We are approaching the “official” start to high school football practices commencing in the RCN viewing area, which means it’s time to start wrapping up and looking back at some of our summer sports production highlights.

Today, we review some outstanding moments from the Blue Mountain League baseball season and from the Grandview Speedway race car events.

Video: BML Limeport Bulls vs. Northampton Giants

Don’t forget, you can check out most of these productions, still available for free on RCN On-Demand (all programs are available at no charge for two months after its initial air date).

Coming your way very soon (where did the summer go?), we are going to start our fall scholastic previews and features, including an unprecedented FIVE HOURS of high school football previews on our “SportsTalk” TV show and podcasts, with local media members, players, coaches and officials (giving insights on new rules for the upcoming season) and more!

We’ll also very soon be unveiling our “Big School” and “Small School” high school football polls for teams in the RCN coverage area, along with a “new wrinkle” that we will be revealing concerning our scholastic coverage over the next couple weeks.

Also, in a few weeks, we’ll have some more images from popular RCN-related events this summer, including highlights and pictures from our upcoming shows from the Allentown Fair! Make sure you check back to the RCN-TV website listings, dates and times of these “SportsTalk” shows from the Fair grounds, in addition to RCN’s coverage of the other special events going on this year at the RCN Farmerama Theater.

Coming up on the next “SportsTalk” program, we are scheduled to feature interviews with two of the most prominent young sports stars in the RCN-TV viewing area—Redskins’ #1 Draft Pick Jonathan Allen and Phillies preseason #1 prospect J. P. Crawford.

Both of these up-and-coming (potential) stars have had very different 2017s, year to date.

I thought the Redskins’ selection of Allen as their first pick was an outstanding choice—and a bit of a coup as many “mock draft” versions had him going ahead of Washington’s selection.

He’s an outstanding pass rusher, coming out of one of the top college football programs in the country (Alabama). He tested well in all the pre-draft workouts and has drawn nothing but praise from his coaches and the media in his OTAs and training camp workouts so far.

The Cowboys, despite their off the field issues, appear to be the most talented offensive team on paper—at least at the start of the season. And, there are some outstanding offensive weapons on the Giants and Eagles teams as well.  Having a defensive lineman with Allen’s pedigree and his seemingly high ceiling—under team control for the foreseeable future—is a major plus for the Redskins.

His ties to the Washington/Virginia/Maryland region are an added bonus and he has been quite visible in the DMV region recently. With the uncertainty of Kirk Cousins beyond this season (again), there is a lack of big time marketable players on the defensive side of the ball.  Allen can certainly fill that bill once he gets his first season under his belt.  And if he continues to improve beyond his rookie season, he might be one of the most recognizable athletes in the DC region in a relatively short amount of time.

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Crawford has also had some lofty labels placed upon him coming into the 2017 baseball season. For a couple years he has been ranked as the best prospect in a Phillies organization that has been ranked as one of the top minor league franchises over the past year.  Despite a disappointing 2016 season (in which he was just 21 years old), the expectations were high for the Phillies shortstop as he embarked on his second season with Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

With the Phillies struggling earlier this year, fans were clamoring for a prospect like Crawford to be promoted to the Big League level. Unfortunately, most fans weren’t quick to realize that Crawford was struggling even more this spring than he was last year—his batting average was under .200 for most of the first half of the year, and his defense paled in comparison to the incumbent Freddy Galvis—who has also been the unofficial team leader with the Phillies this summer.

At the All-Star break, when the latest prospect rankings came out, Crawford’s stock fell quite a bit and he was no longer regarded as one of the premiere prospects in the game.

Since that time, he has taken a “hungrier” approach to his game…and his statistics have responded. He’s been playing tighter defense and both his batting average and on-base percentages have improved dramatically over the last two months.

Crawford is not guaranteed an Opening Day roster spot with the Phillies in 2018 as many had expected to happen by now. However, if he finishes his 2017 campaign playing at his current level—there is still reason for optimism that he can be a major player with the Phillies as the team continues its rebuild.

While both the Redskins and the Phillies have had some bumps in the proverbial road in recent years, building their franchise around people like Allen and Crawford not just enhances the quality of each team on the field but both are very marketable and likeable personalities that can help sell tickets (which won’t hurt either) and can help build fan support in each team’s community for years to come.

We hope you enjoyed our coverage here at the “SportsTalk Shop” and on our TV show over the last several weeks of summer basketball action in the Eastern Pennsylvania and Washington, DC regions.

Here are some of my final thoughts along with observations and predictions involving the teams and athletes in our coverage area, along with pictures of local competitions.

• The Catty basketball team was one of the smallest schools—in terms of both school enrollment and height—last season. But this summer the returning players are all getting bigger and stronger. Isaiah Graves is among the players who has an increased wing span and looked solid on the court the last few weeks. The word is the Bangor will once again be the team to beat in the Colonial League, but the Rough Riders, who just missed the league playoffs a year ago, look like they will definitely be in post-season contention for the upcoming scholastic year

• I was very encouraged by what I saw and heard from the Dieruff players. They seem very mature regarding what they need to do, and are very enthusiastic about making a name for themselves, and putting the Huskies back in the competitive field. Fortunately, a number of their players (as of now) are back in the fold and seem genuinely excited to prove people wrong during the scholastic season. I believe they certainly can hang with some of the top teams in the area and I’m excited to see if the Huskies can achieve some of the lofty goals that they have set for themselves.

• It was great to see some former high school standouts return for the summer league action—among them Matt and David Kachelries (from Emmaus) and Northampton’s Aja Blount. Those players got quite a bit of publicity (and rightly so) during their high school playing days and to see them back and supporting their former schools, along with local Lehigh Valley sports, speaks volumes about how many quality people we had the pleasure to experience the last few years.

Don’t forget to catch the final game of the Catasauqua “Tournament of Champions” event to be seen on RCN-TV. This year’s “TOC” finale will be played at the Catty Playground near the Catasauqua Middle School next Thursday. Check back to the RCN-TV website for more details on air dates and times.

We’re continuing our look at high school summer basketball news, notes and interviews with local athletes this week here at the “Shop.” A few teams that had some major question marks entering the summer have had some happy news of late, along with clips of interviews from three teams that are looking to make some major noise this winter—although each has some unique hurdles to overcome, along with talented teams to compete with in order to do so.

• Nazareth’s Johan Dotson’s return is huge news for both the football and basketball programs. While his future is probably on the gridiron, when I spoke with him he seemed genuinely excited to help out a basketball squad that lacked experience last season. However, the returning players look much more comfortable—with some nice size up front—and Dotson’s court savvy and ability to distribute the basketball instantly makes the Blue Eagles a team to be reckoned with for the upcoming season

• Whitehall lost no less than eight players to graduation, but don’t expect a lengthy rebuilding period—especially with the team playing at the 5A classification. Their kids have been working hard—and working well together-on the court. I saw them play several games this month—their players played with great tenacity and their on-court chemistry might end up being better than last year…

• The Emmaus boys’ basketball team deserves some props for working hard this offseason and filling some very prominent shoes in their backcourt. After graduating probably the greatest pairing of guards in East Penn School District history and losing their first two games of this summer, the Hornets’ returning players have not lost a step and looked solid against some very strong teams this summer. Everyone knew standout big men Josh Artis and Zack Sabol were going to be back, but I’ve been impressed by how well the team has worked together and is sharing the ball. Forget using the term “rebuilding” for the Hornets, as Emmaus will probably find themselves among the upper echelon once again this season.

Don’t forget to catch our final “SportsTalk Gets Wild” show of the summer, broadcasting live from Buffalo Wild Wings (on Grape Street in Whitehall) this Thursday, when our featured guests will be organizers, coaches and players who participate in the annual Catasauqua Summer Basketball Tournament. We’ll share memories of preview’s year’s “TOC” games along with top moments, players and special games, along with previewing this year’s event which will commence next week.

July continues to be a big month for local basketball action in the RCN-TV viewing area. This week, we have more interviews and video of local tournaments along with insiders’ thoughts on the action so far.

First, we had a chance to speak with legendary DeMatha Head Basketball Coach Mike Jones to talk about his summer camp, top players he’s seen in the DMV, and his thoughts on former Stag standout Markelle Fultz, who was selected by the 76ers with the #1 overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft.

(More of this interview can be found through RCN On-Demand or on our podcast: rcn.com/atvn/sports-talk)

Also, we had a chance to catch up with Basketball Guru Toomey Anderson of LVBasketballRankings.com to get his thoughts on the summer league action and the top teams and standout performers that he has seen so far. Here’s a sample of his “teams to watch for.”

Last but not least, we had a chance to catch up with some of the local athletes in the RCN viewing area participating in summer leagues and regional hoops tournaments.

