Sticks of Fire: a Tampa blog

As I sit here perusing Sticks of Fire this morning, trying to present some guise of work that will keep The Man off my back, I’m listening to a group of co-workers hanging around the company coffee pot, prattling on about American Idol.

It amazes me to no end how a glorified karaoke contest can capture the attention of not just Americans but millions of other TV zombies around the world (it was called Pop Idol in the UK, ya know; Katie Couric didn’t know that the other morning, but I digress). It also brought to mind just how popular karaoke has remained in all the various bars around Tampa.  I’d much rather watch local folks singing their hearts out in person instead of on TV.

I used to hang out at Good Time Charlie’s on Waters Avenue and was actually impressed with how well some of those folks performed. Lately I’ll stop in at Elmer’s on MacDill Avenue on Saturday nights to check out the local talent. I’ve even seen a few amateurs jump up on stage with the legendary JGLB over the years and nobody ever got hurt.

So my question to you, fellow SOF faithful, is which karaoke joint in town do you think is the best? Also, if you’re good enough to sing with a live band, who would it be?

You may remember when Busch Gardens was called Busch Gardens:  The Dark Continent.  Well they are changing the name again, this time to “Busch Gardens Africa.”  I guess it is some sort of fervent attempt to counter the growing success of Disney’s Animal Kingdom further on up I-4.

Maybe they should call it “Busch Gardens: We Give Up.”

It’s one thing to surrender at the feet of Mickey Mouse in the constant battle for the minds, hearts and money of tourists. Yes there is a savanna with real jungle animals and that Egypt area is pretty cool, but re-stamping Africa on a longtime theme park runs the risk of pigeonholing its broader appeal.

But what may be worse is the one in Williamsburg is being renamed “Busch Gardens Europe.” I always thought one of the most appealing things there was its connection to Colonial America. With that name it looks like we’re giving it back to King George III.

Maybe it’ll work out fine and I’m fretting over nothing. But if they ever start messing with the beer samples there’s gonna be trouble!

Huge props to Saturday’s Trib for comparing the D-Rays’ changing ownership to that of the Lightning almost seven years ago. It’s the same thing as before: a new owner with deeper pockets comes in to put more money into players, facilities, etc.

Millions of dollars later, the Bolts claim a championship (2004 Stanley Cup), putting them in the same standing as the Bucs (Super Bowl XXXVII) and even the Storm (not one, not two, but five ArenaBowls).

Now it’s the Rays’ turn. Whether Sternberg & Co. have enough millions and patience to wait for a championship someday remains to be seen, or even if the new colors inside that barn known as Tropicana Field inspire new hustle by the players. Getting rid of those goofy leaves on the outfield walls is enough to make me want to run the bases again.

No matter what happens this season, it’s still better than the old order, led by a humorless boss who evidently treated police as badly as he treated fans.

Hope springs eternal on Opening Day. Who’s willing to give Tampa Bay baseball one more chance?

“freedom of speech … just watch what you say”

That is evidently what happened with Cowhead at 98Rock. Some things you just can’t utter over the airwaves, and some folks just don’t like barroom language and toilet humor.

Radio Rule No. 1 should be: Don’t invite anybody on your show that you wouldn’t let in your house. No they can’t break or steal anything on the air, and it’s a problem if you can’t trust them to keep from dropping an f-bomb over a live mic.

But let’s look at just how much of this is really 98Rock’s problem. Playing it safe over the last two years since punting Bubba didn’t work that well, and they know edgy conversation on local topics draws more listeners than piping in out-of-town blabbers.

Now 98Rock is reaping what it has sown. They absolutely loved Bubba The Love Sponge as long as the money rolled in and complaints were kept quiet. But how things change when the FCC hits them with huge fines, followed by negative publicity. Only then did they put up an appearance of “repentance.” (To be fair, Bubba tried to make himself bigger than his employer. Lots of people lose their jobs that way.)

Clear Channel Communications, the station’s owner, are just as much to blame. Had they not built a near-monopoly network of radio stations throughout Tampa Bay, maybe satellite radio would still seem like a bogus money scheme. Now they’re driving all their loyal listeners straight to Sirius and XM.

At this rate, people will soon listen to free radio only during hurricanes and breaking news.

In the meantime, I’ve got plenty of CDs I haven’t heard in a while…

In case you need something else other than “American Idol” to watch on TV tonight (sorry Melissa McGhee, but knock ‘em dead anyway), you should check out “Sons & Daughters” on ABC at 9. USF alum Greg Pitts is among the cast. You’ll likely recognize him as Drew from “Office Space.” Here’s hoping his career reignites. He’s probably tired of hearing all those “oh, oh, oh” references by now.

Imagine my delight when I turned onto Gandy the other day, rode past Clear Channel and saw the glorious message on the marquee declaring Cowhead’s return to morning drive on 98Rock.  No, I hadn’t tuned in over the past month or so because, frankly, I just gave up on Tampa radio for a while.

It’s been a tumultuous two years for the folks at WXTB-FM since they had to bounce the self-proclaimed superstar off the air (insiders say he had it coming). They tried one false starter after another and nothing seemed to work. Things got so bad I was tuning into WUSF on the way to work, until it started affecting my libido and not in a good way.

Maybe it was a stroke of luck that, when Infinity lost patience last summer with its Outlaw format and decided to go Espanol, Cowhead became a free agent again. Thankfully somebody at 98Rock was paying attention and remembered this guy was the real reason Bubba’s show was a success.  Especially when Bubba was far more interested in “goin’ national” than talking to his loyal local listeners. (How’s that working out for you, Todd? I’m still looking for those Sirius billboards and bumper stickers around town.)

If you haven’t heard Cowhead lately, push the preset (97.9FM) on your car radio the night before, turning up the volume just loud enough that you don’t spill coffee all over the dashboard. Better yet, set your clock radio and don’t even bother hitting snooze. Thank you, Cowhead, for giving us a reason to wake up again!

In a move tantamount to those Mohammed cartoons that are still causing an uproar far from our peaceful shores, a group of University of Michigan fans have taken a similar swipe against my beloved coach, Bear Bryant.

Once you see the link, you realize it’s all in good fun and well within First Amendment rights. I’ll be very disappointed if my fellow Bama fans get overly upset about all this. After all, we’re talking about a national institution here and besides that, any other college football icon (Woody Hayes, Steve Spurrier, et al) wouldn’t draw as good a parallel.

Personally, I’m way more upset about the fact that the Tide basketball team led by as many as 18 points before losing to Arkansas Tuesday night on ESPN. Incidentally, Bryant hailed from Arkansas. Yeah I know, so did Bill Clinton. Don’t even get me started!

Editor’s note:  Nope.  This has nothing to do with Tampa Bay.  Nothing at all.  But it’s funny.  And topical.  Besides, if the Times can do a front page story about Chuck Norris jokes…

We love the Bucs! But do they love us back?

The Glazers keep trying to push the check for those bogus patdowns mandated by the NFL at Bucs home games over to the Tampa Sports Authority, which have been picking up the tab for years for practically every other expense at RayJay.You’d think they would be more willing to spring for something as important to all of us as security. Maybe they blew their fortune on the world’s richest soccer team instead. Or it could be they’re so used to passing over to the taxpayers that they just don’t think about it that much anymore.

We might be more forgiving if they would ever bother talking to their fans.

Think about it: You already pay a fortune for game tickets, parking, overpriced food and drink, etc., etc. If you were married to someone who cost you this much and treated you this badly, you’d have already filed for divorce. So how much longer are you gonna put up with this?I already have a plan for next season: Take all the money I would have spent on Bucs tickets and use it to buy a really big HDTV. Bet I’d still have some left over for Sunday beers.