2 interceptions, 2 fumbles, and all it took was 1:03 for Cincinnati to carve up the Panther’s defense for the game winning touchdown. Fired from Chicago and Miami, you can catch the Wannastache circus in Pittsburgh.

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What would it take for DeChellis to be let go? Honestly. put out a figure and we’ll pass around a hat.

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Penn State baseball action is well underway and the team just completed a series in College Station against Big 12 baseball power Texas A&M.

Here’s a quick run through the games already completed by the Penn State baseball team.

2/26 W PSU 5 vs Cincinnati 4

In the first game of the Big Ten/Big East Challenge, Penn State found themselves trailing Cincinnati and down to their last out in the bottom of the 9th. 3 consecutive hits changed what seemed like an inevitable defeat into a thrilling extra innings victory for the Lions. Back to back singles from Penn State junior Michael Glantz and senior Louie Picconi set up late game heroics for freshman Steven Snyder. Snyder sent the first pitch down the right field line into the corner tying the score at 4. Joey DeBernardis added a 12th-inning walk off single to complete the rally and the 5-4 win.

2/27 W PSU 3 Seton Hall 2

For the second consecutive time, Penn State relied on extra innings heroics after finding themselves down late in the game.

Penn State headed into the bottom of the 8th trailing Seton Hall 2-1 until junior Heath Johnson scored the tying run with a sacrifice fly.

Both teams struggled to cross the plate again until Penn State junior Mario Eramo scored a walk off single in extra innings.

2/28 L PSU 8 Notre Dame 9

To cap off one of the wildest Big Ten/Big East challenges, Penn State nearly left Florida with 3 extra inning victories. Down 1 in the 9th inning, Ben Heath scored a home run, his third of the weekend second of the game,for the tie. But in the bottom of the 9th, Penn State found itself with Irish runners on second and third with just one out. Spectacularly, Penn State freshman Steven Hill proceeded to strike out Brayden Ashburn and David Casey to force extra innings.

However, a fly ball by Notre Dame’s Adam Norton got caught by the wind and dropped by Heath Johnson allowing David Mills (ND) to score the winning run from second base in the 10th.

Heath finished 3 for 6, 3 RBIs and 4 runs scored. This loss sends Penn State home from the Big Ten/Big East challenge with a 2-1 record. All 3 games ended in extra innings for a total of 35 innings.

3/05 W PSU 12 McNeese St 6

Penn State’s (3-1) starting pitcher Ryan Ignas put together a strong 7 inning performance against McNeese St (4-5) in the YMBL Cardinal Classic. Ignas allowed just 2 earned runs on 5 total hits while striking out 6. The Lions had no trouble with offense in a 19 hit and 12 run outburst. Ben Heath scored his fourth home run of the season and led the team with a career-high four RBI.

Sean Deagan and Jordan Seranka added 3 hits and 2 RBIs

each. Sophomore Joey DeBernardis recorded 3 hits as well but no runs. The win gives Ignas a 1-0 record on the season.

3/06 W PSU 10 Dallas Baptist 4

The first of a split doubleheader on the day, Penn State’s bats exploded for 7 runs in the 2nd inning against perennial NCAA Tournament participant Dallas Baptist (7-2). This is a statement win for the Nittany Lions. The Patriots entered the season ranked in Collegiate Baseball’s Fabulous 40 national preseason poll.

Penn State freshman pitchers Neal Herring (starter) and Steven Hill were sensational both allowing just 1 earned run in 6 innings each. A 3 for 5 performance by Sophomore Joey DeBernardis makes this his second consecutive 3 hit game. Both 3B Jordan Steranka and junior Mario Eramo scored home runs, Eramo’s first as a Nittany Lion.

3/06 L PSU 0 Lamar 4

In the second game of Penn State’s double header on the day, Lamar’s (8-1) pitcher Matison Smith threw a complete game shutout against the Nittany Lions (4-2) in a 4-0 victory. Smith held Penn State to a total of just 4 hits and no runs. His Penn State counterpart, Steven Hill, making his first career start in his home state of Texas struggled early, but eventually allowed 3 runs on 8 hits.

The Cardinals took advantage of errors by midfielders Louie Picconi and Luis Montesinos in the 1st. The Nittany Lions struggled to cross the place as they consistently put the ball in play but failed to reach third base all game. 3 different Lions and 8 different Cardinals recorded hits and this loss evens out Steven Hill’s record to 1-1 on the season.

3/07 L PSU 3 Lamar 8

In the final game of the YMBL Cardinal Classic, Penn State (4-3) just couldn’t match Lamar’s (9-2) 6 run outburst in the 5th. Cardinal pitcher Eric Harrington was phenomenal allowing just 2 Penn State runs on 4 hits through 5.2 innings. His Penn State counterpart struggled in the 5th allowing 4 earned runs on 5 hits.

A 2 for 4 performance extended Penn State’s Heath Johnson’s hitting streak to seven games. 6 different Lions and Aggies recorded hits in the game.

3/09 L PSU 3 Texas A&M 17

Penn State’s (4-4) starting pitcher John Walter was able to keep the Aggies (10-2) in check for 3 innings. Great work by the freshman starter before a pair of bunt singles for Texas A&M sparked their offense in the fourth. The four runs scored by the Aggies were just the beginning. Texas A&M piled on 13 more runs in the 6th (4), 7th (6) and 8th (3) on their way to the eventual 17-3 blowout of Penn State.

The loss to the Aggies dropped starting pitcher John Walter’s record to 0-2 on the season.

Sean Deegan, Ben Heath, Joey DeBernardis, Mario Eramo, Luis Montesino, and Elliot Searer all recorded hits for the Nittany Lions, but only DeBernardis, Eramo and Montesinos were able to score runs in the final inning. 10 different Aggies recorded hits and 9 scored runs.

3/10 PSU Texas A&M

The Lions (4-5) could never finish out as the Aggies scored all 7 of their runs with 2 outs in a shutout victory. Redshirt senior Mike Wanamaker allowed 3 runs (2 earned) on 3 hits and struck out 4 during 4 innings in his much anticipated start since 2008. Steve Snyder was the only Lion to record multiple hits going 2 of 3. Penn State moves on to a 3-game series against last year’s NCAA regional participant Texas State.

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Scheduled for December 30th, the blockbuster matchup between unranked Big East #3rd and the Big 12 #6th place teams will most likely be follow the equally prestigious Humanitarian Bowl. To clarify the Pinstripe Bowl will have the 3rd selection of teams in the Big East and 6th selection of teams in the Big 12 once BCS participants have been decided.

When a brand new bowl, yet to be played and still pending certification by the NCAA (until next month) manages to work its way into the Big East’s bowl lineup to snatch away the #3rd selection of teams (#4th if they get 2 BCS participants, but who are we really kidding here), it’s got to be disturbing for a conference who is clenching onto their automatic BCS spot for dear life. By comparison, the amount the Pinstripe bowl offered financially to obtain the 3rd pick from the Big East was only good enough to secure the #6th place team (#7 most years if the Big 12 sends 2 BCS teams) from the Big 12. Talk about your conference hierarchy.

Even for fans of most Big East teams, it has to be disheartening to think the reward for your team placing 3rd in the conference is a trip to the Bronx, New York in the dead of winter. It’s even worse when you consider that South Florida could very well end up being that team in most years. Fans willing to leave sunny South Florida for the winter coats and scarves of New York City deserves some sort of award.

*With 2 divisions, it is much tougher to project the #6 selection after BCS participants especially when more than 1 team have equal win-loss records. Both possible candidates for the Pinstripe Bowl are thus listed.

Aside from the actual football game that will take place in the Pinstripe Bowl, little else was planned with football in mind. The bowl game, title included, was manufactured with a clear intention of showcasing Steinbrenner’s brand new $1.5 billion baseball palace and the Yankees (MLB) brand. Even its sponsor, for the first four years at least, is geared towards it’s long running baseball fan base. New Era Cap Co Inc, is the primary supplier of major league baseball caps and this sponsorship is its first major foray outside of it’s baseball heritage.

And if further proof that football was indeed the last priority of this bowl game is needed, a standard college football field might not even fit inside Steinbrenner’s new palace.

The official dimensions of Yankee Stadium should offer just enough room for a 120-yard/360-foot football field, end-to-end — it’s over 400 feet from home plate to dead-away centerfield. The question if you’re trying to put one end zone at the backstop and the other in the outfield is width at the corners: At Yankee Stadium, the right-field (314 feet) and left-field poles (318 feet) are both well short of the necessary distance; the end zone baseline wouldn’t stretch from pole to pole, but the outfield wall would still threaten to cut off the corners as it curved back towards the plate on either end. The other end zone is a bigger problem when you consider that you need 60 yards from pylon to pylon in the back corners of the end zone, and more for sideline space. Even conservatively speaking, if you lay the field with the end zones at the backstop and the outfield wall, is it 75 yards between dugouts? As the drawing shows, it’s likely both end zones are going to be cut off.

This would probably force the Pinstripe bowl to take the Emerald Bowl route in AT&T park (another MLB ballpark) route and force both teams to share one sideline. What better way to showcase both conferences than to have teams from Texas, Kansas and Missouri huddled around heating lamps shoulder to shoulder with their Big East counterparts.

Then you have to wonder if fans of Texas A&M, Missouri, Baylor, Kansas, Texas Tech, Colorado and Oklahoma would be eagerly awaiting to snatch up tickets to a bowl game in the Bronx in late December. Sounds about as inviting as the “Little Caesars Papajohns Pizza Factory Bowl” in Detroit for people who actually get to see the sun for half the year. But really, who wouldn’t want to fly halfway across the country to the frozen tundra of the Northeast to watch two unranked teams from the Big East and Big 12? Though it would be fun watching Big 12 teams attempt their high flying offenses in weather most of us are accustomed to.

Had the Pinstripe Bowl existed this season, we would have been treated to the blockbuster matchup between perennial title contenders Rutgers and Texas A&M. Last year, 68 bowl eligible teams were required for the 34 bowls currently certified by the NCAA. There were 71 bowl eligible teams in 2009, 70 if you exclude Notre Dame whose players voted themselves out of attending a bowl.

The Pinstripe bowl will make it 35 requiring 70 bowl eligible teams. Basically every team to reach .500 will receive a chance to participate in the post season.

It might be time for the Steinbrenners to rethink their PR strategy for Yankee Stadium. I understand you just spent $1.5 billion and want to show it off, but there’s got to be a better strategy than shoving a square peg into a round hole. They might even have a better shot in successfully showcasing their brand new venue by simply sticking to hosting concerts in the offseason. Think Jay Z rocking out in the Bronx hours before New York explodes with a Times Square New Years Eve celebration. Now that is entertainment.

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But the looks of shock and disbelief on the players faces following the game said it all. A third consecutive ESCHL title was merely a stepping stone, not the final goal for seniors Steve Thurston, John Conte, Matt Kirstein and Ryan Paradis. 90 seconds were all that stood between the Icers and a spot in the semifinals.

Central Oklahoma wasn’t supposed to put up a spirited fight. Their energy and will should have been drained in the double overtime thriller against hated rivals #7 Oklahoma just a day earlier in the first round. It was the first time they had beaten the Sooners this season. But things don’t always go according to plan.

The Icers took the lead early in the game. A Taylor Cera (Jr) goal just 2 minutes and 12 seconds into the game gave the Icers a 1-0 lead. It was a lead they would not relinquish for more than 56 minutes of the game before the Broncos took advantage of a faceoff play in the Icers zone setting up the late tying goal. Central Oklahoma’s Shawn Steggles won the draw sending the puck to defenseman Nick Novak who fired it into the Icer’s net with just 1:29 left in regulation eventually forcing overtime.

Overtime went by in a flash. Broncos’ Jonathan Cannizzo blocked an Icer’s shot inside Central Oklahoma’s zone and flew down the ice sending a shot past Ted Hume. 1:39 seconds into overtime, it was all over for the Icers.

The stats were fairly even throughout the game. Penn State Icers outshot the Broncos 40 – 32 and both teams were unable to capitalize on their power plays; 7 for the Icers, 6 for the Broncos.

Prior to the game, Icers defenseman John Conte said

“It’s what we’ve worked for, and to not win a national championship is a disappointment. I think everybody will be on the same page if you’re hurt or a little tired — they’ll do what they can to make a play.”

The Icers made their only goal clear all year, ACHA championship or bust. And their disappointment will linger long after the eventual 2010 ACHA champions are crowned, but let’s remember that this team amassed a phenomenal 32-4-2 record and a third consecutive ESCHL title, no easy feats.

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Commence rant.

What’s there left to say. This wasn’t exactly the season many of us expected especially many of those students who turned Madison Square Garden into Beaver Stadium East last year. Talor Battle was returning and so were our hopes for a respectable basketball program. But it was not meant to be. Chances for this fan base to bounce to Zombie Nation and roar with Rock and Roll have been scarce. And as this team continued to add to the losses column, fan displeasure multiplied.

Don’t get me wrong, I did not expect this team to exceed the accomplishments by last year’s miracle squad especially with the losses in senior ship this year. But nobody could have predicted the face plant of a season we ended up with. And there is simply no excuse for a (until recently) winless conference record. A lot of our problems lie in personnel and especially coaching. Ed DeChellis’ inability to maintain and change momentum is well documented. So is his mismanagement of time outs.

But as fans we were simply naive. Based on the track records of NIT champions in the last decade, there is simply no evidence that would lead Lion fans to expect improvement based solely on our participation and success in the NIT last year.

Of the last 10 NIT champions spanning the past decade, only 5 have gone on to reach the Big Dance the following season. 50% success rate. Not exactly a resounding endorsement for the champion of the NIT. Of those 5 that did improve on their post season fates from the previous year, 3 suffered an early 1st round exit, 1 made it to the 2nd round, and West Virginia made a run to the 2008 Sweet Sixteen. Even by punching a ticket to the NCAA tournament their following season, recent NIT champs haven’t exactly been making an impact in the Big Dance.

Then we have 4 squads that actually regressed following an NIT championship, including ours this season. None more so than the 2004 St. John’s team that went from a 17-13 NIT championship season in 2003 to a 6-21 record the following year. Fortunately Penn State have not fallen that hard, that fast. But at 11-17 (3-13), we come pretty close.

In fact, since the NIT’s inaugural tournament in 1938, just 14 NIT Final Four finalists have gone on to make a Final Four run in the NCAA tournament the following year. The last being Syracuse (NIT 4th place finish in 2002, NCAA champions in 2003). But prior to the Orange, the last NIT participant to make a Final Four impact was in 1985 when Louisville also parlayed a 4th place NIT finish to a NCAA championship the following year. That’s 1 NCAA Final Four team to come out of 96 NIT Final Four finalists in 24 years. 1% success rate.

The history simply wasn’t there. No concrete proof of any substantial improvement simply through success in the NIT. Just because we beat Notre Dame, Florida and Baylor on our way to a nifty NIT trophy last year did not entitle us to some boost in wins or talent this season.

Unfortunately Ed DeChellis, the amazing motivational speaker well all know he is, clearly was unable to convey such a warning to the team. It was a trap our players and its fans fell into and was unable to recover from until it was too late. The NIT was never and is still not a spring board to bigger and better things, it is simply just another tournament rewarding teams with decent records squeezed out by the NCAA tournament in their effort to incorporate more of the little guys. An end game.

If Ed DeChellis’ greatest accomplishments is leading this program to numerous NIT appearances, that is disheartening. Recent history has made it evident that the NIT is not a guarantee or basis for any future improvement, and if the ultimate goal of the NCAA is one we will not reach with DeChellis, isn’t it time to look elsewhere?

End of rant.

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The Icers take on SUNY-Canton this Satuday, March 6th at 1pm CST for a spot in the quarterfinals. Should the Icers take care of business they will face off against the winner of Oklahoma/Central Oklahoma on Sunday in the quarterfinals.

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Extremely shocking considering Buckeyes are so well renowned for their civility and class. Buford might want a doctor to check that itch of his. They’ve got special ointment and combs for crabs now.

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Continuous instant Twitter updates on location during the Ohio State @ Penn State basketball game.

The Lions (10-16) and Buckeyes (21-7) face off @ 6:30 PM EST in the Bryce Jordan Center.

This is Penn State’s best shot at derailing the Buckeye’s 2010 Big Ten title chase. Ohio State brings with them four scoring threats, the best of which may be Evan Turner. Turner is averaging 19.5 points per game shooting 54.1% from the field and 127 assists while missing 6 games due to a back injury. He is supported by a cast of scorers William Buford (13.9 ppg), Jon Diebler (12.5 ppg) and David Lighty (12.3 ppg) all averaging in double digits on the season. The only knock on the Buckeyes is their lack of depth on the bench.

Penn State only has one double digit player on the squad and highlights one of the biggest fundamental problems with this team this season. Talor Battle is the only player scoring in double digits on the season at 19.0 points a game including 105 assists. Battle scored 24 points on the Buckeyes in their last meeting but was outplayed by fellow Big Ten POY candidate Evan Turner with 27 points.

In their last 2 Big Ten victories, it has been the supporting cast that has stepped up to share the load with Battle. In their last 2 victories, starters other than Battle have shot 59% (36-61) from the field compared to just 45.4% during the 12 game losing streak. Ball distribution was the biggest difference in the last two games so let’s hope the trend can continue against the Buckeyes if we want any shot at knocking off the Buckeyes.

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With his recent hip replacement surgery and now eye enhancement, we could very well see Joe coach into his 90s.

Even with hawk like vision, Joe’s still got it.

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