Thanks to all the Veterans for their service. Nice to see Veterans Day getting a much larger profile in recent years.

I started the day by listening on XM to a terrific program by Bob Edwards, "Surviving the Fallen". This was all about remembrances and descriptions of what happens to the surviving family members, when a soldier dies in combat. How they are notified, what preparations they make before they go to combat (wills, insurance forms) where to bury them (near home or Arlington), etc. Extremely poignant.

As always, there are many organizations that could use your help. Three of them that I follow are the IAVA, the USO, and The Pat Tillman Foundation.

I got an e-mail from the Tillman Foundation promoting their good work, especially the Tillman Military Scholars. Cleveland State is one of 31 participating universities, BTW, that allow Veterans to further their education. And CSU is one of only 8 university partners with the Foundation. This year, 60 Veterans were chosen nationally, and 2 of them are CSU students.

Anyhow, this prompted me to check (for the millionth time, I think), when and if "The Tillman Story" was going to make it into town. I have been waiting for months to see it. Lo and behold, it finally snuck into town today of all days, albeit to the Atlas Theatres in Mentor. So, I went after work and grabbed an early show. Actually, it turned out to be a private showing.

It was as good as I heard it would be. You get background on Pat and his family. And you get details on how he was killed and how his family just wanted a simple explanation on how it happened. The government originally said he had been killed in a heroic firefight and then had to backpedal when family pressure determined that was not what occurred. Congressional testimony was also included.

Can't recommend it enough. Probably in town for a week.

Meal of Links

What's happening in Pittsburgh? One thing that becomes an issue as you get older is weather. Combined with all of Pittsburgh's charms, they average about 40 inches of snow. It's not a bad place to live.

What's up with Bowie? Iman has the scoop.

25 Classic TV Title Sequences. Nice list to look at.

Jack White hints at a White Stripes reunion. He's also producing a Wanda Jackson record. Now that should be great.

Exercise Yard

Last night, Nomar Stalker and I went to the Cavs-Nets game at the Q. The Cavs did a nice job by saluting veterans throughout the evening, but when it comes to this, they still can't beat the Browns. For they have flyovers. But the Cavs still have fire coming out from the scoreboard and it's still hot.

The atmosphere has really changed down there, obviously, as we experience Life Without LeBron. Oh, Q Tube is still in effect with Oblivious Cam and the Joe Tait Sweater Cam, and Moondog is still dunking and taking off multiple shirts to get alternating cheers and boos.

Over the last several years if you attended a Cavs game, odds are they were gonna win. Now, however, when a team like New Jersey comes to town, you have your doubts. So, last night, it was the back end of an NHL-style home-and-home with the Nets here in town. The crowd really wasn't into it, because, well, it was the Nets. But they better get used to it and not take anything for granted this year.

We had club seats. Center court stuff. A really nice find I got about a month ago. Thanks, StubHub! Pretzel and a pop cost me $7.50.

The Cavs ended up losing this one. They had a double-digit lead early and were up comfortably at the half. Then the third quarter woes reared their ugly head once again and the Nets kept chipping away, eventually getting the lead late in the third quarter.

However, Mo Williams went down with an injury and even with his on-and-off shooting, they could have used him down the stretch. While the Cavs had a fairly active lineup including Varejao, Gibson, Sessions and Parker, they could not make a shot. And it irritated me that the Nets outrebounded the Cavs for the game. The Cavs had no answer fo Devin Harris and let people like Kris Humphries and Anthony Morrow provide big contributions.

Then there was the mysterious absence of J.J. Hickson in crunch time as well, as the Nets held on for the win. Curious. If Hickson is one of your best players and Williams is out, Hickson probably needs to be in there. At the very least, an inside presence is available with him in the lineup.

My take is the Cavs have a lot of work to do. They can't let up on an opponent like the Nets, who had lost 5 straight coming in and were winless on the road. Not a stunning loss, by any means, but a bit of a puzzling one, I'd say.

Cavs lose, 95-87.

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53 Across: ______ Tunes (6 letters) Answer: Looney