William World News - William F. Yurasko's blog

Ohio State 24 PENN STATE 7

2009-11-07T20:30:00.005-05:00

Well that was the opposite of good, wasn't it?

I'm saying the player of the game is Ohio State's DE Cameron Heyward. Ironhead's son had a spectacular day, creating lots of havoc in the Penn State backfield. That is what I'd expect from the son of someone best remembered for holding a "thingie" in a soap commercial. Sadly, said commercial is not on youtube. RIP Ironhead.
QB Daryll Clark didn't play badly for the most part, but he didn't play well either.
Said aloud the following name: Derek Moye. Okay, that's the first time that wideout's name was called today.
Sadly, OLB Sean Lee got pancaked a couple of times. It appears that injuries kept us from seeing him reach his potential. He could have been better than Dan Connor had he been healthy.
OLB Navarro Bowman missing QBTerrelle Pryor on OSU's first touchdown is another example of why I think he should stick around one more season at Penn State. He's not all the way there yet.
Speaking of Pryor, he made a lot of people eat their words today. That stupid t-shirt didn't help matters, let that be a lesson Penn State Marketing Association.
Back to linebackers, Josh Hull made several special teams tackles.
Speaking of special teams, they still stink. P Jeremy Boone out punted the coverage reguarly, an indictment on the coverage I suppose, but Boone needs more air under his punts too. He did make a great open field tackle though.
Graham Zug had a big first half. He's faster than people think.
Why would you pitch the ball outside to Evan Royster on 3 and 1? If that's going to be the call, use Stephfron Green.
Penn State needs to figure out its offensive line issues soon. Do they need more bulk? Or just more experience. They probably need both.
Andrew Quarless did not have a good game. I think he had more penalties than catches.
Dave Witovet and his officiating crew seemed to be in Penn State's corner this evening.
The crowd was barely a factor. That might be giving it too much credit.
Two good things about the telecast -- no ED or prostrate ads for a change.
This is Beano's fault!

Penn State, Nittany Lions, college football, Ohio State Buckeyes,

Yankees fans act like they've been their before...because they have

2009-11-07T09:55:00.003-05:00

DANIEL VICTOR - New York Yankees baseball fans seem content to punch the repeat button - Patriot-News
Victor, a Phillies fan, State College native and Penn Stater (I've linked to him before) went to game 6 at Yankee Stadium. He compares and contrasts the atmosphere in New York as opposed to Philadelphia in 2008. Yankees fans were happy, but not exuberant, it seems -- well behaved too, aside from some taunting of Phillies fans. The price of seats were sighted as a possible factor, but ultimately, the expectation of a World Series win seems to be the biggest.

Also of note, this excellent tweet from Victor: Yanks fan in bathroom to me: "Boooo!" Me: "Hey, F*** the Mets!" Him: "Yeah!" Then he gives me a bro hug and we move on.

New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, World Series

Beano Cook Watch 11.04.2009

2009-11-07T09:10:00.003-05:00

Carroll H. Cook ("54 Pitt) chatted again this past Wednesday and Penn State was mentioned a few times.

Matt (Philadelphia): Beano, need a clarification on something from your podcast a couple weeks back. In 1969, did Penn State simply choose not to play the Texas-Arkansas winner in the Cotton Bowl? If so why was Paterno so mad?

beano cook: The players voted 33-30 to play Missouri. Penn State turned down the bid to play the highest ranked team available. The following year Notre Dame did not. For the millionth time, Penn State has a complaint about 1994, but none whatsoever about 1969.

It is worth noting that the players voted on what bowl they would attend and the vote was for the Orange Bowl. In short, black players were concerned about the treatment they would received in Dallas at the Cotton Bowl. It is also worth noting that the team Richard Nixon proclaimed as national champion, the Texas Longhorns were not integrated at the time.

Wayne (Carlisle, PA): Beano, OSU or PENN STATE? and why?

beano cook: I think Penn State will win.

BEANOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

We're doomed, the Beano reverse lock has been set. DAMN DAMN DAMN

Also see:

Penn State vs. Ohio preview and prediction

Coverage Map: Penn State vs. Ohio State

Beano Cook, chat, college football Penn State, Nittany Lions, college football, Ohio State Buckeyes,

Penn State football chat week 10 at noon

2009-11-06T10:00:00.000-05:00

Penn State Football Chat week 10

Penn State, Nittany Lions, college football, Ohio State Buckeyes,

Penn State vs. Ohio preview and prediction

2009-11-06T09:00:00.003-05:00

I have a bad feeling about this�

Since Blue White Roundtable has apparently died from apathy, I have decided I am going to preview each of the remaining Penn State games. Saturday, the Nittany Lions host the Ohio State Buckeyes at 3:30 p.m. from Beaver Stadium. It is not expected to rain and temperatures will be in the 40s. It is fair to say that Ohio State is the team that I most look forward to seeing Penn State play every year since it has been a pretty good rivalry, at least when played in Happy Valley. Some of my favorite games have been against the Buckeyes. It is also the most aesthetically pleasing game with the Blue and White of Penn State complimented quite nicely by the Scarlett and Gray of Ohio State.

The recent history of the series has a few slugfests and field position battles. Last year it was 13-6, Penn State winning after converting a QB Terrelle Pryor fumble into a touchdown drive. The two previous years were perhaps an exception, with Ohio State winning big, but the 2006 game was tight going into the fourth quarter before Anthony Morelli had two interceptions returned for a touchdown. The 2005 game was a 17-10 nail biter in Happy Valley. The 2004 and 2003 games also were tightly fought, with Ohio State winning both, although the �03 game came down to a 60 yard field goal that Penn State missed by about three yards. OSU also had the benefit of a egregious call on their final drive, when the ball clearly bounced off the turf into a tight end�s hands. The 2001 game was an epic comeback win for the Nittany Lions to seal coach Joe Paterno�s 324th career win, then the all-time record. The 1997 and 1995 games were tight, high scoring games that the teams split in Happy Valley.

This is really hard game to pick. #10 Penn State is 8-1 and #12 Ohio State is 7-2. Both have lost Big Ten games; Penn State to undefeated Iowa, and Ohio State to often defeated Purdue. The Buckeyes also lost at home to USC. PSU seems to be firing on all cylinders since losing to Iowa; the same can be said about OSU after their loss at Purdue. The big question for the Buckeyes is Pryor. The Pennsylvania native (and subject of a stupid t-shirt this week) has yet to play well against a good team. His mechanics often are poor and he does the most damage on the run. Penn State is likely going to set it up so that he has to win with his arm, a solid strategy as Pryor has not shown he can do it and does not have the same level of wideouts he did last year. On paper, the typical bend-but-don�t-break Penn State defense is the right way to go � protect against the big play and force Pryor to march his offense down the field.

On the other sideline, Penn State has to worry about its offensive line; can it hold up against the OSU front seven? That is the biggest challenge facing the Nittany Lions tomorrow. If QB Daryll Clark has a little time, he should get a number of opportunities to stretch the field throwing to his tall wideouts. That is probably the best gameplan for Penn State; will Paterno go with it?

The other area of concern of course is Penn State�s not-so-special teams. Two punts have been blocked, they don�t have much of a return game and the kick coverage is poor. On the opposite side, the Buckeyes lost their starting kicker.

Okay, I�ve written a lot, and I thought about this a lot more, too much I suppose. I expect the game to be higher scoring than last season, considerably so. I believe that Jim Tressel is going to attack Penn State more and vice-verse. With uncertainly in his kicking game, I think Tressel will be more aggressive in the red zone, since he can�t count on getting 3 points as much with an unproven kicker on the road. On the other side, I expect that Paterno will attack more like he did against Michigan, since he has a lot of trust in Clark as quarterback. My big concern with Clark is that he�ll get too fired up like he has against Iowa in the past. Keeping Clark calm is going to be very important. Overall, I think that Penn State is just a better team this year and will pull it out win, let�s say 24-20. It isn�t going to be easy and will be very stressful. In the end, I expect it to be exhilarating.

Penn State, Nittany Lions, college football, Ohio State Buckeyes,

Why didn't anyone tell me the '97 Penn State vs. Ohio State game was on

2009-11-05T14:00:00.000-05:00

Oh man, ESPN Classic reran the epic 1997 Penn State vs. Ohio State game last night. I didn't find out about it until it was too late. That was the best game I ever saw and I would have loved to recorded it. I've inquired with ESPN Classic to see if it is being run again.

We'll just have to settle for the Penn State Football Story video of that game (via Facebook) which is sadly not embeddable. Running backs Curtis Enis and Aaron Harris were so powerful, too bad the former went crazy and the latter got hurt a week later.

Okay here is 324 too; Penn State vs. Ohio State in 2001, probably the second greatest game I ever saw.

Penn State, Nittany Lions, college football, Ohio State Buckeyes,

Baseball bigamy: Cheering for the Yankees & Nats means cheering for the best and worst

2009-11-05T12:30:00.001-05:00

Let's see my American League team, the New York Yankees, the one that I have deep family ties to, is the best in baseball after winning the World Series again. Meanwhile, the hometown team, that I waited a generation for, the Washington Nationals, is the absolute worst. On the one hand, one team is the most hated (but maybe most loved too) and the other is the most maligned. Head to head, the Nats beat the Yankees 2 out of 3 times in the Bronx, including a shutout. Of course, I was neutral as a Swiss.

Such is life as a baseball bigamist.

Washington Nationals, Nats, New York Yankees, World Series

Thomas Boswell chat 11.05.2009

2009-11-05T09:30:00.000-05:00

Ask Boswell: World Series, Redskins, Nats, Caps and More - The Post
"Washington Post sports columnist Thomas Boswell will be online Thursday, Nov. 5, at 11:00 a.m. ET to take your questions about the World Series, the Redskins, the Nats, the NFL, the Caps and the latest sports news and his recent columns."

I'm sure there will be lots of Nats talk today.

Washington Nationals, Nats, Thomas Boswell, chat

27TH HEAVEN: NY tabloids celebrate Yankees win with same cover headline

2009-11-05T08:30:00.003-05:00

Not surpsingly, editors at both New York City tabloids were thinking the same thing late last night. While the headline seems a little corny, I'm not complaining about it.

They were thinking the same thing on Long Island too.

UPDATE: ESPN did it too:

Apparently deadpsin noticed this stuff too -- If this anyone other tan Steve Allen, you're stealing my bit.

New York Tabloids, Daily News, New York Post, Yankees, Newsday,

YANKEES WIN ANOTHER WORLD SERIES

2009-11-05T06:31:00.004-05:00

Back on Top, Yankees Add a 27th Title - The Times
This morning I'm enjoying the fifth World Series victory for the New York Yankees that I can remember. They won two more when I was really young and 20 before I was born. They beat the Philadelphia Phillies in one fewer games than I predicted too.

I am pleasantly surprised that Andy Pettitte was able to get through last nigth on three days rest. He clinched all three playoff series this year. I don't know how long he is going to play, but this wouldn't be a bad way to go out. It'll be interesting to see if he makes the Hall of Fame. I think his number #46 getting retired is a sure thing. The rest of the "core" -- Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera seem to be hanging around good news for all of them. #2 and #42 are locks to be retired, I don't know about Posada's #20 though.

Hideki Matsui is the MVP with six RBI last night. I wonder if he's played his last game as a Yankee too. Same for Johnny Damon.

Pedro Martinez, well the Yankees are still you daddy. Who knows, he may have been just what the Phillies needed if they had played someone other than the Yankees, but he got PWN'D. Again. Oh and Jimmy Rollins, if your team was really better, you would not have lost in six games. I hold no grudge against the Phillies though.

I think I'll head over to my parents house at lunchtime and dig out my old Yankees jacket. I'm going with the nearly as old batting jersey this morning.

New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, World Series

Coverage Map: Penn State vs. Ohio State

2009-11-04T14:00:00.000-05:00

College Football TV maps: Week 10
Washington D.C., the entire Northeast, Big Ten country (except Iowa), the far West and most of Florida will get #11 Penn State vs. #16 Ohio State on ABC. Everywhere else gets that game on ESPN2. The telecast begins at 3:30 p.m.

Penn State, Nittany Lions, college football, Ohio State Buckeyes, coverage map, ABC, ESPN

Mattingly won't interview; Riggleman likely 2010 Nats manager

2009-11-04T09:45:00.001-05:00

Riggleman could stay with Nationals - The Wash. Times
Don Mattingly, bench coach of the Los Angeles Dodgers, has removed himself from consideration as next Washington Nationals manager. Given that the Nats have recently supplied Riggleman with "new electronic equipment" it seems they have the intention of keeping him around. The knock on the Nats is they don't want to spend a lot of money on a manager, eliminating Bobby Valentine and Buck Showalter as possibilities. Former Arizona manager Bob Melvin was thought to be in the mix, but it might be as a bench coach.

Nationals hire special adviser to GM - Nationals Journal, The Post
A couple of front office moves - former White Sox GM Ron Schueler has been named special adviser to GM Mike Rizzo and Bill Singer was promoted to director of professional scouting. Singer had previously been a Special Assignment Scout and Coordinator/Pacific Rim Operations. Who knew the Nats were scouting the Pacific Rim?

