The high school football season has arrived with an earlier-than-normal start to the season (the PIAA eliminated the second scrimmage week so that the season will start a week earlier and allow for an additional week of playoffs).

We have an unprecedented amount of local high school football coverage, both on RCN On-Demand and on our podcasts here at the RCN TV website.  Despite a busy week of transitioning to the football season, preparing for several “SportsTalk” programs as well as this weekend’s games and also conducting shows from the Allentown Fair this week, I was able to take a moment to reflect on the opening weekend of high school football action.

I’ve compiled a few “first impressions” after the first round of high school football games in the Lehigh Valley:

• I stirred up some controversy on our “primer shows #1 & #2” by making some lofty predictions about Dez Boykin, Zach Gilbert and the Whitehall Zephyrs (which you can hear for yourself at rcn.com/atvn/sports-talk). After the first weekend of games, I saw nothing that would cause me to back off those statements.
•  There’s no question PARKLAND is the top team in the Lehigh Valley. They had their way with Allen in their season opener—and it won’t be the last time the Trojans put a licking on a local team this fall.  Without DeVante Cross and some other talented, graduated seniors, it won’t be easy for Parkland to equal its 2015 season, which culminated in a trip to Hershey for the PIAA title. Still, anything less than a couple wins in the state playoffs will be a surprise to me, and if you watched “SportsTalk” recently, you know other panelists have made even loftier predictions for the Trojans.
• I’ve been saying for over a year now that FREEDOM has perhaps the most underrated sports programs in the entire Lehigh Valley, especially now that Bangor has collected some well- deserved recognition after capturing several championships over the last few months.  There might not be a more under-covered football sports story than that of the Patriots’ football program, that has one of the most miraculous turnarounds in recent memory—and to do it in one of the most competitive football leagues in the state!  Furthermore, Head Coach Jason Roeder’s team proved not to be just a once-and-done story, with a dramatic turnaround following a 2-8 season in 2013, but sustaining the success with back-to-back playoff trips the last two seasons.

Still, when I ask people for their impressions of the top EPC teams this fall, the initial responses from most people are always Parkland, without any hesitation.  Freedom does have a very competitive start to their season, with games against Easton, Parkland and Emmaus all in September.  You could also argue that the Patriots had the most challenging week one opponent of anyone in the EPC-South Division.  However, I would be surprised if the Patriots aren’t once again one of the top two teams in their classification this fall.

Do you think Freedom gets the respect?  We’ll talk with Coach Roeder and some of his players on the September 8^th edition of “RCN SportsTalk,” and, if you think they should get more publicity, I hope you’ll make your voices known on that particular show.

• There’s no question NOTRE DAME lost some talented personnel from last year’s record-setting team, but with Phil Stambaugh back operating the offense, I’m not expecting much of a letdown for the Crusaders this season. I fully expect Cole DeFranco, a sophomore quarterback, to thrive given the teachings of new Head Coach Phil Stambaugh.  The players who do return, headed up by Mitch Daniel and others, might make Notre Dame into the new, consistent power team that the Colonial League has featured in the past, like Saucon Valley, Catty, Pen Argyl, Northern Lehigh and Wilson before them.

Also, we’ll have Coach Stambaugh and several of his players on a “SportsTalk” show this September as well.

Feel free to send us your opinions on our poll to RCNSportsTalk@rcn.com and we might read your emails live on the air on upcoming programs.  You can comment on this week’s “SportsTalk” program and also, don’t forget to watch this week’s show, in person, at the Farmerama Stage Area at this year’s Great Allentown Fair.

Also, don’t forget to check back to the “SportsTalk Shop” for more on high school football and fall sports teams in the RCN viewing area over the coming weeks for more interviews, video highlights and insights!

With an earlier than normal start to the scholastic football season, the time to unveil the first “RCN SportsTalk” High School Football Poll for the Lehigh Valley is almost upon us!

I’ve remarked in previous years how comprehensive and diverse our poll is compared to other publications and media outlets, and we are using the same formula for the fall 2016 season.

Our voting panel consists of local media members from different outlets, along with local coaches and athletic directors from across the entire district.  The voters are not identified so they can give their honest impressions without any worry of outside pressures or “bulletin board” material, and we rotate different pollsters from different schools each year, including guests from our biggest to our smallest schools.

As in previous years, we take the 400-male enrollment number as the cutoff for schools within the District XI/RCN footprint.  All schools above that number qualify as “big schools” in our poll. These schools consist of Parkland, Liberty, Allen, Easton, Emmaus, Liberty, Dieruff, Freedom, Stroudsburg, Pleasant Valley, Northampton, Nazareth, E. Stroudsburg-South, Whitehall, Southern Lehigh and Bangor.

“Small schools” (below 400-male enrollment) consist of Saucon Valley, Central Catholic, Bethlehem Catholic, Northwestern, Wilson, Palisades, Palmerton, Salisbury, Notre Dame, Pen Argyl, Nolehi and Catasauqua.  Each pollster will identify their top five teams in each group—the top school gets five points, the second team gets four points and so on, with an average score determining the order of teams in the poll.

