The start of the high school football season puts an exclamation point on our summer “SportsTalk” remote program season.

We once again had some wonderful coaches, players and special guests on our shows at Buffalo Wild Wings in Whitehall and at the Great Allentown Fair.

Before we get too busy with the grid-iron action, I wanted to take a moment to thank all the people who participated in these programs. Here are some pictures I took of our different shows out in the community.

The local schools that graciously agreed to be a part of our summer remote show included:

• Central Catholic girls volleyball state championship team
• Bethlehem Catholic girls basketball state championship team
• Moravian Academy field hockey state championship team
• Allen High School cheerleaders and band members
• Nazareth High School cheerleaders and band members
• Emmaus cheerleaders
• Southern Lehigh band members
• Catasauqua “TOC” Players/Coaches/Organizers—Past & Present
• Plus, local media members

Some of these shows are still available for free through RCN On-Demand or you can hear the shows’ podcasts here on our website at rcn.com/RCNTV/sports – talk.

Last but not least, we had our annual “final” event of the summer broadcast schedule—the Catasauqua Tournament of Champions Title game. It turned out to be one of the most dramatic finishes in the 28-year history of the event! RCN customers: You can see it for yourselves On-Demand.

A big THANK YOU once again to the RCN marketing team for coordinating these events, the RCN TV crew for dealing with the various issues you inevitable deal with when broadcasting outdoors, and all the people who participated in these events and worked hard behind the scenes to put these shows on the air!

This week marks the season premiere of the “SportsTalk” high school football poll…with an added twist this year!

First, some insights about our high school football poll featuring teams in the RCN-TV footprint in the Lehigh Valley.

Unlike polls that consist of a couple representatives within the same organization, our poll is much more varied with input from many different people over a wider scope.  Our voting panel consists of local media members from different outlets, along with local coaches and athletic directors from across the entire district.  The voters are not identified (unless they appear on our “SportsTalk” TV show and podcast and chose to reveal themselves) so they can give their honest impressions without any worry of outside pressures or “bulletin board” material, and we rotate different pollsters from different schools each year, including guests from our biggest to our smallest schools.

This year we feature a “Super Seven” of pollsters for big school poll and seven for our small school poll, featuring a mix of media members (both from inside and outside of RCN) and local head coaches in each grouping–from different corners of the District XI region.

Despite the change in the PIAA classification, our poll remains with the standard, tried-and-true format that we have utilized for many seasons.  We will take the 400-male enrollment number as the cutoff for schools within the District XI/RCN footprint.  All schools above that number qualify as “big schools” in our poll. These schools consist of Parkland, Liberty, Allen, Easton, Emmaus, Liberty, Dieruff, Freedom, Stroudsburg, Pleasant Valley, Northampton, Nazareth, E. Stroudsburg-South, Whitehall, Southern Lehigh and Bangor.

“Small schools” (below 400-male enrollment) consist of Saucon Valley, Central Catholic, Bethlehem Catholic, Northwestern, Wilson, Palisades, Palmerton, Salisbury, Notre Dame, Pen Argyl, Northern Lehigh and Catasauqua.  Each pollster will identify their top five teams in each group—the top school gets five points, the second team gets four points and so on, with an average score determining the order of teams in the poll.

Now for the “plus.”

Every other week we are going to ask four local media members to pick four of the most anticipated games for that weekend.  We’ll keep track on how each of our pollsters are doing throughout the fall season–and we encourage you to let us know what you think of our prognosticators picks, either by calling in to our Thursday night show, or by emailing us at RCNsportstalk@rcn.com.

You can also comment on anything we talk about on “RCN SportsTalk presented by ‘The Morning Call’ ” live on Thursdays, On-Demand and by listening to our podcast available elsewhere on our RCN-TV website.

For the RCN viewers watching us in the Washington DC region, we are once again featuring your high school football teams with highlights and news on the different programs on our Thursday show.

Also, don’t forget to check back to the “SportsTalk Shop” for more sports interviews, high school football news, rumors and insights, our polls and picks and features on fall sports teams in the RCN viewing area over the coming weeks, plus interviews, video highlights and game previews!

Questions in a World of Blue

A few months back, I wrote a blog previewing the “return” of the cult television show, “Twin Peaks.”

I’ve had a chance over the last few months to speak with several people who have added Showtime to their RCN video service and have seen the “Peaks” experience (like it or not, it’s hard to call it a “show”).

If you remember, I gave advice to people who attempted to follow along: ie., have patience—not everything will be explained in a linear, orderly fashion; watch the previous season episodes before you watch “The Return;” and, for goodness sakes, don’t watch the individual parts out of order.

People who took my suggestions have mostly enjoyed the mysterious, intriguing and sometimes baffling journey of “The Return” so far. Others (like RCN TV Studio Manager Rick Geho) decided to pick and choose different episodes to watch randomly—and have frequently exclaimed over the last few months, “What the heck is going on?”

Clearly, you almost need to study the show and watch it a few times through RCN On-Demand or by recording it on your TiVo. Director David Lynch never spells out details and infrequently sticks to a clear path narrative.

Consequently, as we embark on the final three hours of this limited-series run (although Showtime has not ruled out the possibility of a “Season 4”), there are a number of questions that would need answers in order to have some semblance of closure for loyal fans who have followed this program thus far.

So here are some of the questions (note the tie-in with this blog entry’s title) I still have about the current season—mixed in with a few hints at possible answers/resolutions to several of them. If you have a conspiracy theory that you’d like to share, or want to take a shot at any of these, email me at chris.michael@rcn.net and, if you come close to getting any of these correct, I’ll post your name and give you proper credit in an entry I’ll write after the show concludes in September.

(SPOILER ALERT! If you have not seen “Twin Peaks” through “part 15,” you should go back and watch all the episodes prior to this before continuing.)

Who owns the glass box in New York?

What happened to the security guards in New York? Who/what appeared in the glass box in New York?

Where is the fourth and final missing page from Laura Palmer’s diary?

Who/what is Naido and what happened to her eyes?

What/where is non-existence?

Why is Ronette Pulaski (or the actress who formerly portrayed her) in “non-existence”….and who’s her “mother?”

What is the significance of the numbered electrical outlets then polls?

What is the humming noise in the Great Northern Hotel?

Who is Mr. Strawberry?

Who are Billy, Tina and Linda?

Who/what are the woodsmen?

What was on the note that Big Ed burned and what’s the significance of his gas station… and is there any connection to “Big Ed’s Gas Farm? ”

Who is the “horn honking lady” and what’s up with her sick daughter (& why were they very “far away”…the term used by The Fireman to Good Coop at the beginning of this third season).

What happened to Sarah Palmer..or “what” is she?

What happened to Diane the last evening she was with Mr. C. (& why won’t she tell anyone…or is she working for Mr. C.?)

What happened to Audrey …and “where” is she or why won’t she leave the house?

Is Charlie really Audrey’s husband and is he even real?

Who is the lady on the floor of the Roadhouse and why was she screaming at the end of part 15?

Laura is “the one”… but for what?

Will we ever even see Annie, let alone find out where/how she is? (it WAS the last “season two” cliffhanger, after all).

What about Chris Issack’s character? He disappeared at the beginning of the prequel movie and NO ONE (in or out of the show) has mentioned him since. Might he make a surprise appearance in the finale?

Has this entire series been a dream…and, if so, who is the dreamer? Laura? Cooper? Someone back in 1956?

Check back to “The Shop” after the series finale for a full recap and my thoughts on the series as a whole.

*****

Also, be sure to catch this Thursday’s “SportsTalk” show live on RCN-TV, as well have an exclusive interview with the Phillies organization’s hottest minor league prospect, Scott Kingery, to talk about some potential news and rumors that he’ll receive a call up and/or position change rather soon. We’ll also chat with NFL writer Ed Valentine about pre-season football news and NFC East projections and predictions. Local officials will be on to discuss rule changes for the new high school sports season and we’ll have our second edition of high school football previews on this week’s show as well!

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

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

Video: BML Limeport Bulls vs. Northampton Giants

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

***

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A few notes/observations on the summer basketball action…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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