If you think back to watching the 1986 movie “Lethal Weapon,” Detective Roger Murtaugh kept repeating “I’m too old for this” (usually followed by a colorful expletive) every time he was in an overly physical situation.
The actor, Danny Glover, was only 40 during filming, but his character was on the verge of 50, like I am now. I recall watching that back in the day and thinking all your athletic ability must disappear once you hit 35. After all, that’s when professional athletes started to lose it.
Age doesn’t do you any favors. Parts of your body start hurting for what seems to be no particular reason. Aches and pains take days or weeks to go away. Time is the one opponent that always wins.
I’ve always countered that being around young people keeps you young. It’s one reason I volunteer to coach youth sports.
I had a moment of questioning if that was wise recently. I’m coaching my youngest daughter on her fifth- and sixth-grade softball team this spring, and I was pitching to some of the girls.
One girl hit a beautiful line drive right up the middle, right at the pitcher. Directly at the pitcher’s left knee. Square at my knee.
With all the machismo possible when a man gets put in serious pain by an 11-year-old girl, I told her I was fine. I told her it didn’t hurt. I kept throwing batting practice.
I also kept lying. Of course it hurt.
It’s hard enough being an old dad to a young girl. It doesn’t help that I’ve had gray hair since before I turned 40, to the extent one of our former reporters thought my 40th birthday was actually my 50th. When I pick my youngest up from places, many people assume I’m her grandfather. Still, I want to give her the same experiences her oldest sisters got, especially since she seems to enjoy when I coach her teams.
Anyway, I really didn’t know how badly my knee hurt until the next morning. I could barely walk until I started moving a little bit. Every five minutes sitting at my desk at work seemed to reset whatever progress I’d made. I avoided the stairs at home. I wondered if this would be one of those life-changing moments, where I could no longer do simple things I’d taken for granted.
Fortunately, by our next practice a few days later, my gait had returned to normal. Somehow there wasn’t major damage. Somehow I’d avoided serious injury. I threw more batting practice, and the girls were nice enough not to hit me all night.
Then Thursday’s practice came around. We were missing a lot of girls, but we were trying to keep infielders on the dirt while batting people around to the different bases. We ran out of batters, and we weren’t sure how to keep the drill going.
I decided to grab one of the girls’ bats and take a swing. I intentionally grounded it to the third-base side (where most hits go in youth softball). When a girl overthrew first base, I took off for second, just like we teach them to do in that situation. The old, fat man who could barely walk a few days earlier made a hustle play. (The coach in me used that opportunity to talk about what they’d done wrong on the play, even though my inner 12-year-old wanted to gloat.)
The past few weeks have proven one thing to me: I am not too old for this.
David Trinko is editor of The Lima News. Reach him at 567-242-0467, by email at [email protected] or on Twitter/X @Lima_Trinko.
Judith Lee (Goodwin) O’Leary passed away peacefully in her home, surrounded by her family on Dec. 24, 2025. Judy leaves behind her daughter, Tara O’Leary MacCarthy and her husband, Kenny; her grandchildren, Dr. Keira (O’Donovan) Martinez and her wife, Dr. Jennifer Martinez, Connor O’Leary and his wife Katherine. Judy is also survived by her two beloved great-granddaughters, Eve Martinez and Saoirse O’Leary, and her loving extended family and dear, life-long friends. Judy was predeceased by many loved ones, including her husband, Capt. Douglas M. O’Leary, son, Captain Brendan M. O’Leary, grandson, Seamus M. O’Leary, parents, Webster and Betty Goodwin, and her brother, Capt. Steven W. Goodwin.
Devoted to the town she loved, Judy worked in the town offices for over 25 years in both the Light Department and the Tax Collector office and took great pride in being a multi-generational Marbleheader. A clever and skilled artist with impeccable taste, Judy poured her love and creative talents into decorating her home, designing and crafting handmade quilts to welcome new babies, and knitting beautiful items that will be cherished by those she has left behind for many years to come. Judy’s quick wit and kindness were among her many qualities that drew others to her and her loving nature, curious spirit and resilience will be remembered always.
Services for Judy will be held on Friday, Jan. 9, at Murphy Funeral Home, 85 Federal St., Salem, including visiting hours 9-11 a.m., a memorial service at 11 a.m., followed immediately by a memorial luncheon. For more information and online guestbook, please call the Murphy Funeral Home at 978-744-0497 or visit murphyfuneralhome.com.
It’s been more than six and a half years since Madrid signed a player over 25 years old as an established star for a significant transfer fee. Players like AntonioRüdiger (2022), DavidAlaba (2021), KylianMbappé (2024), and Trent Alexander-Arnold (2025) arrived either on free transfers or, in Trent’s case, for a fee paid to Liverpool to secure his early participation in the Club World Cup. Joselu also joined in 2023 for €2 million in a low-cost deal, but it wasn’t considered a major market move.
Season after season since 2019, Real Madrid has focused on youth. The idea is simple: invest in young talent and give the club a decade to mold the squad, while amortizing transfer costs over time. Signing fully developed stars has become rare. In the 2019-2020 season, Hazard, Mendy, and Jovic arrived. Jovic, though young, failed to live up to the early promise.
The player profile Real Madrid are chasing
Players like Camavinga, Tchouaméni, Bellingham, Güler, Endrick, Huijsen, and Carreras all fit the club’s ideal profile, and Dutch midfielder Kees Smit is no exception. He turns 20 on January 20, with his entire career ahead of him. Madrid’s potential move for the AZ Alkmaar starlet would fall far short of the triple-digit fees seen for players like Vitinha or Alexis McAllister, yet he offers the creativity the club believes is crucial for the future.
The strategy at Valdebebas hasn’t changed: stability on and off the field comes from signing young players who can wear the Real Madrid jersey for a decade. Three La Liga titles since 2019, two Champions League trophies, a Copa del Rey, multiple Spanish and European Super Cups, and Club World Cups all reinforce the wisdom of this approach.
LaLiga giants favor youth over experience
Still, Real Madrid faces a challenge heading into next season: reclaiming the midfield spark that has been fading over time. The plan remains to bring in young talent, though there is ongoing debate about whether experience and proven quality should play a role. For now, youth wins, and Kees Smit is at the top of the list.
Former Real Madrid academy player Chema Andrés has excelled with Stuttgart in Germany and has been tipped to return.DeFodi Images
Madrid look to the academy
The same philosophy applies to the center-back position. Recent signings have either come from the academy or arrived on free transfers. Homegrown players like Jacobo Ramón at Como, Joan Martínez in Castilla training with the first team, and others such as Victor Valdepeñas – who has already debuted as a left-back – Diego Aguado, and Mario Rivas are being closely monitored.
Chema Andrésis another example, excelling in an accelerated development program in Stuttgart. Gonzalo García’s progress also suggests a path for non-defender academy players to join the first team exists. The door is open for the next generation.
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Cypress players and coaches after winning the tournament championship Tuesday. (Photo courtesy Cypress basketball).
Cypress High School’s boys basketball team won the Governor’s Division at the Torrey Pines Tournament defeating Poway 83-73 Tuesday night.
The Centurions’ Ryan Gov earned MVP honors scoring 32 points and hitting three 3-pointers in the final. Gavin Kroll had 17 points and three 3-pointers. Ethan Mai played tough defense and finished with 10 points, according to Coach Derek Mitchell.
“I’m proud of the way our team competed on the defensive end all tournament,” Mitchell said. “We had a lot of guys step up and make positive contributions throughout.”
The Centurions begin league play on Friday at Crean Lutheran.
An underdog team that won 10 games for the first time. A quarterback who finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting. Unforgettable victories over a top-10 team and a bitter rival. A lifetime of memories from a season for the ages.
To celebrate Vanderbilt football’s epic season, The Tennessean will craft a hardcover collector’s book about the 2025 Commodores. It’s titled “ANCHOR DOWN: How Heisman Finalist Diego Pavia Led Vanderbilt to its Historic 2025 Season.”
Buy our commemorative Vanderbilt book now!
“ANCHOR DOWN” will chronicle how Vanderbilt, led by Clark Lea on the sidelines and Diego Pavia in the huddle, helped transform a program that hadn’t reached double digits in victories in its history. But the book isn’t just their story. It’s the story of a team that bought in, a staff that never stopped believing and a fan base that finally got to see what Vanderbilt football could become.
From the offensive line that gave Pavia time to work his magic to the defense that held Tennessee to its worst performance of the season, the Commodores proved that when everyone rows in the same direction, historic things happen.
It’s all there: The Heisman pose after stunning 10th-ranked LSU. The 484-yard passing explosion against Kentucky that shattered a record from 1981. The 45-24 demolition of Tennessee at Neyland Stadium, where Vanderbilt rushed for 314 yards and left orange-clad fans heading for the exits by the fourth quarter.
“ANCHOR DOWN” will be packed with exclusive photography, behind-the-scenes access and game-by-game coverage from the award-winning journalists at The Tennessean.
“ANCHOR DOWN” retails for $39.95 but order now for a 10% discount. (That’s $35.95, plus tax and shipping.)
Whether you’ve been a Vanderbilt fan for decades or just arrived for the greatest season in program history, this book belongs on your coffee table, your memories preserved in hardcover. Or give “ANCHOR DOWN” as the perfect gift — for a birthday, graduation, Father’s Day, Mother’s Day and a belated holiday gift. Order at Vanderbilt.PictorialBook.com.
Buy our Vanderbilt book as a gift!
Exclusive page print: Hang 10 Vandy-style
After Vanderbilt routed Tennessee in the final game of the regular season, The Tennessean turned the front page of its Sports section into a commemorative page print. It features VANDY AT 10 as its big headline and a stunning photo of the celebration after the 45-24 victory.
Copies of this page are available for $27 (plus tax and shipping) and come in a variety of sizes and formats through the USA TODAY Store. Go to usatodaystore.com and search “Vanderbilt.”
Don’t miss your chance to own this piece of Vandy history!
Buy our Vanderbilt commemorative page print!
Contact Gene Myers at gmyers@usatodayco.com. Check out books and page prints from theUSA TODAY Network— including books on 100 years of the Grand Ole Opry, Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, a kid’s guide to the Winter Olympics, Dale Earnhardt’s legacy and Coach Steve’s guide to surviving youth sports.
In response to the article “Youth tennis players ask for first call for courts” (CVN, Vol. 32 No. 14).
I strongly support court time for our youth. The importance of “sports” (and the arts) for our youth in our community is very important for a healthy community.
Ron Mousouris is an asset to our community. We are fortunate he has been instructing tennis to our kids in our community for years. Several kids I know have gotten college scholarships through high school tennis. It keeps our kids engaged in a healthy sport… the more positive opportunities our youth has the better!
We obviously need more pickleball courts. I would be happy to be on a committee working with the city of Carpinteria to locate an open space to locate more courts and possibly more tennis courts?
A new year, the same routine for our Youth teams, who will be back in action in around ten days’ time, once the festive period is fully behind them, to resume their competitive activity. January brings a number of interesting and demanding fixtures, providing further opportunities to continue their consistent development.
The Women’s Primavera, who closed out 2025 with a run of excellent results, will begin the new year with the second derby of the season, following the Coppa Italia meeting, on Sunday 11 January at the PUMA House of Football. It will be the only home fixture of the month for Zago’s team, who will then face away trips to Parma, on the same weekend as the First Team, and Roma.
The new year also begins on the road for the Under-18s, who will be in action away to Sassuolo around the Epiphany. Their first home fixture will be against Frosinone, in a month that also includes two all-Lombardy fixtures: an away match against Monza and a home game with Cremonese, which will also mark the opening round of the second half of the season.
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Cremonese, away, will also be the first opponents of 2026 for our Under-17s, whose first home fixture will come on the weekend of 17–18 January against Atalanta. One date to circle towards the end of the month is the derby away to Inter, on the same weekend that, with venues reversed, will see AC Milan v Inter for the Primavera. Shared paths, with the same fixture calendar, await the men’s Under-16s and Under-15s: they begin at home against Padova, in a month that will also feature a double away trip to face Cremonese.
Match Kits, clothing, accessories, gift ideas and much more: visit the AC Milan online Store!
