Chance of trouble
There’s been no word yet as to whether Haverhill star back Chance Brady will be playing tomorrow night when the Hillies play at North Andover. Brady, who was hit hard last week against Lawrence and reportedly had some head issues, was not seen in practice early this week.
Playoff sites announced
The MIAA football playoff sites for this year have been announced. The North sites for the Nov. 27 semifinals will be Lowell’s Cawley Stadium, Reading High School, Manning Field in Lynn and Burlington High School. The Super Bowls on Dec. 1 will be played at Gillette Stadium (4 games), Bentley (3) and Curry College (2).
Local schools such as Thanksgiving rivals Andover and Central Catholic as well as North Reading are in excellent position to win their way into the postseason.
Bye week next year
Because of the September calendar, there will be an open week for each Massachusetts football team next fall in the first year for the revised football playoff season. Teams will open the season Sept. 7 and play seven regular season games. But the playoffs don’t start until Nov. 1-2, meaning each school will have an open date.
In case you missed it....
Belated congrats to Andover volleyball coach George Sullivan, who earlier this season recorded his 400th career victory as girls coach. Sullivan, who scored the milestone with a win over Billerica, now has a 417-158 record in 26 years as the coach of the Golden Warrior girls after yesterday’s Division 1 North semifinal win over Reading.
In 21 years as boys volleyball coach, Sullivan compiled a 285-144 record before retiring before the 2010 season.
Coach on leave
University of Connecticut hockey coach Bruce Marshall, whose team will be at Merrimack on Saturday night, is taking an indefinite leave of absence from the program for medical reasons and will be replaced until he returns by assistant David Berard. Marshall is in his 25th year as coach and led the team into Division 1 in 1998. Neither he or the school would comment on the nature of the medical issue.
Merrimack changes
The Merrimack men’s and women’s basketball games at Franklin Pierce scheduled for next Tuesday, Nov. 13, has been changed because of the Northeast-10 volleyball games. The women’s team will now take on the Ravens at 8 p.m. Nov. 13 while the men’s game has been bumped to Wednesday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m.
Just one opinion
We doubt that this is the only similar view, but was it really such a great move by the Boston Red Sox to sign David Ortiz to a two-year, $26 million deal that could be stretched to $30 million? The Sox seem awfully proud of the deal but that’s a lot of money for a 37-year-old who was injured last year and, at his weight, is likely to be injured again. I’ll be shocked if Ortiz plays more than half of the games during his contract.
It would have been better to let him test the free agent market, get a compensatory draft pick and use the money on a younger hitter.
‘Cromwell’ slams competition
Former Central Catholic student Nick Carrozza of Salem is continuing to make a name for himself in the world of professional wrestling.
Known by the name “Johnny Cromwell,” he won the New England Liberty Wrestling title last Saturday in Peabody.
Carrozza, who dreams of following in the footsteps of WWE superstar John Cena of West Newbury, has also wrestled under the name “Nick Awesome.”
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