As we reach the midpoint in the Lehigh Valley high school winter sports season, it continues to be an interesting season for local boys basketball.  While we have had quite a few close ball games, with a handful going into overtime, a look at the different league standings shows there are a few teams doing very well, and even more teams a couple steps behind–finding themselves battling each other for the remaining playoff berths.

The biggest “non-surprise” is the Parkland boys basketball team, as they continue to dominate everyone they’ve faced in the area.  Even against an Easton team that was coming off a big win, the Trojans eventually wore them down and won the game easily.

DeVante Cross is a player who we talked quite a bit about during the football season, but I have really been impressed by what he has done so far on the hardwood.  The Trojans have more than enough firepower to go around, but I think Cross’s improved play has made for an even more well-rounded ball club that will look to go deep into the PIAA playoffs.

While Parkland has been the area’s best team and has already clinched both an EPC and District XI 4A playoff spot, the Rovers are a team that has been playing well of late.  Easton currently finds themselves a couple games below .500 and are making a push for a post-season spot, following a big win recently over Freedom HS.

Three other teams that I have seen playing well and figure to be in the running for both league and district playoff action include Whitehall, Emmaus and Allen.  The Zephyrs have been playing extremely well after a slow start and have won seven of their last nine games.  While they haven’t been posting explosive offensive numbers, it has been their defense—in particular, the match-up zone defense—that has been very impressive.  Whitehall  held a Liberty team—a squad I feel is as athletic as any in the area—to under 50 points last week.  The Zephyrs did the same to an Emmaus team that has been playing some of the toughest teams from both Pennsylvania and New York in its non-conference schedule.

Speaking of Emmaus, there aren’t many teams that can boast as deep a bench as Steve Yoder’s ballclub, and they can beat you a number of ways.  They’ve had some injury issues to overcome, which, combined with their tough out-of-league schedule, has delayed their clinching of a playoff berth until this point.  But once in the playoffs, they are definitely a team that figures to win a few playoff games.

Allen is another team that has been playing extremely well overall.  It’s unfortunate that the new league schedule does  not feature the Canaries playing some of their traditional basketball rivals—at least for this season.  It is entirely possible they will get a chance to face Parkland and Central Catholic once the  post-season begins.  Allen has clinched a district playoff spot and looked impressive in its recent ball game against Bethlehem Catholic.

Perhaps the story of the EPC this year has been the play of Northampton—a team that had struggled in recent years, but has looked phenomenal in nearly every game they’ve played.  They play in the same division as Parkland, Whitehall, Emmaus, Central Catholic and Nazareth and have done more than hold their own, including posting a strong win recently against Dieruff.

Northampton Head Coach Coy Stampone will be one of several local head basketball coaches who will be on our “RCN SportsTalk” show on Thursday, January 29^th from 6-7 pm.  I’m looking forward to speaking with Coach Stampone and getting his thoughts on how he has turned the program around, and what his team’s expectations are for the remainder of the season.

Looking ahead to the first ever Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, the playoffs will feature eight teams vying for their post-season positions.  The eight teams will consist of the three division winners (from the “Mountain,” “Skyline” and “Steel” divisions) and five wild card spots.  Many assume that the five “Skyline” teams not named Parkland will occupy most, if not all, of those wild card spots.  Keep in mind that all those teams will play each other over the next few weeks, so if any one of those teams in the Skyline division go into a funk and lose several in a row, it would open up spots for a couple teams from the other divisions to sneak up and advance to the league playoffs.

One final EPC note about the Vikings—while they may not be the favorite this year in 3A because of the quality play so far by Pottsville, don’t count out Central Catholic from making another district playoff run.  Despite many several quality opponents in their classification, the Vikings have a lot of pride on the line and are looking to win their fifth straight 3A Title and eighth over the last ten seasons.
* * *
In the Colonial League, there are several teams that have continued to play outstanding basketball.  Salisbury has stayed right with the top teams (the others being Bangor, Saucon Valley & Southern Lehigh) and has played a strong non-league schedule once again this winter.

The wild card team—both physically and figuratively–in the Colonial League might be Wilson.  The Warriors ost to Pen Argyl, a team that lost to a struggling Northern Lehigh program and will probably not make the postseason.  They’ve also had some games in which they have struggled shooting from the floor and from the free throw line.  However, Wilson has also posted a number of huge wins,  among them an overtime victory over their rivals from Notre Dame-Green Pond and also played one of its best games of the season against Catasauqua.

Remember, the Colonial League has six berths for its playoffs this year, as opposed to just four teams advancing as in years past.  This could be huge for a team like Wilson, Palisades, Notre Dame or even Northwestern.  In previous years, it would appear to be a lock at this point that the Slaters, Falcons, Panthers and Spartans would be the only teams in the league playoffs.  But with the expansion of two more teams, it’ll make for a very entertaining race over the next few weeks to determine which other teams will qualify for the league playoffs.

Another thing to remember is that the league winners will automatically get top berths for the District XI playoffs.  So if a team that has been struggling during the first half of the year can get hot with a succession of victories over the next few weeks, they can receive a huge bump when it comes to District XI post-season seedings (see Notre Dame last winter).

Which teams have impressed you so far this season and what games have resulted in the biggest surprises?  Send us an email to RCNSportsTalk@rcn.com and join us on Thursday evenings as we read and respond to your sports questions and opinions on each program.

