Six degrees of separation? In Sussex County we are all related
Top of the World - I was driving into Rehoboth Sunday morning to take photos at the Dos Locos 5K when Karen Carpenter’s voice came on the radio singing “Top of the World.” My mind went to obsessive fitness types with distorted body images, be it the underfed or the overpumped. Carpenter died in 1983 at the age of 32 from complications of her anorexia. Carpenter’s voice was among the most beautiful of all time, and it was never cool to like them but I always did and still do.
Steroid-gorged, insecure muscleheads work out relentlessly, and many use fitness to hide insecurities. How many body builders does it take to change a light bulb? Answer: Three. One to turn it and two to say, “You look huge, man.”
Formula One - Sportswriters lined up by the dugouts for a chance at the obvious interviews, head coaches, star players, who scored the winning run or made the last out. I am the king of lag-time reporting; by the time my take on the game is read, it’s been over for a few days. On Saturday after Sussex Tech closed out Caravel in the state softball championship, I was surveying faces like items at a craft fair, rejecting most until what or who I want jumped out at me. There she was, winning pitcher Kim Smith’s mom. I knew because of the empathy tears of joy, and she looked just like her daughter.
“I’m so proud of her; she has worked so hard for this moment,” said Kim’s mom Dee Smith. “I knew she would do it. Randy [Johnson] taught her hitting all the years in travel ball. She idolizes Randy Johnson. And her father worked with her every Sunday for years.” I told Dee I was Randy’s high school track coach and friend for 37 years, and she said, ”Ah, is that right?” because that’s the way it’s done in Sussex County. You must determine who a person is relative to everyone else because, as the upstaters will tell you, "Down here, we’re all related.“ I ventured farther onto the dirt diamond, next interview, assistant coach Jenna Pavlik, a former Cape student and U.S. Olympic hopeful in wrestling and member of the World team. “It has been a thrill working with these girls, seeing them compete and win this championship,” Jenna said. Then I ran into Anthony Lopez, father of freshman Gabrielle Lopez. Anthony sold cars at Diver’s for 17 years; he talked about good old days of Lewes and locals and running into me at the Holy Mackerel, now the Grand Slam. I assured him he had me confused with someone else. Finally, I made my way to Randy and so did Sussex Tech player Melissa Joseph and as only a high school athletic girl can do, she smiled and cried, flashing conflicting emotions simultaneously, "Thanks for everything, Randy.” Randy turned to me and said, “It’s a treat to see her win.” I saw a coach suffer devastation in the big game yet salvage elation from the moment because Randy Johnson “gets it,” and I know his late dad Cliff and his boys from back in the day, like Albert Davis, Bill McGinnis, Jon Doney and Karl Saliba, are proud of him.
Big boppers - Downstate needs a softball venue where 500 fans can actually sit and see a championship game. Polytech is cool if only 75 people show up. Inside the fence, the field is great, but somebody needs to get serious Home Slice. And that venue should be Cape; the current field reminds me of where urban renewal meets the ghetto. Let’s start over and tear down the fences. Lay down some turf, build a horseshoe section of seats with press box and state-of-the-art dugouts, and I don’t want to see any coaches on lawn tractors. If I want to order a landscaper and coach combo off the menu I’ll call Tony Sposato or Andy Nowakowski.
Snippets - Tony Sposato is the Tuesday night graduation speaker. Tony was an All-State center for Cape football, played in the 1984 state championship game, played basketball and lacrosse for the Vikings, and later played lacrosse at Salisbury. Tony later coached at Caesar Rodney and was a basketball assistant to Jerry Peden at Cape.
His father Fred coached football at Newark High and his brother Fred played with Bill Collick at Cape and was a straight-on place kicker and member of Cape’s first graduating class and is the Christmas tree guy.
Judy Redard and Joey Hawthorn are his sisters. Karen, Tony’s wife, is the fastest 5K runner in the extended family.
Sposato Landscape Empire maybe makes the top 10 of great things Tony is doing with his life.
Go on now, git!
