PSU vote to improve Lasch produces ‘crack’

February 27, 2021

Penn State football went 1-0 last week with the Board of Trustees’ decision to approve a $48.3 million upgrade to the Lasch Football Building. But while the 27-6 vote may appear to have been a three-touchdown victory, there was notable sideline disagreement that could linger and affect the Nittany Lions’ long-term picture. One of the nay votes came from Jay Paterno, Joe’s son who has been a board member since 2017. Paterno invoked his dad, saying, “My former boss used to say, ‘Football is here to serve the university, not the other way around.’’’ Let’s not kid ...

Two weeks to go for District 6 1A-4A seedings

February 15, 2021

Tonight would have originally marked the start of the District 6 playoffs, but thanks to a decision by the PIAA to shorten the PIAA tournament and allow only champions into the field, teams have two more weeks before the final rankings are set for Class 1A through 4A. With only champions advancing to the state playoffs, the playoff picture is a little less complicated, and unfortunately some very talented area teams will not make the PIAA field. Fortunately for those teams, as long as they have not already competed in 22 games, they can continue their regular seasons if they chose to ...

PSU shouldn’t dismiss a Ferry ride

February 13, 2021

Other than an occasional Twitter comment, I don’t cover Penn State basketball anymore, but I still watch it, and I think Sandy Barbour has an interesting situation on her hands. The Nittany Lions are 7-9 overall and 4-8 in the Big Ten entering Sunday’s game with Nebraska at the Bryce ...

Locals have watched Nits’ new OC grow

January 16, 2021

Two local high school football coaches have first-hand experience with new Penn State offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich. R.J. Albarano roomed with him in the late 1990s while the two were on the football team at California (Pa.) University. “He played QB for us at Cal,” Albarano, a longtime Hollidaysburg assistant and ex-Cal lineman, said. “Even at Cal, you could tell — most of the players took to Mike because he’s a good leader.” Golden Tiger head coach Homer DeLattre met Yurcich, 45, when the latter was on the Edinboro staff (2005-10) as quarterbacks coach and ...

Plenty to choose from when talking about Flash all-time wins

January 9, 2021

When Saint Francis opened its 2020-21 basketball season with a shocking 80-70 upset at Pitt, my immediate reaction was to call the victory the best of Rob Krimmel’s nine-year tenure. But where did it rank in annals of the Red Flash program? Though its place on the national landscape has not been continuous, certainly with the sustained NIT success in the 1950s and the trip to the NCAA Tournament in 1991, Saint Francis has a proud history with decorated players and an impressive amount of notable wins. If you asked me the top victories in Penn State football history, I could tick ...

From 2020’s best play to its weirdest incident

January 2, 2021

The Associated Press will hand out its individual NFL awards on the night before the Super Bowl in Tampa. Until then, here are some off-the-beaten track honors to consider. BEST GAME: In Week 9, the first professional matchup of Tua Tagovailoa and Kyler Murray lived up to the hype. The two young quarterbacks traded pinpoint passes, timely scrambles and other big plays in a dazzling show of the league’s future. Miami won 34-31. Tagovailoa led a 93-yard drive to tie it before Jason Sanders made a 50-yard field goal. Arizona’s Zane Gonzalez missed a 49-yarder that would have tied ...