Bad Bunny and Snoop Dogg are funny names surrounding sports venues 

Bad Bunny and Snoop Dogg - Where do little melons go in the summertime? John Cougar’s Mellencamp. I watched John Mellencamp interviewed on Real Time with Bill Maher. The 74-year-old grizzled rocker showed up in a plain-white T-shirt and flophouse bed head to discuss his upcoming tour. Maher asked him about the Bad Bunny hype and harangue surrounding the Super Bowl. Mellencamp said, “I don’t know his music; I just know Bad Bunny is a funny name.” Transitioning to funny names, Snoop Dogg is part of NBC’s Olympic coverage for Milan Cortina, Italy.  As published on the NBC website, “The hip-hop global megastar will go exploring across northern Italy, from the vibrant streets of Milan to the breathtaking Dolomites, to provide his unique perspective to viewers during NBC Sports’ prime-time Winter Games coverage.” “Dolomite is My Name” was also a 2019 Netflix film starring Eddie Murphy. “Sports and politics don’t mix,” the angry birds chirp, but funny to silly mixes with all human behavior. 

Broadcast noise - The broadcasters across the venues of the Winter Olympics are impressive and amazing considering the event only happens every four years, so these bright, loquacious and analytic young people must do something else in real life while living in their grandparents' detached ski cabin. I have selective ADHD in that I don’t listen to play-by-play or commentators prattling on about a sport I can visually see for myself. I turned the sound down after halftime of the Super Bowl so I could get a true feel for the game. I watched and listened to the Bad Bunny halftime show con mucho gusto, but missed all the symbolism. Perhaps it was because I’m a blockhead who once played in a leather helmet. 

Off the record - Reporter Chris Flood of the Cape Gazette once joked, “If Fredman doesn’t cover a 5K race, does it really happen?” I’m a compulsive checker of rosters and results because over time, that becomes the record of what happened. If no one records and saves the data to a place where fans can later find it, does it really happen? It’s a roll of the felt dice, and they don't tumble, which is why some folks just hang them from the rear-view mirror.

Polar Plungers - I went to Ace Hardware Tuesday morning. I said to the clerk, "I'll say it out loud and proud, I'm here to buy a plunger! The funny part is I can't find the one we have. Everyone has one somewhere, but not many make it disappear. St. Anthony, the patron saint of all things lost, evidently doesn't do plungers.” I wrote plungers in a search window and came up with a photo of the Special Olympics Delaware Polar Plunge.

Grandma Rose - “Get out of the way while you still can.” I’ve been slip-sliding away from on-site sports coverages, not wanting to be the guy who stayed too long. All my linemen friends have become linebackers. Hardly anyone gets fatter anymore. I’m still an unrelenting wrestling reporter, along with field hockey and girls’ lacrosse. Fold in the running sports and track and field. A sports psychologist may ask, “Why do you choose to cover the sports you never played?” But I’m better than most sportswriters who never excelled in any sport. 

Snippets - Insidelacrosse.com is a good site to check on local athletes playing college lacrosse. ESPN+ is another good source for all college sports. Josh Reinhold (Cape) is now a senior playing shortstop for the Christopher Newport Captains. He went 2-for-4 with an RBI in the Captains’ 9-4 win over Eastern Mennonite. Do you know the difference between the Mennonite and Amish communities? The Amish don’t have a baseball team. Actually, Google the similarities and differences, and be prepared to read all day. There are sports moments that just kick you in the head like an old soccer ball. I have told athletes, “No game comes down to just one play, but sometimes it seems like it does. And the memory of that moment will dog you forever. Now, go have fun out there.” Some Syracuse University graduates who have excelled in sports broadcasting include Marv Albert, Len Berman, Kevin Brown, Bob Costas, Ian Eagle, Marty Glickman, Jim Jackson, Andy Musser, Adam Schein, Dick Stockton, Mike Tirico and Adam Zucker. Temple University produced Merrill Reese, the play-by-play radio voice of the Philadelphia Eagles since 1977. Dave Zinkoff, a Temple grad and public address announcer of the 76ers, retired his microphone in 1986. Go on now, git!