NCAA must address opting out of bowls As a Penn Stater, class of 1963, I was disappointed with six starting football players who dropped out of the recent Outback Bowl. Five were defensive starters, which crippled the Penn State defense. Coach James Franklin said it was the worst bowl ...

By Charles Lamertina For the Mirror (Editor’s note: Charles Lamertina, an Altoona native, has officiated major college football since 2015. This past season, he worked the Army-Navy game and reflected on the experience for the Mirror.) To say that the avocation of football officiating has ...

The atmosphere at the Steelers-Cleveland game was at the AFC championship game level. I was at Kobe Bryant’s last game in Los Angeles, and there were a lot of similarities as the both games seemed to a celebration of careers. As with Bryant, there is something very special about a ...

Penn State football plight: It’s stuck with Franklin This entire Penn State coaching staff lacks accountability, starting with our overpaid head coach. Excuses galore but no results. Where do we (re)start? Coaches: I know we are now stuck with James Franklin until he demands another ...

By Jim. Caltagirone For the Mirror Speculating on what the new year will bring is one of the joys of the holiday season. Even if it’s only wishful thinking, entertaining hopes for that elusive lottery jackpot or new job certainly come at no cost. It’s better to dream big than not at ...

By Jim Litke The Associated Press So it barely mattered whether you first ran across John Madden as the growling, grizzly bear-sized coach of the Oakland Raiders, the big, booming soundtrack of the NFL, or the guy with the “what-me-worry?” smile peeking out from the slot on a video-game ...