Free Republic

NEW YORK – Penn State waited two years to play in a bowl game, working through unprecedented NCAA sanctions stemming from the Jerry Sandusky child sexual abuse scandal, and the team’s finale didn’t lack dramatics. The Nittany Lions went back and forth with Boston College this evening at Yankee Stadium in the Pinstripe Bowl, trading big hits and explosive runs until the game required extra possessions. Penn State’s senior class, one that experienced five different head coaches during their collegiate careers, NCAA sanctions and a bowl ban that was lifted early in September, capped their careers with the class’ first...

OKLAHOMA CITY — Megan Courtney and Aiyana Whitney each had 11 kills, and Penn State defeated Brigham Young 25-21, 26-24, 25-14 Saturday to win their second consecutive NCAA women’s volleyball championship. Micha Hancock had 36 assists and five digs for the Nittany Lions. The senior from nearby Edmond won in front of family and friends in her final college match. Her expert setting helped the Nittany Lions neutralize the nation’s No. 1 blocking team. Penn State (36-3) won its sixth title in eight years and No. 7 overall to break a tie with Stanford for the most titles. Jennifer Hamson...

OKLAHOMA CITY -- From a historical viewpoint, it would be easy to describe Saturday night’s NCAA Women’s Volleyball Championship final as a David versus Goliath scenario. Penn State won the 2013 NCAA title. With its victory against Stanford in Thursday’s semifinals, the Nittany Lions advanced to their 10th championship match in 34 NCAA Tournament appearances. Head coach Russ Rose is the Division I wins leader with 1,160. And add to the credentials that PSU won four consecutive NCAA crowns from 2007 to 2010. The other side of the net features a BYU squad that entered the postseason unseeded. The credentials...

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Take nothing away from Texas and BYU, ThursdayÂ’s first semifinal at the 2014 NCAA WomenÂ’s Volleyball Championships, but the feature presentation, the Hollywood extravaganza, the matchup everyone wants to see, is scheduled to begin at 9:30 p.m. Mention Penn State and Stanford in regards to volleyball and you get a history lesson in championships. The story will continue when the 33-1 Cardinal face the 34-3 Nittany Lions with a trip to the finals on the line. The Nittany Lions won the 2013 NCAA championship and four consecutive from 2007 to 2010. Head coach Russ Rose, in his...

Bracket at link Today's regional final games all on espnU: 4PM: Penn State vs. Wisconsin 6:30PM: North Carolina vs. Texas 9:00PM: Stanford vs. Florida 11:30PM: Nebraska vs. BYU

College Football Playoff Bowl Date Location Matchup Prediction Championship Bowl Jan. 12 Arlington, Texas Semifinal winners TBD Sugar Bowl Jan. 1 New Orleans, La. Semifinal Alabama* vs. Ohio State* Rose Bowl Jan. 1 Pasadena, Calif. Semifinal Oregon* vs. Florida State* Selection Committee Bowl Games Bowl Date Location Matchup Prediction Cotton Bowl Jan. 1 Arlington, Tex. At-Large vs. At-Large Baylor* vs. Michigan State* Orange Bowl Dec. 31 Miami, Fla. ACC vs SEC/Big Ten/Notre Dame Georgia Tech* vs. Miss. State* Fiesta Bowl Dec. 31 Glendale, Ariz. At-Large vs At-Large Arizona* vs. Boise State* Peach Bowl Dec. 31 Atlanta, Ga. At-Large vs....

A football player for the University of Arkansas made a political statement during Friday’s game against the Missouri Tigers when he struck the “hands up, don’t shoot” pose used by protesters since the shooting death of Ferguson teenager Michael Brown. During the first quarter of the game at Memorial Stadium/Faurot Field in Columbia, Missouri, Arkansas quarterback Brandon Allen threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to running back Jonathan Williams, who then put both hands in the air, mimicking demonstrators who turned the “hands up” saying into a rallying cry against excessive force against minorities by police.

Media outlets are reporting a body has been found near Ohio State while police are providing no updates on the search for a football player missing since Wednesday. WBNS-TV, WCMH-TV and The Columbus Dispatch reported Sunday that police confirm a body has been found. But both police and Ohio State Coach Urban Meyer say they have no updates on the search for defensive lineman Kosta Karageorge. A police report says Karageorge's mother told authorities he has had concussions and spells of confusion. She said he texted a message Wednesday citing the concussions and saying he was sorry if he was...

The Bo Pelini chapter at Nebraska has come to its last page. The Husker head coach of seven years was fired on Sunday morning in a scenario reminding of 11 years ago, when Frank Solich was let go after a 9-3 season. “Earlier this morning, I informed Coach Bo Pelini of our decision to move forward in a new direction," Husker athletic director Shawn Eichorst said in a statement. "Coach Pelini served our University admirably for seven years and led our football program’s transition to the Big Ten Conference. We wish Coach Pelini and his wonderful family all the best...

Happy 48-14 Day PSU fans!

According to the Columbus Dispatch, senior Ohio State football walk-on Kosta Karageorge was reported missing by his family on Thursday after not being heard from since leaving his apartment early Wednesday morning. Karageorge is a 6-foot-5 defensive end for the Buckeyes and has also wrestled for three years. His sister Sophia said he was last seen at 2 a.m. on Wednesday morning at his apartment.

Same link here

In what looks like another key turn in the battle for facts about the foundation of Penn State's Freeh Report, a Potter County judge has ordered former FBI Director Louis Freeh to start complying with former Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno's heirs' requests for its raw materials. The ruling by Judge John B. Leete comes in the Paterno estate's lawsuit against the NCAA and Penn State, which seeks to invalidate the sanctions stemming from the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal. Penn State's attorneys had objected to the subpoena of Freeh, arguing the work done by Freeh and...

Alabama won convincingly. FSU came back again. TCU barely survived lowly Kansas. Everyone is immersed with the College Football Playoff and who will be in the top four come Tuesday. It is all so new and exciting. The Playoff and the decisions of the Committee have been dominating our news so much that it’s possible that some of you may have missed the larger story that is lurking down the hotlinks of ESPN, Foxsports, and SI. The story is large enough that it has the potential to change college football in a far greater way than the Playoff will. The...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — In the early morning hours of Oct. 5, as this college town was celebrating another big football victory by Florida State University, a starting cornerback on the team drove his car into the path of an oncoming vehicle driven by a teenager returning home from a job at the Olive Garden. Both cars were totaled. But rather than remain at the scene as the law requires, the football player, P. J. Williams, left his wrecked vehicle in the street and fled into the darkness along with his two passengers, including Ronald Darby, the team’s other starting cornerback.

Court documents filed in Pennsylvania show that the NCAA and investigators from a firm hired by Penn State University to conduct a wholly independent investigation of the university's handling of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal worked closely in the investigation. The firm, led by former FBI chief Louis B. Freeh, published damning conclusions about Penn State's "lack of institutional control" that were used by the NCAA as the basis for its sweeping sanctions against Penn State in July 2012. The court documents filed Tuesday but released publicly Wednesday, obtained by "Outside the Lines," strongly suggest the NCAA provided...

(CNSNews.com) – The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) plans to launch a new “think tank” designed to “establish best practices and policies so college athletes and coaches can fully participate in their chosen sport regardless of religious beliefs, sexual orientation, and gender identity or expression.”During a meeting Tuesday and Wednesday entitled “Seeking Common Ground: Creating a Respectful Athletic Climate for Athletes and Coaches of All Religious Perspectives, Sexual Orientation, and Gender Identity or Expression,” the NCAA will “develop the first-ever suggested guidelines so faith-based schools, public schools, and private secular schools across the country can provide inclusive and respectful athletic...

To recap: these emails reveal that the NCAA knew it had no jurisdictional claim over an inherently criminal matter but chose to act anyway, banking on Penn State’s compliance. Of course, the rest is history — Penn State President Rodney Erickson, with the backing of Board of Trustees leadership, did comply to the NCAA’s extortion, despite it being characterized here as a “bluff.” The actual reasons for that decision are still hidden behind a wall of public relations flack — I tend to think it had something to do with the corporate “apologize and move on” method of management that...

Commonwealth Court Judge Anne Covey issued a memorandum opinion Friday that slapped the hands of the NCAA for its filings in state and federal courts looking for just the right rulings. On Oct. 3, Covey issued a ruling denying the NCAA’s petition to dismiss the lawsuit brought by state Sen. Jake Corman, R-Benner Township, and Pennsylvania Treasurer Rob McCord, seeking to have the Endowment Act declared constitutional. The Endowment Act would require the $60 million fine levied by the NCAA against Penn State after the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal to remain in a dedicated fund in Pennsylvania for...

Oh, those crazy college kids. Four Penn State players were arrested Thursday night – mischief night – for an “egg throwing situation,” according to Onward State. The four players, tight end Brent Wilkerson, safety Anthony Smith, center Wendy Laurent and defensive end Garrett Sickels, were all charged with criminal mischief for throwing eggs at Beaver Hall, an on-campus residence hall. Discipline from head coach James Franklin could be on the way. “We are aware of the egg throwing situation that occurred Thursday evening and will determine the appropriate measures for the four squad members involved,” Franklin said in statement. The...