#HMBlog: Tampa Bay Lightning's Mathieu Joseph eats poutine out of the Stanley Cup

As Afghanistan fell back into the hands of the Taliban this week, another failed Terror State celebrated with the Stanley Cup in a delicious manner. Our own Mathieu Joseph, a native of Quebec took the cup back home and filled it with the rich Canadian treat consisting of cheese curds, french fries and brown gravy.

No word on if he finished the whole thing, but now that the war in Afghanistan is over, we have plenty of firepower to send to our “neighbors” to the north. Check out the video below:

Now that’s fine dining. 🏆🤌@MathJoseph7 pic.twitter.com/5qi2rbWSRS

— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) August 15, 2021

#HMBlog: Lightning's national anthem singer battling COVID-19 despite being vaccinated

10 Tampa Bay reporting:

Tampa Bay Lightning fans are rallying behind the team's national anthem singer Sonya Bryson-Kirksey after reports said she was dealing with serious health matters.

10 Tampa Bay reached out to her husband, Jimmie Kirksey Jr. and he confirmed she was in the hospital with COVID-19. He says she was admitted July 16 to the hospital and is not on a ventilator.

Kirksey says his wife is immunocompromised. And, he says if she hadn't gotten the COVID-19 vaccine shot, "she might not be here."

He tells us he can't visit her in the hospital and said, while she's in good spirits, it's been hard being alone.

Jimmie Kirksey provided the following statement to 10 Tampa Bay:

"She's doing better. Still having problems breathing. She wants everyone to please get the vaccine. Even though she got the Delta Variant. She got it from an unvaccinated person. She has MS so her immune system is not as strong as mine. I've been with her and didn't get it. But my immune system isn't like hers. If she hadn't gotten the shot she might not be here. People are coming in with the Delta Variant and wanting the shot now. Doctors are telling it's too late. And they are going straight on ventilation. It has to run its course. But prayers are what we need at this moment. Thank you all for love and support ❤"

#HMBlog: The Stanley Cup was involved in an accident...

Yikes! A photo just emerged on Twitter from @BoltsJolts of what appears to be (who else?) Pat Maroon holding a dented Stanley Cup.

That’ll buff out. https://t.co/lpTMYYMBzq pic.twitter.com/25A11bdY2t

— Bolts Jolts (@BoltsJolts) July 12, 2021

Whoopsie Daisy…look, accidents happen when you’re having fun (& we are). No comment yet on the incident but I figure it will go something like this:

#HMBlog: Well, "Champa Bay" is officially Cringe.

The Shark was jumped today, “Champa Bay” is officially CRINGE. The official White House Twitter account put the nail in the coffin with a tweet this afternoon, subtweeting President Biden’s congratulations to the team for helping America take down Canadastan in the Stanley Cup final.

CHAMPA BAY https://t.co/x9szle25yI

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 9, 2021

It was already teetering on cringe last night, when our Pulitzer winning newspaper, the Tampa Bay Times changed their Twitter name to “Champa Bay Times”

decided @TB_Times needed a rebrand 😝📰 #gobolts #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/IFoUyxAFdi

— Bernadette Berdychowski (@bberdychowski) July 8, 2021

Yea, I dunno, maybe I’m a stick in the mud but I hate puns as it is and when you see nerds takeover a thing and start using it, it’s always over. Just ask #BlackTwitter and as always, Go Bolts.

#HMBlog: Lakeland to host Great Florida Bigfoot Conference this Saturday

Is there a better place for a Bigfoot conference than Lakeland, Florida? This Saturday you can catch some cryptozoologists talk Bigfoot, better knows as the “Skunk Ape” here in Florida which is allegedly hiding somewhere in Myakka State Park. I like to think of the Skunk Ape as the Ultimate Florida Man, personally.

From 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the RP Funding Center’s Youkey Theatre, Skunk Ape experts, cryptozoologists, investigators, myth-busters and Bigfoot-related vendors will gather in a day of discussion and panels. The focus will be on Bigfoot, but more specifically, the elusive Florida Skunk Ape. In Florida, there is no definitive statistics on Skunk Ape sightings, but The Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization lists 332 Skunk Ape sightings in Florida, most recently in January.

So head on down to Lakeland this weekend, nerds. Check out the event page HERE to get tickets.

#HMBlog: Lightning Championship Boat Parade planned for this Monday & Nikita Kucherov slams beer & Montreal at post-game presser

The Tampa Bay Lightning won their second Stanley Cup in as many years last night, beating the Montreal Canadians 1-0 in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final. Another Championship means another boat parade, that scheduled to take place this Monday July 12th on the Tampa Riverfront according to Fox 13.

A highlight of the post-game fun was a shirtless Nikita Kucherov slamming a beer and the city of Montreal. “The fans in Montreal, come on,” said Kucherov. “They acted like they won the Stanley Cup, last game. You kidding me? You kidding me? Their final was last series, ok.” Kucherov was also unhappy about his goalie, Andrei Vasilevskiy, being snubbed for the Vezina Trophy, awarded to the best goalie in hockey every year & closing out his displeasure with a very fitting “number one bullshit”, we couldn’t agree more. Check out the full clip below:

#HMBlog: Tampa comedian Cam Bertrand will compete on ‘America’s Got Talent’

Catch Tampa comic and former guest Cam Bertrand on tonight’s episode of America’s Got Talent. Cam has come a long way from the Sly Bar Comedy Open mic & it’s great for the Tampa comedy scene to have him represented on National TV, good luck Cam.

Congratulations @CamTheComic, long way from the Sly Bar open mic to here! https://t.co/XJshsLve5c

— Will Kuncz (@home_made_man) July 5, 2021

#HMBlog: Tampa Mayor Jane Castor says she wants the Lightning to lose tonight in game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor is drawing some heat today for saying she wants the Lightning to lose tonight’s Game 5 in the Stanley Cup Final so the team can come back home on Wednesday and win it at home.

HOT TAKE: Mayor @JaneCastor thinks the Bolts should ditch the sweep and win the #StanleyCup in 5. What do ya think, #bolts fans? #GoBolts @TBLightning @BN9 @SpecSports360 pic.twitter.com/edPLUlAR3H

— Adria Iraheta ⚡️ (@AdriaIrahetaTV) July 4, 2021

She’s not wrong, it would be cool to win the cup here at home. The Bucs were able to do it at home this year in the Super Bowl and it would be cool to win two championships at home in the same year but would you risk it? It’s unlikely that Montreal could come back in this series but you never know. The team, no doubt, wants to end it tonight. Yes, winning at home is great and all but it would also be nice to win that failed terror-state’s main export, the Stanley Cup in their own country and take it back home the day after we celebrated America and it’s independence. Either way, Montreal will probably go up in flames tonight. Mission accomplished, we hope. USA! USA! USA! Go Bolts!

George W Bush GIF from Missionaccomplished GIFs

#HMBlog - C'MON MAN! Biden, Trudeau bet on NHL Stanley Cup finals

WASHINGTON, June 28 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden has accepted Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's offer they bet on the National Hockey League's Stanley Cup finals between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Montreal Canadiens.

In a Twitter post on Monday night, Trudeau challenged Biden. “Two of the best teams in the NHL are facing off right now. How about a friendly wager, @POTUS?” using Biden’s Twitter handle.

“You’re on pal. #GoBolts,” Biden responded.

You’re on pal. #GoBolts https://t.co/jOhA7IB2bE

— President Biden (@POTUS) June 29, 2021

The exchange of tweets did not say what the two leaders were wagering, but hopefully it’s a wall built on the border to shield us from the failed terror-state known as “Canada”.

#HMBlog: Former Tampa Bay Buccaneer & current Raider, Carl Nassib, makes history as first active openly gay player in the NFL

Las Vegas Raiders defensive lineman Carl Nassib became the first active NFL player in history to announce that he is gay. Nassib played for the Buccaneers in 2018-19 and has 12.5 sacks during that time. He took to his Instagram to make the announcement:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Carl Nassib (@carlnassib)

“What’s up people,” Nassib posted on Instagram. “I’m at my house in West Chester Pennsylvania. I just wanted to take a quick moment to say that I’m gay. I’ve been meaning to do this for a while now but finally feel comfortable getting it off my chest. I really have the best life, the best family, friends and job a guy can ask for.

“I’m a pretty private person so I hope you guys know that I’m not doing this for attention. I just think that representation and visibility are so important. I actually hope that one day, videos like this and the whole coming out process are not necessary, but until then I will do my best and my part to cultivate a culture that’s accepting and compassionate and I’m going to start by donating $100,000 to the Trevor Project. They’re an incredible organization, they’re the number one suicide-prevention service for LGBTQ youth in America.”

Nassib, 28, is enterting his sixth NFL season, his second with the Raiders after stints with the Browns and Buccaneers. He has 20.5 career sacks.

#HMBlog: Facebook hoax or naked truth for Siesta Key?

