The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

Last week, I promised you a sports story – no Covid-19 stuff. I have kept my promise.

This past Monday, April 6, many sports and non-sports fans would have been glued to their TVs watching the 2020 NCAA Collegiate Basketball Championship. This, of course, would have been the culmination of 12 days and nights watching the entire tournament unfold.

Everyone would have been caught up in their various “pools” with even those with little interest in athletics, at all, keeping track of their sheets and throwing all the barbs that go with being wrong or right. Trust me; I speak from experience, having been the recipient of many of those jabs over the years, particularly from fellow office workers (mostly female). Obviously, that did not happen.

But after completing John Feinstein’s The Back Roads to March, I discovered some interesting March Madness facts that I thought, in the absence of real games, you might find interesting:

The first Final Four and Championship games were on NBC and began in 1968. The championship game was moved to Monday night in 1973.

Dick Enberg, Al McGuire, and Billy Packer made up the first announcing team.

“March Madness” and “Selection Sunday” are all trademarked by the NCAA. I could not legally title this blog “March Madness” because that would be a trademark infringement. I would need permission or have to pay.

CBS outbid NBC for the contract in 1982. They paid $16 million per year. NBC had been paying $6.3 million per year. In 1999, CBS paid $546 million a year for the next eleven years.

The field was expanded from 64 teams to 65 teams in 2000, with one play-in game played in Dayton. Three more teams were added in 2011 for a total of 68. Each team (or conference) received $280,367 per win in the tournament in 2018. If you lost in the play-in round in Dayton, you received nothing. This round became known as the “First Four” (also trademarked by the NCAA).

CBS got a new contract that year (along with TNT) for another fourteen years for $10.8 billion. Their current contract was extended and gives CBS the rights until 2032. It cost a mere $8.8 billion more. So, if you do the math, the NCAA is making over $1 billion a year on March Madness. The NCAA claims it keeps “only” $100 million for itself. The rest goes to the member institutions.

So all we can do is look forward to November when the college basketball season begins again. All we want is for today’s “madness” to be replaced by a more acceptable and enjoyable “Madness”. I hope I can legally say that.

Stay safe.

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)

1. A recent poll came out claiming that 72% of Americans said they would not attend sporting events in person unless a vaccine was discovered for the coronavirus. 12% would go if social distancing would be maintained somehow. 76% said they would watch games without fans.

2. The NFL draft will take place this month – April 23-25. The Bengals have the first pick. The Giants have the 255th and last pick. The Eagles, by the way, will have their first pick at #21. You can watch on ABC, ESPN, NFL Network and on the ESPN app.

3. Did having all major league teams begin the season by playing all the games in Arizona ever seem feasible to you? It does not to me. Players would need to be kept in the Arizona area throughout the schedule, staying in hotels and away from their families. And projections say it could last up to four months. Unless something drastically happens on the medical front, it won’t happen.

4. Now if you want me to move to Arizona so that I can safely play golf… “Hmm”, let me give that some thought.

5. There will be no high school or college sports for the rest of this academic year. Yes, I know, I am depressed, too.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

I would love to be sitting here writing about some good sports story that has happened this past week.  But sports just do not seem all that important to me right now and you probably feel the same way.

Each night we all hear the numbers.  They are hard to avoid.  Every news report whether local or national leads with the same information about COVID-19 – number of cases in the world; number of cases in the US; number of deaths for both.  And it just becomes a number.  We accept the report, knowing it will increase the next day.

We sit and see “hot spots” parking refrigerator trucks in the hospital parking lots to serve as morgues for the rising number (that word again) of deaths.  There is just nowhere to put the bodies.  And these patients have passed unable to see or, very often, speak to their loved ones.  Ventilators keep that from happening.  Doctors, nurses, and first responders are among the tally. No final words; no final good-bye.

Due to “social distancing”, funerals are held for just a few.  Any eulogy that one might receive at some point at a memorial service would certainly include these words, “They died before their time.”  And that is the tragedy.

My sister, Judy, “died before her time” at the age of 43.  She had breast cancer; waited too long to seek treatment; never recovered.  She was building a house, had two boys in college, and needed to work.  She could not afford to stop working; in the end, she could not afford not to.  It cost her her life.

But at least there was closure.  We were gathered around at the end.  She knew we were there.  We had a chance to say goodbye.  We had a funeral for all who wished to grieve with the family and we had a moment to express our memories.  It is what the living want when a loved one has passed.

Now each day we offer up numbers.  We do not attach names for the most part and we do not consider the parents, spouses, children, family and friends left behind.  Our president tells us “We need to get back to work”, but each day the categories of numbers grow larger and larger and “getting back to work” seems to be in the distant future.

My message when my sister passed was that I knew why she lived – it was apparent throughout her life and certainly apparent at the funeral.  What was not apparent to me or anyone was why she died,

It was well “before her time”.

Thousands and thousands are asking the same question. And the answer is more than just looking at the numbers.  Each number is another tragic story.

I hope by next week, I have a good sports story to tell – I doubt it.

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)

1. Remember the name Tom Dempsey, the former Eagle, who was born without toes on his right kicking foot. He was famous for the 63-yards field goal he kicked in 1970 for the New Orleans Saints.  He died at the age of 73 from (you guessed it) complications from the coronavirus.

2. The NFL draft will take place this month – April 23-25. It will be done virtually from the homes of the various team executives and players have been invited to participate on line.

3. Lafayette senior Myles Cherry was named on the second team of Australia’s best college players. Cherry lives in Newcastle, Australia.  The psychology major hopes to continue playing abroad.

4. Two Massachusetts golfers were arrested after playing a round of golf in Rhode Island. Non-residents must quarantine themselves for 14 days if they enter the state.  They face a $500 fine and up to 90 days in jail.  I hope they had a good round.

5. Now that we are isolated, a little humor – not mine, but funny: During my quarantine, I watched birds fight over a worm from my living room window. The Cardinals led the Blue Jays 3-1.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

April 1 is coming this week – that’s right, April Fool’s Day.  When I was a kid and even, at times, as an adult, I was one of those who loved playing a joke on an unsuspecting audience. I often would make my mother the target because she was easily shocked.  I remember using catsup, a handkerchief, and my acting skills when I walked up to her revealing a very “serious cut” to my forehead and screaming the need for immediate medical help.  I laughed – she did not.

I remember placing one of those black realistic rubber bugs on my sister’s shoulder and screaming “Look!”  She screamed with fright; I screamed with laughter right up to the moment she got a roller skate and hit me over the head with it.

When I was teaching school and the class was studying George Orwell’s 1984, I saw a great opportunity to use April 1 as a lesson.  1984 is the novel about a totalitarian society where truth is what you believe to be true, not what, in actuality, is true.  This was a difficult concept for students to comprehend – I mean isn’t truth – truth?

As an experiment, the class and I decided to invent a student to see if we could convince the rest of the school of his existence.  I said we would give it one week of life.  It was easy.  I “enrolled” him.  By mid-week, I was able to get him on the absentee list for a day; made him a member of the basketball team (one of my actual players came to me to quit the team because he heard I said he would start for this player – I gave him the old “everyone has to earn their spot” speech to convince him to stay on the team); and had girls waiting outside my classroom just to see him (they had heard he was good-looking).

We had to stop before the week was up because someone had convinced someone else that he would go on a blind date that Friday with a girl.  I thought that was a bit cruel so we gave up the farce on Thursday.  It actually took a while to get the word out that he did not exist.  But, it certainly worked – truth became what the school believed to be true.

Many of you know, I used to do a radio gig with Bearman and Keith on WZZO every Monday morning.  We had a good time every week.  One show fell on April Fool’s and I decided, as I was driving to the studio, to come up with a news report that the Phillies had traded their most popular player, Mike Schmidt.  It was an absolute falsehood, but I went with it as I gave my sports report on the show.  The phones lit up.  People were shocked, angry, unreasonable, and very opinionated.  When I revealed it was just an April Fool’s joke, people were shocked, angry, unreasonable, and very opinionated.  However, Bearman, Keith, and I had a good laugh.

I would like to think all of those pranks were harmless and fun (except for the roller skate across the head).

I would like to think when April Fool’s roles around this Wednesday, someone in power will say simply “Coronavirus – April Fool’s!”  But, I fear that, too, would be a joke.

Stay safe and healthy.

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS) 

1. In this time of isolation, RCN and companies like them provide, perhaps, the most important services – cable TV, phone, and internet. They keep us informed, involved with our friends and family, and occupied during these difficult times.  What would we do without these services?

2. I really miss March Madness, both the games of course, but also the competitive fun we had at work with the office pool. Being a sports director, everyone thought I had all the inside scoop and should do well with my bracket.  I did not and it seemed my fellow workers took great pleasure in not only beating me, but constantly reminding me of my ineptness.  Invariably, the greatest challenge came from one of the women in accounting and, thus, the greatest embarrassment.  Even the embarrassment, I miss.

3. Things are so bad that I agreed to play the longest possible version of Scrabble with my wife on Saturday afternoon. It took almost three hours – it’s the Deluxe expanded edition.  Even that, I lost!

4. One thing I have been able to do is email coaches, ADs, and statisticians to thank them for all their help this season and in the past. Having time helps you do the right thing.

5. I would guess Major League baseball is, at least, a couple of months away from starting. Can we hold out hope that the first pitch might occur on June 1?

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

I have always considered myself to be an optimistic guy.  My glass is almost always half full.  The grass is rarely greener on the other side.  Life is like a box of chocolates, most of the time.

I am no longer optimistic.

I would love to say that life will return to normal soon.  It won’t.

I would love to say that kids will return to school soon.  They won’t.

I would love to say we will see the return of professional winter sports (NBA, NHL) and the  start of spring sports at all levels (high school, college, MLB, PGA), but,  I fear, we won’t.

The PIAA’s two-week moratorium on finishing out the winter season has come and gone.  Their current silence on the matter means they are just not sure what to say.  And I understand their dilemma.

Despite the message the IOC is putting forth, does anyone really believe the Olympics will take place this year?

I would love to be looking forward to the 12-night cruise my wife and I had planned for early May.  It was unique – fly to Florida, cruise to the Southern Caribbean and return to Bayonne, New Jersey.  Despite hoping this will happen, I’m pretty certain it won’t.

I and my seven fellow golfers would love to be getting ready for the 16^th consecutive year for our golf trip to the New Jersey shore – we call it the War at the Shore.  Five days of golf, camaraderie and incessant busting on one another cannot happen if there are no golf courses to play.  As a proper precaution, they are closed for business.

I would love to have a sense that we are getting a handle on this thing, but I fear we are not.  I feel for the businesses, the medical staffs, the unemployed and, most importantly, the sick who, I am quite sure, have also all lost their optimism.

My glass still has liquid in it – not quite half – and my grass is looking greener, so I am sure some day we will return to a sense of normalcy.  I fear it will not be soon and the effects will certainly not be easy to overcome.

To think otherwise would just be kidding ourselves.  Please stay safe and healthy.

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS) 

1. The only sports stories to report about right now are NFL free agency and the NFL draft. It just doesn’t seem right, however, to make this feel important.

2. I worry about my daughters who are on the front line working with Lehigh Valley Hospital. One does ultrasounds on about 20 patients every day and the other helped to organize the various testing centers for the virus around the Lehigh Valley.  I am proud, but worried.

3. Our granddaughter is in New York, which the news is now saying is the “epicenter” of the virus. I trust she is making mature decisions!

4. I just started John Feinstein’s new book, Back Roads to March. It is about the smaller colleges that get a chance to participate in March Madness.  Lafayette College is featured at times.  Ironically, I am not a fan of sports books, but I am a fan of good writing and John Feinstein is a very good writer and is always able to weave a good story.  It’s something to do while at home that feels like research for my work.

5. I watched the replay of the Lafayette-Lehigh football game on Sunday morning. After doing the game, I never took the time to watch it.  The RCN-TV crew did a great job.  Lafayette won again.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

The phrase “the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat” was first spoken by Jim McKay on ABC’s The Wide World of Sports in 1961. Those words have become synonymous
with big athletic events throughout the ages. You know, somebody wins and somebody suffers a crushing defeat. This past weekend, those words took on even more significance. There was the “thrill”, but it was most certainly accompanied by the “agony”.

On Saturday evening, the District XI 6A Boys basketball championship was played. This is considered to be the top championship basketball game in the Lehigh Valley. Two teams, Northampton and Freedom, had upset higher-ranked teams and would battle for the championship. The fact that both were in the final was surprise enough, but the overriding interest was created by the fact that neither had won a District title for a combined 92 years.

Northampton last won in 1972 and Freedom did it in 1976. Both were coached by individuals who taught the game the right way, had paid their dues (one for 20 years and the other for eight years), and were true gentlemen of the game. It was easy to root for both; hard to accept that one would lose.

The contest was well-played. It was a two-point game with two minutes to go in the third. Freedom ended up winning 58-48. Coach Joe Stellato won his first District title in 20 years as the Freedom head coach. The “thrill of victory” was written all over the faces of the coaching staff and the players. Even Northampton knew they had played hard – somebody wins; somebody loses.

But that is not the “agony” I alluded to at the beginning. Upon arriving at the same gym on Friday night, I was told that the mother of 23-year Allen head coach, Doug Snyder, had passed away on Wednesday before they played in a semifinal game against Freedom. Doug’s father insisted he coach that night. He was told that is what his mother would have wanted. Doug did not tell the team until after the game; his team lost. All of us were both shocked and saddened by our friend’s loss.

Imagine the shock that upon arriving to do the 6A game, I was informed that Doug’s father, Dr. Richard Snyder, died the previous morning. Doug called his father Friday morning. Some said he was going to see if his dad wanted to go to Allen’s Saturday consolation game. No one answered the phone. Doug drove to the home and discovered his father had passed. Doug lost both parents in 48 hours.

Doug’s father and mother led valuable lives and left a legacy of public service. They also raised a son who is the epitome of a coach teaching all the right values to a team of inner city kids. The challenges are great, but Doug has always put character way ahead of wins and losses – yet he is one of the most successful coaches the Lehigh Valley has seen.

It is hard to get a sense of the “agony” Doug must be feeling now. My sympathy goes out to him and to his family. But this “agony” has absolutely nothing to do with “defeat”.

A really good son lost really, really good parents.

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)

1. The Philadelphia Flyers are in second place! They have won six games in a row and are in a good position in the playoff race.

2. The NBA is into the 20th week and the 76ers are listed as #10 in the rankings.  They have a good record at 37-23, but struggle on the road and struggle to maintain a healthy lineup.

3. The Baylor Bears are the #1 college team right now as March Madness quickly approaches. If you are ready to fill them in as the National Champions, remember that they have never won a national championship.

4. Some bad news out of the Phillies spring training camp – Andrew McCutcheon will not be ready for opening day. He is still recovering from a torn ACL. He is important to their lineup. The expectations are he will be ready sometime in April.

5. Here are the TV games for this week:

Friday, March 6 @ 6:00pm
4A Boys – Bethlehem Catholic vs Archbishop Carroll
Central Catholic vs South Philadelphia
6A Girls –Nazareth vs Parkland
5A Boys – Southern Lehigh vs William Penn

Saturday, March 7 @ 1:00pm
4AG – Bethlehem Catholic vs Prep Charter;
2:30 PM 6AB – Northampton vs Lower Merion
4:00 PM  – Freedom vs Downingtown East

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

I am pretty sure that every kid who plays sports dreams at one time or another of becoming a professional athlete.  I know I certainly did.  As you get older and compete against better and better athletes, reality, at some point, sets in and you realize there are much better players than you.  But it takes a while to sink in.

I do remember having those aspirations when growing up.  I played three sports – football, basketball, and baseball.  As a quarterback it was apparent from the very beginning that I was just average at best.  I enjoyed being part of the team.  I particularly liked being the center of the action.  The play only started when I said so.  It also was a very good place to watch the game.  Hand the ball off, throw a pass, or keep the ball and run meant I always had a good seat to observe.  Johnny Unitas of the Baltimore Colts was my football hero, but I was never going to have his moxie and his ability and it was apparent early on that I had absolutely no future in football.

It became even clearer in the game of basketball.  You just cannot make yourself grow!  At 5’11”, I could play in the backcourt in high school and in college, but my basketball future would be playing in summer leagues on the playgrounds for as long as I wanted.  I went to many college and pro basketball games, but never thought that I could compete against those guys. They were too big, too strong, and too good.

Baseball was a bit different.  When my father and grandfather took me to see the Phillies or the Yankees, I always came away thinking there was a chance.  All I wanted to do when we came home from those games was grab my glove and go play catch with my dad.  I even felt that way when we returned home at midnight.  If I could talk my dad into it, I would have played pitch and catch right away.

As I got older, I had my most success, athletically, as a pitcher.  I did not lose a high school game in my last two years.  I was MAC pitcher of the year in college and pitcher of the year in the Blue Mountain League.  I played against good (probably not great) competition and, for the most part, I was better.  I even got a one-day look from the Pirates.  It was one day and led to nothing, but it certainly was nice to feel like “maybe there was a chance”.  It was not to be.  I accepted my limits and continued to play any sport for fun.

Imagine, though, the feeling of David Ayres this past Saturday.  He is the Zamboni driver at the Toronto Maple Leafs’ arena.  He is, also, the practice goalie for the Leafs.  And he was, on Saturday, the stand-by goalie for both teams in case a team had both goalies injured.  It happened.  The Carolina Hurricanes lost their starter in the first period.  Ayres got the call to get dressed.  Their backup got injured in the second period.  The 42-year-old became the next man up.  The first two shots went right past him.  The next eight, however, he stopped.  The Hurricanes won 6-3 and he became the oldest to win a regular season game.

Ayres had a kidney transplant 15 years ago and thought he would never play hockey again.  He not only played; he made history.  By the way, he got paid $500, got to keep his jersey, and, within hours, his replica jersey was being sold to fans.

Knowing that, I just might go try to find my baseball glove.

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS) 

1. Do you believe the Phillie Phanatic is 42 years old? So, it stands to reason, he needed a little “plastic surgery”.  Much like many of us, his posterior got bigger, his tail turned blue, he got scales under his arms, and his nose got a little shorter.  Oh, the pains of growing old.

2. Tom Brady, Philip Rivers, Dak Prescott, Jameis Winston and 11 other quarterbacks are all free agents. There is a feeding frenzy, I’m sure, right now in various NFL board rooms.

3. It is hard to believe, but last year’s NCAA Basketball champion, the Virginia Cavaliers, are not a lock to get into this year’s tournament. Three ACC teams will certainly get in – Duke, Florida State, Louisville.  Virginia is playing better now, but needs to continue their success.  You cannot defend your title if you don’t get in.

4. How can the 76ers have the best home record in the league and a 9-20 record on the road? Same players, same game – different results.  Mind-boggling!

5. Here are the TV games for this week:

• Tuesday, Feb. 25: 6:00pm – Bethlehem Catholic vs Tamaqua; Central Catholic vs Wilson; Girls – Freedom vs Pocono Mountain West; Nazareth vs Parkland
• Wednesday, Feb. 26: 6:00pm – Easton vs Northampton; Allen vs Freedom on Channel 4

7:00pm – American vs Lafayette women

• Friday, Feb. 28: TBD
  • Saturday, Feb. 22: TBD

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

After all the conversation about much-needed rule changes in Major League baseball, finally something has been done. The changes were actually agreed to last spring by both the owners and the union. The announcement came as the teams reported for spring training. Here are the important ones:

THREE-BATTER MINIMUM
This was a much-needed rule in my estimation. Pitchers will now be required to face a minimum of three batters or finish the half-inning. Exceptions will be made for injury or illness. Obviously, this eliminates a manager bringing in a reliever to face one batter followed by another visit to the mound to again change the pitcher. To give you an idea of the impact, in the last three years, there was an average of 694 visits to the mound to change the pitcher that would no longer be allowed. Obviously both strategy and time will be affected by this change.

POSITION PLAYERS PITCHING
A player will now be designated as a pitcher, position player, or two-way player. This must be done the first day they are put on the active roster and it cannot be changed. A two-way player has to have pitched 20 innings and started 20 games as a position player, with three plate appearances in the current or previous year. Ninety position players pitched last year. One oddity in the rule interpretation is that players designated as pitchers can be position players so Shohei Ohtani, the Japanese star for the Angels, can both pitch and hit.

ROSTER SIZE
Active players on the roster will increase by one to 26 until August 31 and increase to 28 on September 1. Teams will be able to add a player for doubleheaders. Thirteen pitchers will be allowed until August 31 and then the number can increase to 14 on September 1. This is a great change eliminating the 40-man roster when the games were the most important to those teams in the post-season chase. Now teams will have to play with the roster they carried throughout the year.

INJURED LIST AND MINOR LEAGUE OPTIONS
These changes are minor for the average fan. Pitchers on the injured list will now have to miss a minimum of 15 days (was 10). Teams were manipulating the rule to rest a pitcher for one start. Pitchers must also now, if optioned to the minors, stay there for 15 days (it was 10). This rule, much like the “injured list” rule, keeps teams from rotating pitchers constantly, making more pitchers available and creating more pitching changes.

All these changes make sense in order to speed up the game, keep infielders from pitching, and create more stable rosters. I like the rule changes.

Now, “Play ball!”

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)

1. Cleveland Browns’ defensive end Myles Garrett has been reinstated by the NFL. Garrett, you may recall, hit Steelers’ quarterback Mason Rudolph over the head with Rudolph’s helmet during a melee. Garrett ended up serving a six-game suspension and some thought he should have been banned from the League. Garrett still claims that Rudolph called him the “N” word, but that has been disputed by almost everyone involved and the league found no proof of that despite microphones being nearby.

2. There is no word on the status of Tom Brady for next year. Most fans forget that he was the 199th pick in the 2000 draft and is now considered by many to be the greatest of all time. He won six Super Bowls and has been paid (so far) $235 million. The retirement party should be fun, whenever it occurs.

3. The Lafayette Leopards men’s basketball team was hit with a devastating injury this past week. Leading scorer and team leader Justin Jaworski suffered both an ACL injury and a torn meniscus and was lost for the season. This, of course, after leading returning scorer Alex Petrie was declared medically ineligible before the start of the season. The Leopards were playing very well and were the only team to beat League-leading Colgate twice. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the season plays out.

4. The PPL Center created an appropriate venue for the EPC semifinals and the championship finals. Congratulations to the Bethlehem Catholic girls and the Allen boys for their championship wins. And congratulations to the EPC committee for garnering the Center. The good news is that enough fans came out for the three nights to pay all expenses and (perhaps) make a little money.

5. Here are the TV games for this week:

Wednesday, Feb. 19:  7:00pm – Boston University vs Lafayette College (Men); 9:30pm – Pocono Mountain West vs Whitehall

Friday, Feb. 21: 7:00pm –Bethlehem Catholic vs Northwestern; Central Catholic vs Palisades (Boys); Easton vs Freedom; Nazareth vs Pleasant Valley (Girls)

Saturday, Feb. 22: 1:00pm – East Stroudsburg South vs Freedom; Easton vs Parkland (Boys)

Sunday, Feb. 23: 2:00pm – Loyola vs Lafayette

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company. 

The regular season is winding down for the winter sports programs in Pennsylvania, and the playoffs are heating up!

Here’s video highlights of our games over the last several weeks with a reminder that RCN customers can see all these games, for FREE and in their entirety for up to two months from their initial air date, through RCN on-demand!

 
  Check back to “The Shop” in a few weeks for more video highlight packages and insights on the local high school sports as we get ready for some exciting post-season activities.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

I must admit that Sunday afternoon felt a little weird.  There was no NFL football and, to be honest, from my perspective, nothing to really interest me in the world of sports.

Rest assured, I was busy.  With two semifinal EPC basketball games on a Monday night, most of Sunday was taken up doing the preparation.  But by 3:00, I was ready to relax and spend the rest of the weekend watching something, anything that would hold my attention.  That almost always means a sporting event.

However, this is the “tweener” time for college and professional sports as far as I am concerned.  I see enough basketball that, until the conference championships roll around, I am not that interested.  Those tournament games do get me mentally ready for March Madness.

I just can’t seem to sit in the recliner to devote two or more hours to the NBA or the NHL.  It’s not that I don’t enjoy watching both, it’s just the games, for me, have very little meaning until the playoffs.

That leaves golf.  Who doesn’t enjoy mentally soaking up the sun, although it is a virtual pastime, and looking at the beautiful setting that is golf on the West Coast?  I did try that yesterday when the pros were playing at Pebble Beach in California.  I found I was more jealous than interested. They were playing and I could not; they were basking in sunshine (I was basking inside –can you even do that?); and they were not playing very well due to the extremely windy conditions.  Suffice it to say, even golf did not keep my interest.

So what’s the answer – high school sports on RCN-TV.  This is the BEST time of the year for high school basketball.  This week I will see the EPC boys’ semifinals and final and the girls’ championship games. And they will be played at a great venue – the PPL Center.

Due to the unmatched talent of our local wrestling teams, I will be able to watch the District XI individual championships on February 22.  Our local teams have had a spectacular year (Nazareth won the PIAA state championship) and the individual bouts should be outstanding.

I will get to call two Lafayette games on Wednesday and Saturday as the men and women’s teams battle for their respective Patriot League slot in the playoffs.

So, all is not lost for the next few weeks, nor should it be for you.  Get out to one of the great high school events this month or, if that cannot work for you, let us choose your virtual attendance.

So even though the NFL season is done and the college and pro sports are winding down, this is the best time for OUR sports.  Thank goodness.

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS) 

1. What are your thoughts on the local Catholic schools banning their wrestlers in team competition from wrestling a girl? It has now happened twice and both times the matches were decided because the Catholic school had to, by Diocesan rule, forfeit the match when the opposing team sent out a girl to wrestle.  Both times the Catholic team would have won the match and both times six points were awarded to the opponent due to forfeit (and the opponent knew that would be the case).  Both times, that bout was the difference in winning or losing.  Do you have a solution?P.S.  The Catholic school wrestlers can wrestle a girl in individual tournaments.

2. What a year for the Nazareth Blue Eagles. First, they win the EPC South division and District XI football championships and this past week, they add a state wrestling title to go along with their District wrestling title.  They were 8-0 in the postseason, won 89 of 112 bouts and 62 with bonus points.  It was total domination.  Congratulations to Coach Dave Crowell and the team.

3. Fran O’Hanlon, Lafayette’s men’s basketball coach, was honored at a reception on Saturday afternoon. He is coaching his 25^th year at Lafayette, one of only five Division 1 college coaches who can make that claim.  You may know the others:Jim Boeheim – Syracuse
   Mike Krzyzewski – Duke
   Bob McKillip – Davidson
   Tom Izzo – Michigan State

   Coach O’Hanlon has won 340 games, has three regular season PL titles, three Patriot League championships, has made three NCAA appearances; has been in seven conference finals; and has been named Coach of the Year three  times.

4. Will you watch the XFL? Did you know it was on?

5. The schedule – All LIVEMonday – EPC Boys Semis – 6:00 PM

   Tuesday – Colonial League Semis – 6:00 PM

   Wednesday – Lafayette vs. Army WBB – 7:00  PM

   Thursday – EPC Girls and Boys championships – 6:00 PM

   Friday – Colonial League Girls and Boys championships – 6:00 PM

   Saturday – Lafayette vs. Holy Cross WBB – 6:00 PM

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

This past Thursday, the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference announced that both the semifinals and the championship finals for the boys and the girls would be played at the PPL Center.  The dates for the semis and finals are February 10 – February 13.  This is, indeed, exciting news.

I am sure many of you recall that it was three years ago that the District XI 6A semifinals were held there before more than 7,600 fans.  It was a night that is now etched into the memories of every local high school basketball fan.  All four teams were outstanding – Allen, Emmaus, Parkland and Pocono Mountain West.  The games did not disappoint.

It is hard to imagine that this year can match the excitement generated three years ago, but it is certainly a fitting venue for the Conference playoffs.  What seems to be the mystery, however, and a question I get asked throughout the year is how the teams get there and how they are seeded.

So, before the quarterfinals are played on Feb. 7, let me try to clear up the process:

Selecting the eight teams:

• Division Winners get automatic bid, BUT NOT automatic 1, 2, 3…

For example, East Stroudsburg South will be the Mountain Division champion, but will not be the #1, 2, or 3 seed because of their record.  Allen, Liberty, and Central will have better records and will fill those slots.

Seeding:

• Overall EPC Record (16 games) is the first criteria.

As I write this seven of the eight slots are filled with the order yet to be determined (Allen, Liberty, Central, Easton, Parkland, Freedom, and East Stroudsburg South).  It appears right now that Bethlehem Catholic will be the 8^th team.

• If teams are tied:

Head to Head competition will be used, ONLY if ALL Tied Teams played one another.

If the teams did not play one another, District XI Ranking Points will be used (using ONLY EPC 16 Games).

There could be a coin flip if ALL of the above have teams still tied (This is a distinct possibility for Allen and Liberty to determine seeds #1 and #2).

Central Catholic could also finish with the same record, but the District XI Ranking Points could keep them from the top two spots.

Conclusion:

The final regular season games are played on Monday and Tuesday and then the brackets will all be determined.  This has been a very competitive year so every game promises to be extremely exciting.

I urge all fans to come to the games, but if you cannot, RCN-TV will have the boys’ semifinals LIVE on Monday, Feb. 10 and the boys and girls championship finals on Feb. 13.

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS) 

1. The first half of the Super Bowl may not have been as riveting as we expected, but the second half sure made up for it. I am bewildered that the 49ers did not attempt to score at the end of the first half.  They could have made life miserable for the Chiefs with two consecutive possessions (end of first half and beginning of second half) allowing them to put points on the board.  You defer when you win the coin toss just to set up that situation.  They had time-outs to use and did not use them wisely.  It was a good time to go for the jugular.  They did not.

2. Patrick Mahomes, at 24, became the youngest QB to be named the MVP of the Super Bowl. Tom Brady had that spot before Sunday Night.  The irony is that Mahomes did it in his third season while it took his head coach, Andy Reid, 21 seasons to get it done.  And being on the cover of the Madden ’20 video game did not jinx Mahomes either.

3. Andy Reid is now guaranteed a spot in the NFL Hall of Fame – he is 7^th in regular season wins; he has won 222 total games; he is 4^th in playoff runs and 4th in playoff appearances for coaches with 10 or more seasons. Even Philadelphia fans have to be happy for the 61-year-old.

4. NFL draft pick spots are determined now that the season has come to a close. The Bengals, Redskins, Lions, Giants, and Dolphins have the first five selections.  The Ravens, Titans, Packers, 49ers, and the Chiefs have the last five.  The Eagles will pick #21.  Of course, all of those slots could be changed due to trades.

5. The regular season of high school basketball comes to a close this week with games on Monday and Tuesday night. Easton takes on Freedom on Monday at 7:00 PM and on Tuesday night, rivals Wilson and Notre Dame finish out their Colonial League season on RCN-TV at 7:00 PM.  Lafayette men are off this week, but we will have the Lafayette–Lehigh University men’s game on Saturday, Feb. 8 LIVE at 2:00 PM.  And then it is on to the PPL Center starting Monday, Feb. 10.

GARY’S GUESSES (LAST WEEK – 1-0)  (YEAR-TO-DATE) – 175-90-1  (66%) 

I PICKED THE SUPER BOWL WINNER! 

KANSAS CITY