Behind the Mic: Dream Come True

High school football is winding down and college football has come to a close.  College basketball has begun and high school basketball is right around the corner.

That can only mean that it is once again time for one of my favorite nights of the year and it has nothing to do with athletics.  It is the night that I co-host the Dream Come True Telethon. Believe it or not (and I am a “not”), we will be doing the Telethon for the 31^st year.  I did not host in the early years, but I have been around for most.

Dream Come True, in case you did not know, was founded in 1984 by Kostas Kalogeropoulous, a local businessman.  The goal of the organization is simple – fulfill the dreams of children who are seriously, chronically, and terminally ill and reside in the greater Lehigh Valley area.  Children are referred by family, friends, clergy, doctors, social workers, etc. and the dreams usually fall into three categories – trips, contact with celebrities, and special gifts (computers, shopping sprees, for example).

Scott Barr will be co-hosting again this year. We have spent this night together for many, many years and I would not want to work with anyone else. He handles the auction area and, boy, is he terrific!  If you watch Home Shopping Network or any of the other television all-day shopping channels, just watch Scott do his thing during the three-hour night.  He is as good as, if not better, than the professionals.  Here are the specifics:

The TELETHON will take place live next Monday, December 5, from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. RCN customers in the Lehigh Valley (Channel 4, 1004 in HD), Delaware County (Channel 8, 608 in HD), and Washington, DC metro (Channel 8) areas can watch live on RCN TV.  A popular component of the telethon each year is the auction.  This year, we will again utilize the on-line auction.  The bidding began on Sunday, November 6, and ends Monday, December 5 at 8:00PM. You can get to the auction here:

Great auction items include:

• A Kindle Fire HDX 8.9
• 2 Ski passes and 2 Snow Tube passes to Blue Mountain Resort
• Autographed Eagles football helmet signed by All-Pro tackle Jason Peters.
• One year subscription to the Morning Call
• Sony PlayStation 3 Slim Harry Potter 3D Experience
• Relaxing Spa treatments at Bear Creek Mountain Resort
• And much, much more!

Again, you can find all of the items by clicking here:

You will find a variety of unique items donated by local businesses as well as our friends from the cable TV networks.  If you want something really unique and not found in any store, tune us in and bid on the items.  You will make Scott’s night and, more importantly, some child’s dream.

The interviews with the children who have had their dreams fulfilled will demonstrate to you just how valuable your donations are.

The important facts again are:
The Date:         Monday, December 5
The Time:         6:00 – 9:00 PM
The Purpose:    To fulfill as many hopes, dreams and fantasies for seriously, chronically, and terminally ill children as possible
The Phone Number to Make a Donation:          1-800-749-8099

All proceeds from the online and on-air auctions go directly to Dream Come True.

Thank you, in advance, for your consideration and support!  Your donation will help make a child’s dream come true!

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS) 

1. As Penn State fans are well aware, the Ohio State win over Michigan on Saturday put Penn State in the Big Ten championship game against Wisconsin. Now, if Penn State wins that game, what does the FBS committee do to create a final four – put in Penn State or will they stay with Ohio State even though Penn State beat them?  Up until now, every final four has had only conference champions.
2. And with all the turmoil as to which teams belong in the top four for college football’s championship game, is it time to go to eight teams? Or does this past Saturday prove that the final games leading up to the FBS final four ARE playoff games?  You judge.
3. Notre Dame University is 4-8! Will they fire Brian Kelly?  Kelly says no, but Notre Dame does not go 4-8 without some coaching change.
4. Congratulations to the Whitehall and Parkland football teams for making it to the PIAA state quarterfinals, but, once again, both ran into Philadelphia private school powerhouses and were eliminated. There is no shame in losing to those teams.  They put an outstanding product on the field.
5. Two teams remain in the PIAA playoffs from our area – Bethlehem Catholic and Notre Dame. Beca will face one of those Philly powerhouses when they take on Imhotep Charter.  We will have that game on RCN-TV LIVE on Friday night at 7:00pm.  The Notre Dame-Middletown game will be on at 11:00 pm from Hersheypark Stadium.  No matter the outcomes, this weekend will end our football season.  The state championship games will be on PCN next weekend.  Thank you for spending Fridays and Saturdays with us.  Basketball is up next!

Gary’s Guesses: NFL Picks – (Last week – 11-4; Overall – 107-69-2 – 61%)
Week Thirteen
DALLAS
ATLANTA
BALTIMORE
CHICAGO
PHILADELPHIA
GREEN BAY
DENVER
NEW ENGLAND
DETROIT
OAKLAND
ARIZONA
PITTSBURGH
TAMPA BAY
SEATTLE
JETS