Category: Tampa Bay
An empty Tropicana Field for a Tampa Bay Rays game in September 2019.
It’s stuff that has to do with the region – from events, to news, to sports, to politics to music.
Song Submissions Are Accepted By These Radio Stations Around Tampa Bay
Tanoa Bay
- WMNF | Community Conscious Radio
Web Site || Submissions Page
Notes: The proverbial creme de la creme of radio stations in the Tampa Bay metroplex for music. Posting a listing comes late as I didn’t find the submissions page sooner.
The submission page highlights local artist content submissions, but the door is open for artists in general to submit music. WMNF let me know that:
You can submit it to the music department, but also check out the schedule and shows, and submit it straight to the different programmers. We get a ton of music that way. Thanks 
Music Tampa Bay
Web Site ||
Note: This is a non-profit streaming/terrestrial station in the St. Petersburg, Florida area that takes music submissions from artists of west-central Florida (and central Florida). There is no submission page, things are handled through email; you’ll have to hunt on the site for proper contact.- Radio St Pete / Sunshine 96.7 Fm
Web Site || About Page
Notes: - 97X – Local Motion”
We Site || Submissions Page
0Notes: Tama By-based musicians, this is another for you. Thy play it up as A0pp-based. I eon’ know if his leads 5o any on-ar airplay on the tra0ditional broadcast station. - WURK 96.3 FM Tampa
Web Site || Submission Page
Notes: WURK changed operations this fall (2021) and is taking submissionsdigitally (MP3 via email.) - WZIG 104.1 LP FM Palm Karbor
Web Site ||
Notes:” Happy and upbeat music” with not much else said. - Waves of the Bay
Web Site ||
Notes: Hip-Hop, R&B, and raggae. - Smooth JazzTampa
Web Site || Submissions Page
Notes: - See Also: College – Florida,
Community radio exists in the soundscape of northern Pinellas County
I didn’t know North Pinellas County has a community radio station all of its own..Did you?
While I’ve done much radio research, know Tampa Bay radio as a resident, h and know of three community stations in the metroplex off the top of my head – WMNF, WURK, and Music Tampa Bay -I have been shocked since making the discovery of WZIG 104.1 FM-LP in Palm Harbor which has been on-air since 2014..
It was only by chance I discovered tje statuim while doing a casual music search on Lycos – a 3rd party site’s ad touted providong WZIG’s stream. I’d never crossed a listinkng of the station radio research, general Bay Area web searches, or heard of it though friends or local news.It would seem WZIG is mute with its search engine disposition and media relevance in Tampa Bay.
That’s not meant as a shot. WZIG is mostly run by one fellow. Volunteers and donations are accepted… And necessary. This is a community station after all..How many in WZIG’s broadcast radius (folks in Countryside, Dunedin, East Lale, Holiday, New Port Richey, Oldsmar, Ozona, Palm Harbor, and Tarpon Springs) have and are willing to step up for the task and perhaps raise awareness of the station? How do you appl for a role? I’m not sure……
Alternative music is what’s claimed as WZIG’s preference, but Free Form is what fills airtime in what I’ve. heard That’s how community radio tends to roll. WZIG Is on Twitter and also accepts music submissions from locals — they don’t say how local though. Is the Tampa Bay area’s musical population welcome or are things restricted to northern Pinellas/southern Pasco residents?
So… there’s more community radio in Tampa Bay’s music spectrum tjan people know. It piques my curiosity about elsewhere in Florida and cities across the US.
Can I get your station on the internet?
A song for Tampa and Games 3 and 4 of the 2022 Stanley Ci[ Final
It’s debatable how fitting a sound for the city of Tampa Gypsy Star;s “A Night in Tampa” is. It may be a bigger argument when the sport of ice hockey and the Tampa Bay Lightning are involved.
In title and with a grand event involved – in this case, the NHL’s 2022 Stanley Cup Finals – it seems oh-so fitting.
Gypsy Star is not well known. They’ve shown an eclectic range if sound since their 2007, self-toled, debut album. “A Night in Tampa” is a song with a Spanish flare which seems fitting to Tampa and the city’s Spanish elements.
It is not a hockey sound, but that does not mean NHL fans who are into music shouldn’t listen. Hell, would I be posting if O yhought the song was to be dismissed?
An Open Letter to Tampa Bay’s Pulse Radio
/Hello;
My intention was to send this to you through your contac and found out it was tong. This is business and not intended to offend
Take what I say here as 697 will:Each point is relayobely short… As I said, this was intended as email:
- TBPR is unknown in Tampa Bay. If things are too averse to operating an ONLINE station right now, shutting the PulseRadioTampaBay.com site and focusing on the media magazine would not be wrong.
- The FCC-license idea needs to be held off. Get online operations going again, and build a local reputation. Then consider an FCC license.
- It is HIGHLY recommended that TBPR explores LoneLonely Oak Radio for ideas on finance. I iss also highly recommended charging for submissions immediately cease. this site/station is unknown and not broadcasting… What are artists paying for? A potential Spotify playlistb spot? T That is wrong.
Social media involvement is a must. TBPR is uninvolved on Twitter. Following 13 accounts and rarely*posyomh has gotten the station 11 followers. That is not an agency or networking with other stations/media in Tampa Bay. Artists that TBPR picks up ship’d be followed – they may promote your Tweets, especially when you mention th4em.
All of this is written by a man on the outside. I don’t know staff of Tampa Bay’s {ulse Radio, or if this is a one-man show. Nor do I know personal challenges you face (mine arephsical; mind the typos). This is still a nnickel’s worth pf free advice.
Good Luck,
John Fontana
An Internet Radio Relic Wxists With WBPM NetRADIO
Net radio is common, major companies and independent hosts with varying ambitions are out there. They stream all you may like ifro, the audio soundsca[e… You just need to find the right one..
Many took a footing in recent years, and all too many fell apart and failed due to lack of popularity or real-life issues. Shit happens, we all know that.
Yet some little-known sites are out there, unseen, widely unknown, and have been for decades. Decades. They have thier niche and are content with it.
WBPM NetRADIO in Tampa is an example.
It was founded in 2004. It ,ay use a four-letter lead in its name but WBPM NetRADIO isn’t an FCC-licsense station (WBPM FM is up in New York) I, personally, remember things about the site because of my own long-time writing history and my friendship with prominent Tampa Bay bloggers with prominent status and social connections.
