Coupeville Sports

  Nick Dion plays through the rain splatters during Friday’s jamboree. (John Fisken photo)

Mike Lodell wants you to know it’s always sunny inside his brain.

   “Nice try, Lodell. But there are two small lakes inside my shoes and I’m 98.2% sure I’m never going to be warm again.” (Fisken photo)

It’s a birthday 2-for-1 special in Wolf Nation.

Saturday brings the cake day to Coupeville High School junior Nick Dion, a true scholar/athlete, and that irrepressible king of the grounds-keeping crew, Mike “Mr. Sunshine” Lodell.

They may be separated by a few years (we’ll say Lodell is old enough to be Dion’s … older brother), but they both play vital roles in Cow Town.

Dion is a super-smart whiz kid who, when he’s not dominating fools in Science Olympiad, is also a hard-working two-sport athlete.

Whether the game is tennis or soccer, Nick flies around the playing surface, fighting through every play.

Dude has no quit in him, and remains one of the nicest guys who will, without a doubt, slay you in two worlds.

Athletically, he’s a scrapper. Academically, he’s a juggernaut.

Put the two together and you have one of the very best Coupeville has to offer the world.

Now, Lodell, the smooth-talking master of the laid-back McConaughey-style vibe, is just as impressive in his own way.

A movie junkie, father of two (Noah and Hope) and notorious street ball assassin, Mike can brighten even the darkest day on the prairie.

Even if he is so good at his job that one day last spring we spent three hours being drenched while watching softball, because his work on the field made it super-resistant to the liquid daggers slashing the fans to pieces.

No matter how miserable the weather got, the field not only stayed playable, it brought oohs and ahs from the umps.

Any other town, any other field, the game would have been called off in the first inning and we would have all gone home to dry clothes and a cup o’ tea.

Not here, as Lodell’s handiwork kept the CHS field, and the softball schedule, chugging along beautifully (even as we all good-naturedly cursed him repeatedly).

Of course, deep down (right down to our sodden boxer shorts), our respect for Mike’s handiwork grew even more that day.

Even if we did contemplate beating him with a large stick for being too dang good at his job…

Like Dion, Mike brings a deep commitment to everything he does, which is why I know, without a doubt, today’s scheduled softball opener against South Whidbey (12 PM) is going on, regardless of how dank the weather looks through my sliding glass door.

Dang it, Lodell, you magnificent, Mother Nature-bustin’ bastard!!

Well, that’s fine, cause when I’m soaked a few hours from now, and they’re still playing, I’ll give him a surprise birthday hug and hold on long enough until I make sure he’s soaked too.

But anyways … happy joint cake day Nick and Mike.

May your day shine as brightly as the sun I (naively) hope will peek through the clouds when the ump says “Play ball.”

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