FOXBOROUGH, Mass. --- It's been a while since I spent so much time in New England --- more than 20 years.

The most striking thing: The omnipresence of Dunkin' Donuts.

To wit: My hotel is 11 miles from Gillette Stadium. On the way in, I passed at least seven Dunkin' Donuts stores.

Starbucks, which is on pace to occupy every retail space by the year 2043, was spotted only twice.

All that means is there's a lot of people up here getting up early to make the donuts.

--- Patrick Stevens