This is a tough time for all concerned.

As some of you know, I have a brother and a lot of friends who are a cops. In my younger days, I was planning on becoming a cop but my life took a different turn when I discovered I had an ability wih computers.

Having said that, I have some small understanding of what is going on right now.

I was not a friend of Kevin Ambrose but I knew him. We sat on the sidelines together when our sons were young and watched them play sports. We ran into each other at the school open houses through the years and we usually gave each other a passing "Hey. How's it going?" and spent a minute bragging about our boys.

In other words, we knew each other, we liked each other and we talked when we saw each other. I can't say I knew him but I can say I knew him.

What I do know is that he was loved by his friends and family. The Springfield Police Department is in a state of shock and will be that way for a while. They will surround his family with a thick blue line, providing for them and protecting them for as long as they want it. They will staunchly defend against and attack any perceived slight against Kevin or his family.

I spent some time with 7 or 8 cops the afternoon of the shooting. They are big tough guys who were all crying and laughing. They were all hurt to the core and it was painful to see them that way. They will mourn, they will party and eventually they will move on but they will never forget.

There will be granite stones erected and fields renamed so that no one ever forgets.

There will be golf tournaments and fundraisers so that no one ever forgets.

There will be scholarships and awards offered to deserving young men and women so that no one ever forgets.

It's the least we can do for a man who died moving towards the gun fire, not away from it. A man whose last thoughts probably were, "Oh shit, I gotta get in there and protect that woman."

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What say we change our attitude and get a little unserious.

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The damned Red Sox can't seem to beat the damned Orioles no matter how damned hard they try, dammit. Beckett pitched a pretty good game but once again, they failed to touch home plate more times then the Orioles.

As I've said many times before, the only way to win a baseball game is to step on home plate more times than the other guy.

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Here are a few links you can visit:

• I've been to Texas. Those people are crazy enough as it is. They don't need this.



• It's the old 'hormones defense'.



• Yes, alcohol was involved.



• I don't believe that's his actual name.