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Friday, December 31, 2010

December 31

The final day of the calendar year-and a day that couldn't end quickly enough. Saw on the Internet where JPM lost on Thursday night 73-72, that's two losses this week by a grand total of four points. The boxscore wasn't in the newspaper, I guess whoever did the book in my place never called it in. Made a morning errand run and got a haircut at 12:30 and that's when the trouble started. I came out after the haircut and discovered my rear right tire was flat as a pancake. I called home, my mother was out (she's a widow, we share the same address). I walked home (about a mile or so) and took a shower, by then she was back. I called my service center, they referred me to a towing agency that was able to help almost immediately. The tow-truck driver put the emergency spare on the car so my mother could drive it to the service center, I borrowed her car so I could pick up Jenny and Helen for the evening's hockey game in Hershey. I finally got out of town shortly before 3:00, we got into the arena at 4:30 for a 5:00 game. I called home to see how things worked out, apparently the side wall of the tire split somehow. They replaced it with a new tire since it couldn't be salvaged. All things considered I guess I got off lucky. In the game itself the Syracuse Crunch (affiliate of the NHL Anaheim Ducks) defeated Hershey 4-2. I had the ladies home by 9:00, I was home before 9:30 with plans to stay in the peace and quiet for the duration of the night. New Year's Eve is largely a meaningless holiday, it's just an excuse to go out and get loaded. If you're not the kind of person who does that (at least not anymore) it's just another night. I don't have anything special going over the weekend so hopefully 2011 will start better than 2010 ended. Take care and thanks for reading, see you Next Year.

December 30

In Quarryville with Jenny on Thursday morning for a visit and lunch, in the afternoon it was on to Reading for the final time in 2010. The Florida Everblades were back for the rematch of Tuesday's game and for a while there was a distinct feeling of deja vu. On Tuesday the Royals held a 3-1 lead in the third period, the 'Blades rallied to tie it and won in OT. On this night the exact same script played out but this time the Royals prevailed 4-3 in regulation time. Ryan Cruthers scored two goals (including the game-winner with three minutes left), Ben Gordon and Casey Haines also lit the lamp for the Royals. Rookie goaltender Michael Hutchinson picked up the win in his Royals debut, he joined the club earlier in the day as the Boston Bruins promoted Matt Dalton to Providence of the AHL and sent Hutchinson to Reading in his place. Over 5700 in the Sovereign Center for "turn back the clock" night activities as the Royals wore special jerseys in the style of the Los Angeles Kings, the club's NHL affiliate when it started back in 2001. The Royals have thirty games in the book now, the record is 20-9-1 (9-5-1 at home, 11-4-0 on the road). The club's next three games are away from home, the next home game is on Friday January 14 when the Toledo Walleye (what a name) visit the Sovereign Center. Take care, thanks for reading.

Thursday, December 30, 2010

December 29

Out and about on Wednesday morning, at a local store I ran into Jerren Harris and Javonne King (former JPM basketball players from the class of '08). Javonne asked if I would be at the game in the evening, he said when I'm absent it messes up the whole feel of the game because I have "that voice". I told him it's a good thing I have "that voice" because the rest of me isn't worth much anymore. Found out what happened at JPM on Tuesday: the first game of the night was scheduled to be York versus Franklin Learning Center (from Philadelphia), we were to play University City (also from Philly) in the nightcap. FLC never showed up so it was decided to let York and UC play each other rather than send York home without having played. It was later discovered that FLC thought the tournament was a Wednesday-Thursday scenario. At any rate York won over UC so on this night we played York in the championship game while UC played FLC in the consolation game. That game started late because UC was late arriving and naturally it went into overtime before FLC earned the victory. Our game with York was the proverbial "barnburner" featuring numerous lead changes and momentum swings, York won it 79-76. Luis Fuentes led JPM with 20, Diante Cherry and Brian Newsome each had 15 and Tyler Martin (back in the lineup from his ankle injury) added 14. The club's record now stands at 3-4 with the four losses coming against four of the best programs in the state. Because of the scheduling mix-up with FLC the schools arranged to play each other on Thursday in the regular format (JV game at 6:30 followed by the Varsity game at 8:00). That leaves me out because the Royals are at home on Thursday, the boys play again on Tuesday the 4th and I'm good for that. Take care, thanks for reading.

