My non-resolution resolutions for 2026.

I turned on the TV just six seconds before this ball dropped at Times Square.

Well, we've made it into another year. There were times in 2025 when I thought it was a little iffy -- not just for me, but for the world in general -- but here we are, standing at the genesis of 2026 and wondering if it will be an ascension to the summit or a steep and terrifying fall off the precipice. 

I've always approached New Year's Day as just another day on the calendar, usually a day to do laundry and vacuum the house (didn't get to either yesterday). As a result, I usually shied away from making personal resolutions of any sort, or even writing a resolution-themed column in my 40-plus years as a professional newspaper columnist. My only "New Year's Resolution" has always been to make it to the next year, and that has not changed.

But as I want to greet 2026 with a blog post to make sure everyone knows I'm still here, I thought I'd take the easy way out and write something suggesting some goals -- not just for myself, but also for those that operate within my sphere of consciousness. I hope everyone will accept these suggestions with a grain of salt and an appreciation of the spirit in which most were offered, which will be generally mirthful and harmless in intent.

But you know the old saying. Behind every mirthful remark, there's usually a measure of hard truth lurking in the background.

Sometimes I take the show on the road.

** For me, I resolve to do more podcasts in the upcoming year -- both the audio version of The Owner's Box, and the video version on YouTube that I call "The Owner's Box ... After Dark." I've done about 120 of them combined since I started podcasting in 2019, but I've gotten lax lately. I often blame my busy schedule as a high school sports announcer for the long gaps in episodes that occur, and that's not entirely untrue. But there are plenty of times when I could just sit down in the studio and start cranking one out. 

** I also vow to get something done with at least one of my ailing knees. I need two knee replacements, but I can see myself being limited to one at a time because of the necessity of having to fend for myself during any incapacity that may arise from them. But the truth is, the pain in both knees is becoming unbearable and it is leading to some very embarrassing moments -- such as a few days ago, when I ventured to Oakmont Regional High School to watch the Foxboro girls' basketball team play a non-league game. 

When I got there, I realized that the first step up to the bleachers would be challenging because it was very high, and neither of my knees are capable of making that ascent without assistance from a handrail -- which was too far away for me to reach. But I tried anyway, and as I tried to put pressure on the right knee to pull myself up, it gave way and I went ass-over-tea-kettle and landed hard on the steps. 

Several Foxboro fans came to my assistance, another reminder that there indeed good people in the world. I laughed it off and told them that I like making a big entrance. I was not hurt at all, but I was mortified -- and as long as I have the will and energy to attend all the games I do and climb bleachers and steps to get to my broadcasting perches, I need to have the physical strength to do so. 

One knee replacement will be a good start.

** I've got a few suggestions for Patriots' coach Mike Vrabel.

While I fully believe he has done an outstanding job and should be the leading candidate for NFL coach of the year, there are a couple of things that nag at me. The first was his statement of last week in which he expressed "no disappointment" over the two sudden disruptions to emerge, the assault charges being faced by Stefon Diggs and Christian Barmore. I can understand coach-speak, and the fact that like Bill Belichick before him, Vrabel was not about to reveal his true feelings to the public. But Vrabel has also touted the desire to find players of character, and once again, two prime performers have apparently failed to reach that standard.

Vrabel has to set down the law.

If I'm Vrabel, I would let the process play out -- let both players face their day in court and adhere to whatever action the NFL may take independently of that. And then I would send both Diggs and Barmore packing. Whether it's slapping around a cook or a girlfriend, neither is acceptable. It's also a good opportunity for Vrabel to underscore his status as his own man, a coach that has taken the best examples of what he has learned on every rung of his NFL ladder and made his approach to coaching unique to him, and not to just reveal himself as the reincarnation of a sourpuss of the past.

The second thing I would expect from Vrabel would be to issue an edict for his players to stop referring to Foxboro High's football team in a derogatory manner. That nonsense was started by Bill Belichick years ago as a motivational tool, telling his players that some of the mistakes they made in a game would make them lose to Foxboro High, let alone any NFL team.

I suppose that's effective in-house. But when it comes out to the public, it sounds like a slap in the face to the town that opened its arms to the Patriots 55 years ago when nobody else wanted them. Drake Maye unwittingly accomplished that the other day when he said that criticism of the Patriots' relatively easy schedule made it sound as if their schedule included Foxboro High.

I'm sure Maye didn't mean to insult the Warriors. In fact, I'm told he has gone to some of their games incognito in the past. But to the uninitiated, it still sounds insulting.

Foxboro has had one of the consistently best football programs in eastern Massachusetts over the past 50 years. The Warriors have been in 10 MIAA Super Bowls and won five, which is comparable in performance to the Patriots' six wins in their 11 NFL Super Bowl appearances at their respective levels of play.

I'd just knock off the references to a specific high school entirely -- with the lone exception being to give praise where praise is deserved. Or maybe Vrabel and his players should say, "It's not like we're playing the University of North Carolina."

Two gentlemen that need to make resolutions.

