Birthdays, babies and champions celebrated

Magic Mikey - Mikey Frederick, whom I dub the forgotten grandchild, he is No. 5 of 9, turned 13 July 12, so I had him verbally commit to Notre Dame by leaving a message on head coach Kevin Corrigan’s voicemail (this is fiction). Kevin is the first cousin of Cape’s Mark D’Ambrogi. Mikey’s mom Liza is also a Notre Dame graduate. But seriously, Mikey is a straight-A student at Beacon and a triathlete who plays the piano, soccer and lacrosse. I’ve discovered and hyped 5,200 Athletes of the Week since 1992, but I’ve stayed away from Mikey - although he has had some seriously legit performances. This photo and shoutout is my present to him because I just didn’t know what else to get. 

Jackson debuts - Jackson “too young to toddle” Austin has made personal appearances at hockey camp and open fields just to get socialized like a therapy dog because Jackson, son of coach Kate aka Windy and husband TJ, and grandson of Debbie and Bill, will be growing up on the sidelines, from practices to games, and we should all be so lucky. Girls are good with babies at practices. Boys are not so interested.  

Maggie Delp - Maggie was the player to be named later at Cape, as every hockey team and lacrosse team she played on had stars destined for Division I programs. Maggie’s thing was high fitness level, coupled with endurance and strength, and she was such a nice person until the game began in the center of the field, then the gloves were off. Maggie left Cape with seven state titles in her back pocket while making all-state in field hockey and lacrosse. She walked onto the field at the University of Delaware and again she was just too good an athlete to keep her off the roster. Three CAA titles and last spring, Maggie was a member of the Delaware field hockey team that won a national championship. That’s a pretty storybook career, and she’s got one more season to go for Delaware hockey. You just have the feeling it could end with more magic, as that is Magpie’s destiny.  

Tennis, anyone - I find Roger Federer an intriguing athlete and the embodiment of The Heart of a Champion. He has been steady and uncomplicated. He has plenty of money and trophies, and yet each time he takes the court he wants to win more than the last time he won. Roger has won Wimbledon seven times. Novak Djokovic dropped out of his quarterfinal match with an elbow injury. He was the 10th player to drop from the tournament because of injury. Tennis is not like football where you gotta play hurt. In tennis, you can’t play hurt. American Sam Querrey (who?), the 24th-ranked player in the tournament, upset Andy Murray who was hobbling with a hip injury, and you just can’t hobble at Wimbledon and reach the winner’s circle. Querrey - not a household name - has the record on tour of 10 service aces in a row. His high school buddies started the “Samurai” fan club and attend matches shirtless with the letters S-A-M-M-Y written across their chests. I’m not sure that will play with the tea and crumpets crowd.

Grandmom Rose -  “Would you rather spend the morning with Donald Trump Jr., Sammy Davis Jr., Dale Earnhardt Jr., a Coconut Junior Tastykake or crime boss Junior Gotti?” Here’s an amazing connection. My brother Tom’s old used-to-be-fat short dog, Oreo, came to him from John Gotti’s grandson, which makes Big Poppy Fred connected, the made man of Penndel, Pa. By the way, I’d pick the Coconut Junior.  

Snippets - Camps and races and Camptown races, the Doo-Dah Parade, that is what summer is all about. Six-hour day camps, where the turf field temperatures may reach 120 degrees. The Runner’s World guideline is “when the temperature and humidity add up to over 160, don’t exercise.” NFL practices for rookies, quarterbacks and selected veterans (receivers and fat guys) begins Monday, July 24. Practice for everyone begins Thursday, July 27. The Eagles are at the Packers Thursday, Aug. 10, for the first preseason game. The Eagles practice in South Philly and Saturday, July 29 at 10 a.m., is an open practice at Lincoln Financial Field. There is no charge, just walk in and find a seat with the rest of the hardcore fans with no daytime jobs. Go on now, git!