(Ed. - Oh, right. That. Get paid, Devon. But other than that, meh. JJ)

Devon Still is about to become richer than me. He already has the looks and the skill. Man, how do you compete with that? Answer: You don't.

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Here's Devon still looking pensive waiting for me to hit 75 words so he can move on and collect his money.

Have I done it yet? Nope, fifteen more words. I messed up the picture the first time (BSD Confessional). There, I think we're good now. Oh look, a word counter. That's new.

Here's the new "hype" video from Penn State. I'm interested in seeing what everyone thinks. I'll share my thoughts after the jump

Continue reading this post »

On BTN right now!  That's right... Minnesota's so bad, this thread by itself will beat them.  Boo the gophers.  This is nowhere close to 75 words.  In case anyone was wondering, I'm still #TeamBolden and I'm #TeamDeChellis but I don't mind #TeamChambers.  Are we there yet?  I hope so... let's try this..

Sorry for spamming the fanposts everyone.  Frank O'Brien's "Ghosts of..." feature made a ghost of my fan post as well.

It seems that the consensus pick for the sports bar is the Carpool in Arlington, VA (click for a map and directions).  Carpool's website and menu information can be found here.  Carpool is also very close to two metro stops on the Orange Line (Ballston and Virginia Square).  They're about equidistant, but Virginia Square *may* be a little cheaper since it's one stop closer to the city... unlikely though.  Apparently there's going to be Miller Lite for $2.75 and Yuengling for $3.50... I'm not sure if those are good prices or not.

If anyone would like to run around DC a bit in the morning and early afternoon, I'd be amenable to that as well.

This is going to be the final fanpost about this, so here's all the information:

Who: Whoever wants to come (feel free to invite friends)

What: Penn State Basketball vs. Wisconsin

Where: Carpool in Arlington

When: January 29, 2011.  Game coverage begins at 4 PM

Wear: Penn State stuff, preferably

If you would like a reminder about this event closer to the time, go ahead and put at least your e-mail in this form and I'll sent out a reminder a few days in advance: http://tinyurl.com/DCBSDMeetup1292011

If anyone needs to get in touch with me directly, my e-mail is in my profile link, Twitter is @Adam_Shell

For anyone who has been following the BSD After Dark threads, you all might recognize that I've been sorta sad panda bunny since I moved to Virginia

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But I figure there are enough of us in the DC area that we could mutually pick each other's spirits up... OBVIOUSLY by watching Penn State basketball (sure to pick everyone's spirits up, right?)

Being new to the area, I'm not sure which bars in DC qualify as Penn State sports bars, so I'm counting on the locals to help me out.

I'm thinking January 29th would be a good day to do this... it's a Saturday... PSU Men's bball will be playing Wisconsin and it's the week between the playoffs and the Super Bowl NFL-Wise (sorry to you ProBowl Fanatics)

Anyone is welcome of course, if you feel like making the trip to our nation's capital.  Consider this an official invitation and planning thread.  Hope everyone can make it... but if not, maybe we can do this every once in a while.

So... I'm really busy, and I have a ton of work to do... why not waste time on an open thread?  But not just ANY open thread, 

No, this is the MAACO Bowl open thread!  Penn State implications to this game?  Isn't it obvious?

Well... I'm told that Chris Petersen might announce tonight that he's going to jump from Boise State to serve as the head-coach-in-waiting at Penn State... he's an offensive minded guy, but I'm also told that he'll possibly be serving as the Defensive Coordinator as Tom Bradley and Vanderlinden (as one unit) is going to coach the PSU Men's basketball team, and Larry Johnson is on his way to become the Willard Preacher in waiting.

Think that's seventy-five words yet?  Or should I go post some random excerpt from some Thomas Hardy poem?

I'm going to go with that's already 75 words... hopefully I'm right.

I apologize for the redundancy, but seeing as we have just over 10% of the number of BSDers who participated in the College Pick'em this year, I figured this deserved more visibility.

Here's the pick 'em game for BSD

Group: Black Shoe Diaries 
Password: joepa

Picks need to be in before the first game which is on the 18th (Sat.) at 2 PM.

May the Force be with you.

(For the sake of 75 words...)

