Well, there’s no doubt right now about the top two teams in our EPC poll!

With our #1 and #2 teams playing the previous week’s #3 and #4 teams in our high school football poll, the result was the top two teams winning…and winning big.

Our top football analyst on ATVN, Mike Joseph, said on-air last Friday if someone told him on Monday that Nazareth would mercy-rule Emmaus, he would have told them they would be crazy…but that’s exactly what the Blue Eagles did.

Parkland also dominated Bethlehem Freedom in their contest and made for two impressive performances on offense and defense last weekend.

Those weren’t the only lopsided contests last week in both the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference and the Colonial League.  Among the blowout games included Saucon Valley winning 36 points, Northwestern winning by 48, Northampton won by 51, Liberty won by 33, Palisades shut out Wilson 48 -0, Tri-Valley won by 30, Pine Grove won by 42, Southern Lehigh beat Notre Dame 68 to 28, East Stroudsburg South scored a 41 point-win, Pen Argyl won by 29, Pleasant Valley won by 28 and Bangor won by 25.

The only “close” game of the weekend was the Whitehall versus Bethlehem Catholic contest on Saturday afternoon, which was 14-7 midway through the third quarter before the Golden Hawks scored three consecutive touchdowns and put the game away.

Needless to say, with so many teams at the very top of our poll from last week putting on solid victories, there isn’t a whole lot of movement in our polls for this week.

******

Now here’s a look at our polls along with our criteria that we use.

I’m proud to say (and no, I don’t vote myself) our football polls have proven to be among the most accurate, year after year, among all media organizations that attempt to rank teams in our coverage area each fall.  (Check out our archived polls from previous years if you’d like proof).

We rotate asking different contributors to our poll along with some “veterans,” consisting of local athletic directors, coaches and media members.  We never announce nor release the names of our non-media voters to get their honest opinions on the local football landscape while avoiding any thoughts of retribution or potential “bulletin board” material.  Our “media voters” usually reveal themselves when we have the pleasure of having them on our weekly SportsTalk program, seen on Thursday nights on the Astound TV Network and available to watch at any time for free through ATVN on Demand.

This year, we are once again going to break down the two polls into EPC and Colonial League schools, within the Astound TV broadcast area.  With the Colonial teams cross-scheduling and playing teams from the Schuylkill League and the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference playing different “cross-over” teams, our poll will be an interesting barometer for teams in the Lehigh Valley since many local teams will not have the same opponents throughout their schedules.

Below we have high school polls for both leagues in the ATVN viewing area, along with the listing of all of the teams that are included in our respective categories.

EPC TOP 5

1. Parkland
2. Nazareth
3. Central Catholic
4. Emmaus
5. Freedom

Eligible Teams (in no particular order):

Northampton, Bethlehem Catholic, Easton, Freedom, Liberty, Dieruff, Allen, Allentown Central Catholic, Parkland, Whitehall, Emmaus, and Nazareth.

Catasauqua’s loss to Palmerton dropped the Rough Riders out of our top 4 poll for this week, while the remaining top three teams all scored big wins last weekend…

COLONIAL TOP 4

1. Northwestern
2. Southern Lehigh
3. Bangor
4. Notre Dame

Other schools receiving votes: Pen Argyl 

Eligible Teams (in no particular order):

Bangor, Pen Argyl, Notre Dame – Green Pond, Wilson, Catasauqua, Salisbury, Saucon Valley, Northwestern, Northern Lehigh and Southern Lehigh.

Be sure to check back to the “upcoming events” section here on our website and check it frequently for any changes and for our ongoing broadcast schedule information throughout the postseason.

Among our upcoming broadcasts include our first look at the Easton Red Rovers as they take on Whitehall this Friday.  It’s usually an honor for the Pennsylvania Cable Network to select a network for a game to air during the season, but PCN will be picking up our broadcast for a second time already this season, as that game will air across the Commonwealth!

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

This past weekend I had the privilege of attending a Friday night football game for the first time in quite a while. The game did not disappoint. It was the Whitehall Head Coach Andy Marino’s first game in a head-to-head match with the William Allen first year head coach Joel Rupp Jr’s first game. 

To my surprise the atmosphere was absolutely electric in Whitehall. I noticed their fans and the student body really provided a lot of energy and presented an exciting start to the season.

At kick-off it was noticeable also that both of these new high school head coaches seemed anxious as they would kick-off their new programs. The game started fast as Allen kicked off to Whitehall. The initial play resulted in an offside penalty by Allen. Perhaps it was just the first game jitters. Allen had to re-kick the opening play and just like that, Whitehall was able to capitalize and scored their first touchdown of the year on their opening kick-off, down the right sideline. This would be an indication of how the game would progress for the rest of the night. Whitehall had control of the game from the first whistle to the last. Their defense only allowed one first down the entire first half, while their offense was able to take advantage of an Allen defense that had young players in some key spots.

I think it’s important to talk about what happened that night by shining a light on these twocoaches. I saw a Whitehall football team that seemed disciplined and well coached. I observed a coaching staff that engaged the kids with intensity and passion. I saw a team that had the ability to really do good things this season under the leadership of Coach Marino.

On the other hand, I observed from William Allen a team that had a tremendous amount of fight but lacked the experience of the Friday Night Lights. I observed a coaching staff that hustled to keep their athletes engaged and focused. I was proud mostly of Coach Joel Rupp, whom I observed coaching and teaching from the first whistle to the last. He was consistent despite the 53-0 outcome. There appears to be some growth happening at William Allen.

Whitehall High School thank you for an amazing experience last Friday night. Coach Marino keep up the good work and keep grinding. Coach Rupp, the sky’s the limit and I am looking forward to your program growing and your athletes having success.

Ok folks, this is my first attempt at blogging.  I look forward to your feedback. Until next time…

Football is Life!

Check back to the “SportsTalk Shop” throughout the high school fall football season for more commentary and observations from Mel Thomas Jr and feel free to post a comment or greeting below.

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

What a weekend to kickoff the high school football season on the Astound TV Network!

Thanks to some creative scheduling, ATVN was able to bring you a network-record four high school games this weekend–three of them live!

We look to bring you four more games coming up next week–Thursday through Saturday.

But first, a look back on an entertaining first weekend to start the scholastic year off with a bang!

In the Colonial League, there were a number of big performances: Northwestern, Notre Dame, Bangor, Catasauqua and Pen Argyl all started off their fall seasons with very impressive victories (the latter two teams were on ATVN and we’ll see the TIgers coming up this week).

There were a few surprises (see this week’s poll below) and there should be some great battles for both league and district playoff positioning throughout the season.

In the EPC, the results were pretty much as expected with Parkland, Nazareth, Emmaus, Freedom and Central Catholic (our top five teams last week) all securing victories in week one, with the Vikings win over Northampton in overtime also broadcast on our network.

In addition, we brought you a very entertaining game between big city schools Liberty and Dieruff–a contest that was 0-0 with 3 minutes left in the third quarter and Dieruff stopped just outside the red zone midway through the fourth quarter trailing 7-0.

Things will get interesting this weekend as ATVN will be you the great “Blue Mountain” rivalry on Thursday, and our top four EPC teams all playing against each other on Friday.

Saturday, two teams with brand new coaches looking to win their first divisional game square off.

Like last week, it should be a fun week coming up!

*****

Now here’s a look at our polls along with our criteria that we use.

I’m proud to say (and no, I don’t vote myself) our football polls have proven to be among the most accurate, year after year, among all media organizations that attempt to rank teams in our coverage area each fall.  (Check out our archived polls from previous years if you’d like proof).

We rotate asking different contributors to our poll along with some “veterans,” consisting of local athletic directors, coaches and media members.  We never announce nor release the names of our non-media voters to get their honest opinions on the local football landscape while avoiding any thoughts of retribution or potential “bulletin board” material.  Our “media voters” usually reveal themselves when we have the pleasure of having them on our weekly SportsTalk program, seen on Thursday nights on the Astound TV Network and available to watch at any time for free through ATVN on Demand.

This year, we are once again going to break down the two polls into EPC and Colonial League schools, within the Astound TV broadcast area.  With the Colonial teams cross-scheduling and playing teams from the Schuylkill League and the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference playing different “cross-over” teams, our poll will be an interesting barometer for teams in the Lehigh Valley since many local teams will not have the same opponents throughout their schedules.

Below we have high school polls for both leagues in the ATVN viewing area, along with the listing of all of the teams that are included in our respective categories.

EPC TOP 5

1. Parkland
2. Nazareth
3. Emmaus
4. Freedom
5. Central Catholic

Eligible Teams (in no particular order):

Northampton, Bethlehem Catholic, Easton, Freedom, Liberty, Dieruff, Allen, Allentown Central Catholic, Parkland, Whitehall, Emmaus, and Nazareth.

COLONIAL TOP 4

1. Northwestern
2. Catasauqua
3. Bangor
4. Notre Dame

Other schools receiving votes:  Southern Lehigh, Pen Argyl 

Eligible Teams (in no particular order):

Bangor, Pen Argyl, Notre Dame – Green Pond, Wilson, Catasauqua, Salisbury, Saucon Valley, Northwestern, Northern Lehigh and Southern Lehigh.

