The Phillies organization is at a crossroads. After seeing the team steadily decline each year since their 2008 World Championship, the team hit rock bottom this summer. Finishing last in their division and wincing from a sharp drop-off in attendance, the Phillies must swing into action to recapture the city’s interest. They need to give fans reason to think the Sixers won’t be relevant more quickly than the Phillies, and I’m not buying in to Acting CEO Pat Gillick’s suggestion that the team is content to wait until 2017 to make a playoff run. With the Delaware Valley nearly universally disappointed that Ruben Amaro, Jr. is coming back as the General Manager, the focus on off-season moves will be even more scrutinized than ever, and Amaro’s future is clearly resting on what he does over the next few months.

With that in mind, here’s an itinerary of issues that must be addressed before we (hopefully) see many dominos fall this winter. Or, if they don’t make major moves, here’s why.

1) A. J. Burnett – One of the biggest underperformers of the 2014 season is going to have a huge effect on what the Phillies can do this offseason. He is contemplating retirement and, five days after the World Series concludes, he must decide if he is going to return or not. If he does, he’s guaranteed $12.75-million (more with incentives) and his decision will largely affect what else the team does this winter.

If he does return, the Phillies’ available cap space would be slashed from over $30-million to around $17-mil, which will drastically change who the team tries to target via the free agent market, or if they can somehow swing a deal for a big-name player. If Burnett does NOT return, they’ll need to find a new “#3 pitcher”…although replacing Burnett’s numbers from this past season shouldn’t be too difficult. There’s a handful of players (Ervin Santana, Ryan Vogelsong, Brandon McCarthy and others) that should bring you better quality at a lower per-year cost. The downside is that it will detract from what should be the team’s top priority (and should have been for the last several winters), which is improving the lineup. From my sources, I would lead towards Burnett’s return, which is why they already spent money re-signing Jerome Williams to bolster the back end of the rotation (see more below on him).

2) Ryan Howard – The Phillies have already decided what they’d “like” to do with their former All-Star slugger. It’s a question of ‘can the team unload him in the “right” deal?’ They’re willing to each money, and they’d like to get at least something in return for him, but other teams are well aware of their strategy. It will be difficult to swing any deal in which other franchises don’t try to take the Phillies to the cleaners. Whether or not Howard returns is also a major factor in the team’s offseason priorities…dealing him increases their long-term salary relief, plus they’ll have to find another #4 hitter (Yasmany Tomas?) and figure out who will take over first base (Maikel Franco, Darin Ruf, Chase Utley?) BTW: If the Phillies don’t get Yomas but do unload Howard somehow, don’t be surprised if Pablo Sandoval becomes a target. Not likely to happen, but he would be your next, best offensive upgrade.

3) Dominic Brown/Antonio Bastardo – Two former golden boys with the organization that turned in a less-than-stellar 2014 campaign. Both have members of the Phillies’ front office championing their cause, fighting to give them one more chance in 2015, but both could also use a change of scenery. The problem in trading them is similar to Howard’s situation: you’re not going to get much in return, and they’re both young enough that they could one day hit their stride (raise your hand if you’re tired of seeing ex-Phillies players making contributions on playoff teams!) It might just be in the organization’s best interest to hold onto both of them, especially Brown. However, doing so means you’re giving up a roster spot to a potential improvement and cutting into your team salary by about $3-million per player.

4) The Bench – Another glaring weakness of the ’14 team that needs a major boost—seeing the declining ability of aging vets like Utley, Jimmy Rollins and Marlon Byrd as the season wore on only heightens their need for improvement. Following the re-signing of Grady Sizemore, the decisions on Howard and Brown will affect which direction the team goes for the remaining reserve spots this offseason, and what positions they’ll need to target in acquiring players. Personally, filling in bench personnel has been almost as under-executed as developing pitching through their farm system. Cesar Hernandez and Freddy Galvis might be decent “day-off” players when spelling Utley or Rollins, but having to force John Mayberry or Carlos Ruiz into the heart of the batting order shows a serious lack of depth in the power department…and there are very few free agent options available. Also, and this will be even more necessary if one of the relievers is moved, the team could use another veteran with experience for the bullpen to add stability in case one of the younger pitchers takes a step backwards in 2015.

5) Pap – Jonathon Papelbon continues to be a wild card—in more ways than one—to the Philllies’ future plans. On the one hand, he’s been a steady mentor to the younger players both on and off the field, he’s still one of the game’s top closers and has been a hallmark of consistency and has remained injury-free during his time in Philadelphia. On the other hand, he commands a ridiculously outrageous salary, he’s seen as blocking the development of Ken Giles and Jake Diekman and also has shown a propensity to act like a horse’s…uh, rear end. Detroit is probably lamenting declining the Phillies’ offer to ship him to the Motor City, since the Tigers’ faulty bullpen leads directly to the team’s undoing in the playoffs. The fact that Detroit was afraid he’d be a clubhouse disruption shows to what extent other teams will go to NOT acquire Pap. And perhaps, with everything considered, it’s not the worst thing in the world to have him return.

Right now, this is how your 2015 Phillies pitching staff is shaping up.

SP – Cole Hamels
SP – Cliff Lee (if healthy)
SP – A. J. Burnett (or another free agent if he declines his option)
SP – David Buchanan
SP – Jerome Williams
SP/RP – Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez
RP – Antonio Bastardo (if not dealt)
RP – Luis Garcia (or an low-risk/high reward veteran?)
RP (2nd lefty) – Mario Hollands
RP (7th innnng) – Justin DeFratus
RP (Lefty Specialist) – Jake Diekman
RP (Set-up Man) – Ken Giles
RP (Closer) – Jonathan Papelbon

Keeping Papelbon, whether they really have a choice or not, adds stability to the overall staff. Also, I do like the signing of Jerome Williams which took place last week (one-year, $2.5-million). I know a few people complained to me that they spent money on a pitcher who only had a good two-month stretch with the Philllies (and a horrific first four months with other teams). However, for his “small cost” (by modern day pitchers’ salary numbers) he gives you someone that you can count on to fill out the rotation and also has versatility to help out in the bullpen. Think a younger, cheaper version of last year’s Roberto Hernandez, who actually pitched pretty well during his time in Philly last year. Assuming everyone is healthy, you now have a decent-enough pitching staff and can devote the rest of your offseason to tweaking the offense.

One more thing…Cole Hamels. It would definitely be a game-changer if they trade him this winter. I wouldn’t think—if it happens at all—that this is likely to happen early in the hot stove season as the loser(s) in the Max Scherzer/James Shields/Jon Lester free agency races will be more desperate (and willing to ante-up more) for a top quality, #1 pitcher like Hamels. Of course, the Phillies could still enter the “buy-an-ace” sweepstakes  as I had suggested during the season.

OK. Wind your clocks and start watching the transaction roll-in. But remember to keep an eye on the items mentioned above if you start scratching your head wondering when the ‘what-the-heck-are-they-doing’ moves start to take place.

We hear from our viewers quite often, either by email or at the various stadiums we visit each weekend, and, happily, for the most part the comments are quite complimentary. But as they say, you can please some of the people some of the time, but you can’t please everybody all of the time. That seemed to be the case this past Monday when I returned to the office after a weekend at Harvard to do the Lafayette game. There were two e-mails in my inbox complaining that we have had the Easton Red Rovers on too much and were concentrating on the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference at the expense of the Colonial League. I understand this is only two people complaining, but there is an adage that for every two there are… (I forget the number) unhappy people. The adage doesn’t matter to us. We take every complaint to heart. So I looked a little more closely at our TV schedule.

Counting this upcoming weekend, we have had 12 EPC schools and six Colonial League teams on television this season. This seems like a reasonable representation of almost all the schools in our viewing audience.

The two viewers are right about Easton. We have had them on more than any other school; they also are the ONLY undefeated team in our viewing area. The Liberty-Easton game, which was on last week, was a direct result of the Pennsylvania Cable Network wanting to do that game and scheduling it at the beginning of the season. We even asked if they would consider us changing the game to Freedom-Parkland, but they wanted two teams they had not had on their network. A second game was not an option for us because our other production crew was in Boston.

When scheduling games for the season, there are basically two considerations – 1) what games will warrant the most interest from our customers; 2) can we get as many of our local teams as possible on the air at least once. We believe we have accomplished the second consideration while paying close attention to the first. Dieruff is the only EPC team that has not been on RCN TV and that has more to do with their schedule which predominantly features teams outside our viewing area. We have featured Colonial League teams for about one half of the football weekends.

It is also very important to us to bring the games that most fans want to see. On Friday, October 10, we presented Easton-Parkland and Freedom-Whitehall, two games that featured an undefeated team against a one-loss team. The ratings that night showed that 20,000 household tuned in to watch our high school football. That is supposed to mean we had @ 50,000 viewers. We were #6 out of all channels on the RCN dial that night for viewership. This tells us that the “fans” want to see the best teams playing the best opponents. That is why we will do Easton again this weekend (undefeated) against Freedom (one loss). That will be followed by a Colonial League game.

I understand the passion our audience has for their particular team and I applaud that. We also like to think that wanting your team featured on RCN TV is, in some way, a compliment to us that you want us to cover your school. We hope you continue to support your team while understanding our weekly dilemma. Be assured that we try to do our very best, but you can’t please all the people all the time.

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
1. You might be wondering what will determine the four finalists for the 2014 national collegiate football championship. There is a committee that makes the final choices. Up until this past week, that committee was made up of thirteen individuals. However, Archie Manning, the father of Peyton and Eli, stepped down this week due to health issues relating to his knee replacement surgery. That leaves 12 members to decide and there could be a potential 6-6 tie when voting on a team or teams. The Committee will continue to discuss and re-vote until the deadlock is broken. The first Committee rankings come out October 28.

2. Speaking of college football, I did get home in time from Boston on Saturday night to catch the fourth quarter of the Notre Dame-Florida State game. I listened to the first three quarters in the car. It was a classic. What did you think of the offensive pass interference call at the end? As much as I wanted Florida State to lose, I do think the official made the right call. It’s not called all the time, but what infraction is?

3. Percy Harvin is now a New York Jet. He leaves a Super Bowl team and joins a 1-6 team. Harvin has a history of creating problems, both with his teammates and his coaches, evidenced by the fact that the Seahawks virtually gave him away. Does a leopard often change his spots? No.

4. You know the song “Royals” by Lorde, the one you can’t get out of your head when you hear it. Well, for the next few weeks you will not hear it in San Francisco. Since the Giants are playing the Kansas City Royals in the World Series, two San Francisco radio stations have said they will not play that song for the duration of the series.

5. Will we crown the first Eastern Pennsylvania Conference South Division Champion this Friday night when Easton takes on Freedom? If Easton wins, they will be the title holders even though they have one more league game on their schedule. If Freedom wins, they could share in the title, but that would not be determined until the final weekend. Watch the game LIVE at 7:00pm on RCN TV.

(Last Week – 9-6; Seasonal Record – 68-37-1: 65%)

DENVER
DETROIT
TAMPA BAY
NEW ENGLAND
KANSAS CITY
SEATTLE
BUFFALO
MIAMI
HOUSTON
BALTIMORE
PHILADELPHIA
INDIANAPOLIS
CLEVELAND
GREEN BAY
DALLAS

The Eastern Pennsylvania Conference’s first football regular season is heading down the home-stretch with several “big” (Class 4A) schools all looking impressive and making a run for the District XI playoffs. Here we take a look at some of the top teams in this category so far this season (we’ll take a look at the smaller schools in an upcoming blog post).

STROUDSBURG
The Mountaineers proved their mettle with a hard-fought win in an “interesting” back-and-forth contest with previously undefeated, league-favorite Bethlehem Catholic last weekend.

S’burg rode the back of Gerald Douglas for a large part of the Becahi game and he responded, showing why he’s one of the top tail backs in the district. John Jakobsen delivered some clutch passes to Joel Ozoemena, Marcello Riccardi and other receivers when his team needed him to, and the defense led by Quintin Small stepped up and made some big-time plays in keeping the team undefeated. Riccardi also proved to be a key weapon and changed field position with his returns, and Nico Ruiz displayed one of the most powerful legs in the region. The Mounties have already taken a huge step in proving themselves in the new EPC (on our fall preview show in August, I promised they would) and, depending on who they match up against in the first round of the playoffs, the Mountaineers could advance past the first round this fall.

FREEDOM
Patriot fans may not want to hear this, but regardless of what happens the rest of the season, you already have to count the 2014 season as a success for their tremendous turnaround. If you take an absolute worse-case scenario the rest of the season, the Pats finish 7-3 with a District XI playoff appearance. Objectively, to go from 2-8 a year ago and make that kind of about-face in the EPC 4-A classification is nothing short of remarkable. In my opinion, Jason Roeder deserves to be named “Coach of the Year” right now. I think they match up very well and can beat Liberty next weekend and could beat more than half of the teams that they could face the following week. They will miss quarterback Joe Young, but they have enough young talent still available (and many will return for 2015), and have shown me enough to buy in to this year’s team. Their highlights include a close contest versus Parkland, but their signature win so far this year was their overtime victory at Whitehall.

WHITEHALL
The Zephyrs impressed the entire area with their win over Parkland, and followed that effort up with one of the wildest games in recent memory against Easton. With two losses, people will forget about Whitehall come playoff time—which is a very dangerous proposition. Don’t forget, this was a team that featured perhaps the best back in the area, numerous explosive weapons on offense, and a big, fundamentally sound line that people were raving about two weeks ago. They should win their final two regular season games and clinch a district playoff berth. Once in the postseason, I think the Zephs will make the adjustments necessary to have a run at advancing in the tournament.

PARKLAND
I have not had a chance to see a Parkland game in person so far this season, but RCN’s Tony Cocca has, and on our most recent “SportsTalk” show, he felt that the team was just not jelling the way Parkland teams normally do by this time of year. Their track record has been to lose to a team or two early, and then storm back and win when the games matter most. That could play out again as, on paper, they could be the best team in the area. The Trojans should defeat both Nazareth and Emmaus to finish the regular season with just two losses, which would put them directly behind Easton and Stroudsburg in the district rankings and could pave the way for an eventual rematch from their tight-fisted affair against the Rovers.

EASTON
The Rovers will be able to talk about their successful season for themselves as they will be our guests on the October 30th edition of “RCN SportsTalk” (live from 6-7pm). We invite you to tune in to get their opinions on the 2014 season and their thoughts on the upcoming playoff picture. Plus you can contact us during the show with your comments and questions and perhaps win a nice prize. In the meantime, here’s a look at some of the highlights from their record-setting game against Whitehall.

While we invite you to keep watching the football playoff games the next two weeks as the teams jockey for playoff positioning, don’t forget to check out RCN’s special Halloween programming. It starts on Thursday, October 30th at 11:30 pm and runs through early Saturday morning (with a break for Friday night’s high school football games) featuring some of the greatest and most terrifying horror classics of all-time. And there’s a special surprise for this year’s movie marathon. You’ll have to tune in for yourself to find out what it is…if you dare!

I am at my breaking point!! Wasn’t there a time when Sunday was supposed to be a day of rest? Well, not anymore. The television gurus (or, should I say, ogres) have taken it upon themselves to create mass viewer angina and, I’m pretty certain, even greater internal household turmoil. This past Sunday may have been the worst.

I always DVR “Sunday Morning” on CBS. It comes on at 9:00 AM and my wife and I learn something new and interesting every week. It’s such a relaxing show. We save it for evening viewing at some point during the week, just the two of us. At this point, there is household bliss.

Next up is a full day of NFL football. If I have no real rooting interest in any of the games, like this past Sunday, I turn to NFL Red Zone, so I can just spend the next SEVEN HOURS watching the best plays of all the games. At around the third hour, my wife is no longer talking to me. I see violence in my future. Add to that, NFL Red Zone has no commercials, so even taking a break for just the bodily functions is a cause for undue stress. When to go?

At 7:00 PM, while beginning to finish up the day’s football, I DVR “60 Minutes”. We never miss it. It’s been a favorite for years. But we can’t watch it until NFL Red Zone shows the 66 touchdowns that were scored this past Sunday. By now, my wife is beginning to demonstrate “unsportsmanlike conduct”. At 7:45 PM, NFL Red Zone goes off the air and it’s on to watch “60 Minutes”. Operating the remote from here on becomes a full-time job. Did I eat dinner at some point? I can’t remember, nor can I be bothered because the real tension of the day is coming soon.

Who does the TV scheduling for Sunday night at 9:00 PM? For us, there is HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire (it’s the final season – can’t stop now), Showtime’s “Homeland” (I really worry about Carrie), “The Good Wife” (will Alicia run for office?), The Real Housewives of New Jersey (Theresa and Joe are headed to jail), and (OH NO!!!) the Eagles are playing the Giants on NFL Sunday Night! Besides that, everyone in the family says we should be watching “The Walking Dead”. Video on Demand was invented just for these emergency situations. The choice now is not so much what to watch but when. The choice is between the Eagles game and dealing with some ambulance chaser that my wife will hire to handle the divorce. However, when I come to work on Monday, I will be expected to discuss the Eagles game. After all, as Sports Director, it would be difficult to explain that I didn’t watch the game, but I could go over the legal problems Theresa and Joe are facing on “Real Housewives…” I am not creeping over the edge; I am running full tilt toward my demise!

And the night is not over. After seeing the 500 promos for “The Affair”, I am intrigued enough to set the DVR for the premiere show beginning at 10:00. By 11:00, everything is in the TIVO vault, waiting for another day. Perhaps, Monday night! Oh no, there’s “Monday Night Football” (3.5 hours), “The Voice” (2 hours), and “Dancing with the Stars” (2 hours). Is that a weapon in my wife’s hand? I can’t take it any more…!!

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
1. Philadelphia announced legend Bill Campbell died on Monday, October 6. He called the play-by-play for the four professional teams at the time (Eagles, Phillies, Sixers, and Warriors). He also was the voice of Big 5 basketball and the Penn Relays. He called the Eagles’ last championship in 1960. He was unceremoniously let go by the Phillies in 1970 and replaced by another legend, Harry Kalas.

2. The Eagles-Giants game on Sunday night drew the worst ratings for Sunday Night Football this season. The audience was down 9% from the previous week. “The Walking Dead” premiered on AMC and had higher ratings watched by 17.3 million people outperforming every other show by 2.5 million adults 18-49. Shocker!

3. The NCAA football rankings have Mississippi State ranked #1 and Florida State #2, with Ole Miss just slightly behind at #3. All three are 6-0. Baylor and Notre Dame are sitting at #4 and #5 with identical 6-0 records. If things stay like this, Notre Dame would not get into the championship playoffs. You know TV wants them there. Notre Dame plays Florida State this Saturday. By the way, ESPN has Ole Miss #2.

4. Fordham, rightfully so, is the highest-ranked Patriot League team in the FCS poll at #13. They are the only Patriot League school with four years of scholarships (the others have two) and it shows by comparison. The Rams’ only loss was to undefeated and #3 Villanova. This past week, Fordham scored 60 points on Penn. #1 North Dakota State has won 30 games in a row, the longest streak of any college team in the nation.

5. Four very good EPC teams met on Friday night and the results indicate that District football will be a tossup. Easton beat Parkland with a blocked punt TD being the big play of the night and Freedom beat Whitehall in overtime. The post-season looks very attractive.

(Last Week – 12-2-1; Seasonal Record – 59-31-1: 66%)
NEW ENGLAND
CINCINNATI
WASHINGTON
CHICAGO
CLEVELAND
SEATTLE
GREEN BAY
BALTIMORE
BUFFALO
DETROIT
SAN DIEGO
DALLAS
ARIZONA
DENVER
HOUSTON

With the “Montgomery-out, Middleton-in” rumors subsiding—at least for the short term–it’s time to take a look back at the final weeks of the Phillies baseball season as they begin the daunting task of “retooling” with many weighty contracts remaining on the books. When a team like the Phillies find themselves wallowing in the basement for most of the Major League Baseball season, die-hard fans hold out hope for the September call-up season. This is the time when rosters expand and organizations can bring up a few of its younger players, hopefully to show some glimpses of hope that next season will be different. Here we take a look at the Phillies players recalled later in the season, and an analysis of how things played out for them this past month.

Maikel Franco
He may have won over a spot on the 2015 roster just by his defense alone. While one of the knocks against him was his slow foot speed and an assumed lack of range at third base, Franco made some of the most spectacular plays no one saw this year (the Phillies were practically eliminated from the postseason before Franco got a chance to play on a regular basis). While incredibly streaky for the first several months at Triple-A (he told me he HATES the cold weather with a passion), his bat warmed up enough over the summer that the Phillies tried playing him at the major-league level against mostly left-handed pitching. Unfortunately, Franco never really hit his stride offensively and further clouded the issue of what the Phillies should do with their corner infield situation (Franco also looked adequate playing first base). One may pencil him in as a platoon-option to start next year, but don’t be surprised if he continues to struggle for the first two months of the 2015 season.

Cameron Rupp
It was a curious season overall for Rupp—a guy who appears to be about as ‘old school’ as they now come when talking about playing baseball the way it should be played. He impressed the Phillies brass with his defensive ability and surprised them a bit with his strong arm and knack for throwing out base runners. However, Rup took a major step backwards in terms of his offense. Triple-A Manager Dave Brundage would often speak of Rup’s ability to hit in clutch situations—unfortunately he did get many chances to hit with men on base, and batted a pitiful .165 (.555 OPS). In limited latter season opportunities, his major league numbers weren’t much better, calling into question his ability to be a capable MLB backup catcher. He’s an incredibly good guy who calls a nice game behind the dish. I hope he can turn things around in 2015, but don’t be surprised if the Phillies look to add more upper-level organization depth at this position this winter.

Cesar Hernandez/Freddy Galvis
Both of these players have very similar skill-sets: Hernandez is a better offensive threat while Galvis has the defensive edge. Galvis got more playing time in September and looked to be swinging the bat well enough to earn him the inside track between these two players for what now looks to the utility infield position for next year. Hernandez, who hits fastballs well, which is usually a good characteristic of a pinch-hitter, really didn’t overwhelm anyone in his limited at-bats in the season’s final month. Both of these players are out of options, which means whoever doesn’t make the Opening Day ’15 roster could be lost to another team. One of the many question marks for this offseason will be if the Phillies can trade Ryan Howard, possibly allowing Chase Utley to be moved to first base, which would save him some wear-and-tear. If that occurs, Hernandez and Galvis (along with possibly Cody Asche) would probably compete for the second base position, with the loser having a chance to stick around as the extra infielder.

Mike Adams
Signed as a guy to add stability to the back end of the bullpen, Adams never stayed healthy long enough in his two-year stint to make a difference in Philadelphia. The Phillies will certainly not pick up his $6-million team option for 2015 and even though he returned to the parent club in September, he fell well short of the 60-inning qualifier that would allow his third-year extension to kick in. He was overheard saying that he felt guilty signing a 2-year, $12-million contract yet barely saw extending time due to injuries. If Adams truly does feel bad about not helping the team, he might be brought back in an incentive-heavy contract to give some experience and mentoring skills to what will be a young pen next year, especially if they find a way to unload Jonathan Papelbon this offseason.

Tony Gwynn Jr.
It was a tough year for one of the nicest guys in the Philadelphia clubhouse this season. Gwynn started the year on the Opening Day roster, but eventually lost his job to Ben Revere. Tony then lost his Hall of Fame father, and one of the classiest athletes ever, Tony Sr., followed by a demotion to the minor leagues. This one-time prospect’s future is probably not with the Phillies, unless Revere is moved. One of the primary jobs for the front office is to upgrade the offense in the outfield, and Gwynn’s roster spot is one of the most likely ones to be replaced by whatever additions take place.

