Sadly, more to discuss on the “dislike” side than the “love” side today, but here goes:
- There are no words for what transpired in Newtown, Conn., last Friday, except why, why, why, why. It all stems from Adam Lanza, of course, and how responsible people, especially his family, did not recognize the danger he represented in his behavior prior to his heinous act. His mother paid the worst imaginable price to start, then 27 innocents. Lord have mercy on us all. From Columbine to Virginia Tech to Newtown, why, why, why, and how can we put an end to this madness of all madnesses????? Please keep praying for all people touched by this hideous episode.
- The Newton tragedy touched our family closer than we could have imagined. One of the children killed was the daughter of Jeff Previte and his wife. Jeff was a member of the wedding party when my god-daughter, Amanda Larrabee of Bishop Fenwick fame (Catholic Central League field hockey MVP as a senior), married her husband, Craig Stoddard, at St. Mary Star of the Sea Parish Church in Beverly.
- The Patriots defense, after last night, proved it does not measure up as a unit capable of taking the Patriots to the Super Bowl and victory. No pass rush til the end. Horrendous secondary play for most of the evening. Bill Belichik is no more a defensive genius than the incarnation of Tinkerbell. He has relied on Tom Brady and the offense to make it happen game after game, year after year. Well, if they’re Super Bowl worthy, they’ll have to win two road games, most likely at Denver and Houston, to make it to New Orleans. I hate the defense, the secondary in particular, but still love the offense, even after last night’s first half failures. Stephen Ridley may not be in the offensive backfield after his latest fumble. Hopefully Rob Gronkowski will make all the difference in making the Pats’ offense unstoppable for the post-season. Don’t expect to see him til then. Bottom line, though, as long as Brady is healthy the Patriots will have some kind of a chance.
- How much of a difference can Avery Bradley mean to the Celtics’ defense? We’ll hopefully find out sooner rather than later.
- Colleen Walker, one of the 11 champions of the Boston Five LPGA Classic, which ran at Ferncroft Country Club in Danvers/Middleton/Topsfield from 1980-1990, died recently, at 56, of cancer. She won the event in 1988 with a record-tying score of 274, 14 under par, and a record-winning margin of eight strokes. The Floridian won the Vare Trophy for low stroke average on tour that year as well. She also won one major, the 1997 du Maurier in Canada. The Boston Five was her second tour win in what evolved into an exceptional playing career. She won nine LPGA titles total. She had beaten breast cancer in 2003-2004 before the cancer resurfaced in 2011.
- Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and the best of all years in 2013 to all who read these musings.