{"id":84389,"date":"2021-01-11T17:02:29","date_gmt":"2021-01-11T17:02:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandbox.web.rcn.net\/rcntv\/?p=84389"},"modified":"2023-04-13T21:15:21","modified_gmt":"2023-04-13T21:15:21","slug":"ask","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/ask\/","title":{"rendered":"Before You Ask"},"content":{"rendered":"

The views expressed in this blog are<\/i> those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

We are back on the air with sports!\u00a0 It was a long time coming \u2013 from our last football broadcast on November 20 until our next, January 2, there was a total of 43 days in between.\u00a0 The good news is we now have a winter schedule planned.\u00a0 The bad news is – it won\u2019t quite look the same.<\/span><\/p>\n

As I write this, we will have broadcast three Lafayette<\/a> games with 12 more to follow.\u00a0 We have a great relationship with the Lafayette athletic department as well as a contractual obligation to televise a specific number of Lafayette football and basketball games.\u00a0 The Patriot League<\/a> basketball season consists of games played exclusively on Saturday and Sunday.\u00a0 Two teams play each other back-to-back and home and away each Saturday and Sunday.\u00a0 We televise the women on one day and the men on the other.<\/span><\/p>\n

This will create some disappointment for our high school fans.\u00a0 There are going to be fewer high school games and fewer wrestling matches.\u00a0 So, before you ask, I thought I would explain.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Our company has accepted the responsibility to keep their employees as safe as possible and we are certainly grateful for that.\u00a0 I know our fans are used to us being able to do two events on any given day or night.\u00a0 Covid mitigation regulations will not allow that to happen.\u00a0 In order to strictly adhere to the social distancing and mask requirements, we must use our two production trucks at a single event.\u00a0 This keeps our crew at the venue properly separated and as safe as possible.\u00a0 However, it also does not allow us to do two separate events.<\/span><\/p>\n

It also requires a separate crew back at the studio because that is where the announcers are located.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure you have noted that many of the networks do not have their announcers at the venue.\u00a0 Some won\u2019t allow it; others feel it is the safest approach.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, with the Lafayette schedule filling almost every Saturday and Sunday until at least February 21, our local high school schedule will be limited to three events (basketball and\/or wrestling) per week, where we normally would do five or more, on average.<\/span><\/p>\n

Much like all of you, we would love to get back to bringing you all the games we have in the past.\u00a0 And we are sure that day will come again.\u00a0 But, for right now, it is imperative that you stay safe and we stay safe.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rest assured, we miss seeing you, talking with you, interviewing players and coaches, being with ADs and fellow media personnel, and soaking up as many events as possible.\u00a0 We WILL do that again.<\/span><\/p>\n

I anticipated you would wonder about our schedule, so I hope this gave you some insight <\/span>before you asked<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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

    \n
  1. The Patriot League will play a football season.\u00a0 The first game is scheduled for March 13 and the schedule will conclude on April 17 with a championship game.\u00a0 The League will be divided into two divisions of three teams each (North \u2013 Holy Cross<\/a>, Fordham<\/a>, and Colgate<\/a>; South \u2013 Lafayette, Lehigh<\/a>, and Bucknell<\/a>).\u00a0 Each team will play their two division opponents and two from the other division for a total of four games.\u00a0 So\u2026 there will be a Lafayette-Lehigh game in the spring!!<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      \n
    1. Eagles<\/a>\u2019 owner Jeffrey Lurie and head coach Doug Pederson met this past week and just when everyone thought both would go back to work, it appears that they may not be on the same page.\u00a0 The Eagles have plenty of personnel problems, the most glaring being at quarterback.\u00a0 There will also be a total revamping of the coaching staff.\u00a0 Lurie and Pederson will meet again this week in Florida and Pederson\u2019s vision for the future needs to agree more with Lurie\u2019s or the Eagles will be looking for a new coach.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
        \n
      1. Tampa Bay<\/a> had not won a playoff game since 2002.\u00a0 That year they won the Super Bowl.\u00a0 Their quarterback is Tom Brady and, if memory serves me, he\u2019s won Super Bowls before.\u00a0 Could it be?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
          \n
        1. No matter whether you were rooting for the Bucs or the Washington Football Team<\/a> on Saturday night, you had to love the performance of Taylor Heinicke, who made just his second NFL start ever.\u00a0 He threw for 306 yards, a touchdown, and rushed for a touchdown, while being in pain most of the game.\u00a0 He even had a chance to win the game at the end.\u00a0 A true underdog story \u2013 and who doesn\u2019t like those?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
            \n
          1. High school basketball returns this week.\u00a0 On Friday night, RCN-TV will bring the Parkland<\/a> at Central<\/a> game to you LIVE at 7:00pm.\u00a0 We were originally scheduled to do Freedom<\/a> at Northampton<\/a>, but the Bethlehem schools did not fulfill their mandated 10 pre-season practices so the game was postponed.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            Gary\u2019s Guesses: NFL Picks \u2013 (LAST WEEK \u2013 3-3; OVERALL- 165-94-1 – 64%)<\/b><\/p>\n

            Divisional Round<\/b><\/p>\n

            Green Bay<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

            Buffalo<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

            Kansas City<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

            New Orleans<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

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

            The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company. We are back on the air with sports!\u00a0 It was a long time coming \u2013 from our last football broadcast on November 20 until…<\/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],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-84389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-behind-the-mic"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBefore You Ask - 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=\"Before You Ask - ATVN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company. 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