Author: opinionstogo

The Name Game At FSU

Jeff Bowden finally did the right thing by announcing his resignation — effective at the end of the regular season — as Florida State University’s offensive coordinator. But it wasn’t the honorable thing. That had to be done a few years ago – when it was apparent he was in over his head and could have saved his dad, head coach Bobby Bowden, national notoriety as well as the embarrassing wrath of incensed bloggers, disgruntled boosters and outraged alums.

When you devise a one-of-a-kind, nepotism workaround for an employee – one who had not otherwise earned his position but makes more than $140,000 a year – nothing good can ultimately come of it. Nothing did.

Jeff Bowden, of course, hasn’t been the lone reason for FSU’s fallen fortunes, but he’s no mere scapegoat. And others will likely follow. Only they won’t leave with a $537,500, five-year (garnet and) golden parachute, courtesy of Seminole Boosters.

On balance, good call, coach. Finally.

And speaking of 77-year-old Bobby Bowden, despite the tougher times, many observers and pundits have maintained that he has more than earned the right to call his own shot in terms of stepping down. This is an understandable, well-intentioned but misplaced priority.

All the wins, all the championships and all the national prestige and revenues have been commensurately rewarded with handsome 7-figure salaries, bonuses, TV deals and even a statue and a field named in his honor. But the fact remains irrefutable; he’s just a coach, albeit a very successful one, in the context of higher education. It’s hardly the academy’s highest calling. And there have been times, lest we forget, when Bobby looked the other way on matters academic – such as Dion Sanders playing in a bowl game after he had stopped going to classes.

If we were talking about a distinguished professor who had won a Nobel Prize or discovered a cure for a fatal disease, this call-your-own-shot conversation would be a no-brainer. In fact, the question would be a rhetorical one.

But we’re talking about a football coach, even if his name is Bobby Bowden and his victories outnumber everybody else’s. The Bobby Bowdens – and the Joe Paternos – are not bigger than their universities.

Dadgummit, they just aren’t.

A Football Sampler

*I was reminded early on why I don’t watch Monday Night Football when the Bucs aren’t on it, which is almost never. Last week’s Bucs-Carolina Panthers game – and its continuity – became subordinate to NASCAR talk for a lengthy stretch in the first half. That’s when race-car driver Jeff Gordon joined everybody else in the ESPN booth for too long. It’s part of ESPN’s show-biz outreach shtick. Thanks for nothing, including Joe Theismann sharing his experience – complete with video footage — of driving a race car.

Too bad such irrelevant intrusions can’t be confined to halftime – but that, or course, would run afoul of the insightful world of Michael Irvin and friends.

*Anyone else of the opinion that football referees increasingly need to be reminded of a basic rule of thumb: Some of the best calls are no-calls. If it’s that close – notably pass interference or a punt-return clip – then don’t call it. Let the players determine outcomes.

*For a while, player celebrations – especially group choreography – was way out of hand, unless you were among those who liked cheap, lounge-act theatrics with your football. What’s now getting out of hand, however, are the penalties being called for same. They give arbitrariness a bad name.

The best way to deal with the sophomoric, look-at-me antics? A crackdown in high school by coaches who must underscore that winning and playing with some class is not some old-school incongruity. Nobody knows the difference between enthusiasm and showing off better than coaches. Then continue that discipline at the university level. And then get the networks on board so that cameras don’t linger on swaggering boors who can’t control themselves.

*Gov.-elect Charlie Crist got some voice time on the telecast of that infamous Florida State-Wake Forest game. That’s because the FSU alum also attended WFU and actually walked on as a quarterback. It was also because that woeful game actually needed some kind of diversion.

ABC play-by-play announcer Brent Musberger eventually piped in with some trivia, saying Crist is known for being wonkish about school mascots and nicknames. Whereupon color analyst Bob Davie inquired: “So, what’s the nickname for Youngstown State?” Crist didn’t know, but faster than you can say “the people’s governor,” he unflappably (and correctly) offered up the “Rockets” as the nickname for another Ohio school, the University of Toledo. Close enough.

Youngstown, of course, is the “Penguins.”

Respect — Not

“With all due respect,” Mr. Dangerfield.

Ever notice how often that rhetorical device seeps into the line of questioning — especially of an authority figure? It was never more apparent than at President George W. Bush’s day-after press conference last week. More than a few Washington press corps queries — and follow-ups — had that same preface.

Just out of curiosity, when was the last time that phrase was ever followed by anything even remotely resembling respect?

Castro Speculation

Speculation remains rife about what exactly has been ailing Cuban President Fidel Castro. Those purporting to know are adamant in their claims that Castro is suffering from colon cancer.

Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque backed off an earlier assertion that Castro would be back on the job by December – or would even be up to attending a delayed celebration of his 80th birthday next month.

“Borat” Top “Grossing” Movie

Last week the top grossing, as it were, movie was “Borat: Cultural Learning of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan” at $26.8 million. I have no plans made for to see it.

