8 I MONDAY, Nov. 30, 2009 NCAA Basketball Penn State at Virginia 7 p.m., ESPN2 NHL Pittsburgh at N.Y. Rangers 7 p.m., FSN NFL New England at New Orleans 8:30 p.m., ESPN Philadelphia denies involvement with Al Philadelphia 76ers coach Eddie Jordan says no one has talked to him about Allen Iverson coming to the team. Jordan downplayed reports Sunday of Iverson possibly returning to the city where he became an NBA superstar, saying he hasn't spoken to the recently retired guard and the Sixers are not seriously look ing at any free agents. A source told the Associated Press Saturday the Sixers were approached about signing Iverson. Goodell pens plan for injured players NFL commissioner Roger Goodell reportedly will expand restrictions on returning to games for play ers who sustain head trauma. Fox Sports reported Sunday that Goodell will issue a memo this week to all 32 teams expanding grounds for the removal of a player with a head injury or concussion. The report said that if a player is "woozy, has general dementia or memory loss," Goodell wants him barred from returning to a game. Winless New Jersey fires head coach The New Jersey Nets fired coach Lawrence Frank on Sunday after losing their first 16 games during one of the worst starts in NBA history Assistant Tom Barrise will coach the team Sunday night in Los Angeles against the Lakers, when the Nets could tie the record for the worst start if they lose. The Nets said a permanent replacement for Frank hasn't been determined. Frank was in his sixth full season, the longest-tenured coach in the Eastern Conference and the win ningest coach in the Nets' NBA history. Manning, 11-0 Colts threaten 16.0 mark Not even a 17-point deficit is enough to slow the Indianapolis Colts down. Peyton Manning and the Colts moved to 11-0 after top ping the Texans Sunday, a game in which Houston jumped out to a 17-0 lead early in the second quarter and carried a 20-7 lead into the half. By responding with 28 straight second-half points, Indy showed it cannot be taken lightly in any situation and proved once again it is the team to beat in the AFC, if not in the entire league. With only two games left to go against teams with win ning records (although they play the red-hot Titans next week), watch out for the Colts to possibly match New England's perfect regular season of two years ago. Q: How many deer are expected to be harvested today? Wednesday's Answer. The Lions have won the most Thanksgiving Day games with 35. PSU awarded No. 1 Hodge By Bill Landis COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER What was perhaps the worst kept secret in collegiate sports became official Sunday afternoon as the Penn State women's volleyball WOMEN'S team was named VOLLEYBALL the top seed in the 2009 NCAA Championship. The No. 1 Lions (32-0) are the top seed for the second-straight year Arielle Wilson (second from right) spikes against Indiana earlier this year PECKING ORDER Baltimore Ravens wideout Mark Clayton (right) hauls in a pass in the first half of Sunday night's game against Pittsburgh in Baltimore. In a battle for the second place position in the AFC North, Clayton and the Ravens downed the Steelers in overtime, 20-17. Former players use skills abroad By Emily Kaplan FOP THE COLLEGIAN What Penn State men's volley ball coach Mark Pavlik first saw in Max Holt could be apparent to an one: just a lanky 6-foot-9 kid from Cincinnati MEN'S with a quiet confi- VOLLEYBALL dence and lethal serve. But it didn't take long for Pavlik to see something something extra Matt Proper (right) spikes as a member of an international team and once again will play host for the first two rounds of the tournament. Penn State's first round oppo nent will be the champion from the America East Conference, the Binghamton Bearcats (15-15). The time of the match had not been announced as of press time, but play is slated to start Dec. 4 at Rec Hall. Throughout the season, Penn State stressed the importance of first winning the Big Ten and then See NO. 1, Page 10. in Holt world-class potential. "It was probably about three weeks into his freshman season when I realized how good he could be," Pavlik said. "After that, it was just a matter of time for the mon ster inside him to come out." As Holt developed over four suc cessful years at Penn State he was a two-time first-team All- See ALUM, Page 10. More coverage on the men's volley ball team. 1 SPORTS, Page 12. in lion sweep By Andrew J. Cassava!! COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER With the Penn State women's volleyball team trailing by one point toward the end of its match on Saturday, Russ Rose called a timeout to draw up a play. Had it not been Penn State for the 4,000 plus screaming fans, he may as well have yelled his strategy across Michigan the gym. The coach was setting up three-time All-American Megan Hodge on her Senior Night. But as obvious as it seemed, No. 12 Michigan still couldn't stop Steve Thurston (13) controls the puck during the lcers' 10-1 win against West Virginia earlier this season. Icers fall in finale By Tom Copain COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER The last time the Penn State leers lost in regulation this sea son, it was a one-goal loss to the No. 5 ACHA team in the coun trY That was t e only Penn State regulation loss until Sunday, when a four-goal second period doomed the leers in a 7-4 loss to NCAA Division 111 THE DAILY COLLEGIAN seed shines Hodge as she recorded four straight kills on virtually the same play, catapulting the Nittany Lions to a sweep of the Wolverines and their third consecutive undefeated Big Ten season. "She wanted the ball, and when [senior setter Alisha Glass] had possession of it, I think everybody in the gym knew that it was going to go to Megan," Rose said. "Megan took some huge swings, and I expect nothing less from the two of them." After dominating the first two sets, Hodge helped the Lions rally from a five-point deficit in the final game with a 15-8 run to close the set. The Lions (32-0, 20-0 Big Ten) scored five straight points to take See HODGE. Page 10. Massachusetts-Boston in the PAL/Stovepipe Tournament championship game. "We just shut down with some of our systems, a little bit of a lack in intensity," junior forward Tim O'Brien said. "Some were trying to push the envelope a little bit, trying to make things happen. I think individuals got away from our team aspect that we've been doing for the past couple of week ends." ICERS Penn State (15-2-1) came into See ICERS, Page 10. Samantha M. Shal/Coilegian
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