As I write this on January 18, 2016, I am reminded that exactly one year ago today the New England Patriots defeated the Indianapolis Colts by a 45-7 score in the AFC Championship.  Prior to the start of the game and during the game, the Colts accused the Patriots of underinflating the footballs.  Tom Brady was at one point suspended for four games to start this season, only to have the punishment upheld twice on appeal and then have it eventually rescinded because a judge found that there was an absence of “fairness and due process”.

“Deflategate” became the center of fans’ attention and media controversy for months on end.  Nothing similar has caused a stir this year, but that doesn’t mean the NFL has been without its share of on and off-field problems.  It’s just that the microscope has not been as focused on team and player conduct.  The Cincinnati-Pittsburgh debacle during the Wild Card weekend may have changed that as rule violation after rule violation occurred.  Lest you think this has been a very quiet year for the NFL as far as conduct is concerned, let me give you some interesting facts:

There have been 16 players suspended this year for a total of 49 games.  The common infractions were labeled as “violation of league’s personal conduct policy”, but they also included punching and breaking the jaw of a teammate, domestic violence, vehicular assault, poking an eye, helmet-to-helmet contact, and repeated violations of safety-related playing rules.  Vontaze Burfict of the Cincinnati Bengals was recently accused of the latter and was suspended for three games next season.  He was certainly no angel in the Pittsburgh game.

Violations of the NFL drug policy are considered separate from the previous infractions.  That is a separate category.  Substance infractions fall under two headings – 1) those that improve performance; 2) those that are for recreational use.

Fifty-three players were suspended for these infractions this year accounting for 189 games. Not included in that number are the four players who were suspended for the entire season and two who are listed as “indefinite suspensions”.

And, by the way, two coaches were suspended for 1) punching a teenager and 2) an undisclosed violation.  In addition, the league suspended a general manager for texting his personnel during a game, two equipment handlers, and an official for his failure to catch an 18-second mistake on the clock.

That is a total of 108 individuals associated with the NFL who required severe discipline by the league.  It is a shame we do not hear more about the exemplary players who do a great deal for their community and various charities.  Those players do not seek out the headlines, nor do their stories garner much attention.  But then there are those who proclaim that they “are not role models”. I hope young people take those athletes at their word.  Because, obviously, too many of them are not.

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)

1. I’m sure that Eagles fans saw “déjà vu all over again” as Yogi used to say, when they watched the horrible clock management by Andy Reid on Saturday night when the Chiefs lost to the Patriots. If you watched the end of each half, I’m sure you were appalled at the total ineptness to control the clock in obvious scoring situations.  That is, unless you remember how the Eagles used to do it.
2. I invite you to read Greg Joyce’s highly entertaining piece in the Express-Times on former Liberty player Greg Noack, whose basketball season at Monmouth was curtailed due to concussions. He and some teammates, known as the Monmouth Bench Mob, have become nationally known for their sideline antics.  It’s a great story.  Click here to read it.

3. The Eagles hired Doug Pederson on Monday to be their new head coach. He was a career backup quarterback (3-14 in 17 games).  As the offensive coordinator in Kansas City, he did not call the plays.  His head coaching experience was in high school with the Calvary Baptist Academy.  Keep your fingers crossed!
4. All the home teams won in the NFL this past weekend. I hope you got to see the end of the Packers and Cardinals overtime game.  Just amazing!!
5. It’s the first match-up of the season Saturday when the Lafayette men play Lehigh in Patriot League basketball. If you are snowed in (which might be the case), give the game a look.  It’s LIVE on RCN at 2:00pm.

NFL PICKS LAST WEEK – 10-6; OVERALL 160-96 (63%)
NFL PICKS (WILD CARD) – 3-1
NFL DIVISIONAL PLAYOFFS – 3-1; PLAYOFFS (6-2)
 

CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP PICKS
NEW ENGLAND
CAROLINA

Maybe it was the lack of snow or the warmer-than-normal temperatures over the last month, but it is really hard to believe we are at the halfway point of the scholastic basketball season.  Here’s three Eastern Pennsylvania Conference-related observations from the first half of the winter sports campaign.

Parkland looks even better than last year

They not only have practically the same team back from a year ago, but they have more depth and can beat you in more ways than they did during last season’s run to the state playoffs.  They barely missed a beat without some of their football players on board to start the season—giving the “reserves” an extended varsity experience.  However, the returning players seem even more determined than a year ago, and I don’t think anything less than a state title game is what they are setting their sights on.

The only question might be what teams they’ll face—and when—in the PIAA tournament.  There’ll be several of the high-octane offenses from Philadelphia that love to push the tempo and Parkland doesn’t get a whole lot of chances to see that from teams in the Lehigh Valley—not to the extent of the Philly teams.  However, the team has gotten some significant tests early (and a couple more still to come before states).   I would be surprised if the seniors refuse to take every opportunity to match the football team’s success, and it certainly looks like they have the weapons to go much deeper into the state playoffs.

Central’s coming on strong
I saw Central Catholic a few times in December, and, they looked like a young team that had a ton of potential, and, after going through some growing pains, they would eventually have great success.

I’m not sure if Santa granted the Vikings a flash forward to their learning curve, but in the times I’ve seen them since Christmas, it seems like the younger players are not only buying into the team-defense approach, but they are becoming much more comfortable playing—and scoring—together on the court.  I think some of the Class 3A teams were hoping Central Catholic might have to wait until next year to once again be considered the favorite in the District XI playoffs, but the way the Vikings have been playing the last few weeks, I think they have a great chance at being in the EPC playoffs as well as being the ‘team-to-beat’ in their district classification.

Freedom as a dark horse?
There are some interesting teams in the “Steel” division of the EPC—and probably several of those teams could make the playoffs with a quality run over the next few weeks.  If I had to pick one of them to surprise area basketball fans over the next month, I’m leaning toward Freedom.

They have one of the area’s best head coaches (Joe Stellato), a great coaching staff, and some really good athletes.  On paper, they may not be the best team, but they’ve had some nice wins and have been “in” most of their losses.  Not many people are picking the Patriots to do much in the post-season, but of all the teams not directly in the area’s media spotlight, I think Freedom might be one team to make some noise over the next month.

Allen and Whitehall were also featured on RCN-TV recently and are two more teams that have played well this season.  With a number of talented teams, the Canaries, Zephyrs and a few other teams all very well could contend in the playoffs this February.  Also, Bethlehem Catholic was a team to watch on our basketball preview show back in December, and they have done very little to disappoint so far.

We’ll have more opinions and video highlights of other high school sports teams, in addition to wrestling videos, coming up over the next several weeks here at the “SportsTalk Shop.”

Also, keep checking back to the RCN-TV website for our schedule the latest games to be broadcast on RCN-TV and feel free to send your sports comments and opinions to us at RCNSporsTalk@rcn.com

The NFL got real serious this past weekend with the start of the playoffs.  It’s called Wild Card Weekend.  I picked three of the four games correctly, but should have had three out of four wrong!  Two teams lost that should have never lost.  Here are my thoughts on the four games:

Kansas City at Houston
The Kansas City Chiefs had not won a playoff game in 22 years.  Their last win was against the Houston Oilers in 1994.  They were led by Joe Montana and Marcus Allen.  Even though they had to travel to Houston, since they were the Wild Card entry, they were favored to win this game and they did not disappoint.  It took 11 seconds for Knile Davis to go 106 yards with the opening kickoff and that turned out to be enough points to win the game.  The Chiefs won 30-0.  The hometown crowd was booing their own team by the second quarter and Houston’s ineptness never changed throughout the game.  Texan QB Brian Hoyer was just awful throwing four interceptions and losing a fumble.  The Chiefs have now won 11 games in a row and are the hottest team in the NFL.

Is there a bit more Philadelphia anguish attached to this win because the Chiefs are led by former Eagles’ coach Andy Reid?  And the Chiefs could beat the New England Patriots – they are on a roll (the Patriots lost their last two games); they are 7-3 on the road; and they, obviously, are strong on defense.

Pittsburgh at Cincinnati
I must admit I had trouble watching this game – there were so many cheap shots, so much trash talking, and so little control by the coaches and the officials of their players and staff that all of my enjoyment was lost.  And the final straw was the hit by the Bengals’ Vontaze Burfict on the Steelers’ Antonio Brown which, to me, was an obvious attempt to seriously maim the wide receiver.  It was an ugly moment.  And then the Bengals during the same sequence pick up another 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.  So with 0:18 seconds on the clock, the Steelers were awarded 30 yards in penalties after gaining 44 yards on their own and left with a “chip shot” field goal to win the game 18-16.  I picked Pittsburgh.  They should have lost.

