michael walsh knows the effects of drinking too much. for him, social drinking turned into an addiction. michael walsh-<19:33:52- 19:33:59>-"but i think what it became was a learned behavior that that's how you have fun." he's been sober for 17 years..... years spent helping others struggling with addictions.michael walsh/harp -<19:41:05-19:41:22>-"alcohol is a poison. drugs will get the better of you, whether they are prescribed or not. so whether you are a heavy user or just a casual user, the cumulative effect over time where that substance is not your friend anymore." dr. dan fortier, a geriatric doctor is also noticing.dr. dan fortier/geriatrics -<22:09:43-22:09:50>-"what i am seeing now is that a lot of retirees at young ages, coming down in their 40's and 50's and that they are drinking a lot more than they used to." dr. fortier says some may be using alcohol as a coping mechanism, especially after fortier/geriatrics-<22:12:19- 22:12:26>-"they don't know what to do with their time fully. and so they get bored, and they will drink

. >> reporter: michael walsh knows the effects of drinking too much. for him social drinking turned into an addiction. >> when it became as a learned behavior that's how you have fun. >> reporter: he's been sober 17 years. years spent helping others struggling with addictions. >> alcohol is a poison. drugs will get the better of you prescribed or not. whether you are a heavy user or a casual user there is a point in everyone's life where that substance is not your friend anymore. >> reporter: dr. dan is also noticing. >> what i'm seeing now is there are a lot of retirees at young ages coming down in their 40s and 50s. >> reporter: he says some may be using alcohol as a coping mechanism especially after retirement. >> they don't know what to do with their time fully. they get bored and they'll drink just to relax. >> reporter: the doctor says drinking too much can affect your health. that includes an increased risk of a stroke, memory loss or cause liver damage. he tries to encourage his patients to limit their drinking, walsh says it is never too late

. >> reporter: michael walsh turn much. social drinking turned into an addiction. >> it became a learned behavior that that's how you have fun. >> reporter: he has been -- he has been sober for 17 years. >> so whether you're a heavy user or just a casual user, there is a point in everyone's life where that substance is not your friend anymore. >> what i'm seeing now is there are a lot of retirees coming down in their 40s and 50s drinking a lot more than they use today. >> reporter: may be using alcohol as a coping mechanism, especially after retirement. >> they don't know what to do with their time fully. so they get bored and they will drink to relax. >> reporter: the doctor says drinking too much can actually of a stroke, memory loss or even cause liver damage. although the doctor tries to encourage his patients to limit their drinks, walsh says it's never too late to stop drinking altogether. >> it's difficult sometimes to change when you're older, really change your life and see that alcohol is a problem. they have real

acts including the moody blues, herbie hancock, phil collins, glenn frey, joe walsh, maria muldaur, bruce hornsby, michael bolton, j.j. cale, coco montoya, alice cooper and rock musicals, hair and sgtt er's. in 1993, she became a full-time member of the los angeles based bandlittle feat. she stayed on for the next fifteen years, recording and touring with them until 2009. her album "aak for the mooo," released in 2012, was nominated for three grammy awards and won two blues blast music awards. she released "cry off love" in 223, the cashbox kings are a classic chicago-style blues band hailing from the windy city. in 2013 the band's album "black toppin'" won the blues blast music award for traditional blues album. recently, they received three nominations from the blues foundation for its annual blues music awards: best album "holding court," best band and best traditional blues album. bob dorr & the blue band have been playing for 30 years, mostly ii iowa but also making appearances in minneapolis, omaha, kansas city and chicago. the blue band has opened shows for b. b. king, buddy guy, koko taylor, bobby

walsh. newschannel 5. >>> investigators have been tracking down new information about michael simon's restaurant in lo litta that had a fire on saturday. after numerous requests the past couple of days we gained access to three fire inspection reports for that restaurant in tremont. all three including the most recent saw the inspections. it is required to send the information to the fire department on a quarterly basis. the exact cause of the fire has not been determined but it is started in the kitchen. >>> we have important consumer alert about some cough medicine that may be in your cabinet. on your side with the safety concerns. >>> president obama will deliver his final state of the union address. all new at six, a look at some of the key issues people discussed and why tonight's state of the union will be much different than years past. >>> and if you see knews happening you can text or email us or send us a tweet at wews. tonight's news brought to you by elk and elk. call elk and elk. tonight president obama will give his final state of the union address at the capital and expected to talk about gun

michael jordan. it's been a week to forget for nnesota vikings fans -- bbt especially for the team's kicker. blair walsh missed the potential game- winning field goal in their playoff game against seattle sunday. this week, some students are trying to lift his spirits. first graders sent him letters with words of encouragment. "thank you from the bottom of fact that you guys would do that for me, somebody you've never met, soobody you donnt know, that's huge--and it can help in certain times like these." walsh took some time to sign autographs during his visit -- somethinggthe kids will nner forget. students in another state have a different mission. her birthday. she turned 108 this week. fifth graders in california showcased what she has seen during her eleven decades. "ohhh, that's wonderful. to see them ... it called to me. it brings back when i used to teach they're great." she taught schhol into herr90s. at the end of the presentation.. the kids surprised her with a lady. the time now is still to come this morning: stop, statat, speed up ---even park -- all on its own. technology steering the self

michael jordan screenshot... there were a lot of tears in minnesota... to be fair to walsh... he did make 3 field goals... in brutal weather. now to tonight's big game. the alabama crimson tide and the clemson tigers face off in arizona tonight for the 2016 college football national championship game. the game starts at 5:30 p-m local time. the crimson tide is a seven-point favorite, according to 'odds shark.' for alabama... this is a chance to completely silence those who were writing the eulogy for the crimson tide dynasty, earlier this season. for clemson... it's a chance to prove that this season was no fluke, and that they belong in the championship. the game airs tonight on e-s-p-n. here at home... ron chan -- is the manager for desert oasis high school's basketball team. he's also autistic. but thursday night, ron became the most popular guy on the team. here's his story. nats: whistle coach ryan fretz of school believes the team is the sum of its parts. but perhaps none of those parts are more important than the team's manager. ryan fretz/desert oasis head basketball coach: "the boys, they accept

michael: great picture. it is 6 cloi :4. >> isaiah thomas scoring 32 points. john walsh stealing it away, the game tied with under 14 seconds on the clock. in the end, the celtics beat the wizards 119 to 117. to hockey, the bruins make it a pro sport sweep. patrice bergeron breaking the first tie right there. another tie under a minute remaining, brad marchand to the rescue. getting the game winner. hands in the air, they're sell rating, bruins win 3-2. >> heather: the bruins make a heartfelt donation to a hockey player. the pledged $200,000 towards denna laing's care. she was hurt playing for the boston pride at the winter classic. the marblehead native has a severe spinal cord injury after she was slammed into the boards. the bruins say they're inspired positive spirit. what a day for boston sports. triple threat there. awesome. >> michael: great show of camaraderie also helping a fall than player there. hope she makes as much of a recovery as possible. >> heather: coming up. the proposal one boston leader has that could help and where that money needed to help it work