We’ve spent a good amount of time recently focusing on local high school baseball here on “The Shop” as well as on the Astound TV Network, so I wanted to be sure we touch on some of the other great sports action that has been going on in our coverage areas over the last couple of weeks in the other ATVN viewing areas.

First of all, hats off to our Lehigh Valley tennis champions as the District XI Doubles Finals was recently held at Parkland High School. 

In the 2A Finals, the number three seed, Armaan Makwana and Anthony Barczynski (Bethlehem Catholic HS) defeated Will Menichelli and Ford Koch (Moravian Academy) with final scores of 6-0, 6-3.

In the 3A Finals, the top-ranked team of Dan Zolatarev and Fyodor D’Souza (Parkland) defeated #2 Shayaan Farhad and Roman Farhad (Liberty), 6-2, 6-3.

Congratulations to these local tennis champions!

Other local teams claiming District XI titles in our coverage area over the last week include the Northampton volleyball and the Central Catholic and Freedom boys and Emmaus and Southern Lehigh girls lacrosse teams.  The Vikings and Spartans were both the defending champions.

For both Freedom and Emmaus, it was their first district title in their programs’ history (for Freedom, it was the first time a school in Northampton County won a district championship).  We’ve been in contact with the head coaches of both the Patriots’ and Green Hornets’ programs and plan to have them on the June 9th edition of “SportsTalk” next Thursday on ATVN.

Baseball and softball champions will also be crowned over the next few days.

In the DMV, the Washington, DC public schools athletic department announced the following honors for their track-and-field teams:

Girls Outdoor Track Runner of the Year:  Jacqueline Braxton – Roosevelt HS

Boys Outdoor Track Runner of the Year:  Jahari Miller – Wilson HS

Girls Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year: Nadia Lytle – SWW HS

Boys Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year: Morris Walker – SWW HS

Also, congratulations to McKinley High School for winning the 2022 team boys track championship and to Wilson for winning the girls title.

Last but not least, the eastern Pennsylvania outdoor summer basketball season tipped off a few weeks ago.  Here are some pictures that I took on the courts (see if you recognize any of these local athletes in action).

Keep checking back to the “SportsTalk Shop,” throughout the spring and summer months as we continue to follow the sports action in our Pennsylvania and Washington, DC viewing areas.

We’ll also have more end-of-the-school year honors, all-star listings and awards here at “The Shop” as they become available over the next several weeks.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound Broadband or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

If you have been driving around the Lehigh Valley over the last couple weeks, you probably noticed a sudden surge in the billboards promoting the 42nd US Senior Open Championship being held at Saucon Valley Country Club this June.

The defending champion is someone who was born in our Delaware Valley viewing area – Jim Furyk.

Among his most impressive career accomplishments: he is one of just eight golfers EVER to win both a U. S. Open title and a U. S. Senior Open championship.

He also still boasts the tour record with a score of 58 set back in 2016 at the Travelers Championship.

I had the chance to meet Jim last week as he stopped by the Saucon Valley Country Club to get an early bird’s look at the course ahead of next month’s U. S. Senior Championship in Bethlehem.

You can see our interview with Jim on this week’s “ATVN SportsTalk.”

In addition to our interview with Furyk, tune in this Thursday at 7pm as ATVN’s Scott Barr joins me to recap last week’s Eastern Pennsylvania Conference and Colonial League baseball playoffs action.  

If you tune in, you’ll know that we had some very entertaining ball games!

Hats off to our crew for bringing you all the action, but especially the championship day of baseball.  Their day started last Thursday morning and we first came on the air at 3:30pm, but because of rain earlier in the day and delays in repairing the fields, the first pitch of our first game didn’t start until 4:24 pm and I signed off the air at 11:33pm (the second game went 10 innings!).

Between curfew issues, stadium lights potentially turning off, great plays and interesting in-game decisions, we will have PLENTY to discuss on Thursday’s show.

We’ll also be looking ahead to next week’s District XI postseason coverage which will be live on the Astound Broadband TV Network.  Make sure you bookmark our website for the latest programming information on our schedule for next week.

Don’t forget to chime in with a question or comment during our live show or suggestions of which teams we should try to focus on this summer by emailing us.

Now, here’s our next installment of the best plays from our ATVN sports broadcast season to date: 

1. Astound Sports: Notre Dame vs. WIlson (3/22)
   
   
2. Astound Sports: Bangor vs. Bethlehem Catholic (3/22)
   
   
3. Astound Sports: Northampton vs. Fox Chapel (3/22)
   
   

4. Astound Sports: Parkland vs. Pennwood (3/22)
   
   

5. Astound Sports: Allentown Central Catholic vs. Lehighton (3/22)
   

Come back next week for more information on ATVN’s coverage of local sports in our area and also to see more of our top highlights from the past sports season to see if your favorite teams and players make our weekly list!  We’ll also have more information on the local summer basketball programs that kicked off last week.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound Broadband or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

This is a slightly busier week than normal for those of us in the ATVN Sports Department for a few reasons.

So what new things are going on this week?

First, we are welcoming former Major League Baseball player Matt McBride to our on-air announcing team as he will be calling games with us starting this week on the Astound TV Network.

Secondly, for the first time ever on our station, we are broadcasting the Colonial League baseball playoffs.  We are very excited to be able to focus on those teams for the first time during the spring season.

Thirdly, with the quarterfinals completed this weekend, we are in the process of putting all our information together for Tuesday’s semifinal broadcasts–and we don’t have a shortage of great storylines to focus on.

The scene for Tuesday is now set.

In the EPC semifinals, Emmaus and Parkland will square off against each other for the third time.  In the first game, Emmaus won by a single run but Parkland had the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh inning before the Hornets shut the door.

In Tuesday’s other game, it will feature the area’s top team at the end of the regular season–Liberty, against one of the hottest squads in the area–Nazareth.

All four teams split their games during the regular season, so each game will be “rubber matches.”

Be sure to tune in for our coverage starting on Tuesday afternoon!

Also, don’t forget to tune into our “SportsTalk” for interviews with local coaches and athletes every Thursday at 7pm on “ATVN SportsTalk.”  You can also chime in with a question or comment during our live show or suggestions of which teams we should try to focus on this spring by emailing us.

Also, for more on all of the teams participating in this week’s baseball playoff action, we had a comprehensive preview of both the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference and Colonial League playoffs on last week’s “SportsTalk” show, which Astound Broadband video customers can watch for free at any time On-Demand.

Last but not least, we also have interviews with local baseball and softball teams you will want to check out that were a part of last week’s program as well.

Come back to “The SportsTalk Shop” next week for more information on ATVN’s coverage of local sports in our area, reactions and news from this week’s sports action and more of our top highlights from the past sports seasons.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound Broadband or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

This is a very busy week for everyone in the Lehigh Valley as there’s a rush to get in all the remaining regular season spring sports games this week, with league and then district playoffs for most sports commencing in just a few days!

A few sports already completed their local playoff season.         

Congratulations are in order to both the Central Catholic and Liberty tennis teams for REPEATING as District XI champs in both the 2A and 3A classifications.  We talked about both of these squads quite a bit a year ago on our “SportsTalk” program and they continued to impress again this year.

Meanwhile, the Astound Broadband TV Network is gearing up for our full broadcast coverage of games next week, starting with the EPC baseball semifinals on Monday, May 16, starting at 4pm.  Make sure you bookmark our broadcast schedule and keep checking back for more information on our playoff coverage as it becomes available.

I honestly can’t remember the last time all spring playoff games went off “as scheduled” due to the weather, field conditions, etc., so there WILL be changes!

The local baseball playoffs got a little more intriguing this past week as the local Colonial League favorite, Southern Lehigh, had a rare loss and a tough time beating a struggling Northern Lehigh squad, who played well down at Limeport Stadium last week.  Meanwhile, Northwestern, Saucon Valley and Palisades are three teams that haven’t lost in a while and seem to be peeking at the right time–just before the post-season.

We’ll have interviews from Saucon Valley, Southern Lehigh, Northwestern and others coming up on this Thursday’s show on ATVN, plus a comprehensive look at all the local baseball teams as we embark on the post-season.

Keep checking back to the “SportsTalk Shop,” as we continue to follow the high school sports teams in our area and have interviews with local coaches and athletes every Thursday at 7pm on “ATVN SportsTalk.”  Don’t forget to chime in with a question or comment during our live show or suggestions of which teams we should try to focus on this spring by emailing us.

