One of the major selling points of Big Ten expansion has been the potential of increased TV revenues due to the subsequent expanded reach of the Big Ten Network. The Big Ten owns 51% of the Big Ten Network and the revenue it gets from subscription fees and advertising is split between all the schools in the conference. With profits reaching $66 million last year, each school in the Big Ten was cut a $6 million dollar check for the 2009 year.
But that's not really the point of this post. What I'm worried about today is that while the increased revenue the Big Ten athletics programs would see is a good thing, shouldn't states that already have universities in the Big Ten right now have access to the network first?
Representative Scott Conklin (D-Centre County) received 316,192 votes in yesterday's Democratic race for lieutenant governor-- his closest opponent, Jonathan Saidel, received 311,538. These are equivalent to, respectively, 35.4% and 34.9% of the total votes.
The race is still too close to call for two reasons. According to the official website, as of 10:10 am this morning, 75 districts had not yet reported voting totals. Moreover, the Centre Daily Times reported this morning that if the final margin is less than one half of one percent of the total number of votes cast, a recount would be automatically triggered in all 67 counties.
Penn State's Board of Trustees voted unanimously on Friday to buy the 1.3 acre site of Kissell Motorsports for $2.6 million dollars. The lot is in Ferguson Township, 9 blocks west of the Atherton and College intersection. The purchase can be viewed in the context of other recent land acquisition-- in 2008 the university acquired a 4.66 acre lot that had been occupied by O.W. Houts, and in 2009 it acquired another property from Craig and Kathleen Kissell.
The university has not yet declared its intentions for the land's long term use, but the building will probably be used by University Athletics staff for the interim. The university has talked around long term expansion plans and has not yet specified what it would build in the far west side of campus.
This past Mother’s Day, Almaz Gebremedhin won the Good Morning America Breakfast in Bed Contest with Emeril Lagasse along with the title of “Woman of the Year.” The single mother of five Penn State students is an Ethopian refugee whose husband left her shortly after the family immigrated to the US. She then began to work three jobs to make ends meet, one of which was at St. Vincent Health center in Erie, where her co-workers nominated her for the contest.
Check out ABC's video introducing her as the winner after the jump.
Finals Week has come and gone. Summer is upon us. As you pack up your car and prepare to leave Happy Valley for a few months, know that Onward State isn't going anywhere.
Just as we have been your go-to source for interesting news about Penn State and the surrounding community throughout the school year, the summer promises more of the same.
Read more after the jump.
As the days grow hotter, so does the Penn State baseball team. The Lions have won their past two Big Ten weekend series against Ohio State and Michigan State, going 5-1 while averaging 14 runs/game during the span, including a 22-5 shellacking of the Spartans this past Saturday. With 10 games left on the schedule, Penn State finds themselves tied for third place in the conference, two games behind first placers Michigan and Northwestern. Their hot streak needs to continue in order to make the Big Ten Tournament, where only the top six teams compete.
One reason for Penn State's success is junior catcher and Johnny Bench Award nominee Ben Heath. Pitchers have not been able to contain him this year, as he is hitting a .383 batting average with 17 home runs and 53 RBIs. He is also masterful behind the plate, sporting a .989 fielding percentage. I was able to ask him a few questions on his accomplishments and this year's team. After the jump: what he had to tell me.