination - the bay area is becoming a shooting gallery. When innocent three year-olds get wounded in senseless shootings, it’s time for a reassessment by our area law enforcement agencies.

4. Remember the whiney Tampa matron that sooo wanted her privacy? Word on the street is that Jill Kelley is writing a book. Move over, Monica.

5. You’ve lived in Clearwater a long time if you remember Young’s BBQ on Gulf to Bay Blvd. operated first by Warren Young and later the Pappas family. There’s still a restaurant there but not nearly the same.

The diamond, the media and other stuff

6. Our sports prognosticator Achmed Walled (pronounced wall-ED) views the no dominant team NCAA tournament and sees a Final Four of two previous visitors: North Carolina (18 times – the most of any school) and Virginia (twice) along with two teams that have never been to the Final Four in school history – Miami and Texas A & M.

7. Nice start to the season by the Chicago White Sox with the Adam LaRoche mess. Maybe the kid doesn’t belong in the clubhouse but the Sox contractually promised that to LaRoche and the players don’t seem to mind him being around. Somehow, just like all the lousy trades the Padres’ front office made last year, this will end up being the manager’s fault.

8. Music Factoid: The man who had the most chart records in the first five years of the sixties was not Elvis Presley as you might imagine but the jolly piano player from New Orleans - Fats Domino with 42 charted records. Elvis was tied for second with Ray Charles (40 each) and they were followed by two very successful female stars – Brenda Lee (39) and Connie Francis (38).

9. It’s telling that Lovie Smith, Greg Schiano and Raheem Morris, the last three Bucs head coaches have not been interviewed for a single NFL head coaching job since being dismissed by the Bucs. Lovie, at least, got a gig at Illinois – a university where coaching careers go to die.

10. Our Rants and Raves focus group (comprised of three old, cranky people and all Seinfeld freaks) have chosen their three all-time episodes – “The Hamptons” where George had “pool issues” and Kramer poached some lobster traps; “The Voice” where Jerry made fun of his girlfriend’s rumbling stomach and Kramer’s Kramerica Corporation got a college intern (brilliantly played by Jarrad Paul) and their consensus best episode – “The Soup Nazi” (again an incredible character portrayal by Larry Thomas).

Don’t take good service for granted

There is a young lady who works at the Dunkin Doughnuts on East Bay Drive in Largo who deserves a special place in Heaven for absorbing the abuse a nasty old lady heaped on her recently. So out of line was the verbal dressing down that another customer even offered to pay for the woman’s purchase if she would just leave and stop verbally abusing the young woman. If you’ve ever been a server or had one in your family, you no doubt have a warm feeling in your heart for these folks. They put up with so much – cranky customers, lousy tippers and usually long hours on their feet. To the Kelly’s (Acropal – Largo), Jessica’s (Largo Family Restaurant) and Evan’s (Cracker Barrel – Oldsmar), we say thanks and we let their bosses know how much we appreciate them. Hope you will too.

SNEAK PEEK AT NEXT WEEK: OPENING PITCH – OUR BASEBALL PREDICTIONS & OTHER STUFF

(Editor’s note: this week’s lead piece was written before we learned of the passing of 94-year-old J.B. Johnson on March 7. To those who served with J.B., he was the moral compass of the City Commission in the late 1990s - a man of strong convictions and uncompromising integrity. The city of Clearwater is a better place because of him).

Some shining Clearwater city officials

It’s Election Week in Clearwater. As we mentioned last week, there is not a lot to be excited about this time around. But the election got us thinking about some outstanding city officials we have been blessed with in our fair city over the past, say, quarter century. Some names that come to mind – J.B. Johnson and Dick Fitzgerald – both steady hands in times when there was just a bit of turmoil in city government. Then there was John Doran, who transformed from city watchdog to city official and did both extremely well. The analytical Bill Jonson has been a fiscally conservative voice for many years. Ed Hooper and Karen Seel (you may have forgotten she once was a city commissioner) brought a period of solid growth to Clearwater on many fronts. And two mayors stand out - both with very differing styles but both very effective in what they did for their city – Rita Garvey and Frank Hibbard. While many of us are quick to criticize city hall, we also need to be thankful for these eight (and probably a few others we’ve overlooked) for their outstanding service to their city.

Around Tampa Bay

1. In this, let’s say unusual, election year a thought from free thinker Robert Ingersoll circa 1892, “Each side would be glad to defeat the other if it could do it without electing its own candidate.”

2. Alternate quote of the week: Clearwater parking manager Eric Wilson on trying to fix the parking mess at the Clearwater Marina (RANTS – March 6, 2016). “Right now, it’s like trying to please 10 wives with one husband.” Huh?

3. The Tampa Tribune’s Steve Otto recently asked the question of what notable Floridian should stand in the Hall of Statuary in the Capitol alongside John Gorrie who was instrumental in developing air conditioning thus making our state habitable. Hard to think of any public figure present or past for the honor but we like one name Otto came up with even though he is not a native of Florida or even lived here much but like Gorrie sure had a dramatic impact on the state – Walt Disney.

4. Two of our local bridges, the Gandy and the Sunshine Skyway are on a list of the 20 Scariest Bridges in the world. Not sure why. Scariest bridge we ever encountered was the old, creaky Grace Bridge connecting Charleston and Mt. Pleasant, S.C. It was replaced by a new span about ten years ago.

5. You’ve lived in the bay area a long time if you remember the Sportatorium on North Albany in Tampa which was recently auctioned off. For many years, it was home to Championship Wrestling from Florida featuring names like the Great Malenko, Eddie Graham, Haystack Calhoun, the masked Assassins and many others including Gordon Solie who did a masterful job playing straight man to all those characters.

The diamond, the media and other stuff

6. Our nation bids a tearful farewell to Nancy Reagan, part of one of America’s true love stories.

7. The late Bud Collins made pro tennis as interesting as it can be. He also was one of very few men who could pull off a bow tie. Most men (including a couple local politicians) can’t. Collins’ flair on and off camera will be missed.

8. Yet another gem from the 5:05 newsletter: Reverend Al Sharpton said he might leave the country if Donald Trump is elected president in November. Minutes later Las Vegas listed Trump at even money to carry all fifty states.

9. The website Point After has a fascinating look at all 30 franchises and their “All Time” rosters. Take a look at your favorite team and see if you agree. A couple things caught our eye – Ryan Howard not the first baseman on the Phils all-time team. And neither Maddux, Glavine nor Smoltz could make the Braves all-time roster. A few guys make more than one team’s all-time roster – Ozzie Smith, ARod and Carlton Fisk to name three.

10. Speaking of Ryan Howard, saw him at a local restaurant a couple weeks ago. The guy looks to be in fantastic shape.

Another angle to the designated hitter controversy

Admittedly, it doesn’t make sense for the two major leagues to play under different rules. The DH or lack of, puts the NL at a disadvantage in AL parks and vice versa. There’s another interesting aspect to the DH. The rule is the reason that when Albert Pujols, Brian McCann and Miguel Cabrera left their original NL teams (Cards, Braves and Marlins) they all departed for the American League where they could get a day off but still have their bat utilized – particularly important for people like McCann who play the most demanding position in baseball. If and when they leave their original teams, you can bet Buster Posey, Jonathon Lucroy and Yadier Molina will all head to the American League increasing even more the talent imbalance between the two leagues. We’re playing devil’s advocate here – we still don’t like the DH and how it eliminates so much strategy from the game.

We are two – thanks to James, Robert and the “dirty half dozen”

Really stupid actions motivate us. Many years ago, a sitting Clearwater City Commission sold a perfectly fine building that had been acquired a year earlier to be used as a city hall – for a million dollar loss. That helped launch a very interesting six-year adventure in our life. Two years ago, a politician, with a huge sense of self-entitlement, decided to move from eastern Hillsborough County and bail out little Pinellas County by running for a Congressional seat in a District where she couldn’t name half the cities. That launched this weekly effort on March 9, 2014. It has been a joy because, as we often mention, it mostly writes itself. Now, as then, we are thankful to James Foster and Robert Brucker for their technical expertise to make this happen, a tight cadre who advises and helps out on the writing/editing side and the half dozen or so folks who actually read the first edition. Our sixth edition hit a thousand, actually two thousand, readers and we thank James, Robert, our “kitchen cabinet” and all of you for making this effort fun - now, on to year three.

Around Tampa Bay

1. The city of Clearwater is in a dither about what to do about parking at the Clearwater Marina. They have known for three years that a restaurant seating a couple hundred (if it ever opens) was coming. They did nothing. Now their solution is to throw marina employees under the bus and possibly charge clients of the various businesses in the marina more than you pay at Disney World for parking. Nice planning folks.

2. Just a reminder that down ballot on next Tuesday’s presidential preference primary, there is an election in Clearwater featuring an underwhelming incumbent against an unknown college professor. The other two council members up for reelection are unopposed. Yawn.

3. As for the referendum questions on the Clearwater ballot, only one raises our eyebrows – Number 4 allowing extremely long leases of “surplus property” for up to 65 years without a referendum. Not sure that much power should be taken out of the hands of the electorate. And a yes to Numbers 5 and 6 would make our waterfront truly a waterfront – like so many other communities have done with great success.

4. Speaking of Clearwater, the city could raise more than a few bucks by stationing a couple low level cops at say, the intersections of MLK and Court Street and Island Way and Causeway Boulevard during spring break and ticketing thoughtless morons who insist on blocking the intersections in epidemic proportions.

5. You’ve lived in Clearwater for a long time if you remember the names Joe Devlin, Harnold Falconnier and “Captain” Frank Parker. They provided daily fishing news and information from the Clearwater Sun, WAZE and WTAN respectively.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. You have to wonder how objective Channel 8 News could be in covering the Erin Andrews trial. For example, at 6 p.m. last Monday night, of Channels 8, 9, 10, 13 and 28, only Channel 8 led with the trial story. Andrew’s father, of course, is a member of Channel 8’s news team.

7. If only the late Cecil Englebert were still around. The city of Dunedin is running out of time to keep the Blue Jays in the city with a lease running out next year. Former Mayor Englebert spearheaded the drive to bring the Blue Jays to Florida’s smallest spring training city. Right now, it doesn’t appear that anyone in Dunedin has the juice to keep them there.

8. Factoid as we rumble through this election year: two of America’s greatest Presidents weren’t close to being the overwhelming favorite of their parties first time around. It took Abraham Lincoln three ballots and FDR four to secure their party’s nomination in their first run for the presidency.

9. Dave Cameron of the website Fangraphs ranks the Tampa Bay Rays off season moves as the 7^th best in baseball while tempering his remarks with the fact that he is probably higher on shortstop Brad Miller than any other baseball observer out there. Time will tell – so much depends on Miller and the other acquisition with mixed reviews – Corey Dickerson.

10. Here’s something to put in the “futures” file. If all else fails and the Rays leave the bay area, we’d put our money not on Montreal or Charlotte or Mexico City but on San Antonio, Texas, a sports hotbed with 1.3 million people and lots of disposable income.

A taste of Clearwater – apologies to the annual event

A blogger we read with some regularity was asked recently about the dining in his hometown of Minneapolis. He rattled off a neat list which got us thinking about what to tell someone who was coming to Clearwater for, say, spring training. Italian and atmosphere – Capogna’s on Gulf-to-Bay; seafood – any Frenchy’s but particularly the one on East Shore Drive; good food with an even better view – the Palm Pavilion, north Clearwater Beach; family restaurant - Largo Family Restaurant on Missouri; pizza – Post Corner, south Clearwater Beach; BBQ – Ozona Pig, off Tampa Road; finer dining – the Beachcomber; greasy spoon – Olga’s on Belcher at Nursery. And that doesn’t include some neat places involving a bit of travel – Keegan’s on Indian Rocks Beach; Sweet Sage on Redington Beach and Bern’s in Tampa. Sadly, it’s too late to enjoy Siple’s Garden Seat in Harbor Oaks and Butler’s BBQ in St. Pete.

Our fragile industry that is tourism

We’re on the cusp of March which means long lines to the beaches – a sure sign that all is well with our tourism industry. But it is a fragile industry that can head downward in a hurry. We’re not talking about hurricanes, red tide, another economic slump or what Cuba might pull away that can damage our local economy. We’re talking about things we can control like the ever increasing bed taxes, insane legislation to allow folks to strut around with firearms out in the open, less than friendly cops and assorted rental car rip-offs to name just four. Trust us, there are plenty of other places tourists can spend their dollars – and they will unless we all become more cognizant of just how precious those tourists are.

Around Tampa Bay

1. It’s finally here. Phils versus Blue Jays in Clearwater on Tuesday, the 1^st. Same teams in Dunedin on the 2^nd. Braves come to Clearwater on Friday. See you there!

2. On a related note, could not resist this one from a recent 5:05 Newsletter: Spring Training News: poachers and cashiers mistakenly report.

3. Neil McMullen, who traces his roots back to Largo’s first Mayor, has entered the race for Largo city commission against incumbent Curtis Holmes. Not to take anything away from McMullen, but given Commissioner Holmes’ missteps (RANTS – Sept. 28, 2014), you could probably run Curly or Moe against him and win. But then again, never give too much credit to the electorate. St. Pete voters recently elected a candidate with a rap sheet.

4. Sometime back (RANTS – May 4, 2014), we named three positions that often turn a nobody into a Nazi. They were entertainment venue ticket takers, crosswalk guards and homeowner association board members. Based on a scene we observed recently, add local parking meter readers to that group.

5. You’ve lived in Clearwater a long time if you ever dined at the elegant Seaspire Restaurant on Island Estates.

The diamond, the media and other stuff

6. Quote of the Week: Washington Post columnist Michael Gerson in a recent piece on Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, a strict Constitutionalist, “Progressive judges have an interest in making their private moral intuitions the law of land, without the inconvenience of having to persuade their fellow citizens.” Well said.

7. Have a suspicion that some of these folks pounding the desk about privacy rights in the Apple debacle are the same folks we hear going blah, blah, blah on their cellphones on the sidewalks and in the aisles of the supermarket for everyone to hear.

8. The new MLB rule that eliminates the so-called neighborhood play at second base will last just as long as it takes for the first middle infielder to go out with a leg or ankle injury. Then a quiet note will be circulated to the men in blue to call it as they have called for the last quarter century or more.

9. Here are a few music acts from the 50s, 60s and 70s: The Fleetwoods, The Marcels, Barry Manilow, Little Peggy March and the Marvelettes. Their common bond is their very first song on the record charts went to Number One. The songs were Come Softly to Me, Blue Moon, Mandy, I Will Follow Him and Please Mr. Postman. The Fleetwoods and Barry Manilow were not just “one hit wonders”. Both acts later returned to the top spot – Manilow twice. And all the acts charted more songs in the Top 40 after their original success.

 10. Our Rants and Raves focus group (comprised of three old, cranky people) upon first reading of a serious crime at a hookah bar thought hookah was just street talk for a similar word. When they found out what it really means, they found it no less disgusting.

The second plank in our winning national platform

Last year (RANTS – July 19, 2015), we suggested a winning stratagem for a candidate pursuing the White House. It was to pledge, with Congressional cooperation, to completely disassemble the Internal Revenue Service and its corruption and loopholes. We now offer a second plank for our winning platform – make Daylight Savings Time year round. Nothing does more to disrupt schedules and sleep patterns than the twice yearly ritual of falling back and springing ahead. This is not without precedent – several countries around the world already have DST year-round and the U.S. has used it during war time and other national crises. Anyone who promises to simplify our lives by eliminating the mumbo jumbo of the IRS and time changing will get a ton of votes. By the way, the date on which you start screwing up your sleep patterns this year is Sunday, March 13^th.

Florida’s liberals want their cake and eat it too

After having the state’s courts custom design legislative districts to accommodate liberals – and costing Pinellas County an extremely effective legislator in Washington, the whining has begun. In several districts, lines were drawn to all but assure a Democratic seat holder. But recently liberals are complaining that the correct Democrat might not emerge from primary elections to face only token or no GOP competition. Now come the plaintive cries that the anointed Samantha Jones might lose her primary to Sam Smith (names changed to protect the liberal). Geez, do we have to go back to the courts again and plead that the right Democrat might not win their party’s primary? Isn’t that what the electoral process is all about – that the person favored by the most people, not party hacks, wins the election?

Around Tampa Bay

1. We know there’s no good time to do road work on the major arteries to and from the beach, but two weeks into spring break? Maybe that’s the time to work on the railroad grade in Umatilla. We’ve had to deal with CSX in a previous life and frankly, they just don’t care.

2. It is heartening to see good use being made of Clearwater’s South Ward School with the Clearwater Historical Society and the Clearwater Bomber Museum. Now if some wise person could find an equally good use of the picturesque North Ward School, it would be terrific. A couple ideas are being floated.

3. Hard to pick a favorite in the ticket brokers versus pro sports teams because both sides are driven by nothing but greed. As we pointed out several months ago (RANTS – Oct. 4, 2014), the Lightning want to tell you who you can allow to use your purchased ticket – and grab part of the resale price. Meanwhile the brokers add ridiculous commissions and upcharges to the tickets they re-sell. This will supposedly be worked out by the Florida legislature – good luck with that.

4. The Beach Boys are coming to Ruth Eckerd Hall next Monday (29^th) with Fun, Fun, Fun, Surfin’ USA and other high-energy hits. They are still fronted by 74-year-old Mike Love, whose best line is “If we knew we were going to be doing this for this long a time, we would have recorded more ballads.”

5. You’ve lived here a long time if you attended the Beach Boy’s first visit to Clearwater at Jack Russell Stadium 51 years ago this year. Filling in for Brian Wilson at that concert was a premier studio guitarist named Glen Campbell who would hit the Top 40 for the first time two years later with By the Time I Get to Phoenix.

The diamond, the media and other stuff

6. Among the names reportedly on the Obama short list for a Supreme Court nominee – Loretta Lynch. He’s got to be kidding.

7. We always enjoy “Best Of” lists. A recent Buzzeranker piece rated the top 15 major league baseball players of all time. Top Five were Ruth, Mays, Gehrig, Aaron and Williams. That’s quite a quintet, but somewhere in that top five there has to be Ty Cobb. Replacing who? As a member of the military would say, that’s above our pay grade.

8. Best piece of “beach music” you’ve never heard – John Franklin’s Ocean Drive Sunday. You can find it on U Tube or ITunes or on the high rotation section of our IPod.

9. Allegations of match fixing; suspicions of juicing by both male and female players; maybe pro tennis won’t be so boring in the future.

10. From Jonathon Eig’s Get Capone, a so-so book but with a few interesting tidbits – the man who pronounced an 11-year sentence on Big Al was Federal Judge James Wilkerson of the Northern District of Illinois. The man he replaced was somewhat better known – Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis who left the bench to become Commissioner of Baseball.

In their nineties, these character actors are still kickin’

Media notes on Barney Miller’s Abe Vigoda’s passing a few weeks ago at 94 mentioned that he often appeared on lists of people who were still alive but who most people thought had died. A few more veteran character actors now very much alive in their nineties: Nehemiah Persoff (Jake Guzik on The Untouchables) 96; Noel Neill (Superman’s Lois Lane) 95; Nanette Fabray (Sid Caesar’s sidekick and Shelly’s aunt) 94; Barbara Hale (Perry Mason’s Della Street) 93; William Schallert (Patty Duke’s TV Dad) 93; Bill Macy (Maude’s long suffering husband, Walter) 93 and, of course, the most active of the 90-year-olds, Betty White who is also 93.

Clearwater: let’s buy a post office!

The city of Clearwater is contemplating buying the downtown post office – at least 3 of 5 city council persons are. By a 3-2 vote, the city decided they need to purchase an 80-year-old building for 2.1 million dollars. There have to be some good reasons for this – darned if we can figure out what they are. Just a couple reasons this is not a good idea. If the government decides to sell and not replace the downtown post office, the most western full service post office in Clearwater will be on Hercules Avenue – bad news for downtown residents and merchants not to mention the beach which lost their post office several years ago. Next, we can’t begin to imagine what maintenance issues are entailed in caring for this 80-year-old building. And oh yeah, how does the city plan to utilize the structure that was designed as a post office and nothing else? Again, we tip our cap to Mayor Cretekos and Councilman Jonson for declining this rush to spend a couple million. By the way, one of the yes votes was an employee of the postal service – a vote where he clearly should have recused himself.

Around Tampa Bay

1. Congratulations to the Palm Pavilion’s Ken Hamilton, 2016’s Mr. Clearwater. Ken was recognized for his outstanding community work with Ruth Eckerd Hall and many other civic organizations over the years. Your fellow “Tree House” members are busting their buttons with pride, Ken!

2. Perhaps we should move the Florida State Fair to April – one of the driest months of the year in the Sunshine State – a month when we always need rain. Because as we all know, if the Florida State Fair is underway, it’s going to rain!

3. We seldom agree with Florida’s far left newspapers like the Herald and the Times, but we’re holding hands with them on the subject of open carry laws in Florida. This is a tourism driven state for heaven’s sake. The last thing we need to do is turn Florida into Six Gun Territory.

4. CBS has ordered production of Four Stars, a drama loosely based on activity at MacDill AFB. We can only assume it will be subtitled Kardashians: West Coast Florida.

5. You’ve lived in the bay area a long time if you remember the breakfast suggestions served up every morning by Tom McEwen at the top of his sports column in the Tampa Tribune.

The diamond, the media and other stuff

6. The entertainment industry took a double hit last week with the passing of Maurice White, the guiding light of Earth Wind and Fire – about as unique a band as there was in the rock era. And long before there were shows like the Q Morning Zoo in this market and similar radio “teams” in other markets, there was the highbrow humor of Bob and Ray who made their mark in both radio and TV. Bob Elliot, the surviving member of the celebrated duo died last week at age 92.

7. We lost a bunch of first rate Tampa Bay area media folks to retirement last year – (RANTS – June 8, 2015) in Anne Dwyer, Yolanda Fernandez, Gayle Sierens and John Wilson. This past week, Chip Carter announced he’s stepping down as Channel 13’s sports director after thirty plus years. Another classy individual - we will miss him.

8. The holiday season and the Super Bowl with just a single Clydesdale sighting? A pox on Budweiser and the Lithuanian or wherever company that now owns the former king of beers. Instead of the graceful horses in all the Bud spots, we get some actress who most people have never heard of. And Bud sales are down from last year. Clydesdale lovers would call it karma.

9. Related to the above: What do Dial Soap, French’s Mustard, Lucky Strike Cigarettes and Popsicle have in common? The four long time pieces of Americana are all foreign owned.

10. Yet another gem from the unmatched 5:05 Newsletter: “The world has completely flipped in my lifetime. There was once a time when all the GM jobs were in Flint and you couldn’t drink the water in Mexico.”

Denver’s convincing win

Well, we have the first “What we meant to say” entry for our year end edition of TBRR (Tampa Bay Rants and Raves). Denver proved that wit and guile along with a crushing defense (return of the Orange Crush?) can overcome what appeared, on paper, to be a better team. Two observations from a blog that heavily favored Carolina: while Von Miller was named the game’s MVP, the most valuable people associated with the game were Gary Kubiak and his defensive coordinator Wade Phillips who put together a game plan on both sides of the ball that propelled the Broncos to victory. Meanwhile, despite his many skills, we sometimes forget Cam Newton was playing in only his sixth postseason game (as opposed to 27 for Peyton Manning) and he looked very much the part.

We know this has been asked before: “Is this the best we can do?”

Let’s start with the GOP. They have an out of control billionaire who needs anger management more than the nomination. Then there’s the darling of the Tea Party who frightens mainstream Americans. Next you have a guy who can just now find his seat in the Senate. Our former governor is suffering from Bush fatigue and other maladies. Christie has a little too much baggage. You have a very qualified candidate from the Buckeye State, who inexplicably waited way too long to get in the race and is too far behind. Carson and the rest have no chance. On the Democratic side you have someone who should be lapping the field but, because of her many missteps, can’t pull away from an avowed socialist. It appears at this point whoever lands in the White House is going to be a compromise and a not very good one.

Around Tampa Bay

1. Florida Highway Patrol reports that crashes at the 22 intersections in Tampa monitored by red light cameras have risen 15 per cent since the camera’s installations. Folks, do we need any more proof that these things are nothing more than a Waldo-like revenue source?

2. The most valuable brand in the world? It’s Apple. The most valuable in Florida? It’s Publix Supermarkets – the only Florida-based brand to crack the Top 500. A couple surprises in the Top 10 compiled by a British branding firm was one brand not there – Disney and one brand in the Top 10 – Wells Fargo which has not been without its issues – at least in Florida.

3. Surely the Christmas decorations on Clearwater’s Memorial Causeway will be down before St. Patrick’s Day.

4. Speaking of the causeway which is properly called Causeway Boulevard. Who is responsible for Clearwater’s neighbor to the north, Dunedin, having a connector to their barrier island with the same name? Plays hob with tourist’s GPS.

