Charley Eckman had been back in the hospital the last couple days, but his daughter, Linda Watts, said he expects to be back home today.
Eckman has been battling cancer for more than three years. Sunday night at his Glen Burnie home, he was in pretty good spirits despite some recent complications and a pending trip to North Arundel.
"Don't count me out, I can beat this thing again," said the 73-year-old Eckman, who has fought back several times during his battle. "If I can get to the spring, I will beat this thing."
Eckman couldn't stop joking with his nurse and kept everybody around him laughing.
Linda, Charley's wife of 53 years, Wilma, and son Barry are, however, limiting visitors and phone calls.
"We appreciate all of those who care so much about him, but we have to make sure he's up to it," said Linda. "The big thing is for everybody to keep him in their prayers."
Best-dressed department
Chesapeake softball coach Dennis Thiele called over the weekend to comment on the absurdity of the new high school federation rule on softball coaches' attire mentioned in Sunday's "Sidelines."
The rule prohibits jeans, sweat shirts, fleece-lined jackets and dresses, and the coaches must wear "school uniform or jersey, coaching shorts or slacks that have to be the same color as the team's shorts or pants."
"When they talked about it at our meeting, I asked what the penalty was for violating the new dress code, and they told me that there is none. The umpire can't do anything about a coach not being properly dressed," said Thiele.
"I told them it was kind of ridiculous to have a rule without a penalty. We don't have a problem with the way coaches dress in our county, which makes the new rule even more ridiculous."
The rule also says that a coach's shirt must be the same color as the team jersey.
"I usually wear a dark jersey when our girls wear their white one, and vice versa, so that the umpire can immediately pick me out in the crowd," said Thiele. "They should be concentrating more on the rules of the game, not petty stuff like that."
Sour grapes
It's hard to believe that South River head coach Ken Dunn and assistant Jack Jordan complained about Broadneck stopping the boys basketball game Friday to present a game ball to Jason Smith for becoming only the fourth county player to surpass the 1,500 mark in career points.
With 1:58 left in the third period and Broadneck leading 42-27 in a game it would eventually win, 60-51, timeout was called and Bruins' coach Ken Kazmarek presented Smith with a ball. Smith took it over to his parents, Howard and Delores Smith, and grandmother, Thelma Johnson, giving each a hug in a touching moment.
The referees, Joe Anarino and Wayne Randall, confirmed that during the brief presentation Dunn and Jordan were miffed because they hadn't been told about it.
The coaches asked the referees to move the Bruin cheerleaders from under their basket down to Broadneck's end.
Had Kazmarek and Broadneck wanted to nit-pick, they could have claimed a forfeit with South River not showing up until the nearly scheduled game time of 7:30 p.m. The game didn't start until 7:57 p.m.
Baseball in full swing
Twenty-two county baseball players from nine schools are among 200 from all over the state working out on Sundays at the Southern Maryland Baseball Camp at Northern High, Calvert County.
The clinic is run by San Diego Padres scout Jerry Wargo and Northern head coach Bruce Hutchison and might be the best of its kind in the area. Scores of players who have attended the camp have benefited.
Former All-County players such as right-handed pitchers Ken Pumphrey of Old Mill and Broadneck's Sean Ryan, and smooth-swinging first baseman Tim Giles of Arundel, attended the winter before their senior years.
Pumphrey and Ryan gave up college scholarships to sign bonus contracts with the New York Mets and Texas Rangers, respectively. Giles, who turned down a chance to sign with the Orioles, has become a big-time hitter at UNC-Greensboro.