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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 ...

Expectations can transfer quickly

By Bill Contz For the Mirror Portal has become very busy place Next month’s battle for the coveted Land Grant trophy has Penn State traveling to East Lansing to face a Michigan State squad off to a fast 7-0 start, one that has quickly served to put their pandemic-interrupted 2-5 finish in 2020 under first-year head coach Mel Tucker in the rearview mirror. The Spartans’ surprising start can be partly attributed to a staggering 20 new signees courtesy of the transfer portal. For those of you keeping score at home, that equates to a hefty 24% roster overhaul (assuming an 85 ...

For Wazzu coach, no jab, no job

You’re never going to convince guys like ex-Washington State coach Nick Rolovich to get the shot. It’s a waste of breath. The best scientists and all the evidence in the world couldn’t. Losing a $3 million-a-year job didn’t. Even public pleas from the likes of Alabama’s Nick Saban, Clemson’s Dabo Swinney and Georgia’s Kirby Smart — guys who command genuine respect in the business — failed to make a dent. Rolovich, who was hired in January 2020, was fired for cause by the university Monday after blowing through a deadline mandating that state employees get ...