Breaking News

Voice of the Fan

Learning the power of the name … Ali

By Timi Dahlberg The Associated Press No one disputes that boxing is hard, really hard. For Nico Ali Walsh, living up his grandfather’s name might be even harder. He was, after all, The Greatest. “He’s just my grandfather and it’s as simple as that,” Ali Walsh said. “So it’s hard for me to see him as anything else.” The grandfather, if you haven’t figured it out already, is Muhammad Ali. And the grandson is about to set off a journey bordering on the impossible — making a name for himself in the ring while carrying the name of his legendary grandfather. The ...

Baseball losing (too) many heroes

By Bob Trumpbour For the Mirror When I was 11 years old, my mom took me to a New Jersey mall to meet Tom Seaver, then a star pitcher for the New York Mets. I still have the autographed ball that he signed on that day, and I still vividly remember the very brief conversation I had with him. He became a hero to me as a youngster. Unfortunately, Seaver is one of many outstanding ballplayers who passed away in the last 18 months. A friend told me that more Hall of Famers have died during that period than in any similar span before. I suspect that he is accurate. Hank ...

NFL’s top statistic: COVID-19 vaccination percentages

By Rob Maaddi The Associated Press The NFL’s most discussed stat has been COVID-19 vaccination percentages. As the first week of training camp kicked off, numbers continue to increase while debate persists. So far, 87.9 percent of players have had at least one shot of the vaccine and 19 teams have more than 90% of players vaccinated, including seven with more than 95% vaccinated. The league can’t mandate the vaccine but it made its stance clear through strict protocols for players who don’t get it. “I wouldn’t have got the vaccine without the protocols they are ...

Lilly built foundation for success

Former Lilly Raider football teams are set to celebrate three consecutive undefeated seasons from the 1960s this weekend. These men eventually became successful in life outside of the realm of football and athletics, with three earning doctorates and a number earning engineering and advanced degrees. They include an Ivy League graduate and player and some who worked for Fortune 500 companies. In addition, some were successful in the blue-collar trades, working for the railroad, steel companies and in the coal mines. The players from that melange of backgrounds will recall some ...

Advice from seasoned fisherman

This letter is in response to the July 3-4 mailbag letter “Fishing for wild trout should be preserved” by Nick Vrabel of Altoona. The article Vrabel refers to can be found by googling “Pennsylvania Bait Anglers Beware.” I fish strictly with minnows. I’m 74 years of age and have caught trout every month of year, including January and February, for I’d say the last 15 years. I’m not positive, but I think I have only killed one trout the last two years. Ninety-nine percent of the trout caught I’ve hooked cleanly in the mouth jaw area. I usually hook and land ...

How the NFL got through the pandemic

Saying the NFL is America’s most popular sport isn’t exactly brainiac territory. Arguing that it also dealt most successfully with the dangers and restrictions caused by COVID-19 should be just as obvious. So as training camps open — on time — in preparation for the 2021 season, here’s a look at how the league navigated through a pandemic to play an entire schedule and the Super Bowl in 2020: MARCH 2020 After having completed the combine in Indianapolis — business as usual — the NFL, like much of the rest of the country, went into remote mode. But not before the ...