I shot two deer at sundown in a fallow field

Doe-eyed - I shot two deer at sundown Tuesday afternoon – a doe and a menacing buck in rut intent on staring me down. I was calm and focused and didn’t waver, with my finger steady on the trigger. It’s amazing the efficiency of my Nikon camera in low light. I framed and focused them both before they turned tail and white-butt bounded across the fallow field. It is shotgun season, so I wore orange Patagonia. I don't want to get whacked by a nearsighted man in a rickety tree stand. 

Drew Baby - Two weeks ago, outside the rotunda leading into Cape High, I encountered coach Dwight Tingle, who began enthusiastically telling me about freshman football player “Drew Baby” Messick. “He’s the Swiss Army Knife of the freshman football team; he can do it all,” Tingle said of Andrew Messick. The freshmen team closed out the season Oct. 30, with a 24-22 win at Smyrna. Cape’s three touchdowns were all by Messick, including an interception return, a kick return and a run from scrimmage. Drew Baby is not to be confused with Drew “Big Baby” Messick, Class of 1988, who helps coach Cape unified sports and Cape JV girls’ lacrosse. Cape head football coach Mike Frederick said, “Little Messick is a great kid. I just love being around him. And he has some serious skills. Going to be special.”

Baby Boyz - The Dallas Cowboys are being bashed by meatheads with microphones all day long. A professional person should never find joy in the poor performances of others. I still believe the Cowboys are going to rise up and bite somebody, maybe the Commanders or Eagles. And Eagles fans should not gloat because someone may bring up the 76ers. 

Big Baby Davis - At 6-foot-9 and 300 pounds – on a good day – 38-year-old former NBA player out of LSU Glen “Big Baby” Davis played for the Celtics, Magic and Clippers. I was writing about “Drew Baby” Messick while watching the Cavaliers versus Celtics game on my 15-inch Sansui television. I wondered what ever happened to Glen “Big Baby” Davis – a great nickname for a grown man – who was a power forward on the 2008 Boston Celtics championship team. Davis was sentenced by a federal judge last May to 40 months in prison for filing false medical claims with the NBA Players' Health and Benefit Welfare Plan. I file stories like this under “crimes with no chance of success with no need to perpetrate.” Seriously, stealing from the NBA is a low-percentage move. 

Marking period - The first marking period is in the books, and there are always a few athletes on winter sports teams who do nothing in the classroom during the fall and basically fail off a team before the first game. Coaches will tell you it’s hard to hit the ineligibility list in high school, because a nurturing and helpful staff will try to rescue you like a pound puppy. We’ve all seen 15-year-olds smart enough and stellar athletes who just throw it all away due to what appears to be a total lack of motivation. 

Snippets - I cruised around Cape winter track practice Tuesday afternoon. It was a perfect temperature day. I snapped a photo of coach Ellis Gaulden offering instruction to a group of long jumpers. I posted on Facebook: “Coach Ellis, a 7-foot high jumper at UConn and a wide receiver on the football team, demonstrates take off for long jump. Ellis is a kids-first coach – he is that guy. Reminds me of Bill Degnan from 20 years ago.” Hundreds responded positively to the post because the muppets know what is up with each other. That is a part of what I call the muppet matrix. I use one quote from Pam Leggins, “He is the best, so encouraging and always positive.” NCAA Division I field hockey semifinals are set for Friday, Nov. 22, featuring North Carolina versus Saint Joseph’s followed by Northwestern versus Massachusetts. The Division II semifinals, also Nov. 22, match Shippensburg versus Kutztown followed by East Stroudsburg versus St. Anselm. The Nov. 22 Division III matchups will feature Tufts versus Williams followed by Salisbury versus Middlebury. NFL power rankings have Eagles, Steelers and Ravens ranked fourth through sixth. Argue among yourselves. Go on now, git!