So it's been a dozen or so years that I've been writing for this newspaper.
I got to thinking during two weeks away from the office about the most memorable things I've seen during my time here and decided to compile a list. The items selected are ones that I've been most often to recall when talk turns to the area sports scene. They could be singular moments of excellence, game-long dominance or an event that was just wild.
Anyway, in chronological order, here's the top 10 list I've compiled:
 Sidney senior Josh DuMond played the best 2 1/2 quarters of high school football these eyes have seen in this area and it came against a squad that would go on to win the Class C state championship. That it came three days after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and on the night Delhi coach Dave Kelly earned his 200th victory made it all the more compelling. DuMond, who won multiple state titles as a hurdler in track, used his speed and athleticism to score on a 65-yard pass reception, a 60-yard interception return, an 80-yard kickoff return and an 8-yard run, the last of which gave Sidney a 24-20 third-quarter lead. On Delhi's next possession, DuMond injured his left ankle tackling Brian Neale from behind and did not return. The Bulldogs, who received four touchdowns from Brett Sohns, went on to a 49-24 victory.
 Afton sophomore Jessie Page turned in the most amazing no-hitter I've seen. In the 2001 Class D state softball final against Chapel Field at Uniondale, Page threw 56 pitches, struck out none and walked none to lead the Indians (yes, they were the Indians back then) to an 8-0 victory. One Chapel Field batter reached on an error but she was erased on a double play, meaning Page faced the minimum 21 batters. All of them put the ball in play, but Afton's defense handled every chance. If I live to be 100 (no one should take that bet), I'm sure I'll never see or even hear of anyone in baseball or softball pitching a no-hitter with no strikeouts and no walks.
 Oneonta senior Tim Greeley turned in a feat nearly as rare as Page's in the 2002 Section Four Class B baseball final at Union-Endicott. With Oneonta trailing by a run against Chenango Valley in the sixth inning and a man on base, Yellowjackets coach Joe Hughes called on Greeley to pinch-hit for Ross Garner. Greeley worked the count full against CV left-hander Mike Ruffo. On the eighth pitch of the at-bat, Greeley lined a home run over the left-center field fence, providing the winning run in Oneonta's 3-2 victory. This was extraordinary because Greeley was about 5-foot-7 and 130 pounds, had never homered in any level of baseball and the vast majority of high school teams aren't deep enough to
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have home run power on their benches. OHS went on to advance to the Class B state final that season.
 Oneonta junior Mike Konstanty should have a tree named after him. During a 10-2 Class B quarterfinal over visiting Susquehanna Valley in 2003, Konstanty _ at 6-foot-4 and about 210 pounds at the time _ hit a towering home run that disappeared over a tall tree in left-center off of Bill Grace. This shot was so mammoth that I can't remember a high school kid hitting a longer homer. Konstanty went on to play Division I baseball at Winthrop and Albany, and spent a few years in the Cincinnati Reds' farm system.
 Had I decided to put these in order of importance, this one might have topped the list. Oneonta High's fourth-seeded boys basketball team met top-seeded Elmira Free Academy in a Section Four Class B semifinal at Owego in 2005. The Yellowjackets, behind 21 points from point guard Chris Garcia, took a four-point lead on two Tony Basile free throws with 27 seconds left. After an EFA miss, Oneonta's Greg Mattice missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 16 seconds left. Enter EFA's Nick Weiermiller. He hit a driving layup with five seconds left. The Blue Devils then fouled freshman Dan O'Brien, who missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 3 seconds remaining. EFA outletted to Weiermiller, who took a couple of dribbles before taking a contested 55-footer. The high-arching shot barely beat the buzzer and swished through the net for a 58-57 EFA win. The shot earned the No. 1 spot on SportsCenter's top plays segments that night.
 Katelyn Guerriere won six state track titles in a Sidney uniform, but it was a race in which finished second that really stood out. On a dreary and wet day at St. Lawrence University in 2006, Guerriere won the last of her state titles in the Division II 100-meter hurdles. She came back about an hour later for the Federation 100 hurdles, which identifies the best athlete, regardless of school size. Guerriere overcame a start that left her in last place through three hurdles. An excellent technician over the hurdles, she made up a lot of ground over the final seven hurdles, but with the top four girls finishing within .06 of each other, it was impossible to tell who'd won. Guerriere finished in a Section Four record-tying 14.42 _ .01 behind winner Chia Hudson, who Guerriere beat in the D-II final. Guerriere went on to run Division I track at James Madison University.
 Anyone remember Guillermo Moscoso's name? He was the Oneonta Tigers pitcher who threw a perfect game July 15, 2007 at Damaschke Field in the Tigers' 6-0 victory over the Batavia Muckdogs. From my perspective, it was odd simply because I was there. After spending three years covering the Double-A Binghamton Mets earlier in my career, I'd grown tired of covering professional baseball and told my boss I had little interest in covering the O-Tigers. But with the beat guy on vacation, I got the gig. It was cool because some 2,700 people showed up for some promotional night and Moscoso put on a show. He struck out seven and didn't allow a single three-ball count in a 93-pitch outing. Moscoso has pitched in the big leagues for the Texas Rangers, Oakland A's and Colorado Rockies but was recently demoted to Triple-A.
 The sheer mass of humanity that converged at the Clark Sports Center for Hall of Fame inductions of Cal Ripken and Tony Gwynn in 2007 is something I'll never forget. Hall of Fame President Jeff Idelson announced that an estimated 75,000 fans _ a Induction record by some 25,000 _ showed up on that muggy day in late July. Ripken and Gwynn, both first ballot Hall of Famers known for their consistency, garnered 98.53 and 97.6 percent of the vote, respectively, from the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Though their speeches weren't all that memorable, the fan turnout more than made up for it.
 Edmeston's girls soccer team seemed all but out of its 2008 Class D state quarterfinal against Old Forge at Chittenango High. The Panthers trailed, 2-0, with 31 minutes left before rallying behind a goal and an assist from Kori Hamm and two goals by Emily Bliss, who came into the game with one goal on the season. Hamm scored on a screamer of a 25-yard shot with her left foot to make it a one-goal game with 21 1/2 minutes to go. Nine minutes later, a Hamm corner kick set up Bliss for the tying goal. Bliss then won it overtime with a 25-yard shot. Edmeston also rallied to win its semifinal, 2-1, in overtime over Chazy before tying S.S. Seward, 2-2, in the final for the program's first state championship.
 Oneonta senior Madie Harlem's performance against Cazenovia in a 2009 Class B state girls basketball quarterfinal was simply dominant. Harlem scored her varsity high of 30 points in the Yellowjackets' 36-33 victory at Liverpool High. Harlem also had two assists that led to layups, so she had a hand in all but two of OHS' points. Harlem went 9-for-17 from the field, including two three-pointers, and 10-for-10 from the line. Making it more impressive was that for the last quarter-and-a-half, Harlem was guarded by Kiley Evans, who averaged 9.4 points and 4.6 rebounds in helping Division I Sacred Heart to an 18-12 record this past season. Harlem is heading into her senior season at Division III Hamilton College.
I'll apologize to:
Unatego graduate Tosh DeMulder and his 300-plus yards from scrimmage in a 30-28 victory over Trumansburg in a Section Four Class C football semifinal in 2003 and similar effort against Sidney in a 30-28 win the following week in the sectional final;Oneonta High graduate Leann Shaw, who scored decisive penalty kick in a sudden-victory shootout against a Grand Island squad that outshot the Yellowjackets, 34-3, in a 2004 Class A state soccer semifinal;Bainbridge-Guilford graduate Mariah Schaeffer and the varsity-high 26 points she scored in the Bobcats' 54-50 loss to defending Class C state girls basketball champion Elmira Notre Dame in the 2007 Section Class C final;Sidney graduate Darrin Martindale and his 15 points _ nine in the fourth quarter _ and 13 rebounds in a 51-47 Section Four Class C basketball championship victory over Candor that helped the Warriors to the Class C state title in 2007;Sidney graduate Ashley Mahlmeister for her performance at the 2009 state track meet when she won Division II titles in the long jump and 100 hurdles, and placed second overall in the state in the long jump (Section Four record 19 feet, 6 inches) and the triple jump at 39-3 (it was really hard to leave this one off);and Oneonta High's 2012 Class B state baseball champions, who had so many moments this past season that it's tough to single out one.
But that's my list and I'm sticking to it.
Rob Centorani is a sports writer for The Daily Star. Email him at rcentorani@thedailystar.com.