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

December 27-28

Monday morning: the snow was long gone, areas further east got hit hard but the county ended up getting very little by comparison. It melted down nicely during the day thanks to sunlight and temperatures above freezing. On Tuesday I was with Jenny in Quarryville, after lunch we came back to the city. Headed north on 222 in the afternoon as the Royals played at home for the first time in sixteen days, the Florida Everblades were in town for the first of a two-game set. After the rematch on Thursday it will be another fifteen days until the club is at home again. Every year the team's home schedule is heavier after the New Year, this season is no exception: fifteen home dates before January 1, twenty-one after. The Royals suffered their first extra-time loss of the season on this night as Florida won 4-3 in overtime. Rob Slaney, Ben Gordon and Yannick Riendeau scored for the Royals, Matt Dalton took the loss in goal. Over 4700 in the house, not bad at all for a Tuesday night. The club's record falls to 19-9-1, they'll look for win #20 on Thursday. Saw on the Internet where McCaskey's basketball game at home was cancelled, I have no idea what happened but I'm sure we'll learn more on Wednesday morning. As they say on television, "stay tuned". Take care, thanks for reading.

Sunday, December 26, 2010

December 23-26

As we expected the past few days were uneventful. Thursday morning featured an errand run, on Friday Jenny and I had lunch together since everything would be closed on Saturday for the holiday. I must admit to having little regard for this time of year, many years ago something happened to me in the month of December that thoroughly destroyed all feelings I had for it and I've never been able to get it back. It is barely a blip on my radar and if it wasn't for Jenny being a huge part of my life it wouldn't register at all. On Saturday I visited with her in the morning, the great-grandchildren were there. I gave Jenny two music CDs she wanted, she got me a Phillies wall calendar. Yes, the gifts were inexpensive but it's the thought that counts. We kept hearing about snow in the forecast for Sunday but the morning was clear. Talked to Mazi in the morning via the Internet, she was visiting friends over the weekend and was stuck there with a blown radiator hose in her vehicle. Ever since she came home from the rehab center in October she's had one issue on top of another, the issues actually started when she broke her ankle in July. I called Jenny and asked if her mother would like to go with us to Hershey since Mazi couldn't make it, at 1:30 I headed south to pick them up. On the way down it began to flurry, as we drove northwest we made a side stop outside of Elizabethtown. One of Jenny's friends lives in Ephrata and they rarely see each other, she was staying with her mother in E-town (and Jenny knows her as well) so we stopped for a brief visit. By the time we hit Hershey it was flurrying hard and the wind was strong. The Norfolk Admirals were in town for a 5:00 game, they are the AHL affiliate of the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Ads are another franchise with ECHL roots, they've been in the AHL since 2000 but from 1989 until then they played in the "E". In those days the club was known as the Hampton Roads Admirals but they were always based out of Norfolk. A few former Royals of various vintage on the Ads roster-Stefano Giliati and Alex Berry from last season, Levi Nelson played in Reading in '08-09 and Troy Milam was a Royal back in "04-05. Hershey won 3-1, we'll be back on the 31st for the annual New Years Eve game. After the game the snow was over in Hershey but the closer we got to Lancaster the messier it was. Jenny and Helen had packed an overnight bag just in case but I figured we could get them home without too much trouble. Driving on snow-covered roads is no fun (especially at night) but as long as you take your time, stick to the main routes and don't speed like a maniac you're OK. With it all I had them home by 9:00, I was home by 9:30 and glad to be there. It's supposed to clear out overnight and be windy on Monday but I have little planned for that day. The Royals returned from holiday break on Sunday with a 5-3 win in Trenton, the boys are at home on Tuesday and Thursday. Take care, thanks for reading.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

December 21-22

Tuesday morning: Jenny was in the city for an appointment at 9:30, I told her I'd pick her up at 10:00. At 9:00 the phone rang, she was already done-there had been a cancellation so she was seen early. No complaints here, it's better to be early than late any day. We did some shopping while she was in town and had lunch in Quarryville at the pizza parlor. On Wednesday evening the boys were in action at home, another Section II crossover game as Solanco came to visit. Solanco HS (or SOuthern LANcaster COunty) is in Quarryville, about two miles from where Jenny lives (although we should note that she's a McCaskey grad like me, she lives in Q-ville but she's JPM through and through). Over the years our program has battled through adversity that would make weaker teams crumble, this season is already proving a challenge. Between the three I's (injury, illness and ineligibility) we don't know who's going to be there from one game to the next. On this night we only had eight guys in uniform, with five of them in the game we had more coaches on the bench than reserve players. As Coach Powell would say, you just "lace them up" and play the hand you're dealt, on this occasion it was successful as the boys won 62-38 to even the record at 3-3. Everybody played and all scored except one, three players hit double figures. Calvert Gantz and Luis Fuentes had 18 apiece, Diante Cherry added 12. We had another injury scare in the fourth quarter, Diante went down holding his right knee. After the game he had ice on it and seemed to be walking normally, with the next game not until the 28th he hopefully won't miss any time. Maybe we need to call in a exorcist to get rid of the injury bug, it has certainly bitten us enough already. That game on the 28th is the first round of our annual holiday tournament, round two is the 29th. I'll be out of the mix on the 28th (the Royals are at home) but I'm good for the second night. The next few days figure to be quiet, the next major event on the calendar is hockey in Hershey on the 26th. Take care, thanks for reading.

Monday, December 20, 2010

December 20

The usual Monday errand run got the day started, in the late afternoon we went over to McCaskey for the bus ride to Elizabethtown. E-town is about twenty miles northwest of Lancaster but it's highway just about all the way. This was another crossover game with Section II, with Aaron and Tyler out of the lineup and another player serving a school suspension the club had only ten players in uniform. It wasn't an easy victory but the guys got it done, the score was 74-59. Everybody in uniform got into the game, six of them scored and five hit double figures. Calvert Gantz led with 18, Diante Cherry had 17, Luis Fuentes 12, Brian Newsome 11 and newcomer Shaki Staten added 10. Shaki is another sophomore with a ton of upside who is getting the proverbial baptism under fire, he has been in the starting lineup every game thus far. Every basketball season at JPM is an adventure, this one has already been more than most. It's one thing to search for an identity early in the season, after losing two players from the starting lineup we find ourselves in reset mode. At least on this night it worked out to the good as the club improves to 2-3 (2-0 league-wise), on Wednesday the club plays at home versus Solanco in another crossover game. Take care, thanks for reading.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

December 19

Sunday afternoon: talked to Mazi via the Internet, she was in Maryland at a friend's house. She had planned to be back in time to join us for the AHL game in Hershey but she said she was feeling awful and wasn't up to traveling. Jamie Burkholder was going with us anyway so he used Mazi's seat instead of buying one at the arena. The visiting club in Hershey on this occasion was the Charlotte Checkers, a first-year AHL franchise but a familiar name to ECHL fans. The Checkers played in the "E" from 1993 through last season, over the summer the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes moved its AHL affiliate to Charlotte and retained the traditional nickname. Charlotte has a long history in hockey dating back to the 1950s in different leagues, just about all of the teams have been known as the Checkers. Hershey won the game 6-3, we'll be there again on Sunday the 26th. The Royals finished a road swing on Sunday night with a win in Wheeling, they played four games and went 3-1. The boys play again in Trenton on the 26th, we're back home on the 28th against the Florida Everblades. Take care, thanks for reading.

