Sadness only lasts half the bus ride home

Right said Freds - Fred Harvey and Fredman, two Cape-connected friends for a long time, met on the Delaware State University field May 25 after Cape girls’ lacrosse lost a state championship game to Tatnall 10-9. Just like we met last November on Rullo Field at the University of Delaware after the field hockey team lost in sudden-death overtime to Smyrna. Fred Harvey was going toward the team after both games while I was going to my 4Runner. I don’t like being in the middle of team celebrations. I feel like a goober groupie, not to mention group angst but no thanks. Fred Harvey not only drives the team to games, but also watches the games, and he’s smart; there is no risk of him going post-game punditry and overanalyzing the game as soon as it's over. “Too many turnovers, Fred,” he said to me. “It’s going to be a sad ride home, at least the first half.” And that was insightful because when the players got back to Cape, they had a dance party in the parking lot. Young people are incredibly resilient, but they do grow weary from all the adults spinning life lesson philosophies.  

Let’s go to church - Sunday morning, like most Sundays, my wife Susan and I got up early and headed out to church. She goes to St. Jude for a little transubstantiation across from the Nassau fire station where they offer each other the sign of peace while I go to a running race and share hugs and stories with 300 of my closest friends.  The 30th running of the Masser Five-Miler started on the Legends Stadium track. Tim Bamforth asked for a moment of silence as he read the names of departed runners who were part of the Seashore Striders Racing Series. A total of 217 runners, all on their own journeys, participated in the Masser Five-Miler. And like any group that large, there are stories of triumph and tragedy. Running doesn’t have a season. It rolls with the rotation of the planet. Life lessons are shared and people are remembered. Go in peace — go on now, git — the race has ended. 

Bracketology - My attention is disordered looking for DIAA updated brackets of postseason tournaments. I don’t remember it being this bad. And when I can figure who is playing and on what day and time, the next question is, where? The matrix totally misses the power grid on most sports because it’s not human. That is nowhere more apparent than boys’ lacrosse. Cape was seeded seventh and has traveled in the postseason to play teams they beat handily in the regular season. Cape baseball has a tough road, having to win at Caravel, then possibly face Delaware Military Academy and Saint Mark’s at Frawley Stadium. You know the commercial, “Don’t grow up to be your parents,” but that’s my goal because they didn’t care about brackets and venues or my Wiffle ball travel team in the backyard.

Softball - The final four in the DIAA semifinals of the softball tournament is Tuesday, May 30. Laurel is playing at Caravel at 5 p.m., while Indian River plays at Delmarva Christian at 4 p.m. The championship game will be at the University of Delaware at 2 p.m., Saturday, June 3. Randy Johnson, a Cape guy, is the Caravel coach, while Jodi Green is the head coach of Laurel. Sara Powell, the head coach at Indian River, goes up against Rachel Fetterman, the head coach of Delmarva Christian. 

Snippets - Left-handed pitcher Mason Fluharty (Cape, Liberty University) is in the Toronto Blue Jays organization and was moved up to the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats. The Salisbury University baseball team is heading to the NCAA Division III World Series in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, after beating Rowan in a Super Regional final. Brock Hilligoss, a senior out of Milford High, is a left-handed reliever for the Gulls. Johnny Morris, a former major league pitcher out of Lewes High School, is Brock's grandfather. The Salisbury men’s lacrosse team beat Tufts 17-12 Sunday for the DIII national championship. That was the 13th title for coach Jim Berkman. The Salisbury University softball team, with a record of 44-3, is also heading to Texas for the NCAA DIII World Series. Go on now, git!