Indexed locally for search — headlines, people, teams, and short excerpts from reporting originally published in The Morning Call (1998–2010). Full article text on mcall.com; DRE'S TAKE links out and does not republish Morning Call copy.
Kutztown senior guard Stephen Dennis had a career-high 42 points on Jan. 13 against East Stroudsburg and many more highlights have come for the all-time leading scorer in school history. On Monday, the 6-foot-6 Dennis was named the 2009-2010 Daktronics Division II Men’s…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Pride and jubilation extended from one former Lehigh 1,000-point scorer to another Sunday night during the NCAA Selection Show. Ed Cahn, 1955 Lehigh graduate and the first 1,000-point scorer in school history, stood off to the side, his eyes focused on the big screen television…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lehigh is on a 13-game winning streak and has the determination to extend it three more games and advance to the NCAA women’s tournament for a second straight year. Lehigh (26-3) opens defense of its Patriot League tournament title in quarterfinal action at Holy Cross in…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →She’s a double-double performer on the court, an academic scholar off it, and one day Army junior forward Erin Anthony aspires to make good use of her civil engineering degree by helping to build roads or buildings. Right now, she’s building a legacy at West Point. On Tuesday,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lehigh freshman C.J. McCollum was rewarded for his end-to-end domination and Lafayette coach Fran O’Hanlon was honored for leading a team not expected to do well to a third-place finish in the Patriot League regular season. McCollum averaged a league-best 27.8 points over the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →E ast S troudsburg University coach Jeff Wilson didn’t have expectations four years ago that Andy Heimbach would provide highlight-reel dunks. Heimbach, a graduate of Central Catholic, is not that type of player. But he is a shooter, the best in East Stroudsburg’s history from…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →N ow that it’s known that I will be playing against the Harlem Globetrotters, it has resulted in e-mails and calls from people saying, “Don’t get dunked on” or “You had better score.” Never mind that just playing on the same court as the world-famous Globetrotters is honor…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →N ow that it’s known that I will be playing against the Harlem Globetrotters, it has resulted in e-mails and calls from people saying, “Don’t get dunked on” or “You had better score.” Never mind that just playing on the same court as the world-famous Globetrotters is honor…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Freedom senior Darrius Webb was one of the most exciting and effective running backs in the Lehigh Valley over the last two seasons. On Wednesday, Webb joined a cast of star players from around the state with his selection to the Pennsylvania sports writers’ Class 4A all-state…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →You’ve probably heard the phrase “Like father …” Well, how about “Like father and cousin?” That’s the situation Liberty senior three-sport star Jarrod West is now in after being selected to play in the 53rd annual Big 33 Football Classic June 19 at HersheyPark Stadium. West’s…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The football bowl season is in full swing and several area products will be participating in the college version of the postseason. Robbie Frey, a former all-state running back from Lehighton, is a redshirt freshman running back at Connecticut, who played in a bowl game last…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Allen Iverson was the Philadelphia 76ers’ version of Lil Wayne during the 2000-2001 NBA season, using his crossover dribble and fearless drives to make the Wachovia Center rock like a hip-hop concert. Fans jammed the arena while Iverson and the Sixers rolled on the court,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Three games, three carries, 14 yards. That was the extent of Austin Scott’s brief and disappointing experience with the Cleveland Browns in the 2008 preseason, a far cry from what happened nearly every time he touched the ball six years earlier. And for Scott, his ex-coaches Rob…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Three games, three carries, 14 yards. That was the extent of Austin Scott’s brief and disappointing experience with the Cleveland Browns in the 2008 preseason, a far cry from what happened nearly every time he touched the ball six years earlier. And for Scott, his ex-coaches Rob…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Steve Shiffert is a retired teacher, who has no plans of retiring soon as Easton’s football coach. He still enjoys teaching and building, and of course, winning. Easton went 13-2 this season, twice beating Nazareth and Parkland. A share of the Lehigh Valley Conference title and…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Allen Iverson had one classic shot that was reminiscent of his glorious past with the Sixers, a stop, crossover and pop with 2.8 seconds left in the first half Monday night. He had one classic assist, a feed to Samuel Dalembert for an alley-oop dunk that he set up off a baseline…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →— Allen Iverson had one classic shot that was reminiscent of his glorious past with the Sixers, a stop, crossover and pop with 2.8 seconds left in the first half Monday night. He had one classic assist, a feed to Samuel Dalembert for an alley-oop dunk that he set up off a…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Unable to gain weight and realizing that playing quarterback wasn’t in his athletic future, C.J. McCollum gave up on football and concentrated more on basketball in the eighth grade. The basketball coach at Glen Oak High in Canton, Ohio, had to love that decision because…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Back in the 1960s Nazareth High’s football team filled up the school’s trophy case. “Back them we won championships pretty regularly,” said Easton coach Steve Shiffert, a 1969 Nazareth grad. “Nazareth was the big school. We played Wilson, Bangor, East Stroudsburg. “I think…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Shawn Martell, the son of an established local college football coach, began his inevitable climb up the coaching ranks when he was hired as the wide receivers coach at Nazareth last year. The 24-year-old Martell, a 2002 Morning Call all-area wide receiver from Bethlehem…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Former high school quarterbacks from Emmaus and Parkland will meet for the first time in college on Saturday in Orono, Maine. A major streak will be on the line. Defending Football Championship Subdivision champion Richmond (5-0 overall, 3-0 Colonial Athletic Association) enters…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →In the previous two seasons, Easton was not a serious contender for the Lehigh Valley Conference title. Last season, without four-year starter and four-year Morning Call all-area defensive back Jarred Holley — now a redshirt freshman at Pittsburgh — Easton didn’t even post a…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Donovan McNabb lobbied for Michael Vick, and Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid, team president Joe Banner and owner Jeffrey Lurie not only listened but acted on McNabb’s wish by opening their heart and wallet. But signing Vick is not about cost. It’s about McNabb — who enters…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Everything quickly fell in place on Jarrod West’s visit to Stanford University last weekend. Before he left the scenic Pac-10 school in California with his mother and father, West had verbally committed to coach Jim Harbaugh’s Cardinal football program. “When you go to these…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It was 1 yard and no more. But it was “no mas.” A stop by Northampton’s Aaron Chamberlain on a fourth-and-3 with the help of other gang-tacklers, was the game-saving play of the 39th annual McDonald’s Lehigh Valley Football Classic Thursday night. Only 10 points had been scored…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Kyle Pochek and Matt Stengel became stepbrothers when they were 6 years old. Helped by a mutual interest in football, bonding became easy. They competed on the same teams through high school at Southern Lehigh, and tonight they’ll compete as all-stars on the Lehigh, Carbon and…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →For one game, their last as high school football players, Liberty’s Brandon Brader and Freedom’s Eddie Mateo will compete as teammates. And the two star running backs hope to put on a show. No better showcase than an all-star game. Mateo, who’s headed to Stony Brook University…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The drama was high. Less than 10 seconds remained in Saturday night’s Big 33 Football Classic at Hersheypark Stadium, and Pennsylvania was inside the 40-yard line, trailing by a touchdown. It seemed like Liberty against Bethel Park all over again, and Hurricanes wideout Devin…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →This has been a month of all-star football for Liberty linebacker Daryl Klotz. On June 7, he played in the New Jersey-Northeast All-Star Classic at Rutgers University. Tonight, the Hurricane star who often had more blood stains than dirt spots on his uniform after games, will…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Two-a-day practices have not bothered Freedom’s Jermel Lee this week. He used to hate them during the early days of summer practice back in Bethlehem. But Lee, a Morning Call all-area defensive back last season, has practiced with all-state players from Pennsylvania this week…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →You do not need to be an all-state player or get a scholarship to a big-name college to get selected to play in the Big 33 Football Classic. Liberty linebacker Horvin Latimer is proof of that. But he was an easy sell to the Pennsylvania coaches, who believe Latimer is capable of…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Freedom’s Jermel Lee rolled over, smacked the floor and said to Liberty’s Devin Street, “I’m going home.” Street had just remarked how Liberty beat Freedom twice last season, including 28-14 in the District 11 Class 4A final en route to winning the PIAA Class 4A Championship. “I…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It’s time to run fast, throw far, jump and vault high. It’s time to be better than just good. It’s time to win a District 11 track and field medal, preferably gold. Sprinters Anthony Davidson of Wilson and Bethlehem Catholic’s Tevrin Brandon are confident they’ll achieve their…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Wilson’s Anthony Davidson had one race left and he faced a deficit in the final leg of the 1,600-meter relay on Thursday. Anticipation built as Davidson took the baton, seeking a fourth gold medal in the Colonial League Track and Field Championships at Bangor Memorial Park.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Anthony Gonzalez was in Liberty High’s weight room Tuesday afternoon when he was told to take a break by his coach. It ended up being the best break of his life. Three U.S. Army recruiters were waiting for him, very important paperwork in hand. Gonzalez’s teammates crowed…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Emmaus High football coach Joe Bottiglieri doesn’t think organizers of the Pennsylvania Scholastic Football Coaches Association All-Star game are trying to piggyback off the Big 33 Football Classic. It just looks like it since the ninth annual PSFCA game in Altoona will be…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Parkland two-sport star Jaleel Clark added another all-state honor to his remarkable high school resume Monday. Clark, the 6-foot-5 centerpiece of the Trojans’ 26-4 team that advanced to the PIAA Class 4A quarterfinals, was named to the Associated Press Class 4A third team. The…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Melissa Rich never got discouraged when she went from starting forward her sophomore and junior seasons at Lehigh to a backup role earlier this season. The former Parkland High star just believed that she’d eventually get her opportunity to deliver in the clutch for Lehigh. That…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Lehigh women’s basketball team essentially climbed to the top of the mountain during the Patriot League’s regular season. Lehigh, led by first-team Patriot League guard Erica Prosser, went 12-2 in league play, which included a 7-0 mark at Stabler Arena. The league wins are…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The men’s basketball teams at Lehigh and Lafayette both ended the regular season in a way coaches fret about and in a way players wish they could have back. Lehigh, considered a preseason Patriot League title contender, lost its final three games and lost six of its last eight…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Women’s college basketball is at its all-time best in the Lehigh Valley this winter and Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan hopes his city will bank on Lehigh’s success. The Patriot League women’s basketball tournament, hosted by Lehigh, is March 7-8 at Stabler Arena, and will be…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Even before Canadian-born Jared Mintz could crawl, his father, Irv, decided what sport his son was going to play. “My dad put the [basket]ball in my crib,” Mintz, now a Lafayette College sophomore, recalled. Mintz was not going to be a great hockey player, even though Canada has…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Freedom High senior Eddie Mateo was down to the final days and his mind was about made up to sign a National Letter of Intent to attend NCAA Division II Bloomsburg University. All it took was just his signature on dotted lines during Wednesday’s Signing Day. Mateo, an Associated…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Parkland senior field hockey player Kyle DeSandes-Moyer signed her National Letter of Intent inside the school’s auditorium on Wednesday. Kisses from her mother and father followed, in addition to extended pound-pounds of the hand with her father, which drew laughter.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Levi Brown, an all-state defensive lineman at Liberty, pointed jubilantly to the Temple Owls’ hat on his head, then smiled as he looked out into the standing room-only crowd inside the school’s Arts Gallery on Wednesday. Liberty football coach Tim Moncman then came up and rubbed…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →John Bedics wants one more graduation gift. Bedics, a starting offensive lineman for the North Carolina State Wolfpack and former Bethlehem Catholic standout, plays his final college game Monday night. North Carolina (6-6) meets Rutgers (7-5) in the PapaJohns.com Bowl in…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The road to Hershey was still the same — long and winding. But the road back was different than the one in 2005 and 2006. That’s because Liberty, fueled by big plays from two-way star Anthony Gonzalez, relentless blocking from Levi Brown and other linemen, and punishing tackles…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →A week after Liberty High coach Tim Moncman and his star player Anthony Gonzalez shared tears, hugs and the glory of winning the school’s first state football title, the dynamic duo made a sweep of the Associated Press’ All-State Class 4A top honors. Moncman, who has managed the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Former Central Catholic High standout football player David Horton has one goal for tonight’s Football Championship Subdivision title game. Horton, a 2005 Central graduate, is a redshirt junior who starts at defensive back for Richmond. The Spiders meet Montana (14-1) in the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Hours after Liberty’s dramatic 28-21 overtime win over Bethel Park in the PIAA Class 4A title game in Hershey on Saturday night, Hurricanes coach Tim Moncman had a gift from his neighbor waiting for him when he came home. “I got home at 2:30 and the next-door neighbor had taped…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Freedom fans may find it interesting that an alumnus of the school is leading rival Liberty in its greatest football era. Tim Moncman, a 1987 Freedom graduate, is 80-29 in nine seasons as Liberty’s coach and led the Hurricanes to PIAA Class 4A runner-up finishes in 2005 and…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Parkland senior Jaleel Clark made one Liberty coverage player miss, then he eluded another and continued to race up field en route to a 38-yard punt return Friday night. It was his only memorable play in the Trojans’ 19-0 loss in the District 11-2 Class 4A subregional…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty controlled the line of scrimmage and the clock, which put Parkland in an essentially no-win situation in the rematch between Lehigh Valley Conference foes Friday night at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium. Liberty has now made a habit of dominating opponents. Last…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lehigh basketball fans, circle Dec. 2 on your calendar. Saint Joseph’s University and its colorful coach Phil Martelli will be visiting Stabler Arena in one of the Mountain Hawks’ biggest non-league home game in years. Fittingly, Saint Joe’s bus trip to Bethlehem comes during a…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Crunch, crunch. That’s what the Parkland defense, fueled by the return of star lineman Clint Miller from a knee injury, did to Emmaus in a grueling Lehigh Valley Conference matchup Friday night. Miller, a 2007 Associated Press all-state first-team selection, missed the previous…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Two regular season games remain and Easton and Parkland are both trying to avoid something that has not happened since 1994. And that’s the District 11 playoffs being held without either of them being involved. But the traditionally strong Lehigh Valley Conference teams still…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Mike Brusko has played almost every position at the University of Maine this season. He hasn’t played the offensive and defensive lines, field goal kicker or holder, but, if asked, the former Emmaus High star would probably accept the challenge. Brusko, a 6-foot-3, 226-pound…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Bethlehem Catholic running back Darrius Webb fumbled once, but made amends before the Nazareth defense could react Saturday afternoon. It was on a fourth-and-goal at the 1-yard line late in the second quarter. Webb, who is the Lehigh Valley Conference’s leading rusher, retrieved…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Every strong defense is keyed by an impact player, one who’ll go to any limit to try and punish the opponent each down he’s on the field. Parkland has that player in defensive end Clint Miller, a 6-3, 235-pound Division I recruit, who came into his own last season en route to…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →And now Parkland can take a breather. Its toughest three-game stretch to open a season is over and the Trojans capped it off with a dominating second-half performance in a 26-0 victory over rival Easton Friday night at Cottingham Stadium. Entering with an 0-2 record, following…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →On every snap of the ball Friday night against Parkland, Liberty offensive lineman Levi Brown looked like a raging boxer leaving his corner at the sound of the bell. Instead of throwing a punch, Brown’s mission was to blow Trojans off the ball and clear the way for Liberty…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Winning streaks and more will be on the line in season-opening games for Liberty and Parkland tonight. Both play state-ranked teams that will provide the ultimate early-season test. Liberty, 8-0 under coach Tim Moncman in openers, puts that record on the line when it hosts…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →ALLEN Coach: Chris Kinane (first year) Last year: 0-10 (0-9, LVC) Impact players: QB Justin Quaye, sr.; QB Nick Rhodes, jr.; WR Matt Wingler, sr.; WR Nik Davis, sr.; WR/RB David Gibbs, sr.; WR Siddiq Shabazz, sr.; OL Lance Troxell, sr.; OL Eddy Torres, sr.; RB/LB Luciano…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →ALLEN Coach: Chris Kinane (first year) Last year: 0-10 (0-9, LVC) Impact players: QB Justin Quaye, sr.; QB Nick Rhodes, jr.; WR Matt Wingler, sr.; WR Nik Davis, sr.; WR/RB David Gibbs, sr.; WR Siddiq Shabazz, sr.; OL Lance Troxell, sr.; OL Eddy Torres, sr.; RB/LB Luciano…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Philadelphia Force assistant general manager Erin Statmore is looking for a big sparkle in her life. She’ll have it if the Force win the National Pro Fastpitch league championship tournament in Kimberly, Wisc. this weekend. “I’m looking to fly back with a diamond ring on the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Brendan Beal was tackled from behind in an awkward way and it caused more pain and eventually more disappointment than the 2007-08 Parade All-American linebacker from Liberty High had ever experienced. That’s because Beal, a freshman at the University of Florida, suffered an…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →His nickname is “Tiny,” but East Penn Sting owner Paul Hamsher is a 6-foot-6, 325-pound offensive lineman. Not all that tiny, huh? Well, by the end of this afternoon’s inaugural semi-pro Allentown Bowl between the East Penn Sting and Lehigh Valley Steelers at Mountainville…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Devin Street is no sleeper pickup for the University of Pittsburgh. Never mind that Street, entering his senior year at Liberty, only had five catches last season, turning three into touchdowns. This summer, the 6-4 Street has attended the Nike Camp at Penn State, the U.S. Army…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Before thunder and lightning came and forced the PSFCA East-West All-Star game to be halted, Joey Orlando unleashed his own sparks Saturday night. Motivated by the trash talking and a desire to prove his skills, Orlando, a former Liberty star wideout, toasted West defensive…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Joey Orlando always just found a way. He was a two-way starter on a Liberty football team last season that had an All-American linebacker in Brendan Beal, who’s now at the University of Florida on a scholarship. There also was Ahkeem Smith, now at Temple on a scholarship. But…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Jarred Holley could have been mistaken for Krazy Glue on a hot Saturday night at HersheyPark Stadium. The Easton High defensive back started at left cornerback for Pennsylvania against Ohio in the Big 33 Football Classic and made two sensational plays in the end zone — one an…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Jarred Holley could have been mistaken for Krazy Glue on a hot Saturday night at Hersheypark Stadium. The Easton High defensive back started at left cornerback for Pennsylvania against Ohio in the Big 33 Football Classic and made two sensational plays in the end zone — one an…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Jarred Holley will not be a utilityman in tonight’s Big 33 Football Classic. Which means he will not play quarterback, running back, wide receiver, kick returner or punt returner when Pennsylvania meets Ohio at Hersheypark Stadium. He played all those positions in four stellar…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →He’s a Big 33 replacement player, but Parkland quarterback John Laub is also a proven winner. Last season, he led Parkland to a 15-1 record and PIAA Class 4A runner-up finish. It was his first season as a starter, and Laub ran coach Jim Morgans’ Wing-T offense to near perfection…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty’s Joey Orlando and Whitehall’s Matt Hamscher are both getting one last opportunity to make standout plays on both sides of the ball. And Emmaus’ Joe Davis, who enjoyed trying to rip the helmet off offensive players, gets one last chance to try and make an impact on…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →A Sweet 16 that will take more of a rugged toll on the body will be contested this weekend in Albuquerque, N.M. The sport is rugby, and Kutztown University coach Gregg “Doc” Jones believes he has a team capable of advancing out of its four-team bracket in the National Division I…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →With the NCAA Basketball Final Four beginning today, Phillipsburg native and ESPN analyst Tom Brennan realizes the heat gets turned up in the studio where he works. Especially when he and fellow college basketball analyst Doug Gottlieb are on the set together. “He’s the young…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →For a break from March Madness, here’s an important announcement from Lafayette coach Fran O’Hanlon: Speed, shooters and height are coming to College Hill in the fall. The veteran Leopards coach announced his second scholarship class on Wednesday, and it includes 6-10, 250-pound…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Lehigh women’s basketball team has to travel 120-some miles to try and accomplish what it could not do in the Lehigh Valley. That’s beat Lafayette, which swept the season series between the rivals. The Patriot League tournament quarterfinals open today at Army, and…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It is the shot that has haunted Lehigh senior Bryan White and sophomore Marquis Hall for a year. What they can’t forget is a running bank shot by Army’s Josh Miller that beat the Mountain Hawks, 47-46, in the Patriot League Tournament quarterfinals last March at Stabler Arena.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Easton celebrated its biggest Signing Day since 1968 with football star Jarred Holley and U.S. Olympic track and field hopeful Chanelle Price heading the list of five Red Rover athletes who signed national letters of intent to Division I-A schools on Wednesday. Holley, a…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lehigh seemed like it had turned into “Guard U.” under former coach Billy Taylor, who had five guards earn Patriot League first team, player of the year, and rookie of the year honors in his five seasons. But Brett Reed, who was Taylor’s top assistant coach in those five…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty senior football star Ahkeem Smith has found a college football home in the City of Brotherly Love. Sorry James Madison. Smith, a two-time Morning Call all-area first-team pick, confirmed Wednesday night that he has verbally committed to Temple University. James Madison,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Brendan Beal’s postseason parade of high school football honors has continued even though Beal has already begun taking classes and participating in strength and conditioning drills at the University of Florida. Beal, a standout linebacker at Liberty High School last season, has…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →John Laub has parlayed one season as a record-breaking quarterback at Parkland into a college scholarship. Laub, a Morning Call All-Area first-team selection, made his official visit to Division I-AA Richmond last Friday and verbally committed to the Colonial Athletic…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The reward for Parkland football coach Jim Morgans leading his team to a 15-1 season and finishing as PIAA Class 4A runner-up is a fourth trip to Hersheypark Stadium to coach in a big game. Morgans, 60, has been named Pennsylvania’s head coach against Ohio all-stars in the Big…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Easton football star Jarred Holley intercepted passes with apparent ease the last four years, but making his college choice wasn’t so easy. He had narrowed 30 scholarship offers from every conference in America to Pittsburgh, Iowa and Virginia. Wednesday morning, Holley decided…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →If you are a local player, have game and can’t seem to obtain a Division I scholarship, don’t worry. East Stroudsburg coach Jeff Wilson can probably find a spot for you on his Division II team. And not just to work hard in practice and then ride the bench on game night. No,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →There’s nothing better than a point guard who thrives on setting up his teammates for baskets instead of trying to fill up the scorebook with his own points. DeSales senior guard Eddie Ohlson is just 5-8 but he’s the Bulldogs’ most valuable player because of his passing skills…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Rutgers redshirt freshman Andres Morales has