January 25-31

The new week started with wet weather, there was talk of some snow on Tuesday but nothing came of it. On Tuesday evening the boys were back on the floor at McCaskey for the second go-around with Manheim Township. The JV squad started the night with a six-point victory, the main event was another MT-JP varsity dogfight. The first meeting in Neffsville required overtime, on this night the issue was decided in regulation but just barely so. We were ahead by three points in the dying seconds when a Township player was fouled on a desperation three-point attempt, he went to the line with 0.6 showing on the clock. The first shot was missed, the second was made, on the third attempt (which he had to miss intentionally for any chance at a rebound) Township was whistled for a lane violation which essentially ended the game. The 62-60 win evens the record overall at 3-3 and improves the league record to 3-1. Hasan Williams had a monster night with 32 points, he was backed by Kevin Bell with eight, Sam Hershey with six and Grady Bachman with five. Jayon Burnside had four points, Jonthan Byrd scored three, Javonzee Washington and Jared Kuman posted two points apiece. As the week progressed we got word of changes to the schedule, the first being that our games at Penn Manor on the 29th were being postponed due to health concerns at PM and reset for February 15. The game from the 21st at Cedar Crest was rescheduled for February 2nd as a varsity-only affair, the JV game is considered complete. It sets up quite the gauntlet for the club with games now on February 2, 3, 5 and 6 (the 3rd and 6th are with non-league opponents). On Friday morning I got a call from the athletic office, the girls basketball team was playing at home on Saturday afternoon versus York Tech and they needed an announcer since the young lady who usually does their games couldn't be there. When I arrived I was told that their bookkeeper would be absent as well, I ended up handling both the books and the PA exactly as if it were a boys game. Just another day at the office only with a different clientele, it was a good day for McCaskey as both JV and varsity posted wins. These games were originally scheduled for February 1 but were moved to Saturday because the forecast for the early part of the new week is not encouraging. On Sunday morning a light snow began to fall, by late afternoon it was coming down in earnest and the forecast is calling for it straight through to Tuesday morning. Take care, thanks for reading. 

January 23-24

Jenny had another emergency babysitting call from her friend on Thursday, I took her home on Saturday morning and we had lunch along the way. At 2:30 the basketball team boarded the bus at McCaskey for another miserable bus ride, the destination this time was Central Dauphin East HS in suburban Harrisburg. Within the boundaries of Dauphin County there are high schools called Upper Dauphin, Lower Dauphin, Central Dauphin and Central Dauphin East, a discerning map-viewer would note that CD East is actually a few miles southWEST of CD. Either way it's about a forty-mile ride which is no fun in a school bus even if it is just about all highway travel. In recent seasons CDE has become a regular non-league opponent, in 2017 and '18 we played them in a showcase event at Reading HS. In 2019 that event was canceled by weather, our game was eventually played at CDE as the last game of the season. In 2020 weather was a factor AGAIN and on this occasion we played the makeup date at home because (a) fair is fair and (b) Freddy wanted no part of another trip to CD East after the jobbing we took there the previous year. It's well-known that when you play certain non-league opponents in their gym (especially in the league CDE plays in) you're not likely to get an equitably-officiated game, we've seen it too many times. On this late afternoon/early evening in Colonial Park the JV squad fell to 1-4 as they continue to play undermanned, in the varsity game we played well but lost 48-43. In fairness we'll point out that the officiating was not a huge factor, it wasn't great but it wasn't why we lost either. The coaches were largely satisfied with the effort, the guys fought all the way but just didn't get the big break. Hasan Williams led with 16, Jonathan Byrd and Sam Hershey scored ten each. Javonzee Washington hit a three-point goal, Jayon Burnside and Jared Kumah rounded out the book with two points each. We were back in town before 9:00, on a cold and windy night I was more than happy to get inside, take a hot shower and call it a weekend. The boys look to pull back to .500 overall  at home versus Manheim Township on Tuesday the 26th. Take care, thanks for reading

January 21-22

There is no question that we are living in times that can only be described as nothing less than utterly surreal, it's like The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits and Believe It Or Not all rolled into one. On Thursday afternoon we convened at McCaskey for the bus ride north into Lebanon County for the games at Cedar Crest. The JV game started in good order right on time at 6:00 and the first half proceeded without incident. At halftime my counterpart and I compared scorebooks, as I was walking towards the locker room the school's game manager came on the PA to announce that the evening's activities were over immediately due to health concerns. When I got to our locker room I told the coaches what had been announced, within fifteen minutes we were on the bus and headed for home. Freddy explained it to the players as it had been told to him: apparently a member of their junior varsity has been sick for several days, on this night he was not present. His parents called the school to tell them his condition had worsened so out of caution the game was stopped at halftime. For our side there is little to worry about since the young man was absent and there was no direct exposure, the concern is for the Cedar Crest players who have spent time with him recently. There was no immediate word on a makeup date, chances are it will be varsity-only since the JV had played a full half (and the JVs usually get the dirty end of it in situations like this anyway). With it all I was home by 7:45, about two hours before I figured to be under normal conditions. The boys are scheduled next for a non-league date at Central Dauphin East on Saturday the 23rd. Take care, thanks for reading.

