Campy

I agree on both sentiments. My condolences to the Kellys.

I met Marino while he was down here (or up here from Miami, I guess) for one of Bruce Smith's celebrity golf tournaments. My job that morning was to match up the player with their golf clubs and make sure both made it to the links on time. Marino came out wearing khaki pants and a nylon wind shirt. With his hands in his pockets he looks at me and says "Christ it's cold out here." I gave him a sideways look and let him know that This is a heat wave in Buffalo, Dan." He said "Oh no, you're a Buffalo guy?" with a wink and started laughing. We ended up chatting for a while and as much as it pains me to say it, he actually seemed like a pretty cool guy. Later that day I ran in to him again at the dinner/silent auction. He talked about how much he loved playing Buffalo and going head-to-head with Kelly. He said that there will never be another rivalry as much fun for the players and fans as the Buffalo-Miami rivalry of the 80's and early 90's. I can agree with that - but I still hate Miami just as much today as I did then.

In the words of David Lee Roth, "You find girls that are too young to drink and make them drive."

Good one. Roger Taylor and it's something like "Racing the Streets." Here's one: Well, ain't life grand when you finally hit it? I'm always a sucker for a real good time. Woke up in life to find I almost missed it. Ain't I glad that love is blind?

Part of the time?

I had that problem too, and that's exactly what it was. Check the condensate drain line.

Thanks for the heads-up. I goofed and forgot to uncheck the "Admin must approve all comments" thingy. All set now. Thanks for the kind words, but the Bills' home opener is still being played in Orchard Park.

That's exactly why I'm blogging it. I don't mind discussing or talking about my cancer, but I don't want to be the guy who walks into a room and everyone has that "Do we ask him or just let him tell us?" thing going on. It already happened at 3 parties I went to over the 4th of July weekend and it's kinda' uncomfortable, probably more uncomfortable for others than for me, but uncomfortable all the same. While I really do appreciate the interest and level of sincerity that my TBD friends have shown, I'd rather not post more LAMPs about it. I don't mind being the center of attention, but not for those types of reasons. I'll always accept good thoughts and prayers, but I'm just not one that likes to be fussed over If you're interested, I'd love to share how things are going (hence the blog), but at the same time, I don't want it to throw it in people's faces via LAMPs.

UPDATE: Pathology results back. I'll let you surf on over to my blog to read the details, but I'll say it's VERY GOOD NEWS! I'LL SEE Y'ALL IN SEPTEMBER!!!!

You never know, the carmelization process just might be the cure!

That's a good question, thanks for asking. I started smoking about 20 years ago, generally about a pack a day. Over the past 18 months I've been more an "off-again" than an "on-again" smoker. Since learning of my lymphoma a few months back, I'm most certainly a non-smoker now. I've always been a social drinker - I drink probably once or twice a month on average, except during football season (damn Bills!). No question that smoking isn't a healthy practice, but it doesn't appear to be related to my current situation. Research has found that lymphoma is genetic and that the capability of having one's B-cells rapidly multiply exists within all of us. According to my oncologist, there is no environmental factor that triggers lymphoma, ie, exposure to traditional carcinogens like cigarette smoke, certain chemicals, etc. Lymphoma is just one of those things that seemed to pop up and get me.

Hi all. I've received many PMs and I've tried to respond to all of them. Please forgive me if I overlooked yours. Rest assured that I read it, and knowing that you're thinking about me warms my heart. GOOD NEWS: I just learned that I won't need to undergo chemo (at least not yet). They are going to use immunotherapy (Rituxan) to see if the cancer responds - there's a 50-50 chance it will do something. There's a very small chance (but a chance all the same) that the immunotherapy will 100% kill the cancer. The primary goal is to prevent the cancer from spreading, and saving chemo as an option if/when it decides to grow more aggresively. NOT SO GOOD NEWS: Many of you may not be aware that in addition to my eyes, I also have lymphoma in my throat, neck and chin. On Monday (7/20) I had surgery to remove a growth from within my mouth. It's been sent to the pathologist's to determine whether or not it's malignant. If it is, that's not so good because it'd be melanoma and not lymphoma, and the immunotherapy only works on lymphoma. The pathology report will be back today. GOOD NEWS, IF: The side effects of immunotherapy aren't nearly as bad as chemo, and if the results of the pathology report are negative, I will be at the opener!! WOO-HOO! OTHER NOT SO GOOD NEWS: The type of lymphoma I have is very difficult to kill. Right now my oncologists agree that the best course of action is to try to keep it in check. I'm not too thrilled with living the rest of my life knowing I have cancer, but it sure beats not living the rest of my life! MY LAST LAMP: I just started a blog (CampysWorld.com) that will allow me to type stuff once and people who are interested (family, inlaws, TBD friends, local friends, et al) can just surf on over there. It will sure be a lot easier than trying to remember who I called, emailed, PM'd, etc, and then trying to remember what my situation was the last time I communicated with them. Besides, it will allow me to stop posting these LAMPS (I don't mind other's LAMPS, I just don't like them to be about me!). Don't get me wrong, I'll still be harrassing all of you lunkheads from time-to-time, especially after training camp is well underway. In the meantime, if you have a question, feel free to to PM me, but all of my health updates will be on my blog. Later today I'll post the results of the biopsy on it (keep your fingers crossed!). Again, to those of you I've met and to those of you I've yet to meet, I sincerely thank you for keeping me in your thoughts and prayers. -Chris

Time will tell, and it may not be this year, but I think that no center line will make for a more bland (ie, boring) neutral zone trap. It will keep a forechecker from going in because he can get beat with a long pass, a pass that would've been a two liner before. IMO, no red line is a dumb idea, as is the shootout. 5 skaters and a goalie should determine the game. What's so bad about ties anyway? They're selling out the game to try to "win fans back." BS. Just lace 'em up and play. Fans will return.

Kelley is still a contributor for THN, but other than that, I'm not sure what he's been up to.

Here, here!

And Americans as a whole aren't arrogant and ignorant?

Cool. Thanks for the link.

Pretty cool, but I like this one more. Hint: click on her and drag.

This reinforces my sincere desire to never play poker with Tom Donahoe.

Sounds like you ran smack-dab into the limitations of modern medicine. Seriously, let him know we're thinking about him.

...And some of us even help Hammer, Jay, et al, set up!

SIDEBAR: I'm actually blood-related to two former presidents, that's the cool part. The uncool part is that one was named Grover, the other seemed to have pranced around in uniform on navy ships. And they both had two of the most uninspired administrations in presidential history. Fricking great.

Hmm... Maybe I shoulda' saved that letter

18-month years? Damn metric system.