Blackwell honored
North Andover’s Colin Blackwell has been named the Chicago Blackhawks’ finalist — and one of just 32 finalists overall — for the NHL’s Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, which honors, “The National Hockey League player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey.”
Blackwell returned to the ice this winter after missing nearly nine months following sports hernia surgery. In 42 games, he’s scored eight goals and added four assists.
Another Spinner reaches majors
We may be heading into the fifth summer without the beloved Lowell Spinners — the now-defunct Boston Red Sox single-A affiliate — but the minor league team that once featured future major league stars like Mookie Betts is still producing big leaguers.
Ryan Fernandez, a member of the final Spinners team in 2019, made his major league debut for the St. Louis Cardinals last week — becoming the 133rd former Spinner to make the bigs. He’s the fifth member of that division champion squad to make the majors, including Red Sox outfielder/infielder Ceddanne Rafaela.
Nyamwaya opens strong
Andover’s James Nyamwaya is off to a solid start as a member of the Massachusetts Pirates of the professional Indoor Football League.
The former Merrimack College star defensive lineman has made two tackles in each of his two games as a Pirate.
Fuller’s instincts
An interesting detail numerous coaches noted while discussing late Methuen track coach Roger Fuller — who passed away last week — was Fuller’s ability to predict how a track meet would play out, including when events would be run.
“He was an expert in timing out events at meets,” said longtime North Andover girls track and cross country coach Rick DelleChiaie. “Before the MSTCA and MIAA provided us with an accurate schedule of events at a big meet, Roger did it for the whole league!”
Captains Corner
The high school sports spring season is underway, and we at The Eagle-Tribune want to honor the area’s high school captains as part of our Captains Corner series. Coaches — or parents or the athletes themselves — who would like their captains featured are welcome to submit a photo to dwillis@eagletribune.com. Photos should have all captains featured and ideally in uniform.
One Final Thought
As Michael Muldoon used to say, “If you can bring a smile to someone’s face today, just do it!
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