BEHIND THE MIC:  Top Searches of the Year

Within the past week, Yahoo released its lists for 2013: Top-Searched Teams; Top-Searched Athletes; Top-Searched Girlfriends. Let’s take a look (not at the girlfriends – I’ll leave that up to you).

Top-Searched Sports Teams on Yahoo in 2013:
1. Dallas Cowboys
2. Boston Red Sox
3. Green Bay Packers
4. Los Angeles Lakers
5. Detroit Tigers
6. Pittsburgh Steelers
7. Los Angeles Dodgers
8. New York Yankees
9. Denver Broncos
10. Milwaukee Bucks

What’s wrong with these people? The Steelers appear to be the most popular team in Pennsylvania. Where are the Eagles, the Phillies, and the Flyers? In fact, where is any hockey team? And why Dallas – are they still really “America’s team” despite their recent failings? The Yankees at #8 is a surprise to me. Aren’t they loved AND hated enough to be higher? And to be beaten out by three spots to the Detroit Tigers and four spots by the Dodgers! Is the temperature dropping in Hades? The Milwaukee Bucks over the Miami Heat – what’s up with that?

Maybe I can make more sense out of the Athletes searched this past year:

Top-Searched Athletes on Yahoo 2013:
1. Tim Tebow
2. Tiger Woods
3. Danica Patrick
4. Lindsey Vonn
5. Ronda Rousey
6. Lamar Odom
7. Tito Ortiz
8. Serena Williams
9. Maria Sharapova
10. Gina Carano

What? Obviously, I cannot make more sense out of this list, either. Tim Tebow has an offer to play football in Italy, but he can’t make a team in America. He’s #1?? Wouldn’t it have been nice to put Lindsey Vonn and Tiger Woods next to each other? They are a couple, you know, and I don’t like seeing Danica Patrick come between them. Lamar Odom – seriously – his personal life and Kardashian connection create interest – his 2013 athletic achievements – not so much? Serena and Maria: I would not have guessed that women’s professional tennis would create such interest. Perhaps, it’s not the tennis.

I had to look up Ronda Rousey, Tito Ortiz, and Gina Carano. Who are they? It turns out that they are all associated with the MMA (Mixed Martial Arts). And by looking them up, I have added to their popularity. Go figure.

And to satisfy your curiosity, the top-searched athletes’ girlfriends on the list are:

Top-Searched Girlfriends on Yahoo in 2013:
1. Tim Tebow’s girlfriend
2. Tiger Woods’ girlfriend
3. A J Mccarron’s girlfriend
4. Colin Kaepernick’s girlfriend
5. Johnny Manziel’s girlfriend

It appears that the road to finding that special someone is to be a quarterback or the world’s best golfer. Glad I could help!

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
1. The Sunday snow sure made for some interesting NFL watching. The Eagles game was just plain fun to watch. It could foreshadow the possible weather conditions for this year’s Super Bowl. Is that a good thing?

2. Did you take notice that of the eight teams that will vie for the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association state football championships in four classes, six are private schools and just two are public schools. Eventually, there will be an outcry from the public school sector.

3. It looks like Auburn vs. Florida State for the NCAA BCS National Football Championship. It should be a high-scoring, entertaining game.

4. The scene: Golf’s World Challenge: Par 4 – Final Hole – $1,000,000 prize – tied for the lead with Tiger Woods. That’s what faced Zach Johnson on the 18th hole on Sunday. He hit his second shot in the water. Tournament over? Not so fast – put the ball in the drop area – one stroke penalty – and hit the fourth shot 58 yards in the hole – easy par! Tie Tiger. Beat Tiger in the playoff. Have a nice day.

5. Nelson Mandela was rarely mentioned in a sports story. In his autobiography there is no mention of sports, but no event in South Africa symbolized what he spent his life fighting for than the rugby World Cup in 1995. South Africa won and, as president of the country, he embraced the blond captain of the traditionally white team, and symbolized his desire to unite the country and put an end to apartheid. It’s all there in the movie Invictus.

NFL PICKS FOR THIS WEEK
(Last week – 11-5) (131-76-1 overall – 63%)

DENVER
JACKSONVILLE
INDIANAPOLIS
PHILADELPHIA
SAN FRANCISCO
CAROLINA
GREEN BAY
TENNESSEE
CHICAGO
PATRIOTS
SEATTLE
ATLANTA
KANSAS CITY
NEW ORLEANS
CINCINNATI

Dream Come True Telethon

I love my job. Make no mistake about it. In the past few weeks, I have been able to watch our local high school football teams compete for a conference championship, a District title, and make a run for a state championship. In addition, I was able to broadcast the 149th edition of the Lafayette-Lehigh football game and begin the college basketball season with the Lafayette men’s team. Right around the corner is another season of high school and college basketball which will quickly take me through the winter and into March Madness. It’s the best.

There is one night a year, however, that is even better. It is the night that I co-host the Dream Come True Telethon. On Monday, December 9, we will do the Telethon for the 28th year. I have not hosted all of them, but in the early years, I made sure I was a guest on the show. The Dream Come True organization, in case you did not know, was founded in 1984 by Kostas Kalogeropoulous, a local businessman. The goal of the organization is simple – fulfill the dreams of children who are seriously, chronically, and terminally ill and reside in the greater Lehigh Valley area. Children are referred by family, friends, clergy, doctors, social workers, etc. and the dreams usually fall into three categories – trips, contact with celebrities, and special gifts (computers, shopping sprees, for example).

Scott Barr and I have been hosting together for many, many years. He handles the auction area and, boy, is he terrific! If you watch Home Shopping Network or any of the other all-day shopping TV channels, just watch Scott do his thing during the four-hour night. He is as good as, if not better, than the professionals.

There is always a variety of unique items donated by local businesses as well as our friends from the cable TV networks. If you want something really unique and not found in any store, tune us in and bid on the items. You’ll make Scott’s night.

Ann Savkova, our excellent parade announcer, will do many of the interviews with the children who have had their dreams fulfilled. She is a pleasure to have as part of the team.

We will, once again, be at The Outlets at the Sands. They were wonderful hosts last year as we broadcasted for the very first time from this venue. It is an exciting location and we enjoyed the new “digs”. You certainly are invited to stop by, say hello, and, hopefully, make a donation. It is a great place to shop and giving to Dream Come True will certainly get you into the holiday spirit.

The important facts are:
The Date: Monday, December 9
The Time: 6:00 – 10:00 PM
The Location: The Outlets at the Sands
The Television Dial: RCNTV channels 4 and 1004 (HD)
The Purpose: To fulfill as many hopes, dreams and fantasies for seriously, chronically,and terminally ill children as possible.
The Phone Number to Make a Donation: 1-800-749-8099

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
1. I know that this past Friday is known as Black Friday, but since I would never shop that day, it means very little to me. However, I did suffer through Black Saturday when all of our local football teams went down to defeat – Lafayette lost 45-7 to New Hampshire; Parkland lost 21-10 to St. Joe’s Prep and Catty lost 49-0 to Imhotep Charter. It was a “black” day indeed.

2. There were some amazing college football games on TV this past weekend. Penn State was a 24-point underdog to #15 Wisconsin and beat them 31-24. I watched as #17 LSU needed to go 99 yards in the final minute to beat Arkansas 31-27. Arkansas did not win an SEC game all year. And the best of all was watching Auburn’s Chris Davis return a missed field goal 107 yards with no time left to give #1 Alabama their first loss in 16 games. Can we actually have a BCS championship game without an SEC representative? We can and probably will, but I still think Alabama and Auburn are the two best teams in college football. Again, no true championship decided on the field.

3. Dare I forget that Ohio State beat Michigan 42-41? Michigan coach, Brady Hoke, decided to go for two points in the last few seconds. It failed. Speaking of that rivalry, Sunday Night’s 60 Minutes did a feature on a young boy who is an avid Ohio State fan. He has brain cancer but hates the word “cancer”. He calls his tumor “Michigan”.

4. Speaking, again, of good football, 10 NFL games were decided by seven points or less this past weekend – two went overtime and NOTHING changed in the standings or the Wild Card scenarios.

5. The Lafayette women’s basketball team is off to a very impressive 5-2 start with wins over Rider, Brown, Columbia, Pit, and Loyola of Chicago. RCN-TV will broadcast the first women’s game of the year on Sunday, December 8, LIVE at 2:00pm. Join us.

NFL PICKS FOR THIS WEEK
(Last week – 11-5) (120-71-1 overall – 63%)
HOUSTON
BALTIMORE
CINCINNATI
NEW ENGLAND
JETS
PHILADELPHIA
PITTSBURGH
BUFFALO
KANSAS CITY
ATLANTA
DENVER
ARIZONA
SAN DIEGO
SEATTLE
NEW ORLEANS
CHICAGO

District XI Football Recaps

It was our pleasure to cover the District XI football playoffs once again this fall on RCN-TV. While some games were one-sided, there were some great contests with many outstanding individual and team triumphs en route to this year’s championships.

CLASS 2A PLAYOFFS
Catasauqua accomplished what it couldn’t do a year ago–when Pen Argyl defeated the Rough Riders in the District title game.

http://youtu.be/pzvmI7-uILY

Like many of the great head coaches in our viewing area, Tom Falzone used this experience as a life-lesson. In speaking with his players before the game, he talked about not always having a second chance in life, being appreciative when you do, and making sure you focus on your priorities when given opportunities. Several of the Catty coaches and administrators have talked about what a special, respectful and fun group of players they have had for the last two years, and it was great for their program to finally have the gold metal placed around their necks.

