Hi, I’m your neighbor and I hate you

Just a reminder that tonight at 7:38 the puck drops to start the war of Pennsylvania between the Filthadelphia Flyers and the Pittsburgh Penguins with a trip to the Stanley Cup finals on the line. Will it be intense? Oh hell yeah.

There were 27 major penalties handed out in eight regular-season games between the Penguins and Philadelphia.

Sixteen misconducts.

And, oh yeah, 104 minors.

As the article suggests, don't expect that kind of play, most playoff games are not penalty packed because one bad one could cost you the game, but it will be rough from the start. Believe you me, saying the hitting will be hard is like saying Joe Paterno is a little old. I've been looking forward to this all week long. Go Pens!

Shipley is being watched

A.Q. Shipley has been named to his third preseason watch list.

Penn State senior A.Q. Shipley has been named to the Watch List for the Rimington Trophy, presented to the nation's top center.

The pre-season recognition is Shipley's third thus far for the 2008 campaign. He previously was named to the Watch Lists for the Rotary Lombardi Award and Outland Trophy.

That's a lot of people keeping an eye on the anchor of Penn State's line. Not only will Shipley be looked at to take his game to the next level but A.Q. will have to be the vocal leader of the offense. Provided he can avoid the injury bug (God please), I think this will be Shipley's year to shine, especially with the people around him.

Scratch Al Golden off the list

For those of you that believe Temple football coach Al Golden could take the reins after Joe Paterno retires in 10 or 15 years you might want to rethink that.

The NCAA's annual academic progress report was released Tuesday. It showed more than 700 teams fell short of the mandated cut score.

When a team does not improve, the punishments can become harsher with three consecutive scores under 900 leading to a postseason ban. A fourth consecutive offense would prevent them from competing at the Division I level.

Most names are from smaller schools like Florida International or Montana State-Bozeman but right in the thick of things is Al Golden's football team. Golden has been at Temple for three years and started off with a very young team (read: his guys) so it's obvious that Golden doesn't hold his players to the same academic scrutiny that Penn State would prefer. Without a doubt the next head coach at Penn State must carry on the tradition of excellence in the classroom, there's no wiggle room on that aspect of the job. While Penn State may have had their share of off-the-field incidents the last couple years Paterno hasn't let up on the teams academic requirements.

Editor's Note: I jumped on this waaayyy too early with little research and as it turns out am completely wrong about Golden. As RUTS points out from the Philadelphia Daily News

Since Al Golden took over as Temple's football coach in December 2005, there have been no eligibility issues. Still, the program again has been cited for academic failings that took place before his arrival on North Broad Street.

Yesterday, the NCAA announced the fourth-year Academic Progress Rates for all division I teams. And the Owls have lost four scholarships. The penalties last for 1 year, and there's every expectation that all four will be reinstated at that time.

Two years ago the Owls lost nine scholarships, for similar reasons. Twelve months later, they had every one back. The APR score of student-athletes recruited by Golden is 980, well above the minimum of 925.

There's also this from his bio:

With a commitment to community service and academics at the core of Golden's program, a multitude of individual honors were bestowed upon the Owls in 2006. Seven student-athletes were named to the 2006 Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area Football team, providing Temple the most honorees of the 10 Delaware Valley institutions that sponsor football.

And I mistakenly gave him credit for an extra year, Golden's only been at Temple for two years. So yeah, forget what I said. Man, what was I drinking last night? Paint thinner?!?

PBR me so I can RIP

I can't believe someone loves Pabst Blue Ribbon this much but hey, I give him bonus points for the creativity.

Bill Bramanti's favorite beer is Pabst Blue Ribbon. He loves it.

Really loves it.

So much so that he's already had his coffin specially made, and it's designed to look like a can of the trendy brew.

Now had that been a Yuengling lager can... well that's a different story.

Turnpike series

Marian Hossa dispatched the New York Rangers in overtime yesterday and Philadelphia took care of Montreal Saturday setting up an all Pennsylvania Eastern Conference finals. Sure a trip to the Stanley Cup finals is at stake but there's so much more to this series. It gets down to the root of what PA sports is all about, it's Philly vs. Pittsburgh; neighbor vs. neighbor; brother vs. brother. While I'm a diehard Pens fan I openly rooted for Philly to make it to this point and my Flyers friends returned the favor and rooted for the Pens as if they were their own team. Now...

it....

is....

ON!

Even if you're not a hockey fan I highly suggest you watch this series, these two teams have developed a deep seeded hatred for one another. The regular season series was filled with fights and overall animosity, add the playoffs and... well... it's not for the faint of heart. Let me put it to you this way, there will be blood. If I don't end up in a fight with one of my Flyer friends I will be surprised. It's going to be a fun ride.

Go Pens!!

Penn State Volleyball: All Your Trophies Are Belong To Us

The #1-ranked Men’s Volleyball team joined the Women as National Champs, defeating #2 Pepperdine 3-1, a NCAA sweep like this in the same academic year was previously only accomplished by Stanford. This marks the second Men's title in school history, the first being in 1994. The Nittany Lions finished the year with a record of 30-1, dropping a total 12 games in that time. Congratulations!



Possibly video to follow, in the meantime enjoy Penn State’s prior title here, the first won by a school outside of California.