5. You’ve lived in Clearwater a long time if you remember the name – H. David Werder. He’s the guy who sat on a flagpole at U.S. 19 and Gulf to Bay starting in late 1982 until January of 1984 – a total of 439 days which is still a record.

The diamond, the media and other stuff

6. The revolving door that has been ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball has taken another spin with Aaron Boone and Jessica Mendoza joining Dan Shulman in the booth replacing John Kruk and Curt Schilling. Hopefully Mendoza will add some spice to what promises to be a very milquetoast combination of Shulman and Boone. And you have to feel bad for Kruk who was an innocent and very competent bystander when ESPN decided to cut Schilling just as Jon Miller was when the network needed to jettison the toxic Joe Morgan six years ago.

7. She can often be outrageous and off the wall, but good for Sarah Palin for taking NBC to task, live and on the air, when they invited her on the Today Show to discuss Iowa and then tried to ambush her with questions about her son and his personal issues that have absolutely nothing to do with Iowa’s caucus.

8. Guys, do you want to feel really old? Honor Blackman, the James Bond babe in Goldfinger, will turn 91 this year. Oh, the humanity!

9. With all the comings and goings at One Buc Place and elsewhere in the NFL, it probably went unnoticed that the Lions retained their previously interim Offensive Coordinator Jim Bob Cooter – undoubtedly the all-time greatest name among NFL coaches.

10. Our recent piece on the new Royals-Yankees pitching dynamic (RANTS – January 17) got us to thinking of the way the Yankees played it back in the good old days – a pitching staff of Ford and a bunch of no names but with a wrecking crew of Berra, Howard, Mantle, Maris and Skowron along with a bunch of good singles hitters like Kubek and Richardson. Times have changed.

National League headed towards Armageddon

A couple weeks ago, we were shouted down in a Rants and Raves focus group meeting about the worst ideas of the past half-century. Our immediate answer was the designated hitter. The majority ruled our answer could not be a sports answer – which it always is. Much more disturbing to us is the fact that some front office people in the National League are reporting less resistance to baseball’s worst idea of all time. The major argument – it will cut down on pitcher’s injuries. In the words of M*A*S*H’s Colonel Sherman Potter – buffalo chips! Pitchers once were athletes – witness Bob Lemon, Babe Ruth, Ken Brett and Dick Hall – all of whom could have been or were position players as easily as pitchers. Today, our pitchers are all delicate flowers who can throw no more than six innings a game much less bat (and bunt). So let’s add the DH to the NL (adding another 15 jobs for fat, out of shape Dr. Strangegloves); then add aluminum bats and pretty soon we’ll have a slow pitch beer league where every game ends 25-23.

Ross Perot rides again?

Let’s forget Mayor “Boomberg” for the moment. Republicans remember only all too well how an egomaniacal billionaire handed the 1992 election to Bill Clinton over George H.W. Bush. Now, many GOP members fear that Donald Trump will become 2016’s version of Ross Perot if he doesn’t get his way (read Republican nomination). Despite poll numbers now, Trump will not get the nomination. The question simply remains will he be a man about it and accept defeat or will the immature boy in him come to the fore where he takes his ball, goes home and decides he will play with a third party? And what irony that another Clinton could be the beneficiary of all this bombast? Would like to think Trump’s ego won’t prevail, but willing to bet it will.

Around Tampa Bay

1. Dunedin’s recently resigned city manager, Rob DiSpirito, leaves after nine years – approximately two years longer than the average city manager’s stay. A major reason for the split between manager and commission is turnover – on the commission. Three commissioners have been in office a little over a year; one for three years and the mayor, while a part of the commission for almost ten years, is new to the center seat and its responsibilities – not a healthy recipe for a city manager.

2. Some time ago (RANTS – July 4, 2015) we advocated term limits for U.S. Supreme Court justices – twenty years. Now, there is legislation making the rounds in Tallahassee that would do the same for Florida justices. While we agree in principle with the Florida legislation, the term limit of 12 years doesn’t seem long enough to attract first rate jurists.

3. A tip of our Rants and Raves cap to Gulfport – the latest bay area city to realize the folly of red light cameras. The only question is – why did a city of 12,000 people and about 12 streets need them in the first place?

4. As January winds down, lest we forget our periodic update on the Clearwater Marina and its upscale Taco Bell restaurant now over two and half years in the making. We feel confident in saying it will open sometime in the next 11 months.

5. With the State Fair just around the corner, you’ve lived in the bay area a long time if you attended the fair (and its sprint car races) at the downtown Tampa fairgrounds.

The diamond, the media and other stuff

6. It’s hard to tell who came off as the bigger buffoons this past week – Donald Trump for his pouty refusal to participate in the most recent GOP debate – or Fox News with their snarky twitters and whatever along with Megyn Kelly with her self-serving commentary. As we mentioned before (RANTS- August 30, 2015), Trump is the best thing that ever happened to Kelly – known only to her cult following before the blow up with the GOP front runner.

7. Our crack sports prognosticator Achmed Walled (pronounced wall-ED) acknowledging that Denver (1) no longer has home field advantage (2) will not be playing a team forced to use their third string running back who made a crucial fumble inside the 30 and (3) not playing a team whose placekicker missed a PAT for the first time since George W. was President likes the Panthers by a whole lot over the Broncos.

8. Jake McGee for Corey Dickerson whose numbers at Coors Field and away are wildly disparate. Not so sure about that one.

9. Factoid as we lead up to Super Bowl Sunday: the winningest Super Bowl team (six rings) the Pittsburgh Steelers were originally named the Pittsburgh Pirates from their 1933 inception until 1941.

10. Our Raves and Rants focus group (comprised of three old, cranky people) feel the three most overpaid women in the country are Wheel of Fortune’s Vanna White, Channel 8’s Gayle Guyardo and anyone named Kardashian.

The best book yet about American icon Eliot Ness

First there was the autobiography penned by Eliot Ness and co-author Oscar Fraley, then came the early sixties TV show, The Untouchables, followed by a couple books that were badly crafted hatchet jobs. Plus, there was the ridiculous movie starring Kevin Costner that was pure fantasy. Last year (actually late 2014) along comes Eliot Ness, the Rise and Fall of an American Hero by Douglas Perry – an on the mark effort that focuses as much on the lawman’s efforts in Cleveland as the well-publicized Chicago days. This is a good thing because the work of Ness in Cleveland was far more significant than the Untouchables era. The book is a very objective look at Ness which no other effort, written, televised or filmed can claim – although based on this work, Robert Stack’s “no shades of gray” portrayal of Ness in the TV series seems the next closest – an opinion shared by Ness’ widow. A small nitpick – Perry doesn’t seem to like newspaper writers (including Fraley) too often referring to them as “hacks”. But this is a solid book to add to your 2016 non-fiction reading list.

 Attempting to make sense of the Iowa caucus

First, less than 50 per cent of non-incumbent winners in the Iowa caucus eventually win their party’s nomination. Second, who this side of Des Moines actually cares about the caucus? The Iowa caucus represents about one per cent of America’s voters. Most importantly, who outside (or inside) the state actually understands the process? But the lemmings that are presidential candidates pour time and money into this undertaking that makes the Electoral College seem easy to understand. By Super Tuesday on March 1, less than two in ten voters will recall who won Iowa.

Around Tampa Bay:

1. Just a reminder as if the soon to be wall to wall coverage won’t remind you, Floridians vote their presidential preferences on Tuesday, March 15. Get those absentee ballots in early!

2. Yippee! The Rays can now look outside Pinellas County for a site to build their new stadium that surely will lift them out of the cellar in major league attendance (see disclaimer above). Trouble is, the dozen or so sites mentioned in Hillsborough all seem rather flawed. And would you like to bet on what percentage of Ray’s current Pinellas fans will drive across the bay any more than 3 or 4 times a year to see a very mediocre team?

3. In a related note, give us a drag off whatever the folks are smoking who think the Tropicana Field site offers “enormous redevelopment possibilities”. Have they actually seen that area – particularly coming in from the west?

4. Ever notice that every time the legislative branch of government even breathes the term “judicial reform”, there is a wailing and grinding of teeth? But it is perfectly fair for the courts to, in fact, tell us we can no longer have an effective legislator represent us in District 13? Geez, even the lefties have praised David Jolly’s work in Washington. Let’s hope he continues that work in the U.S. Senate despite our judiciary.

5. You’ve lived in Clearwater a long time if your economics teachers were Emmett Lowery at Clearwater High and/or Scott McCuskey at St. Pete Junior College. What a lot of people didn’t know about these two great men was that Lowery was the successful head basketball coach at the University of Tennessee before semi-retiring to Clearwater. And McCuskey was a World War II Naval ace with more kills than any other pilot at the Battle of Midway.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. Just thinking out loud, the five best college basketball programs in the history of the game are probably (in no particular order) Duke, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina and UCLA – okay that’s alphabetical order. Just missing the cut – Louisville.

7. Related Factoid: The University of Lousiville basketball program has had just four head coaches in the last 72 years!

8. Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers has always been rated a “good” coach but the job he did with his banged up team this season pushes him into the rarified atmosphere just below Belichick.

9. So the Cleveland Cavaliers, with the best record in the Eastern Division of the NBA, find it necessary to fire their head coach? Anyone who doesn’t see LeBron James’ fingerprints all over that is delusional. Tyronn Lue, who has absolutely no head coaching experience, had better win. Rick Carlisle of the Mavericks termed the firing of David Blatt “an embarrassment for our league.” Well said.

10. Our Rants and Raves focus group (comprised of three old, cranky people) when asked to come up with the worst ideas of the last half century listed social media, subprime loans and New Coke (margin of error 50 per cent or so).

Time for world-class relievers to get their due

While it was encouraging to see Trevor Huffman do relatively well in his first appearance on the recent Hall of Fame ballot, it is still frustrating to see someone the caliber of Lee Smith being passed over year after year. The seven-time All Star and three-time Reliever of the Year got only 34 per cent of the vote in the most recent balloting – admitted steroid users got more votes. Sadly, next year is Smith’s last rodeo and the chances of him getting elected are slim. Also discouraging was the paltry 10.5 per cent vote given to history’s top left handed reliever Billy Wagner in his first year on the ballot. Guys like Hoffman, Smith and Wagner seldom threw a single pitch where the game was not on the line and their excellence under pressure needs to be recognized at Cooperstown. Perhaps when Mario Riviera is sent to the Hall on the first ballot in a few years, other premier relievers get their due. Unfortunately, that might be too late for Smith and Wagner – two of the game’s superstars.

One year to go in our national nightmare

One year from this week, one of history’s worst U.S. Presidents will leave office. He will leave behind an incredibly horrific record in international policy and, depending on your viewpoint, something not much better on the domestic front. Even his most liberal backers in the media have quietly stepped aside from this wounded executive when it comes to his mishandling of the Mid-East and world policy in general. As we move forward this year, the overriding question is who can we, the American electorate, turn to who will right the ship? Stay tuned.

Around Tampa Bay:

1. Last September (RANTS – September 6) we reported that Las Vegas odds favored a Clinton-Bush presidential race. To show how far our former governor has fallen, he now is ranked below Bernie Sanders in the odds to make the White House.

2. The city of Tampa, another city with a left-leaning mayor, is going to join St. Pete in exploring all but decriminalizing marijuana possession. Tampa is looking at a $70 fine for pot possession – slightly less than a third of the fine for running a stop light.

3. Former Buc’s coach Jon Gruden (their last coach to leave with a winning record) reportedly has been mentioned for a couple NFL jobs including the Eagles - a marriage that makes no sense. If Coach Gruden wants to return to the sidelines, we wish him well but hope that he will stay in the broadcast booth where he is arguably the game’s best analyst.

4. Heard from more than a few Vietnam War vets when they learn they get a military discount at one of Clearwater Beach’s deep sea fishing operations, “I’m just happy not to get spit on”.

5. You’ve lived in Tampa Bay for a long time if you remember the Rockers beautiful Would I Still Be Loving You – one of few records to have the distinction of hitting number one on a radio station survey (WALT in 1961) but never cracking the Top 100 nationally. Even better for you if you own a decent copy of the record (Warwick 653) – worth about 50 to 100 bucks nowadays.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. In a related note to #5 above, the Rockers, based in Tampa, recorded the record under the name of The Tides as another group also recording on a national label was already using the name Rockers.

7. And related to our lead item, should Hillary Clinton find herself in the White House, do you think there will be a spot in her administration for her de facto press secretary – NBC’s Andrea Mitchell?

8. The Tampa Trib’s Martin Fennelly opines that in hiring Dirk Koetter the Bucs have made the final step in joining former defensive powerhouses like the Steelers in becoming mostly offensive minded. Fine, but you can’t always outscore the other team, so the folks at One Buc Place had best bring in a strong defensive coordinator (and they did just before “press time” in Mike Smith – excellent hire).

9. Don’t know why we haven’t recommended this site before, but if you are anything more than a casual baseball fan, MLB Rumors is a must read – particularly during the Winter Meetings, cut time in spring training and at the July 31 trade deadline.

10. Our Rants and Raves focus group (comprised of three old, cranky people) says just for the heck of it, let’s pass a law that declares that every 5^th person convicted of a white collar crime gets a minimum one year jail term with no appeals permitted. (Margin of error 50 per cent or so).

Yankees, Royals new trendsetters in pitching

The stunning trade of Aroldis Chapman to the New York Yankees a few weeks back continues a new paradigm in constructing a pitching staff – back to front rather than front to back. The Yankees like the Royals now have a shutdown bullpen from the seventh inning on with Chapman, Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances. The trio mirrors the World Champs’ Wade Davis, Greg Holland and Kelvin Herrara. The concept is not completely new – the 1979 World Champion Pirates had the three-headed monster of Al Jackson, Enrique Romo and Kent Tekulve and more recently the Braves made games six inning affairs with Eric O’Flaherty, Jonny Venters and Craig Kimbrel. With starters producing fewer and fewer innings each year, the Yankee-Royals model seems to be the wave of the future.

Understanding Tampa Bay football (and we don’t)

So the Bucs have cashiered Lovie Smith? By telephone, no less – way to keep it classy, Glazers. The surprising, yet not surprising move was necessitated by several NFL clubs inquiring about the Buc’s presumed head coach-in-waiting Dirk Koetter. The offensive coordinator is a hot item right now and the Bucs don’t want to lose him. Simple enough? Not really. In canning Smith, defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier plus defensive assistants Mikal Smith (Lovie’s son) and Gill Byrd, all coaches of color, the Bucs have run afoul of all that is holy according to the Rooney Rule. That will have to be addressed. Another issue is whether the Bucs should have hired the senior Smith in the first place. Granted, their first choice Chip Kelly backed out on them but Smith’s hiring was met with lukewarm enthusiasm at best. Lastly, how come a guy who moves a team from 2-14 to 6-10 gets canned and a guy across town (USF’s Willie Taggart) who makes a similar four game improvement and is 14-23 over three seasons gets a contract extension? Tampa Bay football just defies understanding.

Around Tampa Bay:

1. It just keeps getting better at the Clearwater Marina with its still unfinished Mexican and coffee shop style restaurants. Now, construction workers at the site are suing for unpaid wages. Surely some heads will roll for this public embarrassment now two and a half years old.

2. This just in: newly elected St. Pete city council person Lisa Wheeler-Brown announces she will support the proposed St. Pete-Rays stadium deal before she’s even briefed on the deal. What a surprise!

3. So we want to go back to an elected head of the state’s education system? Our memories are short about the several messes that system caused including one Commissioner of Education who did prison time. The shortcomings of the current office holder don’t mean we need to change the system – otherwise this country would be appointing a President the next time around - more on that next week.

4. As the Bucs season ends, our crack prognosticator Achmed Walled (pronounced wall-ED) was a little too pessimistic in predicting a 4-12 season after being burned last year with a two-win effort. But the Bucs won’t get much better until they learn simple execution on both sides of the ball particularly in avoiding really stupid penalties – and they won’t have quite as easy a schedule next year. (Note: This was written before the 1/6/16 dismissal of Lovie Smith and the last sentence probably was a major factor in that decision).

5. You’ve lived In Pinellas County a long time if you remember retailers throughout the county giving away S&H Green Stamps, Top Value Stamps and Plaid Stamps. The trading stamp craze ended in the late sixties and early seventies.

The diamond, the media and other stuff

6. Congratulations to Ken Griffey, Jr. on his election to the Hall of Fame – as close to a sure thing as there is. Also a tip of the cap to Mike Piazza elected to the Hall despite being linked to performance enhancing drugs during his career. And a “what were you thinking” award to a local baseball scribe whose Hall of Fame vote looked more like a PED Hall of Shame ballot with Bagwell, Bonds, Clemens, McGwire and Piazza on his ballot. What, no Rafael Palmeiro (actually, no longer eligible) or Sammy Sosa?

7. As we predicted here (RANTS – February 22, 2015), the merger of office supply giants Office Depot and Staples wouldn’t be as easy as running a black and white copy. Now the Feds have pushed back and when all is said and done, they may remain two separate companies. Stay tuned.

8. Factoid: The once proud Cleveland Browns will be hiring their 9^th head coach in the last 16 years. The rest of the teams in their division (Bengals, Ravens and Steelers) have had seven head coaches combined in the same time span. There is a whole generation that has never seen the Browns as the great football team they were in the days of Otto Graham, Lou Groza and Jim Brown - sad.

9. Sure, she had a famous last name but she made it on her own with incredible talent. The music world is not as good a place without Natalie Cole. Her own efforts like Inseparable, Pink Cadillac and Miss You Like Crazy were part of the 70s and 80s landscape, but her crowning moment was 1991’s poignant duet with her late father on Unforgettable.

10. As we mentioned a few months back (Rants – Sept. 27) for the first time since its last show, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is back on TV. It’s on the Antenna Network – Channel 610 on Bright House systems.

Fox Sports gets it almost right

Nearly two years ago (RANTS – March 16, 2014 ), we suggested that Fox Sports was probably relegating their most talented baseball play by play team to second banana – that being John Smoltz and Matt Vasgersian. Their lead team consisted of Joe Buck, Harold Reynolds and Tom Verducci. A week or two ago, Fox corrected part of the problem, removing Reynolds and Verducci from the lead team and replacing them with Smoltz. As for the play by play guy, Buck surely has the most famous name, but Vasgersian is lights years ahead in play by play skills and overall knowledge of the game and his style makes Smoltz better, but alas, his last name is not Buck.

Happy New Year!

A golden opportunity for Clearwater economic development

About twenty years ago, the Clearwater City Commission made a bold stroke and did a nationwide search for an executive to kick start the city’s moribund economic development efforts. The successful candidate, Bob Keller, did just that - turning an abandoned department store site into downtown’s most vibrant business campus, forming strong government-private sector alliances and spearheading recruitment and retention efforts that turned Clearwater around. Now with the departure of a mediocre bureaucrat who headed what passed for economic development for the past many years, the city has an opportunity to bring in another major player to do the same. The economic climate is right; will the city council have the initiative to get Clearwater on the economic development fast track?

Around Tampa Bay:

1. Given St. Pete’s left leaning administration, we shouldn’t be surprised that penalties for possession of pot in the city will now rank right up there with running a stop sign.

2. No one should be surprised by the city of Clearwater reducing reserve requirements for the maintenance of the Capitol Theater by Ruth Eckerd Hall. Nonprofits always make promises to the city that are never fulfilled. The building of the downtown library was another example when Friends of the Library wanted loans for embellishments not called for in the original plans. Council members then, as with the theater, reluctantly agreed knowing they’d never see the money.

3. Later this year dirt will start flying in the Morningside neighborhood for a new recreation center that was promised to residents well over a decade ago. It’s about time.

4. Some time back (RANTS – May 4, 2014), we mentioned how fortunate Pinellas County was to have a hospital at the level of Morton Plant. What we should have added is there are also some other local medical facilities that make you wonder how they keep their doors open.

5. You’ve lived in Clearwater a long time, if you remember chowing down at the King Pig on Gulf to Bay Blvd. Thanks to our sports prognosticator Achmed Walled (pronounced wall-ED) for reminding us of this Clearwater landmark.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. Donald, Donald, if you’re going to run an efficient campaign, concentrate on your message and not on what that pimple on the butt of American opinion, Politifact, has to say.

7. Chip Kelly, let go by the Philadelphia Eagles last week, will be on the unemployment line for a month or less. But hopefully whoever hires him (probably an NFL team) will not give him personnel authority – a mistake made by the Eagles.

8. Neat feature by Channel 13 during the holidays on the 25 years plus of the heart warming Publix Christmas commercials including the classic that started it all – their train to houseboat commercial to the tune of Pat Matheny’s Last Train Home which played for several years and is still their best.

9. Factoid: 1 in 12 American men are color blind (only 1 in 200 women). With that in mind, why would the NFL permit or encourage ridiculous uniforms like the Bucs and Rams wore a few weeks back? It is virtually impossible for someone color blind to differentiate between the two teams.

10. Quote of the week from Willie Geist, co-anchor on MSNBC’s Morning Joe on the mean-spirited political cartoon featuring Ted Cruz’ children – “People look for moments of bias in the media. Here’s one right here. You can’t be selectively offended by cartoons. If that had been a Democrat, or God forbid the President of the United States, they would have lit the house on fire. There would have been wall-to-wall coverage on it.”

$100 million ain’t what it used to be

The Bucs (and we taxpayers) will be spending $100 million dollars to upgrade Raymond James Stadium and presumably put us in line for another Super Bowl. The price of poker has gone up. Here’s what $100 million used to buy you – all of pre-developed Island Estates, 10 times over; Dodger stadium – four of them; 15 Fenway Parks, 100 of the Packer’s Lambeau Field and, in the spirit of the holidays, this year’s price for the items in the 12 Days of Christmas nearly 3000 times over including the partridge in a pear tree.

 As 2015 draws to a close, a few of our favorite things:

This week, a bit of a departure for our now 21-month old blog, as we look back at some favorite entries from the year just passed – and a couple, “wish we hadn’t said that” moments. Plus we say a final goodbye to some incredibly good people and things. And a thanks to you for stopping by every week or so!

Our favorites from Around Tampa Bay:

1. Apparently we are not the only ones wondering why the heck CENTCOM has a Twitter account - to keep in touch with Tampa’s version of the Kardashians?

2. Factoid: For many years, the editorial page of “Florida’s Best Newspaper” carried a quote from its long time publisher Nelson Poynter. It read “The policy of our paper is simple – merely to tell the truth.” The quote was dropped several years ago.

3. More than one political pundit is forecasting a Rick Baker – Charlie Crist race for the District 13 Congressional seat being vacated by David Jolly. As polarizing as Baker and Crist are, “None of the above” could stand a very good chance in that race.

4. Tampa International Airport decided not to include a Bloomin’ Brands (Outback, Carrabba’s etc.) restaurant in their upcoming renovation saying the Tampa-based chain had grown so big they lost the local flavor the airport was seeking. So Carrabba’s is being replaced by a P.F. Chang’s – now there’s some local flavor!

5. From January 2015: Another touch of Clearwater history: 52 years ago this month, WTAN Radio celebrates its 15th year on the air by constructing one of the first FM stereo stations in the market – WTAN-FM. Young guy working a weekend gig at a St. Pete station decides to give this FM thing a brief try and sticks around for 20 years. Sorry, forgot the guy’s name.

6. You’ve lived in the Bay Area (or anywhere else) a long time if you remember when pizza wasn’t delivered but milk was. Thanks to the brighter sibling in our family for this one.

7. Florida Senate passes a bill that makes it illegal for law enforcement agencies to set traffic ticket quotas. Good news for Florida and visiting motorists; bad news for Waldo, Lawtey, Inglis and Brooksville among others.

8. Thanks to the Gassman Law Firm on Court Street in Clearwater for always bringing a smile to our face with their catchy marquee. It is truly a Sign of the Times.

9. Does anything define sleaze better than the circus involving the lawyers who worked both sides of the Bubba – Todd Schnitt lawsuit?

10. You’ve lived in Clearwater a long time if the two businesses you patronized most on North Fort Harrison Ave. were Merz Record Shop and Pete’s Pizza.

11. Recent poll said 31 per cent of people living in Florida would like to live elsewhere. Let’s see, there’s I-75 on this coast and I-95 to the east. Safe travel!

12. Always remember that if someone uninitiated asks you what Clearwater is famous for, you don’t have to lower your head and mumble something about a cult. Instead, stand proud and declare we are the home of the very first Hooter’s Restaurant!

13. Several local policy wonks express great optimism in David Jolly’s Senate run. Wish we could join them. Jolly is a little too fresh out of the box to win statewide. Would love to see him prevail – particularly for what it would mean for the Bay Area, but as betting people, would have to put our money elsewhere.

