Good Week

. . . for our own Olympian Lopez Lomong, who won the 1500 meter run Sunday at the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Ore. The 24-year-old Sudanese Lost Boy, who was adopted as a teenager by Rob and Barb Rogers of Tully, blazed the field with a time of 3 minutes, 41.68 seconds.

. . . for the mercurial nature of the 24-hour news cycle, made remarkably clear with back-to-back-to-back-to-back celebrity deaths knocking the Iran elections and South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford right off the front pages.

. . . for the Syracuse Jazz Fest, which witnessed record crowds at its Onondaga Community College location. High estimates of 50,000 fest-goers on Saturday were a good news/bad news scenario. It was great for organizer Frank Malfitano, whose not-too-popular choice of headliner Kenny G was somewhat vindicated, but not so great for those who trekked to OCC only to get turned away.

Bad Week

. . . for hikers as spouses now get suspicious every time they head out on the trail even if it’s not Guv. Sanford’s favorite, the Appalachian Trail. Now hikers have to notarize their travel plans in the wake of his “Appalachian Adventure.”

. . . for state Sen. David Valesky, who sort of apologized for sitting through the Pledge of Allegiance last week as a form of protest over the coup in the Senate. “I apologize that when the other conference called their unlawful simultaneous session to order, I remained seated,” Valesky said in a press release. While all 31 of his Democratic colleagues joined the odd protest, at least Valesky’s was the first apology.

. . . for tasteless jokes that took over the Internet within hours of Michael Jackson’s surprising death. C’mon people! You couldn’t wait at least a week to participate in such tacky behavior? Meanwhile, have you heard the one about the name of Jackson’s last hit record?