December 31

The final day of the calendar year was a Tuesday more unusual than most. I had a $10 gift card to a local eatery, in the midst of my morning errand run I stopped in and had an order of spaghetti and meatballs for lunch. With a drink added in the bill came to $1.64 (can't beat that with a stick). From there it was south to Quarryville for Jenny and her mother and one final trip to Reading in 2013. The Roar hosted the Baltimore Blast in a game that started at the special holiday time of 5:05. Before the game we observed a moment of silence in the memory of Delaney Brown, an eight-year-old Berks County resident whose valiant fight against cancer ended on December 25 (we had also honored her at the Royals game on the 27th). As an expansion franchise in the MISL it is no surprise that the Roar has struggled mightily, on this night at the Arena against the defending league champions it was no contest as the visitors took a lopsided 24-0 decision. It was the first time the Roar has been shut out at home and the second overall, both against Baltimore. The Blast scored eleven goals in the game including two three-pointers. As the game ended frustration was evident, there was an angry gathering on the field but the referees did a great job of defusing the situation before it could escalate. The Roar remains winless at 0-9 and clearly the only way to go is up. The club has five home games remaining, the next of those is on January 11. With the early start I was home shortly before 9:00 with plans to watch a hockey game on TV and ring in the new year with the usual whimper (it's nothing special, just an excuse to get loaded and I don't do that anymore). See you in 2014, thanks for reading.

December 30

Monday morning at the mall for lunch, in the afternoon we convened at McCaskey for a bus ride to Berks County. This was the makeup date for the game at Reading High which had been postponed by snow a few weeks earlier. For me it was my second road game but my first on the bus, I had driven to Quarryville on my own when we played Solanco. This was the second time the boys had traveled to the Reading area in December, the first being the preseason scrimmage at Wilson. School buses weren't built with people my height and weight in mind, I'm always sore after a trip of any length. Any time I'm in Reading or environs for a high school event I always run into people I know, this night was no exception. Paul "Cooter" Jones (a long-time fixture at Reading High and a dear friend from baseball days in Berks County) was the scoreboard clock operator and RHS's scorekeeper was familiar with my work as well. The evening started with a JV game that can only be described as bizarre. After one quarter the score was 11-9, at halftime it still was. RHS had the possession to start the second quarter and they held the ball for virtually the entire period. For close to seven minutes the ten players on the floor did next to nothing, there was no action to speak of until the last thirty seconds. The game ended up in overtime before RHS won 37-31, the first loss of the season for our guys. In the varsity game we had only nine players in uniform thanks to injury and absence, Coach Powell used seven of them in an 82-73 loss. The club came out flat and trailed by double digits early, they rallied to within three in the second half but could get no closer. Antanee Pinkard led with 26, Kobe Gantz had 17 and Tyler Owens (from the '13 JV squad) added 13 in a reserve role. The loss drops the team's record to 5-4, the four losses (all against non-league opponents) coming by an average of six points. Five of the six non-league games the club will play are in the books, the league schedule continues in the New Year with a home game on January 3rd. Take care, thanks for reading.

December 28-29

A busy Saturday started with afternoon basketball at McCaskey. A newspaper story about Friday's game referred to the proceedings as a "tournament that isn't a tournament", certainly it's been unusual but under the circumstances it was handled the fairest way possible. Attendance for the neutral-floor game on Thursday was light, I was told the turnout was somewhat better on Friday because JPM was playing. On this afternoon the crowd was much stronger for the game everyone wanted to see. Whenever athletic teams from York and Lancaster meet it's always called the War Of The Roses, at the high school level William Penn (the proper name of York's public high school) and McCaskey have history dating back to the old Central Penn League in the 1960s. Perhaps it is in poor taste to call an athletic contest a "war" but this game was a battle and-a-half, it took overtime to decide it before York prevailed 77-74. Antanee Pinkard led JPM with 20, Kobe Gantz had 17 and Donovan Garcia (from the '13 JV squad) hit double figures with 14. Antanee and Kobe were named to the tournament's all-star team. The loss drops the club's record to 5-3 overall, the boys play on Monday at Reading High in the makeup of the postponement from December 14. We started at noon and were done by 2:00, shortly after that I headed to Quarryville for Jenny and her mother. In the evening the Royals and the Kalamazoo Wings hooked up at the Arena in a rematch from Friday. The Royals' home-ice winless streak ended on this night in resounding fashion with a 5-2 victory over the K-Wings. In the first period Yannick Tifu and Ethan Cox scored forty seconds apart for a 2-0 lead, after K-Zoo got on the board Yannick struck again to make it 3-1. Final-period scores from Louie Caporusso and Marvin Degon (an '11-12 Royal who recently returned) salted away the win for Riley Gill. Things got nasty as the teams combined for 118 penalty minutes, eighty-four in the third period alone. The win improves the record to 14-10-1 overall, the next home date is in the New Year on January 8. An all-day rain was forecast for Sunday and that was exactly what happened, after the double-dip on Saturday I was more than happy to say in and relax. Take care, thanks for reading.

December 27

Friday afternoon on the road north to Berks County as the Royals returned home from a three-game trip. The club has played well away from home, they won all three on the trip to run the road mark to 8-2-1. By contrast the boys have struggled at home with a record of just 5-7-0 including four straight without a win. That streak would reach five on this night as the visiting Kalamazoo Wings notched a 4-1 victory, Dustin Gazley scored the lone Royals goal as Riley Gill took the loss. The K-Wings have been a strong road club in their own right, they are 8-3-0 away from home including six straight wins. The franchises have been infrequent regular-season opponents over the years but there is a playoff history, the teams met in postseason in 2010 and 2011 (ironically, Riley Gill was a K-Wing during those days). The club meet again on Saturday in the back end of the weekend set (Kalamazoo visits twice during the regular season, both times for a back-to back series). Saw on the Internet where JPM defeated Franklin Learning Center, that sets up Saturday's game with York as the de facto tournament championship game. As it stands right now the FLC game was the only home game I'll miss, my next absence overall would be on January 8 when the boys play at Cedar Crest. Take care, thanks for reading.

December 26

Earlier in the week there was a newspaper story predicting no more snow for the remainder of the calendar year. Overnight into Thursday about an inch of it fell, it was over by the time I was up for the day but there were reports of traffic accidents all over the area. The snow was very light and fluffy, cleaning the car was no issue at all. I went to Jenny's house for a lunch visit, the worst part of the trip was actually getting out of town. The city streets were not in good shape but once I hit the suburbs there were no problems at all. The sun came out around noontime, by sunset most of the snow was melted down and gone. In the evening we were at McCaskey for the first game of our abbreviated holiday tournament, we got underway at 6:00 as York defeated Franklin Learning Center 65-54. It was odd only having one game and for McCaskey to not be playing in it, our guys were there to watch since we'll play both teams over the next two days. Only having three teams is a logistical nightmare, instead of four games over two nights we are forced to play on a third date so everybody gets their two games. If FLC would beat us on Friday and we would beat York on Saturday all three teams would be 1-1 and there would be no champion although winning a holiday tournament is of little import in the long run. The main thing is to play solid competition and that is what the tournament provides. The Royals played in Elmira on Thursday night and won 6-2, they'll be home for games on Friday and Saturday. Take care, thanks for reading.

December 23-25

Not much happening over the last little while save for the morning errand runs, typical of this time of year for me. My feelings on the subject are well known and I don't feel the need to rehash it, let's just say that every year the season comes and as far as I'm concerned it can keep right on going. On Tuesday Jenny was in town on business. She has a brother who lives in the city, I met her over the lunch hour and took her to his house. Later in the day he brought Helen into town from Quarryville, they stayed overnight and spend the day there on Wednesday. Jenny called on Wednesday evening when he took them home to let me know they were safe and sound. As slow as the last few days were the next few should be just the opposite. The annual December basketball tournament at McCaskey starts on Thursday, one of the four scheduled teams dropped out recently and no replacement was available. As a result the tournament format features one game each on Thursday and Friday plus Saturday afternoon. Franklin Learning Center (from Philadelphia) plays York on Thursday, on Friday JPM meets FLC and on Saturday the Red Tornado faces York. It's not the usual four-team tournament format but the important thing is each team still gets to play two games. I'll be there on Thursday, absent Friday for a Royals game in Reading and back on Saturday for the day game at noon. That will be a double-dipper for me, the Royals play at home on Saturday night as well. There is nothing in the offing for Sunday but the final days of 2013 will be busy with a basketball game on Monday and New Years Eve soccer in Reading on Tuesday. Take care, thanks for reading.

December 20-22

Friday night soccer at the Santander Arena as the Roar hosted the defending league champion Baltimore Blast. Baltimore is a long-time hotbed for the indoor game, the franchise has been around since the early 90s. The Roar came into this game looking for its first victory, that search will continue as the Blast won this one going away 21-2. The lone score for the Roar (of the two-point variety) came from the foot of Corey Maret in the fourth quarter. The Roar's next home game is on New Year's Eve when Baltimore returns for a special 5:00 kickoff. Saw on the Internet where McCaskey won their divisional opener at Penn Manor by a count of 78-59, that improves the overall record to 4-2 and I'm not sure we could ask for anything more thus far. The club's next game is at home on Friday the 27th. Saturday was of very little note, that was by design since Sunday would be busy. The last few days have been uncommonly warm for this time of year, on Sunday it was rainy with temperatures in the 60s. Did lunch in Quarryville with Jenny a day later than usual, later in the afternoon she and her mother were along for AHL hockey in Hershey. The Bears hosted the Worcester (Massachusetts) Sharks in the second game of a weekend set. Worcester has been in the AHL since 1994, originally as an independent franchise known as the IceCats and since 2006 the top affiliate of the San Jose Sharks. On Saturday Worcester defeated Hershey 3-2, on this night the Bears turned the tables with a 4-0 victory. Three former Royals were in uniform, Adam Comrie for the Sharks and Patrick Wellar and Brandon Anderson (as backup goalie) for the Bears. Ex-Royals Stanislav Galiev, Patrick Wey and Brett Flemming are also currently on the Hershey roster but were not in uniform for this game. We'll be back in Hershey one final time for the season on January 4. Take care, thanks for reading.

December 18-19

According to a story in Wednesday's paper we've had a total of twelve inches of snow thus far in December, Tuesday's was the fourth measurable snowfall of the month. The forecast for the weekend calls for temperatures in the 50s and maybe low 60s, all the better to melt the stuff down. In the afternoon we convened at McCaskey, the boys were traveling to Solanco HS in Quarryville. I checked in to let them know I was driving there myself, since Jenny lives about two miles from the school it was an opportunity for her to see the team play. We play Solanco once a season as part of the league's crossover schedule, each of our last two visits there (in '09 and '11) resulted in unsettling defeat. I don't know it was a case of our guys thinking it was easy money or our opponent playing like champions, maybe it was a little bit of both. Before the JV game started Coach Powell had the varsity in the locker room, the gist of the discussion was to remind them to take care of business because there is no such thing as a guarantee. In the JV game JPM stayed undefeated with a 48-37 win, the varsity followed suit with a 61-50 victory. Antanee Pinkard led the Red Tornado with 21, Kobe Gantz had 11 and Kyaire Bynum (the lone returnee from last season) added 10. The win keeps the club perfect in league play and improves the record overall to 3-2. The team left for home just as Jenny and I were leaving for her place, when I got back to town the empty bus was just leaving the school so they didn't beat me home by much. Jenny and I had our usual lunch date on Thursday, after supper I took the scorebooks over to practice. The boys start divisional play on Friday, I will be absent for a soccer game at the Arena in Reading. Take care, thanks for reading.

December 16-17

Bright sunshine on Monday helped to melt down some of the weekend snow, in the evening it was a basketball night at McCaskey. JPM started league play on Friday in Ephrata, both JV and varsity brought home a victory. On this night we hosted Conestoga Valley in another game against a Section II opponent. This was the first time CV had played at McCaskey since January of 2011, for some reason we played at CV each of the last two seasons even though the crossover matchups are supposed to alternate each year. The night started with a scintillating JV game, it took two overtimes before McCaskey prevailed 70-66 to maintain their perfect record at 3-0. The varsity game was another story altogether as the Red Tornado won handily 81-28. We were ahead by fifteen at the quarter and thirty-eight at halftime, the mercy rule kicked in early in the second half. Four players hit double figures for JPM as Kobe Gantz led with 18, Devyn Sloan had 16, Antanee Pinkard added 12 and Andre Dixon (from the JV squad in '12-13) had 10 in a reserve role. Sloan is an interesting story, he played on the freshman team in '10-11 but did not play organized ball in his sophomore or junior years. Every year we always seem to have at least one player who returns to the program and becomes a big contributor, Devyn is this year's example. The win draws the varsity record even at 2-2 (2-0 in league play) and it was a milestone victory #400 for head coach Steve Powell. "Bird" (his nickname from his playing days) was a long-time assistant coach under Pete Horn at JPM in the 70s and 80s, now in his 22nd year as the head man his mark is at 400-185 (.684 winning percentage). The boys play on Wednesday the 18th at Solanco HS, division play starts on Friday the 20th. We had some more of that white crap overnight into Tuesday, in the afternoon it flurried again. A morning errand run was all that happened (without incident, the overnight snow was all slush by then), with a busy week underway I didn't mind an evening in the warmth of home. Take care, thanks for reading.

December 15

The snow on Saturday was followed by a round of freezing rain later in the evening but by Sunday morning it was long gone and there was brilliant sunshine. I cleaned the snow from my car in anticipation of the afternoon drive, by 12:30 departure time the remnants had melted completely. The roads south of town were in good shape, getting to Jenny's place was no trouble at all (it's always a concern because the southern part of the county is largely rural). We allowed extra time for the drive to Reading but had no issues there as well, we actually arrived at the arena a little earlier that usual. This was the Royals' annual Teddy Bear Toss game for Toys For Tots, the team also wore specialty jerseys in the spirit of the "ugly holiday sweater". These had to be seen to be believed, they were red trimmed in green and white with images of reindeer and snowflakes. They were indeed hideously ugly but that was the point, after the game the jerseys were sold online for charity. The game (rescheduled from the night before because of the snowstorm) started at 5:05, the Royals trailed Elmira 1-0 before Ryan Cruthers scored the "teddy bear goal" to tie it. The Jackals took a 2-1 lead in the second period, Yannick Tifu replied to knot it at 2-2. Moments later Elmira retook the lead and made it stand up as the Royals winless streak was extended to five games (including four at home). The loss drops the club's record to 10-9-1, just 5-7-0 at home. The next home game is on Friday the 27th as the Kalamazoo Wings visit for a two-game set. Take care, thanks for reading.

December 13-14

Got word on Friday afternoon that JPM's Saturday night game at Reading High was going to be postponed better than twenty-four hours in advance, with the forecast for that day somewhat ominous the schools' athletic departments obviously felt another time would be better (as it turned out they were absolutely right). In the evening the ladies were along as we ventured north on 222. It was a hockey night at the Arena as the Florida Everblades made their lone regular-season visit. The last time we saw the 'Blades was in the 2013 playoffs when the Royals prevailed in a memorable seven-game series. There would be no reprise of the playoff magic on this night as the Royals' winless streak was extended to four games with a 4-1 loss. Dustin Gazley scored the lone goal for the Royals, Riley Gill was the goaltender of record. All night long we promoted the Saturday home game with Elmira although there was question as to what the weather would bring us. Snow was expected to begin falling during the morning hours with the heaviest coming in late afternoon/early evening. By 9:00 the snow had not yet started but it was definitely on the way, the decision came down that the game had been postponed until Sunday the 15th. The Jackals had played on Thursday in Wheeling and were in Elmira on Friday, they were scheduled to travel to Reading on Saturday morning but with the impending weather conditions and Sunday being an available alternative the proper decision was made. The snow finally arrived in early afternoon, by the evening hours there were reports of accidents all around. It's supposed to be gone overnight with sunshine and temperatures above freezing on Sunday, if the road crews get their job done we should be OK. Take care, thanks for reading.

December 11-12

Wednesday night hoops at J.P. McCaskey as the new-look Red Tornado hosted Chester (Coach Powell's alma mater). Preseason rankings have Chester as the #2 team in the state, they have been a regular non-league opponent since Coach Powell took the reins at JPM in 1993. Every time we play them the game never starts on time because the visiting team invariably arrives late, last season in Chester we got there just as the JV game was scheduled to start. On this night at JPM the JV game was delayed forty minutes because it was their turn to be late (fair is fair, I guess). I've always believed that a good JV game stokes the crowd for the varsity main event and that's exactly what we got. The Red Tornado junior varsity made its season debut a successful one with a tough 58-57 win. In the varsity contest JPM led just once at 5-4 but battled to the end as Chester escaped with an 86-80 verdict. Antanee Pinkard (younger brother of Devonne) led the Red Tornado with 20 points, Randolph Speller and La'Detrius Sibley had 14 each and Kobe Gantz had 11. Pinkard, Sibley and Gantz were members of the JV squad last season, Speller played varsity at Lancaster Catholic and transferred to JPM this year. The loss drops the club's mark to 0-2 but all things considered there is a lot to be encouraged about, a pair of six-point losses to top-level competition is no reason to push the panic button. Every year we play a tough non-league schedule and there is a definite purpose to it. With the late start the varsity game wound down shortly before 10:00, four hours after the evening's scheduled starting time. On Thursday we did our usual lunch visit in Quarryville, in the afternoon I was over at practice to hand over the books for the weekend. The boys play in Ephrata on Friday and at Reading High on Saturday, I will miss both of them because the Royals are at home both nights. Take care, thanks for reading.

December 9-10

The predicted rain never materialized on Monday, a good bit of the slop from Sunday melted down nicely. In the afternoon I went over to basketball practice to get our scorebook for the game on Wednesday night. The boys lost to Roman Catholic on Saturday 84-78, according to preseason rankings Roman is the #1 team in the state so even though we lost the game the competitive aspect of it can only be encouraging. Snow moved through the area early Tuesday morning, by the time I was up it was WHITE outside. I hadn't planned on anything special save for an errand run and lunch, the former was cancelled and the latter took place at home. The snow ended in early afternoon, I warmed up my car, cleared the snow from it and made a short trip to get a newspaper . McCaskey's girls basketball team was scheduled for a home game in the evening, with just about every school district in the region closed for the day the game was postponed. Most of the girls' games are on nights when the boys play as well, this was probably my only chance to see them play. No makeup date was immediately announced, hopefully it will be an occasion that works for me. Take care, thanks for reading.

December 5-8

Had lunch with Jenny and her mother on Thursday, it was a largely dark and misty day. That weather was a prelude to Friday when it rained steadily just about all day. I went over to McCaskey after supper to give the coaches our varsity scorebook since I would be absent from Saturday's opening game. The weather was much better on Saturday, the rain had moved on. After lunch with the ladies we came back to the city and on to Reading for the evening's hockey game at the Arena. Since we last saw the Royals the roster has undergone a fair share of change (a way of life at the minor league level). The biggest development was the return of former captain Ryan Cruthers. Ryan played for the Royals from 2009-2012, over the summer he returned to the area and assumed control of the Royals' youth hockey program. On this night he was wearing his familiar #16 as the Royals hosted the Fort Wayne Komets for the only time this season. The game started poorly for the Royals and went downhill from there as the Komets won going away 7-2 The Royals' goal-scorers were Louie Caporusso and Ned Lukacevic (another recent returnee, Neddy played parts of three seasons in Reading from 2006-2009 and has spent the last few years playing chiefly in Europe), Brandon Anderson took the loss in goal. There was talk of snow in the forecast for Sunday, my mother and a few of her friends had plans to attend an afternoon show in Hershey. They talked it over on Saturday night and it was decided that if I could take her to their house (about ten miles west of town) they would go from there and take her home afterwards. The snow began to fall in the morning, when we left the city driving was already hazardous. There were several accidents all around the area but I managed to get her to her friend's house and myself back home all in one piece. The show started at 3:00 and let out around 5:30, by the time they got out of the parking lot and back to town it was almost 7:30. The snow had stopped by then so I guess all's well that ends well. They want freezing rain on Monday and the chance of more snow on Tuesday. Take care, thanks for reading.

December 4

Wednesday afternoon: went over to McCaskey after supper for the boys' basketball practice, they were scheduled for 5:30 to 7:30 since this week is the girls team's turn at the 3:30-5:30 slot. I was there because Coach Powell had planned to issue uniforms and I wanted to get the player's numbers for the scorebooks. Over the last twenty years or so the varsity has received new uniforms every three seasons, the current unis are then handed down to the JV and theirs are given to the freshman team. I figured we were due for new uniforms but I was surprised to see that the coaches elected to outfit both varsity and JV with brand-new gear. The new uniforms were ordered with numbers from 0 to 5, 10 to 15, 20 to 25, 30 to 35 and 40 to 45. In the past our JV teams wore the same number series the varsity had, the new jerseys allow movement between rosters with no worry of duplicate numbers (makes my job easier). Twenty-six uniforms were handed out, eleven to the varsity and fifteen to the JV. The opening-night varsity roster consists of one returnee, seven players from the '12-'13 JV squad and three newcomers. By contrast Coach Mike Mitchell's JV squad has two returnees, it's a rare occurrence when that number is greater at the junior varsity level. If I were a forecaster I would say that the varsity has the potential to be very good once the relative inexperience catches up to the talent. I don't expect an undefeated season but I don't think we'll be 5-17 either, it's just a matter of how quickly things mesh together. The typically tough non-league gauntlet begins on Saturday the 7th, the varsity meets Philadelphia Roman Catholic at Lower Merion HS in Ardmore (suburban Philly). The first home game is on the 11th against Chester, that will be my season debut since the Royals are at home on the 7th. Take care, thanks for reading.

December 1-3

The final month of 2013 began with Sunday afternoon soccer at the Arena. It was the end of a three-games-in-five-days stretch for me there and with a Saturday night boxing card figured in the building's changeover crew has been keeping double-time as well. On this day the Syracuse Silver Knights made the last of their two regular season appearances, they were the Roar's opening-night opponent two weeks earlier. The Roar fell to 0-4 on the season with a 10-9 loss but the effort was far and away the club's best thus far. It takes time to build chemistry and teamwork, this game was definitely a step in the right direction. The Roar took a 2-0 lead on a score by JerJer Gibson, Syracuse tied it 2-2 before Gibson struck again to make it 4-2. The Kinghts knotted matters once again, at halftime it was 4-4. In the third quarter Corey Maret gave the Roar a 6-4 lead but Syracuse scored the next three to forge a 10-6 advantage. In the closing moments Maret scored from beyond the three-point arc to pull the Roar within a point but a furious rally down the stretch went for naught as the Knights held on for the win. The Roar's next date at the Arena is on Friday the 20th against the defending MISL champion Baltimore Blast. Monday was quiet save for lunch at the mall, on Tuesday the basketball team had a scrimmage at Wilson HS in suburban Reading. The bus left at 4:30 for the 6:00 scrimmage, I rode along just for the hell of it. It always feels strange to travel north on 222 in a vehicle that I'm not driving. At McCaskey the gym has two floors for scrimmages but not so at Wilson, on this night the junior varsity squads played at one of Wilson's middle schools. We dropped them off on the way and picked them up on the way home, with it all we were back in Lancaster by 8:45. Take care, thanks for reading.

November 28-30

Thursday was the typical holiday for this time of year, nothing special going except for football on TV all day. Black Friday was a hockey night in downtown Reading as the Cincinnati Cyclones made their lone appearance of the season. In hockey it's often said that any strong rivalry is based on playoff history as opposed to the regular season, if that's true the Royals and Cyclones have all that and more. The franchises have met four times in the postseason, the Royals lost to Cincinnati in 2008 and 2010 (both times in agonizing fashion) before ousting the Cyclones in '11 and '13 (the latter on the road to the Cup). On this night at the Arena the Royals fell behind 3-0 and never recovered as the 'Clones took it 4-1. Ethan Cox scored the lone goal for the Royals, Brandon Anderson took the loss in net. Another member of the Cup team returned as an opponent, over the summer ex-Royal Barry Almeida signed an AHL deal with the Nashville Predators organization. He was named the game's #2 star and although now a visitor he was warmly cheered by the crowd. The Royals next play on December 6 in Wheeling before returning home on the 7th. Saturday was largely an open day (Jenny and I had done lunch on Friday since she was at home), in the morning I was at McCaskey for the first basketball scrimmage of the new season. The gym was overhauled over the summer with new lighting and new bleachers, this was my first chance to see the upgrades in person (our gym opened in 1973 so the renovations were certainly needed and welcome). The team is itself in a overhaul of its own, the 2013 squad was senior-dominated so the roster will be virtually brand-new. Susquehanna Township (from suburban Harrisburg) was the opponent, the teams played six ten-minute periods. After it was over Coach Powell was pleased with the effort but correctly noted that there is a lot of work left to be done. Most of the roster comes from the junior varsity ranks, over the last two years the JV combined record was 36-2 so they have had success at that level. It's all a matter of how that success will translate to the varsity level and how quickly the chemistry develops. The talent is there, the experience is not. It will be interesting to see how quickly it comes together. Take care, thanks for reading.

November 25-27

The early part of the week was uneventful, overnight Monday into Tuesday rain moved into the area. Had street hockey still been going we would never have played on Tuesday evening and Wednesday may have been doubtful as well. There were some snow showers on Wednesday but they were of little concern, the big story was the wind and cold. Wednesday was a hockey night in Reading, the ladies and I did afternoon lunch a day early once again (the fact that Thursday was a holiday was another reason). On this night the Elmira Jackals made their third of nine appearances at the Arena and there was a definite feeling of deja vu. For a second consecutive Wednesday the Royals played at home, worked overtime and into the shootout and emerged victorious. The Jackals took an early lead before Domenic Monardo tied it at 1-1. In the second period Monardo struck again to give the Royals the lead, a few minutes later T.J. Syner hit the net to make it 3-1. The Jackals fought back to tie it 3-3 in the third, after a scoreless overtime the Royals took the shootout two goals to one to earn the 4-3 win for Brandon Anderson. The victory ups the team's record to 10-5-0, the boys are at home on Black Friday against Cincinnati. The drive home after the game was dry, the precipitation was long gone but it was still bitterly cold and windy. Take care, thanks for reading.

November 24

Sunday afternoon soccer at the Santander Arena as the Pennsylvania Roar played its second home game. The MISL has seven teams in a single division, four in the eastern part of the country and three in the Midwest. The schedule is geographically oriented, the Roar faces each of the Midwest clubs once at home. The eastern opponents visit more frequently, the Roar host Syracuse and Rochester twice each and Baltimore (as the closest rival) three times. On this day the Milwaukee Wave made its only appearance in Reading, the Wave is a long-established franchise with history dating back to the 1980s. The Roar debuted its mascot before the game as "Roary" (a ferocious black bear "from the mountains of Pennsylvania") made his first public appearance. It's been well-documented that the Roar is very much a new organization both on the field and off, I guess for me the true appeal is bringing my expertise in what I do to the organization and watching things grow literally from the ground up. All things considered I thought the game presentation at the opener went very well, on this day it went even better as everyone seems to be getting more comfortable in their roles (myself included). Indoor soccer officiating crews include a referee who is stationed literally next to me at the penalty bench, before the game I asked him to keep me abreast of fouls called and other non-penalty violations so I could keep the crowd informed and make for a much better fan experience. As an expansion club the Roar has struggled to find chemistry early on, after a road loss on Friday they lost on this day to Milwaukee 21-4. The game was 4-4 in the second quarter before the Wave blew it open, the Roar goals (both of the two-point variety) were scored by Ptah Myers and Chris Williams. The club plays at home again on December 1. Take care, thanks for reading.

November 21-23

The weather has turned sharply colder the last few days, I doubt anybody is heartbroken that street hockey season is over. Morning errand runs were about all that happened on Thursday and Friday, the evenings were spent in the warmth and comfort of home. Friday was the 50th anniversary of a horrible day in American history, the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy. There were a number of documentary retrospectives about it on TV. It's been said that anyone who was alive then remembers where they were when they heard the news, I was six years old in 1963 and I remember it as well. I was in the second grade, we were in class and the school principal came on the intercom to tell us he had heard on radio that President Kennedy had been shot. He put the microphone by the radio so we could hear the report as it aired. Over the next few days the aftermath was all that was on television from morning sign-on until late-night sign-off (back in the days when TV stations actually left the air overnight). At my age then I didn't fully understand everything but I knew that something truly terrible had happened. There has always been speculation about what happened that day in Dallas, fifty years later it is still debated and I imagine it will still be talked about in 2063. Saturday was another lunch day for me and Jenny, in the evening I was at the Lancaster Ice Rink. Millersville hosted Rutgers (the well-known university from New Jersey) in what was billed as a Salute To The Troops, a current serviceman and MU graduate dropped the ceremonial first puck. MU fell behind 3-0, rallied to get within one but ultimately lost 4-2. Take care, thanks for reading.

November 19-20

Nothing special going on Tuesday with street hockey done for the season. On Wednesday Jenny and I had our lunch date a day earlier than usual because it was a hockey night in downtown Reading. The Royals split a pair of games on the road over the weekend, on this night the Wheeling Nailers made their second of eight appearances at the Arena. The ECHL schedule is based largely on geography, Wheeling and Elmira are by far our most frequent opponents (even more so since Trenton is no longer in the league). The game stayed scoreless into the second period before the Nailers broke on top 2-0. From there Riley Gill closed the door as the boys climbed back into it on a score by Dustin Gazley. A third-period marker from Yannick Tifu tied the game at 2-2, after an scoreless overtime stanza the Royals took the shootout two goals to none to claim the 3-2 victory. The win is a third consecutive on home ice and improves the club's record  to 8-4-0 (4-3-0 at home). The Royals head back on the road for two over the weekend, the next home game is Wednesday the 27th against Elmira. Take care, thanks for reading.

November 18

The Sunday night rains were accompanied by high winds, I stopped by the rink on Monday morning fearing the worst and that's exactly what we had. The rink surface was absolutely BURIED under leaves, there was no way one man with one Billy-Goat was going to get anything accomplished. I put in an emergency SOS mayday call to our friend with the lawn care business (his name is Grant), he got back to me about twenty minutes later. By noon we were at the rink getting started, after he cleaned up the worst with his heavy equipment Miss Billy and I were able to finish things up. Grant has helped us out in a pinch before, luckily he was available or we may have had no choice but to postpone (besides, he had a vested interest because his team was playing the scheduled game). In the evening we convened for the final game of the season, "the only game in the universe" as the Midwest final came down to a fifth and deciding game. Much as the UniLords did in the East finals the Killbots rebounded from a two-game deficit to win the championship with a 5-2 victory. Two of our three championship series went the distance and both featured comebacks from 0-2 down, I'm not sure that's ever happened in our history. This may also have been the earliest end date for a fall season we've ever had. We only had two dates rained out, those games were all rescheduled within the regular season so the playoffs started with no delays. There have been years when we've been there in December trying to get things done before the first snow. Take care, thanks for reading.

November 16-17

Saturday lunch with the ladies in Quarryville, in the afternoon Wally joined me for the drive to Marty's house. From there we headed west across the river to York, the 'Ville was playing hockey at the York City Ice Arena. Wally knew Marty and I were going to this game, he asked to come along since he had never had the chance to see Devyn play. Gettysburg College was the opposing team, they regularly play home games at the YCIA (although in terms of mileage it's probably midway between Millersville and Gettysburg). In the pregame warmup Gettysburg only had six skaters on the ice, a seventh arrived right at game time and three more filtered in during the first period. We found out later that they routinely play shorthanded because they have a small roster. At any rate fatigue quickly became a factor as Millersville scored the first seven goals and won going away 7-2. There was nothing special on the calendar on Sunday, in the afternoon my mother and I took a trip to Columbia to visit relatives. My uncle Chester (my mother's brother) and aunt Marilyn are both in their 70s and have their share of health problems, he was recently in the hospital. My mother rarely gets to see her brother, since I had nothing going on it was a good day to make the trip (although it was hardly a long one, Columbia is only about ten miles west of Lancaster). It was a overcast day with rain in the forecast, the precipitation finally arrived in the evening hours. Take care, thanks for reading.

November 15

Friday afternoon: Jenny and her mother joined me for the drive to Berks County and a milestone evening for a new franchise. The Pennsylvania Roar hosted the Syracuse Silver Knights in the club's inaugural contest at the Arena. I'm familiar to a degree with indoor soccer but the evening was definitely a learning experience albeit an enjoyable one. As an expansion team the Roar will certainly have its share of growing pains, that was evident on this night as Syracuse won the game 18-7. In the MISL scoring is much like basketball, all goals are worth two points except those scored from behind a long-distance arc which are three points. The Silver Knights scored nine goals, all of the two-point variety. The "scores for the Roar" (my goal announcements tagline) came from MISL veteran Ptah Myers and local product Pete Rowley plus a 3-ball from Venezuelan native Angel Rivillo-Ruiz. After the game fans were invited onto the field for an autograph session with the team. In the fall of 2012 the Arena hosted an indoor lacrosse team, the Reading Rockets were successful in their own right but the league they played in was unstable and ultimately folded. The MISL is well-established and hopefully the Berks County fanbase-at-large gets behind this new venture. The Roar's next home date is on Sunday the 24th against the Milwaukee Wave. Take care, thanks for reading.

November 13-14

Still cold and windy on Wednesday as we continued street hockey playoffs at the rink. Both series still in progress could have ended on this night but neither did, the UniLords forged a fifth game in the East finals with a win over Whitmoyer Auto Group and the Killbots drew to within 2-1 in the Midwest with a victory over Yorgo's. Ron and Des worked both games, Wally ran the clock. On Thursday morning Jenny and I did our usual lunch date, in the afternoon I headed north on 222 for a meeting at the Arena. The Major Indoor Soccer League granted an expansion franchise to Reading for the '13-14 season, the Pennsylvania Roar plays its home opener on Friday the 15th. The meeting was for organizational purposes since many on the staff are new to their respective duties. Granted that I'm somewhat of an old hand at what I do but it will still be something different for me as well. From 1988 to 1991 Hershey had an indoor soccer team, the Impact played at the old Arena. I was there quite often and the games were always entertaining. The Roar plays ten games at the Arena, the season ends in March. By the time we were done and I was back in town the evening's hockey games were underway, I went to the rink for what remained. The Killbots forced a fifth and deciding game in the Midwest finals, that is scheduled on Monday the 18th. In the East finals the UniLords capped off their unlikely comeback from 0-2 to win the championship. Had the events of that series occurred at the professional level it would be talked about for years, it will certainly be remembered around here for some time. Take care, thanks for reading.

November 11-12

Monday morning lunch at the mall, from there I stopped by the rink for the now-standard weekend clean-up. The leaves have come down in bunches lately but thankfully the winds have chiefly been out of the west-northwest which is to our advantage. All three divisions are into their finals, on Monday evening the West ended with Dominion Pizza victorious over the Kings. In the East Whitmoyer Auto took a 2-0 series lead over the UniLords, the West final started with a Yorgo's win over the Killbots. Don, Ron and Des officiated with each working two of the three, Don sat out the game his sons played in and Des played in the game he didn't ref. On Tuesday the weather turned sharply colder, daytime highs barely got out of the 30s. We had two games at the rink starting at 6:30, by the time we were done it was below freezing. Yorgo's went up 2-0 in the Midwest with a win over the Killbots, in the East the UniLords staved off elimination with an overtime win over Whitmoyer Auto Group. The UniLords trailed by one in the final minute of regulation time, the tying goal came with one second on the clock. Ron and Steve worked these games, Wally ran the clock for a second straight night. Take care, thanks for reading.

November 10

Sunday afternoon hockey at the Santander Arena, the Royals hosted the Wheeling Nailers in the back end of a home-and-home. As a rule Sunday games begin at 4:00 but this game was at 5:00 because of the travel from the night before. The club won on Saturday night in Wheeling 2-0 with Brandon Anderson pitching the shutout in goal, on Sunday at the Arena Riley Gill got the start and the win as the Royals finished the sweep. The game was scoreless in the second period, power play goals by Domenic Monardo and Sean Wiles gave the Royals a 2-0 lead. The Nailers got one back but that would be all as the Royals killed a late Wheeling power play and held on for the 2-1 win. Former Royals defenseman Dustin Stevenson was in uniform for the Nailers, he signed an AHL deal with Wilkes-Barre in the off-season. He becomes the first member of the 2013 championship club to return to Reading as an opponent. The victory is the fourth straight for the Royals and improves the club's record to 6-3-0 (3-3-0 at home), the next home date is Wednesday the 20th. Take care, thanks for reading.

November 8-9

The rainy weather on Thursday brought in chillier temperatures, on Friday it was windy and downright cold. In the evening I was at Rossmere Stadium for a district playoff game, the LCHS Crusaders hosted Lampeter-Strasburg. The schools have a football history, for many years they were rivals as members of LL section III. L-S moved to section II a few years ago when LCHS moved to section I, when the league realigns in 2014 the Crusaders will be in II and the rivalry will be renewed. Both teams were 5-5 during the regular season, the Crusaders earned a higher seed on the basis of having played a stronger schedule. On this frigid night at LCHS the Crusaders advanced with a 49-21 win. LCHS scored first but L-S replied to tie it at 7-7. From there it was all Crusaders as they led 35-7 at the half and were never threatened thereafter. Evan Purvis threw a TD pass to Rafael Mateo and Keenan Riegal scored defensively with a interception return but the game's #1 star (to borrow a hockey term) was running back Trey Miller who rushed for better than 300 yards and scored five touchdowns. The win puts LCHS in the district quarterfinals on the 15th. On Saturday Jenny and I did our usual lunch in Quarryville, in the evening Millersville University played a game at the Lancaster Ice Rink. Susquehanna University (from Selinsgrove, about a hundred miles north of Lancaster) was the opponent. Don's son Devyn has been earning his stripes as a freshman, on this night he enjoyed his breakthrough with three goals (including the game-winner) as the 'Ville won easily 6-0. It is Devyn's first hat-trick as a collegian, his parents and several family friends were there to enjoy the moment. Take care, thanks for reading.

November 6-7

Wednesday night street hockey at Reservoir Park as the East and West divisions began their playoffs. Each division has only the championship series, the top two finishers were the only teams to qualify. In the East Whitmoyer Auto defeated the UniLords to take a 1-0 lead, in the West Dominion Pizza assumed a 2-0 series lead with a win over the Kings. There are only two teams in the West, Dominion Pizza was awarded a 1-0 advantage entering the finals by virtue of the better regular-season record (why there are only two teams in the division to begin with is a convoluted story in and of itself, any attempt at an explanation would only induce a migraine headache). Ron refereed both games, one with Derek and the other with Steve (each man played in the other game). We had shift work on the clock as well, Wally and Devyn each worked one game. The series continue on Monday the 11th. The Thursday weather forecast called for rain in the morning and clearing in the afternoon, the day began just as predicted. I was with Jenny for lunch in the morning, it was still raining in Quarryville when I left to come back to town. By the time I arrived the rain was all but over, I went to the rink to do some cleanup work. The Billy-Goat sucked up the wet leaves (and a lot of the water from the rink's undersurface as well), when I was done the surface was bare. Afternoon winds were strong from the northwest and the sun broke through for a time, by 6:30 game-time the rink was virtually dry except for the area in front of the player benches (that's where the rink drains and it's always the worst spot). The Midwest semifinals continued, both series ended in two-game sweeps as Yorgo's eliminated the BallBlasters and the Killbots won over Brendee's. That game was tied in the dying moments, the Killbots scored the winning goal with one second left in regulation play. The Killbots face Yorgo's in the best-of-five finals beginning on Monday. Take care, thanks for reading.

November 4-5

Had lunch at the mall on Monday morning, from there I did some preliminary cleanup work at the rink. There were leaves all over the place from the weekend, I figured to get it over with early so there would be less to do in the evening. The regular season ended on this night with two meaningless East/West crossover games, the UniLords beat Dominion Pizza and the Kings defeated Whitmoyer Auto. Don and Ron officiated, Wally ran the clock. Talked to Jenny on the phone when I got home, she said she wasn't feeling well and was going to bed early. Later on she posted on social media that she had chest pains and had called an ambulance, I called her immediately to find out what was going on. She was home alone since her mother was at a relative's house babysitting, I kept her company on the phone until the medics arrived. On Tuesday morning I called her house, Helen said Jenny was kept overnight for observation. The hospital is in town near where I live, I went to stay with Jenny until she was discharged in early afternoon. They think it was just some bad acid reflux but with chest pains you never can tell, Jenny did the right thing by having it checked out. At the rink in the evening the Midwest semifinal playoffs got underway, the Killbots beat Brendee's and Yorgo's defeated the BallBlasters. Derek and Des refereed, Wally ran the clock again. The winners take a 1-0 lead in their series, the next games in the Midwest are on Thursday. Take care, thanks for reading.

November 2-3

Saturday afternoon lunch with Jenny and Helen, later on Jamie was on hand again as we headed to the Arena for Royals hockey. The club has struggled offensively thus far, on Friday they finally broke out with a 6-3 win in Wheeling. On this night the Elmira Jackals were in town for an evening that included a pregame salute to veterans. The Royals took a 1-0 lead in the first period on a score by Dustin Gazley (a former Jackal) before Elmira replied to tie it. Sean Wiles (a third-year pro with AHL time on his resume) gave the Royals a 2-1 advantage in the second period, goals by Matt Campanale (another ex-Jackal) and rookie Domenic Monardo upped the lead to 4-1. The Jackals got one back before defenseman Aaron Gens hit the net to bring the final to 5-2, Riley Gill picked up the win in goal. The victory improves the Royals' mark to 4-3-0 on the young season, the boys play next on the 9th in Wheeling before hosting the Nailers the following afternoon. On Sunday I was at the Lancaster Ice Rink as Millersville hosted the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. The game got underway around 2:20 or so and it was chippy, the clubs had met a few weeks earlier and there was some obvious bad blood. Devyn was back in the lineup for the 'Ville, he didn't play the last time I saw MU. Nobody was able to dent the net for Millersville as UMBC won it 6-0. Take care, thanks for reading.

November 1

The rain stayed around overnight, it came hard during the early morning. By afternoon it was gone and the sun came out as predicted. In the evening it was week #10 of high school football season, I was at Rossmere Stadium as the LCHS Crusaders hosted McCaskey. In 2010 the city rivalry was renewed after being dormant since 1989, first as a non-league game then as a divisional contest when the Crusaders moved into Section I of the LL League. In 2014 the LL realigns by enrollment, right now it looks like LCHS will drop down to Section II so this may be the final meeting on the gridiron between the schools for the foreseeable future. It was Senior Night, before the game we had ceremonies not unlike those at McCaskey the previous week. The game itself was exactly what most expected as LCHS won handily 49-6, it was 35-0 at halftime as the mercy rule kicked in at the start of the second half. The Crusaders scored four rushing touchdowns, two by Trey Miller and one each by Keenan Reigel and Brian Downey. Evan Purvis threw for three scores, two to Harrison Heise and one to Rafael Mateo. The lone score for the Red Tornado came in the fourth quarter when Kyaire Bynum (back in the lineup from injury) ran for a touchdown. JPM ends the year at 0-10 for the first time since 2008, the last winless season before that was 1975 (that team was 0-11). LCHS finishes the regular season at 5-5 (5-2 in league play), they will qualify for the district playoffs in the class AAA bracket. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 30-31

Wednesday morning lunch in Quarryville with Jenny and her mother, in the afternoon Jamie Burkholder joined us for the drive to Berks County. The Greenville Road Warriors were making their lone Arena appearance of the season in a rematch from the first-round playoff series in the spring of 2013. The Royals wore special Halloween-flavored sweaters which were sold online after the game for charity. The club has struggled offensively thus far in the young season, that was in evidence once again on this night as Greenville left town with a 3-1 win. Brett Flemming scored the Royals' lone goal, Riley Gill took the tough-luck loss. The club's record drops to 2-3-0, in '12-13 the team started 1-5-1 so there is not necessarily any reason to panic but the offense certainly needs to pick up. The boys play in Wheeling on Friday the 1st before returning home for a date with Elmira on the 2nd. On Thursday Jenny was in town in the morning for an appointment, the access van brought her in and I took her home. The rest of the day was spent in the quiet of home since there were no street hockey games at the rink. Years ago we learned that trying to play on October 31 was pointless because of the inherent mischief associated with this particular date. It was all just as well, rain moved into the area in the evening and fell steadily for better than an hour. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 28-29

At the mall for lunch on Monday morning, after that I went to the rink for some cleanup duty. There were leaves on the surface from the weekend, nothing severe but I figured I'd get it over with and out of the way. We had four games on the schedule in the evening, two East/West crossovers from the original schedule and two Midwest makeups from October 10 (the day the monsoon ruined McCaskey's soccer game). The UniLords beat the Kings and Whitmoyer Auto defeated Dominion Pizza via shootout, in the Midwest the Killbots beat Yorgo's and the Dek Dawgs won over Brendee's. Don and Ron refereed, Wally ran the clock. Tuesday was the 29th day of the month, for the first time in three years we had good weather on this date. In 2011 a freak snowstorm dumped around six inches on us, in 2012 another storm system gave us three days of steady rain. No such worries on this occasion as we played three games in the Midwest division. Two of these were regularly-scheduled games that were rematches from the night before, the Killbots made it two straight over Yorgo's and Brendee's defeated the Dek Dawgs in a shootout. The last game saw the BallBlasters over the Misfits, they were rained out on October 10 as well but since Monday was already booked solid their rematch is on Wednesday. Ron worked with Derek on this night with Wally on the clock. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 25-27

Friday night at McCaskey for week #9 of the high school football season as the Red Tornado hosted Manheim Township. It's been a long year for JPM and on this night the pregame Senior Night activities were easily the highlight of the evening. Township scored early and often, extending a twenty-point first-quarter lead to 41-0 as halftime approached. McCaskey got on the board just before time expired on a La'Detrius Sibley touchdown pass to Brandon Allen. That would prove to be the last score of the game, the entire second half was played under the mercy rule as MT won it 41-6. Everybody knew going in that this season was going to a rebuilding effort but it's doubtful anyone could have predicted the level of adversity the club has gone through (case in point: Allen was the starting QB early on, Kyaire Bynum took over in midseason and Sibley inherited the job when Kyaire was lost to injury). The regular season wraps up on November 1 when JPM visits Lancaster Catholic in the annual City Showdown. On Saturday Jenny and her mother were along as the Royals hosted the Elmira Jackals. The boys won 3-1 in Elmira on Friday evening, on this night at the Santander Arena the Jackals returned the favor with a 3-1 win of their own. The lone Royals goal was scored by rookie Michal Cajkovsky, a native of Slovakia who played in the Ontario League in '12-13. Riley Gill took the loss after earning the Friday road win. The Royals play at home on the 30th against Greenville. After the busy weekend Sunday was the day of rest with pro football on TV. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 21-24

Jenny was in town on Monday, we saw each other and ran an errand during the lunch hour. There were street hockey games at the rink in the evening but I was at home in preparation for a medical procedure on Tuesday morning. It's one of those things a man my age goes through every few years, the last time for me was in 2010. On Tuesday I was at the hospital before 7:30, by 10:30 I was home. The doctor said everything looked good, he figured I won't need to be seen again for another five years. I guess at my age that's like being on an extended warranty. I had figured on sleeping off the anesthesia when I got home but I was alert enough that it didn't feel necessary. By mid-afternoon I called Ron to let him know I'd be at the rink in the evening, he was going to be there anyway to referee but at least he wouldn't have to worry about double duty. Three Midwest games were on the docket as Yorgo's beat the BallBlasters, the Dek Dawgs defeated the Misfits and the Killbots won over Brendee's. Derek worked with Ron, Wally ran the clock. On Wednesday I had a solid lunch for the first time since Sunday, in the evening we had two games at the rink. The weather turned chillier earlier in the week, on this night it was cold enough to warrant firing up the portable heater in the administration building. In a West/Midwest crossover the Kings beat Brendee's, Whitmoyer Auto beat Dominion Pizza in an East/West crossover. Ron refereed with Don, Devyn had clock duty. On Thursday daytime highs were only in the 40s, a sharp northwest wind made it feel even chillier. Jenny and I had lunch in Quarryville, in the evening we finished week #6 at the rink with three Midwest games. The BallBlasters won over Brendee's, the Killbots defeated the Dek Dawgs and Yorgo's beat the Misfits. Don and Derek refereed, Devyn ran the clock. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 19-20

Saturday lunch with the ladies in Quarryville, in late afternoon we headed north on 222 for the beginning of the Reading Royals' thirteenth year in the ECHL. The South Carolina Stingrays were the opponent for an opening-weekend doubleheader. The pregame ceremonies on Saturday night included the formal home-ice presentation of the Kelly Cup by ECHL commissioner emeritus Patrick Kelly (the man for whom it is named). The championship banner was brought onto the ice by members of the Junior Royals youth hockey program (coached by former Royal Ryan Cruthers), from there the returning members of the 2012-2013 team passed it on to members of the booster club. It finally found its way into the hands of the Santander Arena's operations crew who raised it to its position at the east end of the building. The momentum from the celebration carried over into the game as T.J. Syner scored early on to make it 1-0. The Stingrays took a 2-1 lead into the third period before newcomer Louie Caporusso (a third-year pro from the University of Michigan) knotted it at 2-2 and set the stage for overtime. In the OT the Royals played short-handed by two men for a full two minutes but were able to escape it, in the shootout the Royals outscored SC two goals to one to nail down a tough 3-2 win. Kelly Cup playoff MVP Riley Gill got the start in goal and earned the victory. On Sunday we were back for game #2, South Carolina turned the tables and left town with a 3-2 win in regulation time. Stanislav Galiev and David Marshall scored for the Royals, Brandon Anderson took the loss in net. The boys return to home ice on Saturday the 26th when the Elmira Jackals come to town. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 16-18

Wednesday morning in Quarryville with Jenny, we did out midweek lunch date a day early. In the evening we were at the soon-to-be Santander Arena for the Royals' annual meet-and-greet. This is always a popular attraction, it gives the fans a chance to meet the guys up-close and personal. Jenny looks forward to it every year as well, on this occasion she brought an autograph book since her jersey has three seasons worth of signatures already on it. Helen missed out on this in 2012 because of babysitting but she was able to come along this time. The Kelly Cup was in the house, fans were lined up to have a professional photo taken with it. On Thursday night we finished up week #5 of street hockey at Reservoir Park with three Midwest games. There was some brief rain about an hour before the games started but once we got underway there were no further issues. The Killbots beat the Misfits, Yorgo's won over Brendee's and the BallBlasters defeated the Dek Dawgs. Don and Derek officiated, Devyn ran the clock. Friday was a football night at McCaskey as the Red Tornado returned home after three weeks on the road to host Cedar Crest. It was (appropriately) Homecoming with all of the usual hoopla involved but on the field the result was unfortunately very familiar. JPM's last victory came in Week #8 of the 2012 season, a 42-41 win at Cedar Crest. On this night (week #8 of the 2013 season) JPM scored first on a Pedro Martinez TD run but Cedar Crest scored the next five touchdowns. Tyree Ballinger's scoring carry in the fourth quarter made it 35-14 but CC salted it away with another score to make the final 42-14. The loss is the eleventh straight for the program, the club plays at home on the 25th against Manheim Township before wrapping up the season at Lancaster Catholic on November 2nd. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 14-15

