Columns
-
Back to the Cinema
—
by
It’s the new year and this weekend my wife and I had the opportunity to do something we hadn’t done in ages. Decades actually. We decided to go out to a movie together at a real movie theater. That may sound a bit odd considering we’ve been married for 37 years and have been together…
-
For What May Be Their Final Run, Penn State Football’s Singleton and Allen Hit the Trifecta with New Additions
—
by
Perhaps more than anyone, the Nittany Lion dynamic duo of Fatman & Singleton will benefit from the trifecta of new additions on the offensive side of the ball — OC Andy Kotelnicki and recent transfer portal pickups wide receiver Julian Fleming and tackle Nolan Rucci. The three are much more than the Penn State running…
-
Nature’s Ways: Wild Grapes, Native Fruit of the Vine
—
by
A few narrow-minded foresters might still refer to wild grapes as a detriment to the forest, but they actually are a great benefit. This perennial woody vine provides cover, food and nesting material for many Pennsylvania bird and mammal species and adds diversity to any forest. Grapes, all originating as wild species, have been important…
-
Another Season Passes
—
by
For most of my life, one of the two or three worst days of the year was January 2. As a kid it wasn’t an aversion to going back to school after the holiday break (well, that was a part of it). It was the passage of another college football season. College football was a…
-
What’s So Funny? Ask My Students in 16 Weeks
—
by
Next week I’ll begin teaching a course I’m calling Humor in Journalism. (Don’t tell my students that I plan to distribute Groucho glasses on the first day of class to put us in the right mood. I want it to be a surprise.) Perhaps, with wars raging, Earth burning and the leading presidential candidates ranging…
-
Who Do You Worship?
—
by
On Dec. 27, I visited the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C. with my wife and our youngest son Ryan. We had passed it numerous times on our way to see our son Jonathon, who lives in the Navy Yard area of D/C. So, after spending the Christmas holidays with our families in Pittsburgh and…
-
Auld(-22) Lang Syne to a Disappointing 2023 Penn State Football Season as Franklin Collects a Big Payday
—
by
James Franklin gets paid to handle the moving parts — in good times and in bad. In fact, that is in essence the job of head coach in college football these days. And he gets paid quite well to do so. And, in Franklin’s 10 years at Penn State — he was hired Jan. 11,…
-
The Indian Steps Trail Is Worth the Effort
—
by
Sometimes I get in a training rut and hit up the same spot over and over again. I return, week after week, and sometimes day after day, to the same trailhead and embark on a certain loop (Spruce Gap to Old Laurel Trail at Rothrock) that I know is challenging, beautiful, and convenient. This is…
-
Year-End Column Clean-Out: A Potpourri of Thoughts on the Centre Region
—
by
Happy Boxing Day! For those who don’t know what that is, Boxing Day was a holiday traditionally celebrated in Great Britain and a few other countries such as Australia, Canada and New Zealand. It’s held on the day after Christmas, and was an opportunity to give gifts to employees, tradespeople and other workers who would…
-
Allar and Andy: Penn State’s Quarterback and New OC Share First Impressions; Plus, the PSU QB Coaching Triad
—
by
Call them Allar and Andy. They are Penn State football’s newest dynamic duo, and they will go a long way in determining the Nittany Lions’ success in 2024. Andy Kotelnicki was hired on Dec. 1 as Penn State’s new offensive coordinator, succeeding fired OC/QB coach Mike Yurcich after laudatory stints in Buffalo and Kansas. He’s…