Sports Mailbag: PSU vs Saint Francis stirs memories

November 25, 2023

I watched (the Nov. 14) Big Ten Network basketball game between Saint Francis and Penn State with particular interest. My mind drifted back to 1953, my freshman year at State College. My dormitory was Hamilton Hall, which was just steps from Rec Hall. A notice was posted that Saint Francis would play the Nittany Lions in a preseason practice game, sometimes referred to as an exhibition game. I was more acquainted with the Frankies, having seen them play several years prior at the Jaffa Mosque (later Shrine) in Altoona. Maurice Stokes was earning his All-American status at ...

Penn State needs pro-style offense

November 18, 2023

As a longtime Penn State fan, I think we are running the wrong offense. We are running a read option running offense for a quarterback that doesn’t run. Other teams’ defenses don’t respect Drew Allar running. As a result, their defensive ends can crash down on our running backs. I think we should run more of a pro-style offense with Allar. Spread things out and let him have more throwing options. When teams run zone defense, flood their zones with multiple receivers, and when they play man, run a lot of crossing and pick plays. I would also move our backs deeper and get the ...

First (and last) trip to the Horseshoe

October 28, 2023

It’s been a long time since I’ve written to the Mirror. The urge usually hits when I feel the need to get something off my chest about my alma mater, Penn State. Thus, I felt compelled to write about my first (and last) trip to Ohio Stadium (aka, “The Horseshoe.”) I will leave it to the sports pundits to dissect the disappointing performance of our football team (note to Cory Giger — you go right on pressing James Franklin about his offensive coordinator’s seeming inability to implement a vertical passing game). No, I want to talk about my experience as a visiting ...

Mailbag

October 7, 2023

Irwin has earned ‘God’s trophy’ I was fortunate to attend the Bishop Guilfoyle and Tyrone football game last Friday night. At halftime, they honored the greatest person I know — Tom Irwin. I have been fortunate to know Tom and his wonderful wife, Lenora, and family for over 50 years. I have coached with Tom and volunteered with him on projects at the Ecumenical Council and Evergreen Manors’ Gloria Gates Foundation. I have learned so much from him by how he interacts with everyone, regardless of their age or circumstances. Tom will never know how much he has meant to ...

Mailbag

September 2, 2023

Both genders deserve level field of play On Sunday, Aug. 27, I heard people who are opposed to biological men competing against biological women called vile names, so I referred to the World Track and Field Championships ending the same day for examples. Let’s start with the 100-meter sprints. The men ran it in 9.83 seconds and the women in 10.65, a difference of .88 seconds. A meter is 1.0936137 yards. At those speeds, the men would beat the women by approximately 9 meters, 9.8425 yards. Next, the 1500-meter run. The men ran it in 3 minutes and 29.28 seconds, the women in ...

Ronan was gentleman on, off field

August 5, 2023

Jimmy Ronan passed away last week, and our local baseball community lost a legend. I was fortunate to be able to grow up watching Ro play as he was a teammate of my dad’s, and his sons Brent and Scooter and I never missed a game or tournament. Later in life, I was able to be his teammate as well as having him as a coach. I was blessed to have many influential people in my life, and Ro is at the top of that list. He was a massive presence on the field and could hit a ball further than anyone I have ever seen, but the way he played the game and his sportsmanship always stuck out ...