Category: News

Next stop Williamsport

You know it’s strange when a Little League team from Manchester and Hooksett gets to the New England Regional Final game and doesn’t even get to use their own name because the team they played was Manchester of Connecticut. At least according to the Hartford Courant. So North Manchester-Hooksett is New Hampshire. But someone tell me why the other guys weren’t called Connecticut? And don’t get me started on a championship game being called after four innings on the mercy rule with North — ah, New Hampshire leading 11-1. How in the name of Frank Malzone can a championship game be decided by the mercy rule? Incredible.

However, that’s the “get off my lawn” portion of this column, so let me add: North Manchester-Hooksett in the Little League World Series — wow! Thrill of a lifetime. Congrats. Looking forward to all those accounts from my one-time broadcasting partner Jamie Staton streaming in on WMUR.

OK, here’s some other stuff that’s going on.

People often forget what a marathon an MLB baseball season is. Latest example is the Yankees being just three games behind the Sox as their crucial series started on Tuesday after being given up for dead on July 24 after falling nine back of the Sox after losing three of four to them at the Stadium.

I don’t get the criticism of Chaim Bloom bringing in Kyle Schwarber over Anthony Rizzo at the trade deadline. The prime objective was to get a productive left-handed bat to balance off the lineup against right-handed pitching. At the deadline Rizzo was hitting .213 with 9 homers and 26 RBI against righties vs. Schwarber’s .258, 23 homers and 46 RBI. So he got a better 2021 hitter for a better price. Thus instead of (now red hot) Bobby Dalbec sitting out, it’s .215 hitting rookie Jarren Duran, with Alex Verdugo playing center, Schwarber and J.D. Martinez splitting time at DH and in left field. Not a defensive enhancement for sure, but half the time it’ll be in left at Fenway, where anyone can play. Dicier on the road, so Duran gets more time as a defensive replacement. True, Schwarber was IL’d at the time of the deal, but after a hot start Rizzo went to the Covid-19 inactive list on Aug. 7.

Ditto on the pitching. True, it’s a bit risky to rely on Chris Sale, but if healthy who got a better starter at the deadline than maybe the Dodgers? As for the relievers he got, I’m guessing with Garrett Richards and Martin Perez now in the bullpen they’re unneeded/mop-up arms stockpiled in case someone gets hurt.

Since we’ve already had a record eight no-hitters this year, my claim micro-managers are taking the drama/thrill out of one of baseball’s great feats by regularly yanking guys with no-no’s in progress sounds a little dumb, doesn’t it? They didn’t even have that many in the Year of the Pitcher in 1968. Though they did see San Francisco’s Gaylord Perry no-hit the Cardinals one day and the Cards’ Ray Washburn come back the next day and no-hit Perry’s Giants.

The best of the best was Arizona’s Tyler Gilbert throwing on Friday in his first major league start. Only the fourth time that’s happened since they started pitching overhand in 1884.

Speaking of first ever starts, Mac Jones made his during the 21-13 win over the Washington Football Team last Thursday. Not bad, but not earth-shattering as some made it sound. Basically, he was Brady 2001 in dinking and dunking his way to a meager 4.6 yards-per-attempt average. Overall he was 13-19 for 87 yards with no TD drives against WFT’s second teamers. In a word: progress.

What a Stupid I Yam Note of the Week: In last week’s column on the biggest Patriots stories as pre-season play began, I left out arguably the most important story: With likely six new starters on offense and six more on D, the key to the season is how quickly the new people assimilate to the system and mesh with their new teammates.

Speaking of dumb, am I the only one who thinks it’s beyond ridiculous that the PGA Tour forbids players from wearing shorts on super hot days? What does that accomplish?

The Celtics fan in me has always hated the newly acquired Dennis Schroder whenever he’s played against them because he plays chippy. But he brings what’s needed most to the oh so placid Celtics, someone who plays with a feisty edge. They haven’t had anyone like that since they foolishly let Marcus Morris walk after 2018. And thanks to a whopper of a business error, they get him for a measly $5.7 million.

Can’t take credit for this as I saw it on one of those dumb internet trade proposal things. It has the Celtics getting the dying to get out of Sacramento Marvin Bagley III for Grant Williams, Romeo Langford and a pair of second-round picks. He’s been disappointing so far, so it’s a risk, but one with a high upside if the former second overall pick gets it together. If he doesn’t, he’s still a 14 and 7 career guy who can come off the bench to play the 4, and even 5 in small lineups, while also making them bigger. Worth the risk — do it.

OK, one more “get off my lawn” comment. Forget Shohei Ohtani, just think of what Tristan Lucier’s 2 home run, 9 strikeout effort would have been if the Final had gone the full six innings vs. the other Manchester! And finally, hey, New Hampshire, er, I mean North Manchester-Hooksett! Everyone back here is pulling for you!

P.S. Whatever you do, next time you see him, don’t ask Staton about our interview with John McCain during a pretty good football game between Dartmouth and Cornell the day of the first GOP debate at Dartmouth during primary season back in 2000.

A disaster.

Back in town

Market Days Festival returns to Concord

Intown Concord executive director Jessica Martin talked about the 47th annual Market Days, a three-day street festival in Concord happening Thursday, Aug. 19, through Saturday, Aug. 21.

How is Intown approaching Market Days this year?

Now that things are back open after being closed for more than a year, this is kind of like our ‘welcome back’ to downtown. … We’ve decided to go back to the basics and keep it classic with things that have worked and been successful in the past. Good food, good music and fun activities — that’s what we’re really trying to focus on.

What’s on the agenda?

We have over 120 different types of vendors attending, with a mix of food, retail and nonprofits … as well as the Concord Arts Market, and the farmers market on Saturday morning as normal. … For kids and families, we have a KidZone, which will be directly in front of the Statehouse stairs. … The library is doing a storytime for kids. … We have a great kids musician, Mr. Aaron, coming. … We have free activities all three days, including workout classes [like] yoga, Zumba and jazzercise; dance demonstrations; all kinds of arts and crafts; face painting; … a touch-a-truck; … and a beer garden. We have a dog training show and a splash zone for dogs. … There are three stages with more than 30 hours of music and entertainment: the Binnie Media Performance Stage, which is the main stage, on South Main Street near Red River; the Homegrown Stage in Bicentennial Square, which features all local talent and musicians; and a variety of different performances happening in Eagle Square, including Tandy’s Idol, which is a singing competition similar to American Idol. … Also on the main stage on Friday, we have our outdoor movie, which is American Graffiti.

What safety precautions are being put in place?

Market Days is usually held in June, and we plan to go back to having it in June. That is, overwhelmingly, the month that people like to have it … but we moved it to August this year because we thought that would allow more time for people to get vaccinated and feel more comfortable being in a larger group. Obviously, the new delta variant has posed some questions for us, but the city hasn’t decided to put a mask mandate back in place or anything, so we’re just encouraging people who attend, especially those who aren’t vaccinated, to protect themselves by wearing a mask, and to social distance whenever possible. We’ll have quite a few hand sanitizer stations around for people as well.

What kind of turnout are you expecting?

We’re thinking it could be anywhere from 30,000 to 50,000 people. Everyone we’ve talked to is really excited for it. We think it’s probably going to be one of the highest turnouts ever for Market Days, especially if the weather is good, because people are so anxious to get out and resume going to events.

Why did Intown feel it was important to only postpone rather than skip the event this year?

… After how much small businesses have struggled through this last year, we think [Market Days] is really important … as a revenue-driver and [it] really helps to boost our local economy, especially for downtown businesses, but also for the greater Concord area. … It’s also about morale [for the community]. Market Days has been a part of the community going on its 47th year. People have memories about coming to Market Days from when they were little kids. It really makes things start to feel like there’s some sense of normalcy again.

What’s the best way for people to plan out their day?

This is our first year having a Market Days website — we wanted to make sure that people are really clear about what’s going on and when it’s going on, so they can find a map of activities and all of the entertainment schedules there.

Market Days Festival

Where: Various locations on and off Main Street in downtown Concord
When: Thursday, Aug. 19, through Saturday, Aug. 21, with festivities from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. each day
Cost: Admission and most activities are free
Covid protocol: Masks are not required but are strongly encouraged, especially for attendees who have not been vaccinated. Social distancing should be practiced as much as possible. Hand sanitizing stations will be available.
More info: Visit marketdaysfestival.com for a map of activities and schedule of entertainment and special events. See facebook.com/intownconcord for updates. For all other questions, call Intown at 226-2150.

Featured photo: Jessica Martin. Courtesy photo.

News & Notes 21/08/19

Covid-19 update As of August 9 As of August 16
Total cases statewide 102,117 103,462
Total current infections statewide 1,270 1,704
Total deaths statewide 1,389 1,395
New cases 1,131 (Aug. 3 to Aug. 9) 1,345 (Aug. 10 to Aug. 16)
Current infections: Hillsborough County 362 457
Current infections: Merrimack County 86 144
Current infections: Rockingham County 307 345
Information from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services

Covid-19 news

State health officials reported 310 new positive cases of Covid-19 in New Hampshire on Aug. 12, the highest number announced in a single day since April 22. During an Aug. 12 press conference, state epidemiologist Dr. Benjamin Chan said that New Hampshire had averaged between 160 and 170 new infections per day, a majority of which have occurred in people who are unvaccinated. As of Aug. 16 there were a total of 1,704 active infections statewide, with all 10 counties at substantial community transmission.

Dr. Beth Daly, Chief of the Bureau of Infectious Disease Control of the New Hampshire Department of Health & Human Services, also provided an update on vaccine distributions in the state during the press conference. More than 800,000 Granite Staters have received at least one dose of vaccine to date, with around 752,000 of those now fully vaccinated. “While the number of people getting vaccinated each week has slowed down, we do still have 1,000 new people each week who are making that choice to initiate vaccination,” Daly said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending a third dose of either the Pfizer or the Moderna vaccine for moderately to severely immunocompromised people, according to an Aug. 13 statement from Director Rochelle Walensky. The CDC recognizes about 3 percent of the U.S. adult population as being immunocompromised, including recipients of organ or stem cell transplants, people who are actively being treated for cancer, and those who have an underlying condition that weakens their immune system, such as an advanced or untreated HIV infection. According to the statement, the third dose should be of the same vaccine they originally received, administered at least four weeks after the second shot.

Vetoed

Last week, Gov. Chris Sununu vetoed HB 239, after New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella, as well as all of the state’s county attorneys, wrote to him expressing concerns with the language of the bill as written, according to a press release. “Occasionally, well-intentioned legislation can fall apart because of a few misplaced words or technical language that was left out,” Sununu wrote in his veto message. “Unfortunately House Bill 239 contains a fatal flaw that must prevent it from moving forward. I support the legislative intent to extend the statute of limitations for juvenile victims of first-degree and second-degree assault. However, this bill presents severe negative consequences that could greatly hinder ANY prosecution of first-degree assault in New Hampshire.” According to the release, the bill fails to make clear that the extension of the statute of limitations for prosecutions under RSA 631:1 to a victim’s 24th birthday only applies to juvenile victims. “[The bill] could readily be interpreted to preclude any prosecution for a crime under RSA 631:1 beyond a victim’s 24th birthday,” Formella and the state’s 10 county attorneys wrote in their Aug. 6 letter to Sununu. “As such, cases under RSA 631:1 with adult victims over 24 years of age simply would not be able to be charged or prosecuted.”

Sununu also vetoed SB 141, relative to the procedure for conducting firearm background checks, and HB 334, relative to prohibitions on carrying a loaded firearm on an OHRV or snowmobile and relative to the procedure for conducting firearm background checks.

More Powerball

The New Hampshire Lottery will introduce a third weekly Powerball drawing each Monday starting Aug. 23, with the anticipation that it will increase the number of cash prizes and jackpots awarded each year. According to a press release, the Monday drawing will join the weekly Wednesday and Saturday drawings but will not change the Powerball game odds or set cash prizes. Players will still choose five numbers from 1 to 69 and one Powerball number from 1 to 26. Most recently, Darin Lazzard of Rochester and Margaret Walsh of Atkinson split a winning $1 million Powerball ticket for the drawing on July 24, and William Metzger of Hudson claimed a $1 million winning Powerball ticket for the drawing held on July 10. NH iLottery also saw a $2 million Powerball win on July 10, though there has been no prize claim yet, according to the release.

Police Academy

The Manchester Police Department will be hosting its 34th session of the Citizen’s Police Academy, with the first class scheduled to be held Wednesday, Sept. 15, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Manchester Police Department, 405 Valley St. According to a press release, the academy is an eight-week program that gives residents the opportunity to learn about the role of the police department in the community. It is a classroom format with some limited participation, if you choose. The program is free, but you must fill out an application, and a background check will be required. All classes will be held on Wednesday evenings from 6 to 8 p.m. Visit manchesterpd.com and click on the citizen’s police academy link to access the online application.

