Mike DiMauro: Dr. I: When did Marcus Smart become Oscar Robertson?
Jul. 1—Idle Thoughts, while waiting for Sailfest, NFL training camps and for fireworks shows to be banned for life:
— Dr. Idle, Dr. I to his close friends, salutes Coast Guard Lieutenant Commander Craig Johnson, recently named to the 25th anniversary men's basketball team in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference.
Johnson was part of Coast Guard's 2008 team that made the NCAA Division III Elite Eight.
He was also the subject of what Dr. I believes is the greatest photo in Day history. We captured Johnson trying to inbound the ball during a first round game at Trinity, whose students were doing the Cameron Crazies thing, all but surrounding him, jumping around, arms flailing. If they got any closer, Johnson would have been awarded free throws.
The Bears won that night (as the Trinity students called them "Navy rejects") but eventually lost in overtime in the Elite Eight at Ursinus College in Norristown, Pa.
Johnson was also on the bus home that clipped the side of a house and was stranded for about three hours near a compost heap in the parking lot of a Wawa. (Not kidding.) The driver claimed to be Reggie Jackson's cousin. (Not kidding, part 2.)
— Trivia: Of all the players to eclipse 600 career home runs, who is the only one never to win an MVP award? (Answer below).
— Must see TV: Mark Vecchitto, owner of Seven Napkins in East Lyme, will appear on the Food Network's "Supermarket Stakeout" (Tuesday, July 11 at 9 p.m.) The show's premise: four chefs compete in a pop-up kitchen in the parking lot of a grocery store. Good luck to Mark.
— ESPN just showed us all that the future of sports media is about shtick, not substance.
If you can lay off the pro's pro (Suzy Kolber) and find a gazillion dollars to add that dope Pat McAfee, you have zero interest in journalism.
— Hope you all celebrated Bobby Bonilla Day on Saturday.
Bonilla, 59, collected $1,193,248.20 from the Mets — as he has and will every July 1 from 2011 through 2035.
In 2000, the Mets agreed to buy out the remaining $5.9 million on Bonilla's contract, but rather than paying him the lump sum, they agreed to make annual payments of nearly $1.2 million for 25 years starting July 1, 2011.
You can't make it up.
— Dr. I is fired up for the Social Event of the Season, otherwise known as the The Day's "Best Of The Best" gala at the Mystic Marriott on Aug. 3. All the cool people will be there, including co-masters of ceremony Lee Elci and Casey O'Neill (both worth the price of admission alone). For more information on tickets and sponsorships, email Jaclyn Nardone, The Day's very cool marketing manager, at j.nardone@theday.com.
— If you're wondering about those fancy-schmancy strips on both sides of Bank St. in New London, they're called "Custom Design Decorative Asphalt Stamping."
Only cost the city $125,000, per a town official.
But then, it's a no brainer. Ask the regular New London taxpayer what's destined to revitalize downtown, and he or she would reflexively exclaim, "why, 'Custom Design Decorative Asphalt Stamping' of course!"
— Have Sox fans been paying attention to the hideous official scoring at Fenway this year? They'd just as soon adorn the Monster in blue pinstripes than give a Sox player an error anymore.
Or as the great Dan Shaughnessy wrote in Saturday's Globe: "If Bill Buckner missed Mookie Wilson's grounder at Fenway in 2023, it no doubt would be ruled a hit."
— Admittedly, Dr. I is often irritable. And it's because of stories like this: Some Celtic fans want Marcus Smart's jersey number (36) retired.
Somebody make it stop. No, really. Please.
What did Marcus Smart accomplish for the Celtics that would grant him the same airspace as Bill Russell and Larry Bird? When did Smart become Oscar Robertson?
This is the Celtics. Measured by one thing. Championships. Smart was a B-plus player who didn't win a title. And by the way: He's open at the end of every game to take the last shot because he can't shoot.
— Remember all those nitwits who proclaimed that the Yankees used to "buy" championships, as if there was a complete, direct and unyielding cause and effect?
How are the Mets and Padres doing so far with their exorbitant payrolls?
It's not just about the money. Never was.
— Quiz answer: Jim Thome, whose highest MVP finish was a fourth place for the 2003 Phillies.
This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro
