Listeners to my show know that Vindicator editor,Todd Franko comes in for a bit of R & R (that's rock 'n roll) every Thursday, ok, sometimes Friday.

I've gotten to know a lot about Buffalo bred Todd, also know as Spike-O, or Todd-O over the last years. If you're looking for Todd-O's history here, you can find it  in his columns.

When Todd comes in we usually spend a few minutes (prior to going on air) deciding on a few topics - whether we stick to those topics is another story.  Last week Todd mentioned the fight between the Pavlikians (the Pavlik crew) and the Vindicator. I was very,VERY curious ---- let me tell you why :

Todd Franko, fresh from shufflin' IN from Buffalo , hit the Y-town pavement running. He did not attach to Kelly Pavlik's rising star - Todd ENERGIZED Kelly's stardom !

How about this:

October 19, 2008

By Todd Franko

It's 9 a.m. Sunday morning, and my favorite show, "CBS Sunday Morning," is rolling along.

The coffee's brewing.

And on the grass outside, which is badly in need of a mowing today, the frost is slowly melting from the sun.

The sun rose today as bright and vibrant as any other day.

Kelly Pavlik took his first loss just 9 hours ago, and it's a bummer. But it's hardly a death knell for Pavlik or for the community pride and spirit that rose on Pavlik's climb in the last 17 months.

Pavlik has more wins in him if he chooses to keep fighting, and Saturday night will serve as a grounding moment that all of us need from time to time.

You're not best measured by how you handle yourself when things are going well, even though those are the times that seem to draw the most cheers, the most accolades and the most memories.

You're better measured by how you handle yourself when things don't go well.

That's true for an individual.

It's true for a community.

There's no less a reason today than there was yesterday to enjoy Pavlik and his prolific career, and the anticipation of what's next.

(btw- the bold + italics are mine,LbF's)

Hey, how about THAT for support!

--and I could give you example after example of how The Spike-O's contagious enthusiasm energized Kelly's 'stardom'-----but I'm giving just one more--and this one told to me by SENATOR HARRY MESHEL - On the night of Kelly Pavlik's win at the Covelli Centre -- when the boxing world was watching Youngstown Ohio --- a VERY PROUD VINDICATOR EDITOR, TODD FRANKO  had orchestrated(I'm certain - at GREAT time and expense) an early run of the morning newspaper with a Pavlik Wins headline and as soon as Kelly won, Todd PERSONALLY was distributing copies  throughout the crowd - recipiants were surprised and VERY impressed !  Again, Todd was new to this area  and took a real community leadership role - impressing locals AND boxing aficionados from around the world. With Todd-O at the helm, The Vindicator supported and promoted Kelly Pavlik far above and beyond anyones expectations.

That's why I was so suprised to learn about the 'behind the scenes' boxing that was going on.

Todd told me + listeners last Friday (ok, it was one of those weeks-Spike did Friday instead of Thursday) that (now these are MY words not Spike-O's - you can hear his exact words by listening here : http://www.vindy.com/louie-free/archives/2010/apr/16/ ) The Pavlikians attenpted to squelch stories regarding  Kelly's brother's legal  issues. Todd-O and The Vindicator's NOT squelching those stories resulted in The Vindicator losing access to Kelly, etc . What CRAP !  With Todd at the helm, The Vindicator did EVERYTHING to support Kelly Pavlik AND the Pavlik team --- do I REALLY want to do an analogy here??? Ok, it's like someone builiding you (for free) a NEW HOUSE , completely furnished, a beautiful new home and you say to them,"hey, no four slice toaster?"

At first I was surprised, then dissapointed, but I remember Spike-O's words from above :

"You're better measured by how you handle yourself when things don't go well."

The Vindicator, with Todd Franko at the helm. continued to support Kelly Pavlik and team, even after they(Team Pavlik) behaved so badly.

Team Vindicator handled themselves wonderfully.

As for Team Pavlik - oh, maybe bad karrma, man.........