Jay Paterno
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Misinformation and Hypocrisy Hinder the Battle Against the COVID-19 Pandemic
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During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve seen the rise of “Pandemic Patriots” wielding misinformation and grievance politics against measures to stop the virus. In both war and pandemics, battle plans change as we learn more. And these naysayers seize upon every change as a sign that the approach all along has been intentionally wrong or…
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Opting Out Is Part of the College Football Lesson Plan
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“Don’t bitch about the kids; they’re the only ones we’ve got.” –Hall of Fame Penn State Coach Rip Engle This past bowl season saw much hand wringing about the current state of college football, much of it centered on players “opting-out” of bowl games to protect their pro careers. And it’s not just lower-tier bowls…
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Russ Rose’s Legacy of Excellence
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With last week’s retirement of legendary Penn State women’s volleyball coach Russ Rose came a wave of thoughts about Russ and his career. Winning is certainly fun but Russ was something so much more. No matter in what decade one of his student-athletes played for him, they saw a consistency and commitment to excellence that…
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Before the Bowls, What Have We Learned About College Football in 2021?
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In October 2018 one of history’s most bizarre college football tweets surfaced on the account of former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmandinejad. Someone tweeted at him asking about the University of Michigan’s football team. In 2017, Michigan had finished 8-5, was in its 14th straight year without a Big Ten title and, despite being 6-1 at…
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A Coaching Carousel Gone Mad
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Imagine the creepiest carousel movie scene you’ve seen, something that Stephen King would dream up complete with crazed cackling clowns crawling from the darkness. That is the coaching carousel of 2021. Each day is stranger than the next. It started with Ed Orgeron, just 20 months removed from a national title season, getting fired at LSU and…
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‘The Long Time of Goodbyes’
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As the leaves of October’s beauty give way to the barren chill winds of grey November, we are reminded of the cycle of life and the mortality that we all face as part of the human existence. And as one reaches a certain age, mortality’s distant horizon comes more and more into focus. Probably at…
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Ivan Maisel’s New Memoir Is a Gift and a Lesson for All
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The respected and talented college football writer Ivan Maisel this week released a book that is a gift and a lesson for all of us. “I Keep Trying to Catch His Eye: A Memoir of Loss, Grief and Love” recounts the loss of Ivan’s son Max to suicide in February of 2015 and the path…
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College Football Needs to Tighten Game Lengths
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During another lengthy TV timeout at Beaver Stadium in the third quarter of the Penn State-Auburn game, a friend commented on how games seemed to be getting longer and longer. Obviously college football still has four 15-minute quarters but it certainly seemed to be taking longer to play the games. There can never be enough…
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Unity Has Gotten Us Through the Toughest Times. We Need It Again
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Last Saturday in a quiet Pennsylvania field on a blue-sky sunny late summer day a former president rose to speak on the 20th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks. President George W. Bush spoke words that we needed to hear. Certainly, the mere mention of his name will drive many to reactions one way…
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The Controversial Bishop Sycamore
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Amid a controversy last weekend when the Bishop Sycamore High School football team played IMG Academy in football, a lot has been written about that school. But what about the Bishop Sycamore from which this school has drawn its name? What does anyone really know about Bishop Sycamore the man? My “research” found the life…