The Winter Classic Hat Trick

The alarm went off.

It was 4:30 a.m. and I had gotten -- maybe -- three hours of sleep, but hardly restful.

Yet, I agreed to do the Winter Classic games in Greenwich, with the first game (the JV) on Local Live, the second game (girls varsity) and the finale (boys varsity) on WGCH.

All three games were carried on Robcasting Radio.

And I lost money, due to car wear and tear, as well as food.

But, I wouldn't change a thing.

Yet, at 4:30, it was hard to see the forest for those trees.

Chico (the large gray cat) was telling me to stay.

But duty called and I was in the car by 5:30, and in the local deli a few minutes later.

A ham, egg, and cheese sandwich with a large cup of coffee fueled me for a few hours.

I walked into the Greenwich Skating Club at 6:30, only to find an employee and a person on the ice shooting pucks.

Things began to kick in around 7:00, and I set up, working with Ben from Birds Eye Sports for Local Live (and the Greenwich Athletic Foundation).

I had rosters only minutes before the opening faceoff after 8:00.

The JV game -- the only one I was good enough to call on video -- went in favor of Darien, 4-2.

Paul Silverfarb showed up around 11 for the girls game, and I connected with WGCH for the call. We fought internet connectivity at times for the duration of the afternoon. I also found out that WGCH has a new frequency (at 105.5 on FM) to go along with our classic 1490 while we deal with moving our antenna tower.

Overwhelmed by hunger and exhaustion, I struggled a bit during the call of the girls game, annoyed at not upholding the standards that I set.

Greenwich won that one, 4-1.

Paul had to leave to take care of his son, so I was once again solo for the boys game.

The temperature -- once hovering near a comfortable 50 -- was dropping, thus meaning it was time to put my jacket back on.

Darien won the game, 5-3.

Three games and I was at the Greenwich Skating Club for over 12 hours. But I was also proud of myself for doing the games. I was proud of myself because, while I might not have been up to the lofty standards that I set (I never am), it was still probably passable.

I think today was good for several ways that money can't help, and I'm OK with that. For one thing, the year finished at 134 games. That's a record, sad as that might be.

So I'll take it.

The door has been left slightly open for Greenwich hockey and me to work together again and, perhaps, I'll come back for the 2020 Winter Classic.

But, for now, I'm exhausted.

Decisions can wait.