The Owner's Box After Dark, Ep. 34.

We offer a holiday-themed episode to close out 2020 (just check out me reading poetry at the beginning!), including my analysis and critique of the Patriots' 38-9 loss to Buffalo and my thoughts about whether Bill Belichick is the man that should be entrusted with the task of a long-term rebuild of the former dynasty.

I also look back nostalgically at a couple of earth-shaking events in my life from holiday weeks 10 and six years ago respectively. And this week, you don't need to know Japanese to understand the mid-episode commercial. Just sit back and marvel at what used to be one of the most anticipated events of the fourth quarter of the year.

And to all, my best Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Festivus, Solstice, Whatever You Celebrate, and New Year wishes. Damn, 2020 can't end soon enough to suit all of us.

Ponderous thoughts I was pondering ...

Gal Gadot still shines as Diana Prince, but "WW84" lays a giant egg.

Ponderous thoughts I was pondering while preparing to say so long to the worst year among the 67 I have been present on this planet:

** Before all else, I want to wish all of my loyal readers, viewers and listeners the best of holiday seasons, no matter what you celebrate. Things have got to be better going forward, don't you think? 

** In case you haven't noticed, cable television is changing -- and not necessarily for the better.

Premium channels to which I once had subscribed are being thrown out the window by the service providers -- in my case, Comcast (or Xfinity, whatever you please) -- and being replaced by lesser services for no reduction in cost. And for me to get the premium content I once received, I now have to subscribe to premium-premium services for an additional cost.

Either that, or in a few cases, the premium services are added on as "apps" for smaller, built-in increases to what I pay every month.

In recent months, I have lost the Cinemax channels (which basically duplicated a lot of what I saw on HBO with the exception of those hilarious soft-core porn movies late at night that earned Cinemax the "Skinemax" nickname) and the Starz channels, which had some good original programming and a decent selection of movies over its multi-channel lineup.

I still get the HBO and Showtime channels, the latter of which was worth the price for "Ray Donovan" alone. And Comcast threw in something called "Epix," which has a very limited selection of HD programming but some good channels on the standard-definition tier. Still, it's not a fair replacement for what I lost, and I didn't save a single penny because of the deletions from my channel lineup.

Now, HBO is moving a lot of its newer original programming to its "HBO Max" channel, which would come at a premium price except that for the time being, Comcast is offering it "free" to those on the X1 platform. Also available similarly is Peacock (made available because NBC Universal is the parent company of NBC and Comcast). And because I had previously subscribed to Netflix and Prime Video, I can now use the Xfinity apps for those.

So far, I have refused to pay for Disney Plus, Apple TV and Hulu, even though there are programs I'd prefer to see on those than the swill that Comcast offers as part of their basic and expanded cable tiers. I'm already paying $300 a month for about $100 worth of services, and I swear I would have pulled the plug if Comcast had gone through with its plan to yank WCVB-TV (Ch. 5) from its local programming in Bristol County because we're not part of the Boston television market.

I cannot think of a worse disservice that could have been done to local viewers if we had been forced to watch only Providence affiliates. I am a Massachusetts resident and I want to know what happens in Boston to govern my daily life, not Providence, which (fortunately) has nothing to do whatsoever with my daily existence, and could float out into the middle of the Atlantic with little of an impact upon my life.

I know there are those that would suggest I just cut the cord. Get all the apps and set up a digital antenna for the locals, they might say. No thank you. I want to sit in my chair and see what's on without having to jump through hoops, find a different remote or change my email addresses again for the 10th time in the last decade. And to be honest, I've heard FiOS isn't all that much better from those that subscribe.

So I'm stuck. I'll probably make another call to the Evil Empire to bitch about my service and my bill, and they might knock $20 a month off it because they're getting desperate for subscribers, but in the meantime, that $20 will disappear with another round of channel-cutting and app-adding within about six months, I bet.

** To that end, I did get to watch the highly-anticipated "Wonder Woman 1984" on HBO Max on Christmas Day because of my current subscription agreement.

Two and a half hours later, I wasn't feeling all that fortunate to have the subscription.

Kristen Wiig was "Cheetah." I was cheated.

I'll start with the good. Gal Gadot remains absolutely stunning. And I have to admit I've been a Kristen Wiig fan since her days with "Saturday Night Live" -- did you know she's a full 5 inches shorter than Gal Gadot? Didn't look it in the movie.

But they could have found a place for Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep in this flick and it still would have been a stinker. Bad writing, bad message (She's freakin' Wonder Woman, for heaven's sake, but you expect me to believe that Diana doesn't feel complete without the boyfriend that blew himself up some 60-plus years earlier?), bad CGI -- just awful, from start to finish.

What a disappointment. And while I didn't spend $25 for a ticket, popcorn and a large drink at the Showcase to see it, I do miss that popcorn. And the benefit to home viewing was that when nature called during its overbloated length, I just hit the pause button and skipped to the necessary facility, secure that I wouldn't miss that moment when the movie's shortcomings all disappeared.

Sadly, that moment never came.

** While I am preparing for the resumption of my basketball broadcasting career in a little more than two weeks, I got some bad news this weekend.

Foxboro High has made the decision to bar spectators at its basketball games this winter. And while that would not have affected me if I had remained part of the broadcast team for Foxboro Cable Access' telecasts of the girls' games, Coach Lisa Downs made the decision to offer the play-by-play and analyst duties to parents on a sign-up basis for their five home games, giving at least 10 members of the extended basketball family a chance to see games in person.

It's the right decision. I probably would have been able to attend only one game during this shortened schedule, and I suspect there would have been an uproar over my taking the place of a parent of someone in the program. I hope to resume my role as a guest analyst in the 2021-22 season, and I certainly do wish the Warriors the best of luck.

** Last I heard, it's still a go for my role as play-by-play announcer for three games apiece of the King Philip boys and girls for North TV (and they're working on live-streaming the games), as well as for my other gig with Mansfield Cable Access, doing boys' and girls' games.

As with last year, former Xaverian Brothers High School basketball coach Alex Salachi will join me for the call of the KP games. Alex will also be joining me for the first two Mansfield games (both in Mansfield against KP on Jan. 6 and 7), with Tom Faria returning to the crew for the anticipated games on Jan. 12 and 14 against Taunton -- if those are played. Taunton paused practices until Jan. 4 because of COVID-19, and the rest of the Hockomock League's Kelley-Rex Division is holding its breath in anticipation of how that will affect the schedules.

** Expect another episode of The Owner's Box After Dark here in this space late Tuesday. And once again, a happy and a merry to all of you.

The Owner's Box After Dark, Ep. 33.

It's officially the end of an era for the New England Patriots, who missed qualifying for the playoffs for the first time since 2008 and only the second time since Bill Belichick led them to an unexpected Super Bowl championship in 2001 following their 22-12 loss to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. I take a look at that and offer my analysis of the ramifications of a playoff-devoid season.

I also give a shout-out to my Northwestern Wildcats, who gave a semi-pro team from Columbus a real battle in the fraudulent Big Ten Championship Game. I also explain why the NU athletic department regards me as a former letter-winner, even though my only athleticism for most of my life has been in my typing fingers.

I also add a look at a new coronavirus threat from the U.K. and how the Original Recipe COVID-19 virus is wreaking havoc locally with high school sports and my coffee habit.

The Owner's Box After Dark, Ep. 32.

Just a couple of days after I chatted at length with Adelphi University women's basketball coach Missy Traversi about whether her team's season was threatened by COVID-19, the Northeast-10 Conference pulled the plug on all of its winter sports because on Tuesday of the ongoing pandemic -- now in its 42nd week, in fact.

I go over the circumstances of the NE-10 shutdown and cover some of the potential ways this could affect decisions yet to be made about local high school sports.

After the commercial break, I also offer an unsolicited endorsement of one of the products that are unofficially advertised on the podcast -- Cup Noodles! And I bounce around a few other topics before calling it a day after just 43 minutes.

It's timely and informative, so watch and learn.

The Owner's Box After Dark, Ep. 31.

So you're probably asking, why put out two podcasts with the same material? Well, it's because they're not entirely the same.

This episode of After Dark features Adelphi University women's basketball coach Missy Traversi, yes, and it's essentially the same interview as was used in the audio-only "The Owner's Box" podcast that was Episode 30 in that series. But this one also contains multiple visual aids, including both still photography and video. 

Plus, the second halves of both podcasts are entirely different. In this one, I take a long look at the Patriots' 24-3 loss to the LA Rams and how it has basically screwed the Patriots' path toward a playoff berth, making for 50 percent new content.

Plus, you get another one of those bizarre Japanese TV commercials here that you'd otherwise have to go to Tokyo to see. 

Have fun.

The Owner's Box, Ep. 30.

Adelphi women's coach Missy Traversi hopes to get in a basketball season this year. 

Confused by the numbering convention? I wouldn't blame you if you were. Maybe I should just number all of these podcasts by the miles it takes me to travel to finish them rather than in numerical order. That wouldn't be more confusing, would it?

In any event, Episode 30 of the audio-only Original Gangsta of my podcasts features a telephone interview earlier today with Adelphi University women's basketball coach Missy Traversi. We caught up with the Attleboro native in her office in Garden City, N.Y., as she continues the effort to build a team even though her team doesn't have an official schedule as yet.

COVID-19 interrupted Adelphi's 27-3 season back in March just as the Panthers were about begin play in the NCAA Division 2 tournament on their own home court, and amazingly enough, it still hangs over the nation 41 weeks later. Traversi talks about how she was able to recruit and organize herself for the upcoming campaign despite the obstacles presented by the coronavirus.

Got 53 minutes to spare? It's a terrific podcast for sitting in those long Starbucks lines. Enjoy.

The Owner's Box After Dark, Ep. 30.

I had to squeeze a lot into this week's After Dark, and here's a sneak peek:

** A look at my new "The Owner's Box After Dark" gear! And keep watching to learn how you can win a winter hat!

** A look at the state of the Patriots' beat and how it travels -- or doesn't any more -- to road games. Coronavirus and the shrinking state of newspaper circulation figures have reduced the number of reporters going to road games to practically none.

** Why setting up a new printer can age you three years.

** A look at the Patriots' 45-0 win over the Los Angeles Chargers, and whether they have a legitimate reason to consider that the playoffs are a possibility.

** The tentative schedule for telecasting King Philip basketball and hockey games on North TV's Plainville Channel! And let me tell you, it's an exciting schedule that includes three boys-girls hoops doubleheaders at KP!

** And not one, but TWO Japanese commercials! Double the fun!

Click on the link below to watch, and enjoy!