Dr. I: Hey folks, get off Brady's back
Idle Thoughts, while waiting for Super Bowl commercials, Kris Dunn to win Big East Player of the Year and wondering what ever became of former Georgetown center Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje:
• Dr. Idle, Dr. I to his close friends, is about to confess.
Bless Dr. I, father, for he is about to sin.
He’s developing newfound respect for … wait for it … Tom Brady.
No, really. The guy was magnificent last week, two-point loss notwithstanding.
Under siege all day. Knocked silly a few times. And still found a way to complete two fourth-down passes that got the Patriots within a two-point conversion of overtime.
This is why Dr. I couldn’t understand why Pats fans — and then the biggest fans of all in the Boston media — bashed him all over WEEI last week. Seems to Dr. I that if you ever wanted an example of the guy’s greatness, you saw it last week.
• OK. So let Dr. I get this straight.
The Hoodie Genius opts for that idiotic rugby kick against the Eagles, gives the Jets the ball in overtime thus keeping his first ballot Hall of Fame quarterback on the sideline and then tanks the game in Miami … and it’s all the fault of the offensive line and strength coaches?
Apparently.
The Pats fired line coach Dave DeGuglielmo and strength coach Harold Nash last week.
• Fact: The Pats have lost five straight playoff games to the Manning family.
Dr. I’s reaction to this:
BWAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH.
• Congrats to Dr. I’s pal Don MacKenzie, recently named the Connecticut Marine Trades Association’s 2015 Man of the Year.
Donny Ballgame runs Boats Inc. in Niantic. He’s also the public address announcer at Ledyard High football games, always reminding us that we need more cowbell.
And does more nice things for kids behind the scenes than anyone else will ever know.
• If Dr. I isn’t watching the Pro Bowl at kickoff, they should start without him.
• Until last week, the greatest inbounds play Dr. I ever saw came from the great Mike Thibault, once the coach of the Connecticut Sun.
Five seconds left, Sun down two. Game two of the WNBA Finals in Seattle. If the Sun win the game, they win it all.
Coach T figured out a way to get Nykesha Sales, who already had 32 points, a wide open 3-pointer in the corner, off Lindsay Whalen’s drive. (Keesh missed, sadly).
But then came last Tuesday when Waterford High coach Bill Bassett, another Glen Miller guy, got junior Colin Shannon a yawningly open layup on an inbounds play with 0.8 seconds left for the game winner.
You can see the play on theday.com (with a great call from Casey O’Neill and Keith O’Brien, by the way).
• Dr. I’s guilty pleasure: giggling at all the clever pregame handshakes now in basketball.
Best one so far: Daniel Hamilton of UConn forgoing the handshake to do jumping jacks the other night.
• Once again: Let Dr. I get this straight:
Matt Harvey must to go arbitration to get $4.3 million.
And this guy Samardzjia gets five years and $90 million from the Giants with his sparkling 47-61 career record?
True enough, Harvey won’t starve on $4.3 million.
But when his payday comes, nobody better say a word, lest Dr. I lose his sunny disposition.
• Is there anything more entertaining than Super Bowl trivia with the Mad Dog?
• Used to be that Dr. I thought Dave Cornish at Ledyard retired the trophy as the ECC’s best dressed basketball coach.
But Chris Guisti at NFA seems to be threatening the crown.
And while we’re at it: Would it kill some of their colleagues to wear a tie on game night?
• Keep an eye on Nevada athletic director Doug Knuth as a successor to Warde Manuel.
UConn grad with impressive backgrounds at Michigan State and Utah.
• Finally, Dr. I would like to wish his all-time favorite Day colleague a happy retirement.
Lisa McGinley has been a friend, mentor and confidant for many years. The heartbeat of our place. Nobody ever cared more about the region, the craft and The Day. She will be missed.
This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro. Twitter: @BCgenius
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