TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

What If We Had Landed Olympics?

ADVERTISEMENT

By JACK HARRIS

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 19, 2008

As I kept one eye on the Olympics from Beijing the past couple of days, and another on the approaching tropical storm-hurricane, I couldn't help but recall the titanic 2001 effort by a group led by former Hillsborough Commissioner Ed Turanchik to win the 2012 Olympics for Central Florida.

We ultimately lost out on the American bid to New York City, which lost out on the world bid to London, which will be the home of the games four years from now.

But imagine if the 2008 Games were being held here, with hundreds of thousands of visitors and athletes in town from all over the globe, and a big mass of bad weather called Fay heading our way. Maybe it's a good thing we didn't get the 2012 contests either.

And I wouldn't doubt that the Republican National Committee is looking at our Tampa Bay area right now and applauding their decision to go to Minneapolis instead of here for their convention three weeks hence. There are very few hurricanes that get as far as Minnesota.

Maybe we should try for the Winter Olympics. Our weather is nearly perfect then.

Marching To Macy's

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is going to have a large Tampa Bay representation in it this year, with the appearance of the Second Time Arounders Marching Band. It's a group that was founded back in 1983 for the purpose of performing for the Festival of States Parade in St. Petersburg. It is made up of about 600 folks between the ages of 18 and 85 who have all been members of a high school or college marching band, and who desire to relive the experience in about five to seven performances per year.

Wonders At Moffitt

There's a program that runs on the city of Tampa television station called the Mayor's Hour, which features Mayor Pam and me talking about people and things of interest to folks who live around here.

This month's show was recorded at the Moffitt Cancer Center, showcasing the first-class medical facility on the campus of USF and the incredible work they are doing in fighting this insidious disease as well as treating its many victims in the Bay area. Much of the one-hour show was shot in the huge lab, where over 300 researchers are engaged in various aspects of trying to find cures and treatments for several forms of cancer. It features an interview with the Center's CEO and director, Dr. William Dalton, M.D. and Ph.D. He gives one of the most lucid and comprehensible explanations of the disease that I have ever heard.

The current program will run through the end of the month, Sundays at 1 p.m., Mondays at 7 p.m, Tuesdays at noon, Wednesdays at 9 p.m., Fridays at 3 p.m. and Saturdays at noon on Bright House cable on channel 615 in Hillsborough County.

Jocularly,

Jack

Jack Harris co-hosts AM Tampa Bay from 6 to 9 weekday mornings on WFLA-AM.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT