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The Rays had no choice but to deny it — that the reason they lost yesterday’s game was because of a collective hangover; and I don’t mean emotional hangover, but the kind of hangover you get from drinking way too much on a Saturday night.

Of course they lost the season’s last home game because they were, probably to a man, fighting the effects of the previous night’s alcohol intake. Dozens of cases of beer consumed. Dozens of bottles of champagne. If you’ve ever tried to take a jog with a vile hangover, you know how debilitated you are. Now try to focus on a low-and-outside slider.

Hey, I don’t blame the guys for getting wasted after clinching the team’s first ever playoff spot on Saturday. And I don’t blame them for not admitting that the after-effects of boozing contributed to the loss — just so long as they realize that much more work is to be done to hold off Boston for the AL East title, and they get back in gear tonight.

Celebrating too early and allowing the Sox to pass them in the division race would really set a bad note for the playoffs, and that includes forfeiting home field advantage.

Shit, I almost forgot. Congratulations Rays. You got it done — the first part, at least.

• I can’t remember the last time the Bucs were in a barnburner like yesterday’s win against the Bears, and it was fun to watch. I give Brian Griese big ups for staying resilient and rallying his team.

As of Wednesday, Aug. 20, the Blurbex blog will be folded into our new blog, The Daily Loaf.

Rays centerfielder B.J. Upton got booed last night — in his home park. That can’t feel good. After being benched twice in the last few weeks by manager Joe Maddon for lack of hustle, Upton made a baserunning error that looked really, really bad:

He hit a sharp shot to right, then hung around the batter’s box admiring the flight of the ball, thinking it was a homerun. Then he ambled down the first base line when he realized it would stay in the park. An easy double. He jogged around first and coasted toward second base. The Angels first baseman followed behind him, took the throw from the outfield and tagged Upton just before he touched second.

Upton looked shocked. He’d been tricked. Worse, it was not a good time to appear lazy on the baseball diamond. He hung his head. All this scrutiny, he had to be thinking, I just don’t need this.

Thing is, I don’t see Upton as lazy. At least not in this case. 99 times out of a hundred, that hit turns into an easy double. The first baseman doesn’t shadow you down the line and tag you.

As I was driving out of my cul de sac in St. Pete, ready to brave Tropical Storm Fay and — fuck it — drive across the bridge to the CL office in Tampa, I had to make a hard right turn to avoid a downed palm branch! Phew. A few blocks later, another downed palm frond. I made it to the office and am hunkered down here for the duration. Where's ABC Action News and Don Germaise? I want my on-camera!

From the two school systems:

Hillsborough Schools Closed Tuesday

Tampa, Fla. – (August 18, 2008) – Due to the threat of Tropical Storm Fay and the need to open shelters, Hillsborough County Public Schools will be closed on Tuesday, Aug. 19. The School Board meeting scheduled for Tuesday has also been canceled.

The latest information available shows that the Tropical Storm is expected to bring heavy rains and strong winds to the Tampa Bay area on Tuesday.

School officials will be in constant contact with Emergency Operations Center officials monitoring the path and intensity of the storm.  A decision will be made tomorrow (Tuesday) regarding the possibility of reopening schools on Wednesday, and we will use all our communications tools and rely on local media to help get out the word.

and:

Schools, Offices Closed Due to Tropical Storm Fay

All Pinellas County public schools and district offices will be closed Tuesday, Aug. 19, due to Tropical Storm Fay. Julie M. Janssen, Ed.D., interim superintendent, made the decision Monday afternoon based on information from the Pinellas County Emergency Operations Center.

All planned activities at schools today (Monday, Aug. 18) will go on as scheduled, including back-to-school activities for parents.

Parents are urged to stay tuned for communication updates that will be available on the district website, www.pcsb.org; the district’s recorded emergency phone line, (727) 588-6424; Pinellas County Schools’ television, WDPS-TV14 (which may be found on Bright House Networks Ch. 614, Knology Ch. 14 and Verizon Ch. 46), and in media reports. There also will be Connect-ED phone messages from the district to parents with the latest information.

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My job searching isn't off to a good start.

I was supposed to have my first post-college graduation interview today and it went ... , well, it actually didn't go at all. I walked out completely disappointed and angry and feeling scammed.

