A cosmic Cannon connection at Champions Stadium
Cannon fodder - High school stories sometimes pop up when you least expect them. Last spring, senior Coryn Cannon came from nowhere to be a unanimous all-state lacrosse defender, an absolute upright groundball Hoover on the draw circle. Coryn was an underestimated athlete until she wasn’t, and the girl could always sing and dance, just ask the girls at Bishop Ireton who danced with Cape last spring after inhospitably beating them. On Oct. 13, freshman Jackie Cannon had three goals and an assist in the JV field hockey win over Sussex Tech. Erin Cannon, no relation, but the first Cannon kid of Kelly and Felecia Cannon to attend Cape and not Sussex Tech, also had a goal, which was some kind of karma cosmic connection. And before the varsity game, up in the press box hunched over a microphone that “doesn't sound that good,” sophomore Mary Grace Cannon, the leading scorer on last spring’s JV lacrosse team, sang the national anthem with such mountain spring water clarity people didn’t know whether to cry or climb into a jet on a carrier deck and go off to bomb ISIS.
Hedge fund - A hedge is a bet or insurance against uncertainty and bad outcomes. I have forever told high school students that fame and fortune are no hedge whatsoever against bad decisions, which can lead to addiction, incarceration or just a messed-up and unhappy life in general. Sobriety and fitness are good places to start, but there are no guarantees as we are chemically complicated, plus life seems to smack down some people and families more than others. Lots of pundits and writers (me included) are talking about Lamar Odom, a 6-foot-10, rich and famous basketball guy, now on a ventilator, after being found chemically intoxicated and unconscious in a legal brothel. And, of course, you can’t make it up. Odom is not fighting for his life; it is higher power time for that young man. I’ve written this before: “I’m not religious, but slightly spiritual and a big-time miracle man.” Odom was powerless over his demons. Experts in the field of addictions all say that until the addict admits his powerlessness and surrenders to a high power (spiritual component), recovery is unlikely to happen.
Take off, Hosers - There are Canuck Freds who live in Toronto and are Blue Jays fans. They are the children of my late sister Rosemarie. The seventh-inning behavior of the Molson- and Labatts-drinking Canadian fans, which included throwing beer cans and who cares where they land, reminded me of some high school sporting events where the wheels came off the wagon. It makes you want to swear off sports forever. People just shouldn’t care that much about the outcome of a game. A reason to root for Kansas City is you don’t have to live there. The Philadelphia Athletics first relocated to Kansas City in the early ’50s then moved on to Oakland, so there is a reason for Philly fans to root for Kansas City, plus they hate Toronto after Joe Carter hit the World Series-clinching home run off Mitch Williams in 1993. The next day some irate fans threw beer cans at the Wild Thing’s (Williams) Philadelphia Main Line house, but they were all high and outside.
The Unnaturals - Steve Spurrier said “I’m resigning, not retiring,” then left South Carolina effective immediately. Randy Edsall, Maryland football coach, was fired with fanfare, “Just get out and take your flattop with you.” And Steve Sarkisian of Southern Cal - the hangover was a hit at the box office, but not so much in the coach’s office. What will happen next is those three big programs will go out and try to poach a coach under contract. It’s all shaky stuff against the backdrop of all that boys-to-men character-building tripe insincerely sold to players who are not buyers anyway.
Snippets - The clock is ticking for winter sports practices, which begin Nov. 15. The DIAA manual spells out that an athlete owes loyalty to the school team first. I think there is no inherent right to play club or travel ball while simultaneously being on a school team, but coaches need to establish those ground rules before the season gets going.
The Cubs are a great national story, easy to jump on that bandwagon. Manager Joe Maddon is Italian; his late father’s name was Maddonini and his Polish mother still lives in Hazleton, Pa.
Go on now, git!
