Put A Governor On It, Charley

Enough of the speculation about Gov. Charlie Crist’s chances to be John McCain’s vice presidential running mate. And that includes trying to interpret the environmental tea leaves over his comments about oil drilling off the coast of Florida and any calculated offset by the state’s purchase of U.S. Sugar and Everglades’ restoration. And it also includes critiques of Crist’s California stump speech from hell.

There won’t be a Vice President Crist, even if McCain secretly thinks Dan Quayle was the best veep choice ever.

Crist would be a fatal distraction, just the sort of thing a poll-challenged candidate trying to find a niche – other than faux maverick and conservative light – couldn’t live with. Crist’s track record as governor would be scrutinized – and then everyone would know that on the two biggest Florida issues — property taxes and insurance — he had turned into a glib empty suit, albeit a well-tanned, bi-partisan one.

And that bachelor status — and all that can connote — would be an affront, however outrageously unfair, to all those GOP evangelicals who block vote.

Charlie needs to concentrate on his day job – and worry more about a Gov. Iorio scenario.

Cuban Claims Update

Fidel Castro’s departure from power and the prospect of a different foreign-policy approach to Cuba by an Obama Administration have led to increased speculation about American claims against the Cuban government over lost property. According to the U.S. Foreign Claims Settlement Commission, there are about 6,000 certified claims of Americans who had lost property or other assets to nationalization. The claims, most of which involved commercial land or debts, are valued at about $6 billion.

Some salient points:

>Under U.S. law, the 46-year-old trade embargo can’t be lifted absent a settlement of the certified claims.

>The claims of exiles were not certified. Certification only applies to those who were American citizens at the time of expropriations.

>Cuba has settled all of its property claims with other countries.

>Realistically speaking, we’re talking pennies on the dollar here.

>Moreover, the Cuban government has some interesting counter-claims. It figures the economic damages from the embargo amount to $190 billion.

>And President Bush recently filled an FCSC opening. The new commissioner? Cuban exile Ralph Martinez, the brother of Florida Republican Sen. Mel Martinez.

Language Police

Granted, it’s kind of picky, but I thought that during a time of war we had gotten past the point where we would routinely use the metaphors of real life-and-death combat to apply to athletes.

The Tampa Bay Lightning, which has been impressively aggressive in upgrading the team, recently signed high-profile, left wing Ryan Malone. The team’s official statement underscored the rationale: “He fits our strategic plan of adding quality players with a warrior mentality.”

Out of respect for real “warriors” – as well as the gritty game of hockey – why not be straight-forward and honest: “He’s an excellent winger who’s also a tough guy, and we like tough guys.”

And while we’re on the subject of words that need never surface again in the context of athletics: swagger. As in, “This team’s (University of Miami football comes to mind) been down for a while. What they need is to get their swagger back.”

Oh.

Can’t a team be good – or regain its formidable status – without resorting to the boorish antics of arrogant, look-at-me, pseudo intimidation? Shouldn’t sports at least attempt to be an upgrade from exactly this kind of behavior?

Payoff Pitch

Those who are politically pragmatic agree that Barack Obama should help Hillary Clinton retire her debt. Even given the circumstances under which it was incurred. That such an insider scenario seriously undermines Obama’s claim to be that refreshingly different kind of candidate is also acknowledged.

How to reconcile?

Easy. Have Hillary Clinton announce that she is writing another book: “How I Lost The Primary I Was Entitled To” – and then wait for the advances to roll in.

Wastebasket Of Africa

Let’s see if we have this right.

Zimbabwe used to be the self-sufficient, “Breadbasket” of Africa. Now, it’s a basket case.

Today it has the highest inflation rate in the world (165,000 per cent – that’s not a misprint) and an 80 per cent unemployment rate. And President Robert Mugabe has given tyrant a bad name by unleashing a terror campaign against his political opposition that has converted his own political defeat into a sham re-election. His erstwhile opponent, Morgan Tsvangirai, the one who defeated him in the March 29 presidential election, is in hiding after Mugabe’s marauders intimidated, tortured and murdered members of his opposition party.

So, how bad was Rhodesia?

Recalling The Rowdies: Much More Than Nostalgia

It looks like professional soccer — in the form of a United Soccer League franchise — is headed back our way. The new team, which plans to play in a new, customized facility in North Tampa by 2010, will be called the “Rowdies.” As in the old Rowdies of North American Soccer League fleeting fame a generation ago.

It has already sparked its share of nostalgia by those who recall Pele sightings at Tampa Stadium, crowds that occasionally topped 50,000, the region’s initial validation as “big league” and Tampa Bay’s first pro team and championship (1975). It also has prompted bemusement and ridicule by those who loathe the low-scoring sport and all those “1-nil” games.

But the old Rowdies’ legacy is more than cherry-picked highlights and sports revisionism. Around here, the Rowdies wrote the book on how to market a sports franchise — even the alien likes of soccer, which the rest of the world calls football.

The overriding premise was that attending a game was not some civic responsibility to support “your” team. The challenge was formidable: This was Florida; this was soccer; this was a place with, arguably, better things to do.