entered 2008 doing what he most loves to do. “It’s kind of cool because all we do is play football now, like a pro team,” Morales said. “School is over. You just relax and play ball.” A punishing all-state linebacker at Liberty High…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →West Virginia offensive lineman Jake Figner was credited with 20 knockdown blocks last season, which was impressive enough for the Northwestern High graduate to remain a starter. The number of pancake blocks Figner had this season has not been released, but he’s confident that…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Back in August when shoulder pads and helmets were first strapped on, Parkland had a team that on paper looked like it would be good. Good enough to contend for a league and district title. But not good enough to end up in Hershey playing for the state title. After all, Liberty…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Pius X wide receiver Wade Williams got open to catch passes and score touchdowns with ease. “He’s real smooth on the football field, that’s for sure,” said his coach, Bob Goffredo. Williams caught 45 passes for 958 yards and 11 touchdowns this season, breaking the Royals’ school…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Palmerton senior Justin Peterson bowled over opposing Colonial League players with his hard running style. He punished them even more as a standout linebacker, which is where he really changed the course of games in leading Palmerton to a 9-3 record and a District 11 Class 2A…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Parkland junior wide receiver Jaleel Clark was unstoppable, gracefully and effortlessly racing downfield to make tough catches and score touchdowns. Easton senior Jarred Holley once again played the role of lockdown defensive back, Liberty senior Brendan Beal was a hard-hitting…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Parkland did not return from Hershey with a state championship trophy Saturday night. Too much went wrong. But everything went right for 15 games. That’s why the Trojans went into the PIAA Class 4A title game undefeated. And, after the tears as a result of the Trojans’ 21-0 loss…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Brendan Beal paused, gathered himself and then rejoiced at the news that made his Friday. The Liberty High senior linebacker, who posted 113 tackles in his one season with the Hurricanes, was named Gatorade’s 2007-08 Pennsylvania football player of the year. “I’m definitely…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Billy Taylor is now coaching in a tougher conference and a better basketball school, but the former Lehigh University coach appears to have a tough rebuilding job ahead of him at Ball State. The Cardinals were in disarray before Taylor was hired on Aug. 8, following a…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Lehigh women’s basketball team is off to a 1-3 start, which doesn’t look good for a team trying to post its first winning season since 2004-05. But coach Sue Troyan is not about to panic because she believes she has enough talent and depth to improve on last season’s 11-19…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Easton senior Jarred Holley had just finished a memorable Thanksgiving Day game against Phillipsburg when the realization that he’ll never wear the Red Rovers’ red and white uniform again hit his father Lincoln. “We’ll move on and he’ll have the memories, but something that…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Jarred Holley was the last Easton player standing on the Bensalem High field on a cold December afternoon in 2004, answering questions and putting a season that had finally ended with a playoff loss to Neshaminy in proper perspective. You would have thought that he was a senior…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lehigh guard Marquis Hall never worried about his shot in the Mountain Hawks’ home opener against St. Peter’s Wednesday night at Stabler Arena. Neither did his teammates. “We always tell Marquis, even if he misses couple shots, we want him to always stay aggressive,” said…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Not many players can keep their football coach on hold for the entire summer deciding whether they’re going to play or not, but Central Catholic coach Harold Fairclough didn’t mind waiting for Scott Gulyas to make up his mind. It’s clear why. Gulyas is one of the top wide…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Lehigh Valley Conference all-star team won’t be announced until the regular season ends, but I don’t have to wait that long to make my selections. The final regular season games won’t prove who’s the best because anybody can have a really good game. But the best do it week…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The intensity level among certain teams figures to exceed that of any other Friday night of the season. The increased shift in adrenaline is because of showdowns between rival Lehigh Valley Conference teams. Pick a game: Parkland (8-0, 7-0 LVC) at Emmaus (6-2, 5-2) or Liberty…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →One week after losing its first game, Easton seeks redemption. But the Red Rovers have to beat Central Catholic to achieve it. It won’t be easy. Central Catholic has been one of the top early-season success stories in the Lehigh Valley Conference, helped by a strong…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Easton senior two-way star Jarred Holley was dazed after being gang-tackled out of bounds early in the second quarter and did not play the remainder of the Red Rovers’ season-opening game against H.D. Woodson Friday night at Cottingham Statium. No flag was dropped on the play,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →There’s no such thing as meaningless games for District 11 Class 4A teams anymore, considering the complicated points system used to determine qualifiers for the PIAA subregional playoffs. But some Lehigh Valley Conference teams aren’t worried about matters they can not control…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty senior Ahkeem Smith is ready to carry the offensive load, and his teammates, on his shoulders. It’s a big task, especially considering one of his teammates is 6-3, 315-pound two-way tackle Levi Brown. But Smith has waited four years to be in the spotlight and to be a…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Michael Vick may be in prison by the end of the year, may never play in the NFL nor receive a million-dollar endorsement deal again, and it’s all because of what he termed, “immature acts.” “I need to grow up,” Vick said during a press conference in Richmond, Va. on Monday, not…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Jarred Holley is now buying shaving cream and razors regularly. He’s also looking at life a whole lot differently as he enters his final high school season at Easton. “I’m growing up a little bit. That’s always good,” said Holley, 17, who will start at defensive back for a…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Terrence Roderick has finally moved on to a bigger stage, albeit a stage that is 800 miles away from Allentown, his closest friends and the guarantee that he could get a nice, fresh haircut any time he wanted it. But the former Allen High basketball star is happy with the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty High senior linebacker Brendan Beale requested the No. 1 for his jersey and was granted his wish without debate or jealousy. “I’m not cocky, but I’m confident that I’m No. 1, and that’s how I want to represent,” said Beale, a transfer from Roxbury High in New Jersey,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty High senior linebacker Brendan Beale requested the No. 1 for his jersey and was granted his wish without debate or jealousy. “I’m not cocky, but I’m confident that I’m No. 1, and that’s how I want to represent,” said Beale, a transfer from Roxbury High in New Jersey,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Bethlehem Catholic’s Joe Kovacs is committed beyond the norm to playing in McDonald’s Lehigh Valley Football All-Star Classic at 7 tonight at Parkland Stadium in Orefield. If he wasn’t, Kovacs would be in Puerto Rico, perhaps tanning, eating spicy food and enjoying the scenery.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →What happened last December at Hersheypark Stadium is still fresh in the mind of Wilson’s Adam Thomas and Sean Monahan. Chris LaBatch, their teammate, also still has great memories of the Warriors’ 29-28 win over Jeannette that earned the school its first PIAA Class 2A title.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Wilson quarterback D.J. Lenehan came alive in the second half of the PSFCA East West All-Star Game, rifling passes all over the field that led to touchdowns and stirred memories of his many feats last season. But the ending Saturday night wasn’t as rewarding as last December,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lehighton’s Robbie Frey has the speed, Bethlehem Catholic’s Terrell Dobbins the power. Together, they hope to be double-trouble tailbacks in the the seventh annual PSFCA East-West All-Star Game tonight in Altoona. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. at Mansion Park Stadium. Frey and Dobbins,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Before this week, only Parkland teammates of the Trojans’ dominating offensive lineman Michael Fay had seen his humorous side. That’s because Fay, a Morning Call All Area first team pick and second-team Associated Press Class 4A selection, doesn’t play around when he’s…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Wilson quarterback D.J. Lenehan isn’t ready to be reminded of what it’s like to lose a football game. He hasn’t lost a game since Dec. 10, 2005, and that was in the PIAA Class 2A title game. Since that defeat, Lenehan has gone 16-0 as a starter, winning each game during a…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →For the second straight week, a record-breaking quarterback from the Lehigh Valley will showcase his talents in an all-star game. Wilson’s D.J. Lenehan, who’s headed to Toledo on a scholarship, will play his final high school game in the seventh annual Pennsylvania Football…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty quarterback Dan Persa plays his final game at Hersheypark Stadium tonight, hoping to help Pennsylvania win its second straight game against Ohio in the Big 33 Football Classic. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. It’s the 50th anniversary of the all-star game that has often been…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty junior Trevor VanAckeren is participating in his fifth varsity sport this school year and he appears to be just as charged up running distance races as he was booting soccer balls and kicking footballs through the uprights in the fall. That’s because he’s still in the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Aaron Gray is not out to prove anybody wrong, especially mock draft experts, who each week post on Web sites their predictions of where players will likely be drafted in next month’s NBA draft. Gray is not out to prove them wrong because he doesn’t care what they think. “If you…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The high school track and field preseason is now over. It’s time to get serious. The athletes who are likely to contend for district and state titles will be competing in either the 113th Penn Relay’s in Philadelphia this weekend or in today’s Allentown School District…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Times are not as tough as they may seem for Penn State sophomore Courtney Molinaro, a former Central Catholic basketball star. That’s because Molinaro is not discouraged by the meager 8.9 minutes per game she averages, fourth lowest on the team, or her 1 point per game scoring…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It appears as if Lehigh freshman guard Marquis Hall has never lifted a weight to try and strengthen his upper and lower body. But Lehigh coach Billy Taylor’s isn’t worried about the look of Hall’s body because of the smooth way Hall has run the Mountain Hawks’ offense over the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It’s all over. There are no more college recruiting trips to take, no more worrying about whether this school or that school is the right fit. Childhood dreams of playing college football were brought one step closer to reality by several Lehigh Valley Conference standout…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Moravian College men’s coach Jim Walker has long been a part of the 300 club. “You mean 300 wins or 300 losses,” Walker said with a laugh. “I think I might be in both,” he added. Walker is 366-326 in 28 seasons, all but one of which has been at Moravian. He went 15-10 in his…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →DeSales College has to move forward and forget its stinker Tuesday night in Madison, N.J. Losing 72-38 to FDU-Florham was bad — really bad — considering the Bulldogs were just 1-for-16 on 3-pointers and 15-for-56 overall from the field for 27 percent shooting. Also bad is that…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Eddie Ohlson’s fears about college have long passed. That’s because everything is working out well at DeSales University for Ohlson, a 5-8 junior guard from Parkland High. And it’s not just about what he’s accomplished on the hardwood. “I came in not really sure what I was going…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Every day of practice is a grueling test for West Virginia offensive lineman Jake Figner. That’s because Figner, who’s 6-5, 300 pounds, goes up against teammates are who are just as big and dominating. He was never tested to the limit when he was at Northwestern High, but then…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty senior quarterback Dan Persa got an early Christmas gift on Saturday. And it wasn’t gift-wrapped. But Persa, who recently capped off the best statistical season by a quarterback in school history, got the gift he’s coveted his entire career. He was named the Associated…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Joe Semanoff has not experienced the best of luck in Las Vegas this week. But it’s not because he’s lost money. Semanoff, a backup junior running back at Brigham Young and former Lehighton High star, has been disappointed with the weather. “[Monday] night we got a little snow,”…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Players are always asked to exhibit sportsmanship and the same should be demanded of coaches. A handshake before, and especially after a game, is a good place to start. A few good words to each other isn’t a bad idea, although there are Lehigh Valley coaches who probably want to…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →He’s 6-4, 305 pounds, and he enjoys sacking quarterbacks. He has scholarship offers from West Virginia, Temple, and James Madison. It’s hard not to notice Frankford senior defensive lineman Tyree Dudley. Last season, however, Dudley didn’t stand out all that much when Frankford…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty doesn’t want to hear any excuses about Easton being fatigued or too emotionally drained to play its best football. And Easton doesn’t plan to make any. “This is the icing on the cake for us,” Easton coach Steve Shiffert said. “Our kids will be just as determined…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Lehigh women’s basketball team is picked to finish fourth in the Patriot League, which eliminates the pressure of great expectations. The Mountain Hawks were picked to be a contender last season, but ended the season as a team in disarray. They lost four non-league games by…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Jose Olivero is now the “Lone Star” in Lehigh’s backcourt. And he’s been a star since arriving on the Bethlehem campus in 2003. As a freshman, Olivero hit a jumper with 3.9 seconds left that lifted Lehigh past American, 59-57, for the Patriot League tournament championship at…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It’s no secret that Easton and Liberty want to hit each other hard. It’s still great hearing them say it. It will be even better seeing them do it when Easton (8-0, 7-0 LVC) and Liberty (7-1, 6-1) meet in the much-anticipated Lehigh Valley Conference showdown at 7 tonight at…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Two weeks ago, Bethlehem Catholic senior Kyle John bulldozed through Liberty offensive linemen with the most fierce pass rush of his life. It was overtime, his Golden Hawks were ahead by a point, and it was loud inside Bethlehem Area School District Stadium. It became even…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →A national television audience will watch Steve Aponavicius do what he used to do for fun before soccer practices at Easton High two years ago. And that’s kick a football. However, Aponavicius, a walk-on at Boston College, won’t just be kicking the ball over a fence on Thursday…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Easton’s Chris Casciole and Gary Fish are two tough players. That’s something typically said of Red Rover players over the years, but these two have exemplified it beyond the norm. Nothing has been easy. Entering preseason, neither had a starting position locked up on the Red…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Jeff Pammer picked up speed, lowered his shoulder and laid a mean hit on Northwestern quarterback Mike Kafka. “I was running from 7 yards away and I just said to myself, “Ah man, this is going to be nice,’ ” said Pammer, the starting free safety at the University of New…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →You cannot be considered a winner until you’ve done it on a consistent basis. Like year-after-year. And against elite opponents. The latter is why, despite starting 2-0, Freedom doesn’t have many jumping on its bandwagon just yet. The Patriots started last season by routing two…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Nobody is going to overlook Whitehall this season. The Zephyrs have too much size to be ignored as a contender for the Lehigh Valley Conference title, along with Liberty, Easton and Parkland. “We think we have kids who can be competitive and that are powerful,” said Whitehall…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →John Babb and the rest of his Lehigh Valley Rugby Football Club teammates have left the East Coast heat and humidity for the national rugby championships in Ferndale, Wash. And they have the perfect game plan. “The idea is to intimidate, hit them, hit them hard,” said Babb, a…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Finally, after a mostly frustrating game of overthrown passes, Whitehall quarterback Mike Gnall settled down. Less than a minute remained. Game tied, first-and-10 with 43 yards to go for a touchdown Thursday night at Nazareth’s Andy S. Leh Stadium. Pressure? Not for Gnall, who…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Finally, after a mostly frustrating game of overthrown passes, Whitehall quarterback Mike Gnall settled down. Less than a minute remained. Game tied, first-and-10 with 43 yards to go for a touchdown Thursday night at Nazareth’s Andy S. Leh Stadium. Pressure? Not for Gnall, who…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →New beginnings for Allen’s Keith Massey and Central Catholic’s Pete Geist start as soon as the McDonald’s Lehigh Valley All-Star Football Classic finishes tonight in Nazareth. Massey is headed to Kutztown University to play football while Geist is going to Penn State University…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Bethlehem Catholic’s Mike Bishop won’t have to search hard to find his biggest fan Thursday night. His brother Matt, 19, who also played at Bethlehem Catholic, plans to be boisterous in the stands at Nazareth’s Andy Leh Stadium. Mike Bishop will be playing linebacker for the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Jim Tkach got his father’s day gift Saturday night. Tkach, the retired Northern Lehigh football coach, sat in the stands at Hersheypark Stadium while his son, Tyler, played defensive end for Pennsylvania in the Big 33 Football Classic. Pennsylvania won the shootout, 61-42,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Andres Morales bulled forward and rammed into one Ohio player after another. He was Pennsylvania’s starting fullback, and to a large degree, he handled his job well Saturday night. He even mouthed off a few times, but Morales has never been the quiet type. He was the vocal,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Stroudsburg High’s version of the “Big House” has dominated on the field since he was 12 years old, when he was 5-5, 190 pounds. Chris Neild, an Associated Press Class 4A second-team all-state linebacker, is now 6-3, 305 pounds. Tonight, he’ll start at offensive guard for…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Andres Morales is finally a day away from playing in HersheyPark Stadium for the first time. No need to ask if he’s ready. The Big 33 Football Classic is a game that Morales, Liberty’s all-state and Morning Call all-area linebacker, has always dreamed about. That’s why his heart…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Andrew Lee has been confronted with one big test after another since practice for the Big 33 Football Classic began on Saturday. He’s had to learn new defensive schemes and adjust to covering wideouts who are faster than he is. He’s also had to prove that he belongs on the same…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Warren West is no longer nicknamed “Smurf,” though he’s still close friends with Ricky Watters and others whom he shared a memorable Big 33 Football Classic experience with 19 years ago. At 5-6, 190 pounds, West was the smallest Pennsylvania all-star player, however he had…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Rushane Scott proved, for the second straight year, that he was the fastest sprinter at the District 11 Track and Field Championships. He did it with ease, leaving the crowd in awe as he overcame a sizable deficit in the 400-meter relay to lead Allen to a Class 3A victory at the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Brad Walter refused to go to the pine, despite a right hamstring pull that he had suffered less than an hour earlier. His coach even pleaded with him, but to no avail. The Wilson sprinter, who has been the Colonial League’s best in the 100- and 200-meter dashes all spring, had…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lafayette won’t be small in the middle next season. Nor the season the follows. Marek Koltun, a 6-10, 265-pounder, will likely be manning the paint, and who knows what towers Leopards coach Fran O’Hanlon will get to commit to Lafayette next spring. After all, O’Hanlon now has…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lehigh coach Billy Taylor is playing a waiting game to see if he’ll be offered the vacant men’s basketball head coaching job at the University of Pennsylvania. Taylor confirmed in a statement released by Lehigh officials on Thursday that he has been contacted by Penn athletic…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Villanova senior Allan Ray found out more about the New York City streets than he wanted to Friday night. He didn’t like it. Not even close, and the thing about it is he wasn’t driving. Instead, he was a passenger in an ambulance that was transporting him to St. Vincent Hospital…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lehigh plans to start its engine early this afternoon and keep it running. But the Mountain Hawks (19-11) do not have history in their favor. They have not beaten Holy Cross (19-11) at the Hart Center since 1998. They are 0-4 against the Crusaders in Patriot League Tournament…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lehigh senior Joe Knight has always taken pride in being a rock to his family, friends and teammates, and especially to his 4-year-old niece, Cassidy. He has always tried his best to not let anybody down, even if that meant putting his own trials aside to make sure others were…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Back in November, Lehigh junior guard Jose Olivero was dejected when he found out that he was not named to the All-Patriot League preseason team. He posted that team up on his dormitory wall to fuel his desire to prove that he deserved to be considered among the league’s elite…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Baseball Hall of Famer Fergie Jenkins, a former Philadelphia Phillies pitcher, and former Philadelphia 76ers center Darryl Dawkins both went straight from high school to their respective professional leagues. Neither got to experience college, something both men said Thursday…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Frank Scagliotta has his high school football coaching dream job. It’s at his alma mater, Bangor, where Scagliotta was an all-state basketball player and state long jump medalist in track and field in the 1960s. The Bangor School Board unanimously approved Scagliotta as the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Danny Hargrove never doubted that he’d become a college basketball star one day. He just had to find the right program to showcase his talents, a program where — in his belief — favoritism played no role. In two years at UNC-Greensboro, Hargrove got little playing time and…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Fittingly, Lehigh guard Jose Olivero’s father was in the stands at Alumni Hall at the United States Naval Academy Wednesday night when Olivero dived out of bounds for a loose ball and crashed into a scorer’s table. Appearing unfazed, Olivero rose quickly and went back to…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Rich Jarnagin entered Liberty High School four years ago as a skinny freshman, but one with a lot of potential. He became stronger and faster and this year made several game-breaking plays on both sides of the ball to help Liberty go 13-2 and finish as the PIAA Class 4A…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →In a weekend dominated by high-scoring performances, not to be overshadowed is the accomplishment of a man who didn’t take one shot. And it probably suited Fred Richter, the DeSales University women’s coach, just fine watching freshman LeighAnn Burke tie a school record with 37…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lehigh men will get another shot at Bucknell Feb. 22 in Lewisburg, and that could be for a first-place tie in the Patriot League. Bucknell finished the first-half of league play 7-0 — with Lehigh at 6-1 and wishing that shots had fallen a different way when the Bison visited…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It can be brutally cold in Chicago at Thanksgiving, but that doesn’t stop Lehigh senior Jenny Callan from going outside in shorts and a sweatshirt to play one-on-one games with her three brothers in their parents’ suburban driveway. Games are to 21 and they are physical, which…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty High defensive stars Andres Morales and Andrew Lee will have a second chance for a last impression of before closing the book on their high school careers. Morales and Lee were selected on Sunday to the Pennsylvania squad for the 49th annual Big 33 Football Classic in…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Muhlenberg coach Dave Madeira knows a Division I player when he sees one, and his eyes lit up when he first saw Lehigh junior guard Jose Olivero catch the ball, turn and bury a 3-pointer with such ease on Wednesday night. Not just once, not just twice but five times in Lehigh’s…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Frank Trovato, the best friend of West Virginia sophomore quarterback Adam Bednarik, has drawn up the perfect scenario for tonight’s Nokia Sugar Bowl matchup between the Mountaineers and Georgia. It’s reminiscent of their senior season at Bethlehem Catholic in 2002, when…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Tim Massaquoi has had touchdown receptions at Michigan Stadium, played in two Rose Bowls and has been named the Big Ten’s best tight end. But the former Parkland High star’s proudest moment over the last five years did not come on a football field. Two weeks ago, with his mother…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Andres Morales gave his mother, father, brothers, and sister Rutgers paraphernalia for Christmas gifts on Sunday. Then, the all-state and Morning Call all-area linebacker from Liberty asked them if they could figure out which college he had orally committed to attend next fall.