As I write this on a miserable icy, rainy, and cold Monday morning, I am looking forward to the NCAA college football championship, which would be played that night.  I thoroughly enjoyed the semifinals and was intrigued immediately by the contrasting styles of the two winners – Ohio State and Oregon.  Ohio State plays with a physicality and swagger that have always been a part of Big Ten football.  Oregon, on the other hand, seems to be almost “video-gamish” in their approach to offensive football.  They run plays so quickly and have sets that only a computer program might imagine.  That’s not to say Oregon is less physical or that Ohio State does not play fast – it just seems like Oregon plays like they drank too much coffee all day, all week, all season and Ohio State just wants to bully you a bit more.  My “gut” feeling is that Oregon will win this game, but you will know the result by the time you read this blog.

Thinking about the game naturally led me to thinking about the two coaches – Urban Meyer of Ohio State and Mark Helfrich of Oregon.  Both men are highly esteemed in their profession and there are many who believe Meyer, who has won two national championships at Florida, is the best college football coach in the nation.  Helfrich cannot be far behind.  So, if we can agree that they might be two of the very best in their chosen profession, aren’t you a bit interested in how they are compensated for their skills?  In other words, how much do they make?

According to a USA Today survey, Mark Helfrich is #51 on the list of college football coaches. He earns $2 million a year with a possible bonus of $1.1 million.  One would think that if he won a national championship, he would qualify for the bonus which would qualify him for $3.1 million for the season and move him into the 20^th spot.

Urban Meyer makes $4.5 million a year with a potential $550,000 bonus.  He sits at #6 with the potential to be in the top five with the bonus.  He made $333,333 each week he prepared his team to play an opponent this year.

Alabama’s Nick Saban tops the list at $7.1 million.  The Michigan State, Oklahoma, Texas A&M and Texas coaches all make $5 million or more.

72 NCAA football programs pay their coaches $1 million or more.  By contrast, 35 men’s college basketball coaches have a base salary of $1 million or more, led by (no surprise) Mike Krzyzewski of Duke who collects $9.6 million per year.

I will not offer any editorial judgment here.  I will let you decide if these figures are warranted based on the income derived from the sports these men coach.  I just found the numbers interesting and thought you might, too.

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)

1. I’ll bet there are no NFL fans who still believe that “instant replay” is unnecessary. It seemed like this past weekend every one of the semifinal conference games had a play overturned that was originally called incorrectly and could have had a major impact on the outcome.  I understand that if a call went against your team (Dallas, perhaps), you might be wishing coaches’ challenges did not exist, but, in the end, based on the rule, the overturned call was correct.  And according to FOX, Packers coach Mike McCarthy had not won a challenge all year.  He picked the right one to win.
2. Home field advantage should give the Seahawks and the Patriots an edge in the conference championship games to be played this Sunday. I just don’t think Aaron Rodgers playing on one leg can do enough against the Seattle defense to win their game and, even though I do not think the Patriots play as well in the playoffs as they do during the regular season, they should be able to beat the Colts, unless the Colts have a bit more LUCK (Get it?  You may groan here).
3. Am I the only one who thinks there is something wrong with Peyton Manning? To me, he just has not looked like the great quarterback he has been for so many years in the past month or so.  On Sunday, he seemed confused, arm-weary, and, at times, disinterested.  At the very least, where was the old confidence?
4. I did not see any shots of Jerry Jones or Chris Christie during the Packers-Dallas telecast.  Did I miss them or were both maintaining a low profile this week?  That probably is best for Christie.
5. Concluding with another NFL tidbit, Rex Ryan was named the new head coach of the Buffalo Bills at a reported salary of $5 million. That means he will be in the same division as his former team, the Jets.  Ironically, Doug Marone, who opted out of his Buffalo contract after one year, may soon be named the Jets head coach.  That will make it pretty easy to see who made the right acquisition.  Stay tuned.

(Last week – 3-1)  (177-84-1 overall – 68%)

             SEATTLE
            NEW ENGLAND                 

It certainly has been an interesting few weeks for these four pro teams in the RCN viewing area—all for different reasons.  The Nationals are heading into, what I believe, is a very critical season for them sustaining their long-term success.  The Redskins are trying to figure out how everything went tragically wrong in 2014 and how to rebound as quickly as possible.  The Phillies are starting a rebuilding process that—if it doesn’t gain traction over the next several months—could produce massive changes to their long-time front office personnel.  And the Eagles…well, even the most seasoned beat writers are still trying to figure out just exactly what happened over the last month, and whether the off-season moves they’ve made so far will make the team dramatically better—or worse.

First, here are some thoughts on all four teams as discussed by a panel of media pundits.

Now, a little more now on the Nationals.  I, too, see 2015 as a huge year for Washington.  They clearly are the best team in the National League East and should have no trouble holding off any “surpassing expectations” type of season the Marlins or Mets might have.  Washington is very similar to what the Phillies were as they were entering their 2008 season, with their core reaching the prime of their careers—and several players about to begin their “contract year”.  In my opinion, the Nats MUST get to the World Series this season.  I’ll explain why in a moment, but first, here are three things that have to happen for the Nats to have success this year.

