Maybe it was the lack of snow or the warmer-than-normal temperatures over the last month, but it is really hard to believe we are at the halfway point of the scholastic basketball season.  Here’s three Eastern Pennsylvania Conference-related observations from the first half of the winter sports campaign.

Parkland looks even better than last year

They not only have practically the same team back from a year ago, but they have more depth and can beat you in more ways than they did during last season’s run to the state playoffs.  They barely missed a beat without some of their football players on board to start the season—giving the “reserves” an extended varsity experience.  However, the returning players seem even more determined than a year ago, and I don’t think anything less than a state title game is what they are setting their sights on.

The only question might be what teams they’ll face—and when—in the PIAA tournament.  There’ll be several of the high-octane offenses from Philadelphia that love to push the tempo and Parkland doesn’t get a whole lot of chances to see that from teams in the Lehigh Valley—not to the extent of the Philly teams.  However, the team has gotten some significant tests early (and a couple more still to come before states).   I would be surprised if the seniors refuse to take every opportunity to match the football team’s success, and it certainly looks like they have the weapons to go much deeper into the state playoffs.

Central’s coming on strong
I saw Central Catholic a few times in December, and, they looked like a young team that had a ton of potential, and, after going through some growing pains, they would eventually have great success.

I’m not sure if Santa granted the Vikings a flash forward to their learning curve, but in the times I’ve seen them since Christmas, it seems like the younger players are not only buying into the team-defense approach, but they are becoming much more comfortable playing—and scoring—together on the court.  I think some of the Class 3A teams were hoping Central Catholic might have to wait until next year to once again be considered the favorite in the District XI playoffs, but the way the Vikings have been playing the last few weeks, I think they have a great chance at being in the EPC playoffs as well as being the ‘team-to-beat’ in their district classification.

Freedom as a dark horse?
There are some interesting teams in the “Steel” division of the EPC—and probably several of those teams could make the playoffs with a quality run over the next few weeks.  If I had to pick one of them to surprise area basketball fans over the next month, I’m leaning toward Freedom.

They have one of the area’s best head coaches (Joe Stellato), a great coaching staff, and some really good athletes.  On paper, they may not be the best team, but they’ve had some nice wins and have been “in” most of their losses.  Not many people are picking the Patriots to do much in the post-season, but of all the teams not directly in the area’s media spotlight, I think Freedom might be one team to make some noise over the next month.

Allen and Whitehall were also featured on RCN-TV recently and are two more teams that have played well this season.  With a number of talented teams, the Canaries, Zephyrs and a few other teams all very well could contend in the playoffs this February.  Also, Bethlehem Catholic was a team to watch on our basketball preview show back in December, and they have done very little to disappoint so far.

We’ll have more opinions and video highlights of other high school sports teams, in addition to wrestling videos, coming up over the next several weeks here at the “SportsTalk Shop.”

Also, keep checking back to the RCN-TV website for our schedule the latest games to be broadcast on RCN-TV and feel free to send your sports comments and opinions to us at RCNSporsTalk@rcn.com

While I always enjoy an extended vacation and quality time at home with my family during the holidays, I was excited to get back into the local high school basketball scene this past week and to talk with some of the local players, coaches and media members about the first few weeks of the hoops season.

There are several interesting storylines developing in the District XI region.  Here are three of note:

1) Salisbury is good—AGAIN…
I honestly don’t know if there’s a more underrated head basketball coach than Jason Weaver…and a more underrated program than his Salisbury basketball team.  We’ve been touting Weaver and his programs for years on both the TV edition of “SportsTalk” and on this blog.  Every season he has a winning team—and most years he loses most (all?) of his entire core of players to graduation, only to come back the following year and find success.  And not only do his teams rebuild during the offseason and have good years—but they always play well out of the game—something truly extraordinary when you’re bringing in nearly a whole new set of starters most seasons.

They’re coming off a huge win over previously undefeated Bangor (a 4A school) and have a few other 4A-level teams on its non-conference schedule over the next few weeks.  Despite not getting much hype, the Falcons look like they will “surprise” people again in February, when they most likely will play deep in the league and district playoff rounds.

2) …and so are a number of other Colonial League teams.
Salisbury does not own a monopoly on quality basketball play in the Colonial League this winter.  Bangor and Southern Lehigh have just one league loss—both losing its first Colonial game of the year last week (both losses to Salisbury).  Both teams are well-balanced and led by incredibly knowledgeable head coaches, and both the Slaters and the Spartans had battle-tested contests one year ago, which will help them come crunch time(s) this winter.

Also, don’t count out the teams that got a late start due to their school’s football team playing late into the fall.  Saucon Valley, Notre Dame and Catasauqua all posted wins over quality opponents last weekend, and all three teams have climbed back above .500 in league play.

