‘Whatever I feel like I wanna do, gosh’

Top eliminator - Tyler Muse, 28, is an elite runner and, I assume, an elite fifth-grade math teacher who works in the Salisbury system. On Saturday at the Seashore Striders Sea Witch Half Marathon, Tyler ran the entire distance with Martin Rodriguez, except for one second, winning the race 1:21:36.8 to 1:21:37.8  “I just needed a long training run today because I’m racing the Bay Bridge 10K Run [Sunday],” Tyler said. Tyler, of Bel Air, Md., won the Bay Bridge Run Sunday, with 10,113 runners chasing him, in a time of 30:45, which is 4:58 per mile for 6.2 miles. Sean Kelly was second in 31:53. Maura Linde-Knestout of Sykesville, Md., was the first woman finisher, running 36:12. Tyler is signed up to run the 14th Rehoboth Seashore Marathon Saturday, Dec. 4. My late brother Tom was intrigued by all the running photos I posted on Facebook. He always asked me, “What is with all the runners down where you live? What do those people do when they’re not racing?” “Race, recover and rudder,” I told Tom. “Some people even train.”

Football rules - I don’t mean the rules of football, but football as the sport that rules all others. Say it ain’t so, yo, but you would be wrong. Cape Henlopen is in Tier 3A District 2 along with Caesar Rodney, Dover, Smyrna and Sussex Central. Tier 3A District 1 teams are Appoquinimink, Hodgson, Middletown, Salesianum, St. Georges and William Penn. All 11 schools in Tier 3 make the playoffs, with the top 5 getting a bye. The weekend of Nov. 20 there will be six games generating three winners to join the field of five, making an eight-team tournament. See what happens when you sit physical education and sports management master’s degree holders around a conference table drinking coffee? Winter sports practices begin Friday, Nov. 8, so wrestling and basketball coaches of six teams in the tier 1, 2 and 3 championships will be waiting until Thursday, Dec. 11, for their multi-sport athletes. 

Deaf ears - I have gone column side and to social media to question the DIAA policies on roster limitations, which in field hockey is 22, twice the number of starting players, while in football it is 60, which is seven more than are activated on Sundays in the NFL. Many football teams add another 20 people to the sidelines when coaches, managers, scorers/statisticians and athletic trainers are included. “Don’t go breaking my heart,” but it seems the sports world is forever wobbling out of balance.

Bracketology and cosmetology - Do sports fans get gussied up before heading out to state tournament games? Some do, sporting vibrant school colors and perhaps accessorizing their own heads, but all that glitter ain’t blue and gold. The DIAA volleyball bracket is published, which is 24 teams deep. Cape plays at Caesar Rodney Thursday, Nov. 4, while Sussex Central will host Lake Forest. Delmarva Christian gets a first-round bye and will host the winner of Thursday’s MOT Charter at Caravel match Saturday, Nov. 6. Saint Mark’s is the top seed in the upper bracket, while the Padua Pandas sit atop the lower bracket. Dover, the No. 7 seed, is the top-rated public school in the tournament. 

Minnesota in the Bank - A fixed-roof stadium called U.S. Bank Stadium that seats 68,000 fans, many wearing hats with horns, is home to the Minnesota Vikings. The stadium lies along the Mississippi flyway and those thud sounds you hear are the midwestern version of Ducks Unlimited. Unmasked frenzied fans jump around, then some honorary Viking (Randy Moss or Bud Grant) gets to blow into the Gjallarhorn and rain spittle down upon the masses to start the game. The Cowboys, without Dak Prescott in the lineup, beat the Vikings Sunday night 20-16 on a Cooper Rush to Amari Cooper touchdown pass, but that’s a Norse of a different color.

Snippets - Last Thursday was Cape field hockey’s annual Halloween practice. The theme and outfits were creative and fun, then it was over to Bermuda Field 1 to watch Beacon defeat Smyrna 2-1. The JV girls had tasks to do, moving goals and hunting down and gathering balls, except they forgot, so back on the pitch at Champions they were running half-field sprints still in costumes. “Hey, Napoleon, what are you doing out there?” “Whatever I feel like I wanna do, gosh.” Go on now, git!