I was raised by my Italian family (my grandparents came to Tampa on a boat from Italy in the early 1900's. One phrase I hard over and over growing up was this:

"Tell me who your friends are and I’ll tell you who YOU are"

Think about that before you vote for our next commander in chief and if you don’t know the facts, please DO NOT VOTE!

http://www.headofrealestate.com

First on tap for Brian Cashman, armed with a new, three-year contract, could be some renovations to the player development setup in Tampa. While Hal Steinbrenner backs Cashman's vision of building from within, the Steinbrenner family would like to see a higher return on their investment and will allow Cashman to hire and fire if he so desires. Mark Newman has headed the Tampa baseball operations for most of the last 13 years.

I guess we won't be seeing that advisory board after all...

            Yesterday I had a good day.  As a lifelong fan of the Philadelphia Phillies, it was with great glee that I saw my Phils’ face little resistance on their way into the National League Championship Series—a mere four wins away from playing in the World Series.  They’ll face the Los Angeles Dodgers later this week, with home field advantage, even.  But you see, my hometown Philadelphia has a dubious distinction. 

            They’re the only city with all four major professional sports (NHL, MLB, NFL, and NBA) that hasn’t won a championship in any of the four sports since 1983.  (Well, if you want, you can count the Philadelphia Stars of the USFL winning that championship in 1984, but most folks from Philly don’t, including yours truly.)  The last team was the Philadelphia 76ers, back when they had Dr. J (now doing Dr. Pepper commercials), Moses Malone (the first ever basketball player to skip college and go pro), and Maurice Cheeks (who now coaches the 76ers).  That was great, but then came “One Liberty Place.”

            There was an unwritten rule in Philadelphia that no building was ever supposed to be taller than William Penn’s statue on the top of Philadelphia’s City Hall.  In 1986, progress won out over sentiment: enter “One Liberty Place.” Upon completion, One Liberty Place rose into the Pennsylvania sky almost 400 feet higher than Mr. Penn did.  No Philadelphia sports team has won a championship since.  Thus Philadelphia’s “Curse of Billy Penn.” 

Their four sports franchises have now played over 100 seasons since their last championship.  Not confined to one sport like the Red Sox’ now broken “Curse of the Bambino” or the Cubs’ (very much alive) “Curse of the Billy Goat.”  It transcends any single sport, bringing the professional sports of the entire city to their knees.  A whole generation of sports fans in Philadelphia has grown up never having celebrated a championship parade down Broad Street.  When the Sixers last paraded in glory, I was nine years old.  I’m now just over a year away from being the parent of a nine-year-old.  It’s been a while.

The years rolled by.  Tampa got an expansion team.  I moved here and there, and then wound up in Tampa.  All of a sudden, Tampa’s team, the Rays, is good.  Really good.  Someone was finally able to wrestle the A.L. East away from the Yankees and Red Sox: the Tampa Bay Rays.  I confess: I started rooting for them.  I mean, what’s the harm?  My team, the Phillies, are in the National League, and don’t even play the Rays.  While my soul pleaded with the Phillies to finally break the curse, I was quite content to toss some light-hearted goodwill towards the young, unlikely champions from the Bay area.  Why not feel good about a feel good story, especially one in my own backyard?

Four months ago, when the Rays weren’t as bad as they were supposed to be, I joked, “It would be fun to see a Phillies-Rays World Series, wouldn’t it?”

But then crazy things started to happen.  The Rays clinch a playoff spot, and then they clinch their division.  The New York Mets suffer their second straight monumental collapse in a row, and lose the N.L. East division championship to my very own Phils. 

The Rays face the White Sox, and dispatch them in the first round, three games to one. 

The Phillies face the Brewers, and dispatch them in the first round, three games to one. 

The Rays reach the ALCS.  The Phils reach the NLCS.  They’re each one opponent away from a Phillies-Rays World Series.

Now there’s no way that I could physically make myself root against the Phillies making it to the World Series.  And now, I’m kind of on this Rays bandwagon.  I’m caught up in it, but that’s not the problem.

I’m a church pastor in Tampa.  Last week at our church’s Wednesday night dinner, I wore my prized “Horan #1” Phillies jersey while, about 1100 miles away, the Phillies played a home playoff game against the Brewers.  One of the other pastors got up to offer a prayer of thanks for the food, and after an “Amen,” announced, “And by the way, if you see anybody around here wearing a Phillies jersey, remind him that he lives in Tampa now.”

This town is used to the Rays being an afterthought by now—long dwarfed by Tampa Bay Bucs coverage.  But the Bucs are having a hard time grabbing a headline these days.  The place is Rays crazy!  So what will life be like for a lonely Phillies fan in the midst of the feel good story that is Tampa Bay baseball during a Phils-Rays World Series?  I’ll be begging Billy Penn to leave us alone along with the rest of Phillies Nation, but I’ll be doing it pretty quietly.

I’m stuck.  It feels so good to root for the Rays, but rooting for the Phils to win the World Series will feel so much better if it’s not against the Rays.  What should I root for?  The Phillies to make it and the Rays to get knocked out?  That’s the rooting that makes the most sense for me.  Unfortunately, I can’t bring myself to do it.  These Rays have gotten to me. 

Don’t worry, Rays.  I know the Phillies… the Phillies are friends of mine… and Rays, you’re no Phillies.  But you’re okay.  Go ahead and make it to the big show.  If my boys from the City of Brotherly Love lose the World Series, losing it to the Rays is the team I’d feel the least bad about, so bring it on. 

Let’s go Phils!!!

…and go ahead, Rays, you go too.

If you have the cash, look at it this way. If your $100 a share stock crashes, you end up with a worthless piece of paper. If the real estate market keeps going down, you can live in your house forever! Investment? The value of the house goes down, but it WILL come back up. You have the structure, the land and the income from your rent rolls. With stocks, you have an egg if you are in this market. I still think real estate is a better investment...... now more than ever.

for more information, visit my website at: http://www.headofrealestate.com

Built by a local hands on custom builder, Metro Area Communities, the intent was to create a community unlike any other in quality and stature. No where else in Eastern Hillsborough County will you find a small gated community of only 11 homes that boasts of homes that average close to a million dollars that were custom built from the ground up with the home owner side by side with the builder to get exactly what they dreamed of. Every home was custom design with an architect and engineers and every piece ordered and created for each home. Nothing is generic or usual here and every home is unique in its style and function.

The community caters to the professional that wants luxury and class yet convinience and comfort. This is a community worth waiting for. Take a moment and call us today to get a personal tour of the community.

For more information about the Dovewood Estates community, call the local luxury real estate experts & visit our web site:

Melanie Norris and Anthony Canizares, CRS, GRI, e-PRO, ABR,

Your local Certified Residential Luxury Real Estate Specialists

(813) 601-4222 or (813) 493-5000

e-Mail: Info@RealestateProsTeam.com

Web site: http://RealEstateProsTeam.com

Please go to the YouTube Video Link to see a very detailed video of this property http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncMmCf_9Hi4

What's more, hundreds of thousands of African-Americans were not registered to vote, even though they were eligible. Today, that number stands at 600,000. Read more at tampabay.com

A picture is worth a thousand words:

Or, then again, just one.

The SLCC 08 convention was held in Tampa, FL at the Mariott Waterside hotel. My overall feeling is that it was an amazingly well done event. Those who worked so hard, including all the volunteers and speakers should give themselves a pat on the back, it was superb.

The hotel was gorgeous, the meeting rooms were clean, well appointed, and comfortable. The breakfasts and lunches were delicious and fresh, and the wait staff were courteous and prompt. I mention these things because so often the service in even higher class locations such as this, is typically poor, but not here!

There were some wonderful discussions on each track. Personally I was there for the business track, but I also paid some attention to the education aspects of the convention. One thing that really struck me was how intelligent the Second Life community is. I spoke with so many surprisingly insightful people, It felt like heaven.

I must say that Philip Rosedale is quite the exceptional man. Not only did he create Linden Labs and Second Life, but he also took time to stop and chat with my friends and I for several minutes. I really appreciate it when people who have achieved sucess, do not act as though they are somehow better than everyone else around them, so many do, but not Philip. That fact really makes me want to renew my efforts to do everything I can to be a productive part of Second Life.

