Time for a few random thoughts while trying to comprehend the enormity of those Aroostook County snow banks.

. The Red Sox are back from Japan, and while two games don’t make for any real trends, any angst-ridden member of the Nation can muster at least some cause for concern from the early returns.

Like J.D. Drew being J.D. Drew, working on the second $14 million payout of his five-year deal with Boston where he has spent much of his career, injured and on the bench.

Like Daisuke Matsuzaka again being bitten by the big early inning, and Jon Lester falling behind in the count all too often.

The good news from Tokyo? Manny’s definitely playing for a contract extension.

Perhaps more important now is how the Red Sox rebound from this Far East departure from the spring training norm.

Other teams in baseball and other pro sports have looked at such excursions as the foundation for struggles later in the season – though it surely didn’t hurt the New York Giants to take a trip to London during the middle of the last NFL season, did it?

. Speaking of football, the LTC took a novel approach to addressing its scheduling needs for the coming season.

Not only will eight of the conference’s 12 Eastern Maine Class C football teams qualify for postseason play this fall, but the four teams that don’t make the playoffs also will get an additional game against each other after the regular season ends, with No. 9 hosting No. 12 and No. 10 hosting No. 11.

Seems to me there’s little down side in adding those games for the rebuilding programs that will be trying to get a head start on next season.

It’s a chance for at least two of the teams to end their seasons on a winning note, and for all four teams to get an additional week of practice and competition. There are also extra gate and concessions revenues for the home team at a time when all athletic departments are struggling to make ends meet.

It’s a notion other leagues might consider when the opportunity arises.

. How weird is it not to have the University of Maine hockey team still playing as April approaches?

Perhaps even more stunning to this admitted non-hockey head is to see just two Hockey East teams in the NCAA Division I tournament field.

The Frozen Four just won’t be the same this year.

. As for March Madness, the pool bracket has been thrown into the wood stove, thanks to Drake and Butler and Pittsburgh and a few other teams I didn’t know anything about anyway.

But at least I have Davidson – a team I do know a little about because of Dell Curry’s All-American son in the starting lineup and former Mr. Basketball Bryant Barr of Falmouth coming off the bench – in my Sweet 16. For the record, I also have UCLA, Texas, Kansas and North Carolina in the Final Four and UCLA beating Kansas to win it all.

. How nice it is to complain about the Boston Celtics enduring an occasional two-game losing streak instead of trying to cope with the dire circumstances that faced them at this time last year.

Remember then, not so long ago, when the subject of discussion was Greg Oden vs. Kevin Durant with the No. 1 draft pick, only to have all Celtics fans thrown into basketball depression when the Green fell to No. 5 in the draft lottery.

But that pick ultimately became Ray Allen, and Allen’s presence next to Paul Pierce enticed Kevin Garnett to come to Boston.

Next stop, the NBA Finals.

eclark@bangordailynews.net

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