The game is on ESPNU at 7:15. Two struggling teams enter. Two struggling teams leave (but hey, somebody's gotta win).

Have at it.

The Commodores - Brick House (via steelydan1979)

Normal rules, but please keep it extra-civil today.

Step right up, into the weekly morass that is the Black Shoe Diaries Saturday Open Thread.  Your standards rules, adopted from our BHGP compatriots, continue to apply: no slurs of any kind, no porn, no enormous animated .gifs, and...look, just be cool, okay?

Last week's 45-minute spacing seemed to work out quite well, so we'll run with that again.  I'll be at the game in Philly with my baby, a scene which will look suspiciously like this: 

Seriously, I'll have a seven-month old baby to myself for about 12 hours.  Send prayers and diapers.

That means that the rest of your BSD crew will be your lifeguards for the afternoon.  Please observe all directives regarding running around the pool, roughhousing, and swimming less than 20 minutes after your snacks.

It's that time. You know the rules: no slurs, no thread-clogging .gif's, nothing you wouldn't say to your mother, even if your mother is a foul-mouthed, chain-smoking trollop.

Scheduled subsequent threads: 4:15, 5:00, 5:45. Go State. Roll the Tide.

Yes, Game Threads missed you, too. Most of you know how this works, but here's a reminder. We're hereby adopting the common sense open thread rules of our colleagues over at Black Heart Gold Pants.

Short version: no slurs of any kind (ethnic, sexual, etc.), no porn, no links to illegal video streams of the game, no stuff that bogs down the thread (such as an overabundance of animated .gifs and large images).

Long version: here. Failure to adhere to these very simple rules will result in bad things.  Captivate, don't violate.  Let's try this at 45 minute intervals, shall we?

This is it. Penn State faces Ohio State at 3:30 P.M. on CBS for the Big Ten Championship. This is your open thread to discuss the game.

Penn State will face Michigan State at about 4:00 P.M. today on CBS in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament. Use this thread to discuss the game. We'll have another in the second half if needed.

Penn State faces Wisconsin at 9 P.M. tonight or 25 minutes after the Michigan State-Purdue matchup goes final. Use this thread to discuss the game.

Penn State opens Big Ten Tournament play against Indiana this evening at 7:30 P.M. on the Big Ten Network. Use this thread to discuss the game.

This might be the biggest non-football day in the history of Penn State athletics. Starting with the men's basketball game at 1:00 P.M. on the Big Ten Netork, continuing with the Lady Lions in the Big Ten tournament championship game at 3:30 P.M. on ESPN2 and culminating on the Big Ten Network with the Big Ten wrestling championships at 4:00 P.M., you can set up on the couch and have Penn State athletics on your television for at least six hours today. Use this open thread to discuss all of it. We'll have overflows if needed.

Enjoy the day folks.