It meant free clinics to educate a following and it meant player accessibility – including the ones making the most money. And those players fanned out across the market — from junior highs and Kiwanis Clubs to malls and local pubs. Appearances were never token.

It also meant an attitude. The player-ambassadors were extensions of those ubiquitous bumper stickers that impishly reminded “fannies” that the Rowdie experience was “a kick in the grass.” And you could bring your family to games without fear of being grossed out by beer-bellied louts.

It helped that the players were uniformly nice guys with clipped British accents who seemed to enjoy a good charm offensive. On a Friday night, you could find a number of them at the old Boneshakers in Hyde Park – not some strip joint. Players never made the police blotter for DUIs, drugs or pregnant girlfriend-cuffing.

The Rowdies’ less-than-subliminal message: The onus is on us to make you like us, understand our game and want to root for the home team. We take nothing, especially your patronage, for granted.

Over the years, that memo has been read — and grasped — by the Tampa Bay Lightning and the post-Naimoli, Tampa Bay Rays. No arrogance. No sense of entitlement.

Did I leave anyone out?

Rays Need To Raise Awareness

The Tampa Bay Rays obviously have done a lot right so far this year. From the on-field product to fan-friendly promotions, including those after-game concerts.

But here’s a suggestion, prompted by a recent visit to the Trop during the Rays-Cubs series. Consider offering a “Baseball Protocol 101” service. It can be easily done in a light-hearted, funny way – using the Rays’ Web site as well as Trop video screen and handouts. But it needs doing if fans of baseball, not just event-goers, are to become satisfied customers.

The Trop’s sightlines are good, except when someone is standing is front of you. But this happens too often – and is almost always avoidable.

There will always be a constant flow of spectators to the refreshment areas, and certainly the Rays don’t want to discourage profit-center patronage. But how about a little old-school, common courtesy from those cycling back and forth multiple times during a game? Please — and maybe you know who you are — be mindful of when you exit your row and then return to your seat. It’s really important to those who are there to actually see the game. Baseball – of all sports – has plenty of stoppage time. Just use it.

Here’s the rule of thumb, one that used to prevail when games were mainly attended by hard-core fans:

1) Save the “excuse me, excuse me, excuse me” apologias for between innings.

2) Timing, of course, is hardly an exact science. So, between batters is still good.

3) Between pitches, however, is not so good. One or more (pitches) are sure to be obstructed. Solution: Crouch at the end of the row until the next batter. It won’t be long. There’s plenty of precedent.

4) Don’t even think about leaving or returning to your seat without regard to the ongoing game — as if you were at an Adam Sandler movie or Andrew Dice Clay concert. This is totally unacceptable. It’s beyond cluelessness; it’s rude.

I say if Lifestyle Family Fitness can regularly remind members — via humorous video animation — that it is unacceptable to not re-rack weights, leave apparatus seats sweaty and use inappropriate language, then the Rays can entertainingly inform their customers about proper baseball etiquette.

Those Other Allegiances At The Trop

According to a very unscientific, personally conducted poll among regular Rays’ fans at a recent Rays-Cubs game, there is a decided difference between Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cub followers at the Trop.

Red Sox fans, I was told, have this entitlement thing going now and are often intolerable. As in, “We’re good; you’re not; know your place.” As in, sit somewhere else.

Cub fans, on the other hand, are acutely aware that the franchise has gone a century without a World Series winner. It makes them – in their heart of hearts – fatalistic. They know another black cat, playoff meltdown or Son of Bartman awaits.

Cub fans may be loud, but it’s not personal. They may even feel some old Rays’ pain.

Gayle Sierens: Home-Grown Success

She is an anomaly in her high-profile, fast-lane business.

For more than 30 years, Tampa’s Gayle Sierens has been on air with WFLA-TV, Channel 8 – the last 23 as a news co-anchor. Such longevity is uncommon.

The Tampa Catholic grad, now 53, is the friendly, “aw shucks” girl next door who made it big in her hometown. Such scenarios are rare, especially when your home city is the hub of one of the biggest media markets in the country.

And it helps explain why Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio designated a “Gayle Sierens Day” last year.

“The people of this community have watched her grow up on TV – get married, have three children,” explains Iorio. “She is part of our community’s personality, a part of what makes us feel collectively like a family.”

Only this family favorite is on local TV twice nightly, five nights a week. She’s the one who’s covered presidents, a pope, a Super Bowl and a Stanley Cup. The one who has become an avatar of empathy to viewers who know the news is rarely nice.

“There are prettier and probably smarter,” says Sierens. “But at the end of the day, it’s really about trust and a comfort level. I look for ways to say ‘Here’s how it might affect you.’ There are stories where you can give voice to the voiceless.”

And yet her off-air presence in the community arguably has even more impact. And it’s a lot more than those ubiquitous Sierens sightings at Publix that turn heads and turn into ad hoc aisle “reunions” with folks she’s never met.

Anyone who’s ever been touched by the Judeo-Christian Health Clinic, the Salvation Army, the Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs of Greater Tampa, the Child Abuse Council, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, the Joshua House, the Holocaust Museum or the Girl Scouts West Central Florida, knows that Sierens is more than a “TV personality.” She’s emceed countless luncheons and fund-raising galas and sits on a myriad of boards. She’s also been on the receiving end of both the JCHC’s and the Holocaust Museum’s “Humanitarian of the Year” awards.

