Howard_T's profile

Howard_T
11820
Name: Howard Titus
Location: Nashua, NH
Gender: Old Alpha Male, hoping no young stud steals the herd.
Member since: April 08, 2006
Last visit: December 07, 2025

Howard_T has posted 44 links and 4,623 comments to SportsFilter and 3 links and 265 comments to the Locker Room.

Sports Bio

Native Bostonian, with all attendant baggage still attached. Braves fan until they left for Milwaukee (yes, I'm that old), then it was the BoSox by default. Love all sports, but the favorites are baseball, hockey, football, and hoop, in that order. Used to umpire baseball at the Babe Ruth, Legion, and High School level. At my age, there are too many sports memories to really pick a favorite. Maybe it is Bill Russell's first game in Boston Garden. Another is the time when I was just back from Viet Nam and my dad took me to a Bruins game. This was in the glory days of Orr. Toronto was the opponent, they started 5 defensemen (really), and the fight started within the first minute or so.

Recent Links

Bernie Parent Dead at 80: Bernie Parent, considered one of the greatest goaltenders of all time in the NHL, passed away at age 80. He backstopped the Philadelphia Flyers to consecutive Stanley Cup wins in 1974 and 1975. Parent's NHL career started with the Boston Bruins who let him go in the expansion draft, and he played in Philadelphia and Toronto before jumping to Miami of the World Hockey Association. When his time with Miami was not working out satisfactorily, he returned to the NHL and the Flyers. His boyhood idol was Jacques Plante, and during his time in Toronto, Plante was a teammate as well as a mentor.

posted by Howard_T to hockey at 11:20 PM on September 21, 2025 - 3 comments

Recent Sports Necrology: Over the past day or two the sports world has lost some notable people. Stirling Moss, passed away at the age of 90. He was one of the legendary racing drivers in what some might call the golden age of racing. Moss competed against the likes of Juan Manuel Fangio (a teammate) when Ferrari, Maserati, and Mercedes ruled.

posted by Howard_T to general at 10:28 PM on April 13, 2020 - 2 comments

Rusty Staub Dead at 73: A sad note on opening day, Le Grand Orange has passed away. His career spanned 23 seasons, mainly with the Montreal Expos and the New York Mets.

posted by Howard_T to baseball at 09:28 PM on March 29, 2018 - 3 comments

Roger Bannister has Passed Away: Roger Bannister, the first man to run a mile in less than 4 minutes has died. The feat was accomplished in 1954. We had a small black and white TV, and film of it was shown on the sports news. I also remember seeing it in the newsreels at the movies. It was a really big deal then, but now even high school kids are running under 4 minutes

posted by Howard_T to other at 04:05 PM on March 04, 2018 - 4 comments

...and Maybe the Dynamite Fizzles: Cleveland is having second thoughts about the Thomas-Irving trade after Isaiah Thomas took his physical. What's up here?

posted by Howard_T to basketball at 03:47 PM on August 26, 2017 - 10 comments

Recent Comments

NFL Pickem Week 14: The Eagles Have Landed

My picks:

Seahawks by 13
Bills by 9
Browns by 10
Vikings by 6
Dolphins by 12
Buccaneers by 7
Jaguars by 3
Ravens by 11
Broncos by 9
Packers by 6
Rams by 10
Chiefs by 12
Chargers by 3

Last week was crazy. I was out all day Thursday redeeming my truck from the shop, then I had other things that had backed up because I didn't have wheels. Friday night was Celtics vs Lakers, and there's no way I miss that. I finally got to sit down and do my picks at 1130 today.

posted by Howard_T at 11:47 AM on December 07, 2025

NBA Pickem Week 7: NBA on NBC

My picks:

Celtics by 7
Thunder by 12 (slam dunk)

Warriors without Curry are seriously weakened. (Thank you, Captain Obvious.) Meanwhile, Celtics are reporting as all available, less Tatum, and the Knicks are missing Anunoby and Shamet. Should be a good one at TD Garden, but there will be about 6 or 8 inches of snow on the ground by the time we're on our way home, so the tickets are up for sale.

posted by Howard_T at 03:33 PM on December 02, 2025

SportsFilter: The Monday Huddle

The story about the Flying Elvis that I remember having heard is that the Pat Patriot logo was difficult to reproduce via print, embroidery, or other mass reproduction means, and it would be more costly. The cynics among us harrumphed and said that it was all about money.

posted by Howard_T at 03:19 PM on December 02, 2025

NFL Pickem Week 13: Trippin' on Tryptophan

My picks:

Lions by 9
Cowboys by 7
Ravens by 13 (lock)
Eagles by 10
49ers by 13 (lock)
Jaguars by 16 (lock)
Texans by 3
Dolphins by 3
Jets by 6
Buccaneers by 7
Rams by 9 (lock)
Seahawks by 11
Steelers by 6
Chargers by 8
Broncos by 4
Patriots by 7

posted by Howard_T at 08:22 AM on November 27, 2025

SportsFilter: The Saturday Huddle

I'm late with this, but it still comes with best wishes. Take care of yourself, do what the physicians tell you, and get well soon. Praying for your recovery.

posted by Howard_T at 01:41 AM on November 25, 2025

NBA Pickem Week 6: Turkey Eve Tripleheader

My picks:

Magic by 8
Lakers by 11
Pistons by 9
Thunder by 14
Rockets by 10

Can't go with my Celtics against Pistons. With Queeta out for injury (ankle) C's bigs are now Luka Garza, Xavier Tillman, and Chris Boucher. This is not a trio which strikes fear into the opposition. I won't be at the game. Going to family in CT for Thanksgiving, so we go on Wednesday to try to avoid the traffic. I put the Celtics tickets up for auction at a fundraiser for my church, and they brought in about $300.

posted by Howard_T at 01:29 AM on November 25, 2025

NFL Pickem Week 12: War of Attrition

My picks:

Bills by 8 (lock)
Bears by 6
Patriots by 9
Lions by 11
Packers by 12
Seahawks by 12 (lock)
Chiefs by 9
Ravens by 13 (lock)
Raiders by 7
Jaguars by 5
Eagles by 6
Falcons by 3
49ers by 12 (lock)

In some of the games, picking a winner between 2 good teams is difficult. In others, picking the loser is even more difficult.

posted by Howard_T at 05:07 PM on November 20, 2025

NBA Pickem Week 5: Don't Call Me Angel Reese

My picks:

Cavaliers by 16 (slam dunk)
Rockets by 11

Didn't get to my email until late last night, so I missed the reminder for the pick 'em. Probably a good thing because I might have been tempted to put a dunk on a loser. I'm in 1st place? It's a long season.

posted by Howard_T at 04:57 PM on November 20, 2025

SportsFilter: The Saturday Huddle

The grumpy old man in me needs to vent about a football rule that needs to be changed, or at least modified. I'm talking about the fair catch. OK, receiver waves his arm, catches the ball, no problem. What bothers me is a receiver, deep in his own territory, waves his arm and jumps out of the way as the ball bounces into the end zone for a touchback. To me this is illegal procedure whereby the receiving team gains an advantage. I would like to make it a penalty for a faked fair catch. If you signal for it, you catch it. If you don't, make it a dead ball at the spot where the ball first lands, unless it is in the end zone on the fly, and a 5 yard penalty from the spot at which the receiver waved his arm. That would give kicking teams a reward for a well-executed kick.

I have another rule that I would like to see changed, but I'll save that for later.

posted by Howard_T at 11:05 PM on November 15, 2025

NFL Pickem Week 11: Mighty Minnows

My picks:

Patriots by 16 (lock)
Dolphins by 6
Falcons by 8
Bills by 9
Texans by 10
Vikings by 12
Packers by 6
Steelers by 12 (lock)
Chargers by 10
Seahawks by 7
49ers by 12
Ravens by 15 (lock)
Chiefs by 14
Eagles by 3
Cowboys by 11 (lock)

I have locked the Patriots, but it's the dog-ass Jets. Look out for a blown lock here.

posted by Howard_T at 01:24 PM on November 13, 2025

NBA Pickem Week 4: Fired Nico

My picks:

Knicks by 7
Thunder by 9
Knicks by 6
Spurs by 12

I did well enough last week without picking a dunk that I will continue the practice for now. It's mid-range jumpers for me.

posted by Howard_T at 01:16 PM on November 12, 2025

SportsFilter: The Monday Huddle

Somewhere there is a player named Godot for whom they patiently await.

posted by Howard_T at 07:24 PM on November 10, 2025

NFL Pickem Week 10: War of Attrition

Revised picks:

Patriots by 3

Buccaneers have 2 receivers and a running back that have not been in practice for the last two days. Add to that having Mabel Bakersfield as your QB, and I really think Patriots can pull off the win.


posted by Howard_T at 12:01 AM on November 07, 2025

NFL Pickem Week 10: War of Attrition

My picks:

Broncos by 21 (lock)
Colts by 6
Bears by 9
Bills by 14 (lock)
Ravens by 6
Browns by 13 (lock)
Buccaneers by 10
Saints by 6
Texans by 7
Seahawks by 11
49ers by 12
Lions by 10
Chargers by 9
Packers by 6

Patriots were inactive at the trade deadline. Seems like they believe in their motto: "We all we got. We all we need."

posted by Howard_T at 02:49 PM on November 06, 2025

NBA Pickem Week 3: I Wish I Was a Baller

My picks:

Knicks by 11
Spurs by 5
Spurs by 9
Nuggets by 12

No slams this week. I can't jump that high for several reasons.

posted by Howard_T at 11:25 AM on November 05, 2025