One of my favorite Seinfeld episodes (and there are many) is the one where Elaine becomes friends with George’s girlfriend, Susan.  George has a theory that it is just not good if these two separate worlds collide intermingling his friendship world with his romantic world.  Take a look:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koUGfRumE1k

I bring this up because I wanted to watch the episode again and because it made me think about the upcoming Pay-per-View event – Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Conor McGregor.

In case you do not know, Conor McGregor is a mixed martial artist and professional boxer with the MMA and the UFC. He is the biggest Pay-Per-View attraction in MMA history.  His rematch after a loss against Nate Diaz became the highest selling pay-per-view in UFC history with 1,650,000 purchases.

Now, McGregor is moving into the boxing world of Floyd Mayweather. McGregor can box (it’s considered his greatest skill).  As a UFC fighter, he would often insult the skills of Mayweather.  Mayweather heard enough and announced he would come out of retirement for a boxing match with McGregor.

Floyd Mayweather is considered to be one of the greatest boxers of all time, undefeated and a winner of fifteen world titles. He is an accurate puncher with outstanding defensive skills both on display in his biggest win over Manny Pacquiao.  His record going into the McGregor fight is 49-0.

On August 26, the two will meet. The match will be held under boxing rules.  Ten-ounce gloves will be used.  No kicks or takedowns will be allowed.  Each round will be three minutes and it is scheduled for 12 rounds.  All of these rules, one would think favors the professional boxer – Mayweather.

The expectation is that this will create the biggest LIVE gate in history surpassing Mayweather-Pacquiao which earned over $72 million. Ticket prices begin at $3500.  The Pay-Per-View audience is also expected to break records with prices in the $90-$100 range.  Mayweather-Pacquiao created 4.4 million buys.

The pre-match hype has featured bombastic challenges using the most profane language. Most experts feel that Mayweather’s boxing skills give him a great advantage, but McGregor certainly possesses tremendous knockout power.

Mayweather is a huge favorite to win, but rest assured, MMA fans will back their man, who promises to win by knockout in less than four rounds.

So, on August 26, the two worlds will be colliding. Is it good for boxing? Is it good for the MMA?  And, as George says, “There’s going to be trouble” and could cause both to “cease to exist” as we know them.

You have a few weeks to decide how interested YOU are in the outcome.

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)

1. 1. Monica, Ed, and Billy McCaffrey were all great athletes at Allentown Central Catholic. Ed’s son, Christian, was a great player at Stanford and a Heisman runner-up, and was selected eighth in the NFL draft by the Carolina Panthers. He is both a running back and a receiver. Early word out of the Panther camp is that no one can cover him one-on-one out of the backfield and linebackers can’t tackle him. If his career is anything like Ed’s with the Denver Broncos, I may become a Panther fan.
   2. An eating disorder, depression and thoughts of suicide are not descriptions often associated with a college placekicker, but Penn State’s #99 Joey Julius suffers from all of these psychological problems. So, he has checked himself into a treatment center in St. Louis and will not be part of the Penn State roster this season.
   3. The NFL has eased the rules on touchdown celebrations. Group celebrations will be allowed and the ball can be used as a prop, but no obscene gestures, throat slashing, gun or bow and arrow shooting. How creative will the players get?
   4. With high school and college football practices set to begin, I reflected back to the three-a-days we went through in the heat of August – morning, afternoon, and evening practices to get ready for the season. The NCAA now restricts formal practice to one, three-hour session, live contact only three days a week, and one day off. All in the interest of safety. Good idea!
   5. No blog next week. One more break before football!

Even if you are not into golf, by now even you know of the amazing rally by Jordan Spieth at the British Open on Sunday. He played the final five holes five under par after losing the lead in the tournament for the very first time in four days.  In doing so, he, along with Jack Nicklaus, became the second player to win three of the four Grand Slam tournaments by the age of 23.  If he wins next month’s PGA Championship, he would be the youngest to win the Grand Slam.

So I now know what Spieth has accomplished at such a young age. It made me curious about some of the accomplishments of other young athletes in other sports.  Who were some of the others to make an early name for themselves as a youngster?

Baseball: Julio Urias (19 years old) – Became the youngest starting pitcher to pitch in the major league for the Dodgers in 2016. He lasted 2-2/3 innings.

Tennis: Michael Chang (17 years old) – Won the 1989 French Open, becoming the youngest winner of a tennis grand slam singles event by beating #1 Ivan Lendl in a four- hour match.

