My choice to succeed Coach Paterno is none other than a classy gentleman by the name of Urban Meyer, former coach of the University of Florida Gators who is now working at ESPN and waiting for Joe to retire.
Coach Paterno's physical health has been deteriorating since he broke his leg at Wisconsin back in 2006.
Joe and Urban have become very solid friends, and I truly believe that if Joe has any input of whom he wants to succeed him, it will be Coach Meyer and not JoePa's son, Jay, who many readers feel will succeed his father.
The university hierarchy will never go with this move as there is too much at stake to lose as the Penn State football program has been the engine that keeps the remaining 30 sports programs solvent and running.
Frankly, I wish Jay well in the rest of his career life but not as Penn State's head football coach.
Coach Urban Meyer, if he wants the job, is the perfect fit coming in at the right time - 2012!
Les Hart
Duncansville
Nothing wrong with Sunday hunting
This is in response to the letter writer who commented last week on Walt Young's article on Sunday hunting.
She was against it (and she has that right) but I feel some of her reasoning was a bit faulty. First, let me say that I am a hunter but still haven't decided if I'm for or against Sunday hunting as I can see some negatives as well as positives to the issue.
The writer is correct in that the game lands are for everyone, not just hunters.
But is she aware that all those game lands were paid for with hunters' dollars, gleaned from hunting license sales?
She seems to fear for her safety, walking the game lands while hunting is going on around her. But does she realize that she's in much more danger driving to those game lands than she is while actually hiking - even if it were on the first day of deer season?
There's no question that the addition of Sunday hunting would make PA more attractive to out-of-state hunters as well as a number of in-state hunters.
And if I remember correctly, Young did state that he felt the figures that were released were a bit inflated.
She said she was not against hunting itself, but almost every argument she presented was one against hunting in general, not just Sunday hunting.
The writer also urges to "have some compassion for the deer."
Is shooting a deer on a Sunday less compassionate than on any other day?
Any hunter who does not feel some compassion when he harvests a game animal is not a true sportsman in my book anyway.
Virtually every state west of PA permits Sunday hunting. Only seven states ban it completely, and those seven all being in the Mid-Atlantic and New England regions, which leads one to believe this is more of a political issue.
I wonder if the writer shops on Sundays or watches any sporting events, both of which used to be "outlawed" in PA?
The Sabbath is to be a day of rest and relaxation, and if hunters find relaxation in the woods while hunting, then they should have the right to do it, regardless of which day of the week it is.
The Bible says honor the Sabbath. And I think that being in nature's Cathedral on a Sunday is an excellent way to honor his glory.
Jeff McNelis
Tyrone
Tyrone not playing enough kids
What kind of football coaches do we have at Tyrone Area High School? Not very good ones in my opinion.
Football is supposed to be a team sport where kids are given the opportunity to do something they like to do - play ball. However, most kids are not given the chance to play, because for some reason the coaches think only a handful of kids are worthy to play, and the rest are left to stand on the sidelines and watch the game.
These kids are expected to practice all week for the chance of seeing a little bit of game time and when game day rolls around, they never see a down of playing time.
As parents, how do we sit back and watch this go on without saying anything? The reason for this is because no one wants to stir the pot.
Parents know if they say something to the coaches, it will be taken out on the kids, and the kids won't get to play. Sure, there are parents who are happy with the coaches; these are the parents of the kids who get to play every week.
How is it that these coaches can watch the same kids make the same mistakes every week and never give anyone else a shot at trying to do a better job? The decisions these coaches make to continue to play the same kids week after week are not doing much for the rest of the team.
There are plenty of other kids on the sidelines that if given the chance would go into the game and give it their all, but for some reason the chance is never given to these kids.
I personally am all about football and would like to actually go to a game and see more than the same 11 kids on the field throughout the game.
Is football about teaching the kids something and not just winning? Why is it that football has become so much about winning and less about the kids being involved in a team sport where everyone gets a fair chance?
Kelly Gummo
Tyrone
