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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 ...

PSU wrestling doing just fine

This letter is in response to Jeff Bartlett’s letter last weekend on several NCAA wrestling subjects. I do not disagree that the extra COVID year was not necessary, but in wrestling’s case, it was probably due to the NCAA tournament not being held in 2020. What I take offense to is Bartlett’s other rants. Regarding the Pennsylvania kids going to Iowa, we need to look how this came about. There is no doubt that losing Spencer Lee was a major disappointment, but it wasn’t because of a lack of effort by Cael Sanderson. The fact that Lee’s girlfriend was enrolled at ...

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Pheasant left mark on Altoona athletics Gary Wayne Pheasant (1954-2022) graduated from Altoona Area High School in 1972 one year after me. I knew him from playing football and baseball for the Mountain Lions. He was a superlative athlete with good size, great foot speed and excellent power. Our first encounter was on a baseball field, playing a practice Teener League game. He was on the mound throwing nothing but heat, clearly demonstrating he was no ordinary athlete. He was a wide receiver for the Purdue Boilermakers football team, but a subsequent, unfortunate turn of ...

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NCAA must address opting out of bowls As a Penn Stater, class of 1963, I was disappointed with six starting football players who dropped out of the recent Outback Bowl. Five were defensive starters, which crippled the Penn State defense. Coach James Franklin said it was the worst bowl opt-out situation he has experienced. Happily, the Big Ten record in the bowls was 6-4. Players dropping out of bowl games for fear of being injured prior to the NFL draft is disconcerting. Injuries can occur anytime during their careers. Most of the players were on four-year scholarships ...

Sunday Sports Mailbag

Penn State football plight: It’s stuck with Franklin This entire Penn State coaching staff lacks accountability, starting with our overpaid head coach. Excuses galore but no results. Where do we (re)start? Coaches: I know we are now stuck with James Franklin until he demands another raise, but is it too much to ask for him to actually coach? The top coaches (Saban, Smart, Swinney, Fisher, Day and even Schiano) are much more engaged in the game than Franklin. His M.O. seems to be good recruiter, below average coach. His trick plays don’t fool anyone. I will ...

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Potts epitomized Bellwood spirit I was shocked and saddened to read in the Altoona Mirror obituary page of the passing of two former Bellwood-Antis High School athletes: Ronald Patrick Blazier and Glenn Randal “Randy” Potts. John Hartsock wrote a fine feature article in the Mirror on Blazier, who went on to pitch for the Philadelphia Phillies. I had not known Blazier but as the Bellwood-Antis JV basketball coach when Randy Potts played on the 1977 varsity team, I had the opportunity to witness his unparalleled love for the game. Potts had good skills in high school, but ...