EVERYBODY NEED BEER, EVEN DAVE ROTH.

[Roth — whose announcement ends months of rumors over just who'd be filling Stern's immense kicks — will take over in New York, Boston, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Dallas and West Palm Beach, Florida.] You've built quite an empire here, and I'd like to think that they've saved it for the best guy, ... It will be a very interesting adventure.

This concept could easily have gone awry. Stories about love tend to go that way sometimes. They wander into the realm of cheese and never return, which I think is a shame, because there is a way to write about romantic love without breaking out the Velveeta.

Why do you say vague things if you don't want to be asked about them?

I feel uneasy. It's not often that you encounter the real person behind a good-natured mask, the darkest parts of someone. It's not comfortable when you do.

Roth acts to protect Dover AFB.