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Adding more names to Mo Valley’s ‘cradle’ The Aug. 6 article, “Cradle of high school coaches,” which spotlighted the many head coaches from the Moshannon Valley School District, was interesting and very well written. One coach who should have been included is former Glendale High School head football coach John Lloyd. Coach Lloyd was from Ramey and one of his longtime assistant coaches, George Mills, was from Houtzdale. Both men played high school football in the Moshannon Valley School District. Together, with the late Tom Terza, they coached the ...

No limit to college football movement

By Bill Contz For the Mirror Most movie-goers my age recognize Godzilla as the skyscraper-toppling terror who routinely wreaked havoc on unsuspecting citizens of Tokyo. Sci-fi enthusiasts condoning this carnage as wholesome entertainment have anointed this spike-backed behemoth as “King of all monsters.” With the addition of its new west coast affiliates USC and UCLA, the Big Ten Conference now grows to a formidable sixteen teams. As such, I contend the NCAA should this mega conglomerate “King of all conferences” and, similar to the existing superpower to the south ...

One last salute to four of our greatest athletes of all time

To call them four of the greatest athletes in the history of women’s sports is a bit of a slight. Let’s just call them four of the greatest. Period. In what should be a melancholy, reflective time for all sports fans, Serena Williams, Sue Bird, Sylvia Fowles and Allyson Felix have decided it’s time to go, almost in unison, leaving behind a gaping hole that the next generation will be hard-pressed to fill. Because these four icons are more than just stellar athletes, though their accomplishments on courts and tracks around the world leave no doubt they are — and were — ...

Clifford misfires on loyalty

Say it ain’t so. When has it ever happened where a Nittany Lion football player would go behind the coaches backs to potentially lose the trust of their coaches as well as possibly disrupt what could be a successful new season? Does Sean Clifford realize that most major football programs would have some difficulty welcoming back a sixth-year, 24-year-old starting quarterback who at best is average in his playing ability while waiting on the sidelines are some outstanding young recruits? Talk about looking a gift horse in the mouth. Wanting to improve the college players ...

Changes abounding in MLB

By John Hartsock jhartsock@altoonamirror.com In Major League Baseball, as the old saying goes, “The times, they are a changin.’’’ Several significant changes have been implemented in the game this season and during the recent past, and several more could be on the immediate horizon. The designated hitter is now in effect in both the National and American Leagues, there’s a new and better postseason format on tap beginning this October, and the radical defensive shifts that teams have used to cut down batting and run production could soon be significantly modified. The ...

Clifford on right track with pursuit of benefits

I was reading the story in the Mirror about Sean Clifford leading a movement to help improve the benefits for college athletes. Medical benefits for life for athletes is an overlooked and incredibly important issue. Until it’s affordable to personally treat/finance sports injuries, the teams and leagues need to address this. I have two neighbors that were Division III athletes. The ex-football player sustained a knee and back injury during his college career and estimates he’s paid out over $50,000 in medical bills. The second guy was a tennis player. He has ...