Now, here’s our next installment of the best plays from our ATVN sports broadcast season to date:

1. Astound Sports: Executive Education Academy vs. Notre Dame (2/22)
   
2. Astound Sports: Bethlehem Catholic vs. Allentown Central Catholic (3/22)
   
3. Astound Sports: Northampton vs. Nazareth (3/22)
   
4. Astound Sports: Northampton vs. Freedom Girls (2/22)
   
5. Astound Sports: Northampton vs. Nazareth Consolation Round (3/22)
   

Come back next week for more information on ATVN’s coverage of local sports in our area and also to see more of our top highlights from the past sports season to see if your favorite teams and players make our weekly list!

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound Broadband or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

We changed the calendar this past weekend but the local sports storylines keep coming in as we edge closer to the spring scholastic postseason.

A few include:

• Northampton baseball team scored a major win this past week by beating the defending league and district champs from Emmaus–a team that entered the previous week undefeated.  The ATVN cameras were on the scene of one of the biggest upsets of the spring.  If you missed the highlights and post-game interviews on last week’s “SportsTalk,” Astound Broadband customers can watch them again for free at any time On-Demand!
• Speaking of the Northampton/Emmaus game, special thanks to ATVN’s own videographer, Alyssa Sheckler, who stood out in the rain in the nearly three-hour contest with me capturing all those big moments (there was no press box, overhangs or coverings so we really appreciate her efforts!)
• The DCIAA in Washington, DC officially kicked off its 2022 flag football season in the DMV, with Bannecker playing Coolridge in the first game of the year.  After so many hurdles for this particular sport to get on the field, it was great to hear that they have played a week’s worth of games without any difficulty.
• Freedom’s lacrosse team is still undefeated heading into the last week of the regular season.  After Easton girls pulled off a major upset a year ago, it would be quite an accomplishment for the Patriots to run the table in a very competitive EPC season.
• Our scheduled games to cover over the next few week include: Liberty vs. Freedom, Easton vs. Nazareth, Whitehall vs. Allen, Central Catholic vs. Bethlehem Catholic and Parkland vs. Emmaus.
• I had some great comments from viewers about our spring coverage so far at the annual EPC baseball Play Days this weekend (of course, the last game was postponed due to rain).  The ATVN cameras will also be joining me for a rare Colonial League doubleheader this Wednesday.  The weather “should” be better (we also had a game rained out this past Sunday, so a sunny/not cold day would be welcomed and much appreciated!)

 Keep checking back to the “SportsTalk Shop,” as we continue to follow the high school sports teams in our area and have interviews with local coaches and athletes every Thursday at 7pm on “ATVN SportsTalk.”  Our scheduled guests include local assistant coaches from our area to talk about their roles with their respective teams.

Don’t forget to chime in with a question or comment during our live show or suggestions of which teams we should try to focus on this spring by emailing us.

Now, here’s our next installment of the best plays from our ATVN sports broadcast season to date: 

1. Astound Sports: Northwestern Lehigh vs. Palmerton (3/22)
   
2. Astound Sports: Northampton vs. Nazareth Wrestling (1/22)

3. Astound Sports: Northampton vs. Nazareth (1/22)
   
4. Astound Sports: Northampton vs. Central Catholic (1/22)
   
5. Astound Sports: Allentown Central Catholic vs. Parkland (1/22)
   
   

 Check back next week for more information on ATVN’s coverage of local sports in our area and also to see more of our top highlights from the past sports season to see if your favorite teams and players make the list!

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

OK, I admit. I’m looking ahead just a little bit and took some liberties with the use of the term “summer” basketball in this week’s blog title.  Perhaps, I’m still feeling a little chilly inside after sitting through a couple local scholastic baseball games this past week in which the temperature dipped down into the 40-degree range (and later, that evening, the 30s!), before things warmed up this past weekend.

However, believe it or not – the spring/summer high school basketball official league schedule will be starting in just a couple weeks.  It has become a key time of year for gauging how next season’s varsity teams will shake out and will factor in for our thought processes when it comes time to put our winter sports season together for the following school year.

History has shown us that, while the final scores of these games may not be as important as other times of the year, it is important to keep an eye out for developing players, unique storylines and the ever-changing landscape of local talent–whether it be players coming in or moving out of the region.

