2014 MPO SET TO BEGIN

A new teaching year is beginning for myself and my fellow members of the Philadelphia Police Department's Advanced Training Unit, with a handful of new courses to be presented and refreshers coming on a few more.

Each year, the Municipal Police Officer's Education & Training Commission (MPOETC) develops four courses as mandated classroom training for all of Pennsylvania's law enforcement officers.

In Philly, it is the ATU's job to present those courses to the vast majority of the city's 6,000+ officers, detectives and supervisors. The ATU also provides fee-based training to 'outside' jurisdictions such as the police from SEPTA, the university police at Temple and Penn, and a few other agencies and municipalities.

Each MPOETC course is presented as a half-day of training, making for two full state-mandated days in the classroom for each officer. Every single year, the 15 or so members of the ATU staff will provide instruction to roughly 25,000 attendees in a couple of thousand sessions.

However, for 2014, that number will expand, because every two years all officers are also required to receive recertification training in CPR and First Aid. The CPR training is a full day. The First Aid training is a half day, and the PPD always takes advantage of the other half day to present some type of additional training.

March Madness

The Temple Owls men's basketball team dumped the St. Joseph's Hawks by a score of 79-65 on Thursday, advancing Temple into the Atlantic Ten tournament semi-finals.

The Archbishop Carroll Patriots boys basketball team overcame the Neumann-Goretti Saints in a 70-65 classic to advance into the PIAA Class AAA state semi-finals.

These two results knocked my college and high school alma maters out of their respective tournaments and ended their seasons, but were just the beginnings of 'March Madness', the most fun and entertaining time of the year for true basketball fans.

The conference and NCAA tournament championship tournaments in college basketball and the state championship tournaments in high school basketball which each take place this month are far more dramatic and entertaining than anything that the NBA can usually come up with in their pro playoffs which begin in May.

In fact, the NCAA tournament draws the attention of even the casual sports fan both in watching the games and in following the progression of the 'bracket pools' that dominate many office conversations.

Midnight Madness for Big Five

The Palestra in West Philly has been home to some of the greatest college baseketball ever played. 

The traditional home to Philly's "Big Five" basketball schools: Penn, Villanova, St. Joe's, Temple and LaSalle, will be rockin' this winter as the rivalry celebrates it's 50th Anniversary. 

The annual "Big Five Classic" will take place in December as a doubleheader tips off at the venerable old building, with LaSalle taking on Drexel (considered by many the 6th member) followed by Penn taking on Temple. 

It all starts tonight with "Midnight Madness". 

The rules of the NCAA allow teams to begin practice at midnight tonight, and so many teams kickoff their seasons at that point with traditional opening celebrations. 

Villanova has national championship aspirations. Penn will once again be a contender for the Ivy League title and its accompanying automatic berth in the NAAA tournament. 

St. Joe's and Temple, led by veteran coach's Phil Martelli and John Chaney respectively, are always strong clubs. LaSalle has 9-straight losing seasons, but has reasonable hopes at finally reaching the .500 mark. 

The men's basketball teams of Philly's Big Five schools should prove to be tough on any opponent that they come up against, and should provide a nice amateur sporting alternative to the higher-priced pros this winter.