Patriotism displayed by flags and colors but not much discourse

Thin Blue Line - Melissa Clemons ran the July 4 Red, White & Blue 5K at Rehoboth Beach Country Club carrying a black-and-white American flag with a thin blue stripe across the center. The blue represents police officers and the courage they find deep inside when faced with insurmountable odds. The black background was designed as a constant reminder of our fallen brother and sister officers. Melissa, 36 years old, rocks a high level of athletic fitness. She graduated in 2000 from Saint Mark’s, where she played volleyball. She carried the big flag all the way through the 5K on a hot day only using only her right arm the entire distance.

Course with no discourse - Two road races I covered over the five-day holiday weekend featured lots of festive getups and proud to be an American red, white and blue actionwear. The weather was too hot to trot, yet simmering below the surface was a field of politically conflicted Americans smart enough to know it makes for a better day if sensitive issues are kept out of the fun lane on decoration day.

Sports Choice - Transferring of top-shelf athletes can disrupt the chemistry on the team inside the receiving school because some player is about to lose a spot or find a spot on the bench. The entire chemistry can be thrown out of whack, to say nothing of reinforcing the idea: “First we win, and if we can’t, then we’ll talk about character development.” The Phillies are now 10 games over .500 and are talking about buying players at the trade deadline. Personally, I don’t like it. What you’re selling by buying is “money talks,” and if we get a chance to upgrade, then somebody “gots to get going.”

World Cup is nuts - Phantom fall-downs interspersed with wrestling matches during corners and set pieces, then a game decided by penalty kicks, which has no resemblance to the 120-minute game just played. It has been wild, and it is great summer television for those who have no jobs. Hope Solo, the goalie on the women’s U.S. World Cup championship team and a two-time gold medalist, wrote an article suggesting United States youth soccer has become too much about money and not enough about talent. “The costs imposed to play in soccer clubs have ‘alienated’ Latino, black and rural communities,” Solo said. “From expensive coaching licenses to rising club fees, the barriers to participation have contributed to a lack of talent at the highest levels of the game.”

Snippets - Ginger Shaud of Rehoboth won a gold medal in the 100-meter freestyle at the Special Olympics National Games in Seattle. Ginger won Group 7 to earn the gold medal. She has also become a heck of a 5K runner too. The 21-year-old is one athletically fit young woman. Congrats to Team Ginger who put her in position to achieve such success. Cape Henlopen boys’ basketball coach Steve Re will run the Vikings basketball camp at Cape Henlopen High School July 30 to Aug. 1 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The camp is for boys and girls grades 5 through 8. The cost is $100, and bring your own lunch. Contact email is stephen.re@cape.k12.de.us or cell 410-430-7852. I read on social media that “Boogie signed with the Warriors,” and my reaction was quick, “Boogie who?” DeMarcus Cousins is a 6-foot-11 former first-round pick to Sacramento out of Kentucky. Would Tom Brady’s career have been different if his nickname was “Boogie Brady” instead of “Sha-Bray-Bray?” Actually, nicknames for Brady that tried to stick are Tom Terrific, California Cool and The Pharaoh. Sussex County has a tradition where people have nicknames that only they don’t know about. The word is out that prospects are “leaving out,” meaning athletes who are chasing the dream pursuing a coach or program that has promised them better results. Personally, I’m uncomfortable recruiting kids too young to drive, but I wish them all well and have two words at send-off, “Bye-bye.” Read up on the research of multisport athletes versus single-sport specialists, then make a decision that’s best for you and teammates who may appreciate your help. Go on now, git!