For the glory of old State,

For her founders strong and great,

For the future that we wait,

Raise the song, raise the song.

Sing our love and loyalty,

Sing our hopes that bright and free

Rest, O mother dear, with thee,

All with thee, all with thee.

When we stood at childhood's gate,

Shapeless in the hands of fate,

Thou didst mold us, dear old State,

Dear old State, dear old State.

May no act of ours bring shame,

To one heart that loves thy name.

May our lives but swell thy fame,

Dear old State, dear old State.

Soon we know a guiding hand

Will disperse our little band,

Yet we'll ever loyal stand

State to thee, State to thee

Then Rah! Rah! for dear old State,

For our love can ne'er abate!

Ring the song with joy elate

Loud and long, loud and long.

http://www.foxsportsflorida.com/pages/gators_livestream/0

That's the official stream according to gopsusports.com  This is a huge HUGE game for the girls on their quest to 136+... so let's cheer them on, because remember, there are more teams than just football at this school.  Hm... 75 words..

"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

H/T Abe Lincoln

Sure... why not?

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

Let me tell you a story about a guy named Mike. He was one of the most talented athletes this football team had ever seen, and he was pitted against one of the most natural quarterbacks Penn State had ever seen. He was a playmaker… saw the field all the time… but he didn’t get a chance to play quarterback until we needed him to do so. He didn’t complain, he just went and played. Now that man is the only Penn State quarterback to see any real quantity of NFL snaps since one that graduated in 1995. He still doesn’t play quarterback, but he’s legend around here. You might have heard of him... Michael Robinson.  You, Kevin Newsome, could be that man.

Sincerely,

(at least some) People at BSD

/ Yeah I ripped off my own comment from two weeks ago, what of it?

// PS. Matt McGloin, you're going to make one heck of a backup... we might need you, so please stick around

Hi BSD

I don't mean to spam the boards, but like afields16, I'm also heading to Virginia for a job.  I should be there by the beginning week of August and I'm looking for people to meet up with to share in fun, and Penn State camaraderie.  I've already contacted some recent alums through the alumni directory, but I'd like to throw my network wide since I only know four people within an hour of Culpeper and two of them are Florida State fans...

Anyway, let me know if anyone is close to Culpeper or would be willing to meet up near DC sometime... maybe we could get together and head to the Indiana game at FedEx Field as well.

Advice and random suggestions are appreciated.  I'll offer my super-secret SOA stalking techniques in return.

Thanks,

AdamShell

 vs.

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Anyone out there? For those who haven't been keeping up, Ricardo Clark got his pocket picked in the fifth minute and Ghana took it in for a quick goal.  USA has had some chances and Bradley is going to need to make his team step it up at halftime.  Halftime and 2nd half thread here.  Hey, isn't it nice to have football sometime other than the fall?

LOTS of talk today after the Big Ten and TEXAS have had "preliminary exchanges" to have Texas become the 12th team!  If you go back on this blog awhile, you'd notice that many of us at one point said that Texas would be a good fit (over a year ago) but thought it was unlikely.  Well, it looks like we were wrong, and I for one am ecstatic!

How would the conferences break down.  Could Texas become Penn State's new in conference rival?!  This is absolutely amazing, PLEASE discuss this so I can keep getting more excited.

One story here

UPDATE:  Potential conferences?

West             East
    
Minnesota      Indiana
Iowa              Michigan State
Wisconsin       Ohio State
Michigan         Purdue
Northwestern   Penn State
Illinois            Texas

North                 South
    
Minnesota          Indiana
Michigan            Illinois
Michigan State    Purdue
Northwestern      Penn State
Iowa                 Ohio State
Wisconsin          Texas

Ok, so here's how it went down (if I understand correctly).  Florida just signed a killer recruiting class and a lot of defensive recruits were really excited to be there.  Then the day after LOI day... ONE DAY AFTER, Florida's defensive coordinator just up and leaves.  The man who parents entrusted their kids to (since who knows how long Meyer has until he keels over and dies) is now gone.

And what else?  He's moving Aaron Maybin to outside linebacker with the bills

Finally, in the weird world of sports, I got a tweet not too long ago from ESPN saying that a THIRTEEN year old committed to USC.

What the heck is going on?  Skins4ever, can you shed some light on this issue for me?

For those of you who missed last night's action, come with me on a trip down memory lane.  Don't worry, it's ok... I'll be here.

Ed DeChellis has been at the helm of the nittany lion mens basketball program since 03, and now finally and with all sadness i believe it is time for him to leave ad head coach. The team record to date is 8-13 with a record 0-9 in the big ten conference. this is awful! This team has played uninspired except for a few games here and there in the big ten this season and i believe DeChellis time has run out. Now I understand why you kept him as coach this season because you were coming off a NIT Championship and the expectations were a NCAA berth this season. You also had a pre-season conference player of the year candidate coming back in guard Taylor Battle so you wanted to keep that consistency but when they started losing early he should of been let go. butt now that its late in the year, let him finish the year then fire him. If he ends up getting fired i would hire a young and up in coming coach just like UVA did when they hired Tony Bennett away from Washington State.

And now, the rest of our journey can be found here... if it doesn't load at first, try to refresh.  Kick back after the game tonight, relax, and enjoy the thread voted "Most likely to get Stephen Obeng-Agyapong to laugh" by AdamShell.

Oh Skins4Ever, we barely knew ye

I say that it is.  Obviously, it's nothing against DC17, but, as much as I hate to say it, we have a game at Alabama next year, the second game of the season.  It's not like we don't have anything to play for, and I still really would like to go to a New Year's Day bowl-- I just don't want to see Newsome starting his second game in Tuscaloosa.

Thoughts?

Besides... I feel like Clark can (and will) still start the bowl game...

Source: http://voices.idahostatesman.com/2009/11/04/bmurphy/no_incentive_bcs_conference_teams_play_boise_state

WAC commissioner Karl Benson told the Idaho Statesman on Wednesday that Boise State is struggling to schedule a BCS-conference opponent for 2011 — even with the help (and exposure and money) of ESPN behind the effort.

The Broncos are not asking for a return game in Boise. Just one road game. And about 10 teams have turned the Broncos down, according to Benson.

Well that's interesting.  I, for one, would welcome the chance to play Boise State at home.  I can't really see any reason why this isn't already on the schedule. I mean... give me Alabama and Boise State at home in the same season and the SOS debate becomes one of "No quality road opponents" instead of "No quality opponents." 

The article goes on to mention some teams that have open schedules (which is just speculation) but mentions that Penn State's schedule for 2011 is already full.  I think they mean 2010 because here's Penn State's current home schedule for 2011

2011

Sept. 3	TBA
Sept. 10	ALABAMA
Sept. 17	at Temple
Sept. 24	TBA
Oct. 1	at Illinois
Oct. 8	OHIO STATE
Oct. 15	IOWA
Oct. 22	at Northwestern
Oct. 29	PURDUE
Nov. 5	OPEN
Nov. 12	WISCONSIN
Nov. 19	at Minnesota
Nov. 26

at Michigan State

 

Come on Tim Curley.   Give us an early Christmas present... and ample time for Cairo to start thinking up some HATE!

http://www.tomahawknation.com/2009/10/6/1072818/florida-state-blackout-organizer

Florida State fans are making news with their plan to wear black at home against Georgia Tech this Saturday night on ESPN to protest Bobby Bowden.  The measure garnered national attention, and been hailed as "innovative, and strikingly visual."  

The movement has exploded with over 4550 members in the official Facebook Group only 48 hours after its creation.  Creator Andre Roman projects it could easily reach 10,000 supporters before the game.  Organizers expect to have at least half of Florida State's student section to be decked out in black.  

With the recent news that Florida State is close to finalizing a deal with current Offensive Coordinator/ Head Coach in Waiting Jimbo Fisher, allowing Fisher to assume total control of the team, including personnel decisions, I wondered if the plan is still on.  I caught up with Joseph Johnson, one of the movement's top organizers.  Despite effort by some in the university to quash the measure, Johsnon says their passion for a quality college football program will not be silenced.  Continue reading:

Ok guys, let me help you out here.

1.) Florida State is trying to finalize a deal with Jimbo Fisher so that he will essentially be the head coach.  I mean, really, Bowden doesn't do anything anyway, so you're protesting someone who does absolutely nothing?

2.) Black is not strikingly visual.  It's black.