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lehighton running back Robbie Frey often ran by, and away from, linemen during a 2,000-yard season. Central Catholic offensive lineman Chris Waldron bowled over opposing linemen, and as a result, exceeded his own expectations in helping to clear the way for an offense that…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Andrew Lee took a few minutes away from watching King Kong at a movie theater Saturday night to reflect on some of the beast-like things he and co-defensive star, linebacker Andres Morales, did this season for Liberty. For Lee, there was the PIAA Class 4A Eastern final against…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →There was much preseason hype surrounding the Lehigh women’s basketball team. In fact, the Mountain Hawks were picked to finish second in the Patriot League. And while the league’s sports information directors and coaches predicted the No. 2 finish, the Lehigh women may have had…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The PIAA board of directors did not bend Saturday morning. The board voted by a 22-5 margin not to accept Bethlehem Area School District superintendent Joseph A. Lewis’ proposal to amend Section B of Article XIII of the PIAA bylaws. As a result, the high school career of…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →They made jokes, lots of them. They will do so again tonight, and maybe even on Saturday before making the first-ever trip to Hershey for a Bethlehem Area School District team to play for a PIAA football championship. Pressure, you see, is easier to deal with when you share…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →An error in judgment was made by a PIAA official, and it will probably prevent Liberty senior Andres Morales from playing in the PIAA Class 4A championship Saturday in Hershey. It’s a game he’s dreamed about playing in his whole life, and he will spend tonight doing what he has…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →North Penn coach Dick Beck reclined in his office chair on Thursday and reeled off the names of Lehigh Valley players and teams he has admired. He humbly talked about his team, which is coming off a 55-20 win over Downingtown East in the District One championship game, which…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Andres Morales is the Homecoming king at Liberty, but he’s no pretty boy. The Hurricanes senior linebacker considers himself the opposite, because what he does on the field is not pretty. He hits hard, and doesn’t care if he gets bruised in the process. There are days following…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Ray Barbosa and his little brother, 8-year-old Deandre, spent a lot of early summer mornings working out on the Cedar Beach blacktop. Deandre’s job was to run down missed jumpers by Barbosa, who took between 300 and 400 each time he practiced. Barbosa, the former Allen High star…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Richie Villani did not have a meltdown before attempting his first-ever punt for Freedom, on Oct. 7 at Northampton, although his father, Jim, a former NFL reserve punter, was studying his every move from the sidelines. Oh, Villani was nervous, but not because dad was wide-eyed.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Junior guard Jose Olivero didn’t hesitate when he was asked to be Lehigh’s student-athlete representative at the Patriot League’s media day Thursday at the College Sports Television Network, located at Chelsea’s Pier. That’s because the event was in the Big Apple, the one city…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Fashionably dressed in suits, Villanova guards Randy Foye, Allan Ray and Mike Nardi, enthusiastically addressed the question they’ve waited so long to be asked. “How’s it feel to be No. 1?” “It’s a great honor to be chosen as No. 1 in preseason,” said Ray, who found out on…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Emmaus stopped making mistakes and excuses, and stopped losing after its embarrassing Week 4 loss to Nazareth. Maybe it was hard to walk the school hallways after losing 28-7 to Nazareth, a team that had not won a game entering that Lehigh Valley Conference matchup on Sept. 23.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Central Catholic seeks validation. Beating defending Lehigh Valley Conference champion Easton at 7 p.m. Saturday at J. Birney Crum Stadium would help validate the Vikings as a conference contender. “I don’t have to get them pumped up,” said Central Catholic coach Donnie Roberts.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →He did not sleep with his helmet Thursday night and will not walk around school today with a football. But chances are Bethlehem Catholic quarterback Alex Atiyeh won’t take too long to get dressed in his brown and gold uniform for a Lehigh Valley Conference season-opener against…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty has “Hoagie,” which is what they call star senior linebacker Andres Morales, who’s being recruited by N.C. State, Duke and other Division I schools. It also has junior quarterback Dan Persa, an accurate passer and slick runner who’s healthy again and can pick apart…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Danny Hargrove, a former Morning Call All-Area player got his wish to play in front of Allentown fans again and he made the best of it Sunday in the championship game of the Adult-Mid Summer Basketball Classic at Roosevelt Park. Aaron Gray, the starting center at the University…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →David Horton, a two-time Morning Call all-area player, was on the field in the final minutes of the 48th annual Big 33 Football Classic Saturday night. But it was not like old times. It was close and it was late. Throughout his Central Catholic career, the record-breaking…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Ryan Greiser rushed forward, planted and appeared ready to tackle Michigan State-bound tailback Javon Ringer. But Greiser, The Morning Call’s Player of the Year from Pennridge High, missed Ringer, which Ohio’s All-Stars made Pennsylvania defenders do often in the Big 33 Football…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Domenique Price’s name will be on the back of his Pennsylvania uniform tonight at the 48th annual Big 33 Football Classic at HersheyPark Stadium. He’ll get to keep the jersey, and the memories of his week in Hershey may never fade, but Price is lucky to be on Pennsylvania’s…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →In his senior season at Pennridge, Ryan Greiser rushed for 2,030 yards, scored 33 touchdowns and was selected as The Morning Call’s player of the year. He was also named to the Associated Press Class 4A All-State first team and invited to the Big 33 Football Classic. But Greiser…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →David Horton has drawn up a few plays in his mind, plays he hopes to execute in the Big 33 Football Classic Saturday night in Hersheypark Stadium. They are plays that involve catching, running, eluding, and, of course, scoring a touchdown as Horton did so often throughout his…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Domenique Price sat still and quiet, his body exhausted from a Tuesday morning workout with the other Pennsylvania all-stars in scorching heat at Hershey High. “I’m a little beat from two practices a day and it’s hot outside,” he said. “There is a lot of running around.” But he…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Harlem Diamonds lost their first game of the summer and in their first appearance at Pates Park on Sunday night. But the all-African-American women’s softball team pleased fans with their humor, tricks and overall skill level. They also received an invitation from Allentown…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →David Horton made playing in the Big 33 Football Classic a personal goal last July. He just needed to have a breakout senior season that would increase his chances of getting selected to the Pennsylvania team that will meet Ohio’s best July 23 at Hersheypark Stadium. The former…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Screen passes, draws, inside handoffs and trap plays were in the playbooks of both all-star teams in the 35th annual McDonald’s Lehigh Valley Football Classic Thursday night. They were just not called much in a wide-open game that featured 742 yards of offense and 75 points at…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Big Keith Weaver has never been asked to return kickoffs during a game. But the Palisades two-way lineman got his chance to try it during a light practice Tuesday at Nazareth’s Andrew S. Leh Stadium. “Hey, Keith stay back there and receive the kickoff,” Northampton Gold team…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Todd Kresge will have one more chance to make his mark on a Lehigh Valley football field Thursday night at Nazareth’s Andrew S. Leh Stadium. But he won’t get a chance to do it on defense, which was where he made one of the most memorable plays in Easton football history last…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Bob Goffredo was on the sidelines waiting to be transported to the hospital in his last high school football game, an all-star classic at Catasauqua in 1982. But he was cognizant enough to know the outcome. “Yeah, we won,” said Goffredo, now the Pius X football coach. “The boys…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lehigh coach Billy Taylor’s recruiting ability continues to be impressive. Otherwise, Lehigh would not be getting a 7-foot center who NCAA runner-up Illinois and powerhouse Oklahoma State were both recruiting. But John Gourlay, a 250-pound standout from Hot Springs Village,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Kyle Newell has plowed and leaped over other athletes on the football field. He has rebounded, intimidated and dunked with ease on the hardwood. And he has been named to several all-star teams in his four years at Bethlehem Catholic. But Newell doesn’t consider himself any…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Arthur Perryman has probably looked down through the clouds countless times over the last 10 years to bless the people who once cheered and idolized him during his standout basketball career at East Stroudsburg High. Many of those people have refused to let memories of the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The tears have dried and another season of blown chances has faded away for the Lehigh women’s basketball team. For the first time ever, the Mountain Hawks had both the Patriot League player of the year — Jessica DePalo — and the coach of the year — Sue Troyan. But the end of…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Chevon Troutman, a bruising 6-7, 240-pound University of Pittsburgh senior, has been convinced for a long time that his teammate, 7-0 Emmaus High graduate Aaron Gray, is more than just a big fella. Flying elbows and dunks by Gray in practice keep Troutman and other Panthers,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lehigh coach Sue Troyan has finally earned the Patriot League Coach of the Year award that her star senior Jessica DePalo thought Troyan deserved four years ago. DePalo’s league-best 18.0 points per game, to go with her 5.4 rebounds and 47.9 percent field-goal shooting and…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Teams that make postseason runs in March usually start to play harder and smarter and win more convincingly at this time of the season. Lafayette has done that in its last two Patriot League games. Teams that have short runs in March usually do what Lehigh has done over its last…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →With pens in hand and wearing broad smiles, four Liberty High football players signed letters of intent with Division I-AA and Division II schools Thursday afternoon in a conference room adjacent to Liberty’s main office. Brendan Van Ackeren, who made big plays on both sides of…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Bethlehem Catholic senior two-way tackle Matt Kushner appeared to be an unlikely Division I product before last season. He’d made just 12 tackles in two previous seasons. He had played mostly as an offensive lineman and pancake blocks are not listed on any stats sheets. But…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Tony Cocca had forecasted the future for Bethlehem Catholic two-way standout Kyle Newell long before Newell had even begun to assert himself on the football field. “Keep an eye on Newell,” Cocca said before the start of the 2002 season. “He’s a Division I player.” Good forecast.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It’s no surprise that “The Sopranos” is Lehigh senior Nick Monserez’s favorite television show. He’s just tough, especially when he defends and rebounds as emphatically as he did in the Mountain Hawks’ 63-45 Patriot League victory over Army Friday at Stabler Arena. “He’s…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Jessica DePalo appeared suited to be more than just a student-athlete before coming to Lehigh on a basketball scholarship four years ago. Lehigh coach Sue Troyan found that out on a recruiting trip to DePalo’s hometown of Rumson, N.J. that lasted longer than the normal working…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Opposing defensive linemen might have been more successful blocking Keith Weaver, Palisades’ massive 6-4, 320-pound senior lineman, if they had done what Pirates coach Brian Gilbert used to do in practice. “What we would do was put two guys over him and just treat them as one,”…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Pius X wide receiver Quintin Lopez likes to imitate his NFL idol, Randy Moss. The senior enjoyed nothing better than frustrating defensive backs, who were charged with trying to prevent him from making a big play. He would catch passes over their outstretched arms and use his…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Central Catholic senior David Horton probably has Vikings coach Donnie Roberts high on his Christmas list. Roberts’ decision to move Horton from running back to wide receiver as a junior has panned out wonderfully. Horton’s 51-catch, 617-yard season with five touchdowns was…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Pennridge High senior tailback Ryan Greiser, The Morning Call’s player of the year, received an expected honor but at an unexpected position Saturday. And Parkland’s 6-4, 310-pound, two-way standout lineman Morgan Thomas, finally got his due. Greiser and Thomas were selected to…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The opponents hit hard. Easton just hit harder. The opponents were often bigger. Easton never buckled. For 13 straight games, Easton just won, mostly with smashmouth offense and punishing defense, and by taking advantage of some turnover opportunities in the playoffs during…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →PIAA playoff rookie George