Dan McGinniss: A walk and talk of sports history

Coach McGinniss - Dan McGinniss, now 81 years old, was at the Georgetown Library 5K watching his son Dan run and finish second in 21:21. Dan the dad grew up in Chester, Pa., and played for the Chester High Clippers. He was on the 1954 state championship team. But on West Pine Street in Georgetown on a Friday night, who would be interested? How about a 70-year-old sportswriter from Philly? McGinniss later coached at Chester then Sun Valley before taking a job in Milford and leading the Bucs to the boys’ basketball state title in 1971.

Dogs of War - Speaking of sports, if I don’t have a dog in the fight, I root for the top dog because I know how hard it is to lead from the front, some underdog ready to bite you in the ... ankle ... yeah, that’s it, ankle at the first misstep. As I’ve watched Cape girls’ lacrosse and field hockey win 13 state titles since 2009, I developed this observation: “When top dogs make a mistake, it is magnified; when underdogs do anything, well, it is magnified. That’s why top dogs, when fending off underdogs, should play like junkyard dogs or pound puppies or a pack of hungry third-world hybrids or subway salukis sleeping in the shadows next to the third rail of competition.” The Golden State Warriors went away because they were soft, which was exposed when the Cleveland Cavs started to actually play defense. In the never-ending baseball College World Series, favored teams are sent home every day, it’s just too hard to stay out in front defending your rep. This why what the Cape girls have accomplished, 13 for 13 in state championship games in the last eight years, is truly amazing.

School is out! Everybody’s gonna twist and shout. Teeming with teens and teams is the best way to describe the Cape campus once regular school lets out for the summer. Camps, competitions, open fields and gyms, the weight room, the action is just nonstop. Travel ballers of baseball and softball are already touring the country; the same goes for all other sports. A new system of recruitment is in place, bringing athletes to a central location where college coaches sit in webbed chairs and troll for talent like mine sweepers in Haiphong Harbor. The Eastern Shore Lacrosse Club teams, broken down by years of graduation, have already played in two weekend tournaments – one in Bel Air, Md., the other in Richmond, Va. The field hockey Futures System works in its own mysterious way, as is the case with most sports. The Beach Blast girls’ lacrosse tournament will be at Cape and Lewes the last weekend in June with 140 teams playing on 10 fields over four days. The Beach Blast blows away the Slam Dunk tournament in terms of economic impact; the entry fees alone approach $200,000.   

Times change - Saturday night’s DFRC Blue-Gold All-Star football game at Delaware Stadium attracted less than 4,000 fans, an all-time low. The Blue won 31-20, and “Who the Blue?” you may ask, as teams are no longer divided into North and South. It’s done in the interest of parity – in other words, the South can’t hang with the big boys from the North, which may be true, but any rivalry aspect of the game is out the window like a McDonald’s bag on I-95. Take away the Hand in Hand Buddy program from the game and no one except relatives would buy a ticket. In the era of multitaskers, fewer sports fans want to buy a ticket, pay for parking then sit in a seat for three hours. The University of Delaware football team has played to less than a packed house the last few seasons, some games getting 12,000 fans in a stadium that holds 22,000. Three televisions in a garage with a beer refrigerator and gas grill in the driveway is the new fall ball. Indoor plumbing? Don’t even ask that question, just make sure the cat is clear from the target zone.

Snippets - The Phillies have slipslided away and are now 10 games below .500 or in Stanford Binet IQ language “Dull Normal.” But at least Hunter Pence of the Giants, Jayson Werth of the Nationals and Cole Hamels of the Rangers are on division-leading teams. Coach Steve Re’s Vikings Basketball Camp for grades 5 through 8 boys and girls is Aug. 1-4 at Cape. The cost is $150. Call coach Re at 410-430-7852 for information or just to chat him up. Sports are great, but don’t forget to read over the summer, the weight room for the mind. Go on now, git!