By Sharon Calvert, from Eye on Tampa Bay Almost $760,000 has been paid to the New York baseball lawyer Irwin Raij by Hillsborough County in its pursuit of a new Rays baseball stadium. The handsome sum was paid from October 2014 through July 2019. Raij was paid hundreds …
By Jim Bleyer The guilty pleas entered last week by former Tallahassee Mayor Scott Maddox and a confidante is not the end of public corruption investigations in Florida. That’s the word from Lawrence Keefe, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, and sources at the Federal …
By Jim Bleyer Two months ago the attendance-challenged Tampa Bay Rays could at least boast of a fiercely loyal, though modest, fan base. No more, thanks to Rays owner Stu Sternberg striking out with a far-out proposal to play half a season in Tampa Bay and the other half in …
By Jim Bleyer Horse racing fatalities this year at Santa Anita’s fabled Southern California track have put the Sport of Kings under the scrutiny of politicians, animal rights activists, the media, and the thoroughbred racing industry itself. Thirty horses died in racing or training since Christmas at Santa …
2019 Haskell Invitational, Monmouth Park’s premiere event, was witnessed by sparser-than-usual crowd. By Clocker Vandalay The battle between animal rights activists and the horse racing industry over whether the sport is inhumane intensified this weekend. If you are keeping score at home, chalk up a major victory …
By Scott Myers, Contributor The recent proposal by Stu Sternberg, with the approval of MLB, to pursue having the Tampa Bay Rays, beginning in 2024, play 35 home games per season in Tampa Bay and 46 in Montreal is fraught …
By Jim Bleyer Former hedge fund manager turned sports franchise owner Jeff Vinik continues to ply his trade in stocks: laughing ones. Vinik’s Tampa Bay Lightning, overwhelming 9-5 favorites at the outset of the recently-concluded National Hockey League playoffs, continue to be the butt of standup jokes and …
By Jim Bleyer The attendance-challenged Tampa Bay Rays are exiting the area sooner rather than later. The team and Major League Baseball make that clear yesterday by announcing they will explore sharing home games with the city of Montreal. Splitting an 81-game home schedule between two cities 1,300 …
By Jim Bleyer The Florida Department of State has notified Jeff Vinik that his corporation, Tampa Bay Sports and Entertainment LLC, may be in non-compliance with state statutes and, therefore, subject to fines. The company has been doing business in Florida since 2010 but never registered as a …
By Jim Bleyer Jeff Vinik selling the Tampa Bay Lightning would never enter the mind of most local hockey fans but the idea is not at all far-fetched. In fact, over the next 15 months it is rated a 50-50 proposition to those paying close attention to the machinations …