Washington Nationals, Nats, Jim Riggleman

Joe Paterno press conference transcript & video 11.03.2009

2009-11-04T06:35:00.003-05:00

Joe Paterno News Conference - Intercollegiate Athletics

Penn State, Nittany Lions, college football, Ohio State Buckeyes,

No Safeway I would not like to make a donation to breast cancer

2009-11-03T10:00:00.000-05:00

FRANCONIA, Va. -- Every time I go to Safeway, I'm asked if I want to make a donation to breast cancer. What are they doing donating to breast cancer? It sucks and doesn't need any help!

Oh, this is supposed to be an anti-breast cancer donation -- why didn't you say so?!

Safeway, breast cancer

Finally get to a Caps game and the Ovi gets hurt

2009-11-03T05:29:00.003-05:00

Ovechkin is listed as week to week - The Post
Ovechkin week-to-week with upper-body strain - The Wash. Times
Sunday evening, my brother and I were treated to the Washington Capitals vs. Columbus Blue Jackets game by my father. Dad had not yet seen Alex Ovechkin play in person and unfortunately, he did not see much of him Sunday evening. Ovechkin got an upper body injury, likely in a scrum with the opposition. I guess the Blue Jackets motto is "if you can't beat him, beat him." I suppose it worked for them as they beat Washington in overtime 5-4.

Frankly, the Caps did not play that well, especially in the first period when they were lucky to get a 1-0 lead on a sweet Nicklas B�ckstr�m goal off of a couple of bang-bang passes. Nevertheless, a dull second period was followed by an exciting third period that saw Brooks Laich pick up two goals and Quinten Laing get his first goal of the season. It was not enough though as the Blue Jackets kept scoring.

With Ovechkin gone for a while, the Caps have an opportunity to grow as a team and start playing 60 minutes, a major shortcoming thus far this season. Given that they are second in the conference in points, we can look forward to what a more focused team can do going forward.

Washington Capitals, Caps, Alex Ovechkin, NHL

Penn State football TV schedule as of 11.02.2009; Indiana at noon

2009-11-02T12:10:00.001-05:00

Penn State-Indiana Senior Day Clash To Kick At 12 p.m. on Big Ten Network - Intercollegiate Athletics
Penn State's penultimate regular season game, against Indiana, will be a noon kickoff and televised by Big Ten Network. That is also the final home game of the year -- Senior Day.

For a while there I was thinking it might get picked up by the ESPN family of networks, but Indiana's had a year of tough losses. Again.


11/07/2009    OHIO STATE         3:30 p.m. ABC/ESPN2
11/14/2009    INDIANA            12:00 p.m. Big Ten Network
11/21/2009 at Michigan State     TBA

Still no word on the final game of the year, but I think it is a solid bet that it will be picked up by ESPN and given the 3:30 p.m. timeslot.

Look for this week's coverage map on Wednesday evening.

Penn State, Nittany Lions, college football, Indiana Hooisers, Big Ten Network

Penn State Football Story: Northwestern game

2009-11-02T05:38:00.001-05:00

Penn State, Nittany Lions, college football, Northwestern Wildcats,

Penn State football chat week 9 at noon

2009-10-30T08:30:00.000-04:00

Penn State football chat week 9

Penn State, Nittany Lions, college football, Northwestern Wildcats,

Penn State Football: Joe Battista calls out student section

2009-10-29T12:42:00.002-04:00

Hey, Students! On Nov. 7 Attendance Is Mandatory�And I Will Be Taking Attendance - statecollege.com
The "best student section" in the nation is getting called out by Joe Battista Executive Director, Nittany Lion Club and former Icers coach. The students aren't showing up for kickoff or even filling their section. Preach it JoeBa, preach it!

Penn State, Nittany Lions, college football, Northwestern Wildcats, Joe Battista

Thomas Boswell chat 10.29.2009

2009-10-29T09:00:00.000-04:00

Ask Boswell: Redskins, MLB, Nats, Caps and More - The Post
"Washington Post sports columnist Thomas Boswell will be online Thursday, October 29, at 11:00 a.m. ET to take your questions about the MLB playoffs, the Redskins, the Nats, the NFL, the Caps and the latest sports news and his recent columns."

What is the over-under on Nats questions this week? I'm going with 3. Capitals/Wizards, maybe 2. Nah, just 1.

Washington Nationals, Nats, Thomas Boswell, chat

Beano Cook Watch 10.27.2009

2009-10-29T05:56:00.003-04:00

I have not been doing Beano Watch lately for a couple of reasons 1.) Carroll H. Cook ('54 Pitt) has missed some chats 2.) He is not offering much about Penn State beyond "bad non conference schedule." This week is a little better.

pete caroll (USC): Hey Beano, some idiot from pa on the maisel chat thought Pennstate should be ahead of USC cuz their loss is better...do these people fail to realize the other 11 games on the schedule...i think USC's wins at ohiostate cal and nd are slightly better than beating sisters of the poor, akron, syracuse and my highschool team at home man people are jealous of the best huh

Beano Cook: First off, USC clearly plays a tougher schedule. If these teams met in the postseason, the Trojans would win. I still feel Penn State has a good chance of finishing the regular season 11-1 for a second straight year, both losses to Iowa. Going 22-2 over two seasons is impressive. If they meet in the Rose Bowl, USC will win. I agree with you that the Penn State non-conference schedule is not exactly challenging.

I'd love to see a rematch of Pen State and USC. I would kind of like Penn State's chances this time around. Nice of him to compliment Penn State's record, but too many people are acting as though the Nittany Lions going 11-1 is fait accompli.

Lou (Rockville, MD): You really think a 10-2 Notre Dame would get a bid over 11-1 PSU?

Beano Cook: Yes, the Irish probably will. I am not saying they should, just answering a question and making a prediction.

Really? Penn State travels as well as anybody and has actually won a bowl game not played in Hawaii this decade.

George A Gionis (Blue Bell): Any shot of a Pitt PSU Fiesta Bowl. That would be something, now wouldn't it?

Beano Cook: Number one, it is unlikely. It would be interesting.

There was a lot of talk about this earlier in the week for some reason. Beano's right that it is unlikely and it would be kind of interesting, but I'd rather Penn State get another shot at USC, if everything lines up. There are still four games to play and a lot can happen to either team.

Beano Cook, chat, college football Penn State, Nittany Lions

I thought Northeast Pa. liked NY teams: GO YANKEES on I-81 variable message sign

2009-10-28T20:49:00.004-04:00

PennDOT: "Go Yankees" Sign Inappropriate for Interstate - WNEP
A variable message sign along Interstate 81 near Pittson, Pa. (not far from the home of the AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees) said "GO YANKEES." The sign, typically used for traffic information, is owned by a contractor, Barletta Construction. I wonder if they are at all connected to Hazleton mayor Lou Barletta. Anyway, this supports my theory that Northeast Pennsylvania skews more towards New York teams like the Yankees and Giants than they do to Philadelphia teams. Of course, during my two years in Northeast Pennsylvania, the Yankees were just starting their most recent dynasty, so that may have made a difference.

New York Yankees, Interstate 81, GO YANKEES, highway sign

Oh great, a casting call for a Nats fan reality show

2009-10-28T12:19:00.004-04:00

Like most Nats bloggers, I got emailed about a Nationals fan reality show:

IMG Studios, a respected, established production company in Washington DC, is casting for a TV series about die-hard Nationals fans who have such an intense devotion to the lovable Nats that they have had trouble balancing their �real life� responsibilities with their devotion for their team. The person or group of friends must find it hard to balance an active social life, romantic relationship, work or family with the "other person" (Nationals) in their life. They must be willing to participate in a reality series that follows them for a specific period of time, and cannot be camera shy. If you are interested in being a part of this reality series for television, please send IMG a biographical paragraph and photo to muvena@interfacemedia.com. We will follow up if there is interest.

Thank you.

What could possibly go ~~right~~ wrong?

Sure, this is already "old" news in the Natmosphere, having broken about 27half; hours ago, but I figured I'd put in my two cents anyway. There is one person among us that would fulfill those requirements pretty well. However, I caution that person from doing it because reality shows aren't exactly edifying, though if Distinguished Senators, Ball-Wonk or Nationals Pastime want to jump in -- godspeed.

Is it just me or do the Nats seem to attract a decent amount of attention (like that Owen Wilson movie) despite their few years in the league and last place in the standings? I don't think the Kansas City Royals or Pittsburgh Pirates get this kind of attention.

P.S. If anybody does go on that show, please use it as a bully pulpit against MASN and Peter Angelos.

Washington Nationals, Nats, reality show, bad idea jeans

Former Dominican instructor wins $75 K verdict from Nats

2009-10-28T06:18:00.002-04:00

Baez to receive close to $75K - ESPN
Jose Baez, who was the Washington Nationals top instructor in the Dominican Republic prior to the Smiley Gonzales scandal won a wrongful termination suit against the team. He'll get close to $75,000 in lost pay an severance. No comment from the Nats.

Washington Nationals, Nats, Dominican Republic, Jose Baez

Joe Paterno press conference transcript & video 10.27.2009

2009-10-27T20:26:00.004-04:00

Joe Paterno News Conference - Intercollegiate Athletics

Penn State, Nittany Lions, college football, Northwestern Wildcats,