Some post-Fiesta Bowl/pre-Orange Bowl notes awaiting the star-studded final four: n Thursday night’s College Football Playoff semifinal between Penn State and Notre Dame will break a tie in the series currently tied at 9-9-1. And what a reward the winner will get: A berth in the national ...

Nine area coaches received a vote from either their peers or local media in this season’s voting for Altoona Mirror Coach of the Year. Remarkably, any of those coaches legitimately could have been selected as the winner and it would have been tough to argue that it was unfounded. Penn ...

I’m going to think a little bit outside the box and go with a position that isn’t talked about unless the player screwed up. Of course, it’s the kicker. It’s particularly enjoyable to watch Pat McAfee’s 33-yard field goal challenge every week on ESPN’s College Gameday. Regular ...

Labeling a 13-1 NFL team as lucky seems a bit partisan. Through Week 15, Kansas City had been triumphant in an NFL-record 15 consecutive games that were decided by one score, including a 19-17 last-second heartstopper over the Los Angeles Chargers in which the winning field goal first bounced ...

Most winters, I devote some space to reminding folks that feeding wildlife to “help” them through the harsh weather of the season is generally a bad idea. After two relatively mild winters with not much lingering snowfall, we’ve already had some cold weather and a bit of snow so far, ...

There’s no question Penn State has the most favorable draw in the College Football Playoff field. The Nittany Lions are heavily favored — by 8.5 points — to beat SMU in the first round at Beaver Stadium on Saturday. Penn State should benefit from the cold weather that is foreign to the ...