Columns
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Four Insightful Downs with Penn State Quarterback Drew Allar at Big Ten Media Days
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Drew Allar is a winner. In two seasons as Penn State’s starting quarterback, he has guided the Nittany Lions to a 23-6 record (a .793 winning percentage), the Big Ten title game and two College Football Playoff victories. He’s thrown for over 6,300 yards and 53 touchdowns, and just 10 interceptions. And he still has…
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Big Ten Media Days: James Franklin Touts His ‘Best Combined Personnel’ Ever at Penn State
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In Las Vegas on Wednesday for the Big Ten Conference media days, Penn State head coach James Franklin doubled down on embracing the high expectations for Nittany Lion football in 2025. And in doing so, he went all in on his players and coaches. “This is the best combined personnel that we’ve had at Penn…
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Face It, Campers, Outhouses Are the Pits
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Another thing I’m aging out of: camping. My parents were not outdoorsy. My first intensive nature experience wasn’t with them but with my grammar school gym teacher. Every summer, Anthony Noto took a dozen sixth-grade boys on a six-week camping trip to the American Southwest in two Volkswagen buses. I loved it, though I can’t…
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Fun and Family: How Some Sports Figures Have Illuminated What’s Really Important
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It’s the dog days of the summer. Accordingly it was a slow sports week last week. The NFL, NBA, NHL and college football are all in their offseason and had essentially nothing going on, and MLB and MLS had and have their all-star breaks. However, golf had a pretty big event on the sports calendar.…
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Former Penn State Athletic Director Sandy Barbour Named Interim AD at Utah State
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After Sandy Barbour signed a contract extension in February 2019 to remain as Penn State’s athletic director though Aug. 31, 2023, she said that Penn State would be her “last stop” and that “this will be it.” It hasn’t turned out that way. She is now an AD at her fourth university. Barbour, 65, is…
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Inside/Outside State College: Trails Abound
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Inside/Outside State College is a monthly column by Jeff Deitrich offering views on downtown and the outdoors within a 30-minute driving distance. The pandemic stank. While that is true, silver linings certainly appeared. One of those can be seen in many woods and fields close to downtown and campus – an expanded system of trails…
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Destinations: Dreams and Realities
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I recently became one of the newest members of the Medicare Club. My 87-year-old mother called to wish me happy birthday and said, “My baby is 65!” No way am I 65, I thought. Old people are 65! I feel like I’m living my best life right now and suddenly it dawned on me that…
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Op-Ed: Loss of CDBG, HOME Funds Would Prove Devastating for State College
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About two years ago, I joined the State College Borough Community Development Block Grant Citizens’ Advisory Committee. As a resident of the borough and a union member, I’m deeply concerned about ensuring that working families can thrive in our community. Housing affordability and social services are a critical part of ensuring that State College is…
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Penn State Football Has 50 Days to Finish the Beaver Stadium Temporary West Side Stands
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Fifty days and counting. As of Arts Festival Friday, there are only seven weeks and one day until Penn State’s much-anticipated 2025 season-opener on Aug. 30 vs. Nevada in Beaver Stadium. Make that a (partially) renovated Beaver Stadium. It may not be a work of art this fall — even athletic director Pat Kraft says…
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A New Summit in Hockey Valley
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There is a lot of buzz in Hockey Valley surrounding Penn State men’s ice hockey and the commitment this week of Gavin McKenna. To put it in perspective for non-hockey people, this would be like signing Kobe Bryant or LeBron James out of high school. True hockey people see talents in McKenna that are well…