 1) “Go To” Players Must Step Up

It’s time for the big-money guys to do what they get paid for—win.  It’s not enough to put up big individual numbers.  It’s not enough to say the right things in the media. The “go to” guys have to take it to another level and make the players around them better.  Jayson Werth, a player who has experience doing that with the Phillies, will have to make a successful recovery from his arthroscopic shoulder surgery this week.  He won’t be ready by the start of spring training, but needs to be ready to play by mid-April.  The old adage of “you can’t win a pennant in April but you certainly can lose one” applies.  Highly touted prospect Michael Taylor will probably be patrolling Werth’s left field spot (remember, he’s switching positions with Bryce Harper this season) for a good chunk of spring training.  While I’m very high on Taylor and feel he can be an everyday Major League outfielder at some point, it’s extremely risky to rely on a minor leaguer—no matter how high their pedigree—for anything in a season as critical as this one…which brings us to topic #2…

 2)  Stay Aggressive Adding Role Players.

Signing these guys are not flashy moves.  Some of these acquisitions won’t even register on national sports news programs.  But these types of moves are what help win championships.  Sticking with our parallels to the ’08 Phillies, imagine that team without the following moves:  Pat Gillick taking a chance on Werth as a ‘complement’ to Geoff Jenkins in RF; not having J.C. Romero anchoring the 7^th/8^th innings; not having Matt Stairs available to pinch hit…

Injuries will occur.  Players will go into slumps.  The Nationals have already added some nice pieces over the last year (and a gritty player like Kevin Frandsen last year was a great example).  However, I’m not expecting much out of Dan Uggla, and continuing to search for diamonds-in-the-rough will be even more imperative as 2015 unfolds.  GM Mike Rizzo must continue to look for even the slightest moves that can improve his team.  The organization must continue to add depth and leave nothing to chance this season.

3) Sign Desmond NOW!

Ian Desmond is one of the best shortstops in the game.  The Nats will have many questions heading into the offseason, resigning free agents-to be that are currently on the roster, regardless of how the team does this season.  The last thing this year’s team needs is added distractions.  You clearly must bring him back for next season, and entering spring training with his future in limbo opens the door for speculation and puts doubt into the minds of other players about the future of the team.  I mentioned earlier how important it is to get off to a quality start.  You don’t want one issue snowballing into an avalanche of ambiguity.  There is no question that Desmond should be the one guy you bring back for next year, and to go into March with him NOT signing a long-term deal would be a colossal mistake.

The Phillies were able to build on what they established in 2007 to capture a World Championship.  A failure by Washington to at least get beyond the NLDS would signal a lateral progression…or worse, a regressive atmosphere around the organization.  This isn’t the type of feeling you want to have lingering as you try to re-sign as many of the current, productive Nationals players as you may need after this season.  Hard decisions will have to be made on both sides, and those decisions get tougher for all involved if there are questions about the direction of the franchise.

Philadelphia—now—is in a full-blown rebuilding process, and many more things need to be done.  It will certainly not be easy to accomplish those things (moving Ryan Howard, Jonathan Papelbon, et al).  While I actually think they have made some good moves—so far—this winter, I’ll wait to talk about them more in detail until we see more of their off-season work.  The Phillies now have the luxury of time to let their plan develop…the element of time is exactly what the Nationals could soon be running out of.

What are your thoughts on the four pro sports teams mentions?  Who makes the biggest noise this offseason and what moves do you see happening?  Email your comments to RCNSportsTalk@rcn.com and keep checking back to the RCN-TV website as we’ll continue to follow these teams’ storylines and in the coming weeks will have more programs on these franchises on ‘RCN SportsTalk’ (live, Thursdays at 6pm

Are you still having trouble writing 2015?  I am, too.  For me, it’s probably because I continue to ponder the events of 2014.  Therefore, before I jump into the new year, I would like to reflect back on my top ten RCN moments for the past year:

10. The Eastern Pennsylvania Conference was unveiled in the fall and the jury is still out whether this league is good for the Lehigh Valley schools or not.

9.  Even though I do not cover wrestling anymore, RCN was there to cover Nazareth’s win for the District championship over Liberty, their first since 2007.  It should also be mentioned that Easton coach Steve Powell won his 500^th dual meet during the year, the first District XI coach to do so.

8.  Parkland boys’ basketball won the District AAAA title for the second straight year.

7.  The Easton Red Rovers football team went undefeated to win the first EPC championship, only to fall to Parkland and Phillipsburg in their final two games.

6.  Central Catholic’s Muhammad Ali Abdur-Rahkman finished his basketball career having scored 2,136 points, being named to the All-State team for four straight years, and accepting a college scholarship to play at Michigan.  I miss him on the court.

5.  Bethlehem Catholic’s wrestling team was absolutely awesome winning everything – Districts, PIAA team championship duals, PIAA individual team title, and crowning three individual state champions.

4.  The Colonial League had three football co-champions for the first time ever and they were all very good – Northwestern, Southern Lehigh, and Saucon Valley.  The League is already proving to be just as competitive in basketball this season.

3.  Parkland played a memorable game in the first round of the state playoffs losing to the eventual state champs, St. Joe’s Prep, by a 34-30 score.  A controversial no-call by the officials late in the game proved costly to our home team.  Ironically, the only loss the current Parkland basketball team has this year is to St. Joe’s Prep by a 50-47 score.  I’m certain the Parkland basketball team will be close to the top in next year’s highlights.

