Capitol times. (Middletown, Pa.) 1982-2013, March 03, 2008, Image 7

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

    By MATT BIRX
Staff Reporter
MEB3SI@PSU EDU
It was a had week for the Penn
State Harrisburg basketball
teams. The men's team lost their
conference finale to D'Youville.
The Spartans held off a furious
second half start by the Lions to
win 92-82.
The PSH men's team finished
out the season at 6-8 in the NEAC
and 7-18 in overall season play.
The Lions' season may be over by
this point, but they did a good job
fighting it out to the end.
Now all they have to do is to
watch video and prepare for next
year's season.
The Lady Lions did not fair any
better in their last game of the year.
While playing the Lady Spartans of
D'YouN ille, the Lady Lions lost a
tough game. They put up 39 points
to the Lady Spartans 75.
The Lady Lions were 2-14 in the
NEAC and 4-20 in overall season
play. Though they were hampered
by losses all year, they still fought
right to the end and gave great
effort.
Now its time to take some time
off and get ready for next year's
season. Congrats to all the winter
athletes.
In other NEAC news: Abe Hitz
was named athlete of the week
of February 24. Hitz, a 5' l
junior guard, was selected for his
outstanding offensive performance
for the week.
He racked up 31 points, 1
rebound, 1 assist and 4 steals. He
also went 12-for-13 from the free
throw line and had a .500 shooting
percentage.
F verybody should be gearing
up for the spring! Pitchers and
catchers reported for Spring
Training two weeks ago.
This means that Penn State
Harrisburg baseball and softball
teams are gearing up for the start of
the season
In the majors we will hear the
crack of the hat and the cheer of
the crowd; here on this campus we
are going to hear the - fink" of the
aluminum bat and the cheering fans
as they support the Lions and Lady
Lions teams.
I do not know how‘ many of you
are as excited as I happen to be,
but Spring Training time is the best
time of the year for me.
The Lions baseball team will have
their first big test of the season
coming up as they are entered in
the l'itt Bradford Tournament held
in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The
Liens Mill he down in Virginia
Mar:r. : and March 2"; let's see
It ti-:
_an come away with the
_hampionship.
In 11 - r: rn::antirnc. the Lady Lions
softball tear', , getting ready for
their fir,i match up of the season,
as they are headed to Shenandoah
finis erists.
After that the Lady Lions will be
headed for some fun in the sun;
they are going to Myrtle Beach
from March 3 to March 19 for the
Snowbird Softball Tournament.
The Lady Lions should enjoy
their time down at Myrtle Beach;
hopefully they will bring back the
tournament championship when
they return to campus.
There still has not been much
more information on the "Joe
Paterno vs Graham Spanier" front.
We are still waiting for the meeting
to see if Paterno's contract will
be extended, because if it is not
he will retire after the upcoming
season
By MATT BIRX
Staff Reporter
MEB3S 1 @PSU.EDU
With the deadline come and gone,
the only way the Penguins can now
get players is through waiver moves
or the IR list.
One player Pittsburgh is hoping
will recover soon is Gary Roberts,
who has
been out
December
29 of last
year with
a broken
fibula, but
is expected
to be
back in
the lineup
before the
playoffs
And of
course there
is Crosby,
who has
missed 4
weeks so
far with a
high ankle
sprain he
received on
January 21; his return is up in the
air.
If these players return sooner
rather than later it will put even
more of a punch into an already
surging Penguins team, who
currently has the 2" most points in
the Eastern Conference with 79.
Evgeni Malkin has really stepped
up as team leader with Crosby out,
and has led the Penguins to a 9-4-2
record without the league superstar
In an effort to bolster the
team until then, on February 26
Pittsburgh traded Colby Armstrong
(Crosby's close friend and line
mate), Erik Christensen (shootout
and face-off specialist), Angelo
Esposito (a 2007 round draft
pick) and their 2008 round draft
pick for Marian Hossa and Pascal
Dupuis of the Atlanta Thrashers.
Also, in a second trade, Pittsburgh
acquired Hal Gill from Toronto
Barry Bonds testimony released
By PAUL ELIAS
Associated Press Writer
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) A
federal judge on Friday unsealed
Barry Bonds' grand jury testimony,
an order that would make public what
the home run king said under oath
about his use of performance-
enhancing drugs.
Federal prosecutors accused
Bonds of lying under oath during
his December 2003 testimony to
a grand jury investigating steroid
use in professional sports, and a
separate grand jury indicted on
him on four counts of perjury
and one count of obstruction.