Palisades, Catty’s opponent in the championship, also had a great year…exceeding everyone’s expectations but their own. Head Coach Kevin Ronalds got an extra special gift this fall, as his son, serving oversees in the military, came home to see his family and got to spend a few weeks in the Lehigh Valley before returning to an “undisclosed location.” Ronalds is one of a handful of coaches in the area who have successfully rebuilt their football programs this fall. In my long-range crystal ball, I see an even more competitive 2014 season in the Colonial League. The Pirates, Southern Lehigh, Saucon Valley, Notre Dame, Northwestern, Pen Argyl, Northern Lehigh and perhaps one other team all have legitimate chances to fight for the league crown.

CLASS 3A PLAYOFFS
In the District XI semifinals, Southern Lehigh dominated in its win over Pottsville with a very balanced attack. While Bethlehem Catholic also won by a significant margin, I was impressed by Lehighton and how they battled the Golden Hawks, especially after sustaining an injury to one of their key players.

http://youtu.be/AR7RH93_GrQ

The championship was one of the most competitive games all season. Perhaps most impressive to me was the Southern Lehigh secondary. Despite giving up between 5 to 9-inches in height to a quicker group of wide receivers, the Spartans held Becahi to 7 passes for 24 yards–one of their lowest outputs of the season. Likewise, Collin Kendricks and company contain the Hawks’ ground game, but Becahi’s defense was also up to the challenge. Guys like Will Ward, Antwon Keenan, Dante Lonardo, Josh Heron, Searn Moroney, Mike McDanniel and others stepped up in key moments, enabling the Hawks to win the title in overtime:

CLASS 4A PLAYOFFS
In the first round, both Parkland and Whitehall looked solid, although Stroudsburg and Pleasant Valley both played valiantly and did not disappear after the Trojans and Zephrys took early leads. The big story for me was the development of Parkland’s DeVante Cross as a passer in this game:

For Whitehall versus Pleasant Valley—two teams that love to run a hurry-up, fast-tempo offense—it was an entertaining game, with lots of highlights on both sides of the football:

http://youtu.be/f9FX6BNX3HI

In the district semifinal, Parkland’s defense stepped up big time as I thought they would (see my blog entry from the second week of September) and held the vaunted Whitehall offense in check until the Trojans had built a solid cushion:

Easton, playing without some key players, defeated Wyoming Valley West by one point in their first round playoff game. A week later they dominated its matchup against undefeated East Stroudsburg South, setting up the championship faceoff with Parkland.

For the second straight year, it was Parkland avenging a regular season loss to Easton in the championship. Another irony, the District XI season ended almost identical to the way it began–with the Trojans dominating a team on both sides of the ball. The win over the Rovers was vastly more impressive than their week-one blowout over a rebuilding Del Val team. Easton had looked as the most well-rounded team of all the schools I visited during August double-sessions. Parkland’s offense and defense have been improving all season and was just too strong last Friday as the Trojans made the title game win look easy.

Which team do you feel had the most impressive run during the district playoffs? Which highlights do you think were the best? Send us an email with your opinions to RCNSportsTalk@rcn.com and join us for our next live show on December 5th at 6pm. Among out topics on that program, we’ll be updating the PIAA playoff pictures and also talking Eagles and NFL news with beat writers Nick Fierro and Al Thompson.

Check back to our blog soon as we’ll be looking for your help in nominating the top teams, athletes, games and more for our sports “year-in-review” program.

An Algorithm: Founder + CEO = Girls’ Basketball Coach?

I spend part of my Sundays watching two programs – Sunday Morning and 60 Minutes. I watch because I always learn something and find both programs very interesting. This past Sunday (11/24/13), 60 Minutes featured a story about Malcolm Gladwell, the author of a current New York Times bestseller titled, David and Goliath. The book examines the struggles of underdogs versus favorites. Part of Gladwell’s research took him to Vivek Ranadive.

Ranadive, a native of India, arrived in America with $100 in his pocket and one semester paid at MIT. He obtained his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in four years and then an MBA from Harvard University. He went on to become the founder and CEO of TIBCO, a multi-billion dollar computing company.

The 60 Minutes piece, however, has nothing to do with the business acumen that Ranadive obviously possesses, but instead deals with his approach to coaching basketball for his daughter’s middle school team. Ranadive NEVER played the game of basketball, he never dribbled a basketball, he never scored a basket, and, obviously never was asked to coach a basketball team. As a matter of fact, he never TOUCHED a basketball. Add to the self-admitted lack of basketball knowledge, he, also, had a team that had very little talent and virtually no ability to put the ball in the basket. So he approached the job like he approached the business world – create an algorithm (a step-by-step procedure for calculations), study all aspects, analyze what works and what doesn’t, examine your staff (team) and figure out a path to success.

He observed that the only way his team could score was by shooting lay-ups. The only way they could shoot lay-ups was to steal the ball from the other team. His girls could run – they couldn’t shoot. He decided not to even practice shooting. It was fruitless. Instead, he taught them to press, double-team and triple-team all over the court. With a steal and a quick pass, his girls could shoot lay-ups, the only shots at which they were adept. They frustrated their opponents to the point where one opposing coach threatened to beat him up after a game. His team played so well that the girls competed in the state championship. It was coaching genius, or perhaps more accurately, just genius.

He literally fell in love with basketball. So he took, for him anyway, the next natural step, a new algorithm: Love of Game + Plenty of Money = Buy a Team. And he did.

First, he became co-owner of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors, the first person of Indian descent to do so. He had to sell his share of that team in order to become the leader of the ownership group that bought the NBA’s Sacramento Kings.

Perhaps we should all spend a little more time studying algorithms.

You can watch the 60 Minutes piece at:
http://cowbellkingdom.com/2013/11/25/watch-vivek-ranadive-interviewed-for-malcolm-gladwell-piece-on-60-minutes/

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
1. On Friday night, Kareem Williams of Parkland rushed for 309 yards and four touchdowns. In the past two weeks, he has run for 536 yards and six TDs and has 1,830 yards for the season. BUT it is not even the best rushing performance in his family. Brother Andre, a Parkland grad, rushed for 602 yards the past two weeks for Boston College against North Carolina State and Maryland. He became only the 16th player in NCAA history to surpass 2,000 yards in a season (Barry Sanders, Marcus Allen, LaDainian Tomlinson, Ricky Williams, to name a few). He leads the nation in rushing and is being considered for the Heisman Trophy. Boston College has one more regular season game against Syracuse.

2. Speaking of rushing performances, Nick Savant of Saucon Valley is the leading rusher this season in the District with 2,135 yards.

3. We will continue the state championship run by our local teams on RCNTV -4/1004 HD this Saturday with LIVE coverage of St. Joe’s Prep vs. Parkland in a PIAA AAAA game at 1:00pm and Imhoptep vs. Catasauqua in a AA tape-delayed game at 7:00pm.

4. Drew Reed, the Lafayette freshman QB “phenom”, was named both the Offensive Player of the Week and the Rookie of the Week in the Patriot League after his MVP performance in Lafayette’s 50-28 win over Lehigh. He was also named as a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award given to the top FCS freshman in the country. Lafayette next moves to the FCS playoffs against New Hampshire. Twenty-four teams will battle it out for the National Championship. You can watch the game Saturday at noon on ESPN3.

5. During this Thanksgiving week, the RCN sports staff thanks all of our viewers for spending time with us during the football season. Enjoy the family, the football and the turkey!

NFL PICKS FOR THIS WEEK (7-6-1: Last week; 109-66-1 overall 62%)
DETROIT
DALLAS
PITTSBURGH
MIAMI
CLEVELAND
CHICAGO
DENVER
INDIANAPOLIS
CAROLINA
PHILADELPHIA
BUFFALO
SAN FRANCISCO
NEW ENGLAND
SAN DIEGO
GIANTS
SEATTLE

Phillies Pitching Projections

Last week, we examined what I hoped the Phillies’ lineup and position players roster would look like. This week, it’s the pitchers’ turn.

Starting Pitchers
• Cole Hamels
• Cliff Lee
• Matt Garza / Ricky Nolasco / David Price
• M. A. Gonzalez
• Doc Halladay (only on an incentive-laden contract)
• Kyle Kendrick
• Jonathan Pettibone
• Zach Minor (or another free agent “swingman”)

The Bullpen
• Closer — Jonathan Papelbon (if he’s not traded)
• Set-up — Joe Smith
• Lefty Specialists — Antonia Bastardo & Jake Diekman
• Long Men — B.J. Roseberg & Justin DeFratus
• “On the Bubble” Guys — Michael Stutes, Luis Garcia, Ethan Martin, Cesar Jimenez

First of all, you’re probably asking yourself why I listed eight starting pitchers when there’s only five starting slots. When I covered the Phillies back when Larry Bowa was managing, I remember him prophesying that the game was changing, stating teams need to have eight reliable Major League arms entering a season. His words have become commonplace for most teams, as evidence by the ten different starting pitchers (not including their “bullpen games”) used by the Phillies in 2013. The team needs to be proactive in acquiring enough talent going into the season. They must avoid sending out mediocre Triple-A hurlers in (what will hopefully be) meaningful July and August games, as they were forced to do in 2013.

Secondly, Garza is the best available free agent pitcher available, but there are a few other options I would pursue, both via trades and free agency. As stated in my analysis of the position players, I think you listen to offers for Dom Brown. Coming off an All-Star “breakout” season, I think you could package him (and additional prospects not-named Mikael Franco) to get a long-term “number-3” starting pitcher whom you can have under club control for the next couple of years.

Thirdly, for fans calling on Adam Morgan or Jesse Biddle to start the season with the big club… cool your jets. Morgan had injury problems throughout 2013, and each time he came back he pitched less effectively. Biddle also looked stellar at times, but battled with his control, and you simply CANNOT rely on a young, unproven arm in a year in which so much is at stake.

Finally, I would not simply hand Ethan Martin a spot on the roster. I know fans salivated at the mid-90s fastball and knee-bending curve he put on display in Philly this past season. However, I saw him battle the strike zone while with the IronPigs and think he has to develop some consistency in throwing strikes before becoming a later-inning reliever.

What do you think of my ideas for Phillies 2014 pitching staff? What players do you think the team will add before spring training? Post a comment and let us know what you would do if you were the Phillies’ general manager this winter!

Incognito – I think Not

You often hear people talk about “living up to your name”. That usually implies you come from a famous, over-achieving family and your life will be scrutinized to determine if you are carrying on the successes. I suppose that if your name is Incognito, you live up to that moniker by simply not doing anything of notoriety.

Richie Incognito is certainly NOT living up to his name. Even before the incident that got him suspended from the Miami Dolphins, he was ejected from games in college, charged with assault after a fight at a party, voted the dirtiest player in the NFL in 2009, let go by the Rams because of a disagreement with the coach, and heavily fined for altercations on the field. He has done just about everything but remain incognito in his football career. But even those incidents pale in comparison to the latest firestorm he has created in the NFL.

If you are reading this and you are not a sports fan (first of all, thank you), Incognito has been publicly accused of ruthlessly bullying a Dolphins teammate, fellow offensive lineman Jonathan Martin. The bullying came in the form of racist remarks, threats (real or in “fun”), and other hazing practices. Incognito, Dolphin players and, in some ways, even Martin blame the culture that envelops pro football as the true culprit. In the near future, more and more information about the relationship of these two men will certainly surface, but if you want to have a lively and, hopefully, educational conversation with others ask, some of these questions:

1) Is this situation more about an individual or more about a culture?
2) Should Jonathan Martin have simply stood up to the bully, like many of us were taught as kids, or simply walk away like HE was probably taught as a kid?
3) Are the Dolphin teammates who came out in support of Incognito as much responsible for the culture that created this problem?
4) Isn’t there one person in an NFL locker room who believes “rookie hazing” has gotten out of hand (read about Cam Cleeland’s 1998 initiation with the New Orleans Saints where he had to run a gauntlet with a sheet over his head, was hit by a sock filled with coins, and shattered his eye socket)?
5) If we love football because of the violence and the aggression, should we really be shocked that the players are violent and aggressive?
6) Are you leaning towards putting more of the blame on Incognito, Martin, or the NFL?
7) How would you rule in this case if you are the NFL commissioner?

Answer the questions as a group or for yourself now and then compare them to the answers that should be coming soon from the NFL.

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
1. We often hear that this or that competitive contest is a “game of inches”. Lafayette had a third and one, followed by a fourth and one and gained only inches. They did not gain 36 inches, however, and any chance to beat Colgate and guarantee themselves a share of the Patriot League title was lost…by mere inches!

2. Did you ever wonder about those people who enter eating contests (hot dogs, wings, etc.)? Bill “El Wingador” Simmons is one of those guys. He is a five-time champion of the 94 WIP (Philadelphia radio) Wing Bowl. In his last attempt to win again, he devoured 250 wings, well short of the 337 wings eaten by the champion. “El Wingador” did not get the $20,000 first prize. He needed the money. On June 12, 2012, he was arrested for selling cocaine and in October 2013 was sentenced to seven years in prison. He will miss Wing Bowl 21 in more ways than one.

3. Word is that the Phillies actually would like to sign both Roy Halladay and Carlos Ruiz for next year. Because Halladay is coming off shoulder surgery, the chances are much greater that he could remain a Phillie than they are for Ruiz. Carlos is testing the free agent market and quite a few major league teams are in need of a good, everyday catcher. It probably is good-bye to Chooch.

4. District football action continues this weekend and the AAA and AA champions will be crowned, with the winners moving into the state playoffs. RCN-TV has Parkland at Whitehall LIVE on Friday night at 7:00pm followed by Palisades at Catasauqua for the AA championship at 9:30pm. The AAA title will be decided Saturday night when Southern Lehigh hosts Bethlehem Catholic LIVE at 7:00pm on RCN-TV.

