In quite possibly the best news to hit a sattellite campus in, I don't know, FOREVER, Jeffrey Tambor will be speaking at the Lehigh Valley campus' commencement this year. Previously, the actor spoke at the 2009 commencement of his alma mater, SF State, after being named alumnus of the year. To all the lucky, lucky graduates in attendance, I just have one thing to say:
NO TOUCHING.
Position Change Defensive End Jordan Kerner's playing days may be over due to injury, but he's still a member of the team; the redshirt sophomore will stay on scholarship, and roam the sidelines as a player-coach.
Kerner isn't sure what that player-coach position might entail, but he looks forward to it. His friends on the team tell him they're glad he's staying involved, and Kerner hopes to shift his dream now.
Instead of playing on the gridiron himself, he wants to teach others how to play. He's hoping that shocking moment in December -- and these next few years -- can be the turning point that leads to a future in coaching. With Johnson as a mentor, Kerner said he's trying to maintain a positive outlook.
"Not playing here does have a sour taste, but I'm just glad I had the opportunity to even come here and even try to play. I'm grateful for that even," he said..."I don't want this to be a bad part of my life. I just want it to turn into the most positive outcome here."
I don't know if he'd even be eligible, but I officially nominate Kerner as BSD's Lift for Life player.
RIP, Coach. As you undoubtedly already know, this week marked the year anniversary of the passing of Joe Paterno. A vigil was held on Tuesday night in downtown State College in front of the now-famous mural by the Deli, and 409 candles were lit in honor of the coach's victories at Penn State. While most in the Penn State community, and on this site, still remember the late coach as a complex yet ultimately positive figure, as Kevin Horne over at OS puts it, the true Paterno legacy is in the eyes of the beholder.
And so while I disagree with the people who call Joe Paterno a villain, I cannot blame them. If a similar case happened at USC or Ohio State or somewhere far away that I had no emotional attachment to, I wouldn’t examine the story like a law thesis either... But it’s not that simple, and nothing anybody says is going to change those people’s minds about Joe Paterno.
What is important, however, is what Joe Paterno means to you. No matter what the national impression is, and no matter the extent that Joe Paterno may have failed, his contributions to the Nittany Valley don’t just disappear.
In a similar vein, Donnie Collins over at the Scranton Times-Tribune still thinks Paterno, now more than ever, remains an enigma (warning: one sentence paragraph alert).
Is there a more appropriate yet less offensive word than "obscure"? bscaff is predicting the Altons' return to the mat this week versus Nebraska, but the team hasn't given an official word yet...The PSU Hockey Team is gearing up for their first ever B1G game (not officially, of course)...OS had some questions for the two newest Nittany Lions to be drafted to the National Women's Soccer League...WBB stalwarts Maggie Lucas and Alex Bentley were two of the twenty players named to the John R. Wooden Award midseason list.
In scores of other games...Walk-on RB Deron Thompson was cited for underage drinking (and I'm still wondering how I dodged that bullet while at PSU)...To the surprise of absolutely no one, G Eric Shrive was named the latest president of the Penn State chapter of Uplifting Athletes...Bill mentioned it in Tuesday's SWH, but VBR does a great analysis of Stephon Morris' Monday twitter escapades...Buckeye OL Joey O'Connor, who for a time was part of the Nittany Lions' 2012 recruiting class pre-IT, has requested a transfer from OSU.
I've got worms The mothership has a nice write-up of explaining how the NCAA has always operated like a parasite, no more, no less.
Lastly, in the most recent round of BSD the storefront, we were able to donate all of our proceeds to Thon '13. We'll take suggestions for what charity should receive the future proceeds in the comments, but all of us here at BSD wanted to take a second to thank everyone who's made a purchase. You guys are awesome.
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