Columns
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Of Right-Setting and Ring-Fencing: Old Mainese as a Second Language
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Inspired by Penn State’s road map for the future, and in keeping with my commitment to delivering the highest value to readers, I have enrolled in a class in Old Mainese, the better to communicate my strategies for positioning this column for future success in an evolving and challenging journalism landscape. In what follows, I…
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Column No. 300: Why I Write
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“A writer is someone who has taught his mind to misbehave” – Oscar Wilde Well, folks, today is a milestone of sorts. This column represents my 300th since I first began writing for StateCollege.com in the fall of 2009. I was in my third year as the executive director of the Nittany Lion Club at Penn…
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Saturday Night (Penn State Sports) Fever on University Drive
in Columns, Local & Penn State Sports, Local News, Penn State Basketball, Penn State Hockey, Penn State Sports—
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Saturday night was uniquely and especially — and specially — Penn State along upper University Drive on the University Park campus. You had THON. You had a record-setting indoor Whiteout. You had a satisfying sweep of the un-beloved Buckeyes. You had a(nother) heartbreaking Penn State men’s basketball loss after blowing a big lead. And, it…
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Confidently Navigating Changes in Retirement
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No matter how organized you are, things don’t always go as planned when preparing for retirement. The truth is most people have to retire earlier than they had envisioned due to an unexpected event. It’s natural to feel a sense of apprehension and not have all the answers right away. The good news is finding…
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The Line on Who Will Be Penn State Football’s Culture-Drivers in 2024
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Penn State’s three new coordinators hit The 100 Day milestone this Thursday. That’s days at Penn State. Combined. While the trio — OC Andy Kotelnicki, DC Tom Allen and ST coordinator Justin Lustig — bring decades of coaching experience to Lasch Building, they certainly don’t know Nittany Lion football like this quartet: Hakeem Beamon, Dvon…
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Time for Pa. to Reinspect Car Inspections
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Last week I took part in one of our annual mandated days of semi-lost productivity here in Pennsylvania. And because we have several vehicles in our family I get to take part in another one later this week. No, as much as I would have liked my day of semi-lost productivity to have been a…
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Algorithms Can’t Match the Record Store Experience
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Last week I was listening to some random music and a lesser-known Lyle Lovett song “Record Lady” came on. It had been a while since I’d heard that song, and while Lyle’s tune was about an attempt to woo the record lady, it sparked a flood of record store memories. Buying (and selling) records back…
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New Hope for Subu Vedam
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The case against Subramanyam Vedam was always flimsy. Now it may have disintegrated altogether. Vedam has been locked up for 40 years, having been arrested and then convicted of murdering his roommate, Thomas Kinser. Both men grew up in State College and were the sons of Penn State professors. Both were 19 years old in…
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‘What in the Wide, Wide World of Sports Is A-Goin’ on Here?’
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What a week it was in college and professional sports. Three iconic coaches all complete their lengthy stays with their current teams. One left on his own while the other two were nudged to move on. Nick Saban of Alabama shocked everyone by retiring from coaching; Pete Carroll of the Seattle Seahawks was booted upstairs…
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All-22 on All 31 (and Counting) of James Franklin’s Assistant Coaches at Penn State
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Here it is two weeks into January and James Franklin is looking for a new assistant coach. Again. And, a coordinator at that. Again. This time, it’s a special teams coordinator now that Stacy Collins is headed back west, to Boise State, from whence he came in 2021. It’s been that kind of offseason for…