Mr. Idle: Giants are smartest in the NFL

Idle Thoughts, while waiting for Super Sunday, Kris Dunn's 2,000th point and wondering what ever became of Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje:

• Mr. Idle, Mr. I to his close friends, keeps getting asked why the football Giants are on such a streak.

It's quite simple.

They're the smartest team in football.

C'mon. Four Boston College guys: Snee, Blackmon, Herzlich, Kiwanuka.

The old BC coach, Tom Coughlin.

Assistant coach (and former BC lineman) Jack Bicknell, Jr.

John Mara, owner, BC Class of 1976.

You could throw in Kevin Boothe (Cornell) and Zak DeOssie (Brown), if you wanted.

And with only one Notre Dame guy, the team's overall GPA isn't dragged down so much.

• Mr. I looks forward to this week's exclusive graveyard programming from the Entertainment and Sports Paterno Network (ESPN).

Nice going, turning him into a martyr.

Not buying it.

He had the chance to throw around his estimable clout and help victims of sexual abuse.

He chose to protect Penn State (and himself) instead.

That makes him a fraud.

But let's celebrate him like some Nobel Prize winner.

• Can someone explain this fascination with Greg Schiano?

Never won a thing at Rutgers.

A sparkling 68-67 record.

And so he's ready for the NFL?

• Mr. I would like to thank Tony Girasoli, Gary Makowicki and the gang at Norwich Free Academy for all their help in making theday.com's livestream of the New London-NFA basketball game a success the other night.

You want to know how to run a big event? Call NFA.

• While we're still talking NFA:

Mr. I walked through the school's new atrium last week.

Nice word, "atrium."

Sure sounds better than "hallway."

Not that Mr. I is an expert in financial planning or anything, but, you know, there might be better ways to spend $8 million.

Just sayin'.

• Mr. I commends ECC schools and their boffo public address systems in various gymnasiums.

They all work quite well.

Just dare to have a conversation with the guy next to you before a basketball game starts.

The music - it's either that or a jackhammer - turns you into a close talker.

• Mr. I was concerned that Mr. and Mrs. Pascoe actually named their son "Bear."

He a tight end for the Giants, if you're not keeping score at home.

Good thing family's last name wasn't Foote, as in former major league catcher Barry Foote.

Then he'd have been Bear Foote.

Turns out his real first name is McKenna.

No tight end should be named McKenna.

So we'll stay with "Bear."

• Since no one answered the question the first time Mr. I posed it, he asks again:

Why is Michael Imperioli so hostile during those tequila commercials?

Aren't we all quite merry during our rare, tequila-sipping moments?

• Maybe we could just get rid of the death penalty and sentence felons to a lifetime of watching the X Games.

• Finally, Mr. I sits in awe of personal trainer Judy Falcone of Westerly, who recently did the Jacob's Ladder exercise machine - a climbing treadmill, essentially - for an hour straight.

Mr. I did it for 30 seconds the other day and thought the lights were flickering, even though they weren't.

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro.