Vincent Irizarry has always played a villain on soap operas, but today, he is a real-life hero. When he saw a woman being beaten, he stepped in. During the fracas, he fell on the ground and hit his head. This resulted in a brain injury. His wife posted that he is talking, eating and laughing. He went on social media to thank everyone for their well wishes and prayers. He is looking forward to returning home and continuing his recovery.

When I first met Irizarry, he was 22 and was playing Lujack on "Guiding Light." The character was a brilliant pianist, which was not a stretch for the actor. In real life, he has performed myriad piano concerts at some very high-end venues. When he moved to New York, it was not to become an actor but to work on his music career. Someone saw him at a concert and said, "You should be acting." He was intrigued, took the advice, and now he has been a working actor for over 35 years. Yes, he still plays piano, but only for a specific audience: his family and friends.

As you know, March Madness is upon us. Since I love basketball, I'm fine with that. However, soap opera fans who don't give a hoop about basketball are not happy. This weekend, CBS is preempting "The Bold and the Beautiful" and "The Young and the Restless." No, the shows are not airing in Canada and will not be streaming; they're just going on a break. If you want to watch a soap during those hours, head over to NBC and watch "Days of Our Lives." Every episode has at least three cliffhangers. It has brought back the popular characters of Will and Sunny. And if you are into the devil, it has Johnny possessed by the devil. While the good Johnny is trying to take over, the Johnny with glowing yellow eyes continues to beat him. Also, thanks to Lenny's biological dad, Eli is shot, and his mother must come to town to save her son's life. And yes, we get to see more of Doug and Julie. Bill Hayes (Doug) and Susan Seaforth Hayes (Julie) will be front and center. Bill has been on the show for 50 years; Susan for over 35 years. Not only have they had a lasting TV marriage but they have been married in real life for 35 years. She says it works because he is mellow while she can be a hellion. Marlena will see her psychiatric practice suffer because she was possessed. Xander and his love for Gwen and Sarah will be a focus.

What the heck. "Y&R" is making me crazy. It has been six months of Jack trying to locate his son, Keemo, only to discover Keemo is dead. Jack searches for a woman whose picture he finds in Keemo's apartment. The problem is, the audience does not care. A ratings dip proves it. On the upside, the search for Michael Baldwin and Ashlyn being revealed as a villain are storylines that bear watching. Also, Chance suffering from PTSD can be a great story. However, why has Chance not been seen with his mother for weeks? Nina refused to believe Chance was dead. It was her pressure on everyone that led to Chance being found alive. The show has made it clear that Doug Davidson, who plays Paul, is not going to be seen. Viewers are furious. To make it worse, they keep mentioning his character. So, let's really irritate the viewers who want to see him by mentioning him every other day.

To find out more about Lynda Hirsch and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.