Props to Coach Mike McGarvey and the Lycoming College hoopsters. The Warriors just did the unthinkable by winning the 2020 Middle Atlantic Conference Championship. This was a total shocker as my boys literally came out of nowhere. McGarvey’s squad was picked to finish last in all of the preseason polls. Kudos to the other MAC
READ MORECongratulations to Summer McNulty on scoring her 1,000th point for the Loyalsock Lady Lancers. Summer’s brother Chase and my son Hunter are good friends and graduated in the same class. They played a lot of baseball together, both for the school and travel teams. Summer was the little sister that had to tag along to
READ MORENo doubt about it, for better or for worse, a good scandal will draw attention, heighten people’s interest, and keep tongues wagging. In the doldrums of January on the day of the NCAA National Football Championship game and days before the NFL determined its participants for the February 2 Super Bowl, Major League Baseball crashed
READ MOREOne of the joys of being back on the sidelines is getting to see several familiar faces. I actually enjoy those road games, as I get the opportunity to catch up with other coaches. My players often accuse me of campaigning. They routinely ask how I know so many people. I used to be important
READ MOREThe game plan was well developed. Hungry for victory no matter the flavor of the opponent, the offensive strikes probed the objective with quick, decisive moves and devoured the competition. In a matter of moments, the Cereal Bowl was mine! In light of the glut of upcoming college football games, I’m a bit surprised my
READ MOREThere were occasions during my professional career when I was involved in conducting job interviews. Everyone-once-in-awhile I would ask the applicant a totally hypothetical question – “If the job fairy could grant you any job you’d want; what would it be?” It was an off-the-wall question with some surprising answers. One applicant once answered, “I
READ MOREHead coach Trevor Woodruff announced the first addition to his Bucknell women’s basketball staff Friday, naming former Penn State standout Kelly Mazzante as an assistant coach. Mazzante, who was one of the best local players in history while playing at nearby Montoursville High School, comes back to the area after spending five seasons as an
READ MOREOne of my favorite “sporting” weeks just came to a close. Yes. There is so much going on these first few days of April, and it shows. Congrats to VA as they claimed the NCAA title Monday. I am a huge fan of the Cavaliers and give them a ton of credit. They were bounced
READ MORESpring has finally sprung, and the outdoorsmen are gearing up. Winter sports are over as basketball and wrestling are being replaced by others. Youngsters from the area are getting ready for their baseball and softball runs. Change is in the air, and this is a beautiful time of year. The NCAA Basketball Tournament is my
READ MOREBorn during the Whitehill Duals while his father, Lyle, wrestled his senior year at Lycoming College in 1996, senior Garrett Wesneski (Canton, Pa./Canton Area) always seemed fated to wrestle at the school, even after spending three years at the University of Maryland before deciding to finish his career at Lycoming under the guidance of his dad’s former
READ MOREWhat a great time to get out and about and enjoy all the happenings early Spring has to offer. There is definitely something for everyone that calls the West Branch Valley home. It is so nice to hear the singing of the robins in the morning and enjoy the sunshine upon returning home in the
READ MOREMike Mussina’s Hall of Fame Major League baseball career is rightly being celebrated and noted by avid observers of the game. However, one important aspect of his distinguished baseball journey is being mostly overlooked, and that is his collegiate baseball feats with the Stanford Cardinal baseball team from 1987 to 1990. He excelled there in
READ MOREWhat a most memorable week we just experienced last week! Two of our area’s true sports icons both achieved monumental recognition in their respective sports. Montoursville’s Mike Mussina culminated a six-year climb up the Baseball Hall of Fame voting ladder and received the ultimate call that he has been elected to be enshrined in Cooperstown
READ MOREAlthough having attended numerous events at Bucknell University’s Sojka Pavilion and the Bryce Jordan Center at Penn State over the years a recent January weekend provided my first-ever trip to the two quality edifices on back-to-back days. A ‘spur-of-the-moment’ Saturday visit to Sojka to take in the Bucknell/American University men’s basketball game was followed the
READ MOREClearly disdaining Horace Greeley’s 1865 advice of, “Go west young man,” Clemson University’s football team’s first appearance in a football game played in California in more than four decades proved to be a rousing success as the Tigers dismantled Alabama 44-16 in winning the NCAA National Championship last week. Much has been written and spoken
READ MOREHere we are in the second week of a new year and by now ‘life adjustments’ should be taking a firm hold. That left-over sauerkraut has no doubt been removed from the refrigerator, Christmas decorations taken down and your mind has mastered writing down 2019 on your checks and daily correspondence. As we pass from
