CHUCKY’S BACK! - You have to be old school to know that Tracy Jones, the dad, goes by Chucky. My basketball bird dogs roaming the countryside gyms tell me that Tracy is tearing up the Seaford league over in Seaford. That doesn’t surprise me because Tracy is a scoring machine just like his son.
BITE YOUR TONGUE - Speaking of setting picks in pickup basketball, my friend Steve Taylor, reportedly of sound body and mind, set a blind pick on Kevin Brittingham of the Shady Tree Lounge All-Stars in Rehoboth and Kevin did what all over-40 defenders do when the feel the pressure of a pick.
They throw a flipper which caught Steve under the chin which resulted in him biting his tongue which required stitches.
“I set my last pick,” Steve told me from the Wawa coffee counter where I told him, “Go ahead, I got it.”
But then I forgot to get it which makes somebody a thief. I guess that’s where the good thief concept comes from because, who knows, maybe there was a Wawa back in the Biblical times.
RAMP UP THE PHYSICALITY - Goal scorers in sports are either finesse players or animals that will step on their grandmom’s face if she is lying prone on the path to the goal cage. I’m wondering if lacrosse is still a physical sport featuring nasty players who will decapitate an enemy running freely through the midfield. I believe the game is going or has gone more to the soft side.
Football is a game where hitting is learned, but not many football players play lacrosse anymore - it is mostly soccer guys or year-round lacrosse guys. And there is a fine line between a hitter and a cheap shot artist which I need on a T-shirt right away. If I could find a hitter with moderate stick skills but a lust for contact then I’m playing the guy. Brandon Bonk, Sean Sweeney, Burli Hopkins were defensive hitters; midfielders Bobby Hopkins, Jack Lingo, Tom and Jack Frederick, Bo Pratt, Mark Moore, Scott Steele and others regularly sent players flying off their feet.
PUNCHED IN THE MOUTH - The language is figurative and post-game privileged, but after Cape’s lacrosse loss to Salesianum, coach Mark D’Ambrogi asked his team if they were tired of getting punched in the mouth and maybe they should think of punching first. The Under Armour slogan is “Protect This House” and the meaning is the same.
Sports teams are fighting units and the group psychology of going into battle is very real. There are some teams that are just wild dog tough and unrelenting with a mix of personalities where everyone has everyone’s back. I remember a state championship lacrosse game - Cape versus Sallies in 1994 - where goalie Jeff Trench came up the sidelines and got cheap-shotted into his own bench. Midfielder Paul Caminish came off that sideline like the welterweight champion of the world and he got tossed for his exuberance. But no matter, his teammates will cherish that moment forever - tenacity under fire and protecting your teammates.
FICTIONAL RECOLLECTIONS - Older athletes tell me stories all the time that are not true but they are not lies. The athletes have told the story so many times that it becomes real in their minds. Down here in Sussex County they qualify as yarns and no one cares if they are true, just if it’s a good story. But tell someone in Philly that you hit a home run every time you stepped to the plate your senior year in high school and they will just tell you to shut up.
I was fascinated last week when Hillary Clinton spoke to a crowd about how back in 1992 on a visit to Bosnia she and her husband had to run from Air Force One to a waiting limousine with their heads down because of sniper fire. The story was false and fabricated and old footage showed the Clintons “yukking it up” on the tarmac with young Bosnian Serbs or were they Ethnic Albanians or Imitation Albanians or Crusty Croatians? Hillary said, “I’m human, I misspoke,” and I say, “No, you trippin’ girl.”
SNIPPETS - How do you become a basketball McDonald’s All-American? Isn’t that private enterprise, or “enterfries,” hijacking high school-aged athletes the result being the athletes unwittingly endorse McDonald’s but don’t get paid for it? I call it exploitation but what do I know?
Tyreke Evans of American Christian, a school near Chester, Pa., who played against Cape in the Little Big House his freshman year, was the MVP in the game. Evans has not chosen his college and he carries certain baggage like being a passenger in a car involved in a fatal drive-by shooting. Villanova is still mentioned as a possible destination.
Kemba Walker of Rice, who was the MVP of the Bay Ball Classic, scored 13 points in the game. Elena Delle Donne of Ursuline had 10 points in the girls game.
Jose Canseco, in his latest book, “Vindicated,” claims to have introduced Alex Rodriguez to a steroids distributor. I recently asked a person who I thought may know that if I wanted to get my hands on steroids how would I do it? I was just curious that if this stuff is around how does a person find it?
My question was answered with, “Do you want to cycle for six weeks or 12?”
“What?” I asked. “I don’t want to cycle at all. Did you think I wanted to start juicing or juice boxing?”
Now that’s funny. I’m just the curious sports guy. I am not a client. But taken out of context I’m grandpa sportswriter guy looking for an edge.
The girls varsity softball team is home on Saturday, March 29, at noon versus top-ranked Caravel. The Bucs are coached by former Cape athlete Randy Johnson. The soccer girls are home on the same day hosting Wilmington Friends with game time at 1 p.m.
Sunday morning, March 30, in Rehoboth it’s Outkast vs. Under Armour at 9:30 a.m. in the YMCA flag football league. Great spectator sport. and unlike me, bring a lawn chair that can support you.
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Sports Editor Emeritus
Email Fredman at fredman@capegazette.com
