How much are you worth to your state?

Families of those killed in the Virginia Tech massacre would receive $100,000 each under a settlement the state is proposing to prevent lawsuits, according to a victim’s relative who received a copy of the proposal. In addition to the $100,000 payments to each of the families of those killed, another $800,000 would be reserved for the injured, with a maximum of $100,000 to any person.

You’re kidding right? What these families suffered is beyond imaginable, and their lives are valued as much as a house by the state. A moderate house at that. While I understand the state’s position since the tragedy was unprecedented and beyond their control, but “in October, the families and surviving victims received payments ranging from $11,500 to $208,000 from the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund, set up in the days after the April 16 shootings to handle donations that poured into the Blacksburg school.” So they are receiving more money donated by people around the nation than the actual state.

While I hope the families can one day emerge from this tragedy, all the state is worried about is to prevent lawsuits against them. Lawsuits that should be levied against the state of Virginia. Gun control? That’s controlled by the state. Help for the mentally ill? That’s a state problem as well. Safety for the residents of Virginia? You bet its the state of Virginia’s responsibility. If it will take lawyers and angry grief-stricken families to force a state legislature to do something about gun control, then so be it.

This just makes me sick. And to think, they wanted to keep all this under wraps.

Howle was Bunn’s starting center last season and won first-team All-State and All-Conference honors. One of the reasons he committed early was so he can focus on his senior campaign.

Its never too early when it comes to recruiting. The Lions add North Carolina all-state offensive lineman Ty Howle after his visit on Easter weekend.

“This was a big family decision,” Howle said. “We sat down this morning, my whole family, and we really felt there was no place I could go to get a better education. And we love the tradition of Penn State football. State College is just beautiful; it has a small-town feel but has everything you could look for in a city.”

LaschOut has a detailed scouting report on Ty, but if you still doubt his ability to excel at Penn State, he is a stud in the classroom as well:

Howle currently carries a 3.9 GPA in his core courses and overall GPA of 4.2 thanks to several honors classes he has completed. He intends to begin his college academic career in a general science major so he has options when he finally settles on a post-football profession. Right now his thoughts are ranging from chemical engineering to pre-med.

Rivals reports that Ty Howle already held offers from Penn State, Navy and East Carolina and was being courted by Auburn’s defensive tackle’s coach Kerry Neal, Maryland and Georgia Tech.

Welcome to the Penn State family Ty. Count 1 for Penn State for 2009.

Pro-day reports:

Anthony Morelli (QB)

Measurements: 6-foot-3 3/8, 232 pound
40-Yard Dash: 5.08, 5.11 seconds
Vertical Leap: 29 1/2 inches
Long Jump: 9-foot
Short Shuttle: 4.34 seconds
Cone Drill: 7.01 seconds
225 Bench Press: 18 reps

I’m surprised at his 40-Yard Dash times. 5.08 is much faster than I expected from Morelli. I guess its the weight of the football that slows him down during football games. If he even gets drafted I hope they use him as a tackling dummy on the scout team. Morelli is the only player in Penn State history I absolutely despise with a passion. When he played a horrible game, his step-father faces the media on his behalf. When he is put in position to win a close game, he unleashes an arsenal of tactics to ruin our chances. 4-horribly-thrown-incompletions and out, an interception, a sack or his favorite play, the fumble. The list is endless. Penn State is much better without him and he will remain simply a footnote in the history books. Underachiever, overrated and utterly painful to watch.

Very impressive wins by the Badgers and Spartans last night. For a conference that everyone wrote off all year and sits 6th in the RPI, the Big Ten sure has a number of victims that might disagree with this ‘weak’ presumption. The Big Ten can’t run and score offensively like they do in the Big 12? Wisconsin might not have to run up and down the court imitating chickens with their heads cut off like they do in the Big 12, but they can sure play defense shutting down all-galaxy Michael Beasley. The Big Ten can’t compete with the depth and ruggedness of the Big East? Michigan State out-toughed Pittsburgh on Saturday in a game where a Pittsburgh player was literally swung down to the floor by Raymar Morgan just 1 minute into the game.

Yet the critics won’t stop. “The Big Ten is considered a top-heavy conference with a weak underbelly” claims Andy Glockner at ESPN. Would you kindly explain yourself Andy? Last I checked, that Spartan team that just won a 10 round slugfest with Pittsburgh was beaten by Purdue, Indiana, Ohio State, Penn State and Iowa who are #2, #3, #5, #7 and #8 in the 11 member Big Ten this season. The Wisconsin team that dismantled the high flying Kansas State team from the Big 12 with surgical precision barely beat second to last place Michigan by 3, Iowa by 6, and Ohio State by 5.

So why aren’t those critics all over Kansas State for barely keeping up with the Badgers having lost by 17. Or over the Big 12 for being weak considering their champion Texas lost to both Wisconsin and Michigan State this season, Kansas State still recovering from the mack truck Wisconsin team that ran them over on Saturday, and Baylor having lost to Purdue by 11 in a game that was not as close as the double digit win indicates. Those teams with the exception of Texas currently watching the rest of the tournament at home, sit #1, #3 and #5 respectively in the Big 12 conference. But hey, the RPI ranks the Big 12 as the #2 toughest conference in the nation so it must be true. Lets hand that very Texas team that lost to two Big Ten teams in consecutive games the #2 seed and give the regular season AND tournament champion from the Big Ten that beat the #2 seeded Texas, a #3 seed. Makes sense doesn’t it.

All because Wisconsin comes from a conference that computers dictate the 6th toughest in the nation. All the while, the three conferences sitting at #1, #2 and #3 in the RPI are currently licking their chops.

#1 ACC watched as (2) Duke once again shows why winning in the ACC does not guarantee success in the tournament, (5) Clemson fall to (12) Villanova despite leading by as much as 16, and Miami just lost to (2) Texas.

#2 Pac-10 held their collective breaths as top seed (1) UCLA beat (9) Texas A&M on a last minute tip-in and (3) Stanford barely beat (6) Marquette eventually pulling it out in overtime. (6) USC, (10) Arizona and (9) Oregon all fell in the first round. Me thinks a tad too many bids and a tad too overseeded, don’t you? Granted, most teams are playing their best in the tournament, but the tournament is just as every bit about skill and talent as it is about the seeding and the path you need to clear to reach the Final Four.

And the #3 Big 12? Well, the fact that Kansas State, Texas A&M, Baylor and at the time of this posting, Oklahoma are booking early flights home should tell you enough.

There is no denying the significance of seeding when it comes to success in the tournament. And it is exactly because of the influence of seeding that peeves me when people continue to berate the conference influencing the committee to some extent in offering lower seeds to Big Ten teams hence a much tougher road simply because of the perceived notion that the conference is ‘weak’. It is because of this perceived ‘weakness’ that has Wisconsin, Michigan State, Purdue and Indiana playing tougher matchups than teams given an easier ride simply because of a supposed truth that the record indicates is clearly a load of crap. But hey, unlike the BCS at least it can be settled on the hard court.

2 Rounds down, 2 more to the Final Four. Highly impressive wins by the Badgers and Spartans. Way to represent the conference.

#3 Xavier 85 - #6 Purdue 78

Purdue played valiantly, but were unable to slow down Xavier from scoring. They managed to take the lead 61-60 with 5:25 left in the game after being down by as many as 9 points, but their defense just wasn’t able to slow down Xavier’s 54 percent shooting streak (a school record). After taking a 1 point lead, The Musketeers responded when B.J. Raymond made a 3 point play along with Drew Lavender’s drive to the hoop. This would be a lead they would not relinquish for the rest of the game as the two teams seemingly traded baskets until the end. Lavender’s 8-8 free throw shooting in the last minutes did not hurt either.

C.J. Anderson and Drew Lavender each scored 18 points, Josh Duncan had 16, Stanley Burrell added 11 and two other Musketeers scored eight apiece in the most points Purdue has allowed this season. Purdue played well offensively, really well, but it was their well publicized defense which led in the Big Ten this season that let them down.

#3 Wisconsin 72 - #11 Kansas State 55

Another badge of honor for the Big Ten as the Big Ten champions methodically dismantled Kansas State. The same Michael Beasley led Kansas State Wildcats that defeated one of Pac-10’s best, USC in the first round and #1 seed Kansas in the regular season. This is the same Wisconsin team that also beat Texas in Texas in the regular season, yet managed to receive the lowest seed awarded to a Big 6 conference champion.

With all the talk about freshman phenom Michael Beasley, he was relatively useless finishing with 23 points, but only 6 in the entire second half. Credit should be awarded to Wisconsin’s impenetrable defense for holding the Wildcats to their lowest scoring output this season. Wisconsin was my pick for the Final Four simply because of their physical, grind it out on each possession style of play. Like Bo Ryan’s face, they are unbearable to watch at times but it gets the job done and done well.

Wisconsin has now managed to hold their tournament opponents to 56 and 55 points respectively. Watch for another low scoring grudge fest either against Davidson or Georgetown. Though Davidson would be an easier matchup.

If Georgetown manages to beat Davidson, look for a great Wisconsin - Georgetown matchup that will rival the physicality of the Michigan State-Pittsburgh.

#5 Michigan State 65 - #4 Pittsburgh 54

Of the 3 Big Ten matchups in the second round, this one was the toughest and hence the most impressive victory. This game was alot closer than the final score indicated for most of the game. With 10 minutes left in the game, Pitt tied the game at 42 after clawing back from a 10 point deficit. But the Spartans responded with a 3 point play followed by Drew Neitzel’s 8 straight points to distance themselves from the Panthers.

Indiana’s loss today hurts. Indiana’s loss to an SEC team hurts even more.
The Big Ten gets its shot at the big boys in Round 2 against Kansas State,
Pittsburgh and Xavier. So keep sucking up those petty differences and
think of the greater good.

What happens when Train A is backing up, Train B is on a roll full speed ahead, and they are both on the same track? You get Indiana - Arkansas. Arkansas runs through the SEC tournament losing to eventual champions Georgia. Indiana loses to bottom of the pack Penn State and Minnesota to start the tournament. One team is hot, the other team is barely playing to end the season.

Since Kelvin Sanctions was fired resigned from Indiana, Indiana no longer looked like the potential Final Four team they were prior to his resignation. Just look at Eric Gordon’s numbers since his resignation. By the second half against Arkansas, Eric Gordon had 4 points. 4! He was averaging 21 points a game coming into the tournament. So it’s not exactly rocket science when it comes to determining Indiana’s recent losing problem. Unfortunately, they were seeded against a hot Arkansas team that deserved a higher seed than the #9 they received.

Was it just me or did Arkansas look that much quicker on offense than Indiana. By the time Arkansas rebounded the ball, they were down at the other end driving to the basket, I doubt they even had a chance to call a play. This played in their advantage since Indiana was unwilling to run with them back on defense. Indiana ran half court sets and took their god*amn time on each possession. So 1 down, 3 more Big Ten teams left to carry the conference banner into the second round. Each one will be a battle though. I’ll be pleasantly surprised if more than 2 Big Ten teams make it into the Sweet Sixteen.

So much for all that Big East love by this year’s selection committee. Big East powerhouse UConn fell to the San Diego Toreros in overtime in the West regional. This is the same San Diego Toreros that lost to Gonzaga (who lost in the first round of the tournament) twice, USC (beat by Kansas State in the first round), South Alabama (crushed by 20 by Butler in the first round), and CSU Bakersfield in addition to the tons of other teams that beat this squad this season. CSU BAKERSFIELD! I grew up in California, and Bakersfield is the place we use to call each other as a joke. So way to go Toreros! You have ruined my bracket but we can finally start to simmer down about all this Big East toughness.

Day one is past us and 3 Big Ten teams are still alive with Indiana left to play tonight at 9 against an equally matched up Arkansas team. Out of the 4 Big Ten first round games, this is the only one that poses any real threat to teams advancing out of the first round. Temple, CS-Fullerton and Baylor were nice, but in all honesty, if Purdue, Wisconsin and Michigan State couldn’t beat them with their hands tied behind their backs, they didn’t deserve to be in the tournament in the first place.

Second round match ups are not only tough, but Wisconsin is the only statistical favorite out of three, even then the freshman sensation Michael Beasley led Kansas State is as tough as they come. The epic first-round matchup between USC’s OJ Mayo and Kansas State’s Michael Beasley never materialized as the Wildcats won by 13 points.

Record	overall	30-4	20-11	25-8	28-6	26-8	26-9
	conference	19-2	10-7	15-4	15-3	13-7	14-8
	against tournament teams	7-4	4-8	5-3	7-4	5-5	9-6
Resume	RPI	10	43	40	9	15	14
	SOS	58	27	107	31	41	15
	Quality Wins	13	7	9	13	11	10
Team Stats per game	Points	67.3	78.7	68.7	75.3	71.3	74.1
	Turnovers	12.1	15.3	12.9	13.3	13.7	12.2
	Rebounds	38.3	44.8	35.8	38.8	41.1	41.4
	Free throw %	0.709	0.689	0.706	0.75	0.731	0.658
	3pt %	0.359	0.321	0.37	0.392	0.373	0.34
	Blocks	3.3	3.6	4.3	3.5	4.4	3.3

So by the time games are played Saturday, the Big Ten would have had a chance against the best of the Big 12 (Baylor, Kansas State), Big East (Pittsburgh), Atlantic 10 (Xavier), SEC (Arkansas) and IF Indiana does make it past the Razorbacks, the best of the nation and ACC (North Carolina). This is a chance for the conference to finally silence our critics. It’s almost as if the Ohio State grudge from football is spewing over into basketball. So here’s hoping for a Hoosier victory tonight. The more teams we have advancing, the better chance we have of at least getting someone into the Sweet Sixteen. Picking a Wisconsin victory and 3 upsets by Michigan State, Purdue and Indiana.

For some reason, this basketball season was a much bigger success than any in the DeChellis era, but did we regress?! We at least picked up a NIT bid in 2006 with only 6 Big Ten regular season wins, this year with 7 Big Ten victories and a midpack finish, Penn State was passed over by the NIT as well as the new College Basketball Invitational. That means we are one of the worst teams in the nation despite having pulled off some upsets (Michigan State, Indiana) and having defeated teams we should have. Where is this prejudice by the CBI coming from? They are in their first year, and Penn State did not deserve the snub.

Hell, Virginia Tech, the team that Penn State defeated this season, just won their first round game in the NIT. So we officially declare a 5 year boycott of the CBI. As of this post, we will no longer mention, think or even attend any CBI games until the boycott is lifted in 2013. Congratulations, not only are you the tournament of the losers of the losers, but now you have officially made enemies your first year. Good luck staying afloat.