Sports is a connect-the-dots game; the older you get, the better you play 

Coach of the Year - The Tubby Raymond Delaware Coach of the Year Award, as voted by the Delaware Sports Writers and Broadcasters Association, was presented by Shannon Timmons of 302 Sports to Kathy Johnson on behalf of her late brother Randy at a luncheon Feb. 16, at Riverfront Events in Wilmington. Randy, the Caravel softball coach, shared the award with DeSean Jackson, the head football coach at Delaware State University. Kathy then handed off the award to a contingent of Caravel coaches and players. Randy led the Caravel Buccaneers to the last five state championships, and also state championships in 2010 and 2011. His Caravel teams appeared in the state title game 11 times from 2008 to 2025.  

Rainbow Demolition - I was Cape football’s defensive coordinator under head coach Rob Schroeder in 1985-87. In 1987, I nicknamed our defense the Rainbow Demolition of the Rainbow Coalition, the organization put together by Jesse Jackson when he ran for president in 1984. It was a football thing, not a political statement – a way to celebrate our differences inside a single defense whose mission was to destroy offenses. We had rainbow T-shirts from a rap song written by student Rick Parsons, and we broke the huddle with a clap, chanting “Rainbow!” Fast forward to 1993: Susan and I are in the University of Virginia parent section of the skillet-hot bleachers at the University of Maryland watching the Wahoos play the Terrapins. My nephew Mike was a defensive end on the Virginia team. Yusef Jackson, Jesse’s son, was a middle linebacker. Jesse and family were in the row behind us. I spoke to him at halftime about Cape’s Rainbow Demolition. He seemed delighted, the way regular people like hearing stories. The Wahoo pep band, noted for their edgy satirical halftime skits, had big-headed costumes featuring George H.W. Bush offering Saddam Hussein a 7-Eleven franchise to jet out of Kuwait. Desert Storm had commenced in January 1992.  

Scorebook - A generation ago – I think analog and AOL – I recall a few basketball parents going to the scoring table after a game to check on how many points their precious player had dropped. I pick on basketball because it's the only sport where scorers can hit for double digits. Now there is no need to check the book; just go online and all that information should be posted, except often it is not. Modern times become old times a day at a time. Student managers are the best at entering data. All coaches should designate a statistician to keep the book and transfer it online so the rest of us can keep track of everybody’s kid. 

Nw York Sack Exchange - Four defensive lineman for the New York Jets in the early 1980s included Mark Gastineau, Joe Kleco, Marty Lyons and Abdul Sallam. Kleco was a Philly kid out of St. James of Chester and Temple University. In 1993, Kleco was sentenced to three months in prison for perjury in an insurance fraud case. He was pardoned by the Trump administration Feb. 12. A pardon does not signify innocence, so what is the point? I don’t really know. 

Atlantic Sun Player of Week - Mikey Frederick (Cape, 2022), playing attack for the Mercer University Bears, was named Atlantic Sun Offensive Player of the Week Feb. 17. The Rehoboth Beach native has 11 goals and five assists across four contests so far this season. Mikey has also tallied 13 ground balls and has started in all four games for the Bears.

Snippets - Delaware baseball beat LaSalle 6-4 Feb. 17. Austin Rhue (Cape) scored a run for LaSalle. Noah Burroughs (Sussex Central) was 1-for-4 for the Blue Hens. LaSalle head coach David Miller is Lewes Deputy Mayor Khalil Saliba’s nephew. Salisbury men’s lacrosse is ranked second in the nation in Division III. The Salisbury women are ranked No. 3. Mikaylah Lindsay (Cape) went the distance in goal for Winthrop University as the Eagles beat Kennesaw State 8-7. Lindsay had six saves in the game. Go on now, git!