Mailbag

November 28, 2020

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 ...

Mailbag

November 14, 2020

Young captures fish controversy I wanted to express a comment about “There’s no real need to cry over spilled carp” written in the Nov. 7-Nov. 8 edition by Walt Young. Thank you, Mr. Young. While I am not a fisherman — I, too, was very interested in the situation happening near Lakemont dam. Last week as I drove to Logan Town Centre by way of Route 36, I saw the protesters holding signs, etc. The way Young explained everything was extremely helpful. He gave us tremendous research and laid it out so the reader quickly understands all the facts. What great ...

Mailbag

October 31, 2020

Franklin can’t do it on day of the game Regularly attending Penn State games since 1969, and a season-ticket holder since 1976, it’s obvious to me that Penn State’s administration and athletic director Sandy Barbour have made a conscious decision for mediocrity. James Franklin has taken Penn State to a level of mediocrity that is acceptable to their standards. He has had the benefit of the largest living alumni population in the world — hundreds of thousands of loyal graduates and fans, record attendance and state-of- -the-art facilities. Franklin was hired to compete at ...

Chambers’ comment was out of character

October 24, 2020

I was stunned to read in the Mirror that Penn State basketball coach Patrick Chambers had resigned his position for a comment he made in January 2019 to Rasir Bolton, who is currently a student at Iowa State University. I am sure it was a shock wave heard around the world of college basketball and a very difficult decision made by PSU Athletic Director Sandy Barbour. Chambers was well liked by his peers. I have always been an admirer of him for his integrity. The comment he made to Bolton was out of character for him. Chambers should have picked his words more carefully, ...

Case of bad timing hits Franklin, PSU

October 17, 2020

Here’s my take on the Penn State football season. Could James Franklin be any unluckier? He can’t keep his staff together like, ever. His best team is during the pandemic. His best player can’t bother to come back to the team when play starts. His recruiting is worse than Rutgers. Everything was aligning for this to be his entrance into the “elite” programs he was hoping for, and now this. I think we’ll be lucky to win at Michigan and there’s no way we beat Ohio State, whose best players came back, by the way. I’m thinking about two losses (Ohio State ...

Mailbag

October 10, 2020

Contz’s column on ND shows his hypocrisy Former Penn State football player Bill Contz criticized Notre Dame in the Mirror last weekend for not canceling a game over a week away. I find this to be hypocritical. If I remember correctly, James Franklin was one of the biggest voices in criticizing the Big Ten when it initially canceled the season. Unless I missed it, I do not recall Contz stating that Franklin was wrong or that PSU was in it only for the money. The former player mentioned that he is now old. Maybe his memory of his playing days has faded. I am slightly older ...