Are you still having trouble writing 2015?  I am, too.  For me, it’s probably because I continue to ponder the events of 2014.  Therefore, before I jump into the new year, I would like to reflect back on my top ten RCN moments for the past year:

10. The Eastern Pennsylvania Conference was unveiled in the fall and the jury is still out whether this league is good for the Lehigh Valley schools or not.

9.  Even though I do not cover wrestling anymore, RCN was there to cover Nazareth’s win for the District championship over Liberty, their first since 2007.  It should also be mentioned that Easton coach Steve Powell won his 500^th dual meet during the year, the first District XI coach to do so.

8.  Parkland boys’ basketball won the District AAAA title for the second straight year.

7.  The Easton Red Rovers football team went undefeated to win the first EPC championship, only to fall to Parkland and Phillipsburg in their final two games.

6.  Central Catholic’s Muhammad Ali Abdur-Rahkman finished his basketball career having scored 2,136 points, being named to the All-State team for four straight years, and accepting a college scholarship to play at Michigan.  I miss him on the court.

5.  Bethlehem Catholic’s wrestling team was absolutely awesome winning everything – Districts, PIAA team championship duals, PIAA individual team title, and crowning three individual state champions.

4.  The Colonial League had three football co-champions for the first time ever and they were all very good – Northwestern, Southern Lehigh, and Saucon Valley.  The League is already proving to be just as competitive in basketball this season.

3.  Parkland played a memorable game in the first round of the state playoffs losing to the eventual state champs, St. Joe’s Prep, by a 34-30 score.  A controversial no-call by the officials late in the game proved costly to our home team.  Ironically, the only loss the current Parkland basketball team has this year is to St. Joe’s Prep by a 50-47 score.  I’m certain the Parkland basketball team will be close to the top in next year’s highlights.

2.  No girls’ basketball team took us further into state playoffs than the Bethlehem Catholic girls.  They won the LVC, Districts, and went to the second round of states before losing.  Then strange things happened: head coach Bill Lanscek was let go; former Southern Lehigh head coach Megan Delegrotti was hired, then she resigned, leaving Jose Medina in charge.

1.  My #1 highlight this past year was the play of the Central Catholic boys’ basketball team. They won 29 straight games, the LVC championship, the District XI AAA championship and suffered their only loss to eventual state champ Neumann-Goretti in the PIAA quarterfinals.  It was a team for the ages!

Strangely, my most vivid memory had nothing to do with a game we broadcast, but I will never forget the scene at Yankee Stadium for the 150^th meeting between Lafayette and Lehigh.  I was a part of the pre-game festivities on the field and after interviewing the two college presidents, I was able to pull a “Gentlemen, start your engines!” moment as I announced to the 48,000 in attendance the official start of the game.  It was the best!

On to 2015!!

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)

1. There are certainly too many bowl games. Except for the competitors’ fans, there seems to be little interest in most of them.  With that said, I loved the semifinals of the first BCS championship playoff.  I have seen plenty of football over the years, but Oregon’s offense was amazing to me.  It’s the Eagles on steroids!  I was awed watching them.  And, like many others, I assume, I did not expect Ohio State to beat Alabama.  In fact, early on, I thought it was going to be an Alabama rout and an embarrassment for the Big Ten.  It was not and I am glad I stayed up to watch until 1:00 AM.  Two terrific games to watch.
2. By the way, I think Oregon versus Ohio State will be an amazing contrast in football styles – old-fashioned, hard-nosed Ohio State football against the video-game look of the Oregon Ducks. I like Oregon to win.
3. I am writing this the day after the NFL’s wild card weekend and I am still waiting for an explanation from the officials for picking up the flag on an obvious pass interference call in the Dallas-Detroit game. I had no vested interest in the outcome, but I think the Lions were unfairly treated when the call was negated.  The official in the FOX broadcast booth felt it was definitely pass interference.
4. Is it me, or does Chris Christie still look quite heavy, despite having some sort of gastric bypass surgery?  There were plenty of shots of him in the Cowboys’ booth with owner Jerry Jones.  I know TV adds 10 pounds, but c’mon.
5. One sad reminder that another year has passed occurred when I read that Kobe Bryant of the NBA Lakers was taking days off because of his age. I remember doing one of his high school games.

(Last week – 3-1)  (174-83-1 overall – 68%)
            NEW ENGLAND
            SEATTLE
            GREEN BAY

We’re about a month into this winter’s high school basketball season in the Lehigh Valley area.  As we embark on the “January” portion of the scholastic schedule, here are three observations of the new hoops season that I feel deserve some extra mention.

1.  Parkland’s extremely good, but…

I’ve been privileged to be surrounded by great minds in many different sports and try to defer to the local sports experts when formulating opinions on who the top teams are expected to be.  It’s for that reason that I rarely see a team play summer league basketball in July and can make “stone-cold” predictions about something that happens in February.  I broke my own rule this past summer when I saw the Parkland boys basketball team dominate in a variety of summer hoops tournaments, and said soon after on “SportsTalk” that I felt the Trojans were unquestionably the team to beat for league and district honors.  I felt good about my statement when I heard much smarter basketball minds proclaiming similar expectations as we got closer to the winter sports season–some even believing Parkland could go undefeated during the regular season.

This year’s Trojans’ team reminds me of the Emmaus boys team led by Aaron Grey, who would go on to play in the NBA.  They blitzed through the league playoffs and entered the District XI playoffs with a 28-0 record.  Their season came to a sudden and amazingly fast conclusion when they lost in the first round of the district playoffs.  This year’s Parkland team, albeit without the size of a Grey-type of player, might actually be deeper than that Emmaus team.  Clearly they continue to be the favorite in this area–there aren’t many Lehigh Valley teams that can play with them.  However, I do believe there are a few teams that could step up and cause Parkland trouble on a given night.

Here’s some of the highlights of several “other” top EPC teams playing during the first month of the season…

2.  A “somewhat” bizarre Colonial League start.

For what it’s worth, the current Colonial League standings are very close to my best guesses to the correct order of the standings.  But what has surprised me is some of the individual game results so far this season.  For example, I thought Bangor would be the number-one team in their division, but Bron Holland’s team has once again raised the bar again this season.  In the past, the Slaters would build a quality team for several years…peak for one or two years…then return to “rebuilding mode” for several more seasons.  But lately, Bangor seems to bounce back despite losing talent to graduation and surpass expectations.  They posted dominating wins over the first few weeks of the season, with many different players stepping up, while playing “lights-out” defense in most of their ball games.

In addition to Bangor, Saucon Valley, Salisbury and Southern Lehigh are also teams jumping out to solid starts.  However, that has not kept other teams from challenging the league’s top squads, as Wilson proved by just falling short in their attempt to beat the Slaters and Panthers before Christmas, and then capturing the annual Easton Rotary Championship just before New Year’s Eve.  Also, common opponents results have not been very revealing.  A repeating trend has team “A” beating team “B” soundly one night, only to lose to team “C” (a team that previously lost to team “B”).  It has made for a very entertaining first month to the season, although clearly the best game that I have seen so far this year is Saucon Valley/Notre Dame’s overtime battle, as seen on RCN-TV (available for free through RCN On-Demand).

Here are some of the highlights from that game.

3. Catty’s Changing Guard.

I thought it was a tremendous decision for Catasauqua to name Dave Troxell as their new athletic director this fall.  The only disappointing aspect about the move was that I would no longer see Dave coaching a girls basketball program that featured some of the school’s greatest athletic moments with him at the helm.  While the program struggled after his first departure from the team a few years back, I was confident that it would return to glory with him in charge.  With his promotion, I felt there were very few people reasonably able of taking over that position who could lead the team’s rebuilding efforts as swiftly as if Coach Trox himself were in charge.  I was happy to see one of those people, Ed Seidick, was chosen as their new head coach.  Ed is a Lehigh Valley guy who’s been a part of one of the top girls’ programs in the area, working under the tutelage of Jeff Jacksits.  He’s worked with some of the top female basketball athletes over the last several seasons, and the Northampton basketball program has been a constant contender at the 4A level for many years.

While the team may not be at playoff-level this year, I am confident it won’t be too long before we see the Rough Riders girls team back in the playoff picture.

What observations have you made about the 2014-15 edition of high school basketball in the Lehigh Valley area?  Which teams and players have stuck out in your mind so far?  Email your      comments to RCNSportsTalk@rcn.com and join Toomey Anderson, Tom Stoudt, Joe Craig and myself as we look at the first half of the basketball season and preview the second half on the January 15th edition of “RCN SportsTalk” (live at 6pm on RCN-TV).

Whitehall High School dedicated their court to Coach Dick Tracy this week. I was honored to emcee the event.

“Pleasant”, “congenial”, “sympathetic”, “sociable”, “complaisant” are all words I would NOT use to describe Dick Tracy. “Cranky”, “obstinate”, “hard-nosed”, and “ornery” seem to come to mind more easily. Yet, he was absolutely loved by his players, respected by his peers and loved by me. Dick Tracy has always been an enigma. I went to visit him at Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Center two weeks ago and asked the receptionist to direct me to Dick Tracy’s room. She said there was no Dick Tracy there. I knew there was some mistake. Maybe he was listed as Coach Tracy. No. But they had a Frances R. Tracy on the third floor. I worked with the man for forty years, thought I knew him better than anyone, and never knew his name was Frances. And yet, I was not surprised. He was always hard to figure out, but, one thing he did figure out was how to motivate people and how to coach basketball. Boy, could he do both!

Coach Tracy was 205-51 in his nine years as a head coach at Whitehall, winning 80% of his games. He never came close to having a losing season. His worst record was 20-9 in 1979 when he came back to coach a program that was 6-17 the year before. His teams won five League championships, three district titles, and a PIAA state championship. In 1981, his team was 33-2 winning both the conference and district championships, losing in the PIAA state semifinal to Springfield-Delco. That loss ended Whitehall’s 30-game winning streak.

1981-82 was the magical year. Whitehall lost to Allen 46-44 in the first game of the year in a non-league contest. They went 18-0 in the conference, 3-0 in Districts, and 5-0 in the state playoffs, beating Shamokin, Freedom, Williamsport, Springfield-Delco, and finally New Castle at a sold-out Hershey Arena 42-38. New Castle had been averaging close to 75 points a game. Not against the Tracy “match defense”. The starters’ names – Coval, Noack, Heydt, Bobyak, and Pizarro were etched for life in Lehigh Valley basketball history. And so was the name of their legendary coach – Dick Tracy.

I have known Dick as a coach, a teacher, a professional colleague, and, most importantly, as a friend ever since I began my broadcasting career 44 years ago. What I most remember, however, about the man I spent so much time with the past 30 plus years is the iconic persona thrust upon him by so many people. Dick is a former marine and certainly knows the meaning of “semper fi”- “always faithful.” His former students, his former players, his former assistant coaches absolutely adored the man and I always had the sense they would do anything for him and knew him so well he did not have to solicit their help. They knew what he needed. If respect and friendship are the true measure of a man, Dick Tracy is immeasurable. Today they refer to these people as “peeps” or the “posse”. Dick only hears the words “Coach” or “Mr. Tracy”. These three words represent who this man was to so many people and the love and respect they have thrust upon him. Those he has touched have remained “always faithful.”

It is very special for so many people, including myself, to walk into Coach Tracy Court at Whitehall High School!

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

(Last week – 12-4)  (171-82-1 overall – 68%)
                CAROLINA
                PITTSBURGH
                INDIANAPOLIS
                DALLAS

A very merry season’s greetings and happy new year to everyone!  Chris Michael is on vacation for the next week, so “RCN SportsTalk” co-host Joseph Lynnwood Craig will be manning the “SportsTalk Shop” around the holidays.  Joe gives his weekly views on the Thursday night show and this time, he gives his views on some local high school sports issues over the past year.  Don’t forget, you can get more views and opinions on the top teams, players, games, moments and other special highlights over the past 12 months by watching the “SportsTalk: 2014 Year-in-Review” program that will air on RCN-TV several times before and after New Year’s Day and is also available to watch at anytime for free on RCN On-Demand!

Now, here’s “Joe’s Take” on local championship teams and other outstanding programs in the Lehigh Valley area.

As 2014 comes to a close, a few observations about high school championships seem to be in order.  Keep in mind that last school year’s winter and spring seasons combine with the fall season of this school year to form the 2014 lineup.
First of all, 22 high schools in District XI have won team championships in the year 2014.  There have been 52 champions crowned in 21 sports; 10 boys sports, 10 girls sports and one co-ed sport (golf).
Parkland has overwhelmingly crowned the most champions with 11.  The following list contains the schools with the number of team champions from each school:

Parkland – 11                          Allentown CC – 2                Mahanoy – 1                Pius X – 1
Beth. Cath. – 5                        Notre Dame G.P – 2           Salisbury – 1                Saucon – 1
Emmaus – 4                             Minersville – 2                    Nazareth – 1                 Whitehall – 1
Southern Lehigh – 4              Marion Cath. – 2               Tamaqua – 1                Pine Grove – 1
Moravian Acad. – 4               Easton – 2                            Sch. Haven – 1
Northwestern – 3                  Notre Dame ES – 2             Pen Argyl – 1

A person would wonder how does one school win so many championships as Parkland has?   Surely the athletes are not any bigger, stronger, faster, or more skilled than their counterparts at other schools.  I’m sure that they eat similar foods, drink similar water, dress the same way and enjoy the same activities as any other teenagers. I’m not sure what the answer is, but I suspect it has a lot to do with off-season preparation, camps, and facilities available to them, along with the community support that is provided in feeder programs across the board. Whatever it is, the other schools and communities better take note.  They all need to step up if they want to compete with Parkland.

Another comment would be to notice the number of championships that a small school like Moravian Academy has won.  They’ve won four championships while many other schools have won none.  That’s amazing when you think about it.  Granted they have won in small school classifications but in three of their titles they beat many schools in the AA classification.  Those sports were Boys Tennis, Golf, and Girls Tennis.  They also won in A classification Boys Soccer.  By the way, they were the champs in that category.  I think that is noteworthy.

There have been some great teams from District XI this past year, so here are a few that come to mind.  The following teams have won State championships this past year: Bethlehem Catholic in wrestling (AA), Parkland Girls Volleyball (AA), and Moravian Academy Boys Soccer (AA).  There will be a lot of discussion in local media over the next  few weeks regarding great games and great performances by teams and individuals and we sure have had our share.  District XI has plenty of great high school athletes this year and a history of some of the best in the state.  Perhaps we will get into these in the future.
Until then, that’s Joe’s Take!

Whitehall High School dedicated their court to Coach Dick Tracy this week.  I was honored to emcee the event.

“Pleasant”, “congenial”, “sympathetic”, “sociable”, “complaisant” are all words I would NOT use to describe Dick Tracy.  “Cranky”, “obstinate”, “hard-nosed”, and “ornery” seem to come to mind more easily.  Yet, he was absolutely loved by his players, respected by his peers and loved by me.  Dick Tracy has always been an enigma.  I went to visit him at Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Center two weeks ago and asked the receptionist to direct me to Dick Tracy’s room.  She said there was no Dick Tracy there.  I knew there was some mistake.  Maybe he was listed as Coach Tracy.  No.  But they had a Frances R. Tracy on the third floor.  I worked with the man for forty years, thought I knew him better than anyone, and never knew his name was Frances.  And yet, I was not surprised.  He was always hard to figure out, but, one thing he did figure out was how to motivate people and how to coach basketball.  Boy, could he do both!

Coach Tracy was 205-51 in his nine years as a head coach at Whitehall, winning 80% of his games.  He never came close to having a losing season.  His worst record was 20-9 in 1979 when he came back to coach a program that was 6-17 the year before.  His teams won five League championships, three district titles, and a PIAA state championship.  In 1981, his team was 33-2 winning both the conference and district championships, losing in the PIAA state semifinal to Springfield-Delco.  That loss ended Whitehall’s 30-game winning streak.

1981-82 was the magical year.  Whitehall lost to Allen 46-44 in the first game of the year in a non-league contest.  They went 18-0 in the conference, 3-0 in Districts, and 5-0 in the state playoffs, beating Shamokin, Freedom, Williamsport, Springfield-Delco, and finally New Castle at a sold-out Hershey Arena 42-38.  New Castle had been averaging close to 75 points a game.  Not against the Tracy “match defense”.  The starters’ names – Coval, Noack, Heydt, Bobyak, and Pizarro were etched for life in Lehigh Valley basketball history.  And so was the name of their legendary coach – Dick Tracy.

