Comeback kid Tony Hazzard a crossover fan of Cape sports
Crossover Cape fans - Tony Hazzard was so close to the white light that he had to wear sunglasses. A little over a year ago, he was on home hospice, on the clock, ready to check out from an exotic illness. Tony was so thin and frail, he would turn heads in Ethiopia. Described as “a good man” by family and friends who know him well, Tony has come back to us, and he lights up the gym when he shows up at a basketball game. A few years back, Tony and Dwight Tingle (former Cape basketball coach) showed up at the girls' state championship lacrosse final. There are basketball fans who have never seen a lacrosse game, let alone a girls' game. I remember joking to Tony, “You’re girls' lacrosse guy now?” He said, "I’m a Cape guy. They good, they tough, they win championships, so I am here!” Last week there was crazy action on the sports docket, from swimming to wrestling to boys' and girls' basketball and a state championship track meet held in another state - Maryland. Most fans are sport specific and just don’t cross over. Part of it is following family, another part is sociology; it’s freedom of choice and no one needs to make an excuse for where they are not.
Don’t fear the atmosphere - I was heading south on 15th Street in North Philly Feb. 17 after watching the Temple lacrosse women beat LaSalle 13-2. My son Dave and his daughters Lizzie and Katie, along with his brother-in-law John Rishko and his son Finbar had tickets for the Villanova at Temple basketball game being played at the Liacouras Center. The Wildcats were No. 1 in the country. A crowd of students wearing burgundy snaked around the block. They roared at anyone wearing Villanova action wear. It was all the way urban hip, the atmosphere was electric for this Big 5 matchup. In 1988, No. 1 Temple beat No. 20 Villanova 96-88 at McGonigle Hall on North Broad Street. But in 2016 it was No. 1 Villanova over Temple 83-67 in front of 10,000 fans. Villanova coach Jay Wright and Temple coach Fran Dunphy have both been in the Cape gym over the last two years scouting basketball talent at the Slam Dunk tournament. Sports is all about the network and connections, and the best people are gracious and humble, and so on a Wednesday afternoon a women’s lacrosse Big 5 game attracts 300 fans while the men’s Big 5 basketball game down the street draws 10,000, everyone is happy doing what they do.
Baby baby upgrade - Long ago a cellphone commercial with Beyonce dancing in a gold glitter one-piece singing “Baby baby upgrade” had old guys running to their provider, “I want that upgrade, yo!” NASCAR's biggest race, the Daytona 500, is this Sunday, and it is great television if you like fast cars and state-of-the-art camera work. The Daytona International Speedway had $400 million in upgrades over the last year. From the track to the stands, owners of 11 tracks on the circuit want to turn racing into a technology-filled, amenity-rich fan experience. Sorry, no more rogue tires hopping fences into the bleachers where wise men fear to tread. I climbed a fence at Langhorne Speedway back in my bozo years, sneaked under the grandstands at the end of the first straightaway and sat on a concrete pillar to watch race cars roar around the dirt track. The pace car pulled off and the engines roared, too fast to focus my eyeballs blurs of colors sped by, just before I was dirt blasted and slimed with grime. I got out of there before they came around a second time and staggered around with my pock-marked face.
Snippets - Stop by The Factory Saturday, Feb. 20, where Pat Woods and friends are hosting an all day fundraiser bean bag tournament for a friend who has ALS. There is a silent auction inside adjacent Atlantic Millwork that will have really cool donated stuff, way better than some lame garage sale picked clean before the good hit the driveway. Just get out there and bid on something. Tiara Duffy is batting .375 for the South Carolina Gamecocks softball team that is 4-1 on the young season. Karissa Lemaire (Cape), Hannah Krause (Sussex Tech) and Alyssa Mills (Milford) have been named captains for the 2016 Lynchburg college field hockey team, a rare Henlopen Conference trifecta. Meg Lingo (Worcester-Rehoboth) tallied two goals for Furman in a 16-7 season-opening loss to Vanderbilt. Henlopen Conference wrestling championships are Friday and Saturday, Feb. 19 and 20, at the new Dover High. Turn left at Playtex, it’s a snap. Go on now, git!