5. Lafayette takes on undefeated (10-0) Fordham (#6/7 in the FCS polls) Saturday at 3:30pm. Catch that game LIVE also.

NFL PICKS FOR THIS WEEK (6-8: Last week; 92-55 overall 63%)
INDIANAPOLIS
JETS
CHICAGO
CINCINNATI
HOUSTON
ARIZONA
PHILADELPHIA
DETROIT
TAMPA BAY
SAN DIEGO
NEW ORLEANS
SEATTLE
GIANTS
DENVER
CAROLINA

Phillies Position Player 2014 Projections

Back in September, I gave my annual suggestions on what moves the Phillies should make for the upcoming winter trading and free agent season. With the World Series completed and offseason moves in the works, I want to give my take on the Phillies’ projected roster for position players, given the latest news, rumors and insights.

CF Jacob Ellsbury / Curtis Granderson
SS Jimmy Rollins
2b Chase Utley
1b Ryan Howard
RF Mike Morse / Nelson Cruz
C Carlos Ruiz / Dioneer Navaro
3b Cody Asche (might alternate with the catcher depending on if a right or left-handed pitcher is starting)
LF Ben Revere
Right-handed PH — Darin Ruff; Kevin Frandsen, Mark Reynolds or Chris Young
Left-handed PH — Cesar Hernandez or a Free Agent—preferably an outfielder and a ‘power bat’
Utility IF — Freddy Galvis
Backup C — Erik Kratz or Cameron Rupp

ANALYSIS:
First of all, I know you are saying: “Wait…where’s Dom Brown?” I think it’s very possible that the Phillies look to trade Brown for a quality starting pitcher (perhaps included in a package for Tampa Bay’s David Price?). The Phillies’ needs include improving their outfield defense, adding a consistent bat and improving both their bullpen and starting rotation, all at the same time. You have to trade somebody and Brown’s stock will never be higher. I saw him play for years in the minors, and he was very inconsistent, both at the plate and in the field. With the Phillies this year, he hit over .270 with 24 HRs the first half of the year, then hit under .250 with 4 HRs the second half. His defense? Spectacular one minute, botching routine plays the next. You can’t improve this team while keeping it the same, and Brown can get you the most among the trade-able players.

Ellsbury is a guy the Phillies have coveted for some time. Although he’ll be EXTREMELY expensive to acquire, he adds power and a consistent bat to your lineup and is less likely to get resigned by his former team than some of the other free agents the Phils are looking at. Granderson is a cheaper option to play center field, and he should require a shorter deal if the Phillies want to go that route. Cruz is a question mark coming off his PED suspension and his offensive numbers in pitcher-friendly parks are dramatically lower. Morse is a quality clubhouse guy and is coming off a down year—meaning he’ll be affordable and allow you to add a right-handed power bat while allowing you to still spend money elsewhere. Young could also be a right-handed addition who is not a liability defensively. Adding any two of these players improves your outfield defense in THREE spots (moving Revere to left field helps solve his “weak arm” issue that he had in center field).

I’ve heard several other media members strongly suggesting the Phillies will trade Revere instead of Brown, but consider this: what did the Phillies give up last season to acquire Revere…and is that what you really want to have back in return? Trading Brown is not a popular move, but one that must be considered for the right value in return.

The Phillies could also kick the tires on free agent outfielders Carlos Beltran (who I suggested on RCN SportsTalk two years ago when he was available) or Corey Hart, but both have injury issues and the Phillies have enough health-questions already on the roster.

I think the Phillies will try to upgrade by adding a better left-handed bat of the bench than Roger Bernadina, although he did add speed and quality defense. The Phillies were hoping that Bernadina could rebound from his sub-Mendoza batting average in September, but weren’t exactly impressed with what they saw. Because of the lack of outfield depth, I kept Cesar Hernandez off my projected Opening Day roster for now. Major League baseball ruled that he can have an extra option and therefore be sent to Triple-A for the upcoming year. The Phillies were impressed by his bat and the way he adjusted to center field. The plan is to send him to winter ball to see if he can play shortstop. If he can adjust to another new position, he might give Galvis a run for the backup infielder spot.

Ruff still needs to learn to better handle breaking pitches at the major league level and will provide insurance at both first base and the corner outfield positions. In extended playing time, Frandsen didn’t exactly have an explosive second-half at the plate. The Phillies could look to add an extra bat if they have money available, but Ryne Sandberg did talk glowingly about Frandsen’s approach at the plate on several occasions, and his double-digit pinch-hits this year were among the best in the Majors this season.

In an upcoming blog entry, we’ll take a look at the projected Phillies pitching staff. In the meantime, send us your thoughts on the Phillies lineup and position players for the 2014 season and post your opinions on what you think of my roster projections.

Drew Reed and “Opportunity”

Good writers often refer to clichés as “unoriginal thoughts”.

