As we settle into the early part of what we’ll have to consider summer, here’s a few tids and bits to throw on the grill:

Yes, it’s great for the New England Patriots, as they have moved manadtory minicamp to this week, to have gotten A.J. Brown. He’s a star receiver, a deep threat, but more importantly, a red zone threat.

That’s the good stuff.

The bad stuff? The Patriots gave up a No. 1 draft pick for a receiver pushing 30, who is mercurial and quit on his team – as dysfunctional as that team, the Eagles, may be – and has two bad knees, knees that had to be drained on a frequent basis in the past. Not one, but both. Oh, and, as of this writing, could be chewing up a huge salary cap chunk and contract that could possibly prevent the Patriots from extending cornerback Christian Gonzalez. Gonzalez is one of the few Bill Belichick first round picks in the Hoodie’s later years with the team that has worked out. If the Patriots have to trade him, well, it would be a negative.

We get it.They took their shot on a star deep threat receiver. And he will perform well we think in 2026. But what about beyond that? If the Patriots don’t win, it will be a tough result.

—- The best line of the year had to come a week ago when former Lowell Spinners and Nashua Silver Knights owner Drew Weber, while eating in the pre-game VIP area on the Spinners big opening night, that he was needed on the field. “What position?” Weber immediaely responded.

Classic. But Weber is a guy who has directly impacted three baseball franchises within a 35 mile span. He became the second owner of the Spinners (the late Clyde Smoll was the first, for one season) after one year and turned them into a national following with the organization he built and records string of sellouts. Then he brought a Double A team to Manchester, known as the Fisher Cats. And listened to his Spinners GM, Tim Bawmann, giving the go-ahead to help create the Futures Collegiate Baseball League and return franchise baseball in 2011 to Holman Stadium after a year’s absence, that being the Silver Knights. That is baseball royalty. And the connection between the Spinners and the Silver Knights will be long and deep. It was great to see the look on Bawmann’s face as his return to to run the re-branded Spinners resulted in a 5,000-plus sellout crowd a week ago.

The position, Drew? King.

—- It was a pretty dicey situation for the NHIAA to go ahead with the Division I and II concurrent state meets at Londonderry last Saturday with the worst weather one can ever remember for a late May Saturday, with heavy rain the first half of the day and chilly temperatures throughout, although the second half of the day was much better.

Normally, one might think it would be postponed – but it wasn’t because there was no other time to run it. Officials had to move the Division III title meet from Friday to Sunday because of graduations. Sunday was supposed to be the Division I and II rain day. The problem? Not enough track officials to work to different sites. There was no way to hold two events on the same day.

Makes one wonder why the proposal Nashua had submitted to host the Division I and II meet at South, but having a couple of events (the arduous pole vault?) on Friday. Nay nay said track officials. So what happened? They couldn’t finish the girls pole vault on Saturday. We are shaking our head.

—– One of the best coaching moves of the season took place late last month when Souhegan boys lacrosse coach Rich Luongo. Earlier in the month the Sabers lost a game to Hanover after they were penalized for a player having an illegal stick. Down a man, the Bears scored three goals to pull out a win.

But Luongo felt the refs erred in their measuring of the stick and protested the game. For the first time anyone can remember, the protest was upheld. The Sabers went back to Hanover to play the fourth quarter down 5-3, and eventually won the game in sudden death overtime, 6-5. “Huge game for the Souhegan boys lacrosse program,” Luongo said in an email.

And that’s because the Sabers qualified for the Division II tournament with the win – and that knocked out another area school, Hollis Brookline. Those in high school circles can’t remember the last time, if there was one, that a protest was upheld. That’s coaching.

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