Tae Bo Tuesday

Bo Pelini, head coach at Nebraska, took his cat to their spring game. In and of itself, not a big deal. But he apparently took the cat through the tunnel onto the field and held Mr. Bigglesworth aloft.

Well, we can't pass up this opportunity, can we?



Separated at Birth?

RAFINI !



Or maybe this rings a familiar note . . .

Bo-feld                                                                 Blofeld

 

 

Beaver Stadium Run

This morning, I got to do something that many Penn State fans can only dream about.

I ran through the tunnel at Beaver Stadium onto the field.

It was the culmination of a three mile race to benefit Special Olympics, sponsored by the Paterno Family.

Sue Paterno was there, but I really couldn't see her.  There were over 4,000 runners entered in the race.  I'm short.  I found a spot somewhere between the sign that said pace of 7-8:00 and the sign that said pace of 9-10:00.  My final pace was 7:36, but I usually run between 8:20 and 9:00.  There wasn't a sign for 8-9:00!  I should have moved up, because I spent the first half mile trying to pass other people on Curtin Road, and it was kind of like the crowd at Walmart on Black Friday.  (Honestly, I have never shopped on Black Friday, so I have no idea if it was like that or not.)

I came in 165th with a time of 22:48.  Not my best ever, but I still got to high five Franco Harris at the finish line!

This is what it looked like.  I felt like I was all knees and elbows surging across the field, but I was probably more limp and drag.  Of course, this isn't me crossing the line--I'm taking the damned picture and trying to inflate my lungs at this point.  Where is that oxygen tent?

So winded from my run, and praying for some beer and donuts, I head outside to where the refreshments are located.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

SERIOUSLY?  BANANAS?????!!!!!!  I could have died here today.  Or sprained an ankle.  My toenail might turn black and blue.  And you give me bananas????

Why did it have to be bananas?

There were some pretzels.  I ate one of those--big ones with lots of salt.  (I broke down and ate a banana too, but don't tell anyone.  I was hungry!  I didn't eat breakfast, given an 11 am start time.)  There were some mini-bagels, which I guess in a bizarre way are sort of like donuts.  BUT THEY ARE NOT DONUTS.  And there was water.  No beer. 

There was free Sheetz coffee.  I had some before the race because I can't really resist coffee.  Or FREE!  Of course, I regretted that decision.  I'm at that age where I can't grow hair on my head, but I can grow a Country Fair winning prostate gland with no trouble.

All in all it was great day with great weather.  And it was for a great cause!

THANK YOU SUEPA!

Feeling BLUE?

Blue dismantled White 37-0 before an announced crowd of 72,000 fans, who joined James Franklin in a WE ARE . . . PENN STATE cheer during the break between the first and second quarters.

In no particular order, are some random thoughts . . .

The weather was beautiful. It just can't get any better than that. It might have been too hot, but after the winter we've had, I am NOT complaining! Pass the lemonade!

Nice 409 memorial to Joe where his statue SHOULD be.

It looked better in person than with my crappy cell phone and pasting!

The numbers were created with blue pinwheels stuck in the ground. A sign offered fans to take one after the game--but not before, since they ARE NOT allowed in Beaver Stadium. Really? Seriously? Afraid of a drive-by pinwheeling? Since when do terrorists use pinwheels? This would appear to be some serious pinwheel profiling here, folks!

You don't realize how much you miss the video screen until it isn't there.

Can't we recruit better scoreboards????

Offense looked a little shaky. 3-0 after the first quarter. Only 17-0 at the half. Second half quarters were only 10 minutes with the clock kept running. Defense added a pick six and set up some short fields--four of the five turnovers were notched by blue jerseys. Is our defense that good or offense that shaky? Too early to tell.

Great trickeration with Geno Lewis throwing off a reverse to a wide open Zanellato for a score. Maybe the D ain't that good after all!

Hackenberg only played a couple of series early on. No other quarterback looked especially good in my humble opinion.

I like me some Cole Chiappialle! He looks like a midget, but even with a shaky line, seemed to pop open some good runs.

Awards--

Jim O'Hora Award: Defensive tackle Anthony Zettel
Red Worrell Award: Guard Brian Gaia
Frank Patrick Total Commitment Award: End Deion Barnes
Coaches Special Teams Award: Kicker Sam Ficken

Congratulations!

Only noticeable injury was Wendy Laurent (center). It just had to be a lineman, didn't it?

This may not be their year, but with Penn State riding the #1 recruiting class right now, the future looks bright.

And with a few schools still left to play spring games (notably Alabama and Michigan State), here are the rankings of attendance:

Team Day Attendance (Cost)

Penn State Saturday, 72,000 (free, plus free autograph session)

Tennessee Saturday 66,548 (free)

Nebraska Saturday 61,772 ($10)

Ohio State Saturday 61,058 ($5, price originally $20 and $12)

Florida State Saturday 36,500 (free)

Florida Saturday 35,834 ($5)

LSU April 5 18,565 (free)

Michigan April 5 15,000 (free)

Indiana Saturday 9,231 (free)

Maryland Friday 8,319 (free)

Wisconsin Saturday 8,204 ($5)

Purdue Saturday 7,175 (free)

Illinois Saturday 5,105 (free)

Minnesota Saturday 5,000 (free)

Northwestern Saturday N/A (free, no game, just open practice)

Nothing to be BLUE about!

Blue-White Weekend

What a wonderful day for Penn State football!

You never know who you might run into . . .

 Look! I'm Jay Walking, ...er, Jay Standing!

I will offer a few more thoughts on the Blue-White game later . . . But this morning I will be running in the Beaver Stadium Run, sponsored by the Paterno family, and benefitting Special Olympics! The finish line is the 50-yard line! That has a vague ring to it! ;)

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Don't Forget to Vote!

The election is underway for the Penn State Board of Trustees. I voted for PS4RS candidates Pope and Lord. Their third candidate is Jubelirer, but I went with Ryan Bagwell.

Beware the Upward State candidates. Joel Myers has "endorsed" that organization, and then I came across this by Tom McAndrew of BWI:

There have been a lot of comments on this board about Upward State being the preferred candidates of the BOT Executive Committee, or that Upward State was a shadow organization for some members of the BOT.  

I have refrained from making any such comments, as there was never anything I could point to as evidence of any type of connection.  

Well, at 9 am this morning, Paul Silvis, Vice Chair of the BOT, sent out the following: "If you have not made up your mind yet, may I take the liberty of suggesting three candidates for Trustees for those PSU Alums who received ballot today 03 Daniel N. Cocco, '08, New York, NY 18 Julie Harris McHugh, '86, Ambler, PA 21 Matthew W. Schuyler, '87, McLean, VA  

The above is the exact text of the e-mail, so don't blame me for the typos.  

What is the relationship between Upward State and the BOT power bloc? I'm still not certain, but you can each draw your own conclusions.

Please vote. A line has been drawn in the sand by Myers. Do you want the TRUTH, or do you want to ignore the truth and MOVE ON regardless of the TRUTH?