B Mack breaks the Boardwalk banner held by Jane and Mike Castle

Boardwalk banner - The Tommy 10 5K on the Rehoboth Boardwalk Sunday morning enjoyed a surge in same-day registration as 163 runners went north to the Biden turnaround before returning to Wilmington Avenue, where Jane and Mike Castle held the Races2Run finish line banner. Bryan Mack, 31, who loved Tommy Coveleski like an uncle, was the overall winner in 18:58. I told Sen. Castle “trip him, Mike, he used to work in Carper’s office.” Bethany Killmon Wright, 26, was the first woman and second overall in 20:11. Bethany ran for Sussex Tech and Misericordia, and now works as a speech therapist in Wilmington. I remember in high school when she was awarded the High School Heisman, it was an athletic/academic character award. Bethany is that person. The girl can’t help it. 

Bump on a bench - I was at Camp Barnes sitting on a bench waiting for runners to race past on a wooded trail. I heard the sound of bagpipes in the distance. I’m getting used to it now. I am blending like an old tree that doesn’t bend in the wind and may topple in a storm, but if no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound? Most runners were killing the course, softly running alone through the forest. Their colorful shirts made them pop like a painting while my croaking talking tree self made them hop. “Nice job,” I’d say, startling those lost in the zone of deep brain stimulation. I spent 14 hours Sunday at the Tommy 10 5K in the morning, the Mariner’s Bethel Trail Run in the afternoon, then processing photos in my home office while watching some of the worst NFL football I’ve seen since last Sunday. The days of clearing the Sunday schedule to watch NFL football are gone like Jon Gruden. 

Rules of the game - They may have torn down the Spectrum in Philly but in press boxes and along the sidelines sportswriters “on the spectrum” recall and report and elucidate and explain obscure rules that mostly get in the way of an unfolding story. That’s because sports are stacked with stats, and it's getting worse. There are now actual computers that should be medicated. A simple thing like wrestlers weighing in before the start of the season to be certified at a weight from which they can descend only so far over a period of time. You beat the safety system by dieting before you step on the certification scale the first time.

Snippets - Delaware Club Field Hockey, with former Cape players Katie Frederick and Jackie Cannon in the starting lineup, defeated Penn and Pitt Sunday by identical 1-0 scores to go to 7-0 on the season with wins coming against West Chester, Salisbury, Loyola, James Madison, Temple, Penn and Pitt. A national tournament in Virginia Beach on Thanksgiving weekend ends the season. Penn State lost to Illinois 20-18 in a record nine overtimes. It was the best of games and the worst of games. Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin may be replaced by Muppet Roosevelt Franklin. My nephew Mike Frederick was a co-captain along with James Franklin of Neshaminy High in Langhorne, Pa., in 1989. Cape plays a rare Thursday night game at Appoquinimink Oct. 28. The Jaguars - not Jagwires - are 4-3 on a three-game winning streak that includes Dover, William Penn and Hodgson Vo-Tech. There are 17 football coaches listed on the school website, including Luke Elentrio who is the son of Karen Coveleski. The 1979 Cape state championship football team had just two players over 200 pounds – they have a lot more in 2021. They were Bill Tillman, 6-foot-2, 215 pounds, and Phil Marvel, 5-foot-11, 220 pounds. Outside the fence, just talk among yourselves. Milestone Chris Mattioni, with 25 years as Cape head wrestling coach, just turned 50. Scoobie Pup is still off the chain. Go on now, git!