WR James McDonald kicked off the team

No big surprise considering his recent DUI arrest but wide receiver James McDonald was shown the door yesterday.

The athletic department released a short statement Tuesday afternoon on McDonald, a reserve wideout who has seven receptions for 90 yards in his career.

"James McDonald, a reserve wide receiver and recent graduate of Penn State's College of Communications, will not be invited back for his fifth season on the football team."

James was stopped for an expired registration and well I can guess how the rest of the story goes… have you been drinking… please step out of the car and do three back flips while holding this gallon jug of milk and reciting the Declaration of Independence backwards. What, you screwed up please blow into this sir.

I feel bad for McDonald because the .08 to .10 range of BAC means he roughly had two 16oz. beers for a man his size and I'd be willing to bet at that level James would have better reactions and drive better than every legally licensed Pennsylvania driver over the age of 70 but I don't make up the laws. Not to mention James has long been the senior denizen of Joe's doghouse so yeah he's gone.

Oh and by the way Adam Rittenberg….

The dismissal isn't a huge surprise, especially considering McDonald's prior suspension. Then again, other Penn State players have done worse things and remained on the team.

Keep the fucking personal commentary to yourself when reporting the facts. If you want to write an opinion article about this subject do so on your blog, I don't want veiled personal attacks when reading the news. Not cool.

BCS talk

Bruce Feldman of ESPN put together a short list of teams that have the best shot of winning the BCS title next year. Yeah it's early and yeah it means nothing but it's something to discuss and Penn State is mentioned in it.

Just missed the cut: Oregon, TCU, Penn State, Alabama and Ohio State.

With Penn State's creamy soft non-conference schedule it's not a big leap of faith to believe they could run the table. There's no Wisconsin on the Big Ten schedule and the Nits toughest road game will be Michigan State at the end of the season and there's no Javon Ringer to deal with this year. The toughest game of the season will be Ohio State but that's in Happy Valley and it's the 10^th game of the season, most of the young guys will have come around by then. In fact, Penn State doesn't leave the friendly confines of Beaver Stadium until October. I don't think the 2009 version of the Nittany Lions will be better than the 2008 version but it's not going to matter because the level of competition will be much worse. I think if Penn State just shows up to the game they'll win no less than 8 games.

Just for fun let's look at the top ten.

Florida
Texas
Oklahoma
Ole Miss
USC
Va. Tech
Boise State
LSU
Oklahoma State
Notre Dame

Of the teams on that list I think the team with the best shot to make it to the BCS championship game (maybe not win it, but at least make it) is Boise State. Boise was a young team last year, they have a soft schedule and, unlike last season, they have pretty much everybody on their side this year. If they run the table and there are no undefeated teams from a major conference, you can bet they won't get locked out this year. Not to mention they will be ranked early on meaning they won't have the same climb to the top like last season. We all know USC will inexplicably lose to someone they shouldn't like every year and no one will make it through the SEC or Big 12 unscathed and yes we all threw up a little in our mouths when we read Notre Shame's name on the list but remember all major news reporters must mention Notre Dame every third article. It's in their contract. Feldman uses Notre Dame's soft schedule as evidence but there's no way the Irish beat USC, I don't care where it's played. Fans in South Bend have a better chance of seeing Jesus (the real one).

More SEC fun from ESPN

Put your "way back" helmets on and remember back to August of last year when it was announced that ESPN had reached a 15-year (YIKES!!) agreement with the SEC for exclusive television rights to sporting events for the hugegantic sum of…

2 BILLION dollars!!!

Remember I told you this was a very very very bad thing for sports fans in general (ok, let's face it ESPN is already become a bad thing for sports fans but at least they used to show some objectivity). Well get ready because the spoon feeding is about to begin.

Alabama's annual spring game isn't just attracting huge crowds. Now the Crimson Tide's A-day game will have a national television audience. ESPN announced Tuesday that it will televise the game nationally on Saturday, April 18.