** As part of his celebration over finally paying off Boston Mayor Michelle Wu to get Boston's blessings for a new soccer stadium in next-door Everett, Robert Kraft should just finally admit he doesn't give a shit about the fans of southern New England that have supported his moribund soccer franchise through thick and thin -- mostly thin over the past decade or so. Building a 30,000-seat soccer stadium in the most inaccessible part of Everett is a direct slap in the face to the soccer moms and youth soccer organizations of our region, as well as the ethnic communities on the South Coast and in Rhode Island that will balk at making the trek to a property that will be nearly impossible to reach by car travel. 

Besides, the whole thing is probably a scam -- it's going to be right next to a casino and will probably become the outdoor concert venue that will tie Kraft's interests into a pretty bow with the owners of the Encore casino looking to increase that facility's profitability. 

At least we'll still get the World Cup games -- if Donald Trump doesn't find a way to fuck that up as well.

** As far as our president is concerned, my resolution for him is that he just stop breathing. Although I'd request that he wait until this year's midterm elections are complete, and the Democrats have regained control of both the House and Senate. Then Trump can take the eternal dirt nap and Congress can immediately begin impeachment proceedings against J.D. Vance before he can name a vice president, and they get to install a Democrat Speaker of the House as president.

And hopefully, this will all take place before Trump starts World War III, which his addled brain is telling him to do in his every waking minute.

** I've got a resolution for the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association as well.

The MIAA partners with Arbiter Sports to list all member schools' schedules and have them immediately post all of their results in all sports. It's how the MIAA calculates power rankings, and it's a good system.

Arbiter Sports also offers the capability for the schools to input information about their coaching staffs and the full rosters of their teams. But few of the schools take that opportunity -- and it should be mandatory.

Most of my time away from the microphone these days is spent chasing down schedules, results and rosters from athletic directors and coaches. Most are very nice about it, and thus I have the proper information when it's time to do my job. But the MIAA utilizes a tool that could be a one-stop clearing house for such information, and yet it goes underutilized. 

I would also require the MIAA to order its member schools to post rosters that use a specific template to provide information that the news media needs.

For most sports, it's very simple -- Player's number, name, graduation year and position played in that order. Football would require a little more -- Number, name, graduation year, height, weight and positions played in that order. Basketball could add a player's height to the basic info in the first example.

It's not that hard. These are supposed to be educated people, and they should be able to figure out why consistency is important. Imagine my frustration when I get a roster from a school that has just the player's names and maybe one other category -- but no numbers, no positions. That is absolutely useless to anyone in the news media.

Oh, and all of this needs to be in numerical order. Do I really need to explain why?

I was always helpful as a scorer.

** This is off the beaten track, but I just wanted to explain a circumstance that took place at a recent game involving rosters. 

A team that rarely ventures into this part of the state came to one of our local schools the other day, and as I was charting the game for use in a future broadcast, I needed the visiting team's roster. There were none outside the gym when I arrived. So I went to the scorer's table well before the start of the varsity game and asked the visiting team's scorekeeper if I could take a quick snapshot of the scorebook with my iPhone.

He looked at me cross-eyed and said in a challenging manner, "Why?" So I politely explained that I was charting the game and I needed the roster, and there were none available.

Still with a tight grip on the book, the scorekeeper said, "We sent the roster to the school."

"Well, maybe you sent it to the school," I said. "But I still don't have one. I'm media and nobody sends us anything. So I can either take a picture now or I can take one when the home scorekeeper copies it. One way or another, I'll do it." The scorekeeper then grudgingly released his grip on the scorebook, I took the quick photograph and I was on my way.

Who really needs to have that kind of an attitude at a high school game? And just before Christmas!

** This is a resolution that's a necessity in today's growing retreat of print media from timely high school sports coverage.

Coaches that post their scores on X/Twitter/Whatever should NEVER offer "a total team effort" as their only comment about the game. Since your scores may not appear in a local newspaper anymore, you should at least post the names and scoring totals of your double-figure scorers and then add the platitude at the end if you must. Information requires detail. And that means full names, not initials or nicknames or any other shorthand that only you and your team would know.

** Here's one for fans, too. If you happen to walk past a table where two guys are wearing headsets and talking into microphones, don't think you can just stroll up to them while they are talking and start asking them questions such as "How many did Johnny score tonight?" Those people are working, and you are interrupting.

And if one of the announcers waves you off dismissively, just imagine that you're at work, doing a job that can't be interrupted without degradation of the product, and imagine how you would feel as the worker. Not too pleased, I imagine.

Headsets are the dead giveaway. We're busy and can't stop what we're doing to answer a question that the folks at the scorer's table across the court could answer better. 

One the headsets come off, we will be much more friendly. After all, it's not personal. It's business.

** I could probably think of a lot more resolutions, but time is growing short and I have to get to a game. The most important one to me is to tell my closest friends more often just how much I appreciate them. Time is indeed growing shorter for all of us, and it's important for them to know that.

Happy New Year, everyone.

MARK FARINELLA will be starting his 73rd revolution around the sun next Wednesday. Yes, that means he's turning 72. Send birthday wishes his way at theownersbox2020.com.