A few items to keep an eye on as we approach the first set of games:

• Teams like Northampton, Nazareth, Central Catholic, Bethlehem Catholic, Parkland and Allen–to name a few–have lost some very big names to graduation after this past winter season.  Which players will step-up to fill their shoes and how will the chemistry be trying to replace so many talented athletes?  All of these teams had success during the ‘21-22 seasons and each program will be in the spotlight with high expectations for the season going forward.
• Northampton’s Coy Stampone recently stepped down after 10 years as the head coach of the Northampton boys basketball program (if you missed his appearance on our ATVN SportsTalk show, ATVN customers can hear his comments for yourself through our On-Demand services, available for free).  Who will take over a program that has had so much success in recent years and how smooth will the transition be?
• There’s rumors of other coaches who may be on the move in Eastern Pennsylvania and also in our Washington, DC region..which coaches will stay and which may move on?
• The Easton girls teams had one of the most successful seasons last winter–yet had no title to show for it…how will the Rovers respond and who will step up to take over running the offense and distributing the basketball as the squad graduated its starting point guard?

Also, here are a few pictures for last year’s summer hoops action that never made it to publication.  See if your favorite sports stars are listed in the gallery below.

Keep checking back to the “SportsTalk Shop,” throughout the spring and summer months as we continue to follow the action on the Lehigh Valley basketball courts, bringing you news, rumors and developments on local storylines, along with pictures of the “new” basketball season coming up.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound Broadband or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

With Mother Nature finally helping out our spring sports teams with more than two consecutive days of “playable” weather (and subsequently adequate field conditions) this past week, there have been a number of interesting developments in Lehigh Valley scholastic sports to emerge.

A few include:

• In a crowded field of talented baseball teams this spring, it looks like Emmaus and Parkland are two of the teams trying to separate themselves as one of the elites in the region.  Parkland just routed another strong program–Nazareth–by a 14-2 score.  Emmaus also crushed a very good Freedom team, 9-1, over the weekend and also remains undefeated. Easton and Liberty are also among the “big schools” that have been playing well.  It should be another exciting finish in the league and district playoffs, which start less than a month from now.
• As expected, Northampton, Bethlehem Catholic and Southern Lehigh have dominated girls softball so far.  All three teams boasted a strong returning core of players and have looked very solid through the Easter weekend.
• Northwestern High School has continued its “upward trending” across the board, with all of its spring sports performing well.  The Tigers are returning baseball and softball champs and last week posted a solid victory on the lacrosse field, plus have several talented individual performances in track and field and on the tennis courts.
• The Whitehall volleyball team remains the only undefeated team in the Lehigh Valley.  The Zephyrs were denied the chance to defend their district title in the spring of 2020 due to the start of the COVID pandemic, but fields another strong team again this spring as they look to reclaim the title from Parkland.  Easton, Emmaus, Freedom, Nazareth and Northampton also have winning records in the area’s largest classification.

Keep checking back to the “SportsTalk Shop,” as we continue to follow the high school sports teams in our area and have interviews with local coaches and athletes every Thursday at 7pm on “ATVN SportsTalk.”  Among our scheduled guests include former Easton great and new Freedom Baseball Head Coach John Bisco III, members of the Central Catholic lacrosse team, and more!

Don’t forget to chime in with a question or comment during our live show or suggestions of which teams we should try to focus on this spring by emailing us. 

  Now, here’s our next installment of the best plays from our ATVN sports broadcast season to date: 

1. Astound Sports: Pleasant Valley vs. Liberty (2/22)
   
2. Astound Sports: Pocono Mountain West vs. Nazareth (2/22)
   
   
3. Astound Sports: Wilson vs. Notre Dame (2/22)
   
4. Astound Sports: Allentown Central Catholic vs. Parkland (1/22)
   
   
5. Astound Sports:  Southern Lehigh vs. Palmerton (2/22)
   
   

 Check back next week for more information on ATVN’s coverage of local sports in our area and also more of our top highlights from the past sports season to see if your favorite teams and players make the list!