Charter school grants

Last week the New Hampshire Department of Education announced the first recipients of the federal public charter school grant program. According to a press release, the grants are part of a $46 million federal public charter school grant, and 14 programs applied for the funds. Northeast Woodlands, Spark Academy, Gathering Waters and Heartwood were each selected to receive new start-up grant awards, which can be up to $1.2 million, with an additional $300,000 for meeting department-identified priorities such as opening schools in under-served areas, targeting services for at-risk students, and showcasing unique and innovative educational programs not widely offered in the state, the release said. Founders Academy and MicroSociety received expansion grants, which can be up to $600,000 and provide funds for schools to expand enrollment, grade levels and educational programming. And CSI chartered public school received a replication grant, which can be up to $1.2 million and provide funds to replicate a successful charter program in another part of the state. The department anticipates releasing a second round of funding in the late fall, the release said.

Vaccines at state parks

The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, in partnership with the New Hampshire Department of Natural & Cultural Resources, is making it easier for people to get Covid-19 vaccines with the new NH Mobile Vaccine Van. The van will provide free vaccinations at select state parks on select dates now through Sept. 30. Everyone who gets their vaccine at a state park will receive a complimentary day pass to any New Hampshire state park or historic site, valid through December 31, 2022. Visit dhhs.nh.gov for vaccine locations and dates.

Shtudy, which was founded in 2018 by two UNH Durham graduates and whose mission is to help bring more racial diversity to New Hampshire’s tech industry, is hosting the first ever virtual Shtudy Tech Diversity Career Expo to connect tech job seekers of color with companies actively hiring STEM talent, on Wednesday, Aug. 25, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Find more information at shtudy.co/career-expo.

On Aug. 11, Gov. Chris Sununu visited the Inn at Sunset Hill in Sugar Hill to sign SB 105, which established April 8, 2024, as Solar Eclipse Day in New Hampshire.

Local entrepreneur Melissa Davis is opening up the first Blo Blow Dry Bar in the Bedford community. According to a press release, the New Hampshire native has returned to the Granite State after a 20-year hiatus and saw the need for a high-quality blow out option in the area. Blo Blow is scheduled to open on Friday, Aug. 20, in the Bedford Grove Shopping Center.

The NH Senior Games Annual Track and Field Event will be held at the Gatsas Athletic Complex in Manchester on Sunday, Aug. 22. According to a press release, the day-long event will include sprinting and running events, throwing events like shot put, javelin and weight throw, plus high jump, long jump, triple jump and pole vault. Same-day registration will be available for athletes, and event volunteers are also welcome. Visit nhseniorgames.org.

This Week 21/08/12

Big Events August 12, 2021, and beyond

Thursday, Aug. 12

The Nashua Silver Knights wrap up their regular season of home games at Holman Stadium (67 Amherst St. in Nashua) tonight with a doubleheader starting at 3 p.m. against the Brockton Rox. Tickets to games start at $8 for adults, $6 for kids. See nashuasilverknights.com.

Thursday, Aug. 12

The 64th annual New Hampshire Antiques Show runs today through Saturday, Aug. 14, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Manchester Downtown (700 Elm St.). Sixty-seven antiques dealers will exhibit their merchandise, according to nhada.org. Show hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. Admission costs $15 on Thursday and $10 on Friday and Saturday, and is free to anyone under 30. See nhada.org.

Thursday, Aug. 12

It’s a weekend of Old Home Days! Hudson’s Old Home Days at Hills House Field (211 Derry Road, Hudson) kicks off today with rides and carnival games, food vendors, live music, fireworks on Saturday, competitions (including pie eating and cornhole) and more. The event is open from 5 to 10 p.m. tonight and continues through Sunday, Aug. 15. See hudsonoldhomedays.com.

Epsom’s Old Home Weekend runs Friday, Aug. 13, through Sunday, Aug. 15, at Webster Park in Epsom. Friday’s events from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. include a cookout, live music from Fuzz Box, cornhole, s’mores and more. Saturday includes more kids events and a 3-on-3 basketball tournament. See epsomnh.org.

Londonderry’s Old Home Days starts the evening of Wednesday, Aug. 18, and runs through Saturday, Aug. 21, and will feature town parades, games, local vendors and more. Find them on Facebook.

