I’m a sportswriter, not a sociologist, but I do have a degree 

Talk too much - “You talk too much, you worry me to death. You talk too much, you even worry my pet.” – Joe Jones, 1960. You know you're an incessant talker when you chase your friend’s dog from the room. I’ve been watching girls’ wrestling get off the ground – actually it’s the opposite – as a scholastic school sport. I want to weigh in, but I can’t make the maximum weight – do they still weigh trucks in Smyrna? I have covered girls’ sports as a reporter. I have five granddaughters who are stellar athletes, but I’ve never coached a girls’ team, so I lack the major credibility in spite of a credential hanging around my neck. I know at Cape over the last 20 years I've had more coaches of male teams say to me, “Our girls’ teams are just tougher. I encourage our guys to go watch them play.” Some years ago, I watched a rugby tournament that had a women's division. “The Delaware Weasel Wenches” were ferocious, and I had no helmet and therefore no jokes. But wrestling is psychologically the toughest; it’s just hard to know where to put yourself after a loss.   

Don’t dive deep - The racial configuration of the Cape school district has slowly yet steadily changed since we Freds first drove down Savannah Road in August 1975. There is now an identifiable biracial class and Hispanic presence that wasn’t much in evidence 50 years ago, not that I was paying rapt attention. I’ve been a local sports columnist with an active voice since 1982. I survive by only being stupid once in a while and staying away from sociological observations as they relate to high school sports. The Fairness in Girls Sports Act had a third hearing Jan. 28. You can read Melissa Steele’s story in the Cape Gazette. Quoted was transgender person and former Cape wrestler Kathy Carpenter Brown: “The Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association Medical Committee found no incidents of girls being injured in Delaware by transgender athletes from 2021 to 2024, and if girls are uncomfortable with a locker room or bathroom setting, there is a safe refuge app that has been developed. This is not about fairness. You’re taking away opportunities for women.” Two women I went to high school with in Philly from 100 miles and 60 years away found me online and wanted to know how I felt about this issue. I gave them an honest answer. “Not in my wheelhouse – I don’t care!” Predictably they went off on me, “You, of all people, you have a voice, yet you stay silent.” I think when so many are talking, those who listen may actually learn something. 

Confidential informant - I talked to a veteran wrestling official and friend who had officiated youth tournaments for 20 years. He confided in me that he thought they were more harmful than good, but he kept officiating them because he was really good at keeping these romping roughnecks safe and was just the best at consoling them after a loss. My three sons Dave, Tom and Jack had talent and wrestled up to high school, then stopped. Mikey didn’t wrestle down low, except Scott Kammerer taught him the cement mixer so his son Carson could have a friend to talk to at all-day tournaments.  

Snippets - Local wrestlers crowned champions at the annual JV state tournament were 126-pounder Jack Callaway of Sussex Tech and 132-pounder Ryder Gomez of Cape Henlopen. Nick Campbell of Lewes is a senior outfielder on the Penn State Beaver Campus baseball team. Nick is also excelling in academics. He is a dream chaser. Quinn Nutter, lacrosse defender out of Cape, is a freshman at the University of Tampa. Lizzie Frederick, former lacrosse Delaware Player of the Year and captain at Temple University, will be an assistant to Lynn Richardson at Fred Thomas Middle this spring. Lizzie works as a speech therapist in the Cape school district. Last year under coaches Lynn Richardson and Sam Purple, Fred Thomas was 10-0, outscoring opponents 154-20. Legendary athlete and coach Marvin Dooley was an official for the Cape at Smyrna wrestling dual last Saturday. “Make sure to get on my good side,” Marvin joked looking at my camera. “What’s with the weight loss?” I asked him. “160 pounds over two years,” he said. “A health scare motivated me.” I grabbed two boiled hot dogs for the ride home. Hunger motivated me. Go on now, git!