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Ten Things I Think I Think

1. I think one of the things, scanning the weekend news, that caught my eye was the note in Miami that former White House spokesman Ari Fleischer -- who served under President Bush from 2001 to 2003 -- addressed the Dolphins with some media tips. Seems that rookie coach Tony Sparano heard Fleischer at the NFL meetings two months ago, and came up with the idea to have Fleischer talk to his team.

One of his messages was about mental discipline, and how coaches hate it when players make mental errors. If coaches hate it when players make mental errors on the field, then surely they'd also hate it if players made mental mistakes when dealing with the press. And if players got the same question from reporters five or six times -- asked, maybe, in slightly different ways -- then players should answer the question the way they wanted to answer it, not the way the questioner wanted to hear it answered. Then, Fleischer reasoned, a player wouldn't give the answer in a way he'd regret reading it the next day.

Interesting. I'm not sure the media is so intent on asking a question six ways to get a player to answer in a way that would be slightly wrong but would make great copy. I think the media wants to know a guy's true feelings. But I get where Fleischer is coming from. A player should answer a question the way he wants.

2. I think it's hard to believe the Patriots will have Nick Kaczur on their roster at the start of the season, unless this sordid OxyContin case is still in the early stages of litigation. I find it hard to believe he'll be on the team at all this year, what with the nearly unprecedented PR troubles the Patriots have had.

You don't want to throw a guy out with the trash if he's got a painkiller addiction, true. (And it is only an allegation now, though the Drug Enforcement Administration claims Kaczur cooperated in a sting to catch a painkiller dealer who sold pills to him at least three times, each transaction being 100 tablets of OxyContin for $3,900.) But there's got to be some discipline coming from the league, and the Patriots have to know every team in the league is going to be looking at them to see how they handle Kaczur.

3. I think if any GM wants New Orleans cornerback Jason David, he should give Saints GM Mickey Loomis a call.

4. I think one of the most underrated football players of his day was Dwight White, the vastly underappreciated defensive end with the Steelers who died last week at 58. White died of complications after back surgery, and he went about as quietly as he came.

If you talk to Steelers from that era about what made their team go, they'd always emphasize the lesser guys like White and Ernie Holmes, because of the emphasis Chuck Noll placed on playing a true team defense, which meant White might get more opportunities to wreak havoc one week and Joe Greene the next. That's the thing about the Pittsburgh defense from that era that people who are too young to remember should know: It would not have been the long-term great defense it became without unselfish players such as White.

5. I think Mike Shanahan has to employ a GM or strong personnel man he respects, the way Bill Belichick does with Scott Pioli. Someone has to be there to tell Shanahan -- before he signs the next Dale Carter or the next Travis Henry -- that he'd better think two or three times more before giving a $6 million or $8 million bonus to a guy who burns the Broncos by not being as good, or as reliable, as Shanahan thought he'd be.

6. I think everyone laughs when I say this, but it's 100 percent true: The best thing that could happen (and it is happening) to Pacman Jones is the influence of Deion Sanders and Michael Irvin. Sanders and Irvin will see to it that Jones stays out of trouble. Mark my words.

7. I think any hope the Bills have of contending this year takes a major hit if they don't have Marshawn Lynch. If Lynch was driving the car in a hit-and-run accident that left a woman injured, he might get out of major penalties in Buffalo because of the first-time nature of such an offense -- but he would certainly face discipline from the league if he's found guilty of this crime. That's a big if right now, of course; the law needs to run its course.

8. I think, re: the Jeremy Shockey spat with the Giants, wake me when it's over. He'll be in training camp, and he'll play for the Giants this year. Do you really need the play-by-play of every note of the passion play he and the Giants are going through this offseason?

9. I think the cutest offseason story I've heard happened June 1 in San Diego, when Kansas City VP Bill Kuharich's wife, Betsy, ran the first marathon of her life, the Rock 'n Roll Marathon. Unbeknownst to her, Kuharich and two of his daughters flew to San Diego and positioned themselves on the side of the road at mile marker 22, and when Betsy ran by ... well, I'll let Kuharich finish the story.

"When Betsy came down to the mile marker,'' Kuharich said, "she saw our youngest, Kelli, running toward her. Betsy nearly knocked over four runners to get to her, and Kelli jumped into her arms. The expression on her face was, well, priceless.''

Imagine running your first marathon at 50, and you're almost through, and you see the people closest to you, who you thought were 1,600 miles away. Talk about an energy burst.

10. I think these are my non-football thoughts of the week:

a. Ryan Malone, I haven't seen a tougher man in sports in 2008 than you. For those who missed the electrifying Stanley Cup final series -- you won't see sports as intense as that series anywhere, and I mean anywhere -- you missed Malone, the rugged Pittsburgh Penguin, taking a 105-mph slap shot from Pittsburgh defenseman Hall Gill just below the right eye in Game 5.

It smashed his nose (breaking it for the second time in this series) and left the area below the eye socket discolored. He missed a couple of shifts ... then was back out on the ice and never missed any more time in the last two games. I'm not sure if I've ever seen anyone as tough.

I wonder how Malone feels right now. He's got to still have the worst headache you can have, even six days later. I can't imagine any sport has tougher guys than hockey. Maybe rugby. But the way the players on both of those teams pounded each other mercilessly for six games showed me how much they love this game and wanted this Stanley Cup. It was refreshing to see.

b. How great is Zetterberg?

c. Congratulations, Mike O'Hara. I know how much you love your Wings.

d. I hope Chad Johnson watched the Stanley Cup finals.

e. I might watch some of the NBA series. At Fenway the other night, the crowd started the "Beat L.A.!'' chant, and it got pretty loud. People are into it.

f. Coffeenerdness: It's getting to be the time of year when you can't have hot drinks all the time. At least I can't. I've got a good way to down those fatty fraps without all the calories. Add a couple of shots of espresso to the tall light frappucinos. Nice jolt, plus about 40 percent of the calories eliminated.

g. Happy birthday to me. I'm a very quiet 51 tomorrow.

h. Pedro Martinez from 2006 to today: 31 starts, 13-9, 4.37 ERA. I don't hear anybody in Boston saying the Red Sox should have re-signed him. Nor do I hear anyone saying they should have parted with all that youth to get Johan Santana. You haven't heard of young righty Justin Masterson for the Sox yet (3-0, 2.59 in four starts, with 14 hits allowed in 24.1 innings), but you will.

i. It's a great day for the country when a black man wins the Democratic nomination for president and, aside from some bold-print headlines talking about the unprecedented nature of it, the country goes on with a collective shoulder shrug. I'm exaggerating there a bit; obviously Barack Obama getting the nod is a gigantic political story. But I didn't hear or read stories jammed with racial overtones in the past few days. I'm just naïve enough to think he'll win or lose the presidency on his politics, his views, his hope for the country and whether the American people think he or John McCain is the better man to lead us through the tough times we're clearly in.

j. I'll be on vacation for the next four Mondays, resuming the column on July 14 with a training-camp preview that just might have an Oregon dateline. (You'll have to wait for the surprise on that one.) I will have my regular Tuesday column this week, then miss four Tuesdays before resuming July 15. Have a good start to your summer.

My agenda: lots of 10-and-under softball coaching (www.geocities.com/montclairbears if you want to see some good, clean fun in Montclair, N.J.), the Ohio University commencement speech Saturday in Athens, Ohio, a couple of short getaways to Boston and Los Angeles, ball games in Boston, Cincinnati and Philadelphia -- and hopefully a minor-league outing somewhere and more Heineken Lights than I probably should have. Many more.