The Astound TV Network camera spotlighted a number of District XI gold and silver medals awarded to many talented student-athletes for both boys and girls basketball players and boys and girls wrestlers in our coverage area over the last few weeks.
Here’s video highlights of the top plays and moments as seen on our network….
Astound TV Network Sports: Easton vs. Parkland (2/25)
Astound TV Network Sports: Allentown Central Catholic vs. Palmerton (3/25)
Astound TV Network Sports: Schuylkill Haven vs. Notre Dame Green Pond (3/25)
Astound TV Network Sports: Parkland vs. Northampton (3/25)
Astound TV Network Sports: District XI Girls Wrestling Championship (2/25)
Copies of all the above events plus all our local sports productions can be obtained by contacting the ATVN studio at christopher.popik@astound.com
Also, make sure you check back to our broadcasting schedule for this weekend’s first round state playoff games, and check back for more high school broadcasts as the teams in our coverage area keep advancing through the PIAA state playoffs over the next several weeks.
The views expressed in this blog arethose of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound Broadband or any other agency, organization, employer or company.
There’s several intriguing match-ups as we approach “Championship Weekend” in the Lehigh Valley, with a number of local teams going after district gold!
Before we talk about the District XI championship games to be seen on ATVN on Friday and Saturday, here’s video highlights of recent games seen on Astound TV Network….
Astound TV Network Sports: Liberty vs. Easton (2/25)
Astound TV Network Sports: Nazareth vs. Liberty (2/25)
Astound TV Network Sports: Parkland vs. Stroudsburg (2/25)
Astound TV Network Sports: Salisbury vs. Saucon Valley (2/25)
Astound TV Network Sports: Allentown Central Catholic vs. Northampton (1/25)
For the District XI 6A girls final, we have a Parkland girls team that made it to the state semi-finals back defending its district championship. Their opponents, the Easton Red Rovers, have had one of the best regular season winning percentages in the Valley over the last 5 years.
The Parkland boys team also looks to defend its district title and will take on Northampton, who surprised everyone by winning the EPC title despite a #7-seed. They’ve continued their magical run by beating Nazareth and Whitehall to play in the championship.
Other teams to watch include the Bangor boys basketball team going after a 5A championship. Central Catholic and Northwestern will vie for the 4A boys title and Notre Dame-Green Pond girls basketball will play Schuylkill Haven on Friday for the 3A crown. Several other local teams will be competing this weekend–check out our Broadcast Schedule for the full list of games this weekend and check back next week for our state PIAA coverage.
The views expressed in this blog arethose of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound Broadband or any other agency, organization, employer or company.
We have a busy week of district playoff games coming up this week on Astound TV Network!
Before we talk about districts, here’s video highlights of the Colonial League girls (won by Notre Dame-Green Pond) and boys (won by Northwestern) championship games, along with other playoff games seen on ATVN….
Astound TV Network Sports: Parkland vs. Emmaus (2/25)
Astound TV Network Sports: Pleasant Valley vs. Allen (2/25)
Astound TV Network Sports: Northampton vs. Liberty (2/25)
Astound TV Network Sports: Catasauqua vs. Northwestern Lehigh (2/25)
Astound TV Network Sports: Northwestern Lehigh vs. Notre Dame Green Pond (2/25)
Copies of these and all other local sports productions can be obtained by contacting the ATVN Studio.
In addition to our coverage of Lafayette basketball on Tuesday night, Astound TV Network will have continuing coverage of the District XI boys and girls basketball tournament with semifinal action on Tuesday and Wednesday, followed by “Championship Weekend” with title games on Friday and Saturday.
A reminder to bookmark and refer back to our Broadcast Schedule pagehere on our website as we continue through the districts and PIAA state playoffs!
The views expressed in this blog arethose of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound Broadband or any other agency, organization, employer or company.
We had ANOTHER overtime (actually DOUBLE overtime) game on Tuesday night as Astound TV Network broadcast the Freedom vs. Nazareth matchup, which officially kicked off district playoff season (video highlights of that game is below).
Before we talk more about districts, here’s part two of our highlights from the EPC basketball playoffs, including the Emmaus girls and the Northampton boys teams (more on them below) winning their championship games and an overtime victory by Pocono Mountain West over Whitehall in the semifinals…
Astound TV Network Sports: Emmaus vs. Bethlehem Catholic (2/25)
Astound TV Network Sports: Pocono Mountain West vs. Northampton (2/25)
Astound TV Network Sports: Pocono Mountain West vs. Whitehall (2/25)
Astound TV Network Sports: Bethlehem Catholic vs. Nazareth (2/25)
Astound TV Network Sports: Nazareth vs. Freedom (2/25)
A reminder that our special guests will be Northampton Head Coach Matt Scholl and members of the Konkrete Kids on this Thursday’s live ATVN SportsTalkshow at 7pm to talk about their magical playoff run and the road ahead in the District XI playoffs.
The program featuring Northampton will air live on the Astound TV Network and will be live-streamed for free on our YouTube channel (type in “Astound TV Network” in the “search,” then click on our live links) or subscribe to get free alerts when we go “LIVE” with our local sports programming!
Coming up on Friday, we’ll have a quadruple header featuring District XI girls and boys basketball playoffs.
Join us on Saturday night as longtime ATVN wrestling announcer Scott Barr will make his final broadcast calling this year’s District XI Individual Wrestling finals at 10pm. Scott has been with us for over 40-years and decided to step down following this broadcast, so please join us for a few “surprises” to honor Scott during this event.
The views expressed in this blog arethose of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound Broadband or any other agency, organization, employer or company.
After a number of upsets throughout the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference and the Colonial League last week, it remains evident as we enter the district basketball playoff season that there is a lot of compatibility among the teams in the Astound TV Network viewing area. Also, there was a number of outstanding individual and team efforts over the last 10 days during both leagues’ tournaments.
None more impressive (and surprising) than the sixth-ranked Northampton boys team, who upset the top three teams in the EPC to win its first league championship since the early 1970s and take over the #1 seed entering districts.
Can their success continue?
We’ll ask them when Head Coach Matt Scholl and members of the Konkrete Kids will be on this Thursday’s live ATVN SportsTalk show at 7pm to talk about their magical playoff run and the road ahead in the District XI playoffs.
The program featuring Northampton will air live on the Astound TV Network and will be live-streamed for free on our YouTube channel (type in “Astound TV Network” in the “search,” then click on our live links). Astound video customers will be able to watch this program at any time through ATVNOn-Demand.
Here is part one of our highlights from the league basketball playoff season, along with highlights from this year’s District XI boys team championship.
Astound TV Network Sports: Liberty vs. Pocono Mountain East (2/25)
Astound TV Network Sports: Nazareth vs. Liberty (2/25)
Astound TV Network Sports: Stroudsburg vs. Parkland (2/25)
Astound TV Network Sports: Parkland vs. Whitehall (2/25)
Astound TV Network Sports: Boys Wrestling; Bethlehem Catholic vs. Nazareth (2/25)
Check back to our website for our broadcast schedule of upcoming district wrestling and boys and girls basketball events and also highlights of our recent broadcasts showcasing the talent on display in the Astound TV Network viewing area.
The views expressed in this blog arethose of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound Broadband or any other agency, organization, employer or company.
It’s been a “fun” week with the weather changing plans (several times) for the EPC and Colonial League’s playoff basketball schedule, which means players, coaches, parents, administrators and those of us in the media are constantly changing our plans and what needs to be done this week to bring home championships.
To stay in the loop for what we are able to broadcast on the Astound TV Network, bookmark our “schedules page” here on our website and check back often to get the latest information.
While we wait for both the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference and Colonial League playoffs to resume, here’s a look at highlights from recent broadcasts seen here on ATVN!
Astound TV Network Sports: Boys Basketball | Whitehall vs. Nazareth (1/25)
Astound TV Network Sports: Boys Basketball | Liberty vs. Freedom (1/25)
Astound TV Network Sports: Girls Wrestling | Easton vs. Northampton (2/25)
Astound TV Network Sports: Boys Basketball | Liberty vs. Nazareth (2/25)
Astound TV Network Sports: Girls Basketball | Nazareth vs. Liberty (2/3)
Please note that copies of all of ATVN’s original broadcast presentations and sports productions are available by contacting the Astound TV Network’s studios.
The views expressed in this blog arethose of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound Broadband or any other agency, organization, employer or company.
It’s a busy week with the league playoffs in full swing in the Lehigh Valley, but not busy enough to share some big news!
Here, “hot off the press,” (seriously, does ANYONE still have a printing press now-a-days?), are the girls and boys “all-star listings” for the just completed Eastern Pennsylvania Conference regular season.
2024-2025 EPC Boys Basketball All Stars
1st Team Adrian Brito – Senior – Pocono Mountain West
KJ Coles – Junior – Pocono Mountain West
Lucas Mushrush – Senior – Allentown Central Catholic
Jake Pukszyn – Junior – Liberty
Jahrel Vigo – Senior – Allentown Central Catholic – MVP
2nd Team Rayshawn Harris – Senior – Pocono Mountain East
AJ (Aric) Hines – Senior – Whitehall
Keith Jackson – Senior – William Allen
Blake Nassry – Sophomore – Parkland
Zach Prator – Senior – Pleasant Valley
1st Team
Kourin Carew – Senior – Easton
Gabby DeVita – Junior – Emmaus – Tri MVP
Ava Kopetskie – Junior – Liberty – Tri MVP
McKayla Strunk – Senior – Stroudsburg
Renee Wells – Senior – Nazareth – Tri MVP
2nd Team
Anne Beenders – Senior – Northampton
Delaney Chilcote – Senior – Parkland
Jayla Rosario – Junior – Dieruff
Kayla Snyder – Sophomore – Emmaus
Milly Wolf – Senior – Allentown Central Catholic
3rd Team Natalie Amato – Junior – Easton
Aliyah Brame – Junior – Bethlehem Catholic
Palin Coleman – Freshman – Bethlehem Catholic
Anijah Davis – Senior – Liberty
Lexi Davis – Junior – Nazareth
We also present the All-Colonial League girls players as voted on by the conference’s Coaches Association (we’ve asked, but have not yet received the boys’ listings).
2024-2025 Colonial League Girls Basketball Coaches Association All-League Selections
1st Team Katelyn Barthold – Senior – Northern Lehigh
Hailey Jenkins – Junior – Catasauqua
Emily Lessig – Senior- Notre Dame-Green Pond
Avery Nelson – Senior – Bangor
Tegan Simms – Sophmore – Northern Lehigh
Cara Thomas – Senior – Northwestern Lehigh
Julia Vargo – Senior – Pen Argyl Player of the Year: Cara Thomas – Senior – Northwestern Lehigh
2nd Team Juliana Bonham – Freshman – Wilson
Courtney Connell – Junior – Palmerton
Natalie Connor – Freshman – Northwestern Lehigh
Kendra Morgan – Junior – Salisbury
Mikayla Pengelly – Senior – Palmerton
Don’t forget to keep checking back to our Astound TV Networkbroadcast schedule page for updates on the post-season and as changes occur to scheduled games as the winter storms continue this week!
The views expressed in this blog arethose of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound Broadband or any other agency, organization, employer or company.
We reached the end of another record setting season at Astound TV Network!
Even with Mother Nature affecting (aka cancelling) a handful of planned broadcasts due to inclement weather, ATVN broke our own record for the overall number of winter high school sports telecasts. We also brought you more girls basketball games, more girls wrestling matches and tournaments and more Colonial League contests than ever before!
Before we dive deep into examining the playoff picture (which will be our next blog entry), a few observations on the boys and girls seasons we just completed.
In the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, quite a few teams proved to separate themselves as this season wore on. On the girls side, Emmaus proved that their magical run a year ago was not a fluke and was the only team to go through the league undefeated. They enter the postseason currently first in both the league and the District XI 6A standings. Easton, Liberty, Parkland, Nazareth, Central Catholic, Bethlehem Catholic and Dieruff were the Lehigh Valley teams that also had good seasons and will have chances to compete in the playoffs. All of those teams posted some impressive wins during the season and it should make for a competitive post-season in their respective classifications.
On the boys EPC side, it seems clear that Pocono West, Central Catholic, Whitehall, Liberty and (after a rare rocky December) Parkland were in the upper “echelon” this season. Northampton has been inconsistent, but has beaten several good teams (including Central) and came into the season very young in terms of varsity experience. Any of these teams are capable of beating another team on any given night. (Note for next winter, most of these teams have very few graduating seniors in their rotations.)
There were a number of standout individual performances this winter (including Adrian Brito, A.J. Hines and Jake Pukszyn, who all should get consideration for most valuable for their respective teams), but I’ll be shocked if Jahrel Vigo doesn’t get the MVP award when league honors are released later this month.
ATVN will have first round EPC playoff action starting this Friday (check out our broadcasting plans/schedules here on our website).
The Colonial League playoffs also get underway Friday evening. The boys teams from Notre Dame-Green Pond, Lehighton (making their debut in the Colonial League this year) and Northwestern had great regular seasons. Those three teams will be favored to get into the league’s semifinal round (ATVN will broadcast those games slated for Wednesday).
On the Colonial League girls side, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Palmerton Northern Lehigh, Wilson and Pen Argyl were among the top squads this winter and all should be in the mix for both league and district championship hopes. Their semi-final playoff coverage on ATVN begins Tuesday evening.
Now, here’s some of the top recent plays for boys and girls teams featured on the Astound TV Network.
Astound TV Network Sports: Emmaus vs. Parkland (1/25)
Astound TV Network Sports: Pen Argyl vs. Notre Dame Green Pond (1/25)
Astound TV Network Sports: Allentown Central Catholic vs. Parkland (1/25)
Astound TV Network Sports: Whitehall vs. Allen (1/25)
Copies of all of ATVN’s broadcasts and sports productions are available by contacting the Astound TV Network’s studios.
The views expressed in this blog arethose of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound Broadband or any other agency, organization, employer or company.
In honor of Black History Month, the Astound TV Network pays tribute to one of the great sports accomplishments and the enduring social legacy of Jackie Robinson, by featuring the biopic about his struggles and successes, on ATVN.
For as great a baseball player and tremendous all-around athlete as he was, Jackie Robinson more than held his own on the silver screen portraying himself in the classic film, “The Jackie Robinson Story.”
Robinson became the first African-American to break the color barrier by playing professional baseball as a second baseman for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947.
The movie, filmed and released during the peak of his baseball career in 1950, outlined his life and focused on his struggles against racial prejudices and social injustices he faced to first play…and then excel…as a major league baseball player.
The racism Robinson endured started well before his professional playing days. After graduating from college he was denied an opportunity to be a baseball coach, before he was even offered his first pro baseball contract. The film also connects with his education and home life and his tour of duty fighting for the United States Army in World War II.
Some of the best moments of this film are the inspirational messages he receives throughout his life, from various sources and from people of different races and economic levels. One of the best speeches comes from Robinson himself when he delivers a message to the House of Representatives reflecting on his struggles for equality. He also humbly addresses the inequalities of baseball, eloquently telling of its incredible prejudices and of the malicious acts he had to endure – even initially from within his own clubhouse.
The courage and class that Jackie shows throughout all these ordeals made the emotional impact of the scenes even more real and palatable for viewers to get a sense of what he went through. The impact of these scenes hit home even more when you realize that it was Robinson himself reliving (and acting through) these real life events.
In 2006, the film was recognized by the American Film Institute’s top 100 films in the “100 Cheers” category.
“The Jackie Robinson Story” also features equally emotional and courageous scenes from Ruby Dee, playing the role of Jackie’s wife, Rae, along with stellar performances by Louise Beavers (portraying Jackie’s mother) and veteran character actor Minor Watson, who signed Robinson to his professional baseball contract.
Alfred E. Green, who was no stranger to great biopic films, also did a credible job mixing in realistic baseball scenes while also framing and highlighting the key personal moments and private conversations in the movie that were so integral in the retelling of Jackie’s journey.
Years later, the movie “42” took a more modern view of Robinson’s tremendous accomplishments and epic struggles. Although that too is also a great film, both baseball supporters and non-athletic fans alike really must see the original version of Robinson’s life story, featuring the man himself, who transcended sports in multiple ways, complete with his brilliant acting performance in his own film.
You can see “The Jackie Robinson Story” airing this month on the Astound TV Network.
The views expressed in this blog arethose of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound or any other agency, organization, employer or company.
The final week of the regular season is almost here, and of the seven boys basketball teams in the Poconos, three playoff futures are still to be determined.
The two with the clearest path are Notre Dame – East Stroudsburg and Pleasant Valley. In short: if both teams at least two of their final games, they’re in district playoffs. The Spartans currently stand at 9-9 in Class 1A with Catasauqua, Wilson, Moravian Academy and East Stroudsburg South left on the schedule. Senior guard Preston Protheroe has done all he can up to this point, scoring at a ridiculous clip. In their last win against Lehigh Christian, he had help from fellow senior Marc Jackett, who led the way with 27 points. If they can win two of their last four, Notre Dame will qualify and likely play Weatherly in a play-in game in the 1A district tournament.
Pleasant Valley’s path has no room for error. After a Thursday night loss to Stroudsburg, the 9-11 Bears must win their final two games against East Stroudsburg South and Moravian Academy to qualify as the 10th team in the 6A district playoff bracket. Bobby Hahn’s squad should be favored in their final two games, especially with Pocono Player of the Year candidate Zach Prator and rising star Sebastian Sacci. Then again, they were favored against Stroudsburg.
The last team with an unclear future is East Stroudsburg North. The Timberwolves are hanging on to the final spot in the Clas 5A rankings, and they’ve helped that case by winning against South and Stroudsburg this week who are, despite their record, two 6A schools which the power ranking looks favorable upon. The math challenge is Athens Area, a District 4 team with five games remaining on its schedule, including a four-game stretch in six days. If Athens Area gets to .500 or better, it’s possible the team could leapfrog two others to get that final spot. If not, the power rankings favor North.
Regarding the other four teams: Pocono Mountain West and East have long since clinched their spot in the district playoffs. Those teams are still fighting for EPC playoff positioning though, as West wants that 1-seed, and East could be anywhere from the 5-seed to the 8-seed depending on the Cardinals’ final game against North.
Stroudsburg and South have both been rebuilding this season with the young players on their rosters. The Mounties have a number of guys who are promising, from Tae El-Bassiouni to Jarel Jackson to Joshua Ivers-Green. The Cavaliers don’t have as much, but Julian Acevedo and Joshua Levine should be good players for them, along with several rising freshmen and sophomores that are hungry and ready to compete.
The girls side of the mountain is much more clear-cut. Stroudsburg is far and away the best team this year, led by 1,000-point scorer McKayla Strunk. The Mounties’ attention is on performing well in the postseason.
Pocono Mountain East and Notre Dame – East Stroudsburg are pleasant surprises after being at the bottom of the mountain last year. East is third and Notre Dame is second in their respective classes, and while they’re not the favorites to win the title, an appearance in the district and maybe state tournament should serve as good experience. A lot of credit should go to East coach Ben Battle, who took the job almost as late as you can and still made this team competitive. The Spartans also have a bright spot – junior guard Olivia Protheroe, who broke the single-game girls scoring record with 50 points against Lehigh Christian.
North, South and Pleasant Valley leave little to be discussed, but West, who has a lot of young talent coming through the ranks, look to have more sustainable success in the future with Emma Campusano and Zyairrah Lanier.
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound or any other agency, organization, employer or company.
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Lehigh Valley – Channel 4, or 1004 in HD
Delaware Valley – Channel 8, or 608 in HD
NEPA - Channel 4
Washington, DC - Channel 8, or 678 in HD
ATVN Valley Connection - Channel 96
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