Fashion statements aren't real big in New England, apparently, so the fashion police have been working overtime.

Did my eyes deceive me Sunday, or was Patriots coach Bill Belichick actually wearing something other than that shabby old gray sweatshirt he's usually worn on the sidelines?

Belichick — who will never be mistaken for Jacksonville coach Jack Del Rio or San Francisco's Mike Nolan, who have re-established the tradition of wearing suits on game day — was seen during the Patriots' season opener against the New York Jets at East Rutherford, N.J., wearing a new blue short-sleeve pullover windbreaker.

He was almost natty instead of ratty.

Sure, sure, Belichick's a coaching genius. Fine, I'll give him that. But until Sunday, most coaches dressed better at practice than Belichick did during games.

Now I'm no fashion plate myself, but even I would wear at least something with a collar if I was a head coach in the NFL.

Belichick's baseball counterpart won't be making Mr. Blackwell's best-dressed list any time soon either.

Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona is notorious for wearing team pullovers instead of his uniform shirt. (The pullovers Francona wears are actually about what Belichick upgraded to on Sunday, so it shows just how bad he was before.)

There are a lot of people who have never been able to figure out why baseball managers and coaches wear uniforms in the first place, especially when they saw someone like Tommy Lasorda squeeze into one in the '70s and '80s. It wasn't pretty.

Francona says the pullovers are more comfortable than the uniform shirts and that's probably true. It's just that it makes him look like he's coaching a beer league softball team.

For years, the NFL has had people go around on game day making sure players' shirts are tucked in and measuring how much sock is showing. Major League Baseball seems to be headed that way now, too.

A couple of weeks ago when the Red Sox were playing the Yankees in New York, Bob Watson, MLB's vice president of on-field operations, came into the Boston dugout to see if Francona was wearing the proper shirt under his pullover.

The New York Post said Francona told Watson, "Get out of the dugout during the game," and Watson left. Francona denied snapping at Watson.

MLB executive vice president Jimmie Lee Solomon later said the timing of the examination was bad and that Francona had a right to be miffed about it.

"When Derek Jeter is on second base and I got somebody coming from the league making me go down the runway, I was a little perturbed," Francona said.

Solomon said the poor timing, however, "does not negate the fact that Francona has not been wearing his uniform jersey."

It may not seem like that big of a thing, and certainly Francona is not the only manager to try to get out of wearing a uniform shirt — Mike Scioscia of the Angels does the same thing and to a lesser degree, so does Grady Little of the Dodgers — but I personally think it's pretty cool to get to wear a major league uniform. If I had ever gotten to wear one, they would've had to rip it off me.

By the way, you get extra credit if you know Francona's uniform number (see below).

Other ponderings from the week just past:

Wow, Notre Dame (0-2) plays Michigan (0-2) this week. Or is that the season premiere of "The Biggest Loser"?

Funny how the only time Serena and Venus Williams are at less than 100 percent is when they lose.

Boy, you've got to give Mike Ditka credit. On ESPN's "Sunday NFL Countdown," he unhesitatingly picked Da Chargers — not Da Bears — to win.

My favorite moment of that show, however, was when Tom Jackson goofed and said "Romy Tomo" instead of "Tony Romo."

Philip Rivers was right about the Bears being obviously offside on that play where the Chargers fumbled the ball, but the San Diego quarterback was way over the top in his arguing. Officials should penalize players and coaches more often for that kind of thing.

Idaho started the football season playing at USC, the No. 1 team in the nation. Last week? The Vandals hosted Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and won 20-13.

The most amazing thing about Ellis Hobbs' record 108-yard kickoff return for the Patriots wasn't the distance. It was that he never hesitated in bringing the ball out from 8 yards deep in the end zone.

"I didn't even think about kneeling that ball," Hobbs said. "We're taking them all out. They pay me to make plays. They don't pay me to take knees. This isn't college. This isn't high school. We're in the NFL. They pay me to return the ball and guys in front of me to block. Why not give them something to celebrate and enjoy?"

Wonder what Belichick thinks about that?

Oh, and here's the extra credit answer: Francona's number is 47.

— Jim Carlisle is a staff writer for The Star. E-mail address: jcarlisle@VenturaCountyStar.com. In addition to his Tuesday columns, he also covers TV-Radio sports on Fridays. For more, please visit his blog at jimcarlislesports.blogspot.com.