I have broadcast well over 4,000 games in my 40+ years at this job, about one-third of them football games.  For the RCN-TV team, this past Saturday’s win by Parkland over Upper Dublin in the PIAA state football semifinal was our final football game for this season.  Parkland will now play for the AAAA state title this Saturday in Hershey.  The game will be on PCN starting at 6:00pm.

As exciting as this season was with the success of our teams, I am never real sad to put away the football clichés for another year (both the coaches’ and mine).  As I was packing away my notes this morning, I looked at some of the things coaches told me and some of the things I wrote down as keys to victory.  Take a look:

“We have to take it one game at a time.” – I know the thought here is that a team may look past another team or the coach does not want to offend the team that they are playing at the time, but really?  You can only play ONE game at a time.  Talk about THAT game and leave the cliché in the closet.

“The other team wanted it more.” – Over all my years of competing and broadcasting, I can’t remember a team NOT WANTING to win.  You cannot practice WANTING TO WIN, but you can face a team that is better than you are on a given night or, even worse, perhaps they were prepared better and that might actually reflect on the coach who was asked, “Coach, what was the difference in the game?”

“He’s deceptively quick.” – Does that mean he looks slow, but isn’t?  Or he’s not as slow as he is …. What?  Am I deceptively handsome and, if so, is that a good thing?  I don’t know either.

“They are better than their record indicates.” – Ouch!!  I use this one often when the teams look like a complete mismatch.  I am just trying to keep you from changing the channel.  That makes me deceptively sneaky, doesn’t it?

“He gave 110%.” – No, he didn’t.  No, he couldn’t.  Need I explain?  And why is it almost always 10% more than you can actually give?  Why not make it 125%?

“He’s a downhill runner.” – What if the field is level (which it is)?  Are there runners who run uphill on a level field?  Who makes this stuff up?  And why do I continue to use it?

There are certainly many others (“The defense bends, but doesn’t break”; “The quarterback had all day to throw”, etc.), but you have heard them time and time again and I have probably said them time and time again.  But what can I say, “I write this column one blog at a time and try to give 110% and I think it is better than what others might indicate.”

Get the picture?

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)

1. Saucon Valley was one of the top four teams in the state in the AAA football bracket and they were beaten on Friday night by a 72-27 score by Imhotep Charter. Imhotep is a private school and gets players from all of Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey.  I know the PIAA does not want to consider separating private and public schools for their championships, but something seems wrong when these two teams compete on equal footing.
2. Parkland is everyone’s favorite to win the EPC, but without their football players, they have started 2-3; 2-1 in the conference. They have Pleasant Valley and Northampton this week and should win both.  Next Tuesday, however, they will play Central Catholic and the football players, at best, will have one day of practice.  We will broadcast the Central game.
3. How about Moravian Academy? They did not win a game last year.  They are already 3-1 overall and 3-0 in the Colonial League East.  I would be shocked if they compete for the title, but there has certainly been some marked improvement.
4. I’m sure you are all wondering, “How is Gary doing with his NFL season predictions made before the season started? In the AFC, after 14 weeks, I picked every current first place team – New England, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, and Denver correctly.  In the NFC, I picked the Packers, Seattle, Carolina, and the Eagles to win their divisions.  Only the Eagles are tied for first.  The others are in first place by themselves.  A perfect 8 for 8.  Now you know why I brought this up.
5. The Eagles are tied with Washington and the Giants at the moment and have the Cardinals (uh, oh), the ‘Skins and the Giants left. The ‘Skins have the Bills, the Eagles, and the Cowboys left.  And the Giants have Carolina, the Vikings, and the Eagles left.  Very, very interesting!

NFL PICKS LAST WEEK – 10-6; OVERALL 129-79 (62%)
NFL PICKS (WEEK FIFTEEN)

ST LOUIS
JETS
MINNESOTA
JACKSONVILLE
HOUSTON
KANSAS CITY
BUFFALO
NEW ENGLAND
ARIZONA
CAROLINA
SEATTLE
GREEN BAY
MIAMI
PITTSBURGH
CINCINNATI
NEW ORLEANS

With the PIAA football championships coming up in Hershey this week, it’s time we take our final peek at the highlights of playoff games seen on RCN-TV this fall.

Congratulations to all of the teams, coaches and athletes for an entertaining season.  Special honors go out to Parkland, the lone team in the RCN viewing area who will be playing in the state final this weekend (all of the state championship games can be seen on the PCN Network—RCN dial position 97).  Saucon Valley had a great year and, despite their season-ending (and only) loss last weekend, the Panthers handled themselves with class.  In fact, all the players I had the good fortune of seeing and being around this season deserve a tremendous amount of credit for the way they conducted themselves this fall, both on and off the field.

I’d also like to take a moment to thank all the athletic directors, head coaches and their staffs for the wealth of information and insights they provided us during this past high school football season.  Their jobs are tough enough as is, but they never hesitated in helping us gather information about their teams or backed away from telling us about all of their players’ highlights and accomplishments.

You can relive all the memorable moments by watching the playoff games again through RCN’s On-Demand services.  These games will be available for free to RCN subscribers through the end of the calendar year, or you can purchase a DVD of these games by calling or emailing us at the RCN TV studio.

A final reminder…

It’s almost time for our annual “end of the year” awards here at the “SportsTalk Shop” and I’d like to include your opinions once again as we start to reflect on the highlights from both this year’s football season, as well as the top moments overall in the RCN viewing area.  We’re looking for your favorite athletes, teams, games, special plays and unforgettable moments that you saw in 2015.  This includes all teams in the Eastern Pennsylvania and Washington, DC regions and at the scholastic, collegiate and professional levels.

There were certainly some great storylines from this past year.  Just looking at recent events on the football field:

• Notre Dame going from 0-10 last year to 2A District Champs (not to mention winning its first-ever, two playoff games, setting a school record for wins in a season and its first-ever appearance in the PIAA playoffs)
• Parkland and Saucon Valley both advancing to the semifinal round of the state playoffs
• The turnaround of the Nazareth football program—reaching the district playoffs with many names returning next fall
• The end of the “Ed Christian Era” at East Stroudsburg South High School and all the District XI wins he earned during his illustrious career
• The launching of the “DC Sports Minute” on our “SportsTalk” show, featuring the high school teams in the Washington, DC and Virginia regions
• …and many more!!!

If you have a suggestion for someone or some group to get a mention, we’d love to hear from you!  Send us you a favorite sports moment, a really great game or event, a standout athlete or team who really exceeded expectations, via email to RCNSportsTalk@rcn.com.  Be assured that we’ll factor that in when putting together our “Year in Review” selections.  If you are mentioning a sport that we typically don’t cover or a sport that doesn’t usually receive a tremendous amount of publicity, feel free to pass along more information about the program, a contact person or anything that is available to you.

We’ll have our “year-in-review” entry coming up in a couple weeks.  I, just like Jolly Ol’ St. Nick, have already started compiling my list, so please don’t hesitate to send your opinions to us right away!

As the year comes to a close, it’s time for my annual thoughts on the Yahoo Year in Review.  This is their annual look back at the top athletes.  There are many other Top Ten lists if you wish to search Yahoo for those.   For instance, the top-searched question for 2015 was, “How do you tie a tie?”  I can understand that question, but I am somewhat amused that the #9 most-asked question is, “How many weeks in a year?”  That either means that we are just not very smart or more elementary school children are on the internet.  I personally do not like either conclusion.

The Top Ten Athletes searched on Yahoo are:

1. Ronda Rousey
2. Lindsay Vonn
3. Maria Sharapova
4. Danica Patrick
5. Caroline Wozniacki
6. Tiger Woods
7. Floyd Mayweather
8. Manny Pacquiao
9. Ana Ivanovic
10. Hope Solo

It appears that for an athlete to be searched more than others they have to have attributes, both good and bad, that go beyond them playing sports.  Although each of the females on the list are outstanding athletes and at the top of their various sports, I think it is safe to assume that much of their popularity comes from their sex appeal.

Ronda Rousey, who recently lost her UFC bout with Holly Holm, is the star of her sport, but she has also become a favorite through her modeling photos.  The same can certainly be said for Vonn, Sharapova, Patrick, Wozniacki, and Ivanovic.  Rousey, Patrick, Wozniacki, and Sharapova are back for the second straight year.

Hope Solo was the goalkeeper for this year’s USA World Cup championship team, which certainly captured the attention of Americans.  Solo allowed only three goals throughout the tournament.  She also has had her share of controversy angering teammates at times and facing a domestic violence charge.

Tiger Woods was #1 last year in most-searched athletes.  Much like his golf game, he drops all the way to #6, but he was the most-searched male athlete of the year.  At a time when it looks like he may not be able to play competitive golf again, he still garners more attention than any other golfer.  It will be interesting to see if he even appears on the list again next year.  Last year’s list included Tony Stewart, Tito Ortiz, Ray Rice, and Michael Vick.  None of them are on the list this year.

Mayweather and Pacquiao are no surprises to make the list together since they were part of the self-promoted “Fight of the Century”.  The fight made $410 million in revenue and one could certainly argue that these two are the only ones to truly make the list based on their athletic abilities in the past year.

So what does the list tell us about where our real interests are in the world of sports?  I will let you come to your own conclusions.

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)

1. Who were those guys in the Eagles’ uniforms on Sunday? As horrible as they looked the two previous weeks, that’s how good they were on Sunday when they played the New England Patriots.  The offense still looked spotty, but the defense and particularly the special teams looked great.  But they ARE tied for first place in the NFC East and it appears that the last game when the Eagles face the Giants will decide the champion.  Go figure.
2. The Flyers are also playing better – the ’76-ers, not so much. Do you think the ‘76ers’ strategy of tanking season after season will work in the long run?
3. Parkland should be the team to beat in high school basketball, but they have to start the season without the football players who are enjoying amazing success. This past week, their football team became the first District XI AAAA team to beat a Philadelphia Catholic League team in the PIAA playoffs.  They went overtime to do it, but they did it!
4. I like Bangor and Salisbury to battle for the Colonial League championship, but there should be plenty of good talent and exciting games in the 2015-16 season.
5. The PIAA state semifinals are this coming weekend and we have our two local teams LIVE on RCN-TV. Saucon Valley will be at Bethlehem School District Stadium to take on Imhotep on Friday night at 7:00pm and Parkland will tackle undefeated Upper Dublin in Souderton at 1:00pm on Saturday.  If you can’t be there, we’ll take you there.

NFL PICKS LAST WEEK – 12-4; OVERALL 119-73 (62%)
NFL PICKS (WEEK FOURTEEN)

ARIZONA
CINCINNATI
PHILADELPHIA
CAROLINA
SAN FRANCISCO
CHICAGO
DETROIT
KANSAS CITY
TAMPA BAY
JACKSONVILLE
JETS
NEW ENGLAND
DENVER
GREEN BAY
SEATTLE
GIANTS
 

HS Basketball Preview: 2015-16

With scholastic basketball season upon us, I asked three of the most astute basketball minds in the RCN Sports Department, Gary Laubach, Tom Stoudt and John Leone, to join me in giving our thoughts on this winter’s District XI high school basketball season in the RCN-TV viewing area.

Check out our responses to some of the most intriguing storylines of the 2015-16 campaign:

 1.  Who’s your top EPC team (after Parkland)?
Gary Laubach:  Central and/or Emmaus
Tom Stoudt:  Emmaus
JL:  Emmaus
ME:  Allen.  I was very impressed with them in summer league play, although they didn’t win as many games as some thought.  Still remember them challenging Parkland late last winter, and if they can put together performances like that on a nightly basis…?

2.  Who’s your pre-season Colonial League favorite?
TS:  Bangor
JL:  Saucon Valley
ME:  Solehi.   Head Coach Ben Tannous has a great basketball mind and did a great job molding last year’s team into contenders.  I see no reason why they don’t continue to improve and contend for a league title

3.  Top Three HS basketball players to watch this winter?
GL:  Sam Iorio (Parkland), David Kachelries (Emmaus), Zay Jennings (CCHS) , Aidan Ellwood (transferred from Northampton to Central Catholic)
TS:  David Kachelries (Emmaus), Sam Iorio (Parkland),  Taleek Williams (Allen)
JL:  Sam Iorio (Parkland),  Matt Kachelries (Emmaus),  Michael Martino (Bangor
ME:   DeVante Cross (Parkland), Talek Williams (Allen), Amir Griffin (Liberty).  Cross and Williams are two of the most dynamic scoring threats in the area, and Griffin might just be the region’s best defensive player and is really fun to watch

4.  Off the radar player to keep eye on?
GL:  Jahan Dotson (Nazareth), Chance Neilley (Liberty), Talek Williams (Allen)
TS:  Tashon Roberts (Dieruff)
JL:  Mitch Daniel (Notre Dame)
ME:   Mitch Daniel.  He’s getting a late start due to his team’s success on the football field, but he’s always struck me as a player with great ability.  The confidence he (and some of his teammates) built during the fall sports season will carry over for him and the Crusaders during the winter sports campaign

5.  A surprise team to keep an eye on this year?
GL:  Liberty
TS:  Bethlehem Catholic
JL:  Saucon or Bangor
ME: Catty.  They suffered a disappointing season a year ago, and once again didn’t get several of their players due to the football team’s Turkey Day game, but Eric Snyder has worked his magic before.  If a few players step up to join Kevin Bond and Shaquon Mason as scoring options, the Rough Riders could find themselves back in the district playoff picture.

Also, I don’t think it’ll be too long before we start talking about Pen Argyl basketball again.  With Kyle Hutnik embarking on his third year in charge of the program, I believe we’ll start to see some improvements from the Knights—despite the fact that it will be a very competitive season once again in the Colonial League.

6.  One “must-see” game this winter?
GL: Parkland/Imhotep  (January 24^th)
TS:  Parkland/Emmaus (Jan. 5^th)
JL:  Freedom/Easton (Dec. 8^th) *LIVE on RCN-TV!
ME:   Emmaus/Nazareth (December 18^th).  Some of the best, most talented guards in the area will be squaring off against each other.   Two teams I really like and feel they could play with Parkland, so I am curious who’ll win out in this early season showdown.

Who’ll be most accurate with these preseason predictions?  Which teams, players and games do you think we should keep an eye on?  Email us your thoughts to rcnsportstalk@rcn.com and find out as the season unfolds on RCN-TV.  Be sure to check out our broadcast schedule (LINK) for each week’s best games and bookmark it on your browser so you can access it for changes throughout the season!

We’ll also jump deep into the high school hoops conversation in much more detail starting with the January editions of “RCN SportsTalk” (seen live, Thursdays, 7-8 pm on RCN-TV) and our podcasts.

High school is winding down and college football has come to a close.  College basketball has begun and high school basketball is right around the corner.

