Record win streaks end and new records are set on sports scene
NASCAR color - Michael Waltrip, cruising the track Sunday at Talladega under a caution waiting for a restart after a multicar crash in which he saw Kyle Bush go airborne over another car, said during a live interview with his brother Darrell Waltrip, “When the boys ask you if you got one underneath you, I don’t think that’s what they meant.” Darrell went silent; so did I at my keyboard. I honestly never had a friend ask me that question unless it involved a missing doughnut.
Records and streaks all get broken - The Cape lacrosse girls lost a game May 4 to undefeated Queen Anne’s County 11-9 and a 40-game winning streak was stopped. The stopped streak was never mentioned by coach P.J. Kemodel, who said to his team, “We don’t have much experience with these moments and conversations." It was a shared pain but only in a sports way because it’s always fantastic to be a great team. Ben Bamforth broke his older brother Jake's middle school records in the 800 meters in 2:18 and 1,600 in 5:01. The 800-meter relay team of De De Mackey, Katie Frederick, Zoe Scoot and Alia Marshall ran 1.56:6 and broke a long-standing record held by Maxine Fluharty, Rebecca Pepper, Hannah Pepper and Christine MacDonald. I remember Maggie Lingo, left-handed pitcher for the Cape softball team in the 2001 season, pitched every game as Cape went 21-0 before losing in the state tournament. That’s one of those quiet records no one knows about. Willie Savage in his Cape track career had 11 individual state titles and no school records. There are some school sports in which someone holds a school record but no one knows who or what.
A different game - I post sports photos on Facebook albums and websites4sports so interested athletes and parents can come get them free of charge. I figure it’s all good; everybody wins and I make no money. Beyond that, I don’t Instagram, iChat, Tweet or Skype, although I am a first-generation texting granddaddy. I would not like to be coaching right now, because too many athletes talk too much cyber noise about each other during the season and they are very creative in doing it. Don’t even get me started on parents who play on sports websites' message boards using strange handles, but the athletes know who they are and behind the scenes ask each other, “Your dad, does he, like, have a job or anything like that?”
Snippets - Andrew Weir, who showed up as a runner in the Seashore Striders and Seven Sisters racing series, set a middle school record for Garnet Valley in Chester County, Pa., with a 4:50 in the 1,600 meters. Andrew is also a soccer guy or maybe a lacrosse guy. A super athlete who can run, he can be anything he wants. His mother Cheryl just ran the Boston Marathon.
Alec Perry, a player on Cape’s 2009 and 2010 lacrosse state title teams, scored a hat trick for High Point University in a 9-7 Big South Championship over Davidson. The High Point Panthers receive an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament. High Point will play Loyola Friday, May 10. The full bracket can be found at laxpower.com.
Travel softball and baseball are in full swing, but unless you have a relative on a team and travel with them, it’s hard to put it all into any context. I honestly don’t know how good these players are now or what their potential is as high school players. I just know state championship banners in gyms and hope I’m around when Cape hangs its first for baseball or softball.
The spring sports weather has not been fan friendly but realize the no-see-ums that blossom near turf fields are a new generation of slippery superbugs. They showed up briefly one balmy evening and were eating my head through my hat. I’d rather be cold.
Football and basketball give out the most Division I athletic scholarships, so why is it so hard to find a local player who excelled on a Division I football or basketball scholarship and walked out the door with a college degree?
Cape’s Maurice Mills, a junior, long jumped 22-feet-7-inches at Saturday’s First State Invitational, a personal record for him and top three all-time performance for Cape.
NBA playoffs showcase the best athletes on the planet. I am a Golden State fan. Maybe when playoffs end in June the Phillies will have a new team. Go on now, git!
