SB Nation User Blog: paul bucci

Great nostalgic article...

paul bucci — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 09:09:15 -0000

Old ESPN article about Williams, Norwood, Butler and King in 2005

Guys- if you have a few free minutes, this is a wonderful and inspiring (still) article about the trio of wonderful receivers who hae no doubt made their everlasting mark on Penn State football. There is also some great Paterno anecdotes and quotes in there, too. Enjoy.

I need about 17 more words, and by my count, I am now at 15. Two more.

Skills Competition

paul bucci — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 22:56:24 -0000

Did anyone catch the college football skills competition on ESPN this afternoon? Jordan Norwood joined Hakeem Nicks, Juaquin Iglesias, Donald Brown and another receiver (can't recall his name) from Cal Poly.

Norwood struggled somewhat in the obstacle course portion, falling on the hurdles, but he still finished 3rd I believe.

But the hands competition was another story...

In the hands competition, each the each receiver is thrown eight footballs from the Jugs passing machines (these things were absolutely rifling footballs at the receivers), and a few more balls throughout a small obstacle course from a quarterback. Norwood was absolutely AUTOMATIC, not dropping a single ball from the Jugs machines or from the quarterbacks. He won each round easily. The best performance from any other receiver included at least 2-3 dropped footballs each round from the machines, and an extra 2-3 seconds to finish the course. He made it look boring and easy.

Hopefully this will help NFL teams to forget about his size and give him a closer look in the draft...

Rose Bowl excitement, pep rally, etc.

paul bucci — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 03:54:25 -0000

Just got back into the LA area after spending Christmas break at home in central PA and found my Rose Bowl tickets awaiting me, and I am beyond excited! Now is the time for Joe Pa and Co. to show that they truly can gameplan and execute in bowl games unlike our Big 10 brethren.

Did anyone else attend the pep rally in Beverly Hills this afternoon? Great turnout- at least 20,000 (30,000 according to Joe Pa's estimate) Penn Staters were there. Let's hope we pack that stadium tomorrow!

Also, a coincidental little anecdote: As I was proceeding through security lines at the Pittsburgh airport on my travels back, the woman employee to whom I handed my ID and boarding pass noticed my sweatshirt and commented "Penn Stater, huh? And you're from California? Are you going to the game?". I answered yes, and she responded with "My son plays on the team, you probably wouldn't know his name... Derek Moye." I assured her that I was a fanatic and that I most certainly knew who her son was, adding that he should be seeing plenty of playing time next year. Small world, huh?

WE ARE!

Since we're on the topic of betting lines...

paul bucci — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 19:36:23 -0000

http://www.covers.com/articles/articles.aspx?theArt=164418&t=0

Someone please tell me how on earth Notre Dame is +1500 to win the NC while we are +1800... Who in the right mind comes up with these lines?! This is absolutely laughable...

ahhh, damn 75-word minimum... word word more words l e t t e r s words CAPITALIZED WORDS lower case words Missppeled Wordz all kinds of words 74 words 75 words

Beavers vs Trojans first quarter thoughts...

paul bucci — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 01:41:34 -0000

Does anyone else get annoyed by the media singing USC's praises year-in year-out 2 and 3 games into the season? Everybody is so ready to crown Mark Sanchez as Heisman God, but I'm unconvinced...

USC's defense is looking at least a step slower than Or State, and sloppy as well. I'm rooting heavily for this upset (hard to do since I live in Southern Cal amidst all the USC faithful).

Also, this game may reinforce my frustration about the media criticizing our OOC schedule. We have played two BCS teams who have historically (i.e. when we added them to the schedule) been tough teams.

...Will they still criticize us for spanking Or State after the Beavs beat the mighty Trojans?? ;)

Big Ten action today

paul bucci — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 18:20:03 -0000

Is anyone watching the other Big 10 games today? Talk about some uninspired football... Ohio State is currently losing 14-12 to Ohio, and looks completely inept. They may be focusing too much too early on USC. Does losing Chris Wells really limit the offense this much? If he doesn't get healthy soon, they could be in trouble... Michigan is not playing Miami OH well at all, either. Let's hope PSU can set the example in a few hours... WE ARE!

Drinking the Kool-aid...

paul bucci — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 18:50:58 -0000

Is it just me, or is this 2008 team shaping up very similarly to the 2005 team?... We'll have the spread offense back in full-effect, a dominating D-line, and a real shot to compete for the Big 10 title. Call me a kool-aid drinker, but I can't help but be giddy with excitement for this season.

I don't know if it's just my Penn State bias, but I really can't see Wisconsin living up to a top-15 ranking where many pollsters have them, and I really believe it is the other way around for this PSU team. At this point I am over my concern at the QB position (with such a strong O-line, Devlin or Clark will have the extra second or two to help them avoid making inexperienced decisions under pressure), and the loss of Sean Lee, while still upsetting, shouldn't impact our defense as much as much people think (except on a leadership level).

This team is very skilled and pretty deep at most positions, and I'm as excited as a 6-year old on Christmas eve.