For over a hundred years some of the greatest video treasures of all time have been produced. Some have been lost in the sands of time and others, soon to be rediscovered, will become fan favorites for a whole new generation.

 Each week we will feature just one of the many hidden gems that you can see on ATVN with insights and commentaries on classic television shows and legendary cinematic performances.

Before you check out the star-studded cast in the film, Katherine, on ATVN over the next week, you may be interested in the fascinating background about one of the movie’s central characters–that of Katherine’s mother–played by Jane Wyatt.

Jane Waddington Wyatt was born on August 12, 1910 in the unique village of Franklin Lakes, New Jersey.  Franklin Lakes was formed by an act of the New Jersey Legislature from portions of Franklin Township, based on the results of a referendum and was named for William Franklin, the illegitimate son of Benjamin Franklin.  

At a young (undisclosed) age, she moved to attend Miss Chaplin’s School in New York City and starred in the roles of Joan of Arc and Shylock.  She attended Barnard College for two years before leaving to join the Berkshire Playhouse in Stockbridge, Massachusetts for six months and took on a variety of roles.

Wyatt then auditioned for and won an understudy role in the Broadway play, Trade Winds.  When her turn came to perform, she received terrific reviews and earned a motion picture contract from Universal Studios.

For nearly 15 years, she made a name for herself starring alongside some of Hollywood’s best known actors of the era, including Frank Capra‘s Lost Horizon with Ronald Coleman, Gentleman’s Agreement with Gregory Peck, Task Force with Gary Cooper, None But The Lonely with Cary Grant, and with Randolph Scott in the western drama, Canadian Pacific.

Wyatt’s film career came to a screeching halt in the early 1950s when she was blackballed for criticizing Senator Joseph McCarthy and his anti-Communism investigation campaigns.

She went back to New York City and performed once again on the stage until television came calling.

Wyatt won the role as Robert Young’s on-screen wife in the popular family comedy, Father Knows Best – winning three Emmy Awards in consecutive years for Outstanding Lead Actress in a TV comedy in 1958, 1959 and 1960.

She then made a number of guest appearances on shows throughout the 1960s, including Wagon Train, Going My Way, Here Comes The Brides, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour and Love, American Style.

But her best-remembered television appearance was as the human mother of the alien character, Mr. Spock, on Star Trek.

Wyatt would go on performing on television shows and films sporadically in the 1970s and early 1980s–her most memorable roles were as Emily Alman in Katherine, Anna, mother of the Virgin Mary, in 1978’s The Nativity and a recurring role in the medical drama, St. Elsewhere.

Her final acting gig was a return to playing Spock’s mother in the 1986 motion picture, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.

Wyatt was quoted as saying that she received more fan mail from those two appearances on the original “Star Trek” show/film series than any other acting performance she had throughout her career.

Wyatt suffered a stroke in 1995 and never acted again.

She died peacefully in her home on October 20, 2006 at the tender age of 96.

Be on the lookout for Jane Wyatt’s standout performance in the 1975 film, Katherine, coming up on the ATVN Movie Vault, this Saturday at 9:30 pm on ATVN.

To view the complete rundown of classic programming on the Astound TV Network, check out the weekly listings here.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound Broadband or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

We continue our highlights of outstanding performances by individuals in the Astound TV Network’s coverage area this week.

We begin this week’s focus in the pool!

The award for District XI’s Girls’ Swimmer of the Year went to Kayla Johnson (Parkland HS) and the Boys’ Swimmer of the Year was Patrick Gilhool (Liberty HS). The awards are for regular season performances. Both broke the District XI record, as well as the hosting school’s (Parkland’s) pool record.

Next, we take a look at the Eastern Pennsylvania conference tennis honors.

