Injustice for All

Penn State student Marissa Herb attends a
candlelight vigil held in honor of the victims.

Penn State is experiencing a rare, altering event that, well...no person would ever hope their institution ever experiences. As a student, it's been a mind-numbing experience, which I hope no student ever has to experience outside of our realm at The Pennsylvania State University.

Outsiders cast their opinions on us; media, students of other institutions, and families of students all have their opinions on us as a student body. I have but one ounce of wisdom to offer to those who vilify us for our actions...more accurately, for our inaction (those of us who did not riot): Let not 2,000 individual actions define the remaining 93,000 of us who did not react in such a volatile manner.

How many of us could have ever imagined such a travesty as allegations of child rape and molestation would have ever occurred within what we believed to be the safe confines of our campus? And the core of the university which we hold so near and dear, would be shaken so badly as a result? Our campus and the image it once held, raped of its innocence and for now, its integrity.

Three Lions to TestTheir Skills at the 2011 NFL Combine

OG/C Stefen Wisniewski

Expectedly, two Penn State seniors -- center/guard Stefen Wisniewski and running back Evan Royster -- have been invited to the 2011 NFL Combine held at Lucas Oil Stadium, in Indianapolis, later this month.

It's believed that if Royster, the all-time leading rusher in Penn State history, turns in a good 40 time, he will move up in some draft boards. I definitely feel that with his skill set, Royster, projected a late-fifth-round pick, would make a good third-down or goal-line running back.

16 New Faces Sign Their Letter of Intent to Play for Penn State

Image courtesy of Scout.com

On Wednesday, the Penn State Nittany Lions received 16 signed letters of intent from recruits around the country. Most national recruiters don't think a whole lot of Penn State's recruit class, but of the 16 who signed, the coaching staff was successful in retaining 10 recruits whom they had sought since November.

The highest-ranked recruit -- No. 33 according to Scout.com -- Adrian Amos, a cornerback out of Calvert Hall College in Baltimore, MD, also paid visits to UConn and West Virginia. He had verbally committed to Connecticut, until head coach Randy Edsall departed for Maryland after the Fiesta Bowl.

Who was the big recruit that the Lions allowed to slip away?

Wow, What a Storm!

I am only about 12 hours late creating this post. And contrary to my colleague, Robert Gilbert of The Press Coverage Report's opinion, I do not have any photos to share of today's snow -- ice -- day. Unlike the greater midwest -- Illinois, Michigan, Iowa, Kansas, Texas -- region, my neck of the woods received mainly ice...and plenty of it.

My evening started out with a walk to the local market to pick up a few things I wasn't able to carry back on Monday night, and turned out to be quite a trip. The weather was mostly a nuisance and hadn't really set in. However, the thin slick of ice on all the roads and in the parking lots was quite the obstacle to be reckoned with.

Penn State Football Landing Some Fine Recruits

Today is National Letter of Intent Day...maybe that's not its proper name, but that's what I've dubbed the occasion. At any rate, today is the day where we -- and I -- will follow Penn State's newsfeed on Facebook, and find out who of their recruits will commit to the Nittany Lions' program for the fall of 2011. So far, there are some very nice prospects who have already signed. More on those later! Stay tuned!

Did You Know the Modern-Day Zone-Blitz in Football Originated at Penn State?

Former PSU Linebacker, Shane Conlan

I actually didn't know this, but the origins of one defensive style that has become famous and popular in the NFL -- the zone-blitz -- traces its origins to Penn State. Before it first became popular, the blitz was nothing more than what at the time was considered a gimmicky or trick play. It was something different to throw at an offense when least expected, in an effort to catch it off guard. This particular play was called "Magic."

From the Lion's Mouth: Do You Have What it Takes to be a Mascot?

PSU - Schuylkill Nittany Lion mascot, Eric Quackenbush

Various thoughts and images are conjured up when the name "Penn State" is brought to a conversation: Beaver Stadium, Joe Paterno, blue and white, the Lion Shrine, Nittany Inn, Old Main, THON (the largest student-run philanthropy in the world, fighting childhood cancer), Bryce Jordan Center, and of course the Nittany Lion.

Penn State has 24 campuses throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, including World Campus, which is an interactive online "campus" for students both domestic and abroad. Each campus within the state however, has a Nittany Lion mascot. I happen to be one of the many who is privileged to state that I am a Penn State mascot.

Lions' Joe Paterno Will Return to Happy Valley in 2011

Joe Paterno is as much symbolic to Penn State, as Penn State is to football.

A legend will return to Happy Valley in 2011. Yes the rumors, as rumors tend to go, were wrong. Rumors as bogus as Joe Pa being hospitalized while with the Nittany Lions in Tampa, FL for their bowl game against the Florida Gators, being just one of many typical rumors about the Lions' 84 year-old head coach.