Penn State Clips

More trouble for RichRod? Michigan's last wolverine dead

bob@pennstateclips.com — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 07:20:40 PDT

The only known wolverine in the wilds of Michigan has been found dead in the Thumb area, near where it was first spotted in 2004...

The female wolverine was found by hikers at the Minden Bog in the Minden City State Game Area Saturday.

Todd Rann of Marysville and Morgan Graham of New Baltimore spotted what they thought was a dead beaver, partially submerged in the water near a beaver dam. Rann pulled it from the water and realized it was a wolverine. The pair called the Report All Poaching hot line. Department of Natural Resources and Environment Conservation Officers Seth Rhodea and Bob Hobkirk responded immediately and retrieved the animal.

[Clips comment: We're pretty sure this was the conversation before the hikers pulled the dead wolverine from the water: "Hold my beer and watch this!"]

The officers reported no visible signs of trauma.

DNRE wildlife biologist Arnie Karr, who originally verified the animal was a wolverine after it was treed by coyote hunters in 2004, said the carcass will be sent to the DNRE veterinary lab for necropsy. The department plans to have the specimen mounted and displayed, probably at the visitor center at nearby Bay City State Recreation Area., Karr said.

The animal was the first wolverine ever actually verified in Michigan. Biologists say that if wolverines were ever native to Michigan, they were extirpated about 200 years ago.

Michigan's last (and only) wild wolverine, photographed in 2004

[Hats off to ImPoster for alerting us to this story!]

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Penn State rejects CBS request to move Alabama game, will play in prime time

bob@pennstateclips.com — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 23:22:07 PST

We are less-than optimistic about Penn State's chances against Alabama on September 11th, but at least the entire nation will get a chance to watch the beatdown in prime time...

Bama is the defending national champions and loaded.

We don't even know which inexperienced quarterback will start for us.

Oh well, it's on the schedule, so we might as well play...

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Super Soph Linebacker eying Penn State, others in Big Ten

bob@pennstateclips.com — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:54:03 PST

The recruitment of James "Biggs" Ross Jr. will likely be an epic, multi-year battle among The Usual Suspects of the Big Ten...

In his first year of high school football after starring for the Detroit Police Athletic League's Westside Cubs, Ross emerged as a standout performer for Orchard Lake (Mich.) St. Mary's. The 6-foot, 210-pounder had 103 tackles, five sacks, five forced fumbles, seven fumble recoveries, and an interception while keying the defense for a team that went all the way to the state title game.

How does Ross view himself?

Ross, who already has an offer from Michigan State, visited Michigan for a recent Junior Day...

Ross's dad is a Michigan fan, so he's a lock to be a future Wolverine, right? Not so fast, my friend!

And what about Linebacker U?

The bottom line? Stay tuned!
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ESPN2 to air 2010 Blue-White Game at Penn State!

bob@pennstateclips.com — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:17:44 PST

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.--One of the nation's premier spring football events, Penn State's Blue-White Game presented by AAA, will be televised live by ESPN2 on Saturday, April 24. Kickoff is set for 2:00 p.m. in Beaver Stadium.

The Blue-White Game will be the first Big Ten Conference spring football game broadcast by ESPN. Previous ESPN spring football telecasts include Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Oklahoma. In addition to the Blue-White Game, ESPN will cover the spring games at LSU and North Carolina in the coming months.

The Blue-White Game is one of the nation's most popular spring football contests. The attendance record has fallen each of the past three years, with an estimated crowd of 76,500 flocking to the 2009 contest. An estimated 73,000 fans attended in 2008 and 71,000 in 2007. More than 40,000 fans have attended the game in 11 of the past 14 years, with rainy conditions during the other three contests.
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Update: M Go Cheat? Massive scandal brewing at Michigan

bob@pennstateclips.com — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 10:35:48 PST

We first heard the allegations in August.

Now the NCAA has sent a letter to Michigan alleging five major rules violations by the football program...

According to the NCAA...

Michigan had five too many coaches supervising on- and off-field activities.
The Michigan staff improperly supervised off-season workouts and exceeded the NCAA's weekly time limits.
Grad assistant Alex Herron lied to the NCAA during the investigation.
Head coach Rich Rodriguez failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance, failed to monitor his staff, and failed to monitor time limits.
The UM athletic department failed to monitor the football program.

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Happy Birthday, Penn State!

bob@pennstateclips.com — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 06:28:39 PST

Happy Birthday, Penn State!

What is now the Pennsylvania State University was founded as a degree-granting institution on February 22, 1855 by act P.L. 46, No. 50 of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania.

Happy 155th Birthday, Penn State!

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Big Ten Hires Expansion Search Firm; Texas Not On Short List

bob@pennstateclips.com — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 08:11:17 PST

We weren't surprised to learn that Big Ten officials have hired a firm to research potential expansion candidates.

We WERE surprised by one school that was apparently missing from the initial scan...

According to Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez...

So who was missing?

Nor does the former Notre Dame assistant think it will be the Fighting Irish...

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Update: Is Sharrif Floyd too dumb to play for Penn State?

bob@pennstateclips.com — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 09:38:28 PST

When Sharrif Floyd signed with Florida, we questioned his intelligence.

We didn't have an issue with Floyd picking Florida, but we simply couldn't understand his comment about Penn State: "Penn State to me was a linebacker school. I learned that doing my homework. It wasn't hard to get them out of the loop."

Apparently Floyd's "homework" didn't extend to the NFL Draft, where Penn State has had tremendous success on the D-line.

Now comes more news on Floyd's decision...

We were reading Andy Staples' column in the Super Bowl edition of Sports Illustrated and found this interesting nugget...

Really? A highly successful program transcends its coach? Let's look at Florida's record...

Prior to 1990: The Gators went 452-322-39 for a pedestrian winning percentage of .580 and no (zero, none, nada) conference championships.
1990-2001: Steve Spurrier put Florida football on the map by winning 122 games in 12 years, with just 29 losses and a famous tie with Florida State. Their win percentage of .817 was 4th-best in the country. The Gators won six conference championships under Spurrier and the 1996 National Championship.
2002-2004: The Ron Zook Era was not kind to Florida, with three consecutive 5-loss seasons.
2005-2009: Florida returned to prominence under Urban Meyer, averaging 11.4 wins per season and winning two National Championships to date.

It's very interesting that Florida wasn't able to "transcend" Ron Zook.

Will the Gators be able to "transcend" Urban Meyer's successor when the latter ~~drops dead~~ retires or moves on to the NFL?

So much for Sharrif's "homework."
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NCAA bans Terrelle Pryor's stupid Michael Vick tributes

bob@pennstateclips.com — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 13:18:42 PST

Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor displayed his love for convicted dog-abuse felon Michael Vick on his eye black patches and later during an oh-so-eloquent post-game interview...

Ohio State coach Jim Tressel did his best Sargent Schultz impression and claimed, "I see nothing, NOTHING!"

The NCAA Football Rules Committee has decided to curb this idiocy. The Committee clarified that if a player elects to wear eye shade, it must be solid black with no words, numbers, logos, or other symbols.

The Committee also...

Endorsed a proposal that penalizes unsportsmanlike conduct as a live-ball foul beginning in the 2011 season.

The change would mean, for example, that if a player makes a taunting gesture to an opponent on the way to scoring a touchdown, the flag would nullify the score and penalize the offending team from the spot of the foul.

Penalties for dead-ball misconduct fouls (for example, unsportsmanlike behavior after the player crosses the goal line) would continue to be assessed on the ensuing kickoff or the extra point/two point conversion attempt.
Took steps to ensure player health and safety by endorsing a rule requiring all injured student-athletes, including those who exhibit signs of a concussion, to be cleared by an appropriate medical professional (as determined by the institution) before returning to competition.

The action comes on the heels of the Playing Rules Oversight Panel’s endorsement of recommendations from the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports to manage concussion issues more effectively. At its meeting in January, PROP instructed playing-rules committees to review their policies in the areas of stopping play for injuries and to consider instituting rules that may further prevent head injuries.
Reviewed the success of its efforts to curb dangerous contact. Last season, the Committee enhanced its rules that cover dangerous contact, specifically collisions that target a defenseless player. During the 2009 season, conferences were mandated to review all fouls of this nature and consider suspensions for egregious violations.
Removed the reference in the rules book requiring a player’s pants to cover the knees at all times. Also, socks no longer have a length requirement, but must continue to be of the same color and general design.
Discussed the possibility of prohibiting an intentional wedge of three or more receiving team players on free kicks. Committee members will obtain more information by assessing the experience of the National Football League, which introduced such a rule in 2009.
Agreed to suggest changes to the complicated rules regarding blocking below the waist. The Committee will discuss the matter further at the 2011 meeting.
Recommended that conferences that do not have a pregame warm-up policy use a 10-yard no-player zone between the 45-yard lines beginning 60 minutes before kickoff. This reinforces the Statement on Sportsmanship, which was adopted by the committee for inclusion in the 2009-10 NCAA Football Rules Book. The Committee will consider formally adding this to the rules book in 2011.
Agreed that effective in 2011, television monitors will be allowed in the press box coaches’ booths. The home team has responsibility for insuring that coaches’ booths for both teams have identical television capability.

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Video: Death at the Olympics

bob@pennstateclips.com — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 20:39:19 PST

This graphic video shows the fatal crash of men's luger Nodar Kumaritashvili from the country of Georgia during a training run Friday at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Whistler, British Columbia...

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Joe Paterno is right: Penn State should not name successor

bob@pennstateclips.com — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 13:04:09 PST

Joe Paterno has long been opposed to Penn State naming a successor prior to his departure as head coach.

Now there's another very good reason to not designate a "coach in waiting." It would be a disaster if Tom Bradley was confined to campus instead of making recruiting trips to WPIAL schools...

Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds says the Longhorns football program was ‘singled out’ by a new NCAA rule that drastically limits recruiting by defensive coordinator Will Muschamp, the Longhorns’ head-coach-in-waiting.

The rule states assistants “publicly designated” to be the next head coach are now bound by the same recruiting rules as the current head coach. That means Muschamp can make only one off-campus visit with a prospect and it can’t be during the critical spring evaluation period of April 15-May 31. Other assistants can have multiple off-campus visits.

The only other major college football program impacted by the rule is Maryland, where offensive coordinator James Franklin has been designated to succeed Ralph Friedgen.

According to Dodd...

The recruiting rule change was proposed by the Big East conference in June 2009. It was approved at the NCAA convention last month, about two weeks before the Feb. 3 national signing day.

The rule change was supported at the convention by the football issues committee. The rationale was that recruiting by a “head coach in waiting” creates a competitive advantage for a program at a time when the NCAA has moved to curb off-campus recruiting by head coaches.

The change was not supported by the NCAA’s recruiting cabinet, which noted that designating an assistant as a future head coach is likely to happen several years before the coach is promoted.
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Update: Are the Eyes of Texas Upon Penn State, Big Ten?

bob@pennstateclips.com — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 11:33:48 PST

Is Texas a candidate for Big Ten membership or isn't it?

A recent Clip quoted unnamed sources as saying, “There have been preliminary exchanges between the Big Ten and Texas.”

Now comes word from Texas that such a move is simply not going to happen...

According to columnist Kirk Bohls of the Austin (Tex.) American-Statesman...

The dance continues... Kindle: Amazon's 6" Wireless Reading Device

Joe Paterno Sheds Glasses or Did He?

bob@pennstateclips.com — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 15:17:58 PST

Joe Paterno recently had surgery to correct his vision. Does this mean no more eye glasses for the great coach. Not necessarily. Word out of State College is that Joe now has a thinner pair of glasses -- non prescription lenses.

How does Joe look with out glasses? We will leave that for you to decide.

Meanwhile, does this mean the new look Joe is going to start going on the road and recruiting again? Probably not.

Wild cat offense? Probably not.

On the sideline without glasses? Yes.

Here is the good news. Now Joe will actually be able to see what is going on on the football field. No more turning to McQ and asking, what happened?

Are the Eyes of Texas Upon Penn State, Big Ten?

bob@pennstateclips.com — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 08:19:38 PST

A couple months ago we opined on the subject of Big Ten expansion and said, "the only school besides Notre Dame that really interests us is Texas."

Are we inching closer to seeing the Longhorns in the Big Ten?

A source with ties to the Big Ten said that while most people’s attention has been trained on the conference stealing Missouri, the Big Ten has engaged in “preliminary exchanges” with a much bigger fish from the Big 12.

“There have been preliminary exchanges between the Big Ten and Texas,” the source told the Lawrence (Kan.) Journal-World on Wednesday. “People will deny that, but it’s accurate.” Kindle: Amazon's 6" Wireless Reading Device

Penn State football recruit Mike Hull leads Canon-Mac to WPIAL wrestling title

bob@pennstateclips.com — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 06:15:15 PST

Canon-McMillan held a two-point lead with one bout remaining in Tuesday's WPIAL Class AAA title match against Kiski Area at Fox Chapel.

That's when Michael Hull, a Penn State football recruit, made his appearance, despite a separated shoulder...

