As many of you know, I used to make weekly NFL predictions on WZZO. Based on some recent encounters, a number of people took my guesses as gospel. That may have been wise at times and not so wise on other occasions. Thus far, this season is a good example of “win some-lose some”. I have been right 64% of the time this year predicting the winners of all the individual games.

At this point in the season, 18 of the 32 NFL teams have played half of their games and that leaves 14 who still have their bye week remaining. So, even though we are not technically half way through the season for everybody, it seems like a good time to check on my seasonal picks from last August.

Overall, this is not so bad so far. Every division predicted winner is correct. There is just nothing eye-opening going on in the AFC. In every instance where my ranking is wrong at the moment, only one game separates some and, for others, a bye keeps a team from possibly being tied with my predicted spot in the standings.

AFC Grade – B+

My NFC predictions look rather bleak right now. None of my divisional winners is currently in first place. There are plenty of disappointments at the moment led by Seattle, the Giants, Chicago, and Atlanta. Arizona and Detroit seem to be the biggest success stories.

NFC Grade – C-

I still have confidence that, as the second half of the season unfolds, things will change for the better. And please don’t take my predictions as gospel. Stay tuned.

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
1. Anyone who watched the Penn State game on Saturday night had to be amazed at the ineptness of the officiating and replay crews. Ohio State’s crucial first-quarter “interception” was not caught. ABC on every camera angle showed conclusively that the ball was dropped. Yet the replay crew said there was not sufficient evidence to overrule the interception call on the field. Ohio State scored shortly thereafter. The replay is supposed to come from the television production. The equipment supposedly did not work. Add to that, the absence of a “delay of game” penalty on a successful 49-yard field goal. Again replays showed the play clock had expired for about four seconds before the ball was snapped. Does Ohio State even attempt a 54- yard field goal if the flag is thrown? The officials were again inept late in the game with their own clock management that forced Penn State to use their final timeout. The game went overtime and Ohio State won. It was an awful night for the zebras.

2. I’m sure the Lafayette-Lehigh people were hoping that the 150th matchup to be played at Yankee Stadium would have major implications for a Patriot League championship. That will certainly not be the case. Lafayette is 3-5, 1-2 in the league and Lehigh is even worse at 1-6, 0-2 in the League. I have been around the game enough times to realize it does not need much added hype, but it would have been nice for it to have added significance.

3. Congratulations to Easton for winning the first Eastern Pennsylvania Conference South Division championship. The Rovers have all the ingredients (except maybe a kicking game) to do well in Districts and States (if they get there). I, for one, would have liked to see a true EPC champion. Stroudsburg in the North is also undefeated and that would have been an interesting matchup.

4. Speaking of District football playoffs, here are the local teams that have clinched a spot: AAAA – Easton, Whitehall, Freedom, Parkland; AAA – Bethlehem Catholic, Southern Lehigh (and almost certainly Saucon Valley); AA- Northwestern, Palisades (and Palmerton or Northern Lehigh); A- Pius X. Good luck to all of them.

5. On the flip side, #8 Pleasant Valley, #10 Liberty, and #11 Emmaus are all trying to garner the eighth and final spot available in AAAA District playoffs. All, ironically, are underdogs in their games – PV vs Stroudsburg; Liberty vs Freedom; Emmaus vs Parkland. If they all lose, Pleasant Valley is in.

(Last Week – 9-6; Seasonal Record – 77-43-1: 64%)
NEW ORLEANS
SAN DIEGO
CINCINNATI
CLEVELAND
WASHINGTON
HOUSTON
KANSAS CITY
ARIZONA
SAN FRANCISCO
DENVER
SEATTLE
BALTIMORE
INDIANAPOLIS

We hear from our viewers quite often, either by email or at the various stadiums we visit each weekend, and, happily, for the most part the comments are quite complimentary. But as they say, you can please some of the people some of the time, but you can’t please everybody all of the time. That seemed to be the case this past Monday when I returned to the office after a weekend at Harvard to do the Lafayette game. There were two e-mails in my inbox complaining that we have had the Easton Red Rovers on too much and were concentrating on the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference at the expense of the Colonial League. I understand this is only two people complaining, but there is an adage that for every two there are… (I forget the number) unhappy people. The adage doesn’t matter to us. We take every complaint to heart. So I looked a little more closely at our TV schedule.

Counting this upcoming weekend, we have had 12 EPC schools and six Colonial League teams on television this season. This seems like a reasonable representation of almost all the schools in our viewing audience.

The two viewers are right about Easton. We have had them on more than any other school; they also are the ONLY undefeated team in our viewing area. The Liberty-Easton game, which was on last week, was a direct result of the Pennsylvania Cable Network wanting to do that game and scheduling it at the beginning of the season. We even asked if they would consider us changing the game to Freedom-Parkland, but they wanted two teams they had not had on their network. A second game was not an option for us because our other production crew was in Boston.

When scheduling games for the season, there are basically two considerations – 1) what games will warrant the most interest from our customers; 2) can we get as many of our local teams as possible on the air at least once. We believe we have accomplished the second consideration while paying close attention to the first. Dieruff is the only EPC team that has not been on RCN TV and that has more to do with their schedule which predominantly features teams outside our viewing area. We have featured Colonial League teams for about one half of the football weekends.

It is also very important to us to bring the games that most fans want to see. On Friday, October 10, we presented Easton-Parkland and Freedom-Whitehall, two games that featured an undefeated team against a one-loss team. The ratings that night showed that 20,000 household tuned in to watch our high school football. That is supposed to mean we had @ 50,000 viewers. We were #6 out of all channels on the RCN dial that night for viewership. This tells us that the “fans” want to see the best teams playing the best opponents. That is why we will do Easton again this weekend (undefeated) against Freedom (one loss). That will be followed by a Colonial League game.

I understand the passion our audience has for their particular team and I applaud that. We also like to think that wanting your team featured on RCN TV is, in some way, a compliment to us that you want us to cover your school. We hope you continue to support your team while understanding our weekly dilemma. Be assured that we try to do our very best, but you can’t please all the people all the time.

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
1. You might be wondering what will determine the four finalists for the 2014 national collegiate football championship. There is a committee that makes the final choices. Up until this past week, that committee was made up of thirteen individuals. However, Archie Manning, the father of Peyton and Eli, stepped down this week due to health issues relating to his knee replacement surgery. That leaves 12 members to decide and there could be a potential 6-6 tie when voting on a team or teams. The Committee will continue to discuss and re-vote until the deadlock is broken. The first Committee rankings come out October 28.

2. Speaking of college football, I did get home in time from Boston on Saturday night to catch the fourth quarter of the Notre Dame-Florida State game. I listened to the first three quarters in the car. It was a classic. What did you think of the offensive pass interference call at the end? As much as I wanted Florida State to lose, I do think the official made the right call. It’s not called all the time, but what infraction is?

3. Percy Harvin is now a New York Jet. He leaves a Super Bowl team and joins a 1-6 team. Harvin has a history of creating problems, both with his teammates and his coaches, evidenced by the fact that the Seahawks virtually gave him away. Does a leopard often change his spots? No.

4. You know the song “Royals” by Lorde, the one you can’t get out of your head when you hear it. Well, for the next few weeks you will not hear it in San Francisco. Since the Giants are playing the Kansas City Royals in the World Series, two San Francisco radio stations have said they will not play that song for the duration of the series.

5. Will we crown the first Eastern Pennsylvania Conference South Division Champion this Friday night when Easton takes on Freedom? If Easton wins, they will be the title holders even though they have one more league game on their schedule. If Freedom wins, they could share in the title, but that would not be determined until the final weekend. Watch the game LIVE at 7:00pm on RCN TV.

(Last Week – 9-6; Seasonal Record – 68-37-1: 65%)

DENVER
DETROIT
TAMPA BAY
NEW ENGLAND
KANSAS CITY
SEATTLE
BUFFALO
MIAMI
HOUSTON
BALTIMORE
PHILADELPHIA
INDIANAPOLIS
CLEVELAND
GREEN BAY
DALLAS

I am at my breaking point!! Wasn’t there a time when Sunday was supposed to be a day of rest? Well, not anymore. The television gurus (or, should I say, ogres) have taken it upon themselves to create mass viewer angina and, I’m pretty certain, even greater internal household turmoil. This past Sunday may have been the worst.

I always DVR “Sunday Morning” on CBS. It comes on at 9:00 AM and my wife and I learn something new and interesting every week. It’s such a relaxing show. We save it for evening viewing at some point during the week, just the two of us. At this point, there is household bliss.

Next up is a full day of NFL football. If I have no real rooting interest in any of the games, like this past Sunday, I turn to NFL Red Zone, so I can just spend the next SEVEN HOURS watching the best plays of all the games. At around the third hour, my wife is no longer talking to me. I see violence in my future. Add to that, NFL Red Zone has no commercials, so even taking a break for just the bodily functions is a cause for undue stress. When to go?

At 7:00 PM, while beginning to finish up the day’s football, I DVR “60 Minutes”. We never miss it. It’s been a favorite for years. But we can’t watch it until NFL Red Zone shows the 66 touchdowns that were scored this past Sunday. By now, my wife is beginning to demonstrate “unsportsmanlike conduct”. At 7:45 PM, NFL Red Zone goes off the air and it’s on to watch “60 Minutes”. Operating the remote from here on becomes a full-time job. Did I eat dinner at some point? I can’t remember, nor can I be bothered because the real tension of the day is coming soon.

Who does the TV scheduling for Sunday night at 9:00 PM? For us, there is HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire (it’s the final season – can’t stop now), Showtime’s “Homeland” (I really worry about Carrie), “The Good Wife” (will Alicia run for office?), The Real Housewives of New Jersey (Theresa and Joe are headed to jail), and (OH NO!!!) the Eagles are playing the Giants on NFL Sunday Night! Besides that, everyone in the family says we should be watching “The Walking Dead”. Video on Demand was invented just for these emergency situations. The choice now is not so much what to watch but when. The choice is between the Eagles game and dealing with some ambulance chaser that my wife will hire to handle the divorce. However, when I come to work on Monday, I will be expected to discuss the Eagles game. After all, as Sports Director, it would be difficult to explain that I didn’t watch the game, but I could go over the legal problems Theresa and Joe are facing on “Real Housewives…” I am not creeping over the edge; I am running full tilt toward my demise!

And the night is not over. After seeing the 500 promos for “The Affair”, I am intrigued enough to set the DVR for the premiere show beginning at 10:00. By 11:00, everything is in the TIVO vault, waiting for another day. Perhaps, Monday night! Oh no, there’s “Monday Night Football” (3.5 hours), “The Voice” (2 hours), and “Dancing with the Stars” (2 hours). Is that a weapon in my wife’s hand? I can’t take it any more…!!

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
1. Philadelphia announced legend Bill Campbell died on Monday, October 6. He called the play-by-play for the four professional teams at the time (Eagles, Phillies, Sixers, and Warriors). He also was the voice of Big 5 basketball and the Penn Relays. He called the Eagles’ last championship in 1960. He was unceremoniously let go by the Phillies in 1970 and replaced by another legend, Harry Kalas.

2. The Eagles-Giants game on Sunday night drew the worst ratings for Sunday Night Football this season. The audience was down 9% from the previous week. “The Walking Dead” premiered on AMC and had higher ratings watched by 17.3 million people outperforming every other show by 2.5 million adults 18-49. Shocker!

3. The NCAA football rankings have Mississippi State ranked #1 and Florida State #2, with Ole Miss just slightly behind at #3. All three are 6-0. Baylor and Notre Dame are sitting at #4 and #5 with identical 6-0 records. If things stay like this, Notre Dame would not get into the championship playoffs. You know TV wants them there. Notre Dame plays Florida State this Saturday. By the way, ESPN has Ole Miss #2.

4. Fordham, rightfully so, is the highest-ranked Patriot League team in the FCS poll at #13. They are the only Patriot League school with four years of scholarships (the others have two) and it shows by comparison. The Rams’ only loss was to undefeated and #3 Villanova. This past week, Fordham scored 60 points on Penn. #1 North Dakota State has won 30 games in a row, the longest streak of any college team in the nation.

5. Four very good EPC teams met on Friday night and the results indicate that District football will be a tossup. Easton beat Parkland with a blocked punt TD being the big play of the night and Freedom beat Whitehall in overtime. The post-season looks very attractive.

(Last Week – 12-2-1; Seasonal Record – 59-31-1: 66%)
NEW ENGLAND
CINCINNATI
WASHINGTON
CHICAGO
CLEVELAND
SEATTLE
GREEN BAY
BALTIMORE
BUFFALO
DETROIT
SAN DIEGO
DALLAS
ARIZONA
DENVER
HOUSTON

NFL football is now available on Sunday afternoon (CBS and FOX), Sunday night (NBC), Monday night (ESPN) and Thursday night (CBS and NFL Network). It is estimated that income derived from those broadcasts by the NFL is $5,225,000,000. That’s 5 billion, 225 million dollars!!

CBS, along with their $1 billion per year contract for the Sunday afternoon games paid another $275 million for the Thursday night package. In addition, they, also, agreed to simulcast the games on the NFL Network. CBS sweetened the deal by supplying their top talent, Jim Nantz and Phil Simms, to do the game. This contract gave CBS the right to do 8 games. Do the math. CBS pays $34,375,000 per game. The contract, believe it or not, was for one year only and the bidding war which occurred last February between CBS, ABC, NBC, Fox, and Turner will commence again very shortly.

Ultimately, it is the advertisers who must pay the bill. CBS reportedly asked for and is receiving $500,000 per 30 second commercial for the broadcast. That would mean they would need to sell 69 commercials per game to break even. Even though it appears that there are that many time stoppages for television, there are not nearly that many sold. In comparison, NBC gets $628,000 per 30 seconds for their NFL Sunday Night broadcast and ESPN garners $408,000 for Monday night. All the networks, technically, lose money on the broadcasts.

So, with one half of the CBS Thursday night games already broadcast, how do you think the advertisers are feeling about their investment? The games so far have been:

Pittsburgh 26 Baltimore 6
Atlanta 56 Tampa Bay 14
Giants 45 Washington 14
Green Bay 42 Minnesota 10

Despite the fact that the match-ups looked pretty good, they have pretty much all been “blowouts”. The winners have outscored the losers 169-44. For the most part (3of the 4 for sure), these games were over at halftime. And I’m sure viewers were switching the channel or turning off their sets and heading to bed. If you happen to be a second half sponsor or the post-game sponsor, you probably have a huge headache and a big pain in your wallet right now. On the horizon, however, the match-ups do look much more enticing: Indianapolis (3-2) vs Houston (3-2); Jets (1-4) vs New England (3-2); San Diego (4-1); vs Denver (3-1); and, late in the season, San Diego vs San Francisco (3-2). There are no guarantees.

But, no matter how badly teams fare on Thursday night, there does seem to be one sure bet. The sponsors will line up with their wallets open and they will pay the cost to bring their message to the largest possible audience television can offer them – NFL football. That’s assuming, of course, the game warrants their interest, the viewers are willing to stay up late, and they can get through the Friday work day on less sleep.

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
1. Everyone has now lost in the NFL. The Cardinals and the Bengals were the last to drop. Things appear to be returning to normal. I know I had my best week of picks in a long, long time (13-2) and my shoulder hurts from patting myself on the back.

2. There are plenty of Jets fans in the Lehigh Valley (my color analyst, Mike Joseph, for one), but you probably won’t hear from them for awhile. They are just pathetic. On Sunday, they lost 31-0 to the San Diego Chargers. QB Geno Smith seems to have no clue and Michael Vick did not help at all either in the second half. Did I say pathetic.

3. This past Saturday, Jordan Zimmerman was one out away from a complete game shutout against the Giants and a 1-0 victory. Washington Nationals manager, Matt Williams, decided to pull his pitcher. You guessed it. The Giants tied the game which led to an eighteen inning 2-1 win by the Giants and a 2-0 lead in the best of five series. The game took over 6 hours and there was plenty of second-guessing. Rightfully so!

4. Trust me, I’ve been there. The CBS announcing crew that did the Lafayette-Fordham game last Friday were somewhat inexperienced. The play-by-play announcer was doing his second game. The analyst, London Fletcher of Rams, Bills, and Washington NFL fame, was doing his first game. They were nervous, needing four “takes” to do the intro. And the Lafayette fans were not happy when they called the “Leopards” the “Cougars” in the pre-game that was aired.

5. RCN-TV has a terrific Friday night of high school football for you this week. First off, will be the Easton at Parkland game which will be LIVE at 7:00 followed by Sportstalk Friday and then the Freedom at Whitehall game. These are the four best EPC teams.

(Last Week – 13-2; Seasonal Record – 47-29: 62%)
INDIANAPOLIS
DENVER
PITTSBURGH
TENNESSEE
CHICAGO
GREEN BAY
DETROIT
CINCINNATI
NEW ENGLAND
BALTIMORE
SAN DIEGO
SEATTLE
ARIZONA
PHILADELPHIA
SAN FRANCISCO

Up front, I want to say that Chip Kelly is a breath of fresh air as an NFL coach. He is innovative, plays an up-tempo game that the fans find interesting, and seems to win with unknowns and makes them “knowns”. He has reinvigorated professional football in Philadelphia. And by now, I am sure you are waiting for… but…

There are times when I watch a game (and I see plenty of games), I wonder what is the coach thinking? I felt that way watching the Eagles this past week against the 49’ers. The Eagles lost 26-21 but were in position to win at the end. They could have been in a better position to win the game, except, in my opinion, for some coaching decisions. Let me give you three examples:

1. All Eagles’ fans are aware that the Birds are playing with a much-depleted offensive line – center Jason Kelce is out with a hernia; guard Evan Mathis has a knee injury; and tackle Lane Johnson is suspended. That is three of five offensive line positions. I love the hurry-up offense, but with so many injuries up front, might one consider to use a “slow-it-down offense”? On Sunday, the Eagles could not sustain drives. Seven of their eleven possessions ended in less than two minutes and the reasons were that they could not block the 49’ers and they could not run the football. Sprinkle in an awful day by quarterback, Nick Foles, and the Eagles’ offense spent the majority of the time on the sidelines. Remember, all 21 points were scored by the defense and special teams. This, also, means the defense had to spend an inordinate amount of time ON the field. With the way things were going on Sunday, the big early lead, the offensive blocking woes, and the lack of any offense, might this have been a good time to slow down the hurry-up?

2. In the fourth quarter and the Eagles down by two, the 49’ers were stopped on a third-and-three. This created a field-goal try of 42 yards. The Niners, however, were called for an offensive pass interference penalty on the third down play. Decline the penalty, right? Let them kick the field goal – worst case scenario – down by five; best case – still down by two. Coach Kelly accepted the penalty and the 49’ers got a first down on the next play and eventually kicked a field goal which was eleven yards closer and allowed the continued possession to use three more minutes of precious game time.

3. Despite #1 and #2, the Eagles still had a chance to win the game. Two minutes were left in the game and the Eagles were on the 49’ers one-yard line. They have LeSean McCoy and they have Darren Sproles; one can move the pile and one can seemingly go under the pile. Instead, as Tony Dungy pointed out in a postgame show, the Eagles chose twice to throw the ball with the linebackers playing 5 yards off the line of scrimmage. At least run it once. As I am sure you have already guessed, both pass attempts were unsuccessful.

So there’s my beef. Let me repeat – I am not a coach, nor do I profess to be one. But, I did stay at a Holiday Inn once!

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
1. Has anyone had a classier exit from sports than Derek Jeter? There was walk-off drama in his last at-bat in Yankee Stadium and an RBI base hit in his final at-bat ever at Fenway Park. Jeter made a point of shaking every Red Sox players’ hand before the game and telling them how much he enjoyed competing against them. He even stopped at the mound to shake the pitcher’s hand because he did not get a chance to do that before the game. Jeter finished his career #6 all-time in hits, #7 in at-bats, and #9 in runs scored. And kudos to the Red Sox for honoring Jeter in a perfect way.

2. We are four weeks into the NFL season (one-quarter of the way) and there are only two undefeated teams left. Seattle and Denver, right? Uh, no. It’s Arizona and Cincinnati! This is going to be a strange, strange season. Those suicide pools, where you pick one guaranteed winner each week, but you can’t re-pick the same team again are probably done by now. This year, you could start one every four weeks.

3. The baseball playoffs started this week. If you’re a fan, expect very little sleep FOR the next three weeks or so. Night games start late, end late, and seem to take forever.

4. I watched Whitehall take apart Parkland on Friday night. Before the game, the “experts” were all picking Parkland to win and most thought rather easily. That didn’t happen. That’s why you play the game. The Zephyrs travel to Easton (both undefeated) this week. It’s on RCN-TV LIVE at 7:00 with Chris Michael and John Leone.

5. If you are interested in Lafayette football this week, show me some love on Friday night at 6:30. I will be in the Bronx to do an audio-cast of the Lafayette-Fordham Patriot League football game. The game will be televised by the CBS Sports Network (on the RCN dial), but Mike Joseph and I will be doing an audio broadcast on the internet at goleopards.com. Watch the game on TV, turn the sound down, and use the computer to hear our biased Lafayette broadcast. Just a thought.

(Last Week – 9-4; Seasonal Record – 34-27: 56%)

GREEN BAY
CAROLINA
CLEVELAND
PHILADELPHIA
GIANTS
NEW ORLEANS
DALLAS
DETROIT
INDIANAPOLIS
PITTSBUGH
DENVER
SAN FRANCISCO
SAN DIEGO
CINCINNATI
SEATTLE

This time of the year, Mondays are Lafayette football days. Due to the availability of college information so early in the week and the lack of high school information until late in the week, I try to get as much Lafayette game day work done as I can on Monday. The statistics are already updated; the game notes from the previous game are available; rosters can be created; and story lines are sought. Story lines are normally about the match-ups, the offensive playmakers, and the defensive studs. Once you gather the information, the next task is to organize it.

But… sometimes I come across a story that has very little to do with the game, but a great deal to do with human interest. That was the case this past Monday when I started my research for the Lafayette-Wagner football game coming up this Saturday at 6:00pm in Easton.