READ MOREThe College Football season is finally coming to an end. The big game is over, and either Clemson or Alabama has won the title. I still don’t know why the NCAA doesn’t include more teams in its big dance. Every level of sports has what you call a championship tournament. Well except for one. I
READ MOREHappy New Year and welcome to 2019! As the calendar flips, there is some unfinished business left to crown the champions of the 2018 football season at both the collegiate and NFL levels. The NCAA champion will be settled next Monday while the National Football League’s playoff road to the Super Bowl will begin this
READ MORECoach and I go way back. I first met him when my family and I moved to town. I wouldn’t say that we are super tight, but he has always been someone I could count on. Coach and I worked both worked in the Athletic Department. I was only part-time and coached different sports, but
READ MOREIt was as if time had suddenly stopped as the high-arching three-point shot launched by a Northeast Bradford player almost seemed destined to hit the heating vents suspended high above the Montgomery Community & Athletic Center gym. When gravity intervened the seemingly desperate shot found nothing but white nylon cord tying the Panthers game against
READ MOREWith the Christmas holiday fast approaching the talk around many family gatherings will include education plans for the teenagers approaching high school graduation and adulthood. When that question has been asked of South Williamsport’s Bryce Brewer, his response throws most people a curve. A few days after unwrapping Christmas gifts the 2018 South Williamsport graduate
READ MOREI need to apologize for the two-week sabbatical. I was at a loss for words, and couldn’t find a pencil. Tis the season boys and girls. No, I didn’t cash in on any Black Friday specials, but I am now well rested. I also have plenty of material for the next couple of months. Sorry
READ MOREFollowing an outstanding career as a player at Ursinus College, where he was a consecutive two-time All-American and two-time Centennial Conference Player of the Year and eleven years as an assistant basketball coach at Ursinus and Colgate University, Mike McGarvey was named Lycoming College men’s basketball coach this past June. With a non-conference opening mark
READ MORELast week’s column recounted the new developments at the Montgomery Athletic & Community Center and its plans to serve the community’s athletic and healthy lifestyle needs. While on a tour of the facility, athletic director Mike Snyder introduced me to Ryan Solomon, who was hired in July as coordinator of the building’s activities. Solomon was
READ MOREWilliamsport welcomes the World! What a wonderful time of year to be a baseball fan, and live right here in the West Branch Valley. If you are in town for the 72nd playing of the Little League World Series, it’s great to have you. Welcome to the home of Little League Baseball. I hope you
READ MORECome on now — enough grumbling about the weather. Yes, it’s July, and its beginning has been hot, but just think back several months ago when we were ready to skin Punxsutawney Phil and were cursing the Ides of March and longing for spring’s arrival. You couldn’t tell it by the preponderance of NBA news
READ MOREWe all had dreams growing up as kids. I wanted to be a professional basketball player at an early age. I often thought about balling at a major D1. Then, ultimately, finding a home in the NBA. I can’t tell you the number of times I was alone in the driveway with those intentions in
READ MOREAdmittedly, as a big fan of old country music, I have a new-found affinity for a 1949 Hank Williams ditty “My Bucket’s Got a Hole In It.” The title of the whimsical tune instantly popped in my head during a recent midwestern trip devised to check off one of my ‘bucket list’ destinations, the College
READ MOREPlay ball! How great it is to hear those words again. Hopefully, Mother Nature will flip the switch, and the weather will be more suited for the boys and girls of Summer. Before we leave March Madness in the rearview mirror, I’m sure most college basketball fans will agree it was one of the best
READ MOREI think I had an April Fool’s Day trick played on myself, as I dreamed about a meeting where the three commissioners; Jack McKernan, Tony Mussare, and Rick Mirabito (the 3 Ms, as I like to call them), were asking their department heads for ideas on better ways to promote Lycoming County. I saw Kim
READ MOREBegrudgingly, we have to give Punxsutawney Phil his due. The furry varmint’s unwelcomed prediction of ‘six more weeks of winter’ certainly rang true. But now that spring has officially made its presence on the calendar; we can all turn our thoughts to the more pleasant days ahead. March’s ending brings with it a trio of
READ MOREDon’t get me wrong folks. I enjoy spending a few hours in a local gym every weekend, but this has been a very hectic winter. Jensen and his extracurriculars certainly keep us busy. From baseball practices to basketball games. “Call of Duty” competitions and neighborhood Nerf Gun wars. We are always on the go, and
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