Ronald McDonald is not just some clown, he’s a symbol of hope

Do the Hustle - I cover the Hustle for the House Ronald McDonald 5K each year because that clown is an icon of community service. Times of 279 runners were recorded Sept. 14, along with over a hundred walkers electing the one mile loop or to walk the entire 5K. This was not the Billy Joel usual crowd shuffling in. These were teams of people supporting a person and others who support the Ronald McDonald House who walk to give thanks for the house being there when they needed it. Winning the Hustle for the House races were Mike Guessford, 37, out of Newark in 18:45 and Korin Parks, 38, of Lewes in 22:48. Korin just recently had a baby.   

Travels with Fredman - In retrospect, from conception to inception, I feel my best columns are simply writing about where I’ve been and what I’ve observed. I’m not an egalitarian on the column side of the street. I show up where I want, if I want. Last week, I got a good dose of field hockey, all the way down to middle school. And I like cross country. I’ll travel a hundred miles to photograph a cross country invitational. I saw the best volleyball game last week, as Cape came back to upset Caesar Rodney 3-2. Personally, I don’t do much volleyball, but I like the fact the players celebrate after every point won. The Vikings celebrated 99 times in beating CR, a numerical oddity that gets my attention. Who played Agent 99 in Get Smart? Barbara Feldon.  

What’s wrong with football? I’m still getting asked that question in my travels around Cape, and I still don’t have an answer other than participation numbers are down and the nature of the beast has changed. You have to be tough to be a football player, but you don’t have to play. You can hang in the weight room, get stronger and better-looking, preparing for your non-colliding sport to begin. I have no idea about the relationship between the local Pop Warner program and football at the secondary level beginning in middle school, but I’m thinking football is less developmental but more maturational.  

Tradition condition - Cape last lost a JV hockey game to a Delaware side team in 2015 at Dover by a score of 1-0. Cape varsity lost at Dover 2-1 on Sept. 12, 2017. Friday night, the JV girls were losing to Tower Hill 1-0 at halftime without a shot on goal. But before fans could say, “The pipeline has finally gone dry,” Maren Buckaloo scored at 19:10, Elaina Best scored at 18:16 and Sommer Dorman shut the front door with a goal at 14:52. Cape won 3-1, calming down the daddies along the fence.

Snippets - A football booster from 1979 evidently has the game film, but no one can remember who has it, including the 60-year-old person who shoved it into the closet of forgotten memories. Cape’s cross country teams ran a tri-meet at St. Andrew’s Sept. 13 that also included Indian River. The boys beat St. Andrew’s 24-31 and IR 23-38. The girls beat St. Andrew’s 18-37 and IR-16-47. Cape’s top 7 on the boys’ side with times are: Ethan Edery, 17:35; Lance Kauffman, 18:06; Julian Callaway, 18:06; Daniel Adili-Khams, 18:11; Hunter Jones, 18:15; Ace Howard, 18:23; and Ryan Baker, 18:27. On the girls’ side, results were: Katie Kuhlman, 20:41; Olivia Brozefsky, 20:43; Lindsay Rambo, 22:10; Elizabeth Melson, 22:21; Ariana Adili-Khams, 22:48; Mia Neubling, 23:22; and Taylor Johnson, 23: 29. Newark Charter volleyball is at Cape Tuesday, Sept. 17. The Patriots are 3-0 on both varsity and JV. The varsity has yet to lose a game. Cape hockey is doing Youth Night this Tuesday for the Sussex Central game, inviting middle school players, club teams and camp kids. Temple football upset Maryland Sept. 14 at Lincoln Financial Field 20-17. Temple sublets the stadium from the Eagles who own the lease, but the city owns the stadium. The Eagles double the rent, which is now $2 million per season. Speaking of the cash-strapped Eagles, they lost Sunday night at Atlanta in front of the nation 24-20. Kyle Flood was an offensive line coach at C.W. Post under coach Tom Marshall of Lewes, who was the son of Bertha Marshall. Flood later coached at Delaware and was the offensive line coach when the Blue Hens won the national title in 2003. He was Trip Delcampo’s coach. I talked to Flood about Trippy, then mentioned, “I was an offensive lineman myself at Temple.” Flood gave me the old up-and-down, then asked, “Oh yeah? How long ago was that?” Flood was later head coach at Rutgers, then the line coach for the Atlanta Falcons, and now in 2019, he is the offensive line coach at the University of Alabama. Fifty-four years ago, that’s how long ago. I was a football beast. It doesn’t matter; we all end up anonymous hoping someone at Wawa will recognize us, or better yet, won’t recognize us. Go on now, git!