And the weather is beautiful in the fall compared to the spring, especially in Delaware. Doubleheaders could be scheduled with the girls playing first so they can get back home to homework before the hotdog hooligans come out.
LONG DIVISION - Delaware needs three divisions for scholastic sports and they could cleverly be called Division I, II and III.
And they should be based on enrollment and have nothing to do with conferences, placement or cutoff numbers. Everyone except for the biggest schools is getting racked in the current system.
And why are there divisional championships in some sports and not others? And how can teams be Division I for one sport and not another?
Do whatever you want during the regular season but come tournament time you play inside your division and all tournaments are open.
Is it possible that small states engage in the smallest arguments?
SKIP GATES - Forget that Henry Lewis Gates is a famous academic because there are no “famous” academics. Imagine a police officer brings a famous iconic athlete or entertainer to the station in cuffs because of disturbing the peace on his own porch.
Chief: “Tell me that’s not Bill Russell in handcuffs standing in front of me?”
Chief: “Tell me that’s not Julius Erving in handcuffs standing in front of me.”
Chief: “Magic Johnson in handcuffs? This had better be good.”
Chief: “I’m sorry, Mr. Poitier, I’m sure we can clear this up.”
“They call me Mr. Tibbs!”
RACE RELATIONS - Last Thursday afternoon I stood in the garage behind a walker and watched as ESPN cut away for the final three outs of Chicago White Sox Mark Buehrle’s bid for a perfect game against Tampa Bay. Gabe Kapler of the Rays jacked the first pitch to the left center field wall. DeWayne Wise, a ninth-inning defensive replacement running left to right, jumped and pulled the ball back from home run land in his right glove hand. As he fell back forward and toward the ground, the ball came loose but Wise snagged it in his bare left hand. I went nuts and so did Ryan Howard and Shane Victorino in the Phillies Club House. No defensive save of a perfect game had ever been better.
Two outs later Jason Bartlett hit a tough ground ball to Alexei Ramirez, who threw to first baseman Josh Field for the final out. A mosh pit of races and cultures piled up on the pitcher’s mound. National debate on race relations erupted last week because of the “incident” in Cambridge, but sports shows us how to do it.
There is no other arena where this happens except in combat units.
DOC HALLADAY - If you are a Phillies fan you most surely understand that the Phils cannot repeat as world champions with the current pitching rotation. So give Toronto whoever they want for Halladay short of both Kyle Drabek and J.A. Happ. And if Drabek, at 22, is all that, then bring him to the big leagues and give him a few starts. Pitcher Cliff Lee of Cleveland to Philly is a much more likely prospect.
SNIPPETS - The toughest athlete in all of professional sports right now is the gay guy who decides to come out. The major sports of football, basketball, baseball and soccer have never had a gay athlete come out during his career. President Obama has promised to get rid of the “don’t ask don’t tell” provision in the armed services, but in reality professional sports had imposed that provision on itself.
There are 1,700 players in the NFL and closeted players with trusted ties to sports journalists estimate the number of gay players at 10 percent or 170. Esera Tuaolo was a 300-pound nose tackle of Samoan origin who played in the league for eight years for Green Bay. He came out after his career was over. Roy Simmons, former offensive lineman for the Giants and Redskins, came out after his career was over. The NFL story I want is the closeted gay macho man with the homophobic rap.
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Sports Editor Emeritus
Email Fredman at fredman@capegazette.com
