Tom King

Here are a few tids and bits as we’re underway in March and high school spring sports practices begin in just two weeks:

A fabulous college career ended last weekend in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference finals when Emmanuel topped Saint Joseph’s of Maine in the conference title game. Hollis Brookline alum Cassandra Stapelfeld was a First Team GNAC player, having averaged 17.7 points a game for the Monks, second in the conference in points behind – guess who – Rivier’s Lyric Grumblatt.

It was a long journey the last few years for Stapelfeld, who began at Endicott, transferred for academic reasons to Simmons and then ended up at Saint Joe’s where she played 61 games. She winds up her collegiate career with 1,683 points in 11 games for a 15.2 points per game average. Stapelfeld is a pure shooter, and her younger sister, Elisabeth, the New Hampshire Division II Player of the Year for the Cavaliers, will follow in her footsteps with the Monks beginning next year. …

We loved covering the bulk of Tom Brady’s career but now his name has become synonymous with drama. And a lot of that is Brady’s own fault. If you want to retire, Tom, then do it. Say the word, make if official, rather than create all sorts of speculation.

We know the hardest thing is to walk away, but for crying out loud, all the speculation is just ludicrous. If you wanted to play with the 49ers, then you should’ve signed with them two years ago. You want to invest in the Dolphins? Go right ahead.

Bill Belichick was too tough to play for, Bruce Ariens is too loose to play for, etc. , etc. Just getting tired of the whole thing. …

And here’s another complaint; Belichick, or someone else in the organization, not speaking at this week’s scouting combine. This event is only partly about scouting potential draft picks. Every other team has someone talking, whether it be a coach, a general manager, or both. Patriots owner Robert Kraft needs to have his head coach – or someone from the organization – front and center, talking about the off-season blueprint, even if it’s just in generalities, for the fans’ sake. They pay the money; they deserve it. …

If we were to venture a guess, we’d say that the NHIAA, in its infinite wisdom, will add, let’s say two weeks to the Division I and II basketball season next year and wrap things up in early March rather than mid to late February. Tournament basketball belongs in March. …

It seemed pretty obvious to these eyes a year ago that Jeremy Swayman should be the long-term goaltender of the Boston Bruins. The way he’s played since Tuukka Rask’s retirement just confirms that idea. The Bruins are a different team with Swayman in goal, and could be a dangerous Stanley Cup Playoff team. …

The Nashua Silver Knights have certainly had a busy off-season if you pay attention to social media posts. They’ve hired a lot of game day staff, etc., but one thing that’s interesting is they are giving fans the opportunity to track how this year’s roster is doing as the college baseball season is underway around the country. Check out their website and other social media platforms for the links on how to do it. We’re already in March; there’s only one other month left, April, that won’t have a Silver Knights game since we last saw them in August. Goes by fast, doesn’t it? …

Still on the Knights and the FCBL, word is that the league is going back to just two umpires, with the idea of spending more money to get higher quality umps. But if those dollars need to be spent, they have to lighten the load by lopping off an ump per game.

Bad move, if this comes to fruition. The game is just too fast for two umpires, it was a mess before they went to three a couple of years ago. You can believe it, it will be a problem as the season

progresses. …

As of this writing just beyond mid-week, it seems apparent that mediation would bring about a swift solution to the Great MLB Lockout of 2022 (rolling eyes). Meanwhile there’s still plenty wrong with the entity of Major League Baseball, regardless of what agreement is reached, by the fact that its schedule makers were going to have an Opening Day with Tampa at Boston on March 31 rather than the other way around. Rolling eyes again.

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