I have known Dick as a coach, a teacher, a professional colleague, and, most importantly, as a friend ever since I began my broadcasting career 44 years ago. What I most remember, however, about the man I spent so much time with the past 30 plus years is the iconic persona thrust upon him by so many people.  Dick is a former marine and certainly knows the meaning of “semper fi”- “always faithful.”  His former students, his former players, his former assistant coaches absolutely adored the man and I always had the sense they would do anything for him and knew him so well he did not have to solicit their help.  They knew what he needed.  If respect and friendship are the true measure of a man, Dick Tracy is immeasurable.  Today they refer to these people as “peeps” or the “posse”.  Dick only hears the words “Coach” or “Mr. Tracy”.  These three words represent who this man was to so many people and the love and respect they have thrust upon him.  Those he has touched have remained “always faithful.”

It is very special for so many people, including myself, to walk into Coach Tracy Court at Whitehall High School!

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

(Last week – 10-5)  (159-78-1 overall – 68%)

            GREEN BAY
            HOUSTON
            PITTSBURGH
            INDIANAPOLIS
            BALTIMORE
            NEW ENGLAND
            MIAMI
            ATLANTA
            MINNESOTA
            SAN DIEGO
            PHILADELPHIA
            DALLAS
            NEW ORLEANS
            SEATTLE
            SAN FRANCISCO
            DENVER      

Time is running out on the 2014 calendar, which means it’s time for our annual shows and “SportsTalk Shop” blog postings that look back at highlights from the past 12 months.  Each year we come up with new categories for our special “RCN SportsTalk” panelists to respond to on our show, which will air several times over the holiday season and also available on RCN On-Demand.  Here’s a look at this year’s topics; you are welcome to email (RCNSportsTalk@rcn.com) your responses to these questions and maybe we’ll read your opinions on the show:

Best Running Back in Eastern PA this fall
Most Intriguing Team in 2014
Most Overplayed Story of 2014
Biggest “Oh My” Moment of 2014
Most Underrated Story of 2014
A “Shout-out” to one sports personality this year
 
Biggest Sign The Sports Apocalypse is Near
Sports Personality You Would Have Liked to See More of in 2014
Best & Worst Sports Decision Made in 2014
Something Witnessed in 2014 That You Hope To See Again
Best Performance By An Underclassmen
Biggest Turnaround in 2014
Most Lasting Image of 2014 (Local & National)

Then, for our last segment…looking ahead to 2015:

Toughest Coaching Challenge for 2015
One Team & Player to watch in 2015
Something “New” You’d Like to See in 2015
One Piece of Advice for an Athlete/Coach in 2015
“Stone-Cold” Lock To Happen 2015

Here are a few of my own responses to these topics (you’ll have to watch the show to get my takes on the rest of them).

For “Most Overplayed Story of 2014,” I have to target ESPN’s thrashing of the 76ers’ ‘tanking’ strategy.  It wasn’t enough that they have been poking fun at the team’s idea of losing on purpose so that they can acquire better draft picks and clear salary cap space to pave the way for a brighter future.  They’ve piled on by constantly putting them on their “Not Top 10” list and frequently ask their NBA analysts about the team’s pitiful plight, repeatedly asking their experts if this is the worst team of all time—in any sport!  If you want to hammer the organization for its theory—fine.  But what has annoyed me of late is that, when Magic Johnson suggests that his Lakers lose on purpose to follow the same idea, they fall over themselves praising his “ingenious” theory.

Hello…national hypocrites?  You can’t bash one team’s idea for months, then praise another team for the exact same idea just because you’re fans of the greatest Lakers player of all time.  Have some backbone and either stick with your initial opinion, or get off the Sixers’ collective backs and stop trashing them every chance you get.  Yes, we know they stink—and they’re good at being bad.  That’s the whole idea.  Stop reporting their losses like you’re surprised…and remember how much you criticized them if they are contending for a world title four or five…or six…years from now.

A “Shout-out” to one sports personality this year:  Salisbury’s girls basketball head coach, Joe Mladosich.  He not only earned his 200^th coaching win this past year, but, like so many scholastic coaches, did it without the fanfare and publicity that other sports garnish.  In fact, Coach Mladosich tried to kept the approaching honor a secret from the team.  Most of his players didn’t even know when he was going to eclipse the milestone victory, and the few associated with the program who did know, he asked to keep it a secret.  I had a chance to speak with his girls and they all spoke highly of their coach and felt honored to be part of his program and his special victory.  When we interviewed him for “SportsTalk” about his accomplishment this past year, he was very unassuming about his success and instead placed the credit on his assistant coaches and his players.  On behalf of all the coaches who pass up self-promotion to put the spotlight on their team, I’d like to recognize Joe’s unselfish acts as my “shout-out” person of the year.

Most Intriguing Team in 2014.  No doubt for me…I’d have to go with the Becahi girls basketball program.  Very few Lehigh Valley teams in any sport had more success than the Hawks in 2014…only to see their head coach, Bill Lanscek, get the hook at the end of the season.  Becahi responded by hiring one of the brightest basketball minds in Megan Dellegrotti, fresh off multiple appearances (and wins) in the Colonial League Girls’ Basketball Championship game, only to have her resign less than two weeks before the start of the season.  I’m not going to speculate here on what’s going on with the program and their coaching staff.  I’ve heard tremendous things about their newest head coach, Jose Medina.  His team should again contend for a state title in 2015, but, unfortunately, the coaching storylines for this program made them my most intriguing squad from this past year.

