Category: Sports

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Coaches vs Cancer

This past weekend was the annual Penn State Coaches vs Cancer golf tournament run by the Nittany Lion basketball team. I used to play in it but the cost has gotten a little prohibitive (I was ok at $250, still played when they went to $325, but when it jumped to $500 three years ago, I elected to retire from competition). My contribution is now limited to volunteering to help out on the course.

You can catch me making a background appearance at the 6:30 mark in this video (I’m the guy in the bright red volunteer shirt – wearing three layers I might add so despite my earlier post about putting weight back on I’m not quite as big as the video would suggest).

The guy who shot the video also took this photo which he just sent to me (I’ve got FOUR layers on here – the weather wasn’t cooperating much). The girl in the photo was my partner on the hole that we worked for the tournament. She is the daughter of a girl that I used to live with (platonically) in Pittsburgh in the late 70s.

Stacey Wild and me
Stacey Wild and me

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Props to Talor Battle…

Who you ask?

Talor is Penn State’s sophomore point guard. He was an unherald recruit (at least on the national scene) but, before he’s done, might go down as Penn State’s best ever basketball player (heck, some think he already is).

Halfway through the Big Ten season, Talor was the odds on favorite to be named the Big Ten Player of the Year. He faltered a little coming down the stretch (quite possibly due to worrying about his mom who suffered a mild heart attach right at the point that Talor began to struggle) but still managed to make first team all Big Ten.

Unfortunately, PSU came up just short of getting an invite to the NCAAs (despite finishing fourth in the conference and just missing a win in our last game at Iowa, two OTs and we had shots at the end of regulation and the first OT to win it, which would have put us in second place in the Big Ten and locked up a bid for sure).

We did, however, receive a bid to the NIT and the first game was last night. In the game, Talor came up with one his miraculous finishes that he’s starting to become famous for on campus. First, to set the stage, here’s what he did at the end of our game with Illinois when we were down one with seconds to go. He dribbled the length of the court, passed all five Illinois defenders and scored the winning bucket with .3 seconds left.

Here’s a fans video from the upper deck.

In the aforementioned Iowa game, Battle almost topped that. We were down nine points with 2:23 to play. Over the next two minutes Battle scored 12 straight points to tie the game up, then just missed a three point at the buzzer that would have won it (sorry no video).

But he did top it last night. We were down three with 4.8 second left when the following happened.

We went on to win it in overtime.

The kid is just amazing and we get to watch him for two more years.

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I could have been on TV

Missed out on a great opportunity today. PSU played Wisconsin in a Sunday afternoon hoops game covered by the Big Ten Network today (unfortunately, we played terribly and got beat). My standard routine for a basketball game is to TiVo it and come back and watch the game afterward.

Another standard routine of mine used to be to get up at half time and walk around the arena to stretch my legs. For most of this season I haven’t done that because walking up (the arena is sunken) the 30 some steps from my seat to the concourse was just exhausting. However, within the last two weeks I’ve resumed my half time exercise routine.

So after the game I come home and am watching the game replay. Just as the second half is about to start, the TV camera gradually zooms in on the fans behind the Wisconsin bench. They zoom all the way down to one fan who is standing by himself as the announcers talk about him. It was two time US Open champion Andy North who is a HUGE Wisconsin basketball fan and catches as many games as he can. The cameras zoom in so far that the only thing that fills the screen is Andy’s upper torso and the two empty blue seats behind him – my seats.

I was literally seconds from sitting back down. Blown opportunity to get some TV face time.

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These kids are taking Pittsburgh by storm

The song is literally only a week old having been recorded last Friday but it’s getting huge play and press in the Pittsburgh area.  

For a bunch of 11-12 year olds these kids can really rock.

The press has really picked up on them.

Post-Gazette: Kid Rockers tackle Steeler Song

WTAE: Pop Rocks, Reed, Ravenstahl Rock Steeler Rally at Diesel

Does Pat Benatar’s Heart Bleed Black and Gold

WTAE: Butler Pre-Teens Pen, Perform Steelers Song

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Pulled a doubleheader today

PSU had a basketball game at 1:30 this afternoon (we beat Mount St Mary’s) and I felt pretty good so I decided to take in the women’s volleyball game at 4:00.

Penn State was hosting the regional finals against Cal for the right to head to the Final Four in Omaha to defend the national championship that they won last year. Coming into the season, PSU was a favorite to repeat as champs because they returned pretty much everyone from last year’s squad. However, I don’t think anyone imagined how good this team would become. Most volleyball aficionados have labeled the team the greatest women’s collegiate volleyball team ever assembled.

The records that the team has set so far this year are mind boggling. Coming into this afternoon’s match not only was the team 35-0 for the year but they have swept EVERY match 3-0. They are the first team in NCAA history to go through the entire regular season winning every set. They had won 61 straight matches and 106 straight sets (105 this year and the fifth game of the NCAA final last year) over the last two years. both NCAA records.

During NCAA play, the gals continued the dominance that they showed during the regular season winning their first three matches handily. This afternoon’s match figured to be a different story however. Cal was the eighth ranked team in the country (PSU has been the unanimous #1 all season) and looked like a team that wouldn’t be intimidated by PSU. Cal did not disappoint.

In the first set, Cal jumped out to a 7-1 lead over PSU (a set is played to 25) which was the first time that anyone has held a six point lead over PSU all year. The Bears stretched that to 14-7, then played PSU even up over the next few minutes to take what looked to be a commanding 19-13 lead. PSU’s record 106 set streak looked to be over.

That’s when the girls reached down deep for something extra. As the 4000+ fans went absolutely nuts, PSU won 12 of the next 14 points to win the set 25-21 to keep the streak alive. To come back from that far down against a top ten team was monumental. It was probably the best women’s volleyball game that I’ve ever seen. After that set one win, the rest of the afternoon was anticlimactic as the Nits rolled, winning the second and third sets to advance to the Final Four.

Volleyball legend Karch Kiraly was in town to broadcast today’s game on ESPNU (the Final Four is on ESPN2 with PSU’s first match next Thursday at 9PM EST). In this AP story about the PSU women, Karch had a couple of notable quotes:

“I’ve certainly never ever seen something like this in volleyball,” said Karch Kiraly

“If they run the table,” Kiraly said, “they will have to be put up there with any team in any sport as the most dominant season that we have seen.”

When makes this run even more fun is that we might get to do it all over again this spring when the PSU men take over the PSU volleyball courts to start the defense of their national title that they won last year. State College is truly “Happy Volley”.

BTW – I feel pretty good even with the “doubleheader” that I pulled. No major coughing attacks to speak of.

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ESPN.com Story on Classic CB West game

I was at the game. One of the best football games I’ve ever seen (also one of the coldest). The CB West kids really gutted out the victory. The guy that wrote the story did his homework. Most accounts of the game that talk about Piccotti being out don’t mention that CBW was actually down to their fourth string running back (the kid had just gotten moved up from JV a couple of weeks earlier) but the guy that wrote this piece got it.

Click on the image to read the whole article.

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Lex at Red Sox v Yankees

Lex and I went to the first of a 4-game series Thurs night. Lex’s first night game and first Red Sox game (he learned some new swear words.) We were both really pumped for the evening. Got there very early, in time to watch all of batting practice. Went to the outfield wall to try to catch a ball. Didn’t, altho a ball nearly caught us. Drank soda, ate Cracker Jack, Foot-Long Hot Dogs, Cotton Candy and Lemonade Sherbet. Priceless.

One problem, the Yankees never showed up: 7-0.

Waiting on \"The Short Porch\"

View from my seats THIS YEAR.