Local Sports Columnists
Local athletic trainer ‘pushes’ to make difference during holidays
NASHUA – The boxes are being packed. They are sitting in the garage, in the living room, in the kitchen, basement, anywhere Reggie Perry, a local athletic trainer and martial arts teacher, can fit them in his home in the city. Why? He’s making a push for a happy Thanksgiving for many of ...
Food for thought for the holidays
Here are a few local tids and bits as an appetizer to your Thanksgiving week: First, Rivier University athletic director Joanne Merrill had this telling quote a few years ago: “You win,” she said, “with seniors.” And that’s on the high school level as well as the collegiate level. ...
‘Tis time to recall Nashua’s football glory days: Turkey Bowl, championships
Nashua’s rich football history makes it a glorious time of the year, streaming through the decades. Even before the intra-city Turkey Bowl began its run, there were state championships to settle. NOV. 21, 1955: “Only a handful of customers braved the snow and cold at Concord’s Memorial ...
Patriots always have the edge on old friends in Houston
Every time the New England Patriots visit play the Houston Texans, we get nostalgic. And Patriot fans also lick their chops. Their team always beats their old friends in Houston. Bill O'Brien, the former New England offensive coordinator, ran the team for the last few years and eventually ran ...
Suddenly, Patriots show they may be weathering the storm
Now we know why NBC didn't flex out of this one. The New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens played some rock 'em, sock 'em football in the pouring rain on Sunday night. It was a night fit for neither man nor beast in Foxborough. But the 23-17 Patriots win certainly wasn't the Lamar ...
North, Souhegan hope to make it a safe Championship Week
The finish line is within sight. Can they make it? One more week. The fall sports season has certainly had its interruptions, mishaps, and COVID catastrophes. But hopefully that won't be the case for the Nashua North and Souhegan High School football teams as they are set for Championship ...
‘Apples and oranges’ and the pandemic
Saturday night, checking passes at the gym entrance at Bedford High School for the NHIAA Division I high school finals, Bedford girls basketball coach Kevin Gibbs was very upbeat. “We’re working toward a season,” he said, optimism in his voice. “This (meaning volleyball) was the test ...
Stark contrast between Patriots, Ravens on Sunday night
One team has drafted well, and the other one hasn't. There it is in a nutshell for the difference between the New England Patriots and the Baltimore Ravens, who go at it at Gillette Stadium on Sunday night. Bill Belichick hemmed and hawed when asked about his recent drafting record, one that ...
Johnny Most was not just the voice of the Boston Celtics, but its conscience
In honor of Celtics legend Tommy Heinsohn, we open by recalling his reaction when fellow Celtics broadcasting icon Johnny Most died on Jan. 3, 1993: “He was not just the voice of the Boston Celtics. He was the conscience of the Boston Celtics for all of New England,’’ Heinsohn said ...
Campbell, Hopkinton both winners as they made it to the finish line
There are winners and losers in every postseason or championship game, right? This fall season, that's just on the scoreboard. The big winners are all the high school athletes these last couple of weeks that made it to the finish line during this pandemic. This past weekend saw champions ...
Patriots hope they never sink as low as Jets have
Pay close attention, New England Patriots fans. When your team heads to the Meadowlands on Monday night, you have to hope they're not looking across the field, or the line of scrimmage, and seeing the future. In short, you have to hope the Patriots don't eventually morph into the joke of an ...
Have Patriots become irrelevant in fans’ minds?
It’s a weekend where there are high school championship games, even a couple of Sunday. And football fans get a break - they don’t have to worry about the New England Patriots getting in the way. They play Monday night at the New York Jets. But even if they were playing on Sunday, ...
Forging through the blah months
We’ve hit November with high school sports, which means state tournaments are winding down and football playoffs have just begun. Did anyone think we’d get this far in the middle of a pandemic? Of course not. But here are a few thoughts as the schools, the teams and all of us forge ...
Shenanigans at Holman Stadium leads to confusion at semi-pro game
OCT. 31, 1950 – A scheduling mix-up that marred a game at Holman Stadium between the semi-pro Nashua Tigers and Dorchester (Mass.) annoyed venerable Telegraph sports editor Frank Stawasz. “Were it possible this writer would recommend stepping off a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty ...
It’s starting to look like the end for Patriots’ good fortune
Are we watching the beginning of the end? It sure seems that way. You see, when a dynasty begins to falter, the signs are always evident. The New England Patriots have been through it before, but they've always had the talent to replenish the roster or at least improve its weaknesses. But ...
Patriots now have to wonder about Newton’s performance
Wow. Good thing the Gillette Stadium stands were empty. Here's the biggest question following the worst home loss in the Bill Belichick Era of the New England Patriots: What's wrong with Cam Newton? You all saw it. Was that the same quarterback during the Patriots 33-6 drubbing at the hands ...
Winter sports an entirely different animal than the fall
Time to check in with the Exec Direct. And he must be going stir crazy. The New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association’s Executive Director Jeff Collins, who has been scrambling since last March, like most education athletic officials, to make high school sports work this fall, ...
Jimmy G Return Day is almost upon us in Foxborough
Sunday morning will start with bright sunshine, smiles and salutations. Jimmy G is in town. The world is a better place. That's the way some New England Patriots fans may be thinking as former backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and the San Francisco 49ers are coming to town. Some still hold ...
This debacle against Denver simply wasn’t worth the wait
It wasn't worth the wait, was it. Inexcusable? Well, there were plenty of excuses to throw out there if you were a New England Patriots player or coach following Sunday's flat 18-12 loss to the Denver Broncos at still fan-less Gillette Stadium. It was awful. Even when the Broncos and ...
Pandemic wreaking havoc on prep season
High school coaches, one by one, after almost every game, have kept saying how they were happy just to have their kids play a game. Win or lose. They all leave the field feeling like they won. Why? Because they never know when the next time will be that they and their team take the field. ...