{"id":79736,"date":"2017-06-12T13:37:19","date_gmt":"2017-06-12T13:37:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sandbox.web.rcn.net\/rcntv\/?p=79736"},"modified":"2023-04-14T20:08:03","modified_gmt":"2023-04-14T20:08:03","slug":"behind-mic-hall-fame-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/behind-mic-hall-fame-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Behind the Mic: Hall of Fame"},"content":{"rendered":"

No matter how you look at it, it has been a good year for District XI<\/a>.\u00a0 Chairman Bob Hartman and his committee have managed 24 sports for 54 schools, but they have done that in the past.\u00a0 This year, however, they managed many of those sports by adding two more classifications to the mix.\u00a0 Where the maximum number of classifications before this year was four, they were forced to manage six this season.\u00a0 That is a 33% gain in games and champions in those sports that were affected.\u00a0 There were more playoffs, meaning more schools and more champions.<\/p>\n

Last year at this time, when it seemed like it would be a nightmare for everyone to adjust, the District XI planned for the contingencies well in advance.\u00a0 Therefore, for the most part (despite weather being a troubling factor), all was accomplished rather seamlessly.\u00a0 One can argue the merits of adding more classes, but it would be hard to argue that District XI was not up to the challenge.<\/p>\n

Another major accomplishment of the committee was the use of the PPL Center<\/a> for the AAAAAA boys\u2019 basketball semifinals.\u00a0 With 7000+ fans in the stands, four outstanding teams, and some of the greatest Lehigh Valley high school players to play in the same place on the same night, it may very well have been the single most legendary night of District XI basketball.\u00a0 Again, praise goes to Bob Hartman and his staff.<\/p>\n

Instead of resting on their laurels after what had to be a trying year logistically, this past week it was unveiled that a District XI Hall of Fame will be organized \u201cas a means of recognizing, preserving, and promoting the heritage of interscholastic sports in District XI\u201d.\u00a0 Those eligible for admittance will consist of athletes, contest officials, coaches, and contributors.<\/p>\n

If you have been around District XI athletics for as long as, or even longer, than I have, you can imagine the monumental task of paring down the list of entrants to a manageable number each year.\u00a0 The McDonald\u2019s Lehigh Valley Hall of Fame has nearly 100 members and the VIA Lehigh Valley Basketball Hall of Fame is nearing the 200-member total. \u00a0That is just in two sports \u2013 basketball and football!\u00a0 Now, consider the outstanding high school athletes who have passed through the Lehigh Valley in the past 30+ years in 21 other sports.\u00a0 To use a pet phrase of mine \u2013 \u201cOh my!!!\u201d<\/p>\n

And, to their credit, this is not something that District XI needed to do.\u00a0 They have placed this challenge upon themselves and, for that, they are to be commended.\u00a0 And, if history is any proof of their ability to meet the challenge, it will get accomplished.<\/p>\n

So when accolades are being tossed around at the end of this school term, all lists should include the work and accomplishments of District XI.\u00a0 It bears repeating \u2013 District XI has had a very good year.<\/p>\n

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \u201cFamiliarity breeds contempt\u201d goes the adage. It is no more evident than in the NHL <\/a>and NBA <\/a>finals.\u00a0 As any fan can see, play the same people day in and day out and things get particularly nasty and \u201cchippy\u201d.\u00a0 Each additional match or game becomes that much more emotional.<\/li>\n
  2. I\u2019m sure at the time the New England Patriots<\/a> were not very pleased to be trailing the Atlanta Falcons<\/a> 28-3 in the third quarter of the most recent Super Bowl<\/a>. But because of that deficit their Super Bowl championship rings contain 283 diamonds, the biggest Super Bowl ring ever made.\u00a0 This almost makes a team want to fall behind!<\/li>\n
  3. How much would you pay for a new pair of sneakers? Up to $150?\u00a0 More?\u00a0 This past Sunday morning, the sneakers Michael Jordan<\/a> wore in the 1984 gold-medal win over Spain sold for $190,373!\u00a0 Another pair of Jordan sneakers had previously sold for $104,765.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      \n
    1. As I write this, Liberty and Whitehall <\/a>are still alive in the PIAA <\/a>state baseball playoffs. Each needs to win this Monday to get to the title game at Penn State which will be played on Thursday and Friday.\u00a0 Go Canes!\u00a0 Go Zephs!<\/li>\n
    2. This week on RCN-TV, we will start our Blue Mountain League baseball coverage. The Game of the Week<\/a> will be on Tuesday nights at 9:30.\u00a0 This week\u2019s game features the two-time defending champion Limeport Bulls taking on the Hellertown Royals.\u00a0 The McDonald\u2019s All-Star Football Classic<\/a> will be on Thursday, June 15, at 10:00.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      No matter how you look at it, it has been a good year for District XI.\u00a0 Chairman Bob Hartman and his committee have managed 24 sports for 54 schools, but they have done that in the past.\u00a0 This year, however, they managed many of those sports by adding two more classifications to the mix.\u00a0 Where…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"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":[2,3,4],"tags":[36,161,836,218,314,571,550],"class_list":["post-79736","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-behind-the-mic","category-featured","category-sports","tag-atlanta-falcons","tag-district-xi","tag-hall-of-fame","tag-high-school-baseball","tag-liberty","tag-new-england-patriots","tag-whitehall"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBehind the Mic: Hall of Fame - 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