So much for character
Bill Belichick’s answer to the New England Patriots’ first-half secondary woes?
How about Tampa trouble-maker Aqib Talib, a cornerback and former first-round pick, whom the Patriots reportedly picked up via trade with the Bucs, just before yesterday’s deadline.
To me, it’s amazing that Belichick would take the “Corey Dillon” route to patch the problems in his defensive backfield.
Doesn’t character mean anything, especially on defense?
Can this football team count on a guy like Talib?
Well, they won’t be able to in eight days when the Pats return to the field and host Buffalo, because Talib’s latest episode — being caught abusing the drug Adderall — cost him a four-game suspension. One of those games has yet to be served.
Belichick clearly gambled, dumping a fourth-round pick on the 6-foot-1, 205-pound cover man.
He risked a friendship. If Talib is as bad an apple as his record might indicate — swinging helmets at practice, punching out a fellow Bucs’ rookie, assault on a cab driver, shooting at and pistol-whipping a brother-in-law, etc. — Belichick will never speak to Tampa coach Greg Schiano again.
And he risked his locker room. This guy enters a place devoid of solid, trustworthy leadership on the defensive side. There really hasn’t been any since Mike Vrabel, Tedy Bruschi, Rodney Harrison and Willie McGinest left. You wonder if he spreads some of the bad habits among a very young, impressionable room.
Talib had better be good, on the field and off.
Haverhill rink hosts
Try Hockey for Free clinic
Greater Haverhill-Pentucket Youth Hockey (HP Thunder) invites boys and girls ages four to nine years old to Veteran’s Memorial Skating Rink (behind Haverhill High School) on Sat., November 3, from 10 a.m.-noon for a Try Hockey for Free clinic to experience ice hockey for the first time and learn the basics of the sport in a fun, safe environment.
Try Hockey For Free Day is part of Come Play Hockey Month. This program, designed to provide youth hockey associations a national platform to introduce new kids to the sport, is a joint‐effort between USA Hockey, the National Hockey League, and NHL member clubs. With Total Hockey and Liberty Mutual Responsible Sports, the official sponsors of Try Hockey For Free Day, USA Hockey has 500 locations offering kids between the ages of 4 and 9 years old this unique opportunity.
“We look forward to introducing new families to our sport,” said HP Thunder President John O’Neil. “As an added bonus, we are thrilled that our friends at Merrimack College will generously provide free tickets to an upcoming game, to the first 50 kids who register then participate on the ice during our Haverhill session on Nov. 3.”
Families may register their children at www.TryHockeyForFree.com or contact HP Thunder’s Try Hockey for Free coordinator, Frank Barrett, at 978-510-1563.
UNHAPPY PAPI
Can you imagine the fireworks this weekend, if as reported, the Red Sox allow David Ortiz to hit the open market?
One of the great clutch hitters and most beloved Sox in history, Ortiz is looking for $30 million over two years, and the Sox aren’t even close.
How dedicated to financial “discipline” is Red Sox GM Ben Cherington? We see if Ortiz is still a member of this organization at this time next week.
TIME CHANGE FOR
CAC COLLISION
Saturday’s Shawsheen Tech at Whittier Tech football game has been moved from 3 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
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