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Sports world shouldn’t include ‘evil’

By Jim Caltagirone For the Mirror It’s possible that a man who lived over 2,500 years ago is responsible for initiating our society’s penchant for identifying heroes and villains in sports. The man was named Pheidippides, and he is regarded as the inspiration for the marathon. Pheidippides was a “day-long runner” in the Greek military who is credited with traversing a distance of nearly 25 miles from Marathon to Athens in 490 B.C. to announce a Greek victory over the invading Persians. The course for the marathon in the 1896 Athens Olympics replicated Pheidippides’ ...

Top 10 players to watch at next weekend’s Masters

By Doug Ferguson The Associated Press The 10 leading players for the Masters start with Scottie Scheffler, the world’s No. 1 player and a past champion at Augusta National. It includes a pair of long shots that have eight green jackets between them. One is Tiger Woods, the five-time champion. He has played only one tournament and 24 holes this year. The other is Phil Mickelson. A major champion in his 50s, he was a runner-up last year at the Masters. Here is a capsule look at 10 key players for the Masters, to be played April 11-14 (listed in predicted order of ...

What’s in a naming right? Plenty

By Jim Caltagirone For the Mirror In my first job as a newspaper reporter, I submitted my copy to an editor who spent a fair amount of his free time walking through local cemeteries. On occasion, he would enter the newsroom soon after completing one of his treks and, beaming like an explorer who had chanced upon a fascinating discovery, eagerly share interesting facts or bits of trivia which he gleaned from the tombstones and memorials that he had observed. His experiences were a reminder that cemeteries also function as repositories of inspirational stories, notable ...

Packers, Commanders get good grades in NFL free agency

By Rob Maaddi The Associated Press NFL teams have spent hundreds of millions of dollars this week to add new players, re-sign their own and try to improve their chances of winning. From Kirk Cousins and Saquon Barkley changing teams soon after the league’s tampering window opened to Chris Jones and Mike Evans staying put before hitting the open market, it’s been a wild spending spree. The grades are in even though signings will continue on through the weekend and into next week and beyond: ARIZONA CARDINALS: C+ Focused on defense, adding defensive tackle Justin Jones ...

Guilfoyle’s 1973-74 team stood tall

By John Frederick For the Mirror The number of Blair County boys basketball teams that have made it to the PIAA Final Four in the last 50 years can be counted on one hand. Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic’s 1974 third-place finish in the state tournament was one of that small handful of teams and celebrates the 50th anniversary of their playoff run this spring. Some exciting basketball was played in these parts in the late 1960s and early ’70s. During that span, and in 1974 in particular, a number of talented teams filled the Jaffa Shrine and area high school gyms. Altoona ...

Mailbag

Gambling leading many down the wrong road I have to laugh at the new commercials warning of sports gambling. Where were these spots five years ago before a generation of young and old lost their homes, savings accounts, marriages to the couple clicks on your phone? They’ve got your credit card numbers, folks. It reminds me of the 1950s when tobacco companies gave out free smokes on every street corner. The first couple packs were free. Now every sports gambling ad offers you up $100 to get started. Yeah, don’t worry about that small print at the bottom of ...