Penn State to interview former Maryland lacrosse coach

When long-time Penn State men's lacrosse coach Glenn Thiel announced his retirement earlier this month, Director of Athletics Tim Curley promised "a national search for Thiel's replacement."

Have the Nittany Lions found their man on the other side of the Mason-Dixon Line?

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According to the Baltimore Sun, Penn State will interview former Maryland coach Dave Cottle.

Cottle resigned under pressure last Sunday after his No. 3 seeded Terps were upset by unseeded Notre Dame in the NCAA Division I quarterfinals.

In 28 seasons as coach of Loyola College and then Maryland, Cottle compiled a record of 280-115 (.709) and guided his teams to the NCAA Tournament 22 times.

His critics point to just one Championship Game appearance and no NCAA Championships.
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Penn State releases salary info: $1.1 million for Joe Paterno; $709K for DeChellis

Show me the money!

Penn State has released its 2008-09 salary information as required by Chapter 15 of Pennsylvania's Right-to-Know Law...

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According to page 38 of the report, Joe Paterno earns the University's highest compensation, $1,109,977. This includes a base salary of $541K and $539K in "other reportable compensation."

We suspect Joe makes a lot more that doesn't show up here, perhaps from Nike.

Ed DeChellis (incorrectly spelled "Dechellis" in the report) earned $217,500 in base salary and almost $459K in "other reportable compensation." His total of $709K makes him the only other Athletic Department employee mentioned in the report.

The last page of the report lists the top 25 base salaries of employees who are not Penn State Officers or Directors. Almost all of them work at the Hershey Medical Center.

Using simple math, it's clear that DeChellis is the greater bargain. During the 2008-09 school year, JoePa earned a cool $100K per victory (based on a record of 11-2) and won the Big Ten Championship.

By contrast, DeChellis cost just $26K per victory (based on a record of 27-11) and won the National Invitational Tournament.

For the record, Penn State president Graham Spanier earned $799K and didn't win anything.

We will have to wait until next year to see if the rumors about Cael Sanderson's salary are true. Cael called the rumors "ridiculous" and implied that his base salary is about $150K.
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Michigan admits football violations

The University of Michigan has acknowledged that it committed four major violations in its football program and recommended two years of probation...

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The report detailed several additional self-imposed sanctions. Michigan...

• Docked itself 130 hours of practice and training time over the next two years — two hours for every hour of violation, which is common in these cases.
• Reduced its quality-control staff from five members to three and prohibited them from attending practices and games for the remainder of 2010. It also will keep those staffers out of coaches’ meetings, despite a new NCAA bylaw that allows them to attend.
• Has taken disciplinary action against the “seven individuals who shared in responsibility” and fired a graduate assistant coach. Letters of reprimand were issued to coach Rich Rodriguez and strength and conditioning coach Mike Barwis, among others. Graduate assistant Alex Herron, who also worked for Rodriguez at West Virginia, was fired in March.

The school said it should not be tagged as a repeat offender despite a 2003 scandal in the basketball program - a key argument, since the designation would almost certainly mean harsher penalties from the NCAA.

We were amused this quote from new UM Athletic director David Brandon...

"I don't think this is a black eye. This is a bruise."

Correct us if we're wrong, but we're pretty sure a black eye is a type of bruise.
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Football recruiting: Late addition to Penn State's Class of 2010

Penn State added an offensive lineman to the Class of 2010...

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Fight on State is reporting a Class of 2010 verbal from Canadian offensive lineman Alex Mateas.

Mateas (6-4, 310) played for a club team, the Ottawa Sooners, last fall. He apparently "inherited" the scholarship of Levi Norwood, who decided to join his father at Baylor.

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Penn State extends Joe Paterno's contract for ten years

We may be getting ahead of ourselves with that subject line, but the thought of JoePa coaching for another ten years isn't as far-fetched as it may sounds, given coming breakthroughs in medical science...

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A pill that will help you live to 100 and beyond may be available within two years.

The drugs — a spin-off from research into age-related illnesses such as Alzheimer's — are already being developed, according to a professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University in the Bronx.

"Pharmaceutical companies are developing these drugs now," professor Nir Barzilai, one of the world's leading experts on aging, told fellow scientists at a London conference. "They will probably be available for testing from 2012."
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Penn State Basketball to Play Defending ACC Champions

Penn State fans will get to see a very good team in action at the Bryce Jordan Center on December 1st...

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Penn State will play defending ACC regular season co-champion Maryland on Wednesday, Dec. 1 at the Bryce Jordan Center as part of the 12th Annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

The Nittany Lions set a Big Ten record last year becoming the first conference team to win its Challenge game in three consecutive seasons with a 69-66 victory at Virginia.

Maryland posted a 24-9 record last year and went 13-3 in the ACC to tie eventual national champion Duke for the conference's regular season title. The Terrapins were a No. 4 seed in the NCAA tournament and advanced to the second round before falling 85-83 to eventual Final Four participant Michigan State. Head coach Gary Williams was named the 2010 ACC Coach of the Year. Williams, who will be entering his 22nd season at Maryland and is the school's all-time winningest coach, has led the Terrapins to seven NCAA "Sweet Sixteen" appearances, two NCAA Final Fours and the 2002 NCAA title.

The Terrapins, who led the ACC scoring 79.7 ppg last year, return two starters, eight lettermen and five of their top eight scorers from last season including leading rebounders Jordan Williams (8.6 rpg) and Sean Mosley (5.1 rpg). The 6-10, 260-pound Williams was the second leading rebounder in the ACC and posted 10.1 ppg last year while blocking 32 shots. Mosley, a 6-4 guard, averaged 9.6 ppg and was third on the team with 84 assists.