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

Before we continue our look back at the best plays of our recently completed high school sports season on ATVN, here’s a quick look at some of the teams and spring sports games that we’ll feature on upcoming editions of our  “SportsTalk” show, seen live on ATVN every Thursday evening at 7pm:

• Wilson vs Saucon Valley Tennis
• Whitehall vs. Allen Softball
• The Pates Park Colonial League Softball “Playday”
• Central Catholic vs. Nazareth Lacrosse
• Liberty vs. Easton Baseball
• Parkland vs. Freedom Volleyball
• Catasauqua vs. Pen Argyl Baseball
• Emmaus vs. Northampton Softball
• CL & EPC Tennis Tournaments

Keep checking our website as we look to add more teams and games as the spring season rolls on (obviously, Mother Nature will play a role in our schedule as games are frequently canceled/postponed this time of year!)
Also, don’t forget to chime in with a question or comment during our live show by emailing us.
Now, here’s our next installment of the best plays from our ATVN sports winter broadcast season…

1. Astound Sports: Bethlehem Catholic vs. Liberty (2/22)

2. Astound Sports: Freedom vs. Liberty Wrestling (1/22)
   
3. Astound Sports: Nazareth vs. Bethlehem Catholic (2/22)
   
4. Astound Sports: Dist. XI Team Finals Nazareth vs. Becahi Wrestling (2/22)
   

5. Astound Wrestling: District XI Team Finals (2/22)
   https://youtu.be/rS5WUp69FUs

Check back next week for more information on ATVN’s coverage of local sports in our area and also more of our top highlights from the past sports season to see if your favorite teams and players make the list!

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

Before we continue our look back at the best plays of our recently completed high school sports season on ATVN, here’s a forward look at our scheduled guests and topics on this week’s “SportsTalk” show, seen live on ATVN every Thursday evening at 7pm:

• The Liberty swim team brought home individual and team gold medals at both the District XI and statewide PIAA meets. Plus, this winter there was an extra special accomplishment for the Hurricanes program. Tune in to find out more about them.
• A developing major issue over the last few years has been a shortage in the incoming group of referees, umpires and officials across the board in all sports, from the elementary/little league levels up to varsity high school and collegiate sports. People may not realize some of the more drastic measures that are seriously being considered that would radically alter the layout for the scheduling of middle school and high school sports for this fall season.  We’ll talk with local officials about the recent changes and proposals that are likely to take place if more officials are brought in over the next few months.
• ATVN basketball analyst and former college/scholastic coach Megan Kane will be filling in for co-host Keith Groller to discuss the relationships between coaches and referees on the basketball courts and the important dynamic that exists between them.

Keep checking back to our website for more information on future show topics and guests.  Also, don’t forget to chime in with a question or comment during our live show by emailing us.

Now, here’s our second installment of the best plays from our ATVN sports winter broadcast season…

1. 1. 1. 1. ATVN Sports: Allen vs. Northampton (1/22)
            
         2. ATVN Sports: Whitehall vs. Freedom (1/22)
            
         3. ATVN Sports: Nazareth vs. Easton (1/22)
            
         4. ATVN Sports: Allen vs. Parkland (1/22)
            
         5. ATVN Sports: Bethlehem Catholic vs. Northampton (2/22)
            

Check back next week for more of our top highlights from the past season to see if your favorite teams and players make the list!

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

It’s been a hectic few months at the ATVN studio but we want to start our look back through the highlights of our featured sports broadcasts from the past winter sports season.
Before we do that, a quick look at our scheduled guests for upcoming editions of our “SportsTalk” show, seen live on ATVN every Thursday evening at 7pm:

• The Northampton Boys Basketball team (they were the last team in the ATVN viewing area “left standing” in the PIAA playoffs this year)
• DMV’s Tee Johnson of the Wilson (DC) Boys Basketball team, who captured both a DCIAA Championship and Coach of the Year honors in just his first year as a head coach
• The Emmaus Rifling team that captured a state championship & featured a returning individual state champ
• Local officials & referees discussing the extreme measures being considered for the next sports season if the officiating “shorten” continues (many games were rescheduled this past year because of this, with more drastic changes quite possibly taking place as early as this fall)
• Local representatives discussing the growth and early popularity of eSports
• …and more!

Keep checking back to our website for more information on future show topics and guests!
Now, our first installment of the best plays from our ATVN sports winter broadcast season:

1. Astound Sports: Catasauqua vs. Northern Lehigh (12/21)
   
2. Astound Sports: Easton vs. Bethlehem Catholic Wrestling (1/22)
   
3. Astound Sports: Emmaus vs. Northampton (1/22)
   
4. Astound Sports: Freedom vs. Bethlehem Catholic (1/22)
   
5. Astound Sports: Easton vs. Freedom Wrestling (1/22)
   https://youtu.be/N9hGUWiTyM4

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.