Free and overpriced is how I roll through grandpa life

Afterschool special - “Keep it on the down low or everybody will know.” – Teddy Thompson. Cape’s three middle schools, along with Selbyville, competed in a quadrangular cross country meet Sept. 23 on a home 1.8-mile course that never left the Cape campus. A total of 150 runners competed, starting with boys and followed by girls. Tim Bamforth of Seashore Striders timed the event, which started and finished under the blown-up purple-and-gold archway on the Legends Stadium track. See Tim’s running column or seashorestriders.com for expanded results. I am on the record as a non-paid, never-paid Cape sports consultant saying middle school cross country would never work because you can’t send young kids on the roads for training runs, or once they run two laps around the home school, what are you going to do with them for the next 90 minutes until their bus arrives? There were so many fans Monday, it produced a 5 p.m. traffic jam, raising the age-old Sussex County question: “Don’t people have jobs around here?” On Sept. 25, “The Freds,” aka the Fred Thomas Middle field hockey team, playing on Cape’s Bermuda field, bested visiting Laurel 5-0. The game featured lots of grandparent fans in folding chairs. The Baby Bulldogs brought people who barked loudly like your dog does when it's glad to see you. A few moms and grandmas had played for legendary coach Bonnie Bryan, who took the Dogs to the state tournament seven times. 

Selling the hype - There are hyped sports programs on television all day long selling issues no one cares about. Turn to the political channels and it’s the same thing. And you can add weather channels that hype hurricanes because the coverage brings eyeballs to the broadcast. Hurricane Helene: The track goes over Tallahassee, then rolls straight over Macon, Ga., where my grandson Mikey goes to school at Mercer University. On Thursday morning, I went to a local forecast that read like a warning on a prescription medication bottle. I just focused on three words: “Potential Impacts: Extensive.”  

Home runs and hat tricks - Years ago, I used to hand out coupons for a large pizza to Cape athletes who did extraordinary things like hit home runs or score hat tricks. I’m pretty sure Nicola and Grotto hooked me up. It’s not like my generosity impacted my three-figure savings account. But the school eventually told me to stop as I was potentially jeopardizing the amateur status of the athletes. 

Two-guard - I saw her along the Champions Stadium fence between games at Tuesday’s field hockey matchup versus Indian River. Chaundra White, Cape Class of 1990, a baller for coach Janet Maull and classmate of my daughter Carrie. I had to grab a fence photo of Chaundra, the mom, with her daughters Jada, the JV goalie, and Jurnee, a manager for the varsity team. Cape families: I should teach a course, but my price is too steep – free – and I want my own room  with a swivel chair. 

Tai Weezy - The nickname of underperforming, high-priced Phillies pitcher Taijuan Walker. Earlier in the week against the Cubs, fans at The Bank with no money in an actual bank booed Walker off the mound. I can honestly say I’ve never booed a player on any team, especially my own. The backdrop is Walker is a good teammate and just 32 years old. I would describe him as a pretty good kid. Manager Rob Thomson likes Walker and always talks about how hard the pitcher works. It’s amazing to me how many fans in the stands think they have general manager bona fides.  

Snippets - Mariner field hockey is off to a 3-0 start with wins over Georgetown, Millsboro and Delmar. Mariner will play Fred Thomas (2-0) at 6 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 2, on the Champions Stadium pitch. The Cape JV football team is 3-0, having beaten Red Lion, Woodbridge and Lake Forest. Cape varsity football (3-0) will play Hodgson (1-2) at Caravel at 11 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 28. Last year, Cape lost at home to Hodgson 35-0, a repressed memory from a storybook season that ended with a berth in the state championship game. Former Cape coach Brian Donahue would always ask, “Do we have a chance? Can we get them?” Cape definitely has a chance. To quote Ringo Starr, “Got to pay your dues if you want to sing the blues. And you know it don’t come easy.” The Dogfish Dash is Sunday morning – brats and beer. I’ll be there in my Fredman chair. Go on now, git!