Overusing ‘huge’ is a gargantuanly humongous mistake

I wish sports commentators would back down from the word “huge” and find another sports synonym that also means really big. Analysts are now using it back to back, like Troy Aikman’s “That was a huge, huge play in this ball game.” And Brian Billick, former Ravens coach, went hugely overboard when Josh Freeman took a sack late in the game to take his team out of field goal range. Billick, always a bit of a pompous know-it-all, used the word “huge” six times in the three sentences describing the sack. How about this level of lexicon: “This is a humongous moment in this game, fraught with gargantuan consequences. It is the behemoth of all third down calls. It is simply monstrous and monumental.

The consequences of this decision are immeasurable and immense.” We all know none of it is really hugely important in any lasting way.

Gus Johnson - Gus Johnson has always been my favorite basketball announcer and now he has taken over my No. 1 spot in football. When a potential game-winning field goal by Kansas City’s Ryan Succop near the end of regulation the ball took a dramatic curve at the last minute to miss wide left, Johnson screamed “Holy mackerel!” Johnson, a three-sport athlete in high school, is 43 and graduated from Howard University in 1990.

According to Wikipedia, “Johnson is well known for his dramatic calls of exciting moments during (basketball) games, often using his signature phrases “Oh my goodness!”, “Rise and fire... Count it!,” “From the parking lot!,” “Pure!” and “BAM!”

Go to guy! - I was walking in the woods Saturday close to 11:30 a.m. when I got a call from Anthony Joseph from WGMD radio asking if I would be “on the air” to answer some questions and discuss high school sports. Anthony is a good young dude, works hard at sports and has a program every Saturday at 11:30, so I help him out whenever I can, whenever he asks and whenever I don’t see his name on the caller I.D.

I stayed on for the entire program, and I have always been best at the spontaneous combustion of words and thoughts. Grandmom Rose said, “Those who prepare always overcorrect when sidetracked. Run off the road, act like you’ve been there before, always sound confident and self-assured and never attempt to put together a portfolio – it’s just not you.”

Sallies South to Cape North - George Glenn and Brian Donahue came to Cape football in 1993, and people starting calling the Vikings Sallies South. Coach Ron Dickerson of Seaford referred to the last five minutes of a game versus Glenn at Sallies or at Cape as the “Salesianum Death March.”

Last Saturday Saint George’s Tech, with J.D. Maull as head coach and his cousin Kai Maull on staff, upset previously unbeaten Howard 16-12 to go 6-2 on the season.

Saint George’s, a relatively new school in Delaware, was 1-9 just last year. “I tell these kids about Coach Glenn all the time,” J.D. wrote to me after the win last Saturday. “They understand about playing physical and driving the football.” Cape’s Bill Collick of Burton Avenue and J.D. Maull of Fourth Street are both are both sons of Lewes out there representing the town and doing it proud.

Snippets- Press boxes for sporting events are mostly filled with home school people who don’t represent the press but run clocks, keep stats and make announcements. For media, there is always a rule in play of no cheering or overzealous boasting of the home team.

The public address position falls more into a gray zone. Some announcers are obnoxious, as in Dover’s “D High, you know!” Sussex Central comes on strong with hometown enthusiasm. It’s part of playing there on Friday night, but somehow it comes off as friendly. But it’s up to the home school to set the rules of decorum. There are no First Amendment privileges when handed a microphone to announce a sporting event. Be cool and professional, and don’t use nicknames for players or teams unless approved in advance. I write a column; it represents my views. If Cape hands me a microphone, which happens on occasion, I then represent Cape.

I capped off a great sports weekend by covering the Sea Witch 5K in Rehoboth. Alicia Marchioni, shown here, rocked the Linda Carter Wonder Woman look while Logan Shuttleworth of the Seashore Striders dressed up like Coach Tim Bamforth from 1984, when he won the state indoor mile and two-mile championships. Evan Voicheck is the bike boy ready to lead racers around the course. He looks in harmony with his character.

Connor MacDonald, Sussex Central three-time state champion and 2005 Delaware Wrestler of the Year, has left the lineup at Lehigh University after three seasons and transferred to Division II Newberry in South Carolina. Newberry is ranked No. 5 in the country. They are the Wolves, not the Wuffs!