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Neil Rudel

Rudel: Beaver Stadium upgrade: If not now, when?

The Penn State Board of Trustees this week approved a $700 million renovation to Beaver Stadium with a completion date targeted for the beginning of the 2027 season. Barring a change, at least the Nittany Lions have an old Eastern rival (Syracuse) for the grand ’27 stadium debut and not the usual non-conference treat — a lesser division rent-a-win. Is the price tag too high? Well, that’s way above my pay grade. I know this much: A new stadium came with a projected cost of $2 billion, and the board instead stamped its approval for a renovation by a 26-2 vote. Even the ...

Litwalk left his mark on Johnstown

By Neil Rudel nrudel@altoonamirror.com Some coaches are outstanding tacticians but not necessarily the best at the many other aspects required beyond Xs and Os — things like detailed organization, internal and external communication and overall leadership. Others are good at the details ...

Hammock caught piece of history

By Neil Rudel nrudel@altoonamirror.com Twenty years ago next month, Curve manager Robby Hammock was part of history, and the game will follow him the rest of his life. On May 18, 2004, Hall of Famer Randy Johnson — pitching for the Arizona Diamondbacks at age 40 — became the oldest ...

No matter where he went, Baker proved he could coach

ROARING SPRING — For the first time in 58 years, including 44 as a head coach, Dave Baker isn’t doing advance planning for a high school football season. And that’s just fine with him. Baker, who retired as Central High School’s head coach last week after a highly-successful 13-year ...

O’Brien will return to PSU — with Bucks

Some Penn State related notes while the NFL takes center stage: There is no offseason in college football anymore with personnel movement 12 months a year. One of those moves happened Thursday night when news broke that former Nittany Lion head coach Bill O’Brien would be returning to Beaver Stadium next season — as Ohio State’s offensive coordinator. After the NCAA sanctions in 2012, when he went 8-4, was the national coach of the year and posted a two-year record of 15-9 before leaving for the Houston Texans, O’Brien should be credited with saving the Penn State program. ...

Rudel: How about Franklin for commissioner?

James Franklin thinks college football needs a commissioner, and I think James Franklin would be perfect. I’m serious. I know this will be taken as a disguised way to move on from him as the Nittany Lions’ coach, but it’s not. In terms of confidence in him leading the program to a national championship, there’s no question his big-game performances have frustrated the fan base, but also know this: Penn State could do a lot worse and, in many ways, Franklin would be difficult to replace. Franklin has provided excellent recruiting, his team has represented itself well in the ...