Washington can’t wait to play Easton in the Class 4A Eastern semifinals at 7 tonight at Northeast High’s Charles Martin Stadium in Philadelphia. But the Eagles (12-0) aren’t talking smack because they’re just happy to be in the chase for what would be…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Winning has created such enthusiasm at Lehigh that sophomore guard Kyle Neptune inadvertently slipped into a dream world when discussing this season’s goals. “We are just excited to start the season, try and repeat [as Patriot League Tournament champs] and go to the national…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Defending Patriot League tournament champion Lehigh isn’t worried about preseason predictions. They’ve been wrong the last two seasons. So Lehigh coach Billy Taylor doesn’t consider it a snub that the Mountain Hawks have been picked by the league’s coaches and sports information…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Dieruff High senior linebacker Nick Davis has racked up 275 tackles the last three seasons and is on pace for another 100-plus-tackle season. “The kid gets crazy, crazy out there,” said Dieruff coach Keith Brader. “They just can’t stop him. “He is so hard-nosed. He is the best…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Nobody threw up or fainted at Easton High. Nobody took lunch break and decided not to return for the afternoon practice. Most of the 108 players on the practice field were in good shape and brought good attitudes as far as coach Steve Shiffert was concerned as the high school…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →All-stars from Pennsylvania and Ohio will finally get to pop, juke and, in all likelihood, trash talk each other in the 47th Big 33 Football Classic tonight at Hersheypark Stadium. As usual, the cast on both sides of the field features players headed to Penn State and Ohio…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →East Stroudsburg-South’s Leyon Azubuike has been at ease as much as any player could possibly be since arriving here for Big 33 practice. There are many reasons. As a chiseled 6-4, 230-pound defensive end, he looks every bit like the Pennsylvania All-Star he is. His 4.58-second…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →At the top of the not-so-fun list for Allen High’s Eugene Clay, preparing this week for Big 33 Game, is practice. His fun list is a lot longer, including a visit to the Adventure Sports amusement park with his host family, feasting and sharing laughs with teammates — experiences…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It was the type of game meant for playmakers to show off, either on offense or defense Thursday night in Nazareth. Then, maybe enjoy a Big Mac and french fries for a postgame meal with a milkshake or apple pie for dessert. It was, after all, the McDonald’s Lehigh Valley All-Star…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Don’t expect Easton coach Steve Shiffert to be all fired up for the McDonald’s Lehigh Valley All-Star Football Classic tonight at Nazareth High. The fund-raising game for the Ronald McDonald’s charities just won’t seem the seem as Easton playing against Parkland or Bethlehem…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Central Catholic coach Donnie Roberts may be one of the luckiest coaches in the history of the McDonald’s Lehigh Valley All-Star Football Classic. He has a quarterback for every situation. If you like pass-happy offenses, which Roberts does, he has quarterbacks who can…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Bethlehem Catholic tailback Fred Rice never cared about being chased down by faster defensive backs or linebackers, because they still had to take him down once they caught up to him. He also never worried much about who was in front of him, because he’s nicknamed “Boomer” for a…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Easton High track and field coach Frank Messa looked down at a piece of paper crammed with times, distances, and lots of names Thursday night and uttered the words a college student would say this time of year. “I feel like I’m studying for a math exam,” Messa said. He wasn’t…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Danny Hinds was one of the many Drexel players disappointed with Saturday’s 76-64 loss at Delaware, which prevented the Dragons from clinching first place in the Colonial Athletic Conference. But Hinds, a 6-6 junior forward from Central Catholic, also knows how to look past the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →A meeting at the line of scrimmage between Freedom’s 6-6, 297-pound Ryan Ehrie and Northwestern’s 6-5, 290-pound Jake Figner might have been a grueling matchup, testing more than just the strength of both. It could not happen because Northwestern played in the Colonial League…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Northampton High athletic director Mike Schneider would like nothing more than for interest in the school’s football program to boom following the Jeff Pammer’s ceremony this morning for NCAA national letter of intent day. Pammer, a multiple position star who was named The…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Villanova showed Allen High football star Eugene Clay the town and got what it wished for in return. Clay, a two-time Morning Call All-Area selection and Associated Press PIAA Class 4A second-team pick at wideout in December, announced Tuesday that he had orally committed to the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lehigh coach Billy Taylor has established himself as a disciplinarian in his first two seasons. And nobody is openly complaining. Maybe that’s because Taylor has proven himself to be a good coach who is winning games, even when the odds appear to be against the Mountain Hawks.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →You’ve probably seen the Hollywood movies where the former water boy grows up to to earn a position on the high school football team. Rarely is that position as a starter. Hardly ever does the water boy become the star. But in a real life story, Northampton senior Jeff Pammer is…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Marcus Millen’s right wrist wouldn’t stop throbbing after he made a second-quarter tackle against Nazareth Oct. 3. But the Easton standout and son of former NFL star Matt Millen stayed in the game and continued to make plays. After the game, he found out his wrist was broken. “I…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The basketball, please. It’s time to see whether the Lafayette College men can put it in the hoop more often, rebound better and limit opponents’ scoring. The basketball, please. It’s time to see if, following 40 minutes of regulation play and more if needed, the Leopards will…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Lehigh University women’s basketball team appears to have a mountain of a task trying to replace the Patriot League’s all-time career rebounding leader, Anne Tierney, at center. Tierney, who was voted to the league’s first team three straight seasons, was also the Mountain…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lehigh’s basketball game on Dec. 2 isn’t highlighted or circled on the Mountain Hawks’ schedule. But the game against Connecticut, led by center and projected NBA lottery pick Emeka Okaforare, will mark the first time in school history that the Mountain Hawks have played the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Kutztown University women’s basketball team may not be an easy team for opponents to contain from either the perimeter or inside the paint. That’s because the Golden Bears will often run a three-guard rotation, keyed by seniors Danielle Warntz and Amanda Zinobile, that will…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lafayette College fifth-year senior guard Winston Davis has envisioned what his coach, Fran O’Hanlon, has refused to think about. That’s a Lafayette team ready and capable of unseating Holy Cross as Patriot League champion and advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the first time…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →They are the Bethlehem Towers, each tall and solid. Their potential appears to be limitless. Division I football scouts must think so because they have been hawking Freedom High two-way lineman Ryan Ehrie and Bethlehem Catholic two-way standouts John Bedics and Kyle Newell.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →One game in 2001, another in 2002. Both were District 11 Class 3A boys soccer championship thrillers that just didn’t go Pleasant Valley’s way. The Bears were upstaged by Emmaus, 1-0 in 2001 and 3-2 by Parkland in 2002. “Both of them were real tough games,” said Pleasant Valley…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Austin Scott, the record-breaking Parkland High tailback who’ll begin his college career at Penn State next month, will have plenty of star company in the PNC Big 33 Classic at 7 tonight at Hersheypark Stadium. But will Scott be the biggest star? The run-and-shoot offense that…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Adam Bednarik had a celebrated high school football season at Bethlehem Catholic last fall, throwing for 27 touchdowns and over 2,300 yards. He was named to the Associated Press Big School first team and was The Morning Call’s all-area quarterback. He was also selected to the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →There is a no-blitz rule for the PNC Big 33 Classic Saturday night at Hersheypark Stadium. But defensive players can hit quarterbacks, wideouts and running backs as hard as they want. And Freedom defensive star Jeremy Kametz can’t wait to make contact with an offensive player in…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Phillipsburg High tailback Leonard Brice waited too late to get serious in the classroom, and that cost him a chance of earning a Division I scholarship. Fortunately, Brice still has a chance to achieve his goal. He just has to go to Hutchinson Junior College in Kansas before…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →So much for the Gold team all-stars’ speed and the hope of it being unleashed in a mighty way. The Red team all-stars, led by a defensive backs that blanketed wideouts and defensive linemen that created havoc, dampened the aspirations of fans looking for a shootout in the 33rd…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Following the third straight year that the McDonald’s Lehigh Valley Football Classic has been postponed because of inclement weather, Bethlehem Catholic coach Chuck Sonon recalled a fitting joke he heard on a New York City sports radio station. “What do you call the day after…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →He was in the middle of a game with Emmaus High when his helmet clamped down awkwardly, resulting in a nasty gash on his face. “It was painful,” said Parkland High senior Nick Pinchek. But Pinchek finished the game and continued to play through the discomfort of the gash until…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Ace Custis experienced the disappointment of his basketball career following a 16-point, eight-rebound performance in just 23 minutes during a 2001 summer league game with the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs had 17 players on the roster that summer, and, though he played well,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Confetti will not be dropped from the rafters and fireworks won’t be fired off in the building. No big-named musician will sing the National Anthem. The Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs just want to open their home season at Stabler Arena, please the fans with dunks, long-range…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →If they had played on the same high school basketball team, Allen’s Ray Barbosa and Emmaus’ Aaron Gray believe they would have won a PIAA Class 4A title. “No question,” said Barbosa, The Morning Call’s Player of the Year who has a scholarship to James Madison University. “If we…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Emmaus center Aaron Gray will be playing Division I basketball next season, but it is no longer guaranteed that he will be wearing a University of Pittsburgh uniform. The 6-11 Gray was disappointed to learn last week that Ben Howland had resigned as Pittsburgh’s coach to take…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Saint Joseph’s sophomore Pat Carroll and his brother Matt, a senior at Notre Dame, have practiced shooting 3-pointers for years. Their grandfather, Don Graham, the coach at North Catholic High in Pittsburgh, would open up the gym and let them play until their arms got tired.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lehigh went cold at the wrong time, blowing a 10-point lead against Bucknell in the Patriot League quarterfinals Saturday. Even the Mountain Hawks’ best shooter, senior Matt Logie, went more than 15 minutes without scoring. By the time he connected again, tapping in a miss, only…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Teary eyes from the bite of defeat was something the Lehigh and Lafayette women shared in Friday’s Patriot League quarterfinals at The Show Place Arena. Lafayette lost 60-40 to top-seeded Holy Cross because it did not have nearly enough depth or equal talent to avoid being…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lehigh coach Billy Taylor didn’t hesitate to make bold coaching moves all season. He won because of that. On Friday, Taylor announced academic shortcomings have forced him to suspend star point guard Zlatko Savovic for the Patriot League Tournament quarterfinal game at 7:30…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →First-year Lehigh coach Billy Taylor is ready and confident as he leads the Mountain Hawks into the Patriot League tournament this weekend. These are the games that can lead to tears trickling down the faces of the losers and exuberance overwhelming the winners. It takes three…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lafayette won back-to-back Patriot League Tournament championships in 1999 and 2000 before Holy Cross became the league’s team to beat. So Leopards coach Fran O’Hanlon knows how to win in March. This weekend, he’ll get a chance to prove his astuteness again, as the Leopards try…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Billy Taylor won people over by winning more games than any other first-year men’s basketball coach at Lehigh. On Wednesday, the Patriot League named Taylor its coach of the year, marking the first such accomplishment for Lehigh. Taylor’s honor was one of four postseason awards…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Parkland running back Austin Scott and Bethlehem Catholic quarterback Adam Bednarik will rush and pass as high school players on the same football field one more time. Finally, it will be as teammates. They have been selected to the Pennsylvania All-Star team that will play the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lafayette College senior guard Andrew Pleick saved his best scoring game for his final home game at Kirby Sports Center Sunday. He also handled the ball with exceptional care and did a good job distributing it to his teammates, much like he has all season. But when the Leopards’…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →About the only thing that kept Justin DeBerry from practicing in those scorching Tucson, Ariz., summers was a dust storm. Outside of that, the Lafayette College guard shot jumpers in his backyard for hours, unconcerned about heat stroke despite 100-degree temperatures. “You get…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Making the adjustment from the high school to college game has been, at times, a smooth experience for Lehigh freshmen Chris Stephenson and Mitch Gilfillan. At times, however, it’s also seemed dreadful. Like the games where neither plays much or scores any points. Stephenson, a…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The woeful experiences Temple has had for most of the season seemed to have lightened once February arrived. It’s the month the Owls under coach John Chaney normally play better, The Owls, who were drubbed 78-59 by Saint Joseph’s on Feb. 13, rebounded two nights later with a…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Making the varsity basketball team at the United States Naval Academy as a freshman this season was starting to look like an impossibility for former Parkland star Adam Lane until his coach called him over after a JV practice for some stunning news. “Coach just called me and…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Patriot League standings has a sole occupant of first place. It’s not two-time defending league champion Holy Cross, which has the league’s tallest and best frontcourt; it’s Lehigh. But the Crusaders can move back into a tie for the top spot on Friday by beating the Mountain…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Robbie Thomson’s eyes opened wide, and his foot moved quickly as he blanketed the man he was assigned to defend Saturday at Rider. It was a tenacious side of Thomson, a side that the 2001 Saucon Valley graduate did not always show in high school. But on this more competitive and…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Bethlehem Catholic senior quarterback Adam Bednarik seemed to almost faint when told that he had been selected to the Associated Press Big School (Classes 4A/3A) All-State team. “That’s awesome,” Bednarik said, pausing on the phone before becoming even more exhilarated over his…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Parkland High senior Nick Pinchek had to turn over the reins of the Trojans offense, knowing that the return of tailback Austin Scott would mean less handoffs and the possibility of not rushing for 1,000-plus yards again. But less touches of the football has not meant less…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Running on playing fields as hard as concrete was more fun than swimming for high school football stars Austin Scott of Parkland and Freedom’s Afa Anaoi and Jeremy Kametz on a Monday where temperatures neared 100 degrees. Each player said he had eagerly awaited the opening day…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lehigh senior Bobby Mbom, quite undersized at 6-5 for the type of work that he’s commanded to do inside the paint, is unlike so many college basketball players. The sport does not make him. Few players that Mbom goes up against make his heart race uncontrollably for fear that…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Darryl Dawkins walked into Larry Holmes’ business office on Wednesday to visit his good friend, the ex-heavyweight champion, and he ended up receiving the most stunning phone call of his post-playing career. Angel East, Holmes’ secretary, told Dawkins that somebody from the NBA…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Mark Borda has turned into pure adrenaline, taking pretty much what he wants on the hardwood in all but one game for Bethlehem Catholic this season. It’s helping the senior make amends for a football season that was cut short because of a night of drinking., which was in…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lafayette has been close. Really close to Miami of the Big East in the second half on Saturday. The Leopards also led Penn State by 13 points in the first half last Wednesday. The two road games ended in defeats, 75-66 to Penn State and 79-69 to Miami. Lafayette beat Albany,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Easton senior tailback Sean Burgio is entering another Thanksgiving Day with his dinner plans on hold. But he’s not all that concerned with keeping his grandparents on his mother’s side in limbo, because they live in Phillipsburg, which is Easton’s annual Turkey Day football…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Dust blew off the ripped-up grass field and over the hills as the sun began to set near the close of a businesslike Easton High football practice Thursday evening. There was no smacking of the helmets, no banging up against each other as the Red Rover players jogged off the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Around this time of the football season, some high school coaches warn their players not to say the wrong things, to be careful not to just speak their minds and fuel the rage in their opponents. Not so at Bethlehem Catholic, where shrewd coach Bob Stem has his Golden Hawks…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →One Danny rested in a hotel room Saturday night in Greensboro, N.C., another in his dorm room at Drexel University in Philadelphia. Neither player will be suiting up in a college uniform anytime soon, Hinds because he is in a cast and out at least another six weeks with a high…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →“Beca, Beca, Beca.” The words have become so draining that it’s gotten to the point where all the Parkland players want to do is … well, let them speak for themselves. “I think we may try and strike fear into them right away, show them that we’re coming out to play and that we…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →A record-breaking high school football season by Parkland High’s Austin Scott was followed by a spring of mistakes, one that resulted in him being expelled from the school in April and forced to attend a private school the rest of the school year. Scott hung out with the wrong…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →A day after being ousted from the NBA playoffs, Philadelphia 76ers starting power forward Tyrone Hill told the organization he was considering opting out of his lucrative contract before later deciding to stay. On Friday, however, the organization decided to bid farewell to the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The gymnasium at the Philadelphia 76ers’ draft headquarters at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic College had nearly emptied Wednesday night/Thursday morning when the phone rang around 12:20 a.m., drawing immediate attention. Everyone knew it was Maurice Cheeks calling. It…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Waiting, waiting, waiting. That’s what the media throng did. That’s what Philadelphia 76ers fans did. That’s also what Sixers coach Larry Brown and general manager Billy King apparently did as well before selecting a non-impact player with the 26th pick in the NBA Draft…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Waiting, waiting, waiting. That’s what the media throng all did. That’s what the Philadelphia 76ers’ fans did. That’s also what Sixers coach Larry Brown and General Manager Billy King apparently did as well before selecting a non-impact player with the 26th pick in the NBA Draft…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →They are old enough to vote and fight for their country, so it’s easy to understand why these 18- and 19-year-olds believe they should be allowed to fulfill their dreams and play in the NBA. Nobody discourages young tennis players from turning pro, some of whom are already rich…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Philadelphia 76ers’ season started with a 29-point drubbing of the New York Knicks on Halloween night at Madison Square Garden. It ended with a disappointing 108-96 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers Friday night in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, concluding a season of sterling…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Two towering men are now enraged with each other, both vowing to settle their disputes on the court in Game 4 of the NBA Finals Wednesday night at the First Union Center. Too much lip-bashing and lips-busted-from-elbows have gone on, and now centers Dikembe Mutombo of the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Philadelphia 76ers had the best record in the NBA — 41-14 — when coach Larry Brown and general manager Billy King looked into their crystal ball and saw the menacing prospect of facing 7-1, 330-pound Shaquille O’Neal of the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals. Who was going…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Allen Iverson and Kobe Bryant will have at least four games to dazzle the world with their skills in the NBA Finals, which began with Game 1 Wednesday night at the Staples Center. And NBA Commissioner David Stern is ready to be dazzled. Stern made special note of how impressed…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Allen Iverson’s arms are not getting tired from hoisting postseason trophies in the air. There’s still one more he’d like to kiss and hold. Whether he’ll get to depends on whether David, which is the Philadelphia 76ers, can slay Goliath, Sixers coach Larry Brown’s…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →As guaranteed by center Dikembe Mutombo, the Philadelphia 76ers are going to the NBA Finals in a true East versus West matchup. Can Hollywood handle them? The Milwaukee Bucks, with All-Star guard Ray Allen aching from a hard fall in the third quarter, couldn’t, because they…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →As guaranteed by center Dikembe Mutombo, the Philadelphia 76ers are going to the NBA Finals in a true East versus West matchup. Can the Los Angeles Lakers handle them? The Milwaukee Bucks, with All-Star guard Ray Allen aching from a hard fall in the third quarter, sure couldn’t,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The battered, bruised, struggling Allen Iverson has arrived here with the Philadelphia 76ers. But the important news may not come until game time. For now, all the Sixers can do is hold their breath, as if they were watching a last-second shot with the game on the line. What has…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Ray Allen’s definitely got game. He brought all of it, mostly a jump shot that destroyed the Philadelphia 76ers and helped the Milwaukee Bucks draw even in the Eastern Conference best-of-seven finals with a 92-78 victory in Game 2 Thursday night before a 20,998 crowd at the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Ray Allen’s definitely got game. And he brought all of it to Philadelphia Thursday night. Mostly, it was Allen’s deadly jump shot that destroyed the Philadelphia 76ers and helped the Milwaukee Bucks draw even in the Eastern Conference best-of-seven finals with a 92-78 victory in…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →One of the greatest tributes Philadelphia 76ers coach Larry Brown had ever received in his 18-year NBA coaching career had already been given when he accepted the Red Auerbach Trophy as the NBA’s Coach of the Year Wednesday afternoon. Just as Brown was about to step away from…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Cheerleading is not something Craig “Speedy” Claxton figured he’d be doing a lot of this season after he was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers with the 20th overall pick in last June’s NBA draft. But there he was Sunday night, his heart pumping just as hard as those of the 10…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →One more step. That’s what the Philadelphia 76ers made when they edged the Toronto Raptors by a point to advance to the Eastern Conference best-of-seven finals against the Milwaukee Bucks. One more step. That’s what the Sixers will try to make, first by winning Game 1 tonight at…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Nobody can possibly know all that’s going on inside Allen Iverson’s head as the clock ticks down to the first Game 7 playoff game of his five-year career. Winning is obviously his main concern, but he has to have so many other things swirling around. His veins are probably…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It’s hammer time for the Philadelphia 76ers. “When you have a chance to put a team out, you want to put them out,” said Sixers guard Eric Snow following practice Thursday at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. Snow and his teammates were preparing to board a plane for…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Allen Iverson was far from himself as he stood at the podium at the Adams Mark Hotel Tuesday afternoon, discussing the trials he had to overcome en route to winning the NBA’s Most Valuable Player Award by a landslide. “He was nervous up there,” said Gene Lett, a good friend of…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →His statistics do not measure up to the man who has gone from the troubled streets of North Philadelphia to the glamour lights of the NBA. Through it all, Sixers guard Aaron McKie has remained humble and thankful for the people in his life who’ve helped elevate him to the player…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →One round completed, at least one more to play. Just who their next opponent would be was a mystery to the Sixers and everybody else early Friday, so following practice at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, coach Larry Brown and most of his players chose to enjoy…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The echoes of bouncing balls and sneakers scraping against the hardwood floor stopped as players and coaches stood in silence, each focusing on the portion of the gymnasium floor where Sixers guard Aaron McKie had just fallen. Trainers rushed to his side, but as soon as they got…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →One week is all it took for the Philadelphia 76ers to gain command of the Eastern Conference first-round series against the Indiana Pacers, doing so with what has made them great all season — executing in transition. Few teams can run with the Sixers. The Pacers are not one of…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Tyrone Hill was so exhausted and frustrated following the Sixers’ one-point loss to the Indiana Pacers last Saturday that he went home, had a couple of cold beverages and went to bed. His mood was a lot different Tuesday night, following the Sixers’ 116-98 victory over the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Too much time has passed between games. The Sixers have been shaking their heads about an 18-point lead that once was, and replaying Reggie Millers’ game-winning 3-pointer that enabled the Indiana Pacers to take a 1-0 series lead in the opening-round Eastern Conference series.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The regular-season feats of Sixers guard Allen Iverson concluded Wednesday night with him on the sidelines. His NBA-leading numbers — 31.1 points and 2.5 steals per game — became official following the Sixers’ 92-86 loss to the Chicago Bulls at the First Union Center. Iverson is…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Aching Sixers guard Allen Iverson has been placed on the injured list for the final two regular-season games, allowing him time to rest and heal before the start of this weekend’s NBA playoffs. The move also virtually ensures that Iverson will win his second NBA scoring title in…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Sixers’ iron man needs three more games to complete his goal. Pain will not hold him back, even if it’s in his neck or shoulder, as it was last Monday when George Lynch got thumped by the Boston Celtics’ Antoine Walker. Just 6:54 remained in the fourth quarter when Lynch…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The First Union Center that had been filled with thunderous applause went silent with 4:52 left in the first quarter when Allen Iverson, the Sixers’ creative and uplifting Sixers guard was hammered to the floor by Orlando Magic’s forward Mike Miller Wednesday night. Already…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Philadelphia 76ers are about to go through a period that may be just as hectic as March Madness, only what the Sixers are going through now touches on more than just winning and losing. Health issues involving coach Larry Brown and All-Star guard Allen Iverson have put the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →A double-whammy followed the Sixers’ 100-79 loss to the Sacramento Kings Friday night at the First Union Center. “I have acid indigestion after a 21-point loss,” Sixers coach Larry Brown said in his postgame interview, a statement that seemed like a joke. Only it wasn’t. Tests…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Ice packs, wrapped in ace bandages, have rested on the shoulders of Sixers guard Aaron McKie before most games for the last few weeks. The soreness, however, has not prevented him from taking to the court, to help his team in any way possible, even if pulling the trigger…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Another offensive answer may have been discovered by the Sixers in a 79-69 victory over the Miami Heat Wednesday night before a sellout crowd of 20,562 at the First Union Center. The answer was Rodney Buford, a second-year pro who was signed on Dec. 23 as an insurance policy a…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The hardwood floor at Memorial Gymnasium opened up like the runway at nearby Lehigh Valley International Airport for Central Catholic’s Daniel Hinds in the second half Tuesday night. With the lanes to the basket more clear, his passion to score and take command of the game…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The final 24 hours before Thursday’s NBA trade deadline were dreadful for Philadelphia 76ers coach Larry Brown. Almost as dreadful as they were for the players who were wondering if they were about to be dealt away from the team with the league’s best record and from teammates…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Philadelphia 76ers guard Allen Iverson had the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant and the Phoenix Suns’ Jason Kidd helpless trying to defend him. That made Bryant and Kidd members of a growing club of guards around the NBA who have failed to hold Iverson in check. Iverson has 28…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →On the eve of the 50th NBA All-Star Weekend last Thursday, the towering San Antonio Spurs carried an eight-game winning streak into Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, N.J., to play the so-so New Jersey Nets. So-so, however, is not the way the Nets played, thanks to…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Allen Iverson can’t be stopped. Not when he’s racing the court with a serious mission, slicing between defenders to score off the types of shots average basketball players can only dream about making. Iverson is the superstar of the Philadelphia 76ers, who at times plays like…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Two of the game’s biggest, most glamorous and most talented stars are here this All-Star Weekend, and everybody is shaking their heads at the Los Angles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal. They see Bryant, an immensely talented 6-7 swingman who can take control of a game…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Larry Brown’s genius and leadership is not restricted to his coaching career or his family life. Brown also works wonders on the golf course, something Houston Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich had the pleasure of finding out last summer while the two were coaching the USA Dream…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Tyrone Hill found himself in foreign territory, forced to shoot a 3-pointer with the 24-second shot clock winding down for the Philadelphia 76ers. That was not comfortable territory for Hill, the 6-9 power forward who is 0-for-12 on 3-point attempts in his 11-year career. Hill…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Maurice Cheeks probably has more admiration for Allen Iverson than any of the other Sixers coaches. That’s because every time Cheeks looks at Iverson, he sees a player who continues to develop and mature while steadily increasing his scoring average. Cheeks sees a player who…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Waiting for a mid-term grade is a lot easier when the marks that have led up to it are excellent. Over the first half of the NBA’s 82-game regular season, the Philadelphia 76ers collected several high honors. Allen Iverson and Aaron McKie were selected Players of the Week in…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Even with his right elbow heavily bandaged, a bandaid under his chin and a sore left knee, Allen Iverson allowed nothing or no one keep him from scoring 51 points. It was his first game back following a one-game absence while resting a deep left knee bruise, and the 6-0 Iverson…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Sixers coach Larry Brown and superstar Allen Iverson, who squabbled so much last season that doubts repeatedly circulated about them being able to co-exist on the same team, are now headed to Washington together. And on the ride with them will be 6-10 Theo Ratliff, whose long…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →While All-Star guard Allen Iverson won’t be doing what he does best during the holiday season, Rodney Buford will be opening the one gift he had been hoping for since being waived by the Charlotte Hornets on Oct. 2. That gift is the opportunity to play in the NBA again, and not…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Vacation time would be a welcome sight for the Philadelphia 76ers right now, but the NBA schedule affords them only today and Monday off before they must take their aching bodies and depleted lineup out West for games this week against Utah, Golden State and Sacramento. They’ll…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Nobody can say that the Philadelphia 76ers are afraid to take huge chances, even players like Toni Kukoc, who has been in the coach’s doghouse all season. Doghouse or not, Kukoc had a chance to extend a game the Sixers had well within their grasp until the Utah Jazz and their…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Coach Larry Brown and the Philadelphia 76ers were back together Wednesday night, on the same page, focused on building on their 18-6 record, and hoping that they could somehow keep their family business in-house. But they play and coach in the NBA, a league in which egos seem to…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Money, fame and highlight-reel dunks are far from what Sacramento Kings forward Chris Webber is out for these days. These are the not-so-rowdy days for Webber in Sacramento, his NBA home the last three seasons. There is no Latrell Sprewell or Rod Strickland to bring the growl…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Central Catholic was out of groove and down by two points when Danny Hinds broke loose, basically demanding to have the ball in his hands. He is the senior leader, the go-to player who’s on the recruiting list of several Division I men’s basketball programs. So when the game is…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It hasn’t become so bad at Washington Wizards home games that fans are wearing paper bags, but boos are routinely heard around the MCI Center. A sellout crowd of 20,674 packed into the Wizards’ Nov. 3 home opener against the New York Knicks, an 80-76 Washington loss. Over its…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →You better watch out. You better not hesitate. The reason why is Theo Ratliff, the Philadelphia 76ers 6-10 center who jumps above the rim and who often comes out of nowhere to block shots. He started rejecting shots with authority in the season opener against the New York…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →They have to watch what they say, and be careful what they do, on and off the court, otherwise NBA players, coaches and owners are subject to fines by commissioner David Stern and his discipline board. That’s the way it looks, that’s the way it has been, and that’s the way it…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Allen Iverson’s and Larry Brown’s relationship is far from an issue now, but in reality it never was anything more than egos clashing. Think about it. They’re both strong-willed, and both want to control the Philadelphia 76ers. Think about it. Brown, the head coach, calls all…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The last time the Philadelphia 76ers lost a regular-season game, the 104th Boston Marathon had just been swept by two Kenyans, Florida residents weren’t slowing up the democratic process, and guard Eric Snow had scored 20 points in a game just twice in his career. That was April…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →For most people who admire legendary past African-American basketball players, names such as the late Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Julius ‘Dr. J’ Erving and Michael Jordan probably come to mind first. That’s because they are revered…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Do you have a question concerning the Sixers? You probably want to know if they can make the playoffs three years in a row. If so, check out the 10 questions and answers below. Maybe you’ll have other questions. Maybe your answers are different. Anyway, read on and perhaps the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Allen Iverson showed up in his baggy clothes, hair nicely braided and with an attitude that gained immediate notice. Then, without being asked, he said to everybody gathered around, ‘I’m the captain.’ That took place on the Philadelphia 76ers’ media day, and it was a firm…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →No slaps on the wrist in the NBA. The commissioner’s law prohibits it, especially for the unremorseful. That point was made emphatically clear Wednesday when NBA Commissioner David Stern punished the Minnesota Timberwolves for their fraudulent contract negotiations with power…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The next time they play on this court and rouse the fans in the First Union Center, wins and losses will count much more. Whether 1-0 or 0-1 following their season-opening game Halloween night in New York, when the Philadelphia 76ers play host to the Toronto Raptors Nov. 1 at…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Jeff Van Gundy works in Gotham City where hearts are cold and where expectations are seemingly higher than the Empire State Building. But as coach of the New York Knicks, Van Gundy has not lost his decency or his respect of the men who help make the NBA the greatest professional…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Before Michael Jordan led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA titles in the 1990s and long before Allen Iverson entered the league, a 6-1 guard nicknamed ‘Zeke’ roused crowds with his deft passing and fearless court demeanor. Saturday in Springfield, Mass, where Dr. James Naismith gave…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Allentown rapper Vincent Eggleston wishes he could go one-on-one with Philadelphia 76ers guard Allen Iverson. Eggleston, whose non-explicit ‘My Life, My Love, My Music’ CD will soon be released, knows that Iverson wouldn’t be able to hang with him, or relate to the audience…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →George Lynch has opened the Philadelphia 76ers’ training camp with an invitation to Toni Kukoc — bring it on. To Lynch, this is like his rookie season in 1993 with the Los Angeles Lakers, but with one exception. Seven years ago, Lynch had no shot at being a starter. Not so now.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Allen Iverson is mad and hurt that the Philadelphia 76ers management tried to trade him. He’s also hip and hop, and to understand more about that, check out his upcoming rap album, ‘Non-Fiction,’ an X-rated album that’s loaded with profanity and lyrics about gangster life. Asked…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →