Pats’ loss added blue to Monday

A few thoughts while celebrating the survival of “Blue Monday,” the day each year the experts deem we are most depressed, apparently because we live in a place that’s cold and dark during the winter.

. Quite ironically, Blue Monday was bluer than normal this year in these parts, not because of the weather but because of the fate that befell the New England Patriots the night before in the AFC championship game.

It grudgingly says here the Colts were the best team, but it also says the Patriots won’t fall from the championship scene simply because they didn’t get back to this year’s Super Bowl.

And for those who don’t think pro football is America’s sport, think again. The Pats and Colts played before an audience of 47 million TV viewers – the largest audience for a non-Super Bowl game in 21 years.

Baseball may be America’s pastime in New England, where college football lacks a big-time tradition and the Red Sox vs. Yankees supersedes all else.

But pro football is the quintessential sport of the television age nationwide, played with an aggressiveness that mirrors modern society and fostering a public passion that has spawned a national holiday of sorts – Super Bowl Sunday.

. Watching the Celtics lose to the Atlanta Hawks the other night, I respectfully disagree with those who suggest the Green already are tanking the season with the goal of drafting the next Bill Russell – Ohio State 7-foot center Greg Oden.

They don’t have to. They’re basically putting a college team on the floor now, minus the calculus classes during the day. The Celtics recently fielded a lineup with seven of their 10 able-bodied players age 22 or younger and with a combined NBA experience of eight years.

Every experienced Celtic – and there aren’t many – is injured, and every game with Paul Pierce still in street clothes is another step closer to the first draft pick.

Then again, they had a shot at No. 1 a decade ago, and instead of getting Tim Duncan, they got Chauncey Billups and Ron Murcer.

And soon after began the “Antoine Walker era.” Ouch.

. I never met Rufus Candage, but in reading about the Blue Hill man upon his recent passing, I wish I had.

Clearly this was a man of great energy, from using a mimeograph machine to launch his own local newspaper to running his own hardware store and working in real estate. He was active in politics, too, and more than willing to share his opinions.

That energy also was expressed in his love of sports. The George Stevens Academy graduate served two terms on the Maine Boxing Commission, including his first term during the 1960s when Lewiston played host to the controversial second Clay-Liston fight.

But it was baseball where his true love of sports rested. He founded the Waldo/Hancock Baseball League during the late 1950s, and just five years ago – at age 82 – Candage was instrumental in the creation of the Bay League.

Five years later that wooden-bat league is thriving from Blue Hill to Belfast to Bangor, giving area college players and others a chance to hone their skills without having to travel to southern Maine or beyond to find a competitive environment during the summer.

It was, perhaps, his last great gift to the Maine sports world, and for that and all else Rufus Candage contributed during his 87 years, I’m sure I join many others in saying thanks.

Ernie Clark may be reached at 990-8045, 1-800-310-8600 or eclark@bangordailynews.net