Time Out by John Bernhardt

“Kick it to the corner.”

Margaretville alumni and his former girls’ soccer players from around the country, found themselves fondly looking back to their high school years as they learned that legendary Blue Devil soccer coach Dan Cohen had passed away last Wednesday. The former Blue Devil soccer gals were flooded with the quips, the jokes, the stories, and the memories that so typified their warm and fuzzy former coach.

Breathe. Exhale. Breathe. Exhale. Breathe. Exhale. Everybody step back and relax. It’s not the end of the world.

The atmosphere was getting a wee-bit prickly on the sidelines in Delhi at Saturday’s boys’ soccer contest between the host Bulldogs and Margaretville. As Delhi pulled away in the second half, some of the Margaretville faithful began to show the frustration of a winless first week.

Mariah Ruff or Eric Reed would have been in three-point heaven. Every time a shot behind the arc swished through the nets, water splashed from the twines in a several foot, circular, aerial display. It was basketball like it’s never been played before.

“The great players show how much they want to play during the off-season, when it’s hot, when it’s tough, and when no one is watching.” — Tony Alfonso, author of The Mentally Tough Shooting Workout.

It was hot. It was tough, and there certainly weren’t too many people watching. Last week eight future Margaretville varsity basketball players enjoyed a basketball feast in three days of hardwood madness that saw them play nine games over that time. The basketball bonanza was a team camp held at Houghton College, a gorgeous campus located in western New York.

The local sporting world lost a true friend in early August with the passing of Steven Fabrykiewicz. Steve, the father of Andes soccer star Peter Fabrykiewicz, had become a regular feature at many soccer contests throughout Delaware County. An avid photographer, he could be found, camera slung over his shoulders, joyfully bounding up and down the sidelines at soccer games.

The difference between average and superior performance is much narrower than the average person thinks. Often superior teams have an aura of invincibility, a swagger that builds an impression that they simply cannot be beaten. On the surface, average performing teams don’t seem to match up. Actually, the gap between the two performance levels is not nearly as large as most people believe.

The King’s crown is showing tarnish. America’s love affair with professional basketball icon, LeBron James hit its first big time snag last week as James orchestrated a free agency free-for-all involving at least six cities that dominated the sports world for a week and sure wasn’t basketball’s or the young star’s one shining moment.

The death of basketball’s legendary coach John Wooden this weekend caused me to pause and take stock of time. Wooden was 99 years old when he passed. His legacy on and off the basketball court may never be matched and is sure to withstand the test of time. Wooden’s passing transported me back to a time many years ago when the magnetic allure of the UCLA coaching great would almost be transforming to me.

He is a cat with nine lives, and the New York Met manager will have used up at least three or four of them by the end of May. Manuel, who guides New York’s “other” baseball team, has been the subject of almost daily media speculation as the baseball season unfolds.

A Big League Show at a Small Town Price!  In an era of super-priced professional sports entertainment, minor league baseball is still a bargain for the baseball-loving sports fan or people simply looking for an inexpensive night to watch a game at the park.