Friday, Aug. 13

Watch a story about space flight under the stars at the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center (2 Institute Drive in Concord; starhop.com, 271-7827) tonight with a screening of Mercury 13 (TV-PG, 2018) at 8 p.m. This documentary from Netflix looks at the group of women who trained for space flight but didn’t become part of NASA’s astronaut program and didn’t go to space (until this year when Wally Funk, one of the Mercury 13, joined Jeff Bezos on the July 21 Blue Origins New Shepard flight, according to Wikipedia). The screening is free and snacks and drinks will be available for purchase, according to the website, which encouraged attendees to bring camping chairs and picnic blankets.

Saturday, Aug. 14

See the Currier Museum of Art’s (150 Ash St., Manchester; currier.org, 669-6144) current exhibits including “Tomie dePaola at the Currier,” “Roberto Lugo: Te traigo mi le lo lai — I bring you my joy, ” “Critical Cartography: Larissa Fassler in Manchester” and “The Body in Art: From the Spiritual to the Sensual.” Today, admission is free to New Hampshire residents as part of the museum’s free second Saturdays. Museum hours today are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Saturday, Aug. 14

Enjoy music in the gardens with Symphony NH at Beaver Brook Association (117 Ridge Road, Hollis) today at 3 p.m. Americana Brass Quintet will perform, and the gardens will be open before the concert. Tickets cost $18 for adults and $5 for children under 12 at beaverbrook.org, which recommends bringing chairs, blankets and a picnic dinner.

Save the Date! Friday, Aug. 27

Comedian Juston McKinney begins a three-day run at the Bank of NH Stage (44 S. Main St. in Concord; ccanh.com) on Friday, Aug. 27, with a show at 8 p.m. McKinney will also perform Saturday, Aug. 28, at 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday, Aug. 29, at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $29.50.

Featured photo, Mercury 13. Courtesy photo.

Quality of Life 21/08/12

New Hampshire’s gambit

Chess is a thing with kids now, thanks to The Queen’s Gambit, which is why The New Hampshire Department of Education is establishing a statewide initiative to bring chess to schools. “The game of chess has become incredibly popular with students as a result of the hit Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit,” Frank Edelblut, commissioner of education, said in a press release. “The research is clear that when we engage students with their areas of interest, the learning is deeper and richer.” The department is partnering with Chess in Schools and is calling the program Granite Gambit. It’s being funded with federal Title funds and will support training for teacher-driven chess initiatives that connect chess with core academic content, the release said.

Score: +1

Comment:According to the release, a gambit is defined as a device or action used as a calculated risk to gain an advantage. “Granite Gambit will give both our educators and students an advantage,” Edelblut said.

Bike safety celebration

Families can bring their bikes to the New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Friday, Aug. 13, to ride a few laps around the Nascar track as part of the annual Dale Jr. Foundation Safe Kids 301. The entirely free event is all about bike safety, with helmet checks, bike safety inspections and free helmets for kids who don’t have one. There will also be a touch-a-truck ambulance and a teddy bear clinic, plus snacks and water. All adults and children can access the track on their bikes from 4 to 7:30 p.m.

Score: +1

Comment: A family-friendly outdoor activity, and it’s free? What’s not to like?

All-natural podcast

Take wildlife adventures throughout the state via the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department’s podcast, On the Nature Trail. Lindsay Webb, a wildlife educator from Fish and Game, is hiking, biking and kayaking to bring listeners on a series of five-minute journeys in search of wildlife. So far she’s seen garter snakes, water scorpions, a saw-whet owl, bald eagles, horseshoe crabs and a bullfrog.

Score: +1

Comment: On the Nature Trail episodes are available on iHeart Radio, Spotify, CastBox and Apple Podcasts, or at nhfishgame.com/podcast.

Happy, healthy babies

New Hampshire is the fourth best state to have a baby, according to a new study from personal-finance website WalletHub, which compared data for cost, health care accessibility and baby-friendliness. New Hampshire ranked 2nd in four areas, with low rates for Hospital Cesarean-Delivery Charges, Hospital Conventional-Delivery Charges, Infant Mortality Rate and Rate of Low Birth-Weight. It ranked 4th for Pediatricians & Family Medicine Physicians per Capita and, as of Aug. 9, 9th for Positive Covid-19 Testing Rate in the Past Week.

Score: +1

Comment: All six New England states made the Top 15, with Massachusetts ranking No. 1 and Vermont coming in right after New Hampshire at No. 5.

QOL score: 82
Net change: +4
QOL this week: 86

What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire? Let us know at [email protected].

Pats redux starts tonight

The Patriots are into Week 3 of training camp amid one breathless account after another about the so-called battle going at QB between Cam Newton and top draft pick Mac Jones. It’s so overdone it’s nuts, with the most ridiculous being hearing Big Jim Murray saying on Boston’s Sports Hub that it was “concerning that Jones hadn’t popped yet” and there was no buzz about him after his eighth practice as a Patriot.

After he had a very good practice the next day (phew), the angst then was over it being done with them back in shells, and, O-M-G, was that done to bolster his confidence? A day later he was just as good playing in pads, so two days after being “concerned” the conversation was now he’s been much better than Cam so far, so does that put Mac ahead in the lead to start on opening day?

Just utter nonsense. The first thing to know is that Big Jim is a 100 percent I told you so Tom Brady binky, and if he’s not hoping Mac fails, it won’t wreck his day, because it’ll make Coach B look bad to let him keep pumping Brady’s tires as the sole reason for the dynasty. A debate for another day, which will come here right before Brady returns on Oct. 3. As for the no buzz nonsense, there was no “buzz” around Brady his entire rookie year. After spending five years at Michigan and being a year older than Jones is right now he was fourth on the depth chart. The coaches may have known they had something in the young Brady during the 2001 pre-season, but the Brady “buzz” didn’t start until Drew Bledsoe got hurt and the 0-2 Patriots started winning with the new guy.

So block out the noise as pre-season gets underway on Thursday, Aug. 12, vs. the Washington Football Team and judge for yourself. And while you do that, here are a few of the biggest 2021 stories to keep an eye on.

The receivers: My top question going in is are the new guys any good? In particular, how real are Nelson Agholor and Kendrick Bourne? Where the speedy Agholor’s only real solid year in five NFL seasons came last year. Myth or reality? Meanwhile the new slot guy has never caught more than 48 passes. Of course unheralded Wes Welker had only one season better than that before becoming an unstoppable force in Foxboro. As for the tight ends, after last year’s debacle, expectations are high. Hunter Henry (60) and Jonnu Smith (65) caught a combined 125 passes in 2020. If the offense is to rebound they need to get close to that again to give either QB big targets in the middle of the field, where the throws are shorter and quicker.

N’Keal Harry: Given the precarious position he’s in he could be gone by the time you see this. But even if he isn’t I would not advise him to unpack. Then again, while I’m not holding my breath, call me crazy but I have a feeling (based on nothing) that he finally gets it, which would give them another big body to throw at in the red zone.

Running back log jam: It’s crowded back there with presumed starting tailback Damian Harris and third down back James White the only locks for the five slots. That leaves Sony Michel, Brandon Bolden, JJ Taylor, fullback Jakob Johnson and fourth-round pick Rhamondre Stevenson fighting for the other three. Most think Michel is the odd man out. But, if they’re going to ground and pound in the age of the two-headed tailback, it doesn’t make sense dumping a guy who averaged 5.7 yards a carry last year when the lead back has missed a lot of time with injuries both years in New England. So if Taylor can return kicks or Stevenson reverses what’s going on at the moment, I say Bolden is the odd man out.

Quarterback battle: You can talk all you want about this, but Bill says he’s going with Cam on opening day and I don’t see any reason to think he won’t. Yes, 2020 wasn’t really good, but with a year plus in the system and a real training camp he’ll know the offense better and he’ll likely have a much more talented group of receivers to throw to as well. So he’ll be a lot better this year. How long that lasts, we’ll see, but I’m betting he’s the starter for the whole year.

Stephon Gilmore contract: People have made a big deal out of Gilmore being underpaid. But I don’t expect it to be an issue because he knows he’s playing for his next contract.

Local bubble boy Chase Winovich: It’s not going to make his new best pal Chris Sununu happyif the New Hampshire-loving edge rusher loses the battle of numbers and gets traded before opening day. Given their buddy-buddy TV spots, they’d be a 21st-century version of when Steve Lyons did a commercial in 1986 for Frank Yanco’s Queen City Toyota. Trouble was he got traded for Tom Seaver about a week after it began running so they had to airbrush out the Red Sox uniform, which had folks asking after that, who’s that guy on TV with Frank? But the good news is if he survives the new influx of edge rushers it will make it harder to block everyone, opening more avenues to get to the QB.

Return of you know who: The hype and noise all week will be insane. And for once that will be fun being part of. To kick it off, stand and give him a rousing ovation of appreciation for his role in the Pats dynasty with him under center. Then, when the first passing situation arrives, send the house up the middle to collapse the pocket to let him know he’s not in Kansas anymore.

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