Not that the critics are panning it. Quite the contrary. Across the board, those, for example, representing the New York Times, Boston Globe, Philadelphia Inquirer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, USA Today, St. Petersburg Times, Entertainment Weekly and Metacritic.com have rated it “Don’t miss.”

So maybe this is my loss, but I’ll chance it. I was ultimately deterred after reading the review by Bob Ross of the Tampa Tribune, who thought “Borat” worthy of a B+ — whatever that means these days.

“If racial slurs, gratuitous nudity (we’re talking nude male wrestling) and disgusting body-waste jokes nauseate you, don’t come to this one without a barf bag,” suggested Ross.

Thanks for the bag-of-barf head’s up, Bob, as well as further convincing that I’m an alien in my own mainstream culture.

Election Nightcaps

*High drama this was not. Kathy Castor was the overwhelming favorite in the 11th District congressional race against unknown Republican Eddie Adams. She won overwhelmingly with nearly 70 per cent of the vote.

For all intents, the real challenge in this heavily Democratic district had taken place in the September primary when State Senator Les Miller, among others, had been defeated. Overall, the Castor campaign raised more than $1.2 million. The Adams campaign less than $25,000. Another day at the office.

So the election-watch party was at the modest campaign headquarters in Hyde Park. Talk turned early to the national races and the likely Democratic capture of the U.S. House of Representatives. The latter was especially relevant given Castor’s designs on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Both of Castor’s parents were in Palm Beach, where Frank Castor, Kathy’s brother, was being elected county judge. And U.S. Rep.-elect Castor, along with campaign manager Clay Phillips, had already left for the Alex Sink party by 9:15 p.m.

*Over at the Jim Davis gathering at the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay, the Associated Press had called the gubernatorial race for Charlie Crist before 10 p.m. That meant for more than an hour that most dreaded of post-election rituals, the concession-speech countdown, had begun.

Those over-sized “Time For A Change” banners seemed to mock the moment. Party faithful, 20-something volunteers and elected officials reduced to waiting for Bill Heller and Charlie Justice updates.

Finally Jim Davis and family. Still the high road. Gracious in defeat. Now was not the time to reflect on a less-than-textbook campaign effort. Nor to bemoan the ineffectual response to the empty chair ad or assail the “had lunch with terrorists” cheap shots. In a concession to bi-partisanship, Davis acknowledged that Crist “will need our help.”

And, then, in a notably blunt concession to reality: “You know there was more money (an estimated $50 million by Crist and the GOP) spent against me then any campaign in the history of Florida.”

Dick Greco: The Statue

Oops. The gathering of those underwriting a commissioned statue of former Mayor Dick Greco, 73, was last Tuesday. Election day. Among the many who had political obligations and itineraries that day: Dick Greco. When he left the nostalgia and well wishing at the Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel and Marina, he had to hustle to the WFLA radio studios where he teamed up with Jack Harris for election-day analysis.

The statue will pose a contemporary Greco (his idea) on a bench – legs crossed and one arm draped over the top of the bench. A likely site: TECO’s Southern Transportation Plaza between the Marriott and the Convention Center. Cost: $50,000. Already raised: approximately $40,000. Target date for unveiling: November 2007. The sculptor: Tampa’s Steve Dickey, whose acclaimed work already includes prominent likenesses of iconic Tampa figures Roland Manteiga, Nick Nuccio, Tony Pizzo, Al Lopez and the Gonzmarts — Cesar and Adela.

Greco, now executive vice president for Lindell Properties, was on his game at the Marriott reception. To wit:

*It really is a strange feeling. I feel awkward. I’ve seen a number of Steve’s works. Excellent. But they’re all dead.”

*”There was talk of whether it should be (30-something) me in the early years or (60-something) later. One friend said, ‘Just dip him in bronze for the best likeness.'”

*”I’m very grateful. I’m still alive. I’m gonna start jogging tomorrow.”

*”If some good looking girl sits there, I’d probably come back to life.”

As for Dickey, 57, he acknowledges how unique it is to work with a live subject.

“Normally I just deal with families,” he says. They provide photos and insider input, and he goes from there.

For the Greco project, Dickey will shoot 360-degree photos. Later there will be formal sittings. “It helps to know the subject,” he explains, “and that transfers. You watch the features at work.

“But, yes, there’s extra pressure,” concedes Dickey. “I mean the individual is right there. It’s gotta be right. I have to come up with something that looks human. We’re not talking about memories here.”

While he will still be soliciting opinions from family and friends, Dickey stresses that this isn’t art by committee. “Opinions I need, and they’re valuable,” he underscores, “but at the same time, the buck stops here.”

As for Greco, if he doesn’t like the finished product, he can always sit on the bench and simply be beside himself.

Debate Dynamics: The Marketing Of Democracy

It is over, isn’t it?

Apparently we’ve all survived another cycle of campaign waterboarding -cheap-shot, political attack ads that demonize opponents and insult voters. And don’t forget direct mail detritus and the loop of interrupting, pre-recorded “robo calls” that make telemarketers sound sincere. Well, almost.

But now the people have taken a collective shower and spoken. Or at least the minority that weren’t too lazy or indifferent or clueless or disgusted to vote have done so.

That voters in this country are more renown for tuning out than turning out is an American irony and hypocrisy, given the United States’ efforts to bring democracy to other places – notably the kind with warlords and religious clans.

So, in addition to bringing back serious civics courses in our schools and instituting meaningful campaign-finance overhaul, what else can be done to foment more interest in important elections? Shy, that is, of political parody from Barbra Streisand.

Arguably, more than good intentions. That’s the purview of editorial pages, the League of Women Voters, community television and PBS.

Since we are a media immersed, celebrity-driven culture, that means going pragmatic. As in infotainment journalism. Cable TV pundits and talk radio partisans.

Enter Chris Matthews of MSNBC’s “Hardball” fame, who moderated last week’s gubernatorial debate on WFLA-Channel 8 among Charlie Crist, Jim Davis and Max Linn. Besides a reputation for an in-your-face inquiry style, Matthews also brought the prospect of higher visibility. Indeed, the debate drew more viewers than that 7-8:00 p.m time slot normally gets with “Entertainment Tonight” and “Extra.” Moreover, it doubled the audience in the Tampa market for the first debate, which was televised on PBS affiliates.

That obviously wasn’t upside enough for everyone. Not when politics is involved. Matthews is not from here; his buzz-saw style grates on some; he looks like he’d be more comfortable exchanging zingers from a bar stool; and he’s not, in his heart of hearts, ideologically bipartisan. Even if no one else is either.

Granted, the Peace Corps alum and former Tip O’Neill aide and Jimmy Carter speechwriter tilts to the left, but he’s no Al Franken or Michael Moore. He’s not the liberal counterpart to Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh or Bill O’Reilly. Sort of a gregarious, smart-alecky Tim Russert. He’s down on the war in Iraq, but so are a lot of folks. He’s also down on political correctness run amok. He also liked George Bush – in 2000.

His aggressive manner can make for good television. But he can be a frontrunner’s political nightmare. After the Crist campaign understandably balked initially at the prospect of Matthews as wild-card moderator, the rules were modified and the more informal, “Hardballesque” discussion format jettisoned. The candidates were granted podiums. The questions and follow-ups were Matthews’.

Were they ever. And they were, frankly, more the issue than style.

Matthews did not use his time – an hour less commercial breaks and mini lectures on debate decorum to Max Linn – wisely. The critical statewide issues are taxes, insurance and education. Then add growth management, transportation, oil drilling, economic diversification and illegal immigrants. There’s your future-of-Florida debate.Philosophical underpinnings relating to Terry Schiavo and gay marriage are hardly irrelevant, just less pertinent — and more likely to result in political theater.

Right out of the blocks came a question about Iraq. If nothing else, it put Crist immediately on the defensive for what was – despite Floridians’ service and fatalities – a foreign policy question. It opened up the hyper-critical, “stay the course” floodgates for Davis.

Immediately following was one on civil unions and then a gotcha query about what kind of “conservative” and “liberal” Crist and Davis, respectively, were. Each, to his credit, deftly dodged a narrow labeling. Clearly these were questions more geared to a national “Hardball” audience than Floridians trying to assess gubernatorial bona fides. Later came questions on the election of 2000, Mark Foley and Schiavo. And trite requests to grade Gov. Jeb Bush and President George Bush. A Marion Barry reference directed at Crist was uncalled for.

Sure, there were badgering, “show me the money” questions when it came to fixing the property-insurance and property-tax crises, but nothing about preparing Floridians to compete more effectively in the global economy – given this state’s reputation as a bottom-dweller on standardized-test scores. The FCAT was referenced — typically by Davis — but as part of a “bridge” answer to a different question.

As to style, Matthews’ manner wasn’t anything that a candidate for the highest office in the state should not have been able to handle. Call it a mild mettle detector. It helps to be quick on your rhetorical feet. And you need to handle hectoring with specifics – whether it’s about statewide funding sources, a “paper trail” or where murder fits in the context of (otherwise) declining crime statistics.

There’s a place for Chris Matthews in important debates with national implications, because there’s a place for a format that doesn’t give politicians carte blanche to tap dance around tough questions and constantly “bridge” to their talking points and slam lines. But last week there was also a responsibility for Matthews to have prepared more with Floridians in mind than a national “Hardball” audience craving their political-entertainment fix.

Debate As Circus Maximus

Thanks to a U.S. district judge, brash third party (Reform) gubernatorial candidate Max Linn was allowed into the debate at the literal last minute. Just in time to blindside Crist, Davis and Matthews and change the dynamic – largely to the detriment of Crist and the delight of Eugene Ionesco fans.

The court ruling was based on a recent poll that showed Linn, whose previous polling had maxed out at about 1.0 per cent, at 8.9 per cent. The threshold was 7.0 per cent.

A campaign handler, in lamely explaining the surprise legal turnaround to the media prior to the debate, was notably short on key details – such as who had paid for the poll. It mattered because it was supposed to be an “independent” poll. It was also supposed to be of “likely” voters. But who’s to say last-call customers at Treasure Island beach bars shouldn’t count?