Category: News

Who’s on first now?

The Big Story – Spring Training: Baseball games are back as the spring training exhibition season is under way.

Sports 101: Name the two players who won the most World Series and how many they won.

News Item – Red Sox Update: Notables from spring training.

In his first appearance, major off-season acquisition Garrett Crochet got tagged for four hits in 3.1 innings. But he gave up no earned runs and struck out an impressive seven batters.

Overhyped prospect Marcelo Mayer lived up to it for one day anyway, by going 3-3 with a homer and a triple in a win over Minnesota.

Wilyer Abreu might be warming up to win the Wally Pipp Award because with him likely out for opening day that could open up right field for baseball’s top prospect Roman Anthony, who knocked in four runs with four hits in his first 13 at-bats.

InjuryUpdate: In addition to Abreu, it’s looking like starters Brayan Bello and Kutter Crawford will be on the DL when the season starts, bringing on a pitching crisis from Day 1.

That might be good for one-time Pirates top pitching prospect Quinn Priester, who they got in a swap of former first-round picks that sent Nick Yorke south last summer. Priester was a disappointment in Pittsburgh, but he’s got a live arm that gave up just one run in his first two starts.

News Item – Unsigned Free Agents: JD Martinez leads the list of the five biggest unsigned free agents as camps opened. The only one who might help Boston is former Yankees reliever Dave Robertson. He’s 40, but the ERA was 3.00 last year over 69 appearances. The others are starters Kyle Gibson and Jose Quintana along with Sox alum Jose Iglesias.

And according to Pete Abraham’s Baseball Notes column in Sunday’s Boston Globe JD and Iglesias are joined by fellow unemployed Sox alums Daniel Bard, Matt Barnes, Adam Duvall, Joe Kelly, Craig Kimbrel and unlikable Alex Verdugo.

The Numbers:

4 – under .500 teams — Orlando, Atlanta, Miami and Chicago — headed for the NBA’s Eastern Conference 7-10 play-in tournament.

5 – hits in Alex Bregman’s first 10 Red Sox at-bats.

268,000 – dollar amount solid citizen Jimmy Butler’s Miami landlord is suing him for in unpaid back rent and damages to his apartment.

Of the Week:

Thumbs Up – Team Owner Quote of the Week: From lifelong Long Island Mets fan and now owner Steve Cohen on why heblew through their planned payroll budget to sign Juan Soto and re-sign Pete Alonzo: “Because I want a winning team.” When’s the last time John Henry said something like that?

Thumbs Down – Mindy Kaling: The Dartmouth alum gets it for admitting/announcing on Jimmy Kimmel Live she’s switched from being a lifelong Celtics fan to a Lakers fan since moving to L.A.

Embarrassingly Clueless Comment of the Week – Brian Scalabrine: For the Cheerleader saying the current NBA has gone to a “new level of physicality” during Friday’s Celtics-Cavs game. Would somebody please show him videos from the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s when guys routinely took people’s heads off on drives to the basket? Or what the Laimbeer-led Pistons did night in and night out to teams in the ’80s and ’90s. Scal’s the latest from a younger generation thinking life started with them.

Random Thought:

A headline (from ESPN.com) I thought I’d never see: Watson drops 30 on UCLA as USC Wins the BIG TEN.

Sports 101 Answer: Not hard to guess the team they came from, as Yankees Joe DiMaggio and Yogi Berra each won a record 10 World Series.

A Little Baseball History – Yogi Berra: Much is made (often by me) of the fact that Bill Russell played 13 years with the Celtics and won 11 NBA titles. But you don’t often hear that baseball’s greatest winner, Yogi, played for 17 years and missed the World Series only three times. Which would have bettered even Russell’s mark if the NBA didn’t have a multi-team playoff system, because title 11 came when the C’s finished fourth in the East in 1968-69. Otherwise it would have been 10 in 13.

Final Thought – Joe Mazzulla: Does anyone out there think it will ever occur to Joe he needs to find a way to get his team to stop blowing the gigantic leads they regularly blow? Which they once again did in Friday’s loss to Cleveland.That’s a coach’s job isn’t it?

Email Dave Long at dlong@hippopress.com.

News & Notes 25/03/06

Town meeting

The N.H. Secretary of State’s office has a “New Hampshire Town Meeting Voter’s Guide” on its website, sos.nh.gov, which explains the basics of town meeting and town elections including what to bring to the polls to register to vote on site on Election Day, which is Tuesday, March 11, for many area towns. The site also explains updates to voter registration requirements which no longer allow applicants to complete affidavits to prove qualifications to vote; to register, applicants must bring proof of identity, citizenship and residence, the website said.

Exploring the trades

The New Hampshire Preservation Alliance is accepting applications through March 14 for the second week of its Career Exploration program, which runs during April school vacation, Monday, April 28, through Friday, May 2, for ages 16 to 21, according to an Alliance newsletter about the program. The program has locations in central New Hampshire (including Canterbury, Andover and Warner) and the Seacoast, the newsletter said. The program offers applicants exposure to historic preservation activities including traditional construction techniques, wood window restoration and more with mentors who are focused on these specific trades, the newsletter said. See nhpreservation.org/internship-program.

Poetry finals

High schoolers competing in the statewide 2025 Poetry Out Loud program will attend the finals at Representatives Hall at the Statehouse in Concord on Friday, March 14. The 11 participants, who have each memorized a poem for recitation, will compete for a spot at the national championships in Washington, D.C., in May, according to a press release. The competition begins at 5 p.m. and is open to the public and livestreamed on the N.H. State Council on the Arts’ Facebook page, the release said. See nharts.dncr.nh.gov/programs/poetry-out-loud. The finalists include Deepsun Adhikari of The Derryfield School in Manchester; Summer Brackett of Coe-Brown Northwood Academy, Susanna Hill of Nashua High School South and D’Aleczandria Johnson of Hopkinton High School, the release said.

Nature on Zoom

The NH Audubon will present “Butterflying New Hampshire’s Woodlands” via Zoom on Wednesday, March 12, at 6:30 p.m. with Levi Burford, Errol Count Circle Coordinator, to discuss the species of butterflies that live in the state’s woodlands. The NH Audubon will also host a nature book club the second Thursday of each month starting in March with The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer for the session on Thursday, March 13, at 6 p.m. Both events are free but require registration at nhaudubon.org.

Friday, March 7, is the final day to buy tickets for the Red River Theatres Oscar After Party Trivia Night Fundraiser, which will take place Friday, March 14, 5:30 p.m., at Pembroke Pines Country Club in Pembroke. Tickets cost $125 per person for the evening of food, music, movie trivia and more. See redrivertheatres.org.

Goffstown Public Library will present The Human Library on Sunday, March 9, from 1 to 3:30 p.m. The event features people who serve as “Books” to discuss their experiences with adversity due to race, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, culture, profession and/or lifestyle, according to a library press release. See humanlibrary.org for more about the concept, which was “conceived in 2000 by a Danish youth organization,” the release said. The event concludes the library’s 2025 Community Conversation Series, the release said; see goffstownlibrary.com/communityconversations.

Save the date: According to nhmapleproducers.com, New Hampshire Maple Weekend, when sugar houses open their doors to the public for tours, samples and more, is slated for Saturday, March 15, and Sunday, March 16. Peterson Sugar House in Londonderry, for example, will be open those days from noon to 4 p.m. with samples of ice cream with maple drizzle and more, according to a press release. See the NH Maple Producers website for other participating sugarhouses.

The Milford Garden Club will have a program on “Automatic Plant Watering Systems” with Richard B. Kahn of Kahn Landscaping on Monday, March 10, at 10:30 a.m. at First Congregational Church Parish House, 10 Union St. in Milford.

This Week 25/02/27

Thursday, Feb. 27

Open extra days during school vacation, the Aviation Museum of N.H. (27 Navigator Road in Londonderry; aviationmuseumofnh.org) will be open today from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Elite Flight Simulator will be available from 1 to 4 p.m. for kids age 12 and up. Admission costs $10 for ages 13 and up; $5 for kid ages 6 to 12 and veterans, and is free for kids under 6 years old.

Friday, Feb. 28

The Community Players Children’s Theatre Project’s Winter Vacation Theatre Camp presents “The Story of Hansel and Gretel” tonight at 6:30 p.m. at Concord City Auditorium (2 Prince St., Concord, 228-2793, theaudi.org). This production is a comical musical retelling of the Brothers Grimm classic tale of two lost children, a gingerbread house and a witch, but with some twists. This is a one-hour show. Tickets are by donation.

Friday, Feb. 28

The Nashua Center for the Arts (201 Main St., Nashua, 800-657-8774, nashuacenterforthearts.com) will host Gimme Gimme Disco, a DJ-based dance party playing ABBA hits plus other disco hits by artists of the ’70s and ’80s. Disco attire is encouraged. Tickets start at $21 through the Center’s webpage. This is a general admission, open floor show. Ticketholders must be 18+.

Saturday, March 1

Catch Classic Stones Live at the Tupelo Music Hall (10 A St. in Derry; tupelomusichall.com) today at 8 p.m. Tickets cost $39.

Sunday, March 2

As part of its Sunday Cinema Classics series, the Nashua Public Library (2 Court St., Nashua, 589-4600, nashualibrary.org) will screen 1939’s The Women this afternoon at 1 p.m. Joan Crawford and Norma Shearer star in this classic comedy about a happily married woman who lets her catty friends talk her into divorce when her husband strays. This showing is free and open to the public.

Tuesday, March 4

Laissez les bons temps rouler: Today is Mardi Gras and Lisa Marie & All Shook Up will play Fat Tuesday at Strange Brew (88 Market St. in Manchester; strangebrewtavern.net) at 8 p.m. Seeallshookup.us for more about performers; the website describes Lisa Marie this way: “From jump-swing to swamp boogie, country blues to funky New Orleans grooves, her deep husky vocals express an unmistakable joy.”

Wednesday, March 5

Tonight is Comedy Night at the Shaskeen Pub (909 Elm St., Manchester, 625-0246, shaskeenirishpub.com). Seating for this free 21+ show is first come, first served. The comedy starts at 9 p.m. Find Ruby Room Comedy on Facebook for updates on who will be at the mic.

Save the Date! Friday, March 28

The New Hampshire Orchid Society presents Flight of Fancy, its 32nd Annual Orchid Show and Sale, Friday, March 28, through Sunday, March 30, at the Courtyard Nashua (2200 Southwood Drive, Nashua, 880-9100, marriott.com). There will be exhibits, plants, supplies, jewelry, artwork and more. A speaker program and free guided tours will be provided daily. Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for seniors, and free for children 12 and under.The public is invited for dinner among the orchids and an award ceremony beginning with a cash bar on Saturday evening at 6:30 p.m. Advance ticket purchase is required for the dinner. Visit nhorchids.org/NHOS_2025_show.

Featured photo: Courtesy photo.

Quality of Life 25/02/27

A really big wedding

Intown Concord will pay for the wedding of one couple who agree to get married in public at Concord’s Market Days Celebration on Friday, June 27. “Intown Concord will handle everything,” the organization announced on an online registration from, “from the ceremony to the reception — so all you have to do is show up wedding ready!” The couple selected for the public wedding will receive a ceremony with licensed officiant, a live band for dancing, a free meal and drink provided by Market Days vendors (for the couple only), ceremony seating for 20 close friends/family in front of the New Hampshire Statehouse, an ice cream cake provided by Social Club Creamery, and an overnight stay in Concord. the website said.

QOL score: +1

Comment: Adventurous couples should register at marketdaysfestival.com by Friday, March 21.

Action Jack

Manchester chicken tenders booster and musician (and more) Nick Lavallee has, via his business Wicked Joyful (wickedjoyful.com),made multiple action figure works of art over the years, such as a Vermin Supreme complete with head boot and a Chicken Tender Capital of the World “Tendie” action figure. Recently he made a custom action figure of musician Jack White, which was presented to White by a show promoter after two sold-out shows in Boston, according to several social media posts by Jack White and Lavallee. “I love the orange toys r us price tag with the date of the shows encoded in it!” White said in a Feb. 20 Instagram post.

QOL score: +1 for some fame for a local artist

Comments: Lavallee crafted an action figure honoring the retiring Fritz Wetherbee, complete with “$6.03” fake price tag and “I’ll tell you the story” tagline; see the figure in a Feb. 8 post on the Wicked Joyful Facebook page.

Also a great band name

In a Feb.19 press release, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats announced the creation of a team alternate identity: theNew Hampshire Space Potatoes. “With rooted history beyond baseball in New Hampshire,” the press release read, “the Space Potatoes [will] take the field for three nights in 2025, beginning Saturday, April 19, at Delta Dental Stadium.” According to the Fisher Cats general manager Taylor Fisher, this alternate identity baseball team honors “two notable New Hampshire firsts into one brand,” New Hampshire’s official state vegetable, “first [planted in] American soil in Derry, New Hampshire, by early 18th century Scots Irish settlers” and “the infamous Barney & Betty Hill incident that occurred on Route 3 in New Hampshire’s White Mountains late in the summer of 1961, remarked as the first widely reported alien abduction in the United States.”

QOL score: +1

Comment: The New Hampshire Space Potatoes will take the field against the Harrisburg Senators on April 19 at 4:05 p.m. Space Potatoes tickets and merchandise are available at milb.com/new-hampshire/team/space-potatoes.

QOL score last week: 53

Net change: +3

QOL this week: 56

What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire?

Let us know at news@hippopress.com.

NBA takes over

The Big Story – NBA Hits the Stretch Run: With the All Star Game nonsense and Super Bowl out of the picture, the NBA moves to center stage. The three biggest questions are (1) Can Cleveland keep doing it in the playoffs like they have in the regular season?, (2) Can the Celtics shake off their lethargy to hit the switch to defend their crown? and (3) How big a difference will Luka Doncic make as he joins LBJ out there in L.A.? And here’s a fourth: Will we be lucky enough to see a real competitive New York-Boston playoff series for the first time since 1984 (OK, 1990) followed by a Boston-L.A. Final? Time will tell.

Sports 101: Who holds the NBA record for playing the most consecutive games without fouling out?

News Item – Celtics Come Out Swinging:Maybe the Celtic Slump is over, as they came out of the All-Star break with big wins over Eastern rivals Philadelphia and New York on national TV. With Philly reeling and Joel Embiid looking like he’s headed for season-ending surgery, the Knicks’ win was more meaningful, as it was their third drubbing of their likely Round 2 opponent in the playoffs in three games against N.Y.

News Item – Kenny Atkinson: Thing I love most about NBA season so far is that in his next try as a HC after his cowardly boss listened to dirtbags Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving stabbing him in the back to get him fired in Brooklyn, Atkinson is coaching the team with the NBA’s best record in Cleveland while Kyrie and KD are facing steep climbs just to even make the playoffs. As Pat Riley once un-grammatically said, sometimes dems get what dems deserve.

The Numbers:

7 – million dollars the reported among the nation’s top college basketball recruits AJ Dybantsa (Brockton, Mass.) will be paid in NIL money to play at BYU next year.

13 – goals away from passing Wayne Gretsky as the most prolific scorer in NHL history for Alexander Ovechkin after going for the hat trick in Washington’s 7-3 rout of Edmonton on Sunday.

49 – years since Yankees players could have beards and mustaches until this year, now that the ban imposed by George Steinbrenner in 1976 was lifted last week.

… Of the Week Awards

Thumbs Up – Cooper Flagg: The Larry Bird-like Maine native told The Atlantic that he wants to return to Duke for his sophomore season over becoming the NBA’s No. 1 draft pick. The question is, if he does do it, will the team with the first overall pick take him anyway as the Celtics with Bird after he said he was returning to Indiana State for his senior season?

Random Thoughts:

Why does nobody do the “was it Brady or Belichick?” game with Duncan and his coach Greg Popovich? Because in the eight full seasons since TD retired, Pop’s won-loss record is a Cotton Fitzsimmons-like 299-356.

Sports 101 Answer: Most incorrectly believe Wilt Chamberlain holds the record because he never fouled out of any game ever. But he only played in 1,045 in his 14-year career. And while Moses Malone fouled out five times early in his career, he later played in 1,212 straight without fouling out.

Final Thought – Victor Wembanyama: With the French phenom likely shut down for the year due to shoulder and neck issues it’s a good time to evaluate how he’s lived up to the hype he got when entering the league down there in San Antonio.

His 22.6 ppg, 10.8 rpg and 3.8 bpg stats are among the best in the game in his two years. But after hearing how he would turn the NBA on its head, besides those stats and some highlight videos, we haven’t really seen it turn up in the standings. In his Year 1 the Spurs won the same 22 games they won the previous year, which is area codes behind these four guys who actually did immediately turn the league on its head by dramatically improving the teams they joined over the year before they got there:

Larry Bird – Boston had the greatest turnaround ever in going from 29 wins to 61.

Lew Alcindor – expansion Milwaukee won 27 in their first year and 56 the next.

Tim Duncan – he had more help in his first year than the other three as David Robinson missed the year when the Spurs won just 20 and 56 when he was back with Duncan in his Year 1.

Shaquille O’Neal – Expansion Orlando won 21 in their first year and 41 the next year with Shaq.

The first three won the NBA title in Year 2 while Shaq magically had Orlando in the Finals after knocking no less than Michael Jordan and Chicago out of the playoffs. While for Big V it’s just 24-31.

This is picking on the prognosticators who overhyped a new guy again. Not Wemby because he’s been terrific. Just not beyond belief, where so far he’s more Yao Ming than the four real game-changers mentioned above. Email Dave Long at dlong@hippopress.com.

News & Notes 25/02/27

Scam updates

The United Way of Greater Nashua is offering a free scam alert newsletter called the “Scam Alert Email List” that will send “alerts on trending scams as well as fraud prevention tips and resources for reporting suspicious activity,” according to a United Way press release. Sign up via tinyurl.com/ScamAlertsUWGN.

Tiny films

The Nashua Public Library (2 Court St., Nashua; nashualibrary.org) will hold its third annual Tiny Film Festival on Friday, March 7, at 6 p.m. The fest will feature 60-second all-ages films submitted to the library, according to the library’s website. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. with a red carpet, photo booth and free popcorn, the website said. Films will be judged in the ages 12 and under, 13-17 and 18+ categories. Winners will be announced on the library’s website Saturday, March 11.

Help for vets

Service Credit Union Impact Foundation and Robert Irvine Foundation awarded Liberty House (221 Orange St., Manchester, libertyhousenh.org), an organization that helps veterans, a $20,000 grant, according to a press release. “The grant will support Liberty House’s transitional housing program for veterans facing homelessness, post-traumatic stress, traumatic brain injury and other challenges,” the release said.

Poetry contest

The 8th annual MacGregor Poetry Contest will accept submissions Monday, March 10, through Saturday, April 12. The contest, run by the Derry Public Library (64 E. Broadway, Derry; derry.org), offers prizes in two age groups — poets 15 and up and poets 14 and under. Email (macgregorpoetrycontest@derrypl.org) or snail mail (addressed to “Derry Public Library Poetry Contest”) up to two poems, no more than two pages each (no Google docs), according to an email from the library. See the website for entry rules. Winners will be announced in May.

Rock’N Race

Registration is open for the 23rd Annual Rock’N Race, which raises money for HOPE Resource Center at Concord Hospital Payson Center for Cancer Care, slated for Wednesday, May 7, at 6 p.m., according to a press release. The race starts at the Statehouse and racers can choose a 5K run, 5K walk or 1-mile walk. The cost to enter is $35 for adults through March 1, $40 after, at rocknrace.org.

Badges battle

Tickets are now on sale for the 2025 Battle of the Badges Hockey Championship, presented by the Elliot Perry Foundation and raising funds for Dartmouth Health Children’s and the Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, which will have Team Fire and Team Police face off on the ice on Sunday, March 16, at 1 p.m. at the SNHU Arena in Manchester, according to a press release. A family fun event starts at 11 a.m. on SNHU Arena plaza featuring first responder vehicles and more; doors open at 11:30 a.m. Advance tickets cost $16 (plus fees) for ages 13 and up, 12 and under get in for free but still need a ticket; tickets on the day cost $20 for ages 13 and up, according to chadhockey.org. Tickets include access to the Kids Zone, a scavenger hunt and more, the release said.

The Gafney Library (14 High St. in Sanbornville; gafneylibrary.org) will host Jordan Tirrell-Wysocki for the program “Songs of Emigration” on Tuesday, March 5, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Howie Newman, former sportswriter for the Boston Globe and other publications, will present “The Musical Baseball Show” at the Goffstown Public Library (2 High St.) on Saturday, March 22, at 11 a.m. The event is free.

The country band Locash will play the Dana Center for the Humanities at Saint Anselm College in Manchester on Thursday, March 6, 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $65. See tickets.anselm.edu.

The NH State Home Show comes to the Manchester Downtown DoubleTree, 700 Elm St. in Manchester, Saturday, March 1, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday, March 2, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets cost $10 for adults, free for ages 12 and under.

Leah Dearborn, associate director of the Aviation Museum of NH, will discuss her new book Grenier Air Base: A Beacon on the Home Front at Balin Books in Nashua (Somerset Plaza, 375 Amherst St., balinbooks.com) on Saturday, March 8, at 2 p.m.

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