Idle Thoughts, while waiting for UConn football’s highly anticipated home opener vs. Merrimack, garden tomatoes and the pitching term “sweeper” to die in a fiery crash:

• Dr. Idle, Dr. I to his close friends, is contemplating a permanent bad mood.

Example: It turns out the protesters carrying devices that spewed colored smoke and frightened thousands of fans (in the name of saving the environment) at the Travelers Championship in June spent but a few moments at the Cromwell Police Department.

A police report shows some people quickly showed up with bags of cash to cover bail. Per one published report, “a woman with the plastic bag had a large amount of cash, didn’t appear to know the protesters personally, but agreed with the cause.”

What’s not to agree with, right?

Scaring thousands of people running with smoking canisters and getting golfer Akshay Bhatia to admit he “feared for his life” is downright heroic to some of the dim bulbs in this country.

• Quiz: Name the six closers who have saved 40 or more games in a single season for the Red Sox. (Answer below)

• Gerrit Cole couldn’t pitch the other night with “general body fatigue.”

Dr. I has had “general body fatigue” since 1974.

Could you imagine a West Virginia coal miner calling out with “general body fatigue” back in the day? Can somebody try to make this stop?

• Saw a headline the other day titled “A Midsummer Look At Big East Basketball.”

There’s a good chance Dr. I can find something that interests him less. But it’ll take a while.

• If marathoner Rosa Mota married Indian cricket player Suresh Raina and then divorced him for outfielder Randy Arozarena, that would make her a modern day Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. (Rosa Raina Arozarena).

• Little I, Dr. I’s 14-year-old son, has established a “swear jar” for the coffee table. Curses range from 25 cents to $3.

When Clay Holmes blew the save in Philadelphia last week, Dr. I owed the pot $4.25.

• Anyone else out there joyful that Jayson Tatum got benched at the Olympics?

Sorry. But Dr. I is more interested in Tatum resting this summer. His contributions to the Celtics mean more than a gold medal.

• Congrats to general manager Lee Walter and the Sea Unicorns for drawing a franchise-record crowd of 4,524 Friday night to Dodd Stadium.

Glad they’ll be back for another season in 2025.

Maybe by then a blinding flash of ingenuity will strike Norwich leadership and Dodd Stadium gets the upgrades it needs.

• Breaking news: Merriam Webster is petitioning that the term “Catch-22” becomes “what happens when you hit 30 ground balls to Gleyber Torres.”

• Social media post of the year belongs to Olympic gymnast Simone Biles.

Upon winning another gold last week, she posted on X (formerly Twitter): “I love my black job.”

If you don’t understand Biles’ reference, check out Mr. Trump’s recent musings to the Black journalists’ conference.

• One demerit to the person who went, “Yes, I think the masses will want to watch Olympic 3x3 basketball.”

• Congrats to Dwight Freeney upon his induction to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Congrats, too, to former New London High football player and coach Jack Cochran, Freeney’s high school coach at Bloomfield, who impacted Freeney’s career mightily.

• A reminder that U.S. Olympian Ivan Puskovitch, who began his open water swim career at Pequot Point Beach in New London, takes to the Seine at 1:30 a.m. Friday in the marathon swimming event.

Best of luck to Ivan in his pursuit of gold and avoidance of whatever might be floating in the river.

• Quiz answer: Tom Gordon (46 saves, 1998), Craig Kimbrel (42, 2018), Derek Lowe (42, 2000), Jonathan Papelbon (41, 2008), Jeff Reardon(40, 1991) and Ugueth Urbina (40, 2002).

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro