Category: Uncategorized

* Whatever the outcome of plans to build a new Rays ballpark amid the redevelopment of the 86-acre, Tropicana Field site, there is a familiar, sobering reality. This is still an atypical, asymmetrical market with no mass transit. A stadium belongs in Tampa Bay’s hub, not fringe—where the closest market to the west is Galveston. We also have issues about corporate headquarters and fan fealty to other home-town markets. St. Pete is not Atlanta’s Battery area.

* “I think that we see the potential in the Tampa market dramatically different than we see Oakland.” That was Commissioner Rob Manfred; MLB has given Oakland permission to explore a move to Las Vegas.

* When it comes to Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes, they’re both GOATs. The “Greatest Of All Time” and the “Greatest of Another Time.” Ultimately, history will make the call.

* It’s now 20 years since an American male (Andy Roddick) won a Grand Slam Men’s singles title (U.S. Open).

* “I don’t put up with bullies. And when you kick back, it hurts them more if you’re wearing heels.” That was Republican Nikki Haley, former South Carolina governor and U.N. ambassador, in announcing her candidacy for president—and sending an obvious signal to the ultimate—although unnamed–GOP bully.

* “Vichy Republicans.”–GOPsters for Trump.

* Sarah *uckabee Sanders: “The choice is between normal and crazy.” It sure is.

* Trump is reportedly considering bringing back firing squads if he returns to the presidency. In short, gather ‘round and circle up.

* “America First” or “America Cursed”?

* “Trump of the Tropics:” Nickname for Jair Bonsonaro, the former right-wing president of Brazil.

* As for those Mike Pence classified documents found in his Indiana home: Reportedly Pence was surprised and disappointed by such docs, but embarrassed by the discovery of his Trump bobble head collection.

* “We are really closer to that doomsday.”–Former Mongolian President Elbegdorj Tsakhia, at the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists’ annual rating announcement of how close the world is to a nuclear “doomsday.” The Russian-Ukrainian war has moved the “Doomsday Clock” to 90 seconds before midnight. The Atomic Scientists had previously projected in minutes, not seconds.

* “Nothing is off the table.”–UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, in reference to military help for Ukraine.

* “China wants to see prolonged war in Ukraine, because it will divert the West from China while China is getting energy at low prices from Russia.”–Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu.

* Being homosexual isn’t a crime.”–Pope Francis.

* “Former Speaker Tip O’Neill famously said, ‘All politics is local.’ That’s no longer true. All politics is national now because Congress no longer plays its role as the arena where political disputes are settled through a robust legislative process.”–Jonah Goldberg, The Dispatch.

* “How is it possible that I have fewer classified documents in my house than the last few White House Administrations? Edward Snowden.

* “There’s only one way forward here, and it’s for Congress to raise the debt ceiling … Any deviations from that path would be highly risky.”–Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.

* “It will be a difficult year, but it won’t won’t be a year of recession.”–Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics.

* “You don’t fight crime by becoming criminals yourself.”–Al Sharpton, on the brutal death of Tyre Nichols at the hands of Memphis police.

* “America is not past our prime. It’s just that our politicians are past theirs.”–Nikki Haley, in calling for mandatory mental competency tests for pols over 75.

* “(I hope his) courage will serve as an example for others.”–U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, in praising Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, who checked himself into a treatment center for clinical depression.

* “Great Caesar’s bust is on the shelf, and I don’t feel so well myself.”–Poet Arthur Guiterman.

* “In Florida, we’ve seen so many people sent to the death penalty that were innocent. It shouldn’t be easy to kill someone.”–Former Democratic state Sen. Randolph Bracy.

* “Nothing says you oppose ideology on college campuses… like pushing your ideology on college campuses.”–State Rep. Ana Eskamani, D-Orlando.

* “This is really the safe bet.”–St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch, referring to his choice of the Hines/Rays proposal for the redevelopment of Tropicana Field.

* “Water Street Tampa’s highly sought-after attributes and Tampa’s pro-business climate create an ideal environment for our company to attract and retain talent.”–Kevin Phillips, managing partner of PEI Global Partners, which will open a Water Street Florida headquarters early next year.

Once again we are reminded that we are among the few cities lucky enough to have a big signature parade. In fact, it’s a doubleheader. We just had 6-figure crowds lining Bayshore to watch the Children’s Gasparilla. It’s the largest kids’ event in the U.S. It has a sponsor, Chick-fil-A, and ranges from a bicycle safety rodeo and marching bands to an air invasion and fireworks. More than 100 floats and 50 krewes take part. It’s nothing like the children’s parade used to be: a couple of floats and a handful of parent-monitoring tykes on trikes.

One other thing. This is “Seas the Day” Tampa at its best. It even looks like Tampa–black, brown and white–and sounds like Tampa–English and Spanish–as Tampa bead-bearing kids ride in wagons or on their fathers’ shoulders. It’s an alcohol free celebration of Tampa.

Then there’s the big one, the Gasparilla Pirate Fest this Saturday. Only problem: It’s not alcohol free and thus no longer Tampa at its best. While Tampa police have done a laudable job in reining in some of the worst behaviors, a rite of pissage still prevails for too many who begin drinking before noon.

Maybe we don’t need a doubleheader.

* “We’re true partners, the three of us.”–President Joe Biden in reference to Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the North American Leaders Summit in Mexico City.

* Sturm und drang alert: “Now that Democrats no longer have one-party rule in Washington, oversight and accountability are coming.” That was Republican Rep. James Comer, chairman of the House Oversight Committee. In other words, they’ll be accountable for putting Hunter Biden back in the news cycle.

* Given the GOP’s control of the House, grass roots commitments, efforts at voter suppression and hardcore Trump fealty, Dems can hardly afford unforced errors. But here we are: President Joe Biden’s White House document security, Hunter Biden’s lap top and coattail-riding in Ukraine, Andrew Gillum’s frought character, Hillary Clinton’s emails and connection to Anthony the Weinermobile. Rick Scott still probably appreciates Alex Sink’s phone call during their gubernatorial debate. Dems have enough issues with party unity, a less-than-stellar bench and continued GOP efforts to make voting more problematic. Unforced errors should be unacceptable.

* “I think Cuba is weaponizing immigration to get Biden to cede on sanctions.”–Orlando Gutierrez, head of the Cuban Resistance Assembly in Miami.

* Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-NY, has introduced a bill requiring federal office candidates to provide details of their education, employment and military service UNDER OATH. Torres, no surprise, calls it the SANTOS Act. It literally stands for “Stop Another Non-Truthful Office Seeker” Act. Makes you wonder if legislative staffs include an acronym specialist.

* “MAGA”: Making America Grifter Attractive.

* If we keep finding ourselves saying “That’s not who we are,” then maybe that’s who we are.

* Remember when “You’re looking great!” didn’t mean “for your age”?

* One redeeming thing about egotists: They don’t talk about other people.

* “Doodie Calls”–Port-a-let signage before Gasparilla.

* “Doonesbury” deserves—more than ever—to get off the comics page and on to the editorial page. No way does partisan political satire deserve context with “Pickles,” “Rubes,” “Zits” and “Blondie.”

* More from Prince Harry: Spare me.

* “Perhaps lack of thinking and intellectual depth in our politics is caused by instruments and websites that do the thinking for us. Where have all the intellectuals gone?”–Cal Thomas, Tribune Content Agency.

* “There’s something very seductive about being a television star.”–Donald Trump.

* Less secular sorts may disagree, but Tarpon Springs’ annual big-splash Epiphany celebration deserves something less than mega media attention, including Tampa Bay Times’ page one, above-the-fold coverage. If, indeed, there were a journalistic dawning, would that be an epiphany?

* The Tampa Bay metro area has increased by more than 14 percent over the last decade.

* “Vibrant, downtown Tampa.” Remember when that was an oxymoron?

* “Now there’s no top leadership in the Legislature out of Tampa Bay.”–Former state Senate President Tom Lee of Brandon.

* Nearly 200 firearms were stolen from unlocked vehicles in 2022. There’s carelessness—leaving your car unlocked—and then there’s societal enabling of violent street crimes.

* It was no shock that far-right former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro didn’t hang around for the inauguration of his successor (Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva), the one who had defeated him in a run-off. There then followed an assault on Brazil’s capital Brasilia by Bolsonaro supporters who claimed the election was not won legally. It was eerily similar to Washington’s Jan. 6 insurrection.

So where does a Western Hemisphere autocrat head to? Florida. Initially near Orlando. Beyond that? Trump always has room in his Guilded Elba for a fellow despot.

* There are now two black county GOP chairpersons: Hillsborough’s Dana Golen and Palm Beach’s Michael Bennett.

* From 2013-20, Florida universities received nearly $1 billion from Chinese entities.

* “We seek normalcy, not philosophic lunacy. We will never surrender to the woke mob.”–Gov. Ron Desantis, at his inauguration. The obvious takeaway: the self-serving context and definition of “normalcy” are not unlike those for “freedom.”

* DeSantis’ “Stop WOKE Act” takes acronyming to ridiculous depths as he has dubbed the law the “Stop Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees Act. Well, we can go even lower. No butts about it. How about a gubernatorial acronym? Another Self Serving Hijacking Of Legal Expertise.

* Among the presumed Heisman Trophy contenders for next season: the University of Washington’s Michael Penix, an alumnus of Tampa Bay Tech.

* Why did Tom Brady unretire for the 2022 season? First, because he is Tom Brady. A GOAT can make that call and get GOAT money for an otherwise QB-challenged team. Second, he had won a Super Bowl here and came close enough the following season. Maybe there was more magic, even with all the roster chaos. Third, it’s never easy to leave center stage. Sure, he has his well-known brand, his lucrative investments, a rich broadcast-analyst contract awaiting, an ongoing podcast and an “80 for Brady” movie that has even enthralled Jane Fonda.

But life is different when you no longer have the ultimate center-stage forum for your talent. It can never be the same. Even iconic quarterbacks who no longer had their prime-time games–think Johnny Unitas and Joe Namath–couldn’t resist one final year, however humbling and embarassing.

But this we do know: Brady can still play—even at a position that increasingly focuses on mobility, hardly Brady’s strength. But he can only be Brady if he’s surrounded by enough talent to have a shot at next year’s Super Bowl. The Bucs, with their roster-and-draft tumult, are not that team.

* There are injuries, retirements, free-agent exits and draft decisions. It’s NFL parity. Don’t just cite the Bucs. Just ask the defending Super Bowl champion (5-12) LA Rams. BTW, for all the disappointments—and staff firings—the Bucs remain the only team in the NFC to reach the playoffs in each of the past three seasons.