Good news for Sarasota deviants, the East section of Siesta Key Beach is now clothing optional from 6am to 9pm. All of you sick bastards can now let it all hang out and sun your BH between those hours guilt free…

“We would like to remind everybody that on June 9th, the East section of Siesta Key Beach will be designated as a ‘Clothing optional’ beach from 6am to 9pm,” reads last Monday’s Facebook post from an account called “Sarasota County.” “Please plan your beach days accordingly and have a great week!”

Of course, this isn’t true. It’s from a satire Facebook page called “Sarasota County”. I mean, it looks legit from the name but the page is pretty clearly marked in it’s description: Your #1 source for *REAL current events in Sarasota and surrounding areas. If you are looking for the Official Sarasota County Government page, please visit https://www.facebook.com/SRQCountyGov/. We are a satire account. *parody

Sorry freaks, keep your dongs and giners in your swimsuits & remember to not take everything you see on the Internet as gospel or your might end up showing your ass, literally.

#HMBlog: City of Brooksville accidentally sells its Water Tower

BROOKSVILLE, Fla. (AP) — A small town in Florida accidentally sold its water tower in a blundered real estate transaction.

A businessman purchased a municipal building underneath the city of Brooksville’s water tower last April for $55,000 with the goal of converting it into a gym. However, when Bobby Read went to the county to get an address for his new business location, he was told the parcel he bought included the entire water tower site, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

Luckily for the town, Read was willing to give it back. County records show he transferred the water tower back to Brooksville through a warranty deed last month. The town of 8,500 residents is located 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Tampa.

“I don’t know where the blame falls here,” said Blake Bell, a city council member. “We’re council members and we rely on the city manager. We assume that he has done his due diligence.”

City Manager Mark Kutney blamed the use of a bad legal description for what happened. The city’s redevelopment agency director resigned after the accidental sale.

“We’re human,” Kutney said. “Sometimes we make a mistake.”

#HMBlog: Tom Brady breaks his silence on the infamous "4th Down" blunder against the Bears

Tampa Tom hit up the Buccaneers TikTok to go over some of the more infamous plays of the 2019-2020 Buccaneers season. Two were highlighted in particular, the first was a touchdown bomb to Scotty Miller. “Look at Scooter ... running by [King],” Brady said. “Bowling Green State University’s finest ... We’re not playing it safe. No risk it, no biscuit!”

The second highlighted clip was from an incomplete pass to Cameron Brate with 38 seconds left in Chicago, a play where Tom seemed to thing that it was 4th down with that incompletion, but alas, no, the game was over…

“You guys remember this one?” Brady asked, before face-palming himself. “Fourth quarter, last chance in Chicago. I thought it was the second-to-last chance in Chicago, but apparently not. I don’t think I’ve ever been as confused as I am in this moment right here. Look at that face.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@buccaneers)

Now…do we believe him? Did he actually forget it was fourth down or was he trying to use his Tom Brady GOAT magic to try to convince the ref’s that maybe it was actually 4th down because how would the best QB of all time possibly screw that up? Well, even so, no matter, the Bucs still hoisted the Lombardi a few months later. We still love you, Tommy.

#HMBlog: Ladies and Gentleman...they got him. Florida Man arrested in Zephyrhills

Reported by Yahoo News:

A 28-year-old Zephyrhills man was arrested Saturday on felony burglary charges in connection with break-ins and thefts at seven businesses, police said.

His name, according to a news release: “Mr. Florida.”

In the early morning hours Saturday, Zephyrhills police said, Lawrence Franklin King Florida entered the back area of The Great Catch restaurant, 5039 First St., and took beer and White Claw seltzer valued at $600 from a freezer. Florida threw the beverages into a retention pond behind the store, police said.

Next, according to the news release, “Mr. Florida walked to Massey Barbershop, 5330 6th St., broke a side window, entered the business, and took a set of clippers, charging stand, and Otium wireless earbuds.”

Florida’s next targets, police said, in order:

Lisa’s Barber Shop, 5517 Gall Blvd., where he broke the glass front door and stole five clippers and two pairs of scissors valued at $1,000.

The Carpet and Floor Source, 5527 Gall Blvd., where he broke a side window and entered but didn’t take anything, police said.

Living Foods Bakery & Cafe, 38201 10th Ave., where he stole about $800 in cash along with jackets and keys.

Zephyrhills Veterinary Clinic, 5655 Gall Blvd., where he broke a window, triggering an alarm, but apparently took nothing. Keys and a bag of coins were found in a dumpster at the business.

Cat Rescue, 38245 15th Ave., where he broke into a shed and stole, cat wormer, animal pain medication, and syringes.

A truck in the 5900 block of Ninth Street, where he broke in and stole tools in a briefcase.

