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Hooper: Tampa Bay Rays' Matt Silverman sensible about stadium talks

 
Published Dec. 22, 2014

You can easily sum up the advice offered by Rays president Matt Silverman about Tropicana Field negotiations between the team and the city of St. Petersburg: R-E-L-A-X.

Silverman adroitly struck the right chord Friday. This isn't the time to excoriate council members as short-sighted or Rays officials as arrogant. The team's potential exit won't come in a quick solution.

Mayor Rick Kriseman needs to engage council members during the negotiating process, instead of letting them learn of the terms through the media.

Most important, he must count up the needed votes before he brings the next proposal before the council. Deal in certainties instead of rolling the dice like a gambler. …

With the U.S.-Cuba issue moving to the forefront and Jeb Bush's potential presidential campaign, Florida now becomes the epicenter of the 2016 election. …

Seen on a T-shirt: Santa, Stop Judging Me. …

Here's the question: Will new Rays manager Kevin Cash, 37, be like Mike Tomlin, a young hire who guided the Pittsburgh Steelers to a Super Bowl in his first year? Or, will he be like Raheem Morris, a young Bucs hire who failed to meet expectations. …

Tampa-based REACHUP addresses health challenges in underserved communities, but in the last two weeks it had to help one of its own: Olivia Miller, the daughter of REACHUP senior nurse Rochelle Barberio. Police say Miller's boyfriend killed her and two other people Dec. 6.

The nonprofit deserves applause for raising money to cover Miller's funeral expenses, but I'll applaud even more when we curb the senselessness of domestic violence.

That's all I'm saying.