Breaking News

Voice of the Fan

Hoopla: What’s old is new again

By Jim Litke The Associated Press “Old” is a relative term in college basketball, but if the players in this year’s NCAA Tournament looked somehow older than usual, relax. It’s not your eyesight. It’s the new normal. It began with the COVID-19 pandemic that cut a wide swath through the past three seasons and convinced the NCAA to grant more than a few players an extra year of eligibility. Throw in the usual number who took “redshirt” years to deal with injuries, then add in those who took advantage of the NCAA’s increasingly relaxed transfer rules, which let players ...

VanDerveer assisting Ukraine

By Janie McCauley The Associated Press STANFORD, Calif. — At home over breakfast Thursday morning with sister Heidi, Tara VanDerveer formulated a plan to somehow help the suffering Ukrainian people who still mean so much to her years after she took the U.S. national team to play there. The Hall of Fame Stanford coach pledged $10 for every 3-pointer made in the women’s NCAA Tournament toward humanitarian efforts in Ukraine, and she challenged anyone else who could give to do so — even just a dime per 3 if possible. Georgia Tech coach Nell Fortner, whose team played its ...

One betting rule still sacrosant

By Tim Dahlberg The Associated Press Calvin Ridley had no inside information and, apparently, no idea how to bet. In other words, he was just like millions of other neophyte bettors lured in by promises of riches from sports betting operators and the leagues they cohabitate with. Except Ridley plays for the Atlanta Falcons. And that’s where things get a little dicey. Almost everything goes these days in the Wild West of sports betting, but there is still one big no-no that remains sacrosanct: You don’t bet on your own league and you certainly don’t bet on your own ...

Boeheim wraps up lost season

By Ralph Russo The Associated Press NEW YORK — Sitting next to his sons, Jim Boeheim did not hesitate when asked to evaluate the first losing season in his 46 years as head coach at Syracuse. “It’s the best season I’ve ever had,” the 77-year-old said Thursday after his team was eliminated by Duke in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament. “I think that says enough.” Barring some kind of highly unexpected postseason invitation, Syracuse finished 16-17. The Orange struggled to close games all season, and again against Duke they faltered late, getting outscored 10-0 in ...

Mailbag

Expansion shouldn’t stop with Laurel Highlands So regional football leagues are disbanding and teams are applying to new surroundings. The Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference is expanding. Maybe the time has come to adopt the WPIAL format of teams playing games according to classification. Combine Districts 6 and 5, and extend an invitation to District 9 DuBois, Clearfield, Punxsutawney, Curwensville and Indiana (of the WPIAL). Other possibilities might include Erie McDowell and Cathedral Prep, both of District 10, and District 4 Williamsport. Those additions would ...

Baseball needs to right its ship

By Tim Dahlberg The Associated Press The talks are over, at least for now. Opening day is gone, too, and now we’re forced to wait to see if we get any baseball at all. If there was any good news coming out of baseball’s labor talks in Florida it was this: At least now we know who to blame. Here’s a hint: It’s not anyone wearing a uniform. No, baseball players aren’t blameless in any of this, far from it. They keep wanting more when they historically have always had the best deals in all of professional sports. But this one is mostly on the 30 miserable, conniving ...