The Price Of Playing Football...

Alex Karras, the former NFL All-Pro defensive tackle for the Detroit Lions who went on to a successful acting career with memorable roles as Mongo in Blazing Saddles and Emmanuel Lewis’s dad in the TV sitcom Webster, is near death, the Detroit News reports. Tom McInerney Sr. a longtime friend, told the newspaper Monday night that Karras suffered kidney failure recently and only has a few days to live.  Karras is married to actress Susan Clark, his co-star from Webster. The newspaper reports Karras suffers from dementia and is part of a players' lawsuit against the NFL over concussion-related illnesses.
Detroit Lions President Tom Lewand released a statement Monday, saying, “The entire Detroit Lions family is deeply saddened to learn of the news regarding the condition of one of our all-time greats, Alex Karras. Perhaps no player in Lions history attained as much success and notoriety for what he did after his playing days as did Alex.” Lewand’s statement continued, “We know Alex first and foremost as one of the cornerstones to our Fearsome Foursome defensive line of the 1960s and also as one of the greatest defensive linemen to ever play in the NFL. Many others across the country came to know Alex as an accomplished actor and as an announcer during the early years of Monday Night Football.”
“We join his legions of fans from both sports and entertainment in prayer and support for Alex, his wife Susan, and his entire family during this most difficult time,” the statement concluded.

Tanya Tucker postpones New York show...

Due to some undisclosed illness, TANYA TUCKER is postponing her December 9th show in Oneonta, New York.  I know, it's two months away, which would suggest it's something serious.  But remember, it's postponed, not canceled.  It's been moved to August 17th of next year.  I suspect we'll hear more, eventually. 

(WKTV)

A Mother Posted Photos of Her Sick Son on Facebook and Got a Diagnosis that Saved His Life!

You hear a lot about how technology and social media are eroding our privacy and quality of life and let's not forget about cyberbullying, so it's time for another reminder: Facebook saves lives!
This past Mother's Day, 45-year-old writer Deborah Copaken Kogan updated her Facebook status and wrote, quote, "Nothing says Happy Mother's Day quite like a Sunday morning at the pediatrician's." Her four-year-old son Leo had woken up with a mysterious rash and a high fever, so she took him to the doctor. He got meds for strep throat, but his face kept swelling, and he looked worse the next day. Deborah kept posting about it, including photos of Leo's swollen face, and got ANOTHER diagnosis from a second doctor's visit scarlet fever. But Leo kept getting worse, she kept posting photos and comments about his puffy face, and eventually one of her Facebook friends actually picked up the phone and called her: She knew what Leo had, and he had to get to a hospital IMMEDIATELY. Her son had had the exact same symptoms, and ended up with something called Kawasaki disease: A rare auto-immune disorder that affects kids under the age of five, and attacks the coronary arteries surrounding the heart. And it can be fatal. Two of Deborah's pediatrician friends on Facebook posted the same diagnosis when they saw Leo's photos. Deborah rushed him to the hospital and he was diagnosed with the disorder. Another day, and it could have been too late. It affected both his heart and liver, and he was in and out of the hospital for weeks, but he's alive and recovering fine.

(Yahoo)