Tampa Bay mayors offer bet to Chicago's Daley
As the Rays got ready to play the Chicago White Sox, the mayors of St. Petersburg, Tampa and Clearwater announced a friendly bet with Chicago’s mayor, Richard M. Daley.
In keeping with tradition, St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker, Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio and Clearwater Mayor Frank Hibbard have put on the table, as it were, food specialties of the area as well as commemorative Cuesta-Rey cigars from Ybor City’s J.C. Newman Cigar Co.
“We have several boxes of these that we don’t want to send to Chicago, but we’re putting them on the table,’’ said Iorio, who sported a Rays pin.
Baker said a day like today would have seemed improbable nine months ago.
The announcement at the Mahaffey Theater, set against Tampa Bay, was paired with a display of local offerings such as a pitcher of Tropicana orange juice, coconut shrimp from Cha Cha Coconuts, 1905 salad from the Columbia Restaurant, key lime pie from the Vinoy, cookies from Margaret Ann’s Gourmet Cookies, locally roasted Kahwa Coffee and edible orchids from Greenbench Florists.
St. Petersburg contributed grouper sandwiches from Mid-Peninsula Seafood, and Clearwater offered stone crab claws from Frenchy’s and conch fritters from the Palm Pavilion.
Tampa offered up Cuban sandwiches from the Columbia restaurant along with the restaurant’s Spanish olives, salad dressing and Salsa Picante hot sauce.
“I think we have an ample meal for Mayor Daley that he will not have,’’ Baker quipped.
In a separate wager, the mayor of St. Petersburg will pledge beach gear, sunglasses and other items from St. Petersburg’s Transitions company and the Visit St. Petersburg Clearwater tourist agency for 150 children in the Boys and Girls Club. Daley is expected to pledge Wilson baseball gear.
Hibbard and Baker are Chicago natives. Baker said he’d opt for deep-dish pizza from Daley but will “take whatever the good mayor decides to send us."
Waveney Ann Moore, Times Staff Writer
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Winning the WS would be one of the biggest things that happen in our city in terms uniting residents and boosting civic pride. The publicity is priceless, we'll be parading down cenral ave & our city is shown on National TV with panoramic views that maybe someone hasn't seen before that will hopefully enlightened them & inspire a visit to paradise to see the palm trees, beaches, and beautiful sunsets firsthand, which is good for our economy. It's All Good. Go Rays all the way baby!
Posted by: Raymond The Rays Mascot | October 09, 2008 at 07:51 PM
Patricia, Yes it's more than annoying. I ended up turning the volume down on TBS during the last 2 games and using 1250 am for the audio. It was even worth listening to it out of sync just to not have to listen to that moron on TBS go on and on and on about what "Tampa" does when they're "Down in Tampa".
Even the other guy in the booth sounded like he was getting annoyed and kept saying stuff like "Last night in St. Petersburg" "At game one in Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg..."
PLEASE TBS hire someone who knows the names of the teams they're watching!
Posted by: | October 09, 2008 at 02:39 PM
Doesn't it bother anyone else that all the announcers from ESPN and other stations keep saying "Tampa" and not "Tampa Bay"? The stadium IS in St Pete, afterall!!
Posted by: patricia nicholas | October 02, 2008 at 02:09 PM
how about these officials approve a new stadium and stop acting like the care and do care
Posted by: Joe | October 02, 2008 at 01:33 PM
I was born and raised a Cub fan but this is more exciting, our smaller city means that as citizens we feel more a part of this exciting moment in history, Hoping we win this series for our town!
Posted by: Anne | October 02, 2008 at 01:03 PM