Due to a Monday commitment, which is the day I usually write my blog, I am sitting at my computer Sunday morning contemplating what to write about.  I have already been reminded that it is Father’s Day by my two daughters who have sent their well-wishes and will visit later in the day.  They have both made my wife and I very proud as both successful citizens, employees (one in hospital management and the other as an ultrasound technician), and, most importantly, excellent parents.  And they, for me, are what makes my Father’s Day enjoyable and special. They are the “end products” of what my wife did as a mother and, in some fashion, what I did as a father.

When we sit around the kitchen table, which we do quite often, conversation often turns to those moments when I did not do such a good job.  I vividly remember keeping Natalie from going to her first school dance because she could not find her music book when her instructor came to the house for weekly music lessons.  His trip was a wasted one, and it became obvious that Natalie had not practiced all week.  It also was the night of her first dance.  I laid down an ultimatum- if she didn’t find the book; she couldn’t go to the dance that night.  After hours of tears and frustration, the book was not found and she did not go to the dance.  I felt terrible, but I hoped that she learned a lesson.  The next morning the music teacher called to tell me that he had Natalie’s book in his briefcase – he had accidently taken it home with him the week before.

When Christine was working in banking, she was to go to a seminar in the Poconos.  She wanted to do what other employees were going to do, take her boyfriend with her because there was going to be time for socialization.  My wife and I were not comfortable letting our unmarried daughter go away for the weekend with this young man (my, how times have changed).  It created an uncomfortable moment for us with our daughter, the young man, and his parents.  And, of course, they stayed together and are now married.

These are just two examples of many where I screwed up as a father.  I am quite proud, however, that we made the girls work throughout high school, got them involved in extracurricular activities, and taught them to do the right thing.  They never let us down.

My own father died in his early sixties, but he worked hard to financially support his family, cheered his four children on in all that we did, and made us responsible for our actions.  He was certainly my role model.

So, as I sit here on Father’s Day morning, knowing that gifts are forthcoming and a nice card and a little more precious time to reminisce once again about fatherhood, I really believe that this day should be more about a father’s children.  They, more than anything, are the true measure of what Father’s Day is all about.

And, because that is my mindset, I will thoroughly enjoy this day.

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)

1. The RCN-TV crew spent Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday at Penn State this past week in order to do the statewide broadcast of the PIAA baseball championships for PCN. Due to the weather, two of the games scheduled for Thursday were postponed until Friday.  We normally would do all four games in one day.  This was one of the few times that the crew was glad to see rain.  Two games one day and two games the next is a much more enjoyable experience for all of us.  Four games in one day is not an enjoyable experience.
2. Since we were at State College, we were not all that far away from Oakmont, where the US Open was being played in Pittsburgh. The USGA was faced with the same weather problems on Thursday, but somehow they logistically figured it all out to get everyone back on track by Sunday afternoon. Now that is a scheduling nightmare, but it got accomplished.
3. If you do not like golf or golf broadcasts, you should, at least, respect the honesty of the players. Shane Lowry who was leading the US Open as I write this, called a one-stroke penalty on himself on Saturday because as he addressed his ball to putt on the 16^th green, the ball moved ever so slightly.  He did not touch it, but it did move.  He stopped play, called over an official, explained the rule violation and took the one-stroke penalty.  If he doesn’t win, let’s hope he does not lose by a stroke.
4. Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors has threatened to cut off the WiFi in his house to keep his wife Ayesha from tweeting. She tweeted that the NBA was rigged for money after Game Six, when her husband fouled out. I’m sure the NBA frowned on that.
5. Watch Blue Mountain League baseball every Tuesday for the next six weeks on RCN-TV. It’s good baseball played by guys who play for fun and love the game.

NBC Today show anchor Savannah Guthrie, who is expecting her second child, has decided not to attend the Olympics.  A handful of other NBC employees have also opted not to travel to Rio.  NBCUniversal is not requiring any employee to go if they choose not to.  Close to 3,000 employees will be part of the Olympic coverage.

Some US athletes have expressed concern, particularly female athletes, but, so far, not many have pulled out. There are approximately 600 cases of Zika in the US right now and those were contracted by citizens who traveled to other countries.  So how concerned should the athletes and spectators be?

In January, the World Health Organization declared Zika a global health emergency for pregnant women.  As of May, nearly 300 women tested positive for Zika in the US.  Just two weeks ago, 200 scientists signed a letter to the World Health Organization strongly suggesting the Games should be moved from Brazil.  Other health officials, including those at WHO, say there is not a big enough threat to move the games.

National Public Radio (NPR) charted the odds of an American contracting Zika in Rio compared to other everyday threats.  According to their data:

• One in 11 million Americans have a chance of dying in a plane crash
• One in 9.6 million Americans have a chance of being killed by lightning
• One in 5.2 million Americans have a chance of dying from a bee sting
• One in 3.7 million Americans have a chance of being killed by a shark
• One in 32,250 have a chance of contracting Zika in the three weeks spent in Rio during the Olympics
• One in 9,100 Americans have a chance of being killed in a car accident

The NPR article goes on to say that Mikkel Quam, an epidemiologist, has been trying to determine the mosquito activity in Rio in August.  August is winter in Brazil, cooler and drier, and he said, “There’s very little mosquito activity during the Olympics.”

