I’m a Gatorade guy, red actually, blue will suffice but never green.

On this day, I’m all set with all the flavors, the G2 and even the packs of Gator Gum (Google it, kids) that I had stashed from the 1980s.

Done. I’m out.

In case you missed the news, the Gatorade folks have announced their 2019 Player of the Year for football in the Granite State.

He is Malcolm Bussey of Hammonds Plains, Nova Scotia, Canada.

I sit here locked partially in disbelief and partially in disgust, as I re-read that sentence over and over again.

No knock on Bussey, a junior who led St. Paul’s school to an undefeated season in the rugged prep school ranks. Check out his HUDL. Kid is a stud.

He’s just not from New Hampshire.

How is the New Hampshire Gatorade Player of the Year from Canada?

This is nothing new from these folks. Check out the past winners. While most are spot on – see Trevor Knight in 2013, Eric Fairweather in 2014 and Ryan Toscano in 2019 are very worthy choices – once in a while they throw in a head-scratcher.

To me, naming a kid from the Canadian Maritimes as the state player of the year here rings of incompetence and laziness.

Were there no worthy candidates?

Perhaps the kid from Hollis Brookline, Sander Wimmer, who put up about two miles of offense in leading his school to its first-ever state title?

Or Curtis Harris, who carried his Nashua North team to the Division I West title, a perfect 9-0?

Again, this is no knock on Bussey. But if you are going to name a Player of the Year, how about some common sense and effort in the process?

This is non-negotiable. Seriously, Bishop Guertin’s Brett Anderson won the award last spring for baseball. Great kid, stud athlete, headed to pitch it Division 1 Hartford.

If he lived in Lowell, I would not support his honor. I can’t do it.

The New Hampshire Player of the Year should be from New Hampshire. Common sense.

Now someone get me a red Powerade. This take has sapped all my electrolytes, and I need some extra energy.

Jumping to conclusions is tiring you know.

ODDS AND ENDS

A couple thoughts lost from the Patriots loss to the Chiefs followed by this Cincinnati film fiasco:

The battler in Bill Belichick is angry about Jerome Boger’s officiating blunders killing his Patriots team. The realist sees the fight his team put up and the fact that the Chiefs were slowing choking on their own vomit. Come playoff time, New England owns those gaggers. …

If I’m a Chiefs’ fan/critic, I’m not upset about the Travis Kelce fumble that should have been a Stephon Gilmore TD. I’m livid that Kelce, a multi-time all-Pro was stupid enough to go backwards and give up the first-down yardage in an attempt to break the big one. What a dope. And you know that nobody on the coaching staff in KC had the guts to call him on the true gaffe on that play. …

Finally, I hear all the griping on the N’Keal Harry non-TD. Truth is, the officials missed a blatant block in the back by Julian Edelman that sprung the rookie. That Patriots didn’t deserve that one.

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