14. A recent news item concerning a Confederate Stars and Bars flag flying over the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) building in Clearwater provoked two thoughts: (a) we’d wager that fifty per cent or more of the American population would not recognize the “nationality” of that flag and (b) it was mentioned that the UDC building was close to the new Clearwater monument which brought to mind that monument cost more than the entire UDC building and the grounds surrounding it.

15. Open primaries in Florida where left leaning independents could throw some crap in the game in a GOP primary or far right independent voters do the same in a Democratic primary – now what could possibly go wrong with that?

16. Do two 75-story residential towers fit the Tampa landscape? You’re right, they don’t. Any sort of review board that would rule otherwise has to be looked at with suspicion.

17. It is way past time for the Florida legislature to pass some fair to all concerned legislation regarding Lyft and Uber service. Otherwise, you are going to have about three dozen Florida counties doing their own thing creating total confusion for the public that relies on such transportation.

18. Again, proof that this blog writes itself – a proposal by Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection that hunting be allowed in state parks. Don’t think that’s what we mean by “environmental protection.”

19. A couple walks out of a Pinellas county movie after a man carries a duffel bag in making the wife very nervous. In Tampa, a guy’s gun falls out of its holster onto the floor prompting another theater patron to call police. Come on theaters, we can’t carry our own bottle of water into most movies, but guys are carrying duffel bags and revolvers in? And you wonder why attendance is down?

20. You’ve really lived in Clearwater a long time if you enjoyed one of the incomparable Philly Hoagies at the Philly Hoagie shop across from what was then Cleveland Plaza. And if you know prominent Clearwater attorney Charlie Robinson, ask him about his favorite Philly Hoagie story.

Favs from the diamond, the media and elsewhere:

1. This first appeared in this space almost a year and a half ago (Rants – May 25, 2014) and we still believe it. The answer to the Ray’s attendance problems could best be solved not by a new glitzy stadium on either side of the bay, but moving the franchise to the National League which has many more followers in the bay area than the American League and nationwide by 4 million fans annually. Houston switched leagues, why not Tampa Bay?

2. Our Rants and Raves focus group (comprised of three old, cranky people) reminds us that too often the inventions we take for granted are the most important. Case in point: It’s five o’clock, pouring rain and you are about to leave the office for your car located two football fields away. Which would you rather have –an Apple 18.5 smart phone or an umbrella? (Margin of error – 50 per cent or so).

3. This item appeared in the January 4 issue of Rants and Raves: As we frequently do, we “borrow” a classic from the local 5:05 newsletter regarding the passing of the founder of Topps baseball cards: “Sy Berger, the designer of the modern baseball card, has died. He will be laid to rest in a shoe box somewhere in an attic”. More than one person has suggested to us that there should be an addendum to the piece – “And after five years, your mother throws the shoe box away”.

4. You can probably understand a team that consistently wins nine games a year occasionally hitting up their ticket holders for more money or a bigger contribution. But USF that has won nine games in three years? (Full disclosure they did do better this year but 16 wins over four years doesn’t exactly make them the Crimson Tide).

5. Our Rants and Raves focus group (composed of three old, cranky people) wants to know what Hillary Clinton has to say that is worth $200,000. (Margin of error – plus or minus 50 per cent).

6. Don’t know about you, but there wasn’t a dry eye in your HB (Humble Blogger’s) home during Channel 8’s send off for Gayle Sierens. What a class act.

7. The Tampa Bay region is again pursuing a Super Bowl (2019 or 2020). We are up against some tough competition, but the area already has a plum – the 2017 national college championship game which, in many eyes, will become more prestigious than the Super Bowl as time goes on.

8. Remember how old you felt when there were no longer any major league ballplayers older than you? How about when there are no major league managers older than you?

9. From July of this year - Fifty years ago this week, riding the top of the charts in America was a song, which legend has it, was written at the pre-cult Fort Harrison Hotel in Clearwater – the Stone’s (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction – the biggest hit of 1965.

10. Memo to baseball commissioner Rob Manfred: if you are truly concerned about the younger generation’s lack of passion for the game, start the marquee games (All-Star and World Series) more than an hour before their bedtime.

11. The NHL is “doing the dance” with Las Vegas (as well as Quebec City) regarding an expansion franchise. This brings up two questions – will a major (sort of) sport finally locate in Sin City and can you name a dozen NHL franchises if we spot you the original six?

12. From October: New York City’s first Chick-fil-A opened last week. As you would expect, there were animal rights, gay rights and pro-abortion protesters on hand – as well a few city dwellers telling the folks in the kitchen, “This is the way we do it up north.”

13. Give a little man/woman a job with the slightest hint of authority and they often become Nazis. A few examples – ticket takers at entertainment venues, crosswalk guards and the ultimate job sure to turn a nobody into a Nazi – a condo or HOA board.

14. Our Raves and Rants focus group (comprised of three old, cranky people) suggests timers in the grocery store in front of items. You have twenty seconds to ponder an item and then either put it in your cart or move on.

15. Okay, we think we get it now. With PolicaFact, or whatever they call it, if a liberal says the sun rises in the east, it ranks “True”. The same statement from a conservative ranks “Half True”.

16. Just a guess, but we suspect the Tennessee Titans are happy with who they ended up with in the first round of the NFL draft.

17. We know he was polarizing and blatantly plain spoken (always loved that Auburn coloring books line), but Steve Spurrier will go down as one of the 5 or 10 best coaches in college history. Hard to think of many coaches who took three mediocre college programs and made them relevant. And yes, his timing was unfortunate.

18. Really? Five-win teams going to bowls? It’s time for the NCAA and some communities to bite the bullet and get rid of about half a dozen of these “nobody but alumni cares” bowls.A few suggestions – Bahamas Bowl, Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (we’re not making that up), Camellia Bowl and the Miami Beach Bowl (and, yes, we know our alma mater is going there). Each of these bowls drew 20,000 or less last year. They cannot be making money.

19. Takeaways from the Miss Universe fiasco – it wouldn’t have happened on Donald Trump’s watch, just ask him. And Steve Harvey will be lucky to be asked to emcee the Miss Yeehaw Junction pageant.

20. Our Rants and Raves focus group (which consists of three old, cranky people) suggests a cash register that automatically shuts off at ten items for those in Publix’ ten item aisle who cannot seem to be able to count. One stronger suggestion from the group is a trap door that opens on the 11th item. Margin of error: 50 per cent or so.

And what we meant to say was….

1. This year, hope does not spring eternal for Tampa Bay area based spring training teams. The Phillies are in a rebuild mode; Toronto plays in the toughest division in baseball and the Yankees, in that same division, need everything, repeat everything, to go right for them to reach the post season. Seems like two of those three teams did pretty well.

2. The odds of David Jolly running for the U.S. Senate and the Rays advancing to the World Series this year are virtually the same. Again, we had at least one of them right.

3. It’s quite possible the Cubs will become the next Mets or Dodgers – spending millions with negligible results. Actually the Cubbies exceeded expectations. And the Dodgers and Mets not so bad either.

4. Focus is on six teams – two who are not as bad as they seem and will be back in the hunt before too long. That would be the Seattle Seahawks who had some early season turmoil and the Baltimore Ravens who are simply just too good to be at the bottom of the AFC North. The Seahawks picked it up quite a bit but the Ravens were bloody awful.

Our Last Song Together (apologies to Glenn Yarbrough)

Not all of these people made headlines when they passed this year but all left a very special mark on this community and, in some cases, this nation:

Former University of Florida coach and Clearwater resident Ray Graves.

Another Gator, Jack Russell Jr., Past President of the Clearwater Chamber of Commerce, long time Clearwater Rotarian and a man with a passion for sports cars.

David Rulison – the “Can Man” who recycled cans at the Clearwater Marina for over two decades.

Bobby Quinn, an artist on the mound for the 10-time World Champion Clearwater Bombers.

Ernie Banks, whose “Let’s play two” personified his love for the game.

Ben E. King, whose soulful stylings for the Drifters defined the late 50s and early 60s R&B music.

Dorothy Bowes-Nee, the smiling face at the front desk of Clearwater High School for so many years.

Gary Owens, whose rich voice made KFWB radio in LA a rock and roll giant in the 60s and 70s and whose quirky style set the tone for the hit comedy show Laugh In.

Windell Middlebrooks, who captured mainstream America with his portrayal of Miller High Life’s no nonsense delivery man who suffered no fools gladly.

Father Hugh Mullin, a plain spoken, devoted priest and servant of his country.

Jack Larson, multi-talented, but best known as the guy who played cub reporter Jimmy Olson in a childhood favorite – Superman.

Don Seaton, who operated the Sea Wake and Sea Stone resorts on Clearwater Beach – one of Clearwater’s tourism giants - and just a great guy.

Our boyhood baseball hero, Lawrence Peter Berra, who drove us to wear baseball uniforms two sizes too big or way too small just as long as they had an “8” on the back.

And a few things that were special to your humble blogger:

The Belleview Biltmore, the stately Queen of the Gulf, that played host to Kings, Presidents, Sultans of Swat and ordinary folks like you and me.

The Country Harvest, a family style restaurant on Missouri Avenue – a place where you met friends after church on Sunday, had great servers and just plain good food.

And who among us is not going to miss NBC’s Willard Scott? Darn, was hoping he’d stay around several more years until our 100^th birthday!

Merry Christmas to all …

Take care of these major sports issues, then worry about names

Topping the list of sports issues is pro athlete thugs beating kids; very closely followed by that same bunch of thugs (mostly from the NFL) doing worse to women; right behind that is the life threatening issue of concussions, again, primarily in the NFL. While on the subject of life threatening, auto racing, particularly NASCAR has to clean up its house in that area. Sadly, the technology is there but not being implemented. Then there is doping and what it does not only to the level of competition, but to the future health of our athletes. How about corruption in sports – the FIFA being the poster child in that arena? Next let’s focus on college basketball and football and decide if we want those sports to be what they have been for over a century – a venue for student-athletes or simply a farm system for the NBA and the NFL. Add to that the question of pay for college athletes. Isn’t a free four-year education enough? Then, of course, there is that hot mess at the University of Missouri. Okay, there are a half dozen or more major problems facing amateur and pro sports. Once we solve them and about a half dozen other pressing issues, maybe we can talk about whether we want our pro teams having names like Braves, Chiefs, Indians and Redskins.

Around Tampa Bay:

1. Our official greeting appears above and below but to put it in another perspective (from the nearly world famous Gassman Law Firm sign on Court Street) – Happy Hollandaise!

2. An early Christmas present from the city of Clearwater to employees of businesses at the Clearwater Marina – an increase in the cost of parking their vehicles – a minimum of over $100 a year. Things just keep getting better at our city marina (see disclaimer above) and stand a good chance of getting worse.

3. Experts used to say the first sign of a failing shopping mall was the appearance of a video game room. Now you have to wonder about a mall that includes a tattoo parlor.

4. Lots of rumors circulating concerning a new Publix for Island Estates including one saying the new store will be multi-story. Multi-story yes, but apparently only one level of shopping (over parking) according to what most sources have revealed.

5. You’ve lived in the bay area a long time if you remember the brouhaha created by the staging of Angels in America at Ruth Eckerd Hall.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. Quote of the week: From The Tampa Tribune’s ace columnist Tom Jackson on Donald Trump’s blundering answer on America’s nuclear triad – “We’ve all heard more cogent answers to less important questions from finalists in Trump-sponsored beauty pageants”.

7. Our crack sports prognosticator, Achmed Walled (pronounced wall-ED) fresh off his bullseye  World Series pick - (Royals in 5), likes Bama to beat Michigan State and Clemson to prevail over Oklahoma with the Tide rolling in the national championship game.

8. 59 days until pitchers and catchers report! That is, if you are reading this the date of publication – even less if you’re reading it later on!

9. Yet another gem borrowed from that Mad Magazine of the digital age, the 5:05 Newsletter: "When a woman asks you to guess her age, it's like deciding whether to cut the blue, red, or green wire to diffuse a bomb."

10. NBC, MSNBC and NBC whatever else have announced a merged effort with Politifact – a marriage made in the far left corner of heaven.

And the countdown continues (with an apology to Casey Kasem)

We’re doing something a bit different next week, so this week we conclude with the top three songs of the week as we said goodbye to 1965 fifty years ago. They were The Dave Clark Five’s Over and Over – their only #1 record. Following the DC 5 were the Byrd’s Turn, Turn, Turn (just down from number one) and Simon and Garfunkel’s breakout hit – The Sounds of Silence (about to ascend to number one the first week of 1966).

… and to all a good night!

Editor’s note: An editing error lead to two versions of the blog on line last week – the unedited version and the final. We apologize for any confusion.

“Doing the dance” with satellite radio, cable and wireless companies

First as a former business owner/manager, let us acknowledge you cannot do business in 2015 at 2005 prices. But the practices of so many satellite radio, wireless and cable companies are ridiculous. You’re paying about $120 bucks a month for whatever service and suddenly you get a notice or worse, a bill for double that. Then, if you know how to play the game, you call up and ask to cancel and suddenly the bill is cut by 50 percent or more. We can all live with a rational increase in price, but why do we have to constantly play the game to get back to a 3-5 per cent increase? And even worse, what about the people who just shrug their shoulders and pay an outrageous price? This might be an area where federal regulation, which all of us detest, might be in order.

Around Tampa Bay:

1. In the latest dust up between Clearwater citizenry and the cult, citizen wins. But the disturbing thing about Alex Hageli being able to exercise his First Amendment rights is that a Clearwater cop did not know that sidewalks bordering city and county roads are not the property of the Church of Scientology.

2. Always thought riding the 400 foot Orlando Eye would be fun. But what will make it even more exhilarating is the addition of the Eye Glow Lounge at the base of the attraction enabling you to ride the giant Ferris Wheel with a bunch of drunks.

3. Two words that strike fear into the hearts of bay area tourism officials – red tide. It’s now in extreme south Pinellas County but experts will be keeping their eyes out. Two possible causes – unseasonably warm water temperatures in the gulf and the lack of a “stirring” effect that a tropical storm has on the gulf making our uneventful hurricane season a mixed blessing.

4. Now it’s more or less official. As we predicted in an earlier Rants (Nov. 15), the value of the Canadian dollar (75 cents) is going to have a major impact on visits to Florida from north of the border with tourism experts predicting an 8-10 percent drop.

5. You’ve lived in the bay area a long time if you remember guys with names like Dick Stambaugh, Dave Archard, Rock Robbins and Beachcomber Bob. They were all “Swinging Gentleman” - disk jockeys on Tampa Bay’s legendary Top 40 station – WLCY back in the early sixties.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. USF head football coach Willie Taggart has gone from sitting on one of the hottest seats in the sport to getting a five year extension. What is wrong with that picture?

7. Really? Five-win teams going to bowls? It’s time for the NCAA and some communities to bite the bullet and get rid of about half a dozen of these “nobody but alumni cares” bowls.A few suggestions – Bahamas Bowl, Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (we’re not making that up), Camellia Bowl and the Miami Beach Bowl (and, yes, we know our alma mater is going there). Each of these bowls drew 20,000 or less last year. They cannot be making money.

8. Wow, the Bosox picking up David Price seems akin to the Third Reich signing George Patton.

9. Speaking of baseball, seeing the incredible haul the Atlanta Braves got from Arizona for stud pitcher Shelby Miller, the Rays have become somewhat delusional about what their starters would bring. Chris Archer probably could have commanded a similar package; any other Ray’s starter – not even close.

10. Our Rants and Raves focus group (made up of three old, cranky people) has two questions: (1) Have you ever asked a young person why they wear their baseball cap backwards? (2) Have you ever received an intelligent reply?

DOT: can’t have your cake and eat it too

Recently a group of U.S. 19 businesses tried (thus far) unsuccessfully to gain compensation for business losses occasioned by the highway’s construction. Seems state law does not allow for that. Fair enough, but as we continue our love affair with the car and the need for more lanes of traffic, we need much better execution by DOT and its ilk to keep from devastating business through bad planning. Otherwise, do enact legislation that compensates businesses for the diminished value of their property. You can’t have it both ways.

Why we love Politifact (see disclaimer above)

Figures don’t lie but… you know the rest. This recent Politifact item caught our attention and pegged our phony meter. The statement, “We have record numbers of people living in poverty” – Carly Fiorina. The merry crew at Politifact rates this half true because according to them while there are indeed more people than ever living in poverty in the U.S. there have been, in the past, larger percentages of the American public living in poverty. We are sure that to the more than 45 million Americans living in poverty knowing that they are a smaller percentage of the U.S. population than at other times in history gives them great comfort and Politifact even more credibility.

Around Tampa Bay:

1. Factoid: It took one year and 45 days to build the Empire State Building. It has taken over twice that long to build a lousy Mexican restaurant on top of the Clearwater Marina – a restaurant still not open.

2. TIA is not waiting on the state legislature to act on easing rules on free parking by disabled vets. The cities of Tampa, St. Pete and Clearwater should follow suit.

3. Most self-serving quote of the week: “There’s no place like home especially home with fair congressional districts (read Democratic-leaning) like the one we have now in Pinellas County” – perennial candidate Charlie Crist.

4. The website Athlon Sports and Life ranks the Rays’ logo the worst in baseball. Have they seen the Astros’ or the Padres’ logos? Top three are the Tigers’ iconic D, the Cubs and the Dodgers. All three are good, but somewhere at the top you have to have the time-tested Yankees’ top hat logo.

5. You’ve lived in Clearwater a long time if you remember Val’s Meat Market on Drew Street and their incredible sizzlers. Thanks to one of the members of the august Morton Plant Treehouse group for reminding us of this bit of local history.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. Has there ever been a more inept Secretary of State than John Kerry - probably so, but not in recent memory. Did the “Big O” appoint him just to make Hillary look good?

7. Doris Burke is one of the true gems in the ESPN stable. She provides steady analysis of NCAA basketball games coming off as a fan of the game without being over the top ala Dickie V.

8. Happy to see the foolishness concerning Les Miles’ job security at LSU come to an end. Miles is arguably one of the ten best coaches in the country. As Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops opined at the height of the rumors, “Be careful what you wish for.”

9. The CBS ensemble comedy Life in Pieces has been picked up for a full season’s run. The show is one of the brighter things in the 2015-16 television season.

10. Question: what do the popcorn machine, Juicy Fruit Gum, brownies, the dishwasher and the Ferris Wheel have in common? They all debuted at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair and all five are still around 122 years later.

Presidential feet of clay:

Memory is not an accurate recording. This pretty much sums up a letter from a Rants and Raves reader concerning our canonization of JFK (RANTS – November 22). Our reader accurately points out Kennedy’s awful Bay of Pigs adventure, his unwise involvement in Vietnam and a very spotty civil rights record – paling in comparison to his successor – LBJ – a Southerner to boot. We tend to remember only the good things about former leaders – even the acknowledged best five – Madison, Jefferson, Washington, Lincoln and FDR all made serious missteps but those follies have been buried under various frontier expansions, new deals and wars won. And, of course, the closer historically, we are to a president, the worse he seems. In the end, our current leader (presently ranked 36th out of 43) may not go down in history as one of the worst despite opinion to the contrary now.

Marijuana petition scam in Florida

It works like this. A polite young person comes up and asks you to sign a petition to allow solar power to be resold in a free market. Sounds okay, put it on the ballot and then study the issue thoroughly to see if you want to vote yes or no. The petition is on white paper. Then the young person asks you to also sign a second sheet (yellow, like the second part of most forms). Mildly aggravated that they wouldn’t invest in a carbonless form, you begin to sign it and then you realize the second form is a petition to put pot back on the ballot. No mention of that from young petition gatherer. Come on Mr. Morgan and cronies; if this is such a noble cause, do you really have to stoop to tactics like that?

Around Tampa Bay:

1. The barrels and the barricades are up on Clearwater’s Court and Chestnut Streets, but do you ever see anyone out there performing any work?

2. This spring voters will elect a majority of the Clearwater city council and, sad to report, no shining lights are coming forward to offer their services as opposed to last election where we had, unfortunately, three really good people competing for two seats.

3. Your tax dollars in action - new sculpture to grace the entryway to the downtown library. Cost - just over fifty large. But that’s only half what the “artwork” at the new fire station cost – the artwork no one can see.

4. When is the last time you enjoyed a walk on Clearwater Beach? Most evenings this time of year are great opportunities to enjoy some of the splendor we too often take for granted.

5. From the darker side, you’ve lived in Clearwater a long time if you remember the United Churches of Florida.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. It will be so much easier for the liberal media once the GOP Presidential field is winnowed down to a handful. As it is now, they have to scramble so hard to make sure they take cheap shots at every credible candidate.

7. Now that hurricane season is over, an idle thought. Why can’t they just resume with the unused names the following year? As it stands, 2015’s Rose, Teresa and Wanda will never get a shot at fame or infamy.

8. Cubs and former Ray’s bench coach Dave Martinez apparently doesn’t interview well as he lost out on the Ray’s top job and, more recently, the Dodger’s managerial post. One of these days, he will be thrust into the top spot by a firing, resignation or whatever and when that happens, he will make a couple clubs very unhappy they didn’t hire him.

9. We often praise the Times Tom Jones here – simply because he’s so doggone good. We particularly applaud his recent column on the sanctity of Friday night high school football. College has Saturday as well as Tuesday through Thursday, if they want it, but for heaven’s sake, leave Friday nights to the high schoolers.

10. Washington Redskins – nothing to report about the team. Just wanted to use the team name in print to offset the politically correct folks who think they should be renamed the Washington (insert non-offensive and irrelevant name here).

Let’s all trash the SEC

Last year Ohio State was the college national football champion – breaking a run of eight straight years teams from the SEC led the nation. So suddenly Big 10 or 12 or however many supporters think they rule the world. Of particular interest is PTI’s Michael Wilbon who has some sort of blind hatred for the SEC in general and Alabama in particular. He points out the three “cupcakes” the Tide has played this year while conveniently overlooking Ohio State’s schedule featuring powerhouses like Hawaii, Western Michigan and Northern Illinois (who they barely beat). Then, when the Buckeyes finally play a ranked team, they lose. Alabama, by the way, has already played three ranked schools. Let’s see how the rest of the season plays out before we crown the Big However Many the new coin of the realm.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Remember officers, we are a tourism–driven region

We dealt with the proliferation of foot races that gum up Clearwater Beach traffic last week (Rants – November 15). But even more troubling than these events that produce little if anything in tourism dollars is the reaction of Clearwater Police during the November 8 race to baffled drivers trying to reach destinations like the Clearwater Marina – telling them the marina parking was closed (it wasn’t); directing them to park at the Hilton (where they couldn’t) and berating them with things like “There have been signs up for two weeks” (they were not) – often speaking to tourists who had been here two days not two weeks. If our cops can’t be knowledgeable and courteous, then we need to get others who are – or better yet, get rid of these non-revenue producing races.

Around Tampa Bay:

1. We seldom agree with Mayor Rick (”Let’s Spend Some Money”) Kriseman but his stepping in and preventing the city of St. Pete from getting into the auto race business was the right move. Cities rarely run entrepreneurial things well. At the same time, the city council’s shot across the race promoter’s bow was not necessarily a bad thing. The race people need to remember they serve at the pleasure of the city – not the other way around.          

2. Again, proof that this blog writes itself – a proposal by Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection that hunting be allowed in state parks. Don’t think that’s what we mean by “environmental protection.”

3. So a theater patron, an ex-cop no less, felt threatened by a cell phone? The defense being put up by Curtis Reeves’ attorneys is going to be interesting to follow through the court system.

4. The proposal to allow PSTA buses to use the shoulders of major highways during gridlock is not as off the charts as it seems. Been done in other metro areas and is done every heavy traffic weekend on the causeway to Clearwater Beach by motorcyclists and some even dumber motorists.

5. You’ve lived in Clearwater a long time if you remember some of its downtown auto dealerships – Crown Chrysler-Plymouth, Kennedy-Strickland Ford, Stone Buick, Thayer Dodge and White Pontiac to name a few.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. At the beginning of the season, you would not have given a plug nickel for Lovie Smith or Willie Taggart’s chances of returning next season. Now the Bulls are going to a bowl and the Bucs have doubled their win total. Taggart will be back for sure and Smith better than even money barring a second half collapse.

7. Guess it will take more than a high-priced general manager, a high-priced manager and a bevy of young sluggers to make the Cubs anything but the Cubs.

8. Many baseball observers are comparing the Atlanta Braves trade of slick fielding shortstop Andrelton Simmons to the Padres’ ill-fated trade of Ozzie Smith to the Cards back in 1981.

9. Speaking of the Cards, they have been on the winning end of arguably the two most lopsided trades in the past half century – the above Ozzie Smith for Garry Templeton trade and getting another Hall of Famer, Lou Brock, for pitcher Ernie Broglio.

10. When you give thanks this week, don’t forget a small thank you for the paradise we are lucky enough to call home.

How good or great would he have been?

It is hard to fathom that it’s been 52 years since our nation lost John F. Kennedy. The first few years of his administration had been promising – the pledge, later fulfilled, to reach the moon; the Peace Corps; staring down Khrushchev to name just three. If nothing else, it would have been great to have him see his most ambitious promise becoming fact on that magic night in July of 1969 – even though, again hard to imagine, he would have been out of office by then. Like Lincoln and McKinley before him, so much promise never to be fulfilled.

Making their mark on Clearwater tourism

The recent passing of Don Seaton reminded us of just how much he meant to Clearwater tourism and how he and three contemporaries took Clearwater tourism to a higher level over the decades. Along with Don, three other men come to mind who, in their own way, drove Clearwater tourism - and one still does. While Don was running the Sea Wake and Sea Stone resorts, Russ Kimball was, and still is, overseeing perhaps Clearwater’s pre-eminent hotel – the Sheraton Sand Key. Wallace Lee first made his mark in the halcyon days of the Jack Tar Fort Harrison Hotel and later oversaw things at the beautiful Clearwater Beach Hotel. And then there was Bob Jones probably as well known for his massive practical jokes (along with Jay Keyes of the Bank 1890s Restaurant) as he was for his skillful guidance of the original Holiday Inn (now the Hilton) on Clearwater Beach. Without these four men and a few others, Clearwater’s robust tourism would not be what it is today.

Around Tampa Bay:

1. Hard to believe but in another week or so, you’ll be hearing the sound of the Salvation Army bell outside many retailers. They are always looking for volunteer bell ringers; give them a call (725-9777). And thanks to the many retailers who grant the Army space to raise funds for the great work they do.

2. New logo and “rebranding” for Clearwater? The city seemed to doing pretty good with the old branding – dynamite beach, great golf and fishing - and it doesn’t snow here in February.

3. On a related and more serious note, you have to wonder about the Canadian component of tourism and seasonal residency when the Canadian dollar is worth about six bits American.

4. Two folks whose phones ring a lot asking them to get back into the political arena are long time Pinellas Park Mayor Bill Mischler and two-term Clearwater commissioner John Doran. Both cities are viewed as having a vacuum of leadership but our money is on Mischler and Doran remaining on the sidelines.

5. And a follow up to our lead item, you have lived in Clearwater a long time if you enjoyed the sumptuous buffets at Jay Keyes’ Bank 1890s Restaurant located where the new Shephard’s now stands.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. The answer to the lowly Chicago Cub’s woes involves neither pitching nor hitting according to long time Cub fan and sufferer George Will. What needs to happen is for someone to start World War III. As Will points out in his book “Bunts”, the Cubs have not won the pennant since 1945 – the year WWII ended.

7. Never too soon to forecast the 2016 season and here is our first 2016 baseball prediction: David Ortiz will morph into the next Ryan Howard, an overweight, aging slugger whose bat speed matches up with that of Hank Aguirre (younger readers, look him up).

8. The NFL is the only one of the four major sports leagues (MLB, NBA and NHL) where you don’t laugh uncontrollably when they talk about possible expansion.

9. Know they each have won a lot of games, but our money won’t be on the Bengals, Broncos or Panthers when January and early February come around.

10. From an honorary member of our Rants and Raves focus group (comprised of three old, cranky people) comes this gem: “The biggest lie I tell myself is I don’t need to write that down, I’ll remember it”.

More beach shutdowns/slowdowns ahead

First, our apologies for not giving you advance warning of the November 8th traffic jamming run on Clearwater Beach. Hope you didn’t need to be anywhere promptly. Here’s a “cut and save” for the next few months for days it will be near impossible to get to the beach or get off in a timely fashion. Saturday, December 5 will see beach traffic slowed or stopped for The Color Run 5K. Sunday, January 17 - allow extra time to get off the beach or on the beach to church for the Clearwater Distance Classic – same thing applies to Sunday, April 10 for an Iron Girl event. Of course, there is Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot which only gums up part of the city and you can use alternate east-west and north-south routes as opposed to the beach where there is only one practical way on and off - something lost on race planners and the city officials who sign off on these events.

 Achmed nailed it – Royals in five

First, a tip of the cap to our crack sports prognosticator Achmed Walled (pronounced wall-ED). Before post season play began, in our October 4 Rants, Achmed correctly predicted the Royals would be World Champs in five games. The Royals are a team you might be able to beat for the first five innings but you better have a huge lead because they are going to come back at you in the last four – or sometimes seven. Their starting pitching is more than adequate and their bullpen is one of the best in recent years. Good to see a small market team win it all and particularly gratifying to see championship rings go to two truly nice guys, former Ray Ben Zobrist and his manager, Ned Yost.

Around Tampa Bay:

1. Good for bay area law enforcement heads who came out four-square against a ridiculous open carry law being proposed by some panhandle legislators. Second Amendment rights are one thing but turning tourism-dependent Florida into the wild, wild West is something else again.

2. In baseball parlance (because isn’t that the only thing the election was about?) the St. Pete electorate went 2 for 3 in last week’s election – wisely returning incumbent commissioners Charlie Gerdes and Steve Kornell to office. But voters whiffed big time in electing Lisa Wheeler-Brown despite a spotty resume that includes two arrests. The arrests from a few years back you might (emphasis might) be willing to overlook if she had not made similar errors in judgment during her campaign. But it was all about finding another lap dog for the Tampa Bay Rays and the people have spoken, albeit not wisely.

3. Mayor Rick Kriseman may be the best argument in Florida against a strong mayor form of government. He constantly gets ahead of his city commission. In a city manager form of government, if that happens too often, you fire the manager. Strong mayor form makes the commission wait for the next election to have the mayor fired.

4. Highest minimum water bill in Pinellas County? This should not surprise you – it’s Clearwater and another increase of some four percent is on the way.

5. You’ve lived in Clearwater a long time if you remember when there were Australian Pines and a trailer park just north of the main beach.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. Shouldn’t NBC and CNBC’s flattering coverage of presumed Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton have some sort of “unpaid political advertisement” disclaimer attached?

7. They’ve beaten every team in their division but many remain skeptical of the Cincinnati Bengals – probably because of their ugly playoff record over the past years.

8. The baseball season has just concluded but one projection for 2016 (and beyond), the Mets are going to be scary good with that young pitching staff.

9. In a related note, the Washington Nationals tried to cheap out in their negotiations with Bud Black and wound up with bargain basement manager and thrice-fired Dusty Baker instead. They now have an older version of Matt Williams in their dugout. The one saving grace for the Nats was the hiring of highly regarded Mike Maddux as their new pitching coach which may prevent Baker from mangling the pitching staff which he has done in his previous stops.

10. When notified recently that Taylor Swift was coming to town, our Rants and Raves focus group (comprised of three old, cranky people) thought Taylor Swift was (a) a women’s clothing store; (b) the author of Captains and the Kings and (c) a running back for the Kansas City Chiefs. (Margin of error, in this case, 100 per cent).

So Nielsen is suing Bubba – should be the other way around.

First let us say what Bubba the Love Sponge, a well-known radio personality, did is by his own admission, inexcusable. Tampering with radio and TV diaries (to use a generic term) is an ultimate broadcasting no-no. But and this is a huge but, Nielsen and its predecessors have been screwing up ratings for years. Way too often some little old lady who lives with her 37 cats represents thousands of listeners because of their small sampling size. And while the ratings are a minor irritant to we the listeners and viewers in that our favorite series gets cancelled or the guy we listened to for years on the radio is no longer there; ratings when not accurate (and that is often) cost announcers, artists, programmers and general managers their livelihood. This is why astute broadcast companies wait at least two ratings periods before making any changes in programming because so often they find that little old lady with the 37 cats who represents thousands of people only listens to polka music – and all the ratings companies can say is whoops- sorry about that job you lost!

Homeowners associations and common sense

We hate to pick on our home state of Pennsylvania two weeks in a row (See RANTS October 25) but it appears they have taken over from Florida for doing the dumbest things. Seems there is a tiny neighborhood in Pennsylvania called Tarrytown where the powers that be have come down hard on a lady who has an 8 by 14 inch blue star banner in one of her bedroom windows. A blue star indicates a member of the family (in this case, her son) is serving his or her country in the military. Seems the small banner violates some guideline that all window treatments must be white or off white. So the Homeowners Association (HOA) Nazis have sprung into action saying the mother of the soldier must apply for a waiver. Don’t they understand that without people like the lady’s son, they would not have an HOA or the supposed right to meddle in other’s affairs?

Around Tampa Bay:

1. In case you missed it from last weekend – CHS 17 Largo 0 - first time that CHS grads have been able to brag for several, several years. While we’re at it, belated Happy 50^th anniversary to the CHS class of ’65 who held their reunion last weekend. Hopefully, a few of them made it to the game.

2. A tip of our cap to Blue Grace Logistics, a Riverview based company, whose employees, in an annual guys (dogs) versus gals (cats) competition garnered enough food to feed the real dogs and cats at the Tampa Humane Society for a full year. Well done dogs and cats. By the way, the gals (cats) were victorious this year.

3. Every 15 or 20 years, well-meaning Clearwater residents try to make something better out of Clearwater’s Bayfront. And every 15 to 20 years, not so well-meaning residents do their best to swat it down.

4. We are hesitant to plug businesses here, but when you find a really nice family restaurant like the Largo Family Restaurant on Missouri Avenue, you like to share it.

5. Speaking of restaurants, you’ve lived in Pinellas County a long time if you enjoyed Aunt Hattie’s and Uncle Ed’s restaurants – and the great things you could carry home from their commissary near the St. Pete-Clearwater Airport.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. Yet another gem “borrowed” from the incomparable 5:05 Newsletter: House Republicans gave Hillary Clinton a free eight-hour TV commercial last week. I sometimes think Republican strategists exist only to make the French Army feel better about their record.

7. Decent start by the Lightning. Will this be the year for the bay area’s second Stanley Cup?

8. Jason Whitlock is the latest in the mass exodus from ESPN. Like Keith Olbermann, the former fill-in host on Pardon the Interruption, kept pushing the envelope to see how much it would take to get him fired (for the second time). Eventually, he succeeded but landed on his feet at Fox.

9. Our Rants and Raves focus group (comprised of three old, cranky people) doesn’t understand T-Mobile’s commercial about being able to call anywhere in the U.S. plus Canada and Mexico. They cannot imagine wanting to call anyone in Canada or Mexico.

10. Approximately 50 years ago this month, boy has his heart broken by the love of his life. Today, boy hopes that worked out as well for the former love of his life as it did for him.

In baseball, not always the manager getting the short end of the deal

First there is Dan Jennings who played the good soldier and went down to the dugout from his General Manager’s post and actually did a good job of skippering the injury-plagued Marlins. His reward? Being terminated last week. On to Toronto where Alex Anthopoulos, the consensus executive of the year in MLB, is rewarded for his brilliant trading deadline moves by being usurped by newly appointed club president Mark Shapiro. He understandably stepped down. There are reasons these two franchises win so seldom and they were on display last week.

Gender discrimination and common sense

Augusta Country Club is no longer a men-only bastion. It was over thirty years ago that Sandra Day O’Connor, one of the last century’s best jurists, became the first woman on the Supreme Court. And it’s probably a 50-50 chance that our next president will be a woman. But still there are ridiculous things like the recent case in Washington, Pa. (south of Pittsburgh and just north of Claysville, my Dad’s birthplace). A high-end men only barbershop there has been fined for not cutting a woman’s hair. The shop offered suggestions to the woman on other shops – even offered to pay for her haircut. For their efforts, they were fined $750 by the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Just wondering what would happen if I tried to join Curves this week? Can’t men and women have a few retreats where big brother will just leave us alone?

Around Tampa Bay:

1. This first appeared in this space almost a year and a half ago (Rants – May 25, 2014) and we still believe it. The answer to the Ray’s attendance problems could best be solved not by a new glitzy stadium on either side of the bay, but moving the franchise to the National League which has many more followers in the bay area than the American League and nationwide by 4 million fans. Houston switched leagues, why not Tampa Bay?

2. Oh joy, oh joy! Charlie Officeseeker has decided he’s going to run for Pinellas County’s newly gerrymandered U.S. House seat. Almost makes you wish Alex Sink would move back over from eastern Hillsborough County.

3. Kudos to the folks responsible for the improved lighting at the pedestrian crosswalks along the beaches’ Gulf Boulevard. The enhanced lighting makes it so much safer crossing the busy thoroughfare.

4. Well, it’s official. Retirees have been informed there will be no hike in Social Security benefits because the cost of living has not increased. They learned this the same week that the city of Clearwater informed them that water, sewer, recycling, storm water and reclaimed water fees would all be increasing anywhere from 1.25 to 4.5 percent respectively. These increases are on top of a nearly four percent increase in solid waste fees in conjunction with a 50 per cent decrease in pick-ups.

5. You’ve lived in the bay area a long time if you remember the Captain Mac kiddies show on WSUN-TV, Channel 38. Captain Mac was played by Burl McCarty who later became part of the strong CBS affiliate WDAE’s radio news team which included Ronald J. Ebben and News Director Dennis Crandall in his pre-WTAN days.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. Two takeaways from Don Mattingly leaving the Dodgers. First, it just seems Bud Black would be a perfect fit in L.A. Second, we hope Mattingly is smart enough to spurn an expected offer from the Marlins for their dugout job. The Nats’ job would be no bed of roses but it sure beats the revolving door in Miami.

7. Wow, being a college head football coach these days seems to be akin to being a kamikaze pilot in WWII.

8. Earlier this year (Rants – April 12) we featured Daniel Norris, then a Blue Jay now with the Detroit Tigers, who takes a different approach to life than most 22-year-old major leaguers. Now we wish him nothing but the best as he faces surgery for thyroid cancer.

9. You’ve watched more baseball than us if you ever saw a crazier inning than the 7th inning of Game 5 between Texas and Toronto. That inning will be shown over and over on baseball retrospectives through the years – not because it was that great but because the play during that inning (not to mention Toronto fan behavior) was so lousy.

10. It can be argued that the three worst things to happen to baseball in the last half-century (taking the DH out of the conversation) are Marvin Miller, Donald Fehr and Scott Boras.

The Game Must Go On – good reading for MLB, WWII buffs

The Game Must Go On by John Klima isn’t for everybody. But if you have an interest in the history of our National Pastime or World War II, you probably would enjoy it. If you have an interest in both, you won’t put it down. Klima tracks the state of major league baseball from before the bombs dropped on Pearl Harbor through the 1945 World Series – which unfortunately is given short shrift particularly since it was the last fall classic for the Cubs. You get a better understanding of folks like Pete Gray, Hank Greenberg and the Southworth family. And you see which major leaguers, like Greenberg, gave their all to the war effort and which players phoned it in – we’ll leave that to your judgment. All in all, a tightly written book on a very important five years in American and baseball history.

The MLB playoffs: umpires, upsets, lack of class and broadcasters:

Baseball commentators have been unanimous in one area during the playoffs – the umpiring has been atrocious. This is because union contracts say umps must get a postseason assignment every so often no matter how awful they are. This is akin to letting Philadelphia, Cincinnati and Atlanta (baseball’s three worst 2015 teams) into the playoffs. Upsets have turned the playoffs topsy-turvy with the Cubs ousting the injury-riddled Cards and the favored Dodgers falling to the Mets. Then there was the complete lack of class displayed by beer can throwing Blue Jay fans. Lastly, the gulf between broadcast presentations: Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that Fox outshines TBS as Fox does more in the regular season and has a better stable of announcers and analysts from which to draw. And TBS should probably follow the Fox example of having analysts who do not represent participating teams. Having the Met’s Ron Darling whine about every play that goes against his team greatly detracts from the game. Oh, by the way, our prognosticator Achmed Walled’s (pronounced wall-ED) quinela of the Royals and Cubs is still alive.

Around Tampa Bay:

1. Not surprising that “Florida’s Best Newspaper” took a cheap shot at St. Pete City Council candidate over some tax liens he satisfied three years ago. Somewhat to their credit, they mentioned his opponent Lisa Wheeler-Brown’s playing games with campaign funds in the 11^th paragraph of the article. No mention of her previous arrests for retail theft and bad check charges. Not when she supports the Mayor’s open checkbook policy toward the Tampa Bay Rays.

2. Factoid: For many years, the editorial page of the above publication carried a quote from its long time publisher Nelson Poynter. It read “The policy of our paper is simple – merely to tell the truth.” The quote was dropped several years ago.

3. Read recently of the perils of locating virtually anything, but particularly a spring training site, on a landfill. Point noted. Anxious to see if the same fears are raised should the Tampa Bay Rays, rather than the Atlanta Braves and perhaps the Toronto Blue Jays, want to build a facility at Toytown.

4. We hear so much about this high tech company and that one and what they mean to Tampa Bay but a recent report shows that MacDill Air Force Base pours just shy of 3 billion dollars into the economy each year and supports 25,000 jobs – not bad for an institution we so often take for granted.

5. You’ve lived in the bay area for a long time if you remember when folks flocked to the Fort Homer Hesterly Armory to see the likes of Eddie Graham, Sam Steamboat, Haystack Calhoun and others every Tuesday night.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. We know he was polarizing and blatantly plain spoken (always loved that Auburn books line), but Steve Spurrier will go down as one of the 5 or 10 best coaches in college history. Hard to think of many coaches who took three mediocre college programs and made them relevant. And yes, his timing was unfortunate.

7. Speaking of ball coaches, it’s hard to believe that Jon Gruden broadcast his 100^th Monday Night Football earlier this month since the Bucs unwisely dropped him as their head coach. Coincidentally, the Bucs have played 101 games since Gruden’s departure. They are 32-69 in those games.

8. Here’s a longshot candidate for the Marlins’ manager’s job – Ruben Amaro who is looking to return to the game as a field manager.

9. We’ve heard good things about the high tech Tesla vehicle but stopped short when we saw the gull wing doors on the car. The doors hark back to the DeLorean and we all know how well that went.

10. Thought for the week: One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors – Plato.

MLB expanding to Canada and Mexico?

Newly - minted MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has run the idea of expansion to Canada and Mexico up the flagpole. At face value, it may make sense; there are few choice U.S. markets left for major league teams and a couple existing markets don’t seem to be making it – particularly the two in Florida. Baseball has already failed in one Canadian city and attendance of the other is in the lower half of all MLB teams although it could improve when the final numbers are in for this year due to the Blue Jays resurgence in the second half of the season. Mexico is much more of a crapshoot – no track record at all and the constant political instability in that nation. All in all, 30 teams (or maybe even 28) seem like a good number and Manfred probably should work at buttressing up the weaker franchises like the A’s, Indians, Marlins and Rays before looking across borders.  

Time for St. Pete and Clearwater governments to develop a backbone

Who runs the cities of St. Pete and Clearwater? Is it duly elected and appointed officials or a group of auto race promoters, baseball executives and restauranteurs? In St. Pete, the promotors of the annual March road race willy-nilly change the dates of the race, St. Pete’s Dali Museum, the Mahaffey Theater and the city in general be damned. The Tampa Bay Rays keep posturing about where they want their new stadium that still won’t draw crickets no matter where it’s located or how fancy it is. The hard to swallow fact is the bay area is just not a good baseball market and never will be. Then in Clearwater, there is a restauranteur who has pretty much been given carte blanche over matters at the publicly owned Clearwater Marina to the detriment of businesses that have been there upwards of fifty years. The result there has been an embarrassment for two years. In all three cases, (and there are others) it’s time for policy makers to develop some backbone and tell all these parties something to the effect that it is they, not the entrepreneurs, who run the city. If they can’t, we need to find some new policy makers and elections in both cities are just around the corner.

Around Tampa Bay:

1. Word on the street - if you enjoyed movies like Top Gun, Cocktail and Mission Impossible, you might want to look into buying a condo at the old First National Bank building in downtown Clearwater. You’d probably recognize one of your upstairs neighbors.

2. Well, Mr. Atwater, do you want to run for the U.S. Senate or not? Florida’s CFO’s dithering and his being compared to Charlie (Which party am I this week?) Crist do not inspire confidence.

3. Factoid: If you are celebrating your 100^th birthday this year, the population of the United States when you were born was 100 million – the same number of people who will visit Florida before the end of the year- astonishing.

4. It appears it will be the next decade before anything substantial is done about mass transit in the bay area as both Hillsborough and Pinellas County Transit Authorities continue to shoot themselves in the foot.

5. Related to above: you’ve lived in Clearwater for a long time if you rode on the 1950s era Clearwater bus system owned by the Wickman family. You boarded in front of McCrorys and Woolworths on the south side of Cleveland Street.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. Item: Manager Bryan Price retained by Cincinnati Reds despite a last place finish. Both Hall of Famer Sparky Anderson and Sweet Lou Piniella were dumped by the Reds after finishing second. Just saying.

7. Yet another gem “borrowed” from the peerless 5:05 Newsletter: The Toronto Blue Jays have made the playoffs for the first time in 22 years; and nothing says “America's pastime” more than a bunch of guys from the Dominican Republic playing for a team in Canada.

8. New York City’s first Chick-fil-A opened last week. As you would expect, there were animal rights and gay rights protesters on hand – as well a few city dwellers telling the folks in the kitchen, “This is the way we do it up north.”

9. The last time a Washington-based team participated in a World Series was 1933 – a streak much longer than even the hapless Cubs who last appeared in 1945. Among the members of the ’33 Senators was Clearwater’s Jack Russell, Sr. who won a career-high 12 games that season.

10. As we were composing this week’s edition, we learned to our sorrow, that Jack Russell, Jr. passed away. Jack, like his father, was a community leader, a longtime member of the Rotary Club of Clearwater, a Past President of the Clearwater Chamber of Commerce and a man with a passion for sports cars. He will be missed.

At the NFL’s quarter pole:

Focus is on six teams – two who are not as bad as they seem and will be back in the hunt before too long. That would be the Seattle Seahawks who had some early season turmoil and the Baltimore Ravens who are simply just too good to be at the bottom of the AFC North. Two teams that are every bit as bad as they seem reside in the same division – the Detroit Lions and the Chicago Bears. The good news here is they play each other twice so one or both of them could pick up a win – even two but they are bad. Finally, two who are currently near the top who will come back to the pack - the Cincinnati Bengals who always find a way to lose crucial games and the Carolina Panthers, who after the Bucs, start playing some real football teams. And did anybody see the events in Miami coming?

The Braves bid for spring in St. Pete makes things interesting

First, full disclosure, we have lived and died with the Atlanta Braves for over thirty years. That being said, who saw this development coming? Certainly not St. Pete’s Mayor and City Council who seldom see the sun coming in the morning. We read and re-read the Journal Constitution and every Atlanta Braves blog there is, and there was no mention anywhere of this bombshell. County Commissioner Ken Welch summed up the situation best when he said bringing another spring training team (and perhaps retaining another) to the bay area and keeping the Rays are two separate issues – each to be weighed on its own merits (the part after dash our words not his). The Rays already are acting like the little boy who no longer wants a toy but darned if they want anyone else to have it. The Rays abandoned the bay area as their spring training home knowing full well it is a super attractive site for pre-season ball as the Blue Jays, Phils and Yanks would attest. The Braves are a draw – with the third highest spring attendance in Florida year in, year out - trailing only the Yanks and Red Sox. Putting together a deal with them (and not even considering the year-round tangent benefits) can only benefit the city of St. Pete and the county.

Around the bay:

1. Astonishing – the endorsement by “Florida’s Best Newspaper” of a candidate who played fast and loose with campaign funds and has a rap sheet on her resume– simply because that candidate is willing to join the three or four other Tampa Bay Rays lap dogs on the St. Pete city council. And Steve Kornell, a six-year incumbent, who committed the mortal sin of standing up to the Rays for the good of the city, gets thumbs down despite a stellar track record during his term in office. Talk about a lack of credibility.

2. The countdown is just days until Clearwater’s premiere annual event – Jazz Holiday now in its 36^th season. Lest we forget, a tip of the hat to the festival’s creator – Don Mains and the cadre of volunteers who have nurtured it over the years.

3. Nice that Mayor George Cretekos and City Manager Bill Horne are visiting our sister city Nagano, but do we have to foot the bill for 4/5ths of our city council to go? Again, it is the fiscally conservative Council member Bill Jonson who is choosing not to go.

4. The so-called “Friendship Bridge” is coming down after local officials refused to pour 20 million dollars into its renovation. Back in 1999 when the old Gandy Bridge was designated for the pedestrian bridge usage, many experts and policy makers warned then the bridge would have a limited life span and would be extremely costly to renovate or replace. Their concerns fell on deaf ears.

5. You’ve lived in Clearwater a long time if you were on split sessions at Clearwater Junior High while they were building the “new” Oak Grove Junior High School.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. The Lightning continue to do inexplicable things off the ice. Now they want to limit the number of tickets a fan can sell during the season. It’s like this – fans buy season tickets so they can get good seats but they can’t get to every game, so they sell them to other fans or often give them away. This does not make them ticket brokers as the Lightning alleges. Having made the finals last year, the Lightning are feeling their oats, but things and standings have a way of changing. Lightning management will probably learn that the hard way.

7. It was nice to see former Tampa Bay Ray Quinton McCracken interviewed for the Red Sox General Manager’s job. We hope it wasn’t one of those “we must interview a person of color” interviews and that the personable and knowledgeable McCracken’s name will turn up again in conjunction with top management spots. He currently serves as the Director of Player Development for the resurgent Houston Astros.

8. We’re only about three months late on this, but congratulations to that paragon of satire, the 5:05 Newsletter on their 1000^th volume.

9. Just guessing that Jonathon Papelbon won’t be wearing a Washington National’s uniform next year.

10. Factoid: With the recent passing of Jack Larson (Jimmy Olson), the only two surviving members of the original Superman TV series are the two Lois Lanes – Phyllis Coates who co-starred in the first season and Noel Neill who appeared in the rest of the original episodes of the man of steel.

The Fall Classic - and the winner is ……

Man, there are some great story lines out there this October. The Royals who came so close last year back for another shot at the crown. The Mets with a young pitching staff that harks back to Seaver and Koosman; then there’s the Bronx Bombers who would love to win one for Yogi – and their hated rivals (at least back in the 50s) the Dodgers. Don’t forget the Blue Jays who came out of nowhere in the second half or how about the Cards who just know how to win or the Rangers? Our crack prognosticator, Achmed Walled (pronounced wall-ED) feels it will be the previously mentioned Royals and from the National League, a longshot – the Chicago Cubs for the first time since 1945. Wouldn’t that be a fun series! By the way, Achmed likes the Royals in five.

Clearwater’s moonwalk over red light cameras

The great city of Clearwater has modified its contract with red light camera vendor Redflex. Now, Clearwater’s own will review pictures of supposed red light violations rather than the vendor. Meanwhile, we learn that accidents at both intersections monitored by big brother have actually gone up since their installation. Clearwater’s police chief says there are other factors involved. To his credit, he was not the chief when council members were assured accidents would go down with the cameras - without any mention of “other factors”. But revenues from the cameras are closing in on seven figures – and that’s what it’s all about – the money. Clearwater Mayor George Cretekos is the only member of the city council who seems to see through the smoke and mirrors.

Around the bay:

1. Further to our lead item of the week. Nice job of vetting Redflex by the city. Their former CEO has pleaded guilty to a two million dollar bribe scheme to fetch business in (where else?) Chicago. The story has been all over the Chicago Tribune for years for anyone of authority in Clearwater who wanted to read it.

2. It’s hard to see Lisa Wheeler-Brown getting elected to the St. Pete city council after a serious misstep with campaign funds. That does not bode well for the faction that wants to hand over the city’s checkbook to the Tampa Bay Rays for their new stadium.

3. A couple walks out of a Pinellas county movie after a man carries a duffel bag in making the wife very nervous. In Tampa, a guy’s gun falls out of its holster onto the floor prompting another patron to call police. Come on theaters, we can’t carry our own bottle of water into most theaters, but guys are carrying duffel bags and revolvers into the movies. And you wonder why attendance is down?

4. More on movie theaters: two Pinellas multi-screen theaters are backing away from showing Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief. This is in keeping with the American way of not offending anyone unless, of course, they happen to be WASPs.

5. Yet more movie stuff: you’ve lived in Clearwater a long time when going to the “new” theater meant the Carib in the 1100 block of Cleveland Street – built in the mid-fifties.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. The local Rays beat writer uses up a barrel of printer’s ink explaining why the Rays have a good chance of finishing last in their division. It pretty much can be summed up in one sentence. A team with a lot of inexperienced players hired an even more inexperienced guy to manage them - this despite better alternatives being available – as close as their own dugout.

7. Great news for those of you who remember how great late night TV used to be. Antenna TV (610 on Bright House converters) will begin airing The Johnny Carson Show the first of the year.

8. As we often do, we “borrow” a gem from the world famous 5:05 Newsletter - Biden Update: Leading liberal newspapers are begging Joe Biden to run for president. It is amazing. Three months ago, he was a national joke and a nightly punch line, but then the Democrats got a good look at Hillary and Bernie and suddenly Joe Biden looks like the fifth face on Mt. Rushmore.

9. It’s not always that bad to be wrong (Rants – September 20). We’re happy the Phils retained Pete Mackanin, a solid baseball man. Meanwhile, you hope the Marlins will come up with a few better names than the first couple thrown around as Dan Jennings’ successor.

10. Factoid: Bryce Harper, the odds-on NL MVP, has hit exactly one home run against a pitcher younger than him during his career. Harper is a mere 22.

Yogi Berra: saying goodbye to my boyhood hero

It was almost 60 years ago, but I remember it like it was yesterday. Our Little League team was in the Clearwater city championship. We were privileged to play that best 2 out of 3 series at Jack Russell Stadium. In the first inning, I reached down and scooped up a handful of dirt. He had stood, or rather squatted, at this same spot just a few months before. He was Lawrence Peter Berra – Yogi. Mr. Berra, like Mark Twain, probably said about a third of what is attributed to him - but my personal favorite, about a New York area restaurant, “Nobody goes there anymore, it’s too crowded.” Yogi and I were both left-handed hitting catchers and that’s where the comparison stops. He was one of the greatest clutch hitters the game ever saw. Ask Casey Stengel who he would rather have up with the game on the line, and it wasn’t Mantle or Maris, it was the five foot eight inch product of “the hill” in St. Louis. Possibly the most incredible statistic in Yogi’s career came in the 1950 season when he batted 656 times, hit 28 homeruns and drove in 124 and struck out 12 times. A lot of guys do that in a four game series. Incredibly, he did not win the MVP that year but did the next and was the first player to win it three times. Today there is a shadow of a tear as I look above my desk at the Yogi Berra Reach model 2441 catcher’s mitt given to me by my other boyhood hero, my Dad, when I made my first Little League team. Just like Dad, I’m going to miss you Yogi.  

Clearwater Marina continues to be an eyesore

We begin with an item from the June 14, 2014 Rants and Raves – “The folks who run the Island Way Grill, Rhumba and other Pinellas restaurants say their new Mexican-themed restaurant atop the Clearwater Marina will be open in September which prompted more than one wag to ask “of what year?” Well, it turns out it wasn’t last September, nor will it be this September. The latest projection is Christmas. Again, many ask “of what year”? A private party can take all the time they want to build a restaurant but when it keeps a public facility like the Clearwater Marina in disarray for over two years, city officials who are allowing this to happen need to answer some hard questions.

Around the bay:

1. In a related note to our lead item – the awful look of our city marina aside, all most folks want for the time being is the return of the Marina Diner, a fixture since the fifties, where you could get a reasonably priced breakfast or a burger before a day out on the Gulf. It should have never been closed until the out of control project upstairs was finished.

2. Further to the marina issues, in an amazing display of chutzpah, the city is picking this time to raise boat slip rentals by five per cent for what currently is the shabbiest marina in the state of Florida.

3. The fashionable Clearwater neighborhood of Harbor Oaks wants to return to brick streets and avenues in conjunction with upcoming utilities work. A majority of their residents are willing to be assessed for the additional cost. Like the undergrounding of utilities on Sand Key several years back, this seems to be a no-brainer.

4. Item: The state of Florida has dropped its plans to centralize driver’s license renewals. We’re probably missing something, but we’d rather do something by mail or on line rather than sit in the tax collector’s office waiting for our number to be called.

5. You’ve lived in the bay area a long time if you remember “The Weather Chick” on WLCY Radio.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. Just a guess, but we suspect the Tennessee Titans are happy with who they ended up with in the first round of the NFL draft.

7. Of the many things we dislike about today’s newspapers (every page being an editorial page; sloppy editing that would make C.C.J. Spink turn over in his grave and too many “jumps” from Page 1 to inside) nothing irritates us more than those stupid “half pages” that make it all but impossible to properly fold your paper. Either add more editorial copy or cut some but get rid of those fractional pages!

8. Factoid: May 11, 1977 - in his memorable (and only) game as manager of the Atlanta Braves, owner Ted Turner’s opposing manager was a man who would become his employee just a few years later – then Pirate manager Chuck Tanner. Turner’s Braves lost the game 2-1 and for the Pirates – it was their 11^th straight victory.

9. Speaking of the Braves – in case you missed it, one of baseball’s all-time good guys, Tim Hudson, who split his career just about evenly between the San Francisco Bay area and Atlanta announced his retirement at season’s end. Hudson retires with just over 220 wins.

10. Riding the top of the record charts 50 years ago this week was the Beatles’ Help! Five years before that, in 1960, The Twist by Chubby Checker was at #1 – one of only two songs that went to the top of the charts in separate years – it was #1 again during the twist craze of 1962.

Major league managers about to say goodbye

Next week, the end of baseball’s regular season, marks the time when major league managers pay the price for their underperforming teams. It’s been predicted that as many as ten skippers could walk the plank. In the for sure category: the National’s Matt Williams, the Red’s Bryan Price, Miami’s Dan Jennings (who will return to the front office), the Phil’s Pete Mackanin (although they won’t find anyone better) and Seattle’s Lloyd McClendon. In the maybe category you have Atlanta’s Fredi Gonzalez (but trending towards “for sure”), San Diego’s Pat Murphy, the Tiger’s Brad Ausmus (who would be on the unemployment line for as long as it takes another team’s GM to look up his number) and the Rockies’ Walt Weiss. A long shot to get a pink slip is the Bosox John Farrell. This last category originally included the A’s Bob Melvin but he was extended on September 9 – the A’s rightfully recognizing that talent (or lack of) was the reason for the A’s dismal season.

 We want to trust our bay area law enforcement agencies but…

Forget about Texas, Missouri, New York and other environs, here in the bay area several things have happened in the past few months that give us pause. In Tampa, bikers of color are being too frequently ticketed. A contractor caught working without a license is put in cuffs –a bit of an overreaction for a relatively minor infraction. Detainees in the Pinellas County jail being held longer than permitted. And, an off-duty Clearwater police officer smelling of alcohol is given a police escort (no handcuffs) to a local hospital after he plowed into a tree at 4 a.m. - no on-scene breath test. Our laws call for a level playing field for all – and that obviously is not happening on both sides of the bay.

Around the bay:

1. A Happy Retirement to long time Clearwater attorney Harry Cline – not only a top notch attorney but a stalwart for so many community causes over the years – just like his late father-in-law and law partner Tweed McMullen.

2. The prospective new owners of Tampa Electric are saying all the right things about local management, etc. But think back to the days of Florida Power in Pinellas County and how many levels of management the average person knew – usually quite a few, and how many they know today under the Duke Power regime – very few.

3. It is way past time for the Florida legislature to pass some fair to all concerned legislation regarding Lyft and Uber service. Otherwise, you are going to have about three dozen Florida counties doing their own thing creating total confusion for the public that relies on such transportation.

4. So Jim Norman is re-entering politics. That won’t make many lefties happy. He is a staunch conservative who wins elections.

5. Remember when the Pinellas County service station landscape was populated by names like Gulf, Phillips 66, Sinclair and Union 76?

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6 Terrific major league debut for former Clearwater Central Catholic hurler Ryan Weber last week. Only two runs allowed over six innings usually makes you a winner unless you pitch for the inept Atlanta Braves.

7. We know we’ve said this before but the Times’ Tom Jones is one heck of a sports columnist - by far the best in the bay area and probably one of the best in the country. His Two Cent’s Worth and Shooting from the Lip columns are must reads.

8. The above being said, we respectively disagree with his contention that the Little League World Series (LLWS) should not be televised. It is highly entertaining and refreshing to see kids play for the pure love of the game. Yes, there is some pressure but pressure is relative – may this be the highest pressure situation the kids are ever in – rather than the pressure of a Vietnam, Iraq or Afghanistan.

9. Speaking of the LLWS, don’t you baby boomers wish you could have swung the bats the kids do today? The ball seems to travel a lot further off those alloy sticks than it did off the wooden Dee Fondy (first baseman for the Cubs in the 50s) model our little league team swung in Clearwater LL.

10. While not surprising, it was tough to see the Philadelphia/Clearwater Phils and Ruben Amaro part ways. There are few nicer young men in baseball – in fact it’s hard to realize he is 50 years old. Your humble blogger and his family had the privilege of sitting beside Ruben for a three game series in Atlanta several years back. Talk about a weekend of inside baseball with a true gentleman!

Seahawk and Pats fans book your hotel in Santa Clara. Buc’s fans, nah

The Super Bowl comes to the San Francisco Bay area for the first time in 30 years and our crack prognosticator Achmed Walled (pronounced WALL-ed) foresees a re-match of last year’s Super Bowl featuring Seattle and the Patriots. He also forecasts that the Seahawks will employ very few passing plays from inside the opponent’s three yard line. Our peerless forecaster is shrugging off all the slings and arrows for last year’s prediction of a 7-9 season for the Bucs (actual record 2-14). This year, our soothsayer is predicting a 100% improvement for the 2015 edition – a 4-12 record for Lovie’s lads.

One of the most interesting men in Pinellas County - or anywhere else

His name is Don Ardell - a St. Petersburg resident who ran for mayor of Tampa in 2003 as the oldest, fittest, fastest and prettiest of the five candidates. He’s still older, fitter and faster than most people (maybe not prettier anymore); he's won more than a dozen national and seven world triathlon championships. He holds a Masters in Urban Planning and a Doctorate in Public Health. He’s also the founder of the REAL wellness concept - a philosophy based upon quality lifestyles focused on reason, exuberance, athleticism and liberty. He’s written 14 books, including High Level Wellness, which started the general wellness movement in 1977. His latest is kind of off-the-wall: Wellness Orgasms: The Fun Way to Live Well and Die Healthy. He recently designed (and patented) a breakthrough running shoe design for fast transitions in triathlon. Don is also a freethinker, entertaining speaker and favorite companion of Carol, his partner of nearly 20 years (the last ten as wife) and very popular (he likes to think) dad of his two children and“Popadom” to three mighty grandchildren.

Around the bay:

1. Hillsborough County has wisely decided to move their probation services in-house rather than hiring a for-profit organization with a spotty record. Better yet, they have decided,unlike Pinellas County, to keep the costs to a minimum and focus on rehabilitation rather than profit.

2. Do two 75-story residential towers fit the Tampa landscape? You’re right, they don’t. Any sort of review board that would rule otherwise has to be looked at with suspicion.

3. A good friend, great American and man whose genius is vastly underrated, suggests that henceforth hurricanes rather than be named should be corporately sponsored – the Home Depot, Rayovac Batteries and Zephyrhills Water hurricanes come to mind.

4. State-issued driver’s licenses instead of going to your local tax collector – why not? A lot of tax collectors are playing the “could take two weeks” card. It’s not about that. It’s about the six plus bucks they scoop up on every transaction. Try to get a passport in a day. Why should a driver’s license be any different? It’s called planning ahead.

5. You’ve lived in the bay area a long time if you lived through the Buc’s first 0-14 season – almost 40 years ago! But John McKay’s light touch made it somewhat bearable. Example, “Every time I look up, it seems we’re punting”.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. The recent Don Trump surge aside, Las Vegas still likes a Clinton-Bush race with Clinton prevailing. Clinton is at 11/10, Bush 4/1 while Trump is at 13/2 odds.

7. Speaking of presidential politics, the last person to serve as our nation’s chief executive who was not a former Governor, Senator or Vice-President was Dwight D. Eisenhower.

8. Poor William McKinley. He is about to lose his “naming rights” to the magnificent mountain in Alaska. More importantly, his premature passing probably prevented him from being recognized as one of America’s 10 best presidents. So many of the major reforms credited to Teddy Roosevelt actually had their birth in the McKinley administration.

9. So Buc’s coach Lovie Smith is turning it over in his head whether to try for two-point conversions after the Bucs put the ball in the end zone. Better he worry about how the Bucs are first going to put the ball in the end zone during the regular season.

10. Factoid: Winningest teams in major league history. No surprise in the American League – the Yanks and Red Sox are 1-2. In the National League, a bit of a surprise, the Giants and Cubs rank 1-2 ahead of the Cards and Dodgers. Most losses - by far it’s the Phils with over 10,600 losses.

Fire a client this week

A few weeks back, we ran a list of time wasters authored by local attorney Alan Gassman (RANTS – August 16). Number one on the list was “Clients who don’t pay their bills”. In an earlier life when your humble blogger commanded a small business, we made it a practice to fire a client or two a year. The client had to meet two criteria – they were overly-critical about the goods or services provided and, secondly, they were slow pay. You could get away with one of the two, but not both. The firing was always done in the nicest way possible (not you’re a no good #&@*!). Usually something in the manner of “We don’t think we can meet your criteria as a vendor”. Frequently there was begging to keep them on as clients. Wisely, we never did.

The earliest days of rock and roll on Tampa Bay radio

In the late 1950s, long before there was 98 Rock, Q105 or the Power Pig, there was WALT and WTAN. Specifically, there was Ed Bray whose “Platter Party” greeted teens and pre-teens on the airwaves of WALT 1110 as they left school in the afternoon. Later, when Bray’s daytime only station shut down for the night, there was Scott Dilworth and “Scotty’s Swingshift” on WTAN 1340. Two guys who were not even close to being the stereotype “rock jock” started it all on a daytime only station (WALT) and a then-250 watt (WTAN) outlet. Both men pretty much hated the music they played, both were incredibly professional old-school announcers and both bolted from the music at the first opportunity, but each was a household name to the teens of the late 50s. Both coincidentally wound up at Clearwater’s WAZE (860) although Dilworth, at last, came back home to WTAN where he was a staple through the mid-seventies. Both WALT and WTAN’s rock efforts were diminished somewhat when Bray’s boss at WALT, Roy Nilson, moved to St. Pete’s WLCY and created one of the country’s legendary Top 40 operations – a story for another day. (Thanks to Hitchcock Media’s Ron Hitchcock, himself a WAZE alumnus, for valuable input).

Around the bay:

1. Kudos to Clearwater Mayor George Cretekos, the only dissenting vote on Clearwater’s ill-advised extension of its two intersection red light camera program. The mayor nailed it when he said there had been no appreciable upgrade in accident prevention with the program. It’s all about the money, folks.

2. So the city is going to have an additional 450 parking spaces north of the roundabout at Pelican Walk. That’s nice, but a much better and needed spot would be a parking garage in the Clearwater Marina.

3. Leto and Robinson High Schools are joining other bay area high schools in dropping home room this year. Think back to your high school days – what exactly did you accomplish in home room?

4. Okay, we think we get it now. With PolicaFact, or whatever they call it, if a liberal says the sun rises in the east, it ranks “True”. The same statement from a conservative ranks “ Mostly True”. Conversely, if a liberal reports the sun rises in the west, it ranks “Mostly False”. For a conservative, it gets “Pants on Fire”.

5. You’ve really lived in Clearwater a long time if you remember when Belcher Road South of Druid served as the city’s “unsanctioned” dragstrip.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. If by the time you read this, Cris Carter and Curt Schilling are still employed by ESPN, it will be a miracle. You just cannot say incredibly stupid things like those gentlemen did and continue to have credence with a national audience.

7. In other media news - so wild man Donald Trump should apologize to Megyn Kelly? Why? Outside of her hardcore viewers on Fox News, no one had ever heard of her until her dust up with Trump.

8. Everyone’s holding out hope that the Rays will jump over nearly half a dozen teams and get a wild card spot. But teams that are 2-10 in extra-inning games (as are the Rays) don’t make it to the playoffs.

9. Our Raves and Rants focus group (comprised of three old, cranky people) suggests timers in the grocery store in front of items. You have twenty seconds to ponder an item and then either put it in your cart or move on.

10. Just an idle thought: in 2015 with 30 major league teams, when you think of elite outfielders only two names come to mind - Harper and Trout then you’re hard put to come up with a third name. In the fifties, with just 16 major league clubs, there were Aaron, Clemente, Mantle, Mays, Musial and Snider just to name six elite outfielders. And that doesn’t include Hall of Famers Al Kaline and Frank Robinson, perhaps just a half a step behind the previously mentioned six.

How many game outcomes are influenced by umpires?

Specifically, one should ask how many game’s outcomes are influenced by home plate umpires? The man in blue misses on a called third strike and on the next pitch, the batter doubles in the gap bringing in the tying or winning run from second base. Conversely, you see all too often a pitch four inches off the plate called a strike and the pitcher naturally goes right back to that area and gets a swing on a ball six inches off the plate. Baseball is now a game of specialization and just as we groom starting pitchers and relievers, perhaps we need to take only the elite and put them behind the plate and let the lesser lights ump the base paths. Way too many games each season have their outcomes influenced by less than stellar work behind the plate.    

Since leaving office, Carter has marched to a different drummer

Recent reports of former President Jimmy Carter’s health issues make you think of how his years after the Presidency have differed from virtually all others. First, he’s had time to do more; no President has lived longer after leaving office than Carter. More striking is how he’s spent his time since 1980 - not so many six-figure speaking engagements as time spent pounding nails for Habitat for Humanity. So many successive Presidents have called on him to moderate world disputes, to monitor elections in emerging countries and serve as an ambassador at large. Carter may not go down as one of our greatest Presidents, but his body of work since leaving the White House is unmatched.

Around the bay:

1. Open primaries in Florida where left leaning independents could throw some crap in the game in a GOP primary or far right independent voters do the same in a Democratic primary – now what could possibly go wrong with that?

2. More on politics, the sooner the gigantic field of presidential aspirants is pared down to three or four, the better. In the end, the GOP may be faced with choosing the person who has the best chance of beating Hillary Clinton or the most qualified candidate. We’re not sure that’s the same person.

3. Tampa’s Walter Corporation is bleeding red mainly because of the federal government finding their Green Tree mortgage arm guilty of illegal loan servicing and debt collection. Then there are the poor souls who were arbitrarily moved to Green Tree when GMAC and other mortgage companies went south. In terms of customer service, it was like being transferred to a third world country.

4. In between whines about all the rains we’ve had, you might want to check your hurricane preparedness kit – or start one. It’s been eerily quiet in the tropics this year. Can’t last.

5. Sad to hear of the passing of Clearwater Bomber great Bobby Quinn. The Bombers of the fifties through seventies had an embarrassment of riches on the mound with stalwarts like Herb Dudley, Weldon Haney, John Hunter, Eddie King and Quinn. Those arms (and a few others) carried them to ten national softball championships.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. It’s troubling to see the once-proud Cleveland Indians franchise in such a deep funk. They are ahead of only the Rays in attendance. This was a team that sold out every game in the mid and late nineties and played in two World Series in that decade giving the Atlanta Braves all they could handle in ‘95 and coming within a couple outs (damn you, Jose Mesa!) of winning the ’97 classic. If you’re a baseball fan, you’d like to see a franchise with names like Feller, Lemon, Rosen, Thome and Doby in their pedigree turn things around.

7. Our Rants and Raves focus group (comprised of three, old cranky people) on certain forms: Employment application blanks always ask who is to be called in case of an emergency. I think you should write, 'an ambulance’. Okay, this wasn’t from our focus group but a longtime friend who is also old and cranky.

8. A related note to our lead item on Jimmy Carter. He is the only President your humble blogger has ever been in the same room with - happened at a dinner honoring the ’95 Atlanta Braves years ago. Have always been able to claim we had dinner with a former President and a deserved Nobel Peace Prize winner (Carter) and two Hall of Famers (Aaron and Niekro) in the same evening.

9. It sure looks like an I-70 World Series with the Royals and Cards clearly the class of their leagues. But strange things happen along the way to October.

10. Just an idle thought: Whose August advertising budget was larger – John Morgan or the new Kia guy?

Why can’t these managers win with minor league players?

Watching some of the AAA teams being fielded by four or five major league teams reminds us of how Chuck Tanner, a brilliant baseball man who won in both Oakland and Chicago, suddenly became stupid when he was handed Triple A teams to manage in both Pittsburgh (where he previously won a world championship) and Atlanta. The same fate awaits at least a trio of good baseball men at the end of this season. It’s easier to fire the manager than the entire front office.

Really Mr. Eakins, you didn’t know this?

As reported recently by the Tampa Tribune, the Hillsborough County school system dipped heavily into its reserves during the administration of much-heralded superintendent MaryEllen Elia to meet day to day obligations. First, shame on Ms. Elia for not being more forthcoming about this. But more so, shame on her successor Jeff Eakins for supposedly not knowing about it. We could understand Eakins being caught off guard if he were a hired gun coming from outside the county. But he was Elia’s chief assistant, for Pete’s sake. Given those circumstances, one can only assume that Eakins, as the number two man, wasn’t doing his job or that he is now showing an amazing lack of candor. Neither assumption should make the Hillsborough County school board, which has its own issues, very comfortable with Eakins.

Around the bay:

1. Our lead item reflects some issues that occur all too often in local government, when things go wrong everybody involved seems to develop a coat of silicon or a case of amnesia rather than fessing up to a mistake or lack of oversight.

2. More than one political pundit is forecasting a Rick Baker – Charlie Crist race for the District 13 Congressional seat being vacated by David Jolly. As polarizing as Baker and Crist are, “None of the above” could stand a very good chance in that race.

3. An actual property appraisal professional has entered the race to replace retiring Pinellas Property Appraiser Pam Dubov. Michael Twitty has announced his plans to join career politician Jim Frishe in the GOP primary. For those who remember the last time a career politician ran the Property Appraiser’s office, this should be an easy call.

4. It’s hard to hold much sympathy for Clearwater Espacio Development’s lawsuit against the city of Clearwater to prevent the demolition of what for many years was known as the 1100 Building in downtown Clearwater. The company has had years to make things right at the site at MLK and Cleveland Street and has not done so.

5. You’ve lived in Clearwater a really long time if you remember when the Brooklyn Dodgers, not the Philadelphia Phils, trained in Clearwater and the Ebbets family, who owned the team, had a home in Harbor Oaks.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. So you are pro-life and outraged about the latest and worst ever missteps of Planned Parenthood. Before you go off boycotting some of their “contributors”, be aware they falsified some of those too – listing Coke, Ford and Xerox as benefactors, something vehemently denied by all three of those corporations.

7. Even if you hate the Red Sox (and we do), you have to wish nothing but the best for Manager John Farrell as he battles lymphoma.

8. To nobody’s surprise, the NBC News with Lester Holt continues to win the 6:30 Evening ratings war over ABC and CBS respectively.

9. Little did we know that ESPN stood for Everybody Soon Parting (the) Network.

10. It was 46 years ago this week that a really cute brunette your HB (Humble Blogger) met at St. Petersburg College unwisely said “I do” at St. Cecelia Catholic Church in Clearwater. She remains my hero and often the inspiration for some of the better things you see on this blog. Happy Anniversary, sweetie!

Alan Gassman’s Thursday Newsletter:

Since we mentioned his neat sign on Court Street a few months back (RANTS – May 10 ), we have been privileged to receive attorney Alan Gassman’s weekly newsletter. Something appeared a few weeks back that we’d like to share with you concerning time wasters:

Examples of time wasters include:

   Clients that don't pay their bills.

   Time wasted because of disorganization.

   Distractions.

   Time wasted because of others in the organization.

   Idle chatter.

   Going to lunch when there is no solid business or financial result.

   Time spent with people trying to sell you things.

Thanks, Alan.

 Hooray for Rob Rowen; thumbs down to Starbucks

Perhaps you saw the story on Bay News 9 or read Steve Otto’s column in the Tribune. Rob Rowen has been banned from a Dale Mabry Starbucks location because he confronted people who broke the law and parked illegally in a handicapped spot in front of the store. Starbucks calls this harassment; we call it a citizen doing the job that parking enforcement is supposed to do and seldom does. You see it all the time on Clearwater Beach, punks with Grandma’s handicapped sticker parking in a handicapped spot and then running off to the beach. We sincerely hope that Rob Rowen will find a replacement for his Starbucks fix – which is vastly overrated anyway. We also hope parking enforcement people will do a better job on both sides of the bay enforcing handicapped parking.

Around the bay:

1. A recent news item concerning a Confederate Stars and Bars flag flying over the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) building in Clearwater provoked two thoughts: (a) we’d wager that fifty per cent or more of the American population would not recognize the “nationality” of that flag and (b) it was mentioned that the UDC building was close to the new Clearwater monument which brought to mind that monument cost more than the entire UDC building and the grounds surrounding it.

2. Word on the street is that PSTA head Brad Miller is getting less than sterling performance reports from his board members. Word here is – what took them so long?

3. Someone in government, much wiser and smarter than me, told me years ago, you simply cannot build infrastructure to handle the once in every five years events like Tampa Bay’s incredible rains of the past two weeks. Actually, you can build such infrastructure at the expense of schools, public safety and other critical needs.

4. Item three reminds me of another person in government, again much wiser and smarter than me (which is a large data base), explained that the basic role of government is to bounce basketballs (leisure and arts), pick up garbage (public utilities) and catch bad guys (public safety). Hard to argue with that reasoning.

5. You’ve lived in Pinellas County for a long time if you remember the old fairgrounds and its county fairs in downtown Largo.  

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. Interesting to watch Slate’s Mark Stern and others try to take the moral high ground on Planned Parenthood’s selling of fetal tissue. Sorry folks, there just isn’t any moral high ground where abortion is concerned.

7. In a related note to our lead item and “borrowed” from the world famous 5:05 Newsletter: “Report: El Chapo’s escape tunnel had two Starbucks”.

8. Our rant of last week (RANTS August 2) about the state of baseball got us to thinking about pre-free agency. Could you imagine Al Kaline playing for the Boston Red Sox; Roberto Clemente for the Milwaukee Braves or Mickey Mantle patrolling center field in Comiskey Park? Nor can we.

9. For his cult following, Jon Stewart’s leaving the Daily Show was sad news of epic proportions. For the vast majority of the nation, it rated a collective yawn.

10. The Detroit Tigers are well on their way to becoming the next Philadelphia Phillies – an aging club with some bad contracts that will be hard to peddle. Verlander is toast, David Price is gone, they unwisely let Max Scherzer get away and Cabrera, Martinez and company aren’t getting any younger and GM Dave Dombrowski paid the price for the Tigers woes last week.

Rene Rivera, four former Rays achieve “worst” list

Now that Keith Olbermann’s show and its “Worst Persons in the Sports World” segment are gone, there are still plenty of other “worst” lists. Most recently, the site Point After named the worst player on each major league franchise. On the local nine, it was (no surprise) Rene Rivera hitting a hearty .176 at this writing. The catcher was picked up in an off season trade basically for Ryan Hanigan who is putting up slightly better numbers for the Bosox than Rivera and was a serviceable catcher in his days for the Rays. Not to be outdone, four former Rays are also on the list of “worsts” for their teams – reliever Burke Badenhop, currently stinking up the Red’s bullpen, Milwaukee flop Matt Garza, Jonny Gomes hitting a B.J. Upton-like .197 for the Braves and Matt Joyce doing equally badly for the Angels. B.J. Upton, surprisingly, did not make the list despite his .218 batting average. The Padre’s worst honor went to the more highly overrated Matt Kemp.

The 70^th anniversary of the flight of the Enola Gay

Seventy years ago this week, Col. Paul Tibbets and a courageous crew of 11, flew the world’s first nuclear mission, dropping an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. It was just over a year ago that the last of the heroic crew, Theodore “Dutch” Van Kirk passed away. Today, the Enola Gay, which also flew on the second nuclear mission to Nagasaki as a forward weather recon plane, sits in the Smithsonian Museum complete with somewhat apologetic signage calling President Truman’s decision to use the atomic bomb “controversial”. Doubt it seemed controversial to the 250,000 to 500,000 troops it was estimated would lose their lives if the Allies had to invade the Japanese homeland – not to mention an estimated one million Japanese deaths. Truman’s decision was just as courageous as the flight of those 11 airmen. A decision, we hasten to point out, that had to be made less than four months after HST assumed the presidency. One wonders how that decision would have been handled in today’s White House.

Around the bay:

1. In stories reported at virtually the same time last week, (a) two people killed in a crash on Courtney Campbell Causeway and (b) speed limit to increase on the Courtney Campbell. What’s wrong with this picture?

2. In a touching final tribute, about 50 family and long-time marina friends said goodbye to David Rulison, the “Can Man”, (see RANTS July 12^th) as his ashes were scattered over the Gulf of Mexico from the Double Eagle III last Wednesday evening. The marina and the environment have lost a good friend.

3. Speaking of the marina, an update on the new Mexican restaurant that we guess somebody wants to see and the old Marina diner that everyone wants back - there is no update.

4. More on restaurants - kids are about to go back to school, locals can reclaim their restaurants for a few months. One kind of hidden away place to check out if you have not, is Keegan’s on Indian Rocks Beach - hard to go wrong with anything on their menu.

5. And more - you’ve lived in Clearwater a long time if you remember the Howard Johnson’s restaurant (later the Beach Diner) at the end of the Memorial Causeway.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. Our Rants and raves focus group (comprised of three old, cranky people) remembers when they could recite the starting eight of virtually every one of the 16 major league teams. Today, they’re not sure they could recite the names of MLB’s 30 teams.

7. In a related note, you are a long time baseball fan if you can remember when the “up the middle” of the Go-Go White Sox was Sherm Lollar, Nellie Fox, Luis Aparicio and Jim Landis. Or the miracle Pirates of the same era with Smoky Burgess, Bill Mazeroski, Dick Groat and Bill Virdon. (Footnote – Burgess’ given name was Forrest and he was part of a lopsided Reds-Pirate trade that brought himself, Harvey Haddix and Don Hoak, three anchors of the ’60 champs, in exchange for veteran outfielder Frank Thomas and little else).

8. Remember all the young Turks flashing on to the baseball scene the last ten years or so? There was Beane, Epstein and Freidman to name just three. Now teams seem to be going in the other direction with seasoned guys like John Hart (Braves) and Andy MacPhail (Phillies) being brought on board. The Hart experiment seems to have worked fairly well so far. MacPhail won’t officially be on board for the Phils till the end of the season – replacing another seasoned vet – Pat Gillick.

9. WNBA star alleging her same sex partner cheated on her with a man; all the confederate flag stuff and Donald Trump running for president. Don’t you wish the late, great Lewis Grizzard were still around to write about all this?

10. Best trade not made (but nearly made) at the deadline, the Mets backing off a trade to send Zack Wheeler, who has an upside to be one of the 10 best pitchers in baseball, to Milwaukee for outfielder Carlos Gomez, a toxic troublemaker, who recently was voted one of the three least liked players in the game (along with A-Rod and Bryce Harper). By the way, good luck Astros.

Our National Pastime is virtually indestructible

When you think of all the bullet wounds (mostly self-inflicted) the great game of baseball has suffered over the years, the game is the equivalent of a medical miracle.Just to name a half dozen near mortal wounds, there has been the Black Sox scandal, steroids, a couple strikes, the joke the All-Star game has become, free agency which strained any home town allegiances and the designated hitter (okay, it was good for about 15 old, fat guys who can’t run or field anymore). But even the heartiest of patients can only take so many setbacks. The commissionership of Rob Manfred may be the most critical in the history of the game since that of Judge Landis.

U.S. House race has potential to be truly bizarre

Potential Democratic challengers for U.S. Rep. David Jolly’s seat next year continue a trend of astonishing choices. In the first election, we had a carpetbagger from Hillsborough County; in the second - none after the Democrats organized a circular firing squad and this time, the potential challengers include yet another carpetbagger from Hillsborough (just not as well-known as the first) and a second recently arrived candidate who is still learning where Central Avenue is. A third potential candidate who has served in public office for what? – six months has backed off from a challenge for Jolly’s seat. One can only surmise, a few folks took her behind closed doors and explained what “no chance” means. Then there’s Charlie – never run an election without him. Charlie badly needs a win as he’s oh for his last three. Stay tuned, this should be fun.

Around the bay:

1. More on District 13: the only good thing that can come out of the courts juggling the district to make it more Democrat friendly is if they steal enough votes away from gerrymandered District 14 to put Rep. Kathy Castor on the unemployment line.

2. And also related, several local political wonks express great optimism in David Jolly’s Senate run. Wish we could join them. Jolly is a little too fresh out of the box to win statewide. Would love to see him prevail – particularly for what it would mean for the Bay Area, but as a betting man, would have to put my money elsewhere.

3. As the Hillsborough Public Transportation Commission, a child of decades ago smoke-filled backrooms and greased palms, continues to try to drive away Lyft and Uber as alternative transportation services, more and more influential people are saying the PTC is what ought to go away.

4. More transportation: Allegiant Air is about to make it easier for Bay Area residents to go walking in Memphis (apologies to Marc Cohn) adding two weekly non-stops to the city. But you wonder given the strains on the aging Allegiant fleet lately, is this a good time to be expanding routes?

5. You’ve lived in Clearwater for a long time if you remember Bob Weatherly, WTAN’s morning announcer and Bomber play by play man who later became the Mayor of the “Sparkling City”.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. Sorry to see Ohio Governor John Kasich enter the GOP presidential race so late in the game. It won’t give him enough time to raise money and to differentiate himself from the pack of 15. And that’s sad, because he’s head and shoulders above about 90 per cent of the pack.

7. Our Rants and Raves focus group (comprised of three old, cranky people) cite Boy Scout leaders being brow beaten into accepting gay troop leaders, our military brass being forced to accept transgender recruits and our president pardoning over forty “non-violent” drug pushers as sure signs we are nearing utopia in our great nation. (See disclaimer above)

8. Fill in the blank: If I were king ____________. For us it would be that every potential office holder had to have made a payroll once in their life. But then if you or I were king, there would be no need for office holders.

9. The NHL is “doing the dance” with Las Vegas (as well as Quebec City) regarding an expansion franchise. This brings up two questions – will a major (sort of) sport finally locate in Sin City and can you name a dozen NHL franchises if we spot you the original six?

10. Factoid, four of the last six Managers of the Year in the National League are currently unemployed (Black, Gibson, Davey Johnson and Tracy). Conversely, only one of the last six Managers of the Year in AL has been given the gate (Rod Gardenhire).

Next on the MLB manager hit list – John Farrell?

As mentioned here a couple weeks ago (RANTS June 21) you could easily predict that Bud Black was going to be the fall guy for a badly constructed San Diego Padres team. John Farrell could easily be next on the list. Coincidentally, Farrell, like Black, is one of only three ex-pitchers managing in the majors, the other being the Red’s Bryan Price. Also coincidentally, the problem is the same with Farrell as with Black, he is shouldered with a team comprised of three or four designated hitters trying to play defense. The Sox need to dump a no longer effective David Ortiz, Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval before they dump a manager who gave them a World Series just three years ago.

How to win the 2016 presidential election – our version

We sincerely believe that a qualified candidate of either party could win the 2016 presidential election with one simple promise. It goes “Within three years of my election, I, with the cooperation of Congress, will completely disassemble the Internal Revenue Service and replace it with a smaller agency overseeing a flat tax with virtually no deductions”. (We would allow deductions for perhaps medical expenses and charitable giving, but we’re not married to that). The IRS is so inefficient and so corrupt; there is no good solution but starting over from ground zero and eliminating the bureaucracy and tax loopholes.

Around the bay:

1. In conjunction with the lead item, our Rants and Raves focus group (made up of three old, cranky people) has decided that none of them will seek the Republican presidential nomination joining approximately nine other members of the GOP in America.

2. Tale of two counties: Hillsborough County wisely continues their moratorium on “pain management” clinics while Pinellas drops theirs. Pinellas Sheriff Bob Gualtieri says the county is “virtually pill mill free”. Sheriff, we’ll give you the name, address and phone number of a pill mill operating in downtown Clearwater any time you want.

3. You can only have the greatest respect for Circuit Judge Pat Siracusa who has recused himself from the circus that is the Curtis Reeves murder trial.

4. Only in Clearwater – garbage collection to be pared down to once a week starting the first of the year, however rates will go up a dollar a month. Can yet another water rate increase be far behind?

5. You’ve really lived in Clearwater a long time if you remember the editorials in the Clearwater Sun by “Colonel Clearwater” (Jim Beardsley) - or even if you remember the Clearwater Sun.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. We venture a guess that Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman will zoom to the top of the New York Times bestseller list as soon as the Times vets her political leanings.

7. Thanks to Keith Olbermann for his recent interview which reminded us of a fourth pitcher who should have been included in our reflection (RANTS – May 17) on pitchers whose potentially great careers were cut short. That fourth pitcher is Houston’s J. R. Richard whose brilliant career was ended by a stroke at age 30.

8. Speaking of Keith, one shouldn’t be surprised that KO has talked his way out of yet another job. He departs ESPN at the end of this month. He’s a talented guy, but sometimes, like many of us, doesn’t know when to shut up. He’ll land somewhere else (CBS, MLB?) but there aren’t too many more bridges left unburned.

9. Memo to baseball commissioner Rob Manfred: if you are truly concerned about the younger generation’s lack of passion for the game, start the marquee games (All-Star and World Series) more than an hour before their bedtime.

10. Count us as among the approximately seven people in America who doesn’t seem to be an authority on the Confederate flag.

MLB at the half way pole – a few surprises

Okay, everybody who thought Kansas City and Minnesota would be 1-2 in the American League Central Division and Houston would be leading the West at the All-Star break raise their hands. The Yankees leading a tight Eastern Division is no surprise nor is the Rays settling back to a sub-.500 pace. The National League is running pretty much as everyone predicted with the exception of the bizarre turn of events in Miami. Getting their superstar pitcher Jose Fernandez back is offset by the injury to offensive superstar Giancarlo (wasn’t Mike easier?) Stanton. Look for them to contend in ’16 if they decide to hire a real manager.

Clearwater loses one of its greatest characters – the Can Man

Every community has its share of good old fashioned characters (a term we use only in the most positive way). In Clearwater, Largo and environs, there have been people like the long time street preacher at the west edge of Cleveland Plaza; “Skater Dude” who entertains folks at the foot of the Memorial Causeway and elsewhere; and then there was the “Can Man”. Most people didn’t know David Rulison’s real name. He was either the “Can Man” or “Capt. Can”. David was a presence at the Clearwater Marina every night for a couple decades collecting aluminum cans from the fishing fleet when they returned from their day on the gulf and recycling them. He was very proud that his recycling had bought him several trucks over the years. David also had a day job – first with Morton Plant Hospital and more recently at the Sheraton Sand Key. But every night when he finished what was usually an eight hour day, he would head to the Marina for another two or three hours. David passed away last week at age 73, and Clearwater and the environment are a little worse off with his passing.

Around the bay:

1. Item: State of Florida to receive over three billion dollars from BP – the bay area well over thirty million. Spend it wisely.

2. “Florida’s best newspaper” recently took issue with Florida DOT’s heavy handed tactics that threaten to affect an area of Tampa Heights. Yet months earlier, they were strangely silent when the same heavy handedness threatened a job-creating shopping center in Pasco County (RANTS, 11/2/14). Regardless, the bureaucrats at DOT need much better oversight.

3. We mentioned the site “You know you grew up in old Clearwater” a few weeks ago prompting a couple inquiries. You apparently have to be on Facebook to access it – the only reason we’re on Facebook. But it’s a great site full of pictures and artifacts of the city in which many of us grew up. Ninety nine per cent of the posters are folks who, probably like you, cherish the memories of our city. The other one per cent, including the “Don’t post anything that offends me” lady, you can ignore.

4. A few weeks ago (RANTS, June 7) we tipped our cap to the Clearwater Gazette for their excellent articles on Clearwater’s birthday. Another publication, we would recommend is the Clearwater Beach Neighborhood News and their multi-part History of Clearwater. It’s now in its third installment and previous installments can be picked up on line.

5. Three more things we really miss: the Clearwater Beach Hotel, Aunt Hattie’s and the Philly Hoagie Shop.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. Doesn’t seem like it, but it was 10 years ago this month that the last Ford Thunderbird rolled off the assembly line. The T-Bird was one of America’s truly iconic cars – particularly the 1955-57 and 2002-05 two-seaters.

7. A related note “borrowed” from a recent 5:05 newsletter: “BMW’s new Deluxe 7 Series will allow drivers to simply press a button on their key fob to make the car park itself. And because it's an expensive BMW, it will park itself across two spaces”.

8. Factoid: Bobby Bonilla just received a check for $1.19 million dollars from the New York Mets and will do so through 2035. He retired in 2001. Not to be outdone, Bruce Sutter just cashed his annual $1.12 million dollar check from the Atlanta Braves and will do so through 2021. Sutter retired in 1986!

9. A couple All-Star game thoughts. MLB Network’s Harold Reynolds has it right calling for a utility player much like former Ray, Ben Zobrist, to be named to each squad. And speaking of former Rays, how can you be fourth in hitting in your league, as is Yunel Escobar, and not get an All-Star spot?

10. Fifty years ago this week, riding the top of the charts in America was a song, which legend has it, was written at the pre-cult Fort Harrison Hotel in Clearwater – the Stone’s (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction – the biggest hit of 1965.

More I-95 sports nonsense

There is a kid named Matz who has pitched less than a half-dozen games for those darlings of I-95, the Mets. Already some commentators, with a straight face, are comparing him to Babe Ruth and the rotation he is part of to the 50’s Indians, the 70’s Athletics or the 90’s Braves. The Mets rotation, in fact, isn’t the best in baseball; isn’t the best in the National League or even the best in their division but they play in New York! The Cardinals, the A’s, the Pirates, our Rays, the Dodgers and the Cubs all have better rotations by every statistical measure but none reside along I-95. Oh, and as of this writing, the overhyped Mets are a game over .500 and have a ways to go to match up with their press clippings.

Celebrate and cherish America’s independence!

Florida politicos: in the immortal words of the Silhouettes, get a job

This is a radical idea that will never go anywhere but it’s fun to contemplate. We, the voters of Florida, say thank you for your service to our many public servants telling them they have 16 (we could live with 12) years to do whatever they want to do in the public arena. You can be a county commissioner for 16 years or perhaps a county commissioner for eight years and serve in the Florida House for eight but then, alas, you have to find a real job - a lobbyist perhaps? So many politicians, about six months into their first or second term, start looking around for their next political world to conquer. The names Rubio, Buckhorn and Putnam come to mind. Problem is the job they were elected to do gets ignored while they seek to move on up. Just for kicks, we will make an exception if some two-term Florida governor wants to seek the White House. We’ll call it the Jeb exemption. Does it put Florida at a bit of disadvantage as far as Congressional seniority is concerned? Yes, but think of some of the empty suits we’d be clearing out with our 16-year rule. And who knows, maybe some other states would follow our lead and also eliminate the career politician. Real jobs can be fun guys and gals.

Around the bay:

1. In the same vein as our lead item, we don’t agree that often with former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, but his suggestion that there be term limits on U.S. Supreme Court justices makes all too much sense. Too often, we’ve seen justices stay into senility – right Ruthie? Give them long enough terms – say twenty years and stagger the terms so some president isn’t stacking the deck. But after twenty years, go write your memoirs.

2. Not all vetoes are bad. Governor Scott’s veto of $6 million to build a new 78-foot research vessel for the Florida Institute of Oceanography makes financial sense. Vessels that size can be built for less than half the number. The institute needs to come back to the state with a proposal to build a sensible research vessel – not a $6 million dollar floating Mercedes Benz.

3. Always remember that if someone uninitiated asks you what Clearwater is famous for, you don’t have to lower your head and mumble something about a cult. Instead, stand proud and declare we are the home of the very first Hooter’s Restaurant!

4. And on the same subject, Tampa International Airport decided not to include a Bloomin’ Brands (Outback, Carrabba’s etc.) restaurant in their upcoming renovation saying the Tampa-based chain had grown so big they lost the local flavor the airport was seeking. So Carrabba’s is being replaced by a P.F. Chang’s – now there’s some local flavor!

5. Three things we really miss – Siple’s Garden Seat, Maas Brothers and the Vinyl Museum. How about you? What three local things do you really miss?

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. Should New York Governor Andrew Cuomo be doing a victory lap when two escaped convicts made over a thousand New York law enforcement officers look like the Keystone Kops and his prison system proved to be riddled with corruption and incompetence?

7. As fireworks stands sprung up all over the county, our Rants and Raves focus group (comprised of three old, cranky people) remembered when fireworks were shot off only on Independence Day - not on New Year’s, Thanksgiving and Groundhog Day.

8. The site Fan Sided Daily recently did a list of the 30 greatest starting pitchers of all time. From the era when we may have actually seen the pitchers (thereby eliminating Cy Young and Walter Johnson), the top five are, in order, Ryan, Maddux, Seaver, Carlton and Spahn. Hard to argue with the list, but we might lobby for Bob Gibson or Sandy Koufax – but at the expense of which of the five?

9. After reading your HB’s (humble blogger’s) rant on the mass media from last week, my oldest friend from college days reminds me I really didn’t major in Mass Communications in college but rather pinball machines and pizza (along with him). The truth hurts.

10. Factoid: Presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died on July 4, 1826. James Monroe died exactly five years later making July 4 the day when the most U.S. Presidents have died. March 8 (Fillmore and Taft) and December 26 (Ford and Truman) have also experienced multiple presidential deaths.

The made in USA top five:

This is the weekend when a lot of oldies radio stations around the country run a “made in the USA weekend” featuring America’s top groups like the Beach Boys, Four Seasons and the Supremes. Since most of those stations focus on the sixties, we thought we’d give you the Top Five made in USA songs from that decade (the top two songs from the sixties were from a British group – the Beatle’s Hey Jude and, surprisingly, a Canadian orchestra leader – Percy Faith’s beautiful Theme from a Summer Place). But the top five USA songs from the sixties will also surprise you a bit. In order they are 1. Bobby Lewis’ Tossin’ and Turnin’ 2. The Monkees’ I’m A Believer 3. Heard it Through the Grapevine by Marvin Gaye 4. Aquarius by the 5^th Dimension and 5. Elvis Presley’s Are You Lonesome Tonight? Now there is a list with which you could win a lot of bar bets!

I-95 sports franchises “just a bit” overrated

Contrary to what the Keith Olbermanns, Jeremy Schaaps and Tony Kornheisers of the world would have you think, I-95 is not the center of the sports universe. Some casual research will tell you that I-95 teams have a total of nine championships to their credit in the four major sports over the past ten years - in other words, nine championships over a cumulative forty professional seasons. Take away Boston and the numbers are even worse. There have been no NBA championships despite having the Knicks, Celtics, Wizards etc. shoved down our throats. Only one hockey championship – hmm, that backwater Tampa Bay has that many. Baseball and football do a little better but again one community, San Francisco, has just one fewer pennant than the I-95 core combined and the city of Pittsburgh has half as many Super Bowl wins as I-95 inclusive. Then, of course, there are Indianapolis, Green Bay, Seattle and all those other unimportant cities. The point the ESPN and other talking heads don’t get is the ’27 Yanks are dead, so is Red Auerbach and it’s rumored that Broadway Joe has retired. And there are about a couple dozen other states where they play the sport – and win.

Around the bay:

1. Lot of turmoil in Hillsborough County about privatizing misdemeanor probations – bad idea. Pinellas was just as misguided in pulling their program away from a non-profit (Salvation Army) and trying to turn it into a county profit center on the backs of people they are impoverishing. Not sure which is worst, but neither is even close to good.

2. Sometimes you wonder what the founding fathers of certain institutions would think if they saw their corporate children today. For instance, what would Walt Disney think about 2015’s Disney World? Or George Jenkins about today’s Publix? Or Henry Ford about the Focus, the Mustang and the Taurus - just wondering.

3. Item: former Tampa police chief Jane Castor has changed party affiliations from Republican to Democratic. Are we the only ones who were surprised Castor was not already a “D”?

4. Hard to realize that summer officially began last week. Seems like it started the day we filed our taxes.

5. You’ve lived in Pinellas County a long time if you remember when they actually had packing houses in Largo – giving rise to its sport team’s nickname.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. Hmm…just checking. Last we looked, Ray’s shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera was one point below the Mendoza line while the man he replaced, Yunel Escobar, was hitting a robust .316 for the Washington Nationals.

7. Remember how old you felt when there were no longer any major league ballplayers older than you? How about when there are no major league managers older than you?

8. David Ortiz recently pulled even with Stan Musial and Willie Stargell for career home runs. Difference is “The Man” and “Pops” were complete players patrolling the field virtually every day of their career as opposed to Ortiz’ four hacks then back to the clubhouse regimen.

9. Just thinking with the auto racing season at full throttle, has there ever been a greater race car driver than A. J. Foyt?

10. San Francisco is moving towards requiring some sort of warning on all print soda ads in the city - dangers of sugar, etc. They follow New York with its try at limiting the size of a soda you could buy in Gotham. Both these cities have far, far more pressing problems to deal with than sugary drinks.

When the media was a proud profession

Your humble blogger used to be proud of the fact that he held a degree in Mass Communications. As a young man, he looked up to people like David Brinkley and Vin Scully and Earl Nightingale. Today, you wonder what happened to that once proud profession. The airwaves are jammed with Rush Limbaugh, Rachel Maddow and Al Sharpton to name only three of the worst. On the print side, you have the spin doctors of St. Pete, the Washington Post and the once proud New York Times. Then there’s the laughable “PoliticaFact”, or whatever they call it, which only proves the old adage that figures don’t lie, but liars figure. So, for the rest of my life, let me just say I majored in junk bond manipulation in college. It seems a much nobler profession.

Re-directing the downtown library – good idea, just 15 years late

Clearwater city council member Doreen DiPolito recently floated a good idea – taking the structure that houses Clearwater’s downtown library and turning it into a combination of restaurants and retail. This made sense to a few city council members 15 years ago – at least the part of not putting a public building on one of the most valuable parcels in the city, but they could not overcome a vocal minority that insisted the library remain on the bluff even though other sites made more sense. We wish her well in her apparent one council member drive to put a referendum on the ballot to make this happen. But history has proven that many Clearwater residents, at least those who vote, resist the highest and best use of valuable tracts like the library site.

Around the bay:

1. Cooler heads prevailed last week and the Clearwater city council shut down any talk of a building moratorium along US 19. Good for them, but the question remains why did the council let staff get so far out in front of this issue when there was no support for such a move among our policy makers? Behind closed doors, certain city staffers should be reminded who makes policy for the city.

2. In another city note, it appears there are some options for the city and the Clearwater Historical Society to work out a costly storm water fee issue that threatens the group’s use of South Ward Elementary as a museum. Let’s hope so, as the marriage of the society and one of the city’s revered schools makes way too much sense.

3. Eric Seidel, who did a long stint as a consumer reporter at Channel 13, has entered politics. Media personalities tend to do well in politics but usually run for governing body-type seats. Seidel has chosen a rather crowded field for Hillsborough clerk of court – quite a challenge for a political newcomer.

4. Oh, about that new Mexican restaurant opening in the Clearwater Marina in May? Not quite, but we do have new signs out warning bikers and skateboarders to stay off the marina’s sidewalks. Oh, still no replacement for the popular Marina Diner which more people want than an upscale Taco Bell.

5. (Inspired by a recent post by George Miller, the keeper of the flame for “You know you grew up in old Clearwater” – a great site). You’ve lived in Clearwater a long time if you ate at either of the Morrison’s Cafeteria locations in downtown Clearwater. Incredible egg custard pie!

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. Quote of the week (sort of): “The gulf between employers and the employed is constantly widening and classes are rapidly forming, one comprising the very rich and powerful, while in another are the toiling poor”. From last week’s paper - not exactly, from Democratic President Grover Cleveland’s annual message to Congress in 1888.

7. Lester Holt will become the permanent chair on NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams being offered some other job at the network. With Holt in command, the network continues to lead the network news race although ABC has won a few weeks (both before and after William’s departure) in the 25-54 demographic. For NBC it was a necessary move and it is, by no means, a downgrade.

8. Factoid: Last Sunday the Pittsburgh Pirates were 6½ games out of the Central Division lead in the NL, yet they would have been in first place in every division of the American League.

9. If we were a betting person, our money would be on one or two rogue employees, not very far up the food chain, in the St. Louis Cardinal front office being responsible for the Houston hacking.

10 Our crack sports prognosticator Achmed Walled (pronounced wall-ED) hasn’t been to the payoff window too often lately – predicting no Triple Crown and a quick exit for the Lightning in the playoffs. But Achmed redeemed himself when his NBA playoff pick, the Warriors, took the checkers.

Bud Black’s firing: you could see it coming

At the first of the year (Rants, January 4), we commented on the very uncomfortable position San Diego Padre manager Bud Black was occupying. The team spent tons of money, unwisely, in the offseason bringing in three designated hitters to play a cavernous outfield in Kemp, Myers and Upton. They later added B.J. Upton who has hit .198 over the last two seasons but at least can catch the ball in the outfield along with baseball’s top reliever Craig Kimbrel – the price Atlanta had to pay to dump a terrible contract. Despite playing in a very pitcher-friendly park, they have only one starter with an ERA under four. They are, in a few words, a badly constructed team. And inevitably when that happens, it’s a good manager like Bud Black who takes the fall. Black will be back in a dugout if he so chooses. A.J. Preller, the Padres’ general manager, is enjoying a honeymoon – for now – but his maiden voyage as GM has been anything but smooth and he needs to right the ship quickly.

The city of Clearwater’s really, really bad idea

The economy is in relatively good shape, construction money is fairly easy to come by and there are willing developers out there. So what would make more sense than a building moratorium? Honest, the city of Clearwater wants to place a moratorium on construction for key parcels on U.S. 19 so they can fumble around (perhaps hire a consultant) and cobble together a new development plan for the city’s main commercial artery. U.S. 19 properties have already taken a huge hit from the ongoing overpass construction for more than a decade. The proposed moratorium would just be another nail in the coffin for several property owners along the highway. Lots of eyes will be (and should be) on city hall this week when both the council and the community development board take up this ill-advised strategy.

Around the bay:         

1. The Tampa Bay region is again pursuing a Super Bowl (2019 or 2020). We are up against some tough competition, but the area already has a plum – the 2017 national college championship game which, in many eyes, will become more prestigious than the Super Bowl as time goes on.

2. Our Rants and Raves focus group (comprised of three old, cranky people) notes that Clearwater is considering an app that will allow you to load parking time on your meter with your smart phone. Before the focus group passes judgement on this, they need to know what is an app and what is a smart phone? (Margin of error – 50 percent more or less).

3. In a related note, Clearwater’s parking fees went up a year ago last month and what have we gained for these increased revenues - certainly not more beach parking.

4. A thank you again to the Gassman Law Group; this time for the “pub” on their marquee on Court Street. Our tiny blog is now nearly world famous thanks to you!

5. You’ve really lived in Pinellas County a long time if you (and probably your parents) visited Webb’s City.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. It is way past time for major league baseball to step up and do something about the flimsy bats its players use. If the players want to put themselves in harm’s way, that’s one thing. But the incident in Boston goes beyond the pale. A good starting point would be a bigger minimum diameter for bat handles.

7. As we close in on Father’s Day, we must revisit our prediction that two perennial NL East powers (Braves and Phillies) would be out of contention by Mother’s Day. One of them is playing better than expected with the Braves actually hanging around in the Wild Card race despite a terrible bullpen. What we didn’t see coming was the total meltdown in Miami.

8. Item: NCAA drops the shot clock to 30 seconds. Why – to make it more like the NBA – which Division 1 outdraws by six million a year?

9. What History Forgot is a show that will spice up your normally dull summer viewing season on cable. Hosted by history teacher Joe Moniaci, the show makes even the most hardcore history buff say, “Wow, I didn’t know that”!

10. Factoid: the song that has had the most versions to hit the charts over the years is Unchained Melody with nine different versions topped by…no, not the Righteous Brothers but the original version by Les Baxter that was number one 60 years ago this month.

Trying to figure out the puzzle that is the Rays

Doesn’t it sometimes seem like the Ray’s management has some sort of death wish? They refuse to show up for negotiations with the city of St. Pete – who clearly hold the upper hand in the stadium stand-off. They hold back prime tickets to their games until game day like they were drawing 30,000 a game instead of a week. And they hire a manager who most recently held a position just above bat boy in the Cleveland organization. Despite all this, they are in the middle of a pennant race at the one-third mark. That, however, is more a product of perhaps the weakest division in baseball rather than organizational wisdom. Both the Yankees and Red Sox and perhaps the Orioles will re-arm before the trade deadline and leave the local nine in the rearview mirror.

Some nice tributes to Clearwater’s 100^th birthday

It was nice to see the various retrospectives on Clearwater’s 100 years over the past few weeks. We would be remiss if we didn’t single out the Clearwater Gazette which ran a great feature on the Phillie-Clearwater 70-year love story; a neat profile of the venerable Clearwater County Club by Editor Jeff Berlinicke and another on the general sports history of Clearwater with a nod to the organization that first put us on the map – the Clearwater Bombers. If we were to nitpick, it would be with the general piece on the sparkling city that appeared on the opinion page noting some of Clearwater’s not so sparkling aspects – but not one mention of the “S” word which, let’s face it, is the biggest not so sparkling faction in the city. And a paragraph praising our water recreation had no mention of the west coast’s largest fishing fleet, the incredible Pier 60 and the many inlets and bayous that yield snook, trout and silver kings. In a footnote, we were told it was written by a writer with roots in the Northeast. Unfortunately, it read like it.

Around the bay:

1. To further celebrate our anniversary, we did a re-read of Mike Sanders’ Clearwater, a pictorial history – still the defining book on our city by its unofficial city historian.

2. In a related note, Mike’s book, along with several other excellent local history books, is being featured at Clearwater’s libraries this month - give one a read.

3. Warning, you have about another week to enjoy your favorite beach restaurant or other waterside activity until the summer visitors start coming in force – not entirely a bad thing particularly for our economy.

4. Unlike the Strand at Cleveland and MLK, the old First National Bank Building at Cleveland and Osceola does have some work going on – but little progress evident. A construction expert much brighter than us says it is folly to try to retrofit a building over fifty years old. Appears he’s quite right.

5. And, you’ve really lived in Clearwater a long time if you remember the Strand site formerly was the home of Crown Motors – the area’s Chrysler-Plymouth dealer- unrelated to today’s Crown Motor Cars.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. If not for the horse, which seems to be a sweet and gentle thoroughbred, you had to be rooting for Bob Baffert who came so close so many times before winning this year’s Triple Crown with American Pharoah.

7. It isn’t a presidential biography per se; Candice Millard’s Destiny of the Republic is quite more than just a biography of James Garfield. It deals with the life and death of our 20^th president plus a deranged assassin, an unwilling successor and the role of Alexander Graham Bell in the efforts to save Garfield’s life – just three of the subplots in this well written book.

8. Shouldn’t the Lightning chill out a bit about this prohibition of opposing team jerseys in certain arena sections and not selling tickets to “foreign” addresses? Things like this and the Ray’s cowbells really make the bay area look bush league.

9. Pinellas County’s intrepid sheriff is concerned that less than 25 per cent of barrier islands residents have taken advantage of his super terrific re-entry hang tag to be used after an evacuation. He paints a picture of people whizzing back on the island with their hang tag. Not so fast, sheriff. There’s a little fine print about having other ID (which is all you should need to get to your home). So apparently 75 percent of the affected residents figure “why bother”?

10. Issue: you have a relative in town who wants one of Frenchy’s legendary grouper sandwiches. Problem: it is Memorial Day weekend and traffic to the beach is bumper to bumper. Answer: you do an end run and go to Frenchy’s Outpost on the less-traveled Dunedin Causeway. Same good seafood – only problem, it is mostly outdoors – a little toasty for late spring and summer dining.

Pete Rose, Bobby Knight – one surprisingly in, one amazingly out

The Berlin Wall of baseball hasn’t come down yet, but there are cracks. The addition of Pete Rose to the Fox sports lineup could not have been facilitated without the tacit approval of major league baseball. It’s a coup for Fox – few men understand the intricacies of the game as well as Rose. You can only hope this is the first step to a rightful place in Cooperstown for the hit king. On the other hand, ESPN dumps the one man who probably understands basketball as well as Rose knows baseball – Bobby Knight. This while others, who sometimes don’t even know what players are on the court (see Rants and Raves March 29), live on. Hopefully some enterprising network will retain the services of basketball’s “General”.

Don’t blame Mike Cheezem for the demise of the Belleview Biltmore

We all lament the passing of the White Queen of the Gulf as the Belleview Biltmore was known. But if we are going to blame people for its demise, don’t blame developer Mike Cheezem and don’t blame the Belleair City Commission. They are not to blame. The downfall of the Belleview Biltmore began many years ago when it passed from the hands of Bernard Powell – a man who put his heart and soul into the hotel for decades. Sadly, the several owners who followed him mainly took from the hotel – cutting corners on maintenance, reducing staff and stiffing valued vendors – so much so that people the hotel depended on for goods and services would no longer deal with its owners - having been left with so many unpaid invoices. The demise of the cherished hotel did not happen overnight but rather over the last few decades at the hands of many – sad.

Around the bay:

1. Apparently the state of New York did not find former school superintendent Mary Ellen Elia’s skills as wanting as did the merry band in Hillsborough County. She was appointed Commissioner of Education for the state of New York. Good for them - and what a needless loss for the bay area.

2. Speaking of education, a generation of Clearwater High graduates were saddened to hear of the passing of Dorothy Bowes-Nee who was the smiling face at the front desk of the school for so many years. It seemed she knew every student who ever passed through CHS’s hallways – a truly sweet lady.

3. One more CHS note – congratulations to the very special gals and guys who comprised the Class of ’60 on their 55^th reunion this past weekend.

4. The city of Clearwater continues to dither with red light cameras while multiple Florida cities realize the error of their ways and dump the things. And eight states have enacted prohibitions against their use. Additionally, two states have had court decisions that could lead to a refund of all fines incurred by the cameras as well as court costs; however both are under appeal by the states and their camera vendors. But the future of the cameras does not look bright.  

5.In light of the disturbances on Clearwater Beach over Memorial Day weekend, you’ve really lived in Clearwater a long time if you remember back when the city commission debated banning “3” license plates (the then symbol for Hillsborough County) from Clearwater Beach.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. Note to Reuben Amaro, a really nice guy. You don’t say “the fans don’t understand the game”. A lot of us do understand the game and even those who don’t would be offended by your comment.

7. We don’t expect major league umpires to look like tri-athletes but a few of them should be yanked off the field for their own good. One is Fielden Culbreth, a major league crew chief who is officially listed at 225 pounds but probably is more in the 275-300 range. You look at him and you can’t help think of John McSherry who died on Opening Day in 1996 while working a game in Cincinnati.

8. Upon polling our Rants and Raves focus group (comprised of three, old cranky people) about the FIFA crisis, we found they thought FIFA was (a) a girl’s grunge band; (b) an expensive perfume; (c) a poodle grooming salon. (Margin of error – this week 100 per cent).

9. Milwaukee Brewers reliever Will Smith, recently suspended for eight games for “modifying” the ball, needs to be a little less obvious about where he stashes his chemicals (on his forearm). He should take lessons from Hall of Famers Gaylord Perry and Don Sutton – the masters of the art.

10. Oddity: This summer’s general convention of the Episcopal Church will be held in Salt Lake City – the worldwide headquarters of the Mormon Church.

Actually, our valued reader had a few other ideas…

(Editor’s note: the quartet of baseball improvement ideas that ran in this space the past few weeks could feasibly be adopted - these others – not so much).

1) Bring back the bullpen car… but make it a Ferrari. 2) If a player makes an error, he is removed from the field until the next out is recorded. This will create the equivalent of a hockey power play and increase scoring. 3) I don’t believe I’m going out on a limb in saying that nobody likes the infield fly rule. 4) When the bases are empty, the batter has the option of running toward first or third base after a batted ball. If he gets on safely, first and third base then are swapped for the rest of the half-inning, meaning the base paths will operate clockwise instead of counterclockwise. 5) Don’t let pitchers shake off more than one sign. 6) Invoke the “You got us into this mess, you’ll get us out of this mess” rule — no pitching changes in the middle of an inning.

Next week, we will feature his ideas for improving the game of rugby (see disclaimer above).

Memorial Day - lest we forget

Don’t you wish you had a job in baseball?

It happens only in baseball. Last weekend, the Atlanta Braves swept a three-game series in Miami against the Marlins who then fired their manager Mike Redmond and replaced him with GM Dan Jennings – a move that makes the Rays hiring of a bullpen coach to manage look like a stroke of genius. So now they are paying three managers - Jennings (although he may work for the same money), Redmond and Ozzie Guillen who they fired three years ago and still has a year on his contract. Meanwhile, the Braves, just ahead of the Marlins in the standings, are still paying the bumbling outfielder formerly known as B.J. (now Melvin) Upton now with the Padres and equally inept second baseman Dan Uggla who, ironically, hit a three run homer earlier this month to cap an eight run comeback against the Braves while playing for the Nationals. Both were signed to their awful deals by former Braves GM Frank Wren who also is still on the payroll of the Atlanta ball club.

Around the bay:

1. Some weeks, it’s harder to write this 800 word opus than others. The legislature won’t be in special session for another week or so; the city of Clearwater hasn’t purchased any extravagant pieces of “art” this week and Waldo, Inglis and the others are now cities without traffic ticket quotas thanks to our Tallahassee lawmakers.

2. That being said, isn’t it fun watching the rodents of the left scurrying about trying to decide who is the GOP candidate they most need to attack – Jeb? Marco? Carson? Walker?

3. Maybe, when you would be 86 years old when you began your next term, it might be time to think about retirement and the grandkids. But Democratic Hillsborough County Clerk Pat Frank insists she will run again in 2016.

4. Don’t know about you, but there wasn’t a dry eye in your HB (Humble Blogger’s) home during last week’s send off for Gayle Sierens. What a class act.

5. You’ve lived in Clearwater a long time if you did a lap or two around the REM go-cart track on Coachman Road.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. Remember when the History Channel actually showed historical programs rather than shows about pawn shops and garage sale shoppers?

7. In a related note – one show we would like to see on one of the history or “oldies” channels would be Silent Service – a classic from the mid-fifties.

8. Our Rants and Raves focus group (comprised of three old, cranky people) says “right on” to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred’s hint that the MLB schedule might be reduced back to 154 games. They also suggest MLB return to two, eight-team leagues. (Margin of error 50 per cent or so).

9. We were in error last week in reporting that the New Yankees are baseball’s number one road draw – at least this year. A Yankee telecast of last week reported their road attendance was among the lowest in the league – because of too many away games with the Rays – nice tribute to the local nine. And thanks to the brighter sibling in the family for correcting this misconception.

10. Our crack sports prognosticator Achmed Walled (pronounced wall-ED) says American Pharaoh will tire out at Belmont – making it 37 years since a thoroughbred (Affirmed) captured the Triple Crown.

Speeding up and strengthening the game of baseball, final installment

(Editor’s note: in this series by one of our valued readers, we’ve explored a three pitcher limit per game; a home run derby to decide extra innings games and last week, a sort of flagrant foul situation involving pitchers deliberately throwing at hitters)

Baseball Standings Points

Make regular season series really count, with three-game and five-game series where teams that win the series are awarded points in the standings. This way regular season games become more meaningful with teams knowing each series something is at stake. Overall records will still count, but winning a three-game series is worth one point and a five-game series is worth two points. Most points in the standings at the end of the regular season determine division winners and wildcards.

 Bicycles – one set of laws should fit all

Recently there was quite a stir about persons of color being targeted for bicycle violations. That is as wrong as wrong can be. And it brings up another facet of bicycle law – if bikes are going to share the road with automobiles, they need to share the same responsibility as motorists i.e. stopping at stop signs, respecting yield signs and obeying red lights. Conversely to the targeting in low income areas, it seems the more expensive the bike, the more entitled bikers seem to be in regards to completely ignoring rules that others who share the road must obey. It’s long overdue for a task force throughout the bay area to crack down on bicyclists of all economic strata who consistently disobey the rules of the road.

Around the bay:

1. As you might imagine, the major league team that is the biggest draw on the road is the New York Yankees, yet the May 12^th Rays game against the Bronx Bombers drew just over 10,000 fans – 9,000 less than the next lowest attended game of that night in Cincinnati. Not good.

2. Does anything define sleaze better than the circus involving the lawyers who worked both sides of the Bubba – Todd Schnitt lawsuit?

3. The deal for Charter Communications to buy local cable provider Bright House Networks is apparently dead. Most cable experts say that is not necessarily bad news for bay area viewers.

4. Seems so long ago that the 1100 building was home to several law firms, the executive offices of a radio station and numerous social service agencies. Now, the kindest thing that could be done is to tear it down.

5. You’ve lived in the Tampa Bay area for quite a while if you remember when Gayle Sierens was a rookie sportscaster on Channel 8. Gayle concludes her distinguished career this week.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. Mark Fydrich, Doc Gooden and Herb Score - there are three pitchers you would have loved to see have a full career to see just how good they would have been.

7. A lot of shuffling in the athletic department in Gainesville. Both of AD Jeremy Foley’s hires for the schools two biggest sports seem to be good ones. They better be or Foley will be the next guy with a ticket out of town.

8. In a related note, much was made out of new UF basketball coach Michael White’s Dunedin roots. Very little was said about his wife Kira who was an outstanding volleyball player here in Pinellas.

9. Item: The U.S. Postal Service reported a first quarter loss of $1.5 billion. They are asking Congress to allow them to stop Saturday deliveries to help stop the hemorrhaging. There are a lot of things we can do without and Saturday mail delivery is certainly one of them.

10. Our Rants and Raves focus group (comprised of three old, cranky people) recently gave sabermetrics a try. It made their head ache and their vision blur. (Margin of error – 50 percent or so).

Speeding up and strengthening the game of baseball Part III

(Editor’s note: In this continuing series authored by one of our valued readers, the latest suggestion was extra innings become a home run derby – at last a valid reason for an otherwise wasted shot at the All-Star game)

Hit by Pitch Three Bases

Unwritten rule or not, throwing 90 mph retaliation pitches at hitters is ridiculous. There's nothing like a team losing their star player for a few weeks because he took one to the wrist or breaks a rib because some other player looked at him wrong. And then the hit player is given a free base, no different than a base on balls! Just like fouls and flagrant fouls in basketball, if an umpire deems that a batter was hit intentionally after being warned, the umpire can give two or three bases based on the level of harm it inflicted on the player.