January 16-20

Saturday afternoon basketball at McCaskey, Williamsport made the 120-mile trek from up north for the first non-league game on our schedule. For Williamsport it was their first game of the season PERIOD, they have had some games postponed because of health issues involving their opponents. The gym was much quieter on this day, the cheerleading squad was absent for reasons unexplained (although I'll admit I really didn't ask around as to why). The JV game tipped off at 3:30, JPM lost by fifteen as the club continues to play undermanned with only eight in uniform. The varsity game was a completely different study in frustration, for three quarters it was competitive before the bottom fell out. Against Penn Manor we took advantage of a big third quarter to break open a close game, on this day the tables were turned. We were up by four at the quarter and trailed by two at halftime, entering the final period we were ahead by five. In the final period Williamsport outscored JPM 25-7 and left town with a 57-44 verdict. Nine players got into the game and seven scored, Javonzee Washington and Kevin Bell tied for game-high with twelve points each. Hasan Williams had eight, Johnathan Byrd added four, Sam Hershey and Keyon Stewart had three each and Grady Bachman netted a field goal for two. The overall record slips to 2-2, the boys play next on the 21st at Cedar Crest. After the game in the locker room one of the guys said to me "Man, your voice is legendary. There are kids in this city who grow up dreaming of hearing you say their name over the PA. I know because I'm one of them". All I can say is I hope my voice holds out because it's the only part of me that's worth anything anymore. Jenny's friend gave birth over the weekend, on Tuesday she was finally able to go home after almost a week of babysitting. I picked her up at her friend's house, took her home and we had lunch together at her place for the first time since the previous Tuesday. Take care, thanks for reading. 

January 14-15

Back on the mic at JPM on Thursday evening, the Red Tornado hosted Penn Manor. One of the great things about high school sports (and maybe ALL sports regardless of level) is its unpredictability, you never know what any team really has until you put them into a game situation. There was a story in the local paper recently claiming that our division is wide open with no clear favorite because every team lost a lot from last year, that's certainly true in our case. We graduated six seniors who combined for over thirteen-hundred points and we also had three underclassmen eligible to return who opted out for family/health reasons. I wouldn't call our club a complete rebuild because there are seven returnees, it's just a case of these guys stepping up and taking advantage of more opportunity. The JV squad (still playing shorthanded) picked up its first win of the season, in the varsity game JPM won by twenty-nine. It was a reasonably competitive game through one half, at the break we led by eight. A 22-5 third quarter broke the game open, the final score was 69-40. Eleven players were in uniform and all scored but one: Hasan Williams had the big game with 21, Dante Ashford reached double figures with 13. Keyon Stewart added eight, newcomer Alan Rapsac-Cortez had seven and Jonathan Byrd scored six. Kevin Bell had five points, Javonzee Washington hit a three-point goal and Jyzel Mitchell, Sam Hershey and Grady Bachman rounded out the scoring with two points each. The club improves to 2-1 in league play, Williamsport visits for the first non-league game of the year on the 16th. Take care, thanks for reading.