Regular Season and Tournament Champions: Parkland(Reg Season) and Liberty (Tournament)

EPC Most Valuable Player: Noah Potts (Freedom HS)

EPC Boys Tennis (Singles) First Team All-Conference:
Noah Potts – Freedom
Dan Zolotarev – Parkland
John Willis – Stroudsburg
Shayaan Farhad – Liberty HS

EPC Boys Tennis (Singles) Second Team All-Conference:
Armaan Makwana – Becahi
Eddy Chow – Emmaus
Roman Farhad – Liberty HS

EPC Boys Tennis (Singles) Third Team All-Conference:
Arun Chhugani – Freedom HS
Fyodor Souza – Parkland
Alex Rodriguez – Nazareth
Timmy Spinosa – ACCHS

EPC Boys Tennis (Doubles) First Team All-Conference:
Gavin Evans Gartley / Sid Tekumalla – Liberty
Lucas Lee / Kevin Yao – Parkland
Jake Zeller / Danny Patruno – ACCHS

EPC Boys Tennis (Doubles) Second Team All-Conference:
Ishaan Patel / Logan Baltz – Nazareth
Noah Rodburg / Dylan Sarkozy – Freedom
Gabe Huff / Ryan Baig – Emmaus

EPC Boys Tennis (Doubles) Third Team All-Conference:
Dan Smith / Callen Kok – Becahi
Taehyuk Yang / Ryan Wu – Parkland
Chris Giannaras / Jacksen Jobes – Liberty

(Please note: the Colonial League decided several years ago to do away with their league “all-star” lists and that is why no schools from that league are represented.  Their exclusion from these lists is the school administration’s decision and not ours.) 

Keep checking back to the “SportsTalk Shop,” as we continue to highlight the high school sports teams and athletes in our area.

We also feature special guests every Thursday at 7pm on “ATVN SportsTalk.”  Our scheduled guests on this week’s program include the newest member of the ATVN sports announcing team, Erik Schmitt, discussing the new Blue Mountain League baseball season, Jim Holden from MSG Promotions will discuss the latest plans for this weekend’s 42nd US. Senior Open, plus interviews with local Lehigh Valley and Norco legion baseball programs.

Now, here’s our next installment of the best plays from our ATVN sports broadcast season to date: 

1. Astound Sports: Allentown Central Catholic vs. North Schuylkill  (3/22)
   
   
2. Astound Sports: Nazareth vs. Parkland (3/22)
   
   
3. Astound Sports: Bethlehem Catholic vs. Nuemann Goretti (3/22)
   
   
4. Astound Sports: Bethlehem Catholic vs. South Philly (3/22)
   

Don’t forget, you can purchase DVD copies of all of ATVN’s broadcast events by calling 610-443-2909.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound Broadband or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

For over a hundred years some of the greatest video treasures of all time have been produced. Some have been lost in the sands of time and others, soon to be rediscovered, will become fan favorites for a whole new generation. 

Each week we will feature just one of the many hidden gems that you can see on ATVN with insights and commentaries on classic television shows and legendary cinematic performances.

William Bendix, who would go on to star in radio, television and films, had an auspicious start to his working career.

He would be fired as a bat boy for the New York Yankees baseball team.

The reason?  He obeyed orders from Babe Ruth during the height of his popularity to go out and buy him hot dogs and sodas right before a game — which was against team rules.

Twenty years later, Bendix starred in the The Babe Ruth Story motion picture, portraying the titular character.

*********

Bendix was born in Manhattan, the only child of Oscar and Hilda (Carnell) Bendix. Named William after his paternal German grandfather, his uncle was composer, conductor, and violinist Max Bendix.  He would work odd jobs through the Great Depression, until deciding at the age of 30 to try his hand at acting.

After six years, he starred in his first feature film, The Glass Key, and in other film noir flicks. He had success largely playing rough but kind-hearted gangsters, soldiers or “blue-collar” type roles.  From 1942 until his death in 1964, Bendix was featured in 66 movies.  His greatest individual accomplishment in films was earning an Academy Award nomination for his role as a soldier in the 1942 war classic, Wake Island.

But in addition to his success on the big screen, Bendix became a national treasure throughout the 40s and 50s by portraying the fictional Chester A. Riley in the hit radio and later television series, The Life of Riley.

Originally a radio treatment to be a vehicle for Groucho Marx in a show called, “The Flotsam Family,” series creator Irving Brecher saw Riley in a film in which he played a taxi cab driver with a heavy Brooklyn accent.  According to the book “Raised on Radio,” Brecher went back and rewrote the premise of his show, basing the lead character on a “meat-and-potatoes” man of the house with comical frailties, casting Bendix in the lead.

The result was a Top 20 show through the latter half of the 1940s, in a period that also featured other radio show giants hosted by legends like Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Jack Benny, Fred Allen, Milton Berle, Red Skelton, George Burns and Gracie Allen, and many others.  Bendix also starred in the film version of the show in 1949 — the movie grossing $1.6 million at the box office.

The comedic plotlines centered around Riley himself — a gullible and clumsy but big-hearted man. Although operating with the best of intentions, Riley had the inclination of turning slight misunderstandings and slightly troubling situations into near-disasters.  He also had the uncanny ability to successfully play off of unique characters like his neighbor Waldo Binny, “Digger” O’Dell (“the friendly undertaker”), his co-worker and best friend, Gillis, and other colorful personalities.

To give yourself a treat, find copies of “Riley’s” radio shows involving his traditional Thanksgiving and Mother’s Day holidays episodes and also an episode entitled, “A Spicy Book.”

His trademark lines uttered on the show were some of the most popular catch-phrases of the decade.

Because of his movie contract, Bendix was not available when the series transitioned to television.  After an initial failed attempt with “The Great One” (Jackie Gleason) in the title role, Bendix reclaimed the role of Riley in 1953.  The show quickly shot up in the Nielson’s ratings (reaching as high as #16 in its first season), followed by five more years as a hit show, perennially winning its time slot.

William continued acting in movies and guest-starring on television until he was cast to star in a brand new sitcom in 1964 but CBS removed him from the project because of a rumor of ill-health.  This action severely curtailed Bendix’s job opportunities in the industry.  Bendix sued the network, claiming that he was in great health, and won the lawsuit, but the damage was done for the remainder of his career.  He later died of pneumonia at the age of 58.

In his obituary in The New York Times, Bendix was quoted as saying, “I’ve had a long, varied, pleasant, eventful career. I don’t hate anybody and I don’t have any bitter thoughts. I started out without any advantages, but I’ve been lucky and successful and I’ve had fun.”

You can see William Bendix in one of his most prominent film roles–that of Nick, the Saloon Owner, in the film, The Time of Your Life, in the “RCN Movie Vault” this Saturday at 9:30 p.m. on ATVN.  (This movie was made in 1948, at the height of his popularity on radio.)

To view the complete rundown of classic programming on ATVN, check out the weekly listings here.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of ATVN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

We are trying to spotlight as many high school standout student-athletes from our ATVN viewing area over the next several weeks as end of the school year honors and awards are announced.

Over the last few weeks, we have focused on tennis, girls and boys lacrosse. track and field and girls softball.

This week we focus on bowling and girls basketball.

We’ll start in the Washington DC viewing area as the DCIAA announced their All-League recipients for bowling from this past season….

Next, the Colonial League Coaches Association in the Lehigh Valley sent us their All-League athletes for this past girls basketball season. 

FIRST TEAM 

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Brianna Moore, Senior, Palmerton

SECOND TEAM 

HONORABLE MENTION

Also, the local high school football standouts have been working hard over the last week practicing and preparing for this year’s McDonald’s All-Star high school football game which you can see on the Astound TV Network.

For many, it’s their last “hurrah” for those not going on to play at the next level.  There’s always some great stories, reflections and…usually … LOTS of offensive highlights.

Tune in to ATVN for all the action this Thursday at 10pm for this great annual tradition!

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound Broadband or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

For over a hundred years some of the greatest video treasures of all time have been produced. Some have been lost in the sands of time and others, soon to be rediscovered, will become fan favorites for a whole new generation.

Each week we will feature just one of the many hidden gems that you can see on ATVN with insights and commentaries on classic television shows and legendary cinematic performances.

You can’t look at early cinema without studying the great contributions by comedian/producer/director/screenwriter Buster Keaton.

Joseph Frank “Buster” Keaton has been credited with inspiring fellow legendary directors and comedians from Orson Welles to Mel Brooks to Johnny Knoxville.

He started in the entertainment business at the age of six, working with his parents doing physical comedy and vaudeville acts and road shows.  Some of his most popular acts were getting thrown by his father, who pretended to be angry with him. (Buster and his family toured with renowned illusionist Harry Houdini for years.)

Unbeknownst to the audience, a suitcase handle was sewn into Buster’s clothing making it easy for his father to reach in and throw his child who had become very proficient at landing on his feet and avoiding injury doing what seemed like extreme physical acts.

According to busterkeaton.com, his act was advertised as “The Roughest Act That Was Ever in the History of the Stage”.  Decades later, Keaton said that he was never hurt by his father and that the falls and physical comedy were a matter of proper technical execution. In 1914, Keaton told the Detroit News: “The secret is in landing limp and breaking the fall with a foot or a hand. It’s a knack. I started so young that landing right is second nature with me. Several times I’d have been killed if I hadn’t been able to land like a cat. Imitators of our act don’t last long, because they can’t stand the treatment.”

It was also as a child that he learned that if he smiled during his physical comedy routines, he didn’t get as many laughs from the audience.  Thus, he quickly developed the ability to not show any expression on his face during his routine–an action that later earned him the nickname “the great stone face.”

Originally skeptical of the new medium that was film, Keaton quickly adapted his highly entertaining physical humor to the big screen and became one of the greatest early comedians in the cinemas.

After great success in films as an actor and comedian between 1917 to 1920, Keaton quickly formed his own production company, allowed him to produce and direct his own films and create unparalleled physical comedic scenes throughout the rest of the 1920s.

Among his great physical highlights caught on film include Keaton sitting on top of a collapsing two-story building and escaping unharmed – as if he was on a surfboard riding a wave and dismounting like he was on a beach.

His 1926 classic, The General, combined tremendous feats of physical comedy with Keaton’s love of trains, including an epic locomotive chase.  Initially, it was not considered a financial success.  In addition to going way over budget, many people couldn’t stand watching so many death-defying physical acts (done, of course, without the benefits of any CGI).  However, the film is regarded by many as one of the greatest comedy films of all time.

The myth that Keaton couldn’t make a successful transition to talkies was just that — a myth.  Unlike , who disliked talking pictures vehemently, Keaton did immediately jump in to the new innovations and starred in a number of successful, early sound pictures for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.  It was his growing discontent of working with MGM, his overwhelming work schedule, an ugly divorce and an increasing dependency on alcohol that drove him out of the film industry for several years.

But Keaton’s film career and legendary work was far from over. We will look at more of Buster’s great legacy in a future blog entry here at the “Showplace.“

In the meantime, you can see Buster Keaton in one of his early talkies, Parlor, Bedroom and Bath on Thursday, June 16, at 9:00 am on ATVN.

To view the complete rundown of classic programming on the Astound TV Network, check out the weekly listings here.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound Broadband or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

We are spotlighting many high school standout student-athletes from our ATVN viewing area over the next several weeks both here at “The SportsTalk Shop” and on our “SportsTalk” television program on ATVN.

Last week we focused on tennis, lacrosse, and track and field.

Today, we put the spotlight on last week’s softball championships, plus more video highlights from recent games broadcast on our network.

It was a busy week of playoff action–both for the players on the field and for the administrators and field workers, trying to get the fields ready to play around A LOT of rain that occurred before and during a number of the games played on the diamond over the last several days.

But as far as the championships, we definitely had some impressive performances–with a number of familiar faces and teams bringing home the hardware!

In the District 6A title, Northampton and Whitehall battled for several scoreless innings before the Konkrete Kids ran off 10 unanswered runs and ended up mercy-ruling the Zephyrettes to capture their second straight district championship.

Bethlehem Catholic (4A), Williams Valley (2A) and Tri-Valley (A) also repeated as district champs for the second straight year.

Southern Lehigh won the 5A championship for the first time in three seasons, giving long-time head coach Brian Neffe yet another trophy in his illustrious coaching career.

Palisades won the 3A championship–their first since 2010.

I was on hand to see the 6A championship and can share some pictures of Northampton’s win over Whitehall.

Now, here’s our next installment of the best plays from our ATVN sports broadcast season to date: 

1. Astound Sports: Bethlehem Catholic vs. Northwestern Lehigh (3/22)
   
   
2. Astound Sports: Executive Education Academy vs. Christopher Dock (3/22)
   
   
3. Astound Sports: Nazareth vs. Emmaus (3/22)
   
   
4. Astound Sports: Easton vs. Parkland Girls (3/22)
   
   
5. Astound Sports: Parkland vs. Emmaus (2/22)
   
   

Come back next week for more information on ATVN’s coverage of local sports in our area.  Additionally on ATVN, we’ll have more interviews from the spring sports season with exclusive comments from the Wilson track and field squad and the Freedom lacrosse team–a unit that set both school and COUNTY records this year.  

Also on this Thursday’s “SportsTalk,” we will have more as preparations continue for the 42nd US Senior Open that will be held at the Saucon Valley Country Club later this month.

Next week here at “The Shop,” we’ll also look ahead to next week’s Lehigh Valley All-Star high school football game, which you will be able to see on the Astound TV Network!

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound Broadband or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

We’ve spent a good amount of time recently focusing on local high school baseball here on “The Shop” as well as on the Astound TV Network, so I wanted to be sure we touch on some of the other great sports action that has been going on in our coverage areas over the last couple of weeks in the other ATVN viewing areas.

First of all, hats off to our Lehigh Valley tennis champions as the District XI Doubles Finals was recently held at Parkland High School. 

In the 2A Finals, the number three seed, Armaan Makwana and Anthony Barczynski (Bethlehem Catholic HS) defeated Will Menichelli and Ford Koch (Moravian Academy) with final scores of 6-0, 6-3.

In the 3A Finals, the top-ranked team of Dan Zolatarev and Fyodor D’Souza (Parkland) defeated #2 Shayaan Farhad and Roman Farhad (Liberty), 6-2, 6-3.

Congratulations to these local tennis champions!

Other local teams claiming District XI titles in our coverage area over the last week include the Northampton volleyball and the Central Catholic and Freedom boys and Emmaus and Southern Lehigh girls lacrosse teams.  The Vikings and Spartans were both the defending champions.

For both Freedom and Emmaus, it was their first district title in their programs’ history (for Freedom, it was the first time a school in Northampton County won a district championship).  We’ve been in contact with the head coaches of both the Patriots’ and Green Hornets’ programs and plan to have them on the June 9th edition of “SportsTalk” next Thursday on ATVN.

Baseball and softball champions will also be crowned over the next few days.

In the DMV, the Washington, DC public schools athletic department announced the following honors for their track-and-field teams:

Girls Outdoor Track Runner of the Year:  Jacqueline Braxton – Roosevelt HS

Boys Outdoor Track Runner of the Year:  Jahari Miller – Wilson HS

Girls Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year: Nadia Lytle – SWW HS

Boys Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year: Morris Walker – SWW HS

Also, congratulations to McKinley High School for winning the 2022 team boys track championship and to Wilson for winning the girls title.

Last but not least, the eastern Pennsylvania outdoor summer basketball season tipped off a few weeks ago.  Here are some pictures that I took on the courts (see if you recognize any of these local athletes in action).

Keep checking back to the “SportsTalk Shop,” throughout the spring and summer months as we continue to follow the sports action in our Pennsylvania and Washington, DC viewing areas.

We’ll also have more end-of-the-school year honors, all-star listings and awards here at “The Shop” as they become available over the next several weeks.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound Broadband or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

For over a hundred years some of the greatest video treasures of all time have been produced. Some have been lost in the sands of time and others, soon to be rediscovered, will become fan favorites for a whole new generation.

Each week we will feature just one of the many hidden gems that you can see on Astound TV Network with insights and commentaries on classic television shows and legendary cinematic performances.

It may be a cliche, but it also can be very true…

You can’t top an original.

So is the case for the original version of the supernatural horror film classic, House on Haunted Hill.

The 1959 motion picture starring Vincent Price, Richard Long and Carol Ohmart sends shivers down viewers’ spines in the first few seconds of the film (even before the conclusion of the opening credits and not a single visual picture appears on the screen.)

The characters immediately break the “fourth wall” by looking and speaking directly to the audience and details are given about their background and announce that evening’s activities.

The movie’s premise is that Frank and Annabelle Loren (Price and Ohmart) are a twisted married couple who invite five people to a rented establishment for a “haunted house” party, offering their guests $10,000 if they can stay the entire night.

All five guests who attended the party were complete strangers to each other (or were they?) and agreed to the deal.  All the attendees are from different backgrounds and were each chosen for different reasons.  At midnight, the doors were locked.  With the windows barred and no working radios or telephones available, the twists continue to evolve as Frank accuses Annabelle of trying to kill him to inherit his money and…

Well, you’ll have to watch it to experience all the turns, thrills and chills for yourselves!

The movie was based on a story of the same name by Shirley Jackson that came out a year before the film was released and was a huge success–grossing over $2.5 million at the box office and was made on an estimated budget of $200,000.

Price, of course, was already well-known as an icon in the horror industry at the time of “House’s” release after years of successful work in both radio and motion pictures.  His starring role in this film continued a steady stream of 1950s box office hits, coming after The House of Wax, The Fly and The Return of the Fly.

Price’s co-star, Richard Long, would go on to become a household face in the 1960s as the star of the popular television western, The Big Valley.

The film’s director, William Castle, was a big fan of the original novel and didn’t stray far from the book’s premise.  According to an article published on Halloween 2014 in “Architect” magazine, Castle selected one of the eerie, yet historic Gothic houses built by Frank Lloyd Wright to film the exterior shots of the movie.  Interior scenes were filmed on sound stages built to replicate Victorian styles of the late 1800s.

Castle also did a remarkable job of utilizing the key elements of black-and-white film by featuring long shadows across many scenes, and built suspense by strategically delaying character’s faces as they slowly appear in scenes due to lack of light.

Castle himself was a big fan of legendary scaremaster Alfred Hitchcock and tried to recreate many traditional dramatic elements used by the Master of Suspense.  Ironically, Hitchcock reportedly loved Castle’s horror classic and his decision to use black-and-white filmmaking.  Hitch used the exact same color process in his very next film, Psycho.

The lasting success of “House” is indicated by a 90% fresh rating on the popular film review site “Rotten Tomatoes”, and has spawned several subsequent movies following the original’s premise.

You can see the 1959 version of House on Haunted Hill, starring Vincent Price, airing Friday, June 2, at 9:30 pm, on the Astound TV Network.

To view the complete rundown of classic programming on ATVN, check out the weekly listings here.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound Broadband or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

If you have been driving around the Lehigh Valley over the last couple weeks, you probably noticed a sudden surge in the billboards promoting the 42nd US Senior Open Championship being held at Saucon Valley Country Club this June.

The defending champion is someone who was born in our Delaware Valley viewing area – Jim Furyk.

Among his most impressive career accomplishments: he is one of just eight golfers EVER to win both a U. S. Open title and a U. S. Senior Open championship.

He also still boasts the tour record with a score of 58 set back in 2016 at the Travelers Championship.

