Family Friday night at Cape’s Big House

High flyers - Cape alumni Randy Rickards, Jon Warren and Jordan Howell were at the Cape Big House Dec. 19 watching the Cape boys come back and get Lake Forest 50-49. After a year at Baltimore City Junior College, Randy is playing basketball at Dade County Community College of Florida. Jon played two years at Harford Community College, then played a year at Central Baptist College before moving with his coach to Talladega College in Alabama. Jon is now a senior and starter on the Tornadoes basketball team. Jordan, who recently dominated a Cape alumni game, graduated from Goldey-Beacom and is in the Army. A trio of solid good guys, all of whom can still dunk. 

All about the beat down - Cape girls’ lacrosse has won 11 state titles in a row and 120 straight games against Delaware opponents, but they have always left the comfort of their backyard and gone looking for trouble. “You get beat, you get better” has seemed to work for them. Coach Pat Woods, heading up the Cape girls’ basketball program, has reached out twice this early season and lost both games, but his players are getting a look at a bigger world. Cape sent seven wrestlers into that crazy Beast of the East Tournament at the University of Delaware over the weekend and some won a few matches, but all came home with a pair of losses. It that a good thing or a confidence shaker? Wrestlers develop a sense of detachment because all but 14 of them in each state are ending the season with a loss. Report from coach Chris Mattioni: “There were over 900 competitors competing in 14 weight classes. Cape sent seven wrestlers to compete. Freshmen CJ Fritchman and Luke Bender, sophomore Mike Frederick, juniors Juan Lares and Jackson Handlin, and seniors Fin Rishko and Andre Currie. The team was led by Andre Currie going 4-2. Jackson Handlin was 3-2. It was a great experience. The young guys got to see the highest level of wrestling.” Cape will be in action Friday and Saturday, Dec. 27 and 28, at the Battle at the Beach at Indian River High School.

Silver Santa - Taiwanese Santa made with spare parts from the Cape art room of teacher John Gardowski made it from my attic to the great room last week for the 25th consecutive year. Santa was made by Chia-Chun Cheng and given to me. I nicknamed her June Bug and I understand the name stuck. I used to have a German Santa made by Kathy Pepper, but one Christmas morning Barkley dog ate him; it was really quite dramatic, if not traumatic, and it makes a nice Christmas song, “I saw Barkley eating Santa Claus.” He was named after Charles Barkley, which makes this riff sports relevant. 

Economic impact crowd - I don’t follow the money of local big-time sporting events. I ain’t no forensic economist, although I do know one, Abe Hoffman, from the local running scene. I can comprehend the Rehoboth Seashore Marathon crowd and the June Beach Blast girls’ lacrosse tournament with 110 teams over three days (we talking disposable income crowd), but the Slam mines a different demographic. Beyond that, I don’t know what I’m talking about. Go to www.slamdunktothebeach.com for information on the three-day tournament that runs Dec. 27-29. A full event pass costs $65, a day pass is $29, and a half-day pass is available for $19. My favorite mascot is the Moose from Westtown School. Here come the Meese or is it Mooses on the Looses? It’s just Moose all day long. Moose sounds like dog hair clogging up a vacuum cleaner.  

Snippets - Using the Cape Gazette Archives feature, I read a column I wrote Friday, Dec. 22, 2006, that featured a bench press contest at The Firm organized by Paul Timmons to see how many times an athlete could rep their own weight. Derrick Lingo repped 185 pounds 30 times, Sinah Sam repped 135 pounds 34 times, and Bill Lewis weighing 290 repped that weight 37 times. Also in December 2006, Casey Fagan won the 189-lb. wrestling title at the Battle of the Beach tournament. It was the second year in a row Casey got to take the bracket home. Delaware Valley Dallas Cowboys fans should forward all hate mail to the Camden Aquarium because your Boyz went in the tank Sunday afternoon. Speaking of sinking ships of state, Gov. Chris Christie sat with Jerry Jones during the game, which doesn’t play well at Broad and Tioga. Looking into the sideline eyes of several Cowboys players, they appeared to be afflicted with PTSD, “Philly Traumatic Soft Pretzel Disorder.” Go on now, git!