{"id":77789,"date":"2016-01-05T13:53:47","date_gmt":"2016-01-05T13:53:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sandbox.web.rcn.net\/rcntv\/?p=77789"},"modified":"2023-04-13T21:13:01","modified_gmt":"2023-04-13T21:13:01","slug":"sportstalk-shop-year-review-ii-2016-predictions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/sportstalk-shop-year-review-ii-2016-predictions\/","title":{"rendered":"The SportsTalk Shop: Year in Review-II & 2016 Predictions"},"content":{"rendered":"

We had a chance last week to address some of the top stories\u00a0in 2015<\/a>.\u00a0 We\u2019ll identify one more \u201caward\u201d here in this week\u2019s blog entry along with a few predictions I\u2019d like to make for the new year (if you read my blog last year, you\u2019ll remember that I do hold myself accountable and will correctly identify if I get my predictions right or wrong!)<\/p>\n

Best Story of 2015:<\/strong>\u00a0 Four District XI State Championship teams in a single \u201csports season\u201d
\nThere have been some tremendous state champions over the years, but there has also been a number of sports seasons in which no team from the Lehigh Valley\u00a0 team ends their season with state gold medal.\u00a0 However, this past spring, there were not one, or two, or three, but FOUR different teams that captured a PIAA title (this doesn\u2019t include individual honors for tennis and track-and-field).\u00a0 Parkland boys volleyball team, the Parkland and Bethlehem Catholic softball teams and the Moravian Academy tennis teams all won high school\u2019s biggest prize.\u00a0 We had the pleasure of hearing the stories of all of those teams on \u201cSportsTalk\u201d this summer\u2014each one with its share of challenges en route to the championship.\u00a0 Just to have one representative from an area that is dwarfed in school enrollment numbers by the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh schools is pretty impressive, but it was tremendous to have four outstanding programs from the Lehigh Valley viewing area win state gold, all within a few weeks of each other.<\/p>\n

Now, as promised, some predictions for 2016:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Philly pro sports teams will win LESS games in 2016<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Wait, they\u2019ll win less games.\u00a0 Is that even possible?<\/p>\n

    Well consider this\u2026<\/p>\n

    The Eagles <\/a>are going to have to rebuild and the NFC \u201cLeast\u201d cannot possibly be worse, and this fall\u2019s schedule wasn\u2019t really all that tough to begin with, so their level of competition will be tougher next year.\u00a0 The Birds will need at least one year to turn around the mess that Chip Kelly has left behind.\u00a0 Plus, they desperately need to find value in a draft\u2014one that was depleted thanks to the Sam Bradford trade.\u00a0 Plus, with the 13th<\/sup> overall pick they\u2019re not going to find a front-line premiere position player.\u00a0 Add in the fact that some of your top players will be a year older and you still have to revamp the offensive line, receiving corps, a couple defensive updates and\u2026oh, yeah, decide on a quarterback.\u00a0 Yeah, I don\u2019t think an increase in the win total is likely, much less a playoff berth for the Eagles in 2016.<\/p>\n

    The Phillies <\/a>will be starting the season without some very talented names from last year\u2019s team, among them Chase Utley, Cole Hamels, Ken Giles, an optimist\u2019s version of Aaron Harang (remember how good he was the first half of the year?)\u00a0 Plus, Ryan Howard, Carlos Ruiz and other veterans are a year older\u2014with slower bat speeds and a higher percentage of injury.\u00a0 I like the team\u2019s strategy of going after some \u201creclamation projects\u201d and \u201cdiamond in the rough\u201d gambles for next year\u2014hoping to get a player or two you can hold onto until the younger, blue-chip prospects get here in 2017.\u00a0 But, while the youngsters will be fun to watch, the Phillies will probably challenge their 99-loss season again in \u201816.<\/p>\n

    The Flyers <\/a>have been playing better of late, but when I consult with the hockey experts I know, they\u2019re not real thrilled with the current crop of players, nor are they optimistic\u00a0 about a fast rebound in 2016.<\/p>\n

    The 76ers <\/a>are already surpassing last year\u2019s record of mediocrity and won\u2019t win a ton of games the rest of this season to surpass last year\u2019s level of mediocrity.\u00a0 Next year\u2019s highly important draft picks?\u00a0 Even if they do hit the jackpot and are able to land a few HUGE names, they won\u2019t be able to gel competently for the first few months.\u00a0 We\u2019ll find out if the \u201cHinkie plan\u201d is a success in 2017 or 2018, but pro basketball fans will actually have to suffer another calendar year of futility, before we even get a chance to find that out.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. The District XI 5A football tournament may be renamed the Spartan\/Zephyr Bowl<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      In additional to this classification being one of the smallest groups (in terms of number of teams), the new \u201c5A\u201d looks to be dominated by two teams.<\/p>\n

      Whitehall, of course, has been playing\u2014and winning\u2014against larger schools for years.\u00a0 Despite the numbers disadvantage, the Zephyrs have faired quite well, if not better than, other current 4A schools in the area.\u00a0 There\u2019s no reason to think they won\u2019t continue their success and be perennial favorites in this new classification.<\/p>\n

      Southern Lehigh, meanwhile, has become perhaps the most consistently winning program (along with Northwestern) in recent Colonial League history.\u00a0 The talent level continues to rise every year, and a number of talented juniors and sophomores, from this past fall\u2019s team, all will be returning.\u00a0 There\u2019ll be something seriously wrong if the Spartans don\u2019t parlay their current and future players into multiple championship appearances, along with capturing the school\u2019s first ever district title, at some point on the foreseeable horizon.<\/p>\n

      Don\u2019t be surprised if the PIAA turns this into a \u201cSubregional\u201d (with District XI schools playing teams from other areas in the playoff\u2019s first round) like the current 4A teams have been doing.\u00a0 Otherwise, you may just see Southern Lehigh and Whitehall squaring off against each other for the District XI championship for many years to come.<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. The Wizards, \u00a0Nats AND Redskins \u2013 will have even greater success in 2016<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        I think all three programs are headed in the right direction, and each organization has quality people making personnel decisions.\u00a0 I like some of the moves the Nationals <\/a>have made so far as they are continuing their search to acquire depth.\u00a0 This was an area of concern from a year ago and I think they will make the necessary tweaks to give Washington fans their long-awaited playoff appearance in 2016. \u00a0\u00a0The Redskins <\/a>will be without the distraction of Robert Griffin III next year and will add the certainty of a proven quarterback\u2014along with another year of experience for some of the young talent acquired last season.\u00a0 If they can add quality players through this year\u2019s NFL Draft and a few key free agency signings, they can absolutely add more victories in the coming year.<\/p>\n

        I wrote last summer about how much confidence I have in the Wizards <\/a>to add around the solid core of John Wall, and my contacts around the DC area have given no indication that I should change that opinion.\u00a0 In fact, I think the chances of an extra winning playoff series is much more likely this summer than it was a year ago.<\/p>\n

        Imagine a 2016 with all four major sports teams in the playoffs?\u00a0 I think you can probably count on it!<\/p>\n

        Feel free to email us your sports predictions for 2016 to RCNSportsTalk@rcn.com<\/a> and join us on Thursdays, 7-8 pm on RCN-TV and on our podcasts here on the website for topical conversations and interviews with special guests dealing with sports in the RCN viewing area.\u00a0 We\u2019ll resume our live shows this week, so tune in!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        We had a chance last week to address some of the top stories\u00a0in 2015.\u00a0 We\u2019ll identify one more \u201caward\u201d here in this week\u2019s blog entry along with a few predictions I\u2019d like to make for the new year (if you read my blog last year, you\u2019ll remember that I do hold myself accountable and will…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","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-77789","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-featured","category-sports","category-the-sportstalk-shop"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe SportsTalk Shop: Year in Review-II & 2016 Predictions - ATVN<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The SportsTalk Shop: Year in Review-II & 2016 Predictions - ATVN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We had a chance last week to address some of the top stories\u00a0in 2015.\u00a0 We\u2019ll identify one more \u201caward\u201d here in this week\u2019s blog entry along with a few predictions I\u2019d like to make for the new year (if you read my blog last year, you\u2019ll remember that I do hold myself accountable and will...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/sportstalk-shop-year-review-ii-2016-predictions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ATVN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-01-05T13:53:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-04-13T21:13:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Chris Michael\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Chris Michael\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/sportstalk-shop-year-review-ii-2016-predictions\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/sportstalk-shop-year-review-ii-2016-predictions\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Chris Michael\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6aba8df7f74bf50b72426776afd0067a\"},\"headline\":\"The SportsTalk Shop: Year in Review-II & 2016 Predictions\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-01-05T13:53:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-04-13T21:13:01+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/sportstalk-shop-year-review-ii-2016-predictions\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1231,\"commentCount\":0,\"articleSection\":[\"Featured\",\"Sports\",\"The SportsTalk Shop\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/sportstalk-shop-year-review-ii-2016-predictions\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/sportstalk-shop-year-review-ii-2016-predictions\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/sportstalk-shop-year-review-ii-2016-predictions\\\/\",\"name\":\"The SportsTalk Shop: Year in Review-II & 2016 Predictions - ATVN\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-01-05T13:53:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-04-13T21:13:01+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6aba8df7f74bf50b72426776afd0067a\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/sportstalk-shop-year-review-ii-2016-predictions\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/\",\"name\":\"ATVN\",\"description\":\"Local Programming & Astound Digital Cable, Internet & Phone Services\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6aba8df7f74bf50b72426776afd0067a\",\"name\":\"Chris Michael\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"\\\/atvn\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/11\\\/Chris-Michael-Sports-Talk-Shop-Author-Image1.jpg\",\"url\":\"\\\/atvn\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/11\\\/Chris-Michael-Sports-Talk-Shop-Author-Image1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"\\\/atvn\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/11\\\/Chris-Michael-Sports-Talk-Shop-Author-Image1.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Chris Michael\"},\"description\":\"Chris handles play-by-play for RCN sports events, including baseball, football & basketball games and produces\\\/hosts the station\u2019s 60-minute live call-in show. Among Chris\u2019s other responsibilities include reporting on local news & sports stories, conducting \u201cTake 5\u201d interviews with community and political leaders, producing commercials, voiceovers and promos; and generating blog entries and videos on the internet. Click here to listen to the weekly Sports Talk podcast.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/author\\\/rcntvchris\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The SportsTalk Shop: Year in Review-II & 2016 Predictions - ATVN","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The SportsTalk Shop: Year in Review-II & 2016 Predictions - ATVN","og_description":"We had a chance last week to address some of the top stories\u00a0in 2015.\u00a0 We\u2019ll identify one more \u201caward\u201d here in this week\u2019s blog entry along with a few predictions I\u2019d like to make for the new year (if you read my blog last year, you\u2019ll remember that I do hold myself accountable and will...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/sportstalk-shop-year-review-ii-2016-predictions\/","og_site_name":"ATVN","article_published_time":"2016-01-05T13:53:47+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-04-13T21:13:01+00:00","author":"Chris Michael","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Chris Michael","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/sportstalk-shop-year-review-ii-2016-predictions\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/sportstalk-shop-year-review-ii-2016-predictions\/"},"author":{"name":"Chris Michael","@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/#\/schema\/person\/6aba8df7f74bf50b72426776afd0067a"},"headline":"The SportsTalk Shop: Year in Review-II & 2016 Predictions","datePublished":"2016-01-05T13:53:47+00:00","dateModified":"2023-04-13T21:13:01+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/sportstalk-shop-year-review-ii-2016-predictions\/"},"wordCount":1231,"commentCount":0,"articleSection":["Featured","Sports","The SportsTalk Shop"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/sportstalk-shop-year-review-ii-2016-predictions\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/sportstalk-shop-year-review-ii-2016-predictions\/","url":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/sportstalk-shop-year-review-ii-2016-predictions\/","name":"The SportsTalk Shop: Year in Review-II & 2016 Predictions - ATVN","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/#website"},"datePublished":"2016-01-05T13:53:47+00:00","dateModified":"2023-04-13T21:13:01+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/#\/schema\/person\/6aba8df7f74bf50b72426776afd0067a"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/sportstalk-shop-year-review-ii-2016-predictions\/"]}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/","name":"ATVN","description":"Local Programming & Astound Digital Cable, Internet & Phone Services","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/#\/schema\/person\/6aba8df7f74bf50b72426776afd0067a","name":"Chris Michael","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"\/atvn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Chris-Michael-Sports-Talk-Shop-Author-Image1.jpg","url":"\/atvn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Chris-Michael-Sports-Talk-Shop-Author-Image1.jpg","contentUrl":"\/atvn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Chris-Michael-Sports-Talk-Shop-Author-Image1.jpg","caption":"Chris Michael"},"description":"Chris handles play-by-play for RCN sports events, including baseball, football & basketball games and produces\/hosts the station\u2019s 60-minute live call-in show. Among Chris\u2019s other responsibilities include reporting on local news & sports stories, conducting \u201cTake 5\u201d interviews with community and political leaders, producing commercials, voiceovers and promos; and generating blog entries and videos on the internet. Click here to listen to the weekly Sports Talk podcast.","url":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/author\/rcntvchris\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77789","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77789"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77789\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":77790,"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77789\/revisions\/77790"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77789"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77789"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77789"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}