Ponderous thoughts I was pondering ...

Seriously, wouldn't you like to see Caitlin Clark in a green uniform?

Ponderous thoughts I was pondering while putting the finishing touches (at least for the time being) on all my in-game notes for the upcoming schedule of North TV telecasts this fall ...

** I put a somewhat whimsical post up on social media last week in which, in a tone thoroughly mocking of the 47th President of the United States -- complete with "Thank you for your attention to this matter!" -- I suggested that because the Indiana Fever have figured out how to win without Caitlin Clark, she should be traded to the Connecticut Sun to help facilitate that franchise's hoped-for move to Boston and to bring a great talent to a major-market city that's just dying to see her play on a regular basis.

Like the Fever would do that. Yeah, I know.

That actually might be cause for armed insurrection in David Letterman's hometown, which has so thoroughly embraced its WNBA team in a manner that hasn't been seen there since Peyton Manning brought legitimacy to the Colts many moons ago. Clark put women's basketball on the map in Indianapolis and started a nationwide revolution there, so it's highly unlikely that team would consider dealing its meal ticket after just two years (or one and change, given Clark's extended injury absences this year).

To be honest, I don't think there's much the current Sun franchise could offer in return. After a full housecleaning last year, including head coach Stephanie White, the Sun has the worst record in the WNBA at this writing, a thoroughly dismal 5-26, and the Mohegan tribe would probably have to throw in millions of dollars in free chips for play in the casino to make any deal worth even remote consideration.

But here's the rub. Overlooking the WNBA's tepid response to the franchise shift proposed by former Celtics co-owner Steve Pagliuca, it would take a lot more than the mere presence of a WNBA team at the TD Garden to make it successful if the Connecticut Sun of present configuration is the team that is playing there.

I worry that a bad team -- a really bad team -- would not survive for long in Boston. That would also be the case for an expansion team (which the WNBA would consider for Boston in 2033, when most of the league's best stars of the present would be on the downslope of their careers).

I don't think it all rests in the hands in attracting the usual Boston professional sports fan to their games. No, there are a lot of knuckle-dragging morons that post their sexist and misogynistic opinions on local social media that could not be dragged to the Garden for a WNBA game, even on Free Beer Night. I do believe from my long-time association with women's athletics that there is a potential market for the team, and to some extent, that's already been proven by the enthusiastic sellout crowds that greeted the two WNBA games that have been played at the Garden in the last two seasons.

But with a team based here in town, the novelty would wear off quickly if the players representing Boston couldn't get out of their own way.

That calls for drastic measures. Again, discounting the WNBA's reluctance to sanction the sale and shift, Pagliuca would have to spend a lot more than just the $325 million sale price and the $100 million practice facility to make it work. He'd have to spend ungodly sums of money to attract free agents, and then come up with more creative ways to get established stars into Boston uniforms. 

Obviously, there's not much Pags could do to get Clark to Boston via trade. But her contract will be up after the 2027 season, and if he has the team, there would be no better time than to put on the full-court press in the effort to get her here. Her current contract is ridiculously low-balled in relation to her value to the league, so while there may be a salary structure in place, there's no doubt in my mind that a major-market pro town would afford her almost unlimited endorsement opportunities that Indianapolis couldn't hope to match.

So was I joking? Well, yes ... and no. Stranger things have happened in the world of sports. Usually by someone else sticking it to us, in fact.

Thank you for your attention to this matter!

** Speaking of the WNBA, have I mentioned how really badly the officiating sucks in that league? 

Someone needs to tell them that it's not a great idea to turn the W into another hackfest like the NBA has become. Glorifying contact over fundamental basketball is the wrong approach. I'm not against increased physicality, mind you, but some of the calls I see during WNBA games -- or the ones I don't see -- are just embarrassing.

** And, speaking of another troubled league, does anyone else find it a little funny that Boston mayoral candidate Josh Kraft (son of Patriots owner Robert Kraft) is attacking incumbent Mayor Michelle Wu for supporting the White Stadium soccer stadium plan, calling it a sweetheart deal for entitled millionaires -- funny, in that Kraft's dad is an entitled billionaire that's also battling Wu over his plans to build a soccer stadium in Everett for the beleaguered Revolution franchise.

Candidate Josh Kraft.

The elder Kraft wants to build a more appropriately-sized home for the Revs on property adjacent to the Encore casino complex, but Wu -- who should really have no jurisdiction over what happens in another municipality -- has been relentless in seeking her piece of the pie in mitigation assessments to allow the Everett plan to proceed. She claims, and maybe not entirely without merit, that building a 35,000-seat stadium on an inaccessible plot in Everett will challenge existing roads and means of access that snake through Boston. 

By the way, I've noticed that Josh speaks more and more like his dad as the years have passed. So I guess my Robert Kraft impression (known as one of the better ones in the Commonwealth) would be valid for a Mayor of Boston as well if the younger Kraft is elected. 

I live to serve.

** As for the Revolution itself, well, they are in 13th place in MLS and basically have become irrelevant. I used to scoff at soccer fans that blasted the Krafts for ignoring their team and not being serious owners, but I can't say I disagree any more. 

Between the miserable on-field product and the unrelenting effort to move the team out of Gillette Stadium and away from its loyal suburban (and money-spending) fan base, it's pretty clear that they have long since ceased giving a shit about building a winning franchise.

Why they don't just sell is beyond me. 

** And while we're on the topic of Kraft holdings, I have to admit it was a guilty pleasure of sorts to see the Patriots beat the Washington Commanders by 30 points in the preseason opener. But I've long since learned not to take preseason results too seriously.

What impressed me the most was not all the points or the impressive performances of the running backs. It was that the sideline operation seemed to be smooth, organized and purposeful. It certainly did appear that Mike Vrabel and his assistants were well in control of the situation throughout -- in direct contrast to the shitshow when Jerod Mayo's staff hit the field for the first time a year ago.

So much more to be done and not a lot of time in which to do it, but I'd say at least one aspect of the Vrabel Era has received a first-semester passing grade.

** Yes, I did start the templates for all of my game-day notes for the upcoming sports season. I'm not kidding. I'm very organized, and now I can just update each game's sheet as the season progresses. It's like an assembly line, and I'm Henry F***ing Ford (without the racism). 

And with that, I bid you adieu until the next time I get inspired to set the fingers to the keyboard. Stay cool, everyone.

MARK FARINELLA is brushing up on field hockey rules before returning to the microphone on Sept. 3 when Mansfield plays King Philip. Contact him at theownersbox2020@gmail.com