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People In Sports

Old dogs shouldn’t bark at athletes on the field

April 9, 2013

No dog in the fight - I was taking photos at Wesley April 5 of a high school girls’ lacrosse game between Tower Hill and Worcester (I was on recreational non-assignment) when a male voice pierced the still night air like a spear through a hot air balloon. "C’mon, let's go! They only have one player!” The one player was Worcester’s Lilly DiNardo, a UVA-bound midfielder who can light it up, but I thought the comment was instantly rude and offensive to players on both teams with the exception of “one player.” DiNardo had six goals in the game but that left another 15 scored by Worcester players who were not Lilly DiNardo. The final was 21-10 in favor of Worcester, but the game was tied at 8 at halftime. Loudmouth adult males at girls' sporting events are the worst, although crazy soccer moms are a close second. Last fall I mistakenly sat down in front of some moms who were raising a ruckus; they had either been drinking or dousing each other with rubbing alcohol - it was pretty funny really.

Kids are cool - The Cape lacrosse game versus Archmere was just over last Saturday and I asked my granddaughter Anna if I could get a photo of her and Caroline Dougherty, granddaughter of “Cookie,” my friend Barbara Dougherty of Dewey, who is battling cancer. Last fall I had Cookie - comes from "one tough cookie" - speak to the field hockey team on the importance of field hockey in her own life. The Cape kids fell in love with her on the spot, gave her an autographed USA stick provided by Carrie Lingo, never said, "Let's win the state title for Cookie,” but they did and delivered the trophy to her hospital room. There are 13 players from that hockey team who are also on this year’s lacrosse team. The magic is already in place. By the way, Barbara Dougherty was a high school classmate at Notre Dame Prep and lifelong friend of Mary Corrigan, who later became Mary D'Ambrogi, who is Coach Mark’s mother.

The spirit endures - Last summer was sad when we lost Cape teacher Kevin LeMaire to a heart attack. The previous winter, his son Kaleb won his third state title in wrestling, capturing 126-, 119- and 103-pound classes, and is now at Loch Haven University.  Last fall, daughter Karissa was a starting defender on Cape's state championship field hockey team. And last Saturday at Hudson Fields, youngest daughter Korrinne sent home the winning goal as the Atlantic U15 team upset the favored Beach squad. The shot rang out for family and friends; afterward I saw Don Lockwood, one of Kevin’s close friends, who said, "Did you see Korrinne get the winning goal? That was really nice.”

Late night road games - Girls' high school soccer plays most road games starting at 7 p.m. But at least they last a long time. Cape plays at Dover at 7 p.m., Tuesday, April 9, then will host Smyrna Friday, April 12, the same night both Cape lacrosse teams are in a doubleheader at Wesley. These games need to be played after school or varsity no later than 5 p.m. There are fewer fans than twice the number of players, meaning even parents don’t go. It’s just too long and late a day if you have a job or a cat that woke you up in the middle of the night.

Snippets - The weather breaks this week just in time for big softball and baseball games as Sussex Tech plays at Cape on Tuesday afternoon. The Ravens beat Cape in baseball last year 1-0 while the Ravens softball team won 7-0.

When you see someone you’ve known for a long time who gazes upon you but shows no sign of recognition, it is always bad for one of you. You can only hope the person is going crazy; otherwise you have just gotten too fat. I would find it helpful if coaches of travel teams would submit a team photo with players identified.

Phillies are wearing me out after going 2-4 to start the season with Hamels, Halladay and Kendrick getting shelled.

The Delaware State womens' lacrosse team in its first year of DI competition is 0-10 on the season. The Hornets play at Virginia Tech Saturday, April 13.

I am now a Mac Min guy - I just read “Nailed: The Improbable Rise and Spectacular Fall of Lenny Dykstra." It's amazing how far energy and arrogance can take a person right now. "The Dude” is serving three years in a California prison. Go on now, git!

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