Before we get to unveiling our 2016 Lehigh Valley football poll (we’re going to announce it on this Thursday’s “RCN SportsTalk” show—also available here on the website via podcast on Friday), let’s take a quick look back at last year’s poll and evaluate how we did:

2015 BIG SCHOOL FB Preseason Poll (10 pollsters)
1) Parkland – 50 total votes ( 10 -1^st place votes)
2—tied) Easton — 28
2—tied) Freedom — 28
4)  Liberty — 16
5)  Whitehall – 11
Other schools receiving more than one vote:  Emmaus, Stroudsburg

ANALYSIS:
                Our panelists pretty much nailed the 2015 season before the first game was played, despite us getting some early season grief about having Freedom and Easton tied for the second spot—and not just from Red Rovers fans).

               Parkland was clearly the best team in the area, and came within a few minutes of winning a PIAA state title.  Freedom and Easton split a pair of games against each other last year and Liberty was the fourth team that advanced to a district semifinal matchup.  Whitehall—with nearly everyone returning this year—was one of several teams that finished a step below the first four, along with Emmaus and a faster-than-expected rebuilding effort from the Nazareth Blue Eagles.

 2015 SMALL SCHOOLS FB Preseason Poll (9 pollsters)
1) Bethlehem Catholic – 43 total votes (8  -1^st place votes)
2) Saucon Valley – 36 (1 – 1^st place vote)
3) Northern Lehigh — 20
4) Central Catholic — 11
5) Northwestern – 10
Other schools receiving more than one vote: Notre Dame, Pen Argyl, Salisbury
ANALYSIS:
                This wasn’t our best year as far as pre-season predictions for the smaller schools, as Saucon topped Becahi in the 3A District XI title game.  Both Northern Lehigh and Central Catholic struggled, while Notre Dame had arguably its greatest season ever, and Salisbury showed strong signs of improving that will probably continue into 2016.  However, let the record show that, by the time we did our first “in-season” small school poll, the teams shook out this way (which nearly mirrors the final standings):

 2015 SMALL SCHOOLS FB Poll (10 pollsters)
1) Saucon Valley (5  -1^st place votes)
2) Bethlehem Catholic (4 – 1^st place votes)
3) Notre Dame (1 – 1^st place vote)
4) Northwestern
5) Central Catholic/Salisbury (Tied)

How will our 2016 preseason poll look?  Find out over the next week as we will bring you an unprecedented THREE BIG HOURS of high school football previews, predictions, insights and interviews with head coaches and players themselves.  On both the “RCN SportsTalk” program and on our podcasts (rcn.com/atvn/sports-talk), we will present three, one hour-long shows featuring the Lehigh Valley media’s top football insiders breaking down the different leagues, top match-ups and players to watch.  Our first show will be broadcast live on RCN-TV this Thursday at 7pm, followed by two additional live program broadcasts from the Allentown Fair’s RCN Farmerama Stage area next Tuesday and Wednesday, 6-7 pm.

Then on Thursday at the Fair (7:30 – 8:30 pm), we’ll feature the 50^th anniversary/reunion show featuring the first undefeated football team in Parkland High School history, with players from that historic team, great stories from the golden years of high school football, and those players’ thoughts on current football issues and how today’s athletes compare.

We hope you’ll join us in person for these special shows from the Fair!

Last but not least, make sure you tune in for the season premiere of high school football this Friday, featuring Central Catholic versus Freedom, live at 7 pm on RCN-TV.  Plus, check out the RCN broadcast schedule here on the website for upcoming games.

We’ve brought you quite a bit of information on top-level, up-and-coming minor league prospects in both the Phillies and Nationals organizations this summer.  Here at “the Shop” and on RCN-TV, we’ve given you interviews with the players themselves along with their coaches and have provided insights, statistics and progress reports throughout the Minor League season.  With the Minor League season winding down, we thought we’d take one more look at the Phillies players just below the Major League level who might be getting a September call-up in the near future.

JP Crawford
The Phillies number-one ranked prospect in their entire organization has cooled off a bit in August, after a sizzling six-to-seven week span that saw his overall batting average rise to .290 (he’s currently hitting .258).  People around the Triple-A team suggest he isn’t ready for a call-up and could use a few more weeks at Triple-A (he’s missed the last several games because of what is being described as an injury to his side) so it not certain if he’ll get a cup of coffee this September with the parent club.

Despite Phillies fans anxious to see him sooner rather than later, it would probably be best if they did NOT call him up this year—keeping him in the minors would keep him off the 40-man roster and allow the team an additional roster to protect a player from this winter’s Rule 5 draft.  Also, the Phillies Triple-A team is likely to make the playoffs, so he could get additional “ABs” and playoff-like experience for several weeks in September.

That being said, I still think there’s a better than average chance he’s the Phillies Opening Day ‘17 shortstop—or at least be called up by Memorial Day 2017 if he struggles in spring training.

Nick Williams
His bat has also cooled off of late.  But after some controversial headlines and several showings of a definite lack of hustle, Williams has been doing and saying all the right things lately.  He’s been batting in the .270 – .280 range and is currently leading the team among active players in RBI and is second in home runs.  While he’s played all three outfield positions with regularity, Williams will probably fight for playing time in one of the crowded corner outfield spots this September, unless—like Crawford—the Phillies prefer to play their best prospects in a Minor League playoff series.  Also, the Phillies might want to see more of Cody Asche and some of the other veterans for evaluation purposes, which could be another reason to keep Williams in Triple-A.

Andrew Knapp
The Phillies “catcher of the future #1” has had a decent year offensively and has improved overall defensively this summer.  However, he has shown some inconsistency behind the dish—which has been more worrisome as it has occurred occasionally over the last few weeks.  With Cameron Rupp being one of the few sources of power at the major league level and Jorge Alfaro playing well in Reading, Knapp will have to start impressing the Phillies front office in a big way to remain part of the team’s main core of players for future seasons, or run the risk of falling back on the organization’s depth chart.

Cam Perkins
Two seasons ago, he had a strong Double-A season, following by a quality start in Triple-A and was thought by then General Manager Ruben Amaro, Jr. to be a candidate for a big league outfield spot.  Perkins struggled mightily in 2015 and was almost an afterthought at the beginning of this year.  Perkins has been largely consistent playing all three outfield positions and hitting just under .300 for much of the year.  Still, with all the outfield prospects already in the Majors, along with Williams and guys like Roman Quinn and Dylan Cozens playing well in Reading, Perkins will really have to do something special to be part of the organization’s 2017 plans.

Darin Ruf
After failing in his attempt to earn an everyday—or even a steady platoon—role with the Phillies this spring, Ruf has returned to his power hitting ways at the Triple-A level, hitting just under .300, leading the team in home runs and second in RBIs.  Still, with Tommy Joseph moving ahead of him on the depth chart and fiery hot prospects moving up behind him, this will probably be Ruf’s final year with the Phillies—and is not a shoe-in to even be a September call-up.

Ben Lively
Acquired in the Marlon Byrd trade, Lively’s spot on the organization’s pitching depth chart plummeted after the trades of Cole Hamels and Ken Giles netted a bevy of prime hurling talent.  Lively, who started the year in Double-A, might just have earned himself a look yet this year with an improving approach and more effective use of his pitches.  He’s been going longer into games and recently tied all minor league pitchers with 13 wins on the season.  Heading into his most recent start (8/12/16), he hasn’t lost a game in August and his ERA this month is under 2.  While he doesn’t have the stuff of an Aaron Nola, Vincent Velasquez, Jared Eickhoff or Jake Thompson, he still could prove to be a steady back-end of the rotation pitcher.

Joely Rodriquez
Another forgotten man after struggling mightily in Double-A ball (and spent time in High-A Clearwater), Rodriquez was converted into a reliever and has done a decent job in recent months, holding Triple-A left-handed hitters to a .194 batting average (.229 w/RISP). Acquired for another hard-to-figure-out southpaw Antonio Bastard, Rodriquez might still have a remote shot as a lefty specialist with a Major League team, especially since left-handed throwers have suddenly become a scarce commodity in the upper levels of the Phillies system.

If there’s a young player who you don’t see listed on today’s blog, please check back with some of our recent blog entries to find more on your favorite player(s).

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Also, if you want to hear more baseball talk and rub elbows with some real “boys” of summer, we invite you to come out to Buffalo Wild Wings on Grape Street in Whitehall (PA) for this Thursday’s “RCN Sports Talk Gets Wild” show starting at 7pm.  Our guests will be past, present and future members of the Coplay baseball sports community,  Select show topics include a discussion of the late, great Sam Balliet, the memories of the stadium named in his honor and a look at the current players who play there, along with future baseball stars.

Go to the “Gets Wild” page here on the RCN-TV website, click on the appropriate link for that evening’s show/charity and 10-percent of your total bill will be donated to the Dream Come True organization.

We’d love to see you there!

One of the many “guarantees” in my life is that my co-hosting partner of the “RCN SportsTalk” show, Joseph Lynnwood Craig, is constantly harassing me about things he wants…more airtime, bigger coffee mugs, softer cushions for his chair, etc.  One of his regular complaints each summer is that he doesn’t get many opportunities to write an entry on the “SportsTalk Shop” blog, especially, when I go on vacation.

Each year, I give him an opportunity to do this, with the following specifications:

• Please type it
• Please keep it to 8-12 paragraphs
• Please have it ready to go a few days before I leave for my vacation

Each year, he fails to follow all three requests.

Instead, he recently handed me a rolled-up stack of penmanship paper, with his long, hand-written and ink-stained rants about a broad and an incredibly vague topic.  His commentary, he insists, will flood my mailbox with positive support for his point of view.  Then, he promises, the public will demand he scribes even more entries during the year.

Well, now’s your chance to prove him right!

This week, we bring you a taste of Joe’s sports psyche and his thoughts on the recent transactions of his beloved Philadelphia Eagles.  We hope you enjoy the opportunity to hear Mr. Craig’s observations and opinions.  And now, from the “Scrolls of Craig” (and I do literally mean scrolls), here are Joe’s thoughts (with a literary assist from former sports writer Jack Logic) on the recent actions, missteps and future predictions of the Philadelphia Eagles (abridged version).
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The four major professional sports teams in Philadelphia have each taken many different routes in different season.  While the Eagles have had some success in recent years, there have been more disappointments than happy moments surrounding this team over the last few seasons.

After sticking with Head Coach Andy Reid from 1999-2012, (some would argue that was too long a tenure), Eagles Owner Jeffrey Lurie went in a completely different direction.  Reid was a life-long NFL-er, while studying under the coaching tenure and “Old School” mentality of Mike Holmgren.  Reid was very conservative in many ways and would try not to rock the boat very often.  He was like his successor, Chip Kelly, in that he was quite stubborn, but he would rarely try to make a giant splash.

Instead, usually made “safer” player personnel changes to his lineup.  Terrell Owens was, of course, a major exception to this theory, and his time in Philly was cut short.

With Kelly, Lurie went in completely opposite direction.  Kelly had no experience in the NFL as a coach or a player.  He had a radically different approach to many things and was a very polarizing person in the city of Philadelphia.  We would find out later that he seemed to relish developing an “us-versus-them” community and, as time when on, more people found themselves as an outsider in the “Kelly World.”

The Eagles thought they were on the right track when Kelly was hired in 2013.  His Eagles had a 10-6 record and went to the playoffs in Kelly’s first year.  Not many coaches in NFL history had the kind of success Chip had in his first experience as an NFL head coach.

In his second season, Kelly’s team repeated that level of success by once again winning ten games but failed to make the playoffs in an all-out power struggle in the NFC East.

That offseason was a time for change.

Between Kelly, team General Manager Howie Roseman and Owner Jeffrey Lurie, there was a front office shake-up.  Lurie handed the keys to his organization over to Kelly and put long-time front office man Roseman was put on the back burner.

As the Eagles new “GM,” Kelly made a number of controversial moves.  His first and only year as the man in charge of player personnel for the Eagles ended up being one of the worst front office men in Philadelphia pro sports history.  Kelly traded popular and proven players—and some that he clearly did not see eye-to-eye with along with the controversial decision to unload this year’s second round draft pick and, in return, received injured players or players who were not successful for a long period of time.

The two moves that angered Eagles fans (and probably the owner) the most, was the trading of Shady McCoy to the Buffalo Bills for Kiko Alonzo.  They also let the popular wide receiver Jeremy Maclin leave to go join former Eagles Head Coach Andy Reid and received nothing in return for him.

These off-season moves prompted Lurie to fire Chip Kelly before the 2015 season had ended.  Kelly was let go after a 6-9 record and had his office cleared out before the Birds played their final game of that year.

Going forward, the Eagles brought back the former GM Roseman to retake the position he previously had, in charge of the player personnel decisions.  Roseman, by all accounts, has had a good offseason, in my opinion.  Through free agency, trades and the draft, Roseman has plugged many of the holes that Kelly had left behind.

In 2016, the Eagles should challenge for the NFC East division title.  With a veteran cast and the hiring of new Head Coach Doug Peterson (who was mentored by Reid), the team will return to the playoffs.  They also have two new coordinators.  Jim Schwartz will head-up the defense and Frank Reich will oversee the offense.

As for 2017, the Eagles will have started the Carson Wentz Era as he was selected with the second overall pick in this past summer’s draft.  The team will once again return to glory.
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Don’t forget, Joe would love to get some responses for this week’s blog entry, so please send us your thoughts via email (RCNSportsTalk@rcn.com) and let us know if you’d like Mr. Craig’s to participate more often on our weekly blogs.  Also, be sure to hear Joe’s opinions each week on the live edition of “SportsTalk” every Thursday at 7 pm and on our podcasts.

Each December both here at the “SportsTalk Shop” and on our TV show, “SportsTalk”, panelists and I make some sports-based predictions for the new year.  I don’t get caught up in the prediction business ordinarily, but it’s become a bit of a tradition around the holidays to make a couple bold statements to go along with resolutions (of which I don’t do nearly as well).

While some sports prognosticators love to boast about how accurate they are with their futuristic insights, I make it a habit of going back and making public my predictions, and owning up to any that don’t come true.  (I’d also like to take a miniscule amount of credit for the ones that work out—I’m owed at least as much, right?)

Since we’re over the halfway point through the calendar year, and before we start ramping up our fall football coverage (which will be bigger and better than ever before!), I think I should take a peek at how some of my predictions are holding up and make myself accountable for any gaffes on my part.

Philly pro sports teams will win LESS games in 2016
The 2015-16 76ers certainly lived up to their end of my prediction.  Aside from forcing out the team’s General Manager, Sam Hinkie, they were near perfect in their quest for futility, reaching new levels of bad play, even with pressure from Jerry Colangelo (and the league office?) to try to improve.

My prediction will take a hit with the idea that the Sixers will try to go after some more recognizable free agency in all probability this offseason.  They might also win a few more games than expected if they select Brandon Ingram with the first pick in this month’s NBA Draft.  Selecting Ingram would make the team better—short-term—than if they select Ben Simmons or even draft down a few spots, but I don’t see that much improvement in November and December and still believe they’ll ring up more losses in the 2016 calendar year than they lost in 2015 (but the future is very bright for 2017).

I knew the Flyers were going to be improved, but had no idea that they would be as exciting to watch this past season as they were, to say nothing about making the playoffs and having a few good moments against the Capitals before losing to Washington in the first round of the NHL playoffs.  This team ramped up the speed of its rebuild and, with a few tweaks, will be a middle-of-the-pack playoff team, in not better, for next season.

The Phillies also have surprised me with better than average starting pitching, and the bullpen overcame a woeful start to the season and has pitched better, helping the team to a slightly better record than I had anticipated.  This, despite a woeful offense that had seven position players on the roster hitting below .200 after the first month of the season.

However, the Phillies fell (like a plummeting cannon ball) back to Earth hard and fast during the month of May and show very little signs of making a push to get back above, or probably even near, .500 this summer.

With less than half of the Major League baseball season remaining—which will still probably have more losses than wins, and an Eagles team in, at the very least, a retooling stage following the car wreck of the Chip Kelly Era, I’d say I still have a good chance at nailing this prediction.

The Wizards, Nationals AND Redskins – will have even greater success in 2016
With over half of the MLB season and the entire NFL season yet to come (and I’m looking pretty good for both of these teams), we only have the Wizards to look at.  And on the prediction that they would have a better 2016…I admit I put up a major “airball.”

Off a second-round playoff appearance and loss to a high-quality team, I thought the Wizards could improve and—with the right match-up–the Wiz could actually advance a round further.  However, not only did they take took a major step back in win total, they also didn’t qualify for the post-season, ushering in a quick replacement at the helm by bringing in Scott Brooks (formerly of Oklahoma City) as a new head coach.

Rumors of discontent and players “trading barbs” (according to the Washington CBS sports radio station) spread wildly as they limped home to close out the regular season out of the playoffs.  There are different reports as far as remaining free agent possibilities and other speculation about what direction the team could go in.  Also, players are a little less secure than this time a year ago and the forecast is more ambiguous as far as how good this team will be for the upcoming season, even with one of the most exciting, yet underrated players, in John Wall back on board.  I’ll stick to my guns and say they make a jump for the 2016-17 campaign.

Notice, I did NOT include the Capitals in this mix.  Their back-to-back premature failings in the playoffs have me worried about their future, and I’ll also continue to say (as I did following their playoff exit) that they might actually take a step back in the upcoming year.

2016 will be a successful District XI Wrestling season
I have never claimed to be a wrestling expert, but the fact that we had so many talented underclassmen returning for the 2015-16 wrestling season made it easy for me to say that the Lehigh Valley would have tremendous success at the state tournament in Hershey.

Not only did Bethlehem Catholic come away with convincing (mostly dominating) performances in the team PIAA competitions, but they accomplished this goal against the best the state of Pennsylvania had to offer, by competing in the 3A classifications (as critics had ask for, for a number of seasons).

Individually, District XI featured eight gold medalists and 20 overall medal winners.  Special props go out to Palisades’ Tyler Marsh, the lone wrestler in the RCN viewing area to receive the top scholar athlete award.

For an area that has had a long tradition of great wrestling success, it was a tremendous season all the way around for many different schools and I can unequivocally chalk this one up as one I got correct.

Stay tuned for more sports conversations coming up and don’t forget to check back later in the year as I take a look at the rest of my predictions to see how I fared.

When I first saw the Easton girls team play in an early summer league game, I was this close (imagine my fingers about an inch apart) to saying that they were unequivocally the “team to beat” for the upcoming scholastic season–only to see them lose to Nazareth the next day.

Since then I’ve seen the Blue Eagles play a few times, including capturing their second “Allentown Throwdown” Championship in the last three years.  This is a very special team.  This year’s Nazareth squad seems even deeper than some of the previously successful Blue Eagles teams that brought home various titles. They run their offense through multiple people, and have several different options and players who can score at different spots on the floor.  They have people who demand the basketball at appropriate times and the team plays as aggressive a defense (usually a 2-3 zone) as I’ve seen any summer basketball team play.

Oh, and I forgot to mention, they have the area’s best basketball player in Tessa Brugler, who recently committed to Division-I Bucknell?

This is going to be a fun girls basketball winter season, if the summertime play is any indication. Forget Batman V. Superman, Black Widow against Scarlet Witch, or any other “metahuman” analogy you can tie in with this summer’s box office options.  Nazareth versus Easton is going to be a war.  But as I overhead one Nazareth player astutely mention as she walked off the court after being named champions:  “Now there’s REALLY a big target on our backs!”

This is very much true, given that Easton will not be the Eagles’ only formidable foe with their own Division I caliber athletes and an outstanding supporting cast.

Among the challengers include Parkland, Northampton, Liberty, Bethlehem Catholic, Whitehall and others.

Among the key performances this summer was a strong showing by the Freedom girls basketball team.  The Lady Pats made their debut in the Holy Family Tournament—which also featured annual powerhouse Central Catholic.   The Patriots won six of its 10 tourney games, beating several teams that have had state playoff successes.  The Patriots were the last Lehigh Valley team standing in this year’s competition, not to mention holding its own in other tournament action this summer against strong programs.

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As far as Colonial League girls teams I’ve seen this summer, the one that impressed me the most was Northwestern, followed closely by Notre Dame.

I didn’t get a chance to see the league’s and defending District XI 3A Champion Southern Lehigh, but judging by some of the scores I’ve seen, they must be without some of their key players as they sometimes sustained more losses in one day than they did all of last year–and they’re returning nearly everyone!  If any team does have a chance during the winter to upset the Spartans, I’d look for the Tigers and Crusaders to be among the best bets.

One other note: The Catasauqua girls basketball team had an interesting summer schedule. Despite still being one of the smallest schools in the PIAA’s new classifications (2A), the up and coming Rough Riders were frequently matched against teams from the 4A, 5A and even 6 A (the largest) classifications.

Still, Catty fared well and showed that they continue to make improvements and could challenge for a playoff spot this winter.

We’ll have more summertime basketball action coming your way on RCN-TV next week, as we broadcast the annual Catasauqua “Tournament of Champions.”  Check back to the RCN-TV website for our broadcast schedule.

Last week here at “The Shop,” we examined the biggest summer hoops teams and tournaments in the Washington, DC and Eastern Pennsylvania regions.  This week, we focus on more of the underrated storylines to our local scholastic basketball action this summer.

Northampton &  Pocono Mountain West
Perhaps no single game I’ve seen this summer was more physical than when these two EPC teams squared off against each other.  I counted at least four times when players went down hard on the concrete in order to secure a loose ball in a contest eventually won by PMW.

Northampton got a lift this summer when Aiden Ellwood announced he was going to be returning to the Konkrete Kids after leaving Central Catholic, but he was not available for the local summer tournaments.  Nevertheless, Northampton has played well this year and should benefit from having some nice size upfront and, as they’ve shown both this summer and over the last year, a lot of gritty players.

Pocono Mountain West sometimes gets overshadowed by Lehigh Valley teams, but they are definitely on a short list of the top teams in the district.  They play with a brand of quickness and athleticism that not many other teams in the area can showcase.  They had some personnel issues at the end of last season, but if they can keep everyone focused, there’s no reason they can’t translate their summertime success (they’ve already one won summer tournament) into winter championship titles

Bangor & Freedom
These two teams played each other last Saturday evening in an entertaining matchup and both schools have had some very impressive summers thus far.

The Slaters’ overall sports programs’ successes in 2016 might just be THE Lehigh Valley’s sport story of the year—and a lion’s share of their accomplishments belong to the boys basketball team.

Bangor is proving that life without Michael Martino (the Slaters top scoring point guard in the school’s history) won’t be as tough a transition as some might have suspected.  Bron Holland’s teams have posted a number of impressive performances this summer, including over EPC foes, and players like Reece Jones (who had some stellar games last winter) are determined to carry on the Slaters’ new tradition of excellence.

As far as the Patriots, this summer’s team might have been the most underrated group of kids I’ve seen.  They have not gotten deep into much “final day” of summer tournament action (so far) and they will most definitely be picked behind at least Liberty in their EPC division come late fall.  However, the Freedom players really impressed me with their pose over the last few weekends and look like a scrappy bunch that can’t be overlooked by anyone in their conference.

I think if they can avoid some of the personnel issues that plagued them during key stretches of the 2015-16 scholastic season, they can make a run and qualify for at least a district playoff berth this winter.

Allentown Central Catholic
Rumors of the Vikings going through a rebuilding year have been greatly overblown after Central Catholic lost Zay Jenning to graduation and a few more players due to transfers.

Central Catholic not only had perhaps the biggest team I’ve seen this number (in terms of number of players–18 to be exact) but have a very nice blend of size, speed, ball handlers and outside shooters.  Plus, they have several returning players that have experience in big game situations and they’ve look to continue their ability to play lock-down defense–something that was very apparent in most of their second half games last winter.

NOTRE DAME
If Freedom is a dark horse in the EPC, then a team you should not underestimate is Notre Dame-Green Pond.  They battled a few tough opponents over the last few weekends including Central Catholic.

From what I’ve seen—and I’m speaking strictly on intensity—they were second only to Bangor among the Colonial League teams I had the chance to watch this month.  They’re always on the pre-season list as a probable playoff team, despite not getting to the title game a year ago, but I wouldn’t forget about them when looking to make prognostications for the 2017 campaign.

Salisbury
I think if there’s an award for coaches who yelled “defense” this summer—it would have to go to Salisbury Head Coach Jason Weaver.  As usual, he had his team operating at a breakneck pace—usually matched up against schools that have a much higher enrollment number—and has kept the intensity on all month.

It seems like they did have difficulty in the transition game against a few teams (including a surprisingly strong Souderton team), but if history is any indication (along with the talent they have returning this winter), the Falcons will once again get off to a great start in December and will be one of a handful of teams competing for a Colonial League championship.

*****

Fans of girls hoops…don’t despair.  We’ll have news and insights on some of the top ladies’ teams’ performances in the next installment of the “SportsTalk Shop.”

You can also hear more insights on summer league hoops and other sports issues by checking out last week’s “SportsTalk” podcast.

Last but not least, be sure to come out to a special “SportsTalk Gets Wild” this Thursday at Whitehall’s Buffalo Wild Wings (on Grape Street in front of the Whitehall Mall)—an event to raise money for the Miller Keystone Blood Center.   The show will feature the State Champion Parkland Girls Volleyball team, along with a special guest to talk about an event Parkland football fans will want to know more about coming up this fall.  You can learn more about this event, as well as going to http://rcn.com/atvn/bww-sportstalk-2016, click on the “Miller Keystone Blood Center” link for the July 21^st event.  Then print the “dine-and-donate” flyer and bring it with you to the program to help raise money for our local charity.

Summertime basketball has really exploded in the RCN viewing area over recent years, with rules expanding to make it more “coach friendly” (most of the time) and to increase the exposure of young athletes in both the Washington and Eastern Pennsylvania regions.

Some of the best teams in the country come into the Lehigh Valley, Philadelphia and the DMV area, and many players in these areas get to showcase their talents.  As we’ve seen over the last few years, players (Victor Oladipo, Darrun Hilliard, and others) pave ways for themselves that could lead to one day playing in the NBA.

Over the next couple weeks we’ll take a look at some of the tournament action in the RCN viewing area, along with news on the players and teams that we cover on ‘RCN SportsTalk.’

Goodman Basketball
In the DMV region, Goodman Basketball has been a long-standing tradition that was in danger of dying out a few years ago, but has come back with a vengeance and bigger than ever before.  A number of talented athletes each year both participate (and later return for) this event each summer.

Here’s a video detailing more of this year’s event and the history of the Goodman tourney…

Bonner Prendergast
The team looked very solid with double-digit wins over Phillipsburg and Berks Catholic recently, while playing without its best player.  Lane Christian and Mike Perralta were key players in several games this past weekend, but they have a very well balanced team and could be a player in this winter’s district playoffs.

Bonner Prendergast was one of just eight teams this weekend at Cedar Beach (Allentown) that made it to the final day of the tournament with an undefeated record.

Lincoln Leadership
This summer was actually my first chance to see this team in person—and they did not disappoint.  Although they did not make it to the later rounds of some of the Lehigh Valley’s tournament so far (they have been one of the smallest schools in the summer leagues), they have a nice team with good numbers and played very scrappy basketball each time I saw them.

Liberty
Last year around this time I remarked how impressed I was with gritty Hurricane players like Cam Hoffman, Alex Serrano and company.  They had an impressive showing in their games this past weekend, making it through to the morning of the final day without suffering a loss.  With several weeks remaining in different summer leagues and tournaments, Liberty should be a fun team to watch the rest of the summer, not to mention be fierce competition for Allen and Parkland for top spots in the EPC this winter.

Nazareth
While Nazareth will be going through a retooling effort—at least this summer—after losing so many key parts of their team, an under-the-radar player to keep an eye on might be Mayo Raman.  In a game versus Saucon Valley he came up big in pressure situations—scoring 12 points in the second half of that game and hitting a clutch “3” to send the game to overtime.

We’ll have more high school summer basketball talk and insights on this Thursday’s “RCN SportsTalk” program (live, 7pm on RCN-TV) and next week here at the “SportsTalk Shop.”

I try to maintain a “level head” when forming my sports opinions.  When fans rush from one extreme to the another (eg.,remember fans proclaiming the Eagles were going to the Super Bowl last year?), I try to take a step back and examine things objectively from all sides.

But…

I must admit, when the rumors were coming in hot and heavy for the 76ers to be “major dealers” (per ESPN) come the night of the NBA Draft, I was getting exciting for some major shake-ups and perhaps, finally, some resolution as to what this team will do with all the “bigs” they have in their front court.

So, when the team didn’t do anything – which slightly overshadowed the fact that they got the best player available in the country in Ben Simmons – I was initially disappointed with the organization.  But, as some time passed, I felt good about the team’s draft night and think we actually learned a few important facts about the Sixers and how the “Colangelo Era” will proceed through this rebuilding process.

BRYAN COLANGELO IS NOT HOWIE ROSEMAN
Not that any of Roseman’s moves this off-season are currently viewed as a “bad” move, but Roseman clearly had Chip Kelly issues and expediently removed all traces of Kelly’s influence with the Eagles following Chip’s departure.  Clearly, the Colangelos and Sam Hinkie could not co-exist, but I credit both Jerry and Bryan Colangelo for not stubbornly trying to undo everything that Hinkie tried to establish—just to prove themselves to the fan base.

I did start to get nervous when the rumors indicated the 76ers might deal Jahlil Okafor AND Nerlens Noel AND the 24^th AND the 26^th picks in the draft.  With a guard-heavy draft coming up, and the team owning three first-round picks over the next two years, there was no need to unload everything that Hinkie had built up just to make a deal for the third pick in this year’s draft.

NERLENS NOEL MIGHT HAVE MORE VALUE THAN WE EXPECTED
IF the 76ers were going to make a move to get the third pick in last week’s draft, I was perfectly OK giving up Noel for a potential starting guard (aka Kris Dunn).  But it seems that there was more interest in Noel than Okafor, which might be the reason the Sixers chose to hold on to both players.

Think about this…if you are the Sixers and Joel Embiid is healthy (or, if you’re any other team and already have an established starting center), which player would you rather have?

Noel is a shot-blocking/rim-protector guy who could back up Embiid and maybe play a little “four” against certain lineups.  And, IF Simmons turns out to be a major star, and IF Embiid is as good as some envision, wouldn’t Noel be a better complement than Okafor, who’s a major scorer, with not much defense, who can only play the five spot on the floor?

Since the Sixers are not going to win a championship next year (and I still have major issues regarding Embiid’s health), perhaps it was wise to hold onto Noel and see what shakes out, and wait until next year’s draft (or free agency) before deciding on a back court pairing to build your team around.

HOW MUCH VALUE DOES OKAFOR REALLY HAVE?
Before the draft, everyone, including me, seemed to think that trading Okafor would automatically get you the third best pick in the draft.  After all, the Celtics desperately needed a big man, and Okafor seemingly would have been a great fit.  But at the end of the day, Dunn fell to the fifth spot, meaning, if the Sixers were as aggressive in their talks as reported, two other teams other than Boston would have had an opportunity to pick up Okafor as an unproved talent…and passed.

High-quality guards were also selected at the sixth and seventh spots—which is interesting since CBS Sports reported before the draft that Philadelphia was very aggressively looking to move up and select a second “top eight” pick, but elected not to do so at the end of the day.

I still think he’s a valuable piece to the 76ers moving forward—mainly because I have very little confidence that Embiid will ever be the player most hope he’ll be (too many bad Jeff Ruland nightmares, perhaps, still fresh in my memory).   If you traded Okafor before knowing if Embiid can play, you might suddenly go from having too many scoring options at the center position to very little.

The best thing that could happen is that Embiid shows he’s healthy this year, but Okafor still gets enough minutes and takes a big step forward in developing his game during the 2016-17 campaign. If (there’s that word again) he increases his value,  a playoff-bound/post-player-starved team over pays to give you more than you would have acquired than by moving him this summer.

WHO’S DEFENDING WHO?
It was strongly hinted at after the draft that Simmons, who might be the team’s “point forward,” might be guarding other teams’ power forward, which brings us to another huge question regarding having all these post players in the first place…

Defense!

For argument’s sake, say Embiid is healthy, Dario Saric decides to play for the 76ers this year and no other forward/centers are moved.  Your potential “first eight in the rotation” could look something like this:
Ish Smith
Isaiah Canaan
Nik Stauskas
Ben Simmons
Dario Saric
Nerlens Noel
Jahlil Okafor
Joel Embiid

Question…who, among all these players, would guard the opposing team’s small forward?  Considering some of the league’s most dominating players play that position, it’s a question that probably won’t be answered this season (barring a significant move).  But developing some defensive stalwarts (in addition to another point guard, an outstanding long-range shooting guard, et al) have to be major priorities as you move forward with this rebuilding effort.

All in all, I think the 76ers make all the right decisions with this year’s draft.  I’m expecting some mid-level free agents to be added to the mix to help develop the younger players (both on and off the court) and the team should add more wins and have more interesting storylines to watch for this winter.

Put the Kris Dunn talk (and guards of a similar ilk) behind you–for now–and try to concentrate on taking the next “baby steps” as this process inches forward towards a better, brighter 2018 season.

Or 2019 … or 2020.

PROGRAMMING NOTE:   NBA & 76ers Beat Writer Tom Moore (Caulkins Media) will be joining us on this Thursday’s “RCN SportsTalk” (live at 7pm, RCN-TV) to give his insights on the this year’s NBA draft.  The show will also be available via our podcast (rcn.com/atvn/sports-talk) on Friday.

I am very fortunate to be part of a live, interactive show, so that we get instant feedback from sports viewers–both on sports issues as they are happening and also about our “SportsTalk” program.  I get some great comments, questions and opinions from our viewers and they never fail to amaze me with their creativity with different topics and acuteness to the things we do on the air.  I thought it would be fun to post some of the messages that I receive from our audience.

Below are several emails I’ve received over the last few months (along with my thoughts)  regarding still-relevant sports topics.

Q:  Do you think the Phillies can contend this fall?
A:  Probably the most asked-sports question I’ve gotten this baseball season.  If I thought the Phillies were legitimate playoff contenders, I would be very concerned about the teams’ hitting—especially the lack of power.  They would probably need a big-time power hitter for the clean-up spot in the batting order, a front-of-the-rotation pitcher, and a closer with a proven track record for closing in big time situations.

Because I DON’T believe they have more than an outside chance of getting the last wild card spot, I hope the Phillies don’t look to add any of these pieces—with the exception of picking up a player with no more than one year remaining on his contract.  The Phillies can afford to add a large salary through 2017, but to add an older name (like a Ryan Braun-type) will just block the way for a possible future superstar (eg., Nick Williams, Dylan Cozens, et al) and that doesn’t make sense to me at this point.

Q:  What did you think of Washington HS basketball this season?
A:  It impressed, as it always has.  RCN broadcast a few high school games a number of years ago in the DMV region, most notably the “City Series” Championship, which, that year, featured Ballou versus DeMatha.  A few of those players (the biggest name was Victor Oladipo), went pro, and everyone on the court that day was playing above the rim, and at a level that many schools elsewhere simply cannot match.

I think HD Woodson’s undefeated season was one of the top scholastic sports stories in the RCN viewing area—if not the entire country—and it was our pleasure to feature their team highlights on a number of our “SportsTalk” shows this past season.

Q:  Who’ll win the NFC East this fall?
A:  Teasingly, I asked that question of our NFL beat writers on our show following the NFL Draft—knowing full well any prediction could very easily change between April and the start of the season.

But, since I was asked (and reserving the right to change my mind after training camp), let’s go with:

• Redskins
• Cowboys
• Eagles
• Giants

Q:  Do you and Joe Craig really argue as much in person as you do on TV?
A:  Probably more.

Q:  What do you think of the PIAA’s decision to go to six classifications?
A:  I personally am reserving judgment on this, for at least a few years.  I know some people are openly despising it, and I’m afraid others will start complaining instantly once issues/problems pop up.  I think there are some exceptionally bright people who are 100% in favor of this, so I’m willing to wait and see how it shakes out over time.

I do know it’s going to create a lot of nightmares for many of us in the media as far as trying to cover the increase in playoff games.  In past years we tried to preview ALL of the boys AND GIRLS basketball league and district playoff games—barely getting everything in the allotted time on “SportsTalk” (not to mention, all the time it takes to prepare, getting up to speed on teams many of us have not seen all year long).  This will be a challenging school year coming up, getting use to the new alignments, and it will not be an easy transition.  But, again, I’m taking a cautious, but hopeful, outlook.

Q:  How ‘bout them Flyers?
A:  I got this email after their miracle finish to the regular season, and I was thrilled that the team not only make a return to the playoffs this year, but they did it with a younger and more passionate brand of hockey that I hadn’t seen in the Delaware Valley in a few years.

The fact that they have so many people coming back, along with some talent coming up through the pipeline, should make die-hard followers for the Broad Street Bullies very happy for some time to come.

Feel free to send your questions…and opinions…to us via email at rcnsportstalk@rcn.com & tune in to our live “SportsTalk” program and/or hear our podcasts at rcn.com/atvn/sports-talk

Also, you can see our show in person this Thursday at the Buffalo Wild Wings on Grape Street in Whitehall, PA for another live, on-location edition of “SportsTalk Gets Wild,” to benefit the American Cancer Society – Relay for Life .  Our special guest will be long-time/retiring Wilson Area Head Basketball Coach Bob Frankenfield and a couple of his long-time friends and coaching assistants.