Although this is a book review, it is not a conventional one where you simply exclaim and gush and excerpt many pithy passages, or toss about superlatives like “engaging, compelling and riveting.” No, this is moremy recollections about the author of a new Maine book and some thoughts about this dry, witty man and what […]
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The Hot Corner: They run, and we all win
The bad guys lost. That’s what today — the past year, really — is about in Boston. In New England. In America. On the continuum of responding to tragedy, specifically the finish-line bombings at the 2013 marathon, I stand tiptoeing the edge closest to David Ortiz’s defiance and lean away from the rest of the […]
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Outdoors: Story of a shell game played to excess
When it comes to the surreal realm of American gun control politics, the adage “truth is stranger than fiction” really applies. Just when you think that you’ve heard it all, something even more utterly outrageous pops into the news headlines. In the nation’s capital, (which has for a long time been the epicenter of the […]
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The Hot Corner: And a child shall lead us, but where?
More than ever, this life and career I chose for myself are a young man’s game. And no, that isn’t merely a reflection of my being old enough to be their dad or holler at them to vacate my lawn before I call the authorities. Excellence, greatness, even immortality, are no longer the exclusive domain […]
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The Hot Corner: Best weekend in sports, by far
I’ve been reminded of something the past four days, other than my desire to move somewhere, someday, where green grass and no-jacket-required weather in March are more than a silly dream. It’s that the NCAA men’s basketball tournament is the greatest spectacle in all of sport, and that second, third and fourth don’t even have […]
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The Hot Corner: No home ice advantage for Anthoine, but well worth trip
LEWISTON — There are home games, and then there are family reunions. Connor Anthoine’s first college hockey season at SUNY-Geneseo ended in a trip to the NCAA Division III Frozen Four. Long the domain of arguably America’s most historic hockey village, Lake Placid, N.Y., that mass gathering moved this winter to another community that pucks […]
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The Hot Corner: Silver anniversary worth its weight in gold
Some guys have all the luck. Other than being an insufferable song that will wedge itself in your brain all day like the musical cotton candy it is, it’s the recurring theme of my career. Sunday marked the 25th anniversary of the day I first walked through the doors at 104 Park Street and fooled […]
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The Hot Corner: Tourney’s great, but no reason to fear change
It’s always tricky analyzing things in a world where the Greatest Thing Ever is usually no more than eight minutes old. But the general consensus is that this year’s high school basketball tournament was one of the best in a while. And when something is good, the tendency — especially here in Maine, where the […]
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The Hot Corner: Knights’ journey like no other
PORTLAND — Counting the number of Maine high school basketball teams who have knocked off the third, second and first seeds consecutively to win a regional championship doesn’t require many fingers. Which is good, because if you follow the Poland Regional High School boys with even a modicum of passion, you lack nails. I’m comfortable […]
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The Hot Corner: A roaring start, no shot clock necessary
There’s no objective way to measure it, of course, but I humbly submit that we just experienced the best opening weekend of a Maine high school basketball tournament in at least a decade. Overtime games. Multiple-overtime games. Drama. Controversy. Upsets. The christening of a new regional site. The two inches of snow that held us […]