Video from a home doorbell camera on 12th Avenue helped track down the thief, police said. The homeowner identified a man on the video as Florida, his neighbor, wearing the same clothes he was seen in during the burglaries, police said.

Florida was arrested about 10:30 p.m. Saturday. He admitted to the break-ins and walked with police to show them where he dumped the stolen items, according to the news release.

Florida was being held Tuesday in the Pasco County Jail in lieu of $5,150 bail on charges including five counts of burglary.

#HMBlog: Video of Florida Panthers fan asked to remove jersey in Amalie Arena goes viral

A video of a Florida fan being asked to remove his Panthers jersey at Wednesday’s Game 6 in Tampa is going viral, Brad Bargman’s YouTube post has gotten 84,000 views since being put up on Thursday. The Lightning have had a “only Lightning gear” policy in place in the club areas in the Chase and Lexus clubs.

The New York Times did a story on the Lightning’s restrictive ticket policy in 2015 during the Rangers series in the Eastern Conference finals.

After getting backlash over the encounter, the Lightning announced today that they would be doing away with that policy according to ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski:

The Tampa Bay Lightning will no longer enforce a policy that restricts fans from wearing gear supporting other NHL clubs in their premium seating areas, the team tells ESPN. This decision comes after a viral video featuring Panthers fans confronted by arena staff. More to come.

— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) May 28, 2021

What do you think about the move? Should teams be able to restrict what patron’s wear to their games? Comment below.

#HMBlog: Tom Brady, Meme King, Destroyer of Twitter Feeds & Aaron Rodgers

Tom Brady may have ditched workouts with the Bucs this week but never question his competitive spirit. After the success of last summer’s The Match where Brady and Phil Mickelson took on Peyton Manning and Tiger Woods during the heart of the Coronavirus Pandemic, an encore was just announced, which will feature Brady and Phil Mickelson taking on Aaron Rodgers and Bryson DeChambeau on July 6.

Brady unleashed a trio of tweets on Wednesday, using the extremely meme-able screen shot of Brooks Koepka rolling his eyes as DeChambeau walked by his chat with The Golf Channel after the final round of the PGA Championship on Sunday.

pic.twitter.com/85G0OKpdOA

— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) May 26, 2021

pic.twitter.com/2VSwR4vm06

— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) May 26, 2021

pic.twitter.com/H8XqiMCJpk

— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) May 26, 2021

Hasn’t Aaron suffered enough? Maybe, but we can’t say it’s not fun. Who comes out victorious in The Match? Leave your comments below.

#HMBlog: New Era's Tampa Bay Rays edition of ‘Local Market’ hat omits Tropicana Field’s 727 area code

The Tampa Bay Rays are on fire. They’ve won 11 straight and just took possession of first place in the AL East. Yes, there is still a lot of baseball to play but there is a buzz in St. Petersburg about their hometown team. Someone better tell that to New Era, the hat company who is the exclusive hat provider of Major League Baseball since 1993.

Each year, New Era puts out a “Local Market” edition of each baseball cities hometown. This year, the Rays cap features the state of Florida and the number 1998 in reference to the team’s inaugural season as well as Florida staples including a flamingo, a palm tree, and an orange. Also, the area code “813” is featured on the front of the cap. 813 which is centered on Tampa and includes surrounding communities such as Brandon, Land O’ Lakes, Oldsmar, Riverview, Thonotosassa, Town ‘n’ Country, Valrico and Zephyrhills.

The Rays play in St. Petersburg however, the 727 area code, which is not featured on the hat. The Rays may not be in St. Pete for long, with talks in process to redevelop the Trop site after the City of St. Pete and the Rays lease contract ends in 2027. However, for now, they reside in St. Pete, the 727! If nothing else, in the age of disinformation spreading across the internet, we need accuracy now more than ever. New Era needs to either fix this mistake or St. Pete Mayor Rick Kriseman needs to draft a militia to take over Tampa and surrounding area’s to win the battle of disinformation- either is fine with me.

