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Expansion leaves a green footprint

Of the Big Ten’s five expansions over the last 70 years — Michigan State in 1950, Penn State in 1990, Nebraska in 2011, Maryland and Rutgers in 2014 — Thursday’s blockbuster announcement that Southern Cal and UCLA would join the league starting in 2024 is the biggest. It converts the league from a midwestern base with eastern cherry picking to a coast-to-coast footprint that snagged the Los Angeles market and the west’s best two brands while, intentional or not, torpedoed the Pac-12. An obvious counter to the SEC’s poaching of Texas and Oklahoma, the Big Ten has further ...

Hoenstine family savors special day

UNIVERSITY PARK — Central baseball had some history when A.J. Hoenstine took over as head coach 15 years ago, but most of that was centered around a run to the PIAA Class 3A championship game in 1984 that the Scarlet Dragons lost to Chambersburg, 3-1. Since Hoenstine has taken over, ...

No winners in golf’s Civil War

Golf is in the early days of a bitter showdown between the established PGA Tour and an upstart series backed by the repressive Saudi regime, which hopes that throwing around billions will help people forget about its appalling human rights record. If history is any indication, there are unlikely to be any real winners in this battle of the links. IndyCar is still struggling to overcome an ugly rebellion from the 1990s. The NBA’s growth was undoubtedly stifled by its nearly decades-long challenge from the American Basketball Association. The NHL endured plenty of harsh blows while ...

Is Franklin’s stance falling on deaf ears?

UNIVERSITY PARK — Without mentioning names — hint, hint — there have been some former Penn State football coaches known to snap at the media every now and then. James Franklin, for the most part, hasn’t been one of them. In fact, at least in the press conferences I’ve attended over Franklin’s soon-to-be nine-year tenure, I’ve only heard him raise his voice twice — when Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz accused Penn State of faking injuries last year and Wednesday when Franklin was glued on the topic of NIL. From the beginning, Franklin has wanted Penn State to be “bold and ...

LIV momentum turning PGA Tour upside down

The upstart, Saudi-backed LIV Golf Tour finally got under way this weekend with the league’s first event being held in London, England. Everything associated with this event has turned the golfing world absolutely upside down. The business model for the new LIV Tour seems focused on an attempt to poach as many big names away from the PGA tour as possible. To accomplish their goal, LIV Tour officials have offered massive monetary contracts to established PGA stars, some exceeding the $100 million mark. Dustin Johnson took the bait, so did Phil Mickelson. By the middle of ...

NCAA must manage NIL — and fast

Some recent news items in sports worthy of comment while praying for the families in Texas and wishing our nation’s leaders can better protect our children: ITEM: NIL hits home. Pitt standout receiver Jordan Addison, the 2021 recipient of the Fred Biletnikoff award, has officially transferred to USC amid reports that he’ll be paid in the neighborhood of $2 million via the Name, Image and Likeness rule. There were allegations of tampering, and Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi had several contentious conversations expressing as much with new Southern Cal coach Lincoln Riley. This is ...