A few weeks ago I applied for a job with the City of St. Petersburg — I won't say which job because I don't want the competition — and was delighted when I got a call a couple days ago to schedule an interview with someone I thought was the City of St. Petersburg. How could I have been mistaken, you ask? See the exchange below:

Stephanie: "I'm calling about a position we have available. Are you still looking for a position?"

Ben: "Weellllll, yyyess ..." I said non-commitally. (At this point she hasn't told me where she is calling from. I get a lot of job offers to sell pest control services, cars and, ironically, insurance, and I suspected it was that type of call).

Stephanie: "You don't sound too sure about that."

Ben: "Well I am looking, but I just graduated from college on Saturday so I haven't really done a big search yet. Plus, I don't even know where you are calling from." (Here was the point at which a person with less underhanded leanings would have given me a company name, etc. Keep reading to see where the confusion lies.)

Stephanie: "I'm calling from St. Petersburg."

Ben: "You mean the City of St. Petersburg?"

Stephanie: "Yes

I realize that Stephanie had no way of knowing I had applied for a job with the City of St. Petersburg. She just got lucky that I was actually hoping to hear from someone who was calling from St. Petersburg — not the City, but the city — you know what I mean. So you can understand my confusion today when I couldn't find the place she sent me to — I was, after all, looking for an office of — that's right — St. Petersburg. After driving up and down Seminole Blvd. (within city limits according to Mapquest, but still: why would St. Petersburg have an office way out there? Not a giveaway, but certainly a red flag that was on my mind ever since Stephanie, if that is her real name, gave me the address), I finally found the place and ... Damn! It belongs to United American Insurance Company (see above sentence regarding irony).

In my disbelief I actually parked and went in. A quick visual scan of the place confirmed that I definitely was not interviewing for the job I thought I was interviewing for. It was a small room with eight to 10 cubicles filed with a few young dudes in suits. One guy was asking another guy, who was obviously his superior, about a problem with a customer's policy (there may be problems for more than just one customer, as it turns out). I caught an unpleasant-smelling breeze from what I think was most likely a revolving door.

I asked and the woman at the desk by the front door said she was Stephanie. After getting my name she said she had some paperwork for me to fill out. I asked if it is for an insurance sales job and she confirmed that, yes, it is to sell insurance.

"Then don't bother, I'm not interested."

She asked me if I wanted Stephanie to take my name off the list (she lacks a firm grasp on the obvious, that one). I started to say "Aren't you Stephanie?" but then decided I just wanted to get out of there so I gave her a disgusted "Yes, please do" and walked out.

I could have said it much nicer over the phone a few days ago, had I been given the chance.

Back to the drawing board. Or the Monster job boards, anyway.

(Ben Fry just graduated from USF-St. Pete and completed an internship at Creative Loafing.)

Isaac Hayes, that pimpin’ progenitor of symphonic soul, died yesterday at 65; relatives found him by a still-running treadmill in his home in Memphis.

Hayes, aka Black Moses, contributed to the soundtrack of my high school years.

His biggest hit, “Theme From Shaft,” starts with a long instrumental section built around swirling strings and wah-wah-drenched rhythm guitar. Then the songs glides into Hayes’s buttery baritone.

The lyrics include the iconic line, “They say this cat Shaft is a bad muthah” [then the girl vocalists drown him out] “Shut your mouth!”

Here’s a fun clip of Hayes on stage performing “Shaft” with his mammoth ensemble. A ’fro-wearing, dashiki’ed Jesse Jackson introduces him.

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We’ve finally found something that President George W. Bush is good at:  

Cheerleader. 

Jock prez Bush has been all over the Beijing Olympics, sitting in the stands, kibitzing with the athletes, riding the mountain bike course. After beach volleyballer Misty May-Treanor invited him to slap her on the ass – a customary gesture of encouragement – Bush obliged with a little tap on her lower back. C’mon Dubya, get into the spirit, man. She offered. And she has a pretty nice ass.

I don’t blame Bush for living it up at the Olympics. He’s the ultimate lame duck who’s just cashing in on his VIP status, milking all the swag he can get. 

It’s a bit of a sad commentary, of course: Bush waving to the athletes from the stands, winking, smiling his fratboy smile. He’s a good fan, a true believer, a total U.S. Olympic team booster. He seems so much in his element.  

Which just underscores how bad he is at everything else. At the Olympics, he is excelling as a figurehead. If only we could’ve kept him in that role for the last eight years.