FROM THE PRESS BOX: THOUGHTS ON COLLEGE FOOTBALL 2010 AND A BCS PREDICTION (2010-09-04)
The 2010 is under way and already one of my preseason sleepers for a BCS berth — Pittsburgh — has a loss. It's just the beginning, I'm sure, to a crazy college football season.
Today, I'll offer up a few thoughts on this weekend's games and the 2010 season:
As usual there are man mismatches on the Week 1 schedule — Penn State vs. Youngstown State, Florida State vs. Samson, Florida vs. Miami of Ohio and Iowa vs. Eastern Illinois to name just a few, but there are also some ...more
TAYLOR MADE: YOUNG CUB TO LEAD THE WAY IN HAPPY VALLEY (2010-09-04)
Is JoePa dipping into the happy juice? For the first time ever, the Nittany Lions will open a season with a true freshman barking out the signals. Michigan native Robert Bolden has won the starting quarterback job, edging out the two players nearly every member of the sports media thought would compete for the position — Matt McGloin and Kevin Newsome.
It’s a little bit of a surprise for PSU fans, who can rest assured if Bolden doesn’t produce, he’ll be sacked for McGloin or Newsome. T ...more
FROM THE PRESS BOX: WEEK 1 HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PREDICTIONS (2010-09-03)
There's nothing tougher than trying to pick winners in Week 1 of the high school football season.
All four local teams play non-league games this week, with only Athens playing a smaller school.
Vestal at Waverly, Friday, 7 p.m.: The Wolverines have had successive years losing a lot of talent to graduation. What remains is a very talented, but extremely young Waverly team.
Vestal, on the other hand, returns its quarterback and top running back and a ma ...more
FROM THE PRESS BOX: MARRONE HAS ORANGE HEADED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION (2010-08-28)
First-year Syracuse head coach Doug Marrone exceeded expectations in the eyes of many pundits in 2009.
After a 4-8 campaign, the Orange will look to post a .500 season in 2010 and with the looks of their non-league slate it's a definite possibility.
Marrone is beginning to assemble some talent on the Orange roster, but there is still quite a ways to go to pull even with the elite in the Big East.
THE 2010 ROSTER: One problem facing Syracuse, after a year o ...more
TAYLOR MADE: JUST LINE 'EM UP AND SHOOT 'EM (2010-08-27)
After a lengthy meeting on Wednesday, the NFL owners did not vote on a proposed 18-game regular season schedule which would begin in 2012. The owners are trying to lead the players and fans to believe they are carefully weighing all the options so that it will be in the best interest of everyone involved.
It's clear the owners don't give a rat's pitooty about the players' well-being, but are merely trying to put more money in their own pockets during trying economic times. Hey, sell yo ...more
FROM THE PRESS BOX: TIME FOR MORE INSTANT REPLAY IN BASEBALL, THOUGHTS ON DIVISION RACES (2010-08-19)
A recent analysis of replays by ESPN's "Outside the Lines" shows that Major League Baseball umpires are wrong 20 percent of the time on close calls. This has renewed the calls from critics for the expansion of instant replay in the sport.
With the advances in technology and the fact that every MLB game is shown on television, it's hard to argue with the need for more instant replay.
Replay is currently used in baseball only in regards to home runs, whether they are fair or ...more
FROM THE PRESS BOX: NOTRE DAME LOOKS TO KELLY TO RESTORE WINNING TRADITION (2010-08-17)
Notre Dame is looking to first-year head coach Brian Kelly to usher in a new era of championship football for the Fighting Irish football program.
Kelly replaces Charlie Weis at the helm of the program, which is in the throes of its worst stretch of football ever. Notre Dame has not lost fewer than three games in a season since 1993 and has not won a national championship since 1989.
With that in mind, Kelly takes over a program that is well-stocked with talent. Say what y ...more
TAYLOR MADE: A SEASON FOR MILESTONES AT PSU (2010-08-13)
The big day is inching closer. On Sept. 4, Beaver Stadium will begin its 50th season hosting Penn State University football games. That's amazing. They were playing football there before I was even born (barely).
What is also amazing is the fact that at some point during the season tailback Evan Royster and coach Joe Paterno will reach huge milestones in their careers.
Royster will break Curt Warner's all-time school rushing record. Needing 481 yards, he should do that in lat ...more
TAYLOR MADE: REX, REVIS AND RIGHT OR WRONG (2010-08-11)
Is anyone else curious about what New York Jets coach Rex Ryan is up to? He invited the entire team to join in the negotiations in an effort to get star cornerback Darrelle Revis to end his holdout and rejoin the squad. Are you crazy Rex!? If you were to put a whole bunch of guys in front of me I’d be thinking you were trying to shame me back onto the field.
Ryan claims the tactic is an effort to keep both sides from doing the “he said, she said” thing, since accusations have been tosse ...more
FROM THE PRESS BOX: EARLY THOUGHTS ON WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THE 2010 FOOTBALL SEASON (2010-08-11)
The 2010 high school football season is nearly upon us, with camps opening Monday.
With that in mind, let's take a look at what we can expect for the 2010 season.
But first, a brief look back at 2009.
Athens finished 7-4 and considering the quality of talent lost to graduation over the last two years, coach Jack Young and his staff did a top-notch job to get into the playoffs.
After back-to-back seasons of 1-9, Sayre finished 3-7, which included a pair ...more
VALLEY SPORTS REPORT: WAVERLY'S GORMAN NAMED 2009-10 MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR (2010-08-10)
Today, ValleySportsReport enjoys its first anniversary of covering high school sports in the Valley.
As we gear up for Year 2, let's take a look back at the 2009-10 high school sports year.
There were many tremendous male athletes to grace the gridiron, soccer fields, hardwoods, wrestling mats, diamonds and tracks this year, but the one that stood out above all the rest is the Valley Sports Report Male Athlete of the Year — Waverly senior Kevin Gorman.
A h ...more
VALLEY SPORTS REPORT: TIOGA'S McDUFFEE NAMED 2009-10 FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR (2010-08-10)
Today, ValleySportsReport enjoys its first anniversary of covering high school sports in the Valley.
As we gear up for Year 2, let's take a look back at the 2009-10 high school sports year.
There were many tremendous female athletes to grace the soccer fields, hardwoods, diamonds and tracks this year, but the one that stood out above all the rest is the Valley Sports Report Female Athlete of the Year — Tioga Central junior Kara McDuffee.
McDuffee shined in ...more
TAYLOR MADE: CRIMSON TIDE HEADLINES TATE’S GREATS (2010-08-04)
Whether you realize it or not, football season is just around the corner. On the college front, I'm hoping Penn State can make a run at a national title, but that may be a stretch. I love Joe Pa like he was family. He is arguably the greatest coach that ever walked the face of the earth — in any sport.
As much as I despise Alabama (for beating PSU in the 1979 Sugar Bowl), the Crimson Tide is clearly the team to beat this season. ’Bama just has far too many weapons returning at key posit ...more
TAYLOR MADE: FAMILY SUPPORT — KEY INGREDIENT FOR SUCCESS (2010-08-02)
This past weekend I had an opportunity to take photographs of the 60th wedding anniversary party for Ron and Brenda Dougherty. Anyone who followed Tioga Central sports in the latter part of the 20th Century will know the Dougherty name is synonymous with athletic excellence in the Tioga school district.
Some people might say it was genes that produced so many talented athletes from one family. For all we know it could have been something in the water. Personally, I think it was simply b ...more
TAYLOR MADE: FINCH COULD MAKE ANYONE FLINCH (2010-07-28)
One of the greatest athletes of all time has retired recently. It’s not some old quarterback. It’s not some home run king or some basketball player who averaged 27 points a game during his career. In fact, it’s not even a man. Sorry all you testosterone-energized maniacs, but it’s Jennie Finch, the most recognized softball player in the history of the game.
Finch is the ultimate icon of any sport — bigger than Tiger Woods is to golf, Michael Jordan to basketball, Richard Petty to auto ...more
FROM THE PRESS BOX: STEINBRENNER SAVED THE YANKEES (2010-07-14)
Simply put, George Steinbrenner saved the New York Yankees. And in a slightly lesser sense, he helped save baseball.
Steinbrenner, after a failed bid to buy the Cleveland Indians, purchased the Yankees from CBS for a paltry $8.7 million in 1973. As managing general partner of the group that purchased the Yanks, Steinbrenner's investment was only $168,000.
The once-proud franchise was a laughingstock, scraping to hit 1 million in attendance and having an even tougher tim ...more
TAYLOR MADE: HEARTFELT WISHES TO YANKEE FANS EVERYWHERE (2010-07-13)
My heart goes out to the NY Yankees organization and their beloved fans. It has been a tough couple of days for the Bronx Bombers, and major League Baseball in general, losing two key members of the organization in three days.
Longtime announcer Bob Sheppard passed away Sunday at the age of 99. Having attended several Yankee games while growing up I remember Sheppard‘s golden voice well. He was one of the best in the game.
This morning, George Steinbrenner died of a heart attac ...more
TAYLOR MADE: JAMARCUS BETTER SUITED FOR BRACELETS THAN SUPER BOWL RINGS (2010-07-07)
Let me throw out a few names and see if you can guess what they have in common.
1. Jamarcus Russell — No. 1 pick in the 2007 NFL draft, the LSU quarterback was expected to lead the Oakland Raiders back to greatness.
2. Michael Vick — Former quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons is the man who is expected to succeed Donovan McNabb with the Philadelphia Eagles.
3. Bobby Gonzalez — Recently fired Seton Hall men’s basketball coach. The Binghamton native was the coach at Manh ...more
FROM THE PRESS BOX: PADRES, STRASBURG, PITCHING DOMINANCE TOP STORY LINES FOR FIRST HALF OF 2010 SEASON (2010-06-25)
As we approach the midpoint of the Major League Baseball season, several interesting story lines have developed.
1. San Diego Padres: In the "everyone loves an under dog" category, the Padres have grown from a nice story in April and May into what appears to be a contender with the best record in the NL as we approach July. Their pitching staff is easily the best statistically in the NL, led by rookie starter Matt Latos (8-4, 2.93 ERA and 0.95 WHIP) and closer Heath Bell (3 ...more
FROM THE PRESS BOX: ONCE IN A WHILE, DAVID DOES BEAT GOLIATH (2010-06-22)
I flipped on ESPN Monday morning and saw on the bottom line that the world's best tennis player, perhaps the game's greatest ever, Roger Federer was down 2 sets to love and was tied 4-4 in the third set in his opening round match at Wimbledon.
I don't watch much tennis, but I will will watch some action from Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. But this was different, this was history — a chance to see one of those rare sports moments when David slays Goliath.
Facing an unknown ...more
