Legendary field hockey coach Carolyn Ivins turns 85, still rocks

Get off my lawn - Cape field hockey coach Carolyn Ivins (1969-79) won the school's first state championship in 1979. Carolyn just celebrated her 85th birthday and is still as tough and funny as ever. She’s still a consistent follower of Cape field hockey and lacrosse. A funny memory back in 1979: On a Sunday afternoon, Dr. Wesner Stack had a group of little kids kicking around a soccer ball on the sacred grounds of the hockey pitch. Wes later said to me, "Do you know coach Ivins?” I said, “Sure, why?” “Last Sunday, she told me to get off her field.” “And what did you do, Doctor of Educational Psychology Wesner Stack?” “I got off. I’m not stupid.” Wes then asked me, “Is it her field?” I said, “Yes, absolutely." I later proposed after collaboration with wife Susan that a new second stadium be named Ivins Field, but I couldn’t get it to fly, so Dave Robinson and I collaborated and came up with Champions Stadium.  

Athletic alienation - “Yakety yak. Don’t talk back” – The Coasters, 1958. Yakety-yak is a slang term for aimless, pointless talk, especially when it goes on and on. Stephen A. Smith was offered $18 million per year from ESPN but apparently will walk away from that “low-ball’ offer knowing he’s worth more like $32 million per year. Jim Rome, a longtime radio talking head, said many times on air, “When someone says it’s not about the money, it's always about the money.” ESPN’s deal with the WNBA – $60 million in annual broadcasting revenue – contaminates coverage, turning reporting into selling. We old-school athletes remember playing; now we are being played and are smart enough to notice. The Knicks acquired Mikal Bridges and a second-round pick from the Nets in exchange for Bojan Bogdanovic and six first-round picks. Reporter Adrian Wojnarowski, who broke the story, said, "But where are they going to find the money to sign Obi Juan Kanobe?” OK, my bad, he said, “OG Anunoby,” who is from England and has a brother named Chigbo Anunoby. This world where salaries are inflatable is no longer relatable.

Funny haha - The movie “Sling Blade” (1996), written by Billy Bob Thornton, was the first time I heard the expression, “Funny haha.” Now I'm reading a version of it on social media where fans of a particular team write “Ha Ha” after another team loses. Fans of the Phillies, Braves, Orioles and Yankees can joyously celebrate another team's misfortunes, often leading with “Haha, you lost another one.” Adults who were real athletes don’t behave that way; at least that is my theory. The “Haha, you lost” reaction to life events seeps into the semi-permeable brains of political zealots, and we reach the point where one's happiness is directly correlated to the unhappiness of others. 

Seamer dreamers - This is the baseball season of two-seam and four-seam fastballs, and all broadcasters seem to recognize the difference while I’m still looking for the screwball and drop pitch. Here is a quote from JustBallGloves.com: “A two-seam fastball is a pitch designed to be thrown with a lower arm slot and less spin [when compared to a four- seam fastball]. This pitch is going to feature more horizontal movement than vertical movement to it. And that horizontal movement will occur toward the arm side of the pitcher.” Ancient Greek philosopher Socrates said, “The more a person knows, the greater his ability to reason and make choices that will bring true happiness.” I would add, “... except when it comes to seams on a baseball.” Swing, batter!

We all fall down - Athing Mu, a Jersey girl and defending gold medalist in the 800-meter run, fell 200 meters into the 800-meter qualifying race and will not make the 2024 Olympic team going to Paris. A basic tip when competing against a crowded elite field is, “Don’t play in traffic.” Mu is eligible for the relay pool; she was part of the gold medal team in the 4-by-400 in the Tokyo games. Mu’s coach is the respected Bobby Kersee, who filed an appeal claiming Mu got spiked. The appeal was denied. The saddest moment captured was her family's reaction in the stands after seeing her fall. Mu graduated from Trenton Central High School, where Holland Moore of Lewes was the head coach for 35 years. Moore is now 92 years old.

Snippets - When I lived in the badlands of Philly, I never heard anyone say, “We could use some rain.” And no one had any qualms about riding a trolley powered by a pole attached to an electric line during a thunderstorm. Speaking of sports and the outdoors, if horseflies like nectar and are great pollinators of fruit, why are they drilling holes into people’s legs and backs? How about Cleveland with the best record in baseball? Go on now, git!