* Once again Tampa’s Lou Piniella came close to joining baseball’s Hall of Fame as a manager. Ironically, his 3-year, all-losing tenure with his home-market TB Rays likely cost him HoF status.
* Florida State’s only meaningful response to the College Football Playoff Final Four snub is to beat Georgia in the Orange Bowl. But that’s not likely.
* The ReliaQuest Bowl: At least the Outback Bowl sounded more like a bowl game than a naming-rights ad. But it could be worse: The 1-800-ASK-GARY Bowl.
* Remember when bowls were a sign of a successful season? With 40 bowls–from Famous Toastery to Pop-Tarts–and 80 teams, it no longer even requires a winning record.
* Shout out to FSU Women, who are NCAA soccer champs—for the fourth time.
* Tampa will host the 2025 Women’s Basketball Final Four. Earlier this month Tampa hosted the 2023 Women’s Volleyball Final Four.