Credit the PIAA for last week’s overwhelming decision – by 25-5 vote — to go against Gov. Wolf’s recommendation to keep high school sports on the sidelines until Jan. 1. The PIAA obviously values the high school sports experience and all that goes with it — the hard work, the ...
This is a big week for participants and followers of Pennsylvania high school sports. The PIAA met with representatives of Gov. Tom Wolf on Friday to counter the governor’s recommendation of postponing scholastic sports until Jan. 1 due to the coronavirus. When Wolf made his ...
Individually, nobody died from the Big Ten’s decision Tuesday to cancel its upcoming fall sports schedule, namely the football season, due to the coronavirus. Nonetheless, it sure feels like everyone involved with the game — players, coaches, support staff, fans and, yes, even the media ...
If the coronavirus hasn’t been depressing enough, Penn State fans got word via social media late Tuesday night that the Nittany Lions’ best player, linebacker Micah Parsons, is opting out, or bypassing, the season — should one actually be held. The information wasn’t ...
Suffering through the coronavirus pandemic has been the worst thing most of us have experienced in our lifetime. If you and your family are healthy and working, count yourselves fortunate. Even so, every aspect of life has been affected — closing of schools, adjustments at work, the awful ...
At 53 years old, Christian Appleman thought when he accepted the director of men’s tennis position at the University of Connecticut, it would be his last stop. After all, he had spent the better part of 30 years in college coaching, both basketball and tennis, dating back to his start as a ...
As the cloud of the coronavirus darkens the entire sports world with uncertainty, James Franklin is planning a major sacrifice. He confirmed earlier his week that he will coach the football season without his family in State College. In an interview with Bryant Gumbel of HBO Sports, ...
Tom Turchetta hadn’t seen Johnny Majors in 10 years, but they lived near each other in Tennessee, would talk occasionally and had planned to arrange lunch sooner than later. Instead, Turchetta received a message last Wednesday from Majors’ wife, Mary Lynn, that the coach had passed ...
The local tennis community will experience a void this summer that unfortunately may become permanent. Matt Stopp, tennis professional at the Gorilla House, confirmed last week that his facility’s outdoor courts will not open this year. There were only two — down from six as recently a ...
More than anything, I would like to see uniformity across college football. I don’t think it’s fair for the SEC or Pac-12 to be playing if the Big Ten or ACC is not. James Franklin said the other day he’s seeking “NCAA guidance,” and we all should be. The organization that has ...
With live sports on hold due to the coronavirus, many media outlets, including the Mirror, are digging into their archives to provide meaningful content and filling up newspaper pages and TV time slots. Penn State fans got a treat the other night when NBCSN (NBC Sports Network) replayed the ...
Jarrod Klausman has spent his life in sports, often alongside his dad, Jim. They were part of a championship team in Little League, including the prestigious Dean Patterson Little World Series, and later coached in the Hollidaysburg basketball program under Mick Pentoney and Brad Lear. ...
(This column was published Saturday and updated with the latest AP ranking today.) There’s never been a Penn State basketball season quite like the one that’s developing before our eyes. Yes, the Nittany Lions have had great players (Jesse Arnelle, Joe Crispin, Talor Battle), and yes, ...
Bob Moore’s cell phone has been blowing up lately. That’s what happens when you work for a team set to play in the Super Bowl. Moore has spent 40-plus years with the Kansas City Chiefs organization, first as its public relations director and the last 10 as the team’s ...
DALLAS — After the Gatorade dousing of James Franklin and all the colorful confetti had fallen to celebrate Penn State’s 53-39 Cotton Bowl victory over Memphis, the Nittany Lions staged a mini-dance party in their locker room. Yes, they regretted the two losses this season, especially at ...
DALLAS — The bowl season, especially the non-College Football Playoff games, can be littered with duds. Witness the 14-0 (lack of) effort Miami — the U, not of Ohio — mailed in during Thursday’s Independence Bowl loss to Louisana Tech that resulted in the Hurricanes’ offensive ...
With Penn State’s 2019 season about to close, the defensive leadership torch is being passed to Micah Parsons. The sophomore linebacker and newly-minted consensus All-American will be the unquestioned focal point of the Nittany Lions in 2020, and a high bar has already been set for his ...
I’m thankful for Penn State’s history. Yes, the Nittany Lions have a present to feel very good about and a bright future, too, as the program has a chance to be in the College Football Playoff next year. But on this Thanksgiving Day, it’s cool that we as Penn State followers — be it ...
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Penn State left its heart on the Ohio Stadium turf Saturday, gamely fighting back from a three-touchdown deficit, and at the heart of that fight was its backup quarterback. Will Levis was outstanding. In fact, it’s difficult to remember a Penn State quarterback coming ...
Penn State’s 2020 season starts today. OK, maybe that’s a stretch. Maybe the Nittany Lions shock the world and, as a 19-point underdog, stun Ohio State at the Horseshoe. And, obviously, if that happens, all of a sudden Penn State lands in the Big Ten championship game – probably ...