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Here are a few goodies still sitting in that Easter basket

By Tom King - Staff Writer | Apr 5, 2021

Here are few Day After Easter sports tids and bits to munch on in between a few bites of that easter candy you may be reaching for:

There’s no doubt, from the outside looking in, the dismissal of Alvirne High School boys basketball coach Marty Edwards was a stunner.

Edwards has always been a stand-up guy and well-liked. Yes, he’s old school with his players, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been popular with them. Recently about a half dozen of his former Alvirne players from years past gave him a video call. “They just wanted to talk,” he said. “I think I made a nice connection with the kids. … I love the kids, I’m still going to be their coach when they call me.”

Now, on the flip side, athletic directors often have to make tough decisions, and Alvirne AD Karen Bonney admitted this was one of them. Her comment that this was a professional decision and not a personal one showed the dilemma she was facing.

And to her credit, as she was up front with yours truly about the fact this was her decision, one she felt would be better for the program, and she stands by it. There was no hiding behind “personnel issues” or anything like that. The job is now open solely because she wanted it to be, feeling it was for the better.Again, that’s the AD’s call.

It’s too bad, and we’ll see what the future is for both sides. Edwards will no doubt be coaching somewhere next winter, on either his own or someone else’s bench, hopefully in the area. He’s good people.

In any event, Edwards wishes the Broncos well.

“There are seven kids coming back and a lot of underclassmen that are really talented,” he said. “They have a good program for the next few years. Get the kids in the gym and get them in the weight room, they could be pretty good.”

—– Speaking of candor, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft showed plenty of it during a conference call with the media this past week.

Kraft pretty much spelled out the Patriots

‘ free agent thoughts when they made their huge splash. They were ahead of most of the other teams by being well below a cap that had been lowered, and they hadn’t drafted well the last few years. So they pounced. And yes, the draft comment certainly put a little heat on Patriots coach Bill Belichick, but really, that’s nothing new here. Everyone knows the Patriots haven’t drafted many impact players the last few years, including Kraft. Why sugarcoat it? And who does the drafting, right?

Kraft also dropped a few hints that the media didn’t know everything that was going on in the soap opera that was the departure of Tom Brady, and scoffed at what we say was a foolish notion that the Patriots had to drastically improve because Brady won the Super Bowl.

Folks, they had to drastically improve because they want to win, and they went 7-9 with the collection of players they ran out on the field at Gillette Stadium last season. End of story.

—- Preliminary word is that the Nashua Eagles of the International Soccer Club of Nashua will be back in business this summer after they and the United Professional Soccer League were shut down by the pandemic last year. It would be nice to see a high level of soccer back in the area for the nice weather. Stay tuned.

— FYI, the Nashua City Golf Championship will be July 24-25 this year, at Sky Meadow and Nashua Country Club, and registration for the event is now open. Go to https://nashuacitychampionship.com/ for all the details.

Golf season began early around here, hasn’t it? A lot better than last year, like a lot of things, while we still take all the same precautions.

— The Gonzaga-UCLA Final Four game on Saturday night was a classic that will never be forgotten. You wonder if the Zags’ escape means that they are destined to be the first team since Indiana in 1976 to win the national title going undefeated.

We say no. Baylor is best tonight.

Tom King can be reached at tking@nashuatelegraph.com, or on twitter @Telegraph _TomK.

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