Thoughts of a Common Man

People all over the world are up in arms over this photo. Again. A rich douche goes on a trophy hunting trip and then kills a majestic beast. We've seen this play out before. Right down to the shitty smile and the ensuing death threats. We have learned the names of the dentist, Walter Palmer, who killed Cecil the Lion with a bow and arrow. Walter Palmer is a straight-up killer. He's not a hunter. He's not a he-man or a great shot. What he is, is the most-hated man around the world right now, because everyone is extremely up in arms with that pose. People hate his smile and people hate the death on the face of a lion. Here we go: I'm not a hunter and I just don't understand it. I get the fact that there are folks who hunt deer and then eat what they kill. I understand that those who love hunting treat it as I treat golf. It's a relaxing thing. It's supposedly a difficult thing to do and those who do it well are really proud of their...

Pedro Martinez wasn't my favorite baseball player of all-time. Actually, I hated him when he was on the Suck Sux and was throwing a 75-year-old man to the ground. Poor Don Zimmer. But Pedro had a great answer when they asked him about this week's D.B. of the Week, Colin Cowherd. "Who is he?" Pedro asked. Cowherd was a sports talk show guy from ESPN. He got fired last week because he made some silly remarks about baseball and the Dominican Republic...basically saying that baseball isn't real complicated if people from the Dominican Republic can understand the complexities of the game. I'm glad to see Cowherd hitting the road. He's always been a bombastic moron. He's always been anti-baseball...telling us how great college and pro football is compared to the M.L.B. Yeah...he glosses over the fact that former players brains are turned to mush. He crows about how difficult it is to manage a football game... ...but how simple baseba...

"Life's a Bitch!" Someone I love dearly sent me that three-word note on Friday as I was trying hard to get back home to get a couple of days rest after a really long week. We had traded texts about our various aches and pains and notes about how difficult things are sometimes. "It's about moments," I answered. "Getting to the moments where we laugh." I've always loved that photo of my Mom and Dad. I try to imagine what they were laughing about. It could have been anything. They made each other laugh for a lot of years. They made everyone around them laugh. When I see that photo I think of a day long ago. A salesperson had shown up at our front door. Dad didn't want to listen to a sales pitch. Mom let the lady in. There was one problem with the entire situation: The woman had badly crossed eyes. Regardless, Mom led the woman to the kitchen table and sat across from her. The woman began to speak. Dad took th...

"If you're seeing a cardiologist, you may want to leave the room," the principal scientist Alan Stern said as he opened up the news conference regarding the discoveries made as the NASA spacecraft returned photos of Pluto. Man, scientists are geeks! Stern went on to explain that there are layers of haze! That the temperatures on Pluto are minus 380 degrees and that ice flows like glaciers!!! Holy crap...I can hardly settle down! And now I know that there are reasons why it is mind-boggling to some people to make these discoveries. (I watch the Big Bang Theory). But what does any of it mean to any of us? There are ponds of frozen nitrogen!!!! An underground ocean might be there!!! Seriously. Does any of this change your life? And here's the thing about that there science stuff. I ain't smart enough to get it. It took 9 and a half years for the spacecraft to travel 3 billion miles to get the first close-up look of Pluto. (When I think o...

The donations are coming in! A Born in the USA Buffalo shirt! A David Phelps autographed ball! David has donated each and every year...what a guy! The 27-Time World Champion Greatest Franchise in the History of Organized American Sports plaque! Another proud to be from the great city of Buffalo shirt! Baltimore is once again representing hard with Dave Neisser leading the way! Wait until you see the goods Dave is bringing along. The signed Rowdy Roddy Piper photo is all me! And most importantly... ...all for Jeff's kids! Now I'm sure that Wif is going to crush me this year with various tasty things to eat. Hope to see you there! The best day of the year. If you'd like to donate a basket...or an item...just let me know! I need to work on getting some leg strength... ...if I can't play... I can guarantee I can eat! Let's go Lions! We're ready to celebrate!

Hulk Hogan makes the rounds on the morning talk shows... ...I always thought he was kind of dim-witted. His entire act is pretty lame, but he made a lot of money running around in his yellow tights. But he was always sorta' dopey to me. He easily wins D.B. of the Week this week with his racist rant about a black guy dating his daughter. And it's not just the brutal sentences he managed to string together that gets him the award. Let's review: Steroids - check. Weird leering at his own daughter - check. Nasty divorce with full name calling and stories of horrendous behavior - check. Sleeping with his best friend's wife - check. Taping it - check. Acting crazy when the tape was leaked - check. Suing everyone - check. Crying for forgiveness - check. Anyone surprised by the racist rant? But that's not to say that the Hulkster won't have his backers. About ten years ago I was at the wrestling matches with my boys. Thank God that p...

There have been times in my life when I'd lower the window and hand the guy standing on the corner at Teall Avenue in Syracuse a handful of change. Late yesterday afternoon I didn't even look at him. And I'm not a miserable enough person who wants to shout out: "Get a job!" I don't know that guy's story and deep down I've always felt some compassion. I just had a very hard week...again...a lot of work...and I didn't feel like being brought down. I knew what his sign said: Homeless! War Vet!! Hungry!!!! Can you spare a dime???? "We passed him the other day," one of the guys who works in the nearby office said, "And he was talking on an I-phone." So. He has a phone. That doesn't mean he ain't broke. Yet you hear all the stories of men making good money...tax-free money...and then going to a home anyway... The 'Homeless' thing is false advertising. They'll just buy drugs or booz...