Last week, I wrote about our nominations for the 2014 College Sports Media Awards. These awards include all the major networks – NBC, CBS, ABC, ESPN, FOX, etc., at the national level. There are also collegiate sports broadcast categories. LSN (RCN-TV) was the only college broadcast network to garner two nominations for the award in the “live event production/collegiate athletics” category. Many entrants received “honorable mention” status so there were plenty of submissions that were not nominated. This was the second consecutive year that LSN was nominated for an award. Once the submissions are made, nominations are determined and this past Thursday in Atlanta at the SVG College Sports Summit, the winners were announced.

To recap for you, the nominees for the live event production/collegiate athletics category were as follows:

COLLEGIATE ATHLETICS
Kansas State University/K-State HD | Women’s Basketball – Kansas State vs. Oklahoma
Lafayette College | Football – Lafayette Football Postgame: Nov. 23, 2013
Lafayette College | Football – Lafayette vs. Lehigh
Rochester Institute of Technology | Men’s Ice Hockey – RIT vs. Michigan
University of Alabama | Football – Alabama National Signing Day
University of Kentucky | Football – Kentucky National Signing Day
University of North Carolina | Baseball – NCAA Regional Game 7: Florida Atlantic vs. North Carolina

Obviously, we were up against some big-time college programs. Well, the votes were tabulated and the winner was the University of North Carolina’s broadcast of a regional baseball game.

To view the winning entry:
http://vimeo.com/channels/750659/92877180

I now understand when watching award shows why the “losers” say “it is an honor just to be nominated”. Because it is! TWICE!! Maybe next year… Darned Tarheels!

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
1. Donald Sterling, the now infamous soon-to-be former owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, invested $12.5 million to buy the team. It appears his wife has agreed to sell the team for $2 billion to former Microsoft CEO Steve Balmer. That’s a $1,988,500,000 profit! Maybe he can buy friends.

2. Okay, I may be accused of being unprofessional here, but I cannot listen to the Phillies TV announcers anymore. Sure, it’s hard enough right now just to watch them play (no timely hitting and poor bullpen), but analysts Matt Stairs and Jamie Moyer along with play-by-play announcer Tom McCarthy are just plain BORING (there, I said it) and rarely insightful. I am not alone in my criticism. At the beginning of May, on AwfulAnnouncing.com, they finished 26th (out of 30 teams) in the fan voting and ended with an average grade of 1.9 = D+. Watch the game on TV but listen to Scott Franzke and Larry Andersen on the radio. It’s much more enjoyable.

3. California Chrome will try to become the first Triple Crown winner since 1978 on Saturday at the Belmont Stakes. He will be able to wear nasal strips. The strips support the tissue over the nasal passages behind the nostril and keep it from collapsing. They cost less than $15. California Chrome has won his last six races with the strips. Sounds like the $15 is a good investment.

4. The SEC wants to provide full-attendance scholarships, simplify recruiting rules, and provide long-term medical coverage for student-athletes. It appears the SEC has the support of the ACC, the Big 12, the Big Ten, and the Pac-12. Maybe this will be the first crack in the autonomous power of the NCAA.

5. Remember the name Mike Nikorak. He is completing his junior year at Stoudsburg High School and has verbally committed to Alabama as a pitcher if he decides not to enter the Major League draft. He is 6’4”, consistently throws the ball 94 miles per hour, and strikes out 1.4 batters every inning. He is a blue-chipper. Even more impressive, this year’s Parkland baseball team beat him 3-0.

As the Sports Director at RCN TV, I certainly am a bit biased toward what is the really important programming on RCN TV. As a matter of fact, I am tremendously biased. However, when I was teaching school, I had many lessons that would promote just the opposite. I wanted my students to be tolerant. I wanted that they not to prejudge before gathering all the facts. I wanted them to forego bias. If I truly believed my own lessons, than I am doing a disservice to all the other fine programming on RCN TV.

Certainly I am proud of all of the fine sports programming that we put out on a yearly basis ( Sports programming ). Our coverage of football and basketball, both high school and college, wrestling, baseball, stock car racing, etc., is both prolific and, I hope you would agree, presented in a very professional manner. In fact, just about a week ago we got great news about our Lafayette sports coverage.

Lafayette entered two submissions from our production of the Lafayette-Lehigh football game to the 2014 College Sports Media Awards. Both entries earned nominations (finalists) in the “Live Event Production” category. The progression for these awards is: submission – nominations – award winner (announced May 29). There’s a long list of “honorable mention” submissions that did not earn nominations.

The nominees for the live event production/collegiate athletics category are as follows:

COLLEGIATE ATHLETICS
Kansas State University/K-State HD | Women’s Basketball – Kansas State vs. Oklahoma
Lafayette College | Football – Lafayette Football Postgame: Nov. 23, 2013
Lafayette College | Football – Lafayette vs. Lehigh
Rochester Institute of Technology | Men’s Ice Hockey – RIT vs. Michigan
University of Alabama | Football – Alabama National Signing Day
University of Kentucky | Football – Kentucky National Signing Day
University of North Carolina | Baseball – NCAA Regional Game 7: Florida Atlantic vs. North Carolina

We were the only ones to receive two nominations in any category.

Here are the links to view our entries in the College Sports Media Awards:
Lafayette vs. Lehigh live action: http://vimeo.com/91928076
Lafayette Championship postgame coverage: http://vimeo.com/91345767

However, sports coverage is not our only niche. After doing some research, I discovered that RCN TV airs 14 hours of programming every day – that’s 98 hours a week! And the programming is as diversified as the viewing audience.

We offer shows on cooking, educational and how-to programming, outdoor interests, and public affairs (Entertainment and Lifestyle ), as well as a wide variety of classic movies and TV shows. (Classic TV, Classic Movies, RCN TV Original)

In addition, throughout the year we present special events such as the Dream Come True Telethon, Celtic Classic athletics and music, the Delaware County Symphony and International Ballet Classique performances, community parades, the Allentown Fourth of July celebration, a Halloween marathon, a Christmas marathon, and on and on.

My bias was, and is, obviously unfounded. RCN TV offers a wide variety of programming to a wide variety of our viewers. What is THE most important programming? That is your decision. And that’s the way it should be. I have learned my lesson about bias.

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
1. Would you gamble if you had a 1.7% chance of winning? Well, if you are the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers, you just might. That was their chance of winning the top selection in the NBA draft. Not only that, they did it for the second straight year and the third time in four years. The bad news is, the Cavs so far do not seem to be improving. The Sixers, by the way, will get picks three and ten. You can watch the actual draft on ESPN, June 26.

2. California Chrome, the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner, will be allowed to wear a nasal strip at the Belmont when he goes for the Triple Crown in horse racing. It took 24 hours for the New York Racing Association to change the rule that banned the strip. If you wanted to gamble here, the odds of that rule being reversed were 100%. Do you really think they would not have allowed California Chrome to run? Since 1919, only 11 horses have won the Triple Crown. Affirmed was the last horse to do it in 1978. 21 horses failed after winning the first two races.

3. Jimmy Rollins will soon become the all-time hits leader for the Phillies, passing Mike Schmidt who collected 2,234 hits in his career. Schmidt says it can’t happen soon enough. He is a big fan of Rollins – “He’s a good man, a good family man, plays the game the way it’s supposed to be played. He’s very likable…” In case you forgot, Schmidt passed Richie Ashburn who was in the announcing booth at the time.

4. May 19, 1974 was the date that the Philadelphia Flyers won their first Stanley Cup – 40 years ago! Remember the names – Freddie Shero, Bobby Clark, Bernie Parent, Rick MacLeish, etc.

5. After broadcasting the District XI baseball championships this week, we will get ready for the PIAA State Baseball Championships on June 13 at Penn State. Let’s hope one of our local teams gets there this year.

If you have been a regular reader of this blog, you know that when I get a chance to go on vacation, my wife and I love to cruise. That is exactly what we did two weeks ago as we boarded the Freedom of the Seas on Sunday, May 4. I feel very fortunate that we are able to do this and truly understand that, financially, many cannot, although, in my mind cruising is a great family vacation value. However, I also hear many reasons why people do not cruise which seem somewhat alien to me.

For example:
“I’ll get sick” – The ships today are so large and are so stabilized that oftentimes motion is almost unnoticeable. There are still passengers who wear patches behind their ears (usually first-timers) or will get a shot that will last a week to fend off motion sickness, but it is hard to believe that such precautions are even necessary these days.

“There’s too much food” – I cannot disagree here, but certainly using a fork or a spoon to lift calories into your mouth is a personal choice, not one the cruise company forces you to do. There is food to be had at all times and the temptation to constantly be eating is certainly there. To alleviate this fear of overeating simply requires willpower.

“There’s nothing to do” – I know of passengers who go on a ship just for that reason; they simply want to rest and relax while being surrounded by beautiful scenery. BUT, if you choose to be active, there are things going on every hour of every day from the time you get up in the morning until you decide to go to bed at night (or into the wee, wee hours of the morning). A Daily Planner offers at least fifty interesting things to do every day.

“My kids won’t enjoy it” – Would they enjoy rock climbing, boogie boarding, surfing, basketball, volleyball, miniature golf, Johnny Rockets, or the many other activities for young children and teenagers, not to mention discovering fascinating ports of call?

If you think you won’t like: having your room cleaned three times a day; having a choice of multiple restaurants all offering fantastic service – lobster tail, prime rib, escargot, shrimp, etc.; top flight Vegas entertainment every single night; a chance to visit some of the most beautiful beaches in the world; sitting by the pool reading your favorite book, then, perhaps cruising is not for you.

I felt just like you 25 years ago until I went once. Now, I try to go ONCE… EVERY YEAR!

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
Instead of my usual five musings for the week, I thought I would finish my “cruising” theme with the Top Ten Dumbest Questions asked by the passengers. This list was created by David Letterman, but has been stolen by cruise directors everywhere:

10. Will the elevator take me to the front of the ship?
9. Do these stairs go up or down?
8. How far are we above sea level?
7. Does the crew sleep on-board? (No, they are thrown into the life boats.)
6. Does the ship generate its’ own power? (No, there’s an extension cord hooked up
to Miami.)
5. To the ship photographers – If the photos aren’t marked, how do we know which
pictures are ours?
4. Is the water in the toilet fresh water or salt water? (I don’t know I haven’t tasted it.)
3. What do you do with the ice carvings after they melt?
2. Is there music in the Disco?
1. What time is the Midnight Buffet?

If you can imagine a time before ESPN, the NFL Network, the MLB Network, the NHL Network, CBS March Madness, etc, etc., then you might know the name Zander Hollander. Before college football and basketball came into your living room on pretty much a daily basis and before there were television channels singularly devoted to professional hockey, baseball, and soccer, there was Zander Hollander. Many of you probably do not know the name. He was called “the official king of sports paperbacks” by Sports Illustrated in the 1960’s. That was my era for childhood sports development. I knew Zander Hollander and I knew his work. He died on April 11 of Alzheimer’s disease.

Zander Hollander wrote approximately 274 books, many with “The Complete Handbook of …” as the beginning of the title and ending with a particular sport in a particular year. Amazon.com lists 23 pages of his book titles in a very large price range with some carrying a $1,000 price tag. Hollander would focus on a given sport in a given year, listing statistics, records, team rosters, and even making predictions for that year. He was extremely prolific, publishing a book almost every three months or so.

Even though he specialized in the “Big Four” of national interest sports, he also wrote or co-wrote The American Encyclopedia of Soccer, Bud Collins’ Tennis Encyclopedia, Lake Placid 1980: The Complete Handbook of the Olympic Winter Games, a tome on Madison Square Garden, and more and more.

I could ill-afford to buy the Hollander books, but luckily, our high school library did have many of them. I was introduced to them while teaching in high school and would use the information often when broadcasting a sport like soccer about which I knew very little. The books would offer up rules, how a game was played, the position responsibilities, stories and anecdotes. The Hollander books also allowed me to keep track of my favorite players and teams, and, more importantly, would settle plenty of arguments or, even better, create some.

I have such fond memories of the detail, the numbers, the tidbits and the trivia that was found in the writings of Zander Hollander. I also find it quite ironic and quite sad that the man who supplied so many memories for sports fans for decades was stricken by a disease that took those memories from him and hid them away somewhere in his brain. Although it strikes me that present-day technology has diminished the joy and the importance of the works of Zander Hollander. There is also something very ironic and very sad about that.

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
1. Actual baseball attendance seems to really be suffering early this season. Is it the weather, the price of tickets and concessions; is it the attention span of the youth of today; is it the competition of other sports; is it all of the above? Something to chew on, though, is that the Baseball Almanac says that baseball attendance is statistically up based on tickets sold, but down based on how many fans really come to the games. Why are there so many fans who can afford to NOT go to the games?

2. I watched the LPGA Lotte Championship late Saturday night (I know, get a life!) as much because of the beautiful Hawaiian scenery as my interest in seeing if Michelle Wie could win a championship. When she first came on the scene, she was supposed to be the female Tiger Woods. That certainly never materialized, but boy did she play well on Saturday, shooting five under par and winning by two strokes. It was only Wie’s third tournament win and her first on US soil. She is 24 and has plenty of time to still be a dominant force in women’s golf. If she plays like she did this past weekend, she will be.

3. The NFL Draft is on May 8. Quarterbacks Blake Bortles (Central Florida),Teddy Bridgewater (Louisville) and Johnny Manziel (Texas A&M) will all go early (top 5?). The Eagles will probably take a defensive secondary player (much needed).

4. Between the Easter dinner and the Easter dessert this past Sunday and, thanks to TiVo, my family watched the Flyers beat the Rangers in Game Two of the NHL playoffs. To me, hockey is a great television sport and NBC and NBCSN are starting to reap the rewards of higher television ratings. They really do hockey well and deserve the rising success.

5. For both your sake and mine, this blog will be manned by guest writers for the next three weeks. Randy Kane of Grandview fame will offer up his thoughts next week, followed by fitness guru Scott Barr, and then onto a very opinionated John Leone. Enjoy!

Instant replay in baseball was first implemented in 2008 for three reasons: 1) to determine if a home run was fair or foul; 2) did a batted ball actually leave the playing field; 3) did a spectator interfere with a batted ball.

The use of replay was greatly expanded for this season to include the following:

• Ground-rule doubles
• Fan interference calls
• Boundary calls (managers may not, however, challenge home run or potential home run calls)
• Force plays at all bases, except whether a middle infielder touched second base during the attempt to “turn” a double play
• Tag plays on the base paths—whether a runner was tagged or whether the runner touched a base (an appeal is still required ahead of the latter)
• Fair/foul calls on balls hit into the outfield
• Catch/trap calls on balls hit into the outfield
• Time plays (whether or not a run scored prior to the third out)
• Whether a runner passed a preceding runner
• Scorekeeping issues, including the count, number of outs, score or substitutions

Judgment calls not specified above, including, but not limited to, pitches called ball or strike, obstruction, interference, infield fly rule and check swings are not.

All games are monitored in New York City by a former umpire or umpire supervisor. Much like the NFL, if a replay is warranted, the crew chief at the game will go to a special monitor to view the disputed play. The umpire must see “clear and convincing” evidence to reverse the call. All of this is supposed to happen in 60 to 90 seconds.

So how is it working? The first challenge occurred March 31, when the Cubs disputed a double play call that their player was safe at first. The Cubs lost the challenge. The decision took 100 seconds. That same day, the first successful challenge was made when an initial single call was changed to an out when the Braves challenged. The first umpire-initiated review took place to determine if a catcher unnecessarily blocked the plate on an attempted score.

In the first 14 days of the season, there have been 21 overturned calls out of 64 challenges in 141 games. The average time is two minutes and 14 seconds. Missed calls are rare, but in a Yankees-Boston game this past week, a call was missed even after it was challenged.

So, after two weeks what can we conclude? Umpires make a wrong call every 6.7 games (not bad). For the most part, the right calls are made so the umpires do not adversely affect the outcome. There are many fewer old-fashioned manager-umpire confrontations.

Sounds good, right? Uh, not quite. I used to like the manager-umpire confrontations – dirt kicked on shoes, spit in face, baseball cap turned around for face-to-face jawing, etc. It’s a bit too civil now for my taste!

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
1. One of the great stories (and more interesting ones) to come out of the Masters this past weekend concerned Jeff Knox. You see, Rory McIlroy, one of the favorites to win the Masters when the week started, was dead last after the cut going into Saturday. He was 51st and since players go out in twosomes, Rory needed a marker (normally their professional playing partner) to go around the course with him. Jeff Knox, a club member, was chosen to be the marker and had the option of walking with McIlroy or playing with him. Since Jeff held the course record of 11-under 61, playing from the members’ tees, he decided to tee it up. They were the first ones out, played in three hours and five minutes before a huge gallery. Jeff played very, very well. He finished with a two-under 70 and beat McIlroy by one stroke! Now, that’s cool!

2. Speaking of golf, statistics say that every year, around one million golfers stop playing. The reasons given are that it is too expensive, too hard, and too elitist. I love golf, but I have to say the quitters are right on all three accounts. The lords of golf (primarily rich, white guys) need to find a way to make the game more enjoyable and more affordable to more people.

3. If you need help in your NCAA bracket next year and if Villanova makes the tournament, choose a team that is in the Wildcats’ bracket. In the last 10 years, the NCAA champion beat Villanova five times.

4. Lafayette held their Football Banquet this past Saturday to honor the 2013 Patriot League champions. Each player received a championship ring. I have to mention Mark Ross, a senior wide receiver. Mark caught 198 passes for 2811 yards and 27 TD’s in his career and was the team MVP. In addition, Mark was on the PL Academic Honor Roll, the Dean’s List, and was the PL Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year. He had a perfect 4.0 GPA. He garnered a great deal of well-deserved hardware on Saturday. He is a true scholar-athlete!

5. I hope you did well on your NCAA Frozen Four brackets office pool this year. You mean you didn’t fill out your hockey brackets? Obviously, there is a significant difference in national interest between the basketball and hockey championships. Union College beat the University of Minnesota 7-4 in the final. Union College has NO athletic scholarships and only 2,241 students. Union College is located in Schenectady, New York….but you probably knew that.

After the first week of major league baseball, I have a very clear (yeah, right) understanding of how the entire season will shake out. As far as I am concerned, there is no need to play any more games – let’s just get right to the Divisional Playoffs. I thought I would be so kind to tell you who will win the Divisions, the Pennants, and the World Series. I also think if you use any of these predictions, you are flat-out crazy.

American League

West
1. Oakland – I loved “Moneyball” and the system still seems to be working for GM Billy Beane.
2. LA Angels – Pujols, Trout and Hamilton could carry this team to the top, but won’t.
3. Seattle – Robinson Cano has to help.
4. Texas – The pitching staff is a huge question mark with all the injuries.
5. Houston – Manager Bo Porter told the team to “shock the world”. They would like to, but not with this lineup.

Central
1. Detroit – Tigers had the second-most wins (93) in AL last year. Another Miguel Cabrera season like last year and they could win more.
2. Kansas City – This team is on the rise – third last year means second this year.
3. Cleveland – They may have the best manager in the division; won 92 games last year; and could win it all. I am picking them third for no apparent reason.
4. Chicago White Sox – 63-99 last year. They should be better because they can’t be worse.
5. Minnesota – $24 million for former Yankee pitcher Phil Hughes – enough said!

East
1. Tampa Bay – I really like Joe Madden, the Rays’ manager – so much so, I have lost my reasoning power and picked them to win the Division.
2. Boston – Isn’t “Big Papi” now “Big Grand-Papi”? I do not think the Red Sox can possibly have the year they had last season.
3. New York Yankees – I wish the Blue Jays and Orioles were better so I could pick them lower!
4. Baltimore – Not bad last year – not good this year.
5. Toronto – Finished last in the East last season; they are better, but will still finish last in the East this year.

Tigers will win the AL pennant.

 National League

West
1. San Francisco – I know everybody is picking the Dodgers here, but Bruce Bochy is the best manager in the Division and he still has a good pitching staff.
2. LA Dodgers – Clayton Kershaw will win almost every five days and this team is solid. They are everybody’s choice (not mine) to win the National League West.
3. San Diego – In this spot last year; in this spot this year.
4. Arizona – Goldschmidt and Trumbo are not household names, but are good hitters and could move the D’backs higher in the standings.
5. Colorado – They will not improve on last year’s position because they did not improve on last year’s team.

Central
1. St. Louis – Great pitching; solid lineup; great organization. Nuts!! I wanted to pick the Pirates.
2. Pittsburgh – Needed more hitting prowess, but did not get any in the off-season. It’s hard to fathom that they will improve on last year’s record.
3. Cincinnati – They won 90 games last year and finished third. Could easily do the same thing this year. They need to switch divisions.
4. Cubs and Brewers will tie for the worst teams in this division.
5. See #4.

East
1. Washington – They do not seem to win the big games when they have to. However, they do have the best pitching staff in the League. If they don’t choke…
2. Philadelphia – Don’t ask me why. I just have a hunch and I think Ryne Sandberg will motivate this team the right way. Hold your breath, Phillies fans, that the old men stay healthy.
3. Atlanta – They always seem to find a way to win, but their depleted pitching staff will hurt them.
4. New York Mets – Hey, they’re the Mets and they can count their lucky stars that the Marlins are in this division.
5. Miami – Once again, they kept the payroll and the talent very low.

Dodgers win the Wild Card and the NL pennant.
The Dodgers will win the World Series, their first since 1988!

You heard it here first!

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
1. “A tradition unlike any other”. That’s The Masters! And it will be unlike any other at least for the last 20 years because Tiger Woods will not be playing in it. Woods, due to his bad back, has played just 10 rounds on tour this year, breaking 70 just three times. So who will win? Well, Russell Henley, Patrick Reed, John Senden, Matt Every, and Matt Jones all have tour wins this year. Who???

2. I am writing this before the championship game, but how about the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship featuring Notre Dame and Connecticut? The two teams go into the final with combined 76-0 records. No final has ever featured two undefeated teams. Connecticut has won 44 straight, since losing on March 12, 2013 to Notre Dame.

3. “This first week of baseball will give us an indication of how bad the Phillies are or how good they just might be.” I wrote this in my blog last week. Well, the conclusion after the first two series with the Rangers and the Cubs is “no clue”. I thought they should have won every game against the Rangers (1-2) and did just fine against the Cubs (2-1). So, they were not so good and then pretty good. Stay tuned.

4. In case you are beating yourself up about your NCAA pool (and I am, for sure, since my administrative assistant TIED me!), let me offer a little solace. Out of 11 million brackets submitted to ESPN, only 612 had the Final Four. That is 0.00005%. I don’t even know how to SAY that percentage!

5. This year three teams were added to the Blue Mountain League and one left. Two of the new ones came over from the Tri-County League, which broke up after last season. They are the Northern Yankees and the Limeport Bulls. In addition, the Roseto Bandits entered as an expansion team. The Vynecrest Reds dropped out. The teams will each play 30 games, with six teams making the playoffs. Martins Creek won it all last year. RCN TV will cover the BML again this summer, assuming summer EVER gets here.

1. When you look at the brackets, wouldn’t you think ONE TEAM from last year’s Final Four would make this year’s Final Four? Last year saw Wichita State, Michigan, Syracuse, and Louisville make it. None are there this year. Hmm…

2. Is there any player who has carried his team to the Final Four better than Shabazz Napier? UConn was ranked #21 in the final regular season AP poll and now they are in the top four. Napier has had games of 24, 25, 19, and 25 points. The last time Florida lost (UConn’s semifinal opponent) was on December 2 when they were beaten at the buzzer by … Shabazz Napier. Hmm…

3. #1, #7, #2, and #8 in the Final Four. That adds up to 18 – the same number as the Final Four last year – #1-Louisville, #4-Michigan, #4-Syracuse and #9-Wichita State. I see a pattern here for future bracket picks, if I could only figure out which teams add up to 18. Hmm…

4. Florida (36-2), the only #1 seed left, has won 30 games in a row. Their two losses were to Wisconsin and UConn. Both of those teams also remain. Might they be able to avenge BOTH defeats? Hmm…

5. Did you remember that Connecticut was barred from the tournament last year by the NCAA, despite having won 20 games? They were penalized for not keeping an Academic Progress Rate the previous four years. It was introduced because the NCAA was concerned that athletes were graduating unprepared for life. Hmm…

6. Do you know why the #1 seed and formerly undefeated Wichita State basketball team is nicknamed the Shockers? I can hear your guesses now – all centering around the word “shock”. Nope. It was a term given to them in the early 1900’s because most of the football players in the off-season worked as wheat shockers. The mascot is actually a funny looking bundle of wheat. Hmm…

7. Does it appear to you, as it does to many, that the officials call too much early in a game and progressively call less to almost nothing as the game winds down? Isn’t a call a call no matter when it appears in a game? And speaking of that, should it really take five minutes staring at a television monitor to make a call? Officials make split-second calls all the time. Shouldn’t one or two looks at a replay decide for them? Hmm…

8. Do you know who the Oregon Webfoots are? They were the first team to win the NCAA tournament back in 1939. Many of the players then went on to fight in World War II against Hitler and the Nazis. Hmm…

9. Did you know that Kentucky’s #8 seed is the lowest that a John Calipari-coached team ever received? He is coaching in his 14th tournament and is in the Final Four. Who has the last laugh now? Hmm…

10. Which coaches in this year’s tournament were the best players? Well, UConn’s Kevin Ollie has to be in the top three along with Johnny Dawkins (Stanford) and Danny Manning (Tulsa). Ollie played on three NCAA Tournament teams and played for 11 different teams in the NBA until he was 37. Who said great players can’t coach? Hmm…

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
1. Although none of my other Final Four picks made it to the semifinals, I did pick Florida to win it all. If they do win, head coach Billy Donovan would become the sixth coach to win at least three championships – John Wooden, Mike Krzyzewski, Adolph Rupp, Jim Calhoun, and Bob Knight are the others.

2. By the way, Billy Donovan makes an average of $3.7 million a year and his contract runs through the 2018-19 season.

3. Mavericks’ owner and “The Shark Tank” star Mark Cuban thinks the NFL is trying to take over every night on television and he thinks they will eventually implode in 10 years. He said, “I’m just telling you, pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered. And they are getting hoggy. Just watch. Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered. When you try to take it too far, people turn the other way.” I have a feeling he may be right.

4. Rest assured the Eagles will now take a wide receiver in the draft now that DeSean Jackson is gone. Since Jackson’s money was not guaranteed, the Eagles also save $6.75 million against this year’s salary cap. The burning question now is, knowing the background of Jackson’s release, where will he end up? Pundits are suggesting he just go to the Oakland Raiders. He’ll fit right in.

5. This first week of baseball will give us an indication of how bad the Phillies are or how good they just might be. They play three games against the Rangers and three games against the Cubs. Neither opponent is expected to contend, but then again, are the Phillies?

On March 26, 2014, I will be inducted into the Lehigh Valley Basketball Hall of Fame. I certainly have plenty of people to thank for this honor and I would like to share some of those sentiments with you.

First, I wish to thank the VIA Lehigh Valley Basketball Hall of Fame Committee for this wonderful honor. Ironically, I always hoped that if I could not play my way into the Hall of Fame, I could certainly talk my way in. And that has happened.

Over 40 years ago, I was teaching English at Wilson High School when I received a call from Fred Anderson of radio station WEST asking me if I wanted to be his color analyst for high school basketball. I was on my way to help supervise a pep rally for the Nazareth-Wilson football game and I really could not talk to him. I promised to call him back. When the pep rally ended, I was on my way to call WEST back and accept the job. It sounded like something I would love to do and WEST was THE sports station in the Easton area. On my way to the high school office to make the call (no cell phones then), I stopped and checked my mailbox and there was a message that said while I was away, Bob Gehris of Twin-County Television had called and would I call him back.

Bob had been my sixth grade elementary school teacher and was someone I greatly respected. I decided I would call him before calling WEST. It turned out that Bob was doing play-by-play for local high school basketball games on cable television and wondered if I wanted to be his color analyst. Two calls within 30 minutes, both offering the same job! And it was a job I was thrilled to try. I asked Bob what the pay was and said I would get back to him shortly. I called Fred Anderson back and, after some discussion, I asked him what the pay was. WEST offered $7.50 a game and Twin-County was offering $15.00. Suffice it to say, I took the television job and have been doing it ever since!

In accepting this award, I feel a bit like a member of a basketball team, because this honor recognizes a team, not just me. Without good camera work, our product is not good. Without the proper replays, engineering, audio, and clear pictures, our product is not good. And certainly, without a good fellow announcer, our product is not good. Without the cooperation of school administration and coaches, the product is not good. So this is more of a team award recognizing those who put the entire package together and I am proud to have worked with this team for over 4500 broadcasts, about two-thirds of which were high school basketball games.

I would be remiss if I did not recognize the people who have been a major part of my journey. First of all is the man who has been our director and the leader of our team for almost all of our sporting events, Rick Geho. Then there are my long-term sidekicks – the man who started it all – Bob Gehris. Next the man who sat alongside me for over thirty years doing basketball, baseball, and football games – Dick Tracy. And my current high school announcing team – fellow announcer, Tom Stoudt, and stats man extraordinaire, John “Beet” Bowman.

In 1996, I retired from teaching and became a full-time employee because of our new association with Lafayette College and the Lafayette Sports Network. We have been doing basketball and football with them ever since. The Lafayette guys deserve special mention – Scott Morse of LSN who is the Director of Athletic Communications and Promotions and I am happy to say a very good friend. My Lafayette cohorts – John Leone, Mike Joseph, and Dan Mowdy. And, of course, there is no job without the support of management and I certainly want to thank the vice president and general manager of RCN PA, Sanford Ames. Please accept my gratitude for your efforts, your camaraderie, and, most importantly, your friendship.

That takes me to my wife. Luba and I have been married for fifty years. Although, technically, if you subtract all the nights I have been away to do games, we probably have about twenty full years together! This job does not work if you do not have support at home. I have that! I can tell you that after doing all those games, I can count on one hand the nights I went out after a game. I always wanted to get home to my family and to my wife. I did not want to be anywhere else. She is certainly in my Hall of Fame.

In conclusion, when I was teaching, I used to tell my students that their happiness was dependent on getting the four A’s from the people who mattered most in their lives, their loved ones, their peers, and significant adults. The four A’s are: Attention, Affection, Approval, and Acceptance.

Attention – You want people to know who you are.
Affection – You want people to like you.
Approval – You want people to let you know that you do a good job.
Acceptance – You want people to welcome you into their circle.

This honor has filled me with the 4-A’s and for that I am very grateful, very humbled, and very happy.

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
1. The Morning Call this past Sunday had an article written by Keith Groller about Larry Miller of Catasauqua. Keith did a wonderful job recognizing both the basketball talent and idiosyncrasies of the player I considered the very best to ever play in the Lehigh Valley. By the way, that’s my quote in the headline. It is a good read. Check it out:
http://www.mcall.com/news/local/mc-larry-miller-retrospective-20140322,0,3953032.story

2. Watching the NCAA playoffs and witnessing so many great players made me think about how many of them actually will become professionals. The NCAA stats say that of the 538,676 high school male basketball players, 17,984 will play college basketball – but only 46 will be drafted by the NBA. According to the NCAA, 3.3% of high school basketball players will play college basketball, 1.2% of them will play professional, and 0.03% of high school players will play professional basketball. It seems pretty obvious that education should be the most important concern for 99% of the athletes.

3. By the way, soccer offers the best chance to become a professional athlete. A whopping 0.09% of the 410,982 high school soccer players get to be pros.

4. One of the scariest moments in my broadcasting career occurred on May 29, 2012 at Coca-Cola Park. Salisbury baseball pitcher, Nic Ampietro, was hit in the head by a batted ball. His teammate, Brad Vangeli, did a recent YouTube piece on the incident which includes our game footage and, more importantly, a happy ending. Check it out:

5. I picked Florida, Louisville, Arizona, and Villanova in the Final Four. Three are alive and one is done. I picked Florida and Arizona to meet in the championship game with Florida winning. Time will tell.

Now that the high school season has come to a close with Central Catholic’s 60-50 loss to Neumann-Goretti on Friday night, it’s time to get serious about the NCAA Tournament. I know Monday, March 17, was St. Patrick’s Day and, also, the birthday of Benito Suarez, the five-time governor of Mexico from 1861-1872. I, unfortunately, will miss both festivities because the NCAA brackets are out! March Madness has officially begun. With the assumption that you would like a little help, I am offering “valuable” inside information on the teams that I consider to be the Top 12.

Top 4 Seeds:
1. Florida – They are healthy (and they weren’t early in the season). They haven’t lost since December 2. Early problems created end-of-season depth – that’s a good thing.
2. Wichita State – 34-0! Everyone is saying they haven’t played the best college basketball has to offer. But, the nucleus of this team barely lost to Louisville, the defending national champ, last year. They have not lost a game since.
3. Arizona – This is the best defensive team in the country. If defense wins championships, they have a shot; if offense does, they can’t make a shot!
4. Virginia – Their games are slow-paced and low scoring, but it has worked for them all year. They won a tough ACC regular season and the ACC tournament. If you want to go against the experts, this is not a bad pick.

The Best of the Rest:
5. Louisville – Defending champs; near the top in both offense AND defense; playing great ball going into the tournament. Could repeat!
6. Kansas – Is Joel Embiid (back problem) able to play? If yes, they could beat anybody; if no, probably not in the final four.
7. Iowa State – They won the Big 12 and could make it to the Final Four. I’m cheering for Villanova to beat them and for the Wildcats to get to the Elite Eight.
8. Villanova – They were upset by Seton Hall in the Big East tournament. They will be rested; they win close games (4-0 in overtime); and have local product, Darren Hilliard. Go Wildcats!
9. Creighton – Villanova’s nemesis (they could only meet again in the national championship), they have the most prolific scorer in college basketball (3,000+ points) – Doug McDermott. Great players tend to carry their teams to great performances in the tournament.
10. Michigan State – Another team in the East bracket (Virginia, Iowa State, Villanova). When they want to play, they are among the very best.

Nostalgic Picks:
11. UCLA – Great offensive team; Steve Alford at the helm. But, can they beat Florida?
12. Kentucky – Their freshmen make plenty of mistakes and, also, plenty of great plays; whichever is the majority will determine their fate.

I would give you my picks, but then, I would lose the “for amusement only” office pool.
Actually, I haven’t filled out my pool yet and I am certainly skeptical of everything I have told you! Now, if I could only find a trusted source…

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
1. Best high school team(s) I saw this year – Neumann-Goretti’s boys’ and girls’ teams; the talent level might have been even more impressive on the girls’ team (40-3 halftime lead in the quarterfinals!) than it was on the boys’ team. I will be shocked if both of these teams are not state champions.

2. Best player I saw this year – I am happy to say he came from the Lehigh Valley. I expected Miami-bound Ja’quan Newton to fill the spot, but no one was better this year than Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman, finishing his career with a 30-point performance against Neumann-Goretti. I am truly looking forward to his college choice and I hope that he chooses a school that has great TV visibility in the East.

3. Best game I saw this year – Allen at Parkland (1/24/14): Parkland won in double overtime by an 82-74 score; there was lots of scoring and plenty of dramatic moments down the stretch. It was a great high school game.

4. Best pre-game conversation (and there were plenty) – Bill Stein, assistant coach at Liberty. I knew Bill was the former athletic director at Saint Peter’s University. I did not know he was an assistant coach at Georgetown University for 10 years under head coach John Thompson. He was there when they went on to win the National Championship. His most famous recruit was Patrick Ewing.

5. Best part of the job – Watching how efficiently and seriously the crew operates each and every night to bring you the best games, the best pictures and the best replays. And a special “Thanks for a great season” to Tom Stoudt, John Leone, and “Beet” Bowman – only they know how much fun we really have!

At this time of the year only the best basketball teams, whether it be high school or college, are still playing. We have, indeed, begun March Madness. The yearly event draws its name from the frantic race to decide the various league, conference, district, state, and national championships. As we watch the teams, we are equally thrilled by the play of outstanding individuals. I mean, good teams are made up of good players.

We have certainly had our share of outstanding individuals this season on RCN TV. To name just a few, Central Catholic’s Muhammad Ali Abur-Rahkman has scored over 2,000 points as he winds down his high school career; Bethlehem Catholic’s Kalista Walters has over 1,600 points and will probably break the school record shortly; Lafayette’s Seth Hindricks went over 1,000 points this season, missed 10 games and is only a junior! And now that we are in the state playoffs, I get to see teams that have one or two individuals who are just ridiculously skilled.

If you are anything like me, you must wonder, “How did they get so good?”

A New York City tourist once asked the famous question: “How do I get to Carnegie Hall?” The answer given became equally as famous, “Practice, practice, practice!”

I would guess the answer would be the same for an outstanding basketball player. It’s practice! How many hours of work have they put in; how many shots have they taken; how many laps and suicides have they run; how many foul shots have they practiced; how many rebounding, dribbling, passing drills have they been through? How many days and years have they devoted to be the best they can be?

The answer is best exemplified by a young player driven to be not just good, but outstanding. Let me introduce you to Jordan McCabe. Take a moment and watch his YouTube video:

Jordan McCabe will be a great player some day. He can’t miss. He learned early on that he had a passion for basketball and he wanted to be the best that he could be. He knows the formula for success – “Practice, practice, practice!”

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
1. You probably missed the irony of Ryan Braun’s return to baseball. Braun, if you are unfamiliar with the name, plays for the Milwaukee Brewers, was the 2011 MVP, and was suspended for 65 games last season for violating MLB’s anti-drug agreement. In the spring opener this month, while a fan was yelling, “MVP-ED” (for Performance Enhancing Drugs), he stepped to the plate and hit an 0-1 pitch over the wall, 345 feet away. Go figure!

2. Is this road rage? If you smash your own car in a fit of anger, are you guilty of anything other than stupidity? Richie Incognito, of Miami Dolphins bullying infamy, took a bat to his $300,000 Ferrari, smashing the hood and the grill. The police said there was no crime because there was no victim. Mr. Incognito would not press charges against himself. Go figure!

3. It sure looked like a certainty a few years back that Tiger Woods would break Jack Nicklaus’ record for majors won. Jack has 18; Tiger-14. Not so certain anymore. Tiger is 37 years old and in the last 50 years no one over 37 has won five majors. The competition each week is now stiffer than at any other time in history. He is not in great shape physically – a reconstructed knee, a bad ankle, and, now, a back that can cause him problems every time he plays. Now, the odds seem to be against him. Go figure!

4. I went to the Demi Lovato concert in the Lehigh Valley last Thursday night (don’t ask!). At 4:30 when I arrived for dinner, there was a line, at least the length of a football field, of young teenage girls waiting for the doors to open at 7:00. To make a long story short (again, no questions), the show started at 7:30 with a DJ, a magician, a soloist, more DJ, more magician, a girl-group, and more magician. Demi Lovato came on at 10:00 (that’s right – 2 ½ hours after the show started)! I left after one and a half songs! Three hours of my life I will not get back. Go figure!

5. Six Lehigh Valley teams are still alive in the state basketball playoffs, as I am writing this – two boys’ teams and four girls’ teams. Take the road trips with us to Pottsville, Reading, Souderton, Hazleton, and wherever else we may travel.