Spring break is over; it’s time to resume high-stakes games

Gimme a break - “Break me off a piece of that KitKat bar.” Break the ears off the bunny rabbit and enjoy what some people call spring break and others call Easter break. Whatever your pleasure, it is a welcome respite in the spring sports schedule, a chance for  kids who live at the beach to actually go to the beach, and many of them do. But schedules relaunch Saturday, April 15, as the 13-time state champion Cape lacrosse girls travel to Annapolis, Md., to play Broadneck, the two-time Maryland 4A champion. Then they’ll be on the road the following Saturday, April 22, to play  the defending Maryland 3A champion Severna Park. Cape’s undefeated boys’ volleyball team plays at Salesianum at 6:30 p.m., Friday, April 14. The April 15 forecast is a 50 percent rain chance, but if the balls-and-gloves games happen, it will be Cape baseball hosting Salesianum at 2 p.m. while the Cape softball team will play a doubleheader at Caravel, facing Conwell-Egan at 10 a.m. then Gloucester Catholic at 2 p.m. Boys’ and girls’ track teams will compete April 15 at the Bullis Invitational in Maryland. Cape girls’ soccer takes a southern tour next week, playing Hilton Head Christian Academy Thursday, April 20, followed by a Saturday game at Bluffton High School  in Bluffton, S.C. The boys’ tennis team (3-1) will play at Caesar Rodney (5-1) Tuesday, April 18, while the Cape girls’ tennis team (4-0) hosts Caesar Rodney (5-1) that day. 

Keystoner - Susan and I visited Hilton Head once because her sister had a condo in nearby Beaufort, S.C. The town was pristine; the Mercedes-Benz garbage trucks were so clean you could eat off them. I was reacting like a ‘50s stoner, lower-middle-class white boy from a row house on Chunk Street in Philly who had left the stoop to explore the world. The best part of traveling with a high school or college team by bus and/or airplane is you don’t have to pay or make plans; just find your seat, then activate electronic devices and rest assured your interested relatives are somewhere streaming your journey. 

“I’m a Fool to Care” - The Fats Domino version of the song was fittingly released in 1964, the year of the Phillies’ collapse. Fats sings, “I know I should laugh and call it a day.” That song  was playing in my head Thursday morning after the Marlins beat the Phillies 4-3  in 10 innings, dropping manager Rob Thompson’s squad to 4-8 on the season. Hey Rob, better call Joe or Gabe and ask, “What’s up?” Last Sunday when the Reds played in Philly, I selected the Spanish broadcast over the Phillies team of McCarthy, Kruk and Schmidt. When Schmidt observed, “You know, sometimes the wave goes in the opposite direction,” I said out loud, “Nos vamos, amigos!” 

Coastal Running Festival - Go to codelrun.com if you’re curious why so many runners are populating the highways, byways and trailways from Dewey Beach to Lewes this weekend. The event is sponsored by Focus Multisports out of Bethany with Rick ''Hot Rod'' Hundley as the brainchild flying the computer results rocket ship. The entire event is like a digital science fiction movie populated by avatars and aliens. There is even a participant tracking feature; if you know the bib number, you know the location of the runner – just to make sure he didn’t jump on the DART bus. The website is super slick, and all four races are well managed. There is a 5K on Saturday starting at 9 a.m. on Mckinley Avenue in Dewey Beach (Lions Club) limited to 1,200 runners.  On Sunday morning at Rehoboth Avenue and the Boardwalk, the marathon starts at 7 a.m. (limit 900), followed by a 9K at 7:20 (limit 900), and the half-marathon (limit 1,300) at 7:40. All races finish on Rehoboth Avenue.

Snippets - The Cape pole-barn construction storage building located between Champions Stadium and the tennis courts is being converted to a weight room; the building does have that crossfit look to it. A great idea traced back to at least 10 people who claim they thought of it first. If you did think of it, independent of hearing it from someone else who had already thought of it, then for you, the idea was original in a roundabout sort of way. Jake Gelof, UVA baseball, was ACC Player of the Week, while Ella Rishko, VT lacrosse, was ACC Offensive Player of the Week. Both athletes are from Rehoboth. What's the chance? Go on now, git!