Oversharing replaces active listening, best to tamp down the hype

Oversharing - I recently jumped a paywall and read that today’s high school graduates are the first products of oversharing parents. I’ve often thought, if there were a social media site called About Face/book, how many young people would relentlessly hype all the positive attributes of their parents and grandparents, sprinkling in some aunts and uncles for diversification? The supermarket, or grocery store if you prefer, used to be the place to share the wonderfulness of one’s gifted children. I’d often wait a person out (no one’s life is perfect and trouble-free), then say, “That’s great, now tell me the story you’re holding back. Let go of the ballast you wish you could toss overboard.” Overbragging on your own progeny motivates others to back away. They figure the kid is already relentlessly hyped, and they don’t want to add to the saturation index. 

Football camp - Cape and all DIAA member schools begin a non-contact five-day football camp Monday, June 3. Just so you know, in case you drive by Legends Stadium and want to sing a Marvin Gaye song, “What’s Going On?” Now you can answer, because you heard it through the grapevine. Helmets and soft shoulder pads; time for coaches to put in the offense and defense while searching for that diamond in the rough or looking for those diamonds who are tripping and not in attendance. Practice is Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, with sports interrupted Tuesday because of graduation. 

Took the Wednesday night bagel - I’d rather parfait than parlay, but Wednesday night with my Comcast remote unholstered in my right hand, I was all in on five pro games. Then all my teams lost. The Braves beat the Nationals, the Red Sox beat the Orioles, the Panthers beat the Rangers, the Timberwolves beat the Mavericks and the Giants beat the Phillies. I reluctantly checked my phone at 3 a.m., then screamed something that would send a practicing Catholic to confession. Susan came up outta REM land and said, “I guess the Phillies lost.” What does any of it matter? The best way to experience a game is on radio with the sound turned off. 

Listen up? My working mantra is, “I can tell it but I can’t sell it,” when it comes to sports stories. The assumption is everyone’s attention span has been fried by phones. I’m certain it is a mistake to think a sports story told to a group of athletes is uninteresting. Tell the story; there’s nothing better than firsthand recollections. Just make it relatable. The flip side is to allow athletes to speak at their own banquets. The special senior awards season-ending banquets seem to be the most enjoyed by the players. 

Snippets - Misericordia University baseball eliminated Christopher Newport 3-1 and 2-1 in the Division III NCAA Super Regional to advance to the Division III World Series in Eastlake, Ohio, where they will face Pomona-Pitzer Friday, May 31, and Endicott or Lynchburg Saturday, June 1. Former Cape players and teammates Josh Reinhold (Christopher Newport) and Owen Daminger (Misericordia) were represented in the game. Owen, a freshman, played in 17 games and batted .333. Josh, a sophomore shortstop for the Captains, led the team with a batting average of .345 while starting all 41 games. Kate Evick (Sussex Central) ripped a go ahead RBI double for Rowan College in a 5-3 over Christopher Newport in the D3 super regional sending Rowan to the 8 team college World Series in Marshall Texas to East Texas Baptist University in the opening round .   Lydia Colasante, a freshman lacrosse player at Boston College by way of Tatnall, started 18 games and played in all 23 games as the Eagles snagged the national championship with a comeback win over Northwestern. Colasante won a Delaware state championship with the Hornets in 2023 and a now national championship with the Eagles in 2024. Bella Kwan (Sussex Academy) completed her senior year at Occidental College, where she was a second-team all-Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference lacrosse midfielder. Barack Obama attended Occidental College before transferring to Columbia University. I spotted a Steelers fan Monday morning prior to the Highway One 5K. I asked him, “How come so many Steelers fans from the ’70s look like linebacker Jack Lambert?” “One of my favorite players,” he said. “I have grandkids in this race. They live in California. I haven't seen them in five years.” “I haven't seen mine in like five minutes,” I said. “But I’m stopping on my way out of Dewey.” The Poppop Lambert look-alike left coast progeny who were racing included Noah Seto, 16:53; Kari Seto, 23:24; Traci Seto, 23:39; Jacob Seto, 25:45; and Matt Seto, 24:31. Another oddity in the race was Scott Craig, a 43-year-old fit guy who ran 23:49 but got smoked by his children Zach Craig, 9, 22:22 and Hannah Craig, 11, 23:01. Also, Alex Swift, 14, ran 19:27 to beat his dad Brian Swift, 44, who ran 21:26. I beat my dad Tom when I was 9, but he was in a wheelchair. And that is the quintessential truth, Ruth. Do the right thing. Go on now, git!