I was going to do my Former Foes post today because I know all of you are waiting with bated breath for my Akron – Buffalo analysis but there are some good things in these here intertubes today. Let's start with the on the field stuff.
OMG!! I didn't even know he was hurt!
File this under "
I didn't know and I'm glad I didn't":Penn State linebacker Sean Lee is practicing and expects to play this weekend against Michigan despite tweaking his sprained left knee last week… Lee played mostly on passing downs, finishing with two tackles.
Lee said Wednesday he "felt a little twinge" in the knee on his last play against the Gophers. Lee has felt some soreness, though he hopes to ease into more playing time as the season progresses.
So he was hurt worse than I thought but seems to be ok, good. Now is not the time to "ease" into anything, it's Michigan and Penn State will need everyone to win.
Confidence is good - QUIET Confidence!!!
Of all people to make a comment that would make the Michigan bulletin board, I would least expect Evan Royster:
"We have to go there with a confident attitude," Royster said Tuesday. "It's not to make anybody mad or anything like that. We feel we are the better team, and we want to show we're one of the better teams in the country. We have to beat Michigan to do that."
Ok, not the "I guarantee a win" type of trash talk but could he have chose his words a little more carefully, it definitely got some attention.
When he was told of Royster's remarks, Michigan defensive end Brandon Graham responded sternly.
"Oh, he's just going to have to show it," Graham said. "They better come hard because we're coming. I just don't think they really know how much we've prepared and how much we've been waiting for this game since last year.
"If he feels pretty confident, he better prepare. That's all I can say."
Greeeaaaaattttttt. That's what Michigan needs in a series they won 90000 in a row: motivation.
All those years of yelling at the TV have finally paid off
On any given Saturday my friends have told me time and time again that the officials that are blowing easy calls working the game I'm watching can, in fact, not hear my screaming lines of incoherent expletives, but apparently SEC commissioner Mike Slive heard me.
The Southeastern Conference has suspended officials from last weekend's Arkansas-Florida game after the crew was involved in its second controversial call of the year.
Referee Marc Curles' crew called a personal foul on Arkansas defensive lineman Malcolm Sheppard in the fourth quarter as the Gators were rallying for a 23-20 victory. The league said there was no video evidence to support the call.
The same group of officials called the LSU-Georgia game earlier this month, which included a late unsportsmanlike conduct penalty the league said shouldn't have been called.
FUCKING A!!! It's about time SOMEONE steps up and says enough is enough. This was the first time the SEC has publicly suspended a crew. So why?
"I believe our officiating program is the best in the country. However, there are times when these actions must be taken….The entire crew shoulders responsibility for each play. I have taken this action because there must be accountability in our officiating program," Slive said. "Our institutions expect the highest level of officiating in all of our sports and it is the duty of the conference office to uphold that expectation."
This is a giant chocolate covered sundae of awesomeness and there's a big ass, sweet as pure sugar cherry on top of this baby:
The league said the crew's bowl assignments could also be impacted.
That's right motherfuckers you're doing the Petro Sun Independence Bowl in Shreveport Louisiana, bitches!
Suck…
on….
that!!!
Geeeee, could you see the Big Ten doing this? No fucking way, not with our worthless commissioner, no Mr. Delaney turns his head closes his eyes and says everything's fine.
God, this puts a smile on my face and makes my week, THANK YOU Mike Slive! For your efforts Mr. Slive, you are now the proud owner of the TNL Balls of Steel award. We salute you.
Molder of men
Joe Paterno has been a hero of mine since I was a small lad, not because he's a football coach but because he's a great football coach who seriously cares for his kids. He's always put the lives of his football players first and I've been a critic of his in the past but every now and then it's a good idea to take a step back away from the wins and losses and remember how much he means to Penn State. Sports Illustrated has a fantastic article on Joe Paterno you simply must read (got the link through Penn State's Facebook page btw). Case in point:
In 2000, something changed. In the fifth game of that season—a struggle of a season for Penn State—a gifted freshman cornerback named Adam Taliaferro dived headfirst to make a tackle against Ohio State. He broke his neck and bruised his spinal cord. He was paralyzed. Doctors said he had almost no chance of walking again.
Joe was heartbroken. He realized that in many ways he had lived a charmed life: A loving wife. Five healthy children. A job that did not feel like a job. And, feeling charmed, he drove his players, pushed them, demanded more from them on the field. Hit harder! Ignore pain! Be tougher! "The first time I ever saw my father cry was when his mother died," Jay Paterno says. "Then there was the time Adam got hurt."
God bless you Joe.
One great coach on the way out, another just getting started
Wrestling season is fast approaching, in fact the Intrasquad match (formerly the wrestle-offs) are on Nov 5th. You'll start to see a lot more focus on wrestling here at TNL as the season gets closer. The excitement is building to a feverous pitch right now and if you are a wrestling fan I suggest you get your season tickets now, I suspect a lot of tickets will be sold this year and next, and I also have a sneaking suspicion this will be the last year we watch the Nittany Lions in Rec Hall.
Cael Sanderson starts his inaugural season and there's definitely a feeling of change in the air.
Bubba Jenkins admits he wasn't even in shape at this point last season.
Each practice, even though the season has not started, has been harder than last year's most difficult practice, redshirt sophomore Clay Steadman said.
Sanderson is not only pushing the limits in the wrestling room he's also demanding discipline outside it.
The wrestlers were used to training for an extended period of time in the Lorenzo Wrestling Complex, but not spending a Friday night there for breaking a team rule.
Welcome to the Penn State wrestling team's version of Friday Night Lights.
The itinerary entails sweeping the filth off the practice mats with a broom, cleaning with a mop and running up and down the length of the four giant practice mats, paper towel in hand, to dry the floor.
After cleaning, wrestlers study in the bleachers of the facility, without any conversation, cell phones or iPods.
Sounds like you have to break some serious rules to get something as grueling as Friday Night Lights, right? Wrong.
It's something you don't want to get, but it's really easy to get," freshman wrestler Ed Ruth said. "As soon as you get it, you're like, 'I've got Friday Night Lights.'
Jenkins had to attend Friday Night Lights for arriving at a meeting two minutes before it started. Under Sanderson, wrestlers must show up five minutes before any team meeting.
That's right you get in trouble for showing up to a meeting EARLY, but not early enough. One thing is for sure, there will be discipline in this wrestling team.
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