Fred Shed: a comfort zone of coziness, come get these memories

The Fred Shed - The Fred Thomas gym has an old-school feel to it. A comfort zone of coziness, a come-get-these-memories spaceship into the future. On Monday afternoon, the Freds’ wrestling team defeated the Indians of Selbyville 56-30 and now await a showdown with sister school Mariner. “Where did all the good people go? I've been changing channels. I don't see them on TV shows.” – Jack Johnson, 2005. The good people are out and about; sports venues are the most eclectic of assemblages. Most middle school fans have skin in the game they are watching, yet they are enthusiastically cool. I watched Fred Thomas coaches Chip Wilt and Chris Pleasanton instruct their wrestlers, staying cool with the referee and sharing in the joy of great efforts, not all resulting in victories. Justin Stoeckel, the Selbyville coach, was the same – just a good dude. The match, with five exhibitions and 16 weight classes, was over in an hour. The final bout at 225 pounds saw Charlie Gifford trailing 3-0 with under 30 seconds remaining. He leaned back and caught his guy for a dramatic pin. The crowd went wild, scurrying out the door on a mac-and-cheese, drizzly, sundown afternoon. They were no doubt moving on to watch more sports on television. 

Trickle Trickle Slop Slop - “Just got to see my sweet gumdrop” (1958). Does the trickle-down theory apply to play-in sports or does it only apply to economics? You be the judge, but the celebrated lack of loyalty at the college level highlighted by the transfer portal and NIL monies has seeped and nestled into high school sports, creating cadres, cliques and self-important athletes whose only loyalty is to themselves. I hear this from so many coaches across the landscape of sports, and one thing that is common to them all – it’s always about boys’ sports. Why is that a thing, or am I missing the boat? I am nautical by nature.  

Deepfakes - An adage in basketball is don’t throw head fakes on bad players because they are not hair-trigger responders; they just don’t pay close attention. Grandma Rose: “The smarter you are, the greater your capacity for craziness and gullibleness.” Deepfakes are AI generated, usually appearing on social media. There are a lot of them in sports – some are funny, but many are cruel. The hippie movement of the ’60s gave homely looking people a place to hide. Now in 2024, sinister people are throwing head fakes, and I’m jumping out of the gym.  

VIP Room - The original Slam Dunk to the Beach converted the band room to the VIP lounge. It was great, until everyone in the gym had a VIP credential and hit the lounge at halftime and between games. After a while, they just stayed in the lounge and watched the games on TV monitors. It’s like being an MVP in Food Lion; you’re not likely to evoke a storewide chant when you're checking out. 

Josh Allen - Sports pundits talk about the likely MVP of the NFL all day long. The name most often dropped is Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills. So how come Josh isn’t doing commercials with Snoop Dogg or Jake from State Farm? Maybe because the Bills have never won a Super Bowl, and that is the only trophy that matters. Josh Allen’s net worth is estimated at $70 million. Allen has a 12-story Gatorade image on the side of a building in downtown Buffalo. Who is motivated by such advertising? 

Growing or grating - Tom Brady’s broadcast partner on Fox Sports is Kevin Burkhardt, with Erin Andrews and Tom Rinaldi working the sidelines. They did the Eagles game last Sunday, which is why I elected to watch the RedZone before taking a ride in my truck listening to Merrill Reese, the most unique voice in sports radio. Most sports fans are quick to tell you who they don’t like broadcasting teams, but they rarely talk about their favorites. I’m thinking most fans don’t like anyone. Scott Hansen of the RedZone broadcast is listed as the reason 70% of the viewers prefer “seven hours of commercial-free football,” except last Sunday when the NFL snuck four commercials on the broadcast in split-screen format and angry viewers went heat-seeking ballistic.

Grayson Davis - Grayson, a 130-pound middle school grappler, will be entering Cape next year as a ninth-grader. The former Beacon state champion is homeschooled. Grayson is ranked No. 2 in the country at 130 pounds for middle schools. He wrestles for Chance Marsteller at Steller Wrestling Club out of Reading, Pa. Grayson will be wrestling in the Junior Beast this weekend at Saint Mark’s. He has Tulsa nationals in January, then the U.S. Open in Vegas in April. Grayson has been going to Connor McDonald wrestling since he was 7 years old.  

Snippets - My son Dave is the principal at Fred Thomas Middle School, which is now one of three Cape middle schools; that also includes Beacon and Mariner. Dave was in ninth grade in 1984 playing quarterback for Lewes Junior High. Milton Junior High and Rehoboth Junior High also had teams. All three were pretty good. Speaking of those athletes, to reference a Clint Black lyric, “All I'm asking is, where are they now?” Go on now, git!