*Given what's going on in Queens and Brooklyn, what some believed what the media's "out of proportion" coverage of swine flu doesn't seem so overblown anymore, does it? Remember: Wash your hands and cover your mouth when you cough.

*A story in today's New York Times about belt-tightening in and around Hollywood in a tough economy puts things in perspective if you know anything about that part of the world. The story cites increased lunch business at "no frills" Nate 'n Al's in Beverly Hills. No doubt this popular deli (it's one of my favorites) is "no frills" compared to a place like The Ivy, a big time celebrity hangout(which the Times says charges $25 for a burger, plus drinks, etc.). But try getting out of Nate 'n Al's with lunchtime tab of much less than 25 bucks a person (including drinks and tip). Cheaper? Yes. Cheap? Hardly. That's LA.

*I'm glad Tony Kornheiser is leaving Monday Night Football, voluntarily or otherwise. It wasn't his strong suit. But listen to him on talk radio, watch him on ESPN's "Pardon the Interuption," or, better yet, read one of his columns or books, and you'll find as clever, incisive, and funny a guy as is working today. I've followed his career since our paths crossed briefly in 1973. We were both covering a regional basketball tournament at Ulster County Community College. Kornheiser was following Farmingdale Ag and Tech for Newsday. I was on assignment for the Freeman. He went on to The New York Times and the Washington Post before radio and TV called. (Jason Alexander played him in a short-lived CBS-TV sitcom based on his life.) I remember him politely being impressed by the fact that I not only wrote for the paper, I also edited stories and pages. Look at us now! I like to think I "knew" him when.