FAT AND FIT - I get “Medpage Today” emailed every day because inside the world of medical research there are always endless opportunities for humor. Hospitals themselves I find hilarious, and my mother was a nurse who had the absolute best stories if you like gallows humor.
Last Wednesday I read of a 12-year longitudinal study which concluded that cardio-respiratory fitness itself was the major predictor of longevity and health. I always knew that, in spite of the proliferation of overhydrated, anorexic seniors. Fit and fat was better than skinny and wheezing; in fact, fit and fat and skinny and fit were the same when it came to longevity and health. And that also went for waist size which, according to the study, is not a predictor for sudden onset diabetes; you can double down your Peppermint Patty on that one, singing “Almond Joy to the World” in your elastic-waistband khakis.
I see all shapes of persons walking the boardwalk and they are fit because they walk and crack open their own tomato soup and rake leaves and eat pies and whatever else they feel like doing.
WE AIN’T BOYZ - Samari Rolle, which must be somehow derived from Samurai Warrior, freaked at the end of the Ravens loss to New England last Monday night claiming the head linesman, 6-foot-6 Phil McKinnely, called him “boy” on at least five different occasions.
Rolle told McKinnely during the game, “You never played the game before,” when, in fact, McKinnely, 53 years old, who is African-American, played on the offensive line in the NFL for three different teams over a seven-year career.
Linebacker Bart Scott lost his mind as well at the end of the game throwing a flag into the stands and had more “he called us boys” stories. This story is black on black ridiculousness at field level and I just wish they would wire the field for the sound of player voices.
Quit illustrating and telling me how to exploit the cover two, which I’ll never have an opportunity to do, but name-calling is always in the grasp of us all.
SNIPPETS - Lindsay Danz and Maxine Fluharty of Sussex Tech each played on undefeated gold medal teams at the recent National Hockey Festival played over Thanksgiving weekend in Palm Springs, Calif. Danz was on the U19 First State Diamonds, which also included Mallory Elliot and Alison Bloodsworth of Delmar. Lindsay’s team, with players from Pennsylvania, New York, Texas, Virginia and California, only gave up one penalty stroke goal in six games. Debbie and Bill Windett were team managers, while Kate Windett and Tracey Short were the coaches. Maxine Fluharty played on the U16 Jersey Intensity squad which won all six games. There were more than 140 high school-aged squads competing in the weekend festival. Danz will attend Division II Bloomsburg and join Cape grad Amanda Deloy. Bloomsburg is the best in Division II college field hockey, a two-time national champion. The Bloomsburg head field hockey coach, Jan Hutchinson, is the winningest coach in college field hockey.
Shemik Thompson is a starter for the 2-5 Central Connecticut State Blue Devils and is second on team assists with 20 for the season. Delaware is at Central Connecticut State on Dec. 16, at 1 p.m., and live radio action can be found at 94.7.
The Delaware Blue Hens play the Southern Illinois Salukis at 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 8 – game that will be televised on ESPN; good bye Channel 12, forever. How come there are no Rescue Saluki summer festivals dogging Dewey Beach? My favorite Saluki ever was that one Walt “Clyde” Frazier, who played for the championship New York Knicks. Southern Illinois lost a midseason game to Northern Iowa - Uni Dome alert – 30-24. The winner of this game goes to Chattanooga to play for the national Division IAA title.
Terrell Owens played for Tennessee Chattanooga but no word if he’s ever been back there – OK, he’s never been back!
The Cape girls basketball team, under first year coach Lamont Hazzard, lost at Dover last Tuesday night 63-44. Cape was paced by Meg Bartley’s 17 points while Rae Benson scored 12.
The Delaware State men’s basketball team is 3-4 on the season. Kyle White, formerly of Cape, comes off the bench and averages 14 minutes a game. Kyle is best in open court transition while the Hornets are more a deliberate “slow it down and set it up” style team.
Andruw Jones of the Atlanta Braves, who got fat and lost the pop in his bat but had won 10 straight Gold Gloves because you can't drop what you can’t catch up to just, signed a two-year deal with the Dodgers for $36 million, but first he has to pass a physical. I’ve passed lots of physicals by not showing up.
The Boston Celtics won 16 NBA championships under coach Red Auerbach and was it because he had the best people? I watched lots of those old teams in person and what I remember is that the ball hardly ever hit the floor. I believe the concept was called passing.
Modern day lacrosse with the ball always moving reminds me of the old Boston Celtics. Modern day basketball is conceptually crazy and undisciplined with coast-to-coast selfish players improvising on the dead run which is why old school fans stay home- - that and getting down from the bleachers is like descending Mount Everest for many of them.
Jimmy Allen, the point guard on the 1975 state championship Cape basketball team that went 25-0, was in the stands watching Cape’s opening win over Dover. Jimmy was inducted last summer into the Delaware Afro-American Hall of Fame.
I found out last week that forever statistician Mike Tos from Bishop Egan High school passed away. I also discovered on the Ted Siliary website - tedsilary.com - focusing of Philadelphia scholastic sports with more than four million hits since April of 2000 that I am a starter on the offensive line on the 50-year, all-time Bishop Egan team. Starting in the backfield is Steve Slayton, West Virginia, and Larry Marshall, who played at Maryland and returned punts for the Kansas City Chiefs. I feel like a loser for mentioning this, but I’ve spent my life tracking other people’s stories so, “Let’s talk about me for awhile.”
Hey Fredman! Go on now, git!
