Taking Stock at Age 67 (!), Plus One: Lamenting Onside Kicks and CDC Stats

by gordie | Dec 27, 2025 | Journalism, Writing

Sunday marks another trip around the sun for me. That will be 68 of ‘em. One more than 67 (!), kids. Feel free to gazz out to your heart’s content. Anyway … Just for the sheer terror of it, I decided to look up the life expectancy for males in our great nation. And...

NFL Kickers Are Better, But John Smith Believes Those of his Day Should Not be Ignored

by gordie | Nov 23, 2025 | NFL

John Smith, a man with a common name and an uncommon tale, would like you to know that NFL kickers are not that much better than they were in his day, It is a sketchy premise from which to operate, seeing as somebody seems to nail a 60-yard field goal every other...

Remembering Lenny Wilkens, Catalyst of ‘The Greatest Turnaround in History’ — Among Other Things

by gordie | Nov 14, 2025 | NBA

The way Wally Walker remembers it, he and the other members of the Seattle SuperSonics trudged into a Kansas City hotel room on Nov. 30, 1977, hours before a game against the host Kings, to meet their new coach. To say it was a dispirited group would be an...

Pushed to the Brink, Indiana — yes, Indiana (in Football) — Makes a Grab for Greatness

by gordie | Nov 9, 2025 | College Football

While understanding that the mere invocation of Joe Paterno’s name elicits strong feelings on both sides of the equation, please remember that there were more than a few times when it was clear the late Penn State football coach knew what he was talking about. Exhibit...

A Sense of Belonging, A Half-Century After the Fact

by gordie | Nov 1, 2025 | High School Sports

Nobody rides the bench on a high school cross country team. There are no reserves, no backups, no scrubs. Everybody runs, in every dual meet. Everybody competes against the opponent, the clock, themselves. That said, you don’t have to be Steve Prefontaine to ascertain...

Terry Smith Once Again Marches Amid the Mayhem, Hoping To Find a Promising Path

by gordie | Oct 23, 2025 | College Football

Freelance sportswriting being what it is in the 21st Century, I have worked for over 30 outlets since my last full-time gig in 2008 – and hope to add to that total before they pry my laptop from my cold, dead fingers.  One of those outlets was ESPN.com, or at least a...

Fire James Franklin? Maybe Not, But Penn State Administration Would do well to Nudge Him Toward an Exit

by gordie | Oct 9, 2025 | College Football

It’s homecoming this weekend at Penn State. Time to remember the good times. Time to look back. Yeah, not so much. The alums figure to be in a foul mood, given the football team’s struggles. And not even the scheduling of perennial Big Ten doormat Northwestern will...

Packers Take a Rare Big Swing, Hoping for a Home Run with Micah Parsons

by gordie | Aug 29, 2025 | NFL

When you fly into Green Bay, Wisconsin, you descend from 35,000 feet and land in 1967. Such is the aura of Packers history that you half-expect to be leveled by the block of Jerry Kramer or Fuzzy Thurston as you exit the jetway. The team plays in Lambeau Field, on...

Mulling Lee Corso, John Wall: Were They Actually, Ya Know, Good?

by gordie | Aug 23, 2025 | Journalism, NBA

John Wall just retired, and Lee Corso is about to do so. My question: Were they good? They were significant – Corso, the college football analyst, more so than Wall, the NBA point guard. They were entertaining, I guess. But were they good? I admit to watching ESPN’s...

Really, Shouldn’t We All Have Our Own Walk-Up Music?

by gordie | Aug 3, 2025 | MLB

Having watched on TV as new Phillies closer Jhoan Duran made his electric entrance Friday night, I think that just once, I’d like to have my own walk-up music. Just once I’d like to stroll into whatever they’re calling the Sixers’ arena these days and as I head toward...