Last week, the ATVN Sports department had a busy week broadcasting EPC and Colonial League playoff games.  Below are highlights of those games.

For the upcoming baseball and 6A girls softball district playoff games next week, tune in ATVN and also watch the games streamed live on our YouTube channel:  @AstoundTVNetwork

Astound Sports: Liberty vs Bethlehem Catholic (5/24)

Astound Sports: Northwestern Lehigh vs. Wilson (5/24)

Astound Sports: Pocono Mountain East vs. Liberty (5/24)

Astound Sports:  Bethlehem Catholic vs. Nazareth (5/24)

Astound Sports: Nazareth vs. Freedom (9/23)

  DVDs and links to these games can be purchased by contacting the ATVN studio.

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

Before we present this year’s EPC high school baseball all-star teams, a few notes about last week’s league playoff games seen on the Astound TV Network.

First, despite the weather and prom season radically changing almost ALL originally scheduled games (both the EPC and Colonial League tourneys were supposed to start the previous Friday, with most games being delayed as many as three days) there were some outstanding performances by all teams.

Secondly, congrats to Liberty (again) and Wilson (for their first league baseball title since 2008) for bringing home the gold medals.  Most of the games were very competitive and we also saw an abundance of non-seniors stepping up, which indicates next spring’s playoffs should be intense with so many returning players…not to mention the upcoming district playoffs, which begin later this week.

Speaking of this week, ATVN will broadcast for the first-time ever on our network, the 2A & 3A girls and boys District XI lacrosse championships.  It’ll be a very busy “week-plus” around the Memorial Day weekend as we will also have District XI baseball title games involving teams in the ATVN viewing area, along with the 6A girls softball championships all between now and the end of the month.

Enjoy!

Now, here’s the complete listing of EPC “all-conference” and “all-division” team members–the first team members were honored before last Friday’s championship.

Eastern Pennsylvania Conference
2024 Baseball

All-Conference 1st Team

Pitcher (2):
Noah Gyauch Quirk- Liberty
Adam Horvath – PME

Catcher (1):
Franklin Pichardo – Liberty

Infielders (4):
Jacob Rivera – Liberty
Rocco Delgiudice – PME
Chad Kauffman- Emmaus
Louis Inserra – Parkland

Outfielders (3):
Braylen Gonzalez – Liberty
Aidan Butz – Nazareth
Jarred Peluso – Freedom

Utility (2):
Josiah Williams – Emmaus
Alex Suarez – Freedom

MVP:
Noah Gyauch Quirk – Liberty

All-Conference 2nd Team

Pitcher (2):
Cole Moreau – Emmaus
Chase Walker – Freedom

Catcher (1):
Luis Reyes – Allen

Infielders (5):
Vincent Paar – Nazareth
Mason Haupt – Northampton
Caden Deegan – Bethlehem Catholic
John Phillips- Freedom
Bobby Ehrmann – Pocono Mt. East

Outfielders (3):
Andrew Klotz – Parkland
Noah Hogan – Emmaus
Adam Horvath – Pocono Mt. East

Utility (2):
Matt Daems – Nazareth
Cohen Schadler – Emmaus

All-Division Team
Division: Lehigh

Pitcher (2):
Cole Moreau – Emmaus
Logan Higgins – Northampton

Catcher (1):
Luis Reyes – Allen

Infielders (4):
Louis Inserra – Parkland
Chad Kauffman – Emmaus
Mason Haupt – Northampton
Trevor Golden – Allen

Outfielders (3):
Andrew Klotz – Parkland
Noah Hogan – Emmaus
Seth Hodorewski – Whitehall

Utility (2):
Josiah Williams – Emmaus
Cohen Schadler – Emmaus

All-Division Team
Division: Northampton

Pitcher (2):
Noah Gyauch Quirk – Liberty
Chase Walker – Freedom

Catcher (1):
Franklin Pichardo – Liberty

Infielders (4):
Jacob Rivera – Liberty
Caden Deegan – BECA
John Phillips- Freedom
Vincent Paar – Nazareth

Outfielders (3):
Braylen Gonzalez – Liberty
Aidan Butz – Nazareth
Jarred Peluso – Freedom

Utility (2):
Alex Suarez- Freedom
Matt Daems – Nazareth

All-Division Team
Division: Monroe

Pitcher (2):
Adam Horvath – PME
Liam Huffman – East Stroudsburg South

Catcher (1):
Thomas Gonzalez – Stroudsburg

Infielders (4):
Will Mecca – PMW
Rocco Delgiudice – PME
Bobby Ehrmann – PME
Jayden Martinez – PME

Outfielders (3):
Logan Rasmussen – ESS
Adam Horvath – PME
Dakoda Lucas – PV

Utility (2):
Zach Pandolfo – PN
Eric Rivera – PMW

Check back to “The SportsTalk Shop” for more all-star listings as they become available to us.

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

There were some interesting results from the recent tennis tournament championships. 

Here are the results along with pictures of the winning squads…

In the District XI boy’s singles finals:

2A Finals- #1 Deven Pandey (Saucon Valley) defeated #2 Ford Koch (Moravian Academy) 6-4, 6-2

3A Finals- #5 Chris Stone (Emmaus) defeated #2 Gideon Knowles (Nazareth) 6-3, 6-3 

In the girl’s District XI TEAM finals…

2A Finals- #1 Moravian Academy 3 #2 Allentown Central Catholic 0    

3A Finals- #1 Parkland 3 #2 Liberty 0 

Next, in the District XI girl’s singles finals:

2A Finals- #1 Francesca Bartolacci (Moravian Academy) defeated #3 Mallory Conner (Northwestern Lehigh) 6-4, 6-0

3A Finals- #1 Helena Lynn (Liberty) defeated #2 Alexandria Warsing (Parkland) 5-7, 6-2, 6-3  

Last but not least, here are the boys Eastern Pennsylvania Conference “All-League” team members…

EPC Most Valuable Player:  Luke Appleman – Liberty  

EPC Boys Tennis (Singles) First Team All-Conference:

EPC Boys Tennis (Singles) Second Team All-Conference:

EPC Boys Tennis (Singles) Third Team All-Conference:

EPC Boys Tennis (Doubles) First Team All-Conference:

EPC Boys Tennis (Doubles) Second Team All-Conference:

EPC Boys Tennis (Doubles) Third Team All-Conference:

More local tennis news, award winners and honors, along with other sports’ achievements by student-athletes in the Astound TV Network’s coverage area – as they become available – in future editions of “The SportsTalk Shop!”

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

Today we introduce a new blogger and series of articles by Salome Carr, a standout lacrosse athlete at Saucon Valley HS and Moravian College, to increase the awareness, knowledge and popularity of this growing sport for our readers.

In the realm of sports, lacrosse stands out as one of the top emerging sports with rapid growth in recent years in not only the Lehigh Valley, but across the country and all over the world. There has been a rise in the amount of teams and opportunities at the high school, collegiate, and even professional levels. Lacrosse is the oldest team sport in North America. The game played today originates from Native American communities and most closely relates to stickball that the Haudenosaunee or Iroquois people. Over the years, it has been adapted to cater to a diverse array of participants across different age groups, genders, and skill levels, and still continues to grow each and every year. 

When it comes to the technicalities of the game, the Men’s and Women’s versions could not be more different. While they do share fundamental principles such as getting the ball in the net, the two variants exhibit distinct differences. Men’s lacrosse is renowned for its physicality and high-speed gameplay, with aggressive stick checks, and lightning-fast shots on goal. Conversely, women’s lacrosse prioritizes finesse, strategy, and precision, with players wielding different equipment and adhering to modified rules regarding contact and protective gear. Not only do the men and women play with different equipment, the field set up and number of players is different too. 

Men 

• 10 players on the field at once
• 6 v 6 on the attacking side 
• Faceoff at the start/after each goal
• Sticks – Field Players
  • Must measure between 40-42 inches in length for standard stick; long pole can be 50-72 inches.
• Equipment – Field Players
  • Helmet
  • Mouthguard
  • Gloves
  • Shoulder & Elbow pads
  • Chest protector

Women 

• 12 players on the field at once 
• 7 v 7 on the attacking side 
• Draw at the start/after each goal 
• Sticks – Field Players
  • Must measure between 35.5 – 43.5 inches in length 
• Equipment – Field Players
  • Mouthguard
  • Goggles or helmet

Despite these differences, both men’s and women’s lacrosse has gained exponential growth in recent years, propelled by an increase in media coverage, sponsorships, and overall popularity. The youth club opportunities in the Lehigh Valley too have grown and expanded in the last 10 years. More importantly, the rise of women’s lacrosse games that are televised has grown exponentially in the more recent years as there is more and more awareness about the game and strong players that are making a name for themselves and the sport as a whole. Additionally, the expansion of professional leagues, such as Premier League Lacrosse (PLL) for men and the Athletes Unlimited Pro Lacrosse League for women, has provided aspiring athletes with pathways to pursue their passion at the highest level. 

Lacrosse’s rise from its indigenous roots to a global sporting phenomenon epitomizes its enduring appeal and adaptability. As it continues to evolve, embracing new audiences and avenues for participation, there is no doubt that this is just the beginning for what is to come. With each passing year, lacrosse cements its status as more than just a game whether on youth “rec fields” or in the professional leagues, it stands as a testament to the power of sport and the impact it has on people.

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

The ATVN Sports Department has been gearing up for our busiest spring playoffs in our network’s history–with coverage of high school baseball, girl’s softball and boy’s and girl’s lacrosse post-season coverage coming up over the next several weeks (not to mention our first two broadcasts from the Grandview Racing Speedway).

Before we start our playoff coverage next week, we’ll have the last of several “SportsTalk” shows taking a look at the different high school sports in our viewing area.  New ATVN softball analyst Sally Whitaker-Kahan will join us to talk about girls softball this spring, along with a look ahead to the league and district playoffs.

Tune in this Thursday at 7pm on ATVN and also streamed live on our YouTube channel:  @AstoundTVNetwork

Now here’s recaps for recent productions on the Astound Television Network.

Astound Sports:  Easton vs. Freedom (12/23)

Astound Sports: Catasauqua vs. Northwestern Lehigh (12/23)

Astound Sports: Central Catholic vs. Nazareth (9/23)

Astound Sports: Parkland vs. Central Catholic (9/23)

Astound Sports: Easton vs. Whitehall (9/23)

DVDs and links to these games can be purchased by contacting the ATVN studio.

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

Full disclosure time!

With the high school football playoff season winding down, it’s time to take a look back to our preseason predictions from early August and see how our SportsTalk pollsters did this year.

Most years we can brag a little (although we really don’t do much of that) or, if we were completely off base, we are fully prepared to offer up a mea culpa to our readers and viewers.

This year, instead of having a big school and small school poll as in seasons past, we are going to break the two polls down into EPC and Colonial League schools within the RCN broadcast area.  This season was the first year in which Colonial teams cross-scheduled and played teams from the Schuylkill League, so our poll reflected teams in the Lehigh Valley while many local teams did not play a majority of teams within the Lehigh Valley area. 

So below we have both our preseason and our final high school polls for both leagues in the RCN viewing area, along with the listing of all of the teams that are included in our respective categories.

EPC-LV TOP 5 (PRESEASON)

1) Freedom
2) Parkland
3) Emmaus
4) Nazareth
5) Bethlehem Catholic

Eligible Teams (in no particular order):

Allentown Central Catholic, Northampton, Bethlehem Catholic, Easton, Freedom, Liberty, Dieruff, Allen, Parkland, Whitehall, Emmaus, and Nazareth.

EPC-LV TOP 5 (FINAL)

1) Freedom
2) Emmaus
3) Parkland
4) Nazareth
5) Central Catholic

Our posters were correct in naming Freedom as our preseason number one team as they captured District XI 6A title for the first time since 2018. Emmaus, Parkland and Nazareth were also in our top four, both before this season back in August and in our final tabulation.

Central Catholic Head Coach Tim McGorry was on our “SportsTalk” program recently and freely stated that his younger players developed much quicker than he had anticipated. SportsTalk co-host Keith Groller also admitted vastly underestimating the Vikings in his preseason prognostications on our last episode, citing that he ranked them eight out of 10 teams back in August.

Regarding Bethlehem Catholic as our preseason “number five,” the Golden Hawks ended up going through a transition under their new coaching staff. It was clear late in the season when I talked to Head Coach Kyle Haas that his emphasis with the program was more on changing the culture, instilling more discipline and building for the future than on winning games this year.

COLONIAL TOP 5 (PRESEASON)

1) Notre Dame-GP
2) Northwestern
3) Palisades
4) Saucon Valley
5) Southern Lehigh

Eligible Teams (in no particular order):

Bangor, Pen Argyl, Notre Dame – Green Pond, Wilson, Catasauqua, Salisbury, Saucon Valley, Northwestern, Northern Lehigh, Southern Lehigh, Palmerton and Palisades

COLONIAL TOP 5 (FINAL)

1) Northwestern
2) Northern Lehigh
3) Notre Dame-GP
4) Palmerton
5) Southern Lehigh

It’s clear this wasn’t our most accurate poll we’ve ever done, but it’s due to many good reasons and we are quite happy to be proven wrong in a few circumstances.

One of the area’s nicest head coaches, Northern Lehigh’s Joe Tout, has had an incredible season after his program really struggled the last few years with injuries and low participation numbers.

Tout was quite vocal when the schedule came out.  He complained his school, one of the smallest in the area, had a disadvantage in playing much larger schools and much better football teams – on paper – than other schools his size.

Joe’s team lost to three teams this fall (including our “number one” team, Northwestern), but remains the last school “alive” from our viewing area in the state playoffs. RCN TV is looking forward to bringing you live coverage of his team’s game against PIAA powerhouse Southern Columbia this Friday night!

Palmerton was another team that had struggled to keep their program going in recent years but became another feel-good story by becoming one of the top teams in the Colonial League this fall.

The resurgence of these two teams was reflected in their appearance in our poll, complete with the Bulldogs defeating the Blue Bombers for the 2A championship.

Notre Dame suffered an incredible rash of injuries and, in one of the biggest surprises of the year, failed to even reach the 3A championship this year.

Palisades also had a disappointing season.  Fresh off a district championship in 2020, the Pirates struggled mightily this fall and saw their head coach resign at season’s end.

Of course, these polls are for amusement purposes only and we hope you enjoyed following along all season. Keep checking back to “The Shop” and to our “SportsTalk” show on RCN TV as we get you ready for the winter sports season, rapidly approaching!

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.

We interrupt the announcement of our final “SportsTalk” high school football poll of the fall season for this breaking news….

Actually, it’s not exactly a “breaking” flash, but it was really big news!

RCN TV’s long-time sports director and the current voice of the Lafayette Leopards, Gary Laubach, decided to cut back on many of his duties with RCN TV. This includes his roles coordinating and broadcasting the high school sports and other events that he would either host or announce throughout the year.

His “semi-retirement” officially kicked in a few weeks ago, and with that, we saluted him on a tremendous tenure guiding the Twin County and RCN TV Sports broadcasting teams and wished him all the best in embarking on the next chapter of his great career.

Please remember, his work with RCN TV and his broadcasting partnership with us will continue for many more years to come. Gary continues to handle the play-by-play duties for the Leopards football and men’s and women’s basketball games, along with emceeing other Lafayette College events that may occur throughout the year.

So the question then became, how to sum up the part of his career that has, to date, totaled almost 50 years as a broadcaster, plus more years as a local student-athlete and teacher in the Lehigh Valley.

We attempted to do that recently with a tribute show to him on “RCN TV SportsTalk.” The program went by very quickly, asking Gary about all of his many experiences, his thoughts on how local sports have changed since the mid-1970s and other comments on the broadcasting industry in general.

If you missed the show, which also included my own thoughts on Gary’s career and all that he has meant to the community, we invite you to check out the program for yourself through RCN’s video on demand.

Also, we present to you the last half-inning that Gary broadcast of a “non-Lafayette” event, which included his official signoff as RCN’s sports director.

VIDEO: “RCN Sports: Gary’s Last Inning Announcing”

Fortunately, it’s certainly not the last we will hear from Gary. We look forward to his announcing Lafayette football and basketball games, along with his continuing presence within the RCN family for many more decades to come.

One more thing to be thankful for.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone!!

 For over a hundred years some of the greatest video treasures of all time have been produced. Some have been lost in the sands of time and others, soon to be rediscovered, will become fan favorites for a whole new generation.

Each week we will feature just one of the many hidden gems that you can see on RCN TV with insights and commentaries on classic television shows and legendary cinematic performances.

In celebration of the birthday anniversary of Cary Grant we continue last week’s examination of the legendary actor’s career.

Following his own personal dissatisfaction with The Philadelphia Story, Grant appeared in the first of four movies under the direction of Alfred Hitchcock in 1941’s Suspicion.  Like the former flick, Grant did not get along well with his co-star Joan Fontaine and would never work with her again.  Hitchcock was also critical of Grant, citing it was a mistake to cast him in the role.  Ironically enough, Hitchcock would later criticize James Stewart with the same offense 17 years later and referred to Stewart as “no Cary Grant.”

That same year, Grant received his first Oscar nomination for Penny Serenade.

According to Turner Classic Movies, Grant also benefited largely from the film industry’s production code for the 1944 dark comedy Arsenic And Old Lace.  The movie was based largely on the stage play but the film code would not allow for certain scenes to be shown.  In its place, Director Frank Capra would substitute loosely scripted exchanges where Grant would just have to go “over the top” and playup a made-shift scene instead.  

The biggest example of this is at the film’s climax.  The film code (in the 1940s) would never allows for murderers to get away without punishment in a comedic film, so the scene in which the “old ladies” are given poisonous wine to the police was replaced with Grant kissing his finance, running around the house exuberantly and running out into the street yelling “Charge!” (a humorous reference to a recurring joke throughout the film).

According to the Graham McCann autobiography Cary Grant: A Class Apart, Grant would later say “Arsenic” was the worst performance of his career and he hated the dark subject matter (his character’s family was all insane).  This might be because his real life mother was also institutionalized early in Grant’s childhood.  His father also left him on his own as a teenager when he found a higher paying job in another city.

Two of Grant’s most memorable roles occurred in 1946’s Notorious (co-starring Ingrid Bergman and directed by Hitchcock) and 1947’s The Bishop’s Wife (with Loretta Young and David Niven).  The following year Grant was named the fourth highest box office draw in the world, but his failure in films like Monkey Business and Dream Wife led to the idea that his days as a leading man were over. Cary then left the film industry and didn’t work at all for several years.

His fortunes changed in 1955 when Alfred Hitchcock complained about Stewart’s performance (for the first of two times) in the rebooting of his own film, The Man Who Knew Too Much.  Grant would star in two Hitchcock-directed film classics, playing his usual suave, leading man persona, in To Catch A Thief and North by Northwest.

Ian Fleming then approached Cary Grant about playing James Bond in 007’s film debut, Dr. No, ironically after Grant’s former co-star, David Niven turned down the role. But Fleming had to withdraw his offer when Grant said he would only portray the super spy in one film and would not commit to a lengthy film series.

After starring in Charade and Father Goose, he had become increasingly disillusioned with cinema in the 1960s, rarely finding a script which he approved of. He remarked: “I could have gone on acting and playing a grandfather or a bum, but I discovered more important things in life” and dedicated his time to his daughter and grandchildren.  According to Gary Morecambe and Martin Sterling’s book, Cary Grant: In Name Only, they would go on to say that Grant knew after he had made Charade that the “Golden Age” of Hollywood was over.

Twenty-three years later, just hours before he was scheduled to appear on stage talking about his life, he suffered a stroke.  Despite medical personnel on the site, Grant refused any treatment and died a few hours later.  He was 82.

Grant is regarded as one of the greatest Hollywood actors ever. To this day, he frequently is positioned in the top two or three spots in various film critics and media outlets “all-time” greatest actors’ listings.

Be sure to check out some of Cary Grant’s legendary performances in Charade, His Girl Friday, and other classic films on RCN-TV.  To view the complete rundown of classic programming on RCN TV, check out the weekly listings here on our website.

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 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.

In my previous blog, I spoke of having played seven of the top 20 golf courses in Pennsylvania.  The caveat of doing that was that I had not paid to play any of them.  Due to RCN, Lafayette, and a couple of “Joes”, I had managed to be a guest at all seven.

You can find the courses listed on this site: Golf Magazine’s 20 Best PA Golf Courses and the ones I played on my previous blog.

I bring this up, because on July 2, I was supposed to play my 8^th – the Philadelphia Cricket Club, which is #4 on the list.  Once again, this was as a guest.  I was prepared to put another checkmark on my bucket list.  That morning (7:31 AM) I received this e-mail – “There are no carts out today due to the week’s heavy rains.  Any issues or concerns?”

For me, there were both “issues” and “concerns”.  I had no idea if this would be a difficult walk and, at 75, the last thing I wanted to do was hold up my three playing partners, all of whom were much younger and had lower handicaps.  I did not wish to spoil their enjoyment.  As disappointed as I was, I told them to play without me and enjoy the day.

At 8:49 AM, this email arrived: “Good news- Joe bailed us out with a tee time at Saucon/Old Course at 12:30 today.  Let’s meet around noon and hit a few balls.”  This great golf course has been the venue of many PGA events with the Senior Open coming up next year.  I have played it before, but it is a golfing treasure.  Any opportunity to play it is certainly special.  This past Friday was no exception.  The course was in magnificent condition; the golf was good; and the camaraderie and the friendly insults were flying.  It was what a day of golf should be.

More importantly, I continue to be amazed by friendships that offer benefits far beyond my ability to reciprocate.  The best I could do here was to give my hosts Saucon Valley Senior Open golf hats as a token of my appreciation.  Naturally, however, they gifted, not a sleeve of golf balls, but a BOX of golf balls (of course, they were Titleists).  As you can see, it’s hard to balance their generosity.

The final line of the last email said, “I will circulate some alternate Cricket dates and we can reschedule that visit, too.”

In conclusion, I WILL get to play the Philadelphia Cricket Club (#4 on the list of Pennsylvania’s best courses) this summer.

I think you would agree that the early disappointment caused by the “no carts” rule at the Cricket Club was more than overcome by what transpired the rest of that Friday and what is certain to be another memorable round of golf in the future.  I am not sure why I am so fortunate and I am not sure how I will ever repay their generosity, but the list of things I am thankful for is constantly growing – friendships being near the very top of the list.

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)

1. Did you watch golf’s The Match – Tom Brady and Phil Mickelson vs. Aaron Rodgers and Bryson DeChambeau? On the second hole, Mickelson made the comment, “We’re not in a rush”.  And they were not.  The round was not good television – little drama, with few great shots by the pros, and much, much too long.  Thank goodness for Aaron Rodgers.  His shots, especially his putts, made for some enjoyment.
2. It was announced this week that there will be no fans at the Olympics in Tokyo. Does this mean that those who have the rights to broadcast the events are disheartened or secretly smiling?  Now the only way for anyone and everyone to get their Olympic “fix” is by watching the events on television.  And, ironically, it is because of television that the Olympics will go on.  75% of the IOC’s income for the Olympics comes from television rights estimated to be worth $3 to $4 billion.
3. It has been a long time since I set aside the time to watch the MLB All-Star game and an even longer time set aside for the Home Run Derby. But this Monday and Tuesday, I want to watch because of the LA Angels’ Shohei Ohtani.  He is a two-position All-Star (pitcher and DH) and the modern day Babe Ruth.  He will be in the HR Derby and he will also pitch in the game.  He is worth watching.
4. Speaking of All-Star games, 50 years ago, the All-Star game featured 22 Hall of Famers – Rod Carew, Brooks Robinson, Luis Aparicio, Frank Robinson, Carl Yastrzemski, Reggie Jackson, Al Kaline, Harmon Killebrew, Jim Palmer, Johnny Bench, Willie McCovey, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Willie Stargell, Lou Brock, Tom Seaver, Steve Carlton, Ferguson Jenkins, Juan Marichal and Roberto Clemente, who would sadly be there for the final time. The managers, the Orioles‘ Earl Weaver and the Reds‘ Sparky Anderson, are also in the Hall of Fame. This was the greatest collection of baseball talent on one field ever.

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.

We continue to keep you posted on the local summer high school basketball leagues in the RCN viewing area.

On the one hand, a few of the regular league and tournaments have been held–some with the same number of teams as usual, others with dramatically lower turnouts.

The Holy Name girls tourney was held recently (a month later than “normal”) and Jim Thorpe came into the Lehigh Valley and surprised some very good teams by bringing home the championship.  Nazareth, Easton and hosting Allentown Central Catholic were the local contributors that played very well.

The Nazareth boys basketball team has come on strong of late and captured the “JamFest” title in Allentown the previous weekend.  The Blue Eagles had a very young team last winter and those underclassmen might just be hitting their stride.  Keep an eye on Nazareth this winter — they should be fun to watch once this upcoming season gets underway.

Also, the summer league in Forks Township had a good month.  Notre-Dame, Wilson, Lehigh Christian Academy and Bangor have been some of the top teams that I have seen so far.

Meanwhile, areas like Catasauqua, the Slate Belt, Stiles and other regions continue to struggle this summer–either having issues fielding teams and/or conducting their regular tournaments.

TOC Director Eric Snyder was just on RCN SportsTalk last week to provide an update on the struggles many squads are having this summer.  Eric, the longtime head basketball coach at Catasauqua High School, chose our program to announce some significant breaking and exclusive news concerning his career — along with sharing some controversial opinions on some key local basketball and baseball topics.

If you missed last week’s show, be sure to check it out (free for RCN customers) through our On-Demand services!

Also, checking back next month for our final update on the scholastic summer basketball scene!