- November 18, 2024
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My day in sports started at 8:15 a.m. Saturday, when I scurried onto the beach at Andy Romano Park to cover a 5K fundraiser for the Seabreeze girls cross country team. It ended some 14 hours later under the lights of the Flagler Beach tennis courts. In between, I imbibed a little league baseball game in St. Augustine and the sights and sounds of Royal Liverpool, if only on TV.
After wrapping up the early morning running coverage, I had a choice: I could stop home, dump my memory card and start writing up the story or, continue north on I-95 toward St. Augustine and cover Palm Coast’s Little League All-Stars sectional game, which had a scheduled 10 a.m. first pitch. As exit 289 for the Palm Coast Parkway approached in the distance, I pushed the accelerator a little closer to the sandy floor mat, and with it — my luck.
I arrived at McDonald’s Stadium at Osceola Elementary just in time to see Palm Coast’s Declan Mock strike out a Port St. John batter swinging to end the top of the first. The buzz from the quick start was tempered when the opposing team — specifically the pitcher — took the field. Chase LeBlanc, 12, stared down his catcher, his sight confined underneath the plane of a flat brim. With a whip-like delivery, violent leg kick, and three-quarters southpaw arm slot, LeBlanc looked every bit the part of former Florida Marlins star Dontrelle Willis — and at an estimated 5-foot-11 — he had the size to match. Watching the first few warm-up pitches, I thought our kids had no chance. Six innings and four runs later, they proved me wrong with an upset victory!
With photos and color (detail) for a feature story about the team's coach in tow, I headed home.
Sergio Garcia should really have a major (or several) by now, I thought, munching on a Nacho Cheese Doritos Locos taco in my living room, watching the third round of the British Open. The guy has a gorgeous swing and his body looks like it belongs to a 21-year-old (he’s 34). More importantly, he’s in command of his emotions now, unlike when he was dubbed Spain’s “teen dream” at Medinah in 1999. Reconciling myself to the fact that Garcia is simply unlucky, I took a nap.
Around 9 p.m., I played (almost) mixed doubles with my friends Mohan, Nick and Kayla on the 7th Street Flagler Beach courts. I converted exactly one first serve over the course of two sets and took a ball in the face during a misguided volley attempt. This was top-notch tennis.