Be sure to check back to the “upcoming events” section here on our website and check it frequently for any changes and for our ongoing broadcast schedule information throughout the postseason.

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

The kickoff of the high school football season is here!

This weekend, the season begins with four great matchups that we will be featuring on the Astound TV Network, featuring four teams that qualified for the district tournament a year ago.

Central Catholic and Northern Lehigh are two of those teams ranked in our poll we’ll be featuring this weekend.

Several of the other teams ranked in both our polls will be seen on ATVN later in the season (we’ll have Freedom, Parkland, Emmaus and Nazareth will be featured prominently in our schedule throughout the season).

Northwestern is ranked number one in our poll and we’ll see them next weekend.

Not familiar with our annual scholastic football polling?

I’m glad you asked.

I’m proud to say (and no, I don’t vote myself) our football polls have proven to be among the most accurate, year after year, among all media organizations that attempt to rank teams in our coverage area each fall.  (Check out our archived polls from previous years if you’d like proof).

We never announce nor release the names of our non-media voters to get their honest opinions on the local football landscape while avoiding any thoughts of retribution or potential “bulletin board” material.  Our “media voters” usually reveal themselves when we have the pleasure of having them on our weekly SportsTalk program, seen on Thursday nights on the Astound TV Network and available to watch at any time for free through ATVN on Demand.

This year, we are once again going to break the two polls down into EPC and Colonial League schools, within the Astound broadcast area.  With the Colonial teams cross-scheduling and playing teams from the Schuylkill League and the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference playing different “cross-over” teams, our poll will be an interesting barometer for teams in the Lehigh Valley since many local teams will not have the same opponents throughout their schedules.

Below we have high school polls for both leagues in the ATVN viewing area, along with the listing of all of the teams that are included in our respective categories.

EPC TOP 5

1. Parkland
2. Nazareth
3. Emmaus
4. Freedom
5. Central Catholic

Eligible Teams (in no particular order):

Northampton, Bethlehem Catholic, Easton, Freedom, Liberty, Dieruff, Allen, Allentown Central Catholic, Parkland, Whitehall, Emmaus, and Nazareth.

COLONIAL TOP 4

1. Northern Lehigh
2. Northwestern
3. Bangor
4. (tie) Southern Lehigh/Catasauqua 

Eligible Teams (in no particular order):

Bangor, Pen Argyl, Notre Dame – Green Pond, Wilson, Catasauqua, Salisbury, Saucon Valley, Northwestern, Northern Lehigh and Southern Lehigh.

Be sure to check back to  the “upcoming events” section here on our website and check it frequently for any changes and for our ongoing broadcast schedule information throughout the postseason.

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

We have spent a lot of time preparing for this brand new broadcasting year for our ATVN video customers.

Part of that preparation involves putting together the best on-air staff that we can find.  We are blessed to welcome in the following new additions to the Astound TV Network’s sportscasting family for the autumn 2023 high school sports season.

RENEE WASHINGTON

 Philadelphia’s 6/ABC Action News’s Renee Washington – yes, THAT Renee Washington – will be calling soccer games with us this fall in addition to her handling sideline/courtside reporting. Renee has been a frequent guest on our “ATVN SportsTalk” show, and can also be seen throughout the year handling broadcasting duties for ESPN, Fox Sports and other national TV outlets.

McKENNA WALL

McKenna will begin her ATVN broadcast career with our coverage of high school volleyball this season.  She has experience doing both play-by-play and color analyst work for the Big 10+ Network doing volleyball and basketball and will also be working for the Penn State Network on their Saturday football broadcasts this fall.

JAMES MIDDLETON

James joins our on-air staff as a color analyst for the fall high school football season.   Lehigh Valley fans will remember him as a featured running back with the Easton Red Rovers.  An outstanding two-sport athlete, Middleton went on to play basketball at the collegiate level and will also be taking over as the new head girls basketball coach at Whitehall High School this winter.

MELVIN THOMAS JR

Mel was a three-time letter winner playing Division I college football at the University of Colorado before being drafted by Andy Reid and the Philadelphia Eagles.  After stints as a high school football coach, he’s joining the ATVN broadcast team and will also be writing a bi-weekly football blog here on our website.

Please join me in welcoming these new personalities to your television sets and video monitors this fall!

 Also, be on the lookout for more announcers coming to the ATVN Sports family for the winter sports season!

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

It’s hard to believe that this summer has flown by so fast (the ATVN Sports team produced our final “summer” event this weekend), but it’s already time to preview the Astound TV Network’s football schedule for the upcoming season.

Last fall, we not only broadened our schedule to include more Colonial League schools than ever before, but we also featured a bigger variety of schools than in any time in our network’s history.

As we approach the 2023 football season we are upping the ante a bit by including even MORE schools from our coverage area than ever before – scheduling nearly every Lehigh Valley team in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference…AND even more teams from the Colonial and Schuylkill “Co-op.”

While there are no guarantees in predicting what will be the best games of the night each week, I am confident many local sports fans are going to enjoy watching our coverage this fall, with a blend of different schools and competitive games throughout the season.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at just SOME of the games that Lehigh Valley viewers will want to make sure to watch (or set their DVRs for) this fall.

• Our season premiere features a doubleheader.  For game one, a battle of two teams that played for district championships a year ago (Northern Lehigh & Catasauqua).  This game will be one of two contests that ATVN will be broadcasting statewide on the Pennsylvania Cable Network!
• Game two of our season opener features a battle of two big city schools looking to continue the rebuilding process (Bethlehem’s Liberty vs. Allentown’s Dieruff) – the winner will get a much-needed “W” to start off their season ahead of a challenging schedule
• On the very next night we’ll feature two more teams that had great successes in 2022 – Northampton’s coming off a year in which they won more games than any other in the school’s history.   They’re taking on a Central Catholic team that was not only the last team standing last year, but a squad that also has many of its talented players returning.  This very likely will be the most competitive game of the opening weekend!
• On August 31st we feature one of the oldest rivalries in the Colonial League (Nolehi & Northwestern) and follow it up the next day by having a rematch of last year’s District XI 6A final–Parkland against Freedom
• On September 8th we’ll have Easton at Whitehall (PCN also this broadcast to be shown statewide on their network as well).  While both schools feature new head coaches, the new Rovers coach reportedly left the Zephyrs to spend more time with his family, only to resurface at his alma mater.  Despite quotes explaining this decision in the local papers, this departure did not set well with some Whitehall loyalists, which will make for a spirited evening
• Some of the other top high school teams this fall like Emmaus, Nazareth and other programs that will be competing for titles will be featured quite prominently with ATVN broadcasting a number of their games this season
• Our coverage of Lafayette football begins on September 16th, with a non-conference game against Columbia.  ATVN will once again broadcast all Leopards home games
• We will also have two of the three rounds of the “Battle of Bethlehem” as all three “Christmas City” schools will play each other on Saturdays this fall, including the regular season finale – which always plays a pivotal role in setting up the playoff picture

But there’s a lot more to watch this fall!  Be sure to bookmark the ATVN website to check for the latest scheduling information along with more broadcasts details as they become available.

Also, as we found out last year because of the officiating shortages, games may (and probably will) change due to the lack of referees and will force scheduled games to be moved to other dates and times, so be sure to refer back to our website often during the upcoming year to make sure you don’t miss a minute of the action!

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

Being an athlete is not only the skills you show on the field but also the respect you give to the game. Many people think being a stand out athlete is just about skills and ability however there is much more to it. Attitude is everything!

From a young age my father has taught me that in sports you must respect the game, respect your teammates, and most importantly respect your coaches. A lot of players mistake coaching for criticism. When a coach is correcting you or makes a point of singling you out they are doing it to benefit your game. Coaching is only going to help improve your game in the long run.

Respecting a coach builds a long lasting relationship. Those relationships built at a young age will help with future opportunities. Whether that be a job recommendation or a college entrance essay, being able to refer back to these coaches will strengthen these opportunities. 

Respecting the game and your teammates comes from within. This means having a positive attitude and good body language on the playing field. Moping around and acting as if you do not want to be there shows a lack of respect to your teammates. 

Every time you step onto the field you should act like it is your last. Someone is always watching you whether that be a college coach, a mom on the sideline, or a random person walking by practice. Someone is always watching your every move and things do not go unnoticed. If you throw your helmet after striking out, someone is watching. If you miss the game winning shot and you hang your head, someone is watching. If you cross the finish line after someone and you scream in anger because you lost, someone is watching. 

Everywhere you go you are constantly being watched. Once again attitude is everything!

When playing sports, having a positive attitude in general is very important. Saying that you do not want to be at practice or being negative towards brings the team morale down. Starting every practice off on the right foot makes for a more positive attitude. When an entire team is working well together and everyone has a similar positive attitude it makes for greater team success. The more positive attitude put together makes an even more successful team.

I understand it is not easy to have a positive attitude 100% of the time. It is a continuous battle of being mindful of your behavior and reaction to things that happen on the field. For me I am constantly working to improve my attitude on and off the field because in the long run this will make me a better person. 

When all members of the team have this positive outlook the better the team will be. A more positive outlook leads to staying motivated. As an athlete it can be difficult sometimes to stay motivated, but with encouraging teammates it is an easy task at hand. 

Try your best to stay positive in all situations and always remember that attitude is everything!

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

employer or company.

We hope you’ve been enjoying our summer series introducing you to some of the brand new head coaches in our viewing area!
Our latest show not only featured two more dynamic head coaches who are working hard to turn around their new programs for the better, but also some news about the upcoming school year, including some radical changes to scheduling for future seasons!

In addition to talking about the competitiveness of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, the coaches talked about their backgrounds and playing days, the strengths of their individual programs and thoughts on their schedules this year.

We not only preview the Astound TV Network’s first set of games for this year, but also announced some news about ATVN’s new broadcasters joining us this season – more on that coming up right here at the “SportsTalk Shop” blog in a couple of weeks!

Video customers will also be able to watch these and other local sports interviews in their entirety at any time, for free, through the Astound’s On-Demand services.
Check back to “The SportsTalk Shop” here on our website for more on local sports news and insights as we get ready for the upcoming fall sports season!

PROGRAMMING NOTE:

Coming up on this Thursday’s live “ATVN SportsTalk” (at 7pm), we will have Blue Mountain League Presiden Bob Varju and members of the organization to recap the regular season and preview the upcoming playoff games.
In addition to our “games of the week” every Tuesday during the regular season, ATVN will be broadcasting upcoming championship games – please check back to our website for more information on the broadcasts of the playoff dates and times.

Viewers are encouraged to send questions and comments prior to the show to my email address – chris.michael@astound.com – and we may read and respond to your opinions on the air.

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

In keeping our promise to bring you “off-season” high school basketball  updates, we have more local sports news and pictures from area summer hoops action.

First, our second “wave” of pictures that we shot from local basketball games and tournaments…

Secondly, here’s some “big news” concerning the local basketball coaching scene.

Parkland’s long time Head Coach Andy Stephens resigned his position and became the school’s new athletic director. (Andy has already agreed to be on an upcoming ATVN SportsTalk in September to talk about his decisions and his new plan taking over all of the Trojan’s athletic programs).

A subsequent move saw Parkland promoting Eddie Ohlsen Jr. to become their next head basketball coach. I remember Eddie’s playing days when he was a rock steady point guard with the Trojans. He has been a staple with the program ever since–taking over as an assistant coach soon after his graduation (and he’s been busy playing in adult basketball leagues as well). It should be a smooth transition for the coaching change as his team has already won its first two summer games since he took over the helm of the program.

Lastly, the annual Allentown Throwdown summer boys basketball tournament once again featured teams that were not from the Lehigh Valley. Their championship game featured Malvern Prep defeating Lower Merion for the title.

Keep checking back to the “SportsTalk Shop” for more summer sports news and pictures from local action!

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

The regular season edition of the Blue Mountain League came to an end late last week.

After being relatively “rain free” for most of the season (which started in early May), the last three weeks of the season ended up being a “mess” for teams as they had a bunch of games rescheduled late in the season.

For example, the Avengers had eight games over the last ten days of the regular season–which hurt their playoff chances as they had to utilize a number of “brand new” rookie pitchers to pitch in several of their final games.  The team ended up missing the playoffs and were edged out by Berlinsville.

The Orioles, however, fared well down the stretch–playing ten games in ten days and held onto the second position in the standings – ensuring a first round bye for the club.

We’ll have much more on the BML’s regular season along with a preview of ATVN’s coverage of their championship series coming up on next week’s edition of “ATVN SportsTalk.”

Meanwhile, here’s highlights of some of our summer sports productions we’ve produced here on the Astound TV Network…

1. Astound Sports: Blue Mountain League Berlinsville Braves vs. Northampton Giants (07/23)
   
   

2. Astound Sports: Grandview Speedway (07/23)
   
   

3. Astound Sports: Grandview Speedway (5/23)
   
   

4. Astound Sports: Grandview Speedway (06/23)
   
   

5. Astound Sports: Northern Yankees vs. Limeport Dodgers (6/23)
   
   

6. Astound Sports: McDonald’s All-star Football Classic (6/23)
   
   

PROGRAMMING NOTE:  Tune in for this Thursday’s “ATVN SportsTalk presented by the Morning Call” for part three of our series of interviews with the many new head coaches in the Eastern Pennsylvania region for the upcoming school year.

For this Thursday’s show (which is live at 7pm), I will have interviews with new coaches at Whitehall and Bethlehem Catholic high schools (Keith Groller is still on vacation and will return for our football preview show on August 24th).

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