Here’s a few tids and bits to chew on while being doused with the remnants of Hurricane/Tropical Storm Florence:

—- Merrimack’s Tim Schaller is no longer a member of the Boston Bruins, but as training camp and the preseason is underway, there had been someone at last look on the fringe roster of the Bruins with a remote local tie.

Mark Fayne, a 31-year-old journeyman defenseman, this preseason has been with the Bruins in camp on a professional tryout agreement, and was on the roster for Sunday night’s preseason game with the Washington Capitals at the TD Garden. Fayne was actually born in Nashua, but wasn’t here long, growing up in Bourne, Mass. He played his college hockey at Providence (like Schaller) and has had multiple full seasons with New Jersey and Edmonton, waived by the Oilers a couple of years ago, a team he had inked a four-year, $14 million deal with in July of 2014.

Last season he played 39 games with Springfield (Mass.) of the American Hockey League. He may be a longshot to stick with Boston or any other NHL team but stranger things have happened. Perhaps he ends up in Providence.

—- For those of you all set to say that the Patriots should have tried to re-sign Malcolm Butler rather than displace him with Eric Rowe, who struggled against the Jags and was replaced Sunday by Jason McCourty, consider this:

In the two weeks of the regular season so far, Butler, targeted 17 times, has given up 257 yards (most in the NFL) and three TDs (most in the NFL) in coverage. Ouch. He’s simply not the same player of

a couple of years ago.

—- Give Nashua Silver Knights owner Drew Weber credit, he is always true to his word. There’s no news on a new GM, but when Weber made it known he had parted ways with former GM Rick Muntean, he said he would come to Nashua to sit down with the summer staff and pick their brains. Well, last week he did just that, taking the staff – including interns – out to dinner, and sources say he did just what he said, asking them what they thought worked, what they thought didn’t, etc. Good stuff.

Keep the date Oct. 16 in mind – that supposedly is the date of the Futures League’s annual meeting, when several key decisions will likely be made.

— Nothing better in sports at any level than sudden death overtime. Last Thursday night’s 1-0 Nashua High School North boys soccer win over Londonderry was a classic – a game scoreless for 96-plus minutes until Sami Dieu Merci’s rocket of a free kick. Lots of chances for both teams. Soccer the way you want to see it played. More, please.

— It goes without saying that Green Bay was robbed on Sunday. Referee Tony Corrente’s flag on Clay Matthews for roughing the passer (Kirk Cousins) was ridiculous and it decided a game.

That being said, the NFL has just 10 minutes for sudden death overtime to break ties and we’ve already had two. The overtime has been cut down from recent years, they say, to save the players and help safety.

But there have been two ties already. Why setttle for a tie in football? Two solutions, NFL:

Try solution A, Increase the OT period back to its original 15 minutes, or expand it to 20.

Or, if you want to eliminate ties but limit the times the players will be on the field, adopt the college rule (start at other team’s 25, and go innings, like a shootout), or tinker with that rule and start at the 40.

Bad kickers or not, the shorter OT period is going to result in ties. Does anybody want that?

—– The Red Sox ALDS ticket prices are out, and the lowes it $56 for standing room. Yes, $56 get into the park to simply stand, and who knows how many rows deep. Amazing.

Tom King can be reached at 594-1251, or@Telegraph_TomK.tking@nashuatelegraph.com

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