I Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2010 Olympics Figure skating, snowboarding, speedskating. Alpine skiing 8 p.m., NBC NCAA Basketball Michigan State at Indiana 7 p.m,, ESPN Michigan at lowa 9 p.m., BTN NBA Miami at Philadelphia i p.m., CSN Medal Tracker Country; Gold, silver, bronze (total) United States: 2,2, 4 (8) France: 2,0, 2 (4) Germany: 1,3, 0 (4) Canada: 1,2, 1 (4) To read full stones: psucollegian.com Challenging schedule readies team sooner Fewer days off between tougher games is keeping the Lions focused on a game-to-game basis. Penn State hits road for Big Ten title meet The Lions head to Purdue to compete in the Big Ten Championship meet Feb. 17- 20. Penguins’ affiliate seeking move to SC The Johnstown Chiefs are seeking pei mission from the ECHL to relocate to South Carolina starting next year, the team announced Monday. The decision to explore relocation was reached solely because of economic con cerns. Entering last Sunday's home game, average atten dance was below 2.000 per game. Chiefs ownership says it's willing to assist any potential ownership group that wnuld keep professional hockey in Johnstown. Magic center Howard taking heroic stance After sparring with Shaquille O'Neal over who is entitled to the Superman nickname. Dwight Howard diffused future run-ins with O'Neal by dubbing Shaq the true Clark Kent. "I would like, instead of people fighting over a nick name, for us to be able to talk about what it's like to win a championship. Just little tilings that him being who he is can help me," Howard said on TNT. What a refreshing stance by a global role model. In a league riddled with prima donnas and immature, overpaid athletes, seeing Howard respect the history of the game speaks volumes for the likeable 24-year-old. For more of our thoughts, and to share yours, visit the MAKE PLAYS blog at psucol legian.com. Q: True or False: The Indiana men’s basketball team has never won the Big Ten tournament. Monday s answer Leßron James leads the NBA in scor ing at the All-Star break with 29.9 points per game. Lions’ practice stays upbeat Nittany Lions' 0-12 start to confer ence play. But in order to snap their losing streak, he said doing their best not to let it affect the team's spirit in practice will be essential. “At times it's hard, but you just have to remember what drew you to the game,” Jackson said. “It's not easy when you lose, but you , a , ... . , have to keep that level of fun or Alter about live Jackson said it isn t always easy excitement for basketball" minutes of the same, junior for- to ignore the elephant in the Bryce This season more than ever the ward D.J. Jackson, who had just Jordan Center gym that is the Lions have tried to focus on the By Andrew J. Cassavell COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER Steve Kirkpatrick was on the court early for Monday's basket ball practice, shooting 3-pointers, moving a step or two to the side, receiving a pass MEN’S and squaring up BASKETBALL for the next one. .... I Seth Wescott of the United States goes airborn during the first round snowboard cross at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics on Monday. Wescott's teammate. Bode Milier, became the first American to win three medals in Alpine Skiing at the Olympics after he took home the bronze Monday in the men's downhill. The i U.S. remains the leader in the medal count, with eight to its name as of press time. Crowell sees energy increase, sets sight on first Big Ten win Despite being winless in Big Ten bouts this year. Dave Crowell is hopeful his time is coming. By Brendan Monahan COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER Dave Crowell sees his oppo nents are bigger than he is on match day, and though he hasn't won a Big Ten WRESTLING bout. Crowell —= doesn't worry. "Most guys get weaker as the season goes on," Crowell said Saturday after losing 6-5 to Michigan State's TVler Dickenson Friday. "I'm getting stronger." While his opponents have to cut weight. Crowell said he doesn't miss a meal. Thanks to that model. Crowell sees his energy increas ing. And as his strength grows, Crowell's shots can only become more effective. On Friday, Crowell came one point away from winning his first Big Ten match but failed to finish his shots, something both he and Penn State coach Cael Sanderson emphasized after the bout. Crowell's last takedown attempt of the night could have given him the victory over Dickenson. The Nittanv Lion grappler took hold of Dickenson's two legs with the Spartan wrestler turned on his side, but Crowell found his head stuck underneath Dickenson’s leg before the Lion 197-pounder gained control. With both wrestlers already on the mat, no points were awarded. “He was a pretty strong kid,” Crowell said. "I couldn't pop my head out." With Dickenson’s riding-time point, the Michigan State grappler walked away with a one-point win. come out of the locker room. snuck up behind Kirkpatrick and failed on a playful effort to block his shot. Kirkpatrick proceeded to drain a 3 and amicably DeChe || is stare Jackson down. Asit Mishra/Collegian Penn State’s Dave Crowell (left) tries to escape Michigan State’s Tyler Dickenson's grasp during their 197-pound bout Friday night at Rec Hall. Crowell said he needs to fight bet ter from the bottom and finish his shots to start winning. The red shirt sophomore moved up a weight class from 184 to 197 pounds this season, which has led to a weight disadvantage between him and his opponents. Crowell thinks the weight difference is a part of the reason why he isn't get ting more takedowns. Because he is smaller, Crowell gets stuck underneath his opponents, as he did on Friday, and he and the coaching staff have been working on how to avoid that. "The hard part is getting in," Crowell said. "I did the hard part, and then, for some reason. I could n't finish." Sanderson said Crowell can build off his match with Dickenson because it was closely contested but thinks Crowell needed to find a way to score on his last takedown attempt. “He had a lot of opportunities to Associated Press photo score [Friday] because of nice shots," Sanderson said, “but you have to finish them and get the points." Teammate and fellow 197- pounder Clay Steadman knows how difficult it can be wrestling bigger opponents. Steadman said he grapples heavyweight Cameron Wade at practice and has taken Wade down only once since Jan. 1. Because heavier opponents are bigger, it becomes more of a challenge to score. But Crowell remains confident. “I feel I can get in on anybody," Crowell said. “I just have to do a better job of finishing." To e-mail reporter: bjmsl46@psu.edu O Check Back Points to see where several Nittany Lions rank in the Rating ON THE Percentage Index (RPI): BLOG psucolleglan.com The Daily Collegian next game instead of the big pic ture their worst start to confer ence play since joining the Big Ten. During practice. Jackson said, sometimes he senses past Big Ten games taking precedent over the next one. When that happens, he makes a point to give a player feed back pertaining to his game either positive or negative. See PRACTICE. Page 12. Andrew Ott has a partially separated labrum | SPORTS, Page 10. Snow could cancel tourney By Stephen Hennessey COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER With two massive snowstorms hitting the East Coast last week, the status of the Penn State baseball team s opening tourna ment might be BASEBALL in question. Long\v o o d University's field, located in Farmville. Va.. is | the site of the | Nittanv Lions' | scheduled ; games Saturday and Sunday Wine against Coppin State and Longwood. respective ly. As of Monday, the field would not have been in condition to play. Longwood media relations director Greg Prouty said. Prouty said the possibility of playing this weekend might be up in air. but a decision would be made later in the week. Lions coach Robbie Wine said this weekend's trip would be important to get the team's first road trip out of the way. Getting the details of meal money and some of the routine things that road trips entail would be beneficial with a roster that consists of seven true fresh men and three transfers, he said. "I'm tempted that even if there's a chance that we may not play, just to go and get all that out of the way." said Wine, whose team went 25-26 last season. “Baseball is a routine. You want to get in a routine, and you go to some of these places and you can't." Virginia Department of Transportation spokesperson Paula Jones said the Farmville area received a "considerable amount of snowfall" in back-to back snowstorms in the past week. She said there was probably about 6-8 inches of snow remaining on the ground in Lynchburg, about an hour from Longwood. The Lions are scheduled to play three Big East teams Cincinnati, Seton Hall and Notre Dame the following week in the Big Ten/Big East challenge at Clearwater and St. Petersburg, Fla. While practices and scrim mages indoors at Holuba Hall and batting practice sessions at Medlar Field present prepara tion challenges. Wine praised his team’s work ethic. He said the players have been two-to-three weeks ahead of schedule because of better individual off season preparation than past teams. "No excuses, if we don't play this weekend, then that means that a bunch of other schools didn’t play this weekend," Wine said. “You just deal with what's handed to you, and I think that's a strength of this team. We don't look ahead." Lions senior second baseman Louie Picconi said this year's squad is a close-knit group dedi cated to improving its skills. Some of his teammates have been known to stay and hit balls until midnight, he said. “We're a close group of friends, even the pitchers too and the position players," Picrm i said. “That’ll help us in the long run for the season. " To e-mail reporter: sihso37@psu.edu
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