Tampa, Florida					Thursday, September 09, 2010

Breakfast Bonus
Monday, January 23, 2006
Over your chilled bowl of Florida grapefruit sections, two over very easy fried in butter eggs placed atop a small pile of hot, cheese grits. Two strips of Arkansas bacon, two slices of pre-buttered, oven roasted cracked wheat toast with Ben Webster guava jelly, glass cold milk, cup of hot coffee and walk-away bites of chilled cantaloupe, these winter additives: About as fervent and complete Florida State Seminole and Marine died a week ago, and his tasteful memorial service at the Moss Feaster Funeral Home on a grand and sunny Monday morning reflected that, along with the devotion of Bill Bunker to his family. A speaker noted that Billy, who wanted all to think of him as a hard nosed Marine, did nothing on this earth with such devotion and success as raising some of his kids by himself. As a Marine who stuck with The Corps as long as he could, was perfect. He was lean, short haired (reddish), well-built, had a great bark, and a better grimace. What better than to have the colors posted at the service, the Marine Hymn played, and when it was time, Taps played by a melancholy trumpet, as those colors were struck, with real Marines marching slowly and properly to the moving accompaniment. As an FSU Seminole—he was for years the aggressive, but always helpful, sports information director, he was that interesting combination of a Marine and publicist. He was passionate about his job, and the Seminoles of those days some years ago when they had to fight so for equality in the media with the University of Florida. He could get mad. He could take things personally. Why not? Again, the Noles were a serious romance of this Florida native. In later years, Bunker became more and more of a Florida booster and campaigner. He did the old Governor’s Baseball Dinner. He handled the Florida Hall of Fame. He became the executive director of the St. Petersburg Sports Authority and was as feisty as you might expect there. He battled Hillsborough and Tampa, a formidable combo for the big league franchise he helped win for that side of Tampa Bay as its home, with the Dome built there as its home. It is now the base of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, won there after the Tampa/Hillsborough side got the football stadium, the forum and that which went with it. No one worked harder—some as dutifully—than Bunker. And some who worked so completely, and some who were on the other side Leonard and George Levy, who were Gators too---like I was—were at the service to play our last tribute to this tough, tough adversary and friend. Good man, Bill Bunker. Good Marine. Good Dad. Good Seminole. Good Friend. Good Bye. In the program at the service, Taps was played at the close, and it words printed for all to read. “Day is done, gone the sun, from the lake, from the hill, from the sky. All is well, safely rest. Good is nigh. “Thanks and praise for our days, ‘neath the sun, ‘neath the stars, ‘neath the sky. As we go, this we know. God is nigh.’’ + + + + + Also, These. . . When you watch these NFL Playoffs, you realize a couple of things in particular,	these Bucless Playoffs, right away. One the top teams have truly big men up front on both sides of the ball. Big. Not Buc big. Big. . . Two, got to do something about officiating. Son Rick who is in the TV business, said in his opinion, officials are become apprehensive about making calls because of all the cameras and replays to come from all angles that may well prove them wrong. Great point. Great item for the competition committee to take up in the spring. . . . Can’t go on with these bonehead calls that cost players and owners games and money, as well as the cities and stadiums where they may have played another game with a correct call and result. Think what was lost here with the loss, based on officiating calls, to Washington. . . .We live on Davis Islands in Tampa, on Hillsborough Bay, our dock and veranda facing west to Bayshore. The bottom grass in the bay has returned in impressive amounts, as has the bait and game fish. Not only that, on two mornings recently, with the birds, bait and game fish 150 yards out, it the food and frenzy attracted a record 12 porpoises. It was a show. Better than Busch Gardens or Marineland. . . .Gene King and wife Barbara have been about as selfless as any couple of which I know. Gene has coached football as an assistant at many Tampa high schools as well as the University of Tampa when the sport was a big deal there. They both have been “professional`` volunteers at sports events, big and small, such as the Outback Bowl and Super Bowl, oh, like being in charge of the busses for players, of luncheons for wives. The world lost a good one when Barbara, a lovely woman, died recently, leaving a lost Gene. You can bet, he’ll volunteer more, now. Print this because of what they did pro bono, surely as do couples in other cities, too. . . . The Mighty Buccaneers of Tampa played too well in 2004-05, according to the NFL’s scheme to equalize the league, as the late Commissioner Pete Rozelle sought to do. The champion, for example, picks last in the spring draft of college players and the last picks first. Also, the worse a team plays one year, the tougher the schedule the next year. So it is the Buccos have a tougher schedule the next. The league has released the list of opponent for 2006, but not the game dates, that comes later. But for example, the Bucs played their regular NFL South opponents—Atlanta, New Orleans, Carolina home-and-home in 2005 and will again, but time and date are not known. . . .The 2005 schedule was OK, not that difficult and the Bucs took advantage of that with a solid season. But, now the Bucs of 2006 season of close games next will play those same Southern Division teams, New Orleans, Atlanta and Charlotte, plus wild card teams that include both Super Bowl opponents—Pittsburgh away and Seattle in Tampa. Other away teams include Chicago, at Cleveland, at the New York Giants and the Dallas Cowboys, Coming to Tampa to play the Bucs at Raymond James Stadium are the Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins, who knocked the Bucs out of the NFL Playoffs at RJS, helped by on a controversial play. Good, can start getting mad again right now. Babaloo. ##
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