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College football is broken — and it knows it

UNIVERSITY PARK — College football is screaming for leadership. In the past couple of weeks, you’ve heard from the likes of James Franklin and Pat Kraft that “tampering is rampant,” and “it’s the wild, wild West.” It really wasn’t that long ago that teams accepted bowl bids in late November or early December and then all but drew their shades until reporting to the bowl site. Now, with the addition of the transfer portal and NIL (Name, Image and Likeness), not to mention a December signing day that previously didn’t exist, coaches’ heads are spinning. Agents ...

1969 Orange Bowl lifted PSU profile: Behind the Nittany Lions’ unlikely comeback that defeated Kansas

Saint Francis University Communications Professor Pat Farabaugh is currently writing a book on Penn State undefeated 1969 football season. It was the last game of the 1968 season — the Orange Bowl game against Kansas on Jan. 1, 1969 — that served notice to fans across the country that there was a program in the East that was building something special. Below is an excerpt from Farabaugh’s forthcoming book on that Orange Bowl game, one that will mark its 55th anniversary on Jan. 1. Less than 24 hours after ringing in the start of a new year, the Penn State football program ...

Local team continues to thrive

The local FC814 u-16 Energy girls soccer team, which won its national Classic League in the Great Lakes Conference this past year, continues to be on a roll. The team went undefeated at 3-0-0 and won its bracket at the Worldwide Sports Complex in Orlando, Fla., on Dec. 8-11 where the top 40 teams in the nation gathered to battle for a spot in the United States Youth Soccer National Championships, which will also be held in Orlando. It is the first team from our area to accomplish this feat. Energy coach Marc Frye said there were teams from all over the country among the 40 teams in ...

Fly tying events are scheduled

With deer season over for another year, I now find myself transitioning into “Oh, how I wish winter was over” mode. Yes, I’m aware that winter doesn’t officially arrive until Dec. 21 this year, but that doesn’t help much. That fact only magnifies my weariness for a winter that hasn’t really started yet. And we haven’t had any real winter weather yet other than a few cold days. So while I will be logging my share of couch time in the coming weeks, catching up on some reading and watching what looks like a lot of lackluster college bowl game matchups on TV, it would be ...

CFP group got it right … sort of

Notes and observations from the world of major college football as the 2023 bowl season kicks off with some appetizer games this weekend: n The College Football Playoff format will expand from four teams to 12 for the first time in 2024. For the Florida State Seminoles, that change will be one year late in coming. Despite finishing its season with a perfect 13-0 record and winning its Atlantic Coast Conference championship game, the Seminoles were boxed out of this season’s CFP in favor of Southeastern Conference champion Alabama. The committee voted to leave the Seminoles out ...

Unity fueled 2003 AAHS boys team

Altoona will honor its 2003 boys basketball team that won the District 6 title and advanced to the PIAA western final Friday night during the Mountain Lions’ home opener with Central Dauphin East (6:30 varsity tipoff). The squad, coached by Kraig Hetz, was the last Altoona boys team to play ...