The walk down historic Bourbon Street towards the SuperDome for the National Championship Game between LSU and Clemson was unlike any other that I have made to a stadium. Tens of thousands of fans wearing purple and gold and orange and white paraded through the French Quarter hoping for the ...
By Eric Olson The Associated Press Six bowls this season had their smallest crowds on record, with section after section of unoccupied seats a yawning indication of just how little buzz there can be for the long, long list of postseason games on the schedule. Half-empty stadiums? Teams with ...
College football’s championship game between Clemson and LSU kicks off Monday night — 15 days since they won their respective semifinals — and that break was probably good for the teams’ health, just as the Monday night timeslot should be good for ratings. Still, a two-week plus break ...
By Tim Frank (Editor’s note: Altoona native Tim Frank worked closely with ex-NBA commissioner David Stern for more than two decades. He offers his perspective to the Mirror on Stern, who passed Wednesday at the age of 77.) When the phone rang, you knew you had to be ready. If ...
All those college football fans who clamor about a Southeastern Conference bias on ESPN might have more reason to complain soon. While ESPN launched and owns the SEC Network, it is also apparently close to securing the rights to broadcast the conference’s best regular season games and its ...
‘Safe tackling’ matter of interpretation Football helmets are almost as old as the game itself and, by now, about as safe as they’ll ever be. The polycarbonate outer shell flexes at impact to redistribute shock, yet remains strong enough to ram a car windshield at 40 mph without ...
ATLANTA — Haley Anderson has been through this before. In the lead-up to the Rio Olympics, all the talk about open water swimming focused on the conditions rather than the competition. Now, it’s happening again with the Tokyo Games less than a year away. This time, there is concern ...
We’re just a three days removed from Thanksgiving, and there are many reasons to be thankful in regard to sports media and television. Here are a few atop my list: David Feherty: The golf analyst and TV personality conducts the best sports interview program on television. We’re getting to ...
I have been to sporting events all over the USA, from sea to shining sea, and none is more awesome than an on-campus rivalry football game. Super Bowls, World Series, NBA Finals, Stanley Cups, bowl games and NCAA Final Fours are full of excitement, but they can’t top the energy of ...
For a decade and a half, ESPN Radio’s national morning drive sports-talk show was a testament to consistency and familiarity. Now it could be facing more change. Led by longtime hosts Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic, Mike and Mike in the Morning earned cultural relevance and respect from ...
LORETTO — Saint Francis assistant softball coach Hailey Breakwell has been a nomad in her softball career. Growing up in the fertile Napa Valley of California, a garden of grapes and softball players, Breakwell played shortstop at Idaho State, where she won Big Sky player of the year. ...
It’s been a good few weeks for Penn State football — arguably the best midseason publicity run in program history. It might not rival bowl performances and national championships, but in terms of consistently good news and high visibility opportunities, it’s hard to top three ...
Tim Dahlberg The Associated Press If the NBA really wanted to make a statement it should have never issued a statement, much less two. No need to complicate things when two team owners had already genuflected to the irate citizens of China. Or when James Harden took it upon himself to ...
Steelers fans saw something during last week’s Monday Night Football broadcast as their team played the Bengals that they thought never see — a seemingly sure-fire replay challenge victory for coach Mike Tomlin. It’s been two-plus years since Tomlin has tossed a red challenge flag and ...
It was Oct. 1963 and I had just finished my sixth year on active duty with the Navy. I decided to leave the service and try to get hired for some job in professional sports (PR, traveling secretary, gofer, anything). I wrote letters to every major league baseball, football and basketball team ...
It’s of little consolation to Steelers fans, but their team played a role in NFL broadcast and officiating history last week. With a replay challenge of a non-call that led to a pass interference penalty being called, the Seahawks-Steelers game was the first in which the NFL’s rule to ...
By Ira Kaufman For the Mirror Last Sunday I went to Gillette Stadium to see if Ben Roethlisberger, in the twilight of his career, could finally beat the GOAT, Tom Brady. Nearly two decades ago, the underdog New England Patriots (with Drew Bledsoe replacing an injured Tom Brady) upset the ...
The return of regular season NFL football means good things for many people, among them bettors, diehard fans, fantasy football players and, especially, TV programmers. It might be weeks until network series like “This is Us,” “9-1-1” or “Modern Family” return, but the fall TV ...
In theory, opening week of the NFL and college football season brims with the promise of championships, team milestones, and more wins than losses for every team. The reality is that the favorites in the preseason often fulfill their aspirations for postseason and bowl game appearances, ...
ATLANTA — There’s always a surge of excitement when a foul ball comes your way, mixed with a sense of dread. It’s a thrilling souvenir to take home from the ballpark. Yet too many fans have been left bloody and maimed by these projectiles hurtling into the stands. One person even ...