That can only mean that it is once again time for one of my favorite nights of the year and it has nothing to do with athletics. It is the night that I co-host the Dream Come True Telethon. Believe it or not (and I am a “not”), we will be doing the Telethon for the 30^th year.  I did not host in the early years, but I have been around for most.

The Dream Come True organization, in case you did not know, was founded in 1984 by Kostas Kalogeropoulos, a local businessman.  The goal of the organization is simple – fulfill the dreams of children who are seriously, chronically, and terminally ill and reside in the greater Lehigh Valley area.  Children are referred by family, friends, clergy, doctors, social workers, etc., and the dreams usually fall into three categories – trips, contact with celebrities, and special gifts (computers, shopping sprees, for example).

Scott Barr will be co-hosting again this year. We have spent this night together for many, many years and I would not want to work with anyone else. He handles the auction area and, boy, is he terrific!  If you watch Home Shopping Network or any of the other television all-day shopping channels, just watch Scott do his thing during the four-hour night.  He is as good as, if not better, than the professionals.  Here are the specifics:

The TELETHON will take place live on Monday, December 7, from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. RCN customers in the Lehigh Valley (Channel 4, 1004 in HD), Delaware County (Channel 8, 608 in HD), and Washington, DC (Channel 8) areas can watch live on RCN TV.  A popular component of the telethon each year is the auction.  This year, we will again utilize the on-line auction.  The bidding began on Sunday, November 8, and ends Monday, December 7 at 8:00PM, so check it out!

CLICK HERE to bid on incredible auction items donated by your favorite networks!

Great auction items include:

• Apple Watch from TV One Network
• Autographed Mitchell Guitar signed by The Band Perry from Scripps Networks
• Autographed Copy of Outlander Series Book, “Written in My Own Heart’s Blood”, by author Diana Gabaldon from Starz
• Honora Black Pearl Necklace from QVC
• Grill and Chill Tailgating Kit from HBO
• And much more!

You can find all of the items by clicking on the following link:

http://www.biddingowl.com/Auction/home.cfm?auctionID=2691

You will find a variety of unique items donated by local businesses as well as our friends from the cable networks.  If you want something really unique and not found in any store, tune us in and bid on the items.  You will make Scott’s night and, more importantly, some child’s dream.

Ann Savkova, our excellent parade announcer, and Chris Michaels of “Sportstalk” fame will do many of the interviews with the children who have had their dreams fulfilled.  They are a welcome addition to the team.

The important facts again are:

The Date:        Monday, December 7
The Time:        6:00 – 9:00 PM
The Purpose:   To fulfill as many hopes, dreams and fantasies for seriously, chronically,
and terminally ill children as possible
The Phone Number to Make a Donation:       1-800-749-8099

All proceeds from the online and on-air auctions go directly to Dream Come True.

Thank you, in advance, for your consideration and support!  Your donation will help make a child’s dream come true!

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)

1. As if things were not bad enough with Philadelphia sports, Donovan McNabb who eventually became an admirable role model for the city’s youth and fans, reported for jail on November 30 to serve an 18-day sentence. He was arrested for DUI for the second time in Arizona.  His first sentence was one day; this one longer.
2. How about Whitehall’s Saquon Barkley? On Saturday, he broke the 32-year-old record for most rushing yards by a freshman in Penn State history when he carried for 103 yards against Michigan State.  He broke the record of D J Dozier who was a first-round NFL draft pick.
3. For the “love them or hate them”, the Thanksgiving weekend offered its share of polarizing games. The Eagles were blown away by Detroit; Dallas lost to Carolina; Penn State was blown out by Michigan State; and Notre Dame lost its chance to be in the BCS championship series by losing to Stanford.  For you, is the cup half full or half empty?
4. The second quarter of the Parkland vs. Wyoming Valley West game on Friday night had just about everything. First, Sean Judge of WVW intercepted a Parkland pass in the end zone and returned it 100 yards to tie the game at 14-14.  That just made Parkland angry as they went on to score five more touchdowns in the quarter – a 15-yard run by QB Devante Cross; a 77-yard run by Cross; a 30-yard interception touchdown by defensive tackle Noel Brouse; a Cross to Kenny Yeboah 23-yard touchdown pass; and a Cross to Yeboah lateral to Zach Bross on the last play of the first half for 46 yards.  At the half, the 14-14 game had turned into a 49-14 “mercy rule” game.
5. The PIAA state quarterfinals are this coming weekend and we have our two local teams on RCN-TV. Saucon Valley will take on Selinsgrove on Friday night at 9:30pm and Parkland hits another District 12 nemesis in LaSalle College in Philadelphia at 1:00pm Saturday.  If you can’t be there, we’ll take you there.

NFL PICKS LAST WEEK – 11-5; OVERALL 107-69 (61%)

NFL PICKS (WEEK THIRTEEN)

GREEN BAY
CHICAGO
CINCINNATI
TENNESSEE
HOUSTON
MIAMI
CAROLINA
SEATTLE
ARIZONA
TAMPA BAY
JETS
DENVER
KANSAS CITY
NEW ENGLAND
PITTSBURGH
WASHINGTON

It was another great fall sports season (and for more than just football!) for the teams, coaches and athletes in the RCN viewing area.  We had some great individual and team performances, with school districts in many regions bringing home district, region and state gold metals.

