RECAP FROM KEITH GROLLER'S WEEK

http://blogs.mcall.com/groller/ FROM KEITH GROLLER It was an interesting week for yours truly and I am spending this Sunday afternoon just trying to catch my breath. Here’s a look back at one of the busiest weeks of the year so far: SUNDAY – Went to an IronPigs game with my father, but left before the IronPigs pulled out a win in the bottom of the 11th inning. Had to get out to see my grandkids, Lexi, age 3.5, and Ryan Keith , age 7 months. It was a rare treat to have them both together. GrandkidsSee photo at right. MONDAY – 12th Neil Diamond Concert, this time at the Wells Fargo Center in Philly. Laugh, sneer and belittle if you must, but I am not sure there are many others out there who at age 71 are still performing without an opening act and delivering more two hours of music that please at least three different generations of people. We had my 70-year-old mother and 10-year-old daughter at this show and both loved it immensely. Diamond is more spunky and energetic than ever. Perhaps it has to do with his recent marriage to a woman 30 years younger. Lots of singers wind down their careers playing small venues like Penn’s Peak, the State Theater or even the Sands Event Center. Nothing wrong with that. But Diamond is still selling out large arenas of at least 15,000 all over this country and no one is leaving disappointed, even if three choruses of “Sweet Caroline” may have been a little too much. June 20, 2012 download 052 WEDNESDAY – Back to Philly, this time for the Softball Carpenter and at this point things looked so good for the Lehigh Valley team. They won on Weds. to improve to 4-0 and were just one win away from the title. Did my story from a picnic table at FDR Park (also interviewed Hall of Famer Jim Rice by phone from the same picnic table) and then high-tailed it back to Allentown for the Lehigh Valley Softball Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Good group this year. I was especially happy for the three ladies – Charlotte Miller, Kim Miller and Bari-Lynn Pflueger DiUbaldo. In my career, nothing is more special than covering state championship teams and Kim Miller was a standout on Allen’s 1990 state champs and Bari-Lynn was the star on the 1998 Parkland state champs and it was nice for them to relive some of the June 20, 2012 download 060best moments of their lives at Pates Park. In photo below you'll see Miller with Nina Rems, Brent Windsor and Ed Stinner in a mini-reunion of those 1990 state champs and also a photo of Bari-Lynn's family. June 20, 2012 download 062 THURSDAY – Back to Philly and this time it was not a pleasant trip. In the blistering heat, the Lehigh Valley team lost two in a row to Suburban One and the Carpenter Cup title I was sure they were going to win 24 hours earlier never happened. Should not have been surprised, however, because Suburban One is District One and it’s a very, very strong softball area. Our girls were disappointed, but I have a feeling they were over it by the time they hit the Blue Road on the way home. By the way, in case you think the Carpenter Cup softball tournament takes place at some state-of-the-art softball facility, it does not. FDR Park is a no frills place as you can see in the photo below. If you look close enough you can seJune 24 download 319en Lincoln Financial Field in the background. Once again, I had to leave Philly during rush hour after doing my story, but made it to Nazareth just in time for the kickoff of the McDonald’s All-Star Classic. Game was a blowout. Great talent disparity between the rosters. Good to see Pen Argyl's Conor Gum play so well. Did my story from the parking lot because of the late finish and then had to make my annual stop at Andy Weaver’s house on Charles Ave. Always good to see “The Weave” in his inner sanctum. SATURDAY – It’s always nice to have a former major leaguer on the radio show and we had one on this day as Billy Staples brought in Steve Braun, a solid hitter in the 1970s and 1980s, to the show. Braun was a member of the 1982 Cardinals, so naturally, I loved talking about that team, especially its feisty manager Whitey Herzog. And then I capped off the week on Saturday night by attending the surprise retirement party for Northampton athletic director Mike Schneider at Starters Riverport. It has been a sad ending for Schneider at Northampton where he and the school board have battled in recent years. Northampton is a very political community. But judging by all of the family, coaches, former athletes and colleagues who were there, it’s clear that Schneider was beloved by many in the Lehigh Valley Conference/ District 11 community. Mike has always been first-class in our dealings over the years. I am not going to say we agreed on everything. I didn’t like it when Northampton went to the Mountain Valley Conference, for example. However, Mike always did what he thought was right for the kids of Northampton. And what he does for kids and the kindness he has shown to others over the years, like the famous Cuda, reveal a truly good guy at his core. He will be missed in Northampton and on the local sports scene.