2.  No girls’ basketball team took us further into state playoffs than the Bethlehem Catholic girls.  They won the LVC, Districts, and went to the second round of states before losing.  Then strange things happened: head coach Bill Lanscek was let go; former Southern Lehigh head coach Megan Delegrotti was hired, then she resigned, leaving Jose Medina in charge.

1.  My #1 highlight this past year was the play of the Central Catholic boys’ basketball team. They won 29 straight games, the LVC championship, the District XI AAA championship and suffered their only loss to eventual state champ Neumann-Goretti in the PIAA quarterfinals.  It was a team for the ages!

Strangely, my most vivid memory had nothing to do with a game we broadcast, but I will never forget the scene at Yankee Stadium for the 150^th meeting between Lafayette and Lehigh.  I was a part of the pre-game festivities on the field and after interviewing the two college presidents, I was able to pull a “Gentlemen, start your engines!” moment as I announced to the 48,000 in attendance the official start of the game.  It was the best!

On to 2015!!

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)

1. There are certainly too many bowl games. Except for the competitors’ fans, there seems to be little interest in most of them.  With that said, I loved the semifinals of the first BCS championship playoff.  I have seen plenty of football over the years, but Oregon’s offense was amazing to me.  It’s the Eagles on steroids!  I was awed watching them.  And, like many others, I assume, I did not expect Ohio State to beat Alabama.  In fact, early on, I thought it was going to be an Alabama rout and an embarrassment for the Big Ten.  It was not and I am glad I stayed up to watch until 1:00 AM.  Two terrific games to watch.
2. By the way, I think Oregon versus Ohio State will be an amazing contrast in football styles – old-fashioned, hard-nosed Ohio State football against the video-game look of the Oregon Ducks. I like Oregon to win.
3. I am writing this the day after the NFL’s wild card weekend and I am still waiting for an explanation from the officials for picking up the flag on an obvious pass interference call in the Dallas-Detroit game. I had no vested interest in the outcome, but I think the Lions were unfairly treated when the call was negated.  The official in the FOX broadcast booth felt it was definitely pass interference.
4. Is it me, or does Chris Christie still look quite heavy, despite having some sort of gastric bypass surgery?  There were plenty of shots of him in the Cowboys’ booth with owner Jerry Jones.  I know TV adds 10 pounds, but c’mon.
5. One sad reminder that another year has passed occurred when I read that Kobe Bryant of the NBA Lakers was taking days off because of his age. I remember doing one of his high school games.

(Last week – 3-1)  (174-83-1 overall – 68%)
            NEW ENGLAND
            SEATTLE
            GREEN BAY

We’re about a month into this winter’s high school basketball season in the Lehigh Valley area.  As we embark on the “January” portion of the scholastic schedule, here are three observations of the new hoops season that I feel deserve some extra mention.

1.  Parkland’s extremely good, but…

I’ve been privileged to be surrounded by great minds in many different sports and try to defer to the local sports experts when formulating opinions on who the top teams are expected to be.  It’s for that reason that I rarely see a team play summer league basketball in July and can make “stone-cold” predictions about something that happens in February.  I broke my own rule this past summer when I saw the Parkland boys basketball team dominate in a variety of summer hoops tournaments, and said soon after on “SportsTalk” that I felt the Trojans were unquestionably the team to beat for league and district honors.  I felt good about my statement when I heard much smarter basketball minds proclaiming similar expectations as we got closer to the winter sports season–some even believing Parkland could go undefeated during the regular season.

This year’s Trojans’ team reminds me of the Emmaus boys team led by Aaron Grey, who would go on to play in the NBA.  They blitzed through the league playoffs and entered the District XI playoffs with a 28-0 record.  Their season came to a sudden and amazingly fast conclusion when they lost in the first round of the district playoffs.  This year’s Parkland team, albeit without the size of a Grey-type of player, might actually be deeper than that Emmaus team.  Clearly they continue to be the favorite in this area–there aren’t many Lehigh Valley teams that can play with them.  However, I do believe there are a few teams that could step up and cause Parkland trouble on a given night.

Here’s some of the highlights of several “other” top EPC teams playing during the first month of the season…

2.  A “somewhat” bizarre Colonial League start.

For what it’s worth, the current Colonial League standings are very close to my best guesses to the correct order of the standings.  But what has surprised me is some of the individual game results so far this season.  For example, I thought Bangor would be the number-one team in their division, but Bron Holland’s team has once again raised the bar again this season.  In the past, the Slaters would build a quality team for several years…peak for one or two years…then return to “rebuilding mode” for several more seasons.  But lately, Bangor seems to bounce back despite losing talent to graduation and surpass expectations.  They posted dominating wins over the first few weeks of the season, with many different players stepping up, while playing “lights-out” defense in most of their ball games.

In addition to Bangor, Saucon Valley, Salisbury and Southern Lehigh are also teams jumping out to solid starts.  However, that has not kept other teams from challenging the league’s top squads, as Wilson proved by just falling short in their attempt to beat the Slaters and Panthers before Christmas, and then capturing the annual Easton Rotary Championship just before New Year’s Eve.  Also, common opponents results have not been very revealing.  A repeating trend has team “A” beating team “B” soundly one night, only to lose to team “C” (a team that previously lost to team “B”).  It has made for a very entertaining first month to the season, although clearly the best game that I have seen so far this year is Saucon Valley/Notre Dame’s overtime battle, as seen on RCN-TV (available for free through RCN On-Demand).

Here are some of the highlights from that game.

3. Catty’s Changing Guard.

I thought it was a tremendous decision for Catasauqua to name Dave Troxell as their new athletic director this fall.  The only disappointing aspect about the move was that I would no longer see Dave coaching a girls basketball program that featured some of the school’s greatest athletic moments with him at the helm.  While the program struggled after his first departure from the team a few years back, I was confident that it would return to glory with him in charge.  With his promotion, I felt there were very few people reasonably able of taking over that position who could lead the team’s rebuilding efforts as swiftly as if Coach Trox himself were in charge.  I was happy to see one of those people, Ed Seidick, was chosen as their new head coach.  Ed is a Lehigh Valley guy who’s been a part of one of the top girls’ programs in the area, working under the tutelage of Jeff Jacksits.  He’s worked with some of the top female basketball athletes over the last several seasons, and the Northampton basketball program has been a constant contender at the 4A level for many years.

While the team may not be at playoff-level this year, I am confident it won’t be too long before we see the Rough Riders girls team back in the playoff picture.

What observations have you made about the 2014-15 edition of high school basketball in the Lehigh Valley area?  Which teams and players have stuck out in your mind so far?  Email your      comments to RCNSportsTalk@rcn.com and join Toomey Anderson, Tom Stoudt, Joe Craig and myself as we look at the first half of the basketball season and preview the second half on the January 15th edition of “RCN SportsTalk” (live at 6pm on RCN-TV).

Whitehall High School dedicated their court to Coach Dick Tracy this week. I was honored to emcee the event.

“Pleasant”, “congenial”, “sympathetic”, “sociable”, “complaisant” are all words I would NOT use to describe Dick Tracy. “Cranky”, “obstinate”, “hard-nosed”, and “ornery” seem to come to mind more easily. Yet, he was absolutely loved by his players, respected by his peers and loved by me. Dick Tracy has always been an enigma. I went to visit him at Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Center two weeks ago and asked the receptionist to direct me to Dick Tracy’s room. She said there was no Dick Tracy there. I knew there was some mistake. Maybe he was listed as Coach Tracy. No. But they had a Frances R. Tracy on the third floor. I worked with the man for forty years, thought I knew him better than anyone, and never knew his name was Frances. And yet, I was not surprised. He was always hard to figure out, but, one thing he did figure out was how to motivate people and how to coach basketball. Boy, could he do both!

Coach Tracy was 205-51 in his nine years as a head coach at Whitehall, winning 80% of his games. He never came close to having a losing season. His worst record was 20-9 in 1979 when he came back to coach a program that was 6-17 the year before. His teams won five League championships, three district titles, and a PIAA state championship. In 1981, his team was 33-2 winning both the conference and district championships, losing in the PIAA state semifinal to Springfield-Delco. That loss ended Whitehall’s 30-game winning streak.

1981-82 was the magical year. Whitehall lost to Allen 46-44 in the first game of the year in a non-league contest. They went 18-0 in the conference, 3-0 in Districts, and 5-0 in the state playoffs, beating Shamokin, Freedom, Williamsport, Springfield-Delco, and finally New Castle at a sold-out Hershey Arena 42-38. New Castle had been averaging close to 75 points a game. Not against the Tracy “match defense”. The starters’ names – Coval, Noack, Heydt, Bobyak, and Pizarro were etched for life in Lehigh Valley basketball history. And so was the name of their legendary coach – Dick Tracy.

I have known Dick as a coach, a teacher, a professional colleague, and, most importantly, as a friend ever since I began my broadcasting career 44 years ago. What I most remember, however, about the man I spent so much time with the past 30 plus years is the iconic persona thrust upon him by so many people. Dick is a former marine and certainly knows the meaning of “semper fi”- “always faithful.” His former students, his former players, his former assistant coaches absolutely adored the man and I always had the sense they would do anything for him and knew him so well he did not have to solicit their help. They knew what he needed. If respect and friendship are the true measure of a man, Dick Tracy is immeasurable. Today they refer to these people as “peeps” or the “posse”. Dick only hears the words “Coach” or “Mr. Tracy”. These three words represent who this man was to so many people and the love and respect they have thrust upon him. Those he has touched have remained “always faithful.”

It is very special for so many people, including myself, to walk into Coach Tracy Court at Whitehall High School!

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

(Last week – 12-4)  (171-82-1 overall – 68%)
                CAROLINA
                PITTSBURGH
                INDIANAPOLIS
                DALLAS

A very merry season’s greetings and happy new year to everyone!  Chris Michael is on vacation for the next week, so “RCN SportsTalk” co-host Joseph Lynnwood Craig will be manning the “SportsTalk Shop” around the holidays.  Joe gives his weekly views on the Thursday night show and this time, he gives his views on some local high school sports issues over the past year.  Don’t forget, you can get more views and opinions on the top teams, players, games, moments and other special highlights over the past 12 months by watching the “SportsTalk: 2014 Year-in-Review” program that will air on RCN-TV several times before and after New Year’s Day and is also available to watch at anytime for free on RCN On-Demand!

Now, here’s “Joe’s Take” on local championship teams and other outstanding programs in the Lehigh Valley area.

As 2014 comes to a close, a few observations about high school championships seem to be in order.  Keep in mind that last school year’s winter and spring seasons combine with the fall season of this school year to form the 2014 lineup.
First of all, 22 high schools in District XI have won team championships in the year 2014.  There have been 52 champions crowned in 21 sports; 10 boys sports, 10 girls sports and one co-ed sport (golf).
Parkland has overwhelmingly crowned the most champions with 11.  The following list contains the schools with the number of team champions from each school:

Parkland – 11                          Allentown CC – 2                Mahanoy – 1                Pius X – 1
Beth. Cath. – 5                        Notre Dame G.P – 2           Salisbury – 1                Saucon – 1
Emmaus – 4                             Minersville – 2                    Nazareth – 1                 Whitehall – 1
Southern Lehigh – 4              Marion Cath. – 2               Tamaqua – 1                Pine Grove – 1
Moravian Acad. – 4               Easton – 2                            Sch. Haven – 1
Northwestern – 3                  Notre Dame ES – 2             Pen Argyl – 1

A person would wonder how does one school win so many championships as Parkland has?   Surely the athletes are not any bigger, stronger, faster, or more skilled than their counterparts at other schools.  I’m sure that they eat similar foods, drink similar water, dress the same way and enjoy the same activities as any other teenagers. I’m not sure what the answer is, but I suspect it has a lot to do with off-season preparation, camps, and facilities available to them, along with the community support that is provided in feeder programs across the board. Whatever it is, the other schools and communities better take note.  They all need to step up if they want to compete with Parkland.

Another comment would be to notice the number of championships that a small school like Moravian Academy has won.  They’ve won four championships while many other schools have won none.  That’s amazing when you think about it.  Granted they have won in small school classifications but in three of their titles they beat many schools in the AA classification.  Those sports were Boys Tennis, Golf, and Girls Tennis.  They also won in A classification Boys Soccer.  By the way, they were the champs in that category.  I think that is noteworthy.

There have been some great teams from District XI this past year, so here are a few that come to mind.  The following teams have won State championships this past year: Bethlehem Catholic in wrestling (AA), Parkland Girls Volleyball (AA), and Moravian Academy Boys Soccer (AA).  There will be a lot of discussion in local media over the next  few weeks regarding great games and great performances by teams and individuals and we sure have had our share.  District XI has plenty of great high school athletes this year and a history of some of the best in the state.  Perhaps we will get into these in the future.
Until then, that’s Joe’s Take!

Whitehall High School dedicated their court to Coach Dick Tracy this week.  I was honored to emcee the event.

“Pleasant”, “congenial”, “sympathetic”, “sociable”, “complaisant” are all words I would NOT use to describe Dick Tracy.  “Cranky”, “obstinate”, “hard-nosed”, and “ornery” seem to come to mind more easily.  Yet, he was absolutely loved by his players, respected by his peers and loved by me.  Dick Tracy has always been an enigma.  I went to visit him at Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Center two weeks ago and asked the receptionist to direct me to Dick Tracy’s room.  She said there was no Dick Tracy there.  I knew there was some mistake.  Maybe he was listed as Coach Tracy.  No.  But they had a Frances R. Tracy on the third floor.  I worked with the man for forty years, thought I knew him better than anyone, and never knew his name was Frances.  And yet, I was not surprised.  He was always hard to figure out, but, one thing he did figure out was how to motivate people and how to coach basketball.  Boy, could he do both!

Coach Tracy was 205-51 in his nine years as a head coach at Whitehall, winning 80% of his games.  He never came close to having a losing season.  His worst record was 20-9 in 1979 when he came back to coach a program that was 6-17 the year before.  His teams won five League championships, three district titles, and a PIAA state championship.  In 1981, his team was 33-2 winning both the conference and district championships, losing in the PIAA state semifinal to Springfield-Delco.  That loss ended Whitehall’s 30-game winning streak.

1981-82 was the magical year.  Whitehall lost to Allen 46-44 in the first game of the year in a non-league contest.  They went 18-0 in the conference, 3-0 in Districts, and 5-0 in the state playoffs, beating Shamokin, Freedom, Williamsport, Springfield-Delco, and finally New Castle at a sold-out Hershey Arena 42-38.  New Castle had been averaging close to 75 points a game.  Not against the Tracy “match defense”.  The starters’ names – Coval, Noack, Heydt, Bobyak, and Pizarro were etched for life in Lehigh Valley basketball history.  And so was the name of their legendary coach – Dick Tracy.

I have known Dick as a coach, a teacher, a professional colleague, and, most importantly, as a friend ever since I began my broadcasting career 44 years ago. What I most remember, however, about the man I spent so much time with the past 30 plus years is the iconic persona thrust upon him by so many people.  Dick is a former marine and certainly knows the meaning of “semper fi”- “always faithful.”  His former students, his former players, his former assistant coaches absolutely adored the man and I always had the sense they would do anything for him and knew him so well he did not have to solicit their help.  They knew what he needed.  If respect and friendship are the true measure of a man, Dick Tracy is immeasurable.  Today they refer to these people as “peeps” or the “posse”.  Dick only hears the words “Coach” or “Mr. Tracy”.  These three words represent who this man was to so many people and the love and respect they have thrust upon him.  Those he has touched have remained “always faithful.”

