Bleary eyed and hard of hearing after three days of basketball
Hollow drum effect - Three days inside a high school arena of bouncing basketballs, the acoustics inside my own head are less than acute, so at times my brain just makes stuff up. And what better time is there to go interviewing people who will spell their names loudly but slowly, perhaps sensing that ambulatory-auditory grandpop should be hustling chicks at the Scooter Store. And so I pick the public address announcer to interview, whose motto “volume is no problem” still has me asking questions like, “Is that Kevin with a K?” Kevin Linton is the voice of Delaware Sports, and he can bring it. Kevin graduated from Delaware in 1999 with a degree in parks and recreation, but in 2001 snagged the PA job for basketball then in 2003 snagged the football job, so if you go to those games he is the face behind the voice. Kevin also is the public address announcer for the Blue Rocks and credits Dan Baker of the Phillies for helping him with his career.
What’s a sports shill?- I’m not sure in 2014 but it generally requires a microphone and amplification along with a captive audience who came to watch a game not listen to someone hype a brand of pizza unless it’s free and comes with a T-shirt. Back in the ‘60s at Warriors/Sixers home games, announcer Dave Zinkoff read raffle ticket winners at halftime. The prize was always a salami because real Philly people love salamis but never eat fruit unless it’s in a can.
Best dunk at Little Big House - I was asked that question by Cape grad Kevin Butler and didn’t hesitate. It was Kyan Andrews in the Bay Ball Classic versus Putnam City of Oklahoma in 2007. It was a first-half, totally unexpected game-stopper from the foul line tomahawk chop! Woodbridge fans stormed the court and just ran about not knowing where to put themselves. It was just crazy. I saw Kyan at Slam Dunk and told him that dunk will last forever. It is saved for all time on YouTube; check it out.
What’s my brand - I was a pretty well-known athlete coming out of high school, and I must admit the only use of the word 'brand' I understood had to do with cattle. But today’s top-shelf athletes like some I met at the 2014 Slam Dunk tournament talked of their brand, using it interchangeably with image, and understood about being courteous - affable even - signing programs and posing for photos with whoever asked them. And the ones I met talked about academics and pushing themselves in the classroom. Coaches and teachers and most importantly parents are in a great position to develop these talented young people into the complete package. It’s great when it works, and when there’s a problem with any of those components, the composite person settles for much less in their lives, and it will dog them every damn day.
Streak alive - I’ve been in Tim Clausen’s NFL online pool of the last seven years and have kept my streak alive and not winning a single week. The Georgetown/Millsboro sports crew hears my name and profession causing them to Ground Zero laugh out loud. I had 172 wins for the season, good for a three-way tie for sixth place behind winner John Frye 177 then Dennis Miller 174, Glenn Phillips 174, Jerry Hoehn 174, and Betsy Bare 173. Serious sports gamblers always lose over time - first the house, then the car and eventually the children’s bicycles.
Ground Zero - I saw former lawyer and basketball official and Wings To Go deep fryer Alan O’Neill at the Slam Dunk tournament, and I reminded my favorite throwback hippy that I interviewed him after he officiated a girls’ basketball game between Milford and Caesar Rodney in 2000 that ended in a scoreless tie at the end of regulation. The coaches were Bill Victory of CR and Charlie Darling of Milford. I think it had to end that way, with CR refusing to come out of their zone and Milford defiantly holding the ball until they did, which they didn’t. Milford was the eventual winner 4-3 in overtime.
Snippets - The next two weeks of football are the best, from college through pro ball. I make no predictions other than a high-definition, wood stove-warmed garage hermit with a dog at my feet. January is, after all, the dog days. Go on now, git!
