Category: News

Eagles fly high at SB

The Big Story – Super Bowl: The Kansas City Chiefs’ effort to chip away at the Patriots dynasty took a hit on Sunday when they got crushed in a not-as-close-as-it-looks 40-22 final vs. the Philadelphia Eagles. The story of this game was how Philly’s D-line manhandled the KC O-line in a dominant defensive performance that gave Patrick Mahomes no time to think, let alone throw. The win also gives Philly a double no one else can claim: They’re the only franchise to beat both Tom Brady and Mahomes in a Super Bowl. Guess now even the loons in Philadelphia endlessly calling for Nick Sirianni’s head will finally pipe down ’cause he’s a Super Bowl champ.

Sports 101: Name the current Patriot who caught a touchdown against them for Atlanta in SB 51.

News Item – Dynasty Update: As we mentioned, the KC dynasty took a hit Sunday. Their loss means the following go on their resume: (a) no three-peat, (b) no fourth SB win, (c) a second SB rout for the Mahomes-Reid era vs. tight games for all three Patriots losses, (d) Mahomes remains four SB titles behind Tom Brady, and (e) at 2-0, Brady will always be undefeated vs. Mahomes in playoff match-ups.

News Item – Adam V: It was a no-go for the greatest kicker who ever lived in this year’s voting for the Pro Football Hall in Canton. The four new players, Jared Allen, Eric Allen, Sterling Sharpe and Antonio Gates, are all Hall-worthy I guess. Though I don’t think they were better at their position than Adam Vinatieri was at his, which means he should be in.

News Item – Former Patriots in The Big Game: The only one who did anything was KC’s JuJu Smith-Schuster, who had two catches for 16 yards.

The Numbers:

6 – second most ever Super Bowl sacks made by the Philly defense.

39 – meager receiving yards all-world tight end Travis Kelce was held to in the SB.

57 – yearslowest rushing yard total for Saquan Barkley in Sunday’s win over KC.

… Of the Week Awards

Good Timing Award – Nick Sirianni: He put a SB win on the resume just as he became a free agent coach. That’s called leverage.

Do Nothing Award – Red Sox: Since there weren’t any new signings of an on-the-cheap, one-year contract deal for a journeyman reliever, they did nothing to help their incomplete team with spring training days away.

Random Thoughts:

Why do they do a Marine flyover when no one can see it when the Super Bowl is played in a dome like on Sunday?

Watching the Celts and Cavs on TNT and I was thinking someone should check analyst Grant Hill for a pulse. Yikes — boring.

A Little History – Rare NBA Feat: That would go to Kareem Abdul Jabbar, who revealed in the most interesting internet factoid of the Week he’s likely the only one who saw the historic Laker moments in person of Kobe Bryant going for 81 in 2006 and when Elgin Baylor scored a (since eclipsed) NBA record 71 points in Madison Square Garden in November 1960 when he was a high school kid living in NYC.

Said comparing them is apples and oranges because Kobe did his in the three-point-shot era (he had nine) and Baylor’s happened when the league was more balanced, because the top 100 players in the world were crammed into the league’s eight teams. Today those 100 would be spread over 30 teams and all would be starters.

Sports 101 Answer: Current Patriots back-up tight end Austin Hooper scored the second TD of the game in Atlanta’s 34-28 OT loss to the Patriots in the greatest SB ever played.

Final Thought – Why Do They Always Get the MVP Vote Wrong: In the Pats’ first Super Bowl Tom Brady, despite throwing for under 150 yards, was named MVP. Except he didn’t deserve it. Ty Law did for scoring the game’s first TD on a pick six and being the focal point in shutting down the most prolific passing attack in league history in their 23-20 upset of the St. Louis Rams. Brady was again MVP while throwing for a meager 201 yards for Tampa Bay in SB 56. Except the story was TB defense holding the NFL’s highest-scoring offense to just eight points, and LB Devin White was all over the field for the Bucs and should have won.

My point is the QB unfairly wins MVP half the time in reputation more than results. Case in point: Sunday.

I know Jalen Hurts had a terrific game. But he was mostly in position to do it because Philadelphia’s dominant defensive performance makes their field position and giant time of possession edge the story of the game. So common sense suggests the best person on the D should have been MVP. That was edge Josh Sweat, who was disruptive all game long with 2.5 sacks and six more solo tackles. So he gets my vote.

Email Dave Long at [email protected].

News & Notes 25/02/13

Fritz retires

Fritz Wetherbee, broadcaster and longtime teller of stories from New Hampshire history on WMUR-TV’s New Hampshire Chronicle, has announced his retirement. “For nearly 25 years, Wetherbee has brought the history, folklore and charm of New Hampshire to life through his signature segment, ‘Fritz Wetherbee’s New Hampshire,’ on New Hampshire Chronicle. His unmistakable voice, quick wit and unparalleled knowledge of the state have made him a household name and an integral part of New England’s cultural fabric,” according to a press release from WMUR. “A five-time Emmy Award winner and a New Hampshire native, Wetherbee’s career in broadcasting spans more than half a century,” the release said.

“I’ve had the privilege of telling New Hampshire’s stories for most of my life, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” Wetherbee said in a statement in the release. “But now, it’s time for me to step back, take a breath and enjoy the history I’ve been so lucky to share.”

“WMUR will air a special tribute, I’ll Tell You the Story: A Thank You to Fritz Wetherbee, on Feb. 24 at 7 p.m.,” the release said. An archive of 60 of Wetherbee’s past segments will be available for viewing via WMUR.com starting Monday, Feb. 24, and all 5,000 pieces will eventually be available, the release said.

Mpox

An adult from Merrimack County was identified as having mpox and “is currently self-isolating and recovering at home” and their illness poses “no current risk to the public,” according to a New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services press release on Feb. 7. The individual’s illness is likely related to their recent travel to eastern Africa, where there is an ongoing outbreak of Clade 1 mpox, the genetic type of mpox the individual has, the release said. “There is no evidence that clade 1 mpox is spreading from person to person in New Hampshire or within the United States. This is the first clade 1 mpox diagnosis in New Hampshire and the third … in the United States,’ the release said. The department is “conducting a disease investigation to identify anyone who may have had close contact with the individual. There have been no public locations identified where exposure may have occurred,” the release said. The virus is spread “primarily through direct physical contact with someone who has mpox and has developed an infection skin rash,” according to a statement from State Epidemiologist Dr. Benjamin Chan in the release. For more on mpox, see the department’s webpage about the illness including information about the vaccine at dhhs.nh.gov.

Mission Zero

On Friday, Feb. 7, no adults were waiting in a New Hampshire hospital emergency department for a bed in an inpatient psychiatric treatment facility, with two adults waiting in correctional facilities, according to a press release from the N.H. Department of Health and Human Services and New Hampshire Hospital. “As a result, New Hampshire Hospital will end the day with open beds for the first time in recent memory,” the release said. The DHHS project Mission Zero is “a collaborative effort to eliminate hospital emergency department psychiatric boarding,” according to dhhs.nh.gov. “Today gets us closer to that goal,” DHHS commissioner Lori Weaver said in the Feb. 7 press release. “The collaborative efforts among DHHS, the New Hampshire Hospital Association, NAMI NH, hospitals and advocates are making a real difference in the lives of the people we collectively care for.” See the “Mental Health” section of the DHHS website for the department’s 10-year mental health plan and more on Mission Zero.

More museum time

The Aviation Museum of New Hampshire (27 Navigator Road in Londonderry; aviationmuseumofnh.org) will expand its regular schedule starting Wednesday, March 5, according to a press release. The museum will be open five days a week (an additional two days from its current schedule): Wednesdays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m. The museum will celebrate the new schedule with a ribbon-cutting and cake on Wednesday, March 5, at 10 a.m., the release said. Admission costs $10 for adults and kids 13 and up; $5 for age 6 to 12, 65+ and veterans and active military. Kids 5 and under get in for free.

During the upcoming February school vacation week, the museum will also be open additional days — 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday Feb. 25, through Thursday, Feb. 27, the release said.

Hike Andres

The Andres Institute of Art (106 Route 13 in Brookline; andresinstitute.org) will hold a guided hike of its sculpture-filled trails during February school vacation on Thursday, Feb. 27, at 10 a.m. The hike has a suggested age of 8 and up and will be on the Quarry Trail or the Parkway Trail, depending on conditions, according to an Andres newsletter. The hike will be 45 to 60 minutes with stops at sculptures, the newsletter said. The hike will start at the AIA welcome center, where trekking poles are available for sale for $20, the newsletter said. Sign up for this hike by emailing the number of attending hikers and ages of participants as well as contact info to [email protected].

The Pembroke Historical Society will host a presentation on “Vanished Veterans: An Illustrated Introduction to NH’s Civil War Monuments and Memorials” on Thursday, Feb. 13, at 7 p.m. by historian George Morrison at the Pembroke Town Library, 313 Pembroke St. in Pembroke. The event is free and open to the public. Call 566-1031 for info.

Flag Hill Distillery & Winery in Lee will host the snowshoe race the County Line Derby on Sunday, Feb. 23, with racers following a .42-mile course around the vineyard, snow or no, according to a press release. The event is free but tickets are required and are available at CountyLineDerby2025.eventbrite.com. The event begins at 9:30 a.m.; racers are “tasked with … creating a racer persona,” the release said, and can win Best In Style prizes. Spectators can also compete for a Best Derby Outfit prize, the release said.

The Franco American Centre will hold a Mardi Gras celebration on Sunday, Feb. 23, from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Alpine Club (175 Putnam St. in Manchester) featuring Mardi Gras-themed snacks, family-friendly Hurricane Punch, making a Mardi Gras mask, creating a mini-float, a Mardi Gras parade, Mardi Gras bingo and more, according to a Centre email. Tickets cost $20 for adults, $10 for teens and $5 for kids, plus fees, at facnh.com.

Science Cafe NH will hold its next meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 18, at 6 p.m. at Soel Sistas Cafe, 30 Temple St. in Nashua, for a panel discussion about wastewater, according to an email. The group meets on the third Tuesday of each month; find them on Facebook.

This Week 25/02/06

Thursday, Feb. 6

Gibson’s Bookstore (45 S. Main St., Concord, 224-0562, gibsonsbookstore.com) will host Jennifer Finney Boylan, bestselling author of She’s Not There and co-author of Mad Honey with Jodi Picoult, as she presents her new book, Cleavage: Men, Women, and the Space Between Us, tonight at 7 p.m. at the Grappone Conference Center in Concord. A signing line follows their discussion. Tickets cost $39 plus fees and include a pre-signed copy of Cleavage.

Thursday, Feb. 6

The Huntington at Nashua (55 Kent Lane, Nashua, 598-1440, silverstoneliving.org/the-huntington) will host a lecture by New Hampshire Humanities called “Benedict Arnold, Patriot (and Traitor)” this afternoon at 1:30 p.m. Historian George Morrison will take participants on a journey through New England, Canada and New York tracing the complex story of this infamous American.

Thursday, Feb. 6

There will be a Musical Bingo Fundraiser this evening at 6 p.m. to raise money for Karasu Tengu Academy’s (1 Chestnut St., Nashua, 689-4966, ktacademymma.com) Youth MMA team. It will take place at O’Brien’s Sports Bar (118 Main St., Nashua). Do you think you have superior music knowledge? Come down for some fun music bingo. Hosted by DJ Bern Hurley, $10 per card or three for $20. This is a family-friendly event.

Thursday, Feb. 6

There will be an Open Mic event at the Ted Herbert Music School (880 Page St., Manchester, 669-7469, tedherbert.com) tonight from 7 to 8 p.m. This event is open to all and no previous sign-ups are needed. Perform a solo act, recite a poem, meet and network with other musicians at this family-friendly event. A full backline of drums, piano and amplifier, guitar amplifier, bass amplifier and vocal microphone with PA system will be provided.

Saturday, Feb. 8

The SNHU Arena (555 Elm St., Manchester, 644-5000, snhuarena.com) will play host to intense mixed martial arts action with Combat Zone 87 tonight beginning at 6 p.m. Tickets start at $38 through ticketmaster.com.