Luis Garcia/Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez
Two guys with electric stuff who came into the organization from very different situations. Garcia was out of baseball a few years ago but worked his way back to become the top pitcher in the Phillies farm system (as evidence by his winning of the Paul Owens Award). I talked with Luis a few times this year and he is loving every minute of his second chance with the organization and, when he has command of his pitches, is incredibly tough to hit against. Gonzalez, like Garcia, has been erratic this September, and neither pitched well enough on a consistent basis to lock in a spot for 2015. The hope was the Gonzalez, highly touted when initially signed, would show enough to give you reason to think he could slide into one of the open starting pitchers’ slots for next year. However, even when he had success in Triple-A he didn’t always show the aggressiveness needed and seemed too fine with his pitchers, to give you reason that he could be counted on going forward as anything more than a long-man. Gonzalez is owed two more years on his $12-million deal, forcing the Phillies to be patient with him. At the same time, it will be hard for the team to justify keeping two roster spots for right-handed relief pitchers with control issues when they are so many other issues to address.

It will definitely be an intriguing offseason for the Phillies, who have many holes to fill if they have any hope of competing for a playoff spot next year. The members of the front office claim they are ready to move in a new direction, but I remember Ruben Amaro Jr. making similar suggestions after the 2012 season, only to have the team remain mostly status quo. Trading big-money contracts like Howard and Papelbon will not be easy. The Phillies must upgrade their offense, bench and starting pitching with very few bargaining chips to use in trades (save Cole Hamels and Chase Utley) and very few quality options in the free agent market. Unfortunately, the team got very limited reasons for optimism from what they saw from their September roster additions and very few questions resolved about many of the team’s current players. Once the MLB postseason concludes, watch for the Phillies to start laying the groundwork to hopefully revamp the team to be more competitive for 2015.

NFL football is now available on Sunday afternoon (CBS and FOX), Sunday night (NBC), Monday night (ESPN) and Thursday night (CBS and NFL Network). It is estimated that income derived from those broadcasts by the NFL is $5,225,000,000. That’s 5 billion, 225 million dollars!!

CBS, along with their $1 billion per year contract for the Sunday afternoon games paid another $275 million for the Thursday night package. In addition, they, also, agreed to simulcast the games on the NFL Network. CBS sweetened the deal by supplying their top talent, Jim Nantz and Phil Simms, to do the game. This contract gave CBS the right to do 8 games. Do the math. CBS pays $34,375,000 per game. The contract, believe it or not, was for one year only and the bidding war which occurred last February between CBS, ABC, NBC, Fox, and Turner will commence again very shortly.

Ultimately, it is the advertisers who must pay the bill. CBS reportedly asked for and is receiving $500,000 per 30 second commercial for the broadcast. That would mean they would need to sell 69 commercials per game to break even. Even though it appears that there are that many time stoppages for television, there are not nearly that many sold. In comparison, NBC gets $628,000 per 30 seconds for their NFL Sunday Night broadcast and ESPN garners $408,000 for Monday night. All the networks, technically, lose money on the broadcasts.

So, with one half of the CBS Thursday night games already broadcast, how do you think the advertisers are feeling about their investment? The games so far have been:

Pittsburgh 26 Baltimore 6
Atlanta 56 Tampa Bay 14
Giants 45 Washington 14
Green Bay 42 Minnesota 10

Despite the fact that the match-ups looked pretty good, they have pretty much all been “blowouts”. The winners have outscored the losers 169-44. For the most part (3of the 4 for sure), these games were over at halftime. And I’m sure viewers were switching the channel or turning off their sets and heading to bed. If you happen to be a second half sponsor or the post-game sponsor, you probably have a huge headache and a big pain in your wallet right now. On the horizon, however, the match-ups do look much more enticing: Indianapolis (3-2) vs Houston (3-2); Jets (1-4) vs New England (3-2); San Diego (4-1); vs Denver (3-1); and, late in the season, San Diego vs San Francisco (3-2). There are no guarantees.

But, no matter how badly teams fare on Thursday night, there does seem to be one sure bet. The sponsors will line up with their wallets open and they will pay the cost to bring their message to the largest possible audience television can offer them – NFL football. That’s assuming, of course, the game warrants their interest, the viewers are willing to stay up late, and they can get through the Friday work day on less sleep.

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
1. Everyone has now lost in the NFL. The Cardinals and the Bengals were the last to drop. Things appear to be returning to normal. I know I had my best week of picks in a long, long time (13-2) and my shoulder hurts from patting myself on the back.

2. There are plenty of Jets fans in the Lehigh Valley (my color analyst, Mike Joseph, for one), but you probably won’t hear from them for awhile. They are just pathetic. On Sunday, they lost 31-0 to the San Diego Chargers. QB Geno Smith seems to have no clue and Michael Vick did not help at all either in the second half. Did I say pathetic.

3. This past Saturday, Jordan Zimmerman was one out away from a complete game shutout against the Giants and a 1-0 victory. Washington Nationals manager, Matt Williams, decided to pull his pitcher. You guessed it. The Giants tied the game which led to an eighteen inning 2-1 win by the Giants and a 2-0 lead in the best of five series. The game took over 6 hours and there was plenty of second-guessing. Rightfully so!

4. Trust me, I’ve been there. The CBS announcing crew that did the Lafayette-Fordham game last Friday were somewhat inexperienced. The play-by-play announcer was doing his second game. The analyst, London Fletcher of Rams, Bills, and Washington NFL fame, was doing his first game. They were nervous, needing four “takes” to do the intro. And the Lafayette fans were not happy when they called the “Leopards” the “Cougars” in the pre-game that was aired.

5. RCN-TV has a terrific Friday night of high school football for you this week. First off, will be the Easton at Parkland game which will be LIVE at 7:00 followed by Sportstalk Friday and then the Freedom at Whitehall game. These are the four best EPC teams.

(Last Week – 13-2; Seasonal Record – 47-29: 62%)
INDIANAPOLIS
DENVER
PITTSBURGH
TENNESSEE
CHICAGO
GREEN BAY
DETROIT
CINCINNATI
NEW ENGLAND
BALTIMORE
SAN DIEGO
SEATTLE
ARIZONA
PHILADELPHIA
SAN FRANCISCO

Up front, I want to say that Chip Kelly is a breath of fresh air as an NFL coach. He is innovative, plays an up-tempo game that the fans find interesting, and seems to win with unknowns and makes them “knowns”. He has reinvigorated professional football in Philadelphia. And by now, I am sure you are waiting for… but…

There are times when I watch a game (and I see plenty of games), I wonder what is the coach thinking? I felt that way watching the Eagles this past week against the 49’ers. The Eagles lost 26-21 but were in position to win at the end. They could have been in a better position to win the game, except, in my opinion, for some coaching decisions. Let me give you three examples:

1. All Eagles’ fans are aware that the Birds are playing with a much-depleted offensive line – center Jason Kelce is out with a hernia; guard Evan Mathis has a knee injury; and tackle Lane Johnson is suspended. That is three of five offensive line positions. I love the hurry-up offense, but with so many injuries up front, might one consider to use a “slow-it-down offense”? On Sunday, the Eagles could not sustain drives. Seven of their eleven possessions ended in less than two minutes and the reasons were that they could not block the 49’ers and they could not run the football. Sprinkle in an awful day by quarterback, Nick Foles, and the Eagles’ offense spent the majority of the time on the sidelines. Remember, all 21 points were scored by the defense and special teams. This, also, means the defense had to spend an inordinate amount of time ON the field. With the way things were going on Sunday, the big early lead, the offensive blocking woes, and the lack of any offense, might this have been a good time to slow down the hurry-up?

2. In the fourth quarter and the Eagles down by two, the 49’ers were stopped on a third-and-three. This created a field-goal try of 42 yards. The Niners, however, were called for an offensive pass interference penalty on the third down play. Decline the penalty, right? Let them kick the field goal – worst case scenario – down by five; best case – still down by two. Coach Kelly accepted the penalty and the 49’ers got a first down on the next play and eventually kicked a field goal which was eleven yards closer and allowed the continued possession to use three more minutes of precious game time.

3. Despite #1 and #2, the Eagles still had a chance to win the game. Two minutes were left in the game and the Eagles were on the 49’ers one-yard line. They have LeSean McCoy and they have Darren Sproles; one can move the pile and one can seemingly go under the pile. Instead, as Tony Dungy pointed out in a postgame show, the Eagles chose twice to throw the ball with the linebackers playing 5 yards off the line of scrimmage. At least run it once. As I am sure you have already guessed, both pass attempts were unsuccessful.

So there’s my beef. Let me repeat – I am not a coach, nor do I profess to be one. But, I did stay at a Holiday Inn once!

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
1. Has anyone had a classier exit from sports than Derek Jeter? There was walk-off drama in his last at-bat in Yankee Stadium and an RBI base hit in his final at-bat ever at Fenway Park. Jeter made a point of shaking every Red Sox players’ hand before the game and telling them how much he enjoyed competing against them. He even stopped at the mound to shake the pitcher’s hand because he did not get a chance to do that before the game. Jeter finished his career #6 all-time in hits, #7 in at-bats, and #9 in runs scored. And kudos to the Red Sox for honoring Jeter in a perfect way.

2. We are four weeks into the NFL season (one-quarter of the way) and there are only two undefeated teams left. Seattle and Denver, right? Uh, no. It’s Arizona and Cincinnati! This is going to be a strange, strange season. Those suicide pools, where you pick one guaranteed winner each week, but you can’t re-pick the same team again are probably done by now. This year, you could start one every four weeks.

3. The baseball playoffs started this week. If you’re a fan, expect very little sleep FOR the next three weeks or so. Night games start late, end late, and seem to take forever.

4. I watched Whitehall take apart Parkland on Friday night. Before the game, the “experts” were all picking Parkland to win and most thought rather easily. That didn’t happen. That’s why you play the game. The Zephyrs travel to Easton (both undefeated) this week. It’s on RCN-TV LIVE at 7:00 with Chris Michael and John Leone.

5. If you are interested in Lafayette football this week, show me some love on Friday night at 6:30. I will be in the Bronx to do an audio-cast of the Lafayette-Fordham Patriot League football game. The game will be televised by the CBS Sports Network (on the RCN dial), but Mike Joseph and I will be doing an audio broadcast on the internet at goleopards.com. Watch the game on TV, turn the sound down, and use the computer to hear our biased Lafayette broadcast. Just a thought.

(Last Week – 9-4; Seasonal Record – 34-27: 56%)

GREEN BAY
CAROLINA
CLEVELAND
PHILADELPHIA
GIANTS
NEW ORLEANS
DALLAS
DETROIT
INDIANAPOLIS
PITTSBUGH
DENVER
SAN FRANCISCO
SAN DIEGO
CINCINNATI
SEATTLE

As pain of the tough loss to the 49ers begins to subside just a bit, it’s time to take a realistic look back at the first month of the Eagles‘ season. Yes, if the Birds could have reached the endzone from the one yard line in the waning minutes of the San Francisco game, a 4-0 start would look tremendous heading into October. But when you look at the schedule, the sluggish starts to their games, their inconsistent offense and defense, and all the injuries sustained the past four weeks, 3-1 is nothing sort of amazing. If fact, with games against the lowly Rams and then the Giants coming up, I think most Eagles fans will be thrilled if their team heads into the bye week with a 5-1 record.

Before we start looking ahead, let’s analyze the three biggest stories so far, and what needs to happen for their success to continue.

#1 Nick Foles, You Are The Man…I Think
Foles recovered from a dreadful start against Jacksonville to post a second half stat line of 5-for-21, 183 yards & 2 touchdowns, followed by successively improving performances against the Colts and the Redskins. Foles became just the eighth quarterback in NFL history to pass for at least 320 yards in each of the first three games of the season. And, perhaps even more encouraging, after practically ignoring Foles in 2013, the national media teased last Sunday’s game as “Nick Foles and the Eagles…” as opposed to “LeSean McCoy and the Eagles…” or last year’s “DeShawn Jackson’s Eagles…” After a year-and-a-half of questions surrounding the team’s QB, it seemed like Foles had finally arrived as “the guy.” That was before Sunday, when he put up one of the worst quarterback ratings of his career. I know–it’s just one game, and Sunday could simply be a minor blip on the radar of his steadily climbing career.

If there was a sliver of optimism from the Eagles’ final, yet futile drive in San Francisco, it was that Head Coach Chip Kelly showed the utmost confidence in the third-year pro by putting the game’s outcome in Foles’ hands, as opposed to some combination of Jason Peters’ blocking/McCoy running, as what I would have done in that situation. Granted, the woeful play of the decimated offensive line played a huge role in the decision (and was repeated by Kelly in his “day-after interviews” multiple times). But Kelly has been making all the right moves so far (or at least most of the right moves) in his short tenure in Philadelphia, and his decision to allow the game’s outcome to be decided by his quarterback could provide Foles with a world of confidence that his head coach has his back.

At least for this season.

#2 The Injuries
Without three-fifths of the team’s offensive line and the services of the team’s best defender due to injuries, Eagles fans should just be happy the team even had a shot a winning the game in San Fran. I had a chance recently to chat with Eagles reporter Al Thompson (“Footballstories” Magazine) and he was optimist about the Birds’ ability to overcome the medical setbacks on the offensive line and at middle linebacker.

Clearly the Eagles will benefit from the return of Lane Johnson from his four-game suspension, which will also allow Todd Herremans to move back to his more comfortable guard position. Fans can also take comfort in the fact that Center Jason Kelce should be able to return from his sports hernia in time to shake off the rust and be back to full strength for the playoff push. The team should be in good shape on the health front in a few weeks provided they can stay away from another rash of O-line injuries and if Mychal Kendricks can recover from his calf injury.

#3 The Running Game
On the one hand, the addition of Darren Sproles to the backfield has looked like the steal of the season. If fact, a national broadcaster said that if the Eagles win the Super Bowl this year, the New Orleans Saints should get a chunk of the championship prize money for giving Sproles away for just a fifth-round pick. He’s one of just three NFL players to have two 50+ yard receptions, he was named Offensive Player of the Week after setting career highs in both receiving yards and total years again Indianapolis, and he’s helped change field position numerous times on special teams, including returning an 82-yard punt for a touchdown against the Niners.

McCoy, meanwhile, came into the San Francisco game averaging less than 3-yards per carry, and that number went DOWN this past Sunday (10 carries for just 17 yards). Against the 49ers, the entire Eagles backfield combined for just 22 total yards for the game. It is true that McCoy has been dinged-up in a couple of the games with injuries, and the dreadful offensive line the Eagles had on display in their last ball game no doubt was a major contribution for lack of a ground assault. However, McCoy and the Eagles’ rushing attack MUST improve if the team is to have any postseason success, no matter how much luck they have in-tow and have already used through the team’s first four games. The upstart Cowboys are also 3-1 and, of more concern for Birds fans, are having great success moving the ball on the ground, which allows Tony Romo the wiggle room he usually needs to overshadow his often inconsistent passing. It won’t matter how many regular season victories the Eagles enter the playoffs with–it won’t mean a thing if they don’t get to at least the second round of the playoffs (see the 2011 Phillies).

Feel free to email your comments and opinions on the Eagles’ 3-1 start to the season to RCNSportsTalk@rcn.com and tune in for our live show this Thursday from 6-7 pm. We’ll also be discussing the use of technology in football on this week’s program on RCN-TV.

This time of the year, Mondays are Lafayette football days. Due to the availability of college information so early in the week and the lack of high school information until late in the week, I try to get as much Lafayette game day work done as I can on Monday. The statistics are already updated; the game notes from the previous game are available; rosters can be created; and story lines are sought. Story lines are normally about the match-ups, the offensive playmakers, and the defensive studs. Once you gather the information, the next task is to organize it.

But… sometimes I come across a story that has very little to do with the game, but a great deal to do with human interest. That was the case this past Monday when I started my research for the Lafayette-Wagner football game coming up this Saturday at 6:00pm in Easton.

The Wagner football coach is Walt Hameline. As usual, I found out the basics on him – 34 years as head coach at Wagner – 217 wins – one of only five FCS active coaches with over 200 wins. This is the usual stuff. Then I saw this article by Ralph Russo:

NEW YORK (AP) — You think fall weddings are inconvenient for college football fans? Imagine being a coach with a daughter who has her heart set on a Saturday in late September.

That was Wagner College coach Walt Hameline’s dilemma, when his youngest daughter, Kelly, told him last fall the place she chose as the site of her big day had few dates available — and the one she picked was Sept. 20, the same day Wagner was scheduled to play Monmouth University.

“How can you do this?” Hameline said was his reaction. “What are you thinking about? It’s football season. Ever since she was a baby she went to every football game.”

Hameline is in his 34th season as head coach at Wagner and is also the school’s athletic director.

Sometimes it pays to be your own boss.

Last fall, Kelly Hameline, 28, let her father know that she had found the perfect place to have her wedding — “The most expensive place you can find,” Walt Hameline said — on Long Beach Island, New Jersey.

Turns out, the bill was only Hameline’s second-biggest problem.

“There was only like, one or two dates (available),” he said.

Still, Hameline could hardly believe what his daughter was asking. “There’s always been a golden rule in our family,” he said. “Once football season starts, my wife, my family, they go to the games and we do nothing else.” Not this time.

After last season was over, Hameline reached out to Monmouth coach Kevin Callahan. The two had crossed paths and become friends as young assistant coaches in the late 1970s, and when Hameline became head coach at Wagner, Callahan was the first coach he hired.

“It was kind of funny,” Callahan said, recalling the conversation with a laugh. “In typical Walt fashion he goes, ‘Hey, hey, hey, you gotta help me out.’ My first thought was, what’s he up to here? Let me figure this out.”

Callahan was in the process of filling Sept. 20 on Monmouth’s schedule, but was able to move the Wagner game, lock it in and build the team’s remaining schedule around it.

“We had the flexibility to make it work. I was more than happy to do it,” said Callahan, who has been coach at Monmouth for 22 years.

So while Callahan won’t be attending the wedding — the Hawks play at Duquesne that day — he’s covered for a gift.

As for Hameline, he’s just happy his daughter’s wedding didn’t conflict with Wagner’s game last week at Florida International, an FBS school. He said Wagner was paid $240,000 for that trip to South Florida.

“Let’s get this straight,” Hameline said, “I wasn’t calling FIU up.”

And CBSSports did the following video on the story:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rnkx_SOpyaI

I will get to interview Coach Hameline this week during our media luncheon press conference. I usually center my questions around the previous week’s events. However, this time I don’t think I will ask what color the bridesmaids wore or what the centerpieces were. It just doesn’t seem right to ask those questions of a football coach in the fall. I’m sure Coach agrees.

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
1. Alessandro Florenzi plays international soccer for Roma. When he scored his first goal of the season this past week, he ran into the stands to hug his 82-year-old grandmother. She said she would only come to see him play if he would come to her and say, “Hi”. He did that and more. The referee gave him a yellow card for the infraction. Neither he nor his grandmother cared. Alessandro’s team won.

2. DeSean Jackson returned to Philadelphia on Sunday and caught an 81-yard touchdown pass. His celebration was as expected, but at least with the Eagles winning the game, he pretty much had to keep his mouth shut after the game.

3. Ray Rice is supposedly claiming that the video showing him punching his fiancé while in an elevator was edited. Edited from what to what? And dragging her unconscious from the elevator was the result of Emmy award-winning acting? Hard to accept his defense as credible.

4. Over 20 NFL players suffered injuries this week, many season-ending. It seems to me that more and more players are being hurt while the rules are being changed to protect them. Is there a correlation between changing the ways players are allowed to hit one another and the number of injuries that are occurring? Illogical? Only the players know.

5. I spent the weekend in Williamsburg, VA to do the Lafayette-William & Mary football game. It’s a beautiful place, loaded with history and great weather. Some days, going to work are better than others.

(Last Week 10-6; Seasonal Record 25-23: 52%)

WASHINGTON
MIAMI
CHICAGO
HOUSTON
INDIANAPOLIS
BALTIMORE
DETROIT
PITTSBURGH
SAN DIEGO
SAN FRANCISCO
ATLANTA
DALLAS
KANSAS CITY

I have many fond memories of the Celtic Classic and really enjoy when this time of year comes around. I am not a direct descendent of any Irish or Gaelic ancestry as far as I’m aware, nor have ever held any desires of wearing a kilt. But the entire festival is a really enjoyable experience and there’s always great entertainment venues and plenty of displays to check out throughout the entire weekend.

My first trip to the Celtic Classic was a bit of an adventure. I was to interview people at different sections of the grounds for a feature on a show called, “Time Out! Lehigh Valley.” While going from different stands asking people about their areas of expertise, I came across the late, great RCN personality Craig Borst, who was supposed to be handling the “play-by-play” of the highland games competition. Craig was one of the nicest and most gregarious people you would ever meet and, although he rarely wasn’t in the best of moods, I could see by his facial expressions that there was a problem. Our exchange went something like this:

Craig: “Hey, Chris. Can you do me a really big favor?”
Me: “Sure…what do you need?”
Craig: “Well, the guy who was supposed to announce the highlands events with me didn’t show up, and I really don’t know anything about these events since I was depending on him. I know it’s short notice but do you think you can be my expert for today and do the broadcast with me?”
Me: “Uh, yeah. I think I can do that. How long do I have to prepare?”
Craig: (grabbing me by the arm): “About 30 seconds.”

Needless to say things worked out fine (I didn’t even have time to even think about being nervous). In fact, even one of the most intelligent and insightful RCN viewers we have in Eastern Pennsylvania gave me kudos for the broadcast. The compliment came from RCN Sports Director Gary Laubach’s wife, Luba (did I mention she’s very intelligent and incredibly insightful?)

Fortunately, in the many years since that first broadcast, we have added a REAL expert, highland games legend Gene Flynn, to our broadcasts. Gene gives wonderful insights on the history and legacy of the games, background on all the competitors and great stories about training and participating in these extraordinary events. Just to hear Gene describe what it’s like to participate and to see just how difficult the competition is, is reason enough to tune in and see what these athletes put themselves through for the competition.

This year, we’ll be broadcasting the latter five events and the awards ceremony this Sunday on RCN-TV. The games itself are a ton of fun to watch—especially if you have never seen the events before. The competitors are incredibly focused when the events are going on, but also love to have a good time and put on a great show for the audience. This year’s rundown of athletes include:
Daniel McKim
Michael Zolkiewicz
Matt Vincent (current World Champion)
Sean Betz
Eric Frasure
Nathan Burchett
John Piling
Jeremy Gillingham
Jake Sullivan
Spencer Tyler

Many of these athletes have appeared at the Celtic Classic previously, but there are also some new names that will be competing in Bethlehem for the first time ever.

The Celtic Classic is more than just sports, and I’m proud to say that we have a great sampling of the many experiences from the Celtic Classic on RCN-TV once again this year. One of my favorite performers over the years includes the O’Grady Quinlan Irish Dancers (one year they ask me to perform with them…let’s just say I did a better job announcing the highland games). Other must-see performers include the Glengarry Bhoys, Burning Bridge Clearly and the Town Pants. And, of course, to see the Liberty and Freedom High School bands alone make the “Tartan Parade” something you have to check out.

There really is something for everyone and I invite you to check out all that the Celtic Classic has to offer. Don’t forget, whether you watch the events in person or on RCN-TV, you can relive all the memories for the next two months by watching these events, for free, through RCN On-Demand.