(Editor’s note: Former Forest Hills and Bishop Carroll football coach Chuck Sponsky died on Sept. 6.) I cringe every time I bump into a former student or athlete. Invariably, he or she will remember something I did or said as a teacher or coach that I forgot about long ago. In their ...
Father Jack O’Malley considers it the finest moment of his time at Saint Francis College. The Frankies had just scored a major triumph over Fordham in a tournament in Charlotte. It was 11:30 p.m., New Year’s Eve, 1958, and the team was departing by plane for Pittsburgh and then on by ...
The word surreal is one of those terms vastly overused by so many. Yet I can’t think of a better descriptor as I drove past Beaver Stadium drenched in sunshine with a whiff of early autumn in the air. I should have been among the 100,000-plus in the stands. I deserved it. Don’t I? ...
You’ve got to hand it to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Just when you think they can’t go any lower, the Jags somehow manage to find a whole new level of teal-colored ineptitude. They really could be the worst franchise in all of pro sports. Since there is perpetual speculation that the ...
The NFL career of running back Curvin Richards is not particularly memorable. He played in 12 games over three seasons for Dallas and Detroit and averaged 3.3 yards on 55 carries. However, diehard Dallas fans of the early 1990s will never forget Richards’s final performance as a Cowboy or ...
Social distancing doesn’t exist in game of football I appreciated Neil Rudel’s commentary on the PIAA and high school sports last weekend (“PIAA needs to keep using common sense.”) I would like to share a couple of my thoughts on the subject. Fact 1: Gov. Wolf’s position is ...
It’s the time of year when kids from around the world are in South Williamsport to play baseball. But not this summer. The Little League World Series was canceled for the first time in its 73-year history because of the coronavirus pandemic. Despite the innocence of 11 and 12-year-olds ...
By Tim Dahlberg The Associated Press Midway through a season most of us will eventually try to forget, Lucas Giolito reminded us why so many wanted baseball back to begin with. His no-hitter Tuesday night in Chicago was certainly the quietest of the 19 pitched in White Sox history. The ...
The decision by the Big Ten and Pac-12 to delay football to the winter or spring has met with sharp criticism, impassioned player testimonials and parent-authored letters. Evidently the health and well-being of players, coaches and any fans lucky enough to be allowed inside the stadium of ...
INDIANAPOLIS — It’s almost race weekend and the tiny enclave of Speedway looks virtually barren. The usually colorful campgrounds and parking lots are empty, green grass untouched and white gravel undisturbed. There is no sign of the familiar sweet smells of food staples like turkey legs ...
By Doug Ferguson The Associated Press The Masters, known as much for the roars as the raw beauty of Augusta National, will be on mute this year. The club decided Wednesday there will be no spectators. That means all three majors in this year of COVID-19 will not have fans, and the silence ...
Parsons could have delayed announcement Neil Rudel mentioned that he can’t blame Micah Parsons for making the decision for forgoing this season. I only wish Parsons would have waited more than one day to announce his decision just to pretend that he was a team leader of one of the ...
I’m writing this in response to Neil Rudel’s column on July 31 advocating that parents be permitted to attend PIAA sporting events this fall. I have been a track and field coach since 1978. I am currently the head girls track and field coach at Hughesville High School, a Class 2A school ...
It’s a sad fact of life that most things are not truly appreciated until they’re gone. In today’s sporting world, that includes the fans. From the days of the ancient Olympics, athletes have reaped the rewards of their skills in the arena, from fame and fortune to public adulation and ...
Editor’s note: Former Saint Francis basketball standout Jack Phelan died suddenly last week at the age of 66. His former coach at Saint Francis, Dave Magarity, reflects on the passing of his good friend. Magarity is currently the head coach of the West Point women’s basketball team. ...
For kneeling players, here’s another option The emphasis of the NFL games could always be summarized in one word: winning. I do believe this is about to change after reading excerpts in the Mirror and listening to Steelers coach Mike Tomlin. The new emphasis will be on which ...
Alarmed at the number of coronavirus cases reported amongst college football’s elite, Boomer Esiason was quoted in a recent Newsweek article as saying the top teams “...may be trying to gain an advantage by having their players get the virus now instead of during conference play.” What ...
Athletes shouldn’t take precedence At a time when the Trump administration is measurably failing the American public when it comes to the availability to get a COVID test and the long turnaround time to receive the test results, I was appalled to learn that the NCAA issued the following ...
When the task force that is charged with establishing the National Garden of American Heroes begins reviewing great figures of America’s history, the late collegiate coaching legend John Wooden should receive every consideration. Based on the criteria that will be used to select the ...
The big sports news from Los Angeles this week — other than the sensational outfield play of clubhouse attendant Francisco “Chico” Herrera — was that the Dodgers will join some other teams and sell fan cutouts to fill seats at Dodger Stadium. Which, of course, immediately brought ...