It was also a busy season here at RCN-TV covering our local sports teams.  We had unveiled new features on our “RCN SportsTalk” show—among them, the “athlete of the week” for the people in the Lehigh and Delaware Valley areas, and the “Sports Minute” for the folks in our Washington, DC region.

Speaking of the “sports minute,” we’re pleased to announce that this element of our show will continue into the winter as we try to cover as many high school basketball teams in our coverage area as possible.  Here are a few samples featuring football teams from the DC area.

Also, we will have video from some of the traditional “Turkey Game” football contests from this past Thanksgiving, coming up on this Thursday’s edition of “SportsTalk” (live, Thursdays at 7pm).

In the Lehigh Valley area, we were able to focus on a number of different girls and boys sports teams from both bigger and smaller school districts over the last several months.  Here’s a compilation of some of our fall sports features.

Now, it’s time to congratulate the teams from the RCN viewing area that have captured state gold medals this fall season.  First, the Parkland girls volleyball team won its second consecutive PIAA championship.  The win marks the third straight volleyball state title won by Parkland (the boys team won it this spring).

We saluted the Emmaus field hockey team on both “SportsTalk” and here at the “SportsTalk Shop” earlier this fall due to Head Coach Sue Butz-Stavin’s tremendous accomplishment—becoming the nation’s all-time leader in wins by a high school field hockey coach in September.  Butz-Stavin added to those numbers as his team once again captured league, district and finally state championship honors, adding another collection of 3A titles (the highest level in Pennsylvania for field hockey) to the Hornets’ trophy case.

It’s starting to become routine for district tournaments to run through the Route-309 exchange as both Parkland and Emmaus seem like they are nearly always in championship games—and usually winning the title contests.  This fall alone, Parkland won four fall sports District XI championships (boys cross, country, girls soccer, girls volleyball and football), while Emmaus won three more (boys soccer, golf and field hockey).  The Hornets’ field hockey team has now captured fourteen consecutive district gold metals and the Parkland volleyball team has won five of the last six district championships.

Special kudos are in order for the magnificent paring of Coco Chen and Logan Lencheski from the Notre Dame-Green Pond High School girls tennis team.  Chen and Lencheski brought home state gold medals in pairs tennis.  I’ve maintained that individual and pair state championships are extremely challenging given all the scrutiny in one or two people, as opposed to an entire team, having to share the workload.  The Crusaders pair was also honored on our most recent “SportsTalk” show as the athletes of the week for their tremendous achievement.

Don’t forget!  All of the above video features and more scholastic “shout-outs” and stories are available to hear on our podcasts (rcn.com/atvn/sports-talk) as well as through RCN On-Demand.  Join us this Thursday live at 7pm for the insights, predictions and analysis of this weekend’s state football playoff games, and also we’ll have strategies and tips for those people involved in fantasy football. Also, we appreciate any feedback or suggestions for sports to cover or to discuss on RCN-TV.  Feel free to email your thoughts to us at RCNSportsTalk@rcn.com.

Now, anyone who knows me very well knows that I HATE the cold weather.  However, I do love the sports that take place during the winter months, and there certainly are some exciting match-ups featuring teams in our area, and a few schools in both DC and Pennsylvania have opportunities to have very special years.  I’m looking forward to embarking on the winter sports season and I hope everyone enjoys our coverage as we move our cameras and microphones indoors.  Next week here at the “Shop,” we start to take a look at the upcoming high school basketball season with thoughts and insights from knowledgeably hoop-minded individuals on the upcoming season.  Also, we hope to have more good news to report on the high school football teams in our viewing area over the next few weeks.

Lastly, a quick reminder for everyone to tune into the “Dream Come True Telethon” that will be seen live on RCN-TV Monday, December 7^th. Telethon details are here: www.rcn.com/atvn/2015-dct-telethon

Not only does the event raise money for a tremendous charity but you should also check out the auctions items at www.biddingowl.com/dreamcometrue as there are some wonderful items—and potential holiday gift giving ideas—for you to try to pick up, while benefiting our local kids at the same time.

I figured that I would start by wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

And then I got to thinking…

On Saturday, I spent my day broadcasting the Lafayette-Lehigh football game.  It is college football’s most-played rivalry and I feel very fortunate that I have done the play-by-play for this game for fifteen years.  My wife and I then had dinner with my daughter and her husband, and hurried off to the Zoellner Arts Center to see Darlene Love in concert.  Except for the Lafayette defeat (and only because I am a fan), it was a really nice day.  I did a job I truly love, spent quality time with the family, and enjoyed what life has to offer in terms of entertainment.  I went to bed that night feeling good about most everything.

But, on Sunday, I started, as I often do, thinking about this weekly blog.  My mind tries to come up with a topic that I hope readers will find interesting, and it usually revolves around the world of sports.  Only this time I kept thinking about the awful tragedy in Paris. I could not read a newspaper or turn on the TV without facing reports of the Parisians’ circumstances and the horrible aftermath.  And that brought me back to Saturday.

I realized that I spent that day much like the Parisians who, prior to suffering through the terrible assaults by ISIS, were just living life on a regular Friday one week ago.  The attacks had come at a soccer game, at a restaurant, and at a concert by a fanatical group that believes violence is the path to paradise.

Eight days later, while I, too, attended the very same types of venues, I took all of the events and locales for granted.  I would be amongst the 16,000 people at Goodman Stadium watching, not soccer, but football; enjoying family at a local restaurant as many were doing at Petit Cambodge restaurant; and, like those at Le Bataclan, I just wanted to enjoy some live music in concert.

The Paris victims just wanted to do the same.

I have much to be thankful for – a wonderful wife (52 years and counting), two successful daughters who are happily married, three grandchildren who are all pursuing their vocational dreams, a great job, good health, and, despite all that goes on in the world, a positive outlook on life.

But I am quite sure that many of the 129 who were killed in Paris and the many, who were wounded, could have said the same thing about their lives and their families.  Until Friday the thirteenth, 2015.

I will join my family around the dinner table on Thanksgiving and think about my good fortune.  But, I will also take pause and reflect on the horrors that exist in the world and, in addition to asking for my family to continue to be blessed, I will also pray that the world finds a way to be a better place. You, too, may want to do the same.  It cannot hurt.

Again, Happy Thanksgiving!

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)

1. Lafayette suffered through just an awful 1-10 football season culminating with their arch-rival Lehigh beating them soundly. With Army, Delaware, Villanova, and Princeton on the schedule next year, they could get much, much better and it might not show in their record.
2. As I write this, Philadelphia pro teams have won one home game in November! The Flyers have won three of their last 10, and are 7-9-5 with the fewest wins in the NHL. The 76’ers are 0-14, and the Eagles looked just awful on Sunday losing to Tampa Bay and are now 4-6.  To make matters worse, the Eagles play the Lions in Detroit on Thanksgiving Day.  If you are an Eagles fan, you might want to eat your turkey BEFORE the game.  If you are lucky, then the tryptophan might kick in just in time to sleep through the game.
3. As the cold begins to creep into the Valley, the RCN crew is ready to move indoors. The wind and cold temperatures on Friday night at Parkland convinced everyone on camera outside that they really like basketball better.
4. Speaking of basketball, we have a rare college doubleheader for you this Sunday when the Lafayette men take on Penn and the Lafayette women play St. Peter’s. The action begins at 2:00pm with the men.
5. There are PIAA state football match-ups in store this weekend on RCN-TV. Wyoming Valley West – Parkland will be LIVE on Friday night at 7:00 followed by a taped replay of the Notre Dame – Dunmore game.  There are no games Saturday.

NFL PICKS LAST WEEK – 11-3; OVERALL 96-64 (60%)

NFL PICKS (WEEK TEN)

DETROIT
CAROLINA
GREEN BAY
OAKLAND
KANSAS CITY
INDIANAPOLIS
GIANTS
HOUSTON
ATLANTA
CINCINNATI
JACKSONVILLE
JETS
ARIZONA
SEATTLE
NEW ENGLAND
BALTIMORE

It’s been a great fall football season on RCN-TV—thus far!

While it’s not quite time yet to take a look back and identify the top teams, games and players in our coverage area, it’s easy to pick out a few of the moments that have stood out from the pack.

First, here are highlights from a few of our recent games on RCN-TV over the last few weeks.

Now, I am very much aware that we have football teams in the RCN area still alive as we move into the state playoff round.  We’ll continue to talk scholastic football on our next “SportsTalk” show—which will be on Thursday, December 3^rd.  (Our crew would absolutely KILL me if I suggested we do a live show on Thanksgiving Day!).

For those of you from our Washington, DC region, we’re also going to have video highlights from some of the annual “Turkey Day” games featuring the city teams.

However, it’s almost time for our annual “end of the year” awards and I’d like to include you once again as we start to reflect on the highlights from both this year’s football season, as well as the top moments overall in the RCN viewing area.  If you have a favorite sports moment, a really great game or event, a standout athlete or team who really exceeded expectations, we’d love for you to get in contact with us.  Email us at RCNSportsTalk@rcn.com with your opinions and suggestions. Be assured that we’ll factor those in when putting together our “Year in Review” selections.

I, myself, like to start reflecting on the top people and moments with a few weeks to spare.  There are usually a few special events that can get lost in everything going on this time of year (fall sports teams winding down with winter sports action heating up), not to mention the holiday season.

Talking strictly football, a couple games and teams that I, and many District XI football fans, will remember for a long time, include:

• Saucon Valley vs. Notre Dame and “The catch”

• The 73-54 shootout between Central Catholic & Liberty

• Freedom football team’s regular season, ending with the school’s first-ever division title (shared with Parkland HS)

• Saucon Valley’s District Semifinal win over Bethlehem Catholic*

*(Despite some public opinion to the contrary, it is NOT incredibly rare for a Colonial League team to beat a team from the “big school conference” (the East Penn Conference, the Lehigh Valley Conference, the “EPC18”) in a District championship. Wilson won District XI 3A playoffs in 2008, and Northwestern won it a couple years before that.)

Check back to the “SportsTalk Shop” in a couple weeks as we look back at this past season and give shout-outs to our favorite moments during this season as well as other sports highlights from this past year.  Also, with basketball season now upon us, we’ll be previewing the high school hoops season and taking a closer look at the top teams and players to watch this winter in both the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference and Colonial League.

Last but certainly not least: On behalf of everyone at the “SportsTalk Shop” and RCN, I’d like to wish you and your family a safe and heartfelt “Happy Thanksgiving” holiday.  We are very thankful for your readership throughout the year and for the many wonderful comments you pass along to us about our coverage here on this blog and on RCN-TV.  Many thanks to all and have a wonderful holiday season!!

“The Lehigh–Lafayette game is an integral part of a college education. The game provides thrills and excitement and instills an attitude that is essential to succeed in all walks of life. Traditions, pregame hype and celebrations are all as important as the game itself. No other football rivalry is quite like Lehigh-Lafayette. The traditions are pure and the festivities are genuine. Sportswriters are afraid to predict the winner, oddsmakers shy from a point spread and coaches don’t have to worry about getting their players up for the game. Previous records, scores and games against common opponents are meaningless. It’s one game—all or nothing.”

Preface Legends of Lehigh-Lafayette  by Todd Davidson and Bob Donchez D&D Publishing Company, 1995

As college football’s most-played rivalry is set to be played this Saturday at Lehigh’s Goodman Stadium, the quote continues to ring true.  It was probably just as true on October 25, 1884 when the two teams took the field for the very first time.  Who would have guessed back then that 150 more games would take place prior to this Saturday?

Here are some facts about the rivalry:

First Meeting: Oct. 25, 1884; Easton—Lafayette 56, Lehigh 0

Last Meeting: Nov. 22, 2014; Yankee Stadium—Lafayette 27, Lehigh 7

Series Record: Lafayette leads, 78-67-5 (.537) (150 games)

In Easton: Lafayette leads, 41-29-5

In Bethlehem: Lehigh leads, 37-36

Neutral Site: Series tied, 1-1

Lafayette won 27-7 in Bronx, N.Y. (Yankee Stadium) on Nov. 22, 2014 Lehigh won 16-2 in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. on Nov. 25, 1891

Largest Margin of Victory (Lafayette): Nov. 18, 1944; Easton—Lafayette 64, Lehigh 0

Largest Margin of Victory (Lehigh):Nov. 24, 1917; Bethlehem —Lehigh 78, Lafayette 0

Last Shutout: Nov. 22, 1980; Easton—Lehigh 32, Lafayette 0

Last Tie: Nov. 21, 1964; Easton, Lafayette 6, Lehigh 6 (100th meeting)

Points Scored in Series: Lafayette 2,670; Lehigh 2,202

Longest Lafayette Win Streak: 10 wins, 1919-28

Longest Lehigh Win Streak: 7 wins; 1995-2001

Miscellaneous Facts: The schools played each other twice per season from 1884-1901. They met three times in 1891 and did not meet in 1896, due to a player eligibility dispute between the two schools.

Neither team is playing for a championship this year.  In fact, Lehigh has a 5-5 record while Lafayette is a dismal 1-9.  But, it does not matter to the players, the alumni, or the Lehigh Valley fans.  This is Lafayette-Lehigh and that is all that is important.  16,000 fans will attend and half will leave ecstatic and half will leave dissatisfied.

If you do not have a ticket, tune in at 12:30 Saturday afternoon to RCNTV channels 4 or 1004; WBPH Channel 60, or GoLeopards.com on the internet.

Because…it is the ultimate rivalry!

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)

1. It all started with the Jets losing to Buffalo on Thursday night. The NFL has become totally unpredictable.  On Sunday, Bears killed the Rams, the Redskins beat the Saints, the Dolphins beat the Eagles, the Bucs beat the Cowboys, the Jaguars beat the Ravens, and, (wait for it) the Lions beat the Packers.  What!!!  I bet (pun) they are dancing in Las Vegas!
2. As I write this, the Flyers have won two of their last 10 and are 6-8-3, and the 76’ers are 0-11, and the Eagles now have a losing record of 4-5. It continues to be tough to be a Philadelphia fan.
3. We covered our first college basketball game this past Sunday and it is hard to imagine seeing a better game the rest of the year. Lafayette took on St. Peter’s and went up by 17 in the first half, only to have the Peacocks come back to tie the game in regulation.  In overtime, St. Peter’s went up by 11 and, as people were filing out, Lafayette kept forcing turnover after turnover and came back to win 87-86.  Check it out:

4. The high school football games did not disappoint this past weekend. Easton avenged a loss to Freedom by winning their first round Subregional AAAA game over Freedom.  Saucon Valley (11-0) pulled off the biggest surprise by beating Bethlehem Catholic, a team that “mercy-ruled” them last year.  Parkland beat District Two’s Delaware Valley and Liberty beat Stroudsburg.  Notre Dame and Northwestern both won at the AA level.
5. More great football match-ups are in store this weekend. In addition to Lafayette-Lehigh this Saturday at 12:30, you can watch the Easton – Parkland game on Friday night at 7:00 and the Saucon Valley – Lehighton game at 9:30 on Saturday.

NFL PICKS LAST WEEK – 4-10; OVERALL 85-61 (58%)
NFL PICKS (WEEK NINE)

JACKSONVILLE
CAROLINA
DETROIT
DALLAS
ATLANTA
BALTIMORE
JETS
GREEN BAY
PHILADELPHIA
DENVER
ARIZONA
SEATTLE
KANSAS CITY
NEW ENGLAND

First, a quick pat-on-the back for all the people who participated in last week’s “SportsTalk” show poll (a.k.a. “Who will win the Easton/Freedom football game?”).  Extra congratulations are in order for all the people who predicted (and/or rooted) for an Easton victory.  The win sets up one of several great contests this weekend and we’ll be previewing all of the match-ups involving District XI teams on this Thursday’s “RCN SportsTalk” show (live, 7-8pm on RCN-TV).

Secondly, in addition to breaking down and making predictions about this upcoming weekend’s contests, I’d like to give the Easton and Saucon Valley fans a chance to give some payback to our adversarial co-host, Joe Craig, who predicted double-possession losses for both the Rovers and the Panthers.  After all, turnabout is fair play. We’d be happy to read your emails (RCNSportsTalk@rcn.com) and take your phone calls about those predictions as well as your thoughts on how your teams will do again this weekend.

Now, as we promised in last week’s blog, a closer look at the teams vying for a Class 2A and 3A title this weekend…

Class 3A Championship
Both of these teams got to the title game with solid defense…underrated defenses at that!

Saucon Valley has been in the spotlight because of the running ability of Evan Culver, quarterback Zach Thatcher’s effectiveness in running the offense and the spectacular and timely catches of sophomore Alstan Wolfe.  However, it has been the defensive efforts of those three—and many others—that has fueled the Panthers’ success over the last few seasons.  Culver, who joined his teammates as guests on “RCN SportsTalk” (see it again On-Demand or on our podcasts here on the website), said that he actually prefers to play defense.  That’s a pretty interesting statement considering he’s third among active District XI players in rushing yards and his 64 touchdowns and 4,129 ground-yardage blew away the school records quite some time ago.

Head Coach Matt Evancho, who ran the underappreciated defenses for those great Wilson teams in the 2000s, has been one of the top defensive minds in the Valley for some time.  Seniors Mike Kane, Christian Carvis, Nate Harka and Mike Paolini have been defensive stalwarts for several years and have made for one of the stingiest defenses—Colonial League or EPC–in the area.

Lehighton also allowed just one score in their semifinal game against Blue Mountain. The undefeated Indians forced four turnovers in the first half (six for the game) and scored a defensive touchdown. Their stout defense allowed QB Tyler Cann enough time to warm up the offense and post several second-half scores to put the game away.

Lehighton is similar to Saucon Valley in that they have a core of seniors who have been building to do some special things this fall.  The Indians have a very good secondary and it will not be easy when (if?) the Panthers look to pass the ball.

Class 2A Championship
Speaking of being underrated, I don’t think there’s been a less-mentioned player who’s deserved more accolades than Northwestern’s Harry Hall, who, oh, by the way leads ALL active District XI players in rushing yards.  Hall came into last weekend’s semifinal with 4,860 yards on the ground and 51 TDs (both school records).

I think the Lehigh Valley fan base looked at all the talent that the Tigers lost to graduation from a year ago, and assumed it would be a rebuilding year up in New Tripoli (although they were the #5 team in the “SportsTalk” preseason poll—just sayin’).  However, Northwestern has gotten solid performances on both sides of the ball and played well—even in their losses this season.

One of their losses was to the team they will face in the championship, Notre Dame-Green Pond.  The Crusaders are led by Tre Jordan, who’s passed for over 7,000 yards during his high school career, and he’s just as lethal running the ball.  Mitch Daniel, an outstanding point guard for the basketball team, has made a name for himself as a tailback.  Destyn Woody, Austin Kaulius, Nick Basenese, Jalen Simpson and Aaron Weller all have outstanding abilities receiving the football.  Christian Candelaria, Julian Wismer, Taino Gonzalez and EJ Medina have all had impressive seasons on the defensive side.

The Crusaders have a ton of weapons, a ton of speed and some outstanding defenders.  One would think Notre Dame just has too many horses for Northwestern to handle, but people have discounted the Tigers a few times now, so I’m expecting a very close game on Friday night.

Don’t forget, we’ll be talking about all the 2A/3A/4A playoff teams in our viewing area in action this weekend on this Thursday’s “SportsTalk” show (if you miss the program, the podcast will be available Friday afternoon here or catch the program On-Demand).  Also, make sure you check out the Easton/Parkland game Friday and Saucon Valley/Lehighton game Saturday on RCN-TV.