ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)

1. Phil Mickelson won the British Open this past weekend. He is fan-friendly, seems to just love being out on the course, and is a great family man. It is certainly easy to root for him to win. The only major he has not won is the US Open, but he has finished second 5 times. He said the British Open would be the hardest for him to win. Check it off the bucket list.

2. There was no question that the All-Star pitchers lived up to their billing last Tuesday. I was so impressed with their ability to put the ball right where the catchers wanted it and they did it at 95-99 mph. How does anyone hit a baseball?

3. Everything about new Eagles head coach, Chip Kelly, is so different from Andy Reid – new workout schedules, teaching techniques, play-calling, and, most dramatic for the local fans, the pre-season practice facility. The Eagles will not be at Lehigh University. No question, this area will miss them!

4. Based on the last two weeks of summer basketball (the Stellar Tournament and Sportsfest), Parkland and Central Catholic seem to be the preseason favorites in the LVC. At the end of last season, the nuclei returning on these two teams made prognosticating the future of these programs quite easy. The last two weeks confirmed those feelings.

5. Speaking of summer basketball, the 2013 Catasauqua 24th Annual Tournament of Champions begins Sunday, July 28, and concludes with the championship game on August 1. This tournament features 24 teams that have won the various summer leagues in and near the Lehigh Valley, brings them together, and crowns an overall champion. You can watch the championship on RCN at 9:30.

BEHIND THE MIC:
The NFL – Pre-season Best and Worst

I realize it is only July, but the summer seems to be flying by. I am already thinking about high school and college football. It will be here soon. And since I am writing this week’s blog and, in the fall, my blog includes my weekly NFL picks, it seemed like a good time to consider (in my estimation), which NFL teams will be the BEST and which teams will be the WORST.

Let’s start with the worst, since when these teams play (unless it’s against each other) my predictions should be easier. The five worst teams in the NFL for the upcoming season will be the:

• Jets – Tim Tebow goes; Geno Smith comes in so the Jets still have a quarterback controversy (5 on their roster including Mark Sanchez) and they have gotten worse overall as a team.

• Raiders – This team just does not have the talent to contend at all.

• Bills – QB position is really questionable. 6-10 last year and they will probably struggle to surpass that win total.

• Jaguars – They were awful last season and did very little in the draft to think they got better. Remember a 3-win season will be an improvement over last year.

• Browns – They traded away draft picks in Rounds 4 and 5 so they had only 2 picks in the first five rounds and they find themselves in a division where everybody is better.

• Titans – In case I’m wrong, the Titans should improve on their 6-10 record, but most of that responsibility rests on the QB Jake Locker.

Now that I have upset the Jets and Browns fans, I wish the Eagles, Steelers and the Redskins (my boss’s team) would now show up in my top 5. But, alas, that will not be the case. To me, the very best will be the:

 • 49ers – They were outstanding last year; had a decent draft and will have a new starter at safety (Eric Reid).

• Broncos – Peyton Manning and a talented stable of receivers (including Wes Welker) make this team extremely strong offensively, but they, also, have one of the top defenses. They could win it all.

• Falcons – They just needed to improve their defense and they did that with great improvement at the cornerback positions. They were 13-3 last year and, if possible, they could be better.

• Seahawks – They have a great coach, terrific chemistry, and improved in the draft on both sides of the ball. They are one of the very best and will battle the 49ers for the Division title.

• Packers/Patriots – Both of these teams have outstanding quarterbacks who could carry them to a win every weekend. The Packers got better at the running game. The Patriots did not do much with the draft and lost Welker so time will tell if they will be better this season.

 Oh, by the way, the Redskins and Giants should finish in the upper half, the Steelers in the middle, and the Eagles in the lower half.

Please, please don’t blame the messenger.

 ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)

1. The Phillies this past week and a half completed three very important series with the front-running Atlanta Braves, the second-place Washington Nationals and the Chicago White Sox. It was a microcosm of their season – highlights and lowlights. However, they took every series and got their record to .500 at the All-Star break. It offers hope for the second half of the season and made it very difficult for Ruben Amaro to decide whether to be a buyer or a seller.

