Football
at a
Glance
By DAN LEWERENZ
Associated Press Writer
State college, Pa. _ Kyle
Orton passed for 275 yards,
and Taylor Stubblefield set a
Big Ten record for receptions.
But this time, it was the defense
that kept Purdue undefeated.
The Boilermakers (5-0, 2-0 Big
East) have climbed to No. 5 in
this week’s AP poll thanks in
large part to Orton and their
potent offense. But a pair of
gutsy goal-line stands allowed
Purdue to hold on for a 20-13
win over Penn State on
Saturday.
“I walked into the defensive
side of the locker room after the
game and said defense won
the game for us, because they
really did,” Orton said.
Twice in the second half, the
Nittany Lions (2-4, 0-3) got
inside Purdue’s 10-yard line.
The first time, after a run by
Tony Hunt gave them second
and-1 on the 7, they had to set
tle for a 27-yard field goal that
made it 17-13.
The second time, they didn’t
even get that. On fourth-and-5
from the 6-yard line, Zack Mills
tried to run the ball on a fake
field goal _ a fake Purdue
coach Joe Tiller said caught his
defense off guard _ and ran
straight into Stanford Keglar
instead.
“Probably ndbody was expect
ing it, but we’re always watch
ing for it because we know in
that situation it’s going to be a
big deal _ it’s going to be a big
change in the game if they get
it,” Keglar said.
It’s not that Purdue’s defense
hasn’t played well this year.
The Boilermakers shut out
Syracuse in their opening
game, then allowed Ball State
just seven points.
But they’ve been inconsistent.
Illinois scored 30 points in
Purdue’s Big Ten opener, and
Notre Dame scored 16 last
week.
And even when the defense
has done well, it’s been over
shadowed by Orton and the
offense. Orton came into
Saturday leading the nation
with 17 touchdown passes, and
Purdue’s was second in the
country in scoring offense.
The only thing the Boilermakers
didn’t do Saturday was force
turnovers, the first time this
year the Nittany Lions didn’t
lose the ball.
“The young defense flew
around and got around the foot
ball,” Tiller said. “I think the
more they play, the turnovers
will start coming their way.”
It was Orton’s 40-yard touch
down pass to Stubblefield that
put Purdue up 17-10 in the third
quarter, and put the
Boilermakers in position to rely
on their defense. Stubblefield
finished the game with seven
catches, giving him 271 for his
career. Fellow Boilermaker
John Sandeford set the previ
ous record of 266 last year.
With No. 10 Wisconsin up next,
Orton said the improvement on
defense was a good sign.
“They’re young, and they’ve
had some really good games
this year, and they’ve struggled
some,” Orton said. “They’re
getting better every week, play
ing with a lot more confidence,
and they’ll get there by the end
of the year.”
NHL lockout upsets
By Herb Smith
Staff Reporter
hjsl3s@psu.edu
In the sports fan’s year, a sea
son ending in one sport usually
signifies the beginning of anoth
er. Just as football teams hang
up the shoulder pads in
February, baseball pitchers are
starting to report to spring train
ing. In the same way, as the
baseball playoffs get underway,
the pucks start dropping in
N.H.L. arenas across North
America. However, this year is
different. There are no fans filing
into Joe Louis Arena in
Hockeytown, U.S.A., and no
Penguins reporting to the Igloo in
Pittsburgh. As of September 16,
hockey has been officially put on
hold as the owners locked out
the players. The Collective
Bargaining Agreement, which
has been in place for ten years,
has expired and the owners
refuse' to start another season
under the old agreement.
The main sticking point is a
salary cap. The Players Union
won’t sign a new C.8.A., that
includes a salary cap, and the
owners won’t start a new season
without a cap. The sides met
numerous times over the sum
mpMn hopes erf-.-coming to an
agreement and saving the sea
son. However, the sides were
farther apart than ever at their
last meeting and it was at that
time that N.H.L. Commissioner,
Gary Bettman announced the
lockout of the players. His
announcement happened to be
on the same day as the champi
onship game of the World Cup, a
hockey tournament between
several countries including the
U.S. and Canada, and involving
many N.H.L. players. Bettman
has told the owners, with no
meetings scheduled, there is no
chance of the season starting on
time and for the owners to rent
Much-improved Orton leads No. 9
Purdue into Penn State
By Dan Lewerenz
Associated Press Writer
STATE COLLEGE, Pa
Somewhere behind Purdue’s
offensive line, Kyle Orton is lurk
ing, waiting to pick defenses
apart. It’s not a thought that com
forts Penn State coach Joe
Paterno.
“The kid is tough to get to
because he is so clever,”
Paterno said of Orton. “He gets
rid of the ball when he is in trou
ble. If you don't stay in good
pass rush lanes and he sees a
crack and there is nobody open,
he will take off. He is a very, very
good football player; an out
standing football player.”
When the ninth-ranked
Boilermakers (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten)
visit Penn State (2-3, 0-2) on
Saturday, it’s going to be a show
down between the nation’s top
offense and the league’s third
best defense.
Orton is the key to that offense.*
He leads the nation with 17
touchdown passes and is com
pleting almost 70 percent of his
passes. Even more impressive,
Orton hasn’t been intercepted in
tnn k t r
a po rt s
out the arenas for at least the
first month of the season.
The reason Bettman and the
owners have have held their
position without wavering is the
claim the majority of the teams in
the N.H.L. are losing money.
Bettman says the league lost
$273 million last season alone,
and without a “cost certain sys
tem” some teams may close up
shop and threaten the future of
the entire league. According to
the owners, the reason the cur
rent system doesn’t work is the
rising cost of players’ salaries.
For instance, in 1994, the last
time the N.H.L. had a work stop
page, the average salary was
$733,000. Last year, the average
salary was $1.83 million.
Meanwhile, the Players
Association and their president,
Bob Goodenow, have said that
there is nothing wrong with the
current system and the players
should be free to make as much
money as possible in a free mar
ket system. What this all means
in a nut shell, is that these two
parties are as far apart as can be
and, in the best case scenario,
the N.H.L. won’t start up again
until January at the earliest.
So with the season in serious
doubt, fans have started wonder
ing where they can go to get their
fill of hockey this year. The minor
leagues’ seasons are going on
as scheduled. The A.H.L., the
top level of minor league hockey,
starts their season on October
13, and the lower level, the
E.C.H.L., starts a week later.
Some of the younger N.H.L.
players are still eligible to play in
the minors, which should greatly
increase the level of play in the
A.H.L.. Most of veterans in the
N.H.L., have started looking for
other options to continue playing
during the work stoppage. Some
have gone back to their native
European countries to play for
leagues there. Peter Forsberg,
137 passes _ Purdue joins
Hawaii as the only teams that
haven’t committed a turnover
this year _ and he’s only been
sacked three times.
“I just think that he’s in com
mand of the offense on the field.
He knows exactly what he’s got
to do,” Penn State quarterback
Zack Mills said. “You always see
him on TV checking, probably
changing his protections, maybe
changing a couple routes at the
line of scrimmage, because he
probably knows exactly what the
defense is going to do and he
just exploits it.”
Paterno compared Orton to
Heisman Trophy winners Doug
Flutie and Ty Detmer, saying
there was little anyone could do
to minimize Orton’s impact on
the game.
“I don’t think you are going to
minimize this guy. They are aver
aging over 500 yards a ball
game. Minimize him is what? I
don’t know what minimize him
is,” Paterno said. “You just have
to play solid football and hang in
there, go to the ball and tackle
the receiver when he catches it,
try not to let him beat you deep,
star forward for the Colorado
Avalanche, has gone to his
native Sweden, and will play
there for the entire year, even if
the N.H.L. comes back this sea
son.
Another league has started up
because of the lockout. The
Original Stars Hockey League,
0.H.5.L., has constructed a
makeshift, six team league, to
play a 20 game schedule. The
six teams, represent the original
six teams that started the N.H.L..
They are Toronto, Montreal,
Boston, New York, Chicago and
Detroit. Despite the fact that four
of the teams have U.S. city
names, all games will take place
in Canada.
The Commissioner of the
0.5.H.L., has said that if after the
20 game season, the N.H.L. is
still on the shelf, another
0.5.H.L., season will start up.
The teams are made up entirely
of current N.H.L. players, includ
ing Dave Andreychuk, captain of
the defending Stanley Cup
Champion, Tampa Bay
Lightening. A few changes from
the N.H.L. rules could make for a
much different game in the
0.5.H.L.. For example, there will
be only four skaters and the
goalie on the ice for each team,
one less skater than the N.H.L..
Having less skaters on the ice,
opens up the game for more
scoring. Also, the 0.5.H.L., has
eliminated the center ice line,
which will eliminate some of the
two line pass calls, and lead to
more scoring chances. The
0.5.H.L., promises to be a more
wide open, scorer-friendly
league, and these rule changes
appear to solve problems fans
have had with the N.H.L.. Big
complaints with the N.H.L. game
have been too many whistles
and stops in play. Whenever the
NHL goes back to work, maybe
they will look into using some of
the rule changes in the 0.5.H.L.,
to draw back fans they could be
keep everything in front of you
and pray.”
That’s a far cry from 2002, when
Orton struggled and lost his
starting spot midway through the
season.
“When I think back to 2002, it
seems like a decade ago,”
Purdue coach Joe Tiller said. “I
don’t really remember (Kyle)
struggling that much. Last sea
son and this season so far, he’s
been steady, so I don’t think
about his struggles of three or
four years ago. He’s really
learned the system and he’s
been doing a good job of manag
ing the game.”
But if there’s a defense to
match up with Orton, it’s Penn
State's. The Nittany Lions have
intercepted six passes this year,
while allowing only three touch
down passes
“Their defense is good, big and
physical, and we’re going to
have our work cut out for us,”
Orton said. “I think this is proba
bly going to be our toughest
game on the road to date. It's
going to be extremely loud dur
ing the entire game at Penn
State, and we’re going to have to
play smart football.”
fans, players
Photo courtesy of www.wtopnews.com
N.H.L. Commissioner, Gary Bettman
losing now.
N.H.L. fans apparently aren’t
siding with their favorite players.
In a recent survey of 4,137
N.H.L. fans, 70% of the fans in
the United States, agreed with
the owners position. In Canada,
where hockey is much more pop
ular, the margin of support was
even greater in favor of the own
ers. The N.H.L., is the least pop
ular of the four major sports in
the United States. The last thing
the players need, is to lose sup
port of the already shrinking fan
base.
Photo courtesy of GoPSUsports
Zack Mills passed for 293 yards against Purdue, giving
him his 16th career 200-yard game.
Look for continuous
coverage of the pro
fessional sports
arena from our
sports guru, Herb
Smith. Next issue
features an article
about reacurring
teams in the base-
ball playoffs