U.S. District Judge Susan
Illston signed an order Friday
making Bonds' testimony public
after ordering prosecutors to
amend Bonds' indictment so
each of the five counts against
him don't cite multiple allegedly
false statements. Prosecutors
originally accused Bonds of
lying 19 different times during
his grand jury appearance.
The indictment, unsealed
last November, cites snippets
of testimony in which Bonds
denies ever ingesting steroids
or human growth hormone. It
quotes Bonds denying his personal
trainer Greg Anderson ever injected
him with steroids, which prosecutors
alleged was a lie.
Illston agreed with Bonds' attorney
Dennis Riordan on Friday that
prosecutors must edit out many of the
alleged lies or seek a new indictment,
which could contain more charges.
Although Bonds is technically no
longer under indictment, the practical
effect of the ruling was to delay the
Maple Leafs for a 2" and s'' round
draft pick. The Penguins now
have the stay-at-home physical
defenseman to fill in for Mark
Eaton, who has been missing from
the lineup since he went down with
a season ending ACL injury. At 6'7"
and 250 pounds Gill is easily one of
the biggest players in the NHL.
The Pens already had two enforcer
~ 4'w''
types on the team in Jarkko
Ruutuu and Georges Laraque;
with one more Crosby could be
as untouchable as Gretzky was in
Edmonton.
possibly put the missing pieces in
their lineup to compete for their
first Stanley Cup since 1992 (details
below).
The Penguins, according to many
fans and critics, were missing a
goal-scoring winger to play with
Sidney Crosby. This present deal
could rival the March 4, 1991 deal
that sent John Cullen, Jeff Parker,
and Zarley Zalapski to the Hartford
Whalers in exchange for Ron
Francis, Ulf Samuelsson, and Grant
Jennings
The move was risky, as some
wondered if it was going to
interrupt team chemistry and
bemoaned losing Cullen, who was
case until prosecutors address the
problems. Prosecutors are expected
to decide whether to seek a new
indictment before Bonds' next court
date on March 21. They declined
comment outside court.
Bonds was not required to attend
Friday's hearing and has
excused him from the next court
date, too.
The November indictment came just
three months after the San Francisco
Giants star broke Hank Aaron's career
home run record, and it culminated a
four-year investigation into steroid
use by elite athletes.
During his grand jury appearance in
2003, prosecutors presented Bonds
with a drug test showing a positive
the s'" leading scorer in the NHL
at the time of the trade. The trade
turned out to be a good one, as the
new players played key roles in the
Penguins back-to-back Stanley Cup
And now from the Pitsburgh and
their Stanley Cup worthy moves we
can turn our attention to what the
playoff and confernce contention
Forty-four players moved teams
on February 26 alone. Twenty
draft picks changed hands as well.
Overall, the teams that were busiest
improved, with the exception of a
few.
Some wonder if,Tampa Bay,
clearly the busiest team during
the trade deadline, actually made
mistakes and became worse.
Though they acquired Lecavalier
and St. Louis, they lost 2 defenders,
1 goal tender and Brad Richards,
who was arguably the best center on
the team.
Many in the media have applauded
the moves that the Dallas Stars and
steroids result for a player they called
"Barry B." Bonds said he had never
seen those test results.
Investigators said they seized other
evidence against Bonds, including an
alleged "doping calendar" maintained
by Anderson, who spent about a year
in jail for refusing to help
investigators.
Anderson, who was
released after Bonds was
indicted, is expected
to be called to testify
if Bonds' case goes to
trial. Anderson maintains
he will refuse to testify
if ordered, meaning he
could return to prison.
Bonds, who has not
signed with a team for
the 2008 season, posted
a message on his Web
site Thursday, but did
not mention his criminal
"I have been getting a
lot of e-mails asking what
I've been up to this past
offseason. This winter
has been the first time in
my career that I've had
the chance to take time
for myself and really
enjoy the time off. While at home
with my family I have been able to
work out of my office concentrating
on my various companies, attending
meetings as well as making a few
business trips," Bonds said in a
posting on barrybonds.com.
"I continue to work out and feel
in great shape. Thank you again for
your continued support for me and
my family; it truly helps keep me
strong."
Pittsburgh Penguins made before
the trade deadline; both teams are
now heavily favored to make it to
the finals. The two teams picked
up some of the biggest stars in
the league available before the
deadline
The Dallas Stars picked up Brad
Richards and a strong backup net
minder in Johann Holmqvist. The
in Brad Richards, to a line up
already deep with goal scorers and
talent. In addition, giving Marty
Turco a talented back up in Johann
Homqvist basically solidified the
Stars as the team to beat in the west
They only gave up older players
in Jeff Halpern, and Jussi Jokkinen.