The Wagner football coach is Walt Hameline. As usual, I found out the basics on him – 34 years as head coach at Wagner – 217 wins – one of only five FCS active coaches with over 200 wins. This is the usual stuff. Then I saw this article by Ralph Russo:

NEW YORK (AP) — You think fall weddings are inconvenient for college football fans? Imagine being a coach with a daughter who has her heart set on a Saturday in late September.

That was Wagner College coach Walt Hameline’s dilemma, when his youngest daughter, Kelly, told him last fall the place she chose as the site of her big day had few dates available — and the one she picked was Sept. 20, the same day Wagner was scheduled to play Monmouth University.

“How can you do this?” Hameline said was his reaction. “What are you thinking about? It’s football season. Ever since she was a baby she went to every football game.”

Hameline is in his 34th season as head coach at Wagner and is also the school’s athletic director.

Sometimes it pays to be your own boss.

Last fall, Kelly Hameline, 28, let her father know that she had found the perfect place to have her wedding — “The most expensive place you can find,” Walt Hameline said — on Long Beach Island, New Jersey.

Turns out, the bill was only Hameline’s second-biggest problem.

“There was only like, one or two dates (available),” he said.

Still, Hameline could hardly believe what his daughter was asking. “There’s always been a golden rule in our family,” he said. “Once football season starts, my wife, my family, they go to the games and we do nothing else.” Not this time.

After last season was over, Hameline reached out to Monmouth coach Kevin Callahan. The two had crossed paths and become friends as young assistant coaches in the late 1970s, and when Hameline became head coach at Wagner, Callahan was the first coach he hired.

“It was kind of funny,” Callahan said, recalling the conversation with a laugh. “In typical Walt fashion he goes, ‘Hey, hey, hey, you gotta help me out.’ My first thought was, what’s he up to here? Let me figure this out.”

Callahan was in the process of filling Sept. 20 on Monmouth’s schedule, but was able to move the Wagner game, lock it in and build the team’s remaining schedule around it.

“We had the flexibility to make it work. I was more than happy to do it,” said Callahan, who has been coach at Monmouth for 22 years.

So while Callahan won’t be attending the wedding — the Hawks play at Duquesne that day — he’s covered for a gift.

As for Hameline, he’s just happy his daughter’s wedding didn’t conflict with Wagner’s game last week at Florida International, an FBS school. He said Wagner was paid $240,000 for that trip to South Florida.

“Let’s get this straight,” Hameline said, “I wasn’t calling FIU up.”

And CBSSports did the following video on the story:

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

I will get to interview Coach Hameline this week during our media luncheon press conference. I usually center my questions around the previous week’s events. However, this time I don’t think I will ask what color the bridesmaids wore or what the centerpieces were. It just doesn’t seem right to ask those questions of a football coach in the fall. I’m sure Coach agrees.

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
1. Alessandro Florenzi plays international soccer for Roma. When he scored his first goal of the season this past week, he ran into the stands to hug his 82-year-old grandmother. She said she would only come to see him play if he would come to her and say, “Hi”. He did that and more. The referee gave him a yellow card for the infraction. Neither he nor his grandmother cared. Alessandro’s team won.

2. DeSean Jackson returned to Philadelphia on Sunday and caught an 81-yard touchdown pass. His celebration was as expected, but at least with the Eagles winning the game, he pretty much had to keep his mouth shut after the game.

3. Ray Rice is supposedly claiming that the video showing him punching his fiancé while in an elevator was edited. Edited from what to what? And dragging her unconscious from the elevator was the result of Emmy award-winning acting? Hard to accept his defense as credible.

4. Over 20 NFL players suffered injuries this week, many season-ending. It seems to me that more and more players are being hurt while the rules are being changed to protect them. Is there a correlation between changing the ways players are allowed to hit one another and the number of injuries that are occurring? Illogical? Only the players know.

5. I spent the weekend in Williamsburg, VA to do the Lafayette-William & Mary football game. It’s a beautiful place, loaded with history and great weather. Some days, going to work are better than others.

(Last Week 10-6; Seasonal Record 25-23: 52%)

WASHINGTON
MIAMI
CHICAGO
HOUSTON
INDIANAPOLIS
BALTIMORE
DETROIT
PITTSBURGH
SAN DIEGO
SAN FRANCISCO
ATLANTA
DALLAS
KANSAS CITY

I am a very competitive guy. I have always wanted to win and it really didn’t matter much what the perceived competition was. I had this competitive drive when I was playing football, basketball, or baseball in high school and college. And I would carry those same “competitive juices” over into ping-pong, cards, board games, golf, or even a debate. In those areas, winning or losing became apparent by the end of the contest. The score would tell the story. Even occupationally, I always was driven by the desire to be an exceptional teacher and an exceptional sports announcer. In my professions, however, the students or the viewers determined whether I succeeded.

Why, I even compete against my older grandchildren and I have informed them that I will never LET them win. My grandson now beats me in ping-pong and can hold his own against me in golf. My granddaughters certainly have become very good card and game players. They have earned their success. It was not given to them. However, once the contest was over, I was always more than willing to shake the hand of my opponent, win, lose, or draw. I would respect their skills and move on. I did not let defeat fester inside of me nor did I take it home with me.

Speaking of competitive people, I have, like almost everyone on the planet, been appalled by the recent violent actions of these NFL players: Ray Rice of the Saints (hitting his girlfriend with his fist in an elevator), Greg Hardy of the Panthers (hitting his girlfriend in his apartment), Ray McDonald of the 49’ers (beating his pregnant girlfriend) and Adrian Peterson of the Vikings (inflicting cuts and bruises on his 4-year old son with a small tree branch) and, I am quite certain, there must be others who have gone unreported.

Some people are trying to make the case that because these men play football, a very violent sport, there is a natural tendency to carry that violence into the real world. Nonsense!! Somewhere along the way, these players have not been made to distinguish the passion, anger, or power needed to play football from the compassion, tolerance, and understanding needed to live with loved ones and in society.

This point can only be made by the powers-that-be in the NFL. Punishment for domestic violence must be severe. If players have not been taught that the playing field is not the living room or the elevator or the nightclub, then the NFL office must send the message in such a way that the message trickles down to everyone who wants to compete. I assume sports and competition are loved by these players and if that is going to be taken from them because of their off-the-field missteps, the message will, hopefully, begin to sink in.

Of course, I am well aware that domestic violence is not just an NFL problem. It is in every segment of society. But these are men who are watched and idolized by men, women, and children and are, often, held up as role models. They are generously rewarded for their talent, but they need to also pay a price for their unacceptable human failings. These situations have drawn attention to this very serious problem. It must be dealt with in a very serious manner. Not with a two-game suspension. The ball has been passed to Commissioner Roger Goodell. This is no time to fumble!

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
1. I hope your favorite NFL team is not 0-2 or their chances at making the playoffs are just 1.7%! That’s right – only one team has made the playoffs in the last five years after starting the season 0-2. By the same token if your team is 2-0, 64% of those teams have made the playoffs in that same time span.

2. You just might want to invest into some golf lessons for your child. The money is pretty good for the very best. The top 96 golfers all made over $1 million this season. The top 13 made over $4 million. Rory McIlroy topped the chart with $8.3 million in tour winnings. That’s if you do not count this past weekend when Billy Horschel won the Tour Championship AND the FedEx Cup (worth $10 million alone). On Sunday, he ended the day $11.44 million richer! He won $14,814,787 this year. Just a note – Rory McIlroy won $3 million more from the FedEx competition. Nice job if you can get it.

3. Was Phillies closer, Jonathan Papelbon, adjusting his “cup” as he claimed on Sunday or reacting to the booing of the Phillies fans after he blew a save? The umpire thought it was the latter and tossed him from the game. He received a seven-game suspension and was fined. I guess no one believed him.

4. The EPC football picture is beginning to look like a three or four team race (Parkland, Easton, and Freedom; maybe Whitehall). Or maybe it’s a one-team race – Parkland. Parkland, Whitehall, Freedom, and Easton play each other in the next three weeks. That should tell us something!

5. I have had a bad two weeks picking the NFL winners, but I doubt if anyone has a good percentage. Take this week alone – the Rams beat the Bucs with a third-string quarterback; the Chargers beat the Super Bowl champion Seahawks in Seattle; the Redskins destroyed the Jaguars after their starting QB was injured; the Browns beat the Saints; the Eagles over the Colts; well, you get the picture.

(Last Week 6-10; Seasonal Record 15-17: 47%)
ATLANTA
BUFFALO
ST. LOUIS
PHILADELPHIA
HOUSTON
NEW ORLEANS
CINCINNATI
BALTIMORE
GREEN BAY
INDIANAPOLIS
NEW ENGLAND
SAN FRANCISCO
SEATTLE
KANSAS CITY
CAROLINA
CHICAGO

On Saturday, the RCN television crew and the announcing staff left for Fairfield, Connecticut, to cover the Lafayette-Sacred Heart football game. It was the opening game for Lafayette and there was plenty of excitement surrounding the defending Patriot League champions. That excitement was “doused” early in more ways than one. You see, we were playing an away game, too. RCN TV vs. Mother Nature.

The average fan turns on their set to watch any LIVE event with the expectation that all will go well and that is usually the case. Not this past Saturday. Upon the crew’s arrival in Connecticut, they were met with very hot and humid conditions and a forecast of severe thunderstorms in the area. I arrived at 3:00pm for the 6:00pm kickoff and the skies opened up. The heavy rain was accompanied by severe lightning. And the problems began.

By 5:00pm, our audio system had been “fried” by a lightning hit, the crew was ordered out of the stadium, the announcers could not get to the press box to set up for the game, and we faced the possibility of not getting on the air and an even greater possibility of not having any audio.

Luckily, the game was pushed back thirty minutes to a 6:35pm kickoff, which would allow our engineer and technical crew time to try to run new audio lines and “jerry-rig” a system that would allow us to announce the game and allow me to have some contact with the director (a necessity since he calls for the breaks, announces replays, and tells me to go to the reports from the sideline). By 6:20pm, 10 minutes before we were to go on the air, we had one headset working (mine), two antique hand-held microphones in operation, a wired sideline reporter, and an analyst who could only hear my comments. To everyone’s credit, the first half went off without a hitch. I do not think any viewer knew about the problems that the crew had overcome. Lafayette was trailing 20-7, but we were beating Mother Nature ½ -0.

As the teams were preparing to start the second half, another lightning warning was issued and everyone had to clear the stadium. Luckily, no further damage was done to our equipment at the stadium and the game managers allowed us back in the booth five minutes before the second half would start. However, there was havoc going on in the Lehigh Valley caused by the storm. Our signal back home was lost. Mother Nature was not going quietly. We were still sending a picture to the satellite and the game continued to be shown on the Patriot League Network and ESPN3, but not on RCN TV.

The game finished up at 10:00pm and I arrived home at 2:00am. Lafayette lost; the crew got to bed in Fairfield at 1:00am; and they ended their journey with a flat tire about five miles from home on Sunday. We’ll do it all over again next weekend. Hopefully, Mother Nature has an away game!

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
1. Six NFL games on Sunday were decided by a touchdown or less and two of those went into overtime. If you are a fan, you need to get the NFL Red Zone. Call 800-RING-RCN to get it. I was able to watch every exciting finish yesterday and it was great! I hope you did better with your picks than I did with mine. Who would have thought that Miami would beat New England, Atlanta over New Orleans, Buffalo beating Chicago, or Tennessee drubbing Kansas City? This could be an awful year to make predictions.

2. The Eagles did a great job of turning the fans extremely nasty in the first half against Jacksonville by trailing 17-0. Jacksonville never led in a game last year by more than 13 points. Everything got straightened out at the half and the Eagles scored 34 unanswered points. Civility returned to Lincoln Financial Field. Off to Tennessee for next Monday.

3. Three of the Big Ten Conference’s seven 2-0 teams are Maryland, Rutgers, and Nebraska. What? Good thing there are now 14 teams in the Big Ten. Six of the original ten have already lost.

4. No upsets again this week in Lehigh Valley high school football, but Central Catholic sure opened some eyes by going up 28-0 on Whitehall only to lose in OT 42-41. Central plays Parkland on Saturday night on RCN TV after the Lafayette-Robert Morris game. This will be Parkland’s first test.

5. Freedom scored 67 points against Nazareth on Friday night. Jake Young of Freedom recovered a fumble in the end zone on defense, caught a touchdown pass on offense, and returned a kickoff for a score on special teams. Six other teammates scored as 101 points were scored in the game.

(Last Week 9-7 56%)

PITTSBURGH
DETROIT
BUFFALO
JACKSONVILLE
TENNESSEE
ARIZONA
NEW ENGLAND
NEW ORLEANS
ATLANTA
TAMPA BAY
SEATTLE
HOUSTON
GREEN BAY
DENVER
SAN FRANCISCO
INDIANAPOLIS

45,000 tickets have been sold for the 150th edition of the Lafayette-Lehigh football game to be played on November 22 at Yankee Stadium. Yes – that Yankee Stadium. There may be a few more tickets available, but from an interest standpoint this is a bonanza already. It’s a sell-out for all intents and purposes; buses have been reserved; hotel rooms have been taken for the weekend; parties are planned; alumni gatherings are already in the works, etc. You get the picture – excitement is overflowing.

BUT… can we agree to just stop talking about THE GAME now until both teams are ready for the 11th game on their schedule? Let me explain why:

1. The most important football game is always the next game. That is where the focus should and needs to be for these two programs. Lehigh and Lafayette open their season September 6 (not Nov. 22), against James Madison and Sacred Heart respectively.

2. Lafayette is the defending Patriot League champion and every team in the league will be after them. None of the other teams care at all about Yankee Stadium.

3. Lehigh has had a chance to win the Patriot League championship the past two years by winning their last home game of the season. They lost both. Lehigh may want to concern themselves with winning all their games at Goodman Stadium before being concerned about Yankee Stadium.

4. Trust me. Fordham, the team everyone believes will win the Patriot League, would love for Lafayette to be thinking about the other game in the Bronx and not their match-up in the Bronx on October 3. This is the opening game of the Patriot League for Lafayette. The Leopards beat then-undefeated Fordham (10-0) 27-14 last year. Revenge will be in the air. The Leopards better not be looking ahead when this one rolls around.

5. Lehigh has Fordham at home on October 25. Win this one and their last home game of the year (Colgate) could again be very, very important – See #3.

6. Lafayette is fortunate to have a bye week before the Lehigh game. They will have plenty of time to think about the Mountain Hawks then. No need to do it before then.

7. Lehigh’s bye week comes before their Patriot League opener against Bucknell on October 11. Much like Lafayette, their bye week should allow them to focus only on the next opponent.

8. A bad year by both teams leading up to the 150th would take a lot of the interest away.

9. This game deserves to take on added importance and that means playing for a League championship by one or both. That will only happen if both teams stay focused on the next opponent.

10. CBS Sports Network is televising the game. My streak of doing play-by-play for the game will end. So, I am NOT looking ahead to this one and neither should anyone else!

Tune in this Saturday night at 6:00pm from Fairfield, Connecticut, for the Lafayette-Sacred Heart game LIVE on RCN-TV. I may mention the Lafayette-Lehigh game as a promo, but you might notice that my heart’s not in it – YET!

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
1. The NFL Giants have a new offensive coordinator in Ben McAdoo. During the pre-season the starters and especially Eli Manning looked like they were totally lost in this offense. One of the most interesting things to watch this first week of the NFL is how the Giants’ offense fares against the Lions.

2. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the Penn State-Central Florida game on Saturday morning. It was a great finish and ended around noon, leaving the rest of the day to do other things. I like morning sports.

3. Neither #1 Florida State nor #2 Alabama looked unbeatable in their wins over Oklahoma State and West Virginia, respectively. An Oklahoma State fumble and plenty of West Virginia dropped passes proved to be the difference. It could be a great year in college football.

4. There were no upsets in the first week of Lehigh Valley high school football. The closest to being called an upset was Stroudsburg beating Nazareth, but the Mounties look like the best team from the old Mountain Valley Conference.

5. It’s Emmaus at Easton LIVE on Friday night on RCN-TV at 7:00pm. Both won easily the first week. Emmaus beat Easton 14-7 last year. The game is at Cottingham Stadium and should be one of the top match-ups of the year. See you there.

NFL PICKS FOR THIS WEEK
(Last Year 174-92-1 65%)

SEATTLE
NEW ENGLAND
CLEVELAND
NEW ORLEANS
KANSAS CITY
CINCINNATI
JETS
ST. LOUIS
PHILADELPHIA
CHICAGO
HOUSTON
TAMPA BAY
SAN FRANCISCO
DENVER
DETROIT
ARIZONA

Last week, my blog focused on the NFL-AFC as I wanted to let everyone know how each division would finish. This is the sequel to that blog as I now will take you through a journey of the NFC and give you enough information so that you can start to make your playoff plans. Remember, for a true fan there is no better way to spend a Sunday afternoon than to tune in to the NFL Red Zone which covers highlights of every game played that day. You can order it by calling 1-800-RING RCN (this IS an unmitigated “plug” for the Red Zone – it makes our marketing people even happier when I do this two weeks in a row).

With that said, I am now ready to tell you (some say predict) how the regular season will turn out in terms of the NFC Division winners. So, much like last week, – SPOILER ALERT! – Do not read this if you want to enjoy the NFC regular season. The following is how the NFC will end up (This year’s record is in parentheses):

NFC SOUTH
1. New Orleans Saints (11-5) – They lost to Super Bowl champion, Seattle, in the playoffs. Their defense is better (Champ Bailey, for instance). AND, they are in a rather weak division.
2. Atlanta Falcons (9-7) – What the heck happened last year (4-12)? One word – injuries. They should be healthier (have to be) and begin to look like the team that was outstanding in 2012.
3. Carolina Panthers (8-8) – Here the question will be, “What the heck happened this year?” The Panthers were 12-4 last year, but they lost their wide receiver collection from last year. Even though their offense is questionable, their defense will win some games for them.
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-9) – They have the potential to be one of the most improved teams (4-12 last year), but their improvement in the standings could take awhile.

NFC NORTH
1. Green Bay Packers (12-4) – IF Aaron Rodgers stays healthy and Eddie Lacy runs wild, the Packers will win the North. Their defense is a bit of a question mark.
2. Chicago Bears (11-5) – As QB Jay Cutler goes, so go the Bears. They have faith in him (he is signed through 2020). This is a tough division and “survival of the fittest” usually wins out. The Bears could be one of the “fittest”.
3. Detroit Lions (9-7) – Why don’t the Lions get better? They appear solid everywhere, but in the secondary. Potentially, they could have a very good season, but don’t we say that every year?
4. Minnesota Vikings (6-10) – They will not get better. Only dog in the division.

NFC WEST
1. Seattle Seahawks (13-3) – Obviously, the Super Bowl champs were great last year (13-3) and with their youth and talent, there is every reason to believe they will be great again. Pete Carroll seems to have the perfect disposition to avoid the typical Super Bowl letdown. This is the toughest division in the NFL and Seattle is the best team in that division.
2. San Francisco 49ers (12-4) – The 49ers lost to Seattle in the NFC championship game and they continue to possess great talent and great coaching. It has been 20 years from their last championship and that may give them enough incentive to get it done.
3. Arizona Cardinals (11-5) – They won 10 regular season games last year and missed the playoffs. Winning 11 should get them in. They proved they could beat Seattle when the Seahawks are at home and that says something about their pedigree. Carson Palmer to Larry Fitzgerald is a lethal combination.
4. St. Louis Rams (8-8) – The Rams need to find another division. They are not a bad team, just not better than the other three in the NFC West. And no quarterback of note at the moment.

NFC EAST
1. Philadelphia Eagles (11-5) – They were about the only team that looked better throughout the “NFC Least” last year. There just doesn’t seem to be much negativity around Chip Kelly. Nick Foles has to be the real deal and Darren Sproles should add even more excitement to the up-tempo style.
2. New York Giants (9-7) – Eli Manning cannot be as bad as he was last year; the defense is pretty good; the offensive line is better. The Giants will, also, be better.
3. Dallas Cowboys (8-8) – Another ho-hum year for America’s team (still?). DeMarcus Ware is gone so the defense can’t be better. There were no great offensive additions. A long-shot to make the playoffs.
4. Washington Redskins (7-9) – New coach usually warrants a new attitude. RG III is healed, but not playing well. Name has not been changed. Four more wins than last year, but not enough to make the playoffs.

There you have it. It all starts September 4. Enjoy the season!!

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
1. Joe Torre’s #6 was retired Saturday and that leaves only #2 left as a single-digit Yankees uniform not retired. That distinction will end when Derek Jeter has #2 retired. The Yankees were the first team to put numbers on uniforms back in 1929. The numbers originally coincided with the player’s spot in the batting order. In case you do not remember the single-digit retired numbers: #1-Billy Martin; #2-Derek Jeter; #3- Babe Ruth; #4- Lou Gerhrig; #5- Joe Dimaggio; #6- Joe Torre; #7- Mickey Mantle; #8- Bill Dickey, Yogi Berra; #9-Roger Maris.

2. The Eagles looked very good last Thursday against the Steelers. Even the back-ups played well. The Steelers looked very disinterested.

3. The Rams lost their quarterback, Sam Bradford, for the season (ACL) and are now desperate for a starting quarterback. The obvious choice is Mark Sanchez of the Eagles, who ran offensive coordinator Marty Schottenheimer’s offense in New York. This would create a very interesting decision for all concerned.

4. Have you noticed how awful RG III has been for Washington so far? He threw for 20 yards – 20 yards! – on Saturday night. Joe Theismann has come out and suggested Jay Gruden yank his star for Kirk Cousins. That won’t happen.

5. Speaking of Grudens, father Jon Gruden was at Lafayette this past Wednesday to watch his son, Deuce, scrimmage. Ross Scheurman, Lafayette’s All-League running back was kept out of the scrimmage. Deuce is second on the depth chart and saw quite a bit of action.