It’s Wednesday and it’s Blue & White Roundtable time. Mike from Black Shoe Diaries has the questions this week and he made me do some research to see if Mark Martin is still driving which shows you how much I follow NASCAR.

Now that the Colts won the Super Bowl, do we have to lump Peyton Manning into the list of “greatest quarterbacks ever!” along with names like Dan Marino, John Elway, Johnny Unitas, Joe Namath, Bart Starr, and Joe Montana?

I wasn’t in the “you must win a super bowl to be considered a great quarterback” camp so it hasn’t changed my opinion much, but for some it was Manning’s defining moment. I think he has the possibility to win more super bowls. His team has been so close for so long that it’s not a stretch to think they will be back in the next couple years. Like him or not he has consistently put up huge numbers over the years and should be mentioned in the same discussion of the greats. He puts in a lot of work studying and practicing above and beyond what is expected of him and it has paid off. Manning has averaged almost 4200 yards passing and 30 TD’s in his 9 year career – that’s pretty damn impressive. I know this much, he’s been a staple of my fantasy teams for the last 5 years.

What were your favorite and least favorite Super Bowl commercials this year?

The ambiguously gay Snickers commercial made me hungry for Mounds, and pissed off the gay rights people. The one I remember the most are the two Lions in the Taco Bell commercial... “caaarrrrrrne” … “no, say it sexy like Ricardo Monteban!” … “carrrrrr… Ricardo Monteban?!?”



Mothers of 18 year old boys beware. Urban Meyer is stealing your children in the middle of the night. Should the NCAA step in and put a stop to this practice of continuing to recruit a kid after he has given a verbal commitment? Or should coaches be allowed to contact players that have given a verbal?

A verbal is non-binding and it’s up to the coach to keep the kid happy. It’s happened to every school at one time or another and it’s happened for each school as well. The NCAA has enough rules as is, recruiting is fine. What the NCAA should really look at is the Tom Lemmings of the world that make money off of these 18 year olds, after all, they don’t need the competition.

If you were on the NCAA rules committee this year, what would you change for 2007?

I can’t say this enough – throw out the new clock rules, they are completely moronic. That and I would change the postseason to an 8 game playoff, because I have that power!

Man, I just got to the point where I could spell Posluszny without looking it up. Now we got a few more verbals last week in Chimaeze Okoli and Drew Astorino. Not exactly blue chip players. Do we need Broderick Green to salvage this recruiting class or are we ok as it is?

I’m trying to figure out how to say Szczerba! Someone buy the poor guy a freakin’ vowel. If we don’t get Green it will be the end of football for Penn State and the Athletic department should just drop football altogether. Sarcasm aside, this class has satisfied needs on offensive line and punter while building more depth at wide receiver and linebacker. I think next season is the year the coaches have to go all out for a top running back if they don’t sign Green this year. One player isn’t going to make or break a recruiting class, but it would be a nice finishing touch.

The discrimination case between Rene Portland and Jennifer Harris has reached a settlement. Do you think everyone can move on from here or will this continue to hang over the women’s basketball program like a dark cloud?

Things will move on so long as Portland doesn’t have any other player – coach problems. I think the athletic department has her on a short leash and if something pops up again it may get nasty. The case just came to an end, out of court, which tells me Harris wanted money and her lawyer, Karen Doering of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, just wanted the publicity. I’m not saying Portland doesn’t discriminate against lesbians, but I think it would be hard to prove in a court of law. The whole Harris case just doesn’t make sense, if Harris isn’t a lesbian (which she says she isn’t) then why can she bring up a lawsuit claming discrimination against her for something she isn’t? There is evidence that Portland is anti-gay, but I think the allegations of racial discrimination are phony; there’s nothing to make me believe it. Hopefully, Rene has learned a lesson from all this and all parties can move on.

Lightning Round

What are the odds Broderick Green gives Pete Carroll the finger and comes to Happy Valley?

I think he will choose warm weather and free apartments over central PA.

Everyone is dying to know your picks for the Daytona 500.

Mark Martin and his Ginn Racing US Army car.

What the hell are we going to blog about between now and August?

Tailgating, Arena football, spring practice, blue/white game, and Charlie Weis fat jokes. This list is subject to change without notice.

Be sure to stop by BSD and Run Up The Score for their answers and leave your thoughts in the comment section below.