College basketball season is here, and Syracuse fans can go to the book

Basketball season has begun, and that’s a good thing here in Central New York. In fact, many fans are sure that it is Coach Jim Boeheim’s men’s basketball team that drives the Orange bus. Last night, my good friend MIke Waters and I had the chance to talk with a whole bunch of Orange fans.…

A thorough look into my annual trip to the eye doctor

I got the A-OK at my annual visit to the eye doctor yesterday morning. It was typically uneventful. That means I walked in straight and fast and departed eye-dropped into submission, groping the side walls to ease my way out the door and onward to my car in the parking lot. That may be exaggerating…

Root, root, root for your own team

I had the chance to watch football Sunday in one of those places that proudly subscribes to the NFL Sunday Ticket. In Jake Hafner’s Restaurant and Tavern in Syracuse, they know how to throw a party for the NFL. Walk in, and the banks of flat screens are labeled with notecards underneath, two helmets per…

Dog and DeMille on a quiet Sunday morning

A gray Sunday morning in Syracuse, N.Y., but Ellie B still longs for a walk. Oh, she’s had her time romping in her fenced-in backyard, but she knows that out that front window awaits the big, real world to sniff. I have other ideas. It’s a great time to get in some pages of “The…

One last mow turns fallen leaves into something smaller

Welcome to Mulch Madness. Most of the leaves around our house in Syracuse, N.Y., are down. Oh, there are some stragglers still up on the most stubborn of trees, but to my eyes, they’re far enough from our lawn proper to remain off our little piece of the earth after they fall. Saturday was indeed…

If you’re lucky, found really does follow lost

The universe talked directly to me this week. I was open to its lesson. Let’s call it “They Were Lost and Now They’re Found.” It starts with a vest finding its way back to Syracuse from Canada and ends with a blanket making the journey from Syracuse back to Georgia. Sit back and enjoy. We…

Muhammad Ali most inspired Matt Lauer; who would you pick?

On “Today” Thursday morning, Matt Lauer took his turn at this week’s feature. The on-air folk took turns revealing the person who’s most inspired them. The NBC morning man chose Muhammad Ali. Tape rolled. The world once again saw scenes from the boxing great’s life. Some were in black and white. They were paired with…

The walking trails along Onondaga Lake shouldn’t be a dirty little secret

Sometimes I let too much time go by between my visits to the shores of Onondaga Lake or the winding creek that feeds it. My view, you see, is that the body of water smack dab in the middle of New York State has lots going for it. Reputation be damned. My fellow Syracusans know…

What do you call the event to honor the best musicians in your city?

Perhaps you have heard of the Gramophone. That’s the machine invented to listen to recorded music. Alexander Graham Bell was involved. Then Emile Berliner came up with a process in 1887 that used records. Records evolved to black vinyl, topped with grooves. The early record players were equipped with a horn-shaped speaker of sorts. That’s…