Sharp as a leather ball, facing down pressure free throws

Dogfish Dash - If Cape had chosen Dogfish as a mascot 55 years ago instead of Vikings, then cheering sports fans could bark, flap and slap, and make the jaws gesture like the Florida Gators. That reminds me of a post-game victory presser when Florida State coach Bobby Bowden talked about a game-winning trick play for the two-point conversion. “We call it the crocodile,” Bowden said. “We stole it from Florida, but we sure as hell ain’t gonna name a play after no gator.” The 18th annual Dogfish Dash 3.82-mile run is at 9 a.m., Sunday in Milton. “It is always festive and fun,” says the photographer who never runs. And you can be home by NFL kickoffs at 1 p.m. The music is always great, and the costumes are ingenious, even clever.     

Sharp as a leather ball - Nick Sharp, who has his own boat ramp leading into Broadkill, turned 40 this week. He is one of hundreds of “my boys” I taught at Cape. His freshman year, I took a sports information and media relations class to the gym for a free throw shooting contest. Students shot 10 at each end. Darryl Davis was in that class, the best basketball player in the school. Darryl was humble and smart, while Nick was a bit of an agitator. Nick won in a class of 25, and Darryl was second. It’d be funny if the story stopped there, but two weeks later in the first round of the state basketball tournament versus Wilmington Friends, coached by Brian Fahey, Darryl Davis was on the free-throw line with Cape down one and a few seconds left. Darryl missed and Cape lost. I went into the locker room afterwards as the teacher/sports reporter guy. Darryl was sitting on a bench alone with his head down. I put my hand on his shoulder and said, “Nick Sharp is in the hallway. He wants to talk to you.” We both laughed, knowing that a focused moment of disappointment didn’t change who any of us were because “we’re still the same moving game to game” – Bob Seger.

Russell Wilson - Russ is the Giants’ starting quarterback, but not for long, as he will be replaced this week by rookie Jaxon Dart. I listened to three obnoxious 30-something males on New York sports radio just bashing Wilson, who has stayed too long and is now wearing thin on people. The question we all have is, why do millionaire football players stay beyond their expiration date? Is it more millions of easy money? The roar of the crowd? The late Philadelphia sportswriter Bill Lyon, a scribe with a soul, wrote a book published in 2001 called “When the Clock Runs Out: 20 NFL greats share their stories of hardship and triumph.” Lyon wrote: “Football is more than just a sport; it is a way of life. From the grittiness of practice and strategy sessions to the thrill of game days and the power of cheering crowds, football is the glue that holds a professional player's life together. But what happens when you have to face life after football? What happens when the cheering stops? The adjustment to life without football can be traumatic. Some players are prepared and make a seamless transition. Others struggle to make sense of a life that no longer seems to have meaning.” 

Danny Pommells - Danny is a sports host on NBC Sports. He is a Temple graduate and from the neighborhood, growing up in the Hunting Park section of North Philadelphia. “I remember when I was in ninth grade I went on a tour of (CBS 3) TV station and Ukee Washington was doing sports,” said Pommells in a Philly Tribune article. Pommells attended St. Joseph’s Prep his freshman through junior years. As a senior, he attended Bishop McDevitt. “Ukee does news now. I was really excited about doing work in television after that.” Many of us in Delaware know Ukee Washington, who played basketball and ran track for Dover High circa 1975-76, competing against those great Cape basketball and track teams. Pommells and Washington are first-class humans who just come shining through.   

Snippets - Fred Thomas, under head coach Haywood Burton, won its first football game this fall 38-8 over Laurel. Mariner, under head coach Aarin Burton, beat Selbyville 36-24. Beacon, under head coach Rich Bosnic, lost to Sussex Central 28-8. There is no statistical data available from these games. The philosopher Socrates said, “No man has the right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable.” He was born in 470 BC, way before sneakers. Go on now, git!