#HMBlog: Two women steal dildo's from Salty's in Gulfport

Earlier this week two women entered Salty’s in Gulfport and left with a buzz in more way than one. After sitting down, the security camera caught them swipe a bucket full of dildo’s meant for an upcoming charity “Vibrator Race” benefiting Gulfport Pride. The women were caught after their likenesses were plastered across many St. Pete Crime Facebook Groups. One of the gals said she thought the bucket was full of darts (which I guess it kind of was in a way). The theft is reported by The Gabber at over $200 dollars for the toys. I don’t know who they are getting their sex-toys from, but these folks need a new Dildo Guy. Just be the looks of these two, the charity may be letting them keep the bucket of toys. The show will go on though! Talk crime and raise money for the Gulfport Library’s LGBTQ Resource Center at the vibrator races at 6 p.m. on Saturday, May 29 at Salty’s: 5413 Shore Blvd S, Gulfport, FL 33707

HMBlog: A quick note regarding 2021

Hello friends, I hope your 2021 is looking bright so far. Granted we are a few days in and it feels much the same as 2020 but who knows what is in store. I guess that’s part of the fun, isn’t it? We can hope and maybe we will get lucky. Yes, objectively “the new year” doesn’t really exist and it’s just the Earth completing one rotation around the Sun. I’m sure Neil deGrasse Tyson has already crafted an annoying tweet alerting us all to this reality in his snarky tone that only he can bluster. That aside, we will pin up our new calendars and it gives the illusion of a fresh start, it feels new even though it’s very old.

I’ve been enjoying my “time off” which has been pretty work filled. I had the opportunity over the past few months to fill in on The Mike Calta Show over Thanksgiving and Christmas with Johnny B. It’s rewarding knowing those guys trust us with that show and always good to pick up a few dozen social media followers with that exponentially larger audience (by the way, follow me at @home_made_man on Instagram and Twitter). I have to remember sometimes to take a step back, I get frustrated with where I’m at now and while you don’t want to look back you have to take a quick peek sometimes just to remember how long the road is behind you even though there’s still a lot of terrain still to go. Of course we all want to change the world and maybe even conquer it. Alas, we’re dogs chasing a car, we wouldn’t know what to do with the car if we caught it (aside from getting dragged along the asphalt and broken teeth). One step at a time, I guess. At least it would make a funny Instagram video.

I started this podcast many years ago and I’m still no where close to where I thought it would be by now and that’s okay. It’s a bummer but it’s okay. From what I’ve read about others experience with creating content is that it’s irrelevant until it’s not and there’s a good chance it might not ever be. That tipping point is instantaneous though so I’ll keep talking and chasing the carrot. There’s always time to kill, hopefully.

The subject matter of HMBradio has changed over the years from getting high with my roommate and being as edgy as possible, trying to garner some attention which is hard when you are quite literally a nobody screaming into the void. I started having on my friends and then their friends who were artists and makers in St. Pete. I miss those shows but I don’t miss chasing people down and getting stood up on more occasions than I would have liked. Working a day-job and then being promoted to a “full-time” on-air personality on The Bone has been a dream come true but it’s hindered the podcast, no doubt. I don’t have the time to chase people down anymore, are there even artists left here in St. Pete? I’m very much out of the loop on the cultural scene here in town, all I see are rich women carrying little dogs in yoga pants. I’m not complaining, I’m just saying…

I guess I’m adapting to my environment and what the city is now. The podcast kind of turned into me complaining about media and politics and that probably isn’t interesting to people who were sitting through boring chats with local artists who are local for a reason. When Anna got fired from The Bone and Stay Woke ended it allowed the opportunity to essentially do Stay Woke via podcast which is where the show is now. I’m excited about that prospect moving forward, we work well together. The podcast will be back next week and back on Radio St. Pete on Sunday the 10th. I’d like to beg and plead with you to subscribe to the podcast where you get your podcasts, it should be everywhere. I’d also like to ask that you share it and give it a five star rating, these are small things and they help out immensely.

If you receive this message and take the time to read it- I hope you enjoyed your holiday, I hope you have a job, I hope you aren’t going hungry and I hope you’re doing well enough. I know there are many who aren’t and I hope things get better soon. Please forgive my grammar and spelling errors. Talk soon. -W

#HMBlog: Did the Buccaneers just confirm new uniforms for next season on Twitter?

The Buccaneers uniforms stink, just about everyone is in agreement on that. They’ve been widely mocked on social media for their “alarm clock numbers” & for years the fans have been begging for a new design. Yesterday on the 11th buzz started on social platforms after official Bucs accounts started commenting the eyes emoji on posts calling for the new threads.

Did I figure out the @Buccaneers' new uniform plans? pic.twitter.com/QJQ6X2uYrA

— Samer Ali (@Samer__Ali) February 11, 2020

This morning, the Buccaneers released a video on their social platforms that seems to hint at fan’s prayers being answered. The Bucs are getting new uniforms…probably…it’s not confirmed but c’mon…this is happening…right?

pic.twitter.com/jKK7Vw3NJD

— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) February 12, 2020

Are you excited for the change? Comment below.