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Basketball season has been quite the downer

This past high school basketball season brought back memories of 50 years ago. Many of the games this year, especially the girls games, were very lopsided with wins of 30, 40 and 50 points. Does this mean the competition is so weak or are some of the teams that outstanding? Altoona boys were at one time one of the best teams in the state. The last few years, they’ve been one of the worst teams in the state. There was a time when Hollidaysburg could not compete with Altoona. That’s no longer the case. College basketball is also being ruined. In the past, Saint ...

Empty seats for PSU women speak volumes

By Jim Caltagirone For the Mirror If the Penn State Lady Lions basketball program traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the cry on the floor would be “Sell!” Granted, Carolyn Kieger was hired to rebuild a floundering program prior to the 2019-20 season, but the structure’s foundation still hasn’t settled. One measure of a team’s progress is the conference record. In Kieger’s first five seasons, the Lady Lions were 25-66 in conference play, including last season’s 9-9 mark. Through 14 Big Ten games this season, Penn State was 1-13. That’s not progress. ...

Johnston was in a league of his own

I was saddened to see the recent passing of Dick Johnston. In the winter of 1962 during my seventh grade year at iconic Roosevelt Junior High School, I can vividly recall the first time I watched Coach Jim Rice’s Roughrider basketball team in action. I was absolutely astounded by the shooting and ball-handling prowess of an eighth-grade guard named Dickie Johnston. Some of my fondest memories as an Altoona High student and Mountain Echo sports editor involved watching Johnston play at the Jaffa Mosque and other venues throughout Central Pennsylvania. His outside shooting ...

Franklin’s remarks need some coaching

I would like to see Pat Kraft have a discussion with James Franklin about his press conferences and comments. Franklin very rarely actually talks about football, and his continual banter about the other team’s players and coaches is really off-putting. I get that he wants to tell everyone he studies the opponent, and how good they are, but he need not tell us about how he knows and has worked with seemingly everyone in the profession. And have a little emotional intelligence. I know he is smart and uses his voice to ask for things he wants in the program. That’s all well ...

Mailbag

Nittany Lions fans leave impression I thought it was quite extraordinary when the two marching bands from Penn State and Oregon joined together for the national anthem in Indianapolis during the Big Ten title game. Maybe I haven’t been to enough games, but I never saw that before, and for me it was special. On Sunday at the airport, I chatted with a serious Oregon fan who travels to all their games. He told me that the PSU fans were the best he’s ever seen. The cheering and roaring until the very end really impressed him. I told him to just wait until next year at Beaver ...

Winning in sports adds to increased power

By Jim Caltagirone For the Mirror Credibility may be the best projector for someone’s voice. In sports, just as in politics, credibility is synonymous with winning, and winning provides a platform for the expression of opinions and observations. Although James Franklin is still seeking to fulfill the expectations that he stoked during his dissertation on what constitutes an elite football program, his teams have beaten enough middle-of-the pack opponents that he can command the attention of national media representatives. During a press conference leading up to the College ...