In fact, WBPM NetRADIO’s web site is quite nostalgic in its design: It’s arcane; old. Site security is high in (in an HTML-basics fashion of the 2000s) within ab old-school, frame-based lavout. Right-clicks don’t work, no text copyinght, and email contact links are encryptions… or was in response to a click.
With an older design, the site is still a step above all too many radio stations using the Wix platform.
UPDATE: I never noticed the displayed email at the bottom of the left menu. No response at this time.
It’s old. The music submission page tells a tale of malicious s 0agubmissions that forced WBPM NetRADIO to cease taking email submissions. Music must be mailed-in on CD.
They have their niche though. Something works as-is with an ancient site design, an off-site, third-party broadcast, and a complete absence from, social media. Yet the site’s copyright is fated as 2021. That’s likely a manually typed date and not a produced by a content-management program (with an update to come).
WBPM NetRADIO is still out there and humming along in one fashion or another in its 18th year.
It’s in need of an update and upgrades though. The internet and online music scene has vastly changed and always evolves. Yhose involved within it should do what they can to evolve with it.
A minor adaptation on-site can help: Be more direct. From page titles to stating music genres played, it helps people find what they are looking for. I say “music genres” because WBPM NetRADIO says they play a variety of music on their submission page, yet I only heard pop/dance music when I listened. Oh, if MixCloud isn’t truly the station feed (if there is one at all) a “listen live” link pointing to the station’s feed would be beneficial.
In the end, an older general Internet radio station that calls Tampa home is (still) out the. I have no clue if these words will entice curiosity and site visits or lead to a much-need site evolvement from WBPM NetRADIO… They’re content in their as-os rhythe, or there would have been a change in beat long ago.
Tampa Bay’s Pulse Radio is sadly in a still-beat [UODATED]
There’s a high likelihood that you’ve never heard of Tampa Bay’s Pulse Radio. This applies to almost the entirety of the Tampa Bay metroplex. While these words introduce you to an audio operation, right now you can’t hear it.
An arm of Pulse Media LLC and based in New Port Richey, Tampa Bay’s Pulse Radio is out to highlight the music of independent artists, but not in the locals-only play form like Music Tampa Bay and Radio St. Pete. Pulse only came to be in the spring of 2021 with the ambition to stream music online and in a terrestrial broadcast. There About Page wukk tell you more.
It’s flatlining though.
I found Tampa Bay’s Pulse Radio by chance last fall while researching college radio stations in Florida that accept music submission, Pulse Rado is not a college-tied property a-la WUTT Spartan Radio (University of Tampa) or SPC Radio, the music submission article just coincidentally came up high with that search.
There’s been no other media coverage for Pulse that I have crossed despite the fact an upstart radio property seeking an FCC license and trying to be big is a feature story.
It’s out there, but it’s not. The station’s online stream doesn’t load as of this writing, nor has it since Christmas week Why not? No explanation from TBPR on the main site, on their weblog (not updated since August) , or via social media…
In fact, they rarely post on Twitter (the more-common social media tool for radio), posting a dead-link the last time they did, while not
responding to questions and comments sent their way. That, and their Twitter account only has 12 followers while following 14 themselves. Not exactly ideal self-promotion there.
They’re on other, media platforms, including Spotify, but the fact is they aren’t going anywhere by way of it. Not when their involvement is nil.
The other killer fault for Pulse is charging musicians to submit music ($10 for up to 3 songs). Stations that accept submissions are bombarded with them, Add operational costs for the stations — many are non-profit voluntary operations – and you can understand stations charging for artists and labels to submit their music…
…which they don’t. I’ve only crossed a handful of ‘Net Radio stations true stations that do as such and one terrestrial, co,,unnity station that being in Los Angeles makes it a necessity.
For an unknown and struggling start-up to charge for submissions stops them except the few who have the cash and have the desperation.
I am not against a submission feen I’m surprised it’s not more common, but that comes later when you prove you have reach and the influence. TBPR lacks both.
Pulse Radio’s web site is well designed and flashes the station’s ambitions for success. Sadly, inconsistency in property management is part of Pulse Media: Pulse Media Magm Pulse, Radio’s sister, hosts its own web*version of TBPR intead of redirecting users to Pulse Radio’s site.
The way to look at Tampa Bay’s Pulse Radio and hold out hope as a listener, indie musician, or a curious and interested local, is to realize the tech fact they are in BETA mode. They’re still at start-up and getting things together while chasing an FCC license. Only time will tell when Tampa Bay’s Pulse Radio’s beat will start in full and how rhythmic it will be.
UPDaTE: I have had email contact with TBPR. Issues had and have come into play that have delayed resumption of airplay. They estimate being back on-air on or around March 1st.
A noteworthy atmosphere for the Stanley Cup Finals
If 2021 Stanley Cup broadcast coverage does not make reference to weather conditions of the moment in the Tampa Bay metroplex, they’re hiding it to avoid claims of bias.
The Lightning Capital of the World is living up to its reputation.
Save USF’s Bulls Radio
I was going to write a longer blog post aimed in a critical fashion at the University of South Florida’s student-run radio station, Bulls Radio. Instead of an unfair set of remarks in a time that is marred by the coronavirus, I’ll keep this short
Will someone please renew the station’s domain name? BullsRadio.org has been expired for ll of December and it looks like the station it is attached to is over and done. That’s not the case… Is it?
Gypsy Star releases a holiday music video, “Tale of the Mistletoe”
Seasona greetings, joyous yule tidings and all that jazz!!
It’s been several years since I posted about the folk-rock group Gypsy Star. I personally still listen to them regularly as I try to rekax or entertain myselg. Hey, I like their arrangements…
Anyway, yesterday (December 9_ the band unveiled its first release in three years, a little melody and music video for the 2020 Christmas season. The press release from the group is below. The music video follows it. Happy holidays!!
| Season’s Greetings!Here’s a little something to get you into the Christmas spirit. We put together a video of our original song “The Tale Of The Mistletoe“. Hope you enjoy it!Watch it here: The Tale Of The Mistletoe VideoWishing you and yours the very happiest of holidays and a healthy New Year!Gypsy Star |
In search of Tampa Bay music for a Spotify playlist
The Lighter Side of Tampa Bay is a Spotify playlist I put together that is supposed to be the Adult Contemporrary version of chill; “relaxing, easy favorites.”
It originally was saturated by too many songs by artists, but I scaled that back to single-songs by artists I found and…and… It’s gone nowhere.