NFL: Amobi Okoye – (19 years old) – Played college football for the Louisville Cardinals at age 16; drafted in the NFL at age 19 and played in an NFL game at the age of 20.

NBA: Andrew Bynum (18 years, 6 days) – Played for the Los Angeles Lakers alongside Kobe Bryant (who at 18 years, 158 days became the youngest ever to start an NBA game), made an All-Star team and was a member of two championship teams.

Soccer: Freddy Adu (14 years old) – Became the youngest athlete to sign a professional contract, the youngest to appear in an MLS game, and the youngest to score a goal in the MLS.

NASCAR: Joey Logano (18 years old) – Became the youngest to win a NASCAR Nationwide Series race.

Men’s Golf: Guan Tian Lang (14 years old) – The youngest golfer to qualify for the Masters. He made the cut and became the youngest to do so.

Women’s Golf: Michelle Wie (10 years old) – The youngest player to qualify for the US Amateur; later she became the youngest to make an LPGA cut and the youngest to play in a PGA event.

“Children should be seen and not heard” is a phrase I heard often as a child.  I am assuming all of the teenagers who I just mentioned rarely heard that idiom.  Instead, “youth must be served” seems much more appropriate in these remarkable examples of early accomplishments.

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)

1. Chicago Bears linebacker Jerrell Freeman used the Heimlich maneuver to save a man’s life in a Texas airport on Sunday. The man was choking while Freeman was enjoying a brisket sandwich. His quick action probably saved the man’s life.
2. The Cubs had a mediocre start to the MLB season prior to the All-Star break and were five games out of first behind the Milwaukee Brewers. Since the break, they have won eight of nine and moved into a tie for first place in the NL Central. Is the magic back?
3. The British Open featured two of the easiest players to get behind and root for – Jordan Spieth and Matt Kuchar. So Spieth’s win was not a disappointment for this fan, but one had to feel for Kuchar who was trying to win his first major. Kuchar did win $1,067,000, however, to ease his pain.
4. A golfer who made the cut in the British Open and finished dead last (70^th) earned $23,600 for his efforts. Still not a bad paycheck for a week at the office.
5. Mark your calendar – Freedom takes on Central Catholic in our opening football game of the year. Tune in at 7:00pm on Saturday, August 26.

One of the great benefits of sports is that, for a few hours, one gets away from the trials and tribulations of everyday life and watches cars go around an oval, a pass being thrown, a homerun being hit and, … well, you get the picture.

And one of the focal points of everyday living certainly has become politics.  There has not been anything more polarizing in our society since this last election.  Everyone not only has an opinion, they have very strong opinions and they do not particularly want to hear yours!

So it is probably best if the sports worlds and the political worlds are kept separate.  It certainly didn’t help Chris Christie’s popularity in New Jersey when he attended the Dallas Cowboys game against Detroit as the guest of the Cowboys’ owner.  Seems Christie does not root for the Jets, the Giants, or the Eagles – the three closest NFL teams to New Jersey – he roots for the Cowboys.  He would have been better off politically if he had just stayed home.

The sports and politics worlds collided again this past weekend.  The LPGA held the U. S. Women’s Open at Trump National in Bedminster, NJ.  This did not sit well with a large number of protesters, both at the course and around the country, who felt the women should not be playing at a course owned by the President whom they feel has sexually harassed women.  To make matters a bit worse (if that’s at all possible), there was video of Trump driving across a Trump National green a few weeks ago.  Driving across a green – this violates all rules of golf etiquette (unless you own the course, I guess).

And the players got caught in the middle.  This is the most important championship in women’s golf.  It has the largest purse and is the most prestigious.  To ask them to skip the tournament in protest against the host seems unfair.  During the week, the players went out of their way to stay out of the controversy because they are well aware that any answer would be seen as the wrong answer by so many.

So they played.  And the President showed up.  To the President’s credit, he did not get too involved other than watching from his temporary bungalow.

There were some peaceful political demonstrations, but the tournament took center stage and it was a great one.  An amateur almost won and the three-day leader couldn’t hang on until the end.

Politics and sports came together, but much like oil and water, they did not mix and that’s the way it should be.