This game was an embarrassment to the NFL and each play should be reviewed to fairly assess all of the warranted fines and suspensions.  And there must be a message sent here by the league.  In particular, Vontaze Burflict must be punished severely 

Seattle at Minnesota
It was -6 degrees when this game started and the weather kept both offenses in the deep freeze.  The Vikings led all the way until a Viking fumble led to a go-ahead field goal with 1:42 to go in the game.  Seattle was up 10-9.  The Vikings were aided by a pass interference call and drove deep into Seattle territory.  The game-winning field goal would be a 27-yarder, pretty much automatic by high school, college, and NFL standards.  The kick by Blair Walsh was wide left and the Seahawks won.  Someone noted Walsh’s new Vikings’ jersey:

Or do you agree more with this post about the Vikings:

I picked the Seahawks and should have, also, had this one wrong.

Green Bay at Washington
I should have known better.  For some reason, I really felt like the Redskins would be able to beat the Packers.  I could not believe I felt this way, but the Packers had been so inconsistent, particularly their running game and they had lost their last two games and looked bad doing it.  And the Redskins were playing their first playoff game under head coach Jay Gruden and with a revived Kirk Cousins.  When DeSean Jackson did not score when he should have and I was reminded of the problems he caused the Eagles, I should have been forewarned about the outcome.  11-0 should have been 15-0.  All of a sudden, Aaron Rodgers played like Aaron Rodgers and the rest of the game was dominated by the Pack.

I picked the Redskins.  I hope I learn from my mistakes.

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)

1. After watching football all day on Sunday, I watched the golf tournament from Hawaii. That was almost as hard to watch as the Pittsburgh – Cincinnati game.  The setting was so beautiful, the golf course was magnificent, and Jordan Spieth ran away with the tournament.  I was jealous.  But it was nice to see athletes compete and be cordial to one another.  No trash talking.
2. I mentioned last week that the decision to play the NCAA national college football semifinals on New Year’s Eve was just awful. The ratings dropped around 38% for the two games.  Well, guess what?  The NCAA decided to do it again next year, January 1 the following year, and New Year’s Eve the following two years.  Who is running the asylum, I mean, the Association?
3. Just in case you are not keeping up with the other Philadelphia teams – the ‘76ers are now 4-36. They are four games ahead of the Lakers in the loss column.  The Lakers are 8-31.  Six teams have fewer wins than the Flyers; 24 have better records.  When is spring training?
4. So the Eagles are interviewing Tom Coughlin this week for the head coaching job. Rebuilding with a 70-year-old coach??  No way, but picking Coughlin’s brain in a subtle way about the Giants, the NFC East, and Coughlin’s assistants may be a good idea.  Dumb or smart like a fox?  Wait and see.
5. No high school basketball team in the area is better than Parkland, but it sure is hard to figure out the rest of the competition. Emmaus, Allen, Whitehall, Central, Freedom, Beca, Liberty, Northampton, Pocono Mountain West, and Nazareth would really battle for the Conference title if not for Parkland.

NFL PICKS LAST WEEK – 10-6; OVERALL 160-96 (63%)
NFL PICKS (WILD CARD) – 3-1

KANSAS CITY

DENVER

CAROLINA

ARIZONA

While I always enjoy an extended vacation and quality time at home with my family during the holidays, I was excited to get back into the local high school basketball scene this past week and to talk with some of the local players, coaches and media members about the first few weeks of the hoops season.

There are several interesting storylines developing in the District XI region.  Here are three of note:

1) Salisbury is good—AGAIN…
I honestly don’t know if there’s a more underrated head basketball coach than Jason Weaver…and a more underrated program than his Salisbury basketball team.  We’ve been touting Weaver and his programs for years on both the TV edition of “SportsTalk” and on this blog.  Every season he has a winning team—and most years he loses most (all?) of his entire core of players to graduation, only to come back the following year and find success.  And not only do his teams rebuild during the offseason and have good years—but they always play well out of the game—something truly extraordinary when you’re bringing in nearly a whole new set of starters most seasons.