“Gayle is such a special gift to our community,” underscores Sylvia Campbell, M.D., the president of JCHC. “She gives so much of herself, both heart and soul, to anyone in need.”

Sierens and her husband of 21 years, Mike Martin, routinely open their Tampa home for meetings of Young Life, a Christian ministry for kids. Their three teenagers, Cameron, Luke and Maddie, are participants.

Gayle, Mike and family also take Christian activism on the road. Last summer they spent 10 days in Arusha, Tanzania, helping to build a youth center — and cross-cultural bridges — as part of their Young Life commitment. And Mike, the owner of “Mike’s Pies,” is a key culinary cog in “A Helping Hand,” a monthly dinner for vets (who have suffered head trauma) and their families at James A. Haley Veterans Hospital.

They are now hard-pressed to find the time to use their get-away home in the North Georgia gated community of Big Canoe. The beach doesn’t beckon for the fair-skinned Sierens.

“She doesn’t just lend her name,” says long-time friend and former WFLA colleague Suzanne Bates. “She’s been in charge of capital campaigns. She’s way beyond what most busy people with careers could do. She has the energy of 10 people.”

Sometimes that energy is expended on Bayshore Boulevard, where Sierens can be found several mornings a week briskly walking with a bunch of girlfriends. At least weekly the athletic, 5’9″ Sierens will be at Palma Ceia Country Club playing golf.

Then there are the “therapy/workout” sessions around her spacious, Cape Cod-style house in South Tampa. Mike mows the lawn; she’s the constant gardener. And Sierens highly recommends using a post-hole digger for a “great, upper-body workout.”

Her front yard would do an English country garden justice. Meticulous and colorful, it typically features her two flowering favorites: pansies and geraniums.

“Sure, it’s therapy,” acknowledges Sierens. “It makes me happy. I like to see what I can create. And, yes, I like being sweaty and dirty.”

To neighbors in her Bayshore Beautiful neighborhood, the Sierens’ spadework is a cosmetic bonus. Gayle and Mike’s place is better known as the go-to house for couples’ dinner parties and all manner of social gatherings — especially when there is a game involved. Sports is huge in the Martin household.

Mike is a former linebacker at the University of Kentucky and was drafted by the Chicago Bears. In a previous incarnation Gayle, a Florida State University grad, had been a sports reporter and anchor. Swimming was her best sport in high school.

Their kids are all student-athletes. Cam now plays football for Michigan State University and Luke played for Plant High School last season. Maddie is an All-State and All-American volleyball player at Plant.

“Their house is like a community house,” says neighbor Lisa Jacobson. “They host all kinds of things. And they don’t cater. They both cook.

“What’s important to know about Gayle,” adds Jacobson, “is that she’s authentic. She’s a great girlfriend to have – and she’s absolutely passionate about her family.”

A passion that’s fortified with a strong sense of discipline.

“You do the best you can,” says Sierens. “Our lives are going every which way. We try to sit down and have a family dinner (7:30) at least twice a week. Sometimes I have to remind them (kids) that’s it’s their role to ask; they don’t tell. I’m not their best friend, but we probably have our ‘best friend’ moments.

“I love what I do,” underscores Sierens. “It’s just not the number one thing in my life. That would be kind of empty. But don’t get me wrong. To make your living in your home town is a blessing.”

A Sierens Media Sampler

Gayle Sierens joined NBC affiliate WFLA in 1977 as a sports reporter and weekend anchor. In 1985 she was promoted to news co-anchor with Bob Hite. She has won Florida Emmy Awards in both sports and news. In 1987 she became the first woman to do play-by-play for a National Football League game.

*”‘The baseball team lost today’ was as bad as it got in sports. News was serious. I had to work harder to know the material better.”

*”Sometimes the news is overwhelming. It’s hard to shake. You’re not human if you just walk out after work. I turn the radio off in the car and reflect. Or pray.”

* “Barely a day goes by when there isn’t a story about something or someone I know. You have to work at neutrality.”

Family Tales

*”On the weekends, I’m off the clock.” – Gayle Sierens*”Mike and I split the cooking. He’s the real cook. He does spices. I cook the basics. The crock pot is my friend.” – Gayle Sierens

*”I stress to my kids that you can either be a giver or a taker in life. And you want to be a giver.” – Gayle Sierens

*”‘Mr.Sierens?’ I get that all the time. It doesn’t bother me. I knew that going in. And I get to be her escort to all kinds of things.” – Mike Martin

*”We still love each other madly. Family always comes first. We never waver.” – Mike Martin

*”We were on our honeymoon and somebody recognized her at the Arc de Triomphe.” – Mike Martin

*”She never meets strangers, and people are always recognizing her. We were in the Bahamas and somebody knew her.” – Maddie Martin

*”It’s kind of cool when everybody knows your mom. But sometimes it can take like an hour after church because she has to say hello to everybody. She won’t stop talking.” – Luke Martin