That’s right, everyone’s favorite interestingly-named Penn State wrestler finished a perfect run at the 2010 Big Ten Championships to bring a title to Happy Valley.


Read on to learn more…

While most of us are thinking of sand and sunscreen for Spring Break, the Penn State Icers are thinking of ice and trophy polish. They are heading to Chicago to play in the ACHA Division 1 Men’s Hockey National Championships with hopes of bringing home some hardware instead of a nice tan.


Throughout this season, the Icers have compiled a 27-4-1 record while winning the ESCHL regular season and tournament titles. Now there is only one thing left on their preseason to-do list: Win a national championship.


Penn State received the #2 seed in the national tournament and play the SUNY-Canton Kangaroos in the first round on Saturday. If they prevail over the marsupials on skates, they will play the winner of Oklahoma and Central Oklahoma on Sunday.


It will truly be a grueling stretch for the guys who will have to win 4 games in 5 days in order to claim their stake as the #1 team in the country. But after not being in the national championship game the last 2 years after making at least an appearance the previous 10 years, you can be sure that the barbarians on ice will be hungry to bring home a title (and not drunken beach stories) to State College.

In a project that rivals in confidentiality only with that of the Manhattan Project, the Paternoville Coordination Committee has decided to undertake a mission of putting together the history of Paternoville. The intent of this project seems to go beyond the advent of the modern-day Paternoville which was founded in 2005. They would like to hear stories from its unnamed predecessor. The PCC website had this to say:

The PCC asks for your assistance in compiling information on how Paternoville has grown from the first few camp outs way back in the day (the unofficial beginnings of camping are contested, and could be as early as the 1970s) to the current form. An initial list of over 100 sources has been compiled and the first round phone calls and e-mails should be going out within the next 24 hours.

I contacted Chris Grassi, webmaster of the PCC, and he said that he was keeping this project “pretty close to the chest.” He sent out the first contacts on Sunday and, as of Thursday, he had received about 20 responses. He also said that he would continue to do this until he felt he had the quantity and quality of information needed for presentation.


More on that after the jump.

That’s right, ladies and gentlemen. LaVar Arrington, one of the most astounding products of Linebacker U is now part of the blogosphere.


In what our very own Publisher has called “Kanye-caliber” writing, Arrington has been sharing his thoughts on everything from D.C. Sports to Tiger Woods on the site since February 20th. He could use a proofreader and tends to slip into TYPING IN ALL CAPS, but otherwise it’s a great resource for tapping into the mind of a former Nittany Lion.

Congratulations to the Women’s Track and Field team, who won their second-ever Big Ten Indoor championship over the weekend.

Trailing in the team standings for much of the afternoon, the Lions screamed into first place with two events remaining, thanks to a 25-point haul in the 200-meters led by a victory from [Junior Shavon] Greaves.

Women’s track and field will have a chance to go to the NCAA Championships this Friday and Saturday during “Last Chance Weekend.”

Day in and day out, my inbox gets flooded with hate mail. “You suck, Mark” they all tend to start. “We don’t care about this crap you write about! I don’t need to know Jared Odrick’s pro potential. WHAT. ABOUT. THE PANTS.”


And now, for the (fictional) people who are just dying to know about football pants, the Penn Stater has provided. In two videos you’ll find after the jump, they interviewed Facilities Coordinator Kirk Diehl about how they get those football pants so clean.

Quick! Stop pouring lighter fluid on that #14 jersey! Anthony Morelli is at the NFL Scouting Combine to work out for pro scouts, hoping to jump-start his football career. He was last employed by the Arizona Cardinals, who cut him after signing him as an undrafted free agent in 2008.

“I’ve gotten bigger, faster, stronger,” Morelli told The Associated Press. “I think the chances are pretty good, I just need to get in front of some people.”

That’s all well and good, but remember that the common knock of Morelli was his decision-making. I recall hearing “Morelli has all the tools, he just needs the right quarterbacks coach to teach him” so much that it would appear in my dreams. Now perhaps it was a lack of elite athleticism that kept him from playing, but I’m willing to bet that if that was an issue, it was one of multiple.


Either way, good luck to the quarterback that was so embattled at Penn State that he was sent death threats. As long as he stays far, far away from my team of choice, I hope he finds a roster spot. If this doesn’t work out, he’s going Uncle Rico on all of us.

Penn State graduate Allison Baver just won the Bronze medal in the 3000m Short Track Relay in Vancouver. The medal was awarded after a controversial disqualification of the winning Korean team. The Americans were in a distant fourth, but after it was determined the Koreans made illegal contact with the Chinese team, the Americans were bumped up to a third place finish.


Congrats Allison!  Maybe you’ll be Grand Marshall of next year’s Homecoming celebration?

You read right, Joe Paterno’s iconic eyewear was auctioned off, garnering a high bid of nine THOUSAND dollars Saturday.


The thick-rimmed glasses, which JoePa can now spare, were claimed by Penn State graduates Michelle and Kevin Coppola during WPSU’s 18th Annual Connoisseur’s Dinner and Auction at the Nittany Lion Inn. I congratulate them on having to say “be careful with those!” to house guests for the rest of their lives.

We’ve already expressed our excitement at the possibility of the University of Texas being the twelfth member of the already-misnomered Big Ten. The allure of playing the most valuable team in College football was enough to convince many that this was a good idea, but not everyone is on board.


Thankfully, the internet has provided – a writer simply calling himself “Frank The Tank” has penned an exhaustive argument for the move, a “Template for Shooting Down Any Argument Against Texas Going to The Big Ten.” We’re still waiting on Ron Burgundy’s analysis on how to get Nittany Lion Basketball to the NCAA tournament.

Mere hours after we posted about a call for Ed DeChellis’ firing, Penn State Men’s Basketball wins its first conference game of the season, snapping a 12 game losing streak. So who did they take down? Never-been-to-the-tournament-but-hopeful Northwestern.

David Jackson and Chris Babb scored 20 points each as Penn State snapped a 12-game losing streak with an 81-70 victory over Northwestern on Wednesday night, dealing perhaps a fatal blow to the Wildcats’ NCAA tournament chances.

While the win doesn’t get us out of the bottom of the Big Ten, it’s much better than losing thirteen games in a row. It’s not like they can tank the rest of the season for better odds in a draft lottery. So we’ll be content if the team turns things around to muster “bad season” instead of “worst season ever.”

Remember the guy that nearly crushed Talor Battle in a post-game, passionate man hug? He’s writing his own Penn State Basketball Blog, Battle Does It Again.


Now, we don’t cover Men’s Basketball as much as we could here, mainly because we don’t have a beat writer and many of you would get tired of me repeating “wow, this is a very bad team” over and over. But for those of you who are curious about the “State of the Program,” read on for an excerpt that sums it up nicely.

Here at Onward State, we no longer run our This Week In Penn State Sports feature. For those of you who miss it – thankfully, GoPSUSports.com does the exact same thing on its YouTube Channel.


It’s a great resource for highlights – this week’s edition features footage of Wrestling, Basketball, Gymnastics, Lacrosse, and more.

If you didn’t have a reason to watch the Winter Games already, American short track speedskater Allison Baver is representing Penn State in Vancouver. Baver, who was profiled in the Collegian last Friday, will be competing in events the 20th, 24th, and 26th.


Check out her website so your commentary can be more in depth than blurting out “look at that hot chick that went to my school!”

It was reported yesterday that Head Football Coach Joe Paterno had eye surgery in Philadelphia after he had some difficulty reading. The procedure was a success, and Paterno no longer needs his iconic “coke-bottle” glasses. Instead of eschewing eyewear entirely, he will be wearing glasses with thinner lenses, as he “feels strange” without them. Given that he’s now wearing glasses he doesn’t absolutely need, it’s safe to conclude he’s only a scarf, a sleeve tattoo and a derisive comment about mainstream music away from being Hipster JoePa.