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Special coaches can make a difference

Baseball legend Jackie Robinson once said, “a life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.” When I heard about the recent passing of NBA star Bill Walton, that quote came to mind. Although a gifted athlete, Walton struggled with health issues. Yet, while doing so he remained an NBA standout. Despite facing 36 surgeries and chronic health challenges, Walton frequently asserted he was “the luckiest guy in the world.” So many athletes are recognized for their competitive achievements, but sometimes those we remember most do things that transcend ...

College sports not so travel friendly

By Jim Caltagirone For the Mirror The shifting landscape of college football is crimping the lifestyles of road-trippers. When Penn State joined the Big Ten in 1993, the forfeiture of independent status dramatically altered the football team’s road schedule. For Nittany Lion fans residing throughout Pennsylvania, an annual lineup of manageable excursions to the home venues of opponents such as Temple, Pitt, Maryland, West Virginia, Rutgers and Syracuse was replaced by lengthier trips to Midwest destinations. Three-plus decades later, the evolution of super-conferences is ...

Little League title memories endure

In a world so divided, so wrapped up in electronics, so polarized by our lack of face-to-face communication, sports still bring us together. Fifty years ago, a group of kids were brought together to play baseball. We were coached by three men who loved the game so much they stole time away from their own families to invest it in 16 of us 10-12 year-old boys. I was fortunate enough to be one of those 16. Now I am 62 years old, and 50 years have passed since that winning season. We played for Ward Trucking in the then named Recreation Little League. Our games were played at ...

Stanley Cup atmosphere like no other

The final minutes of Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals between the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers were as intense as anything I have ever witnessed in sports. The Oilers, needing just one goal to force overtime, were firing shot after shot at the net, while the Panthers and their goalie, Sergei “Bob” Bobrovsky, were throwing their sticks, pads and bodies everywhere to keep the puck out of the goal. I was sitting behind the Panthers net, and for an instant the puck just sat motionless, hidden in clean sight, inches from the goal-line, while the 12 players were hitting, ...

Mays’ death brings ‘flood’ of memories about

By Bill Behe For the Mirror I will always remember the first time I ever laid eyes on Willie Mays. It was July 18, 1959, at old Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. I went slack jawed when he stood in the batting cage and launched six long taters over the 406 mark in left-center field. Then he grabbed his Rawlings and went out and toyed with ground balls at shortstop. In the eighth inning, he ripped into a hanging hook from Harvey Haddix and stroked another one over the 406 mark. This one counted. The Giants sunk the Pirates, 4-3. In my humble opinion, The Say Hey Kid was the best ...

Kentucky has two guards ranked in AP’s top 13

By Aaron Beard The Associated Press John Calipari turned Kentucky into a factory for NBA talent, including 28 one-and-done players becoming first-round picks. Now at Arkansas, Calipari’s last crop with the Wildcats features two headlining guards in the NBA draft next week in Reed ...