The harder they come, the harder they fall on you

Waxed - “The harder they come, the harder they fall” - Jimmy Cliff. Most athletes and coaches will be on the underside of the industrial powered floor waxer if you show up for enough games. I followed Temple women’s lacrosse through their greatest season in 20 years, and seeing it end by being housed by Florida in the Big East Tournament. Cape soccer was kicked to the curb by Padua 5-0, but comes back to beat Laurel 8-0. I watched a good Beacon boys’ lacrosse team overpowered by visiting Sts. Peter and Paul, a team with size and speed that could hold their own with a Delaware high school schedule, and yet the Sabres’ varsity team is just 5-11. Baseball and softball are up and down and all around on any given Tuesday afternoon. Sports can be humbling, whether you’re the steamroller or the street cat not paying attention.

Short Division - The Delaware scholastic field is breaking into two divisions based on enrollment beginning next season. And before you exclaim, “What does it mean, Kingfish?” it means that Delmar and Tower Hill are smaller Division II schools, while Cape stays in Division I. I got that news on the sidelines from Debbie Windett at the last lacrosse game. My granddaughter Katie standing there said, “Well, that’s no fun winning a state title unless you have to go through Tower and Delmar.” I chimed in, “Trust me, it will be fun if you get to the winner’s circle no matter who you don’t go through.”

Horse head - Every time I watch a horse race, which is three times a year, I wonder if the horse knows it’s a contest or if it just breaks from the gate with an attitude, “See ya, wouldn’t want to be ya!” People who know horses - there are none - claim horses like to get to the finish line first, but really humans have no way of knowing what an animal is thinking, except my Darby dog on the bench seat of the pickup; sometimes I know what he is thinking, and it ain’t pretty. 

Devil went down to Delmar - The Cape softball and baseball teams went down to Delmar May 9 and came back with a pair of losses. Softball dropped a 6-4 contest and is now 8-8 on the season, while the Wildcats improved to 12-2. Baseball lost 4-2 to the 12-3 Cats and is now 8-6. Baseball closes out the season against Appoquinimink (13-2) and Saint Mark’s (10-4). Both softball and baseball are on the bubble, or in the bubble, needing wins to get to the postseason.   

Caps fans - I was a Washington Capitals ice hockey fan through two series and was mystified they got shut out 2-0 in Game 7 in their own building versus the Pittsburgh Penguins. I mean we talkin’ Penguins, man. I’ve been ducking the six-games-under-.500 Phillies and I’ll watch the Nationals, now 22-12, but I can only take so much Jayson Werth.

Snippets - Cape boys’ lacrosse will host Sallies this Friday night. There is rain in the forecast. Beacon lacrosse is playing St. Edmonds at Champions Stadium in an afternoon game. The high school boys will play Worcester Prep at 6 p.m., Monday, May 15. Beacon will play undefeated Mariner at Cape in the undercard. Sussex Tech conducted interviews for the field hockey job, and I’m waiting for a Wikileaks dump to find out who the new coach is going to be. I always joke, “When you hear a rumor in Sussex County, best to chase it down, because we are a culture that likes to talk if we think we know something.” If I were younger, I’d start a sports consulting business and swoop into contracted school districts and provide a detailed analysis of the overall program and specific sports because, quite honestly, some people and schools be trippin’ and the student athletes deserve better. There are a host of teams out there I call mysteriously bad. About 11 years ago, Cape senior student Samantha Coveleski left school early to see her new baby brother Joe. I told her, “Get a photo, we’ll make him Day 1 Athlete of the Week.” Sam just had her own child, Anabelle Joy, born May 9. A California girl, so no Athlete of the Week, but she makes the Fred column back home. Grandmom Joy Hearn scores a middle name, gives the kid street cred in Marcus Hook and among Tugboat Captains, reference to Uncle Kevin. Go on now, git!