Track guy - Bob Paulen, 88, was on the Cape track Feb. 3, not expecting a high school quad competition to break out at 2 p.m. The weather was spring-like until the wind started coming off the water. “I’m glad I completed my workout,” Bob said. “Now, I’m waiting for my ride. I’m not allowed to drive because of a recent cornea transplant.” “But running hurdles is allowed?” I joked. Bob lives in Dewey Beach, is a doctor of divinity out of Yale and a masters track athlete. He is training for the nationals and worlds, which are both in Florida this year. He runs the short hurdles, does the jumps and runs on relays with the Potomac Track Club out of Maryland.  And he’s a part-time pickleballer. He took his sunglasses off – actually needs them – for the photo because he is the personification of reverse cool. I may add, Bob has never tried to “save my soul,” as there is a shared sense that our souls are OK; it's the bodies that are breaking down. 

Analogue to digital - Results from the Feb. 3 quad meet were recorded on a clipboard by coach Jamie Loucks, the hurdler formerly known as Jamie Hill. I knew I would never see them because of the word transcription, even though the helpful and tech-savvy Martin Rodriguez was running for cover; then again, he is always running. I did grab a photo of Cape’s Anejah Johnson-Grace, a junior who hurdles and jumps, and is one of the team’s top point producers. Jajuan Sturgis of Sussex Central caught my attention rumbling down the middle of the track in the 55 meters. Jajuan is a senior who plays football and runs track. He’s described by coach Derek Shockro as a really nice kid. And finally, Bodie Frederick, a senior Cape shot putter, my great-nephew, informed me he had committed to Delaware as an offensive lineman and long snapper. Bodie showed me a photo on his phone with the word COMMITTED in all caps. It’s a Delaware thing. I said, “Back up, Bodie, you need a Fredman photo to make it real.”         

Transition man - When I was in the middle of my teacher/coaching/sportswriting careers, I could look back from the present into the past and gaze toward the future. I was never the not-as-good-as-it-used-to-be person. In fact, I celebrated younger teaching, coaching and player talent, and found it encouraging. I’m not in the middle any longer; I’m just a tribal elder sitting outside my tepee of memories, at peace with my philosophy, “I can tell it but I can’t sell it,” which is true for most boomerangers, except the ones with their own column. 

Seventies show - The quality and depth of basketball talent at Cape and the Henlopen Conference when I arrived in 1975 – three high schools ago – was crazy good. Students ran games before school, at lunchtime and after school in the fall. Sometimes football guys were late to practice because they were ballin’ in the gym. I looked at boys’ basketball results from Feb. 4 around Delaware and found 10 teams that didn’t score over 40 points. Milford beat Cape 38-36, Laurel beat Indian River 57-20 and Dover ran over Sussex Tech 75-19. Early College, which will play at Cape Saturday, Feb. 8, lost to Lake Forest 53-27. The problems perhaps are bricks, airballs, turnovers, poor decision-making, letting the air out of the ball or, on the positive side, perhaps the defenses have gotten that good. Back when I was covering basketball, I once wrote, “The team threw up enough bricks to build a one-room schoolhouse, enough bricks to earn a vo-tech credit in masonry. If airballs were hairballs, the cat would have choked to death.” There’s an adage in baseball: Swing hard in case you hit it. I’d add for basketball: Shoot the ball in case it might go in the basket.

Capital Classic - The Capital Classic boys’ and girls’ middle school basketball tournament is next week and will close out the season. Participants are divided into four-team brackets and guaranteed to play two games. The boys will begin play Tuesday, Feb. 11, with Mariner playing Caravel at 4 p.m., and Fred Thomas facing Millsboro at 7 p.m. Both games are at Postlethwait Middle School in Camden Wyoming. The Beacon boys will play Newark Charter at Postlethwait at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 12. The girls’ side has games at different locations. The unbeaten Fred Thomas girls will play Chipman at 4 p.m., Monday, Feb. 10, at Cape. Beacon girls play Seaford at Fifer Middle School in Camden at 4 p.m., Feb 10. Mariner girls play Millsboro at 5:30 p.m., Feb. 11 at Postlethwait. Warning: There is a new malware program that has infiltrated the GPS British voice woman who intentionally sends you to the wrong gym. 

Power party - The Super Bowl is a week-long power party featuring athletes, entertainers and politicos. Fans are excluded from the schmooze fest, but no question they are paying for it. You should watch the commercials not for their creativity, but to see if you're part of the targeted demographic. 

Snippets - Going out into the college cybersphere searching for athletes I know by sport, I could easily find 30 boys and girls who are playing lacrosse at Division I through Division III programs. Hopefully, there are a few for every sport, but they are hard to find in great numbers. And, yes, club teams count because networked colleges are competing at club level with serious-business athletes, and they are having fun. Go on now, git!