A sign of lasting trust is athletes who can share humor

And I actually did break up a fight once between two Miss Congeniality hopefuls; I believe it was over the poster-pasting of farm-and-tractor bodies of babes in bibby overalls riding bush hogs beneath the head of a perky high school girl. Awards and recognition are my business, and business is good but not fair.

Who am I, the Judge Wapner of fair and humane treatment of athletic accomplishment? But seriously, heroes to me are goalies who protect a net.

A ball gets by and there you are, larger than life.

Mostly it is point blank and you don’t have a chance, but you never see a goalie run out to a defender and yell, “What be up, home slice?”

Lacrosse defenders and soccer back-liners can win a team championships, but it’s hard to give them the credit they deserve, which is what I keep telling my friends at County Bank about me.

JELLYBEAN JUNIOR - I was kicking about after last Wednesday’s middle school meet at Cape when I was introduced to the late Tim Bailey’s son, 13-year old Tim Bailey, who is a sprinter for Millsboro. His mother, Altrenia Wright, said, “He has always wanted to meet you. We cut out the article you wrote a few years ago about Jellybean.” Tim Bailey ran track for me in the glory days, graduating in 1983. He was an 11.1 100-meter sprinter whom his Coolspring Connection buddies nicknamed Jellybean (no worries, they called me Cabbage Head and sometimes respectfully Coach Cabbage). Show me athletes who can share humor with each other and a coach and I’ll show you lasting trust. Forget the “have fun out there, just don’t make fun of the size or shape of my head.” Young Tim ran the 100 and 4-by-200 in the meet and told me he played football this year for the first time. Jellybean Junior walked out of the past and hit me over my big cabbage head and for that moment we all felt better about everything.

DR. DARTMOUTH - A tall, lithe, no-body-fat, athletic-looking dude walked onto the track at Cape late last Wednesday afternoon, each hand wrapped around a yellow track shoe. I stepped into his world because I knew he was a story. Ray Blackwell, 52, never said he was a cardiac surgeon, just answered that he did a little masters track competition and graduated from Dartmouth. I continued to rag Dr. Blackwell with questions, getting him to admit he was an age-group world champion in the 400 meters at age 45 when he ran 51 seconds flat. Blackwell owns a personal best 46 in the 400 meters and was also on a team of 45-year-olds that won a world championship, cranking a time of 3:20.8. After his workout, Tim Bamforth, Ray Blackwell and Fredman talked track, and I think the doctor, who works for Christiana but does relief work at Beebe, would have stayed all day because that’s the way we track guys do it.

SNIPPETS - Lacrosse coach Mark D’Ambrogi, a Baltimore guy the way I’m a Philly guy, talked to me after Wednesday night’s game about what it means to be a part of the Cape community. We all got a sense of our connectedness because one of our families was in trouble, so we all circled around and embraced each other with them in the middle. “It took me a few years, but now I’m part of it,” Mark said. “It really is just incredible. I don’t think there is another place anywhere like here.” I am out like a waterspout!