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Scoring an error on Kapler

By Jim Caltagirone For the Mirror Gabe Kapler has been described as an analytics fanatic, and it’s hard to argue with his approach to managing. Last season, he directed the San Francisco Giants to 107 wins and the best record in baseball. In some quarters, however, the logic that is currently influencing his preferred method of social protest has been questioned. Three days after the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, Kapler posted a long message on his blog that, in part, explained his dissatisfaction with existing gun legislation and the police response to the tragedy at Robb ...

Storm clouds on horizon for transgenders

By Paul Newberry The Associated Press Swimming has fired the first major salvo against transgender women athletes, which will surely clear the way for other sports to impose similar bans ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics. Hopefully, that won’t bring an end to thoughtful, intelligent debate — backed by science, nuance and empathy — about ways for sports to be open to everyone, especially those who have already faced enormous discrimination, marginalization and political attacks. With a ruling aimed squarely at Lia Thomas, the first transgender woman to win an NCAA national ...

PSU fans paying for average program

This is about Neil Rudel’s column last weekend that James Franklin’s message is falling on deaf ears. How about empty pockets for a team that in the majority of Franklin’s eight years has been at best an average Big Ten team as well as nationally ranked team? Without a doubt, the NIL as well as the transfer portal. will soon be the demise of college football as we know it. Nittany Lion fans realize that to be competitive, it takes up-to-date facilities, great recruiting, fan support and attendance, excellent coaching, and, of course, money. However important this money ...

A special tribute on Father’s Day

By Jim Lane sports@altoonamirror.com (Editor’s note: Retired Mirror sports editor Jim Lane wrote this column after his dad, Kermit Lane, passed away in 1987. It’s reprinted every Father’s Day.) Today is Father’s Day. It’s a chance to tell your favorite guy thanks for all he’s been and done for you over the years. It’s usually celebrated with a small gift, perhaps a shirt or tie or wallet. In many cases, few words are expressed. And that’s a shame. I wrote this Father’s Day column a couple of weeks after my dad died because I missed him. I still do. A day ...

Suarez victory delivers Mexican Cup winner

By Jenna Fryer The Associated Press CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Here are some things to know about Daniel Suarez’s long journey before becoming the first Mexico-born winner at the top level of NASCAR: n When he decided as a child in Monterrey to seriously pursue a career as a racecar driver, Suarez’s father closed his well-known automobile restoration shop to support his son. n Suarez’s first move to the United States to pursue his dream wasn’t a relocation to NASCAR’s hub in Charlotte, North Carolina, but rather an unconventional arrangement to live with his team owner in ...

Cordova’s spirit will live on

The early 1970s was a great time to be a high school basketball fan in Altoona. For a dozen years beginning in late elementary school, I witnessed some amazing basketball. Not every season brought a championship, but you could count on seeing many more wins than losses. One got to see great players coached by legendary coaches before packed houses of fans. Who could forget a thousand-plus people jammed into the toasty Pleasant Valley Gym or the standing-room only crowds at the Jaffa watching the best teams in Western Pennsylvania? This notable era came vividly to mind when I ...