Don’t view Penn State’s season opening victory over Akron as a landmark, view it as a building block, a baby step if you will. They are their own worst enemy, and their key to success lies on the own coaching staff in Galen Hall. Go back to 2002. Penn State plays a meaningful regular season game at home for the first time in two years. The Nits proceed to crush Nebraska, and the faith ful around Happy Valley begin to drool because of the "revamped” offense they saw that night. 41 -7 was the final score of that contest and triple threat, Michael Robinson was utilized in different ways. As a tailback, quarter back, receiver, basically any which way he could fool the Cornhuskers, he did Penn State fans were talking major bowl trip, and sure while they made a New Years Day bowl game for the first time since 1998, the offense got bland, and too one dimensional behind Larry Johnson. 2,000 yards is nice, but when you have no relief elsewhere, you won’t get any- The versatility in the offense disappeared. It became the typi cal, three yards and a cloud of dust PSU team. It so happens that there was mass chaos on the Nits sideline, offensive Coordinator Fran Ganter, Jay Paterno and Joe were all sharing play -calling duties. This problem was addressed in this past off-season, when Ganter "left” to pursue a position in the Football office at the school. Enter Hall, who coached Emmitt Smith and Florida back in the 19 80's. He also had a stint in NFL Europe, and the now defunct XFL. His influence has been felt already this season as Michael Robinson was up to his old tricks in the 48-10 victory over Akron to open the 2004 campaign. Heading into the Boston College road trip, Robinson was listed as the number one split end on the depth chart. Not to mention, true freshmen such as Anthony Morelli, who is rumored to have seized the back up quarterback duties, linebacker Dan Conner, and tight end Jordan Lyons all saw significant playing time in the opener. The idea here is to get yoi/r best athletes on the field and to also have a healthy influx of youth in the mix to get experi ence, in order to attract other would be freshmen via recruiting. But this move also signals a “must win now" attitude for the Lions. If a proper foundation isn't laid this season, the 2005 everyone feels will be successful will never take place. Morelli has all the tools and ability to lead the into the future, so why not get him some action now? Provided Robinson is his triple threat self, and Hall’s play calling isn’t over shadowed by Jay, Joe and whoever else is up there, the Lions will have a chance at a winning season. But don’t book a trip for Miami over New Years just yet. 6-5 sounds like the proper call at this point, but hey, baby steps peo pie, baby steps. New pool makes a splash By Kelly Nagurny Staff Reporter kxnl63(o!psu.eda A new aquatic facility has recently opened for students and members of the community just in time to greet Penn State Harrisburg’s first class of freshmen. The 9,000 square-foot facili ty, which was built onto the Capital Union Building, hous es a six-lane pool that will soon be the site of various aquatic activities. Activities will include lap swimming, water physical therapy, water aerobics ranging from no- The healing power Nation turns to sports at darkest hour By Eric Thomas Assistant Editor ewtll2(«psu.edu Three years ago, the world we live in was changed forev er because of the suicidal tendencies of 19 people. For all of us, it became the moment in time when we will look back and tell our kids impact to high-intensity, and open swimming for families and seniors. Activities will be available for swimmers of all ability lev els, with ages ranging from six months to adults. The pool, which varies from three to five feet deep and is approximately 75 by 37 feet, will also be used by local swim teams for practice. “The new pool is good for the community and students,” said Bud Smitley, recreation and athletics coor dinator. Smitley also said that in the future, it is likely that aquatic classes will be inte- and our grandkids that we remember where we were, exactly what we were doing when the World Trade Center, Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania were rav aged by hijacked aircraft. Our parents have JFK’s assassination and Martin Luther King. We have two shuttle disasters and a terror ist attack. It’s pretty safe to assume that no one knew what in the hell do to that day three years ago. I remember the next day having to go back to work and talk sports on the radio to a statewide audience. No one cared about the AL East race, or what was the key match up in the NFC West that weekend. I remember thinking that we had to be a crutch for people to lean on, grated into PSH’s physical education curriculum. The new facility could also lead to the development of a PSH swim team in the next couple of years. This $2.3 million facility was funded by state grants and is a result of several years of planning by a committee that included Middletown, Royalton, Highspire, Londonderry Township and Lower Swatara Township. Since PSH had available land and no pool, it seemed like the right place for the project that fulfilled a need for both students and the community. The pool will be open approximately 92 hours per week, and exact hours will be determined by the facility’s new aquatics coordi nator. Use of the pool is free to Penn State students. Annual memberships for community members cost between $lOO and $250 and are available for singles, couples, families and senior citizens. Non-members can swim for a daily charge of $3. There is an additional fee for special programs. For more information, con tact the Penn State Harrisburg Aquatic Center at (717) 948-6266. of sports to go to and talk about every thing and anything. It’s actu ally some of the best radio I’ve ever taken part in to be honest. But as the nation began to search for answers to this atrocity, there was something odd about to happen. Every other major sporting event across the country was canceled, except one. High school football. I remember thinking to myself that we needed some thing to heal us all, some thing where we could bond with people, talk, cry, and laugh and start to move on. High school football was the perfect remedy for something like this. I remember going to my high school’s game that weekend, Please see 9/11 on 7 Photos by Jennifer Kaufman PENN STATE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE Akron Boston College A Central Florida H 9/18 Wisconsin 9/25 Minnesota 10/2 10/9 Purdue 10/23 lowa 10/30 Ohio State 11/6 Northwestern H 11/13 Indiana 11/20 Michigan State H NOBODY ! ALL wl Photo Courtsey of Associated Press Yankee fans during 2001 world Series display nation’s attidude after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Sports gave people something else to focus on W 48-10 L 21-7 12:30pm 5:45pm TBA 4:3opm TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers