Gary will be returning with a new blog on May 4.  This week, he’s asked RCN’s Jim Best to guest blog.  Viewers should recognize Jim from RCN-TV’s coverage of high school wrestling.

St. Louis, MO…home of the Gateway Arch, the Cardinals, riverboats, ribs, Budweiser beer, and in 2015 the NCAA Division 1 Wrestling Championships. The Scottrade Center, a beautiful facility which plays host to a variety of indoor athletic events, was the site of the championships this past March. If you are a passionate wrestling fan like me, the Scottrade Center was the place to be for some of the most action-packed wrestling in my memory.

The storylines heading into the tournament were numerous. For one, a young man from Ohio State, Logan Stieber, was taking aim to win his fourth consecutive title. Up to this point in time, only three other wrestlers in the history of the tournament were able to achieve the status of “4-timer!” (Pat Smith from Oklahoma State, Cael Sanderson from Iowa State, and Kyle Dake from Cornell). This particular storyline hit home with many local fans because Stieber’s first championship (his freshman year) included a very controversial win in the finals over Jordan Oliver from Oklahoma State. Jordan is a product of the great Easton wrestling program. In addition to the Logan Stieber story, the team championship title was “wide open” because any one of approximately eight teams had the potential to earn enough points to win the team title. The traditional powers like Iowa, Oklahoma State, Minnesota and Penn State were certainly in the mix. However, the contenders this year also included Cornell, Ohio State, and the tiny Pennsylvania wrestling power of Edinboro. Last, but certainly not least, the seedings of individual wrestlers in certain weight classes left many diehard wrestling fans scratching their heads and saying, “How did this happen?” For example, at 125 pounds (the lightest weight class in NCAA competition), the two-time defending champion, Jesse Delgado from Illinois, entered the tournament unseeded! Granted, he had missed most of the competitive season due to an injury, so his win-loss record was less than stellar, but for a defending champion to enter the tournament unseeded…that is one tough weight class! Another head scratcher occurred at the 149-pound weight class as Josh Kindig, a Blue Mountain product now wrestling for Oklahoma State, also entered the tournament unseeded. Josh was a runner-up in 2014, and, adding insult to injury, not only was he unseeded, but he was also paired against the third-seeded wrestler in the first round! All of the seeding quandaries made for a high level of fan anticipation for the first round of wrestling.

The tournament unfolded over a three-day time period. Similar to the NCAA basketball tournament, brackets for each of ten weight classes are pre-determined by “seeds”. Each weight class has 32-35 qualifying wrestlers, and the first round of wrestling begins on a Thursday morning. Unlike the March Madness basketball tournament, every competitor who qualifies for the tournament has the chance to wrestle at least two matches due to a full consolation bracket. In each round, with the exception of the Saturday morning round (that round is all consolation bracket matches), a championship round is contested, and at least one consolation bracket round is contested, with the exception of the championship finals on Saturday evening. Local wrestlers who qualified for the tournament this year included Zeke Moisey (Bethlehem Catholic/West Virginia University), Ethan Lizak (Parkland/Minnesota), Zach Horan (Nazareth/Central Michigan), Randy Cruz (Bethlehem Catholic/Lehigh), Josh Kindig (Blue Mountain/Oklahoma State), Mitch Minotti (Easton/Lehigh), and Elliot Riddick (Bethlehem Catholic/Lehigh). I am sure that I missed a few names in that mix, and I apologize greatly to those wrestlers, mainly because I know, from personal experience, how hard it is to qualify for that tournament, and every wrestler in the tournament deserves special recognition!

Of the local wrestlers, Zeke Moisey was the Cinderella story of the tournament. As a true freshman, Zeke entered the weight class unseeded at the 125-pound weight class. After upsetting three highly seeded wrestlers in the championship round, and bringing over 18,000 cheering wrestling fans to their feet in the process, Zeke made his way into the championship finals. In the finals, he ran into a familiar foe, a redshirt freshman from Ohio State, and Zeke fell just short of becoming an NCAA champion when he lost a hard-fought battle in the finals. Mitch Minotti also achieved All-American status at 157 pounds with an eighth-place finish. Mitch wrestled through injuries for the entire tournament, and ended up have to forfeit his final match, for seventh place, due to medical reasons. All of the local wrestlers competed well, and all are continuing to maintain District XI’s reputation as one of the “toughest wrestling districts in the country.”

At the conclusion of the tournament, Logan Stieber did make wrestling history by winning his fourth title, and Ohio State walked away with their first ever team title.  As I have described to some of my non-wrestling friends and colleagues, attending that tournament is the equivalent to a football fan attending the Superbowl, or a college basketball fan attending the Final Four-it just doesn’t get any better in terms of action and atmosphere. For three days in March, approximately 18,000 diehard wrestling fans converge at the site of the championships to watch the best college wrestlers in the country compete against each other, and then we get to meet at the local eating establishments, in between the rounds of wrestling, to discuss and relive the most exciting moments over a burger and some cold beverages…it truly is a “live, eat and breath” wrestling experience! Next year, the Big Apple (New York City), will play host to the tournament when wrestlers, coaches and fans will flock to Madison Square Garden to grapple in the garden for an NCAA championship. I’m counting down the days!

One of the goals of our “SportsTalk Shop” is to spotlight outstanding female student-athletes in the RCN markets.  I had an opportunity this past week to interview one of the current top athletes in RCN’s coverage area—for both our Pennsylvania and Washington, DC audiences.

Senior girls lacrosse player Jamie Bumgardner, after having an outstanding high school career in Pennsylvania, has gone on to play—and excel—at the Division-I level at George Washington University.  In high school, Jamie totaled 123 goals and 45 assists in three scholastic seasons at Gwynedd Mercy Academy.  She was also a two-time Athletic Association of Catholic Academies (AACA) selection.  She also become an all-AACA performer and two-time District qualifier on the Monarchs’ golf team.

Following graduation and after making the challenging adjustment to playing collegiate lacrosse at its highest level, Jamie has gone on to put herself in the record books at GW.  This past Friday in a game against Richmond, she registered four more assists, which not only pushed her over 100 for her career, but also tied her for the top spot, all-time in GW history (with at least four more games for her to establish—and add to—a new university record).  Here are more of Jamie’s outstanding athletic accomplishments in college (as of April 9^th):

• Ranks 5th all-time at GW with 156 career points
• Current Season numbers: 13 goals, 19 assists, 32 points, 13 ground balls, 14 draw controls
• In 2013, tallied 18 goals and tied GW’s single-season record with 39 assists, which led the A-10 and tied for 14th in NCAA Division
• Became 3rd player in program history to record at least one point in every game for two consecutive seasons (2013, 2014)
• Set Colonials’ single-game assists and points records with 12 points on six goals and six assists against Liberty (Feb. 26, 2014

George Washington participates in the very competitive Atlantic-10 conference.  Jamie’s squad has not only had success in the league, but she continues to find herself ranked among the best individually in both the A-10 and the NCAA.  Her rankings as of 4/9/15:

• Ranks 3rd in Atlantic 10 with 19 assists this season
• Ranks 5th in Atlantic 10 with 32 total points this season
• Two-time A-10 All-Conference Second Team selection (2013, 2014)
• Ended 2014 season as A-10 leader and fifth in NCAA Division I with 38 assists and 2.38 assists per game
• What really impressed me about this senior “attack” player was not just her ability to maintain an exceptional academic standing, but Jamie is a terrific representative of both her college, the conference and the sport of lacrosse.  This sport, for both the boys and girls teams, has seen great growth in interest in many areas of the country…but in others, it’s still in its infancy stages.  Here’s a portion of my conversation with Jamie discussing her career, the quality of play at George Washington, and her thoughts on the advancement of girls lacrosse.

  Bumgardner has two regular season home games remaining (4/17 vs. Duquesne and 4/19 vs. St. Bonaventura; both games are at the GW Lacrosse Field) before the Atlantic-10 playoffs commence. Regardless of Jamie’s final individual numbers that end up being logged into the record books, she’ll have the recognition of being regarded as a great ambassador for her sport and her collegiate program.

  We are always on the lookout for outstanding accomplishments by athletes, both on and off the athletic fields.  If you have a suggestion for an athlete for us to feature, send us an email at RCNSportsTalk@rcn.com and join us for “RCN SportsTalk” at our new time, now broadcasting live from 7-8 pm, Thursday evenings on RCN-TV.

Gary will be returning with a new blog on May 4.  This week, he’s asked RCN’s John Leone to guest blog.  RCN-TV viewers should recognize John from the Lafayette College basketball broadcasts on the Lafayette Sports Network.
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Another season of March Madness has come and gone and we were again reminded of why so many are so attracted to The Game. While it may not completely explain the meaning of life, when it is played right and for the right reasons, it certainly offers some useful clues. How sad that, at least in some corners, the real “Madness” had as much to do with the sudden finality of a season spent as it did with those elements on the periphery of the game that threaten its core and its fabric. Basketball purists may be the first to take my point, but I fear that in the prevailing culture “purist” means “old”, and the underlying message is bound to be lost in an age of mass media, mega money, and me-first mentality. In the current climate, it’s hard to recall a time when programs were simply teams, when events were games, and when all of it was less for the ESPN highlight reel and more for the real love of it all. The underpinning of integrity that makes the game at all worthwhile is weakening, and in danger of becoming as obsolete as a perfectly executed bounce pass.

Of course, none of the national attention for the game is a bad thing except for the perspective that is invariably lost as succeeding generations of coaches and players have come to believe that “the game” is an end unto itself, leaving untapped the vast reservoir of learning that once accompanied it. After all, haven’t we been told that it’s all about the journey?  There was a time when losing the right way had almost as much value as winning. This loss of perspective has diminished the value of both. As the stakes have risen, the cost of losing and the rewards of winning have, in many cases, driven coaches and players alike to do whatever it takes to engineer an outcome, eliminate risk, and compromise their own integrity to achieve the only prize that matters: win on the scoreboard, and win the adulation and dollars that follow. I am still old-school enough to believe that winning right matters and winning right can still happen even on the largest of stages.

The game itself, when played right, is a thing of beauty that can invoke the same visceral reactions that one might find in a ballet or musical score – choreography, timing, spacing, imagination and creativity, speed and grace, power and skill. We should trust it, embrace it, and allow it to nurture young lives the way it once did – through the same lessons that both winning and losing teach. Any worthy endeavor that engenders the kind of emotional and physical investment that The Game does deserves better than what it’s becoming. There may be a place outside of the current structure for the power conferences and “programs” that choose a different course, but the NCAA needs to reexamine its futile attempt to regulate the basketball fiefdums that have been created on major college campuses nationally. The days of the letter sweater and the mantra of being “true to your school” are as dead as Julius Caesar (thank you Officer Jim Malone) and those concepts, to the likes of Kentucky and Syracuse, are lost in a paradigm of pseudo amateurism.

Too much of a good thing has caused a kind of basketball indigestion that has sullied the college game, and in response, the NCAA is using a garden hose to try to extinguish a forest fire of rules violations that are neither entirely enforceable, nor really apropos given the big business that major college basketball has become. There was a time when a fully subsidized college education awarded on the basis of basketball skill would be compensation enough for a college player. But it’s a tougher argument to make these days when at least a couple of the starters at Kentucky will use their time in Lexington as a springboard to an NBA salary of between $1 and $3.5 million after one semester-plus on the campus, and their presence there in real time helps the school bring in millions more.

The Coach as teacher, mentor, and role model is another staple of the game that is an endangered species. Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski tried to give this some perspective a few years ago when admonishing his power conference coaching peers: To paraphrase Coach, don’t let it blow your mind to know that there is some guy out there at a Division III school (or maybe an Ivy or Patriot League school) who can outcoach you seven days out of the week.  The system has evolved in a way that has given rise to coaches who more resemble Gordon Gekko than Norman Dale. The sad part is that had Coach Dale not won in 1952, we may never have heard of him. Would losing that Indiana State High School title have rendered his lessons any less valuable or valid? Would the experience have had less meaning for his players?

These days, in a no-holds barred effort to land the next great high school player, coaches and their staffs seem increasingly willing to shelve their personal integrity and engage in tactics that would make DC politicians blush. Too many of the nation’s academic institutions have become warehouses for basketball aprenticeships that are too often one or two years in length and that have little or nothing to do with academic integrity. In fact, circumventing the rules governing academic progress has become a modus operandi on far too many campuses. Coaches and the institutions that hire them know – or at least should know – the rules by which they are willing to play. When the proverbial stuff hits the fan, it’s almost comical to hear administrators suddenly turn into Casablanca’s Louie Renault, shocked to learn anything underhanded may have been going on.  I was born and raised in Syracuse. I enjoy SU basketball. I admire and respect Duke and what those teams have done on the court, along with North Carolina, Kansas, and the rest. I don’t blame John Calipari – not one bit – for his way of winning championships at Kentucky. The system is what it has become, and as Albert Einstein once said, “you have to learn the rules of the game, and then you have to play better than anyone else”. Unfortunately, the “game” in this case has become recruiting, and the rules stretched beyond recognition.

Jim Boeheim recently stated that he isn’t a policeman, he’s a basketball coach. It’s a statement that sadly presumes that the game has passed him by, and that is more an indictment of the game at that level than it is of the coach. The NCAA responded by saying it wants him to be a policeman. My takeaway: the state of the art resembles little of what it once was, and continues to move in the wrong direction.

As for the purity and beauty of the game, it seems someone has scribbled a mustache on the Mona Lisa. And Diogenes is still a 16 seed.

Diogenes searches for an honest man. Painting attributed to J. H. W. Tischbein (c. 1780)

Gary will be returning with a new blog post on May 4.  This week, he’s asked race announcer Randy Kane to guest blog.  RCN-TV viewers should recognize Randy from the Grandview Speedway broadcasts airing April through August each year.  Click here to read Randy’s bio from the RCN-TV “Our Broadcasters” page.

With the arrival of the month of April, it’s finally time to say, “Gentlemen, Start Your Engines,” on the local level.

In Bechtelsville, PA, it’s time to begin the racing season on the high-banked, third-mile dirt oval known to all as Grandview Speedway. For Grandview it is the 53^rd consecutive season of promoting racing events. For RCN TV, it is the 15^th consecutive season of covering the racing at the track. That marriage, in simple terms, has been a very good one.

RCN TV has covered local racing for many years, starting out with local competition at the now-gone Nazareth Raceway back in the early seventies. It was a marriage that lasted some 17 years. From there they mixed in events on the now-also-gone Nazareth National Speedway, as well as races at the Pocono Speedway.

Eventually, RCN TV headed south to racing asphalt coverage at Flemington Fair Speedway, but that track also closed up after only about three years of television programming. From there, it was on to Berks County along Route 100 and the racing at Grandview.

The years have just clicked off quickly and it hardly seems like 15 years have passed. Over those years award-winning RCN TV coverage has offered viewers a lot of different divisions to watch. Big and small block Modified racing, Sportsman, Sprint Cars, Midgets, Late Models and much more. All rolled into one, it sure has developed into a very popular program.

Drivers love to watch the racing coverage. Fans love it. Potential sponsors, too. Race teams use the subject of television coverage to try to attract potential sponsors. A sponsor sees television coverage as a great selling point to spit out the word about their business. It gets the potential sponsor’s name into the conversation and just the mentioning of the sponsor’s name gives them the reward that was sought in the first place.

On television these days, you can watch drag racing and NASCAR coverage and all sorts of racing, actually. Racing truly has blossomed. The thing is that RCN TV has been doing it for a long, long time and RCN TV is one of the first in the country to offer it to their viewers. You don’t find local short-track dirt track coverage anywhere on your channel choices, unless it is a special, tape-delayed event. RCN TV has found a formula that works. Roughly six events a season, bringing a good sampling of what the track has to offer. The program offers news, driver interviews, replays of dramatic moments, lap-to-lap coverage, all the feature races, plus the qualifying events. Just enough to give everybody a taste, get the viewer interested and, hopes are, that they make it to the track a time or two and watch in person.

With the weather improving, tracks all over the area, asphalt or dirt, are on schedule to swing open the gates and get the season started. Grandview, though, it is special. Grandview is old school. It’s dirt track racing and it is not a lot of flash or confetti. It is just good, close, competitive competition. It gets your blood pumping. Gets your heart racing and gets everyone watching awfully excited. The cars kicking up large chunks of clay into the air. That smell of racing fuel. The roar of the high-powered racing engines. Cars going at it, trading paint in each corner as they race wheel-to-wheel. It goes on unmatched.

There’s so much there to offer the viewers and you can watch it all, while it unfolds right before your eyes on RCN TV. Local auto racing’s been there and available now for over 30 years. That’s a lot of laps and a lot of coverage throughout the years.

It’s April and time to get those engines started. This year marks a total of 15 years at Grandview Speedway and that’s only a small part of the story. Local auto racing and RCN TV, it simply has been a long and also a very successful marriage. Indeed.

With the pomp and circumstance of Major League Baseball’s Opening Day now behind us, we can take a look at two teams in the RCN viewing area with completely different focuses for the 2015 season. The Nationals are in a “World Series or bust” state of mind, while the Phillies are clearly looking to groom young talent and play for the future.

Here we look at some predictions, projections and thoughts on Washington’s key players to watch, as well as interview clips from some of the Phillies top minor leaguers, reflecting on their spring training performances and discussing their summertime goals.

A couple of other key points for both teams…

• I think the Nationals are clearly the favorites in the division and my pick to win the pennant. I think the Marlins are, at best, a wild card possibility. However, it is imperative that Washington does not flounder for the first month of the season. They have a favorable schedule (they play the Phillies seven times) the first month of the season. Despite being without three key pieces to their lineup and a bullpen still defining roles, they cannot afford to finish April under .500. It’s not likely to happen, but a rough start makes it tougher to work their way back into the race. With all the potential free agents on Washington’s roster, they don’t want to have guys worried about improving their free agency status and more concerned over their individual statistics than the team’s overall success. A rough start could send this negative attitude (or “Natitude” in this case) in motion, and make for a horrifically disappointing year. Again, not likely to happen, but something to keep an eye on.

• The Phillies are not the 76ers. They don’t NEED to trade all their big name players…at least not right away. They don’t get any real benefit by being overly bad, and they’re not going to get much in return right now for unloading guys like Ryan Howard, Carlos Ruiz or Jonathan Papelbon. The best thing to do is hope these older veterans play well, and another team gets desperate enough to give up something of value for them. Someone on last week’s “SportsTalk” show suggested throwing in Cole Hamels in a trade so that the team could rid themselves of Howard’s weighty contract. That’s not wise either, as you lose the only player who can (and should) give you a healthy return of prospects…and for what? To give Darin Ruf—a player the Phillies clearly don’t like—more at-bats? It’s not imperative Philadelphia cuts everyone loose, and only as we near the trading deadline would it even begin to make sense to look for some serious trade rumors to start simmering.

It should be an exciting season overall for the Nationals, hopefully culminating with a record-setting postseason win total for the organization. To get excited about the Phillies, you’ll have to look more closely at the younger members of the organization and try to imagine a bright future that awaits a few summers from now. As the baseball season unfolds, don’t forget to email us your sports comments and opinions to RCNSportsTalk@rcn.com and join us for “RCN SportsTalk” at our new time, now broadcasting live from 7-8 pm, Thursday evenings on RCN-TV.

Remember last week how everyone was bemoaning the fact that they were doing so poorly in their office pool?  After this past weekend, I would think there would be less gnashing of teeth and more people still having a little bit of skin in the game.  After all the early upsets, three #1 seeds are still alive and a coach they call the “Master of March”, Tom Izzo of Michigan State, has his team playing in Indianapolis.  Michigan State last won a national championship in 2000 and Tom Izzo was the coach.

I have three teams still alive in our “for entertainment purposes only” office pool: Kentucky, Wisconsin, and Duke.  I picked #2 Virginia to be the other participant, but Michigan State beat them, too, along with the #3 and #4 seeds.  Here is the way I see the match-ups for Saturday in Indianapolis.

#7 Michigan State vs #1 Duke  –  6:09pm on CBS
Both Duke and Michigan State were in the 2010 Final Four. Ironically, the semifinals that year were also the held in Indianapolis.  Michigan State lost to Butler in the semis and Duke went on to win the national title 61-59.  These two teams played earlier in the season in November and Duke won the game by 10.  There is no question that Michigan State is the surprise team in the Final Four.  Even Coach Izzo said earlier he did not believe his team had the size and talent to compete for a national championship.  In Michigan State’s last final appearance in 2009 they lost to North Carolina.  Izzo has his team one game away again.  Despite his basketball acumen, he goes up against Mike Krzyzewski who has taken Duke to nine championship finals and has won four national championships.  I like Duke to win this game, but it will not be easy and it will not be by 10.
DUKE   66   MICHIGAN STATE  61

#1 Kentucky vs #1 Wisconsin
Believe it or not, there have only been three Final Four rematches in history and this is one of them.  Kentucky hit a three with six seconds on the clock last year that kept Wisconsin from their second national championship game.  This is a revenge game for sure.  Wisconsin’s stars, Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker, made it known that they did not go to the NBA just so they could get back to this position again.  Is this one of those “be careful what you wish for” moments?

Everyone knows that Kentucky is 38-0, two wins away from being the first undefeated team since Indiana’s run in 1976.  Kentucky’s John Calipari has a bit of a revenge factor of his own losing in last year’s final to Connecticut 60-54.  After winning it all in 2013, Calipari certainly wants Kentucky fans to put him in the same conversation as the great Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp who won four national championships.  I am awed by the size and the talent that Kentucky puts on the floor.  However, Notre Dame may have shown that they can be beaten losing by just two in the Midwest final.  The last two teams since 1976 to enter the Final Four undefeated were Indiana State (Larry Bird and company) and UNLV (Jerry Tarkanian) in 1991.  Both lost.  I firmly believe that Wisconsin has the talent and the motivation to win this game, but they won’t.

KENTUCKY  72   WISCONSIN  69

National Championship Game
KENTUCKY 73  DUKE 71

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
An NCAA Championship Quiz

1. Ten consecutive titles were won by two teams that were known by initials that started with the letter U. Name the two teams.
2. Since 2000, who is the only coach to win back-to-back championships?
3. What former Lafayette head basketball coach won a national championship?
4. Prior to John Calipari, who was the last Kentucky coach to win a national championship?
5. Since 2000, what team has won the most national championships?

ANSWERS:

1. UCLA AND UTEP (1964-1973)
2. Billy Donovan (Florida-2006 + 2007)
3. Gary Williams (Maryland – 2002)
4. Tubby Smith (1998)
5. Connecticut (3)

‘Tis the season.

There is a well-known sports term perfectly describing this time of year for many involved in athletics.  It’s the time of year when all the winter sports are climaxing to an exhilarating finish.  “March Madness,” state tournaments and final swimming and diving meets…all with their elaborate playoff systems formed to create an exciting and balanced formula, pitting the best teams, and individuals squaring off against each other and building in intensity until reaching their conclusions.  With any luck, the results are memorable and thrilling finales.  As we approach the end, everyone involved can enjoy the memories created by this fiercely competitive segment of the calendar, while we all sit back, relax and reflect during a slower, more peaceful time of year….

For some of us.

While there is a perception that the end of winter sports season induces a slower time-period in the sports world, students, parents, athletic directors…and even some of us in the media, have a different story.  A “crossover” exists when one sports season begins winding down following a flurry of playoff action, while the spring sports teams are quietly trying (as best as Mother Nature allows) to put together a winning formula for what every coach hopes will be a successful campaign.  But a heavy snow late in the winter keeps athletes from getting much needed playing time out on their respective athletic fields.  Little to no snowfall but extreme cold temperatures also keeps athletes inside preventing them from much needed practice time out on their fields.  A couple days of rain on surfaces that are still frozen or a low snowfall amount with quickly rising temperatures on hardened surfaces create swampy and/or flooded conditions which…well, you get the idea.

For athletes who participate in both winter and spring athletics, it’s rather challenging to be going full-steam ahead in one sport, then quickly don a brand new uniform and begin competing at a high level instantly in a whole new activity.

And those of us in the media also are doing our best covering the final games of the basketball season while simultaneously attempting to interview as many spring sports coaches and players as we can, without the benefits of cloning.  All this must be accomplished before the looming and unforgiving deadline of the first game/match of the spring season which, ironically and painfully enough, usually gets postponed the day of, due to… (snow, rain, the cold, field conditions, electrical issues, or fill in your own reason here).

Keeping this theme in mind, this week at the “Shop” we look at one of our final winter sports interviews of the year, while also giving you a sampling of several of our spring high school sports previews (you can see more of them on “SportsTalk” live on Thursday evenings or on RCN On-Demand).

First, we check in with Mike Jones to get his thoughts on the final games in the NCAA tournament, the success of the nationally ranked DeMatha basketball program once again this winter, and the outstanding basketball tradition in the Washington, DC area.

Now, here are a few insights into several spring sports teams in the RCN coverage area.

So whether you’re spending the next several days enjoying what promises to be a exciting finish between the last four teams in the NCAA tournament (for the record, I did have Wisconsin and Kentucky in “my” Final Four, but missed with Duke and Michigan State).  Or, if you’re coaching, playing, or supporting one of the outstanding scholastic sports programs this weekend, I tip my cap to everyone who doesn’t take it easy over the next week, continuing to participate in the efforts of our young athletes in action during this special time of year.

‘Tis the season.

I received an invitation to the Dance last week.  Lafayette College asked me to go to Pittsburgh for the start of the NCAA tournament and do some internet work for them leading up to the first round game: Lafayette vs Villanova.  RCN was kind enough to allow me to go.  I am glad I did.

In the past, high school basketball conflicted with the NCAA tournament first round so I was never able to attend.  Now, it seems that the college season is pushed back one week and there is no conflict.

We left the Kirby Sports Center on Wednesday morning and arrived in Pittsburgh at 3:00pm.  The first Lafayette press conference was scheduled for 5:15pm at the CONSOL Energy Arena so we checked in to the hotel and went to the Arena.  The student-athletes spoke first followed by head coach Fran O’Hanlon.  Lafayette was allowed to take the floor for a 40-minute workout.  Lafayette had a full workout that morning at Duquesne University, so they went through some quick drills and a shoot-around.  I chatted with Coach O’Hanlon and immediately made the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette the next day:

http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/marchmadness/2015/03/19/Plenty-will-be-decided-in-the-post-GAME-VILLANOVA-vs-LAFAYETTE/stories/201503190171

Prior to leaving the arena, I did a stand-up report for the Lafayette website and then was quickly corralled by the Villanova radio announcer for some background on Lafayette.  What I thought was going to be a quick discussion turned into a lengthy question and answer session.  It was so long that I missed the team bus when it returned to the hotel.  In all honesty, I was a bit shocked by the lack of pre-game knowledge the radio guy had about the Leopards.  That is not my style, to be sure.

I was able to get a cab back to the hotel just in time for the team meal which was at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, a short walk down the street.  Nothing beats great food and great company.  Some of the players were not accustomed to eating at such an up-scale restaurant claiming Outback Steakhouse was the epitome of their dining experience.

Thursday was game day with Northeastern meeting Notre Dame and Butler playing Texas in the afternoon session.  Our hotel also housed the Butler contingent so the Bulldogs were well-represented throughout the trip.  I went to the arena for the second game and stayed for the rest of the day.  It was interesting to attend the press conferences for the winning and losing teams, experiencing the “thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.”

Although I had press row access for the Lafayette game, I chose instead to sit in the arena seats and had a great view of the game.  Lafayette did not play well; Villanova played like a #1 seed and won easily, a disappointment to all who made the trip.  The Lafayette players handled themselves exceptionally well speaking before the press as did Coach O’Hanlon.  Villanova’s players and Coach Jay Wright spoke about the difficulty of playing against a Villanova icon like Hall-of-Famer Fran O’Hanlon.  He used the word “bittersweet” when discussing the win.

I stayed to watch the LSU-North Carolina State game and I was glad I did.  It came down to the final shot with NC State winning a thriller.

Back at the hotel, everyone was contemplating the end of the season.  A Patriot League championship, three one-thousand point scorers, and a trip to the NCAAs made the sting of that night’s loss a bit more palatable.  Villanova looked that night like a potential national champion. Not so much on Saturday when they lost to North Carolina State and were eliminated from the tournament.

Best of all was the publicity leading up to the game.  MarketWatch and Payscale.com reported that of all 68 teams in the tournament, Lafayette was #1 in return on investment for their college degree.  In the long run, for more than 90% of the athletes playing in the tournament who will never become professional players, that is the most important outcome.  For the Lafayette players, in the most critical of competitions – the game of life- they are the national champions!!

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
No musings this week, just some pictures thanks to Rick Smith/Lafayette Athletic Communications:

After shoveling snow out of my driveway for the final time this winter (even if we get more of the white stuff, I’m just plowing through with my car from now on), I had a chance to witness some of the PIAA state playoff games.  Unfortunately, none of the teams in our RCN-TV coverage area made it all the way through the state tournament, but that didn’t stop us from seeing some tremendous efforts from our local teams in the postseason on RCN-TV.

Here’s a look at our final set of basketball highlight packages from our state playoff game broadcasts; then, a few of my own observations on the final weeks of the PIAA basketball season.

Now a few thoughts as we close out the high school basketball season for our Pennsylvania sports fans.

• Becahi’s Head Coach is a Stand-Up Guy

First of all, Jose Medina took over the Becahi girls basketball team very late (November) before this season started.  There’s no question this team had talent, but to keep all the pieces together and still win 27 straight games, an Eastern Pennsylvania Conference Championship, a District XI 3A title, advance to the 2^nd round of the state tournament and to be ranked in the top four statewide throughout the entire season, all were tremendous accomplishments.
Once more, following a disappointing loss to Conrad Weiser and the controversial decision in which his star player, Kalista Walters, was left in the game with three fouls in the second quarter, he responded to my request to be on our “SportsTalk” show and address this and other issues with this year’s team (this show is available through RCN On Demand).  I cannot offer enough respect and support going forward for Coach Medina for tackling these topics head-on with me on our live show, and admire how he and his players have conducted themselves following their surprising, upset loss in the state tournament.  I heard from a good source that their up-and-coming players like Tessa Zamolyi and Rebekah Recchio were quality, hard-working players even before this season started, and the way they addressed the ending of their season makes me think the future of this program is as bright as ever.

• Speaking of Conrad Weiser…

The Scouts from the Conrad Weiser girls basketball team made for one of the best stories in the entire state.  While some did not count on Weiser to be a force entering the league playoffs—let alone districts and states—the Scouts fought their way into the Final Four in the Berks County playoffs, then followed that up with a trip to the district championship game.  Then, after a mild upset win in the first round of states, they won back-to-back games against the best teams in the state to reach the PIAA quarterfinals.  Head Coach Mark Owens called his team “The Little Engine,” referencing the childhood story of the train that wouldn’t give up.  Despite being discounted multiple times, Owens’ group of undersized players (their tallest player is 5-8, shorter than about a half-dozen players they faced in states) made for an exciting post-season experience and showed what hard work, dedication and determination can do on the scholastic level’s biggest stage.

• The “Final Pairs”

Here’s a look at the final two teams in each classification of the PIAA tournament.  See if something jumps out at you as readily as it did for many high school sports fans (this weekend’s winning teams in BOLD).

State Basketball Finalists
Class 4A Boys – Roman Catholic, Martin Luther King (Both District 12)
Class 4A Girls – CB West (District 1), Cumberland Valley (Dist. 3)
Class 3A Boys – Newmann-Goretti, Archbishop Carroll (Both District 12)
Class 3A Girls – Archbishop Wood (District 12), Black Hawk (Dist. 7)
Class 2A Boys – Conwell Egan (District 12), Aliquippa (Dist. 7)
Class 2A Girls – Newmann-Goretti (District 12), Seton LaSalle (Dist. 7)
Class 1A Boys – Constitution (Dist. 12), Farrell (Dist. 10)
Class 1A Girls – Old Forge (Dist. 2), Vicentian Academy (Dist. 7)

If you noticed most of the teams reaching the state championship games were from the Philadelphia region (Districts 1 and 12) and that ALL the boys winners were from District 12 (first time that has EVER happened in Pennsylvania), give yourself a gold medal.  It was common knowledge that once the District 12 schools were granted access to the PIAA tournament, the teams from the Delaware Valley would often be favorites in playoff match-ups.  However,  I don’t think many basketball fans not from the southeastern corner of the state anticipated just how dominate these programs are.   I’ve had the opportunity to see teams like Roman Catholic, Martin Luther King, Conwell Egan, Newmann-Goretti and Archbishop Carroll play at a high level for several years.  Their successes is not a fluke, nor do I anticipate their quality of play dropping off any time soon.

Is it right that most championship participants of a statewide tournament come from one area?  I cannot argue against it and believe there are opportunities with this tourney for a team to have a chance—although not a great one—to compete for a crown.  Whether it’s envy, sour grapes or an unjust system, the debate will rage on until more teams from other parts of Pennsylvania start making it to the title games—and for the boys teams, it’ll mean winning championships on a more regular basis.  One thing that cannot be disputed is that the success of high school basketball in Philadelphia is as strong as ever, and any sports fans left to watch the last three rounds of the PIAAs will continue to watch Philly’s brand of basketball for years to come.

I would think any of us who covered the Darrun Hilliard era at Liberty High School became Wildcat fans the minute he accepted his scholarship at Villanova to play basketball there.  He has had a terrific career and is now looking forward to the start of the NCAA tournament after winning the Big East and getting a #1 seed in the East Region.  Darrun is the Wildcats leading scorer on a team where balanced scoring is the norm and defense is their greatest strength.  I have watched many of Darrun’s games throughout his career and the “I knew him when” thoughts constantly crept into my psyche.

But on Sunday at 6:20pm, he suddenly became the enemy.  His Villanova team was paired up in the NCAA bracket with #16 seed Lafayette!  The game is scheduled for Thursday, March 19, in Pittsburgh at 6:50pm.  For this one game, I will root against Darrun Hilliard and cheer on the underdog Lafayette Leopards.  I am not alone.

Imagine how Lafayette head coach Fran O’Hanlon feels.  Fran played at Villanova under Jack Kraft, who died this past August at the age of 93.  The Villanova players remember Coach by wearing his initials on their uniforms.  Fran is a 1970 graduate.  He was the team co-captain for the 1969-70 Wildcat team that reached the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals.  Fran averaged 13.1 points per game and still holds the record for assists in one game (16).  He is a true Philadelphia guy, having gone to St. Thomas More high school, being named to the Villanova Hall of Fame in 1992, and coaching at Monsignor Bonner High School and assisting under current Temple head coach Fran Dunphy at the University of Penn.  When you are in Fran’s company in Philadelphia, the stories flow and the fun is non-stop.

All of those good feelings will change for two hours on Thursday night.  This is Fran’s third trip to the NCAA tournament, having made the tournament in 1999 and 2000, losing to Miami, Fla. and Temple.  Lafayette will be a huge underdog again.  No #16 team has ever beaten a #1 team since the tournament began.  Then again, look what had to happen for Lafayette to even get to this game:

(1) Lafayette needed to beat Army in the last regular season game in order for Lafayette to qualify for a quarterfinal home game (they did);
(2) Holy Cross needed to upset Boston University in the final game played in the regular season in order for Lafayette to actually get a quarterfinal home game (they did);
(3) #4 seed Lafayette needed to beat #5 seed Boston University, a team that beat them by 14 at home in their previous match-up (they did);
(4) #6 American University needed to beat #3 seed Lehigh at Lehigh (they did);
(5) #4 seed Lafayette needed to upset #1 seed Bucknell at Bucknell, a feat NEVER accomplished before in the Patriot League semifinals (they did);
(6)  #6 American University needed to beat #2 Colgate in the following game for Lafayette to get a home championship game (they did);
(7) #4 Lafayette needed to beat #6 American after losing to them twice during the regular season for the Patriot League Championship (they did!)

Are they a team of destiny on Thursday night in Pittsburgh?  My head says, “No”.  My heart says, “Maybe”.  Go, Leopards!!

P.S. If Villanova wins, I will jump on the Wildcats wagon.  Go, Darrun!!

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)

1. I like Virginia, Wisconsin, Kentucky, and Duke in the Final Four for the tournament. Kentucky beats Duke in the final.
2. The Eastern Washington Eagles will upset Georgetown and be the lowest seed to go the deepest in the brackets.
3. Look for my reports from Pittsburgh this week on goleopards.com.
4. As I write this, District 12 out of Philadelphia is dominating the PIAA playoffs again in boys’ basketball. Out of the 16 teams remaining in the four classifications, District 12 has eight of them.  They do the same in football.  Time to investigate?
5. Enjoy the NCAA Tournament. Don’t forget to get some sleep!