I had the chance to meet Jim last week as he stopped by the Saucon Valley Country Club to get an early bird’s look at the course ahead of next month’s U. S. Senior Championship in Bethlehem.

You can see our interview with Jim on this week’s “ATVN SportsTalk.”

In addition to our interview with Furyk, tune in this Thursday at 7pm as ATVN’s Scott Barr joins me to recap last week’s Eastern Pennsylvania Conference and Colonial League baseball playoffs action.  

If you tune in, you’ll know that we had some very entertaining ball games!

Hats off to our crew for bringing you all the action, but especially the championship day of baseball.  Their day started last Thursday morning and we first came on the air at 3:30pm, but because of rain earlier in the day and delays in repairing the fields, the first pitch of our first game didn’t start until 4:24 pm and I signed off the air at 11:33pm (the second game went 10 innings!).

Between curfew issues, stadium lights potentially turning off, great plays and interesting in-game decisions, we will have PLENTY to discuss on Thursday’s show.

We’ll also be looking ahead to next week’s District XI postseason coverage which will be live on the Astound Broadband TV Network.  Make sure you bookmark our website for the latest programming information on our schedule for next week.

Don’t forget to chime in with a question or comment during our live show or suggestions of which teams we should try to focus on this summer by emailing us.

Now, here’s our next installment of the best plays from our ATVN sports broadcast season to date: 

1. Astound Sports: Notre Dame vs. WIlson (3/22)
   
   
2. Astound Sports: Bangor vs. Bethlehem Catholic (3/22)
   
   
3. Astound Sports: Northampton vs. Fox Chapel (3/22)
   
   

4. Astound Sports: Parkland vs. Pennwood (3/22)
   
   

5. Astound Sports: Allentown Central Catholic vs. Lehighton (3/22)
   

Come back next week for more information on ATVN’s coverage of local sports in our area and also to see more of our top highlights from the past sports season to see if your favorite teams and players make our weekly list!  We’ll also have more information on the local summer basketball programs that kicked off last week.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound Broadband or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

This is a slightly busier week than normal for those of us in the ATVN Sports Department for a few reasons.

So what new things are going on this week?

First, we are welcoming former Major League Baseball player Matt McBride to our on-air announcing team as he will be calling games with us starting this week on the Astound TV Network.

Secondly, for the first time ever on our station, we are broadcasting the Colonial League baseball playoffs.  We are very excited to be able to focus on those teams for the first time during the spring season.

Thirdly, with the quarterfinals completed this weekend, we are in the process of putting all our information together for Tuesday’s semifinal broadcasts–and we don’t have a shortage of great storylines to focus on.

The scene for Tuesday is now set.

In the EPC semifinals, Emmaus and Parkland will square off against each other for the third time.  In the first game, Emmaus won by a single run but Parkland had the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh inning before the Hornets shut the door.

In Tuesday’s other game, it will feature the area’s top team at the end of the regular season–Liberty, against one of the hottest squads in the area–Nazareth.

All four teams split their games during the regular season, so each game will be “rubber matches.”

Be sure to tune in for our coverage starting on Tuesday afternoon!

Also, don’t forget to tune into our “SportsTalk” for interviews with local coaches and athletes every Thursday at 7pm on “ATVN SportsTalk.”  You can also chime in with a question or comment during our live show or suggestions of which teams we should try to focus on this spring by emailing us.

Also, for more on all of the teams participating in this week’s baseball playoff action, we had a comprehensive preview of both the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference and Colonial League playoffs on last week’s “SportsTalk” show, which Astound Broadband video customers can watch for free at any time On-Demand.

Last but not least, we also have interviews with local baseball and softball teams you will want to check out that were a part of last week’s program as well.

Come back to “The SportsTalk Shop” next week for more information on ATVN’s coverage of local sports in our area, reactions and news from this week’s sports action and more of our top highlights from the past sports seasons.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound Broadband or any other agency, organization, employer or company.