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George Carlin had a famous bit where he contrasted the differences between baseball and football.
With all due respect to one of my favorite comedians, I want to compare all sports to hockey.
First, hockey players play. It's not uncommon for a hockey player to come off the ice, head to the locker room for 15 stitches and miss maybe one shift.
Same with broken bones and ligament tears.
Basketball players with hangnails miss more time than college kids with 8 a.m. biology classes. Except for linemen, is it my imagination or does every football team have a player or two wearing No. 1?
It used to be one player, one number. Not in the "look at me, NIL, mass-click, one-handed catch" era we find ourselves in.
Hoops is no different.
Every team must have a No. 1 (see James Harden, enough said).
In hockey, you won't find any position players wearing No. 1. Ever. Everything is team first.
The brutes look out for the skill guys and at playoff time the whole team goes into playoff beard mode together.
Third, hockey players stay out of trouble unlike the stars of other sports, namely football and basketball. When's the last time you saw a hockey player riding in the back of a police cruiser?
It's a monthly occurrence for athletes in other sports. Finally, there's the epic handshake line at the end of a playoff series.
Guys that have spent the last several games beating the stuffing out of each other line up, look each other in the eye and offer sincere congratulations.
This is from pee wee to the NHL. Soccer comes close to hockey, but in other sports you're lucky to see much acknowledgment at all at the end of series finales.
Maybe a fist bump or short hug, but for the most part players are quick to exit stage right so they can check their phones.
So as hockey season gets under way, embrace these toothless warriors because they truly are rare in this ever changing sports landscape.
Jeff Barlett
Bellwood
College sports need governance
I enjoy the weekly Penn State point-counterpoint between Neil Rudel and Cory Giger.
I agree with Cory that it really sucks right now with exorbitant NIL and all the transfers, but like most fans, I still follow it out of habit or loyalty.
The real discussion should be around how to clean up the mess and still make it fair and balanced for all Power-4 teams (salary cap?) and for the players.
Right now, the highest bidders have the edge and there seems to be no limit to spending -- $30M, $40M, $50M?
When was the last time you heard anything about academics?
The bottom line: What will it take for things to turn around?
What is the tipping point for a team or a league in order for meaningful changes to occur? Is it the reduction of the number of sports offered in a college program?
Is it a college team giving up on football altogether because they cannot compete? Is it attendance or TV ratings falling for changes to be made?
Are we really waiting for Congress to make the changes or can an NCAA alternative be created that we can withstand challenges from the courts?
For me, the sooner the better, so we can go back to truly enjoying a sport and environment that we can wrap our arms around.
It still focuses around the tenements of what college sports should be -- sports within an academic environment.
Kirk Gadebusch
Atlanta
Penn State set its program back
Can we play "What If?"
What if PSU never fired Franklin?
And we retained the 2025 roster of players -- lots of NIL required.
With the 2026 schedule, it's not too much of a leap of faith to say we could have been 11-1 or 12-0.
So could we have fired Franklin at the very time he would have made the jump to be a NCAA champion.
I know. Ethan Grunkemeyer might have thrown an Allar-ish interception in the championship game.
But it's also true that most people fail to reach their goals because they either quit or were fired just before they would be successful.
I'm hoping Matt Campbell can learn and adjust, but without max NIL and max dollars to take the best recruits, we may have set the clock back for 5-10 years.
Joe Yewdell
Riverhead N.Y.