Michael Vick cleans up better than a battered fighting dog

Staying loyal when times are tough is like keeping a secret on the promise, “Certainly, I won’t tell anybody.” I know football organizations, right down to the players and equipment managers, tend to be the largest and most militaristic of athletic staffs. And it’s so trite when team members wear their “family” and “pride” shirts then go out and talk behind each others’ backs.

Fall practices have begun and everyone needs to approach what they do with that high character spirit of all for one and one for all. Parents who second guess coaches in front of their athletes are doing more harm to the kid than any coach could ever do. Head coaches and assistants should never talk about each other when out in public or downtown a player while sipping a drink at some stupid party.

CLEANING UP VICK - Michael Vick cleans up better than a battered fighting dog - it just took two years - but really, can he ever be trusted? I have been impressed by his cool, poise and intelligence through a pair of interviews and it makes you wonder why he spent the early years of his life acting like a conceited and arrogant jerk with no leadership skills.

I think the NFL is much like an arena of dog fighters where character counts for nothing. That is why most players who make the five-year pension requirement never attend a game in person after they retire. The old “I’m a better person on and off the field” has no relevance in the NFL except when the product itself is embarrassed by criminal activity.

BEWARE OF COUGARS - I was covering the 38th annual Atlantic Cup Rugby tournament last weekend at the Cape Henlopen State Park but first went to a website to see what teams were showing up. That’s when I read that Dewey Beach was just 10 minutes away and the site said, “Dewey is famous for its nightlife and debauchery. The small beach town is peppered with locations to drink and meet that special someone. And one final reason: Cougars! Dewey is also famous for the abundant cougar population (older women on the prowl for younger men). This place is peppered with cougars during the summer. Word is to watch your back around last call.” -Urbancougar.com describing The Starboard.

I don’t know what any of this means but I think Dewey cougars would find it offensive.

ROAD GRADERS - I’m a member of the tribe of guys built like a piece of heavy equipment. Last Saturday I was taking pictures of 5K and 10K runners on a hot morning in Dewey Beach and I thought many of those who turned around for another 5K look should have stopped after one.

But I have been that dumb myself like Sunday when I mowed the grass with a “walker mower” four weeks after hip replacement surgery. I took a picture of 24-year old Mark Ludwikouski as he headed back out for the second leg of his 10K. Mark ran 1:12 for his 10K, which is 11:32 per mile. Last Sunday the Wilmington Rugby Club defeated a team from North Bay in Aberdeen, Md.

The second try off a scrum was scored by an inside prop who went by the name Bob Cat. Tackling him looked like a hazardous proposition.

MEDICAL TENT - I walked under the rugby medical tent prior to Sunday’s games. I was watching a young woman kneading the soreness out of a rugger’s legs and said, “Man, it’s almost worth getting hurt.”

Helen Belair identified herself as an assistant to the medical director who doubled as her husband, Norman Belair, the “rugby doc” who works for First State Orthopedics. I told the doc I was sorry to be making dumb comments about his wife; it just seemed the rugby spirit took me over. Dr. Belair said, “That’s OK, she looks pretty good, doesn’t she?”

The first day of the tournament saw four players sent to the hospital, three with mild concussion symptoms and one woman with a broken shoulder.

SNIPPETS - A single chair sat in the end zone at Saturday’s football practice and I thought tired coaches may fight over it, but as I got closer I noticed that “Fredman” was written across the back. The only problem is once I get down I can’t get back up.

Former Cape coach George Glenn spent the first week of practice with Delaware State just basically auditing the way they do things. Expect coach Glenn to enter in college football sometime soon.

Michael Vick, in a speech to young kids, said, “Love your animals, be they dog or cat, reptile or horse or whatever.”