December 24-31

The first few days of the new week were very quiet, it's That Time Of The Year and quite frankly I couldn't care less if I tried. I make sure Jenny is taken care of and that's as far as I go, I wish it could be different but it simply isn't in me and it's been years (hell, DECADES) since it was. Jenny and I had our midweek lunch on Wednesday, on Thursday I took the scorebooks over to basketball practice since I would be absent from both nights of our tournament over the weekend. On Friday the Royals returned home from holiday recess, the Newfoundland Growlers visited for the first of a two-game set. It goes without saying that the Growlers play an unusual schedule, since they are from the easternmost city in North America they tend to play at home for as much as two weeks at a time and have road trips of similar length. On this night the Royals fell behind early but rebounded on goals from Alex Roos and Brayden Low to lead 2-1 at the first intermission. Midway through the third Frank Dichiara lit the lamp for an insurance goal, Chris McCarthy's empty-netter put the lid on a 4-1 Royals win. In game #2 on Saturday it was "A-Philly-ation Night", the club wore Flyers-themed orange-and-black sweaters. Goals by Joe Houk and Adam Schmidt fifty-five seconds apart gave the Royals a 2-0 lead five minutes in but Newfoundland rallied to tie the score at the intermission. In the second period Alex Roos put the Royals ahead but the Growlers replied in kind, after two it was 3-3. The deadlock would not be resolved until the overtime shootout, Newfoundland outscored the Royals two goals to one and took the game 4-3. The Royals goaltender of record on both nights was newcomer Callum Booth, on loan from the Carolina Hurricanes organization and the sixth goalie used by the Royals thus far in '18-19. He has been between the Royals and the Hurricanes' AHL club in Charlotte for most of December, he had played five games on the road before making his home debut during the weekend. The Royals finish the 2018 home portion of the schedule with a 6-6-4 mark and 15-8-7 overall, the first home date in 2019 is January 4 against Norfolk. The calendar year ended on Monday with rain and temperatures in the 50s, the newspaper carried a story claiming 2018 as the wettest year on record for our area. 153 of the 365 days featured some degree of precipitation and the yearly total exceeded sixty inches. There were New Years Eve celebrations set for downtown in the evening, with the rain pelting down anyone who was there was either waterproof or a sadist. Thanks for reading, everyone. See you in 2019, take care.

December 21-23

Winter arrived on Friday afternoon but the weatherman never got the memo, it was a rainy day with temperatures topping out in the mid-50s. After supper we convened at McCaskey for the 22-mile bus ride northwest to Elizabethtown for another league crossover game. We have played E-Town sporadically over the years, as far as I can recall this was my first time in their gym since 2011 (that was the "Just Because They're McCaskey" playoff game I talked about in my post from 1-26-18). The night started with a convincing JPM victory in the JV game which improves their record to 5-1, the varsity game was much more competitive. I never go into an opposing gym expecting a easy game because it simply doesn't work that way, especially within the league we always get everybody's best shot Just Because We're McCaskey. We were ahead by five at the half but E-Town hung tough and battled to the end, when the final buzzer sounded JPM emerged victorious 70-67. We were up by four in the closing seconds, an E-Town three-point goal brought them to within one. On the inbound play Makai Ortiz was purposely fouled, he sank both free throws with 0.8 on the clock to ice the win (very much like the season opener at Muhlenberg when Makai came through in a similar spot). Ajani Simmons and Isaiah Thomas tied for game-high with 16 each, Brian Mckenzie had 13 and Makai finished with ten. Also in the book were Jahsaan Greaves with seven. Mohammed Nimmons-Francis with six and Bryam Menendez with two. The club improves to 3-1 within league play and 4-2 overall which surpasses the '17-18 win total just six games in. The boys are off until the 28th and 29th when JPM hosts the annual holiday tournament (which I am out of completely because the Royals play at home both nights). The rest of the weekend was uneventful except for Saturday lunch with Jenny. Take care, thanks for reading.

December 19-20

Had Wednesday lunch with Jenny as is our wont, in the evening we were at McCaskey for another night of basketball. It's interesting to note that our first four league games are crossovers with Section II and the first three of them are against teams formerly in our division. Warwick was the opponent on this night and over the years they have been one of those programs that are a PITA to play against. No matter how good or bad we are or how good or bad they are a game with them just never seems to be an easy assignment. The night began with a classic JV game, JPM prevailed in double overtime 69-66. The varsity game proved to be achingly frustrating, the Red Tornado lost 62-57. We were up thirteen at halftime but in the second half Warwick suddenly could not miss, they outscored us by eighteen and pulled out the win. Jahsaan Greaves led JPM with 13, Makai Ortiz had 12 as the only other man in double figures. Bryam Menendez scored nine, Mohammed Nimmons added eight, Brian McKenzie had six, Anthony Castrero scored four, Ajani Simmons had three and Isaiah Thomas had a field goal for two. The club's record drops to 2-1 league-wise and 3-2 overall, we're back on the floor on Friday the 21st in Elizabethtown. Take care, thanks for reading.

December 17-18

Monday afternoon at McCaskey for the start of a busy basketball week. The boys opened league play on the 14th with a home-court win over Lebanon, on this night we made the short bus trip to Conestoga Valley. CV (like Lebanon) is a former division-mate but they are now a crossover opponent thanks to league realignment. The JPM JV squad got the night started with a 55-48 win, in the varsity contest the Red Tornado prevailed 73-55. The win snapped a three-game losing streak to CV and although thanks to graduation CV is a very different club it felt good nonetheless. We led by thirteen at the quarter and ten at halftime, the lead was eleven entering the final period and the boys were able to put it away with little trouble. Coach Ramos used the entire roster and ten of them got into the scoring column: Ajani Simmons had the big night with 21, Isaiah Thomas was the only other man in doubles with 14. Bryam Menendez and Mohammed Nimmons-Francis had nine each, Brian McKenzie added seven, Jahsaan Greaves scored five and Nayquan Martin, Anthony Castrero, Alfred Gonzalez-Santana and Makai Ortiz each scored two. The fact that we won this game in spite of Makai having a rare poor night tells you a lot about the character the team has developed. The victory keeps us clean in league play at 2-0 and improves the overall mark to 3-1 which equals our win total for all of '17-18 (and I will always maintain that team was much better than its record). The gauntlet continues on Wednesday the 19th against Warwick and on the 21st against Elizabethtown. Take care, thanks for reading.

December 14-16

Friday evening: back at the Arena in downtown Reading for the first time in two weeks. The Royals opened a three-in-three homestand, one of two on our schedule (the other one comes up in March). The Allen Americans visited from suburban Dallas, Texas for the weekend making their first-ever appearances at the Arena, the Americans began in the old Central League in 2009 and joined the ECHL when the CHL folded in 2014. Since the Royals last played at the Arena there was a great deal of roster movement, on this weekend several new players were making their home debuts with the club. In the Friday opener the Royals went up 2-0 on scores from newcomers Joe Houk (five-year pro from Richboro, PA) and Alex Roos (first-year man from the University Of Michigan) but the Americans rallied in the second to tie it 2-2. The Royals responded with goals from Chris McCarthy and Charlie Vasaturo to carry a 4-2 lead into the third. Allen made it a one-goal game early in the period but could get no closer, Brayden Low hit the empty net in the final minutes to nail down a 5-3 Royals win. In game #2 on Saturday night it was the annual Teddy Bear Toss game, Brayden Low sent the bears flying midway through the first but the Americans replied moments later to make it 1-1 at the intermission. Steven Swavely scored six seconds from the opening faceoff in the second period to put the Royals back in front, that 2-1 advantage stood until midway through the third when Nick Luukko lit the lamp to put the Royals up by two. The feisty Americans battled back to within 3-2 but another score from Chris McCarthy put the lid on a 4-2 victory. The series wrapped up on Sunday with a late-afternoon start, the Royal again went up early on a Josh MacDonald score. Allen tied the score and took their first lead of the weekend midway through the second but from there it was all Royals. Adam Schmidt struck for the tying goal late in the period, in the third two goals from Chris McCarthy (the last into an empty net) wrapped around MacDonald's second of the night clinched a 5-2 verdict. Newly-acquired Andrew D'Agostini was the Royals' goaltender of record in all three games, he was added as a free agent from Pensacola of the Southern Professional Hockey League. The Flyers organization has had severe issues with its goaltending depth, between injuries and ineffectiveness at the NHL and AHL levels the Royals' goaltending has been in a constant state of flux. D'Agostini has played in the ECHL previously and Royals head coach Kirk MacDonald was familiar with him, his performance over the weekend made him an instant fan favorite. The weekend sweep improves the Royals to 13-7-6 overall, 5-6-3 at home. The boys are back home for a two-game set with Newfoundland on Friday the 28th. Take care, thanks for reading.

December 10-13

The early part of the new week was relatively quiet, I made the usual Monday visit to the mall and had my mother to a doctor appointment on Tuesday morning. Jenny and I did lunch on Wednesday, in the evening we were at McCaskey for the first home game of the season. Reading High was the opponent, they are one of our traditional non-league foes and are one of the better programs in the state year in and year out. In a way it sounds silly to say a team with eight returnees is "starting over" but that is very much the case with our club. The players know each other but they are playing under a new coaching staff with a new system and the bond takes time to build (although from what I've seen the process is coming along very nicely). On this night at JPM the boys battled to the end but came out on the short end of a 58-42 decision. We trailed by nine at the quarter and thirteen at the break, the deficit was ten going into the final quarter before RHS pulled away. The whole point of playing tough non-league opposition is to find out where you stand and learn from the experience, a loss to a quality program like RHS is nothing to be ashamed of. Makai Ortiz led JPM with 11 points, Isaiah Thomas had 10, Bryam Menendez added six, Ajani Simmons and Brian McKenzie had five each, Tyrell Melendez and Nayquan Martin each had a field goal and Jahsaan Greaves was 1-for-2 at the line. The team is back on the floor at home on the 14th against Lebanon for the league opener, I'm out for hockey in Reading. On Thursday night the JPM girls played their first home game, one of two they have on nights when the boys are off. Wilson was the non-league opponent and it was not a good night for JPM, both JV and varisty took an L. Take care, thanks for reading.

December 7-9

Jenny and I did our weekend lunch visit on Friday instead of Saturday, it was her idea and it was a good one. She had a few errands she needed my help with and since I had nothing else going on Friday it afforded us more time than Saturday may have. I did my usual Friday run the next morning, in the afternoon I was at McCaskey for the first bus ride of basketball season and the start of Year #31 for me personally. The destination was the northern suburbs of Reading for a game at Muhlenberg High School in Laureldale. In forty years of involvement in pro sports in Berks County I always knew where Muhlenberg was but I had never been there for any game of any kind, they are a new opponent on the non-league portion of our schedule. The JPM varsity roster features fourteen players including eight returnees, one from the '17-18 JV squad and five completely new to the program. The JV roster has thirteen players, all newcomers. The night began with a barnburner JV game, the Red Tornado won 46-44 on a shot with two seconds remaining. The varsity contest was more of the same, JPM prevailed 81-79. The score was tied in the final thirty seconds, Muhlenberg had possession and their coach was frantically calling for a timeout. Neither official acknowledged the request as Bryam Menendez stole the ball and was fouled as he scored a layup, the converted free throw gave us a three-point lead. With one second left a Muhlenberg player was fouled in the act of attempting a three-pointer, he made only two of the three to leave them a point short. On the subsequent inbound Makai Ortiz was fouled, he converted one-of-two with 0.3 seconds on the clock to ice a heart-stopping two-point win. Five players finished in double figures: Makai led with 23 (including 11-13 at the line), Ajani Simmons and Brian McKenzie had 14 each, Isaiah Thomas scored 13 and Bryam Menendez added 10. Also in the book were Carter Gingerich with four, Tyrell Melendez with two and Jahsaan Greaves was 1-2 at the foul line. The win is the first for Freddy Ramos as the program's new head coach, hopefully it is the first of many. The boys are back on the floor on Wednesday the 12th at home against Reading High (never an easy touch), the league season starts on the 14th. Take care thanks for reading.

December 1-6

The final month of 2018 started with Saturday lunch with Jenny which was the highlight of an otherwise quiet weekend. On Monday night we were at Reservoir Park as the curtain rang down on the fall dek hockey season, the Misfits defeated Risky Business 3-1 to win the championship in a three-game-straight sweep. The teams traded goals in the first period, the Misfits scored twice in the second and made them stand up. The series may have been a sweep but it was very competitive, total goals were just 10-6 in the Misfits' favor. Risky Business was a first-year team with several youngsters mixed in with veterans, they had a fine season and have nothing to be ashamed of. The season started on September 24 and ended exactly ten weeks later, not bad when you consider that we lost six nights of play to the weather. On Tuesday afternoon I went to the rink to clean up and put away for the winter, in the evening I was at McCaskey as the basketball team hosted Wilson for their final preseason scrimmage. It's hard to describe but there is a different feel to the program, there seems to be a level of enthusiasm that hasn't been present in recent years. The guys are pulling together as a unit and there doesn't appear to be any ego problems which is good to see because quite frankly it hasn't always been that way. JPM starts the season with a non-league game at Muhlenberg on the 8th, that is one of nine games on the slate against opponents outside the league. The LL realigned over the summer from three divisions to five and re-instituted crossover play after a two-year absence, we play our division-mates (Manheim Township, Penn Manor, Cedar Crest and Hempfield) twice each with one game against each team in the reconstructed Section II (former division opponents Lebanon, CV and Warwick plus Elizabethtown and Ephrata). All told the club plays twelve of its twenty-two games at home and I miss five of our home dates thanks to hockey in Reading where obviously the professional commitment must come first. On Wednesday Jenny and I had midweek lunch, I spent that evening and the next in the warmth and comfort of home. Take care, thanks for reading.

November 30

Had a haircut appointment on Friday afternoon, in the evening we were back at the Arena for the Royals' sixth home game of the month. The Kalamazoo Wings provided the opposition for a non-divisional contest, their lone regular-season appearance and the first visit for the K-Wings at the Arena since March of 2016. Although the teams have met infrequently over the years there is a playoff history involved, the Royals eliminated K-Zoo from the postseason in 2010 and the Wings returned the favor in 2011. The Royals have struggled mightily at home thus far, the home mark of 2-5-3 stands in stark contrast to the road record of 5-1-3. On this night in downtown Reading the home-ice downbeat continued with another frustrating loss. The K-Wings carried a 3-0 advantage into the second period, Michael Huntebrinker got the Royals on the board but K-Zoo countered and led 4-1 at the midpoint. Goals by Josh MacDonald and Frank DiChiara three minutes apart made it 4-3 at the break. midway through the third period Steven Swavely lit the lamp to tie the game. In the final minutes Kalamazoo regained the lead, an empty-netter with forty seconds left brought the final to 6-4. Austin Lotz suffered the loss in net as the club's mark drops to 7-7-6 overall. The next three games are on the road, the boys are back at home for three games in three days on Friday the 14th. Take care, thanks for reading.

November 26-29

The first Monday after Thanksgiving is the opening day of deer season in Pennsylvania, for that reason we did not play at the rink on Monday evening. Several guys on each team are hunters, Don and I agreed to let the guys have one night off to bag their deer before starting the Finals on Tuesday. As it turned out we wouldn't have played anyway, Monday was a miserably rainy day. On Tuesday the rain was gone and the temperatures turned colder, we were at the rink for Finals game #1. Risky Business led by one in the closing minute but the Misfits scored an extra-attacker goal to force overtime. Luckily the extra period lasted less than two minutes on this bitterly windy night, the Misfits won it in the OT to go up 1-0 in the series. On Wednesday morning I had my annual checkup with my heart doctor, all is good and I won't see to see him again for another year. Jenny was in town for an appointment of her own, the access van brought her on and I took her home for our lunch visit. After school I went over to McCaskey to give Coach Ramos the list of games I'll miss because of hockey. As it stands I miss seven of our twenty-two games and five of those are at home. On Thursday night at the rink it was not as cold or windy as Tuesday had been but it was still uncomfortable. All of the scoring on this night came in the second period, the Misfits netted two to Risky Business' one and held on the 2-1 verdict. The series continues on Monday the 3rd with games on Tuesday and Thursday if needed. Take care, thanks for reading.

November 19-25

Dek hockey playoffs semifinals started at the rink on Monday night and ended on Tuesday with both best-of-three series decided in two-game sweeps. The Misfits ousted the Riot and Risky Business defeated the Pub Dawgs, the winners meet for the championship in a best-of-five series starting on Tuesday the 27th. On Tuesday afternoon my mother had the stitches removed from her head wound, it's healing nicely and everything appears in order. Jenny and I had our usual lunch date on Wednesday, the next day was (as we called it when I was in school) Turkey Day which was spent watching football from noon to almost midnight. On Black Friday the Adirondack Thunder came into downtown Reading for the second of their five visits and left three hours later with an 8-3 win. The Royals led 1-0 early on but the Thunder posted one in the first, five in the second and two in the third and were never seriously threatened. Micheal Huntebrinker, Steve Johnson and Alex Krushelnyski scored for the Royals, Angus Redmond suffered the loss in net. The club stands at 6-5-6, 2-5-3 at the Arena. Jenny and I had lunch on Saturday, on the way there I made a detour stop at McCaskey. The basketball team was scrimmaging against Susquehanna Township (from suburban Harrisburg) and it was my first chance to meet the new coach. His name is Freddy Ramos, he was most recently the head junior varsity coach at Lancaster Catholic and comes to JPM with an excellent resume. He seemed to know a lot about me, perhaps what they say about reputations preceding oneself has some truth to it. Ray Lewis is back as JV coach and the new varsity assistant is Tim Glackin, a man I've known for years and a former head coach at Solanco in the early 2000s. It's a new beginning in more ways than one but I have a feeling it won't be dull. On Saturday night in Glens Falls the Royals and the Thunder played the back end of their home-and-home series and an incredible story unfolded. With Branden Komm on the disabled list, Austin Lotz on an AHL tryout with the Phantoms and Redmond banged up from the Friday game and unable to play the Royals were forced to insert Nick Niedert as their starting goaltender. Nick has been with the Royals before, he is what they call an EBUG, an emergency backup goalie who only plays in case of injury. He and others like him are in every team's phone directory for just such a situation, they are guys who have experience at the position and are competent to step in if needed. On this night in Glens Falls Niedert was the #1 star as the Royals pulled off a 2-1 victory. Royals broadcaster David Fine called it "the most stunning result of the season" and given the circumstances it might just very well be. Take care, thanks for reading.

November 16-18

The official total for the Thursday snowfall was six inches, about four more than was expected. It's the earliest snowfall in our area since a 4.5-inch job back in October of 2011 which I happen to remember very well. It was much warmer on Friday, my usual morning run was accomplished without issue. Stopped by the rink in the morning and found it almost completely snow-covered, on Saturday it was half-and-half and by Sunday it was almost completely bare save for a thin crust along the side that never gets any sun. I shoveled that off with no problems and ran the Billy-Goat as well (an interesting combination to say the least), had there been games scheduled for the evening we could and would have played. The Royals were at home on Friday and Saturday for a doubleheader with the Newfoundland Growlers, the weekend's results would prove to be an exercise in frustration. In the opener on Friday the Royals trailed 2-0 early in the second period, goals by Steven Swavely and Josh MacDonald a minute apart drew the club even. Later in the period Swavely struck again to put the Royals up 3-2, early in the third the Growlers scored back-to-back to take the lead 4-3. With two minutes left in regulation MacDonald lit the lamp to tie the score but in overtime Newfoundland got a break into the zone and netted the OTGWG for the 5-4 decision. On Saturday the visitors from Atlantic Canada took a quick lead, Steven Swavely continued with the hot hand to knot it 1-1 at the first intermission. Newfoundland responded with two in the second and one in the third. Nick Luukko drew the Royals within two but that was as close as they would come as a Growler empty-netter brought the final to 5-2. Newly-acquired Austin Lotz was the goaltender of record in both games, in '16-17 he played briefly for the Royals on loan from the Arizona Coyotes so he is no stranger to the organization. The club's mark stands at 5-4-6 (2-4-3 at home) with the next home date on Black Friday against Adirondack. Take care, thanks for reading.

November 12-15

The new week began with an unfortunate incident, on Monday afternoon my mother fell on the back patio and suffered a bloody gash on the top left side of her head. I took one look at it and immediately called an ambulance, they transported her to the hospital shortly after 4:00. It put me in a bad spot because we were playing games at the rink, during the course of the evening I was calling the hospital for progress reports. She was officially discharged around 7:00 or so, when the night was over at the rink I went to the ER where she was waiting for me. All of the tests results were good but she was instructed to see her doctor on Tuesday for a follow-up and further examination. We also went to her eye doctor because of concerns for her vision being affected but the tests there indicated no reason for worry. She has stitches in her scalp and the wound doesn't look pretty but all things considered she's doing OK, she gets the stitches removed on the 20th. Monday evening at the rink started week #8 and it was all makeups, Risky Business beat the Express via shootout and the Riot defeated the Owls. Tuesday's results featured the Riot over the Express, Risky Business over the Hammerheads and the Misfits over the Owls. These games cemented the playoff bracket, each result eliminated the losing team from postseason play. On Wednesday Jenny and I had our usual lunch date, Thursday was another matter entirely. There was a forecast for sloppy weather with predictions of up to two inches of snow, it started falling while I was out and about in the morning. By the time I got home I was glad to be there, as the day went on the snow came down harder and there were accident reports all over the Internet. The dek hockey regular season was supposed to end with two games that were utterly meaningless in the standings, Don and I decided to cancel them entirely and proceed with playoffs on Monday the 19th. Two of the teams scheduled to play on Thursday are in the playoffs, the other two are not but nobody complained when we told them the games were canceled. Take care, thanks for reading.

November 9-11

The weekend began with a second consecutive rainy Friday, there were high school football playoff games going but I'm provincial in that regard: once we play our last game the season is OVER, if we ain't there I don't care. Saturday was a hockey night in downtown Reading, the Adirondack Thunder was the opponent for the first of their five regular-season visits. The clubs met in Glens Falls on Friday night, the Royals lost goaltender Branden Komm to injury and the game in shootout fashion 3-2. On this night at the Arena the Royals fell behind 1-0 midway the first period, Alex Krushelnyski replied four minutes later to even it up. ADK lit the lamp with two seconds left to take a 2-1 lead into the intermission and the Royals never drew even again, another Thunder tally early in the third brought the final score to 3-1. Angus Redmond got the start in goal and suffered the loss. The Royals stand at 5-3-4 overall (2-3-2 at home), the Newfoundland Growlers visit for a pair of games on the 16th and 17th. Take care, thanks for reading.

November 5-8

Week #7 of dek hockey was supposed to begin on Monday evening but you know what they say about "the best laid plans". I knew the forecast for Monday was not good but that was the main reason for doing the work at the rink the day before: if it rained at least it would fall on a bare rink as opposed to getting all those leaves soggy for a second time. The rain finally moved out on Tuesday afternoon, the games for that night went on without incident. Winners included the Express over the Hammerheads, the Pub Dawgs over Risky Business and the Owls over the Misfits. Jenny and I had our usual midweek lunch date on Wednesday, in the evening we were back at the Arena as the Royals hosted another of the league's newest entries. Portland, Maine hosted AHL hockey from 1977-1992 and again from '93-2016, the Flyers were the affiliate there during the first six years of the initial run. That club was known as the Maine Mariners, on this night the ECHL version of the Mariners made its first appearance at the Arena. The Royals played twice on the road over the weekend and won both but on this night the mojo wasn't there as the boys lost 4-2. Alex Krushelnyski and Charlie Vasaturo were the goal-scorers for the Good Guys, Angus Redmond got the start in net and took the loss. The Royals stand at 5-2-3 overall and 2-2-2 at home, the next home game is on Saturday the 10th. Thursday night wrapped up the week at Reservoir Park, winners on this occasion were Risky Business over the Express, the Pub Dawgs over the Hammerheads and the Misfits over the Riot. To say this has been a weird season is an understatement, five of twenty-one scheduled playing dates were lost to the weather. The schedule had a pattern when we started, the first three weeks were for playing every opponent once each with the second three weeks repeating the feat and week #7 being each team's two "third-time-around" games. The rainouts on September 25 and 27 ruined the scheme and the postponements on October 11 and 15 utterly destroyed it, as it stands there are still seven outstanding makeups on the docket for the 12th, 13th and 15th (and who knows what weather we might deal with). Take care, thanks for reading.

November 1-4

The eleventh month of 2018 started with a Thursday, for us that meant a night of dek hockey at the rink. The winds were strong from the southeast which meant the leaves were a problem all night long, we kept the Billy-Goat handy for use between games but it was largely a losing battle. The games went on despite the conditions, winners included the Misfits over the Express, Risky Business over the Pub Dawgs and the Hammerheads over the Owls with the last two requiring overtime shootout. Heavy rains moved through on Friday which reeked havoc with outdoor events but I spent most of the day indoors. On Saturday morning I stopped by the rink and found it to be every bit the shipwreck I expected it to be, there were soggy leaves all over the surface. Had nothing been going on that day I might have done some cleanup work but that was not the case. After we had lunch Jenny and her mother came back to town with me, in late afternoon we made our way northeast through Berks County for our annual visit to Allentown for AHL hockey. The Flyers' AHL club is in its fifth season as the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, the Royals and Phantoms have been co-affiliated since the AHL club arrived in Allentown in 2014. On this night the Binghamton Devils (top affiliate of the New Jersey Devils) provided the opposition, entering the third period the game was still 0-0. The B-Devs scored twice in the first six minutes, they carried that lead late into the period until the Phantoms' veteran leadership stepped up. Team captain Colin McDonald tipped in a point shot by T.J. Brennan to make it 2-1 with six minutes left, in the final minute the Phantoms pulled the goalie for the extra attacker. A Binghamton clearing attempt was held in the zone by defenseman Philippe Myers with eight seconds left, he found Brennan for a shot that was deflected home by Phil Varone for the tying goal with 4.5 seconds showing on the clock. In overtime the Phantoms got a two-on-one break into the offensive zone, Mike Vecchione fired home the game-winner to the delight of the crowd at PPL Center. Alex Lyon started in goal and earned the 3-2 victory. On Sunday afternoon I went to the rink and did some work to make ready for Monday night's games. The leaves were largely in pockets in the corners and there were many to contend with but they were much drier that they had been the day before which made their removal considerably easier. After about an hour's work the rink was in good shape, had there been games scheduled for the evening we could have played with no problems. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 29-31

The new week began in the usual manner with a morning run to the mall. In the evening we started week #6 of dek hockey with two games, the Owls beat the Pub Dawgs and the Misfits prevailed via shootout over the Riot. Tuesday's schedule featured the Riot victorious over the Owls, the Pub Dawgs over the Hammerheads and Risky Business over the Express via shootout. Wednesday was an off-night at the rink and it was just as well because we would not have played anyway because of Halloween. When we started there in 1979 it was quickly discovered that October 31 is a date on which we are simply not permitted to play. Being there after dark with the lights on made us a target for every hoodlum in the city with an egg, rock or bottle just looking for someplace to throw it. On Tuesday we had three or four rocks thrown in while we were there, I guess the punks decided to get their licks in a night early. We haven't played on October 31 (unless we were absolutely FORCED to) since the early 90s and I for one don't miss it at all because it simply isn't worth the aggravation. Jenny and I had lunch together in the morning, when I returned home in the afternoon I was more than happy to call it a day. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 27-28

Saturday night at the Arena as the Wheeling Nailers visited for a back-to-back set. The ECHL started in 1988 with five teams, among them was a franchise in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. That team moved to Wheeling in 1992 and is one of only seven clubs still in the league from 2001-2002 when the Royals made their debut. Wheeling is not a divisional foe in '18-19 thanks to league realignment but over the years the Nailers (largely because of geography) have historically been the Royals' most frequent opponent. Saturday was Star Wars Night at the Arena but the force was not with the Royals as they lost in OT shootout 3-2. Rookie defenseman Steve Johnson (from the University of Minnesota) gave the Royals a 1-0 lead in the second period but the Nailers matched it and went up 2-1 early in the third. Alex Krushelnyski tied it midway through the period, in the shootout Wheeling outscored the Royals one goal to none to claim the extra point. Angus Redmond (known to his teammates as "Beef") made his regular-season debut in net for the Royals and took the decision. On Sunday the organization celebrated Halloween (albeit a few days early), on the ice the Royals earned a solid revenge win 5-2. On this day the Nailers struck first and carried a 1-0 lead deep into the second period. Just before intermission Josh MacDonald converted on a penalty shot to tie the game, early in the third Krushelnyski lit the lamp to make it 2-1 Royals. Wheeling replied in kind to forge a 2-2 tie but goals by Chris McCarthy and Adam Schmidt just over a minute apart gave the Royals a two-goal advantage. Michael Huntebrinker's empty-netter in the closing moments closed out the victory, Branden Komm was the goaltender of record. The club's mark stands at 3-1-3 (2-1-2 at the Arena), the boys play next at home on Wednesday November 7. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 25-26

Finished week #5 of dek hockey season on Thursday night with the Misfits victorious over Risky Business, the Pub Dawgs over the Riot and the Express over the Hammerheads. Friday evening marked the final week of high school football and the end of a long pot-holed road for the team at McCaskey. The pregame Senior Night recognition ceremonies were the only memorable part of the evening, the Red Tornado lost to Wilson 39-0 to finish the year at 1-9. The game was reasonably competitive in the first half, at the break it was 17-0. In the third quarter Wilson broke it wide open with two touchdowns and a field goal all within a span of thirty-seven seconds, as the night wore on a predicted rain shower arrived to add a further damper to the evening's activities. JPM's lone win was by a 34-17 margin, the nine losses were by a total of 391-76 (that's an average of 43-8) with three shutouts against. The program's last winning season was 2010 (7-3 plus a first-round district playoff loss), since them the mark is just 22-58. What the future holds remains to be seen. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 22-24

The new week started with another round of doctor visits for my mother, on Monday it was for her hearing and on Tuesday it was her eye doctor. She's 84 and doesn't drive anymore, unfortunately these appointments and the occasional grocery run are about the only time she gets out of the house. In the evening we were at the rink, Monday's results featured Risky Business over the Riot and the Express over the Owls. On Tuesday we had our usual three-game card with the Misfits over the Pub Dawgs, the Owls over Risky Business and the Riot over the Hammerheads. On Wednesday Jenny and I got back on schedule with our midweek lunch visit, in the evening we were back on Penn Street for the Royals' third home game of the new season. St. John's, Newfoundland was home to an AHL club from 1991-2005 and again from 2011-2017, on this night the newly-minted Newfoundland Growlers made their first-ever appearance at the Arena. This game played out in a fashion eerily similar to our home opener on the 13th, the Royals took a 1-0 second period lead on a score by Frank Dichiara but would not light the lamp again in a frustrating 3-1 loss. Branden Komm took the loss in net but deserved a better fate. The club's mark stands at 2-1-2, the Wheeling Nailers visit for a two-game weekend on Saturday the 27th. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 15-21

Jenny and I usually do lunch together on Wednesdays and Saturdays but that isn't always etched in stone, sometimes things happen and we adjust accordingly. We had lunch on Monday because my mother had appointments with various doctors on Tuesday, Wednesday AND Thursday. We had our weekend visit on Friday because Jenny had an appointment of her own that day that required my help. None of this was particularly disruptive since the scheduled evening activities for the week were of the normal variety. We were supposed to play three games of dek hockey on Monday but another round of afternoon rain forced postponement, two of them were previous rainouts that now become makeups of makeups. On Tuesday we finally played for the first time in seven days, winners included the Pub Dawgs over the Express, Risky Business over the Riot and the Misfits over the Owls. Thursday's games saw the Misfits victorious over the Hammerheads, the Pub Dawgs over the Owls and the Riot over the Express. The weekend itself was quiet since the Royals were on the road, they played two games and went 1-0-1. The next three are at the Arena, Newfoundland visits on the 24th and Wheeling visits for two on the weekend. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 13-14

On October 13, 2001 the Reading Royals played the first home game in franchise history, on the same date seventeen years later the club took the ice for Year XVIII of professional ice hockey on Penn Street. Sometimes it's hard to believe it's been eighteen years but that's largely because the job is enjoyable as opposed to a chore and that is a feeling I can relate to both sides of. The Worcester Railers were the opponent for a back-to-back set marking two of their three regular-season appearances at the Arena. An excellent opening-night crowd on Saturday saw the Royals take a 1-0 lead on a first-period score by newcomer Frank Dichiara (who ironically played for Worcester in '17-18). The visitors from Massachusetts tied the game in the second period and would ultimately win it in overtime, as the teams were leaving the ice after Worcester's game-winner there were quite a few angry words exchanged. The ingredients were there for a physical rematch on Sunday and that's exactly what we got, the teams combined for three fights and fifty-four total penalty minutes. Former Philadelphia Eagle players Vince Papale and Bill Bergey were in the house for a photo/autograph session, perhaps the football atmosphere added to the on-ice activities. Worcester scored first but the Royals replied quickly on scores by Josh MacDonald and new addition Shane Walsh (three-year pro from New Roxbury. MA) to lead 2-1 after one. In the second period the Royals opened it up, goals by Steven Swavely, Adam Larkin and Jack Riley plus Walsh's second of the game gave the club a 6-1 advantage. Worcester got one back before the period ended and added two in the third to make it close but the Royals held the fort to claim the 6-4 decision. Branden Komm played both games in goal as the club finishes it's opening weekend at 1-0-1, the next home game is on Wednesday the 24th against the brand-new Newfoundland Growlers. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 12

Friday night football at McCaskey, the Red Tornado hosted Hempfield. This was the annual Athletic Hall-Of-Fame induction day, among the honorees in 2018 were longtime basketball coach Steve "Bird" Powell and the 1988 JPM football team. Coach Powell was of course being inducted posthumously, he passed away in June at age 68. His accomplishments are well-documented within this very blog, I had the pleasure of knowing and working with him for thirty years and they truly didn't come much better. His wife Gloria was there to accept his honor, I've known her just as long and it was especially good to see her again. The 1988 football team was the second in school history to complete an undefeated regular season, the 10-0 mark earned them the division title and the program's first-ever district playoff appearance. They beat York in a classic semifinal before losing to the defending champion in the title game, the club's eleven total wins still stand as the program's record for a single season. On a personal level that season was special to me because the fall of 1988 marked my return to JPM and my first season on the PA at the stadium. It was also Homecoming, the halftime introductions of the HOF class and the Homecoming ceremonies were unfortunately the highlight of the evening. The game itself was never really in doubt, JPM was down 28-0 at the half and 37-0 after three by which time the mercy rule was long since in effect. The Red Tornado got on the board in the closing moments on a touchdown pass from Ben Desmarais to Deondre Young but it meant little more than erasing the zero from the scoreboard. The club's record drops to 1-7, after one final road game on the 19th the boys finish at home on the 26th. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 8-11

Monday night dek hockey at the rink as week #3 got underway with two games, the Express beat the Pub Dawgs and the Misfits defeated the Riot. On Tuesday we reconvened for three games, winners on this night included the Owls over the Hammerheads, the Pub Dawgs over Risky Business via shootout and the Misfits over the Express. Had our usual lunch visit with Jenny on Wednesday, in the evening we were at the Arena for the annual Royals meet-and-greet function. All twenty-three players on the season-opening roster were there, Jenny got autographs and photos from all plus coaches Kirk MacDonald and Mike Marcou. We attend it every year because Jenny enjoys meeting the guys, I just walk along with her and take the photos on her phone. Every year I get approached by a fan or two for my autograph and this night was no exception. I've always been aware that I have a certain degree of popularity with the fanbase, it doesn't happen a lot but whenever someone asks me for my autograph I never stiff them. On Thursday after lunch I vacuumed the rink surface in anticipation of the night's schedule at the rink but once again the weather got in the way. late-afternoon storms forced postponement. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 5-7

The Royals played an exhibition game on Friday evening in Glens Falls and emerged victorious 6-3 over the Adirondack Thunder. On Saturday the teams met at the Arena for the back end of the home-and-home set, the Royals again prevailed by the identical score of 6-3. Head coach Kirk MacDonald and new assistant coach Mike Marcou (ex-Royals player back in the fold) have thirteen players on the roster who played with the club in 2017-18, that number includes forwards Chris McCarthy, Adam Schmidt, Michael Huntebrinker, Steven Swavely, Alex Krushelnyski, Brian Morgan, Tyler Brown and Jack Riley, defensemen Nick Luukko, Frank Hora, Adam Larkin and Charlie Vasaturo plus goaltender Branden Komm. Not all played on this night as the coaches took a look at some new faces vying for a roster spot. Swavely, Huntebrinker, Morgan and Schmidt scored for the Royals, also lighting the lamp were newcomers Josh MacDonald (four-year pro from London, Ontario) and Brayden Low (third-year pro from Richmond, British Columbia). New goaltender Angus Redmond picked up the win, he's a two-year pro from Langley, BC on loan from the Anaheim Ducks organization. The bell rings for real on Saturday the 13th when the Worcester Railers visit for a two-game weekend set. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 1-4

The tenth month of 2018 began as most weeks do: on a Monday. After a weather-plagued opening week we were at the rink on Monday for two games, one scheduled and the other rescheduled. Three of the four teams involved were making their season debuts, the Misfits defeated the Hammerheads and the Express (formerly the Kings) beat the Owls. On Tuesday we had a full three-game night scheduled but I was absent at the outset. The Royals are in training camp preparing for the franchise's eighteenth season, on this night there was a game-staff get-together at the Arena. It was more for the newcomers than for me but I still attended just for the purposes of reconnecting more than anything else. The club plays an exhibition game at home on the 6th, the regular season starts on the 13th. The ECHL's Northern Division has been realigned with the addition of two new franchises, the Newfoundland Growlers (based in St. John's) and the Maine Mariners (Portland) join holdovers Adirondack, Brampton, Manchester and Worcester. The Royals also host five opponents from outside the division, they include familiar old division rival Wheeling along with Norfolk, Kalamazoo, Indianapolis and the Allen (Texas) Americans. When I got back into town the games at the rink were well underway, winners included the Pub Dawgs over the Riot, the Hammerheads over the Express and the Misfits over Risky Business. Had my usual lunch visit with Jenny on a otherwise quiet Wednesday, on Thursday we finished the week at the rink. There were showers in the forecast for late afternoon, around 4:00 or so it opened up and poured for about ten minutes. The radar showed it to be a quick-moving system, at 4:50 the rain was gone and we proceeded as scheduled at 6:15 with no issues whatsoever. Risky Business won over the Owls, the Hammerheads beat the Riot via shootout and the Misfits beat the Pub Dawgs. Take care, thanks for reading.

September 28-30

Friday evening: the football team at McCaskey was scheduled to play at home but the midweek rains reeked havoc on the playing field at the stadium, in mid-afternoon the game was postponed and rescheduled for Saturday night. JPM has only four home games in 2018 thanks to a scheduling snafu, apparently the first game of the season was supposed to be at home but it was played on the road. I'm told we'll get that game at home in '19 and have six at home overall to make up for it. Had my usual weekend visit with Jenny on Saturday morning, in the evening I was at the game. Neither school's band was there since Saturday is a big night for band competitions, we played the pregame anthem from a cell phone. JPM head coach Eric Spencer told me the field was a swamp on Friday afternoon, the ground was so soggy it was almost impossible to stand up on it. This was a matchup of teams who have struggled thus far, the Red Tornado entered at 1-4 and visiting Penn Manor was 0-5. Manor had been outscored 200-20 through their first five games but on this night you would have never known it, they raced out to a 21-0 lead midway through the second quarter. JPM got on the board on a touchdown pass from Isaiah Thomas to Christian Vasquez but another PM score made it 28-7 at the half. The only score after the intermission belonged to McCaskey, Thomas found Noah Santiago for a touchdown but it meant little as JPM lost 28-14. The program has not been strong in recent years but quite frankly this is a loss that may very well be rock-bottom, at this point there cannot be any other way to go except up. The next home game is on October 12 when Hempfield visits for the Homecoming game. Take care, thanks for reading.

September 24-27

Monday night at Reservoir Park for the start of the autumn dek hockey season. The workday actually began at 3:00 when Don called, he and a friend were delivering the new Billy-Goat. The old one finally bit the dust, I took the opportunity to run the new machine around and get the feel of it since the rink surface needed the attention anyway. We had just one game scheduled on opening night, the Hammerheads defeated Risky Business (the league's new club) in a good competitive contest. We had three games each on the docket for Tuesday and Thursday but much as she did during baseball season Mother Nature reared her ugly head. On Tuesday we had an all-day rain, on Thursday we got hit in late afternoon and it stayed all night. I had actually been at the rink after lunch to do some cleanup even though I knew that we were facing a bad forecast, had we played it would have been worthwhile. I was able to work all six games into open spots on Mondays, it just means that the teams involved will have a three-game week when their turn comes up. Week #2 starts on Monday the 1st with two games, one scheduled and one makeup. Take care, thanks for reading.

September 20-23

The Barnstormers season ended in extra innings on Sunday night in Sugar Land. The series had gone "deep in the heart of" even at 1-1, after winning game #3 the Stormers lost the last two. The Sunday game was one for the books, the Stormers led 4-0 early and 5-2 in the ninth before the Skeeters rallied to tie and force extras. In the tenth the Barnstormers went up 6-5 only to see Sugar Land tie it and walk it off on a game-ending grand slam. The Skeeters meet Long Island for the league title and I'd be for them to win it because I've always felt there's no shame in losing to the eventual champ. There was little else going on outside of seeing Jenny for our usual lunch date on Saturday. On Thursday Don and I firmed up the format for the new dek hockey season, the Club Division has seven teams with the addition of one new club. We play three games each on Tuesday and Thursday with one oddball game (which is necessary because of the odd numbers of teams) on Monday evening. We plan to run a Draft Division again if we get enough interest, those games would help to fill in the open spots on Mondays and we can also play any makeups we get on that night as well. Each Club Division team plays three games against two opponents and two games against the other four, the season starts Monday the 24th and runs through November 8. Take care, thanks for reading.

September 17-19

Tuesday and Wednesday nights at the ballpark for playoff baseball, the Barnstormers hosted the Sugar Land Skeeters in the first two games of the Freedom Division championship series. Long Island and Somerset were meeting in the Liberty Division series, the Patriots won the first-half title and the Ducks took the second half. The Skeeters won both ends of the Freedom, the Stormers earned their spot as the lone wild-card entry by posting the best overall mark among non-division winners. The first two games of the Stormers-Skeeters series were a study in contrast. There were eleven total runs scored with the Barnstormers posting the first five and the Skeeters the next six, when the smoke cleared the series was tied 1-1. In the Tuesday opener the Stormers went up 1-0 in the second when newcomer Conrad Gregor (most recently in the Boston Red Sox organization) singled and scored on Trayvon Robinson's RBI double. In the third Tyler Bortnick drew a walk and rode home on Blake Gailen's two-run home run to make it 3-0. The Stormers added single runs in the fourth on a Vladimir Frias RBI single and in the fifth on a solo home run from Gailen to carry a 5-0 lead into the ninth. The Skeeters put together a three-run rally but Kevin Munson was able to put out the fire and save the victory for winning pitcher Nate Reed. Reed went eight innings allowing just two hits and striking out seven. In game #2 on Wednesday Sugar Land took a 2-0 lead in the first and added an insurance run in the ninth, that was all there was as the Skeeters evened the series. The Barnstormers were held to just five hits (all singles) and never mounted a serious threat of any kind. Jonathan Albaladejo started and worked seven innings, took the loss and deserved a better fate. The rest of the series (which is now essentially a 2-of-3) is in Texas over the weekend, the winner hosts the first two games of the league championship series on the 25th and 26th. Take care, thanks for reading.

September 14-16

The Atlantic League's regular season ended over the weekend, the league's as-needed travel team literally reached the end of its road as well. When the Bridgeport franchise dropped out at the end of 2017 the Road Warriors were activated for the first time since 2011, their odyssey began on April 27 and over 13,000 miles later it ended on this weekend in Lancaster. The team existed solely to balance the schedule, it wasn't built to be a contender and it wasn't the least bit surprising to see it post the league's worst record at 29-97 but there is much more to the story than just that. Every man on the roster is a consummate professional who understood what the circumstances were, as a group they are much better than any win-loss record could ever indicate. High Point, North Carolina is expected to join the league in 2019, if all goes as planned the Road Warriors will go dormant again until The Next Time. The games in this series were utterly meaningless in the final standings, the Barnstormers won all three rather easily by scores of 14-1, 11-1 and 13-5. The Stormers finish at 74-52, the second-best mark in the league behind only first-round playoff opponent Sugar Land. Before the game on Sunday afternoon the organization announced its end-of-season award winners, relief pitcher Garrett Granitz won the club's Community Service award and Ryan Casteel (team-leading .321 batting average) was voted by the fanbase as team MVP. Blake Gailen's 28 home runs and 91 RBI led the league, Blake was also the only ALPB player to appear in every game his team played. Darian Sandford topped the circuit with 82 stolen bases, Rico Noel was second with 53. On the mound Nate Reed's 13 wins led the league, Brooks Hall also won in double digits with 11. The ballclub hosts Sugar Land for the first two games of the Freedon Division championship series on Tuesday the 18th and Wednesday the 19th. Take care, thanks for reading.

September 10-13

The dreary weather conditions were still around on Monday morning, I saw on the Internet where the 11:00 start time for the doubleheader at the ballpark was in an indefinite delay. I went by around 11:00, there were a few people standing outside but the field was covered and the gates were not open. On my way back into town after lunch I went by the ballpark once again and it was deserted. Found out later via the worldwide web that the games had been transferred to a local college facility with a turf surface, they were getting started at 1:00 which was just about the time I was learning the news. Under the circumstances I decided to bag it and stay in largely because it was simply a very unpleasant day. During the afternoon I saw photos posted by the hearty folks who were there, the general consensus was that it was one of the stranger experiences most of them had ever had. The Barnstormers earned a split of the doubleheader with a game #2 victory, the game was actually called due to darkness once it became official since the facility had no lights. The lousy weather lingered into the middle of the week, I had planned on one final trip to York on Wednesday but the forecast was very discouraging. Going to the ballpark here in Lancaster is one thing, if they don't play it's only a one-mile trip home but York is a different matter altogether. If I lived equally distant from each city I'd probably visit each more equitably but obviously that is not the case. The Barnstormers were in New Britain for three games in midweek, on Wednesday they clinched a postseason berth for the first time since 2015. The Stormers could meet either Sugar Land or Somerset in the first round of playoffs depending on who the fourth qualifier is, Long Island and York are in close contention for the last spot. The season's final weekend will settle the issue, the Barnstormers finish at home with a three-game set against the Road Warriors. Take care, thanks for reading.

September 8-9

Overnight into Saturday the weather changed markedly, the day began cloudy and breezy with much cooler temperatures. At the football game on Friday it had been much warmer and there was virtually no wind at all, I was continually wiping my eyeglasses because the lenses were fogging up from watching the game through my binoculars (it's how I identify the players, I could never work a football game any other way). On this day there would have been no such issues, daytime highs never got out of the 60s. Had lunch with Jenny and her mother in the morning, later in the day we were all at the ballpark. The Barnstormers began a series with the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs on Friday with a 4-3 win, on this night the clubs played a doubleheader. The last time the Stormers were in Waldorf two games were lost to weather, they were reset as back-to-back doubledips in Lancaster on September 8 and 9. We were sitting on the hill in left field as usual, about fifteen minutes before game time it began to rain lightly. We moved into the grandstand under the roof and stayed there for the duration, despite the rain the first game started on time at 5:00. The Stormers broke on top early, in the first Blake Gailen reached on a fielders choice groundout and scored on Ryan Casteel's two-run home run. In the fifth back-to-back singles by Gailen and Casteel put runners on the corners, Trayvon Robinson's sac fly RBI plated Gailen to make it 3-0. K.C. Hobson's solo home run in the sixth wrapped up the scoring, Nate Reed worked six innings for the 4-0 win with Huascar Brazoban providing last-inning relief. The second game didn't start until after 8:00, with the rainy conditions we decided not to stay much longer. Saw online where game #2 wasn't over until after 11:00, the Blue Crabs earned a split with a 6-5 win. The rain stayed around in earnest into Sunday, the afternoon doubleheader never got started. Since both teams had an off-day on Monday the games were reset for that day at 11:00. Take care, thanks for reading.

September 6-7

The nightcap at the ballpark on Wednesday night started shortly before 9:30 and wasn't over until almost 11:45, the Barnstormers won 3-2 to earn a split of the evening's activities (and on a side note I'll just say what I've said many times: I lived this life for thirty-five years and I don't envy anyone involved under those circumstances). On Thursday we were back in the heat and humidity for the series' rubber game, the visitors from northern New Jersey took a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Ryan Casteel hit a solo home run in the second, in the fourth Trayvon Robinson walked and scored on a wild pitch to tie the score. Somerset responded loudly with a five-run fifth inning to go up 7-2, the Stormers got two back in the sixth on Rico Noel's two-run double scoring K.C. Hobson and newcomer Stephen Perez (formerly of the Washington Nationals organization). The Patriots added an insurance run in the eighth and won it 8-4, John Anderson was the Stormers' pitcher of record. On Friday the homestand continued but I was in another stadium about a mile away for the start of my 31st year on the mic at McCaskey. The Red Tornado hosted Reading High in a non-league contest, the 2017 game in Reading was one of JPM's two victories. There was lightning in the area, by rule we were required to wait until all was clear. Once the teams were allowed on the field there was some rainfall during the warmups but by kickoff at 7:15 (fifteen minutes late thanks to the delay) it was all gone. JPM trailed 7-0 at the quarter but a three-touchdown salvo in the second gave the Home Team a 21-10 lead at the half. It was 21-17 after three, two more JPM touchdowns in the fourth put away a 34-17 win. Returning wideout Jamiere Gray was the game's #1 star with four touchdowns, three on receptions from quarterback Isaiah Thomas and the fourth on a 100-yard interception return. Running back Isaiah Jackson rushed for a touchdown and kicker Sam Hershey added four PATs (the fifth attempt failed due to a bad snap from center). The boys improve to 1-2, the next home game is on the 28th against Penn Manor. Take care, thanks for reading.

September 3-5

Monday was the annual Labor Day holiday which I have always considered the unofficial end of summer. Around here most of the schools have been back in session for at least a week, in my day we always went back the day after Labor Day. The daytime temperatures continue to be unseasonably hot, several schools in the area have been dismissing early because of the excessive heat. On Tuesday evening we had the captains meeting for the Fall dek hockey season at the rink, if all goes well we may be starting on the week of the 17th. Saw Jenny on Wednesday for lunch, in the evening I was on North Prince Street as the Barnstormers returned home for the first time in ten days. The Somerset Patriots had been the most recent visitor, on this night they were back for a scheduled doubleheader. Every team had two scheduled home twinbills in 2018 thanks to the shorter schedule, the Stormers had their other one in July against York. In most years there would be very few of these because the weather would necessitate enough doubledips of the makeup variety. Game #1 began at 6:00, the Stormers broke the ice in the bottom of the second when Ryan Casteel walked and scored on Josh Bell's RBI double. Back-to-back walks loaded the bases for Rico Noel, he was hit by the pitch forcing home Bell from third to make it 2-0. Blake Gailen's solo home run in the third upped the Stormer lead to three, in the top of the fifth the visiting Patriots rang up three of their own to tie the game. In the bottom half the Barnstormers replied with another three thanks to five consecutive walks and just one hit. Darian Sandford, Tyler Bortnick and Gailen all reached base via the free ticket, Casteel walked to plate Sandford and Bell's walk scored Bortnick. The next two batters were retired before Carlos Garcia's RBI single brought Gailen home making it 6-3 Stormers. Somerset had the final say with four runs in the seventh inning (the last inning of regulation) to take the opener 7-6, Huascar Brazoban was the losing pitcher in relief of starter Joe Gardner. It was almost 8:45 by the time the game ended, with an announced start time of 9:20 for the nightcap I decided to head home, get a shower and spend the rest of the night in the comfort of air conditioning. Take care, thanks for reading.

August 27-September 2

The last week of August felt more like the middle of July, daytime highs for the most part were in the 90s. Summer dek hockey continued on Tuesday evening with what would have been the final games, Gold met Orange and Blue played Green. Thursday night was the official end of the season with the makeup games from the 21st, Blue vs Orange and Green vs Gold. Each team played nine games, a total of forty-eight players participated in the eighteen-game schedule. The month ended on Friday with week #2 of high school football season, I was planning to go to McCaskey's game over in York but the weather didn't cooperate. There were massive thunderstorms all over the area, in the afternoon I was monitoring the Internet and postponements were being announced all around due to the rain. There were reports of flooded roads including a ten-mile stretch of route 30 in York County but there was no immediate word on the status of McCaskey's game. Shortly after 4:00 I got a telephone call from old acquaintance Steve Polonus, a former assistant basketball coach and athletic director at McCaskey. These days Steve is the AD at Hempfield, their game was postponed to Saturday morning and he asked if I might be available and willing to work it since their regular PA guy couldn't do it. I've known Steve since 1988, he was in a bind and there really wasn't any reason I couldn't so under the circumstances I wasn't going to turn him down. The game kicked off at 10:00 which in itself was a bad flashback for me, before McCaskey had lights at the stadium our home games were always on Saturdays at 10:30. When I arrived and touched base with Steve he was with Danny Walck, Hempfield's head basketball coach and another guy I have history with (Danny was the AD at Lancaster Catholic who brought me aboard to work their football games back in 1996). During the course of the day I got a few "Frenchy, what are you doing here?" reactions from those who didn't know I was just there helping a friend out (although nobody seemed to be particularly upset about it either). The game was over by 12:15, I made my way from Landisville to Jenny's place for a later-than-usual lunch (she was aware I was working football and might run late). Saw on the Internet where McCaskey lost in York, that game was played on Saturday at 11:00. The boys stand at 0-2 with a pair of road non-league losses, JPM plays its first home game on September 7. Take care, thanks for reading.

August 24-26

Friday evening: back at the ballpark on North Prince Street. The Barnstormers (fresh from a four-game series split in York) were back home for a weekend set with the Somerset Patriots. The Pats won the Liberty Division first-half title, they and Sugar Land are in the postseason while the Barnstormers continue to vie for a playoff berth. At this point it appears that would most likely be as a wild-card entry since the Skeeters are also leading the division in the second half but stranger things have happened. On this night the game itself was a strange thing, Somerset scored five runs in the first inning, they were the only scores all night as the Patriots won by that 5-0 margin. The Stormers managed only five hits on the evening, starting pitcher Ty'Relle Harris (a former York Rev recently added as a free agent) took the decision. On Saturday Jenny and her mother were along for game #2 and there was a definite feeling of deja vu in the air. The Patriots once again put together a big early inning with four runs in the second, in the bottom of the fourth the Stormers got on the board when K.C. Hobson walked and scored on Darian Sandford's RBI hit to make it 4-1. There was no more scoring until the bottom of the eighth when the Barnstormers erupted for five runs. Trayvon Robinson and Hobson drew back-to-back walk to start the parade, Vladimir Frias was hit by the pitch to load the bases. A wild pitch scored Robinson from third, after Tyler Bortnick was retired Rico Noel's infield single reloaded the bases. Sanford's RBI single plated Hobson to make it 4-3, Josh Bell followed with a bases-clearing double into the left-centerfield power alley to put the Stormers up 6-4. Matt Reynolds worked the ninth inning picking up the save for winning pitcher Joe Gardner. The series wrapped up on Sunday with a traditional 1:00 start, a Somerset win gave them two of three for the weekend. The Barnstormers are away until September 5 when the Patriots return for another three-game set. Take care, thanks for reading.

August 22-23

Wednesday morning lunch with Jenny, in the afternoon I made a return trip across the river as the Stormers and Revs continued their series. As our hockey games on Tuesday fell casualty to the weather so did the ballgame in York, they were in the top of the fifth inning with two out and the Revs up by three runs when the game was stopped and ultimately called. The makeup game was on this night as part of a 5:00 doubleheader, I was arriving just as the opener was getting underway. The Barnstormers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first, Darian Sandford drew a walk and Josh Bell followed with a two-RBI home run to left-center. In the third Sandford and Blake Gailen reached on base hits, Ryan Casteel walked to load the bases. Trayvon Robinson's RBI hit scored Sandford, a Rev throwing error on the play at the plate allowed Gailen to touch in to make it 3-0. K.C. Hobson's sacrifice flyout scored Castell, Vladimir Frias followed with an RBI double bringing Robinson to extend the lead to six. Tyler Bortnick's run-scoring single made it 7-0 Stormers but in the bottom of the inning the Revolution put together some lightning of their own. Newcomers Henry Castillo (ex-Arizona D'backs property) and Roger Diaz (from Grambling State University) started it with back-to-back hits, ex-Stormer Travis Witherspoon walked to load the bases. Alexi Casilla singled to score Casilla, Telvin Nash walked with the bases loaded to force Diaz home with run #2. Wellington Dotel and Jared Mitchell recorded consecutive RBI hits to make it 7-4, a wild pitch brought Nash home from third pulling the Revs within two. Ryan Dent's sac fly to center scored Dotel to end a crazy inning on both sides with the Stormers' lead down to one. In the fourth Gailen doubled and scored on a base hit by Casteel to restore a two-run lead but the Revs got it back in the bottom half, Witherspoon singled and came home on a sac fly by Nash to make it 8-7. From that point the bullpens shut the game down, there was no further scoring as the Barnstormers held on for the victory, Kevin Munson won it in relief of Brooks Hall with Rev starter Logan Williamson taking the loss. The night cap didn't start until almost 8:15, I hung out for about two innings and made my way back east across the Susquehanna. The Revolution won game #2 going away 14-2, the series ended on Thursday night with a 6-4 Stormers win. The season series ends 10-8 in favor of the Barnstormers, as a result the Community Cup returns to Lancaster after a one-year stay in York. For us Thursday night was hockey night at Reservoir Park, the third go-round for Gold vs Blue and Orange vs Green. Take care, thanks for reading.

August 20-21

Here's the postmortem on Sunday night at the ballpark: the game was in the third inning at 11:15 when the rain and existing field conditions finally made it intolerable, play was halted and never resumed. Sugar Land does not play in Lancaster again in 2018 so the logical move is to make it up when the Stormers go to Texas over Labor Day weekend, at this point no decision has been made. The miserable conditions were long gone on Monday morning, in the evening I was in York as were the Barnstormers for the opener of a four-game series. The homestanding Revolution took a 1-0 lead in the first, Alexi Casilla walked and scored on Melky Mesa'a RBI hit. In the visiting second Ryan Casteel singled and took third on Trayvon Robinson's double, a wild pitch allowed Casteel to tie the game and Robinson touched home on a ground-ball double play to put the Stormers up 2-1. A Jimmy Paredes solo home run in the third gave the visitors a two-run lead but in the bottom half the Revs turned the game around emphatically. Back-to-back singles by Alonzo Harris and Casilla put runners on the corners, a wild pitch scored Harris before Telvin Nash's RBI plated Casilla to tie it 3-3. Wellington Dotel followed with a two-run shot to left-center to put the Revs up by two. Jared Mitchell and Ryan Dent kept the line moving with consecutive singles, they would both score on Harris' two-run single. The six-run salvo put the Revolution up 7-3, they would add single runs in the sixth (on a wild pitch) and seventh (Harris RBI single) to extend the lead to six. The Barnstormers added a run in the eighth on a (you guessed it) wild pitch, in the bottom half the Revs scored twice on an RBI hit from Dent and (believe it or not) ANOTHER wild pitch bringing the final to 11-4. A total of five runs in this game were scored via the WP, two for the Stormers and three for the Revs. James Pugliese was the winner in relief of starter Robert Carson, Barnstormer starter Joe Gardner suffered the loss. On Tuesday evening we had planned on a night of summer dek hockey but once again weather became an issue. There were storms all around us but by 6:00 we hadn't seen a drop, by 7:00 the skies were very dark. Most of the guys apparently assumed we weren't playing, each team only had three players and neither had a goaltender. Under the circumstances we decided to postpone the night which proved to be the right move, by 8:00 the rain had arrived and it was just as well we weren't there. The games were rescheduled for Thursday the 30th. Take care, thanks for reading.

August 17-19

Friday night on North Prince Street, the Barnstormers' homestand continued with a visit from the Sugar Land Skeeters. The Atlantic League schedule can be a strange animal at times, this was the Skeeters' second time in town in the last two weeks. In the opener on Friday Sugar Land went up 1-0 in the third, that lead held up until Trayvon Robinson's solo home run in the seventh pulled the Stormers even. In the home eighth Josh Bell and Blake Gailen drew back-to-back walks, a base hit by Jimmy Paredes loaded the bases with nobody out. Ryan Casteel worked a walk to force home the go-ahead run, Gailen scored from third on a ground-ball double play to put the Stormers up by two. Robinson batted next and drew the fourth walk of the inning, Vladimir Frias followed with an RBI single plating Casteel to make it 4-1. That was the final as Kevin Munson picked up the W in relief of Jonathan Albaladejo, Matt Reynolds worked the ninth inning for the save. On Saturday Jenny and her mother were along for game #2, the Stormers broke on top early in the first on Darian Sandford's walk and Gailen's RBI hit. In the third Bell walked and rode home on Paredes' two-run home run to put the home team up by three, in the fourth Anderson De La Rosa was hit by the pitch and scored on a sac fly by Bell to make it 4-0. From there the Skeeters launched a comeback with a run in the fifth, two in the seventh and a single in the eighth to tie the game. The matter was resolved in the tenth when Sugar Land pushed the game-winning run home, Huascar Brozoban suffered the 5-4 loss in relief. The series was scheduled to end with a rare 5:00 game on Sunday but Mother Nature had other ideas. Rain moved into the area overnight and continued well into the afternoon, I went over to the ballpark around 4:30 on the assumption that the start would be delayed. The game was set to start at 5:30 but the field was in poor shape, as soon as the umpires came out for the pregame meeting at home plate there were discussions taking place. The Barnstormers took the field and as soon as the anthem was over the umpires called for the grounds crew to continue work on the infield dirt. At 7:45 there was a very animated on-field talk involving the umpires, the respective managers and Barnstormers management, it ended with the Skeeters manager waving his team out of the dugout and into the clubhouse. At this point it was still raining and everyone assumed the game had been called, most of the fans (me included) headed for the exits. Later in the evening I was online and saw that they were actually going to try to play, the start time was posted for 9:45. As they say at the end of Part One: stay tuned. Take care, thanks for reading.

