Jay Paterno
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Deion Sanders Understands This Era of College Football Better Than Most
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The sound of gloating this past Saturday was the only thing drowning out the thuds of those jumping off the Colorado/Coach Prime bandwagon as the Oregon Ducks ran roughshod over the Buffaloes on Saturday afternoon. Truth is, Oregon is a better football team than Colorado right now. Rather than appreciate the Ducks team, many found…
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Thank You for Your Patience
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Tuesday, as the dogs sniffed the dewy grass, the foggy morning sun among the mist gave the arching trees an aural glow. Some leaves have already started to fall, but they’re just a fraction of the radiant magnificence to come in October. Tomatoes are ripening each day as the late summer sunlight turns them from…
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A New Academic Year and New Challenges
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A little over a year ago, new Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi’s arrival brought a lot of excitement. As with every new leader there begins, upon the ascension to a new office, what is affectionately known as a honeymoon period. As the year has passed, it has become clear that the honeymoon era has transitioned…
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They’re Paving Paradise to Put Up a Parking Lot
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“They paved paradise, put up a parking lot. With a pink hotel, a boutique and a swingin’ hot spot.” –Joni Mitchell, “Big Yellow Taxi.” In the late 1980s and early 1990s during Friday Happy Hour you could hear Randy Hughes sing this song at the Phyrst. Also during that happy hour, I was known to…
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The Beach Week
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The start of a beach week is always special. But as your week begins, someone else’s is ending. For those heading to a familiar place each year, the annual pictures taken in the same place create a collage of change, of times’ inevitable march forward. Perhaps nowhere else is this as noticeable as the inevitable…
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Front Porch Rantings
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“They say a kitchen is the heart of a house, but I believe the porch is its soul.” – Author Rick Bragg If that statement is true, this is the time of year when the porch of many homes is inhabited by slightly cranky old souls. Mine is no different. While society may define us…
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To Draw Closer to America’s Founding Ideals, We Need Leaders Who Seek Real Solutions
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On Monday night across the neighborhood, people were getting ready for the Fourth of July by shooting off fireworks. It sounded like a U.S. battleship bombarding enemy defensive positions before launching an amphibious assault. From the sounds of things, it appeared that the new fireworks store on College Avenue must have had a successful opening. As…
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Pride Month Is a Celebration of the Pursuit for Equality and Freedom
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In June, we see the blooming of Pride flags on homes, in yards, outside businesses and on various social media platforms. It is for people to celebrate not only who they are now, but to recall a difficult journey to arrive at this place in time. June also means a surge of resentment ranging from…
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Men’s Lacrosse Tournament Shows the Power of True Competition
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“If you can fill the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it, And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!” –The final stanza of “If” by Rudyard Kipling. To paraphrase the stanza above, last weekend those of us in Annapolis to watch the NCAA men’s lacrosse…
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Memories of Long-Ago Summer Days
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In the moments before dawn fully broke on Sunday, I found myself awakening on a fine spring morning. Two rescue dogs were asleep on the foot of the bed. Through the slightly open windows the pleasant sounds of cardinals chirping, mourning doves cooing, and other songbirds were shattered by the shriek of blue jays. It…