Sports Mailbag: Ciarrocca dealt bad hand at Penn State

October 22, 2022

If PSU stumbles against Minnesota, it should bring a bit of satisfaction to the Gophers’ offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca. I thought that Franklin was awfully quick to kick his former OC to the curb. Ciarrocca was faced with the shortened, fragmented 2020 pandemic season with no spring practice and having to coach via Zoom. By the second offensive play of the opening game, he would have lost both of his starting running backs, leaving Sean Clifford to carry the team on his back, and we all know how that went. Clifford was ultimately benched. So, with only nine games on ...

Mailbag

October 15, 2022

Protecting NFL’s QBs is coming from top We all need to get off the NFL refs. Do you listen to your boss on most occasions? Probably, if you want to keep your job you do. The NFL likes money. A huge chunk of it comes from advertising.They can sell Aaron Rodgers vs. Tom Brady a heck of a lot easier than Jordan Love vs. Blaine Gabbert. The directives on what to call and not call are coming from Roger Goodell and his cronies. Any of us who grew up watching Jack Lambert and Jack Tatum cringe watching where the game is now, but obviously changes needed to be made so we ...

Scheduling will hurt Penn State in long run

October 1, 2022

Full disclosure: I’ve never been a fan of James Franklin. Most will agree with me, though, that Franklin has proven over the years that he will be outcoached in big games. So now he wants to eliminate those big non-conference games to pad his won-loss record. He won’t schedule games any more against SEC teams, depriving the loyal paying fans the opportunity to see those good teams from the SEC at Beaver Stadium. A couple of thoughts. 1. I’m wondering how the new athletic director, Pat Kraft, feels about this? Now seems like a good time to seek him out on the ...

Atmosphere at Auburn, SEC like no other

September 24, 2022

The atmosphere was electric for the Penn-State Auburn game in Auburn, Alabama. It was the first time that a Big Ten team ever played in Auburn. Penn State played great and won 41-12, but the campus was just as impressive as Penn State’s victory. I have never seen tailgating like that on the Plains. Unlike most schools, people are allowed to put tents everywhere — including on the lawn in front of the president’s house. But at the end of the day, there was no trash anywhere. The campus is beautiful, and the downtown is right off the campus and filled with cool bars ...

How soon until professional golf outprices itself?

September 10, 2022

I feel terrible for professional golfers. Listening to the testimonials from the guys who are joining the LIV Tour makes it sound like we need to start a Go Fund Me page to help out these poor souls. “You want us to play four rounds of golf and not just three to earn money?” Preposterous. Those slave lords with the PGA Tour have a cut so if we don’t play well we can’t make $40,000 for last place. There has to be an easier way — and poof. The Great White Shark, Greg Norman, and his slush fund (Saudi Arabian friends) arrive just in time to save these gents from ...

Northern Cambria has produced its share of coaches

September 3, 2022

I read the recent article about Moshannon Valley High School’s contributions to high school football head coaching positions, which is very impressive. Northern Cambria High School has also produced a significant number of graduates who became head coaches, most of whom played for Dan Miller, who is in the Pennsylvania Scholastic Coaches Hall of Fame. They include Barnesboro High School graduate Hugh “Duffy” Daugherty at Michigan State, Spangler High School graduate George “Skinny” Magulick at Spangler High School (after a stint as a player with the Steelers), Northern ...