Five-day delay, Cape girls’ lax so ready for title game
Five-day delay -The Cape girls' lacrosse team was pumped up like a helium balloon ready to play Charter for the state championship at Dover at 7 p.m. May 22. A bright red box showed up on most weather sites, and then the weather people got into it. A tornado warning box appeared on screens and DIAA ran quicker than Toto to a storm shelter. There was no duck and cover; the game was postponed. And then it got stranger because Charter’s prom for the Cab Calloway School of Music was scheduled for May 23. So Friday was a no go. Then the weekend conflicted with a youth lacrosse tournament called the National Tournament, and many Delaware players were committed because their season was supposed to be over. Three Cape players stepped off National Tournament teams including Sarah Tappan, Taylor Gooch and Lizzie Frederick, afraid to leave their legs in Bel Air, Md., when their heads were back in Dover for the May 27 championship. The officials were unavailable Memorial Day claiming a holiday even though the national championship of men’s lacrosse is played on the same day. And now Tuesday has a 40 percent chance of storms, and I guess everyone will cringe and do the duck and cover. Man, let’s get this over with.
Women and fast cars - I watch NBA and NHL playoffs and don’t recall cutaways to the star players' wives or girlfriends. Why is that? Am I interested? Definitely, I am not. I watched the end of the Indianapolis 500, and in the final two laps they kept cutting to the women of the drivers. I’m thinking, "Do I want the brunette or the blonde to win?” I settled on the brunette, but Blondie got to do the jump around in the victory circle and get interviewed before any of the pit crew. I mean, what was that all about?
Back in goal again - Jeff Trench was one of the best lacrosse goalies ever to play at Cape. He was in the cage in 1995 when Cape played Sallies for the state title at A.I. du Pont and lost 12-6. Unruly fans literally rimmed the sidelines. Lightning storms interrupted the game twice; there were adults yelling at players. It was a downright hostile environment. Jeff came out of the goal in the first half and up the home sidelines on a clear and got croaked. Cape players took exception to the hit and all hell broke loose. The penalty box was filled with Vikings the entire game. Last Sunday, Jeff was playing acoustic guitar with his partner of 3CNorth, Eric Roberts. Jeff was singing, “Set out running but I take my time/A friend of the devil is a friend of mine.” I had to put Jeff back in goal after a 19-year hiatus; then he was singing, "Rock me like a wagon wheel.”
Clydesdales are lightweights - It's a special division, larger male runners starting at 185 pounds, 200 pounds and 224 pounds. Most races have a Filly or Athena category for women 155 and 170 pounds. I think there should be a Warthog or Earth Pig division. Let the really big people have a chance for a trophy. Most Clydesdales may be faster than I am, but I’m bigger, so how is that fair? Now, my young friend Mark DeNio is my idea of a Clydesdale. Mark is actually a hero to many on the running scene. He has come a long way and I’m pretty sure he wants to do a marathon someday. "On April 12, 2012 I was 420, got down to 378 now back up to 399. I’m a type 2 diabetic and need to be more strict on carbs. I recently joined Weight Watchers," he says. Mark is single and lives in north Wilmington; he has no hound in his house.
Snippets - The Cape class of 1996 donated a carved wooden Viking and the class of 2014 kidnapped him from the school library. The funniest part - it was three weeks before anyone knew it was missing and that anyone was me wanting to take a photo of state high jump champion Megan Hart in front of the sculpture. The seniors have offered a ransom note for the Viking’s safe return. Cathy Reese, the head coach of the NCAA national champion women’s lacrosse team, played her high school lacrosse at Mt. Hebron; her high school coach was P.J. Kesmodel. Go on now, git!
