Tom King

Here are a few tids and bits to munch on as we get set for All-Star Week – the Futures League All-Star Game, the MLB All-Star Game, and, at the end of the week next Saturday, the return of the annual CHaD East-West High School All-Star Football Game:

First, besides being All-Star Week, it’s also the best week of the local golf season: State Am Week. Last year, the NHGA Men’s State Amateur championship was held as close as it could be – the Nashua Country Club. This year it’s as far away as it could be at North Conway. It’s hard to believe it’s been a year since the classy James Pleat made history when he captured the title in a grueling match vs. Cam Sheedy. It just was so fitting, because the other star of the week was the golf course and the people who run it at NCC. It was just one of the best weeks of the local sports year; you just wanted to bottle it up and preserve it. The weather was perfect – no rain, one very hot day – and the work that NCC and NHGA officials did throughout the week was fantastic. It’s a week that should always be remembered, especially when you consider it took place basically in the middle of a pandemic.

• Yes, it’s All-Star week, and one has to wonder why the FCBL is having its All-Star Game at New Britain, Conn. on the same night as the MLB All-Star Game. Logistically it works, as the league takes Mondays off, has the game on Tuesday, and then takes a break Wednesday before teams head back in action on Thursday. But really, why not just rework things so it gets a night of its own? Perhaps play regular season games Monday, have the break Tuesday through Thursday with the game Wednesday and then resume things on Friday?

Granted, the MLB All-Star Game isn’t must-see TV the way it was back in the day, but that Wednesday is said to be the slowest day in sports. If possible, the FCBL should try to take advantage of that in the future.

• It’ll be an interesting Senior American Legion tournament later this month at Holman Stadium, and it’s possible for the first time in a long time that the area could have three teams competing, as Hudson Post 48 is back with a Senior team for the first time in a few years, Nashua Coffey Post looks strong and Merrimack Post 98 is more than competitive. Fasten your seat belts if that’s the case.

• For this old-timer, it’s great to see the Milwaukee Bucks back in the NBA Finals for the first time since….1974. Yep, 47 years ago. Amazing when you think about it. But of course in that ’74 final, who did they play and ultimately lose to in seven games? Why, the Celtics, of course. It was a series in which the road team won five times, including a blowout Boston win (102-87) in Game 7.

The series involved 10 – yes, 10 – Hall of Famers among players, coaches, and even officials. The players: Boston’s Dave Cowens, John Havliceck, Jo Jo White and Paul Westphal; Milwaukee’s Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bob Dandridge and the Big O, Oscar Robertson. Among the coaches: Tom Heinsohn. The officials: Mendy Rudolph and Darrell Garretson.

And here’s the thing: the series ended on May 12.

— Great to see that the CHaD Game is returning next weekend after its COVID-related absence a year ago. It’s got as many local players and coaches involved in it as we can remember; a sign that last fall’s abbreviated football season was one of the best in the area in recent memory.

This year’s first day to practice: August 13. Another sign of hopefully a return to a more normal world.

Enjoy All-Star Week.

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