Still waiting on that major signing by the Red Sox this offseason? Yeah, so am I

Thinking out loud … while wondering if refusing to go to the gym counts as resistance training.

Is it just me, or didn’t the Red Sox already lay down the rules of engagement for this winter? That they were going to be active, and involved, and be (at the least) “in the hunt” for players to get them back in the playoff chase?

Three last-place finishes in four years should tell you there’s work to do rebuilding a good portion of your fan base. And this fan base rightfully expects more, considering what they pay in return for blind loyalty. Any shortcomings this offseason are on you, Sox.

You either want to pay players or you don’t. Seems like right now, you don’t. That is not a MAJOR league attitude, not based on precedent over the past two decades. Fine, it’s your team. It’s also my money that I’ll choose to keep in my pocket.

Shohei Ohtani got $700 million from the LA Dodgers. It’s a number too big for mere mortals to comprehend, sure. But it’s also a number meant to scare others (Red Sox, hello!) away. It seems to have worked.

It turns out it’s a fairly friendly team-oriented deal, according to multiple sources. The next 10 years will pay out only $20 million. That’s so the team can bring in talent around him. He gets a $66-million annual raise in 2034 for the following 10 years when he’s through playing.

Taking it all to the bank outside of this country. That’s nuts. And brilliant, all at the same time. Bobby Bonilla-to-the-Mets, but better.

∎Will the State of California enjoy some of the tax windfall coming their way after Ohtani retires? Unlikely. Their top tax rate of 14.4% will be a distant memory when he relocates in order to save millions — just like Bonilla did from New York.

∎Hey! Need a job? The Texas Rangers are looking to hire a “Trophy Transport Coordinator,” someone to ensure their World Series hardware is delivered on time and safely returned to its home at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.

Why can’t we find jobs like that?

∎Make sure we teach our school-age children the new version of our state song: “Washington Bridge is falling down.”

The RIDOT announced a "critical failure" of Washington Bridge components that date from the 1960s. What, no one could see this coming from the last inspection a couple of months ago? Should we be more than a little concerned over bridge conditions elsewhere?

Those who choose to bravely venture from Massachusetts into East Providence and beyond via westbound I-195, and those affected by the gridlocked traffic in EP — thoughts and prayers for your sanity. Up to three months of trampling through your ‘hood.

We should announce a critical failure of brilliance within the RIDOT. Meanwhile, Massachusetts, you can have Rhody’s East Bay. Cheap. Secession should be an option.

∎X post of the Week, from colleague @EricRueb: “With East Providence and PCD both postponing home basketball games [Tuesday], this is the first time I can remember HS events getting called solely because of traffic.”

Or stupidity. Take your pick.

∎A couple of other candidates for the new state song: Simon and Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” AC DC’s “Highway to Hell,” and especially Sammy Hagar’s “I Can’t Drive 55.”

∎Hey, East Providence Mayor Bob DaSilva? You couldn’t have just said “no thanks” to four lanes of highway traffic trudging through your single-lane city streets making life more difficult for your fellow Townies? Nah, guess not.

∎Public service = helping some + hurting others.

∎For all of the negativity surrounding many aspects of college athletics these days — NIL, transfer portal, overall cost of attendance, just to name a few — the NCAA says its graduation rates for student athletes have never been better.

When numbers were first tracked, the grad rate was 74% in 2002. The rate presently stands at 91% for students entering college in 2016. And isn’t that the goal of going to college in the first place? Graduation? Just sayin’.

The Big East ranks second nationally among the 32 Division I conferences in graduation rate at 97%. Providence is at 98%, behind Creighton, Georgetown and Seton Hall at 100%.

More: With conference play on horizon, can anyone unseat defending champ UConn?

∎But things ain’t perfect. Seven state attorneys general are suing the NCAA over transfer eligibility rules. Colorado, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and West Virginia have their AGs involved.

∎And this week’s sign the apocalypse is upon us: An Alabama state legislator has proposed a bill that would allow high school NIL deals to occur. What took ‘em so long?

∎Cumberland’s Tyler Kolek, leading the point for No. 7 Marquette, was not only the Big East Player of the Week — he was also named as the National Player of the Week for his performances in wins over Texas and Notre Dame.

And he’ll get the chance to perform for the home crowd next week when the Golden Eagles fly into Providence to open Big East play and face the Friars. Getcha’ popcorn ready.

∎With the announcement that Washington Wizards and Capitals ownership wants to move southward into Virginia, what might this do to Georgetown’s future playing in downtown D.C. at Capital One Arena?

∎Creighton should avoid Mountain West teams. Their two losses this season have been to Colorado State (by 21 points last month) and to UNLV on Wednesday.

Was very happy to see the Brown’s Bears back on PC’s basketball slate this season after a six-year absence. The Friars then welcomed the Bears back into the AMP with a 20-point win that wasn’t that close. This was good for local basketball how again?

∎Rhody has lost three in a row going into a Saturday matchup with Delaware in Elmont, N.Y., at the Holiday Hoopfest. Bryant also will face Towson in the same event as part of a triple-header — after getting blasted by the Big 12’s Cincinnati on the road Tuesday.

∎Does anyone recall Mike Aresco was the last “big” Big East commissioner when the “Catholic 7” exited in 2012? That was 11 years ago this week – and last week, Aresco announced his retirement as Grand Poobah of the remaining and reconstituted American Athletic Conference.

∎The NFL is definitely going global. Owners met this week to discuss the possibility of requiring every league team to play at least one designated home game outside of the United States every four years.

Brazil is on the docket for 2024, with eight overseas games on the slate. Spain and a return to Mexico are likely next stops on the football subway. The Patriots, despite their record this season, were a hit in Germany.

The NFL, it seems, is still a hit everywhere. Thanks to the ever-increasing earning power of the league, salary cap projections for next year are now coming in at more than $240 million per team, ahead of the current $224.8 million of this season.

The cap likely won’t be set until next month, but in 2021, the cap was just north of $182 million. COVID had a lot to do with that — but still, present-day earnings continue to push the NFL closer to a stated goal of $25 billion in annual revenue.

Not for nothin,’ but the time is now — for the Patriots to spend some of that revenue and stretch to that cap limit.

∎So much for the Malik Cunningham era in New England. On to Baltimore, to rejoin one-time Louisville teammate Lamar Jackson.

Patriots’ left tackle Trent Brown posted on Instagram “go flourish where your talent is respected lil bradda.” Still can’t figure out if the oft-maligned Brown even likes playing football, much less in New England. Hard to see much desire in that massive, 6-8 frame of his.

The pessimist says the Patriots just wasted their time on a guy they originally groomed as a receiver, while they should have had him taking extra reps at quarterback. If he had, he might be a dynamic option for an offense right now that could use one.

The optimist says — not much. Can’t see any good for the Patriots coming out of this, other than for Cunningham himself.

∎My buddy “Big E” says he has hope for the future ... but he’s building a bomb shelter anyway.

∎Bill Belichick might not be your favorite coach these days, but he’s still somebody’s favorite coach. Gambling.com did a recent survey and BB came in as the fourth-most-popular NFL coach online based on Google searches, behind Sean Payton, Mike McDaniel and Nick Sirianni.

∎Don’t look now, but nearly every major streaming service has jacked up its prices in the past year. Paramount, Disney, Hulu, Max, Apple and Netflix have all raised their prices and passed on the costs — plus their profit margins — to you.

∎And those prices won’t be going down soon — Netflix is adding live sports to its offerings, with tennis next on the agenda following the "Netflix Golf" broadcast last month. Boxing and basketball may be in the immediate future as well.

∎Jon Rahm is the latest ex-PGA golfer to sell out to LIV Golf, and he may not be the last. At some point, the PGA and LIV is likely to come together. In the meantime, his departure is opening doors for other young golfers to play through the PGA — and actually “earn” their paychecks.

∎Tim in Sarasota, Fla., writes this week: “Is Deion Sanders the Kardashian of football? A lot of buzz and notoriety without any substance.”

Tim, that’s an interesting comparison, but I’ll actually come to Coach Prime’s defense on this one. He’s got WAY more going for him than anyone in that Kardashian family, with the possible exception of OJ Simpson attorney Robert Kardashian. And he’s been dead for 20 years. Or maybe one-time Kardashian husband and Olympic gold medalist Caitlyn (no longer Bruce) Jenner.

Interested in having your questions on Rhode Island sports (and yes, that includes the Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics) answered in a somewhat timely fashion? Think out loud and send your questions, comments and local stories to jrbroadcaster@gmail.com. We’ll share mailbag comments/Facebook posts/threads right here! Join me on Twitter/X, @JRbroadcaster…on Facebook, www.facebook.com/john.rooke and on Instagram and Threads @JRbroadcaster.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: John Rooke wants to know when the Red Sox are going to sign a star