Not that you asked, but…

• Saturday was the 20th anniversary of the death of Reggie Lewis. He was just 27, and on the verge of being the next great Boston Celtic. While playing basketball at Brandeis University, Lewis collapsed in cardiac arrest.

In his final season, Lewis averaged 20.8 points per game. Lewis was Boston’s first round draft pick in 1987, the year after the team drafted Len Bias, who died of a drug overdose shortly after the 1986 draft. You have to wonder how good the Celtics would have been with Lewis on Bias on the court together for a decade.

• Those who say Bill Belichick and New England Patriots players should have commented more on the Aaron Hernandez situation miss the point. It would be interesting to hear what kind of teammate Hernandez was, or if coaches and teammates were concerned about his lifestyle, but each one of them is a potential witness in a murder trial. Anything said now can be brought up on the stand. It’s better to clam up and move on.

• The Major League Baseball trade deadline is at 4 p.m. Wednesday and over the next few days, we’re sure to hear a lot of rumors involving the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox could use another starting pitcher and some bullpen help, and maybe another power bat, but they should say no to any trade that involves any of their top prospects.

• Baseball is declining in popularity in central Maine, there’s no doubt about that. Waterville, a long time American Legion power, didn’t field a team this summer because of a lack of interest. The athletes who are playing baseball, however, are playing it well.

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Central Maine Babe Ruth sent three all-star teams to New England tournament. The 13- and 14-year-old teams began play in the regional tournament this weekend, and the 15-year-old team will start play next week.

• A prediction: At the end of the upcoming high school football season, the first since 1986 to feature four classes, the general consensus will be, why didn’t we go back to four classes sooner? I think we’re going to have the most competitive season in decades.

• Speaking of high school football, congratulations to the Maine Shrine Lobster Bowl participants on raising more than $94,000 for Shriner’s hospitals. It’s nice to see the series has become competitive over the last decade, after Western Maine dominated early, winning 13 of the first 14 games. The West lead is now 17 games to the East’s seven.

• Another prediction: Jerome Iginla will have a huge season for the Boston Bruins.

• I’m excited to see how the New England Patriots rookie wide receivers do once they get into game situations. Don’t be shocked if early on, the Patriots play with a condensed offensive playbook.

• Looking at the Boston Celtics roster as it stands right now, I don’t see them being bad enough to be in the mix for a high lottery pick next June. If this team wins 30 games, the rebuild will be a slow grind through mediocrity.

• It’s great to see the number of Major League players who have come out in support of the suspension of drug cheat Ryan Braun, but the big question is this: Why were all the players silent when the cheating was going on? If you really want a clean game, wouldn’t you have spoken up years ago?

Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242
tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com


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