All dogs are the greatest dogs

Citizen syncope - “Mammals, mammals. Their names are called. They raise a paw.” - They Might Be Giants. Darby Dog, now 13, has cardiovascular syncope – a brief loss of consciousness characterized by rapid onset and spontaneous recovery. There are no better athletes than dogs, and they are our best buddies. When your buddy falls to the ground on a lonely trail or red stone driveway, you pat him on the head and ask, “Are you all right?” This just happened on consecutive days with Darby. Luckily, I was with him. He got up after a minute, walked back into the house and went straight to his water bowl. Dogs hang out at lots of sporting events. We all talk to them and their owners, “So cute, what is it?” “Last I checked it was a dog.” Dogs are so tough. We dog owners are not so tough. When you procure a puppy, expect they’re going after two things, your wallet and your heart. “The heart is a lonely hunter.” - Carson McCullers. Try sitting in a duck blind with no dog to listen to your lying stories. Darby is 91 in dog years. “The trail goes on forever and the party never ends” ... we wish. Grandson James, now 7, was watching cartoons with Darby nestled next to him. I joked, “Perfect harmony, a boy and a dog. James, you have your buddy Darby curled at your feet. He may not be the greatest dog, but, nevertheless, he is a dog.” James said, “All dogs are the greatest dog.” And that is the last word. 

Act like you don’t know - Sports writing sometimes calls for squelching your true instincts. When you reach my emeritus status as a columnist, squelching is gone like a CB radio. I’m am locked on who I know. I’m constantly doing kinship analysis in real time. On Monday, I was rigged and ready for photos at a middle school field hockey game – Milford at Postlethwait, more easily remembered as CR. The camera found granddaughter Lina in the midfield; goalie Madi Stahl, who is Bill Schab’s granddaughter; Hailey Hall, daughter of Jason and Nicole Colton Hall; goalie Grace Lobiondo, whose great-grandfather Dick Reiter I worked with; and coach Rebecca Pepper, whose dad George Pepper I coached and worked with. Wednesday it was middle school cross country – Beacon hosting Providence Creek. I talked to a young mom of a sixth-grader before the race. I was going to introduce myself by telling her I was the dad of the Beacon principal except she didn’t know his name, so I bailed and went and chatted up a few grandmoms.

Wacky Wednesday - Manny Davis is a former student of mine at Cape. He is smart, bilingual and a longtime community activist in Milton, a commissioner of the Coolspring Turkey Bowl game. Manny knows local histories and people, and is an unrelenting great guy. Wednesday, I was at Cape sitting at a table talking with football running back Jaden Davis when Manny came by in his blond wig looking like Boris Johnson, the British Brexit guy. I asked Manny, “Is this your response to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wearing brownface at a school where he was a teacher 20 years ago?” “Oh no,” Manny said with a smile. “It’s just Wacky Wednesday.”  

Welcome back, Kapler? I reluctantly follow the Phillies, and early into Phillies Manager Gabe Kapler’s two-year tenure, I wrote that he struck me as a computer-generated avatar. “There’s something wrong with this dude, everyone knows it. We just don’t know what it is.” I’m liking former Phillie Raul Ibanez, stellar player and bilingual dude who’s now working as a special assistant to the Dodgers GM, to get the job. 

Snippets - Cape football is hosting 3-1 Delaware Military Academy Friday night for Homecoming. The Seahawks have 15 coaches on the staff of Brian McArdle, including team mom Lynn Hudson. They are all about running the football. They lost to Milford 26-17 in week two, while Cape beat Milford in week three 28-14. “We changed the defense and are loading the box to stop the run,” said Cape’s leading rusher Jaden Davis. Cape gets tackle Lucas Ruppert back from the injured list, which will help the running game. Davis and Jordan Baines can be a nightmare to stop. Jackie Cannon and Anna Stancofski flew to Northwestern University the weekend of Sept. 27 to support Alia Marshall and watch a Sunday field hockey game versus Michigan. The Cats won 1-0 in a shootout after a scoreless game through two overtimes. Lynchburg College field hockey beat No. 2 Rowan 4-3 Sept. 29. Hayden Shockley (Milford) and Kaylie Truitt (Cape) started in the game. Truitt had an assist. The win was the Hornets’ first over Rowan since 1983, breaking a 12-game losing streak to the Profs. Their mascot is an owl. The battle cry, “Whoo RU?” Go on now, git!