Saturday, December 18, 2010

December 18

With Jenny in Quarryville in the morning, as usual we had lunch at the local shopping plaza. In the evening it was basketball at McCaskey as Reading HS visited for a non-league contest. You've heard the expression "when it rains it pours", for the second consecutive game we lost a player to an ankle injury. In the second quarter Aaron Swinton went down clutching his left ankle, after the game Coach Powell did not sound optimistic about the prognosis. With Tyler Martin already of the lineup it will be interesting to see how the coaching staff works around this, one of the Junior Varsity players may be promoted to the Varsity roster to provide some extra depth. Reading won the game 80-58 but there's no reason to be ashamed, the boys competed hard against a quality opponent under difficult circumstances. Diante Cherry scored 19 points for JPM, Luis Fuentes added 12. Luis is a talented sophomore who plays both JV and Varsity, chances are his Varsity playing time will increase greatly over the next few games. We shall see what we shall see as the club regroups for league games in Elizabethtown on Monday and at home against Solanco on Wednesday. Take care, thanks for reading.

Friday, December 17, 2010

December 16-17

Thursday started early with an 8:30 appointment at the health campus, this was to be the day the work was done but it didn't happen that way. They called on Wednesday and said the oral surgeon wanted to take impressions before proceeding just to make sure things are right. After we did that on Thursday he said the work would be done in another three weeks but the earliest appointment time isn't until January 13 (oh well, what's an extra week between friends). Not much else the rest of the day or on Friday until late afternoon when we headed over to JPM for basketball. This was our home opener and the first league contest as well as Ephrata HS came to visit. Every year we play twenty-two regular season games, six are against non-league opponents. The other sixteen consist of two each against the five schools in our division ("Section I") plus one each against the six teams from "Section II", Ephrata is in Section II. It was all McCaskey on this night as the Red Tornado won 84-47. The club has thirteen players on the roster, twelve were in uniform for this game. All twelve played and eleven scored, four players hit double figures. Sophomore Luis Fuentes led the way with 16 points as Diante Cherry, Blaise Glover and Calvert Gantz added 11 apiece. The only negative on this night came in the third quarter when Tyler Martin made a quick pivot and fell to the floor holding his right ankle. After the game the ankle was wrapped up and he was on crutches, his absence will hurt no matter how long it is. Tyler is the kind of guy who would run through a brick wall if he had to, a whole team of players just like him would never lose a game. The boys have little time to savor this win, the non-league gauntlet continues immediately with a home game against Reading HS on Saturday night. Take care, thanks for reading.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

December 14-15

Tuesday morning in Quarryville with Jenny, her friend Lois joined us for lunch at the pizza parlor. At 3:30 I went over to McCaskey to get on the bus for the basketball game in Chester. Head coach Steve Powell graduated from Chester High in 1968 and is a member of the school's athletic Hall Of Fame, because of those connections we play Chester every year in a non-league game. Chester is in the shadow of Philadelphia, it's roughly a ninety-minute ride and on a school bus it's no picnic. Chester won the game 79-65, Tyler Martin led JPM with 18 points while Diante Cherry added 11 and Calvert Gantz had 10. We've played Chester every year since 1994 and you could count our victories on one hand but the reason we play them is because they are a perennially strong program. There are two ways to approach a non-league schedule: you can play cupcake opposition, build up the won-loss record and look better than you really are or you can play top-level competition, take a lump or two and find out how good you really are. Chester is a highly rated program as is Harrisburg and we also play Reading HS in our non-league schedule (all they did last year was win the District title). The boys' record is now 0-2 (but it's really 0-1-1), on Friday we play our first home game as Ephrata will visit for the league opener. By the time we got home from Chester it was past 11:30, my whole body was aching from the bus ride. School buses were not built with people my height, weight or age in mind. Not much going on Wednesday outside of the morning errand run, with wind chill factors in the teens it was a good day to stay inside. Take care, thanks for reading.

Monday, December 13, 2010

December 13

The rain is out of the area but the cold and wind have returned, it never got much above the freezing mark all day. After supper I was at McCaskey for a rare opportunity to see the girls' basketball team play, most of their games are on nights when the boys play as well. For the second consecutive Monday a team from Wilson HS traveled to Lancaster, on this night it was for an actual game rather than a scrimmage. I was talking to Brian McCloud (the head Varsity coach) before the Junior Varsity game started, he said his scorer would be late arriving. I told him I'd take care of it until she got there, she arrived at the end of the first quarter of the JV game. It was not a good night for JPM, the JV squad lost by thirty points and the Varsity lost 58-50. The girls play again on Tuesday night at Reading HS, the boys will be in action in Chester. Jon Mitchell (JPM athletic director) was there, we were talking about the phantom loss the boys took in Harrisburg. By all accounts it is agreed that it was legalized highway robbery, all I can say is I hope those responsible can sleep at night-I couldn't. Take care, thanks for reading.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

December 12

It started raining late Saturday night, Sunday was very dark and dreary. Read in the newspaper where McCaskey lost on Saturday in Harrisburg 72-70. According to the story the game had several controversial moments including a scoring mix-up that awarded Harrisburg two points they never scored. The error was somehow allowed to stand and of course those two points made the difference. It made me angry just reading about it, had I been present I probably would have been ejected. The boys play again on Tuesday in Chester, another typically strong non-league opponent. With steady rain falling this would have been a good day to stay in, stay warm and stay dry but that was not an option as the Royals were in late-afternoon action at the Sovereign Center. The boys continued their recent success against the Elmira Jackals with a 5-0 win. John Scrymgeour and Dallas Jackson each scored their first professional goals, Matt Caruana, Yannick Riendeau and Ben Gordon also scored for the Royals. Matt Dalton stopped all twenty-seven shots he faced for his second shutout of the season. After losing the first three games against Elmira this year the Royals have won the last four. This was the fifth of eight games the Jackals play in Reading this season but we won't see them again until February 20th. Thirteen home games are in the books, the boys are 8-5-0 at home and 15-8-0 overall. The next five games are on the road, on Tuesday the 28th the Florida Everblades visit for the start of a two-game series. Take care, thanks for reading.

Saturday, December 11, 2010

December 10-11

There were snow flurries blowing around on Friday morning, the errand run was about all that happened as I spent a rare Friday evening at home. On Saturday morning it was south to Quarryville, Jenny and Helen were along for the afternoon Royals game. This was the annual Teddy Bear Toss game, the Royals rebounded from the Thursday loss to South Carolina as they downed the Stingrays in the rematch 4-3. Devin Timberlake scored the "teddy bear" goal in the first period as Andrew Sarauer, Ben Gordon and Todd Perry (the game-winner) also scored in support of winning goalie Ben Scrivens. Toys For Tots was the beneficiary of the TBT, several area United States Marines assisted in clearing the ice after the first goal was scored. With the 1:05 game time we were done by 3:20 or so, it felt strange walking out of the building after a Royals game and having it still be daylight. The sun set on the way home, by the time we hit Quarryville it was dark. The boys are back in action on Sunday the 12th as Elmira visits once again for the usual 5:05 Sunday faceoff. Take care, thanks for reading.

Friday, December 10, 2010

December 7-9

Tuesday: Jenny was in town for a morning appointment, I met her and took her home. On the way we stopped at the repair shop and picked up Helen's vacuum cleaner. It sounds good and works well (for $44 it better be right). On Wednesday I was at the health campus for another dental consultation, the work will be done on Thursday the 16th. On Thursday morning Jenny was in Willow Street for an appointment, when she was done we met up for lunch at the shopping plaza there. In the afternoon we headed for Reading, our first stop was the ballpark on Centre Avenue. The planned renovations began almost immediately after the season ended in September, the ballpark itself is a construction zone. The ballclub has temporary offices set up across the street, we stopped in because Jenny had greeting cards for several members of the staff. It will be interesting to see what the place looks like when the new season starts in April. From there it was downtown to the Sovereign Center, the South Carolina Stingrays were in town for the first of a two-game series. The Royals lost via shutout for the first time this season, the final score was 4-0. Matt Dalton played well in defeat but the club could not muster any offensive support for him on this night. The Stingrays stay in town for the rematch on Saturday afternoon (a rare 1:05 start time), that is the Royals' annual Teddy Bear Toss game. After the club hosts Elmira on Sunday the boys hit the road for five games, the next home date is Tuesday the 28th. Take care, thanks for reading.

