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Coordinator needs freedom to make changes

This is exactly the kind of hire James Franklin should have made for the offensive coordinator job. The key word there is “kind.” I cannot sit here and tell you Kirk Ciarrocca is a home run hire who will do Joe Moorhead type of things for Penn State’s offense. No one can predict the future when it comes to that sort of stuff. Ciarrocca might be awesome. Even better than Moorhead. He might turn out to be blah. Even worse than Ricky Rahne. But that would be a big surprise given his track record. See, Ciarrocca has the “kind” of track record Franklin needed to ...

Everybody’s All-American: Parsons’ vision for himself, Lions not yet complete

With Penn State’s 2019 season about to close, the defensive leadership torch is being passed to Micah Parsons. The sophomore linebacker and newly-minted consensus All-American will be the unquestioned focal point of the Nittany Lions in 2020, and a high bar has already been set for his potential. Take a listen to departing linebacker Cam Brown, himself a three-year regular, two-year starter and respected team spokesman. “I feel like the only way up is for him to be in the Heisman race next year,” Brown was saying at Penn State Cotton Bowl media day last week. “Seriously, I ...

Welcome back: PSU men return to top 25 for first time in 23 years

Remember 1996? That was a cool year. I graduated from college that year, so yeah, that seems like a long, long time ago. Way back in 1996, the Penn State men’s basketball team was ranked in The Associated Press Top 25. The Nittany Lions finished that season 21-7 and No. 18 in the ...

A holiday ode to winter sports

This year’s poem celebrates the Winter Sports Season ‘Twas some time before Christmas and all through the region, The athletes were stirring… here comes a new season. With singlets and uniforms doled out with care, The hope of a championship floats through the air. The coaching staff, nestled all snug in their office, You better believe, they for sure are the bosses. Drawing up line-ups and game-plans and more, Ensuring their team can find all ways to score. The days growing shorter, the nights seem so long, We’ll head to the gym where the heat will be on. While the ...

Giger: Fans should climb on PSU hoops bandwagon

UNIVERSITY PARK — Penn State absolutely has a great chance to make the NCAA Tournament this season. Yes, it’s true. Really. No, reeeaaallly. I know, I know, PSU hoops history has beaten down so many college basketball fans around here that you just simply will not let yourself believe in the Nittany Lions. If fans let themselves have high hopes at all — and that wasn’t even possible with last year’s 0-10 start in the Big Ten — those hopes have been dashed time and time again by one bad loss after another. This year has a chance to be different. Penn State proved why in ...

Giger: PSU benefits from Rahne’s departure

Old Dominion did Penn State a big favor, and gave Nittany Lion fans an early Christmas present. That may sound harsh, but let’s be clear about one thing: Losing offensive coordinator Ricky Rahne is addition by subtraction for Penn State’s offense. Rahne is a good guy. A family man. A good representative of Penn State. I wish him nothing but the best as he takes over as Old Dominion’s head coach, and this is a wonderful opportunity for his career. But the hard truth is that Rahne was in over his head as the Lions’ offensive coordinator. He was average at best while holding ...