Jim Donaldson

Let me slip on these white gloves.

Pretty spiffy, don't you think? Very Lord Stanley-ish, wouldn't you say?

Bill Parcells said that it was the great players he worked the hardest.

Not that the legendary NFL coach was easy on average players. But, as long as they worked hard, and did their best to avoid mental and physical errors, he'd didn't get on their case. He'd try to make the most of their abilities and do his best to disguise their shortcomings, all the while remaining on the lookout for better replacements.

Typically, the Bruins rank fourth of four among Boston's major professional teams when it comes to winning the affection and attention of New England sports fans.

And also when it comes to just plain winning.

While the Red Sox, Patriots and Celtics all have won championships in these early years of the 21st century, the last time the Bruins won the NHL's Stanley Cup was way back in 1972.

I was wrong.

The fact of that isn't exactly headline material. The admission of it, however, may be.

CLEVELAND -- New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick and Cleveland Browns counterpart Eric Mangini buried the hatchet Sunday.

Look closely and you can see the handle protruding, smack in the center of Belichick's coachly cranium.

With the NFL season kicking off Thursday night, it's time for The Annual Draft.

And, if you're one of those people who read that and said: "Wait a minute, you dope, the draft was last spring," then you're perusing the wrong column.