The News Journal from Wilmington, Delaware • Page C3

delawareonline.com SPORTS THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2013 THE NEWS JOURNAL C3 58TH BLUE-GOLD ALL-STAR FOOTBALL GAME Fond farewell for dual-threat athlete jtijk. Diaz Nardo plays on defense during scrimmage Wednesday, gary emeighhe news journal BLUE-GOLD SCHEDULE Saturday at Delaware Stadium Blue Team head coach Joe Aviola watches his linemen go through blocking drills during Blue Team scrimmages on Wednesday afternoon, kyle granthamthe news journal Blue: Aviola soon can 'sit back and be a dad' 7 p.m. Kickoff TICKETS: Go to http: dfrc.ticketleap.com football or call 3 p.m. Family Fun Zone opens 5 p.m. Stadium gates open 6 p.m.

Pregame activities start By Kevin Tresolini The News Journal SMYRNA Wednesday was a beautiful day for baseball. Surely, had it not been for the Delaware All-Star High School Football Game, Diaz Nardo would have swung a bat and slipped on a glove. There will be plenty of time for that later. This week, Nardo is having his final fling with football, and it is a fond farewell, indeed. The recent Cape Hen-lopen High graduate will attend the University of Delaware later this summer to play baseball, having committed to the Blue Hens as a junior.

Football is close to his heart, too, which is why he wasn't about to miss the opportunity to play in Saturday's 7 p.m. Blue-Gold game at Delaware Stadium. The 58th annual game matches up the state's top 2013 high school grads. Nardo played the part well Wednesday, seeing a little action at quarterback and a lot at safety in the Gold scrimmage at Smyrna High. Even the No.

76 practice jersey he wore a lineman's digits didn't appear odd considering Nardo's solid 6-foot-3, 225-pound frame. It was an easy decision for Nardo to play Blue-Gold. His buddy in the Hand-in-Hand program, matching players with intellectually disabled kids, is Davey Frederick, a boy he has known and lived near for years. That, and the opportunity to deliver a few more hits of the football variety, made Blue-Gold a must. "I wanted to do the buddy thing with Davey, because he loves bowling and all the other activities we do," Nardo said.

"I love him, and it's just a great cause to be a part of, and playing in the game is fun." "I knew he would enjoy all this stuff because he loves sports. For me, it's one more game." Nardo isn't the first member of his family to appear in the Blue-Gold game, as dad Dino (1981) and uncle Mark (1978) were Blue teamers. Whether on the Sea-hawks' sideline or as head coach of the Blue team, Aviola said he's kept his same philosophy. Taking a 14- or 15-year-old boy and molding him into an 18-year-old man through the mechanism of football is Aviola's lifelong passion. In line with his philosophy, Aviola admitted he's sometimes had to be stern with his son, yelling at practice and even pulling him for a few plays.

Aviola III said there's no love lost and he can fully understand his father's methods, claiming they are for the "good of the matter." After all, he has one goal in mind. "He wants me to do better more than anyone out there," Aviola III said. III said. "He's a great guy, a great coach and he's taught me everything I know throughout my high school career. I'll miss it." Now destined for the Massachusetts Maritime Academy to try to continue his football career, Aviola III said he's looking forward to branching out and will relish playing for a new coach.

The change also will come as a relief for Aviola, who said he looks forward to balancing his third season at Delaware Military Academy with watching his son from a more relaxed vantage point. "It will be enjoyable," Aviola said. "I really do want to just sit back and be a dad and sit to watch and enjoy the gifts he's been given to play at the college level now." Continued from Page C1 members of the Blue team." When Aviola III lines up at center on Saturday, he will be the first player to be coached by his father in the Blue-Gold All-Star Game since 2003 when Dave Hearn coached his son Travis on the Gold squad. Aviola III, who was under his fathers' tutelage for four years two as head coach at Delaware Military Academy, said he hasn't stopped through the weeklong training camp to realize this is the last time his father will coach him. But that doesn't mean he hasn't reflected on the trials and tribulations the duo have endured through the experience.

"It's been an honor and a privilege," Aviola charged kid, which you can see by the way he plays. "He gives you a great presence on the field. He can come downhill because he's a big kid. He closes just as fast as a 170-pound safety. The good thing is, when Diaz makes contact, it's going to be a lot harder than from the 170-pound guy.

He's got a great college safety build." Nardo has drilled this week on UD practice fields, which are parallel to Bob Hannah Stadium, where he'll do his work as a Blue Hen baseball player. "The whole practice, I'm seeing the field and the cages and saying, 'I can't wait to get over said Nardo, who plans to study education at Delaware. In the meantime, there's no place he'd rather be than in a football uniform one more time. "It's fun coming out here and playing," said Nardo, who'll wear No. 6 Saturday, as he unbuckled his shoulder pads Wednesday.

