Blog Chips: the filling the void edition

I know it's offseason but it's really quiet out there… too quiet.

<cue gratuitous pic>

There are some items of interest if you are bored at work and need some reading material to kill time (don't worry I won't tell your boss).

-Penn State AD Tim Curley was in Washington on Tuesday arguing before the Knight Commission about the NCAA going to congress to ask for an antitrust exemption so that the NCAA can put a salary cap on head coaching salaries. The Knight Commission is a watchdog group that seeks reform in college sports. With the economy being what it is right now universities are feeling the pinch and one such plan put on the table is a the cap to keep costs under control. But Curley isn't buying it.

"This area of salaries is very complex," said Penn State AD Tim Curley. "I just don't know if going to Congress for that exemption is the appropriate thing to do. The bottom line is we're in a competitive marketplace no different from the universities are in a competitive marketplace for presidents, provosts, deans, other people on campus."

While he's against the cap, Curley hints that if things don't change we could see a reduction of athletic programs.

"I believe the economic conditions and realities facing athletics will have a major impact on sponsorship and participation in the years ahead," Curley said. "My main concern is if adjustments are not made, we will see a reduction of both men's and women's programs in the next three to five years. I believe Olympic men's sports will see the biggest reductions."

What adjustments should be made? Curley said "everything should be on the table," including schedules, personnel and the activities that take place outside of a sport's traditional season.

-If you think we lost a lot of D lineman last year think about this: Jared Odrick had some serious thoughts about going out early last year.

"I was considering it to a certain extent," Odrick said. "I talked to coach (PSU's Larry) Johnson about it and heard things through word of mouth, but it really wasn't a hard decision. It was a combination of things. I thought I should come back and get my degree. I thought I should play another year for Penn State. And I didn't want to leave my friends.

-Penn State jumped five places in the Director's Cup thanks to a pretty good winter season. Unfortunately, Michigan is in fourth.

Stanford leads with 1025.25, while Minnesota is in second place with 776.25, North Carolina is third with 740.75 points and Michigan is in fourth with 715.30.

The men's and women's gymnastics teams and the indoor track & field team all finished seventh but the big hit came from our ringers.

On the strength of 100 points from fencing's 11th National Collegiate Championship, Penn State has accumulated 702 points.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, don't mess with our fencing team bitches!

-Finally, thanks to Jay and his twittering we have pics of the Penn State All-Americans.

Thanks Jay!