Last modified: Sunday, June 24, 2007 1:01 AM EDT FARINELLA: Answers to your Fearless queries BY MARK FARINELLA / SUN CHRONICLE STAFF Because you asked for it, and because the summer doldrums extend to the creativity levels of sportswriters, it's time for another edition of "Ask Fearless," the recurring feature of your Blue Ribbon Daily in which readers ask insightful questions of your humble scribe, and hopefully receive equally insightful responses in return. All questions appearing below are 100 percent guaranteed to be products of my overactive imagination, gleaned from more than 30 years of actual letters, phone calls, e-mails and bricks with notes attached that have been thrown through the office window. Only the names have been changed to protect me from losing plausible deniability. Without further ado: Dear Fearless: Now that the offseason conditioning program is over and the Patriots have some time off before the start of training camp next month, what do they do with their time until then? Do they keep working out? -Curious fan I'm sure they do, if they're smart. I seem to recall a case several years ago when a third-round draft choice made by Bill Parcells, center Joe Burch of Texas Southern, gained more than 50 pounds between the end of the conditioning program and the start of training camp and blamed it on "my mom's good home cooking." Parcells made the big lug suffer for most of training camp, forcing him to do extra conditioning drills every day, before finally cutting him. Funny thing is, Parcells picked that wide load four full rounds before the Denver Broncos picked an undersized center out of Boston College in the seventh round, the 218th pick overall. That kid was Tom Nalen of Foxboro, and he's still there, now in his 14th season and possibly someday headed to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Dear Fearless: What did you think of that graphic in the local weekly that showed all of the stores we might have at Patriot Place? Pretty impressive, huh? We'll have something for all your shopping needs. -Jon Boy, the Ivory Tower You know, I must have missed the point of seeing a diagram of the new shopping mall at Gillette Stadium with the names of stores that "might" be there, as opposed to ones that have committed to be there. But hey, let's not confuse a good sales pitch with the facts. Of the stores that have actually committed to the development, I note that there are supposed to be two Dunkin Donuts and no Starbucks. The whole thing's useless to me as a result. Dear Fearless: Now that the Tweeter Center name is up for grabs, who do you think will buy the naming rights? -Anonymous I remember back when that place opened as the "Great Woods Center for the Performing Arts," and it was supposed to be the yearly summer home for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (and what a joke that turned out to be!). The witty wags at your Blue Ribbon Daily were calling it "Manglewood," a mix of Mansfield and Tanglewood. Now, they might as well call it the Geritol Center, given that most of the acts seem to be geared toward an aging Baby Boomer audience. I haven't read anything that has hinted about who might get the name, but a gut feeling tells me that Ernie Boch Jr. might like to get involved. The car-dealership magnate fancies himself as a music enthusiast, and his father, the late Ernie Sr., had plans to build a similar entertainment venue in Mashpee but never followed through. Now, young Ernie could have his name on a venue and reap the advertising rewards for less than having to build and run the facility. Makes sense to me. I can tell you for sure that it's not going to be the Farinella Center, in any event I've only been inside the place once since it was built! Dear Fearless: Not long before the kids are back in school and it's football season again. Who's going to rule the Hockomock League this year? -Your forum pals I keep hearing people in Franklin claim they have the most returning talent, or that Oliver Ames or Stoughton are poised to make a move, but until I actually see it on the football field, it's still going to be Foxboro, Mansfield and North Attleboro (listed in alphabetical order) battling it out. Those programs are just that far ahead of everyone else. But just for variety's sake, I wouldn't mind seeing one of those other teams take a step up, or for someone like King Philip, Canton or Sharon come out of nowhere and make a challenge. The Hockomock is a great league because of its overall balance in all sports, but things need to be balanced out a little better in football. It's just sad that the kids from as many as six of the schools enter each football season without even a remote chance to win it all. Dear Fearless: Heard you on a radio show with Russ Francis the other day, and I've got to say, you have a voice for radio. Ever think of becoming a talk-show host? -D.A., Sheldonville Some also suggest I have a face for radio as well. I've got to admit, I have yet to meet the microphone I didn't like. But my likes and dislikes in sports are so deeply set after all this time, I'd be quickly exposed as a know-nothing on some topics about which I just don't care, such as hockey. I may poke fun at the guys on talk radio from time to time, but I respect the high level of general knowledge that they have to bring to the table every day. Besides, if you think I'm insufferable now, just think what my ego would be like if allowed to run roughshod over a radio audience. It wouldn't be pretty. Dear Fearless: Your recent comment about Bridget Moynahan and her unborn child was offensive and insensitive, and an insult to mothers everywhere. You should be ashamed. And you should point your questionable investigative reporting skills toward the hero of the Boston sports media, Tom Brady, and ask him why he's becoming a deadbeat dad and why he's flaunting his immorality by gallivanting all around the world with that supermodel hussy, Gisele Bündchen. -Repetitive e-mailer Seriously, I do get letters like this one. Plenty of them, in fact. Sadly, the majority of respondents to the recent three-paragraph commentary about the Brady-Bridget birth-in-waiting missed the entire point - which was to say that the people who cover the Patriots on a regular basis don't want to be saddled with the baby story when it arrives, but we fear that the broadcast outlets will make such a big deal of it, we won't be able to avoid it. Otherwise, I'm not going to get trapped in a big debate over morality, or who did what to whom. Brady was asked about his impending fatherhood at the start of the June minicamp, and he opted not to discuss the subject. At that point, what am I supposed to do? Drag him into a darkened room, tie him to a chair and beat him with a blackjack until he talks? I said it before, and I'll say it again. If you want a role model, you need to look beyond what an individual does on a football field or on the silver screen to determine whether that individual is worthy. No one in this column space is holding a gun to your head and forcing you to worship Tom Brady - or for that matter, Bridget Moynahan - if you don't want to. But I'm wondering if this situation has soured the female fan base on Brady as much as some of the e-mailers and posters suggest that it has. I'd really like to hear from you on the matter, so feel free to drop an e-mail to the address at the bottom of this column - please keep it friendly, because I'm not your enemy - and maybe it will be enlightening. Dear Fearless: I know how you feel about the Bridget-Brady baby story, but if you had to choose the next most stupid story line to surface in the Boston sports media in the past 12 months, what would it be? Other than that New Jersey thing, that is. -Bill B., Nantucket It would have to be the outrage voiced over the airwaves about Daisuke Matsuzaka's appearance in a beer commercial that was to be viewed only in Japan. In the commercial, Dice-K is shown putting on his Red Sox uniform, then he throws a pitch at the camera, then he gulps down a huge glass of Asahi Super Dry. It's perfectly legal in Japan for an athlete to endorse beer and to be shown chugging it, and it wasn't going to be seen on American TV, so what's the big deal? Besides, the guy's 9-5, he's thrown more innings (98.2) than anyone else on the staff, and he has 102 strikeouts to just 35 walks. Maybe he should get a case of the stuff for Curt Schilling. MARK FARINELLA may be reached at 508-236-0315 or via e-mail at mfarinel@thesunchronicle.com