BY RYAN O’CONNOR Garde Burgess had an early idea how Concord Post 21’s American Legion baseball season was going to play out. During one of the team’s first practices, he pulled his nine pitchers aside and asked each one how many high school innings they’d pitched. Aside from ace Mitch Philibert, the answer was ...

BY RYAN O’CONNORSitting at a youth hockey conference, watching what was likely to be another boring prerecorded training video, Kermit Brunelle sighed. On the screen, Don Lucia, coach of the national champion University of Minnesota ice hockey team, was giving a speech. “A lot of people think I have the best job in hockey, and I tell ...

BY RYAN O’CONNORAfter a 3-11 record in his first season as Pembroke manager, John Graziano isn’t anticipating a championship, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t expecting improvement. And why not? The Spartans are already a third of the way to their 2007 win total, and they’ve played one game. On Monday, April 14, ...

BY RYAN O’CONNORIt’s uncomfortable, but it’s a conversation both parties know must take place. As practice begins, Bill Walton, the John Stark wrestling coach, pulls Morgan Belanger aside. “You know if anything inappropriate happens, you have to tell me,” he says. Belanger nods. She’s had this talk before. ...

BY RYAN O'CONNOR Suncook gave Bow its best effort, but could not pull out a victory as it was eliminated from the District 1 11- and 12-year-old Little League all-star baseball tournament in a 10-9 loss on Monday, July 2. Tim Coarre scored the first run of the game in the first inning after leading off with a walk. He came in from third ...

BY SAPNA PATHAKDon’t let the 1-5 record fool you. It’s certainly not putting any doubts into John Graziano. No, the first-year head coach of Pembroke Academy’s baseball team isn’t worried about what the win-loss column shows. Indeed, he’s more concerned with what he sees on the diamond. “Our record ...