Sharing struggles and successes is a Sunday spiritual reflection and connection

Cabbage Patch Katie - I called her Cabbage Patch Katie when I had her in my Problems of Democracy Class in 2002. Katie Elrod was always that huggable, lovable kid. On Sunday morning at Cape Henlopen State Park after the running of the Race for the Ribbon 5K, Katie Elrod Arietta popped out of the foliage, closing the gap from 22 years away. She gave me a hug and just held onto me and cried. Katie was diagnosed with melanoma in 2021, and she has been through the wringer and continues to battle. Proceeds from the race went to Katie. Her 8-year-old son Logan – “My birthday is Friday” – took  a photo with my camera after I gave him a 20-second lesson. Kids instantly connect to people loved by their parents. And that’s the matrix of muppets here at Sesame Street by the Sea. "We" are still here looking out for each other – if you know, you know. Sharing struggles and successes on a Sunday morning, let's call it church.

Championship-capturing Cape athletes - Caravel softball, coached by Randy Johnson, won another state championship May 31 with a 2-0 victory over Sussex Central. My brain started to download Cape athletes who turned to coaching and won at least one state championship: Robin Adair, field hockey, Tower Hill; George Pepper, boys’ cross country and girls’ track, Cape; Ben Evick, baseball, Cape; Tim Bamforth, boys’ track, Cape; Dan Cook, girls’ tennis, Cape; Ruth Skoglund (Rehoboth grad), field hockey, Cape; John Coveleski, boys’ lacrosse, Caesar Rodney; Jack Lingo, boys’ lacrosse, Cape; Billy Cunningham, baseball, Appoquinimink; Nancy Steen Tribbett, field hockey, Sussex Tech. I’m waiting for artificial intelligence before I expand to all the permutations embedded inside all the championships over 55 years. 

Roster reveals - Salesianum won two state championships on the same day June 1, beating Cape in lacrosse and Caesar Rodney in baseball. That gave Sallies nine state titles for the 2023-24 scholastic sports year, and we’re talking just boys. There were teams in all tournaments that had a chance to knock off or dislodge Salesianum from the top spot on the podium. Cape lost to them four times, including football, soccer, lacrosse and track. It sounds like sour grapes if you lose then accuse a team of playing unfairly, using the dreaded “recruit” or “scholarship” word while calling Sallies the Tri-State All Stars. DIAA governs scholastic sports in Delaware, and for a small state, it is infinitely quirky from sport to sport and private to public, and whatever niche the charter schools fall into. When people on my beat start peeling the blooming onion of school sports advantages and disadvantages, I usually say, “Stop! Can you stand in the middle of Cape’s campus between two turf stadiums and look at all those state championships and talk about disadvantages?” I have no idea where Salesianum gets all the male athletes – they are good in everything – but it would be fair to dissect their roster. At the same time, look at all schools, because the train has left the station and we’ve run out of track.

Bonus vacation - The Phillies and Mets will play a two-game series next weekend in London. The rosters have been expanded to 27 players, and each rostered player will receive a $70,000 bonus as per the collective bargaining agreement. Professional sports is total fantasyland for athletes in the prime of their careers. It's a tough adjustment when they reenter the substrata of everyday life with the rest of us dregs.

Snippets - Susan and I were both Cape graduation speakers and now the ceremony has gone speakerless. I have to wonder if our performances contributed to that decision. I am the only person I know who was a graduation speaker at a prison. The Sussex Correctional Institution boot camp program for me was exhilarating. I made connections and knew some of the graduates, although they tried to hide like perp walkers on TV when they got their diplomas. Coach Steve Re’s Cape Vikings basketball camp session one will be held Monday to Wednesday, June 17 to 19 at Beacon. The coed camp is for grades four through eight. To register, call Re at 410-430-7852 or email capehenlopenboysbasketball@gmail.com. Camp hours are 9 a.m to 12 p.m. Cape spring football practice is 3 to 5 p.m every day this week on the grass fields, except Tuesday, which is graduation day. Caitlin Clark was held to a career-low three points as the New York Liberty routed the Indiana Fever 104-68 in front of 17,000 fans. Betnijah Laney-Hamilton led Liberty with 20 points. Smyrna in the house! Laney’s Smyrna beat Cape in the 2010 semifinals 59-55. Laney had 22 points, and Cape’s Jonesha Warren scored 25. Yolanda Laney, Betnijah’s mother, was on the 1982 Cheyney State team that made it all the way to the NCAA finals before losing to Louisiana Tech. Go on now, git!