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NFL scare: A reminder of uncertainty

Up until this weekend, the biggest news out of NFL training camps was that there hadn’t been any big news. No wave of star players testing positive for COVID-19. No mass outbreaks of the virus discovered despite tens of thousands of tests. That changed — if only for a few hours — with a flurry of positive tests that forced NFL teams into scramble mode. It seemed, if only briefly, that even the best laid plans to get an NFL season underway were going to be sunk by a virus that refuses to be tamed. That could still happen. There are those who think it’s likely that eventually ...

Playing sports ultimately family choice

One of the most frustrating things in life can be inconsistency. People don’t like being told they can’t do something when they can see someone else just as qualified getting that same opportunity. So, imagine the frustration of a high school golfer or girls tennis player if the PIAA had decided to tell them they couldn’t participate in their sport this fall after they have been doing it all summer in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, apparently safely. Thankfully, Dr. Robert Lombardi and his board went ahead with sports Friday afternoon at the PIAA’s board meeting by ...

The PIAA shouldn’t have to cry Wolf

This is a big week for participants and followers of Pennsylvania high school sports. The PIAA met with representatives of Gov. Tom Wolf on Friday to counter the governor’s recommendation of postponing scholastic sports until Jan. 1 due to the coronavirus. When Wolf made his recommendation on Aug. 6, the PIAA smartly responded the next day by pushing back the start of football season two weeks to Sept. 11 in hopes of gathering support — and an audience with Wolf — in the meantime. Another PIAA meeting is scheduled Friday to announce its plans. So far, the governor’s ...

These are college football’s darkest days

Individually, nobody died from the Big Ten’s decision Tuesday to cancel its upcoming fall sports schedule, namely the football season, due to the coronavirus. Nonetheless, it sure feels like everyone involved with the game — players, coaches, support staff, fans and, yes, even the media — can use a dose of sympathy right about now. Penn State Athletic Director Sandy Barbour summed it up well, saying she’s “heartbroken” but supports the Big Ten’s difficult verdict. It started Saturday with the Big Ten’s announcement that it was suspending contact drills until ...

Parsons’ choice $ign of times

If the coronavirus hasn’t been depressing enough, Penn State fans got word via social media late Tuesday night that the Nittany Lions’ best player, linebacker Micah Parsons, is opting out, or bypassing, the season — should one actually be held. The information wasn’t surprising. Despite just having played two seasons, Parsons has been evaluated as a lock to be selected high in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft and has been viewed as perhaps the best defensive player available. Had the virus not hit and he played this year, it was a foregone conclusion that, barring ...

Rudel: Parents deserve to see their kids play

Suffering through the coronavirus pandemic has been the worst thing most of us have experienced in our lifetime. If you and your family are healthy and working, count yourselves fortunate. Even so, every aspect of life has been affected — closing of schools, adjustments at work, the awful isolation of our seniors, social distancing, wearing masks — and it’s collectively taxed everybody. While state and national guidelines and recommendations are aimed at keeping as many as possible healthy and safe, the inconsistencies have been frustrating. It’s OK to fly in a stuffy plane, ...