This is one of the most ill-conceived ideas out of all ill-conceived ideas; this gives bad ideas a bad name. Sure I'll watch the Blue/White game it's an excuse to tailgate ed.note- ok, it's an excuse to drink, no I really don't need an excuse but it makes me feel less of an alcoholic if others are drinking with me but if you are seriously considering watching another team's glorified scrimmage, one that isn't in your conference or on your schedule then you are:

A) Addicted to college football and need help; like real professional help

B) Bored out of your mind and are out of beer and all the stores are closed and all the bars are closed and those old prescription pain pills sitting in the back of your medicine cabinet look too scary for you anymore.

How many people outside of the state of Alabama are going to watch this thing, I mean really?? Come on, this is as transparent as Fox's "fair and unbalanced" approach to news; ESPN is plugging anything that slightly resembles the SEC. What's next a night out with Tim Tebow's aunt?

Announcer: This Wednesday see how Bingo is played with SEC speed… only on ESPN.

Prestige rankings: brought to you by the BCS computers

ESPN has finished out their "Prestige Rankings" which was such an incoherent attempt to rank the best college football teams of all-time that I swear the BCS computers were used. Oh by the way, by "all-time" I mean an arbitrary 1936. The reason they used 1936 is because that's when the AP poll first appeared. No, I'm not sure what that has anything to do with but hey, it's ESPN all we can do at this point is pat the little guys on the back and hope they don't drool on themselves.

Penn State finished 11^th and here's their little blurb and the 10 that finished ahead of them (but blurbless, if you want to see them look here and here):
1. Oklahoma Sooners
2. USC Trojans
3. Ohio State Buckeyes
4. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
5. Nebraska Cornhuskers
6. Alabama Crimson Tide
7. Texas Longhorns
8. Michigan Wolverines
9. Florida State Seminoles
10. Miami Hurricanes
11. Penn State Nittany Lions
Total points: 1,088
Positives: Penn State's two national championships were won in the 1980s ('82, '86). The Nittany Lions' 26 bowl wins are tied with USC for the second most overall, trailing only Alabama (31). RB John Cappelletti won the Heisman Trophy in 1973. The program has never been put on probation by the NCAA. Going 11-2 while claiming its third Big Ten title in 2008 catapulted PSU past Tennessee into 11th in our rankings.
Negatives: When you consider that Penn State has had six undefeated seasons, it's hard to believe the Nittany Lions have won it all only twice. Although Penn State was a highly regarded independent program in the early years of our study, it found itself ranked only 51st as of 1958. Four losing seasons between 2000 and 2004 also helped hold the Nittany Lions back some. They rank 18th in the BCS era.
Through the decades: Through 1958: 51st 1968: 31st 1978: 11th 1988: 9th 1998: 9th
Did you know? Among the cities where the top 20 schools in the Prestige Rankings are located, State College receives the most annual average snowfall (46 inches).

About Penn State: Let me start off with this little nugget:

Negatives: When you consider that Penn State has had six undefeated seasons, it's hard to believe the Nittany Lions have won it all only twice.

Let me just say this to ESPN and everyone else that works in the main-stream press: FUCK YOU!! Fuck you and the horse you rode in on!! HARD TO BELIEVE!! You assholes DID IT TO US!! HARD TO BELIEVE!?!? YOU AND YOU'RE ILK ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS!! Don't you EVER sit there and act like its some kind of mystery Paterno has four undefeated seasons and no national championships. Don't throw your hands in the air in amazement when you look at the back-to-back undefeated seasons in '68 and '69 with no championship, it's your god-damned fault, you guys WANT IT THIS way, that's why everyone voted against Penn State in 1994, even though they blew through the Big Ten and then won the overhyped "Granddaddy of them all" by the very margin of victory they were supposed to win by. If a reporter from ESPN said that to me in a bar I smash his face in with a bar stool.

Ok, I'm calm now.

About the others: Looking at the teams ahead of Penn State, few can argue with Oklahoma, Alabama, or Nebraska but I have a big beef with Miami and Florida State. While Paterno was going undefeated (and uncrowned) in '73, Miami was 5-6 and Florida State didn't win a game. In the decade of the 70's Miami only had two winning seasons and Florida State only had six. Oh, Paterno had a record of 96-22 in that decade with and undefeated (AND UNCROWNED) season, three 11-win seasons and two 10-win seasons. Yes Miami had a great decade of the 80's, I agree. Oh, damn, I forgot to mention that Penn State had two national titles in that decade one against those same Hurricanes. Sure Florida State ruled in the late 80's and 90's and it sucks that they went undefeated in 1994 but weren't awarded the national title. Oh, wait that was Penn State, God I need to stop drinking so much. While it's true that Bobby Bowden's teams in the late 80's and all through the 90's year in and year out had the most talented teams he seldom cashed in winning only two national titles in that timeframe. Also, here's an interesting note, Florida State didn't start football until 1947. You're telling me that a team that lost a decade of football in a logical system of accrued points somehow comes out on top of another team that has had more wins and a decade head start? Sorry, that system is really flawed, but I guess ESPN got what they wanted, dumb bloggers like me to stir up discussion. Damn I'm stupid.

Killing time with ESPN

Since college football is all about debate with polls, rankings and such and not in any way shape or form decided decisively on the field (like EVERY OTHER SPORT KNOWN TO MAN), the discussion rages into the offseason long after the last whistle blows. In the case of ESPN, if the debate wanes why not just create your own debate, after all that's what TWWL is all about these days. Enter the Prestige Rankings: ESPN's attempt to rank the prestige of all FBS teams throughout the history of football (ah, to ESPN history starts in 1936 - whatever). The system was devised by Chris Fallica, Nick Loucks and Harold Shelton, the fine men of the "ESPN research" team. Not sure this qualifies as research but, ok, I'll play along. First let's look at what "Prestige" is:
pres·tige
Pronunciation: \pre-stēzh, -stēj\
Function: noun
Usage: often attributive
1: standing or estimation in the eyes of people: weight or credit in general opinion
2: commanding position in people's minds

So from the start this is an exercise in futility because you and I will have a completely different idea of what makes a prestigious team then say someone on the "ESPN research" team but, then again, that's what college football is all about: debate. So let's look at what weighs heavy in the minds of The World Wide Leader.

• National title: 25 points
• Berth in one of the major bowls: 10

Major bowls were defined as every Rose, Orange and Sugar Bowl since '36; every Cotton Bowl from 1940-94 (when it started taking the SWC champ until it was booted from the Bowl Alliance); and every Fiesta Bowl since the '86 season when the historic No. 1 Miami-vs.-No. 2 Penn State game changed the landscape of college football.

• Major bowl win: 10
• Best win/loss record in conference regular season: 10

These points were awarded to every team that had at least a share of the best overall record in a major football conference, regardless of divisional alignment. Independent schools were awarded the bonus if they were ranked ahead of at least three of the big six conference champions in a final regular-season poll that season.

• Final AP top-5 finish: 10
• Heisman winner: 8
• Final AP top 6-10 finish: 6
• Conference title championship-game bonus: 5
• Final AP top 11-25 finish: 4
• Bowl appearance: 3
• Bowl win: 3
• 10-win season: 2
• Week as AP No. 1: 2
• Win over AP No. 1: 1
• Each consensus All-American: 1
• First-round NFL draft pick (since '70): 1
• Losing season: minus-2
  
• Each year of television ban: minus-1
• Each year of postseason ban: minus-2
• Each year of overall probation: minus-1
• Each year of financial-aid penalty: minus-1
• Each year of recruiting penalties: minus-1
• Each penalty of "show cause action:" minus-2

Side note: I was completely shocked to read that someone working for ESPN would write that a game played by Penn State "changed the landscape of college football" – I'm sure their pink slips are already printed.

So in the minds of ESPN the most important thing in college football is winning a MNC. Ok, I can except that for some that's all that matters *cough SEC* but for some of us getting banned by the NCAA is a little more of a negative than what ESPN thinks. A postseason ban only draws a negative 2?!?! WTF?? Getting banned from postseason play is a tad more important than that! I would most definitely rank that a minus 8 or at least a 5, you've done something pretty bad if you can't even participate in the postseason. In fact they rank that as egregious as getting a "show cause action" which is more of a self-discipline issue and not a total ban. A school that hires a coach or an AD that is tagged with the "show cause" on their record can still participate as long as the coach or AD in question keeps his nose clean.

