TNL says goodbye

All good things must come to an end and today is the end of TNL. 3 years and over 284,000 visits ago I started The Nittany Line with the express intention of discussing all things Penn State with a few thousand friends. It's been a good run and I've had a lot of fun but it's time to move on. Fear not though, I won't be going away, I've been invited to write over at a new site called Linebacker-U. It's a combination of Mike from Zombie Nation, Tim from Happy Hour Valley and of course me… and I drug Nick along for the ride. Think of us as the Voltron of Penn State blogs.

No, I'm not the lion piloted by the princess!

With Linebacker-U you get more perspectives and more in-depth articles than I could never have managed by myself here at TNL. Both Mike and Tim (and ok, Nick) are good writers and each have their unique perspective, it should be fun. Don't worry though, I'll still be the one that creates the photoshop of DickRod that gets us tons and tons of hate mail. It's my mission in life. So head on over to Linebacker-U and take a look. My first Wrestling Wreport is up and ready to wow you. Ok, probably not. Thanks to all of you that have been with me through that last couple years.

Penn State Unveils “Doomsday Machine”

(University Park, PA) Scientists around the world are excited by the news coming out of central Pennsylvania yesterday. Coaches designed an offense went so far into a shell it actually collapsed in on itself temporarily creating black holes repeatedly throughout Saturday’s contest against Ohio State. A CERN spokesman was quoted as saying, “we’re left feeling a bit silly actually, we had thought that we needed to build large devices such as the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) to observe such small phenomena, when, it seems, the same results could have been produced on the much smaller scale of an American Football field.”



Asked after the game why there was not a concerted effort to push the ball down the field, even when trailing by more than one score late in the third quarter, Jay Paterno responded, “I think we mesmerized by the scientific breakthroughs we were achieving out there. That’s the kind of thing you work your whole life to see just once and we did it almost every time the offense lined up. The possibilities of what could be uncovered in the future by our discovery are limitless” For his part, Jim Tressel seemed gracious, “I’m jealous, I’ve been on the verge of that achievement so many times and darn it they beat me to it, but I’m really happy for Joe. If I couldn’t do it, I’m glad he’s the one that beat me. I'll just have to settle for a victory in the game this year.”

The crowd seemed less enthused as they began streaming out early in the second half. “I came to watch a football game, not participate in an experiment,” claimed an unnamed spectator, “you’re playing God, I’d prefer not to be witness to Armageddon if they inadvertently end up creating a black hole large enough to consume the solar system. It’s just wrong, you’re messing with powers you don’t fully comprehend.” Early review of the data indicates no such threat exists, but the staff is still awaiting endorsement by the American Physical Society. Regardless, Police are expecting throngs of protesters to flood the area this Saturday for Penn State’s contest against Indiana.

Wrestling Wreport: the All-American edition

Congratulations to redshirt freshman Frank Molinaro (8^th) and true freshman Quentin Wright (6^th) both finished as All-Americans for Penn State over the weekend. Molinaro finally wrestled like most thought he could after a disastrous Big Ten Championship tournament. Frank turned a "wild card" birth in the nationals into All-American status while going an impressive 4-3 against the #1, #2, #8, #9 and #12 seeds.

141 - Frank Molinaro

174 - Quentin Wright

That's about all the good news to come out of the weekend as Penn State could not get a single wrestler past the quarter finals and ended in 17th. Bubba Jenkins ranked #2 never won a match and left the tournament early with a 0-2 mark. Both Dan Vallimont and Jake Strayer made it to the round of 12 but both fell just one win shy from All-American status and both were returning All-Americans. Brad Pataky made it to the third round of consolations before losing to Nick Bedelyon of Kent State who finished eighth. I mention that because I was actually rooting for Nick, he graduated from my high school and is the first All-American wrestler to come out of my area. I love Penn State and I hate rooting against one of their wrestlers but I know Nick and his dad and I was very happy for them.

So the season ends like it did for most of the year on disappointment. I'm not one of these guys yelling for coach Troy Sunderland's head but this post season is probably going to be the end for Troy as coach of the Nittany Lions. Before the NCAA's Penn State athletic director Tim Curley said he was going to "assess the state of the program" and things didn't go very well this weekend. Penn State could have easily had four or five All-Americans but came away with only two. With a program like Penn State's with the top-notch facilities sitting in one of the best states for recruiting there is no excuse for this kind of lackluster season. Hopefully better times are around the corner.

Wrestling Wreport: the impending doom edition

Normally on a weekend like this with matchups against two of the best wrestling teams in the country I would be quite stoked but not so for the duals against #6 Ohio State (tonight at 7) and #1 and defending national champ Iowa (Sunday @ 2). Penn State is without several starters and in wrestling (a sport you have 9.9 scholarships for 10 positions) if your starter goes down the cupboard is VERY bare. Throw in the fact that Penn State is a black hole at 197 and Heavyweight and well, it's going to be a pretty bad weekend for the good guys.

There are interesting matchups that should make it worth the 30 minute trip to State College:

At 125, #13 Brad Pataky is coming off probably his best weekend of wrestling and gets to face #4 Charlie Falck of Iowa.

At 133, #9 Jake Strayer, who is also coming off a pretty good outing besting the returning national champ, has the daunting task of facing #1 AND #2 in #2 Reece Humphrey of OSU and #1 Daniel Dennis of Iowa.

Normally I would be more apprehensive about such matchups but I have a lot of confidence in both Pataky and Strayer right now, I think they are Penn State's best wrestlers at this point.

At 174, well get a chance to see what true freshman #16 Quentin Wright is made of as he gets the 4^th-ranked wrestler in Jay Borschel of Iowa. Coincidentally he also gets erstwhile Penn State wrestler and current OSU 174 pounder Dave Rella, which should make for interesting off-the-mat conversation.

One more reason to hit the panic button is the status of Penn State's only undefeated wrestler, 149 pounder Bubba Jenkins who is still recovering from a sprained ankle and did not wrestle last weekend.

"(Saturday) I tried to move around and it didn't feel good at all," Jenkins said. "I think I'm a couple days behind where I thought I would be."

"We don't want to do that and that's why he didn't wrestle this weekend," Sunderland said. "Dual meets are one thing. But the end of the year focus is the Big Ten Tournament and national tournament. We have to keep the big picture in mind."

Emphasis mine – it's important that Jenkins is 100% because he would be facing #4 Lance Palmer of Ohio State and #1 Brent Metcalf of Iowa whom Jenkins lost to in the national finals last season, both of which are very physical wrestlers.

"I don't think I'm going to rush back, especially because I have Palmer and Metcalf," Jenkins said. "I have to be close to 100 percent to wrestle those guys. I don't know how close I will be Friday."

Even with Jenkins, Penn State has no chance against Iowa they are a machine. Nine of Iowa's ten starters are ranked, including two No. 1's. The aforementioned Brent Metcalf is No. 1 at 149 and Daniel Dennis is No. 1 at 133, Alex Tsirtsis is No. 2 at 141, Ryan Morningstar is No. 3 at 165, Phil Keddy is No. 3 at 184, Charlie Falck is No. 4 at 125, Jay Borschel is No. 4 at 174, Dan Erekson is No. 7 at HWT and Chad Beatty is No. 18 at 197. That's nine out of ten ranked with 7 of those in the top five. That's F-in impressive and even more so, they only have one senior in that group of ranked wrestlers. Yeah, Iowa is going to dominate Wrestling for the foreseeable future.

Pat Devlin transferring; no longer with team

This leaves a gigantic hole at quarterback but I can understand Devlin's decision.

Pat Devlin is transferring from No. 6 Penn State, leaving the Nittany Lions short a backup quarterback headed into the Rose Bowl.

The sophomore informed coach Joe Paterno of his intention, the team said Wednesday night in a brief statement.

"The Penn State football program wishes him well at his new school," the statement said.

Devlin saw the writing on the wall: this is Penn State and the upperclassmen play before the younger guys, that's been Joe's M.O. since he started coaching 300 years ago. If he is ever going to play he needs to transfer now so he has some time left. Now the coaches have a gigantic task ahead of them, they MUST sign several quarterbacks in the next class because after next season the only actual quarterback on the team is Matthew McGloin.

Welcome to Central Pennsyltucky

The Centre Daily Times is running down its "7 wonders of Centre County" (stop laughing!) and of course Beaver Stadium is one. Oh, it's a rich tapestry of northern redneck fantasy and I'm saddened that this is what fellow denizens of my area consider wondrous but hey, I've come to expect it over the years. The most telling sign you're a Pennsylvania redneck? When you consider the Grange Fair "a blast."

"How many fairs do you see around where up to 1,000 families move into ugly green army tents for a week and have a blast?" wrote Jen Lee, of Pleasant Gap, among the many readers who nominated Grange Fair as one of the 7 Wonders of Centre County.

For those of you that have not had the thrill of attending the Grange Fair, I weep for you. I've been there once, a couple years ago, and I have yet to scrub the unmistakable stench of deep fried food off my skin. It's basically a collection of carny folk wanabies trying to con you into "winning" goldfish or fluffy stuffed animals in "games of skill."

