The Daily Collegian Lions’ wake up call comes one week too late By Audrey Snyder When running back Stephfon Green pounded his hands together and spoke about Penn State get ting its "behinds kicked” during his Alabama ' postgame inter view, it was as if something sud denly set off the junior tailback Green vowed he wouldn’t let the Nittanv Lions turn in the same type ol peii'ormance again as the intensity and anger in his voice grew deeper. “They just woke up a sleeping giant because we re gonna prac tice hard, we're gonna play hard and we’re gonna make sure that this doesn't happen again." Green said. But shouldn't the sleeping giant have woken up before playing the defending national champions on the road? The Alabama game was the Lions' chance to make a name for themselves and to show a nation ally televised audience they were deserving of holding a spot in the top 10. Heat teammates unfazed by shots at Leßron’s status By Tim Reynolds ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER MIAMI When it comes to Leßron James, the Miami Heat are more concerned about W s than Q’s. With training camp less than two weeks away, many of James' new teammates either insist they're not paying attention to the steady stream of critics who con tinue denouncing how the NBA's two-time reigning MVP's made his decision to join the Heat, or say they believe it'll all give him plenty' of motivation for the coming sea son. In the two months or so since James left Cleveland for Miami, his "Q Score' - the measure of how something or someone appeals to a broad audience has taken a big hit. But as long as the Heat put up big wins, no one around the team will likely care, or probably even notice how anyone inside the lock er room is perceived nationally. “We'll take it as a challenge," Heat center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who also left Cleveland for Miami this summer, said Thursday. “We'll get eveiybody's best shot Home games against Kent State and Temple don’t do much to help this team establish its prominence. Who cares if the Lions steam roll the Golden Flashes since the same team couldn’t capitalize on redzone opportunities and score a touchdown against Alabama? After the fee-fi-fo-fum of Green’s words stands a measly Kent State team. It’s a program that went 5-7 last year and failed to qualify for a bowl game. A team that’s so unknown among college football’s ranks that arguably the best athlete to come out of the school is San Diego Chargers’ tight end Antonio Gates, who didn’t even suit up for the football team. Yes folks, the Lions definitely need to break out the pregame smelling salts to get pumped for this one. An expected win against the Golden Flashes means noth ing more than the Lions’ opening weekend pounding of Youngstown State. OK, so Penn State can beat up on the underdog in front of the home crowd, but the next two games aren’t measuring sticks. The Lions won’t have a chance to wake up from the magical sleep they experienced in every game, but that only happens to good teams for a reason. So you have to take the good with the bad and just roll with it. We’ll use it as a motivation, obviously. It’s going to be an interesting year.” James has been working out in Miami at times this summer, but was not part of a voluntary session with several teammates Thursday. He has seen his former No. 23 jerseys burned in Cleveland this summer, been called a quitter by Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, even had his competitiveness ques tioned by Orlando general manag er Otis Smith. And on a Dallas radio show ear? lier this week, outspoken Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said James may have “lost a bil lion dollars in brand equity, give or take a couple bucks here or there.” By now, many Heat players are just starting to tune naysayers out. Or trying to, anyway. "I think they’re making it a big ger deal than what it is,” Miami point guard Carlos Arroyo said of the buzz much of it negative about James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and the rest of the SPORTS Tuscaloosa until they hit the road Oct. 2 to take on lowa. By that time, maybe running back Evan Royster will have rushed for more than 100 yards in a game, or else the fans’ grum blings to give true freshman Silas Redd more carries will grow loud er. But even so, does a 100-yard day against a team that has no business coming to Beaver Stadium other than to collect its participation check mean much? Outside of the people in the Lasch Building, I’d be willing to bet 90 percent of the fans don’t know much about Kent State, other than the university hails from the same state as the Buckeyes. And really, that’s all there is to know about the team. These aren’t well-known names like Alabama’s Nick Saban, TLent Richardson and Greg McElroy, so how the Lions bounce back against this B-league opponent isn’t too meaningful. Yes, the Lions were punched in the mouth against Alabama and out-manned by a physical team, but how they “wake up” and respond against Kent State is not a reflection of what they learned from the 24-3 drubbing. new-look Heat. “We’re going to have a lot of distractions and our focus should be winning a champi onship. That’s why they came here. Other than that, we should n’t focus on what people are talk ing about because we knew there were going to be critics who attacked us that way.” The perception of James differs wildly, depending on perspective. In Miami, before he’s taken a single shot for the Heat, he’s already treated like royally. From a marketing standpoint, James might be bigger than the 2006 NBA title was for the fran chise considering that in the 30 days after he said he was “taking my talents to South Beach,” the Heat sold 30 percent more mer chandise than it did in the 30 days after winning a championship four years ago. So far, the Heat have seen mer chandise sales rise 1,000 percent over last year’s clip, and there’s a long waiting list for James, Wade and Bosh jerseys, with the team awaiting more shipments from Adidas. And the Heat also went through 13,000 tickets for the welcome-to- Miami party for Wade, James and Chloe Elmer/Collegian Alabama’s Darius Hanks (15) runs away from Penn State defenders. The sleeping giant has been asleep for two games now and while a blowout win might help the Lions regroup for the time being, the real response doesn’t come until lowa City. “We’ll use it as a motivation, obviously. It’s going to be an interesting year.” Bosh in less than an hour. “I think everybody’s eager to see how we’re going to jell and how we’re going to progress,” Ilgauskas said. Yet in other markets, James’ popularity needs a rebound. in January, James’ had a posi tive Q Score of 24, and a negative Q Score of 22 meaning 24 per cent of Americans familiar with James listed him as one of their favorite personalities, and 22 per cent said he was among their least-favorites in sports. Now, his positive Q Score num ber is 14. His negative Q Score? 39. “I think it’s probably the biggest negative jump I’ve seen not relat ed to any anti social behavior,” said Herny Schafer, executive vice president of The Q Scores Company. “It was clearly per ceived as a negative move on Leßron’s part.” James’ negative Q Score ranks sixth among athletes. \\ The Daily Collegian Presents The Collegian Chronicles: Hundreds of pages of fun, sports, history and photos of Penn State. Check out The Collegian Chronicles! The Chronicles is a lively look back at the history of Penn State as seen through the pages of The Daily Collegian from 1887 on. We cover national championships, the Heisman Trophy, panty raids, campus unrest and everything in between. Come along for the ride and help Support Collegian scholarships! Find The Collegian Chronicles at Old State Clothing Co. Only $19." All proceeds go to the Collegian Alumni Interest Group Scholarship Fund. Also available at the Old State Store at the Visitors * Center near the Stadium! 101 E. Beaver Ave. OLDSTATE.COM OLD STATE CLOTHING 814-234-1415 Friday, Sept. 17,2010 I 11 Audrey Snyder is a junior majoring in journalism and secondary education and is a football reporter for The Daily Collegian. Her e-mail address is aass22o@psu.edu. Zydrunas Ilgauskas Miami Heat center The only ones with worse nega tive numbers are Michael Vick, Tiger Woods, Terrell Owens, Kobe Bryant and Chad Ochocinco, Schafer said. Schafer said there could be a “slight correction factor” when the NBA season begins, given the old adage that just about everyone loves a winner. “There’s no question that win ning helps,” Schafer said. “But It’s not the only thing that gets taken into consideration when evaluating a celebrity or a personality.” Inside the Heat locker room, James doesn’t have a negative Q Score. Fbr now, especially on the verge of the season, that’s what the team says matters most. “We’ve just got to stay focused,” Heat forward Juwan Howard said. “Keep your eye on the prize and stay together as a team. Stay together, stay one, stay united.”
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