August 15-16

Wednesday night: back at the ballpark for game #3 between the Barnstormers and the Road Warriors. The Stormers followed up on the rain-shortened Monday win with a victory on Tuesday, on this night they completed the sweep with a 6-2 decision. The Warriors took a quick 2-0 lead in the first but would not score again, the Barnstormers put together back-to-back three-spots in the fourth and fifth innings. Blake Gailen walked to start the fourth and Jimmy Paredes followed with a base hit. Ryan Casteel's triple into the alley chased both men home to tie the game, K.C. Hobson's RBI single scored Casteel to give the home team the lead. The same cast of characters started the fifth in much the same way, Gailen drew a walk and singles by Paredes and Casteel loaded the bases. Hobson's RBI groundout brought Gailen home, Trayvon Robinson's two-run single plated Paredes and Casteel to put the Stormers up by four. There would be no further scoring, Brooks Hall started on the hill and went seven innings for the win with relief support from Huascar Brazobon and Matt Reynolds. On Thursday Jenny and I had our midweek lunch date a day later than usual which was by design because this day (August 16) is her birthday. Every year on this date I write in this blog about how much she means to me and every word of it is the undisputed truth. We've known each other since 1992, we came together in 2001 and there is no other woman on the planet I would rather be with. In the evening we were back at Reservoir Park for the sixth night of summer hockey. The games on this night were the second time around for Green versus Blue and Orange versus Gold, those matchups wrap up the season on Tuesday the 28th. Take care, thanks for reading.

August 13-14

Took my mother to the health campus on Monday morning, this was one of her periodic eye appointments. They gave her an injection in the right eye and scheduled a followup for Tuesday the 21st, when they were done with her we had lunch out. In the evening I was back at the ballpark, the Barnstormers hosted the Road Warriors in the opener of a three-game series. The skies were cloudy at game time with rain expected later in the evening, it arrived in the fourth inning and eventually forced a delay but not before the game became official. The Stormers broke the scoreless tie with six runs in the bottom of the third, the first eight batters all reached on singles and all figured in the scoring. Carlos Garcia and Rico Noel scored the first two runs, they were followed by one-RBI hits from Darian Sandford, Josh Bell, Blake Gailen, Jimmy Paredes, Ryan Castell and K.C. Hobson. If you were running a clinic on what they call "small-ball" this inning was the classic example. In the fourth Noel reached on a base hit and Gailen was hit by the pitch, Paredes' two-run double chased both runners home to extend the lead to 8-0. By this time the rain had arrived and the on-field mood was tense, when Gailen was hit words were exchanged and the dugouts emptied but the umpires got things settled down. The Warriors got on the board with a run in the fifth, after the third out the umpires called for the tarp and after the required wait the game was called. It may very well have been a "the game's official, let them cool off and come back tomorrow" decision but under the circumstances it was the right one, Joe Gardner started and worked all five innings for the win. On Tuesday we were at the rink for the fifth night of summer dek hockey, for the second time Green met Orange and Blue met Gold. Those matchups happen one last time on Thursday the 23rd. Take care, thanks for reading.

August 8-12

Wednesday morning with Jenny for our usual midweek lunch date, in the evening it was a game night at the ballpark on North Prince Street. The Road Warriors were the opponent in the middle game of a three-game series and on this night offensive highlights were in short supply. The Warriors scored single runs in the first and eighth and made them stand up for a 2-0 win, the Barnstormers had only two hits and never mounted a serious threat. Joe Gardner started and worked eight solid innings but took the tough-luck loss. On Thursday we were back at the rink for night #4 of the summer season. the matchups were repeats from the opening night. Gold met Green and Orange faced off against Blue, they meet once final time on the 21st. The weekend was very quiet save for Saturday lunch with Jenny, both the Stormers and the Revs were out of town and there was nothing else of note on the calendar. Take care, thanks for reading.

August 6-7

Monday night baseball west of the river in York, the Revolution hosting the New Britain Bees in the opener of a three-game set. With the shorter schedule in place (126 games as opposed to 140) Monday games have been rare in the Atlantic League, this was only the second of three at home for the Revs. This was just my fifth time in York in 2018 and the second time the Bees were the opponent. The Revolution roster was fortified recently with the return of Alonzo Harris and Telvin Nash, members of the Revs' 2017 championship club who had been playing in the Mexican League. New Britain went up 1-0 in the first, in the bottom half the Revs scored four times. RBI hits by Nash, Melky Mesa and Luis Cruz gave the Revs the lead, the fourth run scored on a Bees error. NB scored twice in the third, pulled even with a single run in the fourth and exploded for five in the fifth to go ahead 9-4. In the home seventh an RBI hit by Mesa and a two-run double by Nash brought the Revs back to within two, Ryan Dent's solo home run in the eighth made it a one-run game. New Britain held on for the 9-8 win, former St.Louis Cardinal property Estarlin Arias took the loss in relief for the Revolution. On Tuesday we were at the rink for night #3 of Summer Season, the matchups featured Gold versus Orange and Blue versus Green (which repeat on the 16th and 28th). For a second straight night at the rink we dodged a major weather bullet, there were storms all around the area but we managed to get the night in. We had some light rain at the outset and there was thunder and lightning in the distance to the north and west, I told Don that all things considered we were very lucky. Take care, thanks for reading.

August 4-5

Saturday morning lunch in Quarryville, in the afternoon Jenny and her mother were along for the makeup doubleheader at the ballpark. The Sugar Land Skeeters won the Freedom Division's first-half championship, thanks to the Friday rainout this was my first look at them in actual game action in 2018. Game #1 started at 5:00, the Barnstormers took a quick 1-0 lead in the first inning on a Blake Gailen solo home run onto the picnic pavilion in right field. Vladimir Frias' two-run single in the second scored recently-added ex-MLBer Jimmy Paredes and Josh Bell to extend the lead, the 3-0 advantage held until the fifth when the Skeeters picked up a single run. In the Stormer fifth Carlos Garcia singled and scored on Tyler Bortnick's RBI double, a sac fly by Gailen plated Bortnick to make it 5-1. Sugar Land scored one in the seventh but that was it as the Stormers won 5-2, Nate Reed started and went five innings for the decision. In game #2 the Barnstormers again jumped on top early when Darian Sandford singled and scored on Ryan Casteel's RBI hit, Paredes followed with a double chasing Casteel home for a 2-0 lead. The Skeeters got on the board in the third to draw within two, in the home fourth the Stormers scored three times on a Sugar Land error and a two-run home run by K.C. Hobson. Consecutive RBI hits by Hobson, Frias and Anderson De La Rosa in the fifth extended the lead to 8-1, single runs for the Skeeters in the sixth and seventh closed out the scoring. The 8-3 win gave the Stormers the doubleheader sweep, Brooks Hall went six innings for the decision. Sugar Land salvaged the Sunday finale but needless to say I was not there, as is well-known 1:00 starts in ninety-degree heat are not my thing. Take care, thanks for reading.

August 1-3

The eighth month of 2018 began on a Wednesday, for me that meant a lunch visit with Jenny. In the evening I was back at the ballpark as the midget baseball tournament continued. The semifinals were played on this night, I arrived after the first game started and left before the second was over. I was there just for the hell of it, since the Lancaster team was out of it there was no rooting interest involved. The best part of the night was a fan whose son was playing in the opener, every time that team did something positive he would yell "YEAH!!!" in a very guttural manner, he sounded for all the world like a lion roaring. One of the coaches from the second game was there early and took to imitating the guy every time the opponent came up big, it became a vocal battle that sounded like feeding time at the zoo. On Thursday we had some afternoon thunderstorms but the evening's summer dek hockey games went on as scheduled. This night featured the first of three meetings of Gold versus Blue and Orange versus Green, they meet again on the 14th and 23rd. The Barnstormers returned home on Friday for a weekend series, the Sugar Land Skeeters were the opponent. This was my first time seeing the Skeeters in 2018, they visited in May for a weeknight series I missed completely. I had planned to see them when they were in York in July but the car trouble I had that weekend ruined those plans. The plans on this night ended up being ruined as well, just before gametime a fast-moving storm hit from the south. The game was literally just minutes away from starting, the lineup cards had been exchanged and the pitchers were warmed up and ready to go. The game was called after about an hour's wait and reset for Saturday as a doubleheader. Take care, thanks for reading.

July 30-31

At the mall on Monday morning when I got a call on the cellphone from Don. We had planned on firming up the rosters for the Summer Season on Sunday night but it was postponed until Monday night, he was getting home from work early Monday afternoon and asked if I was available then instead of waiting until the evening. It worked beautifully for me, I was at his place by 2:00. As in past years the Summer teams are assembled from individual signups, we put together four teams as evenly as we can make them and hope for competitive balance. In 2017 we had one team finish 5-3-1, another was 5-4 and the last two were both 4-5. There are no playoffs or championship in the Summer Season, the sole purpose is fun and recreation. I was back in town around 4:00 and posted all the information online, after supper I went over to the ballpark. This was opening night for the annual midget baseball tournament, the Lancaster Jr. Tornado School Division team played at 5:15. The boys fell behind 4-0 in the first inning, get two back in the fourth but could come no closer in a 4-2 loss that eliminates them from the tournament and ends their season. There was a second game played but I didn't stay for very long after the first game ended. On Tuesday we were at the rink for the Summer Season's opening night, we had a 69% player turnout which is excellent considering that the rosters were only established the day before (although everyone who signed up knew we were starting on this night, the only question was whether their game was at 7:00 or 7:45). All players receive a team-color t-shirt as part of the registration fee, the games on this night featured "Tennessee Orange" versus "Sapphire Blue" and "Lime Green" versus "Daisy Gold" (according to Don those were the color descriptions in the catalog when he ordered the shirts). Games are on Tuesdays and Thursdays through August 28, the opening night matchups repeat on the 9th and 21st. Take care, thanks for reading.

July 27-29

The Barnstormers' homestand continued over the weekend, the New Britain Bees were the opposition. As I was arriving for the Friday night opener the skies were very dark to the west, when I walked into the ballpark the field tarpaulin had already been rolled out. A very strong wind from the southwest ushered in a downpour, by the time it passed gametime was pushed back to 8:35. The delay didn't hurt either team offensively, the Bees scored four in the first inning and the Stormers matched it in the bottom half. Ryan Casteel's two-home home run and a two-run double by Trayvon Robinson evened the score, in the second Tyler Bortnick was hit by the pitch and scored on Casteel's RBI hit to put the Stormers up 5-4. New Britain tied in the fourth before Vladimir Frias' solo home run in the home half restored the advantage, in the sixth the Bees once again pulled even at 6-6. By this time it was well past 10:00, as they used to say on the old TV westerns I saddled up and rode out. Saw on the Internet where New Britain finally prevailed 8-7, the game wasn't over until almost midnight. On Saturday we had the usual lunch visit with Jenny, in the evening she and her mother were at the ballpark for their customary Saturday night appearance. The Stormers' struggles continued on this night as the visiting Bees ran out to a 7-0 lead by the sixth inning and won easily 9-3. RBI hits by Blake Gailen and Ryan Casteel in the home sixth and an ninth-inning solo home run by recently-activated player/coach Josh Bell accounted for the Barnstormers scoring, Brooks Hall was the pitcher of record. The series ended in the afternoon heat on Sunday, the Stormers salvaged the finale 2-1. Take care, thanks for reading.

July 25-26

The news services were carrying reports of major flooding from the heavy rains, most of it within our area was in the northwestern part of the county. Visited with Jenny for lunch on Wednesday, even though I was going southeast I stuck to the main roads to be on the safe side and there were no driving issues at all. After supper I was at the ballpark, the Barnstormers hosted the Long Island Ducks for what was supposed to be a doubleheader. I was arriving just as the opener was starting at 5:00, I'm usually there well in advance of game time but with the unusually early start on this day it was almost unavoidable. It was cloudy and darker to the south, in the middle innings it got much darker and the winds began to pick up. The Stormers trailed 1-0 in the third when Darian Sandford singled and came home on Blake Gailen's RBI hit, Long Island replied with single runs in the fourth and seventh to lead 3-1. By this point the rain had arrived and had been falling for several minutes, as the Barnstormers were coming to bat in the seventh it was coming down hard and play was halted. After a wait of better than two hours the game was called official and the second game became a casualty as well. Overnight into Thursday the rain FINALLY moved on, the day was bright and sunny. At 5:00 the Ducks and Stormers reconvened for another doubledip and on this night both games were actually played although it wasn't easy. The Barnstormers won the opener 5-0 behind two two-run home runs from K.C. Hobson, Ryan Casteel added an RBI base hit in support of winning pitcher John Anderson. The game ended at ten minutes before 7:00, the nightcap started at 7:40 (which seemingly was a good sign but it proved not to be). Long Island took a 1-0 lead in the second, in the bottom half the Stormers put up a four-spot. Ryan Casteel's solo home run was followed by a Carlos Garcia RBI single and Darian Sandford's two-run double. The Ducks got one back in the third before Blake Gailen's solo shot in the home third made it 4-2. The game fell apart in the middle innings, Long Island batted around in the both the fourth and fifth scoring nine runs in total for an 11-5 lead. The Stormers got a cosmetic run in the ninth on a Vladimir Frias RBI hit but it was way too little as the Ducks salvaged a doubleheader split, Joe Gardner was the Stormers' starting pitcher and took the loss. The game finally wound down at 10:30 but I was gone by then. Take care, thanks for reading.

July 23-24

The rainy conditions from the weekend were still around at the start of the new week, I went to the mall in the morning and took my car to the dealership in New Holland from there. Along the way I drove through some heavy downpours, at one point I could actually see the rain approaching from less than a quarter-mile away. The dealership has a shuttle van service that brought me home, on Tuesday they called to tell me the car was done and ready to go. About an hour later they were able to spring the van loose to bring me there, it beats paying a twelve-mile cab fare. All of the repairs were covered by warranty so it didn't cost a cent, I wonder how much it would have been otherwise (they gave me a detailed invoice of the work done but there were no prices listed). It was still stormy on Tuesday, for a second straight night the Barnstormers were rained out. The Monday game was still on as of 6:00 despite all-day rains, since I had no car I had planned to walk over to the ballpark and bring a cab home. Just as I was preparing to leave the skies opened and it POURED, at that point I decided to bag it since I figured the game would be delayed if in fact it was played at all. I used to walk to the stadium on a regular basis, it's only about a mile and the exercise is good but the stormy conditions simply didn't make it worthwhile. I saw on the Internet where they were incredibly still planning to play but around round of rain finally killed it shortly after 8:00. The game on Tuesday night was called off five hours before it was scheduled to start, back-to-back doubleheaders were booked for Wednesday and Thursday (weather-permitting because there is more rain in the forecast for Wednesday). Take care, thanks for reading.

July 20-22

The weekend began in a fashion very different than what I would have liked. Out and about on Friday morning I stopped at a convenience store for a tea and newspaper, when I came out and started the car the warning bell started beeping and a warning message appeared reading "Transmission malfunction, service now". I immediately went to my service center because I do not fool with stuff like that, they put the car on its computers and discovered the problem. The bad news is I have to take the car to a service center that specializes in my make of vehicle, there are several in the area and my dealer recommended the location in New Holland. The good news is the repairs are covered under warranty so it won't cost. The car can still be driven but it's advisable to get the work done ASAP, I called the people in New Holland and got an appointment for Tuesday the 24th. I had planned to go to York on Friday night but decided to stay in because given the circumstances it was unessential, my main concern was to see Jenny on Saturday for lunch. Saturday was a dark and rainy day, we managed to get everything accomplished despite the miserable weather (it never stopped raining the whole time we were together, when I got home I was just as glad to be there). Ran a morning errand on Sunday in bright sunshine, in the afternoon and evening we had some intermittent thunderstorms. Take care, thanks for reading.

July 18-19

The nightcap at the ballpark on Tuesday wasn't over until almost 12:40 on Wednesday morning, the Revolution won 8-3 to earn a doubleheader split. Jenny and I had our usual midweek lunch date on Wednesday, in the evening I was back on North Prince Street for what would prove to be another long journey deep into the night. The Barnstormers scored first in the bottom of the third, Nate Coronado doubled and came home on a Tyler Bortnick RBI groundout. The Revs tied it in the fourth when Alexi Casilla walked and scored on Micheal Burgess' sacrifice fly, they took the lead in the sixth on an Isaias Tejeda RBI single scoring Melky Mesa (Tejeda played in York in 2016 and '17, he recently rejoined the Revs from a stint in the Mexican League). In the seventh the Coronado/Bortnick combo tied the game, Nate singled and scored on Tyler's sac fly to make it 2-2. At this point it was almost 10:00, I called personal curfew and headed home. The game continued in my absence and well past 11:00 as well, the marathon finally ended in the eleventh inning (and damn near midnight) on a home run by Nate Coronado giving the Stormers a 4-3 walkoff win. There was little rest for the weary, the series concluded with an 11:00 game on Thursday morning (I was, of course, not there), the Barnstormers won 8-6 to take three of four in the series. Four games in less than forty-eight hours including a doubleheader lasting in excess of six-and-a-half hours, a single game that took almost five and a morning game that started less than twelve hours later. Merely thinking about it gives me nightmare flashbacks because I've been there. After supper on Thursday I was at McCaskey for a County Midget League doubleheader, both the School and Community Division Jr. Tornado teams were in action. The School team won 7-0 in a regular season game, the Community team won 5-3 to clinch their division title. The top nine finishers in the School Division qualify for playoffs, the Community champ rounds out the field as the #10 seed. Both Tornado teams are in, there's a chance either or both could play in the big tournament at the ballpark at the end of the month. As they say on TV: stay tuned. Take care, thanks for reading.

July 16-17

Little going on Monday outside of the morning pilgrimage to the mall, on Tuesday the Barnstormers played at home for the first time in nine days. The Atlantic League's War Of The Roses continued on this night with a visit from our friends from west of the river AKA the York Revolution. This was a scheduled doubleheader (as opposed to a makeup), game #1 got started shortly after 6:00. The Stormers went up 1-0 in the second when Grant Desme singled and scored on an error, the Revs matched it in the fifth on ex-Stormer Tyler Clark's RBI hit scoring Zach Wilson. In the home fifth the Basrnstormers took a 2-1 advantage, Darian Sandford doubled and scored on Blake Gailen's RBI fielders choice. In the top of the seventh (the last inning of regulation) the Revolution went ahead in stunning fashion, back-to-back home runs by Melky Mesa and Michael Burgess made it 3-2 for the visitors. In the bottom half the Stormers replied to tie the score, Rico Noel singled and advanced to third on an error, Gailen's sacrifice fly plated Noel to force extra innings. In the bottom of the ninth the Barnstormers walked it off when Tyler Bortnick reached on an error and scored the winner on Ryan Casteel's RBI single. Both starting pitchers (Jonathan Albaladejo for the Stormers, ex-SF Giant Jonathan Sanchez for the Revs) were long gone by then, Kevin Munson got the win with Junior Rincon suffering the loss. The game wasn't over until almost 9:00, with an announced game time of 9:40 for the nightcap I decided to call curfew and head home (a definite feeling of deja vu, the ballclub had a makeup doubleheader on July 3 that played out much the same way). I lived that life for thirty-five years and there are parts of it I miss greatly, there are other parts I don't miss in the least. As the night wore I noted via the Internet that they were still playing as the midnight hour approached (and that's one of the parts I don't miss at all). Take care, thanks for reading.

July 13-15

The Atlantic League season resumed on Friday evening, I was west of the mighty Susquehanna in York. The Revolution was represented at the All-Star confab by pitchers Robert Carson, Mitch Atkins and Grant Sides, outfielders Jared Mitchell and Wellington Dotel plus manager Mark Mason and coaches Enohel Polanco and Sandy DeLeon. The Long Island Ducks (fresh from hosting the midweek festivities) were the opponent on this night, since it was Friday the 13th the game-night theme was built around a popular television series dealing with "stranger things" and that is exactly what we saw. The visiting Ducks took a 1-0 lead in the first but never touched home again, through three innings the Revs had only one baserunner which came on a walk. In the bottom of the fourth the game turned on a dime as the Revs scored five runs, they added four more in the fifth and continued the onslaught with a seven-run sixth. Every man in the batting order had at least one hit, Ryan Dent led the way with two hits and four RBI. Luis Cruz had two hits and three ribbies, Jared Mitchell and Wellington Dotel had two-and-two each. Zach Wilson had two hits and an RBI with Melky Mesa, Michael Burgess and Travis Witherspoon picking up one of each. Alexi Casilla had two hits and was the only man without an RBI, Witherspoon was the only Rev who didn't score a run. The final score was 16-1 (neither team scored after the sixth inning), Robert Carson started and worked five innings for the win. Three relative newcomers pitched in relief with ex-Arizona Diamondback Jailen Peguero working two innings, Devan Watts (from the Atlanta organization) and James Pugliese (ex-Cubs property) pitched an inning each. On Saturday Jenny and I had lunch, at the afternoon we were at a birthday party. One of her friends has two daughters, the older turns four later in July and the younger was one year old in June. The party was outside in a small county park just south of the city, it was a warm day but we had a lot of tree shade which helped to make it tolerable. Sunday dawned with cloudy skies, we had some strong rain in the morning but by afternoon it was gone. Take care, thanks for reading.