Half-marathon relay runners' combined age is less than half of mine

Shiny happy people running - Cape’s 4-by-800-meter indoor relay team that placed third in the state showed up happy March 14 for the Shamrock Shuffle Half-Marathon relay at Cape Henlopen State Park. The running order at the state meet was Logan Crotty in 2:35, Bridget Cole in 2:44, Natalie Schneider in 2:40 and Maile Godwin in 2:27. “They ran a personal best by 10 seconds, and I’m very proud of them,” said coach Martin Rodriguez, who helped set up the race course then won the open half-marathon before going on a long cooldown run. Logan and Natalie, with a combined age of 33, won the all-female half-marathon relay in 1:41:13. Maile and Bridget, with a combined age of 35, were second in 1:44:33. The girls’ spontaneous and easy smiles were prompted after Logan Crotty asked me, “What do you have planned for your birthday?” and I answered, “I plan to hide.” 

Sesame Street Central - Before Lloyd’s Market on Savannah Road in Lewes, it was Robinson’s IGA, owned by Frank Robinson, who was Logan Crotty’s great-grandfather, but don’t get me started. Lloyd’s is Comedy Central of the muppet matrix, because funny stuff always got passed around the store quicker than you can say “second checker!” Owner Darren Purcell and I have been athlete and coach friends since I discovered him at a Shields’ field day when he was 10 and I was 30. We stood underneath the Lloyd’s Market sign on our March 14 birthdays to celebrate the milestone of our elapsing time on Planet Earth, Darren's birthday No. 60 and Fredman’s No. 80. I let the big cat out of the bag, violating my own beliefs that birthdays are for kids while old people are best advised to hide and wait for someone to bring them a cupcake. Darren was an 800-meter runner who ran on the school’s 7:59 team in 1982, and won the open 800 state title on Cape’s first indoor state championship team. 

Time’s yours - Andy Reid, during his tenure as head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, began his mandatory postgame press conferences with an injury update followed by “time’s yours.” Ironically, Andy wore thin on the Philly press corps because of his lack of charisma. But now even at high school level because of medical privacy laws, you can’t know about injuries because of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, which protects a patient's sensitive medical information. “They hurt, yo,” is as close to a medical assessment as I get to the question, “Your team is missing two starters; where are they?” 

Imbalance - Cape won the state championship of girls’ basketball the first year of the state tournament in 1973 with a 33-31 win over Mt. Pleasant. The next and last downstate team to win was Polytech in 2003 with a 57-46 win over Seaford. St. Elizabeth won the 2026 state title with a win over Sanford. I once asked coach Frank Aiello, who won three state titles as head coach of the Vikings and appeared in the finals another seven times, what was the secret of success to the small Catholic school. Frank smiled and said, “I-95.” Ebb and flow and flexibility of “my choice where to go to school” is a basic answer to questions like, “Who are these people?” I went 12 years to Catholic school and have the startle reflex to prove it. I just wonder with so many non-Catholics opting for the discipline of a Catholic school education whether they are exempt from religion class.

World Baseball Classic - Patriotic players representing the country where they live – or where some family members came from – earn close to $100,000 for those players on teams making it to the finals. I just threw that out like a scuffed baseball because as sportscaster Jim Rome repeatedly says, “When an athlete tells you it is not about the money, it's always about the money.” I honestly don’t care what it's about; the games have been fun to watch. I just wish the Phillies had snagged reliever Mason Miller, an Eagle scout, when he was on the trade market. He is the best fireballer since Turk Farrell (Phillies 1956-61 and 1967-69). The championship game is Tuesday night in Miami. The USA will play the winner of Italy and Venezuela. 

Snippets - The Jackie Gleason Show always ended with the comedian asking the band for a little traveling music, then fat Jackie would lift one leg for his sideways exit. How many college and travel teams head to sunny Florida for spring games and showcases? Colorado is another preferred destination. Delaware has DE Turf, the Factory in Lewes and Frankford, Sports at the Beach and Sandhill Fields in Georgetown and River Soccer Club in Frankford. None of those venues involve airplane travel. Go on now, git!