Momma’s a Mastiff and I’m my doggie’s daddy

Your momma’s a Mastiff - The Run for the Paws was the ninth annual in honor of Lucy Crowe whom I identified as Cheryl Crowe’s mother in a publicity post, only to be given a heads-up on the sly by Linda Chi that Lucy was Cheryl’s late Mastiff and her mom was still alive. I quickly exchanged mom for dog by one-finger phone tapping before an honest mistake just got too weird. Once while I was at Rehoboth Animal Hospital to pick up heartworm medication, I was asked, “Are you Darby’s daddy?” I answered, “No, that’s Matt Weideman. I just adopted him.” Once at a Friday night poker table in Bruce Hefke’s shop, outdoorsman Mick Olenderski said, “I’m going hunting tomorrow with my doggie’s daddy.” I said, “And I’m relocating back to Philly where that sentence has never been uttered, and the chances of you knowing your doggie’s daddy are zero.”

Personal demons - I was never a person who believed in demons or devils. If you told me the devil was hanging out at a local graveyard, I’d go at midnight and call him out. I have built-in spiritual protection; I consider my soul under a lifetime warranty. Philly lost two sports personalities this week, one Darren Daulton, at 55, to brain cancer and the other John Reeves, 69, to god knows what, but he battled addictions his entire life. Daulton was a catcher with the Phillies, and Reeves was a quarterback with the Eagles. Both shared addictions and all the downside stuff that comes with them, and if you don’t have personal demons, you don’t need drugs and alcohol to keep them at bay or steroids to enhance your god-given skills in pursuit of self-worth. I always told my students that staying sober and spiritual is the smart play; strength is internal, and not related to fame and fortune.

Joy to the world - Usain Bolt – there will never be another more joyous athlete, the world's fastest person with the name Bolt and his characteristic Lightning Bolt pose. And after coming in third in his final 100-meter race at the World Championships in London, Bolt hugged the winner, 35-year-old Justin Gatlin, and said, "You did not deserve to get booed, man." Gatlin had served a four-year performance enhancement suspension years ago and the English crowd of 60,000 would not get off his case. Bolt stayed out on the track, greeted fans and got lost in a moment that is all about him and not about him at the same time. He is an example of not losing the joy inside the journey.

Going Jersey - My son Dave uses the expression “Going Jersey” to describe his wife Liza, so super nice, unless pushed to the brink by anyone who doesn’t know better. On Sunday, I met Miss Delaware at the Greene Turtle 5K, took her photo then asked for personal information. Chelsea Bruce is 21 years old and a student at the University of Delaware. She will compete in the Miss America contest in September. I asked her, "So where are you from?” She smiled and said, “New Jersey.” Now that's funny. Miss Delaware is from New Jersey. Chelsea went to Red Bank Catholic High School. She was a natural when working the finish chute, tearing off bib tags, one of those instantly likable people who stayed until the last runner/walker returned, who was Terry Lindenmuth and his wife Amy. Terry, a Cape teacher, coach and lifelong athlete, is coming off two back surgeries. Amy said, “It was so nice of you and Miss Delaware to wait for him. It means a lot.” “You and Miss Delaware” is a sentence I’d never thought I’d ever hear.

Cobbled together - A World Series in Roxana is hard enough to wrap your head around, then the Senior League squad from Georgetown from a two-team league wins a doubleheader against Millsboro and gets the automatic host berth as part of an international field of 10. They then go on to win the Senior Softball World Series on ESPN. The last Sussex County team to win a softball state championship was Laurel in 2014. Milford won the title in 2017. Georgetown won because they were the best team in the field, and in the money game against the unbeaten Philippines, they made plays and did not flinch. The only downside is you can never top winning a World Series on national television.

Snippets - I’ve become a gametracker of live stats, multitasking grandpop kind of sports guy. I just need a drone port on my roof and I may never leave the bonus room. What’s a bonus room? Go on now, git!