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Sunday Sports MailBag

Penn Cambria’s Patsy Felus will be missed

The Penn Cambria community was shocked and saddened to hear of Mrs. Patricia “Patsy” Felus’ death on Sunday, Jan. 11. Considering her my mentor in the athletic world, I have been shaken all week by this news. Throughout my college years, Mrs. Felus taught me how to run the clock for athletic events and recruited my assistance in scheduling and event management that sparked my desire to be an athletic director. Anyone involved in high school athletics across the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference from the 1990s through the 2010s likely knew and/or interacted with Mrs. Felus. The ...

Lane takes place in ultimate ‘book’

As a young boy, I had first met Jim Lane at a candy store called Rocky’s, one block away from our house. Local sports enthusiasts would gather there, and I would often tag along with my dad. Our fare was Royal Crown Cola, Benzel’s Pennysticks and a Fudgesicle or Creamsicle for “dessert.” As a member of the Altoona Area High School basketball team, I became better acquainted with Jim throughout the years of 1969-71. He was our regular team reporter for the Altoona Mirror, recounting home games from the storied Jaffa Mosque. He was a consummate professional. As the boys ...

PSU audio leaker should pay high price

To borrow and paraphrase a remark from President Gerard Ford: At long last, the great Penn State nightmare (2.0) is over. However, what still upsets me is the betrayal by the player who leaked the tape of the closed-door team meeting with team leaders. In the athletic world, that’s a sacrilege. If identified, he should be thrown off the team ASAP — preferably by the team leaders. And I would hope that each player at that meeting would let Kraft know it wasn’t him. I know it would be hard for the players to turn on a teammate, but this was also a betrayal to them and ...

Mailbag: Campbell should restore Penn State program

Due to the dismissal of James Franklin as the head football coach at Penn State, almost all of the 2026 recruits have deserted Penn State and gone to other schools. Most notably, many of them will join Franklin, the new head coach at Virginia Tech. I think they are making a big mistake by ...

Kraft has set Penn State program back

It is now obvious that Pat Kraft fired James Franklin with no plan in mind. We may never know what personal reasons led to Kraft’s decision. Fifty-plus days passed with no replacement. The recruiting class that we desperately needed for the 2026 season is gone. The prospect for hiring a replacement that will bring transfers with him is remote. It is vital that PSU rights the ship. 1) Hire Terry Smith and get on with it. 2) The contract can be as few as two years or as long as five years. 3) Pay him $5 million a year with incentive clauses. 4) Get busy with money you have available ...

Mailbag: Kraft underestimated removing ‘glue’

Penn State football, head coaches and running a business — yes, they actually tie together. I get asked almost daily what I think about the Penn State football situation, so here we go. Let’s start with my qualifications. For starters, I’ve probably missed three games since 1972. More importantly, while I did not complete a pass as the 13-year-old starting quarterback for the Curtis Park 12-and-under team, I did parlay that role into an assistant coaching job under Coach Mark Nartatez and then into a head-coaching role. Our secret? Aggressive out-of-town recruiting ...