Idle Thoughts, while waiting for future Cy Young Award winner Nathan Eovaldi, Avery Point baseball to practice outside in this weather and for the next fabulous "GameDay" webcast:

• Dr. Idle, Dr. I to his close friends, predicts Aaron Hernandez will be found innocent.

Reasoning:

Jury littered with Patriot fans, given the location of the trial.

Patriot fans believe in the Patriot Way, sort of like at Jonestown.

Thus, Hernandez must be innocent.

He's a Patriot, after all.

• Note to A-Rod: Dr. I does not accept your apologies.

• OK. Dr. I has been known to be snotty toward ECC officials in the past.

But the principals got it right at their recent meeting, keeping the league together on strength-based scheduling. Good work all around.

But Dr. I is giving Stonington principal Mark Friese all the credit.

So there.

• Suggestions for new ECC commish:

Retiring NFA athletic director Gary Makowicki, wrestling tournament coordinator Dave Nowakowski, retired Putnam athletic director Bob Demars.

• Dr. I makes it a pick 'em as to which act is more tired: Flo from Progressive or Rob Lowe from DirecTV.

• If Pete Carroll coached the old Celtics, he'd have drawn up the final play for Hank Finkel and benched Havlicek.

• Good for Diana Taurasi. Somebody offers a women's basketball player in excess of a million clams to stay in Russia, you stay in Russia.

• Belated congratulations to the Patriots for improving their all-time Super Bowl record to 4-4.

• Welcome to the BC family, Mike Walker.

Yes, he is one of our Walkers. Son of Mike Sr., nephew of Andy, Pete, Matt and Liz.

Mike just completed a great high school career in Florida and has chosen to attend the Holy Land.

Sources say he's really fast, too.

• Next year's Super Bowl halftime show:

Ickey Woods ordering cold cuts.

C'mon. It would bring the house down.

• Dr. I now pauses to honor sports valentines in honor of Valentine's Day:

Former Met Ellis Valentine, former Mets and Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine, former wrestler Greg "The Hammer" Valentine (and the Figure-4 leg lock), former Waterford Lancer Davonte Valentine.

If you have any other Valentines, leave them in the comments section. And please spell "Valentine" correctly.

• RIP, Mrs. Mara.

• Nobody else will say this so Dr. I will:

Outstanding work last month from Ledyard athletic director Jim Buonocore, principal Amanda Fagan and their staff.

The Ledyard-New London basketball game played to a full house and ran smoother than a fresh jar of Skippy. (Sorry, but Dr. I loves that lyric from Uptown Funk).

Too bad the cheapos in Ledyard won't build them a new school with a bigger gym.

Because they'd be good at handling big events.

• Susan Waido of Waterford has been pining to make an edition of Idle Thoughts.

Welcome to the family, Sue.

• Finally, a tip of the cap today to Bill Donovan, the public address announcer at Waterford High basketball games.

Bill took it upon himself to write a short tribute to outgoing coach Greg Gwudz, who is leaving the school system to take a job in administration at North Branford.

Bill read it during Senior Night ceremonies Friday and moved the crowd to the point of a standing ovation, nearly reducing Gwudz to tears.

An act of compassion, a fitting tribute and why high school sports beat all.

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro.

Twitter: @BCgenius