From the mailbag: Acoustic fun with Dick Ward and Carol Bryant; insane Granny; K-Rockathon nears sell-out

Rarely does a promo picture make me smile like this one. Dick Ward and his lovely bride, Carol Bryant, look so darn happy, don’t they? A nicer pair you’ll never meet. The Elbridge couple can make some pretty sweet music as an acoustic duo on stage, too. Ward reports that they’ll perform at 7:30 p.m.…

With Nashville success growing, Cassidy Lynn brings her country sound back home for Central New York shows

Cassidy Lynn may soon reach a crossroads with her music. Her new EP has caught the attention of folks in Nashville because of its big sound with a full band. Other people in the music industry are telling her that it might not be long before a high profile artist records one of the songs…

Yes, Virginia, it was a gorgeous campus for an ACC football game

I can still remember the glorious late autumn Saturday during my senior year at the University of Maryland when a bunch of us student journalists for the Diamondback jumped in a car for a trip to Charlottesville, Va. My roommate and dear friend, Greg Ten Eyck, had the Terrapins football beat for the campus daily.…

It’s a long way to St. Andrew’s from Camillus Country Club

This morning-after following Phil Mickelson’s triumph at the British Open at Muirfield in Scotland, I was teeing it up to pay tribute at Camillus Country Club, a dozen or so miles to the west of Syracuse. It’s a hilly course. At one of the high spots, the members of CCC took the time to place…

Cool cars and the people that adore them gather for the Syracuse Nationals

Those of us of a certain age remember the 1973 movie “American Graffiti.” That’s the one in which red-haired and freckled Ron Howard and friends — Richard Dreyfuss, Harrison Ford and Cindy Williams among them — came to terms with becoming an adult in a time where cruising the boulevard and racing in the streets…

It’s big worldwide and perfect for Syracuse’s heat wave

The ductless air conditioner first caught the attention of my dear wife Karen and I as we watched “House Hunters International” on the HGTV network. All those realtors in exotic tropical climes were telling all those prospective house-buyers that yes, there was air conditioning. We saw that it wasn’t in a window. Our online investigation…

Update: That empty lot is now rather sporty

A couple months back, I grumped loudly here about the folks who decided to use the empty lot between my house and the neighbor’s house as a dog-walking spot. You, friends, offered remedies such as motion-enabled sprinklers and stink bombs. OK, nobody thought of smell as a deterrent. It wasn’t my property, so I did…

Sometimes I can’t help but laugh at the onscreen antics

I just knew my dear wife Karen just might be rolling her eyes. On the screen in “Grown Ups 2,” Kevin James’ character was putting together a triple-threat of man-sounds. He had a ridiculous name for it. Basically, the burly guy let loose with a blast of air from all three possible outlets. Yup. Burp.…

A teen and a senior show that cream rises earlier, lasts longer

They say that viewed under the right prism, sports teaches us about life. I believe them. Take the results of two golf tournaments yesterday. On the PGA Tour, 19-year-old Jordan Spieth won the John Deere Classic, capturing a long and winding, five-hole playoff against wise veteran Zach Johnson — a major winner with a Master’s…

Sharkapalooza proves that all it takes around Syracuse is a short drive for a great night

The setting: A delightfully just-right early evening in mid-July, the sort of night where everybody starts every encounter with a smile for the mere reason that a blanket of heat and humidity has finally peeled back from its two-week hold on summer 2013 in Syracuse. The place: Sharkey’s Eclectic Sports Bar, the set-back-from-the-road joint in…