Once more, there’s some interesting head-to-head battles over the next few weeks, which include (but are not limited to):

Jan. 13
Southern Lehigh at Bangor
Catty at Saucon Valley
Northwestern at Notre Dame-GP

Jan. 15 (and again on Jan. 25)
Saucon Valley at Notre Dame-GP

Jan. 22
Saucon Valley at Bangor (on RCN-TV)
Southern Lehigh at Catty

Jan. 25
Salisbury at Notre Dame-GP

Jan. 26
Saucon Valley at Salisbury

Jan. 28
Catty at Notre Dame
Southern Lehigh at Saucon Valley

Feel free to check out the Colonial League’s website  for the latest league news, scores and schedules.

Don’t forget, RCN-TV is scheduled to broadcast the Colonial League semifinals as well as the boys and girls championship games.  Keep checking back to the RCN-TV website for scheduling updates!

3) Glovas returns!
After an outstanding playing career at DeSales University and becoming one of the schools’ all-time top scorers, Sondrine Glovas has returned to Wilson High School to continue her career as the head coach of the same Warriors program that she once played for.  In addition to a tremendous student-athlete career and being a standout player in a high quality collegiate program, Glovas benefitted from legendary Bulldogs Head Coach Fred Richter and his outstanding staff in preparing her to take over at her alma mater.

Glovas’ Warriors have gotten off to a good start and have their targets set on qualifying for a District XI playoff appearance this winter.

Keep checking back here at the “SportsTalk Shop” for more winter sports updates and news and features on teams and players in the RCN viewing area.  Next week we’ll put the spotlight on our local wrestling teams with video highlights and insights for next week’s blog entry.  We’ll also be talking wrestling on this Thursday’s “RCN SportsTalk” show (live, 7-8pm on RCN-TV) and featuring long-time wrestling Head Coach Dave Crowell and members of the Nazareth wrestling team, along with a feature on the Bangor wrestling program.  The podcast of the show will also be available on Friday and can be found at rcn.com/atvn/sports-talk.

Finally, a big “THANK YOU” to all the people who voted for and watched the “Best of RCN-TV” marathon on New Year’s Day.  The event was a huge hit and while the RCN marketing team developed the idea and deserve all the credit, I’d like to think “RCN SportsTalk” had a tiny role in the outcome, as one of our programs—“NFL Draft Preview”—was one of the shows selected as the “best of” for 2015.  Again, thanks for voting for all of our RCN-TV programs and we are already planning on another NFL draft-oriented preview show once again in 2016.

We had a chance last week to address some of the top stories in 2015.  We’ll identify one more “award” here in this week’s blog entry along with a few predictions I’d like to make for the new year (if you read my blog last year, you’ll remember that I do hold myself accountable and will correctly identify if I get my predictions right or wrong!)

Best Story of 2015:  Four District XI State Championship teams in a single “sports season”
There have been some tremendous state champions over the years, but there has also been a number of sports seasons in which no team from the Lehigh Valley  team ends their season with state gold medal.  However, this past spring, there were not one, or two, or three, but FOUR different teams that captured a PIAA title (this doesn’t include individual honors for tennis and track-and-field).  Parkland boys volleyball team, the Parkland and Bethlehem Catholic softball teams and the Moravian Academy tennis teams all won high school’s biggest prize.  We had the pleasure of hearing the stories of all of those teams on “SportsTalk” this summer—each one with its share of challenges en route to the championship.  Just to have one representative from an area that is dwarfed in school enrollment numbers by the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh schools is pretty impressive, but it was tremendous to have four outstanding programs from the Lehigh Valley viewing area win state gold, all within a few weeks of each other.

Now, as promised, some predictions for 2016:

1. Philly pro sports teams will win LESS games in 2016

Wait, they’ll win less games.  Is that even possible?

Well consider this…

The Eagles are going to have to rebuild and the NFC “Least” cannot possibly be worse, and this fall’s schedule wasn’t really all that tough to begin with, so their level of competition will be tougher next year.  The Birds will need at least one year to turn around the mess that Chip Kelly has left behind.  Plus, they desperately need to find value in a draft—one that was depleted thanks to the Sam Bradford trade.  Plus, with the 13^th overall pick they’re not going to find a front-line premiere position player.  Add in the fact that some of your top players will be a year older and you still have to revamp the offensive line, receiving corps, a couple defensive updates and…oh, yeah, decide on a quarterback.  Yeah, I don’t think an increase in the win total is likely, much less a playoff berth for the Eagles in 2016.

The Phillies will be starting the season without some very talented names from last year’s team, among them Chase Utley, Cole Hamels, Ken Giles, an optimist’s version of Aaron Harang (remember how good he was the first half of the year?)  Plus, Ryan Howard, Carlos Ruiz and other veterans are a year older—with slower bat speeds and a higher percentage of injury.  I like the team’s strategy of going after some “reclamation projects” and “diamond in the rough” gambles for next year—hoping to get a player or two you can hold onto until the younger, blue-chip prospects get here in 2017.  But, while the youngsters will be fun to watch, the Phillies will probably challenge their 99-loss season again in ‘16.

