'Hall' doors open to pair of wonders

It's a good thing that the College Football Hall of Fame threw open the doors to two of those age-old wonders of the modern sports world, Joe Paterno and Bobby Bowden. A few more years and neither one would have had the strength.
Penn State's Paterno will celebrate his 80th birthday in December, while Bowden, of Florida State, is 76 years old and counting. No one, and I repeat, no one, has ever coached longer or won more games at one Division I school than Paterno. He has 354 victories and two national championships in 40 seasons at PSU.
Bowden, who has been at FSU since 1976, leads major college football with 359 victories and two national titles
The people who run the College Football Hall of Fame did a little rule-bending to get the two into the hall. Previously it was written that a coach must be retired to enter the hall. So the National Football Foundation simply changed the rule to make any coach older than 75 eligible for induction.
Congratulations to a pair of outstanding coaches, both a credit to the game.
Burger master
When it comes to a school record, West Middlesex High School's Dustin Burger will settle for a tie anytime.
In a recent contest against the Sharpsville High Blue Devils at West Middlesex, the 6-0, 170-pound senior cranked out three homers as the Big Reds measured the Blue Devils. He came within a gnat's eyelash of hitting four homers as he blasted a liner down the left-field line that curved foul and that was in his initial trip to the plate. Three homes were to follow.
Burger's tremendous effort tied the marks of the Big Reds' Dave Hixson and R.J. Bowers who also own a share of that single game mark established earlier. Hixson turned in his "hat trick" against Commodore Perry while Bowers slammed his three against Grove City.
Burger not only can set a blistering pace on the diamond, he's earned 10 letters at West Middlesex including three in basketball, baseball and golf and another in football.
In addition to being an outstanding all-around athlete, he is class valedictorian and will attend Gannon University where he will major in electrical engineering. He carries a 4.2 GPA at West Middlesex. So Gannon is not only getting an excellent athlete, it's getting a top-notch student, a plus for both programs.
Senior Games
The annual Mercer County Games, for 50-and-older individuals, will be getting under way the first week in June. The event draws a number of participants, some who just want to get into the spirit of competition and keep in shape.
The group has eight sporting events in which to compete and they may select one or as many as they wish. Following is the complete schedule, the site of the events and starting times.
Saturday: track and field, 10 a.m. at Hickory High Stadium. June 5: horseshoe pitching, 9 a.m. Riverside Park, Greenville; June 6: shuffleboard, 8:30 a.m., McQuiston Center, Sandy Lake; June 7: bowling, 7:30 a.m., Bowl-O-Drome, Grove City; June 8, racquetball, 1 p.m., Buhl Club, Sharon; June 9: golf, 7:30 a.m. Pine Hill Golf Course, Greenville; June 10: swimming, 1 p.m., Grove City YMCA; June 13: closing ceremonies, 1:30 p.m., Valley Center for Aging/Geriatric Health, Hermitage.
For registration packets contact Mercer County Area Agency on Aging, Inc., administrative office, (724) 662-6222 or 1-800-570-6222.
Hostetler named
Ten years is a long time to serve as an assistant high school basketball coach. Mike Hostetler believes that time was well spent in preparing him for a head coaching position.
Hostetler, 35, has been named head girls basketball coach at Grove City High School, replacing long-time mentor Roger Flynn who stepped down. Flynn had been head coach of the Lady Eagles for almost 30-years.
Flynn and Hostetler had been so successful as Lady Eagle mentors that the new coach doesn't plan to make too many changes.
A native of Dover, Ohio, Hostetler is eager to get underway though and initiate some of his own ideas. One of those changes will be more usage of a man-to-man defense. In the past Flynn had relied more on a zone defense which had proved to be very effective down through the years.
Titans picked
Westminster College failed to place any players on the 2006 All-PAC baseball first team, however, three were named to the second team.
Gaining the honors were sophomore outfielder Don Womeldorff (Marysville, Ohio High School); sophomore second baseman Don Kirkwood, Neshannock High School; and freshman designated hitter John Izzo, Union High School.
Womeldorff posted a team-high .361 batting average (44 of 122) with nine doubles, two triples, three home runs, 24 runs scored, 15 stolen bases, and 25 RBIs. He led the team in hits and tied for the team lead in doubles while ranking second on the squad in stolen bases.
Kirkwood batted .333 (39 of 117) with six doubles, three triples and one homer. He scored 35 runs, had 10 stolen bases and 17 RBIs.
Izzo hit .343 (37 0f 108) with six doubles, team high totals of three triples and six home runs, 22 runs scored, nine stolen bases, and 28 RBIs.
The Titans finished at 18-19 overall under the direction of head coach Carmen Nocera in 2006, including a 6-12 mark in he Presidents' Athletic Conference.