Saturday, Feb. 8

There will be a New Hampshire Historical Society (30 Park St., Concord, 228-6688, nhhistory.org) lecture on “Murder, Mayhem, and the Criminal World in New Hampshire” today beginning at 2 p.m. Historian Milli Knudsen will take participants on a true-crime journey through history. Signed copies of her book will be available at the event. Attendance is free for Society members, $10 for nonmembers.

Sunday, Feb. 9

Every Sunday through April 13, the Barley House Restaurant and Tavern (132 N. Main St., Concord, 228-6363, thebarleyhouse.com) will host a weekly cribbage tournament, with registration at 11:30 p.m. and the first match beginning at 12:30 p.m. All skill levels are welcome.

Save the Date! Friday, Feb. 14

The Gods of Comedy will be performed by the Community Players of Concord (435 Josiah Bartlett Road, Concord, 224-4905, communityplayersofconcord.org) at Concord City Auditorium (2 Prince St., Concord, 228-2793, theaudi.org) from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 14. The capricious gods of comedy from ancient Greece follow a college professor through time to the States and become embroiled in a crazy on-campus “Classics Weekend” with mistaken identities, a lost manuscript and too much partying all around. Tickets cost $20, $18 for ages 17 and under or 65+. See communityplayersofconcord.org.

Featured photo: Courtesy photo.

Quality of Life 25/02/06

Return of the Hero Pups

As reported in a Feb. 2 online article by WMUR, the Merrimack County Department of Corrections has relaunched its Hero Pup program. “Selected inmates will work with the nonprofit,” the article read, “to train and care for puppies that will become support dogs for veterans and first responders.” The program began six years ago but was paused due to the pandemic. The first group of this round of inmates began working with the puppies earlier this week, the story said.

QOL score: +1

Comment: Commenting on the inmate training program, the Hero Pups website (heropups.com) reads, “This will help the pups on their path to service work, but it will also help the inmate participants learn new skills to give them more tools for success.”

A historic church passes into history

On Jan. 26, Manchester Ink Link reported that one of the city’s churches will shutter its doors after 140 years. The Gethsemane Evangelical Lutheran Church has voted to close in May. The article quoted a statement by Gethsemane’s Church Council: “[The Church] has existed at its location on Sagamore Street in Manchester since the 1880s, when a group of Swedish immigrant workers from the Amoskeag Mills constructed its church on land donated by the Amoskeag Company. Services were held in Swedish until the early 1950s ….”

QOL score: -1

Comments: According to the Ink Link article the church is for sale and listed at $1.2 million.

Doom spending

A recent survey by BTCpostage (btcpostage.com) had good news and bad news about spending money in times of increased stress in New Hampshire. On the one hand, New Hampshire ranks 31st in the nation in stress-spending. On the other hand, 80 percent of New Hampshire respondents reported “doom spending.” As reported by BTCpostage, “48 percent say politics drive them to doom spend (2nd highest in the U.S.), 26 percent say climate change drives them to doom spend (7th highest in the U.S.), and 37 percent say the fear of not being able to retire drives them to doom spend (9th highest in the U.S.)”

QOL score: -1

Comment: The report indicates that nationwide the largest increases in spending are in the areas of food, entertainment and clothing. Visit btcpostage.com/blog/doom-spenders.

UNH helps NASA stare really hard into deep space

New Hampshire Public Radio reported on Feb. 3 that an instrument developed at the University of New Hampshire has been installed in a spacecraft that is getting ready to launch. The device, called IMAP-Lo, will be part of a mission to study the space between solar systems. The Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe, or IMAP, mission is scheduled to launch later this year. “[UNH’s instrument] was built to collect and analyze invisible particles — neutral atoms — that make up the interstellar medium,” NHPR reported

QOL score: +1

Comment: “Measuring galactic material will help scientists understand more about the age of the universe and the evolution of the galaxy,” NHPR wrote. “It could also help reveal where, exactly, we are in the universe.”

QOL score last week: 54

Net change: 0

QOL this week: 54

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

Let us know at [email protected].

Super Sunday dead ahead

The Big Story – The Super Bowl: Can the Chiefs pull off the first three-peat in SB history in a rematch of SB 57? A great game where KC scored 17 fourth-quarter points to come back from down 27-21 to win 37-35.