Allow me to illustrate. The scenario: The starting quarterback suffers a concussion and cannot return to action. The backup quarterback performs adequately, but not up to the standards set by the head coach. The head coach makes a change. His next choice and third choice is a freshman who has played one down of college football (he was sacked, by the way, on that play).

So the “door of opportunity” or “a golden opportunity which comes by once in a lifetime” was accepted by Lafayette freshman quarterback, Drew Reed. He did not let “yet another golden opportunity slip away”. And, by now, I have used up my litany of “unoriginal thoughts”. So, just let me tell you about Drew Reed.

He played high school football for Arlington High School in Lakeland, Tennessee. He threw for over 6,000 yards and 70 touchdowns. In his senior year alone, he threw for 1,470 yards, completed 63% of his passes, and threw 15 touchdowns by the sixth game! Then he broke his collarbone. This ended his season and, in essence, ended some of his attractiveness to big-time college football programs.

It took a phone call from an assistant coach at Georgia Tech to Lafayette’s offensive coordinator to put Drew on the Leopard radar screen. The coach said that Drew would be a perfect fit for the Patriot League and for Lafayette – excellent academics, model teenager, and outstanding potential. All he needed was the “opportunity”.

The “door of opportunity” came at the start of the second half against Harvard. Lafayette had scored just three points in the first half. On Drew’s first play he threw an interception. His career statistics at this point were: one run for -9 yards; 0-1 passing with an interception. Was “a golden opportunity slipping away”? Far from it. Drew went on to complete 17 of his next 21 passes for 235 yards and two touchdowns. That performance earned him a starting nod for the next game against Holy Cross.

His passing numbers for the Holy Cross game were even more astounding – 21 completions in 22 attempts with 20 completions in a row (tying a Patriot League record) to end the game for 283 yards and five touchdowns! He was named the National FCS Player of the Week and the Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week and the Rookie of the Week, an achievement that had never been done before. At this point, he had more touchdown passes (7) than incompletions (6)! This past week against Georgetown, he was 18 for 24 for 275 yards and four more touchdowns! To date, he has completed 82% of his passes (unheard of) for 11 touchdowns in just 10 quarters of college football. More importantly, he has helped to put Lafayette in sole possession of first place in the Patriot League.

“Opportunity knocked”, Drew Reed answered, and he has certainly “made the best of the situation”. Enough! I am clichéd out!!

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
1. The Eagles destroyed the Oakland Raiders this past Sunday. Ironically, the Raiders’ quarterback, Terrell Pryor, was recruited heavily out of high school by Eagles’ coach, Chip Kelly. Kelly believed Pryor would be the perfect player to run his Oregon offense. There are rumors that Chip Kelly would love to draft Oregon’s Marcus Mariota for next season. After Nick Foles’ record-setting seven touchdowns pass performance this past week, perhaps Kelly has found his “perfect” quarterback.

2. The New York Jets have alternated wins and losses through the first nine games this season going 5-4. I’m sure they will count this week’s bye week as a loss. The last team to alternate wins and losses through nine games was the New England Patriots. They finished 10-6 and made the playoffs.

3. Lafayette can guarantee themselves a share of the Patriot League Championship on Saturday at 3:30pm with a win over Colgate. You can watch the game LIVE on RCN-TV. Should Lafayette win and Lehigh lose to Holy Cross, Lafayette would be the Patriot League Champions. It would be their first outright championship since 1994. They shared the title is 2004, 2005, and 2006.

4. District football action begins this weekend. RCN-TV has Stroudsburg at Parkland LIVE on Friday night at 7:00pm followed by Pleasant Valley at Whitehall at 9:30pm. Bethlehem Catholic will host Lehighton on Saturday night LIVE at 7:00pm on RCN-TV.

5. Believe it or not, college basketball begins LIVE on RCN-TV on Tuesday, November 9, when Lafayette hosts Robert Morris at 7:00pm. Robert Morris had 24 wins last year, including an NIT first round victory over Kentucky – yes, that Kentucky. The Kirby Sports Center, by the way, is completely renovated.

NFL PICKS FOR THIS WEEK (8-5: Last week; 86-47 overall 65%)
WASHINGTON
TENNESSEE
GREEN BAY
BUFFALO
GIANTS
INDIANAPOLIS
SEATTLE
CINCINNATI
DETROIT
SAN FRANCISCO
ARIZONA
DENVER
NEW ORLEANS
MIAMI

The Shop’s New Wrinkle

One of the major driving forces behind the RCN SportsTalk show and this blog is highlighting the tremendous accomplishments of athletes, coaches and administrators in the RCN viewing area. Each season we try to spotlight different teams, schools and sports. We’re always looking for ideas and suggestions to better honor the special people who work so hard at their given talents. So with that said, we’d like to unveil a new dimension to our SportsTalk Shop blog.

