Well, looky here! It's the much-anticipated rematch between two historical basketball afterthoughts! You can catch it starting at 1:00 PM ET on ESPNU, or listen to Steve Jones and Dick Jeardi serenade you on the radio (local affiliates, Sirius Ch 113, XM Ch 193). Also, it's Coaches v. Cancer "Band Together Day" at the BJC, so make sure to purchase your $3 'rally towel' if you're going to the game and wave that damn thing.

Typical open thread rules apply: No porn, no racism/homophobia/sexism/trolling, and no links to illegal video feeds.

I was reading through some of the comments on the 100 Thomas meme in the FanShots (reading the FanShots!?) and I noticed people were commenting about there experience at Penn State. After a fair bit of nostalgia:

Quickly drinking a Guinness out of my Phyrst mug
Leafing through my Zeno's passport
Throwing on my Poz jersey
Intricately planning out my tailgate for BOB's first game next season (It's gonna get wild folks)
Singing the alma mater and all our fight songs
Visualizing a run down Tussey Mountain (that didn't take long..)
Doing the PSU cowbell (fever cured btw)
Watching 30-40 different THON videos...

I finally got to wondering what type of demographic of Penn Staters and non-Penn Staters read this blog.

Poll

When did you graduate from PSU?

• Currently an undergraduate at Penn State
• Currently an undergraduate elsewhere
• 2000-Present (Penn State)
• 1990-1999 (Penn State)
• 1980-1989 (Penn State)
• <1979 (Penn State)
• 2000-Present (elsewhere)
• 1990-1999 (elsewhere)
• <1989 (elsewhere)
• Not in college yet...

  140 votes | Results

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I have been meaning to post this for awhile now, and just figured that since jessedotsmom just posted those great little sliders recipe I would add a dessert to go with them. Also since V-Day is coming up, this would be a great little desert for your significant other to share with. Or if you like me and single, can eat them all yourself while weeping in a corner while watching TV and drinking heavily.

These are my brother’s favorite cookie, so now that I can make them I finally have a one up on him, since he went to Penn State for undergrad and now has a doctorate in chemistry from George Washington University, he is the smart one in the family…I am the baker. He always bugs me for them now that I have made them for him.

Here is what you need:

1 cup butter

2/3 cup sugar

½ tsp almond extract

2 c flour

½ cup confectioners’ sugar

½ cup seedless raspberry jam

1 tsp milk

Slivered Almonds

How to make them

Cream butter and sugar until well incorporated, add almond extract, add flour.

That is all you need for the dough. The first time I made it the dough is very dry, and is what it is supposed to be. I find that sometimes, pending the weather, it is too dry, so I melt a tsp or 2 of butter and drizzle it over the dough and knead it a bit to bind it more.

Then make small balls of the dough, and put a thumb print in the middle to make a little bowl out of the dough. In the indentation, add a small bit of jam. Make sure you do not put too much in since it will bubble over and be a mess and not pretty. I did that the first time I made them and was forced to eat them all myself since they were not nice to present to guests, it was a real struggle.

Bake at 350 for 14-18 min, until lightly browned. The cookies do not get very brown, just check the bottom for light brown.

Once you pull them out of the oven, add 2 to 3 sliced of almonds into the jam so it sticks to the cookie.

Then in a bowl, mix milk and confectioners’ sugar. I find that I don’t really have amounts for this, just make sure the mixture is a bit think, thinker the better I find. You can also add ¼ to ½ tsp of almond extract to the icing, but I found it to be too much almond and overpowered the cookie, so I skip it, but try it for a few and see if you like it. Once you have the icing, drizzle it over the cookies. Wait until they are all dry to move or eat.

Trust me, you will need to make 2 batches to begin with, since they are very good and they will not last long, unsupervised. Each batch makes around 3-4 dozen or so, pending on how big you make them.

You can really add whatever jam you want, I enjoy the raspberry but can do any, try and go seedless.

Enjoy.

Here is a picture of what they look like; this is not a picture of mine, since non survived a week after they were baked. I found this online, the only differnece is that I add he slivered almonds on top, that these don't have.

Utah Valley?!? Yes, Penn State will head across the country to Salt Lake City to battle the Wolverines of Utah Valley Saturday night at 9:00 p.m. (7:00 p.m. local time). It marks the final road dual of the year for Penn State with only a home dual with Pitt left on the regular season schedule.

It may sound like a strange team to schedule but it’s not. Penn State associate head coach Cody Sanderson started the Wolverine program back in 2003 and was the head coach for 3 seasons before joining brother Cael at Iowa State. Scheduling them was most likely a move by the coaching staff to help out a fledgling program. Unlike the world of football where schools never drop the sport, wrestling is always on the chopping block in administrators’ minds thanks to Title IX. There is no women’s wrestling program and wrestling teams don’t make any money so they often fall victim to budget cuts. A major wrestling program like Penn State can help out young programs by bringing them some national attention even if it’s in a small way. Every little bit helps the sport, so good for Penn State.

Match-ups, predictions, and more below.

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If the name Arcidiacono sounds familiar, well..it should. Mark Arcidiacono is a three year member of the Penn State football program, redshirting in 2009 and working his way up the depth chart in 2010 and 2011. Brandon Arcidiacono is an incoming freshman in the Rutgers Class of 2012, who is holding to his commitment for now. (Brandon did not have an offer from Penn State.)

A year later, Nick Arcidiacono (6-4, 233 pounds) is trying to make a name for himself as an offensive lineman/tight end/defensive end out of Archbishop Wood High School in Warminster, PA. Nick is currently waiting on his first offer, but is hearing from schools like Penn State, Rutgers, Boston College, Maryland, Miami, Nebraska, and Michigan State.

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