Biggest “Oh My” Moment of 2014.  I’m going to have to cheat a little on this one and add an “s” to the word “moment.”  However, there were just too many highlights to separate just one from the games involving the Notre Dame and Catasauqua boys basketball teams (we’ll have highlights of these games on our TV show).  These two teams made for some of the most exhilarating moments of the year in both the Colonial League AND District XI 2A Championship games.  Half-court shots made at the buzzer, one player (Vincent Eze) blocking ten shots in a game, a last second rebound/game-winning basket (also by Eze), amazing baskets from Brandon Purrone, David Wetherhold, Dakota Shiffer, Tannor Reed and many others…all made for multiple great moments.  Throw-in the fact that the one championship game had to be rescheduled and came on the heels of our biggest snowstorm of the year AND came at the end of four consecutive broadcasts I did for RCN, definitely made for a memorable night.

Sports Personality You Would Have Liked to See More of in 2014.  Former Olympian, Spokesperson, Author, Coach and Humanitarian Joetta Clark Diggs was one of the many sports personalities that I was blessed to meet for the first time this past year, and was so fortunate to hear some of her stories and views on women sports issues this past year on our studio show.  She has very interesting views on many topics, runs camps that benefit local youths and recently published a new book.  In order to even start giving due to all of her accomplishments, I’m going to focus on her in an upcoming edition of the “SportsTalk Shop” early in 2015.

I’ll be on vacation for the next several days but be sure to check back as “SportsTalk” co-host Joe Craig will also share his thoughts looking back at the past year.  Also, check out our “year-in-review” show on RCN-TV and don’t forget to tune in to all of RCN’s special holiday programming and its Christmas Takeover.  My personal favorites are the “Jack Benny Christmas Special” and a true classic—the Jimmy Durante film, “A Christmas Wish.”  Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!

The holidays – it’s the most wonderful time of the year, right?  Well, to some extent.  However, there are the trips to the malls, the list of gifts to buy, the holiday parties, the forgotten present, etc.  So right about now, you are probably starting to become concerned about your holiday budget.  You may have set a cost limit on gifts and entertaining and are now realizing that your budget may be totally unrealistic.  So you begin to stress over finding the money to pay the extra bills associated with the end of the year.  Imagine if that stress was totally eliminated because you earn so much money that you do not have to think about money at all.  There are many, many athletes who have that luxury.  Here are the Top Ten moneymakers for 2014:

1. Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan earns $43.8 million a year or $3,650,000 per month, which is $121,667 a day and he is #10!
2. Tennis player Rafael Nadal makes “only” $14.5 million playing tennis, but gets $30 million in endorsements.
3. Golfer Phil Mickelson does much better endorsing products ($48 million) than he does playing golf, which brings in a paltry $5.2 million.
4. Roger Federer of tennis fame made $4.2 million on the court, but brought in $52 million in endorsements.
5. No one does better by not playing than Tiger Woods. He earned $55 million in endorsements and “just” $6.2 million playing golf.
6. The NBA is represented by two players. Kobe Bryant makes $31 million in endorsements and $30.5 million from the Lakers.
7. Lionel Messi of soccer fame kicks the ball around for $41.7 million and receives an extra $23 million in endorsements.
8. LeBron James does quite well playing basketball, taking in $19.3 million, but those commercials and product deals garner another $53 million for a grand total of $72.3 million.
9. The highest-paid soccer player is Cristiano Ronaldo who makes $52 million playing and another $28 million selling himself to advertisers. That is a cool $80 million.
10. Boxer Floyd Mayweather topped this list this year, earning $105 million WITH NO ENDORSEMENTS! He earned it all in the ring – $8,750,000 per month, $291,667 per day, $12,152.78 every hour of the day!

So there you have it.  Or rather they have it and you, not so much.  So as you trek out one

more time for that gift, that outfit, that box of candy, or bottle of wine, it is important that

we remember that not only do we wish for “peace on earth”, but also for “good will towards men” no matter how much money they earn. But we still have to check the price tag first!

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)

• Very quietly on Sunday night, Kobe Bryant moved past Michael Jordan in career NBA scoring and into third place. He scored 26 points against the Timberwolves and now has 32,310 points in his 19 seasons.  He trails only Karl Malone (36,928) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387).
• Johnny Football (Manziel) became the 21^st starting quarterback since 1999 for the Browns and threw for just 80 yards, no touchdowns, and two interceptions as the Browns lost to the Bengals 30-0. The Browns will not make the playoffs for the 12^th consecutive season and are probably looking for their 22^nd
• Speaking of a bad day at the office, Aaron Rodgers of the Packers may have had his worst day as a pro as the Packers lost to the Bills 21-13. He threw no touchdowns,  two interceptions, fumbled, and had a quarterback rating of 34.3, the worst of his career.  By the way, the Bills swept the NFC North this season.
• If you are an Eagles’ fan, you just became a Colts’ fan. You need Indianapolis, already the AFC South winner, to beat Dallas on Sunday and the Eagles must win out.  Just a note, the Colts are 2-4 against teams with winning records.
• Next Tuesday night, the Whitehall High School gymnasium will be dedicated and named for Dick Tracy. It will be a special night for my long-time fellow announcer and one of the great Lehigh Valley coaches ever.  RCN-TV will be there.  Please join us.

(Last week – 12-3)  (149-72-1 overall – 67%)
            
           JACKSONVILLE
            SAN DIEGO
            PHILADELPHIA
            MIAMI
            GREEN BAY
            DETROIT
            ATLANTA
            NEW ENGLAND
            PITTSBURGH
            CAROLINA
            BALTIMORE
            ST. LOUIS
            BUFFALO
            INDIANAPOLIS
            SEATTLE
            DENVER

I’d like to think we have “fireworks” on every edition of the “RCN SportsTalk” show in which we discuss a variety of different topics–sometimes of a controversial nature.  On last week’s program, however, we had not one, but two major blow-ups from both our panelists and from our phone callers, regarding two completely different subjects.  The two topics firing up people included our assessment of Penn State’s football season and a few questionable calls at the end of the PIAA state playoff game between St. Joe’s and Parkland high schools.  Here are two clips, back-to-back from last week’s show, which ignited the controversies.

Now, regarding the Penn State issue of which all of us on the show agreed that the Lions’ 6-6 record should be viewed as a “successful” year (the officials made sure they didn’t win a 7^th game with a couple egregious calls late in their game against Ohio State).   Shortly after we made those statements, one of our phone callers, in no uncertain terms, blasted our opinions—stating that six wins against a handful of soft opponents should not garnish a positive review.  Furthermore, the caller stated that Penn State hasn’t beaten a top- five team in nearly thirty years and the team’s true “glory years” vanished in the 1980s.  He went on to criticize their scheduling several weaker non-conference games each season.

Here’s my take on issue #1.  When you consider what the Nittany Lions program has gone through over the last four years, you’d have to be happy with six wins and a bowl bid.  There’s no way to officially say how many quality football players the scandal has cost the program.  In addition to players who left or decided on another school, you had players like Mike Hull, Christian Hackenberg and others who rode out the sanctions having to deal with depth issues throughout their careers.  Players fought through and played with injuries because of that lack of depth, an inconsistent offensive line that put Hackenberg and other backs constantly under pressure from opposing defense…I could go on stating the trickle-down effects that permeated every facet of the team.  They were close to winning a few of their games against tougher opponents while soundly defeating programs that, as of this year, are step below Penn State (yes, I would have to thrown in my beloved Temple football team in this category).

Among many post-regular season accolades include Hull being named the Big Ten Linebacker of the Year and both Hull and Anthony Zettel named to the conference’s “first team.”  There were certainly success stories with the younger players on the team, and reason for even more optimism based on their “successful” play this fall.  Among the first-year players just named to BTN.com’s “All-Freshmen Team”: safety Marcus Allen, tight end Mike Gesicki, wide receiver DaeSean Hamilton, offensive tackle Andrew Nelson and punter Daniel Pasquariello.  Despite the offensive struggles later in the year, all of these players improved as the season advanced and should be part of bigger and better things as the program continues to build itself back to a national presence.

To the issue of Penn State scheduling weaker teams: Penn State almost every year has to schedule at least seven home games to defray their enormous costs (this is due to budget issues which Morning Call’s Mark Wogenrich eluded to on our show).  Aside from the four Big Ten games that they must play, it’s pretty much impossible for one elite team—let along two or three additional teams–to grant an enormous (and costly) favor of playing the Lions at State College without having them return the favor the following season.  Penn State has to find up-and-coming programs (like my alums from Broad Street) to travel to Happy Valley to gain exposure.  These teams don’t match the status of a powerhouse team—one who, if Penn State defeated, would satisfy some fans’ requirement to call the season a success.  In my opinion, and with all the other issues Penn State is trying to put behind them, to expect something far beyond what happened this fall won’t be a possibility until 2016 at the earliest.  Until then, you must temper your expectations for the football program and give them props when they do make strides—like I still feel they made in 2014.

The second issue that fueled a heated argument on last week’s show involved a few controversial calls at the end of the Parkland/St. Joe’s state high school playoff football game.   I myself was at another game that day and did not watch it live—and instead received a biased review of the calls well before I had a chance to sit down and watch a replay of it for myself through RCN On Demand.  I must admit that I agree with all of our RCN commentators –  Gary Laubach, Mike Joseph, Tony Cocca and “SportsTalk” co-host Joe Craig—all vehemently saying on-air that they hated (and that’s using a ‘kind’ verb) the calls.  Clearly, the officials made a few incorrect decisions at crucial times.  However, I would like to address an aspect of this controversy that I haven’t heard anyone talk about since the program.

I think an enormous amount of credit should be given to Parkland for the class they demonstrated with regards to the controversial calls—all of which severely hampered them from winning the game. Head Coach Jim Morgans was furious with the calls and expressed his disappointment after they occurred.  But I’ve run into a number of coaches—both past and present—who admitted they probably would have gone ballistic if they were on that sideline and had those calls made against them at key moments in a huge game.  If Parkland won that game, it would have been an historic victory for the District XI football community.  It would have kept alive the team’s drive for a state championship.  But even with an extreme level of disappointment following the calls, the players, coaches and staff all handled themselves in a respectful manner.

There was no formal protest.  No website created to replay the controversial calls and ask people for their opinions.  No continuing, angry sound bites in the local media.  They were upset.  They were angry…but they kept themselves under control.

Clearly, they would have preferred to win the game and advance to the state semifinal game.  But all things considered, Parkland had an excellent season on the field, and showed championship-level class in the days that followed an incredibly  disappointing, and unfortunate, loss.  But one of the great things about sports is the character-building aspect that can be an even better learning experience.

What are your thoughts on Penn State’s season and the PIAA playoffs? Email your comments to RCNSportsTalk@rcn.com and join us each Thursday at 6pm as we discuss more hot topics each week!

As the year comes to a close, it’s time for my annual thoughts on the Yahoo Year in Review.  This is their annual look back at the top sports stories (and other trends if you wish to search Yahoo for those).  Comparing the list to last year’s Top-Searched Sports Teams and Top-Searched Athletes, you will notice that some have dropped in stature, stayed the same, or have dropped off the list entirely.    Obviously, that means there are some new names, too.  Let’s opine together:

Top-Searched Sports Teams on Yahoo in 2014

1. Dallas Cowboys
2. San Francisco Giants
3. Green Bay Packers
4. Pittsburgh Steelers
5. Detroit Tigers
6. Kansas City Royals
7. Los Angeles Lakers
8. St. Louis Cardinals
9. Philadelphia Eagles
10. Chicago Bears

Half of the teams are from the NFL; four are Major League Baseball teams; and one from the NBA.

The Dallas Cowboys stayed at #1 again.  I do not want to think of them as “America’s Team”, but it is obvious they are.  Imagine the interest if they actually won enough games to matter.  The Super Bowl champion, Seattle Seahawks, did not make the list.  I guess success does not always breed interest.

It appears that baseball fans are a fickle bunch as they seem to follow a winner.  It’s the world champion Giants this year – #2 last year was the Boston Red Sox and they are not even on this year’s list.  Baseball and “bandwagon” seem synonymous.  Give the Detroit Tigers credit, however.  They stayed at #5 for the second consecutive year.  The Dodgers (#7) and Yankees (#8) are both gone this year!  That tells you something about these two legendary franchises.  The Packers stay at #3; the Steelers remain as the most popular Pennsylvania NFL team, but, at least, the Eagles made the list this year, something they could not do last season.  The Royals, Cardinals, and Bears are all new.   The Denver Broncos (also in the Super Bowl) and the Milwaukee Bucks have been displaced.

Top-Searched Athletes on Yahoo in 2014

1. Tiger Woods
2. Ronda Rousey
3. Danica Patrick
4. Caroline Wozniacki
5. Tony Stewart
6. Maria Sharapova
7. Hope Solo
8. Tito Ortiz
9. Ray Rice
10. Michael Vick

I wonder if you even want to make this list because, more often than not, it’s not because you had a great year as an athlete, but for entirely different and , usually, negative reasons.  Tiger Woods (injury), Danica Patrick (beauty),Caroline Wozniacki (Rory McIlroy’s former girlfriend), Tony Stewart (the death of a fellow race car driver), Maria Sharapova (beauty), Hope Solo (arrested), Tito Ortiz (DUI), Ray Rice (domestic violence), and Michael Vick (just because, I guess).

Ronda Rousey, whom I did not even know when she made the list at #5 last year, moved up to #2 this year.  She may very well be there because of her accomplishments as a mixed martial arts champion.  I hope that is why she is on the list because I should mention that she is, also, attractive.

Gone from the list (probably a good thing) are Tim Tebow (#1 last year – long forgotten), Lindsey Vonn (#4 last year; still Tiger’s girlfriend; just not as much interest), Lamar Odom (#6 -no longer with a Kardashian), Serena Williams (#8 – ho-hum, I suppose), and Gina Carano (#10 – I didn’t know her last year and still don’t).

Looking at this compilation, it appears that if you make the list as a team it’s a good thing; make the list as an individual, get your picture taken by a good photographer or, even worse, get a lawyer!

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)

1. If you are a fan of college basketball, I am sure you were stunned by the NJIT 72-70 win over #17 Michigan on Saturday afternoon in Michigan. Just a few notes – NJIT was 2-5 going into the game having lost to John’s, Albany, UMass (Lowell) twice, and Marquette.  They have no league affiliation and just a few years ago, they had a 51-game losing streak.  This was supposed to be a “guarantee” game for Michigan – the Wolverines guarantee a nice payday to NJIT and NJIT is guaranteed to lose.  That did not happen.  I guess there are no “guarantees”.
2. Speaking of Michigan, as of Monday, December 8, Central Catholic’s Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman is on the Michigan roster. He has played in five of the eight games, a total of 26 minutes.  He is 0-9 from the field, 0-1 from beyond the arc, and has not been to the foul line.  He does have an assist and has turned the ball over twice.  It’s great to see the freshman getting some playing time.
3. Watching the Eagles on Sunday against the Seahawks, it is still obvious they do not belong in the upper echelon yet. I do, however, like their defense.  They were on the field just too long on Sunday.  The offense is sporadic and it seems to me that LeSean McCoy fumbles at least once in big games.  Dallas is next up in Philly and that becomes a must win as the two teams are tied for the division lead.
4. How does Oakland beat San Francisco? Oakland lost 52-0 to St. Louis last week and had only one win until this past Sunday.  I thought just the front office wanted to get rid of Jim Harbaugh – maybe the players do, too.  Their playoff hopes came to an end with the loss.
5. Parkland’s Andre Williams had a career day with the Giants on Sunday, rushing for 131 yards, including a 50-yard touchdown run. And… the Giants won!

(Last week – 12-3)  (136-69-1 overall – 66%)
            ST. LOUIS
            KANSAS CITY
            BALTIMORE
            PITTSBURGH
            INDIANAPOLIS
            CINCINNATI
            NEW ENGLENAD
            CAROLINA
            GIANTS
            GREEN BAY
            DETROIT
            JETS
            DENVER
            SEATTLE
            PHILADELPHIA
            CHICAGO

High school and college football have come to a close.  It was certainly an exciting season with the highlights easy to recall:  the outstanding individual running backs at the high school level – Shane Simpson, Saquon Barkley, Michael McDaniel, Harry Hall and others.  The quarterbacks were outstanding – to name a few, Travis Edmond, Doug Erney, Julian Spigner, and, of course, Devante Cross.  Conner Sullivan, Shane Simpson (again), and Jarey Elder were some of the notable receivers.  Parkland, Easton, Bethlehem Catholic, Southern Lehigh, Northwestern, and Saucon Valley all had chasmpionship seasons.

And then there was Yankee Stadium and the 150^th meeting of college football’s most-played rivalry, Lafayette vs. Lehigh.  The atmosphere, the history, the tradition, and the location made this day one of the best ever and I will never forget the individual efforts of Ross Scheuerman and Zach Zwiezig. Ross ran for over 300 yards and Zach managed a game he had not played in for over a year and a half. They and their teammates led Lafayette to their second straight win over their archrivals.  Is it any wonder I enjoy going to work?

The end of football always signals the arrival of the one night a year that is always memorable.  It is the night that I co-host the Dream Come True Telethon.  We at RCN TV will produce and air the Telethon for the 29^th year.  I have not hosted all of them, but I have been around for most. The Dream Come True organization, in case you did not know, was founded in 1984 by Kostas Kalogeropoulous, a local businessman.  The goal of the organization is simple – fulfill the dreams of children who are seriously, chronically, and terminally ill and reside in the greater Lehigh Valley area.  Children are referred by family, friends, clergy, doctors, social workers, etc., and the dreams usually fall into three categories – trips, contact with celebrities, and special gifts (computers, shopping sprees, for example).

Scott Barr will be co-hosting again this year. We have spent this night together for many, many years and I would not want to work with anyone else. He handles the auction area and, boy, is he terrific!  If you watch Home Shopping Network or any of the other television all-day shopping channels, just watch Scott do his thing during the three-hour night.  He is as good as, if not better, than the professionals.

The TELETHON will take place live on Monday, December 8, 2014 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. RCN customers in the Lehigh Valley (Channel 4, 1004 in HD), Delaware County (Channel 8, 608 in HD), and Washington, DC (Channel 8) areas can watch live on RCN TV.  A popular component of the telethon each year is the auction.  This year, we are introducing a new, on-line auction.  The bidding starts Monday, November 24, and ends Monday, December 8, at 8:00PM.

CLICK HERE to bid on incredible auction items donated by your favorite networks!

Great auction items include:

• Go Pro Hero 3: HERO3+ Silver from AMC Networks
• Philadelphia Flyers-Autographed Claude Giroux Jersey from NHL Network
• Jambox Speaker System from AMC Networks
• Wolfgang Puck Cookware from HSN
• Sony Bloggie Video Camera from Reelz
• Tumi Travel Bag from AMC Networks
• “Deadliest Catch” Fleece Jacket from Discovery Networks
  and much more!

As you can see from the list above, there is always a variety of unique items donated by local businesses as well as our friends from the cable TV networks.  If you want something really unique and not found in any store, tune us in and bid on the items.  You’ll make Scott’s night and, more importantly, some child’s dream.

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

And, there will be plenty of entertainment.

The important facts are:
The Date:         Monday, December 8
The Time:         6:00 – 9:00 PM
The Purpose:    To fulfill as many hopes, dreams and fantasies for seriously, chronically,
and terminally ill children as possible
The Phone Number to Make a Donation:          1-800-749-8099

All proceeds from the online and on-air auctions go directly to Dream Come True.

Thank you, in advance, for your consideration and support!  Your donation will help make a child’s dream come true!

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)

• Do you think it’s easy to be a Philadelphia sports’ fan in the winter? As I write this, the Flyers and the 76ers have played 39 games combined.  The Eagles have played 12.  The Eagles have 9 wins and the other two have 8 wins total!!
• I think I saw the two worst non-calls by officials in recent memory this past weekend and both played a major role in the victimized team losing the game. In the Parkland-St. Joe’s Prep matchup, late in the fourth quarter, St. Joe’s was facing a fourth and one on its 37-yard line trailing by three.  The St. Joe’s tailback went in motion long before the snap – no call.  A five yard penalty either forces them to punt or go for a fourth and six.  Instead, they got the first down and then scored on the very next play and won the game 34-30.
• In the Easton – Phillipsburg game, postponed from Thanksgiving Day, a Phillipsburg player called for a fair catch in the first half in his own territory, caught the ball; everyone stopped; he did not hear a whistle from the officials; and ran to the Easton 19-yard line. Phillipsburg scored quickly and won 19-15.  If the right call is made, who knows what the outcome would have been?  Two very easy calls, seen by everyone who watched, except the official who should have made the call.
• I cannot remember an NFL team as bad as the Oakland Raiders are this year. They are 1-11 and just lost to the last-place St. Louis Rams 52-0.  Their only win came over Andy Reid’s Kansas City Chiefs.  How do they feel?
• High school basketball begins on Tuesday, December 9, when Easton travels to Freedom. Easton vs. Parkland kicks off the wrestling season on December 10.  And Lafayette College basketball is off and running already.  Enjoy the winter with the RCN-TV team!

(Last week – 10-5)  (123-66-1 overall – 65%)
            DALLAS
            BALTIMORE
            CINCINNATI
            INDIANAPOLIS
            HOUSTON
            GIANTS
            NEW ORLEANS
            DETROIT
            ST. LOUIS
            MINNESOTA
            DENVER
            ARIZONA
            SAN FRANCISCO
            SEATTLE
            NEW ENGLAND
            GREEN BAY