Then there was my personal reasons for attending. I met some of the people I knew from SL, most notably my good friend August. If nothing else had come from the trip, that alone would have been worth everything I did to get to Tampa. D and I enjoyed getting to know him in person and it just confirms what I already knew about him, He is one awesome guy!

I also attended Strokers Ball, held by Stroker Serpentine. The party was held a Banana Joe's, a really popular nightlife hot spot just above the Splitsville bowling alley. I had to see Splitsville considering I built the Second Life version in-world when I worked with Dire Lobo on the project.

Banana Joe's was in a great location, but to be honest the room was way over crowded! That speaks for the sucess of the party, so next year Stroker ... we need more space! The umm.. blow up dolls were an interesting bar decoration, and the goodie bags had err... umm.. *grins* Well in any case I am sure people will be thanking Stroker and his sponsors all year long.

I am a bit sad now that it is all said and done, it was an amazing time that I will keep in my memories forever. The conference, the party, even my trip to see the beach at sunset. I can hardly wait for next year!

Nå var planen egentlig å "wrappe opp" mine to første måneder i Statene, så jeg får vel ta fatt på utfordringen:

University of Tampa

Jepp, det er skolen vi går på. Etter en start med MYE informasjon, MANGE nye inntrykk og enda flere nye bekjentskaper begynner ting endelig å sette seg. Skolen er opprinnelig et gammelt hotell fra århundreskiftet og ligner litt på en bygning som tatt ut fra Disneyland. Lokalisert riverside, med frogneparklignende uteområder, utebasseng, stadionanlegg, treningssenter, topp moderne klasserom etc etc, kan man vel ikke akkurat klage på campus. (Sjekk videoen nederst eller trykk på overskriften for en visuell opplevelse..)

Tampa

Ohhh. Tampa city! Kunne vel ikke valgt et bedre sted å bo! Alex og jeg snakket om det da vi cruiset ned Bayshore i Mustangen med taket nede og vinden i håret at det er som å bo i en drøm. Utelivet er knallbra, godt influert av UT studenter. Alt fra stylish utesteder (der det faktisk er påkrevd å ha på sko) til de lokale barene der shorts, singlet og sandaler er mote. Valgmulighetene er store. Vi bor sentralt plassert med under 5 minutter til alt som er viktig, det være seg skole, bar, butikker og restauranter. For å komme seg til stranden bruker vi ca 25 minutter, men tro meg, den kjøreturen er verdt det! Om vi ikke gidder å reise helt ut til stranden er det jo bare å hive av seg og kule'n ved skolens svømmebasseng, kun avbrutt av litt beachvolley eller en svømmetur..  

Vi har lite å klage over:)

Hverdagen

Nå kan det jo virke som at det kun går i strandliv, festing, hyppige restaurantbesøk og bowling (nevnte jeg forresten at min nye rekord er 212! Flaut? ja kanskje, men pokkers så bra!), Sanneheten kunne vel ikke vært fjernere. Hverdagene brukes stort sett til å skolearbeid fra morgen til kveld, kun avbrutt av lunch og middag og den daglige treningen. Vi gleder oss alltid til helgen, fredag går med til lesing og lørdag stort sett til noe lesing, kanskje en time i solen og en fest på kvelden. Søndag er lesedag og forberedelser til skoleuken..

J

I’m thankful that I advised my investors to stay away from the project and they did, except for one. He was featured with me on ABC Action News in Tampa. You can click this link to see the story: http://headofrealestate.com/newsroom_wfts004.html . This was one of my clients who regrets going against my advice and he tells the story better than I could. Look at the news clip and make your own decision.

To learn more about Tampa Real Estate, go to http://www.headofrealestate.com

Vince Arcuri

ERA Gulfcoast Realty

The high end luxury condos in the Channelside district of Tampa Florida called the Towers of Channelside emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this past Wednesday with a new plan of selling the remaining 150 units of its 29 story twin towers and pay off creditors. The condos went down hard last year, like other condo developments in the area, when buyers started backing out of contracts because of the rapidly declining housing market and then Wachovia pulled out the developments financing. read more

Why can’t everybody get along? If my kids (WHEN MY KIDS) act like Obama and McCain, they get spanked. Who is spanking them? They are being encouraged to attack and those fences will be very, very hard to mend after this election.