Two weeks ago after KC beat Buffalo to get to the big game again Ben Volin of the Boston Globe asked, is it time for the Bills to change coaches to finally get them past KC? And my answer was, Buffalo isn’t the only one who can’t beat Patrick Mahomes. No one else has either except Tom Brady twice. So the only question that matters in this one is can the Philadelphia Eagles stop Mahomes when it matters most? We’ll know by around 9:45 on Sunday night.

Sports 101: Name the only two people to win a Super Bowl as a player, an assistant coach and a head coach.

News Item – Kelly Jumps Again: In the shocker of the week former Central QB Chip Kelly’s stay at Ohio State lasted just one year. Two weeks after winning a national title he left OSU on Sunday to return to the NFL to be Pete Carroll’s Offensive Coordinator with the Las Vegas Raiders.

News Item – Big NBA Trade: Got to give it to the Lakers for always looking to make the big deal. On Sunday it was trading their second best player, Anthony Davis, for a Top 5 NBA player, Luka Doncic. Which is what they call a blockbuster trade in my neighborhood. Have said a few times in this space: Imagine how good Luka would be if he ever got in shape. Which apparently is what got to the Dallas brass too, and motivated them to make the shocking trade.

Wouldn’t have done it if I were them on age alone, sending an age 26 star for a 32-year-old who breaks down a lot. Plus AD can’t win on his own, which was evident when he went to the playoffs only twice in seven seasons with New Orleans, while Luka can, whether in great shape or not. Plus, since Doncic got traded, L.A. gets him cheap, as now he’s not eligible for a super max contract he would have been in Dallas this summer. L.A. wins this one.

The Numbers:

4 – ex-Patriots players — Joe Thuney, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Josh Uche and Tyquan Thornton — who’ll be in Sunday’s Super Bowl.

8 – million dollars to buy a 30-second ad in Sunday’s Super Bowl broadcast.

26 – point fourth-quarter deficit the Celtic needed to overcome to beat the Joel Embiid-less 76ers on Sunday in their latest non-effort given against teams playing without their star.

… Of the Week Awards

Thumbs Up – Hubie Brown: The great analyst will retire from ESPN/ABC when he hangs up his mic at 91 after Sunday’s NBA broadcast.

Imaginary Fake News Donald Trump Crybaby of the Week – Chiefs Owner Clark Hunt: The owner of the team that now gets every call in their favor gets it for having the stones to ask the NFL to ban Tom Brady from doing the SB on Fox because he correctly said refs in the Houston-KC playoff game made awful calls on two imaginary roughing penalties against Mahomes.

Idiotic Podcast Idea of the Week – Bill Belichick: For saying on Jim Gray’s podcast they should take the name Vince Lombardi off the Super Bowl Winners Trophy and rename it the Tom Brady Trophy. Love TB-12, but dumping Lombardi’s name is a slap in the face of league history.

Random Thoughts:

Stumbled on a YouTube clip of great plays by Ben Coates last week. It convinced me that, thanks to leaving just before the dynasty started, he’s the greatest forgotten Patriots player ever. Check the stats. He was Gronk before Gronk. Even wore 87.

The side note to the Doncic-Davis trade is can Kyrie Irving’s latest trade demand be far off?

Sports 101 Answer: The two triple SB winners are Mike Ditka (P, Dallas; AC, Dallas; HC, Bears) and Tom Flores (P, Chiefs; AC, Raiders; HC, Raiders).

A Little History – Super Bowl 1: Seems hard to believe after what it has become, but nearly 30,000 tickets went unsold for the first Super Bowl, between the Packers and the Chiefs. It was played in the still standing L.A. Memorial Coliseum, which was built in 1923 and will be in 2028 the first place to host three Olympic Games after also doing it in 1932 and 1984.Ticket prices, which are $3,800 to $8,000 for Sunday’s game, were just $12 (about $90 in today’s money) for SB1 and attendance was 61,946 in the 90,000-seat Coliseum. It was also broadcast on both CBS and NBC with a combined viewing audience of 51 million. Pretty big, but not near last year, when 123 million TV sets were tuned in to the game with 210 million total viewers!

Last Word – Prediction: KC 23, Philly 20 — Mahomes does it again.

Hope I’m wrong.

Email Dave Long at [email protected].

News & Notes 25/02/06

New CMC CEO

John Skevington was named the new CEO of Catholic Medical Center in Manchester, which as of Feb. 1 is a part of HCA Healthcare, according to an HCA release. Skevington most recently served as interim CEO of Portsmouth Regional Hospital and was previously CEO at Parkland Medical Center, both HCA Healthcare facilities, the release said. Previous CEO Alex Walker will be the executive director of the new nonprofit Catholic Health Care Foundation of Greater Manchester, according to a Jan. 29 story from the Union Leader.

Oscar 2026

The New Hampshire Film Festival, slated for Oct. 16 through Oct. 19 in Portsmouth, will serve as an Academy Award qualifying festival for films in the three short film categories, according to a festival press release. The festival is now taking submissions for the 2025 festival including those Oscar hopefuls in the live action shorts, animated shorts and documentary shots categories, the release said. See nhfilmfestival.coml.

Re-entry program

The New Hampshire departments of Corrections and Health and Human Services have launched two new programs aimed at helping adults and youth prepare for discharge from correctional facilities, according to a DHHS press release. The programs — the Community Re-Entry program and the Youth Re-Entry Program — were both launched on Jan. 1 and seek to help participants “be successful in their return to community settings and reduce recidivism related to unmet health care needs,” the release said. The adult program will “provide eligible adult individuals with severe and persistent mental illness and substance use disorders a targeted set of health care and peer services 45 days prior to release,” the release said. The youth program “provides a tailored service package to Medicaid-eligible youth up to age 21 and former foster youth up to age 26,” the release said.

Break out the flannel

Nashua will host its first ever GenXpo on Sunday, March 2, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Nashua Center for the Arts, according to a press release from the mayor’s office. This free event is geared at “Gen Xers, Baby Boomers and better” and will include “a variety of entertainment and leisure companies, businesses and service providers of all kinds, who have offerings targeted towards the needs and interests of those age 50 and better. Financial planners, travel agencies, local activities, home improvement, adult learning, health care and fitness, insurance, senior life and housing, etc.,” the release said. Vendors and sports can sign up until Feb. 14 by emailing [email protected].

The Center for the Arts will hold its monthly First Friday Gallery Stroll on Friday, Feb. 7, from 5 to 7 p.m, showcasing artwork at five locations in New London. See cfanh.org.

Ice has been declared “in” and the 46th annual Great Meredith Rotary Fishing Derby is on for Saturday, Feb. 8, and Sunday, Feb. 9, on the lake near Hesky Park in Meredith, with a $15,000 prize for the winning fish. There will be a kids’ activity tent with contests, snacks and a free ice fishing clinic. Go to icefishingnh.com for tickets, derby rules and registration.

N.H. Poetry Out Loud competition announced the schedule for its upcoming semi-finals: Tuesday, Feb. 11, at 6 p.m. at New England College in Henniker; Thursday, Feb. 13, at 6 p.m. at Plymouth State University, and Tuesday, Feb. 18, at 6 p.m. at the Rochester Opera House. Now in its 20th year, the competition features high school-age students reciting poems, according to a press release. See nharts.dncr.nh.gov/programs/poetry-out-loud.

The NH Audubon’s 38th Annual Backyard Winter Bird Survey is Saturday, Feb. 8, and Sunday, Feb. 9. Go to nhaudubon.org to learn how to help produce a snapshot of the state of birds in New Hampshire by birdwatching from your backyard. For more on the event, see the story on page 11 in the Jan. 30 issue of the paper; find the digital issue at hippopress.com.

The 2025 Special Olympics Penguin Plunge will be held Sunday, Feb. 9, at Hampton Beach. After a costume parade at 11:30 a.m., plungers will begin their run into (and then quickly out of) the Atlantic at noon, followed by a towel, a change into dry clothes and a lunch. For information on supporting the plunge or plunging yourself, see fundraising.sonh.org. A High School Plunge is held Saturday, Feb. 8, and the next big cold-water fund-raising event is the Winni Dip in Laconia on March 8.

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