My Personal Blog

In my book, I do not believe that individuals with disabilities like me are getting a fair shake when it comes to maintaining long-term employment.  I have now endured the loss of four jobs since 2020, and that is not funny. There ought to be a law in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania that prevents companies that do business within the boundaries of the commonwealth from hiring qualified individuals with disabilities for the sole purpose of obtaining certain tax credits and then terminating those individuals after collecting those tax credits.  This law should require companies that do business in the commonwealth who hire qualified individuals with disabilities to retain such employees for a minimum of 3 years in order to qualify for tax credits, with penalties imposed on companies that fail to comply with this requirement.

Last night the news broke that Mike Lange, the longtime voice of the Pittsburgh Penguins, passed away at the age of 76.  With that, a part of me had died for the fifth time in my life. Folks still call me Michael Michael Motorcycle to this day.  That was just one of the catchphrases Mike Lange used after a Penguins goal (called Langeisms by the fans) which I sometimes use during my church softball podcasts, because those phrases were often imitated. I still plan to watch the movie Sudden Death (where Mike Lange made a cameo and dropped some of his catchphrases) as a tribute to Mike Lange, while I smoke him like a bad cigar, call Arnold Slick from Turtle Crick, eat some holy cheese and crackers, buy Sam a drink and get his dog one too, see how much fried chicken I can eat, scratch my back with a hacksaw, bring Eddie the spaghetti, see a silly seal slide sideways in Sausalito, leave them on the parkway going to the airport, and get in the fast lane with grandma so the bingo game...

This year in golf, I plan on getting in some practice between next Saturday and April 12, with plans to play my first round of golf for the year on April 19 at Tam O'Shanter in Hermitage.  My golf travels this year will take me to Castle Hills in New Castle (on April 26), the Links at Firestone Farms in Columbiana, Ohio, Kennsington in Canfield, Ohio, Pine Lakes in Hubbard, Ohio, Hickory Grove in Jefferson, Ohio (these four rounds in May), Highland Springs in Wellsburg, West Virginia, Pleasant Valley in Vintondale, Butler's Woodside in Elizabeth, Chippewa in Bentleyville, Linden Hall in Dawson (these five rounds during my U.S. Open vacation in June), Fox Run in Beaver Falls, Hunter's Station in Tionesta (these two rounds during the Fourth of July holiday weekend), Whispering Woods in Erie, White Oak in Dayton and Whispering Pines in Meadville (these three rounds in August).

I am thinking about potentially creating a new trivia game called Trivia on Tap. What is Trivia on Tap?  It's a trivia competition with a bar-type setting with a bartender and a waitress.  Four contestants would compete in a general knowledge trivia challenge with a 6-figure top prize to the eventual champion.  Those who want to participate would put their names in a hat and four would be drawn each game. In round one, each contestant takes a turn answering three trivia questions.  Their initial stake is 50 points.  On a monitor, there are the first parts of two trivia questions.  The contestant will select the first half of one of the questions for the host/bartender to finish.  Each of the first two correct answers is worth 50 points.  New questions replace old ones, except for the last question, which the contestant can wager any or all of their points up to that point. In round two, every question is still worth 50 points, but with these diffe...

To the members of the Penn State University Board of Trustees: Since my last post in the style of an open letter to you back in November, what the Penn State Nittany Lions football team has accomplished in the 2024 season has been spectacular. During the past few seasons, I heard so many naysayers say: Coach James Franklin can't win the big games. Coach James Franklin can't beat this opponent, Coach James Franklin can't beat that opponent. Coach James Franklin must go. I call bullshit on these assumptions from the naysayers after what I have observed during this College Football Playoff, even if it does not eventually result in a national championship.  Coach James Franklin can win the big games.  Penn State can be a serious contender for a national championship in football.  This year's team came too far to hear the same assumptions year in and year out.  We won 13 games this season, setting a new program record.  And it is a safe bet that we are going to win y...

This is it, folks… my final post for 2024. What will come in 2025? First of all, I will be an honorary uncle to a baby niece or nephew. I will be keeping my regular day job, but there will be no more new or renewal applications for SNAP unless tied to a renewal of medical coverage, resulting in 45 agents being terminated with one month of severance pay and health coverage.  (I feel for the 45 agents who were terminated through no fault of their own.  They will qualify for unemployment compensation because their terminations were through no fault of their own.  I take solace in the fact that myself and the other agents will be able to assist them.)  And in July, I will be 40 years old, hoping to receive 40 balloons each from some of my female friends. And there will be plenty more where that came from in 2025!

It came to my attention yesterday that once again, former Steeler Hines Ward, 2x Super Bowl champion, Super Bowl XL MVP, and the franchise leader in career receptions, was snubbed as a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  There are many theories that suggest why: The Pro Football Hall of Fame has too many Steelers represented There is a perceived bias against the Steelers Statistics All are good theories, but there is one overlooked theory I suggest:  Ed Bouchette, the Steelers beat writer for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, a member of the selection committee, is hurting Hines Ward’s chances of being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. Why do I suggest this?  Back in 1996, when Lynn Swann was not inducted into the Hall of Fame, Myron Cope, the legendary voice of the Steelers, resigned from his membership on the selection committee, citing that he was hurting Lynn Swann’s chances of being inducted (Swann was inducted in 2001).  If Myron ...