Jack Edwards, the play-by-play commentator for the Boston Bruins on NESN, downplayed reports about possible health concerns, saying he has gotten a good report from his doctors.
Edwards, 66, is one of the most recognizable voices in Boston sports. But in the past couple of years, some have noticed he’s been a difference. He’s not as quick on the call. Instead there are pauses and instances where he can be heard slurring words.
But in talking to the Boston Globe this week, Edwards shut that talk down.
“I did not have some kind of accident,” he said. “I do not have cancer. I don’t have dementia. I haven’t had a stroke. All of that’s been confirmed by Mass. General neurology.”
But Edwards did admit his speech has slowed, but said tests have not revealed any specific cause.
“It doesn’t fit in any slot,” he said. “There have been a couple of guesses but they haven’t made a definitive diagnosis, and they’ve been working on me for a year and a half. It’s very frustrating, as you can imagine, for me to have this slowdown in my speech.”
Edwards has called Bruins games on NESN since 2005. A native of Illinois and graduate of the University of New Hampshire, Edwards also worked as a “SportsCenter” anchor at ESPN from 1991 to 2003.
CHARLIE MCAVOY scored the overtime goal Wednesday night in a 6-5 win at Edmonton, and it earned him a new nickname from a rookie defenseman.
“C-Mac does that in overtime, don’t know how to explain it,” Mason Lohrei said. “Mr. Clutch.”
Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner made a great stop on James van Riemsdyk’s shot before McAvoy gathered the puck in the slot and made his way to the crease, moving around a poke check from Skinner and depositing a backhander into the net. It extended Boston’s win streak to two games to start a four-game trip.
Lohrei, who was playing in his first game after being recalled earlier this week, had a strong night himself with three assists and logging 23:32 of ice time. The rookie replaced Hampus Lindholm, who’s week-to-week with an undisclosed injury. Coach Jim Montgomery said surgery “wasn’t even an option” for Lindholm, but he didn’t make the trip.
THE DEFENSE took another hit when Matt Grzelcyk left Wednesday’s game after just 1:05 when Ryan McLeod gave Matt Grzelcyk a two-handed chop on the top of his left foot, earning a tripping call. Grzelcyk needed help off the ice because he couldn’t put any weight on the foot. He surprisingly returned to the bench late in the period but didn’t play again.
Montgomery said Grzelcyk was “doing OK” and labeled him day-to-day.
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