A string of four-letter words tying together stories of success

Four-letter words - The words are Cape, Emma, Anna and Maci. Three young athletes, all of whom played field hockey at Cape. Emma Duffield, 19, won the 14-19 age group at the Beebe Heroes 5K in 21:55. She is entering her junior year at Swarthmore. Anna Stancofski, 22, won the 20-24 age group in 25:37. She recently graduated from Swarthmore, where she played field hockey and lacrosse. Maci Long, 23, placed second in the 20-24 age group and graduated midyear from Salisbury University, where she played field hockey. Clint Black sang, “All I’m asking is, where are you now?” Most athletes I have covered since middle school just keep busting a move in a forward and positive direction. I believe sociologists call that a longitudinal study, like an 18-year-old asked me two weeks ago, “Fredman, how has your life been so far?” I wish my high school coaches were around to hear me answer that question.

Beebe Heroes 5K - Runners don’t necessarily run for a cause; sometimes it’s just because. Many times it doesn’t go much deeper than that. It is impossible to predict which races hit and draw big numbers while others can’t cover the cost of T-shirts. The June 30 Beebe Heroes 5K race attracted 300 runners and walkers; most of them were connected to Beebe in some way. The Beebe network and the Cape Henlopen School District are major players in the community in terms of influence and employment. The Beebe matrix of muppets shows up and shows out for the Beebe Heroes race, and I notice their happiness and love for one another, all attributable to leadership and respect for all employees whose job it is to keep the rest of us on the road or running the roads if we choose. 

Spectator sports - A social taboo is something that is legal that you do not do because it is culturally weird and perhaps outrageously offbeat. Local people like to sit on the Boardwalk and watch others walk by or roll past in a rented family rickshaw. On Saturday afternoon, I was sitting in front of Wawa watching foot traffic go in and out the double doors. These were not beach people or outliers from the outlets. They were the “vacation destination anywhere, east or west, I don't care” crew. They were off work and out to lunch. This is HoagieFest month at Wawa; a Shortie is $5 and a Classic is $6. It’s all good as long as you're wearing a shirt – sleeveless and beaters preferred – and flip-flops, but what you can’t do is bring your own half-eaten hoagie from home and eat it while you’re at the touch screen concocting a creation to eat later at the campgrounds. Trust me, I’m not judging. Just missing my lost relatives from the stoops of Philadelphia. 

Peddlers of the peloton - The peloton in a Tour de France bike race is like a jellyfish. It has only one name but is powered by multiple organisms propelled by currents and undulations existing for the purpose of humping down those breakaway riders to spit out stinging sprinters in the final meters of a 200-kilometer race. Watching Stage One on Peacock as the peloton ran out of road, making their move too late, I thought, “What kind of fan, what personality profile, fits a person who roots for the peloton?” Talk amongst yourselves.  

Baseball power rankings - The Phillies are ranked No. 1 as of July 1, according to mlb.com. The Orioles are No. 2,  followed by the Dodgers at 3, Guardians at 4 and Yankees at 5. I think I may design a Phillies shirt that reads, “Stranded in scoring position.” All the good teams have been smitten with injuries to frontline players. The entire long season of 162 games is just a slog to make it into the postseason; only then do we fans find out what’s up. 

Snippets - Zack Gelof hit a home run on Sunday for the Oakland A’s, which was number 9,000 in franchise history. Amazing that is a stat that MLB keeps track of – 9,000 home runs. I’m guessing Zack didn’t know about it when it happened. Mason Fluharty, a 6-foot-2, 215-pound lefty, is pitching for the Buffalo Bisons, Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Mason is strong and efficient, and is averaging a strikeout per inning. Expect to see him in the show soon. The base entry fee for the 51st annual White Marlin Open, scheduled for Monday, Aug. 5, is $1,650 per boat. Local lifeguard rookie tests are coming up. Has any beach guard made it through training only to fail the grueling rookie test? I don’t know of any. Go on now, git!