Blog Chips: the Jamaican rum edition

Sorry about the lack of posting lately but I've been extremely busy getting ready for vacation in Jamaica mon! Suffice it to say for the next 4 days (starting Thursday) my life will consist of the following:

I'm booked at an all-inclusive (read: all the alcohol you can drink!) resort and I plan to take full advantage of it.

Goal #1: Have more fun than an adult should be allowed

Goal #2: Stay out of Jamaican prison

Yes, in that order.

In the mean time the Big Ten conference handed out men's Basketball awards and Penn State is well represented. Talor Battle was selected first team by both the coaches and the media, Jamelle Cornley was selected second team by the media and third team by the coaches, and Stanley Pringle was honorable mention by both.

The Big Ten Wrestling championship was last weekend and Penn State finished a very disappointing 7^th place with no Big Ten champs. Quentin Wright and Dan Vallimont were the lone bright spots for the Nittany Lions but the team finished at or near their pre-seeds and often lost by fall. Questions are really starting to mount about the future of head coach Troy Sunderland.

Penn State athletic director Tim Curley attended both days of the Big Ten Wrestling Championships at the Bryce Jordan Center.

Curley said he's waiting until after this month's NCAA Championships in St. Louis to assess the state of the program.

"Right now, we are anxious to see how we come out of this weekend and how well we can do in two weeks out in St. Louis," Curley said before Sunday's 184-pound final. "We will see where we are from there."

"The Big Ten is a strong conference," Curley said. "We certainly would like to be in contention year in and year out, but there's a lot of good competition and programs in the Big Ten."

I'm not one of these "what have you done lately" kind of fans but this season has fallen way short of expectations. From the Dual meet season to the Big Ten's this team just hasn't performed like most would have expected.

Happy Veterans Day!

Happy Veterans Day from TNL.

On Veterans Day, we pay tribute to the service and sacrifice of the men and women who in defense of our freedom have bravely worn the uniform of the United States.

I don't care what your political leanings are and I don't give a damn about your opinion of the war in Iraq, on this day we get an opportunity to say "thank you" to the brave men and women defending us and it should be everybody's responsibility as an American to do so. If you know someone serving or you see a G.I. on leave, take a moment to say thanks because it's those men and women that are standing on foreign soil defending us. It may or may not be the right place at the right time but they don't care. They stand for us. They protect us. They say "if you want to attack Americans, here we are, bring it on."

Thank you.

TNL takes an unscheduled vacation

Out of the office for a bit, back on Monday to start the regular season grind. Before that I'll have the second half of the schedule breakdown this weekend (yes I do work weekends…sometimes). And for your info, no I'm not going fishing it was the first picture I came across. Feel free to head on over to the Penn State Death Star known as Black Shoe Diaries for all your Nittany Lion news and analysis in my absence.