Contact Kevin Tresolini at ktresolinidelawareonline.com. Nardo completed two-thirds of his passing attempts and averaged better than 4 yards per carry in the Vikings' ground-based Wing-T. He burrowed up the middle to score on a short run in Wednesday's scrimmage, delighting in the pounding that took place and reminding defenders he is difficult to take down. Pounding opposing pitches is his preferred passion. Nardo was recruited to Delaware as a third baseman and outfielder, though he also pitched for the Vikings.

He's playing this summer for the Georgetown Titans in the wood-bat Eastern Shore Baseball League. Entering Thursday, Nardo's .471 batting average was third in the league. But Nardo has proved he belongs on a football field, too. "He wants to be on everything," Gold coach Ed Manlove said. "He's on special teams, offense, defense.

He'll help get the water. Anything involved in this game, he wants to do it. And the good thing is we've got a whole team full of kids like that. He's a super- THURSDAY, JUNE 20 The News Journal and Texas Roadhouse are proud to support the Newspaper in Education program on Thursday, June 20. Cartwright: Blewynn Gold, yes, we certainly do miss you Newspaper inEducation phewsournan Texas Roadhouse will donate 10 of your bill to the Newspaper in Education program on behalf of The News Journal.

Just bring in or mention this ad and 10 of your bill will be given to the Newspaper in Education Program. It's that easy! Don't forget to call ahead! Join us at the following Texas Roadhouse locations: 1051 Baltimore Pike, Glen Mills, Pa. 250 Buckley Bear, Del. 4568 S. Dupont Camden, Del.

22850 Sussex Seaford, Del. 107 E. Cedar Lane, Fruitland, Md. To learn more about the Newspaper in Education program, visit delawareonline.com nie. The Newsjournal Qdelawareonline Sixers.

Anyone who can make an NBA game interesting impresses me." A sign of how times have changed: Al "suggested" that I wear a tie to cover a golf tournament at Wilmington Country Club in sizzling summer heat. Of course, I wore a tie. Bodley succeeded Cartwright as The News Journal's sports editor in 1969. Later, Bodley was a baseball columnist for USA Today. He's now a correspondent for mlb.com.

"I am blessed to have been able to do something I dreamed of as youngster and to have had the success that has come my way," Bodley said. "Without the guidance and inspiration of Al Cartwright this never would have happened. "I don't believe a day goes by when I write the first paragraph of a story or began an interview that I don't think, 'How would Al approach he added. "Al Cartwright was one of the greatest natural resources Delaware has ever had. He touched so many people.

We all owe him more than we'll ever be able to repay," Bodley said. One of my favorite characters created by Cartwright was Blewynn Gold. Cartwright wrote his Monday Evening Journal column on Delaware football games from the viewpoint of Blewynn Gold, class of 1890, the only UD grad who had seen every Blue Hens football game. Some readers actually thought Blewynn Gold was a real person. Cartwright ended his column announcing his retirement with "Miss me." We've missed you in Delaware, Al.

A happy 96th from your many friends here and elsewhere. Bill Fleischman is a mostly retired sports writer for the Philadelphia Daily News. He taught in the University of Delaware journalism program for 28 years. Continued from Page C1 loaded from my computer and as he read them, he mentioned that he had created most of them over the years and he should have patented them. His sense of humor is still at the top of the charts." When I joined The News Journal in 1966 I was aware of Cartwright's reputation.

I quickly learned he guided a thoroughly professional staff that included Hal Bodley, Matt Zabitka, Izzy Katzman and Karl Feldner. Larry Shenk was on sports staff before he left for the Phillies, where he served as vice president for media relations from 1964 to 2008. "Al was the face of The News Journal," Shenk said. "His Al a Carte columns were entertaining, informative, sometimes filled with his humor and other times, critical as only he could be. He could have had a second career as a comedian although some of his humor was on the weak side.

He didn't think so. "All of us who worked under him at The News Journal became better journalists and persons. Each also experienced his stinging criticism. Shortly after joining the N-J in January 1963, my mailbox contained a typed message from him: "Baron von Shenk: Damn it. You spelled Smyrna wrong.

Get it right! Don't let it happen again! Al." Every note or assignment was directed to Baron von Shenk. I became known as the Baron, a handle I've proudly carried since." I occasionally found notes from Cartwright in my mailbox. Two of my favorites were: "Fleisch: clean out your mail box. The fire department is complaining." After I covered a Sixers season opener Al wrote, "Good job on the Monday, July 1 5 White Clay Creek Country Club 1 00 of the proceeds go directly to education. Play in the Newspaper in Education Golf Classic and your tax-deductible donation will support an outstanding educational program.

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