THE DAILY COLLEGIAN ets drop season opener to Ravens By Barry Wilner ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. The Baltimore Ravens gave the New York Jets some hard knocks real ones. The Jets intrigued audi ences in the pre season with their no-holds-barred, ei behind-the scenes TV show, %O r but it was the Baltimore Ravens who grabbed the spot light Monday night. They held New York to 176 New York yards, six first downs, allowed Mark Sanchez just 74 yards passing and kept Rex Ryan's crew out of the end zone. Devils fined $3 million by NHL, lose 2 draft picks By Tom Canavan ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER NEWARK, N.J. The cost of signing Ilya Kovaichuk got even more expensive for the New Jersey Devils. The NHL fined NHL the Devils $3 mil li( Monday ion on donday and took away two high draft picks over the next four years for sign ing Kovalchuk to a 17-year, $lO2 million contract in July that cir cumvented the league's salary cap. In handing down what might be his harshest penalty for a team salary-cap violation, Commissioner Gary Bettman forced New Jersey to forfeit a first round pick sometime over the next four years and a third-round pick next year. Devils president and chief exec Roster From Page 8 came away impressed, specifical ly pointing out the defensemen as a strength. Four freshmen made the team, including forward Michael McDonough, center Andrew Duvall, defenseman Ryan Seibolt and goalie Matt Madrazzo. O'Brien said they will be expected to step up and play right away as key players from last sea son are starting the season injured. Junior forward Nick Seravalli and sophomore forwards Dominic Morrone and George Saad will all start the season Tackling From Page 8 . they all seemed so repetitive. A It was something he said the gonna wrap, then that's one of the game's opening play. "No matter who the running frustrated. Bradley rehashed defense will work on this week in things he does. He gets a lot of The tackling was poor from back is, we have to tackle and we "poor tackling" in almost every practice. yards after he gets hit." start to finish against Alabama, have to fly around the ball, and we response he gave. The Penn State linebackers Linebacking units often lead the Colasanti said, and it wasn't sound have to gang tackle," Colasanti "You gotta hustle, you gotta struggled Saturday, consistently team in tackles, but Saturday's top against Youngstown State, either, said. tackle, you gotta get off blocks," he allowing Richardson yards after linebacker, Chris Colasanti, fin- when poor pursuit angles allowed "We have to be better on said. contact, which put Alabama in ished fourth. for an 80-yard screen pass touch- defense as a whole." "If you don't do those things it short yardage situations on sec- Only Colasanti and Michael down in the first quarter. doesn't matter what you're doing." and and third down Smith From Page 8. game high and freshman quarter- back Rob Bolden looked toward Add his speed to the mix, and ability came when he slipped the sophomore several other the Lions believe he's a valuable through the Tide secondary and times. asset to an offense that has gotten caught a 17-yard pass from The speedster provides a threat off to a sluggish start. Bolden. With his 5-foot-7, 157- to opposing defenses, switching "Just the same thing," Smith pound build, the sophomore does- back and forth between receiver said when asked about how the n't believe he has trouble releas- While Smith plans on using his and running back, which he show- Lions aim to use him in the corn- ing off the line as he felt he held his versatility in various ways this To e-mail reporter: aass22o@psu.edu For those urging the Jets to put up or shut up, well, it was Baltimore that produced most of the highlights in a sloppy opener of New York's new home. The $1.6 billion New Meadowlands Stadium rocked with J-E-T-S chants, then the Ravens rocked Ryan's defense with enough big plays to silence the crowd of 78,127 if not the talkative coach and his players. Billy Cundiff's 25-yard field goal in the third quarter provided the winning points, with Anquan Boldin, Baltimore's main offsea son acquisition, gaining 65 yards on two passes against first-round draft pick Kyle Wilson. Boldin made the kind of impact the Ravens sought with seven receptions overall for 110 yards, at times toying with the Jets' vaunt ed secondary. utive Lou Lamoriello insisted the team didn't break the rules. "We were today advised of the ruling by the commissioner with respect to the Kovalchuk matter," Lamoriello said in a statement. "We disagree with the decision. We acted in good faith and did nothing wrong. We will have no further comment." It was not immediately clear if the Devils can appeal the ruling. The NHL had the right to disci pline the Devils after arbitrator Richard Bloch ruled on Aug. 9 that Kovalchuk's free-agent contract constituted a circumvention of the NHI.INHLPA collective bargain ing agreement. The league's biggest problem with the deal was that the 27-year old Russian star was to be paid only $550,000 in each of the final six years. The $3 million fine will not count recovering from injuries. Another new face is junior defenseman Kevin Miller, who transferred from Robert Morris (Pa.). He came away particularly impressed with Seibolt. "'Seabiscuit' is a big body that throws his weight around," Miller said. "Once he gets his feet under him, I think he's going to be a physical presence back on the blue line." While the Jeers roster may be set, team leadership is still in question. Balboni said he plans to get feedback from the team before choosing captains and assistant captains next week One skater, junior forward Paul Daley, feels he is ready to assume a leadership role. Bradley attributed the inability "We did too much arm tackling," to bring runners down to defend- Bradley said looking back "We ers "catching" and not ."hitting didn't hit them in the mouth. We through" their opponent. gotta get involved. If you're not cased against Alabama. He ran to ing weeks. "Just open space own against a physical Alabama season, as he also returns punts, the right and recorded a seven- opportunities to get me in open defense, but the grind of a full sea- as a wide receiver he understands yard run on one play, and during space to make a move on a son could wear on him. that unless he catches the passes the same drive, caught a 10-yard defender." However, the Lions have other Bolden is firing, his speed won't pass near the left side of the field. Evidence of Smith's big play quick players on the roster such make a difference. SPORTS So did tight end Todd Heap, who caught six passes from• a cool Joe Flacco for 72 yards. The beginning was fiery, as expected, with Ray Rice and Shaun Ellis woofing at each other before kickoff. But it turned into a slopfest, as many of the openers were this weekend, with the Jets looking particularly undisciplined by drawing 14 penalties for 125 yards. They also were 1 for 11 on third downs. New York's six first downs tied a franchise-low set in 1976. The beginning was fiery, as expected, with Ray Rice and Shaun Ellis woofing at each other before kickoff. But it turned into a slopfest, as many of the openers were this weekend, with the Jets looking the most undisciplined. against the Devils' salary cap, a decision the league and the NHL Players' Association reached ear lier this month in working out an amendment on long-term con tracts. That amendment paved the way for the league to approve a 15-year, $lOO million contract that the Devils and Kovalchuk reworked after Bloch's arbitration ruling. The NHL said it now considered the matter closed and will have no further comment, including any thing on its disciplinary action. The Devils have the right to choose what year they will forfeit their first-round pick, but they must tell the league by the day after the Stanley Cup finals in that year The Devils originally signed the high-scoring left winger to what would have been a landmark deal in July. It would have kept "I came into the season think ing I would want a part of leading the team, but now I definitely want to be the main leader on this team," Daley said. "I want the 'C' this year. I just feel that I'm ready, I can and I have the respect of my peers." The Icers will now practice as they head towards the Sept. 24 Blue and White game. "I think guys will be competing for spots every day in practice and that's always a good thing," Daley said. "It's just going to make everyone better and work that much harder. It can only mean good things as we move along this season." To e-mail reporter: acbsls2@psu.edu Mauti finished with more than Colasanti, a senior in his first To e-mail reporter: ajcs23B@psu.edu New York's usually fierce defense sacked Flacco on Baltimore's first offensive play, forcing a fumble recovered by Sione Pouha. The Ravens' equally intense D held firm, and Nick Folk kicked a 23-yard field goal. Pouha grabbed another fumble later in the quarter, by Willis McGahee, and Flacco was picked off by Antonio Cromartie on a side line pass at the New York 3. The cornerback, acquired in a trade with San Diego to further bolster a secondary that features All-Pro CB Darrelle Revis, got a terrific block from his partner on a 66-yard runback to the Baltimore 31. Two plays later, Shonn Greene lost the ball he touched it only one more time the rest of the night and dropped a pass and Baltimore embarked on an "We disagree with the decision. We acted in good faith and did nothing wrong." Kovalchuk under contract until he was 44. The league immediately reject ed the deal, noting that paying the Russian All Star such a low salary in each of the final five years violated the league's salary cap because it drove down New Jersey's annual salary cap hit. The players' association filed a grievance against the league, but Bloch sided with the league after hearing from both sides. The Devils and Kovalchuk reworked the contract and settled on the revised 15-year deal earlier this month. Reaction From Page 8 Michiganttate, Minnesota, Ohio State and Wisconsin as the sixth member of the Big Ten confer ence the minimum number of teams needed in a conference to receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament at the end of March 2011. The Big Ten has long coveted hockey because of its successful television network, and adding Penn State would only likely help the cause. Happy Valley is not the only place that is excited to hear about the potential jump in collegiate ice hockey. four tackles at linebacker, as Bani year as a starter, said one of the Gbadyu and Nate Stupar didn't defense's main problems is fight make much noise defensively, and ing off blocks and swarming to the Gerald Hodges was injured on the ball. as Shawney Kersey and Chaz "Some of the balls he threw we Powell who provide matchup trou- didn't catch," Smith said. "You ble against the opposition and can have to catch every ball he throws provide a different element to the and it's not gonna be perfect, but offense. we have to catch it." TUESDAY, SEPT. 14, 2010 I 9 impressive 11-play, 76-yard drive for a 7-6 halftime lead. Of course, it was aided by Jets mistakes, the worst of which were Braylon Edwards a wide receiver, of all things running into Cundiff on a field goal attempt, giving the Ravens a first down to prolong the possession, and rookie Kyle Wilson's pass interference on T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the end zone. McGahee scored from the 1 with 6 seconds left, but New York wasn't done committing penalties. The Jets were offside on the extra point and had 10 penalties for 100 yards in the opening half. They weren't any more efficient in the second half. But they did get Folk's 48-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter to make it 10-9. Even then, however, they wasted a 22-yard punt return by Jim Leonhard to the Baltimore 35. Lou Lamoriello Devils president and chief executive The NHL approved it after agreeing with the players' associ ation on the amendment covering long-term contracts. With 338 goals and 304 assists in 642 career NHL games, Kovalchuk was the biggest prize on the free agent market this sea son. He bad 41 goals and 44 assists in 2009-10, a season he split between Atlanta and the Devils, who acquired him in a multiplayer deal in Februaly. The new deal will put a $6.67 million annual hit on the Devils' salary cap and put the team roughly $3 million over the league limit ($59.4 million). It seems Spartan hockey fans in East Lansing, Mich. have heard about the blueprint and are ready to see what soon comes of it. "I know that if Penn State moves to Division I, it would mean a lot for hockey," Michigan State student Dan Rudnik (junior statistics) said. "Right now all the Division I teams are ether in the Northeast or Midwest and if Penn State makes the jump, I think a lot of other schools would potentially follow. "I saw the Spartans win a national championship in 2007 and it was pretty big." To e-mail reporter: gjgso44@psu.edu
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