NFL PICKS LAST WEEK – 9-7; OVERALL 150-90 (63%)
NFL PICKS (WEEK SEVENTEEN)
JETS
CAROLINA
NEW ENGLAND
CINCINNATI
ATLANTA
HOUSTON
PITTSBURGH
KANSAS CITY
INDIANAPOLIS
WASHINGTON
DETROIT
GIANTS
MINNESOTA
DENVER
ST LOUIS
ARIZONA
NFL PICKS LAST WEEK – 10-7; OVERALL 141-83 (63%)
NFL PICKS (WEEK SIXTEEN)
OAKLAND
PHILADELPHIA
DETROIT
PITTSBURGH
BUFFALO
CHICAGO
CAROLINA
INDIANAPOLIS
NEW ENGLAND
HOUSTON
KANSAS CITY
JACKSONVILLE
ARIZONA
SEATTLE
VIKINGS
CINCINNATI
Without question one of the top turnaround success stories on the NCAA basketball court belongs to Head Coach Mike Lonergan and the George Washington men’s basketball program.
After a highly successful tenure at Vermont, Coach Lonergan’s Colonials posted back-to-back 20-plus win seasons for the first time since 2006-07 and have gotten off to an incredible start in the 2015-16 campaign.
After consecutive seasons of NCAA or NIT post-season entries, anyone thinking of a letdown this year has been sadly mistaken.
George Washington came out in mid-November and provided the nation with one of college basketball’s first big losses to a team ranked in the top 10, with a 73-68 win over Virginia. The Cavaliers were the sixth-ranked team in the country at the time of that contest. The Colonials continued their dominating performances by winning ten of its first 11 ball games (a perfect 8-0 at home), with many victories coming by a double-digit margin.
Moreover, Lonergan’s guidance has led to a resurgence among the Colonial fan base and an extra level of excitement to his team’s contests at the Smith Center.
We had the opportunity on “RCN SportsTalk” to talk with Coach Lonergan about his GW men’s basketball program, their previous years’ successes and about his team’s hot start to the current season.
Before coming to George Washington, Coach Lonergan had great success at Vermont. His teams compiled a .700 or better winning percentage in four of his last five seasons and qualified for the NCAA tournament in 2010 (overall record 25-10).
Before this season started, George Washington had two players, Patricio Garino and Kevin Larsen, named to the All-Conference Second Team, with Garino also named to the A-10 All-Defense Team. The Colonials also were picked by A-10 experts to finish in the top four spots in the league this winter.
Pre-season Atlantic-10 Poll
The Colonials are looking to continue their current four-game winning streak through the holiday season, with some intriguing match-ups on the horizon.
Upcoming Schedule
Dec. 22nd at DePaul
Dec. 29th at UCF
Jan. 3rd vs. Fordham*
Jan. 6th at Saint Louis*
Jan. 9th vs. Duquesne*
Jan. 12th at UMass*
Jan. 15th at Dayton*
Jan. 22nd vs. Rhode Island*
*Atlantic-10 Conference games
All home games are played at the Smith Center
We hope that basketball fans check out the Colonials in action as they’ll look to have a number of exciting match-ups coming up over the next few months. Also, keep checking back to the “SportsTalk Shop” and the “RCN SportsTalk” show for more great guests and insights on this winter’s NCAA basketball season.
I have broadcast well over 4,000 games in my 40+ years at this job, about one-third of them football games. For the RCN-TV team, this past Saturday’s win by Parkland over Upper Dublin in the PIAA state football semifinal was our final football game for this season. Parkland will now play for the AAAA state title this Saturday in Hershey. The game will be on PCN starting at 6:00pm.
As exciting as this season was with the success of our teams, I am never real sad to put away the football clichés for another year (both the coaches’ and mine). As I was packing away my notes this morning, I looked at some of the things coaches told me and some of the things I wrote down as keys to victory. Take a look:
“We have to take it one game at a time.” – I know the thought here is that a team may look past another team or the coach does not want to offend the team that they are playing at the time, but really? You can only play ONE game at a time. Talk about THAT game and leave the cliché in the closet.
“The other team wanted it more.” – Over all my years of competing and broadcasting, I can’t remember a team NOT WANTING to win. You cannot practice WANTING TO WIN, but you can face a team that is better than you are on a given night or, even worse, perhaps they were prepared better and that might actually reflect on the coach who was asked, “Coach, what was the difference in the game?”
“He’s deceptively quick.” – Does that mean he looks slow, but isn’t? Or he’s not as slow as he is …. What? Am I deceptively handsome and, if so, is that a good thing? I don’t know either.
“They are better than their record indicates.” – Ouch!! I use this one often when the teams look like a complete mismatch. I am just trying to keep you from changing the channel. That makes me deceptively sneaky, doesn’t it?
“He gave 110%.” – No, he didn’t. No, he couldn’t. Need I explain? And why is it almost always 10% more than you can actually give? Why not make it 125%?
“He’s a downhill runner.” – What if the field is level (which it is)? Are there runners who run uphill on a level field? Who makes this stuff up? And why do I continue to use it?
There are certainly many others (“The defense bends, but doesn’t break”; “The quarterback had all day to throw”, etc.), but you have heard them time and time again and I have probably said them time and time again. But what can I say, “I write this column one blog at a time and try to give 110% and I think it is better than what others might indicate.”
Get the picture?
ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
NFL PICKS LAST WEEK – 10-6; OVERALL 129-79 (62%)
NFL PICKS (WEEK FIFTEEN)
ST LOUIS
JETS
MINNESOTA
JACKSONVILLE
HOUSTON
KANSAS CITY
BUFFALO
NEW ENGLAND
ARIZONA
CAROLINA
SEATTLE
GREEN BAY
MIAMI
PITTSBURGH
CINCINNATI
NEW ORLEANS
With the PIAA football championships coming up in Hershey this week, it’s time we take our final peek at the highlights of playoff games seen on RCN-TV this fall.
Congratulations to all of the teams, coaches and athletes for an entertaining season. Special honors go out to Parkland, the lone team in the RCN viewing area who will be playing in the state final this weekend (all of the state championship games can be seen on the PCN Network—RCN dial position 97). Saucon Valley had a great year and, despite their season-ending (and only) loss last weekend, the Panthers handled themselves with class. In fact, all the players I had the good fortune of seeing and being around this season deserve a tremendous amount of credit for the way they conducted themselves this fall, both on and off the field.
I’d also like to take a moment to thank all the athletic directors, head coaches and their staffs for the wealth of information and insights they provided us during this past high school football season. Their jobs are tough enough as is, but they never hesitated in helping us gather information about their teams or backed away from telling us about all of their players’ highlights and accomplishments.
You can relive all the memorable moments by watching the playoff games again through RCN’s On-Demand services. These games will be available for free to RCN subscribers through the end of the calendar year, or you can purchase a DVD of these games by calling or emailing us at the RCN TV studio.
A final reminder…
It’s almost time for our annual “end of the year” awards here at the “SportsTalk Shop” and I’d like to include your opinions once again as we start to reflect on the highlights from both this year’s football season, as well as the top moments overall in the RCN viewing area. We’re looking for your favorite athletes, teams, games, special plays and unforgettable moments that you saw in 2015. This includes all teams in the Eastern Pennsylvania and Washington, DC regions and at the scholastic, collegiate and professional levels.
There were certainly some great storylines from this past year. Just looking at recent events on the football field:
If you have a suggestion for someone or some group to get a mention, we’d love to hear from you! Send us you a favorite sports moment, a really great game or event, a standout athlete or team who really exceeded expectations, via email to RCNSportsTalk@rcn.com. Be assured that we’ll factor that in when putting together our “Year in Review” selections. If you are mentioning a sport that we typically don’t cover or a sport that doesn’t usually receive a tremendous amount of publicity, feel free to pass along more information about the program, a contact person or anything that is available to you.
We’ll have our “year-in-review” entry coming up in a couple weeks. I, just like Jolly Ol’ St. Nick, have already started compiling my list, so please don’t hesitate to send your opinions to us right away!
As the year comes to a close, it’s time for my annual thoughts on the Yahoo Year in Review. This is their annual look back at the top athletes. There are many other Top Ten lists if you wish to search Yahoo for those. For instance, the top-searched question for 2015 was, “How do you tie a tie?” I can understand that question, but I am somewhat amused that the #9 most-asked question is, “How many weeks in a year?” That either means that we are just not very smart or more elementary school children are on the internet. I personally do not like either conclusion.
The Top Ten Athletes searched on Yahoo are:
It appears that for an athlete to be searched more than others they have to have attributes, both good and bad, that go beyond them playing sports. Although each of the females on the list are outstanding athletes and at the top of their various sports, I think it is safe to assume that much of their popularity comes from their sex appeal.
Ronda Rousey, who recently lost her UFC bout with Holly Holm, is the star of her sport, but she has also become a favorite through her modeling photos. The same can certainly be said for Vonn, Sharapova, Patrick, Wozniacki, and Ivanovic. Rousey, Patrick, Wozniacki, and Sharapova are back for the second straight year.
Hope Solo was the goalkeeper for this year’s USA World Cup championship team, which certainly captured the attention of Americans. Solo allowed only three goals throughout the tournament. She also has had her share of controversy angering teammates at times and facing a domestic violence charge.
Tiger Woods was #1 last year in most-searched athletes. Much like his golf game, he drops all the way to #6, but he was the most-searched male athlete of the year. At a time when it looks like he may not be able to play competitive golf again, he still garners more attention than any other golfer. It will be interesting to see if he even appears on the list again next year. Last year’s list included Tony Stewart, Tito Ortiz, Ray Rice, and Michael Vick. None of them are on the list this year.
Mayweather and Pacquiao are no surprises to make the list together since they were part of the self-promoted “Fight of the Century”. The fight made $410 million in revenue and one could certainly argue that these two are the only ones to truly make the list based on their athletic abilities in the past year.
So what does the list tell us about where our real interests are in the world of sports? I will let you come to your own conclusions.
ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
NFL PICKS LAST WEEK – 12-4; OVERALL 119-73 (62%)
NFL PICKS (WEEK FOURTEEN)
ARIZONA
CINCINNATI
PHILADELPHIA
CAROLINA
SAN FRANCISCO
CHICAGO
DETROIT
KANSAS CITY
TAMPA BAY
JACKSONVILLE
JETS
NEW ENGLAND
DENVER
GREEN BAY
SEATTLE
GIANTS
HS Basketball Preview: 2015-16
With scholastic basketball season upon us, I asked three of the most astute basketball minds in the RCN Sports Department, Gary Laubach, Tom Stoudt and John Leone, to join me in giving our thoughts on this winter’s District XI high school basketball season in the RCN-TV viewing area.
Check out our responses to some of the most intriguing storylines of the 2015-16 campaign:
1. Who’s your top EPC team (after Parkland)?
Gary Laubach: Central and/or Emmaus
Tom Stoudt: Emmaus
JL: Emmaus
ME: Allen. I was very impressed with them in summer league play, although they didn’t win as many games as some thought. Still remember them challenging Parkland late last winter, and if they can put together performances like that on a nightly basis…?
2. Who’s your pre-season Colonial League favorite?
TS: Bangor
JL: Saucon Valley
ME: Solehi. Head Coach Ben Tannous has a great basketball mind and did a great job molding last year’s team into contenders. I see no reason why they don’t continue to improve and contend for a league title
3. Top Three HS basketball players to watch this winter?
GL: Sam Iorio (Parkland), David Kachelries (Emmaus), Zay Jennings (CCHS) , Aidan Ellwood (transferred from Northampton to Central Catholic)
TS: David Kachelries (Emmaus), Sam Iorio (Parkland), Taleek Williams (Allen)
JL: Sam Iorio (Parkland), Matt Kachelries (Emmaus), Michael Martino (Bangor
ME: DeVante Cross (Parkland), Talek Williams (Allen), Amir Griffin (Liberty). Cross and Williams are two of the most dynamic scoring threats in the area, and Griffin might just be the region’s best defensive player and is really fun to watch
4. Off the radar player to keep eye on?
GL: Jahan Dotson (Nazareth), Chance Neilley (Liberty), Talek Williams (Allen)
TS: Tashon Roberts (Dieruff)
JL: Mitch Daniel (Notre Dame)
ME: Mitch Daniel. He’s getting a late start due to his team’s success on the football field, but he’s always struck me as a player with great ability. The confidence he (and some of his teammates) built during the fall sports season will carry over for him and the Crusaders during the winter sports campaign
5. A surprise team to keep an eye on this year?
GL: Liberty
TS: Bethlehem Catholic
JL: Saucon or Bangor
ME: Catty. They suffered a disappointing season a year ago, and once again didn’t get several of their players due to the football team’s Turkey Day game, but Eric Snyder has worked his magic before. If a few players step up to join Kevin Bond and Shaquon Mason as scoring options, the Rough Riders could find themselves back in the district playoff picture.
Also, I don’t think it’ll be too long before we start talking about Pen Argyl basketball again. With Kyle Hutnik embarking on his third year in charge of the program, I believe we’ll start to see some improvements from the Knights—despite the fact that it will be a very competitive season once again in the Colonial League.
6. One “must-see” game this winter?
GL: Parkland/Imhotep (January 24th)
TS: Parkland/Emmaus (Jan. 5th)
JL: Freedom/Easton (Dec. 8th) *LIVE on RCN-TV!
ME: Emmaus/Nazareth (December 18th). Some of the best, most talented guards in the area will be squaring off against each other. Two teams I really like and feel they could play with Parkland, so I am curious who’ll win out in this early season showdown.
Who’ll be most accurate with these preseason predictions? Which teams, players and games do you think we should keep an eye on? Email us your thoughts to rcnsportstalk@rcn.com and find out as the season unfolds on RCN-TV. Be sure to check out our broadcast schedule (LINK) for each week’s best games and bookmark it on your browser so you can access it for changes throughout the season!
We’ll also jump deep into the high school hoops conversation in much more detail starting with the January editions of “RCN SportsTalk” (seen live, Thursdays, 7-8 pm on RCN-TV) and our podcasts.
High school is winding down and college football has come to a close. College basketball has begun and high school basketball is right around the corner.
That can only mean that it is once again time for one of my favorite nights of the year and it has nothing to do with athletics. It is the night that I co-host the Dream Come True Telethon. Believe it or not (and I am a “not”), we will be doing the Telethon for the 30th year. I did not host in the early years, but I have been around for most.
The Dream Come True organization, in case you did not know, was founded in 1984 by Kostas Kalogeropoulos, a local businessman. The goal of the organization is simple – fulfill the dreams of children who are seriously, chronically, and terminally ill and reside in the greater Lehigh Valley area. Children are referred by family, friends, clergy, doctors, social workers, etc., and the dreams usually fall into three categories – trips, contact with celebrities, and special gifts (computers, shopping sprees, for example).
Scott Barr will be co-hosting again this year. We have spent this night together for many, many years and I would not want to work with anyone else. He handles the auction area and, boy, is he terrific! If you watch Home Shopping Network or any of the other television all-day shopping channels, just watch Scott do his thing during the four-hour night. He is as good as, if not better, than the professionals. Here are the specifics:
The TELETHON will take place live on Monday, December 7, from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. RCN customers in the Lehigh Valley (Channel 4, 1004 in HD), Delaware County (Channel 8, 608 in HD), and Washington, DC (Channel 8) areas can watch live on RCN TV. A popular component of the telethon each year is the auction. This year, we will again utilize the on-line auction. The bidding began on Sunday, November 8, and ends Monday, December 7 at 8:00PM, so check it out!
CLICK HERE to bid on incredible auction items donated by your favorite networks!
Great auction items include:
You can find all of the items by clicking on the following link:
http://www.biddingowl.com/Auction/home.cfm?auctionID=2691
You will find a variety of unique items donated by local businesses as well as our friends from the cable networks. If you want something really unique and not found in any store, tune us in and bid on the items. You will make Scott’s night and, more importantly, some child’s dream.
Ann Savkova, our excellent parade announcer, and Chris Michaels of “Sportstalk” fame will do many of the interviews with the children who have had their dreams fulfilled. They are a welcome addition to the team.
The important facts again are:
The Date: Monday, December 7
The Time: 6:00 – 9:00 PM
The Purpose: To fulfill as many hopes, dreams and fantasies for seriously, chronically,
and terminally ill children as possible
The Phone Number to Make a Donation: 1-800-749-8099
All proceeds from the online and on-air auctions go directly to Dream Come True.
Thank you, in advance, for your consideration and support! Your donation will help make a child’s dream come true!
ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
NFL PICKS LAST WEEK – 11-5; OVERALL 107-69 (61%)
NFL PICKS (WEEK THIRTEEN)
GREEN BAY
CHICAGO
CINCINNATI
TENNESSEE
HOUSTON
MIAMI
CAROLINA
SEATTLE
ARIZONA
TAMPA BAY
JETS
DENVER
KANSAS CITY
NEW ENGLAND
PITTSBURGH
WASHINGTON
It was another great fall sports season (and for more than just football!) for the teams, coaches and athletes in the RCN viewing area. We had some great individual and team performances, with school districts in many regions bringing home district, region and state gold metals.
It was also a busy season here at RCN-TV covering our local sports teams. We had unveiled new features on our “RCN SportsTalk” show—among them, the “athlete of the week” for the people in the Lehigh and Delaware Valley areas, and the “Sports Minute” for the folks in our Washington, DC region.
Speaking of the “sports minute,” we’re pleased to announce that this element of our show will continue into the winter as we try to cover as many high school basketball teams in our coverage area as possible. Here are a few samples featuring football teams from the DC area.
Also, we will have video from some of the traditional “Turkey Game” football contests from this past Thanksgiving, coming up on this Thursday’s edition of “SportsTalk” (live, Thursdays at 7pm).
In the Lehigh Valley area, we were able to focus on a number of different girls and boys sports teams from both bigger and smaller school districts over the last several months. Here’s a compilation of some of our fall sports features.
Now, it’s time to congratulate the teams from the RCN viewing area that have captured state gold medals this fall season. First, the Parkland girls volleyball team won its second consecutive PIAA championship. The win marks the third straight volleyball state title won by Parkland (the boys team won it this spring).
We saluted the Emmaus field hockey team on both “SportsTalk” and here at the “SportsTalk Shop” earlier this fall due to Head Coach Sue Butz-Stavin’s tremendous accomplishment—becoming the nation’s all-time leader in wins by a high school field hockey coach in September. Butz-Stavin added to those numbers as his team once again captured league, district and finally state championship honors, adding another collection of 3A titles (the highest level in Pennsylvania for field hockey) to the Hornets’ trophy case.
It’s starting to become routine for district tournaments to run through the Route-309 exchange as both Parkland and Emmaus seem like they are nearly always in championship games—and usually winning the title contests. This fall alone, Parkland won four fall sports District XI championships (boys cross, country, girls soccer, girls volleyball and football), while Emmaus won three more (boys soccer, golf and field hockey). The Hornets’ field hockey team has now captured fourteen consecutive district gold metals and the Parkland volleyball team has won five of the last six district championships.
Special kudos are in order for the magnificent paring of Coco Chen and Logan Lencheski from the Notre Dame-Green Pond High School girls tennis team. Chen and Lencheski brought home state gold medals in pairs tennis. I’ve maintained that individual and pair state championships are extremely challenging given all the scrutiny in one or two people, as opposed to an entire team, having to share the workload. The Crusaders pair was also honored on our most recent “SportsTalk” show as the athletes of the week for their tremendous achievement.
Don’t forget! All of the above video features and more scholastic “shout-outs” and stories are available to hear on our podcasts (rcn.com/atvn/sports-talk) as well as through RCN On-Demand. Join us this Thursday live at 7pm for the insights, predictions and analysis of this weekend’s state football playoff games, and also we’ll have strategies and tips for those people involved in fantasy football. Also, we appreciate any feedback or suggestions for sports to cover or to discuss on RCN-TV. Feel free to email your thoughts to us at RCNSportsTalk@rcn.com.
Now, anyone who knows me very well knows that I HATE the cold weather. However, I do love the sports that take place during the winter months, and there certainly are some exciting match-ups featuring teams in our area, and a few schools in both DC and Pennsylvania have opportunities to have very special years. I’m looking forward to embarking on the winter sports season and I hope everyone enjoys our coverage as we move our cameras and microphones indoors. Next week here at the “Shop,” we start to take a look at the upcoming high school basketball season with thoughts and insights from knowledgeably hoop-minded individuals on the upcoming season. Also, we hope to have more good news to report on the high school football teams in our viewing area over the next few weeks.
Lastly, a quick reminder for everyone to tune into the “Dream Come True Telethon” that will be seen live on RCN-TV Monday, December 7th. Telethon details are here: www.rcn.com/atvn/2015-dct-telethon
Not only does the event raise money for a tremendous charity but you should also check out the auctions items at www.biddingowl.com/dreamcometrue as there are some wonderful items—and potential holiday gift giving ideas—for you to try to pick up, while benefiting our local kids at the same time.
I figured that I would start by wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!
And then I got to thinking…
On Saturday, I spent my day broadcasting the Lafayette-Lehigh football game. It is college football’s most-played rivalry and I feel very fortunate that I have done the play-by-play for this game for fifteen years. My wife and I then had dinner with my daughter and her husband, and hurried off to the Zoellner Arts Center to see Darlene Love in concert. Except for the Lafayette defeat (and only because I am a fan), it was a really nice day. I did a job I truly love, spent quality time with the family, and enjoyed what life has to offer in terms of entertainment. I went to bed that night feeling good about most everything.
But, on Sunday, I started, as I often do, thinking about this weekly blog. My mind tries to come up with a topic that I hope readers will find interesting, and it usually revolves around the world of sports. Only this time I kept thinking about the awful tragedy in Paris. I could not read a newspaper or turn on the TV without facing reports of the Parisians’ circumstances and the horrible aftermath. And that brought me back to Saturday.
I realized that I spent that day much like the Parisians who, prior to suffering through the terrible assaults by ISIS, were just living life on a regular Friday one week ago. The attacks had come at a soccer game, at a restaurant, and at a concert by a fanatical group that believes violence is the path to paradise.
Eight days later, while I, too, attended the very same types of venues, I took all of the events and locales for granted. I would be amongst the 16,000 people at Goodman Stadium watching, not soccer, but football; enjoying family at a local restaurant as many were doing at Petit Cambodge restaurant; and, like those at Le Bataclan, I just wanted to enjoy some live music in concert.
The Paris victims just wanted to do the same.
I have much to be thankful for – a wonderful wife (52 years and counting), two successful daughters who are happily married, three grandchildren who are all pursuing their vocational dreams, a great job, good health, and, despite all that goes on in the world, a positive outlook on life.
But I am quite sure that many of the 129 who were killed in Paris and the many, who were wounded, could have said the same thing about their lives and their families. Until Friday the thirteenth, 2015.
I will join my family around the dinner table on Thanksgiving and think about my good fortune. But, I will also take pause and reflect on the horrors that exist in the world and, in addition to asking for my family to continue to be blessed, I will also pray that the world finds a way to be a better place. You, too, may want to do the same. It cannot hurt.
Again, Happy Thanksgiving!
ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
NFL PICKS LAST WEEK – 11-3; OVERALL 96-64 (60%)
NFL PICKS (WEEK TEN)
DETROIT
CAROLINA
GREEN BAY
OAKLAND
KANSAS CITY
INDIANAPOLIS
GIANTS
HOUSTON
ATLANTA
CINCINNATI
JACKSONVILLE
JETS
ARIZONA
SEATTLE
NEW ENGLAND
BALTIMORE