Cape wrestlers place third at Grapple at the Brook 

Grapple at the Brook - The Cape wrestlers, the traveling people of Viking sports, placed third of 13 teams last weekend with 213 points behind Walt Whitman (279) and South River (225) at the 27th tournament contested at Springbrook High School in Maryland. Austin Guerrieri, 126, and Nick Walker, 157, were tournament champions. Blake Walker, 132, had his best showing of the season, placing second. Snagging third places for Cape were Jack Hudson at 113, Cale Baker at 120, Tripp Gannon at 138, Carson Tuer at 165 and Robbie Payton at 190. Nolan Wright placed fourth at 106, and Javier Morales at 285 placed fifth. Cape’s Grayson Davis, a top eliminator at 150, did not wrestle. 

Uber Eats - Bradley Cooper, a Philly guy and diehard Eagles fan, laments in an Uber Eats commercial that “Football is not an excuse to sell food.” And of course that is exactly what Bradley boy is doing. I was reminded of an old joke, “How do you get a Cape grad off your porch?” “Pay him for the pizza!” Last weekend, NFL playoff games shifted from insurance commercials to fatty fast foods, which is telling you that advertisers believe most fans are sedentary meatheads too fat to be an extra at large in an Ozempic commercial. Speaking of pizza delivery, Tom Brady delivers Pizza Hut. I’m sound-down guy when Tony Romo or Brady are doing color commentary, and Kevin Hart and LeBron James doing Draft Kings commercials? What is up with that?

Randy recollections - I wrote this on Sunday morning as a lead-in to the Sunday afternoon celebration of life for Randy Johnson at Caravel Academy. I was asked to speak and I am nervous. The more serious, the more anxious, but no room for sadness when reflecting on Randy’s fulfilling and happy life. I wrote, “Capturing Randy is like playing Frisbee with a reluctant retriever – the dog’s game and the tosser’s aim ain’t one and the same. The coming of age film ‘Stand By Me’ is a classic one-day adventure story told by a boy as a middle-aged man. The final sentences: ‘I never had friends again like the ones I had when I was 12. Jesus, does anyone?’ Yes! Randy Johnson has had the  same core friends from Sesame Street by the Sea since I met him 50 years ago when he was a 15-year-old sophomore at Cape. A Lewes kid.” And then I was off into storytelling mode. Fifty years of friendship in five minutes, but no friend lost as all my muppets live in the eternal present – that is my comfort zone. Remembering people at their best. 

Playing time - “No time left for you.” – The Guess Who. Family people get whack if their kid or cousin doesn’t get playing time in a lopsided game. That’s the great thing about track and swimming – there is always a spot for the kid to compete. A person posting on social media about an insensitive coach is crossing a line you can’t step back from, and if the result is more time, it raises the question, whose time is being taken, as time is infinite in the universe, but in sports there's a clock and only so many minutes can be shared. 

Snippets - The Sanford girls’ basketball team beat Smyrna 63-48. Local player KJ Johnson is a freshman on that well-balanced team sure to be a factor in the postseason, as is Cape Henlopen. St. Elizabeth is 9-3 after recently beating Caravel 66-51. These teams are tough, but it’s hard to get a read on them as they play so many out-of-state teams. Frank Aiello guided the St. Elizabeth girls’ teams to 10 state championship games over 16 seasons and won three titles (1979, 1982 and 1985). I once asked coach what was the secret to St. E’s success. He laughed and said, “I-95.” Local muppet Maria Green is Frank Aiello’s sister. I will be at Johnny Unitas Stadium Saturday, Jan. 24, watching Mikey Fred (Mercer) in lacrosse scrimmages versus Salisbury and Towson. Towson was 11-6 last season, losing to Princeton in the NCAA tournament. I believe there should be elevated criteria for throwing a pass interference flag in an overtime playoff football game. I know most fans are tired of flags that decide games. People who are picky about rules always get persecuted by those who break them. “It’s picky and it's tricky,” let the athletes think you’re calling it close but don’t. Go on now, git!