Ponderous thoughts I was pondering after a somewhat disgusted look at the 10-day forecast:

- In the wake of our Blog Show "expose" about the view of the Patriots' practice fields from the new Renaissance Boston Hotel and Spa at Patriot Place, a lot of people have asked me to explain exactly how the Patriots plan to block the view of practices from those who have rooms high enough to peer into the secret domain of Bill Belichick.

I guess my hand gestures weren't enough to get the point across. That's what happens when a fellow of Sicilian descent (as I am) has to hold a microphone in one hand while trying to augment my speaking ability with the free hand - my powers of communication are reduced by at least 33 percent.

Anyway, as explained to me by Patriots' VP-Media Relations Stacey James, the team will erect tall poles the length of the practice fields as they can be seen from the Renaissance, in approximately the same location as a lower fence that is now covered with green mesh to obscure the view from ground level.

When the Patriots practice, Belichick's minions will hoist large, opaque screens to the top of those poles, thus obscuring the view from the hotel. When practice is finished, the screens will be lowered. To visualize this, I have two examples.

Mechanically, the process will be the same as when a team lines up to attempt a field goal or extra point inside Gillette Stadium. A large net is raised to prevent the football from sailing into the stands. Visually, I'd like for you to think back to 2002, when the stadium first opened. The team draped large banners from the top of the ramps leading to the upper deck to ground level, upon which were emblazoned mammoth reproductions of action photos depicting great players of the Patriots' past.

That might be one way to gussy up the screens. James also suggested the possibility of advertising, such as can be seen on smaller signs along the perimeter of the practice field. In this era of trying to maximize one's revenue from non-football sources, it wouldn't be a surprise if the Patriots chose to tout Dunkin' Donuts or Bank of America on those giant screens in exchange for a little more coin of the realm.

They call that "the revenue stream," which the Patriots hope will be as wide and expansive as the Mississippi.

- Unscientific Poll Dept.: Those who wonder why the U.S. car industry is in such dire straits these days may want to try this little exercise.

Saturday, while tooling around the Cape, I decided to see exactly how well the U.S. auto brands were doing. So I counted in increments of 10 whether the cars that passed me carried American or foreign badges.

After about a half-hour, the time it took me to drive from Hyannis to Falmouth, the count was practically uniform - anywhere from 8-2 in favor of the foreign brands to 6-4. Only once did the U.S. brands earn a 6-4 edge in a series of 10, and five of those vehicles that passed me were trucks. In fact, most of the U.S.-branded cars were either SUVs or trucks.

Granted, many of the Toyotas and Hondas that passed in the opposite direction were built in U.S. plants, but it certainly appeared that for general driving purposes, the motorists I saw on Route 28 apparently believed they were better served driving cars made by someone other than the U.S. Big Three.

- One Japanese import that's not doing quite as well these days is Daisuke Matsuzaka, who was rocked early and often in his last start and is now clearly a liability in the Sox pitching rotation. Fortunately for the Sox, they have Plan B (John Smoltz) and Plan C (Clay Buchholz) waiting in the wings while Dice-K tries to figure out why the wheels have fallen off his wagon.

And really, what's all the rush to deal Brad Penny? - After Kevin McHale's departure from the Minnesota Timberwolves, isn't it fair to suggest that the great players don't always (and in fact, rarely) become great coaches?

- I understand that Braintree High is an easy venue to secure for MIAA baseball tournament games because the tournament director, Don Fredericks, is the former coach of the Wamps, but isn't it time to look at a few newer fields with slightly more realistic dimensions than 360 feet to straightaway center?

Braintree has great seating and parking, but it's just too easy to knock the ball out of that park. I like seeing home runs as much as the next guy, but I'd rather see legitimate homers deciding the most important games on the high school calendar.

It just struck me that, as is the case in so many other sports, better venues aren't secured for the championship-level games in the MIAA Tournament because they're not as expedient for those running the tournaments. We'd still be playing the MIAA football games at small colleges and high school fields if the Kraft family didn't step up with a no-charge offer of Gillette Stadium, and all they got in return was a lot of grief because the Central-West games weren't scheduled there as well.

- News Item: Comcast buys the remaining portion of New England Cable News that it doesn't own. Is there anything left that Comcast doesn't own?

- Book your ferry tickets now for Saturday, Oct. 10, which is when the Bishop Feehan High School football team will play the Martha's Vineyard High gridders in beautiful Oak Bluffs as the latter school debuts as a member of the Eastern Athletic Conference. Game time is 6:30 p.m.

- Just 39 more days to the start of training camp, folks. And keep in mind that if the stories are true, Gisele Bündchen will be delivering Tom Brady's second child sometime in December.

MARK FARINELLA may be reached at 508-236-0315 or via e-mail at mfarinel@thesunchronicle.com. Read Farinella's blog, "Blogging Fearlessly," at thesunchronicle.com/farinella.