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Rudel: Franklin needs to stay in his own lane

By Neil Rudel nrudel@altoonamirror.com Is this a make-or-break year for James Franklin? With a contract through 2031, and a team capable of winning double-digit games this fall, you wouldn’t think so. But last week’s verdict in a lawsuit that awarded a fired Penn State team doctor $5.25 million in damages may have dealt Franklin a blow that hangs over him. (Unless, of course, he beats Ohio State, and good luck with that.) Franklin and Penn State were dismissed as defendants in the suit in 2020 due to the statute of limitations, and Franklin was not called to testify. But his ...

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 ...

Butkers are fine; what about others?

I’m not thinking about Harrison Butker. He seems to be chugging along, doing OK for himself. After all, he’s a family man, a professional football player — a placekicker for the Kansas City Chiefs, namely —and he’s clearly a devout Catholic who finds solace in his religion. What I can’t stop thinking about, though, are the others. In a much talked-about speech Butker recently gave at a small Catholic college in Kansas, he preached to the graduating class about all manner of sins — IVF, Joe Biden, premarital cohabitation and masses held in living languages. Butker ...

Starters have been high point

Notes and observations from Major League Baseball as Memorial Day approaches: n Back in 2017, MLB instituted a complete replay review system for umpires’ calls that were challenged on the field in games. Reviews were conducted at the Replay Command Center — which is located at the MLB Advanced Media headquarters in New York City — by replay officials who are full-time MLB umpires who work shifts at the Replay Command Center in addition to their on-field shifts. The reviews were instituted as a response to some egregious and blatant botched calls by umpires on the field that ...

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 ...

Birding app called Merlin helps identify birdcalls

As long as I can remember, I have held a deep fascination for the outdoors. Although hunting and fishing have always been my main attractions, so many other aspects and diversions related to the natural world have often consumed my attention as well. And each new facet of the natural world seems to unlock its own special niche in the grand scheme of things. When I developed an interest in fly-fishing as an eager 12-year-old, for instance, that pursuit soon progressed into the desire to tie my own flies. The need to understand what the bugs that I was trying to imitate actually ...