Success With Hyperlinking Is On The ESPN150

my worst ranking yet in the espn 150. #motivation #grinding

— Adam Breneman (@AdamBreneman87) April 17, 2012

On the recruiting trail: ESPN is no Scout or Rivals, but since they are the sports media, you'll hear a billion references to the ESPN150. Good to know that of Penn State's early commits, three make the list, with Christian Hackenburg ranked highest at #11--he's the #1 pocket passer in the nation, says ESPN. The other two? A disgruntled Adam Breneman and Greg Webb.

Speaking of ESPN... Joe Schad and the College Football Live crew made its way to State College this week, which meant some face time for Bill O'Brien and Silas Redd. Oh, and for Redd, his presence in the Penn State backfield gives the O'Brien offense an extra wrinkle that the coach never had in New England.

Eric's pants just got tight: When a top-50 prospect in the nation heads up to take in State College, it's usually not that big of a deal...except when he's a basketball player. Per friend of the blog Ben Jones, Philly guard Rysheed Jordan, who's ranked 25th in the country and has offers from basically everywhere, is setting up a visit. To Penn State. Yes, just getting him on campus is a huge accomplishment, but we can dream, can't we? Clap, clap if you believe. And, uh, #doWorkPat. But let's not forget previous "biggest recruit in Penn State history" Brandon Austin, who slots in at #63 on CBSSports' list of the top 2013 prospects.

Four Days 'til Football! With the Blue-White Game scheduled for Saturday, there's still plenty of time to overdose on Kool-Aid. The folks over at JoePa's Doghouse got a head start:

Once inside the stadium, we begin to wonder if the beer was laced with something. This can’t be Penn State football. Multiple offensive looks! Linemen getting a push on the defense! Playmakers making moves! Coaches showing enthusiasm! Defensive backs playing tight coverage! Safeties who aren’t Italian! Beer venders in the north end zone! The Blue Band actually playing music! Death metal filling in during the Blue Band’s breaks!

But don't get your hopes up too high; the tradition of shitty weather for the spring game seems likely to continue. DAMNIT, BOB, I THOUGHT THINGS WERE GOING TO BE DIFFERENT.

I GUESS YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR WAIT WHAT? The fallout of the Sandusky scandal has been unkind to Penn State financially, with costs from legal fees, public relations costs, and internal investigations topping $7.5 million.

By March, the costs for Penn State’s legal counsel and public relations fees associated with the Jerry Sandusky case had topped more than $7.5 million, according to figures on openness.psu.edu.

As of Feb. 29, the university spent $7,577,643 on an internal investigation and crisis communications, legal services, externally initiated investigations and other expenses, according to the website. On Feb. 13, when the website was first launched, the total fees for legal counseling and public relations was about $3.19 million.

Of the roughly $7.5 million, about $5.3 million went toward funding former FBI Director Louis Freeh’s independent and internal investigation of the university’s actions surrounding the Sandusky sex abuse case, according to the website.

For $5.3 million (!), this Louis Freeh report better not be a whitewash. Good thing the Board of Trustees will get to make sure it's good before the rest of the world gets to read it.

In Scores of Other Sports: Our sincerest sympathies and condolences to soccer coach Bob Warming and family for the loss of his daughter in a car accident. Thoughts and prayers go out, especially if you're the praying type...PSU takes a look back at the national champion wrestling team's season...First baseman Jordan Steranka was named Big Ten player of the week, games, becoming the first Nittany Lion to win that honor in three years, after hitting .571 with 3 homers and 8 RBIs in 4 ...Now that she's staying on board, Coquese Washington is jumping on board the Coaches' Caravan...Men can play volleyball too, and Tom Comfort was just named EIVA offensive player of the week.

We're all beautiful, but... Good news, Bill O'Brien: chin implants are America's fastest growing plastic surgery trend. All the cool kids are doing it.

Clear out some space in the man-cave: Penn State just gave us a glimpse at the preliminary schedule poster. Looks pretty cool from here. Be sure to pick one up this weekend for free.

I went down to Nazareth: Levon Helm is in the final stages of his battle with cancer. That really sucks. I hate to end on such a downer, so here's Ophelia: