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Tuesday, March 31, 2020

March 16-31

It's often been said how the month of March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb, the third month of 2020 will be historically remembered in a whole different way entirely. On March 12 the coronavirus pandemic put the sports world into a cocoon, the hockey game in Reading the previous Sunday was the last athletic event on my calendar for the month that took place. On the 20th the governor announced that all non-essential businesses must close and the public was encouraged to limit outside activities as much as possible. It was all for the purpose of "flattening the curve", if you needed to be out and about it was advised to practice "social distancing" to lessen the spread of germs. Here of late my days have consisted of nothing but quick morning runs for what I consider "essential reasons" and then returning home, the only exception being the days Jenny and I had lunch together. We decided we weren't going to give that up until we had to, I merely got our subs to go and we ate at her house while sitting a respectable distance apart for safety. We had lunch as usual on the 27th, later that very day the governor added our county to the list of those under "stay home" orders which meant that all non-essential travel was discouraged. I told Jenny that I probably wouldn't see her again until this is lifted because I don't wish to put her or her mother in trouble with their complex or the law itself. If someone saw me getting out of my car and going into their apartment and they know I don't live there it could be a big problem. It's not going to be any fun at all but if it keeps me, her and her mother healthy we'll just live with it because we really have no other choice. Jenny and I talk at least twice daily on the phone so we won't ever be far apart. There is no way of predicting how long this will go on, it is a unique situation unlike anything I can remember in my sixty-three years on this planet. Over the next little while I won't be here on the blog much if at all, until the world returns to a sense of "normal" there simply will be little to talk about. In the meantime, my friends: take care, STAY SAFE and I'll see you when I see you. Thanks for reading.

Sunday, March 15, 2020

March 9-15

When the new week began there were a lot of jokes floating around the internet about how weird it could be, the most popular being that it started with the clock change, included a full moon and ended with a Friday the 13th. As that old expression says: "little did they know". In recent weeks there has been extensive media coverage of something called Covid-19 otherwise known as the coronavirus. It apparently developed overseas and has been working its way into North America, by all accounts it is supposed to be very serious. In the middle of the week the circumstances hit the world of sports head-on and in unforgiving fashion. A professional basketball player in Utah tested positive for the virus, upon receiving the news the entire league suspended operations nationwide until further notice. On Thursday most every other pro sport currently in season followed suit with no guarantees when (or IF) play may resume. In the ECHL the other shoe dropped on Saturday, it was announced that the remainder of the season plus playoffs would be canceled. The league began in 1988, this is the first time in its history there will be no champion. The records will forever show that the Royals' last game was a 5-1 victory in Wheeling on March 10. The final mark was 37-17-6 overall and 22-7-2 at the Arena. The Royals finished second in their division, fourth within their conference and sixth overall within the entire 26-team league. During the latter part of the week more information came to light regarding the virus, it was suggested that people remain home as much as possible and refrain from large gatherings (all of which undoubtedly played a large part in the ECHL's decision). For the record I was out and about as usual on Friday and there was no shortage of traffic, everywhere I went had plenty of activity. On Saturday I saw Jenny for lunch and nowhere we went was deserted. For my part I plan to go about my business as best I can but I will take precautions because it's the sensible thing to do (and maintaining normal accepted human hygiene is a big help as well). On Friday the governor of the state ordered schools closed until March 27 which throws the spring sports season into limbo, baseball season at McCaskey was supposed to start on the 20th. Over the next little while there won't be much happening anywhere within a sports arena, we have no choice but to ride this thing out and see where it takes us. Take care (now more than ever), thanks for reading.

Sunday, March 8, 2020

March 2-8

The first full week of March had little to recommend it, this is a time of year that traditionally is very slow. The high school winter sports season has been completed, the spring season hasn't started yet and the Royals were away on a five-game road trip. The club went 4-0-1 on the trip, the last of those four wins clinched a playoff spot. It's the tenth time in the last eleven seasons the franchise has made the postseason ('18-19 the lone miss) and the fourteenth time in the club's nineteen years in downtown Reading. On Sunday the Royals returned home for a busy day at the Arena, the first order of business was the fifteenth annual Battle Of The Badges. The first eleven editions of this game featured the Reading Fire and Police as opponents, in 2017 they joined together to oppose their brethren from the Allentown/Lehigh Valley area. On this day the A-Town contingent won 8-3 to take a 3-1 lead under the current format. The afternoon's main event saw the Royals hosting the Brampton Beast for the last of their four visits to the Arena and for the home team it was an exercise in frustration. There was no scoring until the third period when the visitors from North Of The 49th struck for two goals, in the closing moments the Royals went with the extra attacker. Matthew Strome lit the lamp to make it a 2-1 game but a Brampton empty-net score in the final seconds clinched the 3-1 decision. Tom McCollum took the loss but deserved a better fate. The record stands at 36-17-6 overall at 22-7-2 at home, the boys host Norfolk for a pair of games beginning on Friday the 13th. The BOB game had started at 12:30, the Royals game ended exactly six hours later. This was also the weekend for the semiannual clock change, we lost an hour's sleep overnight into Sunday which didn't help matters at all. Evey once in a while there is talk of doing away with it and I'm not entirely certain I would object. Take care, thanks for reading.

Sunday, March 1, 2020

February 26-March 1

Wednesday night hockey in downtown Reading, the Royals hosted the Maine Mariners for the fifth of their six regular-season visits. This was the first of just two Wednesday home dates for the Royals, the other comes up on March 25. On this night at the Arena the teams skated through a scoreless first period but in the middle session the Royals kicked it into another gear. Hayden Hodgson made it 1-0 just over one minute into the period, three minutes later Max Willman (back from a stint with the Phantoms) hit the twine to double the lead. Garret Cockerill's score seven minutes in gave the Royals a 3-0 lead, thirty seconds after that Thomas Ebbing struck for goal number four. Less than two minutes later Corey Mackin made it 5-0, Matthew Strome finished the barrage at the twelve-minute mark with the sixth goal of the period. The six-pack came within a 10:55 span of clock time and effectively ended the game's competitive aspect, in the third period an early goal by Pascal Laberge (also just back from the Phantoms) and a late score from newcomer Lewis Zerter-Gossage brought the final score to 8-0. The irony of it all is that both Zerter-Gossage (first-year pro from Harvard University) and winning goaltender Tom McCollum began the season with Maine, they were assigned to the Royals together when the Phantoms acquired their AHL contracts on February 20. For McCollum the shutout is his second of the season in the ECHL and first with the Royals, it is the Royals' fifth as a team. The club's mark stands at 32-16-5 overall and 22-6-2 at the Arena, the next home date is the annual Battle Of The Badges on March 8. The remainder of the week was quiet except for Saturday lunch with Jenny. Leap Year Day was chilly and very windy as was Sunday the 1st, it showed the part of that old axiom about March coming in like a lion was true. Take care, thanks for reading.