PSU
Sports
@a
Glance
By Christian Torres
Staff Reporter
cgtlll@psu.edu
The middle of February tends to
be a slow month for Penn State
sports. Erase basketball from the
mind and sports at University
Park is almost non-existent. But
did anyone ever remember that
29 sports actually exist at Penn
State? So in this slow time for
any sports news out of "Happy
Valley," here is an overview of the
five most important "other sports"
currently going on.
1. Men's Gymnastics: Hey, it
takes a lot of skill and strength
to do some of the things these
guys do. The defending national
champions are once again up
to their winning ways. They are
ranked fifth in the entire country.
Well, at least something in
PSU sports is going right. The
it upcoming schedule includes
match-ups with Michigan, Ohio
State, and William and Mary.
2. Fencing: Yes, Fencing. Talk
about good, how about ranked
second for men and third for
women. A recent meet at the
University of Pennsylvania
showed just how good these
teams are. Both teams went
undefeated at the meet with the
men improving on their already
unblemished record. The two will
head to Texas to compete in the
Junior Olympics with the NCAA
Championships in March. Who
knows, maybe a national title is
in the works.
3. Lacrosse: Hey, Lacrosse is
a tough sport whether for women
or for men. The men's team has
just kicked off the season with
a meeting against Ohio State
and hopes to improve on a 6-7
season last year. The women's
team is coming off of a 9-8
season and has three pre-season
All Americans on the team. Lee
Tortorelli, Kristen Burke, and Lori
Havrilla will lead the Lady Lions
in their first meeting at home
February 26 against Vanderbilt.
4. Men's Volleyball: Volleyball
has always been a power at
University Park. The women
were the last to win a National
Championship in 2000, but the
men have done well too. So
far this season, the guys have
amassed a 10-2 record including
6-0 at home. They are well on
their way to eclipse last year's
record of 23-7. They hope to not
end it on a sour note like they did
last May 6 against Long Beach
State in Honolulu.
5. Baseball: Right about this
time, pitchers and catchers will be
reporting to camps all over Florida
and Arizona for Major League
Baseball spring training. In that
spirit, the Penn State baseball
team will begin their season very
shortly. Last year, the team went
28-29. They will be led by senior
infielder Mike Milliron, who led
the team with a .307 batting
average. Junior Sean Stidfole
returns to anchor the pitching
staff. Stiffole ended last season
with a 3.89 era and had a team
leading three complete games
and 87 strikeouts. The team
as a whole does not look like a
title contender, but anything can
happen. The team has already
started playing games, but the
season really kicks in to full gear
starting in mid-March.
So for those of you who like to
follow Penn State sports other
than football and basketball,
these are some alternatives.
For the rest of the Penn State
community, continue to wait until
the pads come back on this fall.
Football not dead after Superbowl
By Christian Torres
Staff Reporter
cgtlll@psu.edu
As seasons change, so does our
sports world. The NBA is in full
throttle, March Madness is right
around the corner, and the smell
of peanuts and crackerjack will
soon drown us in hope for spring.
Out the door goes football, huh?
Wrong! Yes, football fans, get a
load of the coming events your
favorite sport has coming.
Let us first congratulate the
New England Patriots and their
fans. While they have broken
many hearts here at Penn State
Harrisburg, including some on
the staff of Capital Times, they
showed us what a champion and
team really are.
In 2001, Jeremiah Trotter left the Eagles and signed with the Redskins
for a big contract.
erb counts down the best college b-ball coaches
By Herb Smith
Staff Reporter
hjsl3s@psu.edu
5) Roy Williams (Kansas/UNC)
4) Jim Boeheim (Syracuse)
3) John Cheney (Temple)
2) Bob Knight (Indiana/Texas
Tech)
1) Mike Krzyzewski (Duke)
There are several reasons why
Coach K is number one on this
list of college basketball coaches.
First of all, his record speaks for
itself. For more than 20 seasons
as Duke's Head Coach, Coach
K has 529 career victories, 236
weeks in the top 25, 128 weeks
in the top 10, 53 weeks at
number one, and eight Final Four
appearances in the last 15 years,
including five straight from 1988-
92. In the past 17 years, Duke
has 15 twenty-win seasons. In
that same span, Duke has made
the NCAA tournament 16 times.
The back-to-back NCAA
championships in the early 90s
made Coach K the first coach
since the legendary John Wooden
The Capital Times, February
p 111. S
So what is coming up now?
Free Agency
In a few weeks, the free agent
signing period will begin in
the NFL. There are many free
agents that will be available.
For the Eagles, players such
as Ike Reese, Derrick Burgess
and Jeremiah Trotter will hit the
market.
On other teams throughout the
league, the salary cap will again
be the determining factor in free
agent movement. For that matter,
New England and Philadelphia
should be very active.
And let us not forgetthe Redskins.
Year after year, Washington is
unofficially crowned off-season
champions. It is not because
Photo courtesy of www.oniinecsa.com
to win consecutive titles. Add to
that five 30-win seasons, eight
regular season ACC crowns and
five ACC titles, and it becomes
quite obvious why Coach K is at
the top.
Besides being a great coach,
Coach K is a mentor and a leader
to the players on his team. That
leadership is what draws the top
high school players in the country
to his program. In a time when it
is hard to keep athletes in school
for all four years, or even get them
to attend college at all, Coach K
routinely has one of the highest
graduation rates in the country.
What makes this accomplishment
even more impressive is that
Duke has a reputation for a very
tough academic program, yet
Coach K draws the top players to
his program, makes them winners
and he gets them to graduate.
Professional teams win for a
long time because they are able
to keep the same core of players
together. The only constant factor
in Duke's long run of success
has been Coach K. The players
have come and gone, but the
the Redskins make the smartest
moves; it is because the Redskins
make the biggest moves. In 2001,
Jeremiah Trotter left the Eagles
and signed with the Redskins for
a big contract. That same year,
the short lived Steve Spurrier era
began in Washington.
In 2004, Steve Spurrier resigned
from the Redskins. Did that stop
the team from making more big
moves? Please! Former coach
Joe Gibbs returned, Mark Brunell
signed on to be quarterback,
and Champ Bailey was traded to
Denverfor Clinton Portis. Granted,
all of the moves just mentioned
did not help Washington get into
the post-season, but it created
news for sure.
The Draft
In April, the pilgrimage of NFL
fans to New York to watch the
draft will begin. Some notable
college players will be available,
including Jason White from
Oklahoma and Mike Williams
from USC. Probably the most
notable player in the draft is
someone who made noise last
year; Maurice Clarett.
Many teams in the NFL could
use a good running back, and
Clarett will be someone to watch.
Even though he is projected to
be a late rounds pick, he could
probably make a big impact for a
team. He has good size and good
speed, but his playing shape
could be in question at this point.
But there are plenty of other top
quality backs available. Cedric
Benson and Ronnie Brown
appear likely to go early to a
team that will need their talent
the most.
Missing from the top of the draft
this year are quarterbacks. Last
season, the crop of quarterbacks
available was deep. Philip
Rivers, Eli Manning and Ben
Roethlisberger all went early. It
will be unlikely that a class this
deep will come out this year.
Mike Krzyzewski - fondly referred to as 'Coach K' - has been Duke's Head Coach for more
than 20 seasons. Coach K helped Duke make it to the NCAA tournament 16 times.
program continues to thrive. is a legitimate contender for the can claim that, and it's all thanks
That success has to be credited National Championship. No other to Coach K.
to the coach. Every year, Duke program, over this long of a span,
Maurice Clarett is quite possibly the most notable player in the NFL
draft.
The draft this time will be
deep in running back and other
positions, so teams not looking
for quarterbacks, this is your
year.
NFL Network
For the junkies, NFL Network is
required. Even though they gave
a lot of the same programming
over and over, it still is pretty
good.
Where else will you be able to
see stories of old players, famous
players, and players probably
never even heard of? Not to
mention the highlight shows of
the past season.
NFL Network is a must-have if
you are addicted to football.
NFL Training Camp
July . ; a month when vacations
are in full throttle and the baseball
pennant race starts heating up.
For football fans, it is the month
when training camp begins and
21, 2005 7
Photo courtesy of www.cnnsi.com
the long road to the Superbowl
starts
Last summer, thousands flocked
to Lehigh University to see the
Eagles practice and watch T.O.
put on that 81 jersey. Imagine,
over 20,000 people going to see
practice. Yes, practice.
Eagles camp may not be that
exciting this year, but there will
be a lot of people there. And it
is not only Eagles camp. Expect
a lot of excitement at Steelers
when Big Ben and the Steelers
start practicing for 2005.
Down south, the Ravens may
have to make room for thousands
especially if Randy Moss ends up
there. Imagine that, Randy Moss
and Ray Lewis on the same
practice field. Priceless!!
So there you have it football
fans, the right formula to cure
the football fix. Now just get NFL
Network and sit back and enjoy.
Training camps open in five
months.
Photo courtesy of jsonline.com