Joe Battista
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Spring into Action
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It’s spring in Happy Valley! Besides your annual reminder to do your spring cleaning and that “April showers bring May flowers,” this spring feels different. Why? Because for the first time since March of 2020 it seems most folks feel safe enough to get back to living a relatively normal life, and that’s an exciting…
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Respect and Responsibility Are Vital in All Levels of Sports
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Which statement do you think is truer? Sports builds character. Sports reveals character. The number of stories in the media of abysmal behavior on the part of parents and athletes has reached ridiculous proportions. A football player in Texas runs out onto the field and punches an official, getting his entire team suspended from the…
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NCAA Women’s Frozen Four Comes to Hockey Valley
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In this 50th anniversary year of Title IX, it’s only fitting that Penn State, a pioneer in promoting women’s athletics, is hosting the Frozen Four Women’s NCAA Ice Hockey Championships this weekend at Pegula Ice Arena. This is your opportunity to see some of the top players in the country playing for a national title…
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Situational Awareness with a Dose of Common Sense
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Driving to and from Hilton Head Island, South Carolina for our recent spring break trip, we spent over 24 hours on interstates and highways. During a rather congested stretch of highway in Virginia (with a 70 mph speed limit), I noticed up ahead that the driver of a large RV pulling a Jeep Grand Cherokee…
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John Harrar: Penn State Basketball’s Humble Warrior and Team Leader
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“He was just not going to let them lose tonight.” That’s what Penn State’s first year head basketball coach Micah Shrewsberry said in his post-game interview about senior leader John Harrar after the Nittany Lions’ 62-58 upset of the 19th-ranked Michigan State Spartans on Feb. 15. The Lions went on a 15-2 run in the…
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Wanted (Immediately): Skilled Laborers
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Last Friday I delivered my “Take Charge of Your Life” presentation in Brother Matthew Hershey’s freshman theology classes at the Benedictine Military School in Savannah, Georgia. Matt is a State College native who graduated from St. Vincent Seminary in Latrobe. His father, Bob, and my wife, Heidi, worked together for 25 years at Meiser and…
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Ice Hockey at Penn State Celebrates 10 Years, and 50 Years
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The Men’s Ice Hockey Alumni made their way back this past weekend to “Hockey Valley” from as far as Western Canada, Utah, Texas and even sunny Florida. It was a weekend to celebrate several milestones, and despite the pandemic (and a Nor’easter that prevented some alums from traveling), a good crowd returned “home” for the…
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Is the ‘Success Paradox’ Real?
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What does it mean to be successful? How do you define it versus what society tells us it is? Is it the most “likes” on an Instagram or Tik-Tok post? Is it being more popular among your friends? Is it winning the volunteer of the year award? Is it having the biggest — take your…
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Time Keeps on Slipping into the Future
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“Time keeps on slipping, slipping, slipping into the future.” This is a line from one of my generation’s best rock songs, “Fly Like An Eagle,” by The Steve Miller Band in 1976. Younger readers may know singer Seal’s version from the 1996 Michael Jordan movie “Space Jam.” Time does indeed seem to pass by faster…
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‘The Best Is Yet to Come’
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So here we are at the end of another year when the global pandemic has extended “The Great Pause” longer than any of us could have imagined. It’s a great time to sit down and to intentionally take stock of how your life is going and to count your blessings. Despite any setbacks and challenges…