Monday, December 6, 2010

December 5-6

There is no doubt that December is here, the weather has turned cold and windy. Not much happening on Sunday, just hockey and football on TV. At the mall on Monday morning for lunch, after supper I headed over to McCaskey. The boys' basketball team starts its season on the 11th, on this night they had a scrimmage against Wilson HS (our old friends from the district playoffs last February). Pre-season scrimmages are played under informal game conditions, it's just an opportunity to play against an opponent rather than an intersquad game. There was no official score kept but the boys played well, there was a lot to be encouraged about. JPM has all six underclassmen back from last year (Tyler Martin, Aaron Swinton, Diante Cherry, Calvert Gantz, Brian Newsome and Blaise Glover) plus some talented newcomers so there is reason for optimism. It all starts for real in Harrisburg on Saturday the 11th (and I'm absent because of Royals hockey), on Tuesday the 14th the team travels to Chester (I'm good for that). As I was walking to my car after the scrimmage ended I thought about how glad I was to have street hockey over for the year, it would have been brutal to be at the rink on a night like this. Take care, thanks for reading.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

December 4

Had lunch in Quarryville with Jenny and Helen, on the way back to town we dropped Helen's vacuum cleaner at a repair shop in Willow Street. According to Helen it sounds like an airplane ready to take off so we'll see what they can do about it. At 5:00 Mazi met us at my place, we headed to Hershey for the evening's AHL game. This was the first time we three were together since August when we visited her at the rehab center, it was good to have The Band back together. She's getting around OK but the ankle is still sore, I guess it takes time to come all the way back. The Binghamton Senators were Hershey's opponent on this night, before the game I had a chance to say hello to Binghamton radio broadcaster Grady Whittenberg (he worked in the ECHL with Elmira in '07-08). This was the annual Teddy Bear Toss night, when the home team scores its first goal the fans are encouraged to throw stuffed animals onto the ice which are then donated to underprivileged children. It has become a staple at hockey games all across the country at this time of year, the Royals will hold their TBT game on December 11. Hershey won the game 4-0, our next time there will be December 19. Saw on the internet where the Royals won in Trenton 3-2, the boys return home on Thursday the 9th against South Carolina. Take care, thanks for reading.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

December 3

Friday afternoon: Jenny was in the city on business, afterward we headed to Reading as the Elmira Jackals were in town for the fourth of their eight visits this season. The Royals wore special jerseys featuring the Berks County Sheriffs Department logo, they were auctioned after the game for charity. The time off did wonders for the club as they scored three goals in the first period en route to a convincing 6-1 win. Eric Castonguay scored two goals, Casey Haines, Yannick Riendeau, Ben Gordon and defenseman Matt Generous added single tallies. Ben Scrivens (just back from a stint in the AHL) picked up the win in his first appearance since November 14. This was the first of six home games for the Royals in December, two each against Elmira, South Carolina and Florida. The boys will play in Trenton on Saturday the 4th before SC visits on Thursday the 9th. Take care, thanks for reading.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

November 28-December 2

The end of street hockey season in the fall always signals a bit of a slowdown since we're not at the rink each weeknight, the last few days were relatively quiet. I was supposed to see the oral surgeon on Monday but the doctor was out of the office, the appointment was changed to Wednesday the 8th. Rain moved into the area overnight Monday into Tuesday and stayed around until Wednesday afternoon. Jenny was in Willow Street for an appointment on Tuesday, I took her home and we had lunch at the local pizza parlor. When the rain cleared out on Wednesday it ushered in colder temperatures, it feels like December in southeastern Pennsylvania. As long as that white stuff stays away I can deal with the cold. The Royals host Elmira on Friday the 3rd, on Saturday we'll be in Hershey for AHL hockey. Take care, thanks for reading.