Hull, despite a 60-pound weight disadvantage, posted a 3-2 victory in the 285-pound weight class to cap the Big Macs' 32-27 victory. It was the sixth team tournament title for Canon-McMillan, but the first since 1995.

Hull wrestled as a sophomore but sat out last season while recovering from a back injury. He returned this season to help the Big Macs during the dual-meet season by winning all eight of his matches.

"I'm glad the match was postponed twice," said Hull, who sustained the injury while playing in the Team USA vs. The World football game on January 30th. "I wouldn't have been able to wrestle if the match was Saturday. The extra time really helped."
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Having sex twice a week cuts heart attack risk in half!

bob@pennstateclips.com — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 10:56:01 PST

We follow medical news in addition to Penn State sports. (Given the recent woes of the men's basketball team, medical news is more fun!)

For the latest in Alzheimer's news, check out the Alzheimer's Reading Room, which is edited by Penn State Clips' contributor Bob DeMarco.

Here are some recent medical stories that caught our attention...

Men who have sex at least twice a week can almost halve their risk of heart disease, according to new research.

It shows men who indulge in regular lovemaking are up to 45 per cent less likely to develop life-threatening heart conditions than men who have sex once a month or less.

The results, published in the American Journal of Cardiology, showed men who made love at least twice a week were much less likely to have heart disease than those whose sexual encounters were limited to once a month or less.

An earlier study at the National Cancer Institute in the US showed men who ejaculated through sex or masturbation at least five times a week were much less likely to get prostate cancer.

And sex once or twice a week in winter can boost the immune system and reduce the chances of catching colds and flu, according to researchers at Wilkes University, Pennsylvania.

[Clips comment: Men, be sure to send this post to your wives!]

The saturated fat found mainly in meat and dairy products has a bad reputation, but a new analysis of published studies finds no clear link between people's intake of saturated fat and their risk of developing heart disease.

The new study, which combined the results of 21 previous studies, researchers found no clear evidence that higher saturated fat intakes led to higher risks of heart disease or stroke.

For the current study, researchers led by Dr. Ronald M. Krauss, of the Children's Hospital Oakland Research Center in California, pooled data from 21 studies that included a total of nearly 348,000 adults.

Participants, who were generally healthy to start, were surveyed about their diet habits and then followed for anywhere from five to 23 years. Over that time, 11,000 developed heart disease or suffered a stroke.

Overall, Krauss and his colleagues found, there was no difference in the risks of heart disease and stroke between people with the lowest and highest intakes of saturated fat.

[Clips comment: Great news for tailgaters, throw some more dead animal on that grill!]

Boredom could be shaving years off your life, scientists have found.

Researchers say that people who complain of boredom are more likely to die young, and that those who experienced 'high levels' of tedium are more than two-and-a-half times as likely to die from heart disease or stroke than those satisfied with their lot.

More than 7,000 civil servants were studied over 25 years - and those who said they were bored were nearly 40 per cent more likely to have died by the end of study than those who did not.

The scientists said this could be a result of those unhappy with their lives turning to such unhealthy habits as smoking or drinking, which would cut their life expectancy.

[Clips comment: This is really bad news for Pitt football fans.]

Finally, as we previously reported, chocolate lowers the death rate for heart attack victims.

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Penn State loses another big-time recruit to USC

bob@pennstateclips.com — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 11:15:51 PST

Pete Carroll is gone, but USC continues to beat out Penn State for top recruits.

Brian Cushing (New Jersey), Broderick Green (Arkansas), and Vidal Hazelton (New York) all went west rather than to State College.

Now add another name to that list...

David Sills, a quarterback from Bear, Delaware, has given a verbal commitment to the Trojans...for the Class of 2015!

That's right, Sills is 13-years-old, but Steve Clarkson, a personal coach who has mentored some of the top quarterbacks in the country says, "His skill set is off the chart. I've never seen anyone at his age do what he's been able to do."

We've been following Sills for a while and are disappointed with this decision. What's the big deal? See for yourself...

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Video: Penn State doesn't cheat, but other schools do

bob@pennstateclips.com — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 07:22:20 PST

Notre Dame signee Kendall Moore had some interesting recruiting experiences...

Moore took just two official visits (Notre Dame and N.C. State), so who was trying to illegally pay for an unofficial visit?

There's no shortage of suspects on Kendall's interest list: Auburn, Clemson, Florida State, Tennessee...

There are some valid criticisms of Joe Paterno - punting too often on 4th-and-short, very few in-home recruiting visits, senioritis - but one thing we can be sure of is that he'll never embarrass Penn State University with recruiting violations.
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Update 1: Penn State rival Pitt to Big Ten?

bob@pennstateclips.com — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 11:28:11 PST

The Big Ten isn't buying what Bill Maller is selling regarding Pitt to the Big Ten...

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Penn State rival Pitt to Big Ten?

bob@pennstateclips.com — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 10:20:35 PST

The hot Internet rumors indicate a seismic shift in the college football landscape as early as this week...

Fox Sports Radio Network host Ben Maller posted the news this morning...

This would undoubtedly beef up Big Ten basketball and would lead to a Big Ten Championship Game in football. (Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis would be the natural choice for such a game - state-of-the-art facility, centrally located, and there's little worry that Purdue or Indiana will get a home-field advantage by playing there.)

The immediate impact for Penn State football would likely be scheduling. We anticipate that it would move the Land Grant Trophy game to earlier in the season (and perhaps not every year) and we would end the regular season with Pitt.

It will be interesting to see how the divisions shake out if this rumor comes to fruition. If it happens we'll have further analysis.
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Is Sharrif Floyd too dumb to play for Penn State?

bob@pennstateclips.com — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 08:01:00 PST

Stud defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd picked Florida over Penn State. That's recruiting and we'd never criticize a kid for making the best choice for his situation.

That being said, we got a kick out of Floyd's analysis of the football program in State College...

Great homework, Sharrif. Since 2003 Larry Johnson has coached five high NFL Draft picks, including three first-rounders.

And there's more where that came from, as Jared Odrick had a stellar Senior Bowl and is a likely Round One pick...

"Penn State DT Jared Odrick is showing quickness and power in the team period and disrupting the offense."
"He looked quick during bag work and is showing a quick first step and getting penetration in 1-on-1 drills."
"He was stout against the run today, and his quickness allowed him to get into the backfield all day, and he never quit moving."
"Odrick looked like a man possessed on Wednesday and was impossible to stop. He was both quick and powerful, defeating blocks off the snap with a great first step or powerfully moving opponents off the line with great leg drive. After showing flashes the first two days, Odrick really put it together today."

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See the world through the eyes (or at least the glasses) of Penn State coach Joe Paternno

bob@pennstateclips.com — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 09:38:09 PST

WPSU's 18th Annual Connoisseur's Dinner and Auction takes place on February 20th.

Online bidding for auction items starts Monday. Auction items include a football autographed by John Cappelletti and a pair of State College's most famous eyeglasses...

Joe and Sue Paterno donated a pair of the coach's iconic thick glasses. As an added bonus, JoePa autographed the glasses with a Sharpie...

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No Sunshine State recruiting for Penn State football

bob@pennstateclips.com — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 11:26:31 PST

Penn State Clips reporter Bob DeMarco (who also publishes the Alzheimer's Reading Room) is dying for Penn State to recruit in his adopted home state of Florida.

Sorry, Bob, it's not happening anytime soon...

Penn State's Regional Athletic Director of the Year Tim Curley spoke at an alumni event at the Shadow Wood Country Club in Bonita Springs, Florida last night. Curley was asked why there was only one Floridian on the 2009 Penn State football roster...

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Penn State TE Andrew Quarless wins East-West Shrine Game!

bob@pennstateclips.com — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 21:17:40 PST

Northwestern's Mike Kafka threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Penn State's Andrew Quarless with 6 seconds remaining, lifting the East to a 13-10 win over the West on Saturday's East-West Shrine Game...

It was sweet for Quarless, who helped Penn State rally over LSU in the Capital One Bowl in the same stadium on Jan. 1, to have consecutive comeback wins. He slipped behind the defense and allowed Kafka to loft a pass over the middle so he could make the leaping catch...

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60 Minutes video - Football Island: Should Penn State start recruiting in Samoa?

bob@pennstateclips.com — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 10:12:27 PST

Scott Pelley of 60 Minutes traveled to America Samoa to find out how a territory with a population of 65,000 can send more than 30 players to the NFL and over 200 to Division I-A teams. It is estimated that a boy born to Samoan parents is 56 times more likely to get into the NFL than other kid in America.

Most teams have busted and antiquated equipment, no locker rooms, and fields littered with lava rock. It's the Dominican Republic of football...

[Hats off to The Wiz of Odds for alerting us to this video!]
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