The Flyers have been playing better of late, but when I consult with the hockey experts I know, they’re not real thrilled with the current crop of players, nor are they optimistic  about a fast rebound in 2016.

The 76ers are already surpassing last year’s record of mediocrity and won’t win a ton of games the rest of this season to surpass last year’s level of mediocrity.  Next year’s highly important draft picks?  Even if they do hit the jackpot and are able to land a few HUGE names, they won’t be able to gel competently for the first few months.  We’ll find out if the “Hinkie plan” is a success in 2017 or 2018, but pro basketball fans will actually have to suffer another calendar year of futility, before we even get a chance to find that out.

2. The District XI 5A football tournament may be renamed the Spartan/Zephyr Bowl

In additional to this classification being one of the smallest groups (in terms of number of teams), the new “5A” looks to be dominated by two teams.

Whitehall, of course, has been playing—and winning—against larger schools for years.  Despite the numbers disadvantage, the Zephyrs have faired quite well, if not better than, other current 4A schools in the area.  There’s no reason to think they won’t continue their success and be perennial favorites in this new classification.

Southern Lehigh, meanwhile, has become perhaps the most consistently winning program (along with Northwestern) in recent Colonial League history.  The talent level continues to rise every year, and a number of talented juniors and sophomores, from this past fall’s team, all will be returning.  There’ll be something seriously wrong if the Spartans don’t parlay their current and future players into multiple championship appearances, along with capturing the school’s first ever district title, at some point on the foreseeable horizon.

Don’t be surprised if the PIAA turns this into a “Subregional” (with District XI schools playing teams from other areas in the playoff’s first round) like the current 4A teams have been doing.  Otherwise, you may just see Southern Lehigh and Whitehall squaring off against each other for the District XI championship for many years to come.

3. The Wizards,  Nats AND Redskins – will have even greater success in 2016

I think all three programs are headed in the right direction, and each organization has quality people making personnel decisions.  I like some of the moves the Nationals have made so far as they are continuing their search to acquire depth.  This was an area of concern from a year ago and I think they will make the necessary tweaks to give Washington fans their long-awaited playoff appearance in 2016.   The Redskins will be without the distraction of Robert Griffin III next year and will add the certainty of a proven quarterback—along with another year of experience for some of the young talent acquired last season.  If they can add quality players through this year’s NFL Draft and a few key free agency signings, they can absolutely add more victories in the coming year.

I wrote last summer about how much confidence I have in the Wizards to add around the solid core of John Wall, and my contacts around the DC area have given no indication that I should change that opinion.  In fact, I think the chances of an extra winning playoff series is much more likely this summer than it was a year ago.

Imagine a 2016 with all four major sports teams in the playoffs?  I think you can probably count on it!

Feel free to email us your sports predictions for 2016 to RCNSportsTalk@rcn.com and join us on Thursdays, 7-8 pm on RCN-TV and on our podcasts here on the website for topical conversations and interviews with special guests dealing with sports in the RCN viewing area.  We’ll resume our live shows this week, so tune in!

Each year, I usually spend the final few weeks of December reflecting back on all the exciting, rewarding and positive (and sometimes not so positive) sports moments in the RCN viewing area.  We try to come up with some new “awards” each time to keep it fresh and to touch on several different levels of competition of interest to those in our coverage area.

Here are some of our top teams and stories from this past year, and we’ll have more reflections, in addition to a look ahead, in next week’s “SportsTalk Shop” as well.

Biggest Surprise:   The Nationals NOT winning the division…let alone the pennant.
There are no “sure things” in sports but the Nats certainly seemed like—on paper—they were one of the best two teams in the National League.  But injuries, chemistry, managing and then Jonathan Papelbon “happened,” and the team didn’t even qualify for a wild card berth.  We’ll have more on what to expect from Washington coming up in next week’s blog entry.

Nicest Team: Nazareth Blue Eagles Girls Basketball Team
While Easton might have the best girls’ high school basketball team in the District XI (PA) region this winter, the Blue Eagles had the best team on the court during the 2015 scholastic season.  We had the opportunity to speak with a number of them on “RCN SportsTalk” this past year, and the ladies were as classy and well-spoken as they were talented.  Don’t rule out another Nazareth/Easton meeting in a championship matchup again in 2016.

Biggest Enigma: 76ers
One of the largest amounts of emails I received this past year was when I made a comment that I had “reservations” about the Sam Hinkie plan—to lose games in order to increase the organization’s chances of drafting top-quality picks and improve the club a few years down the road.

The comment came after news that previous top draft pick Joel Embiid was hurt more seriously than thought—and he might not play again—ever!

