Siblings score goals in Wednesday lacrosse games

Sibling scorers - In lacrosse games played April 28, Lindsay D’Ambrogi and her older brother Hank each scored hat tricks in emphatic wins over Caesar Rodney. Kelly Bragg and her older brother Will also scored for Cape. Andrew Wolak carried his long stick over midfield and scored his first goal on his first shot for the Vikings. Andrew’s dad told him after the game, “Nice goal. Your sister Jackie scored a goal today. Notre Dame beat Duke 17-16.” Jackie had a goal and three assists for the Irish, who will meet North Carolina at noon, Friday, April 30,  in the ACC tournament semifinal. 

The cost of free - Scouting sports opponents is free and useful – scouts can actually wear a helmet cam. It's OK. Most programs don’t do in-person scouting in a culture that has become more impersonal over the years. Have you ever gotten a text from a friend, “Call me!” And you text back, “Why? What do you want?” The typed-out and handed-out hard copy scouting reports from the Zen Master P.J. Kesmodel read like a blending of analyses from Professor Irwin Corey (the world’s foremost authority on everything) and Sir Isaac Newton (hey, where did that apple come from?). But I advised P.J., “You can have ‘a real tuna’ written next to a player’s number in case her dad is a swordfish.” I sent assistant coaches to scout track meets. I was mostly interested in second- and third-place finishers. The Henlopen Conference passed a rule that scouts weren’t allowed near the track or field events asking obnoxious questions. After all, who wants to win that badly? 

Davey knows he’s slow - There are special kids who are socially aware and also aware of themselves, and that is certainly the case of Davey Fred, better known as The Inclusion Kid around the Cape campus. Davey has grown up not just around sports, but championship moments. He knows happiness and winning are followed by hugging and dog-piling. As he completed the 100 meters for the Unified team at Legends Stadium April 27, many of his coaches and fans along the fence were cheering, “Way to go, Davey!” His dad came up and said, “Way to go, bud.” And Davey said, “Yea, Dave,” and initiated a hug, a moment I caught on camera. And who am I? I’m just the guy with the blue chair.  

Field of dreams - I have a vivid visual memory that goes back further than I can actually recall,  and I can remember the 1950 Phillies Whiz Kids. On Monday, I was at Lake Forest. Then on Wednesday, I drove past the old Woodbridge athletic complex. Images of athletes in motion came to me going back to 1978 when Tracy Felton ran a 50-flat quarter-mile on a dirt track in Bridgeville. At Lake, there was Tony Zigman leaving a baseball game, jumping 21 feet in the long jump, then re-entering the ball game and smashing an RBI double.  And there was the field where Amanda Haxton scored the winning goal in a hockey game. Take me to any field or gym and I’ll take you places where maybe you have been and maybe you just don’t remember. 

Twitter handle - I was watching a college baseball game on television two weeks ago and the announcer was going on – or is that going off? – about some hard-throwing, burly relief pitcher. And then he said, “His Twitter handle is Big Donkey.” Before handles, athletes had nicknames. As reckless as I am capable of being, I never referred to a player by nickname before learning how they earned it. Boys’ teams are particularly and insanely funny. 

Poked and woke - The Sussex Academy girls’ lacrosse team has gotten the attention of Cape Henlopen in a classic upend-versus-defend way for their upcoming Friday night matchup. Cape has won games this week over Lake Forest and Caesar Rodney by a combined score of 40-0. The combined halftime score was 27-0. Sussex Academy's last two games are a combined 40-7. This is a Bob Seger “Just throw those old records off the shelf” matchup, the intersection where showdown meets throwdown. Meanwhile, if you can’t get into Champions Stadium, there is always the Cape boys’ lax versus Sussex Central game inside Legends Stadium.

Snippets - I saw local Larry Anderson on the field following the Cape versus Caesar Rodney game April 28.  “Frederick,” he said, “That's your grandson? I didn’t know you were old enough to have a grandson in high school. Man, where does the time go?” I told him that Mikey is No. 5 in a grand lineup of nine. Who knows where the time goes? Me and folk singer Judy Collins. And Albert Einstein. Go on now, git!