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.

December 17-31

Overnight into Thursday the snow came to an end and the storm system moved out, when I unlocked for the day the front walks had already been cleared. New neighbors moved in next door in May, one of the family is a young man who played JV basketball at McCaskey a few years back. His mother once asked me who shovels my walk when it snows, when I said it was me she said her sons would take care of it. She knows I'm almost 64 and although I'm in reasonably good shape for my age I'll gladly accept any assistance I can get. I had enough of a job getting my car cleared out of my space in the lot where I park, I took a drive out onto the highway to warm it up. The highways were in good shape, the worst part were the streets in the city itself. According to reports there was 7.5 inches of snowfall in the city, nearby Millersville hit the county's top total with ten inches. This far exceeds all of the 2019-20 season where our area had 4.5 inches total. Areas further north and west were hit much harder, Williamsport set a record for their area with 27 inches. Over the next few days temperatures hit the high 40s which helped melt down most of the leftover. As most know this is a time of year that does little for me, many years ago I lost the feeling and it's never come back. Since Jenny and I came together in 2001 I've tried for her sake because it means something to her. On the "big day" itself I was with her and her mother at their place for a second consecutive year, it beats sitting at home doing nothing. Helen prepared a very enjoyable meal, joining us for it were Jenny's older sister Carol, Carol's daughter Amber and her daughter Mariah. We all sat reasonably apart and everything worked out just fine. I can't predict what the future might hold (nobody can), all I can say is I hope 2021 is better than 2020. I can't imagine it being much worse. Take care, everyone. See you next year.

December 1-16

The final month of 2020 started on a Tuesday as uneventful as most days over the last several months have been. Jenny and I have our lunch visits twice a week but most every other day for me consists of lunch at the plaza, whatever errands I have to take care of and then I'm back home for the day. Where do you go when there's nowhere to go, what do you do when there's nothing to do, what do you write about when there is so little happening? The one noteworthy event was weather-related, on Wednesday the 16th we had our first major snowfall of the season. I was keenly aware of the impending forecast, I spent Monday and Tuesday getting things done in anticipation of bad travel on Wednesday. As it happened the snow didn't arrive until early afternoon, I was able to get out for lunch. Jenny was in town at a friend's house, her friend had doctor appointments scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday and Jenny was there to babysit her daughters. I took a sub to her for lunch, as I was on my way there the snow started and by the time I was home it was coming in earnest. I told Jenny it's just as well she was in town, had I gone to her place for lunch I may have had a hell of a time getting home. The snowfall was still coming into the evening hours and under the circumstances this was one night I didn't mind being home. Take care, thanks for reading. 

November 16-30

The second half of the month started with news both good and bad. The good news was that the city school district voted to allow the start of winter sports practice at McCaskey. In all likelihood there won't be any basketball games until the New Year but at least for now the door is still open, practice officially started on the 23rd. The bad (or maybe devastating is a better word) news came from Reading where the Royals in conjunction with the other clubs in the ECHL's North Division announced a one-year suspension due to the ongoing circumstances. Between the restrictions on fan attendance and the financial losses that would certainly result the entire division as one entity elected to sit out in hopes of returning to play in the fall of 2021. To say it sucks is an understatement but it's the same for our friends in Glens Falls, Brampton, Worcester, Portland and St. John's as well. The eighteenth day of the month had some small significance, it marked ten years since this blog started here at blogger.com. I started keeping an online journal in January of 2010 at another hosting site and moved it here in November. The original blog no longer exists online but I saved the entries in print before it disappeared (for exactly what reason could be debated). I've always been aware I have a small following here, I don't know who reads the tripe and drivel I post but I appreciate my readers just the same. On the Wednesday before "Turkey Day" I was with Jenny and her mother for lunch, in the afternoon I drove them to a relative's house in Parkesburg (in Chester County, about fifteen miles east of Quarryville). They had been invited to stay overnight for the holiday, I made sure they arrived safely and the relatives brought them home on Thursday night. On the 30th I had my annual appointment with my heart doctor, it's been six years since my episode in September of 2014. The doctor said everything looks and sounds great, as long as there is no recurrence (and there has never been any) he won't need to see me for another year. Take care, thanks for reading. 

November 1-15

The eleventh month of this shipwreck of a calendar year began on a Sunday, on the following Thursday evening I was back at the stadium for one last autumn event. The Class of 2021 voted to hold a Homecoming King And Queen ceremony, although it couldn't happen at a game as usual the students elected to hold it independently because they felt it an important part of their high school experience. On a personal note I singularly couldn't have cared less about Homecoming when I was in school, I was never a part of anything like that because I was never among the "popular" crowd. When the school's coordinator of student activities called me and asked if I was available to emcee I was more than willing to be there, had it happened under normal conditions I would have been present anyway. The show started at 6:00 with the cheerleaders doing a few of their routines and a performance by the marching band, that was followed by my introduction of the twelve candidates each for King and Queen (in my days there was no such thing as a Homecoming King, each of the Queen candidates had a male escort but they themselves were not in the running for any particular honor). The entire program was livestreamed as the football games had been, we were done about forty-five minutes after we started. Football season itself ended on the 13th, after four straight home games to start the year JPM finished with five straight on the road. The results were no better than they had been at home, the club concluded the season at 0-9 and were outscored 364-55 (that's a game average of 40-6). In 2010 the program went 7-3 and made district playoffs, since then the overall mark is 22-77. Under the circumstances I'm just glad we had a season of any kind, with any luck we'll be able to have a basketball season in the winter. Let Them Play. Take care, thanks for reading.