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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

With the “Montgomery-out, Middleton-in” rumors subsiding—at least for the short term–it’s time to take a look back at the final weeks of the Phillies baseball season as they begin the daunting task of “retooling” with many weighty contracts remaining on the books. When a team like the Phillies find themselves wallowing in the basement for most of the Major League Baseball season, die-hard fans hold out hope for the September call-up season. This is the time when rosters expand and organizations can bring up a few of its younger players, hopefully to show some glimpses of hope that next season will be different. Here we take a look at the Phillies players recalled later in the season, and an analysis of how things played out for them this past month.

Maikel Franco
He may have won over a spot on the 2015 roster just by his defense alone. While one of the knocks against him was his slow foot speed and an assumed lack of range at third base, Franco made some of the most spectacular plays no one saw this year (the Phillies were practically eliminated from the postseason before Franco got a chance to play on a regular basis). While incredibly streaky for the first several months at Triple-A (he told me he HATES the cold weather with a passion), his bat warmed up enough over the summer that the Phillies tried playing him at the major-league level against mostly left-handed pitching. Unfortunately, Franco never really hit his stride offensively and further clouded the issue of what the Phillies should do with their corner infield situation (Franco also looked adequate playing first base). One may pencil him in as a platoon-option to start next year, but don’t be surprised if he continues to struggle for the first two months of the 2015 season.

Cameron Rupp
It was a curious season overall for Rupp—a guy who appears to be about as ‘old school’ as they now come when talking about playing baseball the way it should be played. He impressed the Phillies brass with his defensive ability and surprised them a bit with his strong arm and knack for throwing out base runners. However, Rup took a major step backwards in terms of his offense. Triple-A Manager Dave Brundage would often speak of Rup’s ability to hit in clutch situations—unfortunately he did get many chances to hit with men on base, and batted a pitiful .165 (.555 OPS). In limited latter season opportunities, his major league numbers weren’t much better, calling into question his ability to be a capable MLB backup catcher. He’s an incredibly good guy who calls a nice game behind the dish. I hope he can turn things around in 2015, but don’t be surprised if the Phillies look to add more upper-level organization depth at this position this winter.

Cesar Hernandez/Freddy Galvis
Both of these players have very similar skill-sets: Hernandez is a better offensive threat while Galvis has the defensive edge. Galvis got more playing time in September and looked to be swinging the bat well enough to earn him the inside track between these two players for what now looks to the utility infield position for next year. Hernandez, who hits fastballs well, which is usually a good characteristic of a pinch-hitter, really didn’t overwhelm anyone in his limited at-bats in the season’s final month. Both of these players are out of options, which means whoever doesn’t make the Opening Day ’15 roster could be lost to another team. One of the many question marks for this offseason will be if the Phillies can trade Ryan Howard, possibly allowing Chase Utley to be moved to first base, which would save him some wear-and-tear. If that occurs, Hernandez and Galvis (along with possibly Cody Asche) would probably compete for the second base position, with the loser having a chance to stick around as the extra infielder.

Mike Adams
Signed as a guy to add stability to the back end of the bullpen, Adams never stayed healthy long enough in his two-year stint to make a difference in Philadelphia. The Phillies will certainly not pick up his $6-million team option for 2015 and even though he returned to the parent club in September, he fell well short of the 60-inning qualifier that would allow his third-year extension to kick in. He was overheard saying that he felt guilty signing a 2-year, $12-million contract yet barely saw extending time due to injuries. If Adams truly does feel bad about not helping the team, he might be brought back in an incentive-heavy contract to give some experience and mentoring skills to what will be a young pen next year, especially if they find a way to unload Jonathan Papelbon this offseason.

Tony Gwynn Jr.
It was a tough year for one of the nicest guys in the Philadelphia clubhouse this season. Gwynn started the year on the Opening Day roster, but eventually lost his job to Ben Revere. Tony then lost his Hall of Fame father, and one of the classiest athletes ever, Tony Sr., followed by a demotion to the minor leagues. This one-time prospect’s future is probably not with the Phillies, unless Revere is moved. One of the primary jobs for the front office is to upgrade the offense in the outfield, and Gwynn’s roster spot is one of the most likely ones to be replaced by whatever additions take place.

Luis Garcia/Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez
Two guys with electric stuff who came into the organization from very different situations. Garcia was out of baseball a few years ago but worked his way back to become the top pitcher in the Phillies farm system (as evidence by his winning of the Paul Owens Award). I talked with Luis a few times this year and he is loving every minute of his second chance with the organization and, when he has command of his pitches, is incredibly tough to hit against. Gonzalez, like Garcia, has been erratic this September, and neither pitched well enough on a consistent basis to lock in a spot for 2015. The hope was the Gonzalez, highly touted when initially signed, would show enough to give you reason to think he could slide into one of the open starting pitchers’ slots for next year. However, even when he had success in Triple-A he didn’t always show the aggressiveness needed and seemed too fine with his pitchers, to give you reason that he could be counted on going forward as anything more than a long-man. Gonzalez is owed two more years on his $12-million deal, forcing the Phillies to be patient with him. At the same time, it will be hard for the team to justify keeping two roster spots for right-handed relief pitchers with control issues when they are so many other issues to address.

It will definitely be an intriguing offseason for the Phillies, who have many holes to fill if they have any hope of competing for a playoff spot next year. The members of the front office claim they are ready to move in a new direction, but I remember Ruben Amaro Jr. making similar suggestions after the 2012 season, only to have the team remain mostly status quo. Trading big-money contracts like Howard and Papelbon will not be easy. The Phillies must upgrade their offense, bench and starting pitching with very few bargaining chips to use in trades (save Cole Hamels and Chase Utley) and very few quality options in the free agent market. Unfortunately, the team got very limited reasons for optimism from what they saw from their September roster additions and very few questions resolved about many of the team’s current players. Once the MLB postseason concludes, watch for the Phillies to start laying the groundwork to hopefully revamp the team to be more competitive for 2015.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

As pain of the tough loss to the 49ers begins to subside just a bit, it’s time to take a realistic look back at the first month of the Eagles‘ season. Yes, if the Birds could have reached the endzone from the one yard line in the waning minutes of the San Francisco game, a 4-0 start would look tremendous heading into October. But when you look at the schedule, the sluggish starts to their games, their inconsistent offense and defense, and all the injuries sustained the past four weeks, 3-1 is nothing sort of amazing. If fact, with games against the lowly Rams and then the Giants coming up, I think most Eagles fans will be thrilled if their team heads into the bye week with a 5-1 record.

Before we start looking ahead, let’s analyze the three biggest stories so far, and what needs to happen for their success to continue.

#1 Nick Foles, You Are The Man…I Think
Foles recovered from a dreadful start against Jacksonville to post a second half stat line of 5-for-21, 183 yards & 2 touchdowns, followed by successively improving performances against the Colts and the Redskins. Foles became just the eighth quarterback in NFL history to pass for at least 320 yards in each of the first three games of the season. And, perhaps even more encouraging, after practically ignoring Foles in 2013, the national media teased last Sunday’s game as “Nick Foles and the Eagles…” as opposed to “LeSean McCoy and the Eagles…” or last year’s “DeShawn Jackson’s Eagles…” After a year-and-a-half of questions surrounding the team’s QB, it seemed like Foles had finally arrived as “the guy.” That was before Sunday, when he put up one of the worst quarterback ratings of his career. I know–it’s just one game, and Sunday could simply be a minor blip on the radar of his steadily climbing career.

If there was a sliver of optimism from the Eagles’ final, yet futile drive in San Francisco, it was that Head Coach Chip Kelly showed the utmost confidence in the third-year pro by putting the game’s outcome in Foles’ hands, as opposed to some combination of Jason Peters’ blocking/McCoy running, as what I would have done in that situation. Granted, the woeful play of the decimated offensive line played a huge role in the decision (and was repeated by Kelly in his “day-after interviews” multiple times). But Kelly has been making all the right moves so far (or at least most of the right moves) in his short tenure in Philadelphia, and his decision to allow the game’s outcome to be decided by his quarterback could provide Foles with a world of confidence that his head coach has his back.

At least for this season.

#2 The Injuries
Without three-fifths of the team’s offensive line and the services of the team’s best defender due to injuries, Eagles fans should just be happy the team even had a shot a winning the game in San Fran. I had a chance recently to chat with Eagles reporter Al Thompson (“Footballstories” Magazine) and he was optimist about the Birds’ ability to overcome the medical setbacks on the offensive line and at middle linebacker.

Clearly the Eagles will benefit from the return of Lane Johnson from his four-game suspension, which will also allow Todd Herremans to move back to his more comfortable guard position. Fans can also take comfort in the fact that Center Jason Kelce should be able to return from his sports hernia in time to shake off the rust and be back to full strength for the playoff push. The team should be in good shape on the health front in a few weeks provided they can stay away from another rash of O-line injuries and if Mychal Kendricks can recover from his calf injury.

#3 The Running Game
On the one hand, the addition of Darren Sproles to the backfield has looked like the steal of the season. If fact, a national broadcaster said that if the Eagles win the Super Bowl this year, the New Orleans Saints should get a chunk of the championship prize money for giving Sproles away for just a fifth-round pick. He’s one of just three NFL players to have two 50+ yard receptions, he was named Offensive Player of the Week after setting career highs in both receiving yards and total years again Indianapolis, and he’s helped change field position numerous times on special teams, including returning an 82-yard punt for a touchdown against the Niners.

McCoy, meanwhile, came into the San Francisco game averaging less than 3-yards per carry, and that number went DOWN this past Sunday (10 carries for just 17 yards). Against the 49ers, the entire Eagles backfield combined for just 22 total yards for the game. It is true that McCoy has been dinged-up in a couple of the games with injuries, and the dreadful offensive line the Eagles had on display in their last ball game no doubt was a major contribution for lack of a ground assault. However, McCoy and the Eagles’ rushing attack MUST improve if the team is to have any postseason success, no matter how much luck they have in-tow and have already used through the team’s first four games. The upstart Cowboys are also 3-1 and, of more concern for Birds fans, are having great success moving the ball on the ground, which allows Tony Romo the wiggle room he usually needs to overshadow his often inconsistent passing. It won’t matter how many regular season victories the Eagles enter the playoffs with–it won’t mean a thing if they don’t get to at least the second round of the playoffs (see the 2011 Phillies).

Feel free to email your comments and opinions on the Eagles’ 3-1 start to the season to RCNSportsTalk@rcn.com and tune in for our live show this Thursday from 6-7 pm. We’ll also be discussing the use of technology in football on this week’s program on RCN-TV.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sometimes it pays to be your own boss.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And CBSSports did the following video on the story:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I have many fond memories of the Celtic Classic and really enjoy when this time of year comes around. I am not a direct descendent of any Irish or Gaelic ancestry as far as I’m aware, nor have ever held any desires of wearing a kilt. But the entire festival is a really enjoyable experience and there’s always great entertainment venues and plenty of displays to check out throughout the entire weekend.

My first trip to the Celtic Classic was a bit of an adventure. I was to interview people at different sections of the grounds for a feature on a show called, “Time Out! Lehigh Valley.” While going from different stands asking people about their areas of expertise, I came across the late, great RCN personality Craig Borst, who was supposed to be handling the “play-by-play” of the highland games competition. Craig was one of the nicest and most gregarious people you would ever meet and, although he rarely wasn’t in the best of moods, I could see by his facial expressions that there was a problem. Our exchange went something like this:

Craig: “Hey, Chris. Can you do me a really big favor?”
Me: “Sure…what do you need?”
Craig: “Well, the guy who was supposed to announce the highlands events with me didn’t show up, and I really don’t know anything about these events since I was depending on him. I know it’s short notice but do you think you can be my expert for today and do the broadcast with me?”
Me: “Uh, yeah. I think I can do that. How long do I have to prepare?”
Craig: (grabbing me by the arm): “About 30 seconds.”

Needless to say things worked out fine (I didn’t even have time to even think about being nervous). In fact, even one of the most intelligent and insightful RCN viewers we have in Eastern Pennsylvania gave me kudos for the broadcast. The compliment came from RCN Sports Director Gary Laubach’s wife, Luba (did I mention she’s very intelligent and incredibly insightful?)

Fortunately, in the many years since that first broadcast, we have added a REAL expert, highland games legend Gene Flynn, to our broadcasts. Gene gives wonderful insights on the history and legacy of the games, background on all the competitors and great stories about training and participating in these extraordinary events. Just to hear Gene describe what it’s like to participate and to see just how difficult the competition is, is reason enough to tune in and see what these athletes put themselves through for the competition.

This year, we’ll be broadcasting the latter five events and the awards ceremony this Sunday on RCN-TV. The games itself are a ton of fun to watch—especially if you have never seen the events before. The competitors are incredibly focused when the events are going on, but also love to have a good time and put on a great show for the audience. This year’s rundown of athletes include:
Daniel McKim
Michael Zolkiewicz
Matt Vincent (current World Champion)
Sean Betz
Eric Frasure
Nathan Burchett
John Piling
Jeremy Gillingham
Jake Sullivan
Spencer Tyler

Many of these athletes have appeared at the Celtic Classic previously, but there are also some new names that will be competing in Bethlehem for the first time ever.

The Celtic Classic is more than just sports, and I’m proud to say that we have a great sampling of the many experiences from the Celtic Classic on RCN-TV once again this year. One of my favorite performers over the years includes the O’Grady Quinlan Irish Dancers (one year they ask me to perform with them…let’s just say I did a better job announcing the highland games). Other must-see performers include the Glengarry Bhoys, Burning Bridge Clearly and the Town Pants. And, of course, to see the Liberty and Freedom High School bands alone make the “Tartan Parade” something you have to check out.

There really is something for everyone and I invite you to check out all that the Celtic Classic has to offer. Don’t forget, whether you watch the events in person or on RCN-TV, you can relive all the memories for the next two months by watching these events, for free, through RCN On-Demand.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Actually, I had another, perhaps more fitting title, but I felt it was a little too long. Something along the lines of:

“Three Phrases I’ve Heard Repeated By Fans And Media Members This Football Season Expressing A Revelation or Shocking Fact That We Probably Should Not Have Been Surprised About in the First Place”

(Probably best we went with the former headline).

I know I always dread making predictions when it comes to high school sports. It sometimes put unnecessary pressure on kids and quite often creates hard feelings. However, because of the success and popularity of scholastic sports programs in this area, we in the media are constantly questioned to make “educated” guesses about teams, players and possible results. Local fans are also very opinionated and most often very knowledgeable about the local sports landscape. Predictions encourage debate among the fandom—and publicity for our local athletes and communities. While becoming a foregone conclusion for everyone to make pre-season predictions, it sometimes leads to rash or incongruent opinions evolving on certain teams and players. Here are three phrases echoed by local residents claiming shock, when really, we all should have taken a closer look.

Myth #1: “Where Did All This Central Catholic Offense Come From?”
Central Catholic scored 41 points in each of its first two games this season, and was able to move the ball against arguably the best defense in the area this past weekend (several ill-timed penalties killed drives—two were deep in enemy territory).

Many people looked at the Vikings’ 2013 record (2-8) and saw many of the same offensive players returning with few additions and assumed that they would once again struggle to score points this fall. However, if you looked back to last season, you’ll notice that moving the chains was not an issue at all. ACCHS ranked right in the middle of the pack in a number of offensive categories. Failure to execute in the red zone and penalty-killing drives (as was the case vs. Parkland) were the big culprits in several of the team’s losses. Central battled in nearly all of their ball games that ended in defeat.

Look deeper and you’ll find that returning QB Mason Kholi has continued to post very impressive numbers (501 yards passing, a 4 to 1 touchdown/interception ratio and over 200 yards rushing—despite being sacked at least six times). The Vikings also have several talented, skilled guys (among them Dallas Kassis, Deionte Wilson, Pat McKellick and others) and have a solid line anchored by Max Ebert and Marc-Antony Ocascio (both 6-3, 245 lbs).

Furthermore, Head Coach John Cupples has shown the innate ability to come up with impressive game plans against the top teams in the LVC—now EPC—during his tenure. Despite being heavy underdogs and incredibly outnumbered in terms of depth, his team has put together very strong performances over the last year against Parkland, Easton and Whitehall…until those teams eventually wore down the Vikings, as those bigger schools frequently do to everyone. Our panel on ‘RCN SportsTalk’ a few weeks back thought it would be an extreme reach for Central Catholic to make the post-season this year, and that may be the case. But to be shocked if the Vikings do pick up five wins and reach the playoffs, and continue to score a ton of points in the process, would not be an educated assumption.

Myth #2: “For A 4-A School, Bangor Should Be Winning More Games By Now”
Now, the facts.

First, Bangor is NOT a 4-A school. According to the District XI classifications, they are a 3-A school with similar male enrollments of Central Catholic, Jim Thorpe, Lehighton, Pottsville, East Stroudsburg-North, Bethlehem Catholic, Saucon Valley, Southern Lehigh and Blue Mountain. Bangor is like many schools across the country now that have fewer athletes participating in sports and coaches have had to share students in order to avoid program cuts.

Also, in case people haven’t noticed, there is an incredible amount of parity in the Colonial League again this season (see last week’s blog). Southern Lehigh, a team many thought could go undefeated, already has picked up an “L.” Notre Dame and Pen Argyl, two teams predicted to be no worse than sixth, are both winless. Wilson, despite being 0-3, has played well this fall and might have fared better if not for a rash of turnovers.

Look even closer at Bangor’s competition. The Slaters have played two undefeated teams that have outscored their opponents 214 to 44. Bangor won its third contest easily, 31-19, against a Catasauqua team that easily handled the Crusaders—the consensus #3 preseason team. Second-year Head Coach Donnie Hawk had tremendous success as an assistant at Pen Argyl and needs to be given an opportunity. If Bangor beats Salisbury Friday, they could jump as high as 4th place in both the Colonial League and District XI standings. It is FAR too early to make assumptions or outlandish statements about the Slaters’ program.

Myth #3: “Boy, Where Did This Saucon Valley Team Come From?”
The smart-guy commentator might answer this by saying “Hellertown,” but in reality we should have seen the Panthers’ undefeated start to the season coming—at least to some extent.

First, Head Coach Matt Evancho is an defensive whiz and has created a number of schemes over the years to slow down even the stoutest of offenses. His win over the Spartans last Friday was legitimate and his defense did a tremendous job in frustrating some of the most talented offensive players in the league (this game is available to watch on RCN On-Demand right now).

Secondly, Saucon came into this season with a ton of momentum, winning its last four games last fall and being one of the few teams in the region to win its final playoff game (an Eastern Conference Division-3 title) last November.

If there was any surprise to this team, it’s the rapid overall development of its younger players. An accomplished running quarterback one year ago (and another 225 rushing yards so far this season), junior Zach Thatcher has become an equally lethal throwing option, passing for 370 yards with a ridiculously good eight touchdowns to just one pick. The dearth of underclass talent doesn’t stop there, with Mike Kane, Evan Culver, Devin Fontanez and Mike Paolini among a number of skilled-position players. Many fans (and media members) assumed the Northwestern/Southern Lehigh matchup in October would be the only game needed to decide who’s winning this year’s Colonial League title. But the Panthers have forced high school football fans to pay more attention to them this fall, and their upcoming games against the Bombers, Tigers and Pirates will be factors in determining this year’s champion.

What are some of the other surprising facts about this current fall sports season? What other teams and players do you feel are flying under the radar? Email you comments to us at RCNSportsTalk@rcn.com and join us each Thursday live from 6-7 pm to talk about local issues.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Last Week 9-7 56%)

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