Goodbye, Gayle and thanks!

 The Baltimore aftermath

Seems like a lot of “homers” say the Rays were right in not offering to switch home dates with the Baltimore Orioles in light of the civil disorder in Charm City (no, really, that’s its nickname). The often heard excuse was what happened in Baltimore was not the Rays fault – it wasn’t the Oriole’s fault either. It just seemed like the right thing to do in the interest of fair play. There’s another angle to this whole Baltimore thing and that’s Pimlico’s Preakness less than a week away. There are probably shorter odds on Rev. Al and some of his ilk showing up than there will be on American Pharaoh. Of course, we could always move the Preakness to Tampa Bay Downs.

Around the bay:

1. Still trying to differentiate itself from cab services, Lyft will be appealing a hearing officer’s findings. The first stop is the Hillsborough County Public Transportation Commission where Lyft stands the same chance as the proverbial snowball on a Florida sidewalk in August. (See Rants, March 8).

2. Florida’s special legislative session has been set for June 1. It was Otto von Bismarck who said “To retain respect for laws and sausages, one must not watch them in the making.” We can only assume that goes double for special sessions dealing with the state’s budget.

3. Factoid – newly appointed Tampa police chief Eric Ward is the only police chief in the bay area’s three major cities who actually lives in the city he serves.

4. Thanks to the Gassman Law Firm on Court Street in Clearwater for always bringing a smile to our face with their catchy marquee. It is truly a Sign of the Times.

5. You’ve lived in Clearwater a long time if you remember the highlight of the CHS Senior Assembly was the serenade to the class by Mr. Justice on his harmonica – priceless!

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. Our Rants and Raves focus group (comprised of three old, cranky people) notes major league baseball has decreed that all entering their parks are subject to a metal detector. Our group has decided to just go to the airport instead. (Margin of error – fifty per cent or so).

7. There’s a business in Clearwater named Mensa Tax. Does this mean you have to have a 150 IQ for them to do your tax work?

8. Factoid: Powered flight (Wright Brothers, December 17, 1903) is 17 years older than commercial radio (KDKA, November 2, 1920). Interestingly, KDKA did not begin in a huge media market like New York, Chicago or L.A., but in Pittsburgh (Turtle Creek, Pa., actually) – home of its parent company – Westinghouse Electric and is still going strong at 1020 on the dial some 95 years later.

9. One of the surprises of the early baseball season is the Houston Astros. They are on a pace to make the playoffs for the first time since the days of the Killer Bs. And that would be a good thing as the casual baseball fan would get a look at Jose Altuve – one of the best kept secrets in baseball. The guy can play!

10. Our crack sports analyst Achmed Walled (pronounced wall-ED) says the over/under of Billy Donavon remaining in Oklahoma City is one year.

Speeding up and strengthening the game of baseball, Part II

(Editor’s note – a series of suggestions from a valued reader began last week with a rule allowing only three pitchers a game – a common practice through the fifties although we can hear the howl of the player’s union on that one!)

Extra Innings, Home run Derby

Nine innings is a lot of baseball. Twelve, thirteen, fourteen innings and now we're talking a Ken Burns documentary. How about after 10 innings if the game is still tied, each team selects one batter each for a 3-out homerun derby, winner take all? If it's tied we keep going and each team sends up another hitter until one team wins.

Downtown Clearwater’s fate was sealed 40 years ago

“No finer place for sure, downtown.” When Petula Clark sang that in 1964 she well could have been describing downtown Clearwater. It was thriving with movie theaters, stores like Franks, Colony Shop, J.C. Penney and dozens more. It continued to do well until the mid-1970s. Then the twin specters of malls and Scientology started it in a death spiral from which it has not recovered. The latest blow was the Clearwater Marine Aquarium’s announcement that they were not moving forward with their plans for a major, albeit financially shaky, plan to relocate downtown (more on the ramifications of that in a future Rants). Also a plan for a pedestrian mall downtown is being shot down by virtually everyone – with good reason. Probably the best two chances for revitalizing the downtown – a defeated late 90s plan by a developer to redevelop the area on his dime and then a wasted chance by the city to keep the beach route through downtown came and went. Now many of us seriously doubt we will see any sign of life in downtown during our lifetimes.

Around the bay:

1. Recent media coverage reported that an ethics charge filed against Hillsborough County Commissioner Al Higginbotham resulted in a verdict of not guilty. That’s not quite correct. The official response to the flimsy charge filed by his unsuccessful challenger, Pat Kemp, was more on the order of “get out of town”.

2. There are some government officials who were just rock solid – Pinellas County’s Fred Marquis, Clearwater’s Ream Wilson and Dunedin’s John Lawrence come to mind. We lost one of those rock solid folks last week with the passing of former Pinellas County Emergency Operations director Guy Daines at the age of 78. He was a steady hand during the many emergencies that threatened Pinellas during his nearly twenty year career with the county.

3. Nothing more soothing for your mood than after a day at work, you pick up your three items for dinner only to get in the Publix 10-item aisle behind someone who obviously missed counting class in the first grade. Come on Publix, either enforce those aisles or get rid of them.

4. Clearwater Marina Update: There is no update. The place still looks like a war zone. But some day we will have a Mexican Restaurant – yippee!

5. You’ve really lived in the bay area for a while if you remember when the land where Big Top Flea Market sits was the home to of one of the country’s best short tracks – Golden Gate Speedway.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. By the author’s admission, it is not an objective book but 41 –the biography of George H. W. Bush written by his son, George W. Bush, is an interesting read. Lots of inside baseball on policy making and Texas politics bring a dimension no other volume on our 41^st president has done.

7. Our Rants and Raves focus group (composed of three old, cranky people) wants to know what Hillary Clinton has to say that is worth $200,000. (Margin of error – plus or minus 50 per cent).

8. His real name was Benjamin Nelson. His first chart record was a rock and roll classic – the innovative and haunting There Goes My Baby – on which he sang lead for the Drifters as well as wrote. Ben E. King passed away last week at age 76. He was a rock and roll legend.

9. We often borrow a gem from the great 5:05 Newsletter. This was from one of their most recent issues. “Pope Francis said that one of the things he misses most about ordinary life is the ability to go out and eat pizza without being recognized. I wouldn't worry. Nobody's going to believe the guy who works at the pizza place when he says, “Hey, do you know who came in today? The Pope.”

10. Best wishes to one of baseball’s true “gamers”, Kirk Gibson, as he battles Parkinson’s disease. Gibson was the NL’s 1988 MVP. He is also the only MVP in either league to never be named to an All Star team in his career – odd.

Speeding up and strengthening the game of baseball, part I:

(Editor’s note: one of our valued readers sent along some notes last week on accomplishing what Commissioner Rob Manfred is striving to do – speeding up and strengthening the game. The thoughts are too good to give short shrift and summarize, so we will feature a suggestion a week for the next several issues – and we invite your own commentaries on the national pastime as well.)

Three Pitchers per Game

Forget a bullpen full of arms and a revolving bullpen door matching up one pitcher for one batter, then another pitcher for another batter. This isn't speed dating. Instead, managers are given three pitchers per game, that's it. Use them wisely because once that third pitcher takes the mound, he's it.

Tampa Bay Bucs about to go 0 for 3

It started with the Bucs hiring a guy who may not have been the best choice to coach them out of the 28-52 hole that Raheem Morris and Greg Schiano dug. Then they hired a journeyman quarterback to facilitate the “turnaround”. Now, it appears they are about to take the third swing and a miss with a loose cannon college quarterback who doesn’t seem to be able to stay out of trouble – big trouble. We all know about Jameis Winston’s recent (and good) interviews with the Bucs and the NFL, but as wise old Ben Franklin once said “well done is better than well said.” Winston talks a good game; he’s just never shown that good game off the field. This one the Bucs must get right. We hope they do, but very much fear they won’t.

Around the bay:

1. The Saudi-9/11 connection has been refuted by everybody from the White House down through the FBI but former Senator Bob Graham keeps hammering away in what appears to be an attempt to somehow remain relevant.

2. The last time a career politician ran the Pinellas Property Appraiser’s office, it took several years of work by appraisal professional Pam Dubov and her staff to straighten things out. So who is the first individual to announce for the job Dubov will vacate next year – another career politician. Pinellas County deserves better.

3. Add New Port Richey to the growing list of central Florida cities who are dumping their red light cameras. And give them credit. They were very forthright in saying the reason they are dropping the camera is they are no longer making money for the city as opposed to other cities that ask us to drink the “safety issues” Kool Aid.

4. The proposed sale of the Tampa Tribune building in downtown Tampa should not be shocking news. Daily newspapers’ staffs (and revenues) are shrinking and they no longer need the buildings they constructed in the 70s and 80s. The St. Pete Times and other Florida dailies have also been shedding real estate in the past several years.

5. Guys, you’ve really lived in Pinellas County a while if you got your very Sunday best at Wolf Brothers or Shorts. Webb’s Men’s Wear was around too, but that’s where your Dad bought his Sunday best.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. In a related note to our lead piece, it’s hard to believe that not so long ago the Bucs employed two of the best coaches in the NFL back to back. But it now seems so long ago.

7. Turning to the college football scene, you can probably understand a team that consistently wins nine games a year occasionally hitting up their ticket holders for more money or a bigger contribution. But USF that has won nine games in three years? This USF alum hangs his head in shame.

8. Our apologies to a good friend for failing earlier this month to recognize the national holiday he holds dearest – April 7, 1933 – the repeal of prohibition.

9. Our Rants and Raves focus group (comprised of three, old cranky people) opines that most folks who constantly rail for separation of church and state separated from church a long time ago. (Margin of error – 50 per cent or so).

10. Topping the charts fifty years ago this week was Herman’s Hermit’s Mrs. Brown You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter from that magical era when you didn’t have to be good, just British, to have a hit record.

A rare, good baseball book and how Clearwater dodged a bullet

It’s a good year if one or two good baseball books are published in twelve months. We’ve reviewed a few of these gems before – Behind the Mask and Where Nobody Knows Your Name. Add another to a must read list for baseball junkies – Paul Dickson’s Bill Veeck: baseball’s greatest maverick. The book examines the amazingly complex man who owned three different major league teams, one, the White Sox, twice. Dickson details Veeck’s must famous stunt, pinch hitting a midget (and the sad after story of Eddie Gaedel); his exploding scoreboard in Chicago and the infamous disco demolition. Veeck was also a pioneer in integrating baseball and a champion of civil rights in general. Finally, there is the story of how but for his failed attempt to buy a fourth team; the Phillies might have never landed in Clearwater. It’s a long read, four hundred some pages, and pretty small type but a positively captivating volume.

The barrier islands re-entry boondoggle just gets better

Twice before, we have railed against the insane idea of having to have some hang tag to prove you live on Clearwater Beach or wherever in order to re-enter after a dangerous storm. It seemed to us that a photo ID with your address, a voter’s card or any number of personal ID items would suffice, but no we are told, you must have one of these hangtags. We reluctantly caved and got one. The lack of necessity of this boondoggle is summed up by the last line on the front side. “Be prepared to show photo identification upon request.” So the purpose of this extra piece of bureaucracy is what? And displayed proudly on the back of the hangtag is the name of the genius behind this – Sheriff Bob Gualtieri. Brilliant!

Around the bay:

1. In a related note to our lead item. Many folks have inquired as to just who are the people who write the items you see here weekly. And as our lead item proves – it writes itself.

2. A lot of folks didn’t know that Florida Gator’s legend Ray Graves lived in Clearwater. The former Gator coach passed away at age 96 last week.

3. The odds of David Jolly running for the U.S. Senate and the Rays advancing to the World Series this year are virtually the same.

4. What’s up with a sudden flurry of “plumbing” problems at various Walmart stores around the country including one store in Valrico?

5. You’ve lived in Clearwater for quite a while if you remember the incredible Clearwater Bomber pitching tandem of Herb Dudley and Johnny Hunter.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. Remember not everything here has to be probing and insightful. With baseball season underway, name the greatest player to ever wear the number 6. Our money is on either Musial or Kaline. (Sidebar to this item, you’ve been here awhile if you remember that Stan Musial and partners owned the original Hilton on south Clearwater Beach).

7. Factoid: last year, this blog along with the rest of the nation celebrated the 50^th anniversary of Beatlemania in 1964. But it was a full year before that when the first Beatle record charted on an American radio station – Please Please Me on March 8, 1963 on Chicago’s 50,000 watt radio station WLS.

8. The Atlanta Braves finally rid themselves of their second albatross contract – B. J. Upton but at great cost - giving up the best closer in baseball in Craig Kimbrel. The unwise signings of Upton and Dan Uggla are the reason Frank Wren is no longer their general manager. Ironically, the Braves are off to a surprisingly good start which means they could really miss Kimbrel if their 1991-style start continues.

9. Two things that tickled our funny bone recently. In baseball, Miami Marlin centerfielder Marcell Ozuna dives for a ball then lifts his glove up to show the catch. Problem was the ball was ten feet behind him and the batter was circling the bases. And in Zephyrhills, two gunmen try to rob a McDonald’s drive-up window. Problem: there was no cash register at that window. So they drive away in their BMW with Buc’s specialty tags. Not the best planned heist of the year.    

10. Our crack sports prognosticator, Achmed Walled (pronounced wall-ED) forecasts an NBA final of Atlanta Hawks versus the Golden State Warriors.

McDonalds and friends - stick to what you do best

A couple months ago, the Times Sean Daly wrote a piece on how McDonalds has stumbled over itself trying to not be a hamburger chain by offering salads, Starbuck-like coffee and a mind-blurring variety of chicken entrées on their menu. He was spot on. Here the KISS theory comes into play, Wendy’s has a winner in their Frosty, Checkers their Big Buford, McDonalds its Big Mac and fries and Burger King – well, we guess there is something there people like. Leave chicken to Chick-fil-A, roast beef to Arbys and subs to Subway. This goes for other industries as well. The old Florida Power Company nearly ruined themselves with their ill-fated ventures into the construction trades years ago. About the same time, a couple of local companies that knew nothing about the broadcasting business managed to bleed red with their radio station acquisitions. And the list goes on. McDonalds knows burgers; Starbucks coffee; Dunkin Donuts doughnuts. Stick with it and improve it!  

Why must politics and sports mix?

Remember the good old days when sports provided relief from the day to day grind? It was your own little fantasy world of batting averages, NCAA brackets and Hail Mary passes. Now everybody, but everybody, wants to link sports and policy making. Editorials call for the heads of city council members because they won’t cave in to the Rays; the mayor of Tampa thinks the NCAA should treat Indiana like a third world country and Keith Olbermann still pines for his old MSNBC days commenting on everything but sports. Even the normally level-headed Tom Jones has to opine on the state of affairs in Indiana. Please folks; just let us have our baseball season, our playoffs and our mock drafts. Sports is too much fun to mix with politics – which is rarely ever fun.

Around the bay:

1. David Jolly has an announced Democratic opponent for his congressional seat in 2016 – a gentleman by the name of Eric Lynn who moved into Pinellas County six months ago. But compared to Jolly’s first opponent, Alex Sink, Lynn’s six month residency seems like deep roots

2. It appears that Florida legislators are struggling to come up with an acceptable medical marijuana bill. Their failure could result in another push to make medical marijuana a constitutional amendment in 2016. It was a bad idea last year and will be no less so in 2016.

3. Bill Jonson, mentioned last week in connection with his thoughtful no vote on a $600,000 monument folly in Clearwater, has taken over as chair of the PSTA. Having a steadier hand on the throttle at the transportation authority should lead to some much needed reforms.

4. Florida Senate passes a bill that makes it illegal for law enforcement agencies to set traffic ticket quotas. Good news for Florida and visiting motorists; bad news for Waldo, Lawtey, Inglis and Brooksville among others.

5. You’ve lived in Clearwater a long time if you remember FAG night put on by the Rotary Club of Clearwater for graduating CHS seniors.

The diamond, the media and other stuff:

6. Duke University is again the NCAA national basketball champion. Tyus Jones was the most outstanding player of the tournament but the young man who won the championship game for them was known only to hardcore Duke fans – freshman Grayson Allen. He will not be quite as unknown in his sophomore year.

7. A great run by the Wisconsin Badgers, which included an upset of undefeated Kentucky in the Final Four, was diminished somewhat by the irrational pouting of their coach Bo Ryan after the championship loss to Duke.

8. The above referenced NCAA tournament bore witness to the fact that another rule violation, the Kobe Bryant-style offensive push-off, has joined the travel and double dribble as just another piece of basketball history.

9. “Breaking news” last week on ESPN, Tiger is going to play in the Masters. Yeah, and Mike Trout is going to play for the Angels, Aaron Rodgers will lead the Packers and Seth Curry will be in the NBA playoffs. Poor Tiger Woods is undoubtedly the most over covered sports figure in America.

10. Quote of the week from Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, “I don’t think social media is helpful to any human being on the planet”.

Daniel Norris - the most captivating player since Mark Fydrich

His name is Daniel Norris. If you’re not a serious baseball fan, you’ve probably never heard of him. The Blue Jays gave the hard throwing lefty a two-million bonus to sign. Has success gone to his head? Not really. During spring training, he lived in his beloved 1978 VW Bus behind a Wal-Mart. Ate his meals there, stored his surfboard in the cramped quarters and oh, by the way, is averaging over a strikeout an inning for the Blue Jays. He is not a flake or Sidd Finch – just a very well-grounded young man who is on just about everybody’s Top Ten List of prospects. Keep your eye on this Tennessee native as he begins his first full year in the major leagues as part of the Blue Jay rotation.  

The Montreal Rays? Pardon us if we’re skeptical.

So the Rays decide they don’t like sites in either Tampa or St. Pete. Where do they go? Montreal seems to be the chic relocation spot right now. How did that work out when they had a dynamite team with Dawson, Walker and a bunch of other young stars? Plus there’s that tax thing. Las Vegas? There’s a reason there are no major sports teams in that city. Perhaps the least-worst relocation spot would be Charlotte, and folks aren’t sure that region could support another pro franchise. Tampa Bay is not a great baseball market but there aren’t many better options out there, and we suspect the Rays are smart enough to realize that.

Around the bay:

1. Nothing makes your jaw tighten more than “This is the way we do it in Michigan (or one of the other 46 contiguous states)”. So how is it different when the mayor of Tampa tells the state of Indiana how to conduct their affairs? Sorry Bob, but 99.9 percent of the Hoosier state have never heard of you.

2. The announcement of Ted Cruz that he will be the first to enter the presidential race reminds us of a great Clearwater political story. Incumbent city commissioner with a legacy of anti-business votes asks one of Clearwater’s leading businessmen for his support. His to the point answer –“Yes, until anyone else runs against you”.

3. If you are a resident of one of the other 23 cities in Pinellas (other than St. Pete) be very happy you don’t have to deal with the time and money consuming Pier issue.

4. Downtown Clearwater – approximately 6:15 a.m. – northbound on Ft. Harrison. You hit the red right at Chestnut Street. Get a green just in time to come up to the red light a block away at Court Street. Get a green to turn left onto Court Street just in time for the red light at Osceola. Come on – a 12 year old could coordinate those lights better.

5. You’ve lived in Clearwater a long time if the two businesses you patronized most on North Fort Harrison Ave. were Merz Record Shop and Pete’s Pizza.

The diamond, the media & other stuff:

6. Our Raves and Rants focus group (comprised of three old, cranky people) notes another sure sign of the end of civilization – the sale of the maker of American icon Louisville Slugger bats to a Finnish company. Oh the humanity! (Margin of error – 50 per cent more or less).

7. In a related note, what’s next, we move the manufacture of the Corvette from Bowling Green, Kentucky to a plant in Serbia?

8. Factoid: There are two major league ball players who won two MVPs a piece and are not in the Hall of Fame – Roger Maris and Dale Murphy. There are at least a dozen guys with lesser credentials in the Hall.

9. The chances we would ever vote for her are sub-zero, but isn’t this Hilary email business much ado about nothing?

10. According to Forbes, the New York Yankees, MLB’s most valuable team, is worth 3.2 billion dollars. But that’s small potatoes compared to other industries. For example, small but fast growing Tesla Motors is worth approximately seven times what the Yankees are worth – and don’t have any headaches like A-Rod.

Clearwater says: “Well, St. Pete did it, so it must be okay.”

There are a lot of things St. Pete does that other cities should not emulate – a noisy, disruptive auto race comes to mind. But the city of Clearwater has apparently decided that it will not be outdone by St. Pete in garish signs that mark the city limits. The Clearwater city council voted to spend a mere $600,000 to erect such a monument on the Courtney Campbell Causeway. The big difference between St. Pete and Clearwater is that private funding paid for the St. Pete sign while public money will finance the Clearwater sign – no actually it’s worse – it’s money from the city’s reserves (you know, that little fund that helps deal with natural disasters or helps pay salaries in the next economic downturn). Thank you to the fiscally conservative member of this merry band, Bill Jonson - the lone “no” vote on this extravagant expenditure.

Happy Easter!

Changes ahead for Florida spring training

While our northern neighbors are saying hooray as their favorite team heads north this week for opening day, it is always a bittersweet occasion here in Florida. Elsewhere, our crack prognosticator will make his predictions but here are a few thoughts on the state of the game and the state. Florida is holding its own with exactly half the teams training here. We’re going to see some shuffling with the Astros moving to Florida’s east coast and the Braves probably moving to southwest Florida, and who knows what is going to happen with Dunedin’s long standing relationship with the Blue Jays? If there has been any progress between the city and the team, it is not readily apparent. Dunedin needs to fast track a new agreement or the Blue Jays will be just a memory five years from now.

Around the bay:

1. As we near the end of the official spring break, it is more and more apparent what Clearwater’s marina needs is not another Mexican restaurant or real estate office (yes, it really has one) but a long overdue multi-story parking garage to handle the many venues at the marina.

2. Ferry update: Last Saturday at 1 p.m., the new mainland to beach ferry unloaded 14 passengers at the marina terminus - fourteen people and four crew members (perhaps some were trainees). It will take a higher crew to passenger ratio to make the ferry work, but it’s early.             

3. So St. Pete professionals are going to get a well-deserved 2.5 percent raise. This has some union organizers all in a tizzy because it comes before a planned, but unscheduled, union election. They got the raise. Who cares how they get it? Except, the union won’t be able to get their cut of that pay increase – advantage workers.

4. It was probably the safest pick – staying inside the organization and choosing Deputy Director Thomas Jewsbury to take over for retiring Director Noah Lagos at the St. Pete-Clearwater Airport. Let’s also hope it’s the best pick. Jewsbury needs to carry on the successful programs of Lagos but at the same time bring his own stamp to the well-run Pinellas County facility.

5. You’ve lived in Clearwater a long time if you remember when the corner occupied by Sam’s Club had a Bellas Hess store then later was home to Jersey Jim Towers, Studio 19, Peaches Record Store and the Jeans Giant. By the way, there are still a few existing Peaches Record Stores – New Orleans has one.

The diamond, the media & other stuff:

6. It’s quite possible the Cubs will become the next Mets or Dodgers – spending millions with negligible results.

7. Factoid – long time MLB base stealing champ Lou Brock stole 938 bases in his storied career but never stole home. Babe Ruth, on the other hand, swiped home ten times.

8. So you took the field versus Kentucky at the beginning of the dance? How do you like your chances at this juncture?

9. In all of professional sports no team needs to catch a break more than the #44 auto racing team of Travis Kvapil. This was the car that was stolen before the NASCAR race in Atlanta and not recovered until it was too late to qualify. Last week even though the car posted faster qualifying times than other cars, they missed the race because of antiquated rules regarding “owner points’’. You can’t help but pull for this underdog of underdogs.

10. Most embarrassing NCAA tourney moment: Analyst Charles Barkley commenting on the first half play of U of Kansas freshman forward Cliff Alexander. Problem was Alexander was not in the game – having been suspended by the Jayhawks. Barkley continues to try to bluff and bluster through pre, post and halftime shows without doing his homework. It just doesn’t play well.

How we see the 2015 baseball season:

You can’t let spring training end without predictions for the upcoming season. Our crack prognosticator Achmed Walled (Pronounced wall-ED) likes the Nationals, Pirates and the Giants to win their divisions with the Dodgers and Cards joining them in the NL playoffs. In the junior circuit, he likes the Yanks in a wide-open Eastern Division along with Kansas City and the Angels. His wild card picks are the much improved White Sox and the Mariners. Teams that could surprise people are the Marlins in the NL and the Indians in the AL. Most overrated teams – the Padres and Red Sox.