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I’m the guy who knows the most people who don’t know him back

Cape baseball gets police escort back to high school
June 8, 2018

Coming of age - My mantra out in the wilds of the Delaware sports landscape is “I’m the guy who knows the most people who don’t know him back.” It took me six years as Cape’s track coach before people stopped looking for Tom Hickman. But when it comes to famous guys over 70, you can start with Presidents Donald Trump, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, and end up with Fredman. And here’s what I think: More people know them, but I know more people. I’m talking, look you in the eyes, shake hands and start naming your family members, know more people. And fewer people dislike me or take the time to disrespect me. And I’m never selling anything or hooking up friends with jobs they are not qualified to do. And when it comes to understanding athletes, I have more street credibility. I once wrote in a column after covering a Ravens game that lineman Orlando “Zeus” Brown went in the tank so often he was getting his mail forwarded to the Baltimore Aquarium. How that column got in his hands (my nephew Mike) I’m not sure. I just know he threatened to “jack me up” the next time he didn’t recognize me. The point is, if I invited him to a luncheon at my house I’m sure he would ask “What’s a luncheon?” followed by a foul-mouthed refusal to attend. Most roster spot Eagles don’t like President Trump, so they opted out of a White House visit before being disinvited, then were played and painted as unpatriotic for political purposes. Athletes are not like politicians; you disrespect them once, you just never get them back.

Deliverance - The baseball boys of 2018 delivered the first state title to Cape since the district was formed in 1969. Zack Gelof reminded me of a column I wrote when he was 7 years old in 2007. Oddly, he brought it up on the field after the game. I honestly didn’t recall what he was talking about, but it had something to do with a machine-pitch ballgame at the Lewes Little League park played between Lewes and Rehoboth. A highlighted passage read: “I couldn’t tell you who was winning, electing to play the role of clueless photographer, but it dawned on my dumb self that baseball is alive and well in the community, and someday someone is going to lead a group of kids to a state championship.” “Got a Machinehead, it’s better than the rest, green to red, Machinehead” – Bush.

Snippets - The interviews for the position of head coach for girls’ basketball have concluded, so a recommendation goes to the school board and they usually affirm, but I could write a book on the number of times the rules of the game changed after the horse was in the barn. What horse? My major talent is no matter how much I’m doing, I look like I’m doing nothing. I stepped off somewhat this spring and will do the same this summer. I’m like the green reverse Uno card; I’m doing the opposite of what is perceived. I already have the Cape field hockey lineup filled out for fall 2018, and coach Kate Austin knows it. I’ll share and she’ll say, “You are pretty good.” How about the fire and police escort for the baseball team returning to Cape? Bill Henry Buckaloo clued me in at Frawley Stadium, “I can make that happen.” An assortment of vehicles with red lights flashing was waiting at Routes 1 and 16. It was small town with a southern flavor, in case you forgot where you lived. And it was simply great, creating a memory like no other. P.J. Kesmodel and Richard Collins scouted for the Cape girls’ lacrosse team beginning with preseason scrimmages. And they produced the most detailed and analytical reports in the sport up through college. Scouting is a lost art, believe it. Let me conclude by saying Cape is the most intelligently and thoroughly coached team in the state from top to bottom and in between. Cape baseball doesn’t win the tournament without those five coaches in the dugout. I’m not saying they made all the right moves (who knows), but they bravely made decisions in pressure situations, and the players executed in real time in the act-and-react mode. That reflects everyday coaching. But enough about me. Athletic Director Bob Cilento arrived at Cape in fall 2007. Since then, the Vikings have won 21 state championships, making Bob the all-time overseer of Cape state titles. And he picked me as one of his best friends; how smart was that? OK, nobody is flawless, but if you think the easiness with which this all went down doesn’t start with Bob Cilento, just go ask his coaches – the good ones. They will smile and say, “He’s great. He mostly leaves you alone.” And they should add, “and he goes to games and knows the kids and is a fan.” Go on now, git!

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