Charles Barkley was right. We don’t appreciate the Patriots enough. So, with this being the Patriots’ 10th AFC Championship appearance, I offer an appreciation of their first nine. Going all the way back to their first one in 1986, when crusty current offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia was a crusty special teams coach, I’ve ranked […]
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Huddle Up: Some fans deserve a lump of coal
Everybody talks about holding politicians, athletes and weathermen accountable , but what about Santa Claus, the jolly, judgmental ol’ elf? Here’s a guy who every year gets to decide who’s been naughty or nice. He doesn’t even make all of the toys anymore, but I guess being the worldwide overnight shipping kingpin gives him the […]
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Huddle Up: Thoughts on Sox, the Fitzy and UMaine, in 140 characters or more
I’ve been so wrapped up in high school football and basketball the last few weeks my thoughts on those and a plethora of other subjects have been limited to the stifling 140-character restrictions of Twitter (@RAWmaterial33). I envy those of you who can avoid social media by your own free will, so this is my […]
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Huddle Up: Hornets know the true meaning of a challenge
Grown men have some farkakte notions about how to challenge children. It could be worse, I suppose. Too many adults are afraid to challenge kids at all. Unfortunately, anyone who tries to swing the pendulum the other way finds themselves allied with macho men who whisper their critiques to each other at Saturday breakfast meetings […]
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Huddle Up: Leavitt’s offensive line paves the way to Portland
Matt Powell finally caught Leavitt offensive line coach Dave Bochtler’s attention after the siren signaling the end of a lopsided third quarter sounded. Powell, Leavitt’s 6-foot-7, 280-pound tackle/defensive tackle, was winded and clearly needed a break. Thirty-six minutes of being a human bulldozer will do that. In the box score, Powell and the rest of […]
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Huddle Up: Top 10 games of the year
While we’re all looking forward to what should be some unforgettable regional final games this weekend, this is a good time to look back on the season that was, with the top 10 local games. This is just one man’s list. I didn’t attend all of these games, but if that were the criteria, this […]
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Huddle Up: Merrill’s in it just for kicks, and Oak Hill is thankful for that
The story of how Adam Merrill became Oak Hill’s placekicker comes straight out of the movies about high school football. Well, if they ever made movies about high school football placekickers. And Merrill, a 5-foot-7, 130-pound junior, comes directly from central casting. Merrill may be tough to find on a field full of hulking football […]
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Huddle Up: Previewing the playoffs, A-D
The playoffs are underway throughout high school sports, except football. The tension, excitement, surprises and survival stories of sudden death tournaments don’t reach the gridiron until tomorrow, when the quarterfinals begin. In six of the eight regions (all but Western B and D), the top two teams have the week off. We’ll argue about the […]
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Huddle Up: Red Sox are being built to last
The 2013 Boston Red Sox were not built in a day. It may seem like it, what with their remarkable worst to first turnaround. Some would argue the day they fired Bobby Valentine, the Sox became instant contenders. The impact of offseason acquisitions Mike Napoli, Jonny Gomes, Koji Uehara and Shane Victorino (sorry, Stephen “Negligible” […]
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Huddle Up: Plain-spoken Parlin made football fun
Mt. Blue head coach Gary Parlin’s announcement to his team last week that he planned on retiring from coaching at the end of the season, and teaching at the end of the school year, wasn’t a big surprise. Parlin has hinted in recent years that he was pondering calling it a career. “Hinted” probably isn’t […]