I believe All-Americans and 1^st-round NFL picks are weighted too low and Heisman winners are weighted to high. Getting a Heisman is almost as important as major bowl win or a conference championship? I don't think so, how many Heisman's have been complete busts in bowl games and in the NFL? Independents get screwed in this system because they have to finish with a better record than three of the big six conference champions to get the 10-point bonus and they don't even get a shot at the 5-point bonus for making it to a Conference title championship-game, they aren't in a conference.

All in all though, I would think with the Paterno era Penn State is going to finish pretty high in these rankings, and in fact they've already listed Nos. 21-119 here and Nos. 16-20 here and no PSU yet. Nos. 11-15 are due out today with the top ten coming out Thursday and Friday. Stay tuned.

My cupcake tastes like burning

That pretty much sums up USC's feelings right about now

Shame on any of you that went to bed when USC was making their comeback and shame on any of you that fell asleep… like me. Anyho…

So this means one of two things: either you take Oregon State out of the 'cupcake' category or you put USC in said category and we all know that ain't happening. A word of caution to ALL Penn State fans, before you make the "OMG!! Oregon State beat USC and Penn State beat Oregon State by 31 points so Penn State rules the earth" leap of logical faith, just remember that Penn State still must prove itself tomorrow against Illinois; a team they are favored to beat by two touchdowns, a team that is near last place in the Big Ten in almost every defensive category. Beat the Illini and cover the spread, then I'll start drinking the blue colored kool-aid. But I'll admit it was nice to hear the morons on the WWL remind everyone that Penn State did wallop the team that just beat USC, it makes for a nice start to the weekend.

And you thought ESPN loved the SEC before…

Now they have 2 billion more reasons why.

The Southeastern Conference has signed a 15-year deal with ESPN reportedly worth more than $2 billion to televise sporting events, including football and men's and women's basketball.

"This agreement makes the SEC the most widely distributed conference in the country," said SEC Commissioner Mike Slive.

ESPN will have rights to every SEC home football game not on the network package and all league matchups will be shown on some outlet, including at least 20 a year on ESPN or ESPN2. That includes two primetime Thursday night matchups and Saturday night games.

15 years, and 2 billion (that's with a 'b') dollars!?!?! Think the rest of the college football world will get equal billing on ESPN from now on? Yeah, think again. I didn't think it was possible for me to hate ESPN more but they just keep pushing the boundaries.

The real issue at hand is now you have a major network with a tie in to a second major network (ABC) who has an underlining agenda. They just paid 2 billion dollars for a product (SEC) that they need to succeed so they are going to promote them every chance they get, I know I would if I paid that kind of coin. Can we really trust Kirk Herbstreit or Lee Corso when they suddenly start pushing for Florida or LSU at the end of the year when there are only three 1-loss teams left? Maybe, but you get my point it's going to tough to take ESPN as in impartial observer/reporter of college football from this point forward.

Terrelle Pryor update because you’re the salivating dogs that you are

Kudos to Michigan Sports Center for jumping on this first (thank you Google reader gizmo) but Pryor has finally admitted that he was ready to sign with the Sweatervest.

Pryor admits he was set to sign with Ohio State the day before Feb. 6…

But thanks to a last second visit by the Penn State coaching staff the Lions won over his father:

…but a conversation with his father, Craig, made him think twice. His father wanted him to take another look at Penn State and take an official visit.

Pryor also answers the million dollar question:

"I'm really interested," he said. "This isn't just being respectful of my father, this is thinking things through and making sure I have all the info I need before I make a big decision. I really like Coach Bradley at Penn State and they could end up being the right fit for me, I'm not sure."

Message board loons start your overly optimistic prognostication engines! HE'S COMING TO PENN STATE!! WOOT!! HE'LL WIN FOUR HEISMANS AND THREE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS!!

Reality bites in the ass though because when asked if Michigan was out of it now that Penn State and OSU have been prominently on his mind, Pryor shrugs it off like a blitzing linebacker:

"No, I can't say that," he said. "I'm considering all four schools and I'm going to pick the place that's right for me. It could be any of them.

"I'm just waiting for things to slow down a bit so I can visit Penn State and figure things out from there."

