{"id":76284,"date":"2014-12-17T14:36:47","date_gmt":"2014-12-17T14:36:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sandbox.web.rcn.net\/rcntv\/?p=76284"},"modified":"2023-04-18T21:52:44","modified_gmt":"2023-04-18T21:52:44","slug":"sportstalk-shop-2014-year-review-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/sportstalk-shop-2014-year-review-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"The SportsTalk Shop: 2014 Year-in-Review (Part 1)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Time is running out on the 2014 calendar, which means it\u2019s time for our annual shows and \u201cSportsTalk Shop\u201d blog postings that look back at highlights from the past 12 months.\u00a0 Each year we come up with new categories for our special \u201cRCN SportsTalk\u201d panelists to respond to on our show, which will air several times over the holiday season and also available on RCN On-Demand.\u00a0 Here\u2019s a look at this year\u2019s topics; you are welcome to email (RCNSportsTalk@rcn.com<\/a>) your responses to these questions and maybe we\u2019ll read your opinions on the show:<\/p>\n

Best Running Back in Eastern PA this fall<\/strong>
\nMost Intriguing Team in 2014<\/strong>
\nMost Overplayed Story of 2014<\/strong>
\nBiggest \u201cOh My\u201d Moment of 2014<\/strong>
\nMost Underrated Story of 2014<\/strong>
\nA \u201cShout-out\u201d to one sports personality this year<\/strong>
\n\u00a0<\/strong>
\nBiggest Sign The Sports Apocalypse is Near<\/strong>
\nSports Personality You Would Have Liked to See More of in 2014<\/strong>
\nBest & Worst Sports Decision Made in 2014<\/strong>
\nSomething Witnessed in 2014 That You Hope To See Again<\/strong>
\nBest Performance By An Underclassmen<\/strong>
\nBiggest Turnaround in 2014<\/strong>
\nMost Lasting Image of 2014 (Local & National)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Then, for our last segment\u2026looking ahead to 2015:<\/p>\n

Toughest Coaching Challenge for 2015<\/strong>
\nOne Team & Player to watch in 2015<\/strong>
\nSomething \u201cNew\u201d You\u2019d Like to See in 2015<\/strong>
\nOne Piece of Advice for an Athlete\/Coach in 2015<\/strong>
\n\u201cStone-Cold\u201d Lock To Happen 2015<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here are a few of my own responses to these topics (you\u2019ll have to watch the show to get my takes on the rest of them).<\/p>\n

For \u201cMost Overplayed Story of 2014<\/strong>,\u201d I have to target ESPN\u2019s thrashing of the 76ers\u2019 \u2018tanking\u2019 strategy. \u00a0It wasn\u2019t enough that they have been poking fun at the team\u2019s 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.\u00a0 They\u2019ve piled on by constantly putting them on their \u201cNot Top 10\u201d list and frequently ask their NBA analysts about the team\u2019s pitiful plight, repeatedly asking their experts if this is the worst team of all time\u2014in any sport!\u00a0 If you want to hammer the organization for its theory\u2014fine.\u00a0 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 \u201cingenious\u201d theory.<\/p>\n

Hello\u2026national hypocrites?\u00a0 You can\u2019t bash one team\u2019s idea for months, then praise another team for the exact same idea just because you\u2019re fans of the greatest Lakers player of all time.\u00a0 Have some backbone and either stick with your initial opinion, or get off the Sixers\u2019 collective backs and stop trashing them every chance you get.\u00a0 Yes, we know they stink\u2014and they\u2019re good at being bad.\u00a0 That\u2019s the whole idea. \u00a0Stop reporting their losses like you\u2019re surprised\u2026and remember how much you criticized them if they are contending for a world title four or five\u2026or six\u2026years from now.<\/p>\n

A \u201cShout-out\u201d to one sports personality this year:\u00a0 <\/strong>Salisbury\u2019s girls basketball head coach, Joe Mladosich.\u00a0 He not only earned his 200th<\/sup> coaching win this past year, but, like so many scholastic coaches, did it without the fanfare and publicity that other sports garnish.\u00a0 In fact, Coach Mladosich tried to kept the approaching honor a secret from the team.\u00a0 Most of his players didn\u2019t 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.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 When we interviewed him for \u201cSportsTalk\u201d 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.\u00a0 On behalf of all the coaches who pass up self-promotion to put the spotlight on their team, I\u2019d like to recognize Joe\u2019s unselfish acts as my \u201cshout-out\u201d person of the year.<\/p>\n

Most Intriguing Team in 2014.\u00a0 <\/strong>No doubt for me\u2026I\u2019d have to go with the Becahi girls basketball program.\u00a0 Very few Lehigh Valley teams in any sport had more success than the Hawks in 2014\u2026only to see their head coach, Bill Lanscek, get the hook at the end of the season.\u00a0 Becahi responded by hiring one of the brightest basketball minds in Megan Dellegrotti, fresh off multiple appearances (and wins) in the Colonial League Girls\u2019 Basketball Championship game, only to have her resign less than two weeks before the start of the season.\u00a0 I\u2019m not going to speculate here on what\u2019s going on with the program and their coaching staff.\u00a0 I\u2019ve heard tremendous things about their newest head coach, Jose Medina.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n

Biggest \u201cOh My\u201d Moment of 2014.\u00a0 <\/strong>I\u2019m going to have to cheat a little on this one and add an \u201cs\u201d to the word \u201cmoment.\u201d\u00a0 However, there were just too many highlights to separate just one from the games involving the Notre Dame and Catasauqua boys basketball teams (we\u2019ll have highlights of these games on our TV show).\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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\u2026all made for multiple great moments.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n

Sports Personality You Would Have Liked to See More of in 2014. <\/strong>\u00a0Former 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.\u00a0 She has very interesting views on many topics, runs camps that benefit local youths and recently published a new book.\u00a0 In order to even start giving due to all of her accomplishments, I\u2019m going to focus on her in an upcoming edition of the \u201cSportsTalk Shop\u201d early in 2015.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll be on vacation for the next several days but be sure to check back as \u201cSportsTalk\u201d co-host Joe Craig will also share his thoughts looking back at the past year.\u00a0 Also, check out our \u201cyear-in-review\u201d show on RCN-TV and don\u2019t forget to tune in to all of RCN\u2019s special holiday programming and its Christmas Takeover<\/a>.\u00a0 My personal favorites are the \u201cJack Benny Christmas Special\u201d and a true classic\u2014the Jimmy Durante film, \u201cA Christmas Wish.\u201d\u00a0 Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Time is running out on the 2014 calendar, which means it\u2019s time for our annual shows and \u201cSportsTalk Shop\u201d blog postings that look back at highlights from the past 12 months.\u00a0 Each year we come up with new categories for our special \u201cRCN SportsTalk\u201d panelists to respond to on our show, which will air several…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"Yoast SEO Relevanssi index exclude","inline_featured_image":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-76284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-featured","category-sports","category-the-sportstalk-shop"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe SportsTalk Shop: 2014 Year-in-Review (Part 1) - 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