Periodically, we’re going to post highlights of our sports productions seen on RCN-TV. By doing this, we hope to reach a new audience in showcasing young men and women’s outstanding efforts in the sports community. Some of these highlights are also shown on our live Thursday show, in which we discuss these teams in more detail.

To launch this new addition, we’re presenting highlights from a few of the “rivalry contests” RCN covered the last couple of weeks. We’ll start with highlights from the Parkland/Emmaus game:

Here’s some of the highlights from the “Christmas City” battle between Liberty and Freedom:

Finally, highlights from the big Easton/Whitehall game—a contest featuring two teams who were tied for first place in the Lehigh Valley Conference when they faced each other at Cottingham Stadium.

What do you think of this newest addition to our blog? Which RCN-TV broadcast playoff games would you like us to focus on for our next set of highlights? Post your votes here and check back soon for more blog entries and highlights!

ANTI-Poll Small Schools Regular Season Wrap

Last week, we broke down the playoff possibilities and reviewed the regular season performances for the larger schools in the Lehigh Valley. This week, we’ll examine the Class A, 2A and 3A teams in the RCN coverage area.

PIUS X – The Royals have once again battled a very challenging independent schedule and find themselves in the fourth and final playoff spot in the Class A District standings. They enter their regular season finale against Colombia-Montour on Saturday. They have gotten great efforts by sophomore quarterback Tre Jordan and senior back Dashon Russell. Jordan is completing nearly 60 percent of his passes and has thrown for over 1,200 yards; while Russell eclipsed the 1,000 yard rushing mark in Pius’ game against Carson Long. Their chief competitors, Williams Valley, Tri-Valley and Schuylkill Haven all have some very strong skilled-position players themselves. The Class A playoffs just might be the most competitive race of any within District XI this fall.

PEN ARGYL – For the second consecutive year, some people started counting out the Green Knights after they picked up their second loss early in the season. That was before they had to battle Catasauqua and Northwestern in consecutive weeks. Pen Argyl also had significant injuries during the first four weeks of the season which resulted in some underclassmen gaining valuable ‘under-fire’ experience. As of today’s standings (not including their traditional rivalry game with Bangor this weekend), Pen Argyl would play Pine Grove in the first round of the playoffs, and then the winner between Catasauqua/Palisades for the title. Here’s the issue: I think Pen Argyl has a great shot at advancing to the championship game, but must beware of a rejuvenated Slater ball club this Friday. Bangor is playing much better than they did in the first half of the season and just missed upsetting the Tigers last weekend. It’s one of the most passionate rivalry games in Eastern Pennsylvania and Pen Argyl still needs to get a win to clinch a playoff spot. That being said, they can’t leave Bangor with any big injuries if they want to extend their season beyond next weekend.

BETHLEHEM CATHOLIC – The Hawks had a major struggle beating Freedom last weekend. The win meant a “Christmas City Championship” and guaranteed spot in the district playoffs. I think this Becahi team has the talent to go deep in the state playoffs – IF they play the way they did in the first half of the season and the way I saw them battle in the first half of their game against Whitehall. The team has already rejuvenated the Hawks fan base with its five wins so far. They have an opportunity to really deliver a message to all detractors if they can remain focused on the team-concept for the next month.

SOUTHERN LEHIGH – The Spartans continued to steamroll their opponents in the Colonial League by defeating a very strong Palisades team last Friday night. Their offensive line, which was a question mark at the beginning of the season, played about as well as any line in the league. It has proved to be protection for Travis Edmond, Jacob Del Priore and company to have excellent seasons. Southern Lehigh has been knocking on the door of a championship for some time. Any letdown by the Golden Hawks should pave the way for the Spartans to capture a long-awaited title.

CATASAUQUA – We have spent a ton of time and blog space this year discussing the Rough Riders, and rightly so. They have easily disposed of every team on their schedule this fall and are coming off another shutout, 40-0, over Northern Lehigh last Friday. Every week we get emails on RCN Sports Talk asking us to analyze this team and give our opinions of whether this team is good enough to win a state title. We received another one last week and we’ll address it on our October 31 RCN Sports Talk show at 6:00 PM. In the meantime, I want to give a shout-out to the Catty offensive linemen for their outstanding efforts so far this season. With exceptionally skilled guys like Burton, Bradley, Marshall, Stopay and others seeing their names in the spotlight (both for their offense and defense), the guys up front have been buying time for their teammates to do what they do best. They are a huge reason why this team will likely come home with at least one, if not more, championships this fall.

Which teams do you feel will bring home district gold medals in two weeks? Which players from our “small schools” in the RCN region deserve some extra mentions? Email your comments to RCNSportsTalk@rcn.com and we’ll respond to your insights on RCN Sports Talk every Thursday at 6:00 PM. During the district playoff season we’ll have special guests break down each of the playoff match-ups.