It is very special for so many people, including myself, to walk into Coach Tracy Court at Whitehall High School!

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

(Last week – 10-5)  (159-78-1 overall – 68%)

            GREEN BAY
            HOUSTON
            PITTSBURGH
            INDIANAPOLIS
            BALTIMORE
            NEW ENGLAND
            MIAMI
            ATLANTA
            MINNESOTA
            SAN DIEGO
            PHILADELPHIA
            DALLAS
            NEW ORLEANS
            SEATTLE
            SAN FRANCISCO
            DENVER      

Time is running out on the 2014 calendar, which means it’s time for our annual shows and “SportsTalk Shop” blog postings that look back at highlights from the past 12 months.  Each year we come up with new categories for our special “RCN SportsTalk” panelists to respond to on our show, which will air several times over the holiday season and also available on RCN On-Demand.  Here’s a look at this year’s topics; you are welcome to email (RCNSportsTalk@rcn.com) your responses to these questions and maybe we’ll read your opinions on the show:

Best Running Back in Eastern PA this fall
Most Intriguing Team in 2014
Most Overplayed Story of 2014
Biggest “Oh My” Moment of 2014
Most Underrated Story of 2014
A “Shout-out” to one sports personality this year
 
Biggest Sign The Sports Apocalypse is Near
Sports Personality You Would Have Liked to See More of in 2014
Best & Worst Sports Decision Made in 2014
Something Witnessed in 2014 That You Hope To See Again
Best Performance By An Underclassmen
Biggest Turnaround in 2014
Most Lasting Image of 2014 (Local & National)

Then, for our last segment…looking ahead to 2015:

Toughest Coaching Challenge for 2015
One Team & Player to watch in 2015
Something “New” You’d Like to See in 2015
One Piece of Advice for an Athlete/Coach in 2015
“Stone-Cold” Lock To Happen 2015

Here are a few of my own responses to these topics (you’ll have to watch the show to get my takes on the rest of them).

For “Most Overplayed Story of 2014,” I have to target ESPN’s thrashing of the 76ers’ ‘tanking’ strategy.  It wasn’t enough that they have been poking fun at the team’s idea of losing on purpose so that they can acquire better draft picks and clear salary cap space to pave the way for a brighter future.  They’ve piled on by constantly putting them on their “Not Top 10” list and frequently ask their NBA analysts about the team’s pitiful plight, repeatedly asking their experts if this is the worst team of all time—in any sport!  If you want to hammer the organization for its theory—fine.  But what has annoyed me of late is that, when Magic Johnson suggests that his Lakers lose on purpose to follow the same idea, they fall over themselves praising his “ingenious” theory.

Hello…national hypocrites?  You can’t bash one team’s idea for months, then praise another team for the exact same idea just because you’re fans of the greatest Lakers player of all time.  Have some backbone and either stick with your initial opinion, or get off the Sixers’ collective backs and stop trashing them every chance you get.  Yes, we know they stink—and they’re good at being bad.  That’s the whole idea.  Stop reporting their losses like you’re surprised…and remember how much you criticized them if they are contending for a world title four or five…or six…years from now.

A “Shout-out” to one sports personality this year:  Salisbury’s girls basketball head coach, Joe Mladosich.  He not only earned his 200^th coaching win this past year, but, like so many scholastic coaches, did it without the fanfare and publicity that other sports garnish.  In fact, Coach Mladosich tried to kept the approaching honor a secret from the team.  Most of his players didn’t even know when he was going to eclipse the milestone victory, and the few associated with the program who did know, he asked to keep it a secret.  I had a chance to speak with his girls and they all spoke highly of their coach and felt honored to be part of his program and his special victory.  When we interviewed him for “SportsTalk” about his accomplishment this past year, he was very unassuming about his success and instead placed the credit on his assistant coaches and his players.  On behalf of all the coaches who pass up self-promotion to put the spotlight on their team, I’d like to recognize Joe’s unselfish acts as my “shout-out” person of the year.

Most Intriguing Team in 2014.  No doubt for me…I’d have to go with the Becahi girls basketball program.  Very few Lehigh Valley teams in any sport had more success than the Hawks in 2014…only to see their head coach, Bill Lanscek, get the hook at the end of the season.  Becahi responded by hiring one of the brightest basketball minds in Megan Dellegrotti, fresh off multiple appearances (and wins) in the Colonial League Girls’ Basketball Championship game, only to have her resign less than two weeks before the start of the season.  I’m not going to speculate here on what’s going on with the program and their coaching staff.  I’ve heard tremendous things about their newest head coach, Jose Medina.  His team should again contend for a state title in 2015, but, unfortunately, the coaching storylines for this program made them my most intriguing squad from this past year.

Biggest “Oh My” Moment of 2014.  I’m going to have to cheat a little on this one and add an “s” to the word “moment.”  However, there were just too many highlights to separate just one from the games involving the Notre Dame and Catasauqua boys basketball teams (we’ll have highlights of these games on our TV show).  These two teams made for some of the most exhilarating moments of the year in both the Colonial League AND District XI 2A Championship games.  Half-court shots made at the buzzer, one player (Vincent Eze) blocking ten shots in a game, a last second rebound/game-winning basket (also by Eze), amazing baskets from Brandon Purrone, David Wetherhold, Dakota Shiffer, Tannor Reed and many others…all made for multiple great moments.  Throw-in the fact that the one championship game had to be rescheduled and came on the heels of our biggest snowstorm of the year AND came at the end of four consecutive broadcasts I did for RCN, definitely made for a memorable night.

Sports Personality You Would Have Liked to See More of in 2014.  Former Olympian, Spokesperson, Author, Coach and Humanitarian Joetta Clark Diggs was one of the many sports personalities that I was blessed to meet for the first time this past year, and was so fortunate to hear some of her stories and views on women sports issues this past year on our studio show.  She has very interesting views on many topics, runs camps that benefit local youths and recently published a new book.  In order to even start giving due to all of her accomplishments, I’m going to focus on her in an upcoming edition of the “SportsTalk Shop” early in 2015.

I’ll be on vacation for the next several days but be sure to check back as “SportsTalk” co-host Joe Craig will also share his thoughts looking back at the past year.  Also, check out our “year-in-review” show on RCN-TV and don’t forget to tune in to all of RCN’s special holiday programming and its Christmas Takeover.  My personal favorites are the “Jack Benny Christmas Special” and a true classic—the Jimmy Durante film, “A Christmas Wish.”  Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!

The holidays – it’s the most wonderful time of the year, right?  Well, to some extent.  However, there are the trips to the malls, the list of gifts to buy, the holiday parties, the forgotten present, etc.  So right about now, you are probably starting to become concerned about your holiday budget.  You may have set a cost limit on gifts and entertaining and are now realizing that your budget may be totally unrealistic.  So you begin to stress over finding the money to pay the extra bills associated with the end of the year.  Imagine if that stress was totally eliminated because you earn so much money that you do not have to think about money at all.  There are many, many athletes who have that luxury.  Here are the Top Ten moneymakers for 2014:

1. Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan earns $43.8 million a year or $3,650,000 per month, which is $121,667 a day and he is #10!
2. Tennis player Rafael Nadal makes “only” $14.5 million playing tennis, but gets $30 million in endorsements.
3. Golfer Phil Mickelson does much better endorsing products ($48 million) than he does playing golf, which brings in a paltry $5.2 million.
4. Roger Federer of tennis fame made $4.2 million on the court, but brought in $52 million in endorsements.
5. No one does better by not playing than Tiger Woods. He earned $55 million in endorsements and “just” $6.2 million playing golf.
6. The NBA is represented by two players. Kobe Bryant makes $31 million in endorsements and $30.5 million from the Lakers.
7. Lionel Messi of soccer fame kicks the ball around for $41.7 million and receives an extra $23 million in endorsements.
8. LeBron James does quite well playing basketball, taking in $19.3 million, but those commercials and product deals garner another $53 million for a grand total of $72.3 million.
9. The highest-paid soccer player is Cristiano Ronaldo who makes $52 million playing and another $28 million selling himself to advertisers. That is a cool $80 million.
10. Boxer Floyd Mayweather topped this list this year, earning $105 million WITH NO ENDORSEMENTS! He earned it all in the ring – $8,750,000 per month, $291,667 per day, $12,152.78 every hour of the day!

So there you have it.  Or rather they have it and you, not so much.  So as you trek out one

more time for that gift, that outfit, that box of candy, or bottle of wine, it is important that

we remember that not only do we wish for “peace on earth”, but also for “good will towards men” no matter how much money they earn. But we still have to check the price tag first!

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)

• Very quietly on Sunday night, Kobe Bryant moved past Michael Jordan in career NBA scoring and into third place. He scored 26 points against the Timberwolves and now has 32,310 points in his 19 seasons.  He trails only Karl Malone (36,928) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387).
• Johnny Football (Manziel) became the 21^st starting quarterback since 1999 for the Browns and threw for just 80 yards, no touchdowns, and two interceptions as the Browns lost to the Bengals 30-0. The Browns will not make the playoffs for the 12^th consecutive season and are probably looking for their 22^nd
• Speaking of a bad day at the office, Aaron Rodgers of the Packers may have had his worst day as a pro as the Packers lost to the Bills 21-13. He threw no touchdowns,  two interceptions, fumbled, and had a quarterback rating of 34.3, the worst of his career.  By the way, the Bills swept the NFC North this season.
• If you are an Eagles’ fan, you just became a Colts’ fan. You need Indianapolis, already the AFC South winner, to beat Dallas on Sunday and the Eagles must win out.  Just a note, the Colts are 2-4 against teams with winning records.
• Next Tuesday night, the Whitehall High School gymnasium will be dedicated and named for Dick Tracy. It will be a special night for my long-time fellow announcer and one of the great Lehigh Valley coaches ever.  RCN-TV will be there.  Please join us.

(Last week – 12-3)  (149-72-1 overall – 67%)
            
           JACKSONVILLE
            SAN DIEGO
            PHILADELPHIA
            MIAMI
            GREEN BAY
            DETROIT
            ATLANTA
            NEW ENGLAND
            PITTSBURGH
            CAROLINA
            BALTIMORE
            ST. LOUIS
            BUFFALO
            INDIANAPOLIS
            SEATTLE
            DENVER