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Go Team! You SUCK!!

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I followed a Yankees fan page on Facebook figuring I’d get a little information and a few updates about my favorite squad. Every article - written by a ‘fan’ of the team was ridiculously negative. “Boone should be fired for this lineup.” That was before the game (which they won by the way) and I skipped it. Then I noticed that the ‘fan page’ was 98% negative. I’m a newbie to the NHL playoffs. The city of Buffalo has fallen hard for the Sabres, so you’d think they’d get some love, right? “Their power play sucks!” “Someone needs to get Power off my team!!” And my favorite… …3 games into the playoffs that you’ve been waiting on for 15 years… …”I’m done watching! This team can’t win the cup!!” There are fans who scream bloody murder every time their ‘favorite’ teams lose a game. Some people send death threats to the players and coaches. Just nasty. I’m an optimistic Yankees fan. I know the game is hard. Guys don’t want to strike out. Enjoy the game… …you don’t have to hate the team you lov...
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Another Ford Escape

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We’ve needed a vehicle for a while. Well, not really, but the Jeep spends a lot of time on the disabled list and while we were sharing the black Ford Escape, with Kathy making appointments for when she figured I’d get home… …whatever. I grew weary of changing the mirrors every morning. “We should get a new car,” I mentioned on Sunday.  It was a throw-away line, said halfheartedly. On Monday I got a text during the work day: “I found a new Escape.” This is where I mention that I HATE change. I’ve had 5 straight Ford Escapes because I don’t like a different look. “Really?” Kathy also knows that I don’t want to talk to a salesman - ever - and that I don’t want to see an endless photo shoot of vehicles. By the end of the day on Monday she’d asked when I wanted to sign the papers. She sent me a photo of the vehicle. By Wednesday afternoon, after just ten minutes with the sales guy, I drove the red Escape out of the lot, and that’s when there was angst. The seat was different. The music ...
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An Award for Safety

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I’m not a guy who likes to attend meetings, or conferences, or luncheons or dinners after work. I like to do my job and go home. Which is why my friends in the safety community - which is a tight-knit group of people who are genuinely concerned with making the industry safe - needed to put in a colossal effort to get me to show up to receive what amounts to a lifetime achievement award for my years of work. First, they lied to me. Told me that the award was going to a lifelong friend.  They also involved Matt and Jake, and then mostly subtly avoided me so they didn’t have to continue to make up stories. Their cover story was a good one because I had to go watch my decades long friend get an award. And as another close friend started the introduction, it didn’t take long to figure out that he was talking about my resume. It’s an odd thing to receive an award because we all live our lives trying to do the best we can (or at least I hope so) and being recognized for it is a little wei...
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Buffalo About to Explode

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The Sabres played their first playoff game in 15 years on Sunday night, and for more than 2 and a half periods the Sabres couldn’t score. The arena wasn’t exactly quiet, but there was nervousness. I felt badly for my boys - especially Jake who texted me during every game all season long. I watched the first two periods on the big television - Boston had a 1-0 lead - but decided to go to a smaller screen for the 3rd period. Boston scored early in the third and I figured that would do it for game one, but I sent an upbeat text to Jake. “Sabres are dominating them. Just have to get one and the floodgates will open.” They got one. They got two just two minutes later. They got three two minutes after that. Then an empty net goal. “Holy shit!” Jake responded. The crowd in the arena going insane was incredible. The crowd standing outside the arena in 38 degree weather was in an absolute frenzy. They held on. “Geez, that’s only game one.” Imagine if they went to the cup final. Dream about winn...
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Did Nothing

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Went to bed in decent enough shape on Friday night, but woke up Saturday morning thinking: “I feel like garbage.” I couldn’t put my finger on any symptoms. A half-ass headache, no energy. A friend of mine reminded me of the old show, ‘Veep’. This is the golden age of television because it’s like snapping your fingers. I put ‘Veep’ on and watched it, and watched it, and watched it… …only getting up to play with Ollie. Still lousy with rest. Then I caught a glimpse of the backyard. Maybe moving would make me feel better. 👎  Took a nap when I was done. Watched the Yankees. Back to bed. And Sunday wasn’t much better. So, I go into the week well rested. I even stayed away from the news. Yankees swept the weekend. Sabres are in the playoffs. They stopped him from dropping a nuke… …and I’m feeling better.
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It Was Staged

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And now they’re kicking around the idea that the assassination attempt in Butler, PA., was staged. Here’s the thing: The first time I saw the footage, I said: “Yeah. That’s bullshit.” There has never been investigation because the guy who was supposedly shot in the ear didn’t want it to continue. Here’s what made it abundantly clear that it was about as real as an episode of smack down. 1). Everyone at the rally and the secret service watched a kid, carrying a rifle, scale the building closest to the stage, and they didn’t try and stop him. 2). He stood up, and secret service agents ducked down, and they raised the flag behind him so he could yell, ‘Fight, fight fight.” That’s not what secret service agents do. 3). There was absolutely no injury to his ear. At all. Check the photos in the seconds after the attempt. 4). The shooter was killed. Quick, what was his name? What do we know about him? Why isn’t captain narcissistic mentioning his name? 5). They stopped the investigation immed...
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Let’s Go Buffalo!

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The Sabres are playing their first playoff game- in 15 years! - on Sunday night. This town is going to go crazy… …the arena will be packed and fans will line the streets all around the building.  Of course it’ll only be about 35 degrees…but who cares, right? And for the first time in a while, I’m invested. My son Jake is a fanatic and he texted me every time a Sabre scored this year, so I started paying attention. What makes me laugh is that I saw that one of their players - Zach Benson - is just 20 years old. By the time he arrived on this earth I was already way over the freaking hill. Hell, I have kids who are more than a decade older than him. The hockey playoffs are an absolute grind. This first round series won’t even be over until May. The cup isn’t awarded until nearly July… …it may not be under 50 degrees by then. Let’s hope it’s a good, long run. We need it because this weather has absolutely sucked. So. Oh, ah, Sabres on the warpath!
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