Michael T Clifford

10/07/2026

Twenty years ago he blocked a punt in the first game back after Hurricane Katrina.

He has had ALS for fifteen years.

Today the city gave him its key, and he led the parade himself.

His name is Steve Gleason and he played for the New Orleans Saints.

This afternoon he led a second line from Lafayette Square to Champions Square. Mayor Helena Moreno handed him the key to New Orleans. Then he performed his new album with Marc Broussard in front of the crowd.

The album is called Rebirth. It is his poetry set to music by New Orleans musicians.

Tonight he was on the floor of the Superdome with his family, twenty years to the season since the building reopened.

The opponent tonight is Atlanta. Same team, same Monday night, same building.

You know what he did in that building. Everybody does.

Here is what you probably do not know, because he only said it this week.

He thinks that punt is why he is alive.

"If I do not block that punt, I am another former special teams player, a has-been football guy. When ALS came, I probably fade away quietly and die anonymously."

And then this.

"The truth I have to live with is this: The same play that helped New Orleans breathe again is a big reason I'm still breathing now."

Sit with that for a second.

A backup safety made one play on a Monday night in 2006. The city needed it. Five years later he got a diagnosis that takes most people in three to five years, and the only reason anybody was listening when he started talking about it was that play.

He is in the ten to twenty percent of people with ALS who make it past a decade. He is nearly sixteen years in.

He said something else about walking back into that stadium.

"When I roll back into that stadium, I will not only be revisiting a monument of 2006, but I will be walking into a mirror. A place that had to learn how to rise. I had to learn the same thing."

And this one is the whole thing in nine words.

"I'm still here. That still surprises some people."

Be honest about what today does and does not change. There is no cure. He needs help to move and help to breathe, and a key to a city does not alter any of that.

But a man who cannot speak with his own voice spent this afternoon leading a parade through New Orleans, and tonight he sat on the floor of the Superdome with his wife and his kids, in the building he helped bring back to life.

Twenty years ago he gave that city one play.

He says the city gave him the rest of his life.

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09/08/2026

Boston College and Rutgers were always scheduled to play this season. Boston College moved the game to Friday night on purpose.

September 11, 2026. Twenty five years.

Rutgers is the FBS program closest to New York City. Thirty seven of their alumni were killed that day, including a football letterwinner named James Martello.

So every helmet Friday night will carry the number 37, along with the names of the people it stands for.

Never Forget runs down the sides of the jersey. The striping is a tribute to first responders. Players who wear the gloves can lock their hands together and the gloves read Never Forget too.

Nothing on that uniform is a design choice.

Boston College honors one man.

Welles Crowther was a BC graduate working as an equities trader in the South Tower. He was also a volunteer firefighter back home in Rockland County, New York.

When the building was hit, he went down to the 78th floor sky lobby, where dozens of people were trapped and badly hurt, and started getting them out. He carried a woman on his back down seventeen flights of stairs.

Then he went back up.

He did that over and over.

He is credited with saving 18 people.

The survivors who got out couldn't tell anybody who he was. They didn't know his name. All they could describe was that the man leading them down had a red bandanna tied over his mouth and nose to keep the smoke out.

That's how the world came to know him. The man in the red bandanna.

He didn't make it out.

Since 2014, Boston College has played one Red Bandanna Game every season. The bandanna pattern runs through the numbers, the sleeves and the trim. Where a player's last name normally goes, the jersey reads For Welles.

Friday night is that game.

So on the 25th anniversary, in Chestnut Hill, one team runs out carrying 37 names on their helmets.

The other runs out wearing a dead man's bandanna.

08/04/2026

Kanawha County Commission Mourns the Loss of Former United States Attorney and Kanawha County Prosecutor Chuck Miller

Charleston, W.Va. – The Kanawha County Commission is deeply saddened to learn about the passing of former United States Attorney and Kanawha County Prosecutor Chuck Miller.

Chuck grew up on a Jackson County farm where he would wake up at dawn, complete his farm chores, and then take a long bus ride to school each day. His mother was committed to providing every opportunity she could for Chuck, so she moved them to Lincoln County where he attended Hurricane High School, graduating at age 16.

After graduating from high school, Chuck enlisted in the United States Navy at the age of 17 and was ordered to Vietnam as a Combat Medic attached to the First Marine Division. Chuck was later commissioned as a First Lieutenant in the West Virginia Army National Guard, where he served as a Judge Advocate General. Fourteen years later, he was recruited by the West Virginia Air National Guard where he served as its Judge Advocate General.

Eventually, Chuck was assigned as the legal advisor to the Director of the Air National Guard in Washington, D.C. and retired as a Colonel after 42 years of Military service winning awards including Meritorious Service Medals, and the Legion of Merit Medal. Later, Chuck was a Freemason at Dunbar Lodge No. 159, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and a Beni Kedem Shriner.

Chuck was an exceptional leader as a Kanawha County Deputy Sheriff, Kanawha County Prosecuting Attorney, and as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia serving two United States Presidents between 2005 and 2009.

Chuck successfully prosecuted and tried many public corruption, civil rights and other federal crimes, receiving numerous awards, honors, and accolades. At a time when a lesser man would have gladly retired to enjoy a happy reflection consequent upon a well-spent life, Chuck again, stepped up to public service. Chuck decided that there was still more work to be done, and returned to the Kanawha County Prosecuting Attorney's Office, to continue his faithful public service. He was later appointed and subsequently elected as the Kanawha County Prosecuting Attorney where he would lead the fight for justice throughout all levels of law enforcement. He was appointed Kanawha County Prosecutor in 2014 and was later elected to the position in 2016. Miller served in that role until his retirement in 2024.

His leadership at the Prosecutor's Office was inspiring to all the assistant prosecuting attorneys and staff. Chuck truly exemplified the highest ideals of service, integrity, and sacrifice. He served with honor, virtue and utmost integrity. A tenacious and honorable leader, Chuck generously provided guidance, wisdom, and encouragement to those around him. Chuck has been an invaluable asset to the people and will be sorely missed by all.

“Chuck Miller was a dedicated public servant,” said Ben Salango, President of the Kanawha County Commission. “Chuck served his Country with honor in the Vietnam War and served our State and County with dignity as United States Attorney and Kanawha County Prosecuting Attorney,” he added. “Tera and I are saddened to learn of Chuck’s passing, and we are praying for his wife, Becky, and his family and friends during this difficult time,” Salango concluded.

Despite the many accomplishments Chuck achieved throughout his life, he always believed his greatest success in life was the family that he built. A devoted husband, a loving father, and a proud grandfather, Chuck cherished his wife, children, and grandchildren above all else. His unwavering love, steadfast support, and absolute devotion to his family were the defining hallmarks of his life.

Chuck will be laid to rest at the Donel C. Kinnard Memorial State Veterans’ Cemetery with full honors.

The Kanawha County Commission has ordered County flags to be flown at half-staff and a black drape to be placed on the judicial building in his memory.

06/21/2026

Amid rampant abuse by federal agencies like ICE, Congress can pass laws that allow people to take federal agents to court.

06/18/2026

Wishing a Happy Birthday to a great Senator and true West Virginian Jay Rockefeller!

06/13/2026

06/13/2026

New West Virginia Appellate Court Judge Jim Douglas was sworn into office during ceremonies in Wheeling on Thursday. Story link in comments.