It seems as if the St;
"keeping with the Jo)
Mainly
focusing on
Dallas and
the Penguins
This was
one of the
busiest NHL
trade deadline
days in
recent years
the Sharks and Red Wings went
out and acquired puck-moving and
offensive-minded defensemen in
Brian Campbell and Brad Stuart.
In the Eastern Conference, the
Penguins, who acquired
Marion Hossa (considered the
"crown jewel" of the trade), finally
secured a high-scoring winger.
Interestingly, the Penguins were not
even thought of to be in the hunt
for Hossa, but when they failed to
acquire Mats Sundin they shifted
their attention to Hossa.
This trade puts the Pens over
Ottawa, Philadelphia and the New
Eagles make trade
PHILADELPHIA (AP)
Philadelphia Eagles got the defensive
playmaker they desperately needed,
signing free-agent cornerback
Asante Samuel to a six-year contract
on Friday
Samuel, an All-Pro and Pro
Bowl selection this past season,
spent the last five seasons
with the New England Patriots
and had 16 interceptions the
last two seasons. The Eagles
wasted little time making an offer,
reportedly worth up to $6O million,
on the first day of free agency.
"We regarded Asante as the No.
1 available free agent in the NFL,"
Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie said.
The Eagles badly needed a
shutdown corner like Samuel.
Philadelphia had only 11
interceptions last year and failed
to score a defensive touchdown.
Its defense had an NFL-worst 19
takeaways.
Samuel, a fourth-round draft
pick in 2003, also tied the NFL
career playoff record with three
interceptions returned for TDs
Samuel, who won two Super
Bowl rings, has 22 career
interceptions. He was protected
by New England last year by the
franchise player tag.
"I just want a chance to be able
to win and get back to the Super
Bowl," Samuel said.
Samuel tied Denver's Champ
Bailey for the NFL lead with
10 interceptions in 2006 and
returned two more picks for
touchdowns in the postseason
against the Jets and Colts. His
s were
es', as both
By DAN GELSTON
Associated Press Sports Writer
York Rangers, making Pittsburgh
the team to beat in the East. One
can only imagine how good the
Penguins will be when Crosby and
Roberts return.
Many in Pittsburgh are dreaming
of the Stanley Cup.
Where as most of the other teams
in the Atlantic Division where not
as busy. The Flyers were the only
impact during
the trade deadline. They taded for
journeyman winger Vaclav Prospal.
A nice addition to a depleted team
but no Peter Forsberg.
Forsberg is the hope the Flyers
were expecting but that hope turned
out to be a false one.
Forsberg, who was taking some
time off from the NHL to play
in Sweden under his father and a
chance to rehab
that foot of his.
Philadelphia
was under the
impression that
he was going
to return to the
Flyers and
help them in
their playoff
hunt.
With the Flyers
being depleted
by injury and in
many peoples'
opinions
realizing he
would need to
save the season
for the most part
in Philly opted for an easier time in
Colorado.
Even if it doesn't work, the worst
Colorado is out in $1 million.
This gives a chance to bring back
that nostalgia from the late 90's
and early 2000's of Colorado
winning and this could prove to be
the reuniting of the best forward
combination since Lemieux and
Jagr.
Based on past player performance
and recent trends it would seem that
Dallas acquired the most from the
NHL deadline deals.
Only time will tell who is the best
and benefited the most.
12 total interceptions in the 2006
regular season and playoffs were
the highest combined single-season
total in Patriots history.
The move means the Eagles will
likely trade or shift positions for
either Lito Sheppard or Sheldon
Brown.
Sheppard, a two-time Pro Bowl
selection, is reportedly unhappy
with his contract. The Eagles
denied a report earlier this month
that Sheppard had asked for or been
given permission to seek a trade.
He signed a five-year extension in
November 2004.
Eagles coach Andy Reid said
Samuel will be the starting left
cornerback, or, what was Sheppard's
starting job.
"When you have an opportunity to
get the best one in the business, then
you need to look at that," Reid said.
Samuel hoped Sheppard and
Brown would be on the roster
and felt the trio could give the
Eagles perhaps the best secondary
in the NFL.
When asked if he felt
underappreciated in New England,
Samuel declined to comment.
He said the Eagles were on
the top of a list of four teams he
considered visiting. After the Eagles
gave him a hard sell on the first
day free agents could sign, Samuel
decided to stay in Philly.
"When you come to one that makes
you happy, why wait around?"
Samuel said.
Samuel is the latest in a line of
former New England Super Bowl
winners who have moved on, joining
Deion Branch, Adam Vinatieri,
David Givens and Daniel Graham.