DING DONG THONG - Whatever that canal boat poker thing was all about last Sunday - for many it was about getting a card and a drink at a bunch of bars while cruising from Dewey to Lewes and back. And for “Thong Man” it was all about the back dive. I lamented not being rigged with a telephoto lens when a happy young guy wearing a thong and his buddy leaned elbows over the Lewes twin span canal bridge, butts to the wind, gazing into the water. An elderly woman in a wheelchair, out for a push, cruised right behind them, so to speak. And then my boys climbed over, back to the wharf, and did a synchronized back flip into the canal. In a word it was so “Jersey.” It was old school beach town out of bounds and something that looked like that much fun had to be illegal.
SPECIAL OLYMPICS - Special Olympians, disabled people or any of an array of infirm individuals are not here on Earth to make the rest of us feel better about ourselves. But many times watching true joy in competition or observing coaches helping a kid in a flotation device paddle 25 meters down a pool tugs at our hearts because most of us have lost the ability to immerse ourselves in the moment and to experience the joyfulness of sports.
I always joke that any coach who tells his team “Go and have fun out there” is planting a seed.
MUHAMMED MAN - Some years ago I was playing around in my classroom and asked a small class of students to write down what they imagined to be my combined SAT scores. Then to switch their secret guess with the person next to them and whoever was the closest would be given an opportunity to steal a honey bun from the cafeteria or I would pay for it if they didn’t want to jeopardize graduation.
I said, “Are you ready?” Then I announced the number 1430. No one in the room had me breaking a thousand, but instantly I had created myself as 1430 man. Muhammad, with a strong Middle Eastern accent, raised his hand and said, “No, no, Mr. Fredman. This is, of course, quite impossible. You seem to me more like person with 700. Yes, yes, I am sure you are 700 Man.”
Everyone joined in, “That’s what I’m saying. You know Fredman didn’t get no 1430,” and so it went. And you readers think you know it too and perhaps I am 700 Man, and anyway, I can use the extra 90 points.
JUNE 15 - The Friday after Flag Day there is a lot going on. It is my daughter Carrie’s birthday and it would be nice if her brothers bought her something. It is also the Captain Speed parasail across the Delaware Bay day to raise money for the American Cancer Society. And at 6 p.m. down at the Irish Eyes parking lot, it is pre-registration for the Blue-Gold 5K on June 16. And at the Ice Arena on the Harrington Fair Grounds there is pro boxing, including a women’s bout.
BREES BLOWS IN - I have often wondered why young and famous athletes don’t take more advantage of their status in society and just go out and do good things. Last June 8 New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees showed up at Beaver County Correctional facility in Utah as a surprise guest speaker. Brees spoke to 124 inmates in a residential treatment program focusing on the highs and lows of life. If even one young man looked back at Brees and felt inspired to turn his life around - and I’m sure that happened - just think what joy Brees brought to that person and his family.
SNIPPETS - Tommy, Josh, Samantha and Max - all Coveleskis - are on the Rehoboth Beach Patrol this summer. Chico Barranco has caught the littoral current south and is a member of the Dewey Beach Patrol. Long-time Indian River basketball coach Pat Kelly has moved to the Tampa area which means the Indians have an opening which seems like a great opportunity for a young coach.
Speaking of young coaches, what does a wife being pregnant have to do with any man’s availability to coach? Real coaches just coach and the family becomes a part of all that. But today much of that has changed as men hear, “I got somebody right here in this house you can coach - it’s called your child!”
I believe Cape is setting up interviews for head coach of boys soccer as Ali Agundez does not plan to return for another season. Now is the time for a young coach without a pregnant wife to take over a program that has a great talent pool coming from the Henlopen Soccer Club and to take Cape to the final four for the first time in school history. How come lacrosse can get there but soccer can’t? In many cases it’s the same athletes.
Speaking of soccer, there is still pressure out there in Delaware soccer land to move girls soccer to a fall sport so athletes didn’t have to choose between soccer and lacrosse but could continue to play them both.
The German Institute of Economic Research released a study that said fans at last summer’s World Cup spent $667 million and concluded “the World Cup brought no positive total economic effects worth mentioning.” The New York Yankee payroll alone is $185 million which proves something, but who knows what?
Gentlemen, start your arguments! Go on now, git!
