Not really, obviously. And I'm just as anxious as the next person to find out who Penn State decides to hire. But I found this (surprisingly) well-written article on Deadspin:

Why athletes keep chasing head injuries

I honestly don't know how to think about this. I love watching a great hit, but knowing that that hit has come at a price to a player's long-term health takes away from that enjoyment. I don't mean to rehash an old debate, I just thought this was a good article.

Saw this on reddit tonight and thought it was worth sharing:

Letters from Penn State

While I'm not one of the letter writers, I will agree with each and every one of them. I can't imagine sharing a game like Saturday with a better fanbase. So thank you, Nebraska.

To get this to the requisite 75 words, I will share my Nebraska fan experience. Some little kid (maybe around 5-6) was two rows behind me. This kid was born to be a Nebraska fan; pure ginger. Reddest hair I've ever seen. Also had the loudest, shrillest set of lungs I've heard in a while, and knew how to use them. But as persistently loud as this kid was, it was impossible to get mad at him. He was just too damn cute. So there you go Nebraska. Props to being classy, and for brainwashing your fans at an early age.

Ed. - Oh yes, bumped. Stellar work, good sir. JJ

Not sure if anyone caught ESPN’s Yards to Glory feature they did a little bit ago, but if you didn’t, you should check it out. Pretty neat idea, though it didn’t have enough Penn State in it for my tastes. The lack of Penn State, plus a day or two (or three…) of little to do at work led to this. I attempted (emphasis on attempted) to create a Penn State Yards to Glory. After giving it the old college try, fatigue (as well as the reemergence of actual work to do) made me leave it by the wayside. Now that the Actual Football Season is almost upon us, I will be far too busy watching actual football to bother with this anymore, so I figured I’d at least post what I came up with so far. So here you are: Penn State Yards to Glory.

A note before you start: I became a Penn State as a child, and attended my first game when I was in fourth grade, in 1994. So if you are wondering why the majority of these highlights are from the Big Ten era, it’s because that’s what I know. Also, for some reason or another, there seems to be a real lack of HD video shot from the 60s, 70s, and 80s… 

Oh, and HUGE props go out to LBUvideos and vslice02. I used a ton of your videos. And the way Linebacker U keeps pumping out 10 Minutes or Less, I could probably get the rest of the ones I’m missing if I had the ambition.

100 yards - Chaz Powell TD return against Youngstown State

97 yards - Larry Johnson kickoff return against Illinois, 2001

94 yards – DWill kickoff return against Illinois, 2008

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Now I love laughing at Pryor as much as anyone else.  But I was thinking earlier, as I was reading Dr. Saturday's take on Tresselball, about why we actually hate/laugh at him.

Reason 1:  He went to O$U.  Obviously not a problem if he chose us instead.

Reason 2:   His arm punts are fun to laugh at, and his struggle to succeed in Tressel's scheme makes us glad we don't have him.  But what if he came here?  Based on our use of both MRob and Clark, it's not out of the question to assume that we might be able to use him/develop him better.

Reason 3:  He says stupid things.  Real stupid things.  But there's no way he comes out with anything written under his eyes if he plays for JoePa, and he doesn't speak with the media so much either, so maybe by the time he was an upperclassman and had time in the spotlight, he'd have matured slightly and wouldn't sound so...well, retarded.

But that's enough for now.  I'm going to go look at the Failsman and laugh.

As far as I can tell, none of us really care about the Heisman (the obvious exception of course).  And that might be because of the fact the Penn State isn't really the type of program that generates a lot of Heisman buzz.  Maybe if we were USC, or Miami (of old) or whoever, as a fanbase we'd care a lot more.

But when even TWWL themselves say that it's a popularity contest, how can anyone take it seriously anymore?  Barring any sort of crazy unforeseen circumstance, it will be Tebow.  And if not him, then one of the Big12 qbs.  And EVERYONE ALREADY KNOWS THIS.  There's no suspense, and the season hasn't even started yet.  I just don't understand why it's considered a great award anymore.

If I could pick one game to go to this season, it would be this one.  I was at Michigan State in 2005 when we won, and remember thinking about how I wish it was in State College, so we could really celebrate.  Now it is, and to add to that is the fact that it's Senior Day.  More than anything else, even more than being there for the celebration (assuming we win of course), I want to be there to see the seniors run out, and to hear the crowd when they announce their names.  It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it.

Unfortunately, I am 9 hours from State College and won't be able to make it.  If there is ANYONE who could take a video of it, or if anyone knows of anywhere to get a video of it after the game, I would remain indebted to you for a long time.

We Are!!!