Michael Casale loved playing bass, and Syracuse loved him for it

In the middle of Syracuse’s celebration of the Beatles just 10 days ago, Doug Moncrief made sure to shout out in support for a Syracuse musician who was too ill to participate. Moncrief called him Mikey, who “couldn’t make this gig.” Those in the know cheered. Moncrief was sending love to Michael Casale, the Syracuse…

ABC, it’s not so easy as 1-2-3

My fellow Syracuse blogger Christopher S. Malone always has a stylized account of life as a guy turning 31 to share on his interestingly titled blog, The Infinite Abyss(es). He decided I was worthy to be on his list of nominations for the ABC Award. That would be Awesome Blogging Content, for those of you…

‘Winter’s Tale’ requires too much of a leap

A horse is a horse, of course, of course. Except that in ‘Winter’s Tale,’ the evil Pearly, played with true darkness by Russell Crowe, calls it a dog. And so it goes in this fantasy that also stars Colin Farrell and Jessica Brown Findlay as fated lovers in chase of a miracle. The story jumps…

The great Cheesecake Factory caper ends with just desserts

We’d both hopped onto the online menu for The Cheesecake Factory, my dear wife Karen and I, preparing for the Saturday night double date with my darling daughter Elisabeth and her kind, smart boyfriend George. The living room of our happy house in Syracuse, N.Y., resounded with the unmistakeable sound of my stomach growling. Shrimp.…

Fantasy league adds to NASCAR’s roar. Want to play?

Time for true confessions. I am a NASCAR fan. Starting next Sunday with the kick-off Daytona 500, I will use my DVR to record every left turn of the season. My favorite drivers, in order, are: Greg Biffle in his No. 16, Carl Edwards in the 99 and Denny Hamlin in the 10 car. It’s…

A new house awaits the snow plow

My stepson Daryl is in the midst of moving from Syracuse into a house he just bought on the eastern outskirts. My, oh, my they got a lot of snow Thursday to Friday out there. My dear wife Karen and I drove out to give Daryl a lift because his car got stuck in a…

Cheesecake Factory, here we come (one perhaps in leather)

The big double date to The Cheesecake Factory comes tonight. Pretty quick plans for me dear wife Karen and I do join my wonderful daughter Elisabeth and her cool boyfriend George, considering that the Syracuse, N.Y. installment of the famous chain opened its doors just this Monday. All four of us have been looking forward…

Oh, my aching back

As I was shoveling the path that connects his driveway to ours, Good Neighbor Tim opened his big front window and told me we had gotten 10 inches of snow overnight. My comment: That’s all? He had finished with his snowblower, but I still had plenty of shovel work left up close to my house.…

‘American Idol’ never showed Kaitlyn Jackson after her golden ticket

The waiting to see Kaitlyn Jackson sing again on “American Idol” season 13 is over. The teen singer from Norwich, N.Y., did not make the final 29 set in stone after Thursday night’s FOX broadcast. Although, once again, that was kept behind the scenes. FOX producers went with other sorts of drama, such as making…

Tyler Ennis, meet Pearl Washington, fellow Syracuse buzzer-beater

Quickly after Tyler Ennis hit the bread-and-butter three-pointer to lift Syracuse over Pittsburgh to remain unbeaten and No.1 in men’s college basketball Wednesday night, Orange fans were recalling the exploits of another freshman point guard. Dwayne “Pearl” Washington was the big deal when he moved north from Brooklyn to attend Syracuse in 1983, culminating a…