Don’t we all have first Amendment rights? Do we have to hate each other over it? What if:

Obama and McCain were respectful to one another? What is they BOTH stopped those stupid TV commercials attacking one another? What if everyone stopped distorting the TRUTH and simply told the American public what their position is on the issues?

What if Obama said "John McCain is a great American and a great Senator. He has given the ultimate sacrifice for our country and is a wonderful public servant. But Senator McCain and I differ on the issues. Here is how my position is different from Senator McCain............."

No wonder there is so much HATE in America. It starts with our LEADERS.

Hey America................. quit "hate’in"

__________________________________________________________________________

Please Visit my website at http://www.headofrealestate.com

Last night, I decided to go and see what all the fuss was about. I don't think there was ever such a restaurant with a similar atmosphere as Ceviche's.

Upon entering one of the main rooms in the restaurant, I noticed the presentation of a fruit bar, tables covered with Spanish tile and overall, sort of Medieval look. Of course, it was a sort of formal, Spanish-infused Medieval look with a Mediterranean flare.

I forgot what our server's name was but she was cheerful and made some good recommendations (one of them being the Quail cooked with Baby Spinach and oranges).

Out of the four to five tapas my friend and I had, the Papas Fritas were one of my favorites. They were potato wedges drizzled with this special type of mayonnaise that would make your taste buds tingle.

The other tapas we had were Sauteed Green beans and the Sirloin Steak with Mushrooms.

These are just the few tapas we had, the menu itself has a plethora of dishes varying from cold dishes and hot dishes and separated by categories such as seafood, meat, and vegetables.

For dessert, we were a bit indecisive because there were so many dishes that sounded delicious. The one we settled with was the Spanish-style Creme Brulee. When the dish arrived, it was a Creme Brulee enclosed in a dark chocolate shell. Accompanying it were blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries.

Overall, Ceviche's brought a very enjoyable experience for me with food, service and presentation.

If I had to rank it from 1-10, I would say service was 8.5, presentation was a 9, and food was a 9.5.

Although, some people out might have some other experiences and think differently.

As I planned this trip over 8 months ago, I realized I would be running through Tampa and thought "holy cow!  I can go see a Rays game!"  Many of you may know, I have sat through many a game at Tropicana Field (when living in the Tampa area) and watched them get their brains beat out.  I had a deep passion for my loveable-loser Devil Rays.  Since I have left, the team was sold, the stadium improved, the team changed thier name to the "Rays" (no Devil), and changed their colors.  And oh yeah, they started WINNING!  After sitting through countless beatdowns in the cheap seats, I moved to Birmingham and never had a chance to share in all of the great things that are going on with that franchise.

Which brings me to my planning stage.  I looked at the baseball schedule and realized that the regular season would end the week before, and thought, "dang!  I won't get to see a game.  Unless they make the playoffs (snort snort)."  And I watched this season unfold, with them leading the AL East the whole way.  What an unbeliveable turnaround.  Worst record in baseball in 2007.  First place in MLB's toughest division in 2008.

So Friday night, I will be at the Rays-Whitesox playoff game at Tropicana Field.  This weekend will be sureal.

Sureal because Alaina and I will return to places we last visited as a struggling (financially), post college couple.  And we will return only a few months before we become husband and wife.

Sureal because I will see Matt Jaeh, a guy I have known since elementary school, get married.

Sureal because I will get to sit in the Trop, where so many baseball games were lost and not cared about, and watch a team now know for winning, where fans suddenly care ALOT.

And sureal, mostly, because.... well, I never get a day off anymore.

Ron Cortes/MCTPittsburg Penguins' Sidney Crosby celebrates a goal by Ryan Malone during last year's Eastern Conference Finals against the Philadelphia Flyers.

The NHL season starts Saturday in Prague, Czech Republic, with the New York Rangers taking on the Tampa Bay Lightning. This season begins after numerous offseason signings and trades that are sure to shake up the standings. Will the Detroit Red Wings repeat? How will the local teams, Washington Capitals and Carolina Hurricanes, do? Which team is the dark horse? Which team will tumble into the depths of last place? Those questions will all be answered.

