The End of the Innocence
Remember when the days were long
And rolled beneath a deep blue sky
Didn’t have a care in the world….

But “Happily ever after” fails
And we’ve been poisoned by these fairy tales
The lawyers dwell on small details
Since daddy had to fly

We’ll sit and watch the clouds roll by
And the tall grass wave in the wind
You can lay your head back on the ground
And let your hair fall all around me
Offer up your best defense
But this is the end
This is the end of the innocence

–Don Henley, “The End of the Innocence”

This song came to mind the other day following a conversation I was having with some of our RCN-TV crew members about, strangely enough, the Philadelphia 76ers. At that time, there were rumors about potential deals the Sixers could make, and one of the more prominent ones discussed included Jeremy Lin coming to Philly. During our debate, one person said that Lin might be the best available player to help the team this year—to which I quickly jumped in and said that they’re not looking to acquire him to help the team win this year. I explained the, uh hem, logic, behind the philosophy that the 76ers don’t want to improve this year. In fact, having a significant improvement this season could set the franchise back years. Let me explain…

For folks not familiar with the peculiarities of the NBA salary “cap,” the 76ers are trying to peel away as much money as possible to try to clear cap “space,” so that they have funds down the road (aka, 3-4 years from now) to acquire big name talent. The flip side of that is there is also a salary “floor” where the team must spend a certain amount of money to avoid paying a penalty. What the Sixers are trying to do is find the most expensive (overpaid?) player(s) they can find to help them get to the salary minimum, but make sure they don’t acquire enough “quality” players so that the team struggles again this season and has a better chance of a lottery pick next summer.

The benefit of acquiring Lin or an expensive option like him (he has since gone to the Lakers) is that they could pick up a player with a big enough contract so that they wouldn’t have to add additional players to get to the salary floor. The Sixers are looking to avoid bringing in additional “better” players because higher quality players mean the team would win more games—which is clearly not something they want to do. To put it another way, the team would rather bring in one slightly better player with a huge contract (like Lin), instead of having to bring in, say, three quality players making less money to avoid running the risk of winning more games.

To people who are not familiar with this new, ‘unique’ strategy, this approach to building a sports franchise may seem somewhat bizarre. Yet most Philly sports fans have accepted and even embrace the “together we build” mantra and are perfectly willing to be successfully bad for the near future (although I don’t think some fans realize just how long this may actually take). If successful, it will probably be the mold that other teams use for years to come.

In full disclosure, I have basically been on board with this strategy from the beginning. Sure, I did a double-take when the team traded away their only premium piece in Jrue Holiday last year. And I certainly had to catch my breath in last month’s NBA draft when the team selected injury-riddled Joel Embiid and Dario Saric, who, if he plays for the 76ers at all, won’t be available until 2016. But when I stopped to consider “the plan” the team adopted, it all seemed to make perfectly good sense.

Until I said it out loud.

Is this really what professional sports is turning into…and what exactly are we grooming the sports fans of the future to accept?

If my son was a Sixers or pro basketball fan—which he is not—how exactly do I explain this “anti-winning” strategy to someone under the age of 16, and have it make enough sense to get them interested in the sport? Should we encourage our young people to ignore badly played basketball for the next two to three seasons because we really don’t want to win anyway? Do we put the parental control lock on the Sixers for three years until they become something worth watching? Or do we follow another team and show examples of how well they play only to then “bandwagon-jump” over to the 76ers when (if) they start having a winning season? This is the Delaware Valley after all, and the proposition of the third idea disgusts me.

In the meantime, the young people in Eastern Pennsylvania will find some other things of interest to them…the Eagles, Flyers, video games or what have you. Hopefully, they’ll somehow find a way to get excited about the sport of basketball and learn about the excitement of the sport by watching some local high school and college teams. And IF the team is good by the 2017-18 NBA season, possibly the novelty of a winning pro basketball team will attract older kids back to the sport.

Or perhaps we need to start teaching kids about all the business aspects of sports before we tell them to work on their free throw shooting or teach them how to figure out players’ rebounds-per-game averages. Maybe it’s time to sit our young people down and say that, while winning is stressed, and sometimes, over-stressed, at the lower levels, there are certain situations when it’s OK if we don’t go all-out and try our best to succeed.

Perhaps we should be having more adult-type conversations on how the modern sports world is evolving, and cut back on teaching sports fundamentals, the histories of our favorite teams and simply, having fun with games.

Maybe it is the end of the innocence.

“That’s why you play the game.” This phrase has been spoken many times in the sporting world after a huge underdog leaves the arena of competition with an almost unimaginable victory. For example, in the early 1900’s, Man o’ War had never lost a horse race in its career until it was defeated by a 100-1 long-shot named, appropriately, Upset.

• In 2007, 27-point underdog Appalachian State traveled to Ann Arbor to take on college football’s powerhouse, the Michigan Wolverines. App. State was a 27- point underdog. Appalachian State won the game by a 34-32 score.
• Super Bowl III was won by Joe Namath’s New York Jets 16-7 over the Baltimore Colts. The Colts were overwhelming favorites. Namath announced his team would win and they did.
• The New England Patriots took a perfect record into the 2007 Super Bowl against the Giants. The Patriots were favored by 12. The Giants spoiled their perfect season with a 17-14 win.
• And who can forget perhaps the greatest upset of all when the United States defeated the Soviet Union at the 1980 Winter Olympics? The Soviets were a team loaded with experience and players known to be the best in the world. The US was a bunch of random players from college hockey. This is usually listed as the greatest upset ever in sports.

How does this happen? What is it that would motivate an athlete to achieve what many obviously considered impossible? How can we use some of these lessons to overcome many of the obstacles that fate throws at us in our everyday lives? Perhaps, the answers can be found in a new book titled, The Sky Is NOT the Limit, Discovering the True North for Your Life’s Path.

First off, I have not yet read the book. It was just published. However, I am very familiar with both authors. Dr. Jarrod Spencer is a Lafayette graduate who is president and founder of Mind of the Athlete, “a sports psychology company committed to the emotional health of athletes”. Jarrod sends me an interesting e-mail every week with tips on improving performance in sports and in life. The book is co-authored by Phil Richards, who is a renowned businessman, a successful author, and a member of Easton High School’s Hall of Fame. He is also my son-in-law’s uncle. I did read his Secrets to Sustainable Success. He just finished Practice on Purpose. These are men I highly respect.

When these men write, the underlying theme is ‘There are a few rules to govern all you do’:
1) Give your best effort
2) Don’t be afraid to fail
3) Capture your passion for something and it can motivate you to great results.

You can order the hardcover work on Amazon for $29.95. It just might motivate you to “play the game” no matter the odds, no matter the result, no matter the game!

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
1. I know many caught World Cup fever. But 120 minutes of play in the championship final before the first and ONLY goal was scored left me WITH a fever. I already feel better today and I have four years until I risk another soccer malady.

2. “Defense wins championships”. Another sports adage. The Phillies have not committed an error in their last 59 innings. They enter the All-Star break 10 games out of first place and a winning percentage of .442, their lowest since 1997. Defense will not win a championship for the Phils.

3. Don’t you hate when one of your favorite team’s ex-players comes back and just plays great? And you can’t help but think about the “what if he still played for your team?” Former Phillie Jayson Werth has been all-world in July – 40 at bats; .375 average; 14 runs scored; 6 home runs; 19 RBI’s; 8 walks! What if…?

4. Did you notice that LeBron James signed with Cleveland? If you didn’t, what planet were you visiting the past month? So put yourself in the seat of a Cleveland fan. Your baseball team is playing pretty well, the Browns drafted Johnny Manziel, and the Cavaliers now have LeBron. The last championship in Cleveland occurred in 1964 when the Browns won the NFL championship. There’s another one coming, baby!!

5. The Parkland boys’ basketball team won the prestigious Stellar basketball tournament this past weekend, going 6-0. It was the fifth title, but the first since 2009. They won it with talent and depth. Parkland will be heavily favored to win the inaugural season of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference. By the way, the Parkland girls finished second to Boyertown.

We’re under a month away from the Major League Baseball trading deadline.  The Phillies, after a brief five game win streak, have fallen once again into the NL East basement.  With the lack of life shown in the team’s most recent series again the Braves, the speculation over what possible moves the Phillies could/should/might make are reaching a fevered pitch (forgive the pun).  Today, I break down the latest news and insights and throw in my own one-and-a-half cents’ worth on the “tradeability” of the Phillies position players (pitchers will follow in my next blog entry).  Players are rated on a scale of 1 (least likely) to 10 (most likely) in three categories: how easily they could be traded, chances they will be dealt and, in my humble opinion, SHOULD they be shipped away.

CHASE UTLEY
After a torrid start, Utley has rather quickly slumped badly over the last several weeks (his batting average over the last month is lower than Ben Revere’s).  He’s also made several glaring physical and mental errors in the field that have hurt the team.  Is there something wrong with him?  Utley–being Utley–is remaining tight-lipped.  Should this be the time to unload the team’s most popular player and gain arguably the biggest return of any position player?
TRADEABILITY:  8 (even at his age, his ability, track record and team-friendly contract make him an ideal pickup for several bigger market teams).
WILL THEY: 2 (the Phillies organization has resisted trading away its core and highly marketable players, and Utley’s departure would be met with the most resistance from the fan base).
SHOULD THEY: 1 (the Phillies insist they will not rebuild, and Utley is an ideal player who can lead newer players–whoever they are–over the next two to three seasons).

JIMMY ROLLINS
Now that he has captured the Phillies all-time hit record, there have been several stories written about whether or not Rollins would waive his no-trade clause–opinions seemed tied directly to whether the team is winning or losing.
TRADEABILITY: 5 (he’s nearly achieved his easy goals, which would activate another guaranteed contract, which makes him harder to deal, along with his advanced age and declining numbers in recent years–although his batting average is up from where it was a year ago).
WILL THEY: 5 (the team has to move someone, and there will be several teams in larger markets who could use a proven infielder who has a history of big hits and leading his team to a championship, which adds to his trade value).
SHOULD THEY: 2  (the Phillies “shortstop of the future” –J.P. Crawford–is at least two years away and currently playing Class-A ball in Clearwater.  Plus, the team would miss Rollins’ underrated defensive ability, which has continued to be stellar throughout his career, regardless of any offensive slumps).

CARLOS RUIZ
As has happened several times this year, when a player is about to be a factor in the 2014 season, he gets hurt (see Darin Ruf, Jeff Manship, Mike Adams, Reid Brignac, et al).
TRADEABILITY: 3 (his concussion makes him a liability, and there are very few teams in need of catching help that could afford his player-friendly contract).
WILL THEY: 4 (less likely than Rollins to be dealt, although if a playoff-chasing team loses a starting catcher during the season’s second half…).
SHOULD THEY: 6 (his defense and ability to handle pitchers have made him a valuable part of this team even when he’s not hitting, but he’s getting older at a difficult position and will become even more injury prone, and unloading his contract would help free up money for the “retooling” efforts).

DARIN RUF
Seems to constantly be in someone’s doghouse in the organization (and no one knows why for certain), and Ruf’s pair of injuries have not helped his cause to stay on the big league roster this season, although, when healthy, he could be the team’s left fielder if Dom Brown continues to struggle.
TRADEABILITY: 9 (he’s shown flashes of power and, in the right situation, could boost a team’s offense for a club needing a designated hitter, a solid first basemen or average left fielder on defense).
WILL THEY: 7 (the organization has stated often they don’t seem him as an everyday player, and given Ryan Howard’s situation–see below–there may not be a full-time place for him under the team’s current front office).
SHOULD THEY: 4  (I can’t help thinking a power-hitting right-handed hitter who could spell Howard and at least platoon in left would help an offensively-starved team, but he could be packaged to bring back some value, and another injury or poor showing the rest of this year could drastically reduce his trade value).

MARLON BYRD
Maybe the brightest highlight of this team’s position players…he now leads the team in home runs.
TRADEABILITY: 8 (could help multiple teams as a outfielder, DH or a right-hand pinch-hitter/spot starter; a smaller market team would have to be in dire need to soak up his contract or get the Phillies to eat some dollars).
WILL THEY: 7 (it wouldn’t be the first time the Phillies left themselves offensively-barren in the outfield).
SHOULD THEY: 5 (he’s the team’s only proven right-handed power bat and the organization insists they want to remain competitive; plus, when the Mets traded him they didn’t exactly obtain a young Jeff Bagwell-type in return, and he was a year younger and under a more team-friendly contract, so I don’t think he can bring back much to help the team’s future).

RYAN HOWARD, DOM BROWN, BEN REVERE, JOHN MAYBERRY
These players, along with most of the reserves on the roster, are either untradeable because of their contract (Howard), or would get you so little in return, there would be very little point in dealing them, unless you get lucky with a “change of scenery” type of player.  It’s doubtful any high-level minor league player–save Mikael Franco–would get you too much in return individually and only a skilled trader could bundle several of these players to get you anything significant in return.  Only a team desperate for a “some power but little average” bat like Howard could get you some value in return, but even then you’d have to suck up a lion’s share of Howard’s remaining money-owed on his weighty contract.

Which players do you think will stay with the team after the trading deadline?  Which players should the team look to acquire in return?  Send us your comments and keep an eye out in the coming days for my next blog entry taking a look at the latest news on the possible Phillies pitchers who could be on the move.  And don’t forget to join us on “RCN SportsTalk,” Thursdays live from 6-7 pm to talk baseball with us!

About every six weeks, I am harassed by a Microsoft message telling me that my mailbox is full and I must delete messages immediately.  This message appears on a daily basis until I do something about it.  This, to me, is like cleaning out the basement at home.  I am just not that interested.  At home, I can always shut the door at the top of the steps.  No one needs to see the mess that exists down those cellar steps.  I feel the same about my e-mail.  No one needs to see the mess.  But when the order comes from a higher power like Microsoft, I listen.  Luckily, there are always items that are easier than others to just erase.  For example:

1)   A request for me to become a local baseball umpire. I have never had a desire to become even an international umpire so this one is easy – ERASE!

2)  A request for me to become a local baseball umpire.  I have never had a desire to become even an international umpire so this one is easy – ERASE!

3)   The rules of Foot Golf.  With the soccer rage going on right now, it’s no surprise that someone came up with the idea of “soccer golf”.  You kick a soccer ball instead of hitting a golf ball until you put it into a much-expanded hole!  This actually looks like it might be fun until I pull at least one hamstring.  And, there are no courses around here anyway – ERASE!

4)  Did you know that Dog the Bounty Hunter allegedly abandoned his son?  I didn’t know much of anything about Dog the Bounty Hunter let alone that he may have had poor parenting skills until I got an e-mail telling me.  I know I would be slightly concerned anyway if my father’s name is “Dog”.  His son wanted to be interviewed to tell his story.  This did not seem to fit the image of a typical guest on Sportstalk – ERASE!

5)  Someone offered to be interviewed about “How to be the Happiest Person on the Planet”.  This did intrigue me until I realized the work that would be involved in knowing I was the happiest person.  How many people would I need to survey before I would feel like I had a legitimate shot at being #1?  And… what about the guy who wants to tell me how to achieve this lofty goal?  If he is successful, where does that put him in the ranking?  Why would he want to teach me how to be happier than he is?  I would feel guilty if that happened; then I wouldn’t be happy.  It’s a vicious circle – ERASE!

6)  Are you interested in the most famous biting incidents in sports?  An e-mail thought I would want to discuss bites because Louis Suarez bit a soccer player in the World Cup.  It would be hard for anyone to surpass the Mike Tyson chomp of Evander Holyfield’s ear during a heavyweight boxing match.  That’s #1 in my book – “The Tastiest Bite on the Planet” – ERASE!

This is a small sample of the hundreds and hundreds of e-mails I need to look at today in order to avoid tomorrow’s reminder, “Your Mailbox is Full…”

NUTS!  I just got another one inviting me to interview someone concerning LeBron James’ opting out of his Miami Heat contract to pursue more money.  LeBron’s net worth is estimated to be $250 million – ERASE!!

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)

1) This past week, I attended two events that were a first in my life (and that’s saying something since I am old).  The first was a “groom shower” thrown for a co-worker who was getting married.  The second was a “gender reveal” party to announce the sex of a baby to all including the parents.  Just think, two items in one week checked off my “bucket list” that I didn’t know were on my “bucket list”.

2) Did you know that the World Cup championship trophy will be presented by a Brazilian fashion model? That model just happens to be Gisele Bundchen, the wife of New England Patriots star quarterback, Tom Brady.  Can we assume she loves futbol and football?  The ceremony takes place July 13.

3)  Speaking of Tom Brady, his longtime Patriots center, Dan Koppen, was inducted into the Lehigh Valley Football Hall of Fame on Wednesday night.  Dan, who was coached by our own football sideline analyst, Tony Cocca, came into town for the award.  He retired from football having snapped the ball to two of the greatest ever to play quarterback in the NFL – Brady and Peyton Manning.

4)  The Lafayette- Lehigh football tickets for the 150^th matchup to be played at Yankee Stadium on November 22, 2014 are completely sold out.  That’s right – around 48,000 tickets have been sold!  It should be a great event for college football’s most-played rivalry!

I wish everyone a very safe and happy July 4^th weekend!

This Thursday marks the official end to the 2013-14 scholastic sports calendar year—the McDonald’s All-Star High School Football Game–played each year at Nazareth’s Andrew Leh Stadium. It is a special time as we honor our local gridiron stars one final time (for those not playing at the collegiate level) and the event raises money for a great cause.

While football is extremely competitive in the Eastern Pennsylvania region, this game is special because it showcases talented athletes one more time and, in many cases, makes long-time rivals, teammates. The one reoccurring comment that I hear year after year about this game is the memories that are created by playing in this contest. By combining one team’s great players with another’s great players, they have an opportunity to truly admire each other’s talents, can talk about how they gained their skills and share stories from their high school careers. There are many friendships forged during the weeks leading up to this game, and many student-athletes enjoy the on-field banter that takes place with new teammates. Friendships also develop with the players they are playing against for this game—sometimes facing athletes they have never had a chance to see up-close-and-personal during their careers.

For many athletes, it can be a sacrifice…giving up your first few weeks of summer vacation or summer college prep classes, practicing in pads and equipment in 90-degree heat, getting yelled at by coaches (although not nearly as loud as in the fall) when you run the wrong play in practice, et al. But to a man, I’ve never heard any athlete say that he did not enjoy participating in this event.

Here are a few thoughts from the participating coaches and players on how they’ll approach this year’s contest, and then I have a few areas to concentrate on for the game itself.

As far as the actual game, keep an eye on the quarterbacks in this year’s contest. I remember two years ago when a group of talented QBs like Nosovitch, Harding and the like all graduated, there was one sports columnist who said that the passing ability would dip a bit. But I remember seeing young players, then sophomores, with amazing potential and a number of those athletes developed into outstanding quarterbacks in their own right. The All-Star game’s rules usually lend themselves to helping a passing attack, but I think some of these signal-callers have something to prove and will want to air it out one more time on a local stage.

Also, keep an eye on the center of both team’s defenses. While sometimes undermentioned by us in the media, there were some outstanding defensive tackles, middle linebackers and safeties this past football season—and not just at the big schools. Palisades, Southern Lehigh and Catty, to name a few, had some of their top defensive players—EVER—in the school’s history. While the smaller schools sometimes get outshined in terms of publicity, this Thursday will be an excellent time to showcase all the tremendous defensive players in the Eastern Pennsylvania region.

What other players and positions will you be watching for Thursday’s game? Who do you think will win? Send us your comments to RCNSportsTalk@rcn.com and tune in Thursday’s live at 6pm as we talk local sports issues with you!

It seems like, all of a sudden, everyone is watching soccer. I have never been a real fan. To me, there is too much insignificant action, not enough scoring, and I just don’t understand all the intricacies of the game. I know it is the world’s most popular sport, but it has never been part of my world. Even in high school, my basketball coach wanted me to play soccer because of the “eye-foot” coordination. He thought, probably correctly, that it would make me a better basketball player. I chose football instead. Obviously, World Cup soccer has become the rage. The US is certainly playing well despite the heartbreaking tie on Sunday, and I feel obligated to give it some attention. After all, the hockey playoffs and the NBA playoffs ended quickly and, except for major league baseball, there is not much going on in the sports world right now. So here is what I will do:

1. Focus on the skill level needed to control the ball, pass the ball, shoot the ball, etc. I know free kicks and corner kicks are important so I will pay special attention to those aspects of the game.

2. Like any sport, soccer has their star players. They seem to be the most involved on the soccer field – everything seems to run through them so I will pay special attention to them and their skills. I am also sure that the announcers will make me aware of an up and coming player on every team. I will try to see what makes them special.

3. I don’t like stalling and there is plenty of it in soccer. Teams in the lead try to keep possession of the ball, walk to throw-ins, feign injury, etc. They will do just about anything to keep the clock running. After all, 1-0 in soccer is not all that unusual. So maybe I have to appreciate the skills involved in just plain stalling with the lead. I don’t find it exciting but understand the strategy.

4. Passing is the most enjoyable part of the game (unless it’s a last-second Portugal cross for a header into the US goal). Sharp passes to open teammates, long kicks into the offensive end, cross passes to set up a shot on goal are all to be appreciated. Momentum, like all other sports, seems to be particularly important in soccer.

5. Feel the emotion! Players inevitably will physically challenge one another for a 50/50 ball, throw an elbow here or there, push another player in the back, and force the official to reach for a yellow or red card for a major violation. This I know I can get into.

6. Yell when someone scores. If you really don’t care who wins, cheer for any goal by any team! Goals don’t come very often, so cheer when you have the opportunity.

I will let you know how this strategy works for me. USA! USA! USA!

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
1. I’m sure by now you heard about the “rookie dinner” paid for by Eagles’ offensive lineman Lane Johnson with some help from fellow linemen Todd Herremans and Evan Mathis. He took 16 fellow linemen out for dinner and ran up a bill of $17,747.86 or $1044.00 per man. How do you get such a high bill, you might ask? 14 – 1 ounce shots of Louis XIII de Remy Martin for $3,150. 5- 2 ounce glasses of the same – $1,375. A bottle of cabernet – $3,495. A side of creamed corn was $10. Five 32-ounce steaks were ordered at $90 each. What are you having for dinner tonight? I’ll enjoy my meatloaf.

2. As a kid, I remember people always thinking that big-time professional sports were “fixed” to go the limit in a “best of” series like MLB baseball, NBA basketball and NHL hockey. I never would go along with their reasoning that it was all about the extra money. When the NHL Kings and the NBA Spurs won in five games this year, I smiled. It is nice to feel right once in awhile.

3. Speaking of the Men’s US Open – for the first time in history, the women played the same course as the men, Pinehurst #2, the following week for their US Women’s Open Championship. The previous week, the women practiced with the men to prepare for their tournament. The women played very well and women’s golf got a big boost with Michelle Wie winning. After all, she was labeled the “Tiger Woods” of women’s golf years ago. Now, can she maintain her momentum?

4. This past week a federal trademark board ruled that the Washington Redskins nickname is “disparaging of Native Americans” and that the team’s trademark protections should be canceled. It would mean the Redskins would not have financial protection for the use of the trademark. The appeal process, however, could take years. For now, they will remain the Washington Redskins.

5. The World Cup has been a ratings boon for ESPN. For the opening US-Ghana match, ESPN had 11,093,000 viewers. It was the highest-rated and most-viewed men’s soccer match ever on ESPN. This was their highest rating since the BCS National Football Championship had 25,572,000 on January 6.

I would like to put in my one-and-a-half cents on the biggest high school sports story this month in the Lehigh Valley area. The merger between the “Lehigh Valley Conference” and the “Mountain Valley” conference to form the new “Eastern Pennsylvania Conference” or “EPC 18” for short, is a major accomplishment. I present in today’s blog a few opinions of my own, along with reactions from the new league’s administrators and local sports personalities.

Here are a few of the highlights of the EPC 18:
• 3 divisions for “most” sports (one division with teams from the old MVC, a 2nd division with Allen, Dieruff, Becahi, Freedom, Liberty and Easton and a 3rd division with the remaining “LVC” teams)
• 8 teams qualifying for “most” sports’ playoffs (3 division winners & next 5 teams w/best div. records). Seeding for these playoffs will be based solely on best division records (ie, a division winner is not guaranteed one of the top three “seeds”)
• Football is split into 2 divisions (one is the old MVC schools, plus Allen, Dieruff, Becahi) with two “cross-over” games with the other division
• Football will have 2 winners (one from each division); there will be no “conference champion”
• Wrestling with have a “three-tier” system and teams’ status will be recalculated each year based on the previous year’s success
• Sports with fewer participating schools will have adjusted divisions, playoff schedules and formats

First a few of the positives.
There is clearly no perfect way to align all the schools and their sports teams together, but the league organizers have been successful in many ways trying to balance the league as much as possible. I am encouraged by some of the non-athletic programs, among them one spearheaded by Nazareth’s Rusty Amato, to be included in the new league. Since the MVC was facing an uncertain future with just six teams potentially entering the 2014 school year, this merger definitely helps those schools maintain a solid sports schedule going forward. And, contrary to some people’s views in the Lehigh Valley area, there are a number of high quality sports programs from the Poconos and it will not be a ‘cake walk’ to play against all the teams from the former-MVC. I think the Pocono schools that have struggled against the Lehigh Valley teams in the past will benefit and continue to improve by being a member of this conference.

My biggest concern is that the attendance at high school sporting events–which appears to be declining in some districts in recent years–may suffer. There’s no question a Whitehall/Becahi football game or a Nazareth/Easton baseball contest (which will not happen in 2015) would draw more interest than, say Becahi’s football team playing East Stroudsburg-North. For “big games” or come playoff time, it may be harder for parents and fans to travel from one extreme area—geographically speaking—to attend the event at the opposite end of the conference’s territory. Also, and this pertains mostly to football, you lose the option of playing a school from outside the district during the regular season. Coaches would use this opportunity to travel to a different venue or give players a chance to see a different style of play—something that would help a program that has state playoff aspirations.

Plus, I don’t see how prior concerns of an “uneven playing field”–justified or not–will be solved solely based on the new league concept. However, with the dawn of the new era and a regenerated feeling of good-will in the sports community, one can hope past issues will not resurface.

League scheduler and long time sports administrator Mike Schneider told me that he feels the griping over the travel concerns is overrated and I trust he’ll be correct. After all, it is true that many Lehigh Valley schools already play teams from the Poconos as part of their non-conference schedule. I do feel there could be some issues because of the weather. While games scheduled in the southern, slightly warmer regions have a better chance to get played, the games to be played up north are more likely to be postponed, which may force a tougher playing schedule for some teams. Also, many Mountain Valley schools are going until June 25th or later for their school year, which could cause scheduling nightmares for athletic directors. However, the officials in our area have done tremendous work coordinating events around postponements (this past year is an excellent example) and I’m confident they’ll overcome any logistical issues that may arise due to postponements.

Here are some additional thoughts and reactions about the EPC 18 from local personalities (additional interviews and details are available by viewing our June 5th edition of “RCN SportsTalk” through Video-on-Demand):

There have been a long line of bad feelings expressed between certain sports programs and school districts…wounds I am hopeful that will heal in time. I am cautious, but very optimistic about the new EPC. I am excited for the opportunity to become more familiar with all the players, coaches and administrators from our neighboring schools to the north and am anxious for the fall 2014 sports season to get underway. I also wish all involved a very pleasant and restful summer season. I think the region’s athletic directors certainly deserve one!

What are your thoughts on the “new” EPC? What do you feel are the positives and negatives of the merger? Post a comment here or email us at RCNSportsTalk@rcn.com and we’ll be sure to talk about the new league throughout the 2014-15 school year.

I have heard many times from baseball fans that the reason they love the game is that “there is no clock in baseball”. That has never been more evident to me than this past Friday when RCN-TV was producing for the 14th consecutive year the PIAA Baseball Championships for the Pennsylvania Cable Network (PCN). The games are played at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park in University Park. Yes, the same location where Penn State fans enjoy watching the Nittany Lions play football at nearby Beaver Stadium. So, for me and the crew, it is a three hour ride on Thursday to the motel so that we can prepare for the four-game marathon on Friday. We discovered the next day that “marathon” was not a strong enough description of the day.

Friday begins with a RCN team breakfast at the hotel. Up at 7:00, meet at 7:30 AM. Everyone is to be ready to head to the venue at 8:00 AM. Game One is to begin at 10:30. The crew worked meticulously the day before to have everything ready to go when they arrive. They must confirm that everything is working Friday morning. I organized all the materials that I had gathered during the week from the coaches on Thursday in the motel and gave packets of that information to my fellow announcers to go over prior to the games. Upon arrival at the ballpark, our job is to meet with the coaches of the first game, confirm lineups and pronunciations, and become familiar with their teams. All is normal at this point and we are ready for Game One. We all agree that it is imperative that this game moves along in normal fashion to help the time frame for the rest of the day. That did not happen. Game one featured eight hit batsmen and five walks. Throw in only two “1-2-3” half innings and the first game and post-game festivities ended at 1:20 PM.

Game Two was scheduled to start at 1:00 PM! It was pushed back to 2:00. This game featured the big schools – labeled as the AAAA schools and usually featured the most talent. We needed a quick game from these guys. That was not to be. This game went extra innings! It took them eight full innings to decide a winner. It concluded at 5:00 PM. Game three was supposed to start at 3:30 PM. Are you beginning to get the picture?

The 3:30 game was announced that it would begin at 6:00 PM. Twenty minutes later, the stadium personnel decided that a rain storm was on the way. They would cover the field with a tarp and delay the start of the next game. The delay was approximately one hour and game three began at 7:00 PM. We could only pray that this one would have no delay again, just cruise along and we could get to Game Four as quickly as possible. Not a chance! Game Three went two extra innings and was won in the bottom of the ninth on an error. I think the whole crew wanted to hug the kid who did not catch the ball!! That just wouldn’t be right!

The 6:00 game, it was announced would start at 9:40 PM – over 3 ½ hours later than scheduled. Those two teams had been at the ballpark since mid-afternoon. This one moved along rather nicely, took only seven innings and the final medal ceremony and the awarding of the trophies ended at midnight. We just finished on the same day we started!

So, you say, you only worked a 16-hour day. No. No!!! The crew now had to pack up all the wires and the equipment that it takes to do this event. Imagine the amount of wire to run cameras to first base, third base, up high behind home plate, down low on the field for the ceremonies, and way, way out into center field. Imagine carrying very, very heavy cameras from those locations. Another hour or more for sure.

And me? Well, I always figure the games will end at 9:00 PM so I do not make arrangements to stay another night like the crew does. I always just jump in the car and drive home. Which I did. The 185-mile drive took another three hours. I finally pulled into my garage at 3:00 AM Saturday morning. My day ended after 19 hours!!

So, at least for a couple of months, please don’t tell me you love baseball because “there is no clock”. I may just punch you in the mouth and, after hearing my story, I don’t think any judge would convict me of assault.

Check out some of the game highlights below:

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
No musings this week. I’m catching up on my sleep!

Late Saturday afternoon, sports fans, I would think, were quite disappointed that they were unable to witness history when California Chrome finished fourth in his bid for the Triple Crown of horse racing. We now must wait for the 37th straight year to see if a 13th horse can win the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness and create, once again, the excitement generated this past Saturday for the 102,000+ in attendance at Belmont in New York and the millions and millions watching at home. The silence was deafening on Saturday when Tonalist, Commissioner and Medal Count all finished ahead of California Chrome. The empty feeling of disappointment got me to thinking about some of the high expectations and negative results for Philadelphia sports fans over the years. Much like the Belmont Stakes, Philadelphia fans have reached feverish levels of excitement only to be very disappointed in the end. Here are the top three that stick out in my mind:

The 1997 Stanley Cup Finals: The Philadelphia Flyers vs. Detroit Red Wings
The Flyers looked unbeatable throughout the season and Philly fans were ready to celebrate a Stanley Cup when they made it to the finals. Hope was squashed quickly as Detroit won the series 4-0. The Flyers scored only six goals in the entire series and their star, Eric Lindros, scored only one goal in the last thirty seconds of game 4. Even Kate Smith could not thwart this embarrassing end to such a highly anticipated season.

The 1993 World Series: The Phillies vs. Blue Jays
First, there was game 4 when the Phillies led 14-9 in the eighth inning only to lose 15-14 in the highest-scoring game ever. Larry Andersen and Mitch Williams could not hold the lead. Then they lost it all when they took a 6-5 lead into the 9th inning and Mitch Williams (again) served up a game-winning and Series-ending home run to Joe Carter. Ironically, both Mitch Williams and Larry Anderson were rewarded with announcing jobs with the Phillies!

The 2003 NFC Championship: The Eagles vs. Bucs
This was the final game in Veterans Stadium history and the Eagles sure made it “memorable”.
1. In the three previous games between the two, the Eagles outscored the Bucs 72-22.
2. It was cold – very cold – at 22 degrees. The Bucs were 1-21 in games played under 40 degrees!
3. The Bucs never won a playoff game on the road.
The Eagles scored a touchdown in the first minute of the game. A Super Bowl appearance seemed to be a sure thing.

But much like California Chrome’s bid for the Triple Crown on Saturday, the Eagles sent home a disappointed crowd by losing 27-10. At that point, the Eagles’ fans had suffered through 33 years of disappointment. Both horse racing fans and Eagles fans continue to hope that their high expectations for a Triple Crown and a Super Bowl win will eventually yield the desired result. Try not to get TOO excited for either.

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
1. By the way, if you bet $2 on the trifecta (picking the first three horses correctly in order), you would have won $3,390.50. Just betting $2 on Tonalist to win would have garnered $20.40.

2. Steve Coburn, the owner of California Chrome, ranted after the race that horses should be required to race in all three legs of the Triple Crown or, as some others have suggested, allowed longer time between the three races. It’s a five-week stretch now. To me, if you want to be listed with the other twelve horses that have won all three in one year, you have to do it the way they did it – all comers, in five weeks!

3. As of Monday, the Phillies had the worst record in the National League – yes, they were worse than the Cubs. There is absolutely no sign that they will get better either. They were 11 games under .500 and had lost 13 series this season. They got their first day off this past Monday after playing 20 consecutive games. Maybe that will help. Doubt it.

4. Continuing the theme of “flops” this week, how about the Rangers? They go to LA to play the Kings, get two goal leads in both games only to lose both in overtime. The Kings never led in either game until they did and the game ended immediately. When the puck is dropped Monday night at Madison Square Garden, it will be the first time a Stanley Cup game has been played there in twenty years.

5. The baseball draft was held this past week. In an “ah” moment, the Yankees drafted Mariano Rivera’s son, Mariano, Jr., in the 29th round. At Iona this past year, he went 2-6 with a 5.40 ERA in 12 starts and 70 innings. Last year, the Yankees drafted Andy Pettitte’s son, Josh, out of high school in the 37th round. He decided to go to college first.

Last week I gave my trimester grades on a season-gone-wrong for the Phillies through the first two months of the season. Today we take a look at how the team should proceed from here:

1) Trade AT LEAST one of the core players
I know this will be extremely painful to the Phillies front office to part ways with one of their most marketable players, but it has to happen. The Phillies have to change the mentality and the look of this franchise and show everyone – the fans, the community and the players themselves – that no one is untouchable. The debate over trading Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Cole Hamels, Ryan Howard, Cliff Lee, Marlon Byrd and others is gaining the momentum of a runaway freight train. The Phillies should be open to seeing which of these players would bring you the greatest return value for next year and pull the trigger on a deal. You need to improve this team in multiple ways, and with very few minor league options on the horizon, the only way to start accomplishing this is by dealing a major piece NOW.

2) Acquire a “dirt-baller”
Think Larry Bowa, Pete Rose or more recently, a Randy Ready or an Aaron Rowand. A high-energy guy, perhaps not the greatest talent, but someone who understands the game and will play it the right way. I’m not a big fan of the “WAR” statistic (wins-above-replacement), but those numbers do have some merit. You need to bring people that will help you find ways to win ball games and the Phillies need to find players who at least have a positive number in that category (eg., Ben Revere has a -0.4 WAR as of last week, Cesar Hernandez a -0.6, Tony Gwynn Jr. is a -0.8, Dom Brown is a -1). Each season the St. Louis Cardinals have rosters littered with players who know how to play the game and execute the fundamentals. I’m hard pressed to find very many younger players on the Phillies’ current 25-man roster who have shown the ability to do the same, and someone must be brought in to start doing that.

3) Stop evaluating with rose-collared glasses
John Mayberry, Jr. last year had a WAR of -1.2 and the organization REWARDED him with a near $ 1.1 million raise. He’s had three different seasons to prove himself as a starting outfielder, a platoon outfielder, than a fourth outfielder, a capable pinch-hitter…and has not delivered in any of these roles on a consistent basis (despite a dismal first eight weeks, Mayberry fans would argue he’s deserved more money based on the red-hot June he’s having offensively). The Phillies say Darin Ruf is not an everyday player…fine, then show me a young player who is. Sticking with Revere, Brown and the like when you no longer have reasons to believe in these players is fool’s gold that the team has continued to purchase for three years now.

4) Stop tolerating mental mistakes
Jimmy Rollins made a innocent comment about preseason games being meaningless and he was benched three days IN SPRING TRAINING. If Mayberry can’t shag a fly ball against the fence, then don’t put him out there anymore until he can. If Revere doesn’t remember to tag up on a fly ball with less than two outs or isn’t taking the appropriate lead off a base, then bench ‘em, outright ‘em or option them to Triple-A. Granted, there’s not many major league available players waiting in the wings right now, but giving these guys repeated chances and watching them fail multiple times with mental lapses is not working. I’d rather see Triple-A players Steve Susdorf or Clete Thomas try to fight their way to remain on the big league roster than to see listless players (Brown) not running hard to first base.

There’s another issue to address here: Ruben Amaro, Jr. The current Phillies general manager is pretty much in a no-win scenario, of which he is responsible for creating. If he conducts a massive fire-sale over the next two months, he’s admitting that his five-year plan of sustaining what was a World Series contender has failed miserably, thereby inviting a changing of the guard to take place. If he does nothing, or next to nothing, during the next few weeks, then he could be fired for not being proactive in correcting this out-of-control team. There’s no easy road here and accomplishing the above-listed tasks will not be easily achieved mid-season, but actions must start coming…and soon.

I do believe Amaro’s hands were tied somewhat in trying to rebuild this team a few years ago. Remember that in 2011 Ruben stated that the team needed to take a different direction: produce more runs, work counts, play more fundamentally sound baseball and similar comments. The moves that have transpired since that time are mostly contrary to that belief. Like him or not (and I certainly have not agreed with very many of his decisions over the last three years), Amaro is still an intelligent man with a solid baseball background. I don’t believe he completely gutted this team without outside influence, whether it be pressure to keep popular players in town, bad advice on player evaluations, poor scouting reports, or a combination of all three.

Full disclosure: I backed Amaro when he was making the trades for Lee, Doc Halladay, Hunter Pence, et al, while ravishing what top prospects were a part of the system. I don’t believe I was the only one in the Delaware Valley that enthusiastically bought in to the ‘win now’ mantra and threw caution to the wind when making those deals. I remember the euphoria that ensued when the cash vault was opened and we woke up hearing of Lee’s triumphant return to the Phillies. We all salivated over the “Four Aces” rotation during the thrill ride that garnished 102 regular season wins, and no one back then was worried about Jonathon Singleton, Kyle Drabek and the other prospects exiled to acquire those major chips. I for one was prepared to sacrifice several years of bad baseball for one more World Series championship….a second title that never materialized.

What in-season moves to you think the Phillies should (or will) make this summer? Do you think Amaro will be retained or even make it through the 2014 season? Post a comment below or email us at RCNSportsTalk@rcn.com. We’d love to hear your thoughts on this year’s Phillies team.