Buffy and Barney – a story that circles back 25 years later

Male menopause - Alpha males and teammates beyond prime-time sports playing days share sentimental journeys of battles shared, and championships won and lost. Strong emotions can wash over them like a long, cresting wave that crashes on the beach. Getting emotional and choked up is understandable; crying and regaining composure brings apologies. Silence can circle the table, leaving the storyteller to twist in the windmills of their own mind. Psychologists have called this male menopause, as if sentimentality were a product of testosterone. I was watching an ESPN documentary  on the Duke recruiting class of 1982  that featured Johnny Dawkins, Mark Alarie, David Henderson and Jay Bilas. The next year, Duke recruited Tommy Amaker, now the head coach at Harvard, and Quin Snyder, current head coach of the Atlanta Hawks. Jay Bilas, now an ESPN broadcaster whose two favorite words are “ball screen,” also got a law degree from Duke University. I was writing this piece for its relatability, knowing “we” older athletes often cry when recounting sports memories and teammates, but then I encountered this story about Jay Bilas: “Bilas most notably worked on the case Lyons Partnership v. Morris Costumes, Inc., where he successfully defended the costume business against trademark and copyright claims brought by owners of the popular children's television character Barney the Dinosaur.” I share a special sports memory from 1999 with Buffy Jackewicz Neace, a Cape field hockey player. After an unexpected Cape loss, I was kibitzing in class, making fun as if losing a game was just so much kibbles and bits in life's board game of trivial pursuits. Buffy went full-boat slayer on me, “Listen to you and your purple shirt-wearing big Barney the Dinosaur self.“ I gave Buffy a stuffed Barney for a graduation present, and Buffy and I have been bonded by Barney through the last quarter-century. If Cape hockey had won that game, that might not have happened.   

Day trading and J trading - I posed a question on my Facebook page (the platform where old people play) asking, if you could be Eagles general manager for 15 minutes, would you make the trade of Jalen Hurts and Jalen Carter for Jayden Daniels of the Commanders? The 100 percent response was “no way,” followed by accusing me of being cracked like the Liberty Bell. No one from the Commanders fan base was willing to trade Daniels for any cache of players. Daniels is a 6-foot-4, 210-pound, 24-year-old high character whippet out of Arizona State and LSU. Philadelphia Eagles loyalists I’m sure are aware that the 53-man roster for the 2025-26 season will be shaken and stirred, and a few premier players from the Super Bowl team will be performing for a different team next season. 

Austin out - Sports injuries are often sudden, like a snapped and torn tendon or ligament, or a broken bone. The athlete’s outlook changes in an instant along with those of his supporting cast, including family and coaches plus teammates and competitors from other teams. Austin Guerrieri, a Cape sophomore and a state champion at 106 pounds  his freshman season, broke his elbow in a Monday practice, and that night, coach Chris Mattioni  had to pull him from the Henlopen Conference bracket at 120. Austin is an absolute dog, full of fight, and he will be back, and he will deal as will his extensive family fan base whom I affectionately call the Guerrieri mafia. A tough break, no pun intended, and perhaps “We’ve all been there” isn’t accurate, but most of us have at some level of involvement (insert your own injury stories here).

Snippets - Lexi Nowakowski, a freshman lacrosse player at Vanderbilt University, is taking a redshirt year to focus on rehabilitation from her ACL surgery that ended her spring season at Cape. Lexi is out there at practice, just in non-contact mode on her way to all the way back. Mike Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser have been hosts of “Pardon the Interruption” since 2001. Last week, both admitted they watched none of the NBA all-star weekend but were all in on the hockey tournament. I think college signing photos should be followed by mission accomplished photos of those athletes who went off and competed at a higher level, and walked away with a college degree. And perhaps later, a five-years-into-a-career photo, and an explanation of why you wear a work ID in Wawa in case someone may recognize you. Owen Daminger (Cape) is a sophomore leading off and playing second base for the Misericordia Cougars, batting .333 after two games. Misericordia is the defending DIII national champion, posting a record of 44-11 last season. Go on now, git!