2. If you want to fill a minor league ballpark, sprinkle a major league star into the lineup every now and then. The Scranton-Wilkes Barre RailRiders sold out their stadium (10,000+) last Saturday night because Derek Jeter was in the lineup.

3. Speaking of minor league baseball, I had the pleasure of attending an Iron Pigs game last week and was a guest in the Coca-Cola box. Joe Brake of Coke is the perfect host – good food, good conversation, great seats, and exceptional fireworks. It was a truly fun night.

4. I certainly do not profess to understand world politics, but I am intrigued by the number of protesters in other parts of the world who seem to be available no matter what the cause, no matter what the day, or the time. You work, I work, my colleagues work – when would you find time to protest?

5. Aren’t the “dog days of summer” in August? To me, July has been a “dog” every day! I think the weather people just cut and paste the same picture in the paper every day and meteorologists have been offering the same forecast every day on the TV. If they are wrong, there are no ramifications. Being a weatherperson looks like a very easy job to me. Maybe, THEY would have time to protest.

Pocono Raceway: Bad Memories

Last weekend, the local papers were full of stories about the return of Indy Car racing to Pocono Raceway. The last time Indy cars raced there was in 1989. There were plenty of stories written about the history of the venue and local nostalgia about the Andretti family (Mario, Michael, and now Marco) at the race track. It turned out that Sunday was not a good day for the Andretti racing team. It was another bad memory for them. Ironically, it, also, brought back a very bad memory for me.

I really do not know the year, but it was a long time ago when I was asked to be the main announcer for the GATR 400 at Pocono. GATR was an acronym for The Great American Truck Race. The draw was to take truck cabs off the highway and have the drivers race them for 400 miles, you know, much like truckers do on Route 22 every day.

Now, let me be up front here – I was not and am not a racing fan. My sole auto sport interest, in the past, centered around the Indianapolis 500 on Memorial Day, especially if a local driver was involved. I know very little about cars, their engines, and how they work. That’s what mechanics are for. To make matters worse, I knew virtually nothing about trucks!

I did not want this announcing job. I figured rather than just saying, “No, thank you”; I would offer to do it for an exorbitant price. I asked for three times my normal fee, thinking that would get me a “Sorry, we’ll look for someone else.” That did not happen. The company agreed to my “demand” (ploy) and I was now doing a broadcast about which I knew nothing.

The race was on a Saturday with time trials and practice on Friday. I decided to go to practice to watch and learn. I went into the pits, struck up conversation with the participants, and took notes. I was honest with the drivers and they were cordial in divulging information. One suggested I should ride with him around the track to get a sense of the speed and the experience. Every brain cell said, “Don’t do this”, but my pride (stupidity) took over and I accepted the offer. I jumped in the cab and off we went. It was not long before we were going down a straightaway at 90+ miles per hour. I tried not to look frightened, but I was afraid my underwear would tell a different story. Trust me, it was frightening! I was convinced we would fly over the retaining wall and that would be it! The headline would read – “Young Local Announcer Dies Covering Sport He Knew Nothing About!” I, also, have the fear that same headline might be written about every sport I have covered over the years. But, I digress. Obviously, I did not die.

Instead, the next day I found myself high atop the track in the announcer’s booth ready to fake interest and knowledge and hope my color analyst was the best race announcer ever to take the microphone. To make matters worse, ten minutes prior to the start, we were informed our words would, also, serve as the PA sound to the thousands who had gathered to watch the race live – you know, the people who REALLY KNEW the sport.

The broadcast began (I still have nightmares about my scared voice “booming” out throughout the track), the race started, and I talked! It was exactly as I suspected – long, confusing (no truck should be allowed to lap another), and intense. Just like “all good things must come to an end”, it is also true of all “bad things”. I got through it.

On the way home, I wondered how much money I should ask for the next time I am offered a job to announce a race. For some reason, another offer never came.

