Advertisement

Mike DiMauro: Dr. I: Hats off to Sully; '78 Sox still rule

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

May 6—Idle Thoughts, while waiting for beach weather, Danny Dimes' inevitable MVP award and for somebody in the New York media to ask Aaron Boone a real question:

— Dr. Idle, Dr. I to his close friends, begins today with happy news.

Congrats to longtime friend Jason Southard, recently given the Irving T. Marsh Service Bureau Award by the Eastern Athletic Communications Association.

Southard ("Sully" and "The Big Vanilla" as we know him) is the Interim Sports Information Director at the University of the Virgin Islands. Before that, he spent 27 years in the same position at Coast Guard Academy.

Scooch over for a minute, Tina Turner. Dr. I must break into song to honor Southard properly: "simply the best; better than all the rest."

A long overdue award for a man at the top of his profession. He understands the media's wants and needs better than anyone else ever has in that job. Always there with a stat sheet and a one-liner. And a damn good friend.

— Dr. I noticed a bit of chatter last week ranking colossal sports choke jobs in the wake of the Bruins' collapse.

Sorry, but the Red Sox of 1978 retired the trophy.

Dr. I understands the sentiment for the 2004 Yankees.

One difference: The Yanks gagged over a span of four days. That's much easier to accomplish than the long, slow fade over three months in 1978, losing 14-game lead. Not really close. Although I'm sure selected yahoos think otherwise. But then, that's how they got to be yahoos.

— Dr. I's No. 1 source of entertainment these days: The HCS (Human Comments Section).

Note to some of you: Don't ever change.

Like the guy who mentions almost daily "The Day is going down the tubes."

And yet he comments on virtually every story.

Makes you wonder: If we really did go down the tubes, what would the man do with himself? How would he share that sunny disposition with the rest of us? If we went kaput, he might just become the Orwellian "unperson."

Bet he secretly loves us. But then, love means never having to say it, right?

— The world is a better place now that Dexter Lawrence ("Sexy Dexy") is back with the New York Football Giants.

— Congrats to Waterford's Olivia Gianakos, a senior at Central Connecticut, recently named a first team All Star in the Northeast Conference. Liv led the Blue Devils with 34 goals this season.

(And can't you see her late dad George stalking around heaven, stealing French Fries off the angels' plates and telling them how proud he is of his little girl?)

— Free Kevin Blacker!

— Dr. I has this recurring dream that Aaron Boone removes David Cone two outs into the ninth inning of his perfect game because Clay Holmes has to pitch.

— If women's professional golfer Mami Fakuda married former Major League Baseball player Rob Deer and then divorced him for German poet Johann Rist ... that would make her a movie title.

(Mami Deer Rist).

(Sorry, Dr. I can't help himself sometimes.)

— Today's deep thought: Does a centipede have an anxiety attack if his mother tells him to wipe his feet before coming into the house?

— Dr. I has a new favorite athlete: Drew Bledsoe.

Lordy, can that man make wine. And thanks to the great Gene Spaziani of Niantic, Dr. I got to try Bledsoe's Doubleback Cabernet one night last week.

Dr. I nearly hyperventilated.

Many thanks to Geno of the Vino, among the country's foremost wine experts. Columnist and author. He is 94 years young and still sipping. Love him.

— Very happy to see The Connecticut Association of Schools name Wheeler's Kristen St. Germain as the 2023 High School Principal of the Year. Nobody, as Carly Simon once sang, does it better. (Now maybe Kristen's newfound fame can convince CIAC to stop forcing Wheeler to play East Catholic in various state tournaments.)

— This guy Mazzulla for the Celtics could use the green can. You know. Decaf.

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro