state Page 309 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Florida State Upset North Carolina, But What We Really Learned Is That Walk-Ons Are Expendable
When the clock hit zero at the end of Florida State's shocking 90-57 upset of #3 North Carolina, none of the Tar Heels' star players were on the floor. In fact, they were already in the locker room, as they'd been pulled out of the arena along with the rest of UNC's scholarship players—leaving fi...

Two Brief Phone Conversations With A Very Loud, Gibbering Scott Paterno
Good ol' Scotty. Kind of the black sheep of the Paterno family. Once referred to as a "morbidly porcine man-child." Also a bit of a wingnut, it seems. I called up JoePa's son today to ask him—not his dad—about some information I'd gotten from a source close to the Paternos. I left Scott a polite mes...

Penn State's New President Doesn't Think This Is Penn State's Scandal
Rodney Erickson, the new president of Penn State, is taking questions from concerned alumni this week at a series of townhall-style meetings. Though he's promised a new era of openness and transparency, Erickson displayed plenty of evasiveness and contradiction even before he set out for Pittsburgh...

The Cover Of The New <em>Penn Stater</em> Magazine Is Dark, Demented, And Perfect
The first line of the editor's letter from Tina Hay in the new issue of The Penn Stater makes it clear: "This is not the January/February issue we had planned." And so it is not. The magazine staff had intended to run a cover story on "great concert memories at Penn State." Then the Sandusky story b...

Kwame Brown's Season Likely Over After He Hurt Himself Fouling Someone
An MRI revealed a torn muscle in his chest, so Brown needs surgery that could keep him sidelined for up to three months. The injury happened Tuesday night when he fouled Udonis Haslem. So goes the No. 1 draft pick's reinvention as an arguably useful defensive stopper. [Marin Independent Journal]...

NCAA's "Cecil Newton Rule" Closes A Loophole That Should Have Been Closed 50 Years Ago
Did you know there was a big Cam Newton scandal? It's true! People were getting all mad about it and everything! I know we've all got short memories, and Newton's better known for being Tim Tebow, but black and good, but it was just 14 short months ago that the NCAA was rocked by reports that Newton...

A Week Before He Was Charged With Child Sex Abuse, Jerry Sandusky Watched A Football Game From The Penn State President's Stadium Suite
That's according to what former Nittany Lions linebacker Brandon Short said during an appearance Wednesday afternoon on ESPN's Outside the Lines (audio above). Citing what he called "two independent sources," Short said Jerry Sandusky watched Penn State defeat Illinois from the box that belonged t...

Ousted Penn State Athletic Director And Accused Perjurer Tim Curley Has Lung Cancer
He had part of one lung removed in 2010, and is now being monitored again. Sources told the Patriot-News of Harrisburg that Curley "wanted to keep his situation private, because he didn't want it to appear he was trying to get sympathy as his trial nears." [Patriot-News]...

That Is One Huge-Ass Spartan Tattoo, MSU Redshirt Freshman Special Teamer
Nick Hill has played all of 15 games for Michigan State, mostly as a kick returner. He's feeling good about the team and confident in his job security, because now there's no way he can ever transfer. [It's Always Sunny in Detroit]...

Joe Paterno's Son Will Not Coach At Penn State Next Year
After 17 years spent working under his father, Joe, Jay Paterno confirmed today that he will not be a part of Bill O'Brien's coaching staff in Happy Valley next season. The younger Paterno said he and O'Brien spoke together and "reached the conclusion" that Jay would move on. Sounds peaceful! [AP, J...

Todd Bozeman Is In Trouble Again, This Time For (Maybe) Hitting One Of His Players
That would be the same Todd Bozeman whose once-promising coaching career hit a snag when he was at Cal in the mid-1990s because he admitted he had paid a recruit's family $30,000. The affair kept Bozeman away from the college game for 10 years after the NCAA slapped him with a show-cause penalty, b...

Penn State's New President Is Being Less Than Candid About What He Knew About Jerry Sandusky
Rodney Erickson was named the interim president of Penn State on Nov. 9, the night Graham Spanier resigned in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal. The school lifted the interim tag from Erickson the following week, formally putting him in charge, and soon after he stated his comm...

Jerry Sandusky's Autobiography Helped Police Track Down Additional Victims
In Greek mythology, many apparent protagonists are later forced to face the wrath of the gods for showing excessive pride, arrogance or just losing touch with reality in general. Welcome back to State College, where hubris isn't so much a trait as it is a way of life. On top of being unfortunately ...

Despite Losing The National Championship Game, A Sam Houston State Player Still Says He's "#1"
Congratulations to North Dakota State on their first Division I FCS football champions, even if this unknown BearKats player disagrees. [ESPN2]...

Kansas State Did Not Blow Away Arkansas, But Not For A Lack Of Trying
Your morning roundup for Jan. 7, the day we learned how to make it in this crazy, mixed up city (or cities in general). Got any stories or photos for us? Tip your editors....

LaVar Arrington Is More Upset Penn State Didn't Consult Him Before Hiring A New Coach Than He Was About Penn State Covering Up Child-Rape Allegations
After unleashing a series of venomous tweets last evening in which he declared himself to be "done" with the "corrupt, disgusting" entity that is Penn State University, former Nittany Lion linebacker LaVar Arrington attempted to backtrack today during his radio program on DC's 106.7 "The Fan."...

Was Ron Jaworski The Puppetmaster Behind Penn State's Odd Coaching Hire?
Yahoo's Pat Forde, late of ESPN, had an interesting aside in his column today, a piece otherwise devoted to blasting Penn State for hiring Bill O'Brien, the chin-holed rookie Patriots offensive coordinator, as its new head coach:...

NBC Reporter Charged With DUI After Partying With Jerry Sandusky's Lawyer "Pleaded" With Police Over Blood-Alcohol Test
We told you last month about NBC television reporter Jay Gray's arrest for DUI two nights before Jerry Sandusky's preliminary hearing near State College, Pa. At the time, the Pennsylvania State Police did not release any additional details, but TMZ reported that Gray had been at a party at the home...

I-Team: Why Does New Penn State Coach Bill O'Brien Have A Hole In His Chin?
New England Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien agreed last night to take the head coaching job at Penn State. O'Brien, like Joe Paterno, graduated from Brown and has since coached at Georgia Tech, Maryland, and Duke. He's never before had a head coaching job and ran the Patriots' offense fo...

ShortCenter: How Many ESPNers Does It Take To Tell Us Penn State Has A New Coach?
Eight. Eight ESPNers....