Check back to the “SportsTalk Shop” for the next weeks and we’ll have news items, rumors and my observations of the action I’ve seen so far this summer, along with more videos and pictures from local games and tournaments.

Continuing our update on local summer time hoops in the Eastern Pennsylvania region, here are some interview clips and pictures (below) featuring various teams and tournaments in the RCN-TV viewing area.

Coming up on the July 6^th edition of “SportsTalk” we’ll have local basketball coaches and instructors in studio to talk about the top summer basketball action so far and preview the second half of the summer Hoops season.

We’ll also be joined by ESPN Radio’s Devon Givens to recap the NBA Draft and to give his thoughts on how the DeMatha HS and Washington product, Markelle Fultz, will fit in with his new 76ers team.

Also, check back to the “SportsTalk Shop” again soon and we’ll have additional updates and more interviews and video highlights of the summer league basketball action involving teams in the RCN-TV viewing area.

With area schools now out of session, high school summer league basketball action has been picking up speed this past week.

The “SportsTalk​” cameras were out and about covering several different local tournaments in the RCN viewing area the last few days and caught up with a number of coaches and players to get their thoughts on summertime basketball thus far.

(For more of these interviews, plus additional video highlights of summertime basketball action, check out last week’s “RCN Sports Talk presented by the Morning Call” program available through RCN On Demand as well as this Thursday’s show.)

A few notes/observations on the summer basketball action…

*The Central Catholic girls basketball team looks to return to form this year. After a rare under-500 regular season last winter, the Vikettes have added both height and depth to a young but talented team. With an extra year of experience under their belts, Central’s players looked extremely confident (and efficient) in running Coach Kopp’s motion offense to near perfection in the Holy Family Tournament last week—claiming the #1 ranking heading into the final day of action with their scrappy style of play.

*Northampton, Nazareth and Easton are three of a number of girls teams that lost significant players to graduation, but each has lots of talent coming up through its system. The K-Kids probably have the biggest gap to fill, replacing Aja Blount (who averaged over 20 points and almost 20 rebounds per game).

Easton has shown a strong back court presence, led by Jah’nel Oliver, who had 13 points in the Holy Family Championship game, and boasts several outstanding forwards as well, including Hanna Doell—who is back after missing last season with an injury.

Nazareth also some big shoes to fill and is still looking to establish its back court combination (and have a TON of unselfish ball distributors), but the Blue Eagles have lots of depth at every position (and even more height coming in) and no doubt will be among the top teams in the 6A classification once again this year.

*Before I saw the Patriots last weekend, several parents (from opposing schools, no less) advised me to keep an eye on both Whitehall and Freedom girls teams—programs that were not considered about the elite teams last winter. Both squads have a number of young players coming up, and one player from a rival school that I talked with said she’s not looking forward to facing either of those teams again during the regular season.

We’ll have more interviews, video highlights and packages, both on this Thursday’s “SportsTalk” program (7pm, LIVE) and here in the next installment of the “SportsTalk Shop.”

Also, don’t forget to stop by Buffalo Wild Wings (Grape St., Whitehall, PA) this this Thursday night for this week’s show as we broadcast LIVE on location. Check out the “SportsTalk Gets Wild” page here on the RCN-TV website for more details on this show and for ways to help out a local organization!

One of the guests on our last “SportsTalk” program was MLBPipeline.com Senior Writer Jim Callis, who does an amazing job analyzing both high school and college baseball athletes all over the country.  Each year Jim and his colleagues preview hundreds of prospects—many stories accompanied by video highlights of the player—from all corners of the country—and beyond.

Previewing the MLB Draft is incredibly more complex than the NFL and NBA Drafts, with practically every potential football and basketball draftee having all their games now broadcast on television or internet outlets.  We’re fortunate to have someone like Jim on our program, with the depth of knowledge about potential baseball prospects for the professional baseball franchises in the RCN-TV viewing area and beyond.  Be sure to check out the entire interview on RCN On-Demand or on our weekly podcast for insights on all the top-tier prospects.

In the same way, on this Thursday’s show we’ll have Eric Longenhagen from “FanGraphs” to recap this year’s MLB Draft, with insights on the selections made by the Phillies, Nationals, Mets, Yankees and other teams in the RCN viewing area.   We’ll also have a discussion on the use of analytics in baseball—something that “FanGraphs” has excelled in providing to baseball players, coaches, front office personnel and fans alike.
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After a spring that saw some wild weather issues (the same season that included a record low and a record high temperature within two weeks), we will officially enter the summer season and, with it, conclude our spring sports coverage in the RCN-TV viewing area.

Additionally, there were equally wild games that we covered—both with our full-productions and on our weekly features on the “SportsTalk” programs.   Our spring sports broadcast coverage included the District XI 6A baseball championship game, the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference baseball semifinals and final, the McDonald’s Football All-Star contest and Grandview Speedway auto racing.

Here are highlights of our spring sports productions:

Don’t forget, there are still a few weeks left to check out all of these productions in their  entirety for free by utilizing RCN’s On-Demand services!
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This week, I’m looking forward to my first look at Blue Mountain League Baseball game with the Orioles taking on the Royals.  The “BML Game of the Week” will be on RCN-TV every Tuesday evening at 9:30 featuring the top teams squaring off against each other in some of the best local amateur baseball action in the Lehigh Valley.

Finally, special thanks to NFL Network Football Analyst and Former Pro NFL Player Brian Baldinger for inviting me to a special event in Philadelphia this past week featuring area sportscasters, media members and special community leaders.  It was an honor to speak with and be included on a list of incredible broadcasters in the Delaware Valley.  Brian and fellow “Footballstories” Co-Creator Al Thompson do amazing work supporting the community—in addition to running a first-rate magazine, radio program and internet services—and I enjoyed my time with them and some truly great names in Philadelphia broadcasting.

Now, bring on the summer season…!

There has been lots of debate (partially because of the lack of any other positive sports news) in the Delaware Valley over the last few weeks about the 76ers’ upcoming NBA draft selections.  There have also been varying opinions and radical mock-draft shifts—some of which have no possible way of coming true.

In order to help cut through the misinformation and get Sixers’ fans ready for the June 22^nd draft, here are a few “clear-cut” things to know in helping you figure out what Philadelphia will do.

1) Remember Your Needs 

• a point guard (or point-forward) who can run the offense
• a guard who can DEFEND the opposition’s point guard
• a wing player who can shoot from the outside & stretch opposing team’s defense
• a lock-down defensive player

After years of selecting the best available player in the draft, the time has clearly come when the Sixers must focus in on filling their biggest needs and not necessarily adding the most talented player available when making your pick(s).  You are probably looking at adding at least three players who can fill these needs, which is very important when looking at what the team must do over the next few weeks (and not just in the draft).

2) Careful Evaluation of Your Options
The conventional wisdom is that the Celtics select Markelle Fultz with the first pick and Lonzo Ball (and his controversial father) would head to the Lakers with the second pick.  That leaves four most probable players for the 76ers to decide on.

Here’s a scaled-down scouting report from CBS on the first three players most likely to be available:

• Jayson Tatum – can play right away .. quality jump shooter potential .. a multi-positional defender
• Josh Jackson – great defender .. physically ready to contribute … needs a consistent jumper in order to become a tremendous player
• De’Aaron Fox – great speed … true PG .. a jump shot away from being frightening

Notice a pattern?  All three of these options are missing one of the biggest needs the Sixers have right now.

Of these three, Fox probably has the most upside and can be the biggest impact.  However, 76ers President of basketball operations and General Manager Bryan Colangelo made the rounds on many radio talk shows and podcasts clearly stating that he believes Ben Simmons is unquestionably going to be the point guard—on offense—for his team for the foreseeable future.  Unless he’s purely posturing (and he likely could be), selecting Fox would create a log-jam, pitting two of the team’s biggest names at the same position on the floor.  However, if you’re willing to NOT have your offense run through Simmons, Fox would add speed and a very strong point guard defender to your team.

Tatum and Jackson are similar players with minor differences and each could enhance your wing players—although not guaranteeing that you’d fill the much-needed role of an outside shooter, which brings us to option number four—Malik Monk.

Monk may be the best pure shooter of anyone in the draft and he would fill one of your biggest needs for a long time.  However, Monk doesn’t give you much size, he’s not a great defender and may only be a one-dimensional offensive weapon if he can’t find a way to score off his own dribble.  Selecting him with the 3^rd pick in the draft would be a reach in a year in which the 76ers MUST take an impact player.

3) The Trade/Free Agent Factor

The 76ers have tried many times to add an established veteran, either through free agency or via trade over the last couple seasons, which virtually no success in adding an established presence.   Between not wanting to play in Philadelphia to outrageous financial demands to not finding a good dealing partner, Colangelo and Company have not been able to obtain a standout star to help fill in some of the gaps.  If they could add one or two pieces to solve SOME of the above needs, then that would make your first round selection much easier to figure out.

There are a few names out there who I think would vastly improve the team:

• The Clippers’ JJ Riddick ($ 6.9-million AAV) is an unrestricted free agent, a great character guy, a great long-range shooter –not a star–but someone who wouldn’t be overly expensive to add. Would he want to come to a team that’s still a few years away from contending is the issue.

• Denver’s Danilo Gallinari has great size (6’10), is a great-shooter and would be a great “stretch-four” (allowing Dario Saric to be a potent weapon off the bench) and would give you an established veteran presence, but his AAV last year was over $ 15-million and will command even more combined with a long-term deal that might prevent you from adding any other pieces.

• Otto Porter is the youngest of the three names listed here and is an unselfish player who would fit in brilliantly with Simmons, Embiid and whichever star the Sixers would draft. His AAV was under $ 5-million but is a restricted free agent, and my contacts down in the Washington area all would be shocked if the Wizards don’t make a big push to resign him—meaning the Sixers would have to drastically overpay to add him.

The 76ers also could trade away their draft pick, to either move down and get a player like Monk, or package that to trade for another established player—if their front office is willing to go that route.

Only the Sixers front office knows to what lengths they’ll go to add a free agent or two, and what other teams would require in order to obtain that much-needed veteran.  If you could unlock that mystery, you would know exactly what Philadelphia is looking to for this year’s NBA Draft.

For more on the 76ers, the DMV’s Markelle Fultz and other NBA issues, check out the latest “SportsTalk” podcast featuring CBS Sports Radio Talk Show Host/Reporter Jon Johnson at rcn.com/atvn/sports-talk

This past week “SportsTalk” got to chat with some of the up-and-coming stars in both the Philadelphia Eagles and Phillies organizations.

First, the Eagles and a preliminary look at some of our interviews:

You can see more interviews on the next live edition of “RCN SportsTalk presented by The Morning Call.”

The thing that was so impressive to me about the Eagles rookies we spoke with was their focus.  We interviewed them on a day in which nearly all the Philadelphia fans’ focus was on the issue of Fletcher Cox attending “voluntary” practices—which he did on this day (there was a incredible crowd of reporters/videographers around Cox in the locker room after practice).

The players we spoke with were very determined to acclimate themselves with the speed of the NFL game and learn from the veterans about all the nuances that come with playing on the pro level.  There were no big egos…only a quiet passion to try to improve their game and their skill-set and a desire to contribute in any way they can.

Derek Barnett, Rasul Douglas, Mack Hollins and Donnel Pumphrey all will have opportunities to contribute for the Birds this season…and all seem like they have the mental drive to be standout players for the Eagles for the foreseeable future.
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Fans of the Phillies are a little less optimistic right now based on the team’s win/loss record. However, there are still lots of reasons for hope down on their farm—especially within its current core of young outfield prospects.

(More Phillies prospects interviews available through RCN On-Demand and here on the RCN-TV website).

All three Triple-A starting outfielders—Dylan Cozens, Nick Williams and Roman Quinn—have some outstanding talent.  Cozens has bashed tremendously long home runs over the last few weeks (and was last week’s International League Player of the Week) but still strikes out quite a bit.

Williams, who had issues last season with intensity and not running hard on the bases, now hustles every time I see him.  He’s still not taking many pitches and hasn’t been as hot as some of this teammates, but he is also primarily hitting sixth in Lehigh Valley’s lineup and has not had the benefit of any consistent hitter behind him.

Quinn is such an exciting player and I think might be the first of the three outfield prospects to get a call up to the Big Leagues.  His issue in the past was staying injury-free—something he has been able to do so far in 2017.  But I don’t believe he’s been able to drive the ball with authority on a consistent basis and that might hurt him in the Majors.   Still, he’s been working on bunting and finding ways to get on base—something that would be most welcome with a Phillies lineup that has struggled overall this year.

I don’t think either the Eagles or the Phillies will be bringing home a championship banner in the next year or two.  But with exciting young players in both franchises a year or two away from potentially blossoming into superstars, it is worth fans pushing their patience level a little further in the realistic/slightly optimistic chance that much better days are almost within sight.