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Antonio Brown’s mental health is no joke

Antonio Brown tossed his jersey and shoulder pads toward the bench, threw his glove and undershirt into the stands and ran off the field bare-chested, waving a peace-out sign to fans in the end zone while Tom Brady huddled the offense for an important play. Following his strange outburst Sunday, Brown is out as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and one can only hope he finds peace. Brown’s bizarre behavior quickly blew up on social media and dominated NFL headlines around the league on a day when Brady engineered another impressive comeback and several teams clinched playoff ...

Bowl opt-out is personal decision

Matt Corral is right. So is Kenny Pickett. And Jahan Dotson. All three project to be top picks in the NFL draft this spring, and all three approached their team’s recent bowl games with different ideas about participating. Corral, the University of Mississippi’s standout junior quarterback, was adamant that he would join his Rebels teammates in their Sugar Bowl game against Baylor in New Orleans. He nearly paid a heavy price for it, too, as he left the game with an ankle injury. X-rays were negative for a fracture — he suffered a sprain that shouldn’t affect his draft ...

Hooligans enjoying much soccer success in area

There have been a number of outstanding travel teams in our local soccer district. The Energy, a local u-13 girls team, went to the National Finals of the Presidents Cup, and the Blazers Boys Classic team overpowered teams in the PAWest on its way to winning the State Cup Championship. But perhaps the most dominant team to come from the area over a period of years is coach Mike Pastore’s Hooligans Division 1 Classic team from the FC814 Altoona/Hollidaysburg combined club. The Hooligans began as a u-8 team and have won numerous prestigious tournaments and league titles. Pastore ...

TAMPA — With their defense gutted by players who couldn’t wait to leave Penn State one game early and take their chances in the NFL Draft, the Nittany Lions’ only chance in the Outback Bowl was for their offense to carry the load. It didn’t. In fact, the defense, minus six ...

Defections further dampen year for PSU football

By Neil Rudel nrudel@altoonamirror.com TAMPA — The year was 1997, and a once-promising season was torpedoed by a November swoon, which was followed by the suspension of a couple key players for various indiscretions. Suffice to say the Penn State camp was none too pleased, even though the Nittany Lions still landed in the Citrus Bowl for a matchup with Florida featuring name-brand coaches Joe Paterno and Steve Spurrier. Nonetheless, when he grabbed a flip card in the media lounge a couple hours before the game, Budd Thalman, the Lions’ sports information director, summed it ...

What’s up for PSU in ’22? Peek ahead

Tangelo opts out As expected, Penn State defensive tackle Derrick Tangelo has opted out of Saturday’s Outback Bowl against Arkansas (noon, ESPN2). Tangelo marks the Lions’ fifth defensive starter to forgo the game, joining Arnold Ebiketie, Jaquan Brisker, Ellis Brooks and Brandon Smith. Standout receiver Jahan Dotson is also passing up the game to focus on the NFL Draft. Coach James Franklin said offensive tackle Rasheed Walker, who is out with an injury, will be replaced by Olu Fashanu in the game. By Neil Rudel nrudel@altoonamirror.com It’s been a most eventful year ...