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.