His thesis calculates that there will be approximately 16 cases of Zika at the Olympics.  Other scientists have indicated that the athletes and spectators should be more concerned about the water or food poisoning.

Bioethicist Arthur Caplan disagrees completely.  He says this is an epidemic we do not understand and, because of that, we should err on the side of caution and move the Games.

I am pretty certain that, at this late stage, the Olympic Games will be held in Rio.  Hopefully, that is the proper decision.  It remains to be seen.

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS) 

1. Tiger Woods will not be playing in the US Open this week at Oakmont, but he is co-writing a book on his 1997 Master’s victory.
2. Speaking of Oakmont, I played there a few years back as a guest of Joe Brake of Coca-Cola. It remains the hardest course I have ever played.  It is, also, a bit intimidating when you pull up in your car and a member of the staff cordially greets you and hands you all the rules you must follow both inside and outside the clubhouse.  Trust me; the hardest working member of the staff that day was my caddie.
3. One more US Open note – high school junior Won Jun Lee missed qualifying for the Open because he fixed a pitch mark off the green. For that, he received a two-stroke penalty.  No good deed goes unpunished.
4. Last week, I mentioned that the US Women’s soccer team was thinking of going on strike for wages on par with the men’s team. Maybe they should just take up tennis.  Of the top ten female athletes, eight of them are tennis players.  Only non-tennis players Ronda Rousey ($14 million) and Danica Patrick ($13.9 million) made the top ten.  #1 was Serena Williams ($28.9 million) and #2 was Maria Sharapova ($21.9 million).
5. We are off to Penn State this week to produce the PIAA State Baseball Championships for PCN at Penn State on June 16. The games will be streamed LIVE on the 16^th and shown on PCN on the 17^th.

As you are well-aware, Muhammad Ali died from Parkinson’s syndrome on Friday, June 3.  He was 74.

He won his first championship title in 1964, the year I graduated from high school.  He was Cassius Clay then.  His last fight was against Trevor Berbick in 1981, after being pummeled into submission by Easton’s Larry Holmes in Las Vegas in 1980.  I don’t think I missed an Ali fight, even though many of them I had to listen to on the radio if I wanted to hear them LIVE.

Looking at the dates, I realize that most young people have probably never seen him throw a punch, except in highlights; never seen him brag, which was always entertaining; never seen him revered wherever he went.  He was the self-proclaimed “Greatest of all time.”  And, in my opinion, he was.  But sadly, the sport has changed so much that most young people today probably have no idea who the current heavyweight champion of the world is, how important that title once was, and have no idea how big boxing was back in the day (as they say).

Trust me, Ali was special when he was fighting and just as special after he left the ring.  Whether you were able to see him fight or too young to watch, you should certainly contemplate some of his words other than “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.”  He was an inspiration and he said many inspirational things:

1. “If they can make penicillin out of moldy bread, they can surely make something out of you.”
2. “Hating people because of their color is wrong. And it doesn’t matter who does the hating.  It’s just plain wrong.”
3. “Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.”
4. “Don’t count the days; make the days count.”
5. “It isn’t the mountains ahead that wear you out; it’s the pebble in your shoe.”
6. “A man who has no imagination has no wings.”
7. “A man who views the world the same at 50 as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life.”
8. “Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion.  Impossible is not a declaration.  It’s a dare.  Impossible is potential.  Impossible is temporary.  Impossible is nothing.”
9. “If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it-then I can achieve it.”
10. “Live every day as if it were your last because someday you’re going to be right.”

I have purposely left out the famous quotes where he bragged, rightfully so, about his talent like, “I’m so mean, I make medicine sick.”  Or, “I should be a postage stamp.  That’s the only way I’ll ever get licked.”

Ali was always great theater; he was always the center of attention; he always made you take notice.  Despite some losses in his boxing career, he always put forth the greatest of efforts.  He did the same against Parkinson’s disease.  Once taken off life support this past Friday, the family said his heart beat another thirty minutes.  I am not surprised.  His heart still wanted to answer the bell!

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS) 

1. Billy Crystal, former President Bill Clinton, and Bryant Gumbel will all give eulogies at Muhammad Ali’s funeral.
2. Congratulations to the Easton Red Rover baseball team for their District Championship. It was their first District title since 1993.  Also, congrats to the Parkland and Bangor girls’ softball teams.  They, too, won a District title.  On to the PIAA championship tournament for all three.
3. The Golden State Warriors have managed to really garner my interest in the NBA playoffs. I love watching them play as a team and it seems as if Coach Steve Kerr makes all the right moves.  The “Splash Brothers” club is absolutely fun to watch.
4. The U.S. women’s soccer team cannot strike before the Olympic Games, according to a federal judge. The female judge ruled that the no-strike clause in earlier agreements takes precedence.  The women were looking for improved conditions and wages on par with the men’s team.  The women have won three straight Olympic gold medals.
5. The RCN Television team will once again be producing the PIAA State Baseball Championships for PCN at Penn State on June 16.

Let me be up front with you.  I watch one auto race a year – the Indianapolis 500.  When I was a kid, I listened to one race a year – the Indianapolis 500.  There was always something intriguing for me about this race and there was almost always a local driver starting with Mario Andretti of Nazareth who would allow me a rooting interest in the outcome.  This year, Sage Karam (his father is the wrestling coach at Liberty High School and Sage is from Nazareth) and Marco Andretti (Mario’s grandson and Michael’s son) were both in the race.  I had twice the rooting interest.

Neither of the local drivers fared very well.  Sage crashed and finished 32^nd and Marco had tire pressure problems and finished 14^th.

The race continued to hold my interest throughout, however.  A rookie, Alexander Rossi, won the race right before he ran out of fuel.  Rossi said he was so bewildered by the victory that he had no idea what he was supposed to do during the victory celebration.  He had to be told how to put on the wreath and what he should do with the bottle of milk.  He had never been at an Indy 500 race before!  His first memory was watching Marco Andretti race in 2006 and nearly winning.  This was only the second time that he had raced on an oval track.  And, he ran out of gas almost immediately after crossing the finish line.  A very strange win, but a great win none the less.

My friend, sports psychologist Dr. Jarrod Spencer worked with Sage Karam during this past year and traveled to the race.  He came away from the race with the following thoughts:

10 Life Lessons I Learned at the Indy 500

1.  Life is fast. You either keep up or get left behind.
2.  Life is not fair. You get unlucky. It’s how you deal with it.
3.  350,000 fans couldn’t be more different. Diversity is good.
4.  Yet, all fans shared a love for the USA. Be proud to live here.
5.  A rookie can win anything with some luck. Be in it to win it.
6.  Fuel consumption matters in life and racing. Pace yourself.
7.  Camaraderie among competitors matters. There is more to life.
8.  Crashing is a part of personal growth. Take self-responsibility.
9.  Winning matters. But a person’s character matters more.
10. Dreams and ability are ageless. If you want something, go get it.

After seeing Jarrod’s post, I am reminded that athletic competition mimics life all the time.  Lessons are learned from both participating and watching.  This was probably my 60^th Indianapolis 500 as a listener and viewer and, once again, lessons were learned.  I will watch next year on Memorial Day weekend and learn more about life again!

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)

1. The Bangor Slater baseball team lost to Parkland on Memorial Day by a 2-1 score. This loss came during the District XI AAAA semifinals.  What made this game stand out is that prior to the loss, the Slaters had won 23 straight games and a Colonial League Championship.  Their season abruptly came to a close on Monday, but it certainly will be remembered.
2. The Phillies lost their 8^th game in the last 11 on Memorial Day. We have now experienced the successful, yet unexpected winning Phillies and, currently, the offense-starved losing Phillies.  Which one will dominate the rest of the season?
3. Ryan Howard hit a double on Memorial Day. It was his first extra-base hit since May 14 and he is now seven for his last 70 at bats (.100).
4. I watched the Golden State Warriors win three straight to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Western Conference Finals. They were only the 10^th NBA team to rally from a 3-1 deficit.  Stephen Curry is just a joy to watch and so talented.  Curry and LeBron James go at it next.  I will watch.
5. Jordan Spieth won a golf tournament in Texas, his home state, for the first time and showed off a little bit with a 32-foot putt, a 20-foot putt, and a chip-in after hitting a spectator and dropping a 34-foot putt on the last hole. At 22, he has now won eight tournaments.

This coming Monday is Memorial Day.  It is a day to remember those in the armed forces who died serving our country.  Memorial Day began in 1868.  RCN salutes all who served to defend our country and especially those who sacrificed their lives and their families.

On Memorial Day, RCN will offer special programming.  We will present some of the best college and high school games of the past year.  Here is a quick synopsis of the schedule:

9:00 AM – MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL – LAFAYETTE VS COLGATE
WE WILL START WITH COLLEGE BASKETBALL GOING BACK TO FEBRUARY 27, 2016. THE LAFAYETTE LEOPARDS WERE PLAYING THEIR LAST HOME GAME AND THEY WERE IN THE MIDST OF A 12-GAME LOSING STREAK.  NICK LINDNER, THEIR POINT GUARD, AND ZACH RUFER, THEIR #1 PLAYER OFF THE BENCH, WOULD NOT BE AVAILABLE DUE TO INJURY AND THE LEOPARDS COULD MOVE NO HIGHER THAN #10 IN THE PATRIOT LEAGUE TOURNAMENT.  NONE OF THAT MATTERED AS LAFAYETTE TOOK ON COLGATE ON THE LAFAYETTE SPORTS NETWORK.

11:15 AM – WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL – LAFAYETTE VS ST. PETER’S
NEXT UP IS A WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL GAME PLAYED ON NOVEMBER 29, 2015.  HALL OF FAME COACH THERESA GRENTZ TOOK OVER THE LAFAYETTE PROGRAM IN THE SPRING AND WAS LOOKING FOR HER FIRST WIN AS THE LAFAYETTE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL COACH.  A WIN WOULD BE HER 672^ND AS AN NCAA COLLEGE COACH.  THE OPPONENT WAS ST. PETER’S OF NEW JERSEY.

1:30 PM – HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL – SAUCON VALLEY VS BETHLEHEM CATHOLIC
THE PANTHERS OF SAUCON VALLEY HAD A MAGICAL YEAR, GOING UNDEFEATED THROUGH THE COLONIAL LEAGUE AND WINNING THE LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP.  BUT ON NOVEMBER 14, 2015, SAUCON VALLEY WAS POISED TO PLAY THE GOLDEN HAWKS OF BETHLEHEM CATHOLIC, AN OPPONENT OUT OF THE EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA CONFERENCE.  THIS MATCHUP TURNED OUT TO BE ONE OF THE YEAR’S BEST FOOTBALL GAMES. 

3:30 PM – HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL – PARKLAND VS RIDLEY
WE NOW TURN TO PIAA BOYS’ BASKETBALL.  THE PARKLAND TROJANS HAD ALREADY GOTTEN BY THEIR FIRST 4A OPPONENT WHEN THEY KNOCKED OFF CONESTOGA HIGH SCHOOL.  THAT WAS THEIR 24^TH STRAIGHT WIN OF THE SEASON.  THE SECOND ROUND WOULD PROVE TO BE MORE DIFFICULT FOR ANDY STEPHENS’ BALLCLUB IN A GAME PLAYED MARCH 9, 2016.

7:00 PM – HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL – PARKLAND VS ALLEN

IT WOULD BE HARD TO DISPUTE THAT THE BEST BASKETBALL GAME OF THE YEAR TOOK PLACE ON FEBRUARY 12, 2016, WHEN ALLEN TOOK ON PARKLAND FOR THE EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP.  THE FEELING IN THE BUILDING WAS ELECTRIC THAT NIGHT AND THE PLAY OF BOTH TEAMS WAS EVEN BETTER.  THIS GAME WILL FOREVER BE AN RCN SPORTS CLASSIC.  IT’S ALLEN VS PARKLAND AT LIBERTY MEMORIAL GYMNASIUM.

8:45 PM – HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL – LIBERTY VS ALLEN
WE WILL WRAP UP OUR MEMORIAL DAY SPORTS HIGHLIGHTS BY BRINGING YOU THE LIBERTY AT ALLEN GAME PLAYED ON DONMOYER COURT ON JANUARY 22, 2016.  THIS GAME TOOK MORE THAN FOUR QUARTERS TO DETERMINE THE VICTOR AND FEATURED SOME GREAT INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES AS LIBERTY’S CAMERON HOFFMAN AND ALLEN’S TALEK WILLIAMS WOULD PUT ON QUITE A SHOW.

WE HOPE YOU ENJOY OUR LOOK BACK AT SOME OF OUR MOST EXCITING CONTESTS.  WE CERTAINLY EXPECT THE 2016-2017 SEASON TO BE JUST AS EXCITING.  AND ENJOY YOUR MEMORIAL DAY.

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS) 

1. As I write this, Ryan Howard is hitting .226, near the very bottom of all major league ballplayers. In 122 at-bats he has struck out 44 times or 36% of his at- bats.  The only good news is he is tied for the Phillies lead in home runs and is second on the team in RBIs.  If you were the GM and aware that Howard is not attractive trade bait, what would you do – continue to play him and hope he breaks out of the slump or just play the youngsters and pay Howard to sit?
2. With locals Mario and Michael Andretti on the scene and Marco Andretti and Sage Karam driving in the Indy 500 this weekend, I’ll be watching the only auto race I watch all year.
3. The EPC baseball championships featured outstanding play this past week – terrific pitching, fielding, and clutch-hitting. The Conference should be proud of their representatives.  Congratulations to Freedom for winning their first title since 1999.
4. The NFL Giants’ fans should be happy to hear that DL Jason Pierre-Paul has been fitted with a new custom-made glove for his mangled hand. He lost his index finger and part of his middle finger to a fireworks accident last July 4.  No one was sure he would play again, but it was reported this past week that he intercepted an Eli Manning pass with the new glove.  The bad news here is that Manning threw the interception.
5. I attended the Gala in the Garden this past Saturday and hosted a “Red Carpet” event interviewing a number of VIPs. This night, which helps the Pediatric Unit at Good Shepherd Rehabilitation, raised over $302,000.  RCN was very proud to be a major sponsor.

I appeared on Sports Talk this past Thursday with Chris Michael and Joe Craig.  I always enjoy the repartee between Chris and Joe, and Chris and the guests.  The second guest was Brian Ludrof, Lafayette’s Assistant Sports Information Director, who just happens to be my grandson.

It was the 500^th Sports Talk and that deserves special mention.  Chris and Joe have continuously made this show better.  The guests have gone from just being very local to today, with the advent of Skype, where guests can be from pretty much anywhere.  The show continues to look and sound better and that’s a tribute to the “behind the scenes” group that deals with graphics, audio, and directing.  We all look forward to the next 500!

Chris always has a segment on the show called the “Roundtable Discussion”.  It is a rapid-fire reaction to some of the current sports stories of the day.  The five topics this past week were all intriguing so I thought I would elaborate on my thoughts:

• Is Bryce Harper worth $400 million?
  • The Washington Nationals’ may have the best player in baseball in Harper, but $400 million? Right now, Giancarlo Stanton of the Marlins is signed to a $325 million contract.  I have reservations about saying anyone is worth that much, but I also have no doubt $400 million is going to happen soon.  Harper is the most likely candidate to get it.

• Is the Oakland Raiders’ move to Las Vegas a good idea?
  • Not if you ask the NFL. The League would like to maintain the façade that they are not part of the sports gambling that is associated with the NFL.  Putting a team in the gambling Mecca of the U.S., I’m sure, does not sit well with the front office.  Secondly, Vegas is very small market compared to the rest of the NFL cities.  I do think the Raiders really want to stay in California, so it may very well have more to do with what the San Diego Chargers decide (stay in San Diego or move to LA).

• Should or will Carson Wentz play three or more games with the Eagles?
  • The Ravens’ Joe Flacco started right out of Delaware, but the Ravens were desperate. The Eagles are not.  Barring injuries to both Sam Bradford and Chase Daniel or a complete collapse of the team indicated by the win/loss record, I do not think Carson Wentz will play.  The Eagles would be best served to follow the Aaron Rodgers plan of learning behind a veteran (Brett Favre) for a few years and then making him the franchise QB.

• Name a rule change you would like to see in football at any level.
  • I have a few – (1) Make the NFL extra-point rule permanent; (2) Since there seems to be more cheap shots these days, immediate ejection after the second personal foul in one game; (3) Make “half-the-distance to the goal-line” penalties the full distance in order to attain a first down.  In other words, a holding penalty on first down at the offensive teams’ ten-yard line should put the ball on the five, but move the chains to make it 20 yards for the first down (that would still make it a true 10-yard penalty).

• Name a current athlete who captures your attention.
  • Right now, at this time of the year, it’s Jordan Spieth. He has become my Tiger Woods in the sense that I will watch the tournaments he plays in.  He is not dominating right now, but will most probably be ready for the next major at Oakmont.  I know I will watch.

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
 

1. Joe Maddon, former Lafayette student, has the Chicago Cubs playing the best baseball in the majors by far. His team is already eight games ahead of the second-place Pirates in the National League Central.  The Cubs are winning 75% of their games!
2. Speaking of winning, how about those Phils? They are six games over .500, own the second best record in the National League, and are only one game out of first place.  Just amazing!!
3. RCN and The Lafayette Sports Network will be celebrating their 20^th year together bringing Lafayette College athletics this coming fall football season. It sure does not seem that long since I sat in the Lafayette Athletic office and cemented the relationship.  That was 1996 and it was a long time ago.
4. The Blue Mountain League baseball schedule started this past Thursday and RCN will once again have the BML Game of the Week starting Tuesday, June 21.
5. The US Open is at Oakmont this year which is in Pittsburgh. I played the course a few years back and found it to be the hardest course I have ever played.  I spent more time in the sand than I normally do at the beach.  My caddy put a sand rake in my bag so he would not have to walk for one every time.  On one hole, I avoided the sand, but caught him raking a trap anyway.  I asked what he was doing and he replied, “Just staying in practice”.  I tipped him anyway!

Gary will be returning with a new blog on May 16.  This week, he’s asked RCN’s Jim Best to guest blog.  Viewers should recognize Jim from RCN-TV’s coverage of high school wrestling.

About two years ago, when it was announced that the 2016 N.C.A.A. Division 1 National Wrestling Championship tournament was going to be held at Madison Square Garden in New York City, I thought to myself, Well, I will be watching the tournament on television that year because I am surely not dealing with the hassles and cost of getting in and around New York City for a wrestling tournament. However, as the tournament time got closer, and the tournament hype grew, I found myself purchasing tickets and making hotel reservations, and man, am I glad for the change of heart!

Much to my surprise, New York City and Madison Square Garden were more than ready to host such an event. Driving into the city on St. Patrick’s Day morning (the first day of the tournament), was a little tricky, but once in the city and parked, I found it easy to check-in to my hotel, walk to Madison Square Garden (which was only two blocks from the hotel), and get in and out of the arena efficiently, even with metal detectors at the front doors when fans entered for a round of wrestling. Over the course of the three-day tournament, I had a few conversations with folks who had come to the tournament from places like Iowa, Missouri and Oklahoma. For the most part, they too were pleasantly surprised at how manageable it was to get around the city, and most of them were doing some sight-seeing in between rounds of wrestling because this was their first trip to “the big apple.” The only semi-complaints that I heard were over the price of beverages, particularly the ones that are golden in color and are purchased in draft form…but those folks seemed to quickly adapt to the higher than expected prices!

The tournament unfolded over a three-day time period. Similar the N.C.A.A. basketball tournament, brackets for each of ten weight classes are pre-determined by “seeds”. Each weight class has 32-35 qualifying wrestlers, and the first round of wrestling begins on a Thursday morning. Unlike the March madness basketball tournament, every competitor who qualifies for the tournament has the chance to wrestle at least two matches due to a full consolation bracket. In each round, with the exception of the Saturday morning round (that round is all consolation bracket matches), a championship round is contested, and at least one consolation bracket round is contested, with the exception of the championship finals on Saturday evening.

As for the wrestling, the tournament was action-packed and full of upsets, as it usually is. From the very first round of wrestling, highly seeded wrestlers were tested, and in many cases, upset by lower-seeded or non-seeded wrestlers. The storylines of the tournament included Penn State handily taking another team title under the coaching of Cael Sanderson. Of the nine Penn State wrestlers who qualified for the tournament, five advanced to the finals. Of the five Penn State finalists, two were freshman (both lost in the finals), and two won their respective weight class. Both of Penn State’s champions were Pennsylvania products (Nico Megaludis and Zain Retherford), and Pennsylvania accounted for the most All-Americans (to be an All-American, a wrestler must place in the top eight in his respective weight class), as has become the norm in the last few decades.

Local wrestlers who competed in the tournament this year included Zach Horan (Nazareth/Central Michigan), Mike Ottinger (Parkland/Central Michigan), Corey Keener (Blue Mountain/Central Michigan), Randy Cruz (Bethlehem Catholic/Lehigh), Darian Cruz (Bethlehem Catholic/Lehigh), and Pete Renda (Brandywine/N.C.State). Both Pete Renda and Randy Cruz achieved All-American status. I am sure that I missed a few names in that mix, and I apologize greatly to those wrestlers, mainly because I know from personal experience, how hard it is to qualify for that tournament, and every wrestler in the tournament deserves special recognition! All of the local wrestlers competed well, and all are continuing to maintain District XI’s reputation as one of the “toughest wrestling districts in the country.”

At the conclusion of the tournament, the “buzz” among the fans was that the championship finals may have been the most exciting in recent history. Every match was action-packed, with both wrestlers risking potential disaster at times in order to score points on his opponent. The finals ended in dramatic fashion as Kyle Snyder, a twenty year old sophomore from Ohio State, defeated Nick Gwiazdowski, a two-time defending champion from North Carolina State, in a battle of giants at heavyweight, with a come from behind, sudden death overtime victory. In the sports world, it doesn’t get much more dramatic than that!

As I have described to some of my non-wrestling friends and colleagues, attending that tournament is the equivalent to a football fan attending the Superbowl, or a college basketball fan attending the Final Four-it just doesn’t get any better in terms of action and atmosphere. For three days in March, approximately 18,000 diehard wrestling fans converge at the site of the championships to watch the best college wrestlers in the country compete against each other, and then we get to meet at the local eating establishments, in between the rounds of wrestling, to discuss and relive the most exciting moments over a burger and some cold beverages…it truly is a “live, eat and breath” wrestling experience! Next year, St. Louis, will again play host to the tournament. I’m counting down the days!

As I hope you may have noticed, I have been away from my blog for a bit.  April is a quiet sports month for us here at RCN so it is a good time for me to reunite with my wife and with my golf game.  I managed to do both this past month – I went on a cruise and followed that up with a five-day golf trip.  Those obviously made the month fly by, but it is good to be back at the computer and looking towards the baseball championships coming up this month.

The last major sporting event that I watched prior to vacation was the Masters.  I have always been intrigued by the reverence that the announcers seem to pay to this event.  So I did some research and found that, in 1979, the radio and television announcers were given rules and a terminology guide from the Masters committee that they must follow.  Some have lost their job by not obeying the edict.  Here are a few of the rules:

• Never refer to the gallery or patrons as a mob or crowd.
• Never estimate the size of the gallery.
• Never refer to players’ earnings.
• Never refer to Masters prize money.
• De-emphasize the players’ antics.
• Do not compare any holes at Augusta National with those at another golf course.
• The water in front of the 13^th green is not to be called Rae’s Creek, but a tributary of Rae’s Creek.
• Make no reference to Masters tickets having been sold out.
• Make frequent mention of the presentation ceremony to be conducted at the end of the final round.
• Do not guess where a ball might be.
• Do not estimate the length of a putt.

 In addition, there is a Terminology and Style Guide which includes the following:

• Augusta National Golf Club – not Country Club or Golf Course.
• Patrons – the people in attendance are patrons, not fans or spectators.
• Second Cut – there is no rough; the higher grass should be referred to as the second cut.
• Bunkers – they are not sand traps.
• First nine/Second nine – not front nine and back nine.
• Groupings – not “threesomes” for rounds one and two.
• Hole number 1 – not 1^st
• 1st round – preferred term for rounds and Final round for 4^th

There are more rules and more terminologies, but you get the idea.  And… if you announce the Masters, you BETTER get the idea.  Gary McCord was fired in 1994 for saying that “bikini wax” was used on the Augusta greens to make them slick and that some of the bunkers around the course looked like “body bags”.  He has not been asked back.  Long-time announcer Jack Whitaker once referred to the gallery as a “mob scene” and the Augusta committee got him removed from the broadcast.

This Masters will be remembered for the collapse of Jordan Spieth in the final round, but I, for one, paid a bit more attention to every word that was spoken during the broadcast.  And, I am quite sure, so did every one of the announcers (if they wanted to keep the job).

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)

1. Some good news out of Philadelphia – a new Eagles’ quarterback, the Flyers made the playoffs, and, better yet, the Phillies are winning. Light at the end of what has been a very dark tunnel.

2. Speaking of Eagles’ football, Carson Wentz played for North Dakota State. I did a Lafayette-North Dakota State game in Fargo, North Dakota, back in 2011.  Boy, do they love their football.  It was a packed house at the indoor stadium with the loudest crowd I have experienced.  Lafayette lost 42-6.  There is not much else to do out there.  In the local pub the night before the game, dogs sat on the bar stools and they had a meat raffle!  What?

3. I mentioned Bourjos, Hernandez, Herrera, Franco, Howard, Galvis, Rupp, and Goedel as the Phillies position players to start the season. However, it has been the pitching staff, both starters and relievers, who have been responsible for the success of the team so far.

4. As I write this, every team in the National League East, except the Braves, is at .500 or better. The Phillies have the fourth best record in the National League and third best in the NL East.

5. Jim Best will offer up his blog on this site next week. Thanks to him, John Leone, and Scott Barr filling in for me.

Today’s “Behind the Mic” blog is written by long time RCN personality Scott Barr. He has covered a wide range of sports, including kickboxing, track and field, lacrosse, soccer, volleyball, football, and baseball. Most of our viewers, of course, will know him for his work with District XI wrestling. Fans across the valley have heard him call “Give him six!” after a pin, while working with three legends of Lehigh Valley sports—Gary Laubach, Ray Nunamaker, and Jim Best. Outside of RCN, Scott helps small businesses set up retirement plans for their employees, and lives in Macungie with his wife, Melissa, and their four children.

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Hard to Believe

I have a secret that I have been keeping from wrestling fans for years.  When I discovered this about myself, I wasn’t proud, and it took a long time before I could even admit it out loud.  Nonetheless, it’s true.

I like baseball better than wrestling.

There.  It’s out.  I feel a little better now.  Because this is a blog, and there’s space to fill, there is definitely room for explanation.

Many of you know that I have a son who played baseball at a high level.  He had a great career at Emmaus High School.  He was named to various “all-conference” and “all-area” teams as a hitter and a pitcher.  He went on to pitch in college, and was actually a member of an NCAA championship team.  My love of baseball is a direct result of his career.  Each year on opening day, he sends me a “BEST DAY OF THE YEAR!” message, and we both know that it’s true.

As his career got more competitive, my understanding of the game grew as well.  I began to focus on every pitch and every movement of each player.  I even began to appreciate a team’s approach to pre-game rituals, and how they chased after foul balls that went out of play.  Baseball, played well, is a beautiful symphony of activity.  While the pace of the game is often reviled, I appreciate the time to observe, reflect, and consider what is going on.  I really do love it.

Now, baseball for the Barr family has entered a new phase.  I have a younger son—nine years old—who is playing.  From a baseball standpoint, he is NOT his brother.  Let’s just say that he plays for the love of the game.  And I have to tell you, it is an absolute joy to watch.

The little guy has taught me the pleasure of baseball without the pressure.  He, like the vast majority of nine-year olds, does not have a perfect swing.  He’s not interested in a perfect swing.  He doesn’t have a cannon for an arm, but sometimes he will make a cannon sound effect when he throws, just to be cool.  He plays to be with his friends, to get dirty, and to wear a jersey with his name on it.

He is not a future major league prospect, and would rather build Lego sets or play Minecraft if he had his choice all the time.  He truly has fun with the game, and he allows me to have fun coaching.  There is no fretting over an error, or a bad call by an umpire, or a stupid play—by either of us.  As a coach, of course, I will teach the right way to play the game, but it is not the “perfect” model that it used to be.  It is nine-year olds becoming better baseball players than they were yesterday, and that’s it.

Sometimes, while I am on the road for work, I will pull into a parking lot at an empty baseball field and have my lunch.  The scenery, and the memories, relax me.  Of course, I remember the glory of an amazing career for my oldest.  But now, as well, I chuckle to myself about some of the travails of my youngest.  It’s a true yin and yang.  I didn’t even realize that anything was missing five years ago, but it truly was.

I will always be a wrestler at heart, but as my boys and I say, “we will always have baseball.”

Scott Barr

Gary will be returning with a new blog on May 2.  This week, he’s asked RCN’s John Leone to guest blog.  RCN-TV viewers should recognize John from the Lafayette College basketball broadcasts on the Lafayette Sports Network.

When a college has been around for nearly two centuries as Lafayette has, it stands to reason that it not only bears witness to significant historic milestones, but that it also has a hand in producing them. Francis March, for example, occupied the chair of English language and comparative philology at Lafayette College from 1857 to 1907. It was the first post of its kind. March was one of the first professors to advocate and teach English in colleges and universities. Over the years, Lafayette graduates have pioneered the use of laparoscopic surgery, orchestrated cyber-security breakthroughs, and built new companies from scratch. And of course, we loyal Leopards love to trumpet the fact that the use of “The Football Helmet” and “The Huddle” originated on College Hill.

Indeed, innovation – academic and otherwise – has been a staple of the place seemingly forever. But as the calendar turns and we close the book on a dynamic college basketball season, I’m reminded of yet another. It was the spring of 1951 when Lafayette’s former coach, player, and then-Athletic Director, Bill Anderson ’19, reached out to Butch Van Breda Kolff and brought him in as “The Coach.” He was immediately introduced to his senior point guard-in-waiting, Pete Carril, who’d someday carve his own niche among the game’s greatest coaches. That introduction was not only the beginning of a long and beautiful relationship, it spawned a style of play that would impact the game for decades to come.

VBK and Pete saw the game through a different lens as early as the late 40’s. And while the evolution of the game cannot be denied, its basic tenets remain. The pick and roll and the give and go (well, maybe not the give and go so much these days – unless it happens by accident) are still pervasive in today’s game. There is also no denying the fact that the best coaches still manipulate talent to fit into an offensive system. They plug their respective pieces into places on the court where they can be most productive – and, sadly in many more cases, where they can do the least damage. It’s called “good coaching,” and to be sure, it has its place. But too often, that process can devolve into basketball’s version of a Rube Goldberg machine – parts and pieces plugged into spaces with rigid, pre-determined roles and little opportunity for the participants to see and think and do things creatively – and in concert with the four other guys.

I’m struck by the similarities in so many of the offenses that I see these days. What made Butch’s offense so difficult to defend was the fact that it was virtually impossible to prepare for in any conventional way. After all, how could the defense predict what an offense would do if the guys running it didn’t know themselves – that is, until they saw it develop spontaneously? Even Coach Carril’s use of Butch’s basic movement and its principles took on much more structure as he developed his great Princeton teams.  Still, the fundamental premise was for players to see, think, and do – in precisely that order. After all, “the smart do take from the strong”, as Coach Carril points out in his book.

Butch would be the last to use flowery metaphors to explain his offensive philosophy. But watching him implement and grow it virtually every day for the four years we spent together gave me a special window into his genius. He called it “organized confusion”. It was jazz, not classical. And he was the ultimate maestro. Yes, it has its principles and parameters – primarily floor balance and spacing – but what makes it great is its capacity for improvisation, not necessarily off the dribble, but as much without the ball as with it.  Every move is predicated on “seeing” the guy in front of you, reading the defense, and playing “smart”. Each possession becomes a kind of snowflake – virtually never the same as anything that came before it. Put guys in the right spots on the floor, give them a template for intelligent movement, and a coach can create spontaneity. An oxymoron? For sure, but not surprising, since Butch’s life was a paradox. This, after all, was the fun stuff. Butch and Pete would simply call it “playing the game right.”

On the eve of his national championship in 1987, Bob Knight was asked by a reporter which coaches had the greatest influence on him. After invoking the names of guys like Hank Iba and Pete Newell, he told the Times-Picayune in New Orleans that “Butch Van Breda Kolff’s offense at Princeton (1962-66) always mesmerized me.”

In the four years that I worked with Butch at Lafayette, a different position player led us in scoring each year: a center, a forward, a point guard, and an off-guard. Butch refused to put numbers on players. It was no accident, but rather the product of playing the game in a way that allowed the ball to find the right guy at the right time. It would always take a little more time. But around mid-January to early February, the music and the voices would begin to harmonize.

There are plenty of folks who watch the game, whether sitting in packed arenas or flipping channel to channel to witness the thrills and upsets of March Madness.  There are far fewer who see the game. Still fewer have the unique ability to translate and convey what they see into the kind of choreography that allows five bodies to move to the rhythm of a single brain. It’s a different way to coach and teach the game, but the rewards are – at least in my view – infinitely greater.

This point was driven home to me again just last December when I had lunch with Coach Pete. Whenever we meet, we invariably talk basketball – even if not in the same language that most others might understand. I’m not nearly as wise as The Coach, but I always sense that I can “see” what he’s thinking. Pete’s record at Princeton is now the stuff of college basketball legend. But I was struck when the “Old Professor,” an icon in his own right, glanced away wistfully and suggested, “Nobody saw the game like Butch.” High praise from the guy who gave us the Princeton Offense. But Pete still calls him “Coach,” and that’s good enough for me.