While I didn’t say that I was against “The Process” philosophy, I had some questions if it was proceeding in the correct fashion.  After the show I received a TON of complaints about my statement, virtually everyone saying that they thought the losing was great, they’re completely on-board with everything going on and that they were excited about this team’s direction.

More on the future of the 76ers in next week’s blog, but for now, (which, by the way, is “year three” of this endeavor) we saw the worst point-total loss in the franchise’s history and a near-record number of losses to start a year.  That streak, combined with the way the team finished last year, resulted in a record number of losses by a professional sports team—EVER.

If people think this is the way to go…so be it.  But, in my opinion, my reservations and cautions have not been reduced by what I saw in the final months of 2015.  And judging by the December hiring of Jerry Colangelo as a “special advisor,” the Sixers have some reason for pause as well.

Best Comebacks: Saucon Valley & Notre Dame-Green Pond HS Football teams
By definition, there can be no better turnaround than the Crusaders bouncing back from a 0-10 season in 2014 to setting a school record with 11 wins in 2015.  This year’s team also captured the school’s first ever pair of District XI playoff victories.  They also reached their first ever PIAA state playoffs before falling to a very talented Dunmore team.  However, many of this year’s  players’ accomplishments and their records will probably stand for quite some time.

The Panthers—a comeback story?  Didn’t they win the Colonial League last year and get to the District Championship game?  Yes, they did, but they wanted more.  Not only did they avenge last year’s painful loss to Bethlehem Catholic, but they went about their goals in a very workmanlike approach.  They also kept their focus—something often lost among the modern- day athletes.  They didn’t hang their heads and sulk about how last season ended, but they sought out a higher set of goals—and achieved them.  A District XI 3A championship and state playoff victories over Selingsgrove (a perennial state playoff program) and Scranton Prep were achieved as this year’s Panther team became the greatest football team in Saucon Valley history.

Most Impressive Performance: The Philadelphia boys/girls basketball state champions
Back in March, we talked about the dominance of the Philly schools in the scholastic basketball circles.  They had representatives in each championship game and won most of them, which speaks volume to both the talent level of the players, but also the coaches in the Southeastern PA region.  It’s one thing to have a great team on paper (see the Nationals—above), but to keep teenagers’ focus—and to have so many programs from a small area (distance-wise) achieve this—was clearly the standout performance that I witnessed in our viewing area.

Late this past fall, we began covering the Washington, DC area football teams more closely and I was impressed by the limited amount of teams that I had a chance to see in November and early December.  We will continue our coverage of high school sports in the DMV region in 2016 and I look forward to featuring more of those schools and players on both our television show and here at the “Shop” next year!

More “awards,” as well as some predictions for the new year coming up in next week’s blog.

While we hope you enjoy the holiday season, a quick note that we’ll return with new editions of “RCN SportsTalk” (seen live, Thursdays, 7-8 pm on RCN-TV) and our podcasts  resuming on January 7^th.  Among our scheduled discussion topics include George Washington, Georgetown and American University basketball, local high school basketball and wrestling, the NFL playoffs and other pro sports teams in the Philadelphia and DC regions and more!

Last but not least, a very Happy New Year to everyone…and thanks for reading!

Without question one of the top turnaround success stories on the NCAA basketball court belongs to Head Coach Mike Lonergan and the George Washington men’s basketball program.

After a highly successful tenure at Vermont, Coach Lonergan’s Colonials posted back-to-back 20-plus win seasons for the first time since 2006-07 and have gotten off to an incredible start in the 2015-16 campaign.

After consecutive seasons of NCAA or NIT post-season entries, anyone thinking of a letdown this year has been sadly mistaken.

George Washington came out in mid-November and provided the nation with one of college basketball’s first big losses to a team ranked in the top 10, with a 73-68 win over Virginia.  The Cavaliers were the sixth-ranked team in the country at the time of that contest.  The Colonials continued their dominating performances by winning ten of its first 11 ball games (a perfect 8-0 at home), with many victories coming by a double-digit margin.

Moreover, Lonergan’s guidance has led to a resurgence among the Colonial fan base and an extra level of excitement to his team’s contests at the Smith Center.

We had the opportunity on “RCN SportsTalk” to talk with Coach Lonergan about his GW men’s basketball program, their previous years’ successes and about his team’s hot start to the current season.

Before coming to George Washington, Coach Lonergan had great success at Vermont. His teams compiled a .700 or better winning percentage in four of his last five seasons and qualified for the NCAA tournament in 2010 (overall record 25-10).

Before this season started, George Washington had two players, Patricio Garino and Kevin Larsen, named to the All-Conference Second Team, with Garino also named to the A-10 All-Defense Team.  The Colonials also were picked by A-10 experts to finish in the top four spots in the league this winter.

Pre-season Atlantic-10 Poll

1. Dayton (12 first place votes) – 352 total points
2. Rhode Island (8) – 347
3. Davidson (6) – 329
4. Washington (1) – 285
5. VCU – 277
6. Richmond – 262
7. Saint Joseph’s – 194
8. Bonaventure – 177
9. La Salle – 164
10. Massachusetts – 142
11. Duquesne – 113
12. Saint Louis—96
13. George Mason – 52
14. Fordham — 45

The Colonials are looking to continue their current four-game winning streak through the holiday season, with some intriguing match-ups on the horizon.

Upcoming Schedule

Dec. 22^nd              at DePaul
Dec. 29^th               at UCF
Jan. 3^rd                  vs. Fordham*
Jan. 6^th                  at Saint Louis*
Jan. 9^th                  vs. Duquesne*
Jan. 12th              at UMass*
Jan. 15^th                at Dayton*
Jan. 22^nd               vs. Rhode Island*
*Atlantic-10 Conference games
All home games are played at the Smith Center

We hope that basketball fans check out the Colonials in action as they’ll look to have a number of exciting match-ups coming up over the next few months.  Also, keep checking back to the “SportsTalk Shop” and the “RCN SportsTalk” show for more great guests and insights on this winter’s NCAA basketball season.

With the PIAA football championships coming up in Hershey this week, it’s time we take our final peek at the highlights of playoff games seen on RCN-TV this fall.

Congratulations to all of the teams, coaches and athletes for an entertaining season.  Special honors go out to Parkland, the lone team in the RCN viewing area who will be playing in the state final this weekend (all of the state championship games can be seen on the PCN Network—RCN dial position 97).  Saucon Valley had a great year and, despite their season-ending (and only) loss last weekend, the Panthers handled themselves with class.  In fact, all the players I had the good fortune of seeing and being around this season deserve a tremendous amount of credit for the way they conducted themselves this fall, both on and off the field.

I’d also like to take a moment to thank all the athletic directors, head coaches and their staffs for the wealth of information and insights they provided us during this past high school football season.  Their jobs are tough enough as is, but they never hesitated in helping us gather information about their teams or backed away from telling us about all of their players’ highlights and accomplishments.

You can relive all the memorable moments by watching the playoff games again through RCN’s On-Demand services.  These games will be available for free to RCN subscribers through the end of the calendar year, or you can purchase a DVD of these games by calling or emailing us at the RCN TV studio.

A final reminder…

It’s almost time for our annual “end of the year” awards here at the “SportsTalk Shop” and I’d like to include your opinions once again as we start to reflect on the highlights from both this year’s football season, as well as the top moments overall in the RCN viewing area.  We’re looking for your favorite athletes, teams, games, special plays and unforgettable moments that you saw in 2015.  This includes all teams in the Eastern Pennsylvania and Washington, DC regions and at the scholastic, collegiate and professional levels.

There were certainly some great storylines from this past year.  Just looking at recent events on the football field:

• Notre Dame going from 0-10 last year to 2A District Champs (not to mention winning its first-ever, two playoff games, setting a school record for wins in a season and its first-ever appearance in the PIAA playoffs)
• Parkland and Saucon Valley both advancing to the semifinal round of the state playoffs
• The turnaround of the Nazareth football program—reaching the district playoffs with many names returning next fall
• The end of the “Ed Christian Era” at East Stroudsburg South High School and all the District XI wins he earned during his illustrious career
• The launching of the “DC Sports Minute” on our “SportsTalk” show, featuring the high school teams in the Washington, DC and Virginia regions
• …and many more!!!

If you have a suggestion for someone or some group to get a mention, we’d love to hear from you!  Send us you a favorite sports moment, a really great game or event, a standout athlete or team who really exceeded expectations, via email to RCNSportsTalk@rcn.com.  Be assured that we’ll factor that in when putting together our “Year in Review” selections.  If you are mentioning a sport that we typically don’t cover or a sport that doesn’t usually receive a tremendous amount of publicity, feel free to pass along more information about the program, a contact person or anything that is available to you.

We’ll have our “year-in-review” entry coming up in a couple weeks.  I, just like Jolly Ol’ St. Nick, have already started compiling my list, so please don’t hesitate to send your opinions to us right away!

HS Basketball Preview: 2015-16

With scholastic basketball season upon us, I asked three of the most astute basketball minds in the RCN Sports Department, Gary Laubach, Tom Stoudt and John Leone, to join me in giving our thoughts on this winter’s District XI high school basketball season in the RCN-TV viewing area.

Check out our responses to some of the most intriguing storylines of the 2015-16 campaign:

 1.  Who’s your top EPC team (after Parkland)?
Gary Laubach:  Central and/or Emmaus
Tom Stoudt:  Emmaus
JL:  Emmaus
ME:  Allen.  I was very impressed with them in summer league play, although they didn’t win as many games as some thought.  Still remember them challenging Parkland late last winter, and if they can put together performances like that on a nightly basis…?

2.  Who’s your pre-season Colonial League favorite?
TS:  Bangor
JL:  Saucon Valley
ME:  Solehi.   Head Coach Ben Tannous has a great basketball mind and did a great job molding last year’s team into contenders.  I see no reason why they don’t continue to improve and contend for a league title

3.  Top Three HS basketball players to watch this winter?
GL:  Sam Iorio (Parkland), David Kachelries (Emmaus), Zay Jennings (CCHS) , Aidan Ellwood (transferred from Northampton to Central Catholic)
TS:  David Kachelries (Emmaus), Sam Iorio (Parkland),  Taleek Williams (Allen)
JL:  Sam Iorio (Parkland),  Matt Kachelries (Emmaus),  Michael Martino (Bangor
ME:   DeVante Cross (Parkland), Talek Williams (Allen), Amir Griffin (Liberty).  Cross and Williams are two of the most dynamic scoring threats in the area, and Griffin might just be the region’s best defensive player and is really fun to watch

4.  Off the radar player to keep eye on?
GL:  Jahan Dotson (Nazareth), Chance Neilley (Liberty), Talek Williams (Allen)
TS:  Tashon Roberts (Dieruff)
JL:  Mitch Daniel (Notre Dame)
ME:   Mitch Daniel.  He’s getting a late start due to his team’s success on the football field, but he’s always struck me as a player with great ability.  The confidence he (and some of his teammates) built during the fall sports season will carry over for him and the Crusaders during the winter sports campaign

5.  A surprise team to keep an eye on this year?
GL:  Liberty
TS:  Bethlehem Catholic
JL:  Saucon or Bangor
ME: Catty.  They suffered a disappointing season a year ago, and once again didn’t get several of their players due to the football team’s Turkey Day game, but Eric Snyder has worked his magic before.  If a few players step up to join Kevin Bond and Shaquon Mason as scoring options, the Rough Riders could find themselves back in the district playoff picture.

Also, I don’t think it’ll be too long before we start talking about Pen Argyl basketball again.  With Kyle Hutnik embarking on his third year in charge of the program, I believe we’ll start to see some improvements from the Knights—despite the fact that it will be a very competitive season once again in the Colonial League.

6.  One “must-see” game this winter?
GL: Parkland/Imhotep  (January 24^th)
TS:  Parkland/Emmaus (Jan. 5^th)
JL:  Freedom/Easton (Dec. 8^th) *LIVE on RCN-TV!
ME:   Emmaus/Nazareth (December 18^th).  Some of the best, most talented guards in the area will be squaring off against each other.   Two teams I really like and feel they could play with Parkland, so I am curious who’ll win out in this early season showdown.

Who’ll be most accurate with these preseason predictions?  Which teams, players and games do you think we should keep an eye on?  Email us your thoughts to rcnsportstalk@rcn.com and find out as the season unfolds on RCN-TV.  Be sure to check out our broadcast schedule (LINK) for each week’s best games and bookmark it on your browser so you can access it for changes throughout the season!

We’ll also jump deep into the high school hoops conversation in much more detail starting with the January editions of “RCN SportsTalk” (seen live, Thursdays, 7-8 pm on RCN-TV) and our podcasts.

It was another great fall sports season (and for more than just football!) for the teams, coaches and athletes in the RCN viewing area.  We had some great individual and team performances, with school districts in many regions bringing home district, region and state gold metals.

It was also a busy season here at RCN-TV covering our local sports teams.  We had unveiled new features on our “RCN SportsTalk” show—among them, the “athlete of the week” for the people in the Lehigh and Delaware Valley areas, and the “Sports Minute” for the folks in our Washington, DC region.

Speaking of the “sports minute,” we’re pleased to announce that this element of our show will continue into the winter as we try to cover as many high school basketball teams in our coverage area as possible.  Here are a few samples featuring football teams from the DC area.

Also, we will have video from some of the traditional “Turkey Game” football contests from this past Thanksgiving, coming up on this Thursday’s edition of “SportsTalk” (live, Thursdays at 7pm).

In the Lehigh Valley area, we were able to focus on a number of different girls and boys sports teams from both bigger and smaller school districts over the last several months.  Here’s a compilation of some of our fall sports features.

Now, it’s time to congratulate the teams from the RCN viewing area that have captured state gold medals this fall season.  First, the Parkland girls volleyball team won its second consecutive PIAA championship.  The win marks the third straight volleyball state title won by Parkland (the boys team won it this spring).

We saluted the Emmaus field hockey team on both “SportsTalk” and here at the “SportsTalk Shop” earlier this fall due to Head Coach Sue Butz-Stavin’s tremendous accomplishment—becoming the nation’s all-time leader in wins by a high school field hockey coach in September.  Butz-Stavin added to those numbers as his team once again captured league, district and finally state championship honors, adding another collection of 3A titles (the highest level in Pennsylvania for field hockey) to the Hornets’ trophy case.

It’s starting to become routine for district tournaments to run through the Route-309 exchange as both Parkland and Emmaus seem like they are nearly always in championship games—and usually winning the title contests.  This fall alone, Parkland won four fall sports District XI championships (boys cross, country, girls soccer, girls volleyball and football), while Emmaus won three more (boys soccer, golf and field hockey).  The Hornets’ field hockey team has now captured fourteen consecutive district gold metals and the Parkland volleyball team has won five of the last six district championships.

Special kudos are in order for the magnificent paring of Coco Chen and Logan Lencheski from the Notre Dame-Green Pond High School girls tennis team.  Chen and Lencheski brought home state gold medals in pairs tennis.  I’ve maintained that individual and pair state championships are extremely challenging given all the scrutiny in one or two people, as opposed to an entire team, having to share the workload.  The Crusaders pair was also honored on our most recent “SportsTalk” show as the athletes of the week for their tremendous achievement.

Don’t forget!  All of the above video features and more scholastic “shout-outs” and stories are available to hear on our podcasts (rcn.com/atvn/sports-talk) as well as through RCN On-Demand.  Join us this Thursday live at 7pm for the insights, predictions and analysis of this weekend’s state football playoff games, and also we’ll have strategies and tips for those people involved in fantasy football. Also, we appreciate any feedback or suggestions for sports to cover or to discuss on RCN-TV.  Feel free to email your thoughts to us at RCNSportsTalk@rcn.com.

Now, anyone who knows me very well knows that I HATE the cold weather.  However, I do love the sports that take place during the winter months, and there certainly are some exciting match-ups featuring teams in our area, and a few schools in both DC and Pennsylvania have opportunities to have very special years.  I’m looking forward to embarking on the winter sports season and I hope everyone enjoys our coverage as we move our cameras and microphones indoors.  Next week here at the “Shop,” we start to take a look at the upcoming high school basketball season with thoughts and insights from knowledgeably hoop-minded individuals on the upcoming season.  Also, we hope to have more good news to report on the high school football teams in our viewing area over the next few weeks.

Lastly, a quick reminder for everyone to tune into the “Dream Come True Telethon” that will be seen live on RCN-TV Monday, December 7^th. Telethon details are here: www.rcn.com/atvn/2015-dct-telethon

Not only does the event raise money for a tremendous charity but you should also check out the auctions items at www.biddingowl.com/dreamcometrue as there are some wonderful items—and potential holiday gift giving ideas—for you to try to pick up, while benefiting our local kids at the same time.

It’s been a great fall football season on RCN-TV—thus far!

While it’s not quite time yet to take a look back and identify the top teams, games and players in our coverage area, it’s easy to pick out a few of the moments that have stood out from the pack.

First, here are highlights from a few of our recent games on RCN-TV over the last few weeks.

Now, I am very much aware that we have football teams in the RCN area still alive as we move into the state playoff round.  We’ll continue to talk scholastic football on our next “SportsTalk” show—which will be on Thursday, December 3^rd.  (Our crew would absolutely KILL me if I suggested we do a live show on Thanksgiving Day!).

For those of you from our Washington, DC region, we’re also going to have video highlights from some of the annual “Turkey Day” games featuring the city teams.

However, it’s almost time for our annual “end of the year” awards and I’d like to include you once again as we start to reflect on the highlights from both this year’s football season, as well as the top moments overall in the RCN viewing area.  If you have a favorite sports moment, a really great game or event, a standout athlete or team who really exceeded expectations, we’d love for you to get in contact with us.  Email us at RCNSportsTalk@rcn.com with your opinions and suggestions. Be assured that we’ll factor those in when putting together our “Year in Review” selections.

I, myself, like to start reflecting on the top people and moments with a few weeks to spare.  There are usually a few special events that can get lost in everything going on this time of year (fall sports teams winding down with winter sports action heating up), not to mention the holiday season.

Talking strictly football, a couple games and teams that I, and many District XI football fans, will remember for a long time, include:

• Saucon Valley vs. Notre Dame and “The catch”

• The 73-54 shootout between Central Catholic & Liberty

• Freedom football team’s regular season, ending with the school’s first-ever division title (shared with Parkland HS)

• Saucon Valley’s District Semifinal win over Bethlehem Catholic*

*(Despite some public opinion to the contrary, it is NOT incredibly rare for a Colonial League team to beat a team from the “big school conference” (the East Penn Conference, the Lehigh Valley Conference, the “EPC18”) in a District championship. Wilson won District XI 3A playoffs in 2008, and Northwestern won it a couple years before that.)

Check back to the “SportsTalk Shop” in a couple weeks as we look back at this past season and give shout-outs to our favorite moments during this season as well as other sports highlights from this past year.  Also, with basketball season now upon us, we’ll be previewing the high school hoops season and taking a closer look at the top teams and players to watch this winter in both the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference and Colonial League.

Last but certainly not least: On behalf of everyone at the “SportsTalk Shop” and RCN, I’d like to wish you and your family a safe and heartfelt “Happy Thanksgiving” holiday.  We are very thankful for your readership throughout the year and for the many wonderful comments you pass along to us about our coverage here on this blog and on RCN-TV.  Many thanks to all and have a wonderful holiday season!!

First, a quick pat-on-the back for all the people who participated in last week’s “SportsTalk” show poll (a.k.a. “Who will win the Easton/Freedom football game?”).  Extra congratulations are in order for all the people who predicted (and/or rooted) for an Easton victory.  The win sets up one of several great contests this weekend and we’ll be previewing all of the match-ups involving District XI teams on this Thursday’s “RCN SportsTalk” show (live, 7-8pm on RCN-TV).

Secondly, in addition to breaking down and making predictions about this upcoming weekend’s contests, I’d like to give the Easton and Saucon Valley fans a chance to give some payback to our adversarial co-host, Joe Craig, who predicted double-possession losses for both the Rovers and the Panthers.  After all, turnabout is fair play. We’d be happy to read your emails (RCNSportsTalk@rcn.com) and take your phone calls about those predictions as well as your thoughts on how your teams will do again this weekend.

Now, as we promised in last week’s blog, a closer look at the teams vying for a Class 2A and 3A title this weekend…

Class 3A Championship
Both of these teams got to the title game with solid defense…underrated defenses at that!

Saucon Valley has been in the spotlight because of the running ability of Evan Culver, quarterback Zach Thatcher’s effectiveness in running the offense and the spectacular and timely catches of sophomore Alstan Wolfe.  However, it has been the defensive efforts of those three—and many others—that has fueled the Panthers’ success over the last few seasons.  Culver, who joined his teammates as guests on “RCN SportsTalk” (see it again On-Demand or on our podcasts here on the website), said that he actually prefers to play defense.  That’s a pretty interesting statement considering he’s third among active District XI players in rushing yards and his 64 touchdowns and 4,129 ground-yardage blew away the school records quite some time ago.

Head Coach Matt Evancho, who ran the underappreciated defenses for those great Wilson teams in the 2000s, has been one of the top defensive minds in the Valley for some time.  Seniors Mike Kane, Christian Carvis, Nate Harka and Mike Paolini have been defensive stalwarts for several years and have made for one of the stingiest defenses—Colonial League or EPC–in the area.

Lehighton also allowed just one score in their semifinal game against Blue Mountain. The undefeated Indians forced four turnovers in the first half (six for the game) and scored a defensive touchdown. Their stout defense allowed QB Tyler Cann enough time to warm up the offense and post several second-half scores to put the game away.

Lehighton is similar to Saucon Valley in that they have a core of seniors who have been building to do some special things this fall.  The Indians have a very good secondary and it will not be easy when (if?) the Panthers look to pass the ball.

Class 2A Championship
Speaking of being underrated, I don’t think there’s been a less-mentioned player who’s deserved more accolades than Northwestern’s Harry Hall, who, oh, by the way leads ALL active District XI players in rushing yards.  Hall came into last weekend’s semifinal with 4,860 yards on the ground and 51 TDs (both school records).

I think the Lehigh Valley fan base looked at all the talent that the Tigers lost to graduation from a year ago, and assumed it would be a rebuilding year up in New Tripoli (although they were the #5 team in the “SportsTalk” preseason poll—just sayin’).  However, Northwestern has gotten solid performances on both sides of the ball and played well—even in their losses this season.

One of their losses was to the team they will face in the championship, Notre Dame-Green Pond.  The Crusaders are led by Tre Jordan, who’s passed for over 7,000 yards during his high school career, and he’s just as lethal running the ball.  Mitch Daniel, an outstanding point guard for the basketball team, has made a name for himself as a tailback.  Destyn Woody, Austin Kaulius, Nick Basenese, Jalen Simpson and Aaron Weller all have outstanding abilities receiving the football.  Christian Candelaria, Julian Wismer, Taino Gonzalez and EJ Medina have all had impressive seasons on the defensive side.

The Crusaders have a ton of weapons, a ton of speed and some outstanding defenders.  One would think Notre Dame just has too many horses for Northwestern to handle, but people have discounted the Tigers a few times now, so I’m expecting a very close game on Friday night.

Don’t forget, we’ll be talking about all the 2A/3A/4A playoff teams in our viewing area in action this weekend on this Thursday’s “SportsTalk” show (if you miss the program, the podcast will be available Friday afternoon here or catch the program On-Demand).  Also, make sure you check out the Easton/Parkland game Friday and Saucon Valley/Lehighton game Saturday on RCN-TV.