This is the end of the world as we know it

A preacher in California says the world will end Saturday evening at 6 p.m.

I think that’s a pretty good excuse for not mowing the lawn or finishing other items on the honey-do list, don’t you?

My goodness, think of the implications this premature ending is going to have on sports.

If you like betting the ponies don’t bother with the Preakness because the second leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown isn’t scheduled to go off until about 6:15.

I wonder if Bud Selig will declare the World Series champion based on the team with the best record through games completed by 5:59?

And will his NFL counterpart, Roger Goodell, end the lockout just so we can all die happy knowing that there would have been a football season in 2011.

I guess this also means that MeBron James won’t ever get that elusive NBA championship ring he so covets. Geez, that would be a shame, wouldn’t it? But like MeBron told Cleveland: “Kharma’s a bitch.”

Hey, at least Bills fans will go to their graves knowing that their beloved team didn’t bolt for L.A.

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I’m thrilled my prediction that new Buffalo Sabres owner Terry Pegula would buy the Rochester Americans came true. I’m sure Pegula, whose wife is from Fairport and grew up attending Amerks games, will do everything he can to restore the franchise’s once plentiful fan base. Two suggestions: Move the Sabres training camp back to Rochester; play a Sabres exhibition and possibly a regular-season game at the Blue Cross Arena.

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Was happy to see former West Virginia linebacker Darryl Talley named as one of the 2011 inductees to the College Football Hall of Fame. But he wasn’t the only former Buffalo Bill in the class. A lesser known Bill – Bill Enyart of Oregon State – also will be enshrined. Enyart, a brusing fullback, was Buffalo’s second-round pick in 1969 (O.J. was No. 1). He spent only two lackluster seasons with the Bills before being traded to the Oakland Raiders, where he was converted to a linebacker. Enyart is best known for having one of the catchiest football nicknames of all-time. He was called Earthquake Enyart for his rumbling running style at Oregon State.

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Harmon Killebrew ranks 11th on baseball’s all-time home run list with 573. But if you remove the performance-enhancing drug era sluggers – Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez, Sammy Sosa, Jim Thome and Mark McGwire – he stands fifth. Bonds, A-Rod, Sosa and McGwire all benefitted from PEDs. To the best of our knowledge, Griffey and Thome did not. So in my book, the Killer ranks seventh.

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Congratulations to my good friend, Pat Grover, who will be honored tomorrow with a prestigious Jefferson Award for her extraordinary volunteer work in our community. For the past 10 years I’ve worked with her at Rochester Press-Radio Club Children’s Charities, Inc. and her devotion to that all-volunteer organization has been truly amazing.

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Speaking of extraordinary Rochesterians, I was saddened by the recent passing of Stuart Bolger. A University of Rochester graduate, Stuart was responsible for building the Genesee Country Village & Museum in Mumford into the nation’s third-largest living history museum. There are 89 buildings from around the state on the grounds, including George Eastman’s boyhood home. I got to know Stuart through my work as a volunteer with the 19th century base ball program. Although in his early 80s at the time, I still remember Stuart suiting up in his Rochesters uniform and sitting on the bench, rooting on the members of all the teams. Wonderful man who left a wonderful legacy.