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)

1. At the MLB All-Star break, two rookies are making the most impressive news.  In the National League, the Dodgers’ Cody Bellinger has 22 home runs in 52 games and hit 10 homers in 10 games, a record.  On Sunday, he hit for the cycle.  In the American League, the Yankees’ Aaron Judge has set the Yankees record for home runs by a rookie (30) and leads the majors in six categories.  And, he was the first rookie to win the Home Run Derby.
2. Speaking of the MLB, the games so far this year are taking longer than ever – three hours and nine minutes.  This is five minutes longer than last year.  ESPN’s 18-inning game lasted six hours and five minutes.  Rule changes to speed up the game are on the horizon.
3. What has happened to the Cubs?  As I write this, they lag five-plus games behind the Brewers.  They are in the bottom third in the league in runs scored and hitting.  Their pitching is giving up almost five runs per game.  Joe Maddon will need some second-half magic.
4. Jeongeun Lee played in the US Women’s Open but was listed on the board as Lee Je6.  On the Korean LPGA tour, she is the sixth player with the exact same name.  There was another Jeongeun Lee in the Open and she was, as you might expect, Lee Je5.
5. We finish up our Blue Mountain League game of the week next Tuesday, July 25.  It has been a great year in the BML with very competitive teams and games.  The playoffs should be terrific.  If you’re a baseball fan, get out to a game or a series.  Thanks to the League officers and the managers for all their help.

In case you missed it, Saturday was the first day of NBA free agency and some rather large contracts were signed. The big names caused a big stir. Stephen Curry signed for $201 million (5 years); Blake Griffin for $175 million (5 years); and the 76ers got JJ Redick for a mere one-year $23 million contract. Curry’s deal was the biggest in NBA history and, it seemed to me, that it had to be one of the biggest of all time.

I knew there were bigger contracts over longer periods of time, but how did this one stack up on a per-year basis? I investigated. According to Wikipedia, only boxer Floyd Mayweather made more in a year than Curry – $72 million-plus in 2015. Kobe Bryant in his last year made $20 million. Five players in the NBA currently make more per year than Bryant ever did.

Is it justified? It would certainly be hard to argue the value of Curry or Griffin to their respective teams. Some things would seem to be obvious – they put people in the arenas; they therefore add to the concession dollars; they play up to their potential; and, most importantly, the owners think they are worth it. To me, that’s enough said. Unless the owners are willing to greatly reduce the price of a ticket (which they are not), I have no problem with the players getting a large piece of the pie that would otherwise go to the owners.

By the way, of the top 25 sports contracts on the Wikipedia list, 22 were signed by baseball players. Curry, Griffin, and Mayweather were the only ones to crack the list.

Where are the NFL players? This is interesting because when you look at their per-game paychecks from last year, they do just fine (not that anyone thought they were hurting financially). Andrew Luck of the Indianapolis Colts made $1.4 million per game; Jay Cutler $1.1 million; Colin Kaepernick, Matt Ryan, and Aaron Rodgers made $1.3 million. Super Bowl quarterback Tom Brady is not in the top 125 considering overall contracts.

So what do we take away from this? These are very talented people who are, obviously, highly valued financially in our society, rightfully or wrongfully. They are making more money for an event or a season than almost every American household will make in a lifetime. When it comes to the concerns of most Americans – putting food on the table, clothing the children, the economy, worrying about Obamacare vs Trumpcare, or Medicaid and Medicare, most cannot relate to their income.

However, we also create their value by buying the expensive tickets, the over-priced beer and food, and their jerseys. When we say they are not worth getting paid what they make and then buy tickets to their games, we deflate our own argument.

Bottom line – in our society, we are all worth what someone is willing to pay us!

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
 

1. Speaking of NFL contracts, Oakland Raiders QB Derek Carr will make $25 million this season, but that’s not the point here. In 2019, the Raiders will move from California to Nevada. California has the highest income tax in the nation and Nevada has no state income tax. Carr will save $8.7 million in taxes!
2. Yankees’ rookie Aaron Judge has put up home run, RBI, and batting average numbers to warrant being named both the Rookie of the Year and the MVP. Fred Lynn and Ichiro Suzuki are the only players to win both awards in the same year. By the way, Fernando Valenzuela is the only player to win the Rookie of the Year and the Cy Young Award in the same year.
3. If you follow the PGA, you know that Phil Mickelson and caddy “Bones” MacKay split after 25 years together. Mickelson’s brother, Pete, will take on the caddy role. So what does MacKay do? He signed a multi-year contract with NBC/Golf Channel to be an on-course announcer. His insights should be somewhat different from all the former players who have become announcers.
4. It’s not just our President who gets in trouble with his “tweets”. Rory McIlroy had problems this past week himself. Fellow golfer Steve Elkington suggested that McIlroy, with “100mill in the bank”, was so rich he is “bored” with golf and that is why McIlroy missed the US Open cut. McIlroy tweeted it was more like “200mill, not bad for a ‘bored’ 28-year-old.” He regrets that tweet and has turned his Twitter account over to his wife. Is there a lesson here for our President?
5. Our “first-time ever” broadcast of the Men’s Senior Baseball League continues to get postponed due to weather. We will get it done at some point. But the Blue Mountain League Game of the Week continues on Tuesday, July 18, when the Orioles visit the Limeport Bulls. Watch at 9:30pm.

Sunday is, at least for me, a day of watching sports. I try not to interfere with family time, but I must admit, between the NFL, college basketball, and golf, there is often a magnetic pull towards the remote control anytime I am in the family room.

This past Sunday was no exception. The Travelers’ Championship was on CBS and Jordan Spieth was in the lead.  I enjoy rooting for Jordan, I had played the golf course, and Travelers is my insurance company, so I just had to tune in.  On a day when Spieth could not make a putt, he dramatically wins the tournament in a playoff by holing a sand shot from 60 feet away.  Another $1.2 million in his 24-year-old bank account.

I figured my sports’ viewing for the day was over. Then on comes 60 Minutes, a show my wife and I watch every week.  They did a very, very interesting piece on Artificial Intelligence.  The final story was on a Japanese baseball player named Shohei Ohtani who plays for the Nippon Ham Fighters.

Ohtani is a 6’4, 215 pound, 22 year-old right-handed pitcher who has thrown the ball an amazing 102.5 miles per hour. To steal some facts from the show, he has a higher strikeout rate than Clayton Kershaw, has thrown the fastest pitch in league history, strikes out 11+ batters per game, and last year had an ERA of 1.86.  And, oh, by the way, that’s just on Sundays.

During the week, except for the two-day rest he gets before he pitches again, Ohtani is the designated hitter. That’s right – when he doesn’t pitch and hit, he just hits.  “Just” is a misplaced adjective here.  Last year, he had 22 home runs, hitting the long ball 6% of the time he came the plate.  That’s a better percentage than Bryce Harper and Mike Trout of Major League baseball.

And it looks like this is his final year of Japanese baseball. He is, most likely, headed here.  BUT, he will only play for a team that allows him to hit when he pitches and hit when he doesn’t.  The last player to do that and do it well was Babe Ruth!

He currently makes @ $2 million, lives in a team dorm, does not drink, and has no car. He would have garnered close to $20+ million had he signed an MLB contract last year, but the new bargaining agreement limits international players from earning over $10 million and they must play at least six years with the team that signs them.

Ohtani doesn’t care. He says he has enough money.  And he is anxious to bat against Kershaw and pitch to Harper.

The first piece on 60 Minutes was about robots doing amazing things that humans cannot do.  The Ohtani story seemed to be just a continuation, but this was an amazing thing that a human can do.  Much like Babe Ruth did.

Check out the segment:
http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/japans-babe-ruth-2/

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)

1. ESPN is polling fans to choose the top quarterbacks on a given team. For instance, the Packers’ top three would have to be Bart Starr, Brett Favre, and Aaron Rodgers. How would you rank them.  Ironically, ESPN has listed 19 teams and the Eagles are not one of them. Are they telling us something or did they just not get to the Birds yet?
2. Speaking of “telling us something”, on the ESPN “This Week in Sports” search under MLB, there are 166 stories listed. The Phillies are the focus on one! That story is about their Saturday win (I guess the rare win warranted the story) over the Diamondbacks. Pathetic.
3. It was announced this week that the Saucon Valley Country Club will host its eighth USGA championship in 2022 when the Senior Open comes to the Lehigh Valley. That is the year when Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els, Steve Stricker, and many other famous names will be eligible to play. RCN has always been proud of their telecommunication assistance during the past tournaments. It should create a great deal of national excitement for our area.
4. The Cedar Beach Basketball Showcase in Allentown is, often, an indicator of which local teams will be the best in the upcoming high school season. The early favorites are familiar – Emmaus, Allen, Central Catholic, and Bangor (of the Colonial League) all look solid again. Sleepers could be Nazareth, Northampton, Liberty, and Dieruff (yes, Dieruff). That’s plenty of teams creating plenty of competition. It looks like another good year.
5. No Blue Mountain League Game of the Week this coming Tuesday night (it’s July 4). However, on Friday, July 7, you can watch the Senior Baseball League on RCN at 9:30 PM. It’s their first television game in history and features the Gabelsville Owls vs the Palmisano Rangers.

We’re taking a holiday break next week, so there will be no blog. Wishing you a happy and safe Independence Day!

For most fathers, Father’s Day is a special weekend.  My family celebrated on Saturday and it was a wonderful day.  The celebration continued into Sunday like it does every year for me because that is when the US Open Golf Championship is decided.

Much of the time when I play these days, it is in a charity tournament. Ninety-percent of the time the format of the tournament is a “scramble”.  This means after everyone hits, your group takes the best shot and everyone plays from there.  That process continues until the ball is in the hole.  Because we are always playing the best shot, it is not unusual, unlike when one plays their own ball, to get pars and birdies.  This allows one’s team to get scores much like the pros.

So Sunday, I am camped in my recliner watching the golf and being amazed by the shots of eventual winner Brooks Koepka.  He is making birdie after birdie on the back nine and he even threw in an eagle.  My wife, supposedly reading the Sunday paper and playing games on her phone, seemed to become very interested in the leader.  “He certainly goes to the gym”, she offered up and I now realize she is suddenly interested in golf.  This is as rare as a snowstorm in July.

Then she opines, “Why do they call the scores pars, birdies, or eagles?”  No one ever asked me that before.  I know what they are; I do not know their origin.  So I decided to find out.  I’m not sure she really wanted to know, but now I did.

It turns out a man named Hugh Rotherham in 1890 standardized the number of shots a golfer should take at each hole.  This score eventually became a “bogey” named after the Bogey man, a goblin or devil.

Par was derived from the American stock exchange term which is a stock’s normal figure.  Par was actually used before bogey, but Americans did not like the British system and began referring to one over par as a bogey.

“Birdie” was an American slang term meaning excellent.  It originated at the Atlantic City Country Club in 1903 and meant one under par.  A stone on the course signifies the origin (I’ve played there and have seen the rock below):

“Eagle” just became an extension of the bird theme and came about shortly after “birdie” came into vogue.   It meant two under par.  The extremely rare three under par was named after a very rare bird – an “albatross”.

So now I know the origin of the terms and I will tell my wife to read this blog.  I just have a feeling that if the blog does not include a picture of Brooks Koepka, she might not be all that interested.

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS) 

1. I’ve had it with the pace of Major League baseball. Pitchers take too much time; batters step out of the box too often; managers make too many trips to the mound and there are too many pitching changes.  Throw in a 17-inning game from time to time and baseball becomes excruciatingly slow.  I hope the rules “they are a-changin’”.

2. It looks like the “76ers” are going to get a first-round draft pick. It appears that Washington point guard Markelle Fultz will be the selection.  A great point guard could actually make them competitive.  Dare a Philadelphia fan get one’s hopes up?

3. Ever since her UConn days, I always loved watching Diana Taurasi play basketball. Her talent and enthusiasm were what made her stand out.  She just seemed to love the game.  This past Sunday she became the all-time leading scorer in WNBA history.  After Sunday’s game, she had scored 7,504 points.  Amazing!

4. Watching golf on FOX is still not the same as the Golf Channel, NBC, or CBS. Joe Buck had an awkward moment when Brooks Koepka kissed a girl after he won the US Open and Buck incorrectly identified her as Koepka’s former girlfriend.  The young lady was his new girlfriend.  It was later corrected.

P.S.  FOX is much better than they were the first two years.  However, there is still room for growth.

5. Watch the Blue Mountain League Game of the Week every Tuesday night at 9:30 PM.  On Friday, June 23, you can watch the Senior Baseball League on RCN at 9:30 PM.  That game will be from Sam Balliet Stadium.  It’s always nice to go back there.

No matter how you look at it, it has been a good year for District XI.  Chairman Bob Hartman and his committee have managed 24 sports for 54 schools, but they have done that in the past.  This year, however, they managed many of those sports by adding two more classifications to the mix.  Where the maximum number of classifications before this year was four, they were forced to manage six this season.  That is a 33% gain in games and champions in those sports that were affected.  There were more playoffs, meaning more schools and more champions.

Last year at this time, when it seemed like it would be a nightmare for everyone to adjust, the District XI planned for the contingencies well in advance.  Therefore, for the most part (despite weather being a troubling factor), all was accomplished rather seamlessly.  One can argue the merits of adding more classes, but it would be hard to argue that District XI was not up to the challenge.

Another major accomplishment of the committee was the use of the PPL Center for the AAAAAA boys’ basketball semifinals.  With 7000+ fans in the stands, four outstanding teams, and some of the greatest Lehigh Valley high school players to play in the same place on the same night, it may very well have been the single most legendary night of District XI basketball.  Again, praise goes to Bob Hartman and his staff.

Instead of resting on their laurels after what had to be a trying year logistically, this past week it was unveiled that a District XI Hall of Fame will be organized “as a means of recognizing, preserving, and promoting the heritage of interscholastic sports in District XI”.  Those eligible for admittance will consist of athletes, contest officials, coaches, and contributors.

If you have been around District XI athletics for as long as, or even longer, than I have, you can imagine the monumental task of paring down the list of entrants to a manageable number each year.  The McDonald’s Lehigh Valley Hall of Fame has nearly 100 members and the VIA Lehigh Valley Basketball Hall of Fame is nearing the 200-member total.  That is just in two sports – basketball and football!  Now, consider the outstanding high school athletes who have passed through the Lehigh Valley in the past 30+ years in 21 other sports.  To use a pet phrase of mine – “Oh my!!!”

And, to their credit, this is not something that District XI needed to do.  They have placed this challenge upon themselves and, for that, they are to be commended.  And, if history is any proof of their ability to meet the challenge, it will get accomplished.

So when accolades are being tossed around at the end of this school term, all lists should include the work and accomplishments of District XI.  It bears repeating – District XI has had a very good year.

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS) 

1. “Familiarity breeds contempt” goes the adage. It is no more evident than in the NHL and NBA finals.  As any fan can see, play the same people day in and day out and things get particularly nasty and “chippy”.  Each additional match or game becomes that much more emotional.
2. I’m sure at the time the New England Patriots were not very pleased to be trailing the Atlanta Falcons 28-3 in the third quarter of the most recent Super Bowl. But because of that deficit their Super Bowl championship rings contain 283 diamonds, the biggest Super Bowl ring ever made.  This almost makes a team want to fall behind!
3. How much would you pay for a new pair of sneakers? Up to $150?  More?  This past Sunday morning, the sneakers Michael Jordan wore in the 1984 gold-medal win over Spain sold for $190,373!  Another pair of Jordan sneakers had previously sold for $104,765.

4. As I write this, Liberty and Whitehall are still alive in the PIAA state baseball playoffs. Each needs to win this Monday to get to the title game at Penn State which will be played on Thursday and Friday.  Go Canes!  Go Zephs!
5. This week on RCN-TV, we will start our Blue Mountain League baseball coverage. The Game of the Week will be on Tuesday nights at 9:30.  This week’s game features the two-time defending champion Limeport Bulls taking on the Hellertown Royals.  The McDonald’s All-Star Football Classic will be on Thursday, June 15, at 10:00.

The 2016-17 school year is winding down and, therefore, so is the athletic season.  State titles still need to be decided in girls’ and boys’ lacrosse, tennis, track and field, and boys’ volleyball.  These championships are basically the same as in previous years with AA and AAA champions.

But this school year was a year of change for a number of sports in the PIAA due to the addition of two more classifications in many other sports.  In particular, the big three of football, basketball and baseball each added a AAAAA and AAAAAA class to the previous four.  District XI, our district, was no exception.  So, now that we have been through one year and with the knowledge that this format is already set in stone, allow me to give you some interesting facts, specifically concerning football, boys’ basketball, and baseball:

• There were 19 teams in those three sports that got into the District XI tournament with losing records (in the past, you had to be at .500 or better to get in).

• The justification for adding these teams is to “fill out the brackets” or allow the minimum number allowed for a district in the playoffs.

• One team got into the football playoffs with a 1-9 record.

• Nine teams got into the basketball playoffs with losing records and eight teams got into the baseball playoffs with losing records.

No team took more advantage of the “filling out the bracket” rule than the Whitehall baseball team.  They were placed in the AAAAA class to make a four-team bracket.  Blue Mountain was ranked first with a 15-4 record, Southern Lehigh was second with a 16-4 record, and Bangor was third with a 13-7 record.  No one would argue that they deserved to be in the playoff, but Whitehall got in with an 8-12 record.  This would not have been good enough in the past.

But, before you trash the system, Whitehall won the championship!  That’s right.  They upset the #1 seed in extra innings and went on to destroy the #2 seed in the championship.  So… there are questions:

1. Should teams with losing records be allowed in?

2. Is the goal to get as many athletes and teams involved in playoffs justifiable?

3. Does a losing team winning the championship prove their right to admission?

And, the biggest question of all –

4. Do we need six classifications?

I’m pretty sure they are here to stay, but you might have some fun debating their value.  We, in the media, do it all the time.  And you have all summer to discuss before the games begin again in September.

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS) 

1. No one was more skeptical than I was when the pundits were predicting that the Golden State Warriors would easily defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA playoffs. Some said they would sweep them in four straight.  Well, they have won the first two and are now 14-0 in the playoffs.  No team has ever gone undefeated throughout the entire playoffs.  Steph Curry and Kevin Durant more than balance out the talent of LeBron James.
2. The NHL playoffs are just as entertaining as the NBA. When the Nashville Predators went down 2-0 in the series, and 1-0 in game three, it looked like a sweep might also happen in the NHL.  But Nashville went on to score the next five goals to win their first Stanley Cup game in history.  No sweep here and no heavy favorite either.
3. As a kid, I remember reading “Fear Strikes Out” written by major league baseball player Jimmy Piersall. It was a very moving story.  The book dealt very realistically with Piersall’s mental illness which turned out to be a bipolar disorder.  It showed in Piersall’s furious arguments with umpires, a fistfight with Billy Martin, making pig noises in the outfield, etc.  This all culminated in a mental breakdown.  I honestly thought he had already passed away.  I was a bit shocked when I read he passed away this past week at the age of 87.  It is a book worth reading.
4. Congratulations to Liberty, Parkland, Whitehall, and Wilson for making the PIAA state baseball championships. Each needs to win three games to get to the title game at Penn State.
5. Next week on RCN-TV, we will start our Blue Mountain League baseball coverage. The Game of the Week will be on Tuesday nights at 9:30.  The McDonald’s All-Star Football Classic will be on Thursday, June 15, at 10:00.

Every sports fan dreams of one day attending a major sporting championship – the Super Bowl, an NCAA basketball championship, the Masters, college football’s national championship, etc.  You get the picture.

Every week, I receive “deals” that would allow someone to purchase access to major sporting events.  In fact, this week, I was offered tickets to the US Open, the Major League Baseball homerun derby and All-Star game, the Yankees VIP private luxury suite, and the NBA playoffs.

After you get done “ooh-ing” and “ahh-ing”, allow me to give you the specifics and you can decide whether you have a large enough “bucket” (full of money) to attend these once-in-a-lifetime events.

I will start with the “cheapest” (and you will see I have used the wrong word here):

2017 US Open Golf Tournament – Erin Hill G. C., Hartford, WI
Four (4)Trophy Club Tickets for Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday
Trophy Club is the Official On Site Hospitality Facility where Food and Beverage is available on a daily cash basis along with Flat Screen TVs for Live Tournament Coverage, Tables, Chairs, Service Staff, Private Restrooms in a Temperature-Controlled Environment.
All Inclusive Price:  $5,250

Only $5,250 but you must buy your own food and beverage and watch the tournament on TV in a room with tables, chairs and a bathroom – that sounds like my house.

2017 Major League Home Run Derby and All-Star Game – Marlins Park, Miami, FL
Four (4) Lower Level Infield* Tickets to Monday, July 10th-Home Run Derby
Four (4) Lower Level Infield* Tickets to Tuesday, July 11th-All Star Game
*(Tickets will be located between First Base and Third Base)
All Inclusive Price:  $10,950

Good seats, for sure.  Watch it all LIVE – nice.  Did you see the price? – Not nice!

NY Yankees VIP Private Luxury Suite
Sixteen (16) VIP Suite Tickets
$15,950
June 9th vs Baltimore Orioles (Reggie Jackson Bobblehead)
Aug 11th vs Boston Red Sox
Aug 14th vs NY Mets
Aug 15th vs NY Mets
*Additional Games Available 

Okay – these tickets are for a regular season game, so how special is that?  Well, you do get a Reggie Jackson Bobblehead doll.  If you have 16 friends, they must be willing to pony up $996.88 apiece.  You could tell them that the price is usually $1,000, but you got a special deal.  Or (and I would never do this), charge them $1064 and you get in free (now that’s a way to check one off of your bucket list).

NBA Finals – Home Game #1
Ten (10) Person VIP Private Luxury Suite
$34,950*
*Includes Food and Beverage Catering Package

You can’t beat this!  Food and beverage is included for just $3,495 per person.  How could anyone turn this down?

Just a note: If you could find 34 others to join you and for the mere price of $7,173.13 apiece, you could see them all.  Or imagine the food, beverages, and TV you could buy for that price and invite 34 friends over (and give each of them a really nice “bucket” as a souvenir)!

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS) 

1. ESPN has come out with the top 100 most famous athletes on the planet using a number of analytics. The top five are: 5. Phil Mickelson 4. Roger Federer  3. Lionel Messi  2. LeBron James and 1. Christiano Ronaldo – two soccer players, one golfer, one tennis player, and one NBA player.
2. The Los Angeles Angels lost 2016 MVP Mike Trout for six to eight weeks due to surgery on his thumb. He injured it sliding into second base.  Trout was second in the American League in batting, second in home runs, and fourth in RBIs.
3. There was a pretty good brawl on Memorial Day Monday between the Nationals and the Giants. It featured Bryce Harper and Hunter Strickland.  Watch:

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/19492344/bryce-harper-washington-nationals-hunter-strickland-san-francisco-giants-start-bench-clearing-brawl

4. As well as the Iron Pigs are playing (21 wins in last 23 games), that’s how bad the Phillies are playing (four wins in last 26 games).  Is the glass half full or half empty?
5. NBA playoffs start Thursday. The Golden State Warriors are 12-0 in the playoffs.  No team has ever finished the playoffs unbeaten.  Don’t expect the defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers to lose four straight.  They could even win the whole thing again.  This one is worth watching!

“Activity suspended” – believe it or not, that is one of the definitions of a vacation.  Well, I just returned from vacation and, trust me when I tell you, activity was not suspended.

Before I get into the details, I want to thank John Leone, Scott Barr, Jim Best, and Randy Kane for filling my blog space while I was away.  They did wonderful pieces on a variety of topics and you should take the time to go back and read them if you haven’t done so.

While they were helping me, my wife and I were sailing on a two-week cruise on the Harmony of the Seas for our “suspension of activities” after the football and basketball seasons.

The ship (do not call it a boat) is the largest sailing vessel on the seas.  6,000 passengers are on board each week.  There are seven different “neighborhoods” to be found throughout the five stories–

• A royal promenade (think shopping mall)
• Central Park (think New York with live trees, upscale New York restaurants, and expensive jewelry stores and a beautiful open-air walkway)
• A boardwalk (complete with a merry-go-round, two dry nine-story slides, two restaurants, a hot-dog shop and an aquatic theater)
• An entertainment area (think a major theater, an ice theater, a comedy club, a jazz club, and a karaoke bar)
• The pool area and water park (think three water slides and three pools)
• A sports zone (think zip line, miniature golf, surfboarding, a basketball court, and ping-pong)
• A spa (think “suspension of activities”)

If you think that is enough to keep you busy, let me get to the entertainment:

• Two full-scale production shows (Grease and Columbus, the Musical)
• A headliner show (a ventriloquist in week one and an a cappella group in week two)
• Two full production ice shows
• Two aquatic shows featuring high diving from 10 stories above the theater pool at the back of a moving ship
• A comedy club featuring two new comedians each week
• Three game shows
• A major casino
• An art auction, etc.

And, of course, there is the food and drink.  There is always food – all the time, anytime.  In fact there are 25 different places to eat (at least that’s what I counted) and 37 bars (no, I did not try each one).

To attempt to see and do everything in a week, or even two, leads me to believe that Merriam-Webster, Dictionary.com, and the Cambridge Dictionary need to re-think their vacation definition when it comes to cruising – please drop “suspension of activity”.

It is much more restful at my desk.

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS) 

1. I will watch the NBA finals between Golden State and Cleveland. Now that should be great basketball.
2. It is not easy to keep up with the sports scene on the ship. Upon returning, I realized the Phillies were 2-11 while I was gone.  I was glad I could not keep up while away.
3. The 76’ers will get the #3 draft pick this year, so the franchise can continue to add good players. I just hope they add a player who can actually play and not be on the injury list for most of the season.  When will the Philadelphia fans finally see a competitive product?
4. Parkland won the EPC baseball championship by beating Liberty. It was their 20^th league championship, far more than any other school.  Congratulations!
5. Once again, on Memorial Day, we will replay some of our most memorable football, basketball, and wrestling contests this past season (see schedule here). Everyone is a classic if you want to relive the memories.