Maybe now...

This is a story with a terrible punchline.

Back in the late 1970's and early 1980's, I used to do, on average, one television appearance a year while I was working for WEBR Radio. WNED-TV often would broadcast the Harvard Cup football championship on Thanksgiving morning, and the sports staff from WEBR would do the announcing. I usually did commentary or halftime interviews.

There was one part of the job that often came up in discussions before and during the broadcast: the climb to the press box at All High Stadium. The press box was located on top of the roof. In order to get up there, visitors had to go up stairs that were more like a ladder in terms of steepness, and go through a small opening to get to the roof.

It was terrorizing. We climbed it because it came with the job, but we never liked it. When the subject came up, we'd roll our eyes upward and shake our heads. Everyone knew, or should have known, that it was an accident waiting to happen.

That accident happened Saturday afternoon. We'll never know exactly how it happened, but my co-worker Tom Borrelli fell down those stairs down to the pavement below. He was taken to the Erie County Medical Center immediately and was listed in critical condition. It's going to take a few days for the trauma and swelling to quiet in order to see what will happen with Tom. If you're the type that says prayers asking for a little help, Tom could use a few right now.

(To see the tragic conclusion to the story, click here.)