Last modified: Sunday, March 13, 2005 12:27 AM EST FARINELLA: Ponderous thoughts Ponderous thoughts I was pondering as the snowflakes continue to fall (and believe me, nobody I know is happy about that!): * One hesitates to criticize any of the offseason moves (or lack thereof) by the Patriots because a large segment of Patriot Nation will take it as a violation of the `` In Bill We Trust'' credo in effect since the local franchise won its third Super Bowl in four years. And yes, I know that pro football is a business, first and foremost, and the most successful teams are the ones that approach things in a purely businesslike manner, refusing to allow emotion to get in the way of sound business decisions. All that being said, there had to be a better way for the Patriots to deal with Troy Brown than to cast him aside like an empty toothpaste tube. With the signing of wide receiver and kick returner Tim Dwight (which had yet to be officially acknowledged by the Patriots Saturday), the Patriots have basically filled Brown's primary jobs. Dwight is younger and faster, and if he can stay on the field longer than he has in past seasons, he should be an interesting weapon -- especially in the punt return game, where the Patriots have had next to no productivity since 2001. Still, nobody gave more to the team in a more professional manner than Brown, who accepted the challenge of becoming a nickel-situation defensive back in addition to his receiving and returning chores. It seemed like folly in training camp, but as Ty Law and Tyrone Poole went down with injuries, it made more and more sense for a savvy receiver to make the move to the other side of the ball. Some of Brown's public comments in the last few weeks of the season made it sound as if the conversion wasn't the happiest thing he had ever done, but he toughed it out and performed to the best of his abilities every time he was called upon. Many players say they'd make similar sacrifices for the good of the team, but I really wonder how many of them actually would do what Brown did. Yes, a $5.7 million cap number was too much for a player who could not provide commensurate value at either of his positions. He's lost a step as a receiver and a returner, and he's still a neophyte as a cornerback -- not exactly the best thing to be at 34. I just think it's pretty cold of the Belichick-Pioli regime to cut Brown loose in the wake of having asked him to do something that very few players have attempted in the last 30 years without it being a publicity stunt. This is clearly one instance where the player's accomplishments and attitude demand more respect than what the business is willing to offer him. * Let us plee-e-e-e-e-ase put to rest any notions that Doug Flutie will be coming to the Patriots to finish his career now that San Diego has released him. If Bill Belichick is indeed as smart as we all think he is, he must realize that his team does not need a 42-year-old third-string quarterback who doesn't fit the Patriots' quarterbacking mold and has been a disruptive force in every NFL locker room he's called his own -- at least until it became clear to him that he could no longer compete with the young pups on the Chargers' roster. Dougie's agent, Kristen Kuliga, is already exploring opportunities for him in the TV world. Either that, or he can continue to follow the BC men's basketball team around as its semi-official towel boy. * Speaking of BC, this probably isn't news to anyone, but I can't help but feel as if that august institution will someday rue the day it decided to move to the Atlantic Coast Conference. * Anyone who thinks the local high school baseball and softball fields and tracks are going to be in playable shape by the first week of April is deluding himself or herself. Local athletic directors should just begin the task of shifting games into the April vacation week or the first week of June now, and save themselves the aggravation later. * Farinella's Quik Flix Pix: Finally, I've had time to get back to the movies! Since when did they cost $8.25? Anyway, I wanted to see what the buzz was over `` Sideways,'' the independent film that was the rage at the Academy Awards, and I must admit I was pleasantly surprised -- especially since I had the whole 60-seat theatre in Sharon to myself and could watch it without interruption from morons in the audience. I'm not a wine connoisseur, so that aspect of the plot was lost upon me. But I enjoyed the performances of Paul Giamatti (son of former baseball commissioner Bart Giamatti), Thomas Haden Church, Virginia Madsen and Sandra Oh because they felt familiar and real. You could have put these characters into any road-trip scenario and still felt by the end of the movie that they might have been someone you've known at some point in your life. Contrast that, if you will, to `` Be Cool,'' the continuation of the Chili Palmer saga from `` Get Shorty.'' The big studio turned an excellent original movie into a formula in the sequel, in which the plot is basically repeated from the original with minor alterations -- a lampooning of the music industry instead of the movie industry, complete with racial stereotyping that, almost from the very beginning, lost its humor value quickly. John Travolta was comfortable in the role of the loan shark-turned-entertainment impresario, and as always, Uma Thurman was drop-dead gorgeous. But I left the flick feeling as if I had seen it before, and I had. Oh, here's an aside to the loudmouthed couple sitting two rows behind me at `` Be Cool'' -- next time you see a big guy with a Super Bowl sweatshirt a couple of rows in front of you, either stop the commentary and watch the damned movie, or my large Diet Pepsi will be winging its way back at you before the end of the opening credits. * This news flash out of the South Shore: Marshfield High School has been given the go-ahead to move out of the Old Colony League and into the Atlantic Coast League, although the date for the move isn't certain. You will recall that Attleboro, Dartmouth and Somerset are eventually going to join the OCL -- probably not until 2006-07 because of the objections of the Eastern Athletic Conference on grounds that the three departing schools didn't give the EAC notice as prescribed by MIAA rules. The OCL has been operating with only four schools (Marshfield, Taunton, Bridgewater-Raynham, Barnstable), but Marshfield wanted out because of shrinking enrollment numbers. So, eventually, the league will consist of six members -- and one less long road trip for the Bombardiers. * It never ceased to amaze me Wednesday night that the public address announcer at Stonehill College kept referring to the Bishop Feehan High School girls' basketball team as hailing from `` Bishop Sheehan.'' Aside from the fact that the school has been around these parts for 44 years, it says `` Feehan'' on their uniforms! * Mind you, Jacksonville wasn't warm last month -- but compared to this stuff piling up outside my window, it was pretty close to paradise ... MARK FARINELLA may be reached at 508-236-0315 or via e-mail at mfarinel@thesunchronicle.com