February 18, 2008 Psl4ports Giace By MATTHEW BIRX Staff Reporter MDM337@PSU.EDU In Penn State Harrisburg sports news it was an ok weekend for the basketball teams. The Men's team after beating Lancaster Bible 73- 69. The Lady Lions beat Lancaster Bible 68 to 54 on Friday. In other Penn State sports news, you the fans and students have kept Beaver Stadium among the nation's top stadiums again this past year. The year total for all 7 homes games was 762,419. That breaks down to an average crowd of about 108, 917 which is a new record for Beaver Stadium. The Nittany Lions fans for ranked second this year for attendance and have been ranked for 17 consecutive years. In football news, the season highlights DVD is now available for purchase. This DVD includes all of the big plays and coach Paterno's induction into the College Football Hall of Fame. In other football news, the Big Ten is waiting patiently on what quarterback Terrell Pryor will do. If he chooses Penn State this will test Paterno's loyalties. What will the coach do? Will he red shirt Pryor? Will he sit Clark and Devlin? Or will he run a 2 quarterback system like Florida did to win the National Championship? What's next for the team and the coach? Will Paterno feel pressure from a renewed contract that Spainer has? Or will Spanier collapse and cave into to Paterno? After the Patriot News talked with the Board of Trustees it seems that Spanier has them in his baCk pocket and enough power to 'give Old Joe the boot so to say. Contrary to what the rumor mill hast o say Joe and Spanier have not meet yet to discuss the coach's future and Joe did not quit. So the future is very much up in the air. Who could replace Joe after next if his contract is not renewed? Tom Bradley? Or someone else? Now we all have to the play waiting game with these two. Who is going to blink first and give in? My bet is Spanier will come out victorious is this respect because he seems to have the backing of most of the board of trustees. In wrestling news the Lions have won and moved up to No. 9 in the NWCA/USA Today coaches poll. The Lions are set to host Michigan and Purdue in a dual match. These are the final home matches of the year for the men's team. "All I can say is that Tim Curley, Joe Paterno, and I plan to get together before long but we have not been able to do so yet due to our collective scheduling commitments. We have seen each other at university events, of course, such as the Hall of Fame induction and associated events." Said Spanier in the Patriot News. As for whether Paterno could possibly be back beyond 2008 or whether his successor would necessarily be chosen from the current staff, Spanier refused comment "He's always saying that this is what he likes to do, that he doesn't play golf or have any other hobbies," said one trustee. "Well, that isn't our problem. I think if he wasn't the coach, he'd still be as busy as ever. He could be a full time fundraiser and really help the university." "Now, I see recently where Joe has been asked about planning a successor and stepping down soon and his response is, `What would I do?' The Lady Lions at U-Park hosted a THINK PINK game over the weekend to promote Breast Cancer awareness THE CAPITAL TIMES By TIANNA SEGNERI Staff Reporter TXS39@PSU.EDU The bitter cold and excessive rainfall proved to be no competition for the opportunity to get an in depth look at the many careers in sports media. More than 200 college students convened in the Diamond Club at Citizens Bank Park, home of the Phillies, for the third annual College Media Day held earlier this month. The event offers students and fans alike a unique opportunity to learn what it takes to work at the forefront of major league baseball. Although the day was termed as the third annual event, it is only so because it is the third event in the new stadium. The first college media day was actually held before most of the attendees were born according to Larry Schenk, Vice President of Public Relations for the Phillies and so-called dean of the sports PR industry. He informed the eager crowd how lucky we were to be participating this year as it had been re-designed to offer break-out sessions in addition to Q&A sessions with panel speakers Jayson Stark, senior baseball writer and talent for ESPN. com, kicked off the day with his thoughts on the emerging media and what it means for the profession of sports journalism. Jayson considers himself to be the luckiest guy on the planet because he is living out the dream he has had since he was 11 years old. At that early age he was just as interested in what was happening in the press box as the 'enn State Harrisburg baseball preseason update By ALLISON MILLS Staff Reporter MXA932@PSU.EDU Three years ago, Penn State Harrisburg brought intercollegiate athletics to the students. The softball according to head coach Tanya Dengler, is returning for its fourth season stronger than ever This season will be the team's first year playing in NEAC's Division 111, which Dengler expects to be very competitive However challenging playing in this new league may be, PSH's softball team aspires to compete in the NEAC Conference Championship Tournament. This goal may seem lofty, especially considering the loss of six players from last season, but with the talented addition of transfer student-athletes and players new to the college level of play, Dengler confidently predicts that the team will be stronger this season. A unique challenge facing these Lady Lions is the high percentage of players who transfer to University Park or other campuses to fulfill their major requirements. Penn State Harrisburg has only 30 Baccalaureate degrees, and many students use PSH as a stepping stone to University Park. This system puts a strain on athletics here in Harrisburg. However, with active recruitment, the softball team is able to conquer this slight ies sports med game itself. marketing, broadcasting, video Over the past 30 years, his career services or fan development and has evolved with the birth of new communit relations. A common media and transitioned from writing for the Philadelphia Inquirer to posting blogs and podcasting from his living room. The opportunities for today's students are endless as we are able to create our own niche as did Tim Dierkes, creator of mlbtraderumors.com. Lessons learned: follow your passion and study your role models. Students were able to behind the scenes with the Phillies staff to several breakout sessions to learn about public relations (PR), obstacle. When asked if there are any players in particular to keep an eye on, Dengler smiled and responded that she is very excited to coach the whole group of talented women that make up Penn State Harrisburg's softball team To match the quality of the players, a few improvements have been made to the softball field. A fast pitch, regulation home run fence has replaced the previous seasons' slow pitch home run fence. Bullpens, or warm-up pitching areas, have also been added to both home and visitor areas. Students should keep in mind to attend the games pitting Penn State Harrisburg against its two biggest rivals, Penn State Hazelton and Berks. PSI I home on Thursday, March 27 at 2 p.m. The Penn State Berks game will be played at the Berks campus on Thursday, April 17 at 3 p.m. A few more conference (home) games to check out are: D'Youville College on Sunday, March 30 at 1 p.m., Wells College theme amongst the Phillies staff was that they love the game and they started their tenure with less than glamorous internships. The PR session was held in the media room, the same spot where the press conference with third baseman Pedro Feliz was held the day before. One of the most challenging days of the year for the PR staff will no doubt be opening day, described by one of the panel as chaos. Maybe the stress of the day will on Sunday, April 4 at 1 p.m. and Philadelphia Biblical College on Friday, April 25 at 3 p.m. The softball team will be opening their season by playing in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina during Spring Break, March 10 through 15. Excited to be staying in a beachtiont hotel, the team will surely need rest and relaxation throughout the week as they are playing eight games in four days a essons be offset by the time they spend in Florida for training camp. By no means will this be no work and all play as they will be maintaining the same player-media relationships there as they would here, but the weather has to account for something right? The Phillies PR staff works hard, and they work long hours few days off with 162 games in the regular season. The relationship they develop with the players is crucial because you have to get them involved with media events that go beyi4wlAbe,playing field and those relationships are built on trust. Lesson learned: "If It will be a grueling week for sure, but it will undoubtedly be a great experience to start off Penn State Harrisburg's softball team's fourth season. Challenges will also face Baseball team, after weeks of being pent up after weeks of practicing in the gym with no promising signs of green grass in the near future. Head Coach Robert Maschmeyer believed all the hard work in the gym will pay off this season. Although the team has lost four players from last season, 15 new players, who Maschmeyer said are "more than capable of filling any voids," have stepped in. All 24 players of the Penn State Harrisburg baseball team must meet high expectations from their coach. Maschmeyer expects everyone to excel and stated that their success will depend on the efforts of all the players on the team. you don't like people, do something else" and although you may be a fan of the game, don't write it on a cover letter! After a ballpark style lunch and the chance to mingle, sports writers, broadcasters, radio personalities, videographers and photographers, entertained the questions of a very inquisitive audience. Some notable names include Leslie Gudel, sports anchor for Comcast Sports Net, Jody McDonald, host of Sports Talk 950 AM and Gary Papa, Sports Director for 6ABC News in Philadelphia. All of the panelists discussed their careers, the unique paths the followed to get where they are today. They shared strategies for capturing the story and pitching that story so it gets heard, not lost in a pile of faxes in the assignment room. Paul Luongo, sports producer and talent for FOX 29, offered the attendees the chance to pitch a sound bite for training camp, something that wasn't obvious. There was a tie between the coach's perspective in evaluating the players, and who was in charge of the sunscreen. I was a day late and a dollar short for pitching mine, maybe next year. Lessons learned: Take chances. The Phillies College Media Day is something that anyone interested in communications, not just sports media, could benefit from. The experience and lessons learned were worth the two-hour drive in the rain For more, visit www.phillies.com/ collegemediadav to find out how you can attend in 2009. The 15 new players are not the only addition to the team. This season will be the first home game that Penn State Harrisburg's baseball team will play on the college campus. The new baseball field is nearly finished, done, and only the bullpens and scoreboard have yet to be completed. The first game the Lions will play on their field will be against Penn State Hazleton on Thursday, March 27 at 1 p.m. Be sure to cheer them on at this match- The team has not yet specified any particular goals for this season, but a few unwritten aspirations are obvious and understood amongst the team. The ultimate mission is to play "fundamentally sound baseball," said Maschmeyer. But all players would surely agree that making and possibly winning the NEAC playoffs is desirable. Perhaps a good goal to start with would be to do well in the Pitt-Bradford Tournament, which Penn State Harrisburg's baseball team is competing for March 1 and 2. They will also travel back to Virginia over spring break, March 10 through 13, to play Eastern Mennonite University, Washington & Lee College, Roanoke College and Lynchburg College. Let's hope the Virginia weather will be more cooperative than the recent weather facing Penn State Harrisburg's restless, ready-to-play baseball team.
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