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Sunday Sports MailBag

Mailbag

Big Ben’s career may end on sad note The game was over, players milling around, and the TV camera moved in on a figure dressed in the familiar black and gold and sitting alone on the bench and showing that lost look in his eyes. It was Big Ben Roethlisberger, and his eyes told the whole story. There was a new bully in town, this time the new-look Cleveland Browns and what a story they could tell when they got back to Cleveland. But let’s get back to the stoic figure sitting on the bench. His position and his eyes told the story of the once great Pittsburgh Steelers. If you ...

Mailbag

For PSU, 2021 surely will be better About this time most years, Penn State fans are returning from a good bowl game in a warm area of the country. In 2019, the Nittany Lions were in the midst of being a top-5 team, stumbled twice and went on to the Cotton Bowl to post a win over Memphis. Their No. 11 finish created a bright future for 2020. But then, COVID-19 turned America and the world into a killing field. The 2020 Nittany Lions, on paper, had a top-10 team but never materialized due to their best player opting out to prepare for the NFL Draft, and then the ...

Story on Conlan stirred good memories

I enjoyed Neil Rudel’s fine story on Shane Conlan. Being from Frewsburg, N.Y., I graduated a couple of years ahead of Conlan. He was part of original start-up football program in the school and played running back/linebacker. He came from a solid family unit and his dad was a state trooper. We don’t see enough of that character building in sports these days. It was a thrill following his career and then joining the Buffalo Bills (who I still root for) and having great success at that professional level. Tom Lundgren Altoona PSU seniors turned up passion to end ...

Searching for real candor in sports world

Has there ever been a time in history when sports figures moved their mouths so much but said so little? And when they slip and actually do say anything, rest assured, their PR coaches are summoned quickly to remind them what they meant to say, and the next day we either get a nicely constructed written statement (signed by but certainly never read or written by said offender) or a short vanilla comment usually zoomed so no one can ask any follow-up questions. Now as much as I hate the fact that hearing from these players and coaches is as boring as many of the days have been ...

Sunday Sports Mailbag: Sports should be independent from schools

I have been a faithful proponent of year-round school for over 30 years. As in Europe, year-round school has several months of school, and then there are three weeks of break. So breaks, vacations, etc, happen several times a year. The school day is also longer than what we have here. With this model, child care is also less of an issue since students are in school more. There is much more continuity of learning since there are no extended breaks, so no extended periods of review. They also do not have sports in schools. Sports exist as clubs separate from the school. I was not ...

Mailbag

Ominous clouds hovering over PSU The damp dark gray Sunday morning mirrors my mood. Do the Nittany Lions simply write off another embarrassing loss and the possibility of a no-win season to COVID-19 and associated travails? Or is that giving management a free pass? For example, I didn’t cringe at the decision to go for it twice on fourth down. But the play selection against a robust run defense with Will Levis trying to scoot through the A gap? Poor coaching, in my mind. Yes, I feel for all the guys injured and the commitments they made. While Pat Freiermuth may have ...