At the mall for lunch on Monday morning, later in the afternoon I was at McCaskey. The varsity soccer team was playing its make-up game from the Thursday rainout, the game was on the regular soccer field since the football field in the stadium was still recovering from the storm. They had asked me if I could handle their senior recognitions as planned, they had a portable PA system set up for that purpose. My evening's schedule precluded me from staying for the game itself but we got the pregame activities done which was all anyone really cared about. A lot of people in my position probably wouldn't have rolled out of bed to do that but I didn't mind because (a) the head coach used to play in the hockey league at Reservoir Park so I've known him for some time and (b) it was a big thing for the kids and that's what high school sports is all about. It was a lovely sunshiny kind of day, the kind of day we could have used on the 10th when all this was supposed to happen. At the rink in the evening we started week #5 of street hockey with two West/Midwest crossover games. The BallBlasters beat the Kings in OT shootout and the Killbots defeated Dominion Pizza. Don and Ron refereed, Wally ran the clock. On Tuesday we had a full night on the docket, in the East the UniLords beat Whitmoyer Auto via shootout. The Midwest games featured Yorgo's over the Dek Dawgs, Brendee's over the Misfits and the BallBlasters over the Killbots. Ron worked the entire night with Des, Wally was on the clock again. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 11-13

The hard rain was still around on Friday morning, Jenny was in Willow Street for a doctor's appointment. I met her there and took her home, along the way we saw a lot of flooding in low-laying areas (I had stuck to the main roads on the way to her appointment, several of the back roads I use were impassable). We had lunch together for a second straight day since she and her mother were coming back to the city with me. In the afternoon Marty joined us for the drive north to Reading as the Royals hosted the Wheeling Nailers in an exhibition game at the Sovereign Center. Since our building opened in 2001 it has been known by that name, recently the naming rights changed hands. When the regular season begins the facility officially becomes the Santander ("sahn-tahn-DAIR") Arena, after twelve years that will take some getting used to. The Royals have several players from the 2012-13 club listed on the training camp roster. That number includes team captain Yannick Tifu, Julien Cayer, T.J. Syner, Ian O'Connor, Brett Flemming, Bryant Molle, David Marshall, Ethan Cox and Stanislav Galiev plus goaltenders Riley Gill and Brandon Anderson. Not all were in uniform on this night as coach Larry Courville took the opportunity to give the newcomers a look. The Royals fell behind 1-0 in the second period but replied quickly on a score from Ryan Santana (rookie from Boston University). In the third period Ryan Kavanagh (a third-year pro who played in Germany in '12-13) found the net to make it 2-1, from there Riley Gill closed the door and picked up the win. The regular season begins at home on October 19 as the 2013 Kelly Cup championship banner is raised. There was still some rain in the area on the drive home, by Saturday morning it was just about all gone. In the afternoon I was at the Lancaster Ice Rink for a college game as Millersville hosted West Chester. The schools are roughly forty miles apart, over the years they have been fierce rivals in the athletic arena. Devyn did not play in this game, he suffered a muscle sprain earlier in the week and was not in uniform. MU led 2-1 in the third period before WCU rallied with three straight scores, a late rally fell short as the 'Ville lost 4-3. Sunday skies were bright and clear, with nothing special going on I stayed in and watched football all day. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 7-10

Strong winds and rainy conditions started the new week, I stopped by the rink on Monday morning before lunch. I wasn't surprised to see it leaf-covered, when the rain became steady in the afternoon it killed our chances of playing on Monday evening. On Tuesday it was much cooler and felt more like October, in the afternoon I put in an SOS call from the rink. One of the players owns a lawn care service, he was able to get away and help us out with his equipment to clear the leaves from the rink surface. Thanks to his invaluable assistance the evening's games went off without a hitch. In the East game Whitmoyer Auto beat Cat's Meow, in the Midwest Brendee's defeated the BallBlasters, the Killbots won over the Dek Dawgs and Yotgo's beat the Misfits. Don and Ron worked the entire evening with Wally manning the clock. On Wednesday we had two games, in the West Dominion Pizza beat the Kings and in the East Whitmoyer Auto defeated the UniLords. Ron refereed both games, the West with Derek and the East with Des (each man played in the opposite game). Devyn worked both games on the clock. Thursday was a "one for the books" day if there ever was one. Jon Mitchell (McCaskey athletic director) had asked me if I was available for this day, JPM's soccer team was playing its final home game. They usually play on a field adjacent to the football stadium, this game was to be played in the stadium because they were planning a senior recognition ceremony and wanted to use the PA facilities. Rain moved into the region overnight and was coming with a vengeance in the afternoon, I called the athletic office and learned that the game (scheduled for 6:00) was still on. The junior varsity game started at 4:00 and was played in a virtual monsoon, by the time it ended the field was a quagmire and it was still pouring. It was decided to postpone the varsity game so outside of a mic check ("test 1-2-3-4, a-b-c-d") I never said a word publicly the entire time I was there. I had let Don know I'd be at the rink when we were done at McCaskey but it was all irrelevant since the street hockey games were postponed as well. We got through three weeks of the season with no weather issues, in week #4 we lost two nights and five total games. As it happens we can work them into open spots so it won't hurt us in terms of extending the regular season. The rain is expected to stay around through the weekend as the storm system moves slowly up the coast. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 5-6

Saturday morning in Quarryville for lunch with Jenny and her mother, in the afternoon Jamie Burkholder joined us for the first pro hockey game of the new season. The Adirondack Phantoms were in Hershey as the opponent for the Bears' home opener. Between the summer-like weather and it being only the fifth day of the month it really didn't feel like hockey season but once you're in the arena and the game starts all the other stuff becomes immaterial. Bears/Phantoms games are always interesting for me, on the one hand I follow the Phantoms because they are affiliated with the NHL club I follow most closely. On the other hand the Bears are co-affiliated with the Royals and we all know how well that worked out in the 2012-13 season. Royals coach Larry Courville was in attendance, I had a chance to talk to him briefly before the game. Royals' training camp opened on Saturday morning in Reading, Larry was in Hershey to scout potential additions from the Bears. On this night there were eleven players on the Hershey roster not in uniform, it's entirely possible that a number of them may find their way east in the coming weeks. The Royals have twenty-seven players on their training camp roster so the competition for permanent spots will be intense. In the game itself the Phantoms rallied from a one-goal deficit in the third period to win in overtime 4-3. In recent years the Phantoms have had little success in Hershey, this was the first time I witnessed a Phantoms win there since March of 2010. We'll be in Hershey twice more this season but not again until December. Sunday was the proverbial day of rest with pro football and playoff baseball on TV wall-to-wall. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 4

The uncommonly warm weather continues, on Friday evening I was at Rossmere Stadium for a second consecutive week. I started doing LCHS games in 1996, at that time all of McCaskey's games were on Saturdays so there was never a conflict. When lights were added at McCaskey Stadium in '99 the dynamic changed, as a McCaskey alum I'm always there first. On this night at Rossmere the Crusaders defeated Warwick 42-21 in a game much closer and competitive than the final score would indicate. It was 28-14 at the half, Warwick made it a one-score game in the third quarter before LCHS pulled away. The Crusaders scored three rushing touchdowns all courtesy of Nassir Weaver, Evan Purvis threw TD passes to Charles Scarff, Rafael Mateo and Harrison Heise (as placekicker Purvis was also six-for-six on extra points). The win pulls LCHS even overall at 3-3, 3-0 within the division. The Crusaders' next home game is on the 18th, I'll be absent because JPM is at home that night as well. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 1-3

The new month brought a major change in the weather, the first few days of October felt more like July. On Tuesday evening we played three Midwest games at the rink, there was no East game since they and the West are in a crossover portion of the schedule. The BallBlasters beat the Dek Dawgs, Yorgo's beat Brendee's via shootout and the Killbots beat the Misfits. Don and Derek officiated, Wally ran the clock. Wednesday night featured two East/West games as the UniLords won over Dominion Pizza and Whitmoyer Auto beat the Kings. Ron and Don refereed, Wally and Devyn split clock duty. On Thursday I made my usual morning drive south to see Jenny and have lunch with her, in the evening we wrapped up week #3 at the rink with three Midwest games. The first two were decided in shootout, the Killbots over Brendee's and the BallBlasters over Yorgo's. The night's final game saw the Misfits defeat the Dek Dawgs. Don and Derek refereed with Devyn on the clock. Three weeks in the books with no postponements but that run might be in jeopardy, the forecast of the early part of the new week doesn't sound encouraging. Take care, thanks for reading.

September 28-30

A rare Saturday morning/early afternoon at home since Jenny and I did lunch on Friday instead, in late afternoon I was at the Lancaster Ice Rink. Don's son Devyn is a freshman at Millersville University, he is a member of the varsity ice hockey team. MU (or "the 'Ville") plays in the Great Northeast Collegiate Hockey Conference which is under the umbrella of the American Collegiate Hockey Association. When Devyn was in high school his team's home games were played at the Ice Rink so at least the venue was familiar if the competition wasn't. MU's opponent was Saint Joseph's University, one of Philadelphia's famous "Big Five" schools. Devyn did not figure in the scoring but even as a freshman he didn't look out of place, it's all a matter of getting accustomed to the caliber of play. MU won the game 5-2 breaking into the win column after an 0-4 start. Sunday was the proverbial day of rest with baseball and football on TV. Had Monday lunch at the mall, in the evening we started the new week and ended the old month at Reservoir Park. This was a night for crossover games between the East and West divisions, the UniLords defeated the Kings and Dominion Pizza beat Cat's Meow. Ron and Don refereed, Wally ran the clock. Take care, thanks for reading.

September 27

Jenny was in Willow Street for a morning appointment, I brought her home and we did our weekend lunch date a day early. In the evening I was at Rossmere Stadium for the first time in 2013 as the Lancaster Catholic Crusaders hosted Penn Manor. LCHS went 0-3 in their non-league games but got into the win column in their league opener, PM came into this game undefeated at 4-0. Before the game we observed a moment of silence in memory of a Penn Manor student who recently lost his life. In my years doing PA work I've presided over more of these than I care to remember, they are never easy especially when it is for one so young. The game itself was a thriller all the way. The Crusaders scored first on a TD pass from quarterback Evan Purvis to wideout Charles Scarff, Penn Manor replied in kind to tie it 7-7. In the second quarter LCHS reclaimed the lead on a Nassir Weaver touchdown carry but PM fought back to deadlock it once again, at the half it was 14-14. It stayed that way until the final moments when Manor scored to go ahead 20-14, the extra point was unsuccessful which gave LCHS the opening it needed. With twelve seconds left in regulation time Purvis found Rafael Mateo for the tying touchdown, Purvis himself kicked the extra point to give the Crusaders the lead. The subsequent kickoff went nowhere for PM as the clock ran out and the LCHS faithful celebrated a terrific 21-20 win. This was the kind of game that will be remembered for a long time by those lucky enough to have seen it. The Crusaders host Warwick on October 4, I'll be there for that one as well. Take care, thanks for reading.

September 25-26

Wednesday night at the rink with two divisional games on the docket. In the West game Dominion Pizza defeated the Kings, the East game saw Whitmoyer Auto over Cat's Meow. Don and Ron worked both games, Devyn made his first appearance as the clock operator. On Thursday Jenny and I had our usual lunch date, in the evening we wrapped up week #2 of street hockey. Three Midwest games were played with Yorgo's beating the Dek Dawgs, Brendee's over the Misfits and the Killbots won via shootout over the BallBlasters. Don and Derek refereed, Wally ran the clock. With two weeks in the books we have had no postponements thus far, that is very rare for this time of year. The long-range weather forecast looks good but we all know how quickly things can change. Take care, thanks for reading.

September 23-24

The new week started poorly with a early morning phone call from Don. Our building at the rink was broken into over the weekend, his son Derek was there and noticed a window had been knocked out. I stopped by before lunch and cleaned up the mess, it was mostly stuff from the desk drawers thrown on the floor. Nothing of any value was missing (at least nothing apparent) so all in all we were lucky. I went back after lunch and ran the billy-goat around the rink, there were a lot of leaves laying around from the rain and wind on Saturday. The evening's games went on without a hitch: in the crossovers Dominion Pizza beat the Misfits and the Kings defeated the Dek Dawgs, the East game saw the UniLords over Whitmoyer Auto. Ron and Derek worked the first two games, Steve worked the third game with Ron since Derek was playing in it. On Tuesday we had a full night, in the East the UniLords won over Cat's Meow. The Midwest games featured the BallBlasters over the Misfits, Brendee's beat the Dek Dawgs and Yorgo's defeated the Killbots. Don and Ron refereed the entire night, Wally ran the clock. Take care, thanks for reading.

September 20-22

Friday night football at McCaskey as the Red Tornado finished a three-game homestand. I graduated from JPM in 1974, I returned in 1988 and have been involved with the football and boys' basketball programs ever since. Nobody wants to see the team be successful more than me but there are times when you simply must be realistic. The opponent on this night was Wilson HS (from suburban Reading). Wilson is without question one of the top programs in the state, they have not had a losing season in almost FIFTY YEARS. They came into this game undefeated and given JPM's struggles thus far there was little reason to expect a competitive contest. It was 21-0 after one quarter and 38-0 at halftime, the entire second half was played under the mercy rule. The lone score for the Red Tornado came in the last quarter on a Brandon Allen touchdown reception from Kyaire Bynum, another TD in the final seconds was negated by a penalty but it all mattered little as Wilson won it 45-7. The next three for JPM are on the road, the next home date is October 18. On Saturday I was with Jenny for lunch, later in the day an extended rain moved through the area. By Sunday morning it was gone, cool temperatures and cloudy skies made it a prefect day for pro football on TV. Take care, thanks for reading.

September 18-19

Made the usual errand run on Wednesday morning, in the evening we were back at the rink. On Wednesdays we'll usually have two games, on this night Yorgo's beat Dominion Pizza in a crossover game and the UniLords defeated Cat's Meow in an East division match. Don and Ron refereed, Wally ran the clock. On Thursday I was with Jenny at her place, after lunch we went to the fairgrounds. The annual Solanco fair started on Wednesday, we walked around and saw the various exhibits and livestock (with the southern part of the county being the rural area it is there were a lot of farm animals on display). Many of the merchants were handing out pens and pencils, I took the opportunity to stock up for athletic season (we use the pens at Reservoir Park for hockey, I use the pencils for the basketball scorebooks at McCaskey). In the evening we wrapped up the week at street hockey with three Midwest games. Yorgo's stayed undefeated with a shootout win over the Misfits, Brendee's beat the BallBlasters and the Killbots stayed unbeaten with a win over the Dek Dawgs. Don and Derek officiated, Wally ran the clock once again. Wally will probably be there more often than not this season, Don's youngest son Devyn is attending college in Millersville so his availability may be limited. League play continues on Monday with another 3-4-2-3 format. Take care, thanks for reading.

September 16-17

It was very dark and rainy on Monday morning, later in the day the rain moved on and the clouds lifted. In the evening we were at Reservoir Park for opening night of the fall street hockey season. As a rule the Monday format will feature crossover games, on this night we had two of those between the West and Midwest divisions plus one game featuring the East division head-to-head. In the crossovers the Killbots beat the Union Station Kings and Dominion Pizza defeated the BallBlasters (formerly Jr's Cycle Shop), in the East game Whitmoyer Auto beat Cat's Meow (the old 915 Cafe). Don and Ron refereed the entire evening, Wally ran the clock. On Tuesday we had four games on the schedule, all within divisions (one East and three Midwest). The five teams that did not play Monday made their season debuts, in the East game Whitmoyer Auto stayed unbeaten with a win over the UniLords. In the Midwest the Killbots defeated Brendee's (formerly the Lancaster Amvets), Yorgo's beat the BallBlasters via shootout and the Dek Dawgs won over the Misfits. Officiating was by committee as Steve Dellinger worked the first game with Ron and the second with Derek, Ron and Derek worked the last two. With the unusual schedule format in effect there will probably be a lot of nights with rotating officials, it all depends on who plays on any given night. The Midwest's portion of the regular season ends on October 29, the East and West play into the following week. With the interlocking part of the schedule more extensive than ever this should be one of the more interesting seasons we've had in some time. Take care, thanks for reading.

September 13-15

Friday was the big day for Triskaidekaphobia, it was the thirteenth day of the month. In the evening it proved to be unlucky for football at McCaskey as the Red Tornado lost to Exeter (from suburban Reading). Every time JPM plays a Berks County opponent I invariably run into people I know, this night was no different. This season is shaping up as one long learning process for JPM as they fell behind early once again, in the second quarter Exeter led 21-0. The Red Tornado got on the board on a Joseph Gray touchdown reception from Kyaire Bynum, Connor Zahm added the PAT. Exeter extended their advantage to 35-7 in the fourth before Bynum found La'Detrius Sibley for a TD to make it 35-14, a late Exeter score brought the final to 42-14. The loss drops JPM to 0-3 and the road will not get any easier anytime soon with league play beginning on the 20th. On Saturday I was with Jenny in Quarryville, we celebrated her mother's birthday albeit a day early (Helen is 76 on Sunday). On the way back to the city I got a can of gas for the Billy-Goat at the rink and took it there, two of the teams in the league were scrimmaging when I arrived. I checked the scoreboard clock to make sure it was working and gave everything the once-over in anticipation of Monday's season openers. Sunday was a do-nothing kind of day, with pro football and baseball on TV (not to mention exhibition hockey games getting underway) there was plenty to watch. Take care, thanks for reading.

September 9-12

Monday morning: made a trip to Hershey to get our hockey tickets for the AHL season. Every year they hold a presale for ticket plan holders, on this occasion it was at the box office at the adjacent stadium since the arena parking lot was hosting an RV/camper convention. I always try to get there on the first day of the presale, all the better to get the seats we want. The box office opened at 10:00, I arrived at 10:10 and got into line. I figured there would be a wait since there were a good number of people there but I never expected it to last TWO AND ONE-HALF HOURS!!! They had four windows open and it seemed like every transaction took forever, when I finally made it to the head of the line it took me all of ten minutes to accomplish what I wanted. I can't ever remember being there any longer than thirty minutes any other year, why it was so interminable this time is anybody's guess. I finally got into my car at 12:50 and headed home thankful that this is only a once-a-year thing. We'll be attending three games this season, the first of them is the home opener on October 5 only because the Phantoms are the opponent. On Monday evening Don and I firmed up the schedule for the fall street hockey season, we start on Monday the 16th (one week later than originally planned). We'll have eleven teams in three divisions and a format unlike anything we've had before. It is a partial crossover in that one division will play the other two but those two will not meet each other. We've done crossovers before but never one that impacted every team, it will be interesting to see how it plays out. On Tuesday the weather warmed up considerably, Wednesday temperatures hit the lower 90s. On Thursday Jenny was in town for a morning appointment, I took her home and we had our usual lunch date. Thunderstorms rolled through in the afternoon and brought temperatures down, weekend highs are expected to be in the lower 70s. Take care, thanks for reading.

September 7-8

Had Saturday lunch with Jenny and her mother, in the evening they made their final appearance on North Prince Street for the season as the Barnstormers hosted the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs in game #2 of the weekend series. After winning the opener on Friday the Stormers lost on this night 7-2. Before the game there was a ceremony saluting local heroes, among the honorees were two young men who rescued a small child from abduction and a firefighter who suffered severe burns in performance of duty. In the game itself the Barnstormers trailed 3-0 in the fourth, a Kevin Howard RBI double and a run-scoring single by Dayton Buller made it 3-2. That would be all the club could muster as the Crabs put it away in the late innings, Jeff Bennett got the start and took the loss. On Sunday afternoon the clubs met in the series' rubber game at 1:35. During my days in the industry I was never a big fan of day games especially during the peak summer months, between the heat and humidity and the usually quick turnaround from the night before I was never crazy about them in the least. On this day in Lancaster it was partly cloudy and cool with low humidity, since it was the Stormers final home game there was really no reason not to be there. In pregame ceremonies pitcher Dwayne Pollok and outfielder Ryan Harvey were named the team's co-Most Valuable Player, outfielder Jerry Owens was honored with the club's award for community service. The Barnstormers took a 1-0 lead in the first under strange circumstances: Olmo Rosario singled, took second on a error, stole third and scored when the throw from the catcher hit him in the head and ricocheted into the stands (fortunately he was uninjured thanks to the protection his batting helmet provided). The Crabs responded quickly to take a 2-1 lead, in the sixth Gustavo Molina's RBI hit tied the game. In the ninth inning Atlantic League history was made as original Barnstormer Ross Peeples (the last remaining member of the inaugural 2005 team) entered the game in relief. This was his 312th career pitching appearance in the ALPB which established a new league record. The game was finally resolved in the eleventh when the Blue Crabs pushed home two runs to win it 4-2. Rich Rundles started for the Stormers, Brodie Downs was the pitcher of record. The Barnstormers finish the season on the road, with six games left to play they have an outside shot at a playoff spot but the odds are not in their favor. Take care, thanks for reading.

September 6

Friday night football at McCaskey as the Red Tornado hosted York. Back in the days of the old Central Penn League the schools were league rivals, that ended when the CP folded in the 1970s. Whenever the cities of York and Lancaster meet in competition it's always called The War Of The Roses in honor of the Houses of York and Lancaster in England and their history back in the 1300s. For me it was the start of my twenty-sixth year behind the mic for JPM, it's hard to believe it's been that long already. McCaskey is a very young squad with a lot of new players in new positions, it stands to reason that it will be a struggle early on as the team finds its identity. That was front and center on this night as the Red Tornado lost 28-7. York scored the first fourteen points and the last fourteen, the only JPM score came in the second quarter on a five-yard carry by halfback Pedro Martinez. The club's record drops to 0-2 and clearly the only way to go is up. The club stays at home to face Exeter in the final non-league game on the 13th, LL league play begins on the 20th. Take care, thanks for reading.

September 4-5

Wednesday afternoon: Dick met me at my place, from there we headed south into Maryland for one final affiliated-league game in 2013. The Aberdeen Ironbirds hosted the Lowell Spinners (Boston Red Sox affiliate) on the final night of the New York-Pennsylvania League season. In minor league baseball the higher-level affiliated leagues always end on Labor Day, lower levels like the NY-P usually run a few days past that. Before the game Ironbird firstbaseman Trey Mancini (a first-year pro from the University Of Notre Dame) was named the club's MVP. The 'Birds won the game 5-4, Mancini had two hits to establish a new club record in that category. On Thursday Jenny and I had lunch together, in the evening the Barnstormers wrapped up their series with Somerset. After the tough extra-inning loss on Tuesday the ballclub rebounded with a 2-1 Wednesday win to even the series. In the rubber game on Thursday the Stormers trailed 2-0 in the seventh, a Jerry Owens RBI single and a Joe Thurston two-run double made it 3-2. The Patriots would tie it in the ninth and score twice in the tenth, the Barnstormers got one back on a Dayton Buller base hit but Somerset held on to win it 5-4. Dwayne Pollok worked into the seventh inning in search of his nineteenth win but it was not to be, Jason Richardson took the loss in relief. The ballclub hosts Southern Maryland for three games on the weekend. Take care, thanks for reading.

September 3

Tuesday night at the ballpark as the Barnstormers opened a series with the Somerset Patriots, this was the first time I had a chance to see Somerset this season. This was the Patriots' third visit to Lancaster in 2013, the first two were midweek series back in May and June during street hockey season. The Barnstormers have had their share of difficulties this season, this game may have been the definitive example. It was scoreless into the fourth inning before Somerset scored three runs, another three-spot in the fifth made it 6-0 Patriots. In the seventh the Stormers climbed back into it on a three-run home run by Kyle Russell, a three-run bomb into the wind and onto the hill in left field by Ryan Harvey tied it 6-6 in the eighth. In the ninth inning the Barnstormers loaded the bases with one out but were unable to end it, the second out came on a line drive directly at a perfectly-positioned fielder and the inning concluded on a loud fly ball caught at the base of the wall in right field. In the tenth inning the Patriots had their opportunity and capitalized, the Stormers could not respond in their half as Somerset won it 7-6. Rich Rundles started and worked into the fifth inning, Brodie Downs suffered the tough-luck loss in relief. The series continues through Thursday before Southern Maryland visits for the weekend. Take care, thanks for reading.

September 1-2

The ninth month of the year began on a Sunday, in the evening the ladies were in town for the ballgame on North Prince Street. The Barnstormers were looking to complete a three-game sweep but Bridgeport had other ideas. In the third inning the Stormers took the lead on an Olmo Rosario RBI single and a sacrifice fly from Joe Thurston. From there it was all Bluefish as they tied it in the fourth, single runs in the seventh and ninth innings put the lid on a 4-2 Bridgeport win. Jeff Bennett started for the Stormers but wasn't involved in the decision, recently-added reliever Cody Eppley took the loss. Eppley pitched in the major leagues earlier in the season, he was most recently in the Minnesota Twins organization. Monday was the annual Labor Day holiday and the unofficial end of summer (at least that's the way I've always looked at it). The ballclub had an off-day and with nothing else going on it was a day to stay in and watch ballgames on TV.  Take care, thanks for reading.

August 31

Saturday morning: Jenny and I had our usual lunch date at her place, in the afternoon I got a message from a friend within the football program at McCaskey. Apparently the young man who injured his leg on Friday suffered an torn ACL and MCL. That would be terrible news under any circumstances, the fact that this is his senior year makes it that much more unfortunate. In the evening Marty and I were at the ballpark as the Barnstormers hosted the Bridgeport Bluefish. This was the second game of the weekend series, the Stormers took the opener on Friday 4-0. On this night the home team took a quick lead on a first-inning home run by Jerry Owens, the Bluefish tied it in the second and took a 2-1 lead in the fourth. The Barnstormers knotted matters in their half of the fourth on a Ryan Harvey RBI double, in the seventh they took the lead for good. Anthony Contreras singled with one out, stole second base, advanced to third on a throwing error and scored on a sacrifice fly by Gustavo Molina. That 3-2 lead would stand up as Dwayne Pollok picked up the win, Yoslan Herrera finished it for the save. The victory was Pollok's eighteenth of the season which establishes a new club record and ties the league mark in that category. There was some light precipitation during the middle innings but it never threatened play. The series wraps up on Sunday evening, Jenny and her mother will be along for that one. Take care, thanks for reading.

August 30

Had a haircut appointment after lunch, later in the day Dick Myers and I met up at his place in Neffsville. The destination was Shirk Stadium at Albright College in Reading as the 2013 high school football season kicked off literally and figuratively. When we arrived my first stop was the press box to say hello to an old friend. Paul "Cooter" Jones does the PA there, he and I worked together during my baseball days in Berks County. He coached at Reading High for many years, I hadn't seen him since September of 2012 when he was inducted into the school's Athletic Hall Of Fame. Sometimes professional associations may end but friendships endure. On this night the McCaskey Red Tornado met Reading High in a matchup of teams that went 4-6 in 2012. In high school sports every year is a new year, for JPM it's very much a new start due to heavier than usual graduation losses. JPM scored first in the second quarter on a seven-yard run by Erder Mocombe, Connor Zahm added the PAT for a 7-0 lead. Mocombe was assisted to the sideline after his TD with an apparent injury to his right leg, he was later transferred to a local facility for further attention. Football is a game of attrition, as the game wore on several players were in need of sideline medical attention. The 7-0 lead stayed in place until the third quarter, the wheels came off as RHS scored twenty-six unanswered points to blow the game open. JPM mounted a small comeback on a TD pass from quarterback Brandon Allen to wideout Felix Trevino and a two-point conversion pass from Allen to Kamall Gantz but a late RHS TD put the punctuation mark on a 33-15 McCaskey loss. JPM plays its next three at home as York, Exeter and Wilson visit (in that order). Take care, thanks for reading.

August 26-29

The early part of the week had little on the schedule, on Monday evening we had a street hockey league meeting at the rink. We had nine or ten teams represented but there are always those who never bother to attend (but they are always quick to complain when they don't know what happened at the meeting). Right now the plan is to start the fall season on September 9, hopefully that will not be delayed since weather can be a factor later on. On Tuesday Jenny was in town on business, we were able to see each other briefly at lunch break. On Wednesday we did our usual weekday lunch date a day early. As Labor Day weekend approaches it marks the start of another fall sports season at the high school level, on Friday evening McCaskey opens its football schedule with a game at Reading High. JPM's first home game is on September 6, that will be the first of three straight at home. Lancaster Catholic is on the road for their opener as well, as it stands I have three of their five home dates on my calendar. Take care, thanks for reading.

August 24-25

Saturday afternoon: Jenny and her mother were in town, we ran some errands and relaxed at my place before heading over to the ballpark. As a rule I like to bring them to Sunday evening home games because they start an hour earlier and the crowd is usually smaller, with the Sunday game this weekend being a day game that option was unavailable. An excellent fireworks night crowd was on hand as the Revolution evened the series. Each team scored in the first inning on a run-scoring double, Wilson Batista for York and Ryan Harvey replying in kind for the Barnstormers. The Revs took a two-run lead in the second on RBI hits by Ruddy Yan and Ofilio Castro, they upped the lead to 4-1 in the fourth on a solo homer by Michael Hernandez. The Stormers got back in it in the fifth, an Olmo Rosario RBI double and a run-scoring single by newcomer Joe Thurston made it 4-3 (Thurston is a former big-leaguer, he played in the Mexican League in 2013). In the Revs' seventh Batista's solo homer capped the scoring as York took it 5-3. The starting pitchers were of record, Zach Segovia for the Revs and Derrick Loop for the Stormers (both were at one time in the Phillies' minor league system). Sunday was a good day to stay in and relax and watch the major leagues on TV, later in the day I saw where the Barnstormers won the afternoon game 1-0. That wraps up the season series, the Revs won twelve of the twenty played to claim the Community Cup. York last won it in 2010, the Barnstormers won it in 2011 and retained possession when the 2012 season series ended in a tie. Take care, thanks for reading.

August 22-23

Thursday morning in Quarryville with Jenny for our usual lunch visit, in the evening I was at the ballpark not as a spectator but at work on the mic. This was a special softball game featuring representatives of the School District of Lancaster and Fidevia LLC, a construction management company that has partnered with the SDL on various projects. One of the district's middle school principals called me about working it, he had received my contact information from the athletic office at McCaskey. This was your classic impromptu type of game, the only purpose was to have fun. They played seven innings and used ten-man batting orders, each team's entire lineup batted in every inning regardless of runs scored or outs made. The game started shortly after 6:00 and lasted literally until darkness set in, for the record the SDL won 28-27. On Friday the ballpark was the setting for more conventional activity as the Barnstormers hosted the York Revolution. Each year the winner of the season series wins the Community Cup, with an 11-6 head-to-head record thus far the Revs have already clinched the trophy for 2013. On this night the Stormers took the early lead on a Ryan Harvey RBI hit but the Revs tied it on a solo home run by Chad Tracy. A three-run Barnstormer uprising in the fifth proved to be the difference, a two-run single by Jerry Owens and another RBI single by Harvey provided the winning margin as the Stormers took it 4-1. The respective starting pitchers were involved in the decision, Brian Grening on the plus side and Corey Thurman on the minus side. Thurman is to York what Ross Peeples is to Lancaster, he's been with the Revs since 2008. It was a fireworks night but as is my wont I was out of there before they ever started. The series continues on Saturday, Jenny and Helen will be along for that game since Sunday's is in the afternoon. Take care, thanks for reading.