Battle of the bypass: Hornets vs. Hens on NBC Sports Network

Hornets and Hens - I’ll take my chances in a nest of Hens, but I’m not getting within a country mile of a Hornets hive if they bust loose. Delaware State plays the University of Delaware in Newark at 3:30 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 7, and that game is only fun if Delaware State pulls off the upset. I love upsets because it sends certain fans into a state of shock, like they have nowhere to file such a strange reality. The game is on the NBC sports network, which will impact the crowd, especially the segment that doesn’t drink and drive home.

Delaware State is coming off a 17-10 win over VMI; that means they beat somebody. Delaware outlasted West Chester in its home opener 41-21, which means big whoop, that’s what you’re supposed to do.  

Delaware has won the previous four meetings against Delaware State by a combined score of 116-24. I’m not lying, I’d love to see the Hornets sting some chicken butts, but honestly, I’m not expecting it to happen. And this is not the Battle of Route 1 because neither school is on Route 1. The Battle of the Bypass has possibilities; it brings in all the cardiac metaphors.

Owls and Turtles - Temple is my town and hosts Maryland at noon, Saturday, Sept. 8, at Lincoln Financial Field.  The game can be seen on ESPN U if you can find it. Temple beat Villanova in its opener while Maryland beat William and Mary 7-6.  Temple won at Maryland last year 38-7 and returns 35 lettermen including nine starters from last year's team.  Maryland better come with more than they showed against William and Mary or it will be a long afternoon. “Yo, get up on outta there, Skippy!”

Hardwood hobo - Yo Yo was a bum from the streets of Philly during the 1960s. No disrespect, he was Yo Yo the Bum who went to Big Five games at the Palestra and sat behind the team bench. Temple coach Harry Litwack talked at Yo Yo during games and Yo Yo would smile and shake his head up and down. After wins Coach Harry would give him a cigar. No bums at today’s games because there are just too many of them. They get the bum's rush before they can even say, "I don’t have any money."

Hold my spot - Maryland sophomore field hockey players Maxine Fluharty and Katie Gerzabek will miss games against Dartmouth, Boston College and Wake Forest while playing for the U21 Junior Pan American team.  They will play Venezuela, Paraguay, Trinidad and Tobago, and Chile before closing out against Jamaica. If the United States swims successfully through that pool of opponents, the team will likely face Argentina or Canada in the title game. The top two finishers automatically qualify for the Hockey Federation Junior World Cup.  Some may find it surprising - like me - that you leave your college team during the season to play for U.S. squads, but that is the culture of field hockey; the honor reflects positively on the university, so if your bell is rung you go.

Snippets - Caroline Judge, a sophomore at Northeastern University and first-year starter for the 3-0 Huskies, scored her first goal as a collegian Sept. 2 in a 4-1 win at Dartmouth. The Huskies host Virginia Saturday, Sept. 8. The University of Delaware field hockey team beat St. Joe’s 3-1 for its first win of the season and will welcome top-ranked North Carolina to Rullo Stadium at 4 p.m., Friday, Sept. 7.  Four varsity teams on the Cape field hockey schedule have dropped their junior varsity teams. Cape athletic director Bob Cilento is working hard to find games for Cape’s talented junior varsity squad.  Cape, Delmar and Sussex Tech continue to field strong programs; the sport is wilting over the rest of the Henlopen conference.  The 36th annual Bottle & Cork 10-Miler and 5K will be run at 8 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 8.   Back in the day, the race was a half marathon.  It’s hard to find a local person who hasn’t run The Cork at least once. I ran it several times but don’t remember my time and I don’t want to go Paul Ryan and make it up. Ryan claimed to have run a 2:50 marathon; it was fact-checked by Runner's World magazine and it ended up a 4:01. Johnny Coveleski and I ran the Lewes Marathon together in 1978 and ran 3:38. He pushed me through the chute first; later people asked me “Did you really beat Johnny in a marathon?” I had to honestly answer, "Yes, I did.”