Connie Mack Baseball

It was our pleasure for RCN SportsTalk videographer Mike Kingsley and myself to attend the Connie Mack All-Star Game at Limeport Stadium. This year was a little extra special due to the league’s season-long anniversary celebration for its 60th year of existence. It gives young athletes a place to play under-the-lights (which is still a big deal to many 14 to 16 year-olds) and to play in this special venue. While the score itself is not important, it definitely had more-than-the-normal number of highlights—both offensively, defensively, and on the mound—in addition to some unique experiences. A few of them include:

* Lehigh Township’s Matt Miller coming through with multiple hits in clutch situations to give the “Green Team” a lead it would not relinquish.

* Pen Argyl’s Zach Luke striking out the side in his one inning of work (to allow for more pitchers getting into the game, pitchers were limited to just one inning).

* The “bull-rush” of players who stormed the pizza guy when it arrived later in the evening. I gave a heads-up to stay out of the players’ way when it was delivered, and quickly realized the warnings were on-the-mark when the entire dugout of 27 players (per side) emptied on-mass to gobble down the complimentary meal.

* The “thank you’s” we received for coming to this event were not necessary, but very much appreciated. We’d love to spend more time at community events and try to cover as many local organizations as possible. It was our pleasure to showcase the kids who work so hard at this wonderful game of baseball

We’re going to have more highlights and be talking in much more detail about Connie Mack’s 60th Anniversary season on the July 25th edition of “RCN SportsTalk” (which will be live from 6-7 pm on RCN-TV). It would be great if fans of this organization would contact us with their support for the league and thoughts on Connie Mack’s past, present, and future. Below is a sample of the video we shot and comments from the “winning” All-Star Team members:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkERjewD0lU

Feel free to post a comment or question on Connie Mack baseball and send us an email at RCNSportsTalk@rcn.com. Tune in on July 25th at 6pm on RCN-TV as we’ll be reading and responding to your comments, as well as talking more about America’s Pastime and this special youth organization.

To: Bubba Watson and Jessica Korda:
Don’t “Shoot” or Fire the Messenger

What If?
Over the weekend, I was watching the US Women’s Open Championship primarily because of Inbee Park. She was seeking to win the first three major golf championships of the season, a feat that had only been achieved once in Women’s Golf history. Babe Zaharias did it in 1950. Park did, indeed, win the Open championship on Sunday and now has a chance to become the first woman to win four (and perhaps, five) majors in one year – the Grand Slam!

Okay, that’s why I started to watch the golf, but on Saturday, a strange event caused me to sit up and take notice – Jessica Korda fired her caddie after playing the ninth hole, halfway through the round! She ordered her boyfriend, who was in the gallery to carry her bag the rest of the way. I bring this up because you may have missed it. Had it been Tiger, Phil, or Rory who did this, it would have been front page news.

There has not been any reason given as to why Korda took this unusual action. Bubba Watson blamed his caddie two weeks ago for giving him the wrong yardage on the 16th hole and it probably cost him the Travelers Championship tournament. Ian Woosnan at the British Open years ago threw all of his clubs out of the bag when his caddie allowed too many clubs to be placed there. Neither, however, fired their caddie on the spot.

So I got to thinking about famous duos that may have been broken up on the spur of the moment because of a miscalculation:

Would Bonnie have fired Clyde if he forgot the bullets?

Would Penn fire Tellar if, all of a sudden, Tellar would not shut up?

What would happen to Hall if Oates thought Hall was “pitchy”?

Would Jill fire Jack because he “broke his crown”?

What would happen to Lewis if he caused Clark to get lost?

What if Tonto thought he was more important than the Lone Ranger (sounds like a good movie)?

What if the Beast got more press than Beauty?

So, you may ask, “What did I learn from Jessica Korda’s actions?” Just this – If I mess up and I have any kind of reason to blame my administrative assistant, Kristin, I will. I may even fire her, but first I have to make sure my wife knows Microsoft Word!

