Idle Thoughts, while waiting for Coach T's return to Mohegan Sun (Friday night), The Captain's return to shortstop and for SNY to resist turning every pitch from Matt Harvey into a Tolstoy novel:

• Mr. Idle, Mr. I to his close friends, asks:

Anyone know a good grief counselor?

Mr. I can bear it no longer.

First, Notre Dame football gagged in the national championship game.

Then Notre Dame women's basketball gagged in the Final Four.

Now thanks to UConn, Notre Dame baseball gagged in the Big East championship game.

Oh, the humanity.

• One more thing on Notre Dame, before we move on to more relevant matters: Bet UConn's baseball players have higher SAT scores, too.

• This from a recent Board of Education meeting in New London:

Board president Peg Curtin to Superintendent Nick Fischer: "Stop talking! Why don't you stop talking? You always have to talk so much."

This kind of professionalism makes Mr. I want to call Robert, to update the rules of order.

Or at least find the culprit who stole Curtin's copy of "How To Win Friends and Influence People."

Just one question, though: We're dumping Fischer and keeping … her?

Mr. I has decided that until this is corrected, he shall refer to "New London" as "nodnoL weN."

(That's "New London" backwards).

Can't think of anything else more appropriate.

• It didn't take Chris Canty long, upon his new foray with the Ravens, to unburden himself about his old quarterback, Eli Manning.

Sayeth Canty: Joe Flacco is better.

That's why Mr. I loves this country.

Even players who are on the field at least once a month get to share their opinions.

• If Mae West married former basketball coach Clair Bee, divorced him for former Yankee Carlos May, divorced him for Sloop John B and then finally settled on former Montville High School baseball player Chris Nott, that would make her Mae Bee May B Nott.

(Heh, heh, heh).

• OK. Mr. I admits: Nobody in baseball is a better two-strike hitter than Pedroia.

Seriously. The guy fouls off every tough pitch until he gets one he can drive.

Now he's no Robbie Cano (don'cha know.) But he's growing on Mr. I.

• Have fans of the Mets always been such yahoos or is this a more recent development?

• Speaking of the New York JV:

Nice effort Friday against the Triple-A Marlins.

• Just sayin' here: This kid Megan Spellman, the pitcher at Waterford High, knows what she's doing.

• Happy belated birthday to former New London soccer/basketball player Mark Tryon.

Still the owner of the best dunk in Whaler history.

He was part of the state championship basketball team Tyson Wheeler still calls: "four guards and a soccer goalie."

(Tryon was the goalie).

• Best coaching jobs in college baseball this year:

Roger Bidwell (Avery Point).

Jim Penders (UConn).

• Finally, congrats to the Nasser family of Groton again.

A month after Bernie, the dad, made the State Wrestling Hall of Fame, Bernie the son just graduated from the UConn School of Dental Medicine and will begin general practice residency at New York Hospital Medical Center of Queens in Flushing next month.

This is good news.

A Yankee fan in Flushing.

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro.