Last look at 2013: Hilliard's comment, the blizzard in Philly, saying good-bye to Punkin, the battle of the bands and a fast ride with Mario

http://blogs.mcall.com/groller/

FROM KEITH GROLLER

In the newspaper business, we're told to avoid cliches. It's one of the Cardinal rules of the profession.

Yet, I find myself trotting out so many cliches at this time of year.

As a new year comes in and another holiday season and year ends, I always get nostalgic and remind people that it's "later than you think" and to "get the most out of every minute, every day" before it all ends.

It's all easier said than done, of course, but it's advice I am trying to take with me into 2014.

I got a lot out of 2013 and had the pleasure of doing many neat things, some for the first time, and also had the thrill of covering some memorable events.

With the countdown to midnight now just about 13 hours away, here's my personal countdown of  top memories of 2013:

10. Brandywine softball team winning a state title. I know, many people don't regard Brandywine as one of our local teams, even though the school is closer to Allentown than 50 percent of the schools we do cover. And there are a lot of people who don't care about softball. I do, of course, and after seeing the Bullets fail four times in state championship games, it was terrific to see the 2013 group finally get the gold with a riveting 1-0 win over Riverside at Penn State on the morning of June 14. Brandywine coach Don Roach, a Freedom graduate, had to console so many outstanding girls and teams after tough losses in the PIAA finals. This time, he was the one shedding the tears -- tears of joy.

9. The Triple-A national championship game at Coca-Cola Park. Had the IronPigs made it, it would have been an incredible night. When the game finally arrived in September, it didn't approach "incredible" with Durham and Omaha involved, but it was still good to have Allentown put on a national stage. The city, Coca-Cola Park, the IronPigs and ultimately, Durham, delivered

8. Darrun Hilliard in the panel discussion at Steelstacks. It was a great night to benefit the Yasso-Rothrock Christmas City Classic and Hilliard was back in Bethlehem as were four prominent members of the Villanova Wildcats' 1985 national title team. The whole night was enjoyable and I ended up staying longer than I ever expected, but Hilliard delivered one of the best moments of the year, and maybe, of my career. During the discussion, he was asked about things that inspired him. And he said one of the things that inspired him the most to become the great player he is was to "Have Keith Groller write stories about me." This was not something he just said because I was there. He was sincere. It really touched me and reinforced how lucky I am to be able to make an impact on some young people's lives. May Darrun (No. 4 in photo at right) and Villanova go on to create some of the great moments of 2014 as well.

7. PIAA basketball championships back at Hershey.After missing the state finals at Penn State for several years, it was good to be back to witness the biggest stage of Pennsylvania basketball and see for myself some of the great players and teams. It was also good to have Bethlehem Catholic's girls get there and represent our area on the final night of the season. They didn't win, but they were there, and they can never forget that.

6. Lehigh football's come-from-behind wins. The season ended with a disappointing defeat to Lafayette that kept Lehigh from the Patriot League title and the FCS playoffs. But it wasn't all bad for the Mountain Hawks who made some memorable comebacks in their 8-3 season. None was more amazing than the win at Princeton when they rallied from a 22-3 halftime deficit to win 29-28. Brandon Bialkowski threw for 430 yards and Lee Kurfis had 13 catches for 152 yards. Coming on the heels of the suspension of four players from an off-campus incident, the come-from-behind win put a happy ending on a not-so-happy week.

5. The Eagles win over the Lions in a blizzard. Nothing went as expected that Dec. 8 day. The snow came much earlier, and fell much harder than expected. You literally couldn't see the field from the press box in the first half (see photo at right). And when the Lions had a 14-0 lead midway through the third quarter, the Eagles seemed destined for a crushing defeat. Instead, they turned the Linc into their own Winter Wonderland the rest of the way with LeSean McCoy the only one having sure footing in rushing for a record 217 yards in an amazing 34-20 come-from-behind win that made the NFC East title possible.

It was funny that when the Eagles returned to the Linc two weeks later to play, and pound, the Bears, the snow was gone, the temperature was in the 60s at kickoff and it felt like a late summer exhibition game. You never know what you're going to get with the weather and these Eagles.

4. Competing against Marco Andretti at the LV Grand Prix. Ok, I didn't do well. I was terrible, in fact. I had a caution on the very first lap and several more would follow. But I enjoyed my time in a go-kart at the LV Grand Prix where I was in a race -- if you could call it that -- against the great Marco Andretti. It was a small sampling, of course, but it gave me a taste of the instincts and reflexes needed to be a great race car driver, instincts and reflexes I obviously don't have.

3. Getting to say good-bye to my friend Punkin Miller. Losing Punkin was like losing a member of my family because ever since I could remember, he was a part of my life. His passing in February was truly a shattering blow for me and many in the local sports community. He was a strong-willed person and he went out on his own terms. As sad as it was to say good-bye to someone who had such a profound effect on my life, I was honored to be asked to deliver his eulogy at his funeral service and what I am most proud about is that during that eulogy, I got to make some people laugh with my list of Punkinisms over the years. Punkin would have wanted to leave people laughing, and I think we were able to deliver some laughs and smiles on that most sad day. Hopefully, he would have approved.

2. Getting to MC the battle of the bands on Nov. 3 at the Jordan Luterhan Church in Orefield. I absolutely love music and was honored to introduce and get to say some nice things in between songs as the American Legion Band of Bethlehem "took on" the Marine Band of Allentown. It was a most enjoyable day as I was reminded that we not only have great athletes in this Valley, but great musicians as well. Who won? Without a doubt, the people who were there.

1. My very fast ride with Mario Andretti. It was a TV commercial come to life as I got in that IndyCar two-seater at Pocono Raceway with the most famous name in racing. It was an incredible experience flying around that race track, a thrill that I can't adequately describe. It was all over so fast, literally a blur, but it was two minutes that I will never, ever forget and I thank Mario for keeping me around so that I get to see 2014 come in with the rest of you.

Happy New Year to all of the Groller's Corner readers. Let's hope we can do this again this time next year.