SportsTalk Shop: Blue Mountain League Thoughts

It’s always good to sit down and chat with the people of Blue Mountain League, as we had President Bob Varju, Secretary/Treasurer Tim Fisher and Orioles Player/Manager Dave Stoudt on our most recent “RCN SportsTalk” show. In addition to talking about the first half of the season, their charity All-Star event and previewing what looks to be a certain horse race for the top four playoff spots this summer, we had to spend some time talking about the man the league was dedicating this season to, the legendary Ron Punkin Miller, and how much he meant to the league and to this area:

www.youtube.com/embed/Ifp2jniZZzQ

The entire show is available on RCN’s Video-on-Demand for free for the next several weeks.

A few other items we discussed during the program and in-between segments during our commercial breaks (when Fisher wasn’t chopping me to bits:)

 • If you haven’t been following along, this is one of the most competitive BML seasons in recent memory; as recently as this past Tuesday, there were four teams tied for first, and two more teams no more than a game-and-a-half back.

• Although rain has been a major issue and most team are very backed-up with numerous games left to be played with less than a month left in their season, pitching on most nights as been very solid. We had a nice 2-1 pitchers’ duel last Tuesday on RCN’s “Game of the Week” and there have been a bunch of young pitchers stepping up and performing well.

• Speaking of youth, how about all the major contributions of the rookies and one- and two-year players this season! It used to be rare for more than one rookie on a team to earn even a regular starting role, but the talent of the league this year has really been on the rise with multiple rookies per team making significant contributions. This should make for some great careers to come for individuals and for the league.

• Northampton Giants’ first baseman Dave Gulick has been making bats, not just for the BML, but also for local teams, minor league teams, and even bats that were used in the World Baseball Classic. If you want a good deal, get in contact with him.

What are your memories of Punkin? What BML teams have impressed you so far this season, and which squads are most likely to make the playoffs? Post a comment or email them to RCNSportsTalk@rcn.com.

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)

1. The Phillies continue to be awful and the TV ratings and ballpark attendance are declining rapidly. Can they right the ship? Answer these questions:

Is it Charlie’s fault?
Is it Ruben’s fault?
Do you just blame the hitters and the pitchers?
Do you want to trade Ryan Howard, Cliff Lee?
Will Cole Hamels, your ace, LOSE 20 games?
OR, will they just get very healthy the second half of the season and turn this whole mess around?
Stay tuned!

2. My main blog this week was about not saying the right things. Read anything written about or quoted by Lehigh’s soon to be drafted by the NBA player, CJ McCollum, and you get a sense that here is a young man who has had the proper upbringing, has good values, a solid work ethic, and appreciates his talents. I hope he stays that way.

3. NFL training camps start in a month. Bad choices by the players during their down time will continue, however.

4. Every story I read about the Tampa Bay Rays coach and former Lafayette student, Joe Maddon, makes me wish he managed closer to home. Try to find a bad word written about him and/or his managing skills. He usually has inferior talent battling for a playoff spot, with great player support. And he gave us an interview the last time he was on the Lafayette campus. My kind of guy.

5. Football in June? The Lehigh Valley McDonald’s All-Star Football Classic was last Thursday. It was well-played and, more importantly, well-attended. The banquet for the players, cheerleaders, coaches, parents, and friends was held last Wednesday, sponsored and televised by RCN.

Serena Williams vs Maria Sharapova; Sergio Garcia vs Tiger Woods, etc
Great Matchups?
You would think that any time I offer up Serena Williams vs. Maria Sharapova or Tiger Woods vs. Sergio Garcia, I would be going to look at tennis or at golf. I would think the same thing. However, in the past few weeks, these rivals have taken plenty of shots but not on the court, nor on the course. Instead, the shots have been “backhanded” or “driven” AT each other.

This past week, right before the start of Wimbledon, Serena and Maria exchanged backhands. And, much like a high school dust-up, the animosity centers, not around tennis, but on their respective “boyfriends”. Serena, in Rolling Stone magazine, did everything but name Maria when she said her rival was not cool, was boring, and was dating Serena’s former boyfriend, whom she described as having a “black heart.” Maria countered by returning serve when she accused Serena of dating her coach, who is married and has children. Maria, also, implied Serena’s coach was headed for divorce. Deuce!!

Sergio Garcia had some nasty remarks to say about Tiger Woods during The Players Championship. Tiger was later found not to have been at fault, but did respond to Sergio with a few trite comments of his own. Sergio made the matter even worse with a perceived racist comment about serving Tiger “fried chicken” at the US Open. Tiger said the comment was “wrong, hurtful, and clearly inappropriate.” The scores by the two appeared to be par for Tiger; double bogey or worse by Sergio.

What were Serena and Sergio thinking? We all have to vent from time to time, but not to Rolling Stone, not during a press conference. How did they think these statements would be perceived? Did they not think they would be open to disparaging remarks directed right back at them? Did they really want to take on two people whom so many fans support? Did Sergio really believe his response would not be considered racist (after all, Fuzzy Zeller got into serious public relations problems of his own with an almost identical comment)? Sponsors want athletes to be, for the most part, squeaky clean – certainly not tinged by marital scandal or racist innuendo. Talk tennis, talk golf, talk weather – then just shut up!!

When you are in the public eye, what you say becomes public! Just ask Paula Deen.

The Day of Reckoning is Coming … Soon!

The time for evaluating the current Philadelphia Phillies ball club is nearly over. There are very few games left for any one player to try to disprove what he actually has shown in his ability through the first 74 games of the regular season. The now pseudo-trade deadline — and with so many teams still in the hunt for the extra wild card spot (can you believe the Padres are actually ahead of the Phils?) — is a month away, and some very long, hard decisions will have to be made regarding some of the longest tenured, and most beloved Phillies ball players of all-time.

Now, that doesn’t mean you can kiss Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins & Philly fan favorites good-bye over the next 30 days. However, decisions will have to be made to realistically pursue offers to trade these athletes that will go down as the greatest players in club history at their respective position. Names like Utley and Rollins will be given serious consideration someday for baseball’s most precious honor — the Hall of Fame. But that is — or at least — SHOULD BE IRRELEVENT NOW. This Phillies team is NOT going to win a World Series as is. They are not “a player or two” away, nor is one more player returning from the disabled list going to put this team over the top. They cannot wait any longer — they have to change the dynamics of these teams, and unfortunately, they are being buoyed by players that are practically UNTRADEABLE due to their weighty contracts.

Consider these facts about the Phightin’ Phils that are indisputable, and are contributing directly to the team’s current status (as of this writing) of four games under the 500-mark and an ebbing eight-game back of the division-leading Braves:

• The fact that Cole Hamels has accumulated 11 losses before the second day of summer is UNACCEPTABLE. The Phillies pour the majority of their “free agent monies” into Hamels’ pocketbook and pretty much denied the team from trying to add any type of significant offensive has — at least for this season — proven to be a major mistake. Nolan Ryan, Bob Gibson and J. R. Richards in their prime would have difficulty pitching to a .500-record with this offense behind him, and the fact that King Cole has had lapses in concentration even when given a lead cannot be tolerated when so much was riding on this season (in particular, his pitching arm).

• The fact that Ryan Howard (while riding his current $125-million contract) is battling an injury does not excuse his poor approach in the batters’ box. If he cannot base his back foot and launch mammoth home runs to even the deepest ball parks, as he has done in the past, then he has to change his approach and find a way to drive in balls via other avenues (i.e., hitting the ball the other way, working the count late in games when the team is down by more than one with no one on base, et al). The fact that his batting average dropped 15-points when Dom Brown was moved behind him for “protection” while Brown went on one of the most torrid offensive tears this team has seen in decades is proof that Howard’s lack of ANY significant offensive production (he took TWO ‘golden sombreros’ over the last several weeks) does not have, or worse yet, no longer has, the ability to carry this team means this team has to make some major changes over the next month.

These are the team’s leaders. They have not been on the disabled list nor have any other acceptable excuses, and they have not lived up to the trust the Phillies’ front office put upon them — rightly or wrongly — this past winter. The players they have around them are simply not good enough to overcome these glaring shortcomings.

What other major problems are contributing to the Phillies dismal record through the first three months of the season, and what SHOULD the Phillies do before the “trading deadline?” Post a comment with your thoughts on this team’s future and what moves you think need to occur this summer.