Penn State will return four senior starters led by All-Big Ten point-guard Talor Battle for the Nittany Lions' eighth season under head coach Ed DeChellis. Battle, who finished second in the Big Ten scoring 18.5 ppg last season, leads a group of five of Penn State's top six scorers from last season that return accounting for 75 percent of the Lions' scoring and 67 percent of the rebounding. Battle will join senior forwards David Jackson (9.5 ppg), Jeff Brooks (7.4 ppg) and Andrew Jones (6.0 ppg) to form the most senior laden roster in the DeChellis era.

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Scholarship opens up for Penn State football Class of 2011

So long, Levi, we harldy knew ye...

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Mark Brennan of Fight On State is reporting that Levi Norwood has been granted his release by Penn State.

You are forgiven for asking "Who?" since Levi never made it to State College.

Levi, a three-star receiver, is the brother of former Nittany Lion standout Jordan Norwood and the son of Baylor Defensive Coordinator Brian Norwood, a former Penn State assistant.

Levi's decision opens up a much-needed scholarship for Penn State's Class of 2011.
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Did Big Ten offer Nebraska, Mizzou, Rutgers, and Notre Dame?

ESPN Radio WHB (810-AM) in Kansas City is reporting that four schools have been invited to join the Big Ten...

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According to "multiple sources"...

The Big Ten has informed Nebraska, Missouri, Notre Dame, and Rutgers that it would like to have them join.

We remain skeptical, but according to the story the issue will likely be decided soon...

Big Ten representatives have told Missouri officials they would like to have the entire expansion process wrapped up this summer with a formal announcement coming no later than July.

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Update on Penn State hooper Talor Battle

Talor Battle declared for the 2010 NBA Draft about a month ago.

We speculated that he might return for his senior season. What's the latest?

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Penn State Assistant Director for Athletic Communications Brian Siegrist sent an email with this report on Battle's progress...

Talor has a workout scheduled with the Portland Trailblazers Friday morning and is traveling there now.

He will not make a final decision on whether he will return or not until after that workout, mostly likely sometime Saturday.

Expectations remain that he will ultimately return, but he is keeping all options open and has made no notification of his intentions, which is required on or before May 8, to the Penn State athletic administration as of yet. Any reports to the contrary are inaccurate.

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Penn State coach Joe Paterno leading charge to improve Pennsylvania high school football

Rod Frisco was our favorite writer at the Harrisburg Patriot-News. He's no longer with the Patriot-News, but is still doing a superb job in covering high school sports on his blog...

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Frisco reports that Joe Paterno, Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt, and Temple Coach Al Golden have endorsed adding spring football to the PIAA's list of approved activities.

Joe was effusive when asked about his support for spring football...

"Oh, absolutely. My feeling is anything we can do to help the high school coaches, we’ll do.

"This has nothing to do with helping Penn State or Pitt. We’ll get our players. It’s about making Pennsylvania high school football improve."

Frisco adds...

Paterno and Wannstedt also committed resources and coaches to an annual PSFCA clinic to be held every February after letter of intent day. The clinic will be for coaches only and will likely rotate between Penn State, Pitt, and Temple.

“That’s clinic time for us,” said Fran Ganter, Penn State’s Associate Athletic Director for Football Administration. “What we’re doing with the commitment is if the clinic needs three coaches from Temple, they’ve got it. If they need four from Penn State, they’ve got it.”

In recent years, the PSFCA’s annual clinic in Hershey had dwindled in the number of coaches in attendance, making schools more reluctant to send staffers to speak. The new commitment by PSFCA to have a top-flight commitment encouraged Paterno and Wannstedt to endorse the idea.

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Awesome weekend for Penn State sports

What an amazing weekend for Penn State sports!

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• On Saturday the Penn State Women's Rugby Club romped to a 24-7 victory over host Stanford to win their second consecutive National Championship and fifth overall.
  
  Stanford coach Jonathan Griffin was impressed, saying, "They're unbeatable now for the next 12-15 years."
  
  
• The Penn State baseball team entered the weekend last in the Big Ten standings, while Michigan State was in first. Penn State took the first two games with the bats booming, then completed the sweep on Sunday with a 9-1 laugher.
  
  The Nittany Lions are now tied with Michigan State and Indiana for sixth place in the Big Ten standings.
  
  Just three games separate the ten teams, with the top six qualifying for the Big Ten Tournament in Columbus.
  
  
• Penn State's Men's Volleyball team swept Princeton to earn the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Championship.
  
  The Nittany Lions (23-7) will take on third-ranked and second seeded Cal State Northridge (23-9), on Thursday at 9 p.m. EDT (ESPN2 & ESPNU).
  
  Top-seeded and host Stanford takes on No. 4 seed Ohio State in the second semifinal. The winners of each semifinal match will meet in the National Championship on Saturday, May 8 at 7 p.m. EDT (ESPN).

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Hot hitting continues as Penn State shreds Spartans

A pair of hard-hitting romps over first-place Michigan State moved the Penn State baseball team into contention for a spot in the Big Ten Tournament...

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Last weekend Penn State ripped Ohio State 18-10 and 14-6.

Last night the Nittany Lions turned a 6-2 deficit into a convincing 18-7 victory over the visiting Spartans.

This afternoon Penn State celebrated the Wounded Warrior Project by wearing camouflage jerseys in a 22-5 beatdown.

Fans can bid on two game-worn jerseys at the Penn State Auctions site.

The Big Ten standings couldn't be much closer, with just two games separating the ten teams. The top six teams will qualify for the Big Ten Tournament in Columbus at the end of the month.

• 8-6: Michigan, Northwestern, and Ohio State
• 7-7: Indiana, Michigan State, Minnesota, and Purdue
• 6-8: Penn State, Illinois, and Iowa

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