Say it ain't so, Tom. Say it ain't so.

Fans of the Bills, Jets and Dolphins had to be asking themselves "Haven't we suffered long enough?'' after reading Tom Brady's comments in this week's Sports Illustrated about wanting to play at least 10 more years for the New England Patriots. That would mean another futile decade spent playing for a wildcard spot because Brady's Bunch would be maintaining their stranglehold on the AFC East title.

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Speaking of Brady, did you know that at about $10-mil per year he's a mere pauper compared to his wife, Gisele Bundchen? The Brazilian supermodel raked in $25 million last year, and that was $10-mil less than she brought home the year before. So, from a financial perspective, this couple can treat Brady's NFL career as an avocation. Unfortunately for Bills, Jets and Dolphins fans, Brady doesn't treat it that way. If anything, he appears super motivated to do things that no quarterback has ever done before.

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I understand LeBron James' frustration with being eliminated from the NBA playoffs, but the Cleveland Cavaliers' icon didn't show much class by blowing off reporters after last night's game. The 24-year-old superduperstar still has some growing-up to do.

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Although I wished he had come back to the 'Cuse for at least one more basketball season, it's abundantly clear that point guard Jonny Flynn made the right decision by declaring early for this year's NBA draft. Not surprisingly, he's wowed the NBA talent scouts during pre-draft workouts and scrimmages. Several NBA GMs believe he will be a lottery pick.

At least eight teams among the the top 14 picks are in the market for a point guard. Flynn's favorite NBA team growing up was the Knicks, and he would love nothing more than to play for coach Mike D'Antoni, who has a reputation for developing undersized point guards (Steve Nash, Nate Robinson, etc.)

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As Churchville native Tim Redding has discovered, the New York sports media can be harsh when you're struggling. After being rocked for seven runs on eight hits in four innings Saturday, the Mets pitcher's picture landed on the back cover of the Daily News with a huge headline reading TIM-BER! Despite two shaky outings after a solid debut, Tim is assured of at least one more start, but the meter's running. If he doesn't deliver, he could find himself banished to the bullpen or back in Triple-A Buffalo in a New York minute.

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I'm not into these reality and talent-search shows, but my wife, Beth, got me interested in the saga of British singer Susan Boyle. I admit it, my working-class roots had me pulling for her, and although she finished second, her dream of recording an album will definitely come true. And, yes, we'll buy it, and, yes, we'll pay to see her in concert.

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Ms. Boyle showed her dignity and class (Are you listening LeBron?) by immediately congratulating the dance group that beat her out for the top spot.

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We celebrated my mother-in-law's 80th birthday this weekend in the tiny town of Alden, about 25 miles east of Buffalo. I come from a very, very small family, so it's always fun for me to get together for one of Beth's huge-family gatherings - though, it occasionally can be a litte intimidating trying to remember the names of all her nieces, nephews, brother-in-laws and second- and third-cousins. (We actually did name tags the first time I met them at a Christmas party two years ago, but since then I've had to rely on my very shaky memory.)

One of the more interesting members of my new extended family is Beth's Uncle Francis, whose life would make a compelling memoir. A Jesuit priest, Uncle Francis spent several years teaching and preaching on the Marshall Islands halfway across the Paciffic.

While working at Brooklyn Prep in the 1940s, one of his more celebrated students was future College Hall-of-Fame football coach Joe Paterno.

A huge sports fan, Uncle Francis was in attendance at Ebbetts Field that April Day in 1947 when Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier by suiting up for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Beth's uncle also was one of the original teachers at McQuaid Jesuit High School back in the early 1960s. Talk about a life well-lived.

That picture, by the way, is of my mother-in-law, Dorothy Pack, with her brother, Francis, and my nephew-in-law, Michael Hoerbelt, who did a superb job of putting together a nostalgic DVD of Dorothy's eight memorable decades on this planet.