I'd also like to give Terrelle a little advice in the future, for the love of God, don't listen to Mark May.

Pryor said the media attention has slowed down a great deal since Signing Day.

"That day was tough because I was being criticized by everyone for not making up my mind and signing," he said. "Mark May from ESPN is criticizing me on national television and he doesn't even know me."

Don't worry T.P. no one, and I mean NO ONE cares what Mark May thinks. Ok, maybe these guys.

'Cause You're Pretty When I'm Drunk

I have to make a seperate post for this, because Galen has the Master Key. He just gave me the shed key for out back, doesn't want me to sully the nice carpet, plus I get to quote a litte Bloodhound Gang. (H/T: Deadspin, Baseball Musings, The Big Lead)

Miss Dana Jacobson is gonna get some booty, 'Cause I'm Miss McFeelie with a Speedy Delivery. You'd think I was a ditch the way that Trey was diggin' me

ESPN: Pay no attention to the drunk behind the curtain

This is news a tad on the old side but I thought I'd bring it up because it warms the cockles of my heart. During a roast of ESPN radio show "Mike & Mike in the Morning" co-hosts Mike Golic and Mike Greenberg, "First Take" host Dana Jacobson went just a little over the top.

ESPN anchor Dana Jacobson made an absolute fool of herself, swilling vodka from a Belvedere bottle, mumbling along and cursing like a sailor as Mike & Mike rested their heads in their hands in embarrassment.

Reportedly, she said something to the effect of "Fuck Notre Dame," and "Fuck Touchdown Jesus," and yes, Chuck Weis was in attendance. Brilliant. Keep in mind that we at TNL wholeheartedly endorse drunken, expletive – laced tirades but we caution that said tantrums should NOT come at inappropriate times such as… oh, I don't know… company events. We also warn that power drinkin' (as was most likely the case for Ms. Jacobson) should only be done by skilled professional drinkers with trained livers and not by amateurs (which again is probably the case for Dana). The sweet, fluffy icing on top of this shit cake is that it couldn't happen to a nicer network than the WWL. Images of ESPN middle-manager types cringing at the thought of damage control go dancing through our heads. When asked if ESPN should do this on a regular basis ESPN spokesman Mike Soltys said, "We won't be participating in another roast anytime soon." No kidding, good choice there Mikey boy.

Amazingly, it's nearly impossible to find anything on ESPN.com even mentioning the "event." The only article I could find is this short, discrete, matter of fact discipline notice released yesterday, that I found only after searching the site for "Dana Jacobson" yet when I opened the Home page I found this:

So using the word "lynch" is so offensive that it gets top billing even after weeks of talking about it but "Fuck Jesus" doesn't even deserve mention. Nice PR work there ESPN. The really ironic twist to the Jim Brown interview is it was recorded on the very show Dana Jacobson works, "ESPN's First Take," sans-Jacobson. Life is a kick in the crotch sometimes and right now ESPN is rolling on the floor holding their jimmies and that makes me smile.

Go Bucks? I think not.

You know a lot of my Penn State brethren are actually pulling for Ohio State in tonight's "Championship" game sighting a myriad of reasons to do so. Hell even some Michigan fans are pulling for them. While I fully understand the reasoning behind it and don't totally disagree, rooting for the Buckeye's makes me feel a tad on the queasy side.

Me thinking about rooting for tOSU

The last time I actually rooted for Ohio State was when they played Notre Dame in the bowl game back in 2005, only because I think Notre Dame is probably my least favorite team. Now I know I'm going to get arguments on this I fully understand that. Everyone is hoisting the Big Ten flag and claiming it's a conference thing and that's exactly why I will NOT be rooting for OSU tonight: fuck the Big Ten. Why should I back the Big Ten when they failed to do the same for Penn State when they needed them most (at least the AP writers in the Big Ten)?

