Adult public display of rude behavior carries consequences

Word bombs - Remember when pet owners closed up a house and fogged it for fleas? This was back before Frontline, when outdoor animals had fleas and ticks adhering to their underbellies and ears, and you could get in line at Southern States on a Saturday morning for a free flea and tick dip - yes, your dog, too? Last Friday night at halftime of the football game I made it to the press box with my traveling companion Dr. Dave Robinson. Guidance counselor John Myers was handling the band script reading the litany of Dante’s Inferno's medley and then popped in a CD for Cape’s high-performance dancing girls. The CD or the player was amplification challenged while the band was free styling behind the stands decompressing from its Hell on Wheels halftime routine. The girls on the field made the best of the dissonance and were literally “dancing on air.” The unflappable Myers did his best, when in the open window appeared a dancing girl dad pointing at Myers while lobbing F bombs at Myers' face. Myers, to my amazement, remained absolutely calm because he knew none of it was his fault.  I believe this adult should be held accountable for that rude behavior and be suspended from attending Cape’s remaining home games.

Unsung players - Field hockey and soccer are similar to me in that games are often won or lost by unsung players in the midfield and back, and yet those who score or set up goals with assists are the ones who get their names in the paper. And that’s because for a sportswriter it’s hard to know what to say about a midfielder or defender unless the coach feeds you quotes. The same goes for offensive linemen in football. Unless you drive a fatty tackle 15 yards downfield and plant him like a rhododendron bush in the front yard, nobody knows your name. Cape won three big games in field hockey last week starting with Delmar, then Sussex Tech and finishing with Bloomsburg. Sara Young, Izzie Delario, Cam Bernheimer, Kat Judge, Alex Coverdale, Karissa Lemaire, Tiara Duffy and Maggie Delp were all tenacious on contested balls. In soccer there are Michael Johnson, Elliot Young, Billy Swontek, Yudy Vanegas, Miguel Marino-Sanchez, Anastasios Kotanides, Brian Bahtiarian, Brian Trupo and Charlie Trupo. I know all these kids can play and that teams don’t win unless they control the midfield. I’m just not smart enough to know what to write, but I do appreciate them.

Sub 40 and over 30 - Mark Moore was a starting outside linebacker for the 2003 University of Delaware National Championship football team. I talked with Mark on the snow-swept field in Chattanooga, Tenn., immediately after that game and also tackle Trippy DelCampo, who is now the 6-foot-6 svelte doctor guy appearing on small-market televised symposiums as the "Crack Back Chiropractor.” I have covered Mark in sports since he pitched in Lewes Little League, ran fullback for Lewes middle school and played football and lacrosse for Cape. Last Sunday at the Dogfish Dash, Mark came across the finish line in 39:44 to place 15th in a field of 650. In vintage Mark fashion he said, ”Hi, Fredman,” before crossing into the chute. His late grandfather would have been standing there right next to me saying, ”That’s a pretty good time for a linebacker, don’t you think?" Mark’s freshman year in high school, I told coach George Glenn, “Pencil him in now a four-year starting linebacker.” Mark started every game all four years. Coach K.C. Keeler said of non-recruited Mark before junior year, “Mark is too small to play for us at Delaware; we just can’t keep him off the field.” Both Mark and Trip played their way into starter and scholarship status and now have championship rings to flash in Wawa.

Snippets - Four little Bridgeville Blue Raiders Pop Warner Pee Wee football players stared through the chain-link fence last Saturday afternoon watching some Cape field hockey and one asked me, “Who they playing Smyrna, or Polytech?” I told them, “Bloomsburg from Pennsylvania.” They all said, “Wow”! It’s a good thing I didn’t say Shikellamy from the Pennsylvania Heartland Athletic Conference. Ernie Lopez, my Republican close friend running for the state Senate seat in the newly formed District Six, was shaking hands outside Legends Stadium Friday night. I spoke with Ernie, who just said, "We run a positive campaign, and we think people appreciate that.” Then I went inside where Justin Lopez scored three touchdowns in the game. A Lopez Mr. Inside and Mr. Outside Friday night. I’m way too lowbrow bowwow to be roused by a high school halftime band doing Dante’s Inferno music. But "Disco Inferno" by the Tramps and covered by 50 Cent chased by "Disco Duck," a 1976 nationwide hit, I’d be all about it. “All of a sudden I began to cluck, look at me I’m the disco duck.”

Go on now, git!