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Miller played the game ‘with gusto’

In the mid-1970s, I had the pleasure of playing baseball with Pat Miller in the Altoona City League on a talented E.L. Dinges team. Of this special cast of players, Miller was the heart and soul. He was a talker and played with gusto, fitting of the excellent catcher that he was. I always looked up to Miller with respect and admiration — not only because he was one year my senior — but also for possessing special qualities of a fine athlete and man. His intelligence and leadership were immediately apparent to all on the baseball diamond. Behind the plate, he caught ...

Olympic committee needs to ask about Shuai’s whereabouts

By Paul Newberry The Associated Press Where is Peng Shuai? It’s a question that must be asked — loudly, for everyone to hear — by the International Olympic Committee as it prepares to hold the Winter Games less than three months from now in Beijing. Peng is, after all, one of its own, a three-time Olympian and tennis trailblazer who suddenly disappeared into the morass of what passes for justice in China after accusing a former top government official of sexually assaulting her. China has insisted that it doesn’t know what all the fuss is about, with a Foreign Ministry ...

Clemente’s spirit remains alive

By Victor Curfman For the Altoona Mirror Museum collection ‘overwhelming’ It was with great anticipation that I drove down Route 22 on my way to the Roberto Clemente Museum in Pittsburgh, for my first and definitely not my last visit. Clemente was my hero growing up. My absolute favorite memory (other than my wedding and the birth of my son) was being at his 3,000th hit game on Sept. 30, 1972. When I heard he tragically died, I was devastated. For the last 50-plus years, I have collected many items related to Clemente — photos, cards, prints, statues and many other ...

Rodgers’ vaccine audible backfires

By Jim Litke The Associated Press There are some potentially serious problems with the “unvaccinated-Aaron Rodgers-has-COVID-19” story, so let’s get the funny business out of the way first. When reporters asked the Green Bay Packers quarterback back in August whether he’d been vaccinated, he replied, “Yeah, I’ve been immunized.” Not exactly. Rodgers may have won “Celebrity Jeopardy!” a half-dozen years ago, but he’s no more a medical doctor than Julius Erving was. Otherwise, he would have known better. So be charitable and give Rodgers the benefit of the ...

Athletes’ chance for philanthropy

When former Nittany Lion All-American quarterback Kerry Collins contributed $250,000 to Penn State’s athletic department in 1996 to permanently endow the quarterback position, those who knew him were not the least bit surprised that he possessed a philanthropic spirit. The surprising aspect of the announcement was that the donation by Collins was the first in a brand new program which permitted donors to fully endow a position on the football team, or any other athletic squad. Only two years before, Collins was a linchpin of the undefeated Rose Bowl team. Here he was again, ...

Penn State brass needs to get prepared

I am afraid that this year’s Iowa was last year’s Indiana where Penn State goes into a tailspin after the first loss. Not only were we totally unprepared for our opponent, but we don’t have the spirit or desire to turn this around. How much of the team has been affected by James Franklin’s future as head coach, given overtures from USC and LSU? What does it take for our head coach to openly express his feelings for the school he now coaches? Why should Franklin expect our players to be “all in” if he is not? Whatever leverage he thought he had for getting a raise ...