But the Fair, as it's popularly called, isn't a private party. Tens of thousands of visitors arrive for the livestock shows, tractor pulls, concerts, exhibits and enough fried, grilled, baked and iced goodies to drain wallets and bust belts.

When the first two events of importance are "livestock shows" and "tractor pulls" you know you've hit redneck paradise. Oh and as for the concerts, yeah it's definitely not 50 cent.

Not an old pic it was taken last year – they just couldn't figure out how to get that new fangled digital camera off the B&W setting

Chris Bell, Master Gamesman

No one beats him at "knifey-spooney" (h/t: Run)


What are we left with (remaining WR on the roster):
Tyler Ahrenhold (6-0/169/Fr)
Jesse Alfreno (5-11/193/So)
Brett Brackett (6-6/235/So)
Deon Butler (5-10/168/Sr)
Kevin Cousins (6-3/205/Jr)
Ryan Gmerek (5-8/183/So)
Patrick Mauti (5-10/190/Jr)
James McDonald (6-2/198/Jr)
Derek Moye (6-5/196/Fr)
Jordan Norwood (5-11/171/Sr)
Derrick Williams (6-0/194/Sr)
Graham Zug (6-2/176/So)

Yeah it's thin, but still has some intriguing guys. Expect them all to get plenty of looks before the season starts.

So Now What?

Nick: Wow, that was a terrible set of BCS games. Did you watch them?
Galen: Yeah, at the bar. They were just … they were just awful. The Kansas game wasn’t that bad, but who really cared about that bowl?
Nick: So the verdict is the Big Ten sucks again I guess and SEC speed rules all.
Galen: Ugh, don’t even say that SEC “thing.” *cough*Michigan-Florida*cough*
Nick: Well, football season is over.
Galen: I know, it’s pretty empty out here now.
Nick: Yes it is. What the hell do we do?
Galen: ….?
Nick: ….?
Galen: Got it, let’s build rocket cars.
Nick: Love it!

There is a Special Circle of Hell

Where assholes like this will go. It's very difficult to restrain my anger after watching the video of the Ohio State fans being assaulted with beer. What's worse is that there seems to be some that feel the need to defend the actions of these douchebags. They say well they shouldn't have been down around the frats. Really, that makes it ok? Is that Buckeye fan from State College that he knows the geography? If I went to Columbus, I sure wouldn't know where I was. Regardless, this behavior is unacceptable, good natured ribbing and light-hearted booing is one thing, but this is an embarrassment of epic proportions. So, close and fine the shit out of that fraternity and if you know who this person is, let the proper authorities know, because this will not be tolerated.

Hi, I'm a total fucking asshole.

Update: RUTS is reporting that the University president's office was so swamped with e-mail that it has created a form letter for those writing in:

As Associate to the President for Administration, I help Dr. Spanier address the important issues that are brought to his attention.

Thank you for sharing your concerns about the behavior of some of our fans. Media accounts following the game indicated that fans were spirited, but overall exhibited better behavior, so I am disappointed to see the youtube video. Our Office of Police Services is investigating it in an attempt to identify those involved. It is extremely unfortunate and embarrassing that some fans engage in behavior that reflects badly on all Penn Staters, the majority of whom are respectful and well-mannered.

A group of students and administrators have been meeting to encourage better behavior from our fans. A number of initiatives are underway–posters have been placed around campus, ads have been placed in the student newspaper and on television promoting good sportsmanship. Prior to the Ohio State game, a message from the Athletic Director was sent to all students via the student newswire concerning appropriate fan behavior. Coach Paterno also addressed the issue when he visited the students camping outside the stadium. Clearly more can be done and we will continue to work on this.

Coordinating these efforts into an effective campaign that garners results does not happen overnight, but we are committed to the effort and to its success.
I will be sure the President sees your note. Thank you for taking the time to write.

Sincerely,

Tom Poole
Thomas G. Poole, Ph.D.Associate to the President for Administration

Others around the intertubes weigh in:
EDSBS
MZone
BSD
Men of Scarlet and Gray
WTAJ

Scott Charged With Rape

A week like this had no other possible conclusion, details here and here

Congrats – here’s your 2009 non-conference schedule

Sept. 5 EASTERN MICHIGAN
Sept. 12 SYRACUSE
Sept. 19 TEMPLE
Oct. 10 EASTERN ILLINOIS

That's right, Penn State filled out that fantastic schedule with Div II creampuff Eastern Illinois who lost to Purdue 52-6 this season. That schedule is fucking inexcusable and an absolute joke. That's it folks, I'm done. Note to athletic department: If you think I'm paying $1000 bucks (wait it will probably go up 10% – 15% by then) you have seriously fallen on your head. You can keep the tickets I'll watch it on TV – oh wait no I won't I don't have the Big Ten network. Just when I thought things couldn't get worse. It's been a fun ride watching Penn State football since the 80's but I give up, there is no way I'm paying for that garbage – NO WAY!

Here are the rest of the home games:

Sept. 26 IOWA
Oct. 17 MINNESOTA
Nov. 7 OHIO STATE
Nov. 14 INDIANA

Anyone else want to pay a grand to watch Ohio State? Kiss my ass Tim Curley. Kiss it long and hard. I can't even describe how pissed I am at this point, I need a beer.

Is it Hockey season yet?

Hey, at least the Pens start the season this Friday and heck my Fantasy team is cruising along so who needs Penn State football. I'm looking for suggestions for good tailgating ideas (themes, recipes, games etc…) because that's what this season has become to me – a reason to eat good food and drink truckloads of beer. Frequent commenter PSUGirl has already given me one idea: Oktoberfest baby! So feel free to e-mail your ideas or put them in the comment section, I'm open for anything…well almost anything. Anything legal that is.

As for Penn State football…what can be said? Some will blame the defense for poor tackling, most will point the finger at Anthony Morelli for 3 int's and a fumble but what it all boils down to is coaching. I'm the absolute last person on the face of the earth to say this but it's time for Paterno to retire. I list Joe Paterno as one of my hero's in life, actually he's second right below my father, but it's time for him to hang it up. I don't want Penn State to fire him, that's just not good for all parties involved. No, someone whose opinion Joe trusts must convince him that the game has passed him by. Maybe his wife or Fran Ganter or perhaps Jerry Sandusky but someone has to politely break the news to him.

Morelli isn't scattershot because he's unintelligent or not athletic enough, he's the way he is because of horrible development. His vision is terrible because Jay Paterno couldn't coach a pee wee team successfully. I was completely wrong about Anthony and I admit it, I thought he would be better this season but he's regressed and that's not his fault that's coaching. Anthony put in the extra hours trying to develop timing with his receivers this summer and he's done everything the coaches have asked him but he's simply not been given the help to get to the next level and until we purge this coaching staff we will be subject to the same average quarterback play no matter who's in. Bench Morelli? Why, so Daryll Clark can come in throw games away – is it his turn? You can say get this guy or that guy playing time but what good is that when there is absolutely no development at the position? Playing time didn't help Morelli and it's not going to help anyone else.

Let me quantify how bad Penn State football has become. This century we've had exactly one good season (2005) thanks to the athletic talents of Mike Robinson. Last season was ok but other than that it has been unconditional garbage and losing. Penn State has lost so many games that it doesn't even hurt anymore – I'm conditioned to it. I knew Penn State was going to lose to Michigan and when they did I was mad for about an hour and then I just literally stopped caring. I think I yelled once or twice on Saturday but other than that, I just don't give a damn. I knew they would blow the game and when it happened I wasn't surprised. I didn't even get drunk, I just took a nap watched some TV and went to bed. Let's contrast that to last century. I vividly remember the loss to Alabama in 1989 – I was in high school (I'm showing my age here) and Penn State had a chip shot field goal blocked in the closing seconds to lose 16-17. I hurt for an entire week because losing wasn't something Penn State fans were used to but it's different now.

Where do we go from here? I don't have all the answers but until Joe retires this thing isn't going to get better. Paterno needs to step aside and take his son with him. Should Bradley be the next head coach? Perhaps but the list of coaches that have job security is short in my mind. Vanderlinden, LJ Sr. and Bradley have all proven they are great coaches and great recruiters – all the rest can go, especially on the offensive side of the ball. The offensive line has been abhorrent in the last decade and our quarterbacks suck bad. The play-calling has been atrocious and the special teams have left us down. If Paterno comes back next season you can bet that we will be subject to the same garbage. If this team would ever get things together they could win some games but I'm not counting on it. Penn State will beat Iowa this week but after that nobody knows. Even Purdue and Michigan State are looking like L's right now. Yeah it can only get worse from here – for those of you that still care brace yourselves. As for me – Let's Go Pens!

Outbreak! Panic in the streets!

Everyday Should Be Saturday tried to warn us:

21 Days Later

Containment and treatment details to follow. In the meantime, lock your doors and stay away from windows. Stay vigilant citizens.