John Rooke - Thinking Out Loud

John Rooke - Thinking Out Loud

Thinking out loud…and wondering if I’m Batman…

• After picking up transfers from Arizona (Sidiki Johnson), Wake Forest (Carson Desrosiers) and North Carolina State (Tyler Harris), Ed Cooley and the Friars may also pick up 6-9 Jake O’Brien from Boston University for the 2012-13 season. O’Brien has opted to transfer from BU, as the Terriers were banned from the post-season America East conference tournament due to their impending move to the Patriot League...

• O’Brien has also completed his undergraduate studies, and would have one year of eligibility. A former rookie of the year in America East, he would have been a Player of the Year candidate in the league for next season, and his size and ability will help PC immensely…especially early, before Johnson becomes eligible. One caveat – he has said he’d like to transfer to an NCAA-caliber team. Or are the Friars one of those with his inclusion?

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• Did you get your tickets for “The Dark Knight Rises?” As a fan of not just Batman, but of all of the comic-book movie remakes (the original Superman and Green Lantern especially, but George Clooney as Batman was a nightmare), all I want to know is when does “Aquaman – The Movie” come out?

• Seriously…the 3rd installment of the Batman trilogy has as much hype as any movie I can recall in recent memory. The re-made Batman movies, after Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer and Clooney managed to just about ruin the character for me, have managed to combine our cartoons and childhood heroes from the ‘60’s (Adam West) with present-day technology, sci-fi ideology and a “darkness” that feels real – and pulls you into the plot. It’s pure fantasy of course, and not everyone’s “cup o’ tea,” but at the same time I think there’s a little slice of reality in all of us that wishes WE were Batman. Enjoy the show…

• Sorry to see Ryan Gomes get his release from the LA Clippers…but then again, maybe he’ll be picked up by a team closer to our time zone. How long was he in Los Angeles? Too long…

• Might be a little stink in the works…but the Celtics are using their mid-level exception to sign Jason Terry. Originally, a sign-and-trade with Dallas was the plan, in order to free up the exception to use on another player (a shooter?)…but Dallas instead went out and signed OJ Mayo (another potential Boston target) and turned its nose up at what the C’s were offering…

• We’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto…just what does Jeremy Lin’s move from New York to Houston mean? It means that his wall graphics on Fathead.com went down in price from $100 to $16.36 (the year Harvard was founded, btw)…

• Remember the '70's classic movie "Rollerball," with James Caan?  Corporate entities took over sports teams and basically ruled the world in 2018?  We're inching closer to that reality, as the NBA next year will allow some form of advertising on jerseys...    

• Former Saints, Dolphins and Ravens running back Ricky Williams seems to be comfortable in his retirement. He told the South Florida Sun Sentinel this week “I made the same mistake in my life choosing something I didn’t want. I didn’t want to play pro football…I had to dumb myself down to fit in.” He still rushed for more than 10K yards and 66 touchdowns – and could have had more of each…

• Always a “free-spirited” personality, Williams suffered from social anxiety disorder for years, and constantly fought against high expectations once he won the Heisman Trophy after leaving Texas. He says he’s “graduated” to the life he wants, and sounds like he’s finally at peace with himself. Good for you, Ricky…wish we could all be that lucky…

• Stop me if you’ve heard this one before…the Dallas Cowboys have a receiver who seems to have little regard for professionalism, human decency and kindness, or the law. Now, Dez Bryant falls in line with guys like Irvin and Owens (and remember Lance Rentzel?) from his arrest and charge of assault on his mother this week. Mom is 37, Bryant is 23. Drew Pearson and Bob Hayes, where are you?

• Dusted off from the comic book archives…yo' mama is so dumb, she threw a baseball at Batman…

• Saw this Tweet from RI State Treasurer @GinaRaimondo this week: "We have everything we need to build great entrepreneurial companies in Rhode Island." If this is truly the case, where is it? Kinda hard to find right now, especially with $1.2 billion moving out of the state since 2003. Just sayin’…

• Stupid is as stupid does…Is this necessary? Now officially on his way out of the Big East, Jim Boeheim had more parting shots at the league Dave Gavitt built – and Boeheim certainly helped to maintain – over parts of five decades. “The Big East is not what it used to be,” Boeheim told the Syracuse Post-Standard this week. “I’m glad things worked out the way they have.” Oh, really?

• This from Coach Boeheim last fall, in a conversation with USA Today on Syracuse’s move to the ACC: "Where would you want to go to a (post-season) tournament for five days? Let's see: Greensboro, North Carolina, or New York City? Jeez. Let me think about that one and get back to you." Enjoy that Carolina BBQ and first-round game with Clemson, coach…

• Pittsburgh followed Syracuse out the door this week…and the Big East apparently settled its differences with TCU as well. All told, an extra $20 million into the conference bank account, with Pitt and SU in the league for one more year, leaving for the ACC next July 1. Can we actually concentrate on the games now? Hardly. It will be interesting to see, now that the Panthers and Orange are short-timers, how fans in football stadiums react this fall, and how fans in Big East arenas react this winter…

• The Red Sox are precariously hanging onto their sliver of relevancy around here…perhaps only because MLB has added the 2nd “wild card” to the playoff chase this season. This is a huge stretch coming up – against Toronto, then at Texas and New York – if only because the Sox could slide out of contention, just as the Patriots open camp and slide into our consciousness…

• My buddy “Big E” reminded me this week of a favorite Batman joke when we were kids: Superman once wrote on the wall “Batman is a wimp.” The next day, Batman wrote “Superman is Clark Kent.”

• A little football to whet the appetite, since Pats camp opens later this week…SI.com had their top fantasy tandems listed this week, and while I don’t do fantasy football, I thought their selection of Brees-Graham from New Orleans over Brady-Gronkowski was just dumb. Consider all of the weapons New England has around those two, and the Saints? Still good, but not Patriot-good…which means Graham gets extra attention from opposing defenses…

• Rob Gronkowski gave an interview to “Outsports” during the ESPY awards, and told the magazine he wouldn’t have a problem with having a gay teammate. “If that’s how they are, that’s how they are,” Gronkowski said. “I mean, we’re teammates so, as long as he’s being a good teammate and being respectful and everything, that’s cool.”

• Ok, so Wes Welker didn’t get a new, long-term contract by last Monday’s deadline. He’s forced to play for $9.5 million this season, the average of the top five players at his position for this year. Boo-hoo. The Patriots know what they’re doing. Look, we all love Welker. We know he deserves a new deal as much as anyone. But the Pats aren’t the Pats without a strict, shrewd business plan in mind. And they follow it every step of the way, no matter how much it hurts…

• I’m a little nervous about the upcoming season, however. Gronk has the off-season to end ALL off-seasons for any bachelor, and Welker tweets this week he’s going mountain biking. For a week, new contract or not. Uh, fellas? Remember to protect yourselves…

• Forbes Magazine this week listed the Patriots as the planet’s 6th most valuable sports franchise, tied with the LA Dodgers at $1.4 billion. Manchester United, Real Madrid, the NY Yankees, Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins were ranked higher. No truth to the rumor the Pats slipped a bit after Gronk’s nude pose for ESPN The Magazine…

• Two training camp battles I’ll be watching – at running back and on the offensive line, at center. Stephan Ridley or Shane Vereen, Vereen or Ridley? Toss a coin, but it’ll be fun to see who emerges. And don’t forget about Joseph Addai, either. As for the center spot – I mentioned this a week or two ago – Dan Koppen will have his work cut out for him, trying to win his job back from Dan Connolly…

• Wow. Despite the team reporting otherwise, ticket sales certainly seem to be down for the Red Sox. Now, a report this week that while team jersey sales overall in MLB are up, Boston’s are down. I’m getting a picture of Sox management, sitting in some conference room, collectively wondering “just what have we done here?”

• Jon Lester’s problems don’t seem the same as others on the Sox pitching staff. I’m no guru, but when he gets hit, everything is UP in the strike zone. Lessee…try keeping the ball down and not over the middle of the plate, and maybe the ball won’t leave the park…

• Not for nuthin’…but what do you think Kevin Youkilis was thinking Tuesday night when he hit a three-run bomb off of Lester?

• On the other hand…is it just me, or does Carl Crawford appear uber-focused on earning his paycheck? That’s a good thing, but in the long run, it won’t matter unless the pitching turns around – or gets a boost. And the trade rumor from this week? Ridiculous. If the Sox sent Crawford away, still paying him, and bring in Hanley Ramirez and/or Heath Bell…I’m boycotting the rest of the season…

• It seems to me to be very simple. If the Red Sox feel they can reach the post-season with this offense, then go get pitching help…so they can do some damage. Forget the money, or the luxury tax. Ryan Dempster and/or Cole Hamels would fit nicely. Or Matt Garza.  But if they don’t…shouldn’t that speak volumes about management’s thinking?

• Smart move of the week: Florida State football coaches banned their players from using Twitter, indefinitely…

• Alabama’s Nick Saban has a pretty good idea, I think, about what to do with the Penn State tragedy. Rather than punish the innocent by eliminating football, Saban said a “tax” on athletic events with proceeds going to child abuse victims and programs would be a way to “make things better.” It’s a start…

• One of the all-time great sports journalists is hanging up his notepad after the Olympic Games in London. I’m proud to call the Boston Globe’s Bob Ryan a friend, and a mentor. He’s spoken many times to my journalism students at Emerson, and each time he has captivated them with his tales from the road and knowledge of the games we care about so passionately. Bob received a “standing O” in the Fenway press box this week from his contemporaries and counterparts…and I only wish I had been there to join in. Sports journalism – sports writing, in particular – is losing a giant, an original wordsmith that few of us can match for intelligence, wit and overall substance. The “digitization” of our news these days has helped push him to this decision…and somewhere, Grantland Rice sheds a tear…

• I couldn’t be Batman. After traveling to Texas (by car) for a family reunion, my brother gave me a trunk full of memorabilia from 30, 40 (50?) years ago…like a personal time capsule, or a version of “John Rooke, This Is Your Life.” Inside was a small Superman suit, complete with red cape. True story. And my parents kept this secret from me all these years???

• Oh, and one more reunion story to tell you about…the occasion of the 100th anniversary of my family’s existence in my hometown of Fort Worth, TX came with some astounding news. My uncle (a former Texas Assistant Attorney General) has been doing heavy research in our ancestry…and found that my 10-time great-grandfather is none other than Peter Minuit, the director of the Dutch colony of New Netherland in the 1600’s that bought Manhattan Island from Native Americans for trinkets worth 60 Dutch guilders ($24 in the 1800’s) – or about $1000 according to 2006 estimates. So, Let’s Make A Deal…and it seems, New Yorkers/Gothamites…ahem, I’m not Batman…I am your daddy…

• Our mailbag question/comment this week comes from Tim in Kamloops, British Columbia via Facebook: “It’s not a pressing issue, but what do you think the Patriots might do with Aaron Hernandez, if he ends up a franchised player, would it be at TE or WR?” Tim: Thank you. I DO so love theoretical football questions on the eve of training camp opening – it’s almost football season! Best guess here is IF they allow Wes Welker to become a free agent after this season, that Hernandez will be the next to get the tag…and I’m guessing WR. Just a hunch, only because they use him so much differently than they use Gronkowski. And, they have former Giant Jake Ballard on the roster, out injured this year. The big question – to be determined – is what the average salaries of the Top 5 players at those respective positions will be? Even so, I see Hernandez filling in for Welker if Welker moves on…

• Interested in having your questions on local RI sports (including the Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics) answered in a somewhat timely fashion? Send ‘em to me! It’s your chance to “think out loud,” so send your questions and comments to [email protected]. We’ll share mailbag comments/Facebook posts/Tweets right here! Follow me on Twitter, @jrooke0722…and on Facebook, www.facebook.com/john.rooke ...

• And you’re up early anyway…don’t forget to join us for GoLocal Sports on 103.7 FM, every Saturday from 7:00-9:00 am! Call in (401) 737-1287, or text 850850…and send email to the show - [email protected] .