I know there are and were many recording artists in the Tampa Bay area, with some actively promoting themselves. I’ve never had one approach me to have one of their songs added. I haven’t gone on a search for content either as I’m busy enough and don’t listen to local shows that would highlight songs that fit the list.
I’m looking for tunes. I’m looking to highlight artists, and, most importantly for all, I am looking for listeners.
Ig you are an artist from West Central Florida with a song or music you think fits the bill, drop me a line on the Contact form. Tell me where you are from, if you’trr part of a group or a solo act. Point me to the song on Spotify. Do not submit explicit songs. Ig you happen to be one of the few artists on the playlist as-is and would like another song featured, let me know either in the comments on this post, through email contact, or on Twitter..
In both cases, it doesn’t have to be new music, but please submit songs from the past decade (210 at the latest).
If you are included on the list, I’d appreciate it if you let your fans know about the playlist. Listeners and followers is the key to gaining exposure – and royalties – for all acts involved.
Amalie Arena To Serve As An Early-Voting Locale
As we approach the 2020 U.S. elections, and with issues prominent in America leading to social unrest and greater political division, voting matters. The coronavirus and USPS sabotage complicate things.
A prominent location along the banks of the Garrison Channel at the heart of Tampa, Florida will be open to provide opportunity for Hillsborough County residents to cast a ballot preceding Election Day this November.
The following is the full text of the press release from the Tampa Bay Lightning:
Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Announces Partnership with Tampa Bay
Lightning: Amalie Arena to Be Open for Early Voting in 2020
Hillsborough County, FL – Today, Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Craig Latimer
announced that Amalie Arena will be open for Early Voting in the 2020 General Election.
With this new site, Hillsborough County voters will now be able to vote in any of 25 Early
Voting sites from October 19 through November 1, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
“I’m seeing our community come together in a very powerful way to support this
election,” said Supervisor of Elections Craig Latimer. “The Tampa Bay Lightning is one of
many community partners who are getting involved through voter registration drives,
voter education, poll worker recruitment and more. This is a unique opportunity because
Amalie Arena does not have other scheduled events during the Early Voting period.”
“We are grateful to be able to work with the Supervisor and his office to create another
Early Voting location in Hillsborough County,” said Jeff Vinik, Chairman and Governor of
the Tampa Bay Lightning. “The Lightning share in the community goal of increasing
participation in our elections and we are pleased to offer up Amalie Arena this fall to
those that wish to cast their ballots early.”
The Early Voting period allows voters who want to vote in person to choose the time and
location that is most convenient to them, rather than waiting until Election Day to vote,
when, by law, they must vote in the polling place assigned to their precinct.
This new site provides another option for Vote By Mail voters, as well. During Early Voting,
the elections office sets up curbside tents outside each site for voters who want to drop
off their mail ballot. In-person voting is expected to take longer than usual because of
necessary health and safety precautions, which include limiting the number of people
inside each location, setting things up to allow for social distancing, and continuous
cleaning of equipment and surfaces. Voters who prefer to vote from home can visit
VoteHillsborough.org or call (813) 744-5900 to request a Vote By Mail ballot. The office will begin mailing ballots to requesters on September 24.
The day when someone is lead to laughing over government officials being held accountable
I saw this headline and part of me thought, bravo. Those who oversaw an arm of local government in the Tampa Bay area were shrewd and did not allow the person in leadership to be a Maverik and do whatever the hell they wanted at a cost to the arm of government they oversee.
I was led to physically laugh about this. Not because I found it a joke (which others may see it as) but because of how it compares with Florida state government and especially federal government ar this point in time:
via Creative Loafing Tampa
compare that to what the United States Senate allowed Donald Trump to get away with this week (and quid pro quo is only a fraction of the corruption ongoing in his Presidential administration) and it further makes HART’s responsible actions look humorous and a contrast. Holding someone in charge accountable?Th3 nerve…!
An online location for musicians and local music fans in Florida
A long-overdue Reddit community started in November 2019 aimed at music and musicians from the Sunshine State. This Reddit community is a place to promote, discuss, and experience.. well, if the community grows. Right now it has only 3 members. That will change.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/47802419/usa-today-8898743.0.jpg "Jon Cooper’s done better as a Lightning head coach than the Tampa Bay Buccaneers all-time")
Jon Cooper’s done better as a Lightning head coach than the Tampa Bay Buccaneers all-time
Hockey, specifically the National Hockey League, is not football nor the National Football League. I’m always drawn to compare the two with thanks to the Tampa Bay media going ga-ga over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and holding back all-too-much on Tampa Bay Lightning coverage until the end of the NFL season. To hell with success and competitiveness, Buccaneers uber alles.
Something popped into my head last night after the Lightning’s 1-0 win in Philadelphia to extend their winning streak fluke to 10 games: How does the tenure of head coach =Jon cooper compare to the Bucs all-time?
One coach? Compared to 40+ years of gameplay? What the hell leads me to think of something like that? Quite simply, the fact Cooper’s Lightning have made the playoffs five times in his 6 full seasons as head coach (and could be on their way to a sixth berth as the 2019-20 season rolls on) which is half as many berths as the Bucs have all-time.
Coop’s in his seventh full season as head coach (he joined as head coach during the 2013 season and had 17 games), helming Tampa Bay for 553 games as of this writing… That just so happens to be 124 games less than the Bucs have played all-time (677 in 43 seasons); about 82% of the games played. His success in that time dwarfs that of the Bucs: Of the 553 games played, 332 were won. That’s a .600 win percentage (though the common stat used in the NHL is tied to point-percen5ate, which is .619). In 43 seasons in the NFL, the Bucs have won 281 of 677 games played; a .409 win percentage.
While fans cry foul over Coop’s playoff-performances (No title! Bad you!) it’s worth noting he’s coached the Bolrs to the same number of Conference finals (3) and playoff finals (1) in his tenure as the Bucs have done in franchise history. Only three of the Bucs 12 head coaches ever made the playoffs (John McKay, Tony Dungy, and Jon Gruden). Of course, that Lightning has gone into the playoffs with four HCs (Terry Crisp, John Tortorella, Guy Boucher, and Cooper) with eight total coaches.
They are two completely separate sports and there’s no argument against that. It’s still a message of competitiveness and local pride that has to be hammered home: The Tampa Bay Lightning are a force in their league. The Bucs aren’t.
What is the next accomplishment for Cooper and the Lightning? We’ll find out in this second half of the NHL season and in the proverbial Second Season that is the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
(Im)mobility in Tampa Bay
This will be short, but I’m in a serious situation right now where I’m researching transportation assistance for the mobility impaired (disabled). What I’m finding in my research is the grand division of the Tampa Bay metro region.
Perhaps there are options from singular cities that serve the region, but searching for Tampa Bay options resulted in Tampa-specific and Hillsborough County-specific options. That didn’t state or show support for those in the region who have to commute from Pinellas County to Tampa or vice-versa.
The Hatfield-vs-McCoy approach of his region is a disability of its own that impends the mobility in progress.
Updated: The Lighter Side of Tampa Bay playlist on Spotify
Early this year, I unveiled a playlist orf Tampa Bay artists that could be classified as a chill playlist, adult contemporary, relaxing, whatever… It mostly featured artists that I’d crossed on Music Tampa Bay Top 100 lists from years-gone-by..
The nominee list for Creative Loafing’s 2019 Best of the Bay awards changed that.
I’ve been going through that list and adding songs that fit from acts I hadn’t heard o or been tipped off to. There are more acts I need to review from the list but here you go:
If you are a musician in the Tampa Bay area and think you have a song that fits the bill, you can submit it in the comments section o this post or through the site contact form. Playlist feedback from listeners is also appreciated (trolling is not).
Did you know…? Tampa Bay Lightning stars once were extras in a comic book movie?
This past summer I asked friends on Facebook to name a movie that was filmed in their area. Those who responded cited flicks fitting to the region they live in, there was a good variation because…hey! I have friends all over.
One of the respondents was one of my long-time contact who I’ve known specifically by way of our talking Tampa Bay Lightning hockey on forums way back in the past. Her response startled me because of how I’d forgotten the fact:
She cited The Punisher and reminded me how Lightning players had been n set for filming.
In search of the vocal group who performed in Busch Gardens Tampa commercials
This isn’t a hiring/performance question, this is more a who the hell was this? inquiry.
During the late-late 1980’s and early 1990”s, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay had commercials — more than two, but two in memory — with an acapella group singing. Unless it can be proven otherwise, I’m pretty certain it wasn’t Rockapella (who I had been exposed to on Where in the World Is Carmen San Diego telecasts). The tone of vocals (in memory) is just too different and there was a bit of an accent.
One of the commercials (and while I can’t remember imagery, I can tell you it was all stuff from in the theme park) starts out with, “My father said..” before going into the true performance, where the lead singer would sing how “only elephants […]”, “only tigers {…}”, “only birds can…” (sit in the trees or kick in breeze; can’t remember), “But only you can dream dreams”
The other song I remember even more vaguely with “celebrate the day” and “let your soul play” is what I recall (and also key lyrics).
These guys did have recorded music; my 6th-grade science teacher played an album during class to try to chill us out. It wasn’t as catchy as what the commercials came off like.
These commercials don’t seem to be online, I can’t find out the Who? behind them either. I just know that by the 1992 opening of the roller coaster known as Kumba, these guys were no longer included in commercials (or were they?) and I can’t find anything out about them now. I’ve asked friends, I’ve done web searches… I ask the general public – who am I talking about with these Busch Gardens Tampa Bay commercials?
The day John Fontana discovered John Fontana Day in Tampa
The City of Tampa has a John Fontana Day! I mean, really?! They named a day or the year after the region’s first Tampa Bay Lightning blogger who helped bolster and broaden hockey coverage as well as voluntarily assisting other weblogs o the region while ogercomit a rare genetic disease–
WHEREAS, the City of Tampa takes pride in recognizing those individuals whose commitment and dedication have made a lasting impact on our community and its citizens. John Fontana, President of Seminole Hard Rock Support Services [ … ]
Oh. Oh well. But still! I done gots me a day I share the name of! July 12th, 2018.
Creative Loafing Best of the Bay 2019: The bands of Tampa Bay
The annual Best of the Bay reader poll/survey for Tampa Bay residents is out and will be active during the month of August. A lot of subject-maters and items are covered within the survey/poll, which is divided up into four sections (“Goods and Services”, “Arts and Entertainment”, “Food and Drink” and “People, Places, and Politics”).
While I usually go first-and-foremost to the “People, Places and Politics” section because of my affinity and involvement in sports, I went to “Arts and Entertainment” firstly this time around in order to quench a curiosity that I have. A curiosity in music, sweet music…
It’s not news for me to mention I’m running a local-theme Spotify playlist. What is an issue is me actually looking for and finding more artists to put on the playlist (not like anyone actually listens to that thing though :-/) I also wonder about the local scene and performing artists (of original nature) that are out there.
There are many.
Read MoreReflecting on the history and the Ice Palace that is Amalie Arena
I’ve got a phrase in my head. It’s a pretentious intro to a Tampa Bay Lightning hockey game. Something to be used repeatedly to give weight to the event and where it’s being played (as well as merit to the person saying it).
Weight comes to words with repetition. Sometimes it’s dubious, sometimes it’s forgettable, sometimes it goes down into the history books and is engraved in society (or, in this case, sports culture).
Along the banks of the Garrison Channel at the heart of Tampa, Florida. We welcome you to the hall of the venerable ice palace known as Amalie Arena for a night of Tampa Bay Lightning hockey.
To see that turn of phrase might lead Joe Q. Average to wonder what the hell venerable means (here’s your answer). Others of the Tampa Bay area (specifically younger generations and transplants of recent years) may be curious (or scoff) at Amalie Arena being called an “ice palace”. That just happens to be the building’s original name. That fact isn’t news for long-time Lightning fans. This fall will be the building’s 23rd anniversary of its opening.
And yet we’re left to wonder about the story behind the name Ice Palace.
Read More
An image from Tampa BayLightning history and the 1996 NHL Playoffs
Preceding this image with a history lesson of Tampa Bay sports would seem fitting, as the Buccaneers were a joke or oh-so-long and the fledgling Tampa Bay Lightning did not see their first competitions until 1995-96. It’s that latter point that this whole post and this image are based on.
Read More
One dedicated fan reacts to the Tampa Bay Rays balk
On Twitter, I just promoted an article headline at the Tampa Bay Times that says the July 1st – 3rd games at Tropicana Field will have $2 tickets available. This comes hours after news of the Rays sending out an email to fans about how desperately the club wants to stay in Tampa Bay.,
Both gestures are face-saving, damage-control tactics. The former coincides with the club’s general marketing failure when it comes to costs of attending games at Tropicana Field and issues attendees have which are in the Rays control to improve. The latter coincides rhetoric of Tampa Bay Rays owner Stuart Sternberg from Wednesday as well as the club’s forced-rush “negotiating” tactic failure with the city of Tampa and Hillsborough County on a proposed ballpark in Ybor City.
The words of value here are not from the articles cited above but from a Twitter response when I published the news of the Rays ticket-price plan. It’s a reactive response to where the Rays have put themselves in the last seven days with thanks to seeking and gaining exploration permission on playing home games in both St. Petersburg and Montréal, Quebec:
This is one fan’s reaction. This does not state how the fans of the Tampa Bay metroplex react in general, but it shows cause and effect. Action, reaction.
The actions and choices of the Rays brass speak volumes while a marketing tactic and a damage control emails are close to mute in this season of #Raysfall — a summer where the team has on-field competitiveness while those in control of the franchise are seeking maximum profit at minimum investment or tact, sullying franchise and market value in the process.
Population, percentages, and the lackluster Tropicana Field draw
The greater Tampa Bay metro area has a population in the millions. While the next US Census, to be conducted in 2020, may bring solid, true numbers, a simple Google Search gives you the picture in a round-about way: 2.783 million. That statistically estimate of the population of Clearwater, Tampa, St. Petersburg, New Port Richey and all the burgs of Tampa Bay combined is from 2010 but it gives you an idea there are plenty of people in the Bay area.
Now let’s go back to a simple question that I posted on social media and this blog last week, very simple but it will illustrate a point of issue that is not talked about plain-jane by politicians or media: What is keeping you from Tropicana Field?
Yesterday, June 1st, 2019, the Tampa Bay Rays played the Minnesota Twins at the Trop and drew a heady (sic) 14,381 to the Saturday afternoon game. The Tampa Bay Rays are in 2nd place in the American League East, they’ve got a .625 win percentage, they’re producing competitive baseball, be it in wins or losses (they dropped Saturday’s game ) and they drew 14,381 to a facility with a maximum seating capacity of 42,735.
Read MoreA conversation that needs to be had with sports fans in Tampa Bay
The Tampa Bay area is a sports marketplace that entertains itself so often through sports competition and tends to produce athletes for multiple sports at all levels. We’re fans through and through though.
You would not think that’s the case with attendance at Tampa Bay Rays games at Tropicana Field this season, though… or last season. Or the year before.
There’s a conversation that has to be had here in the marketplace. It’s been sidestepped to create a shallow build-it-for-me, Tampa-vs-St. Petersburg factor that pits the market against itself.
A summarization of weather conditions in Tampa Bay through the title of a classic tune
We’re in the dry season, to say the least, at the moment. The one tradition of a Florida summaer is vacant at the moment and… well, Blind Melon’s 1992 alt/indie rock classic fits the situation in title:
WalletHub’s unfair judgment of Tampa Bay as a basketball market
“Tampa is one of the worst hockey markets in North America because of attendance to it’s super junior and college hockey teams stinks.”
Anyone who sees that remark should either laugh or wonder who the hell would draw that kind of conclusion? Tampa Bay doesn’t host super junior league hockey, nor is it known for even competing in collegiate hockey, let alone drawing attendance. Why would they? Unless a college hockey team was playing at Amalie Arena in downtown Tampa, attendance is negligible at the other ice sports venues in the Tampa Bay area.
So, is the above statement fair market judgement?
What brings me to this isn’t hockey. Not at all. It is market critiques with sports and limited data that brings forth this judgment. WalletHub sent me an email showing Tampa ranking horribly as a basketball market.
Basketball market?
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Lightning’s success generates all too much silence in the Tampa Bay sports media
There’s a outspoken and upset Florida Panthers fan who voiced their discontent with the Panthers organization in a post on Reddit’s hockey community. A mix of words invoked nostalgia and made me upset in my own fashion.
[…] At the start, things looked great. The team had great players in Scott Mellanby and John Vanbiesbrouck, took a Cinderella trip to the Finals which got all of Miami absolutely BUZZING in 1996, started a notable fan tradition of throwing rats, acquired a superstar in Pavel Bure, acquired future superstars Olli Jokinen and Roberto Luongo, had very great and notable players pass through here… […]
Ah, 1996! Yes, the Florida Panthers looked upright and had a future optimism shown in only their third season of play in the National Hockey Lague. But ’96 didn’t show a dim picture on the other coast of Florida. No, no, the 1995-96 Tampa Bay Lightning did something foreign in the Tampa Bay metroplex in the sporting sense of the term: They were a pro team that made the playoffs. It was the first time in 13 years that a top-level professional franchise in the Bay area had done that [author note: this isn’t an attempt to truly look pat the Tampa Bay Rowdies soccer team; soccer is not traditionally pitched as a top-four major sports league in the United States.] It was also the Lightning’s first-ever playoff appearance.
There was a sense of optimism and hope invoked in the local press coverage from WTVT, WFLA, WTSP, and WFTS. The St. Peterburg Times and Tampa Tribune did it too: The Tampa Bay Lightning was the sports team in Tampa Bay, and they were the entity to rally around. Brian Bradley, Mikael Andersson, Petr Klima, Paul Ysebaert; with the future (or so it seemed at the time) franchise ties to Roman Hamrlik, Chris Gratton, Jason Weimer, and Rob Zamuer. All these (and so many more names that I’ve forgotten off the top of my head) and the last line of defense, the stalwart in goal #93 Darren Puppa.
The playoffs! Such a rare feat in this burg was being embraced by a local team and that generated a degree of local pride for sports fans. It was something accomplished by Tampa Bay and invoked such a good vibe, even if the Bolts were a one-and-done team in the 1996 NHL Playoffs (the Philadelphia Flyers bounced the Bolts in the first round). Contention was such a foreign term and it was finally translated! Yessir! Yessir!
It seems foreign now, doesn’t it? No, I don’t mean contention. I’ve already written about that for the Bolts before this season. The Lightning themselves have proven it, night in and night out, through 76 games and the feats achieved.
I’m talking about coverage and the lack thereof from the traditional media people in town. There is no buzz. It’s not a priority. It’s filler.
Read MoreLightning strikes blaze the NHL standings and Tampa Bay sports
Ninety-two.
Ninety-two points in February.
Ninety-two points in February?! My God!
Where the Tampa Bay Lightning sits right now is on the cusp of securing a 2019 Stanley Cup Playoff berth, and it’s only February 17th. They’re 15 points ahead of the #2 club(s) in the National Hockey League right now. For sports fans who don’t know the NHL point system (and any fan actually does know) 15 points amounts to 7 wins and 1 overtime/shootout loss.
In 59 games played this season, the Bolts have won 44 of them. That’s thousands of a point under a .750 win percentage. The Lightning is better than that in the NHL’s point percentage department — they’re .780, that’s 78% of the possible 118 points from those 59 games played. That’s better than three-quarters of the potential points.
Read MoreSoft rock, easy listening, adult contemporary and the Tampa Bay music scene
With the growing and growing and growing and growing nature of the Underexposed Soft Rock and Easy Listening playlist on Spotify and me crossing work on the Music Tampa Bay playlists that embody the underexposed moniker and yet are also aging with some artists missing in general from social media, I’ve been compelled to start a new soft rock/adult contemporary playlist.
This isn’t open to all and any musicians; this is open to artists in the Tampa Bay metropolitan region. The Lighter Side of Tampa Bay currently has only nine musicians on it, but a number of songs from each:
- Ed Woltil
- Four Star Riot
- Fowler’s Bluff
- Gypsy Star
- Rebecca Zapen
- Robert Andrew
- RosewoodCreek
- Steve Dockendorf
- Swearingen & Kelli
There are more groups and artists in the region with worthy content than this. This is, in part, why I’m posting on my blog: Hey! Tampa Bay musicians with calmer tunes! Share’em with me and potential listeners online please!
You might want to listen to the list as-is to get an idea of the sound I’m going for. I don’t know if hip-hop would mix in, or a bass/beat heavy dance/pop number with wailing vocals. Explicit content is also frowned upon. Seriously, I’m not calling it “The Lighter Side of Tampa Bay” because of the sun.
Feel free to suggest artists or songs to me through comments or directly to me through the site contact form. I’ve also got a music-specific Twitter account or my Facebook page where I can be reached at.
Music Tampa Bay’s 2015 Top 100 list is now a Spotify playlist
Music Tampa Bay, the St. Pete-based radio station and online streaming station that highlights music from Tampa Bay and West Central Florida musicians, is known for having an annual Top 100 list. The list is a compilation of 100 songs from the previous year that had received the highest vote tallies on weekly Top 40 lists/polls featured on the station’s web site. The Top 100 ran from 2008 up until this year.
I’ve done a service for featured artists on that list of putting together a link-to-the-works listing three times – 2008, 2016, and 2017. The whole rationale is because graphic lists of songs don’t give people (not just station listeners) the chance to actually hear the songs, or find out about the artists. Not all of the songs are available online as the artists didn’t necessarily use distribution companies that went that route.
In more recent months, I’ve put the 2008, ’16 and ’17 lists – what songs I could find – into Spotify playlists. The listings all have just over half the 100 listed songs.
That said, I’d like to announce the addition of the 2015 Music Tampa Bay Top 100 list (well, 53 of the Top 100) as available on Spotify.
Read MoreAttendance in Tampa Bay sports sides with the might of the Lightning
Tonight is the 20th home game of the Tampa Bay Lightning’s 2018-19 season, the second-to-last home game event of the year 2018 as well. I’ve already heralded the accomplishments of the Bolts first-half in on-ice achievement. Now let me shed light on an aspect of the Bolts off-ice. Something Tampa Bay sports media gives the brush-off in overall coverage in town.
Amalie Arena’s stated max capacity is 19,204, and the Lightning has filled the building at or near capacity for their 19 games at home so far this season. That’s a home-capacity total attendance of 362,748 (you can view full attendance numbers for the NHL here, via ESPN). That’s a pretty damned solid turnout; the Bolts are 5th in the NHL in attendance.
Now, how ‘bout dem Bucs? The much heralded, over-promoted in Tampa Bay news, over-hyped Tampa Bay Buccaneers team have been meh in their season performance, a 5-10 record. Raymond James Stadium’s max capacity is 65,890 and the Bucs haven’t quite made it to capacity too often. After 7 home games, the Bucs average attendance is 54,567, 82% OF CAPACITY AND fourth weakest in the NFL this season (view the full attendance numbers here). It’s the season total attendance number that’s of most note: 381,971.
The Lightning should meet that attendance total tonight as they host the Philadelphia Flyers. They’ll exceed the total with the final 2018 home game against the Montréal Canadiens on Saturday. The Bucs will, of course, top that number with their final home game against the Atlanta Falcons… But the Lightning will top that total-attendance number early in 2019. C’mon, their averaging 19,000 a game, the finale at Ray Jay will bring 54,000 (give or take). The Bolts will make up that differential in three games at the Amalie.
There are many aspects that can be brought up to factor in with attendance (ticket prices, economy issues), but the one aspect that tops it all: this is common. 41 home dates will do that for an NHL team. 41 home dates will do that. The Lightning are still a dominant presence in the NHL while the Bucs are a dominant topic in Tampa Bay sports media coverage while mediocre in performance.
The Tampa Bay Lightning thrives while the Tampa Bay media look elsewhere in sports
Late this summer, before the NFL season was underway, the Tampa Bay Times did the Tampa Bay-media thing and played up the Tampa Bay Buccaneers season ahead. “Most talented offense ever?” discussion before a regular season game had been played seemed like… well, an attempt to raise expectations.
I’m not here to judge the Buccaneer season as it nears a conclusion, I’m here to ask about the Tampa Bay Lightning.
See, with that hype about the Bucs, there hasn’t been the same headline-priority work for the Bolts in the Tampa Bay media, at least not from what I’ve seen. All while the Bolts are doing what counters Tampa Bay college and pro sports teams most of the time: Winning and winning. And winning.
2017 Music Tampa Bay Top 100 — now a Spotify playlist
Music Tampa Bay‘s annual Top 100 lists (which ran from 2008 through 2017) featured a wide swath of music — we’re talking genres and time-of-publication. Some of the songs were relatively new releases, some were much older. All of them were from artists derived from the Tampa Bay and west central Florida area. I use that as a lead-in to the 2017 Music Tampa Bay Top 100 playlist on Spotify because only 54 of the 100 songs were on Spotify (or at least that’s the amount I found).
While some of the songs are very much available online, others aren’t and some are on select sales and streaming avenues and not on Spotify. Another issue I’ll cite here is that the Top 100 list for 2017 was hindered with thanks to Hurricane Irma’s effects on the Tampa Bay area. While that has nothing to do with only 54 songs on this list, it does explain why some of the songs on this list were also part of the 2016 Top 100 list (…a playlist with only 57 of 100 songs).
I very much intend to add the 2008 Top 100 listing to the Spotify playlists, but if these more recent lists are getting just over half the list songs, I don’t expect 2008 to do better. We’ll see about that.
One other thing — if you’re a Music Tampa Bay listener or a musician featured on Music Tampa Bay, I encourage you to donate to the station. They are a non-profit station trying to promote music created by local musicians. It costs to broadcast and stream online, though. Every bit of supportive income helps.
Just where did Rusty Fedotenko go? I’m glad you asked!!
Anyone ever wonder what happened to Ruslan Fedotenko? Real estate. He's involved in townhomes on Treasure Island. Read about it here https://t.co/b4CUMNcFmc #TBLightning #TBLightningAlumni
— John Fontana (@Johnny_Fonts) October 15, 2018
A new Spotify playlist of Tampa Bay musicians and music
In spring of 2017, I took to the task of taking aMusic Tampa Bay Top 100 list of 2016 post was an attempt at exposure for the artists and their work that went further than the hyper-local radio broadcasts and its online music stream.
I’m taking things a step further though I don’t know if this will lead more people to check out this music or what. I’ve created a Spotify playlist of the 2016 Music Tampa Bay Top 100 list.
In trying to aid the exposure of the artists and their music, I don’t know if it did the job so much. Let’s see if a Spotify playlist can help things along.
From my experience researching three different Top 100 lists, I’ve learned it’s a tradition for not all the songs to be available through online streaming. In this case, only 57 of the Top 100 songs from the listing were available… They represent a mix of music genres: Rock, Reggae, R&B, Folk, Pop and Country. The performers herald from the Tampa Bay and west central Florida area and while their sound may be taken as unique, they are all very much of the genres they are derived from in music.
I have intentions of also posting the 2017 Top 100 list and perhaps ones that came before it too. That’ll come in time. Right now, first things first and the 2016 list is here.
A word to summarize the Tampa Bay Lightning before the 2018-19 NHL season
It’s a foreign word in the history of sports in Tampa Bay, really. Oh, there are numerous athletes that the Bay area has produced who met and had relations with the word. There are plenty of high school athletic organizations who have known the word but single teams don’t represent the region. Heck, this applies to college sports too. Many residents may claim loyalty and devotion to Florida State, the University of Florida or the University of Miami while the University of South Florida is here in the region and…. Well, the word is foreign in the most prominent sports followed by area sports enthusiasts.
While the word has been largely foreign in the Tampa Bay metro area, it has taken up residency here in the past and it’s seriously hanging out along the banks of the Garrison Channel at current. It blazes so bright that some of the fans are blinded by it and they cannot take satisfaction from it.
The word, ladies and gentlemen, is contention. Read More
Discovering the Best Releases by Local Bands nominated in the 2018 Best of the Bay poll
Creative Loafing’s annual Best of the Bay is here for the 2018 season. I won’t tell you what to vote for and all that jazz (I’m not a nominee, nor is this blog. Not like that would have happened anyway). What I would like to provide here is a little tool of hyperlinks for specifically one voting list.
The Best of the Bay Arts and Entertainment section has quite a few music related categories and voting opportunities. There’s general band listings, rock, hip-hop, country, bluegrass, blues, etc. The category that’s leading to this post is “Best Release By A Local Band”. Read More
GoFundMe charity fundraiser for the family of Markeis Mcglockton, the handicap parking shooting victim
This is a touchy subject — the handicap parking shooting in Clearwater, Florida. “Touchy” as I’ve seen the reaction that there was no crime, it was simple self-defense. I’ve also seen those who declare it murder.
None the less, there’s a charity fundraiser to raise funds for those affected by the loss of Markeis Mcglockton. Click the title to go to the GoFundMe page.
Prioritizing news content lacks with the Tampa Bay Times online
Is the current goal of the Tampa Bay Times to simply one-up Creative Loafing and not to actually be a news organization that reports on the Tampa Bay metro area the state of Florida, and the United States? Maybe the print version is more news-traditiona., but the online site and its top-story headlines (on TampaBay.com or TBO.com) are anything but.
Wednesday, July 18th screenshots of the two news portals give you a glance at just what is taking priority:
Call me biased, call me small-minded perhaps, but with so much happening in the world, so many items of substance that affect people, so many events of negative and positive in the day to day life within the Tampa Bay metro region, how the living hell is a sales item at Publix a priority for reporting?? Since when is an amateur food tour relevant on a mid-week day in the region?
I hate to bring him up, but the President’s oft-used descriptive phrase is most fitting here: Fake news. What is being prioritized hee is closer to a distractive measure than actual relevant information.
While I cited Creative Loafing earlier in this piece, I’m not trying to fault the organization that offers a free weekly print paper. It’s casual, it’s leisurely. That’s what it has always been there for and built up its reputation through. The Tampa Bay Times originally sought to counter it with tbt*. To do it with the main page headlines and top stories on two news portals though? To brush off informing local citizens about events, incidents and politics in the region, state and the world around them? Instead to put priority on day-to-day personal life and casual antics? That’s a huge, huge step down from the respectable news organization the Times used to be.
Regionalism versus myopia: The resumption of Hatfields versus McCoy in Tampa Bay sports
More than a year ago, I wrote about the issue with St. Petersburg and the Rays. The city’s logistical location at the southern tip of Pinellas County is a rather isolated locale for the greater Tampa Bay metro region. Of course, for residents of St. Petersburg, the issue is simply because Tampa gets the unfair advantage, it’s the difficult place of the region to travel to and … and… and…
And I’m hearing too much of this Hatfields vs. McCoy’s bullshit once again. A myopic mentality has come to light once again after the Rays unveiled their new stadium proposal in the Ybor City area of Tampa.
Remarking about the proposal before getting back to the topic of this blog post: An $892 million stadium, only seating between 28,000 and 30,000 was proposed with a translucent roof structure so natural grass can be used in an indoor ballpark. A very-much excessively priced structure with an experimental asset? If you’re a resident of Tampa, St. Petersburg, elsewhere in the region, or even in Montréal for that matter, you should take issue with this. This is Jeffrey Loria-like tactics being employed by Stuart Sternberg. Oh, there is something fitting here, that a small park in Ybor City would mix with the neighborhood a-la Wrigley Field in Chicago.