They’re coming off a huge win over previously undefeated Bangor (a 4A school) and have a few other 4A-level teams on its non-conference schedule over the next few weeks.  Despite not getting much hype, the Falcons look like they will “surprise” people again in February, when they most likely will play deep in the league and district playoff rounds.

2) …and so are a number of other Colonial League teams.
Salisbury does not own a monopoly on quality basketball play in the Colonial League this winter.  Bangor and Southern Lehigh have just one league loss—both losing its first Colonial game of the year last week (both losses to Salisbury).  Both teams are well-balanced and led by incredibly knowledgeable head coaches, and both the Slaters and the Spartans had battle-tested contests one year ago, which will help them come crunch time(s) this winter.

Also, don’t count out the teams that got a late start due to their school’s football team playing late into the fall.  Saucon Valley, Notre Dame and Catasauqua all posted wins over quality opponents last weekend, and all three teams have climbed back above .500 in league play.

Once more, there’s some interesting head-to-head battles over the next few weeks, which include (but are not limited to):

Jan. 13
Southern Lehigh at Bangor
Catty at Saucon Valley
Northwestern at Notre Dame-GP

Jan. 15 (and again on Jan. 25)
Saucon Valley at Notre Dame-GP

Jan. 22
Saucon Valley at Bangor (on RCN-TV)
Southern Lehigh at Catty

Jan. 25
Salisbury at Notre Dame-GP

Jan. 26
Saucon Valley at Salisbury

Jan. 28
Catty at Notre Dame
Southern Lehigh at Saucon Valley

Feel free to check out the Colonial League’s website  for the latest league news, scores and schedules.

Don’t forget, RCN-TV is scheduled to broadcast the Colonial League semifinals as well as the boys and girls championship games.  Keep checking back to the RCN-TV website for scheduling updates!

3) Glovas returns!
After an outstanding playing career at DeSales University and becoming one of the schools’ all-time top scorers, Sondrine Glovas has returned to Wilson High School to continue her career as the head coach of the same Warriors program that she once played for.  In addition to a tremendous student-athlete career and being a standout player in a high quality collegiate program, Glovas benefitted from legendary Bulldogs Head Coach Fred Richter and his outstanding staff in preparing her to take over at her alma mater.

Glovas’ Warriors have gotten off to a good start and have their targets set on qualifying for a District XI playoff appearance this winter.

Keep checking back here at the “SportsTalk Shop” for more winter sports updates and news and features on teams and players in the RCN viewing area.  Next week we’ll put the spotlight on our local wrestling teams with video highlights and insights for next week’s blog entry.  We’ll also be talking wrestling on this Thursday’s “RCN SportsTalk” show (live, 7-8pm on RCN-TV) and featuring long-time wrestling Head Coach Dave Crowell and members of the Nazareth wrestling team, along with a feature on the Bangor wrestling program.  The podcast of the show will also be available on Friday and can be found at rcn.com/atvn/sports-talk.

Finally, a big “THANK YOU” to all the people who voted for and watched the “Best of RCN-TV” marathon on New Year’s Day.  The event was a huge hit and while the RCN marketing team developed the idea and deserve all the credit, I’d like to think “RCN SportsTalk” had a tiny role in the outcome, as one of our programs—“NFL Draft Preview”—was one of the shows selected as the “best of” for 2015.  Again, thanks for voting for all of our RCN-TV programs and we are already planning on another NFL draft-oriented preview show once again in 2016.

Each New Year we are made to feel guilty because we adopt resolutions for ourselves that we rarely keep.  Supposedly, this tradition was started by the Babylonians when they promised to pay off their debts.  Well, now there is a tradition we have maintained – Always being in debt.

In medieval times, the New Year caused knights to vow to be chivalrous.  The last time I checked there are very few knights around these days and chivalry does not seem to be all that abundant either.  The overall concept, it appears, was for each of us to aspire to self-improvement.  I guess we could all do a little introspection, so I did.

Since I rarely ever even think about New Year’s resolutions, I sought some guidance to come up with some.  I found a list of the top ten so I analyzed them for myself:

1. Spend More Time With Family and Friends  I like the concept, but I think my family and friends see just about enough of me.  I have no way of gauging this, but no one seems to be clamoring to spend more time with me.  I’m hoping it’s already just enough.
2. Fit in Fitness  This sounds clever and healthy.  I know exercise is good for you, but who has the time.  Between working and “spending more time with family and friends”, fitness takes a backseat.
3. Tame the Bulge  I know 66% of Americans are considered overweight or, even worse, obese.  I am not obese and I am usually in the majority (overweight).  No need to be “taming” anything yet.
4. Quit Smoking  Never started, so I’ll make this resolution.  Accomplished!
5. Enjoy Life More  Now here is a resolution I can wrap my head around.  I will do my very absolute best to fulfill this resolution, so if it looks like I am trying to finish this blog quickly, see #5.
6. Quit Drinking  I do not drink very much as it is, but what about those people who are telling me to drink wine in moderation?  Do I just snub them and run the risk of spending less time with friends?  See #1 – I am confused.
7. Get Out of Debt  This is a leftover from the Babylonians.  If we couldn’t fulfill this resolution thousands of years ago, what makes you think it will work now?
8. Learn Something New  Learn a new language, a new hobby, more do-it-yourself stuff, to become more tech savvy?  Nah – See #5.
9. Help Others  I like this one.  I will do my best.  Do you need me to do anything for you?
10. Get Organized  At work, I am very organized; at home, not so much, but I married a great organizer.

I think I have figured out this resolution thing.  If you have a good job, a nice family, good friends, and a wonderful wife, there is only one resolution that really matters –Don’t change anything!

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)

1. This past Sunday was not the best time for the Eagles to play well, since the only thing that was accomplished was playing Seattle at Seattle next year and not playing Kansas City in London. Am I yawning?  I apologize.
2. Am I the only one who thinks the decision by Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg to go into the NFL draft was a good one – FOR PENN STATE! In the games I have watched, dare I say, I was less than impressed.  I will be very interested in what the NFL thinks.
3. Who are the geniuses who thought it would be a good idea to put the FBS college football semifinals on New Year’s Eve? Is this really what ESPN wanted for their huge investment – a ratings drop of 38.5% for game one?  The late game between Alabama and Michigan State dropped 36.8%.  Besides agreeing to have a ridiculous number of bowl games (mostly bad), this decision is even worse when you are trying to showcase the best of college football when most people just want to party.  I watched one and taped the other which kept me up until 2:30 AM.  I’m still cranky.
4. I know you can’t wait for my NFL picks each week. I had 63% correct for the year.  And I picked 63% of the division winners, also, getting Denver, Cincinnati, New England, Carolina, and Minnesota correct.  I did not pick Houston, Seattle, or Washington to win their divisions.
5. If you watch the FCS championship (that is the Lafayette and Lehigh group) on Saturday from Frisco, Texas on ESPN2, look for the familiar face of the field judge. He is our local football, basketball, and baseball official, Frank DAngelo.  He is very good in every sport.  Congratulations to him.

NFL PICKS LAST WEEK – 10-6; OVERALL 160-96 (63%)

NFL PICKS (WILD CARD)
KANSAS CITY
PITTSBURGH
SEATTLE
WASHINGTON
           

We had a chance last week to address some of the top stories in 2015.  We’ll identify one more “award” here in this week’s blog entry along with a few predictions I’d like to make for the new year (if you read my blog last year, you’ll remember that I do hold myself accountable and will correctly identify if I get my predictions right or wrong!)

Best Story of 2015:  Four District XI State Championship teams in a single “sports season”
There have been some tremendous state champions over the years, but there has also been a number of sports seasons in which no team from the Lehigh Valley  team ends their season with state gold medal.  However, this past spring, there were not one, or two, or three, but FOUR different teams that captured a PIAA title (this doesn’t include individual honors for tennis and track-and-field).  Parkland boys volleyball team, the Parkland and Bethlehem Catholic softball teams and the Moravian Academy tennis teams all won high school’s biggest prize.  We had the pleasure of hearing the stories of all of those teams on “SportsTalk” this summer—each one with its share of challenges en route to the championship.  Just to have one representative from an area that is dwarfed in school enrollment numbers by the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh schools is pretty impressive, but it was tremendous to have four outstanding programs from the Lehigh Valley viewing area win state gold, all within a few weeks of each other.

Now, as promised, some predictions for 2016:

1. Philly pro sports teams will win LESS games in 2016

Wait, they’ll win less games.  Is that even possible?

Well consider this…

The Eagles are going to have to rebuild and the NFC “Least” cannot possibly be worse, and this fall’s schedule wasn’t really all that tough to begin with, so their level of competition will be tougher next year.  The Birds will need at least one year to turn around the mess that Chip Kelly has left behind.  Plus, they desperately need to find value in a draft—one that was depleted thanks to the Sam Bradford trade.  Plus, with the 13^th overall pick they’re not going to find a front-line premiere position player.  Add in the fact that some of your top players will be a year older and you still have to revamp the offensive line, receiving corps, a couple defensive updates and…oh, yeah, decide on a quarterback.  Yeah, I don’t think an increase in the win total is likely, much less a playoff berth for the Eagles in 2016.

The Phillies will be starting the season without some very talented names from last year’s team, among them Chase Utley, Cole Hamels, Ken Giles, an optimist’s version of Aaron Harang (remember how good he was the first half of the year?)  Plus, Ryan Howard, Carlos Ruiz and other veterans are a year older—with slower bat speeds and a higher percentage of injury.  I like the team’s strategy of going after some “reclamation projects” and “diamond in the rough” gambles for next year—hoping to get a player or two you can hold onto until the younger, blue-chip prospects get here in 2017.  But, while the youngsters will be fun to watch, the Phillies will probably challenge their 99-loss season again in ‘16.

The Flyers have been playing better of late, but when I consult with the hockey experts I know, they’re not real thrilled with the current crop of players, nor are they optimistic  about a fast rebound in 2016.

The 76ers are already surpassing last year’s record of mediocrity and won’t win a ton of games the rest of this season to surpass last year’s level of mediocrity.  Next year’s highly important draft picks?  Even if they do hit the jackpot and are able to land a few HUGE names, they won’t be able to gel competently for the first few months.  We’ll find out if the “Hinkie plan” is a success in 2017 or 2018, but pro basketball fans will actually have to suffer another calendar year of futility, before we even get a chance to find that out.

2. The District XI 5A football tournament may be renamed the Spartan/Zephyr Bowl

In additional to this classification being one of the smallest groups (in terms of number of teams), the new “5A” looks to be dominated by two teams.

Whitehall, of course, has been playing—and winning—against larger schools for years.  Despite the numbers disadvantage, the Zephyrs have faired quite well, if not better than, other current 4A schools in the area.  There’s no reason to think they won’t continue their success and be perennial favorites in this new classification.

Southern Lehigh, meanwhile, has become perhaps the most consistently winning program (along with Northwestern) in recent Colonial League history.  The talent level continues to rise every year, and a number of talented juniors and sophomores, from this past fall’s team, all will be returning.  There’ll be something seriously wrong if the Spartans don’t parlay their current and future players into multiple championship appearances, along with capturing the school’s first ever district title, at some point on the foreseeable horizon.

Don’t be surprised if the PIAA turns this into a “Subregional” (with District XI schools playing teams from other areas in the playoff’s first round) like the current 4A teams have been doing.  Otherwise, you may just see Southern Lehigh and Whitehall squaring off against each other for the District XI championship for many years to come.

3. The Wizards,  Nats AND Redskins – will have even greater success in 2016

I think all three programs are headed in the right direction, and each organization has quality people making personnel decisions.  I like some of the moves the Nationals have made so far as they are continuing their search to acquire depth.  This was an area of concern from a year ago and I think they will make the necessary tweaks to give Washington fans their long-awaited playoff appearance in 2016.   The Redskins will be without the distraction of Robert Griffin III next year and will add the certainty of a proven quarterback—along with another year of experience for some of the young talent acquired last season.  If they can add quality players through this year’s NFL Draft and a few key free agency signings, they can absolutely add more victories in the coming year.

I wrote last summer about how much confidence I have in the Wizards to add around the solid core of John Wall, and my contacts around the DC area have given no indication that I should change that opinion.  In fact, I think the chances of an extra winning playoff series is much more likely this summer than it was a year ago.

Imagine a 2016 with all four major sports teams in the playoffs?  I think you can probably count on it!

Feel free to email us your sports predictions for 2016 to RCNSportsTalk@rcn.com and join us on Thursdays, 7-8 pm on RCN-TV and on our podcasts here on the website for topical conversations and interviews with special guests dealing with sports in the RCN viewing area.  We’ll resume our live shows this week, so tune in!

Each year, I usually spend the final few weeks of December reflecting back on all the exciting, rewarding and positive (and sometimes not so positive) sports moments in the RCN viewing area.  We try to come up with some new “awards” each time to keep it fresh and to touch on several different levels of competition of interest to those in our coverage area.

Here are some of our top teams and stories from this past year, and we’ll have more reflections, in addition to a look ahead, in next week’s “SportsTalk Shop” as well.

Biggest Surprise:   The Nationals NOT winning the division…let alone the pennant.
There are no “sure things” in sports but the Nats certainly seemed like—on paper—they were one of the best two teams in the National League.  But injuries, chemistry, managing and then Jonathan Papelbon “happened,” and the team didn’t even qualify for a wild card berth.  We’ll have more on what to expect from Washington coming up in next week’s blog entry.

Nicest Team: Nazareth Blue Eagles Girls Basketball Team
While Easton might have the best girls’ high school basketball team in the District XI (PA) region this winter, the Blue Eagles had the best team on the court during the 2015 scholastic season.  We had the opportunity to speak with a number of them on “RCN SportsTalk” this past year, and the ladies were as classy and well-spoken as they were talented.  Don’t rule out another Nazareth/Easton meeting in a championship matchup again in 2016.

Biggest Enigma: 76ers
One of the largest amounts of emails I received this past year was when I made a comment that I had “reservations” about the Sam Hinkie plan—to lose games in order to increase the organization’s chances of drafting top-quality picks and improve the club a few years down the road.

The comment came after news that previous top draft pick Joel Embiid was hurt more seriously than thought—and he might not play again—ever!

While I didn’t say that I was against “The Process” philosophy, I had some questions if it was proceeding in the correct fashion.  After the show I received a TON of complaints about my statement, virtually everyone saying that they thought the losing was great, they’re completely on-board with everything going on and that they were excited about this team’s direction.

More on the future of the 76ers in next week’s blog, but for now, (which, by the way, is “year three” of this endeavor) we saw the worst point-total loss in the franchise’s history and a near-record number of losses to start a year.  That streak, combined with the way the team finished last year, resulted in a record number of losses by a professional sports team—EVER.

If people think this is the way to go…so be it.  But, in my opinion, my reservations and cautions have not been reduced by what I saw in the final months of 2015.  And judging by the December hiring of Jerry Colangelo as a “special advisor,” the Sixers have some reason for pause as well.

Best Comebacks: Saucon Valley & Notre Dame-Green Pond HS Football teams
By definition, there can be no better turnaround than the Crusaders bouncing back from a 0-10 season in 2014 to setting a school record with 11 wins in 2015.  This year’s team also captured the school’s first ever pair of District XI playoff victories.  They also reached their first ever PIAA state playoffs before falling to a very talented Dunmore team.  However, many of this year’s  players’ accomplishments and their records will probably stand for quite some time.

The Panthers—a comeback story?  Didn’t they win the Colonial League last year and get to the District Championship game?  Yes, they did, but they wanted more.  Not only did they avenge last year’s painful loss to Bethlehem Catholic, but they went about their goals in a very workmanlike approach.  They also kept their focus—something often lost among the modern- day athletes.  They didn’t hang their heads and sulk about how last season ended, but they sought out a higher set of goals—and achieved them.  A District XI 3A championship and state playoff victories over Selingsgrove (a perennial state playoff program) and Scranton Prep were achieved as this year’s Panther team became the greatest football team in Saucon Valley history.

Most Impressive Performance: The Philadelphia boys/girls basketball state champions
Back in March, we talked about the dominance of the Philly schools in the scholastic basketball circles.  They had representatives in each championship game and won most of them, which speaks volume to both the talent level of the players, but also the coaches in the Southeastern PA region.  It’s one thing to have a great team on paper (see the Nationals—above), but to keep teenagers’ focus—and to have so many programs from a small area (distance-wise) achieve this—was clearly the standout performance that I witnessed in our viewing area.

Late this past fall, we began covering the Washington, DC area football teams more closely and I was impressed by the limited amount of teams that I had a chance to see in November and early December.  We will continue our coverage of high school sports in the DMV region in 2016 and I look forward to featuring more of those schools and players on both our television show and here at the “Shop” next year!

More “awards,” as well as some predictions for the new year coming up in next week’s blog.

While we hope you enjoy the holiday season, a quick note that we’ll return with new editions of “RCN SportsTalk” (seen live, Thursdays, 7-8 pm on RCN-TV) and our podcasts  resuming on January 7^th.  Among our scheduled discussion topics include George Washington, Georgetown and American University basketball, local high school basketball and wrestling, the NFL playoffs and other pro sports teams in the Philadelphia and DC regions and more!

Last but not least, a very Happy New Year to everyone…and thanks for reading!

from the RCN-TV Staff

NFL PICKS LAST WEEK – 9-7; OVERALL 150-90 (63%)
NFL PICKS (WEEK SEVENTEEN)

JETS
CAROLINA
NEW ENGLAND
CINCINNATI
ATLANTA
HOUSTON
PITTSBURGH
KANSAS CITY
INDIANAPOLIS
WASHINGTON
DETROIT
GIANTS
MINNESOTA
DENVER
ST LOUIS
ARIZONA

Happy Holidays

from the RCN-TV Staff

NFL PICKS LAST WEEK – 10-7; OVERALL 141-83 (63%)

NFL PICKS (WEEK SIXTEEN)
OAKLAND
PHILADELPHIA
DETROIT
PITTSBURGH
BUFFALO
CHICAGO
CAROLINA
INDIANAPOLIS
NEW ENGLAND
HOUSTON
KANSAS CITY
JACKSONVILLE
ARIZONA
SEATTLE
VIKINGS
CINCINNATI

Without question one of the top turnaround success stories on the NCAA basketball court belongs to Head Coach Mike Lonergan and the George Washington men’s basketball program.

After a highly successful tenure at Vermont, Coach Lonergan’s Colonials posted back-to-back 20-plus win seasons for the first time since 2006-07 and have gotten off to an incredible start in the 2015-16 campaign.

After consecutive seasons of NCAA or NIT post-season entries, anyone thinking of a letdown this year has been sadly mistaken.

George Washington came out in mid-November and provided the nation with one of college basketball’s first big losses to a team ranked in the top 10, with a 73-68 win over Virginia.  The Cavaliers were the sixth-ranked team in the country at the time of that contest.  The Colonials continued their dominating performances by winning ten of its first 11 ball games (a perfect 8-0 at home), with many victories coming by a double-digit margin.

Moreover, Lonergan’s guidance has led to a resurgence among the Colonial fan base and an extra level of excitement to his team’s contests at the Smith Center.

We had the opportunity on “RCN SportsTalk” to talk with Coach Lonergan about his GW men’s basketball program, their previous years’ successes and about his team’s hot start to the current season.

Before coming to George Washington, Coach Lonergan had great success at Vermont. His teams compiled a .700 or better winning percentage in four of his last five seasons and qualified for the NCAA tournament in 2010 (overall record 25-10).

Before this season started, George Washington had two players, Patricio Garino and Kevin Larsen, named to the All-Conference Second Team, with Garino also named to the A-10 All-Defense Team.  The Colonials also were picked by A-10 experts to finish in the top four spots in the league this winter.

Pre-season Atlantic-10 Poll

1. Dayton (12 first place votes) – 352 total points
2. Rhode Island (8) – 347
3. Davidson (6) – 329
4. Washington (1) – 285
5. VCU – 277
6. Richmond – 262
7. Saint Joseph’s – 194
8. Bonaventure – 177
9. La Salle – 164
10. Massachusetts – 142
11. Duquesne – 113
12. Saint Louis—96
13. George Mason – 52
14. Fordham — 45

The Colonials are looking to continue their current four-game winning streak through the holiday season, with some intriguing match-ups on the horizon.

Upcoming Schedule

Dec. 22^nd              at DePaul
Dec. 29^th               at UCF
Jan. 3^rd                  vs. Fordham*
Jan. 6^th                  at Saint Louis*
Jan. 9^th                  vs. Duquesne*
Jan. 12th              at UMass*
Jan. 15^th                at Dayton*
Jan. 22^nd               vs. Rhode Island*
*Atlantic-10 Conference games
All home games are played at the Smith Center

We hope that basketball fans check out the Colonials in action as they’ll look to have a number of exciting match-ups coming up over the next few months.  Also, keep checking back to the “SportsTalk Shop” and the “RCN SportsTalk” show for more great guests and insights on this winter’s NCAA basketball season.