It goes way back to 1994 when Penn State had one of the most prolific offenses and an undefeated season but walked away uncrowned. Penn State was the first team in 26 years to make it through the Big Ten unblemished and they pounded most of the competition. They beat Michigan in Ann Arbor, killed Ohio State 63-14, and drove 94 yards in the final moments to beat Illinois 35-31, a team that had one of the best defenses in the country. Yet despite that, the AP voters that covered the Big Ten voted for Nebraska. Where was the Big Ten loyalty then? Most of those dipshits watched the Nittany Lions march all over the teams they cover (probably in person) yet they had the balls to vote for the cornhuskers. Kiss my ass; I have no loyalty at all to the Big Ten whatsoever. Before you flame away in the comment section, allow me to interject that I'm not rooting for LSU either; ESPN's pandering to the SEC has made it all but impossible for me to root for an SEC team. No, I will simply watch what I hope is a good football game with the knowledge that this is NOT a national championship game. Sure the winner will get to hoist the trophy but in a year where there were no clear-cut top 2 teams at least 4 or 5 teams can claim they deserved to be in this game and that's really sad. The records will say that the winner was the champ but in my mind it won't be decided after the final seconds tick off the clock. Just like 1994.

Go ahead, flame away people!

USC: best team in college football history

No, not according to ESPN…yet…but according to incoming Stanford coach and erstwhile Michigan QB Jim Harbaugh. "They may be the best team in the history of college football. My opinion," said Jimmy H at the Pacific-10 football media day, "I think their current team is that good."

Pete Carroll's response: "Gotta love Jim, don't you? I'm glad he thinks that."

So far Harbaugh has done a fine job of endearing himself to Carroll. Earlier in the spring Harbaugh said that a member of the USC coaching staff told him that Carroll would only be at the school for one more year.

While Carroll's team is picked to finish first in the Pac 10 by almost everyone, Harbaugh's team is just about as unanimously picked to finish last in the division. So this may be a chance for Harbaugh to build up the confidence of his #1 target in the conference but he would be wise to set his sights a little lower – angering the 800 pound gorilla on your schedule isn't the best strategic move.

UCLA defensive end Bruce Davis, who beat the greatest team in college football history last season, tends to have a different opinion. "I think that's part of the arrogance that comes with USC…If people want to say they're the greatest, yeah, that's fine. But what does that make us, if we beat the best college football team ever?"

I don't know what is more ridiculous – Harbaugh's comments or Pat Forde's article chastising those comments. Little history lesson for you Pat, lest you forget, the company you work for said the same thing about a past USC team. You remember, right before they lost the championship game to Texas a few years back? It may be totally absurd but don't be surprised if USC gets on an early roll that the Worldwide Leader will be right there with Jim.

ESPN to feature two non-USC games

Remember ESPN's love fest with USC a couple years ago when they anointed the Trojans the best team ever in the history of mankind in any sport? Unfortunately Texas kind of got in the way of the whole thing but that's just minor details. Well install those air-sickness bags next to your favorite recliner because the worldwide leader is buying the flowers and chocolates for a second date. I'm guessing with this full court press they may just get to third base before the season is over.

USC, last year's Rose Bowl winner and a consensus pre-season National championship contender, will be televised five times: at Nebraska (Sept. 15), Washington State (Sept. 22), at Washington (Sept. 29), Oregon State (Nov. 3) and
at California (Nov. 10).

That's five time in primetime on the ESPN "family" of networks. But that's not all; I'm willing to bet we could see more:

In addition to the confirmed games on the schedule, four Big Ten and three Pac-10 matchups have been designated for a primetime telecast on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2. Network assignments for those contests will be determined six or 12 days before the date of the game.

Anyone care to take that bet? Let's look at the remaining USC sched to get an idea of games that have start times yet to be determined.

09/01/07		vs. Idaho	TBD
10/06/07		vs. Stanford	TBD
10/13/07		vs. Arizona	TBD
10/27/07		at Oregon	TBD

Oct. 13^th is one of two beer-swillin, circle watching, dog kickin' NASCAR Nextel Cup nights on ESPN so throw that date out and you're left with Idaho, Stanford and Oregon. If Oregon is even remotely decent, mark that one on your calendar it will be on.

Don't get me wrong, I don't dislike USC, but come on ESPN do we really need to see one team that much? USC already has a distinct recruiting advantage thanks in no small part to Reggie Bush calling 5 star recruits to convince them of USC's greatness tradition, do they need to be exposed in primetime five or six times as well? I guess in ESPN's world the SEC doesn't exist.