Gentleman Jack, Long Gone. Jack Crawford's agents vehemently deny that Crawford had anything to do with the marijuana / paraphernalia bust at his former Nittany Apartments domicile.
"From December 2011 forward, Mr. Crawford did not reside at the apartment in question at any time," said Eastern Athletic Services in a statement. "Mr. Crawford was assigned one of the rooms in that four person apartment in August 2011 as part of his football scholarship and was given permission by the University to reside in that apartment as he chose. Mr. Crawford lived in that apartment during the fall semester of what was his senior year. That semester ended in December 2011. That same month, Mr. Crawford and his Penn State teammates left for the Ticket City Bowl in Dallas, Texas. From that point forward, Mr. Crawford never again resided at the apartment in question. After the Ticket City Bowl, Mr. Crawford played in college all-star games, attended several camps, participated in the NFL Combine in Indianapolis and was living with family outside of the State of Pennsylvania, where he continues to reside and will remain until after the NFL Draft.
Future Nova. BWI's Nate Bauer caught up with Penn State's newest basketball commit, Isaiah Washington, who wasn't at all dismayed by PSU's lack of success and tradition on the hardwood:
Bauer: That was one of the shortcomings in the past at Penn State was landing a good recruit but not having much around him. Chambers is starting to pull in bunches of high quality recruits. Were you concerned about Penn State's history with basketball at all? It's not Villanova or Syracuse.
Washington: Not at all. Nova, Syracuse, all those higher programs like North Carolina and such, they're like that because a group of guys decided one day that they wanted to go there and change things. We could put Penn State up there just like Louisville or Syracuse and all those high schools are. It really wasn't a concern.
Do work, Pat. Do work.
D-Day. With running back Curtis Dukes being kept away from spring practices due to academics, Bill Belton getting used to being on offense, and Akeel Lynch adjusting to college life, former walk-on Derek Day may get some non-special teams playing time this season. Be happy for him:
"Dad, I’ll be traveling by the end of the year," he said. Three weeks later, Penn State traveled to Michigan for its second road game of the season. On the Wednesday before the game, Dwayne received a phone call from Day saying he’d be going.
Dwayne has followed his son to every game since, including stops in Orlando and Tampa for bowl games and Tuscaloosa for a nonconference game at Alabama.
None meant more than that first trip to Ann Arbor, though. Tailgating on the golf course across from the Big House, Dwayne got a call from Derek an hour-and-a-half before kickoff.
Great, Dwayne thought. He must have broken an ankle.
"You better be in your seat early," Day told him. "I’m starting on special teams."
Tears welled in Dwayne's eyes, and he started to cry.
STEP Update. The Lions Den is taking a look at season ticket renewals compared to previous years, and as you might expect, renewals are down. I can't vouch for the accuracy contained herein, but I'm glad someone has undertaken the project.
NOM NOM NOM NOM GAG. Oh, Pitt linebacker Carl Fleming. I've been there, my man. And by that, I don't mean that I've tried to eat a whole bag of weed as police were happily punching me. But I have been to the One Stop Mini Mart on Boulevard of the Allies in Pittsburgh many, many times, because I used to live two blocks away from it. Granted, it's been about 12 years, but I'm assuming that very little about this place has changed. Poorly stocked, even more poorly lit, shady video poker machine in the corner, and lots of incense for sale. They probably sell weed at this place, if you ask the question in the correct manner. Sadly, I only bought milk and cereal. Maybe some bacon. For the details of Fleming's arrest, you can read the TribLive article, but aren't we all more interested in EDSBS' Fulmer Cupdate?
Also Receiving Votes. Penn State baseball lost two of three games at Purdue over the weekend. Purdue, it should be noted, is very good. Nebraska is getting into the futuristic alt-uniform game, but don't expect Tom Osborne to have all the details. Off Tackle Empire previews Indiana, because. Former PSU great Curt Warner joins Mark Rypien's concussion lawsuit against the NFL.
Super Troopers Opening Scene (original) (via brixton92)