Following their Stanley Cup Finals victory, the Red Wings decided it would be best to sign another sniper -- Marian Hossa. Surely, this will keep Detroit in the upper echelon of the Western Conference, but things will not be as easy this year. Goalie Dominik Hasek finally retired and defenseman Nick Lidstrom is one year older, as is Chris Chelios. Age has always been a factor for Detroit but they are winners in Hockeytown. However, the Central division, which Detroit is a part of, has been retooled and looks very formidable for the defending champs.

The Chicago Blackhawks are the team to watch in this division, and in the whole NHL. With their two young stars, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane (both could be sophomores or juniors with us here at Virginia Tech), Chicago could easily challenge Detroit for the division crown. Its defense has been bolstered with offseason acquisition Brian Campbell, bringing offense to their blueline. The question mark for Chicago is its goaltender, Cristobal Huet. If he can match his second half of last season with Washington, Chicago will be in tremendous shape.

Let's head back east and take a look at the defending Eastern Conference champions -- the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Pens lost quite a few players in the offseason, namely Gary Roberts, Ryan Malone and, of course, Marian Hossa. This is going to hurt them this year. They are in one of the most difficult divisions in hockey, the Atlantic.

Philadelphia is the main opponent for the Pens. There was not much movement by the Flyers except a huge contract extension for young franchise man Mike Richards. The past year allowed Richards and Briere to gel, and let Braydon Coburn break out into a top defenseman.

The Rangers lost a lot with Jaromir Jagr going to Russia. All of that experience and scoring is now halfway around the world. The pressure now solely rests with centers Scott Gomez and Chris Drury, both entering their second year in Madison Square Garden. The Rangers front office did help the loss of Jagr by bringing in Markus Naslund and blueliner Wade Redden. It will be a three-team race for the Atlantic title, but all three will end up in the playoffs. That means the Devils are out.

We will stay in the Eastern Conference and look at the Southeast division, won last year by Washington. Alexander Ovechkin proved again why he is one of the best players in the game, every bit as good as Sidney Crosby. There is a problem for the Capitals, though -- the Tampa Bay Lightning. Tampa yanked Barry Melrose away from ESPN to be head coach, and with a slew of signees things look bright for the Lightning. This is the dark horse for the NHL. It would not be surprising for them to make it to the Eastern Conference finals, if they can sure up the goaltending.

Wrapping up the east is the Northeast division. Montreal goalie Carey Price, said to be the second coming of Patrick Roy, proved his worth last year. The Canadians dumped some useless salary and are still attempting to bring in will-he-or-won't-he free agent Mats Sundin, your Roger Clemens of hockey. They should finish first in the division.

Montreal's archrival, Boston is going to turn some heads this year. Barring any more injuries, they will be contenders, along with Ottawa and Buffalo in the division. Ottawa is going backwards, and Buffalo is at a stalemate. Now is the time for Buffalo to make its move. Watch for a big trade deadline deal for the Bruins.

Back out west, we find the Northwest and Pacific divisions. In these two, you will find some of the best goaltending and defense in the NHL. It's all about hardnosed hockey here, with the occasional sprinkling of offensive firepower in San Jose and Detroit. The Northwest division lost a lot of talent and players shifted around to teams in the same conference. Anybody can win the Northwest -- it's that simple. Every team has a solid defense backed by exceptional goaltending.

The Pacific division is home to a perennial regular season powerhouse, the San Jose Sharks. The Sharks' problems come in the playoffs, and that is why they fired their coach Ron Wilson last year and brought in one of Detroit's assistant coaches, Todd McClellan, to give the team a new, winning attitude. This coupled with the addition of a revamped blueline -- Rob Blake, Dan Boyle and Brad Lukowich -- means the pieces are once again in place for a deep playoff run.

The Stars and Ducks are going to give the Sharks everything they can handle, though, especially with goalies like Marty Turco and Jean-Sebastien Giguere. Anaheim did not make any huge moves in the offseason, and Dallas lost a few key players from their Conference Finals run. That will not stop them from competing though. Both teams have superior coaches.

With all of that said, this looks to be another fantastic hockey season. More and more fans are tuning in and attending games, bringing back the love for hockey in America. It is truly a great and exciting sport. There is nothing more emotional in sports than seeing players lift the Stanley Cup after a strenuous eight-month journey. That journey begins tomorrow.

- Ray

No experience necessary with this team.

Experience doesn't always serve as a factor in the results.