John Hook
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Hook: After Southern Dominance, Why Northern Schools Are on Top of College Football
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For the majority of the 21st century, the south has ruled major college football. With the exception of Ohio State in ‘02 and ‘14, up until 2023, the northernmost school to win a national championship this century was Oklahoma in 2000. As a geographical comparison for those of us in the east, Norman, Oklahoma –…
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Hook: Portal Pondering
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Let’s talk about the transfer portal. Because it certainly seems like the primary topic of conversation around Happy Valley these days, doesn’t it? Which football players are leaving the Penn State team and which players are joining the Penn State team. As a “mini-expert” in the transfer portal – our son used it twice during…
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Hook: Remember the Jacob Ghaners of Your World
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We’ve lived in Ferguson Township on the west side of Happy Valley for over a decade, which means that I’ve driven West College Avenue to get home many times over the years. It also means that I’m very excited about the construction of the new Rutter’s at the corner of Blue Course Drive and West…
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Hook: Our Tree Removal Conundrum
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We recently had a conundrum in our house that involved rational, emotional and even some moral thinking. We spent weeks debating and assessing the topic before we finally arrived at a decision. A decision which ensured, like all good compromises, that everyone was not happy with the result. We cut down a tree in our…
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Hook: Take It From Me, Pay Attention to the Little Things When It Comes to Your Body
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Words of wisdom: As far as your body goes, take the little things seriously. Why? I’ll tell you a story. But first I’m going to break every normal column-writing convention and tell you how the story ends before I even begin. Here goes… I had tonsil cancer and now it’s gone. Granted, I will have…
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Hook: Should Fans Expect — Or Even Want — Longevity in the Next Penn State Football Coach?
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Longevity. A long continuance. That’s what I think of as this fall has unfolded. Because this is the first fall in over a decade that my wife and I have been able to focus our weekend sports attention solely on the Penn State football team. When your son plays youth sports – club and scholastic…
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Hook: Reading the Signs
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So… that was a great weekend to get out of town, huh? Granted, we had plans for over a year to attend a wedding on Oct. 11 in western Maine, and only after the Penn State football schedule came out did we know that we would, in fact, be missing a Penn State home football…
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Hook: All This Stuff Has to Go Somewhere
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“He who dies with the most toys wins.” An energetic salesman spoke those words to my wife and I as we wandered around a boat show in The Altamonte Mall in Orlando back in 1986. Within a week we were towing our own boat home from the dealership. One of two problems with that scenario…
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Hook: Show Some Kindness to Fellow Drivers on Happy Valley Roads
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A few months ago on these pages I wrote a “scootering” column after suffering a Jones fracture in my right foot. Because I was required to keep weight off my foot to allow it to heal (doctor’s orders!), rather than use crutches (ugh!), I purchased three knee scooters and was scootering here, there and everywhere.…
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Hook: Let’s Raise a Glass to Scotch
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In less than two weeks Penn State football will be back at Beaver Stadium and many of us will enjoy a day of tailgating before the 3:30 p.m. kickoff against Nevada. It will have been eight months and nine days since we were in the stadium for that frigid victory over SMU just days before…