Tom King

This weekend, we take the time to bid a couple of favorites their farewells.

First, enjoy retirement, Julian Edelman.

The debate will rage on as to whether or not Edelman belongs in the NFL Hall of Fame, but he’s certainly going to be in the New England Patriots Hall of Fame.

Edelman was the ultimate overachiever, a seventh-round draft pick that made the team, and no one really took seriously for the first few years of his career. Special teamer, sometime receiver who, at one point, Patriots coach Bill Belichick had play defensive back when there was a shortage – the same way Troy Brown once had.

But wow, did Edelman come into his own following the departure of Wes Welker, and from 2013 to 2020, became basically a popular national figure with the team.

His numbers speak for themselves, his postseason heroics as well. But are they Canton material? Likely not. He was a great Patriot, but a good NFL player overall. There’s a slight difference. And the other thing that would likely keep him out of Canton was his four-game suspension for PEDs in 2018, used likely to help combat the knee injury. He appealed, but it was denied.

But Edelman was still the ultimate gamer. Yours truly was afraid that ultra-competitive mentality would make him hold off on retirement, despite his now chronic knee woes. However, he and the Patriots knew that wouldn’t be a practical possibility.

Edelman grew up in front of our eyes. He became a leader, his locker always a post-game destination for the media throng. Sometimes, you’d get the Belichickian answer, but often you’d get the unfiltered truth.

Opponents were so wound up about stopping Rob Gronkowski, Edelman was often open in the middle of the field, making the catch and taking the hits. The drive vs. Kansas City in the January 2019 AFC Championship game was Edelman’s career in a nutshell, and he followed that up with Super Bowl MVP honors.

This is how it works with dynasties. Key parts drift away. Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski are gone, and now Edelman. The last remaining of Brady’s favorite targets is James White, and it was surprise that he re-upped for a year.

Change happens, and careers end.

• Next, we lament the Futures Collegiate Baseball League’s loss of a famed Nashua rival, the North Shore Navigators of Lynn, Massachusetts.

And you wonder about an alarming trend. No, in case you missed it, the Navs bolted the FCBL for the rival New England Collegiate Baseball League, which is where they had been originally. The move was in the works for awhile, and it’s a shame, because Nashua and Lynn have had a long baseball rivalry in both professional and collegiate league baseball.

There was an Eastern League Double A franchise that played against the Nashua Angels/Pirates back in the 1980s. And, who can forget Butch Hobson’s final game as Nashua Pride manager, a win at Fraser Field over the North Shore Spirit in September 2007 to win the Can-Am League championship?

And then the two cities renewed their rivalry in 2012, Nashua topping North Shore in the FCBL finals at Holman Stadium. It was the Navs’ first year in the league, and they had remained a staple and nearby rival for the rest of the decade.

But now, the FCBL, which added Vermont, was at this writing working on securing another franchise likely in Connecticut. So on one side, it’s growing.

On the other? It has lost three franchises to the NECBL – Martha’s Vineyard two years ago, Bristol (Conn.) last year – bad moves for both in a way since they had to sit out last year – and now the Navs.

Let’s hope there aren’t more., but for now, the Nashua-Lynn rivalry takes a break.

Tom King may be reached at 594-1251,tking@nashuatelegraph.com, or@Telegraph _TomK.

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