This isn’t a neighborhood baseball club though. This franchise is supposed to represent the Tampa Bay Metropolitan region. That stadium plan fails unless you’re going to utilize the We must or else! strategy that St. Pete utilized in the 1980s and resulted in the construction of the domed venue now known as Tropicana Field. Read More
Regarding Music Tampa Bay Top 100 posts for 2008 & 2017 [UPDATED]
Due to server issues created by me over-doing music embeds and such, I’m going to have to repost the Top 100 lists of songs from Music Tampa Bay’s top 100 for 2017 & 2008.
Originally, the lists (which are both divided into several parts) worked okay and everyone had access, but it would seem my hosting company has tightened standards on the shared-server hosting system.
When the lists are reposted, they’ll simply be a text-and-link based list, a-la the 2016 Top 100 list.
UPDATE June 19, 2018: Both the Music Tampa Bay 2008 and 2017 Top 100 lists are now operational again. It required some changes to this web site on eh back end but things are working at the moment. All media that could be found was linked to while we sites or social media accounts representing the musical groups (that could be found) were also linked to.
Regarding “Missing piece of history — Jim Morrison in Clearwater”
In 2005, I penned a blog post that was inspired by the then-St. Petersburg Times had written an epic feature regarding the days of Jim Morrison, lead singer of The Doors, had spent living in the Tampa Bay area of Florida. Being a Morrison fan and living only a handful of miles away from locations mentioned in the piece, I was blown away. I had known about Morrison having been born in south Florida but I didn’t know about this.
Part of what inspired the blog post was the fact social media wasn’t then what it is today. Not that writing a blog post was going to necessarily draw eyeballs. Yet to this day, Missing piece of history – Jim Morrison in Clearwater still draws web traffic because of Morrison’s romantic interest (and song inspiration) Mary Werbelow.
At any rate, to get to the point, the now- Tampa Bay Times has basically failed with how they treat their archives online, which now hides the articles on a for-profit site (…unless the Times plans to fix their “Page Not Found” issues on archival articles). Between this and my old blog post failure in being more direct and obvious on the link to the feature section from September 25, 2005, finding the feature reading is next to impossible.
Well, was.
Weather or not, Lightning watch party at Curtis Hixon Park for Game 6 of Eastern Conference Finals
I can’t recall the last time the threat of rain and weather was in place chronically over the Tampa Bay region. I’m not talking the typical summer storms, which brings rainfall either in the early morning or evening hours, but through the day. It was why, I think(?), Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Washington Capitals was held at Centro Ybor instead of park facilities like the other games in the 2018 playoffs.
All of that being said, the Lightning just announced that a watch party event for Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals will be held at Curtis Hixon Park in Tampa, the exact details are quoted below:
Game 6 – Monday, May 21
Curtis Hixon Park – downtown Tampa
Lightning Playoff Watch Party
Event begins at 6:00 pm
Three screens for fans to watch the game on
As it currently stands, the potential-storm conditions remain for the greater Tampa Bay area. I have not seen the percent-chance of rain but I have seen icons marking the day as threatened. I don’t know how this will play into the evening. It’s jsut something to keep in mind if planning to attend the official party.
Like I’ve asked, if you know of an unofficial watch party going on, you may want to contact me (or use comments) to announce the location and share it with readers.
A snap reaction to snap reactions aimed at the Tampa Bay Lightning and the 2018 NHL Eastern Conference Finals
I don’t know if it’s a casual fan base element, bandwagon fans or actually faithful of the Tampa Bsy Lightning who put on the panic hats if and when the Lightning struggle or fail to win… I know there’s an element of the die-hard fans who are like this – one of them is a good friend of mine – but I do know they have come out of the woodwork during the Lightning’s Eastern Conference Final series with the Washington Capitals after the disappointing opening games of the series.
To those who are crying that the Lightning are missing a piece of the puzzle in the roster, I’d like to welcome you to hockey or to the Tampa Bay Lightning from your original team. What’s worth citing as missing is your experience as a Bolts fan and your knowledge of the Tampa Bay Lightning roster and what it’s capable of.
Lightning announce watch party locations for Games 3 and 4 of the 2018 Eastern Conference Finals
As the title says, the Bolts have formally announced two watch party locations for games 3 and 4 of the 2018 NHL Eastern Conference Finals. They are posted below.
I still wish to know, for the sake of the fans, if there are venues — unofficial — holding watch party events tied to the Lightning’s playoff run. I’ve asked this question during the first two rounds of playoff action and also on public forums with no response. You would think a sports bar or two would try to make the most of an opportunity and expose themselves to the masses with watch party events (be it during Lightning road or home games).
If you do know of a venue for unofficial watch party events, please leave a comment or use the site contact form to let me know.
Game 3 – Tuesday, May 15
Centro Ybor – 7th Avenue
Lightning Playoff Watch Party
Event begins at 6:00 p.m.
Three screens for fans to watch the game on
Note: While all watch parties have been outdoor, this is different. It’s also a wise choice as weather conditions early in the week forthcoming are expected to have rain and storms. Forecasts may change but…maybe not.
Game 4 – Thursday, May 17
Curtis Hixon Park – downtown Tampa
Lightning Playoff Watch Party
Event begins at 6:00 pm
Three screens for fans to watch the game on
No telling if an impromptu watch party will be announced if a game 6 is necessary or takes place.
The archives of the Tampa Bay Times have fallen down
In March I ran an article aimed at the another shortcoming that continues to this day; no linkage in articles).
Now, I don’t know how the Times operates its archives as this happened last year, I don’t know if the Times will be repairing the issue or took one of my suggested “save a dime” strategies and pulled down every archived article and feature, but as of this writing what all published pieces from sptimes.com (be they features, general news, columns or editorial content) are now unavailable and listed as “Not Found”.
There is an oddity here though: The base domain URL, www.sptimes.com is working and not as a redirect to the newspaper’s current web presence. It is standing as it had once stood but not exactly working nor posted as the front page of the newspaper from days gone by. The footer of the page reads the copyright date as 2009.
Because one page is “working” as a shell of itself, I’m guessing that this is an IT foul-up that stopped functionality and not an upgrade attempt, closure of the site archives, or an import-to-tampabay.com attempt. Simply, it’s a foul up that the paper may just dismiss as not important to fix. After all, they’re not making money off the archives, they’re not even trying.
UPDATE July 28, 2018: sptimes.com, in general, is now showing a 404 error. That being said, if you can find the original URL for an article/feature from the site you wish to access/read you can. You just need to utilize the Wayback Machine in order to do it.