January 11-13

Monday afternoon at McCaskey for the first road game/bus ride of the season, the destination was thankfully close by as we traveled about six miles out of town to Manheim Township. Given the circumstances the league schedule is arranged differently than usual, the first eight games are the home-and-homes within our division, the five one-and-done crossovers with Section Two opponents are at the end. On this night in Neffsville there were fans in attendance, I was told each player received a voucher for two admissions (presumably their parents). It made for a good atmosphere although the crowd was obviously much smaller than normal. The JV squad fell to 0-2 with a five-point loss but all things considered it was nothing to be ashamed to, thanks to what I call "The Three Is" (injuries, illness and ineligibility) the club played virtually the entire game without substitution. Two of the varsity underclassmen were added as reinforcements but the coaches used the game as an opportunity to give the JV regulars a chance to prove their worth. The varsity game was your typical Lancaster-Lebanon League Section One middle-of-the-ring fifteen-round fight to the finish, when the final horn sounded JPM got the decision in overtime. We trailed by four at the quarter, led by two at the half and had an eleven point lead after three. In the fourth period Township fought back and forced the extra stanza, in OT the Red Tornado prevailed 12-9 and won it 69-66. Nine players appeared for The Good Guys and everybody scored: Javonzee Washington had the big night with 17, Jonathan Byrd and Dante Ashford also hit double figures with 12 each. Sam Hershey had seven points with Hasan Williams, Grady Bachman and Jared Kumah adding six apiece, Jayon Burnside had a field goal and Kevin Bell was one-for-two at the line. The win evens the club's record at 1-1, the boys are back home against Penn Manor on the 14th. On Tuesday morning Jenny was in town for a medical appointment, I took her home and we had lunch together. In the afternoon she came back to the city with me, a friend of hers is expecting her third child just about any day now and Jenny went there to help with the two older daughters. Take care, thanks for reading. 

January 8-10

Friday night high school basketball at JPM, the Red Tornado finally hit the floor for real in the league opener with visiting Hempfield. As it was during football season there are no fans permitted (at least for right now) but the games are being livestreamed for the home audience. The chairs at the player benches were spaced out appropriately, the teams not playing were sitting in the bleachers directly behind their team's bench and McCaskey's cheerleaders were seated in the bleachers on the opposite side. At the scorer's table I'm at the end closest to our bench, the clock operator sits in the middle and the stat-board keeper sits at the opposite end. There is an auxiliary table behind and to my left for the visiting scorer since apparently by PIAA rule both scorers can't be at the main table for distancing purposes. Under the circumstances it all worked well. I had no trouble communicating with anyone and there were no issues with the books or the clock all night. In the games themselves it was a rough night all around for the Good Guys, the JV squad fell 42-27 and the varsity lost 47-36. Reggie Watson is back for his second year as the JV bench boss, he has three returnees among the thirteen players on his roster. The varsity roster features seven seniors, four juniors, one sophomore and one freshman. The two games were eerily similar, JPM started slowly and battled back but could not get over the hump. Between the three-week shutdown thanks to the government and no preseason scrimmages of any kind there is a lot of rust to be removed but the talent is there. Freddy got nine players into the game and seven of them scored: Hasan Williams (the '19-20 JV club's leading scorer) led with ten, Jonathan Byrd (the lone returnee with significant varsity time) had eight, Sam Hershey and freshman Jared Kumah had six each. Grady Bachman had three points, newcomer Dante Ashford scored two points and Jayon Burnside was one-for-two at the line. The results were undesirable but getting that first game under the belt means a lot, the boys are back on the floor on the 11th at Manheim Township. Take carem thanks for reading.

January 1-7

The first year of the new decade began on a Friday (that is correct: any new decade, century or millennium begins with the year ending in "1"). On Monday the 4th the basketball team at McCaskey returned to practice after a three-week government-imposed ban in another effort to "slow the spread". It's just an example of These Surreal Times we live in where "two weeks to flatten the curve" has stretched into ten months and the so-called experts can't or won't stop interfering. I personally believe that this could have been over with months ago had The Public simply been allowed to go about its business. I believe that we are all singularly responsible for our own health, I do all I'm able to in an effort to keep myself healthy and by doing that I am helping by extension to take care of others. More than that simply cannot be done because none of us are responsible for anyone else's health. I've never denied that this virus is serious and we need to take caution but having people live like hermits hasn't done any good and the statistics bear that out. Freddy Ramos is back for his third year as head coach at JPM, on Tuesday I dropped in at practice to get the scorebooks from him and everyone in the gym was masked up. I resist wearing masks because (a) I have a coronary artery stent and my ability to breathe is paramount and (b) I'm not convinced that a flimsy paper or cloth face covering can do anything against "The Deadliest Virus In The History Of Mankind". I have a neck gaiter I can pull up over the mouth when I'm around others but I only do that for the benefit of all the sweethearts who act like saying hello to someone is a death sentence. The season starts on the 8th, as it stands the club has seventeen games on its schedule. The league slate is thirteen games (seven home, six road), we also have four (three home, one road) against non-league opponents. On Thursday the rosters were firmed up, the organization has twenty-six players evenly split between Varsity and JV. The varsity squad has seven returnees but only one one with significant varsity experience, the others were part of a successful '19-20 JV team so hopefully that bodes well. Every year in high school sports is a new year and you never know what you have until you start playing the games. Take care, thanks for reading.