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Mike DiMauro: Dr. I: Of expanded playoffs and Jingle Bells at midnight

mike dimauro, the day, new london, conn.
·3 min read

Oct. 9—Idle Thoughts, while waiting for Joey Gallo to make contact, Danny Dimes to make it rain on the Cowboys and for the Buccaneers' defense to get a little credit for continuously bailing out St. Tom of Brady:

— Dr. Idle, Dr. I to his close friends, has a well-placed spy who tells him that the CIAC is moving forward with expanded football playoffs for next year.

Looking like eight teams in six divisions (eight teams in four divisions currently). That means 48 of the state's approximately 140 programs will make the playoffs.

Anticipated matchups, especially in the early rounds:

O'Brien Tech at Darien; Prince Tech at St. Joseph; Quinebaug Valley at New Canaan.

— You think it's easy being Dr. I?

One night after the Yankees went to the golf course for the winter, Hallmark decides to shoot part of some B-rate Christmas movie at a house two doors down from the Dr. I Dwelling.

Ah, the midnight (and well after midnight, too) sounds of two dozen dopes singing Jingle Bells outside, all while a Wurlitzer in need of a tuneup provides the melody.

Hallmark: When you care enough to annoy the very best.

— A Dr. I challenge:

You want to drive from Point A in Waterford to Point B in Waterford. Sounds easy, right? Try this:

You are at the Cumberland Farms on the Montville/Waterford line on Route 32. You want to drive to Harkness — but you cannot cut through New London. You must stay in Waterford. What is the route?

— Traditionalists will not like Dr. I for this one.

But New London's black football uniforms are cool.

— You did see that Belichick's defense confounded St. Tom of Brady the other night, right?

— Applause all around for "Once Upon A Time In Queens." If you haven't seen it, stop reading this and find it.

— Gary Washburn of the Globe tweeted this the other day:

"New Celtics coach Ime Udoka said he told his players not to 'bitch at the officials' about calls. He said he'll handle talking with officials. Doesn't want his team constantly complaining."

God bless you, Coach Udoka.

— So does Urban Meyer include himself when he puts the hands team on the field?

— If former U.S. Olympic gymnast Jaycie Phelps married Giants' fullback Eli Penny, she would be a department store. (Jaycie Penny)

— Congrats to Waterford grad Max Mazzella, who caught the game-winning TD in overtime last week for Marist.

— Aaron Rodgers told the media this about A.J. Dillon last week:

"He's a cold weather Green Bay back. He's a smart guy. A really smart guy. That's what I love about him."

But then, Dillon's status as a smart guy was cemented long before Rodgers' pronouncement. A.J. did attend Boston College, after all.

— Dr. I hasn't read happier words than "Dan Dakich will no longer serve as an analyst on ESPN college basketball broadcasts."

— From a Yankees' beat writer last week:

"Giancarlo Stanton has picked up .7 fWAR in four games since last Friday. He has an OPS of 1.908 and a wRC+ of 407 in that span."

Win valuable prizes if you can translate that for poor Dr. I.

— Observation I: Student sections at local high school games have never been more engaged.

And worse behaved.

— Observation II: Will Anglin at East Lyme is the best quarterback in the ECC.

— Observation III: The ECC has a chance to be the best basketball conference in Connecticut this year.

Not kidding. Free agency has helped. Several teams figure to be drastically better.

— Giants 38, Cowboys 36. Remember where you heard it. (Unless Dr. I is incorrect).

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro