November 2007 Archives

Although many couldn't see it, because the game was on the NFL Network, Dover grad and former Shippensburg University star John Kuhn got into Green Bay's game at Dallas Thursday night.

Not only did Kuhn, who had his jersey retired at Dover this fall, see action, but he made the stat sheet as well, catching one pass for two yards.

It was Kuhn's first offensive stats recorded this season, although he has had five tackles - three solo - on special teams this season for the Packers.

A YAIAA grad appearing in the NFC's biggest game of the season between two teams that entered with 10-1 records. Not bad.

Behind four Tony Romo touchdown passes, Dallas won the game 37-27.

Jimmy Rollins sports the Philadelphia Phillies' new alternate home uniform, which was unveiled Thursday.

From philly.com:

The Phillies unveiled a new alternate home uniform today, a throwback model minus the customary red pinstripes.

A clean-looking cream-colored jersey will be worn with pants in the same color, featuring a red-and-blue stripe on the outside seam and a wide red belt. The caps are blue with the red Phillies P.

The uniforms are styled after those the 1940s Phillies wore, and will be worn at all home day games.

“It has been a while since we wore a uniform at home that didn’t feature pinstripes,” David Buck, the team’s senior vice president for marketing and advertising sales, said. “We believe the fans will love them.”

From 1946 through 1949, the Phillies wore a similar-styled uniform. Since 1950, the team has had red pinstripes as part of their home uniforms.

Phillies greats Robin Roberts and Richie Ashburn made their debuts 60 years ago wearing the cream-colored uniform.

“It is fitting that we bring back a uniform style from their rookie season because they have been two giant icons in our history,” Buck said.

Fans may purchase the uniforms at Citizens Bank Park between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. After Saturday, the items will also be available at Modell’s Sporting Goods stores.

Penn State sophomore Maurice Evans has named a finalist for the Ted Hendricks Defensive End of the Year award. The award is named for the former University of Miami, Baltimore Colt and Oakland Raiders standout.

The winner will be announced next month.

Pittsburgh’s Monday night game against the Miami Dolphins was the kind of contest some fans enjoy watching, with the elements wreaking havoc with the condition of the field and sometimes the outcome of the game. In the end, the Steelers managed to pull out a 3-0 win against what usually should be an overmatched Dolphins squad. I can remember a Steelers-Dolphins game from many years gone by that was a virtual deluge in Miami. Poor weather conditions often lend an air of unpredictability to a NFL game.

Penn State fans will remember the name — and maybe the oversized body, too.

Staff writer Frank Bodani reports that the most recent high school football recruit to commit to the Nittany Lions is Philadelphia tight end Mark Wedderburn — the younger brother of former massive Lion lineman Floyd Wedderburn.

Older brother made a name for himself in the mid-1990s as a 300-pound-plus offensive tackle who went on to an NFL career with the Seattle Seahawks.

The Associated Press
SURREY, British Columbia — Organizers of the 2010 Winter Games have turned to British Columbia’s myths and legends for a trio of mascots.
Quatchi is a young sasquatch with a long brown beard and blue earmuffs, while Miga is a snowboarding sea-bear — part killer whale and part kermode bear. Sumi is a spirit animal that flies with the wings of a native thunderbird.
There’s even a sidekick: Mukmuk, a small friendly Vancouver Island Marmot.
The mascots were revealed in front of hundreds of schoolchildren in the Vancouver suburb of Surrey.
Olympic organizers looked at hundreds of artists’ submissions before choosing the right mascot designers.

A Washington Redskins fan, wearing a Sean Taylor jersey, stands near a makeshift memorial for the Redskins safety outside Redskins Park in Ashburn, Va., today. Taylor died early today, a day after he was shot at home by what police say was an intruder.

Eddy Anaya of Sterling, Va.. kneels at the parking spot of Washington Redskins star safety Sean Taylor at Redskins Park today in Ashburn, Va.

Jane Heller of York writes: Good God, can't you find some way NOT to saturate you newspaper with photos of happy killers holding their prey? Otherwise known as hunters with their "harvest." There are many of us who read this paper and are disgusted by the sight of people cradling the head of a dead animal in their arms -- especially those of kids who have been encouraged to slaughter innocent animals at the encouragement of their parents. Absolutely disgusting. And why in the name of God do you call it "harvest"? What a joke -- call it the slaughter that it is. And, in many cases, a painful one. Looking at the deification of the almighty hunter is really sickening to many of us who DO NOT and NEVER WOULD HUNT. Does the paper nourish such a "yeeha" mentality that we must be almost daily faced with opening pages and seeing slaughtered animals? I can go to a slaughterhouse if i really have that need.

The Associated Press

PITTSBURGH — Sports in America start with the national anthem. The Dolphins-Steelers game was an exception.

Rushing to begin the nationally televised matchup following a 25-minute weather delay, the NFL chose to skip the anthem Monday night before Miami played Pittsburgh. The game started without any of the traditional pregame ceremonies, except the coin toss, and neither team was introduced on the public address system.

Edwin B. Abel Sr. of Wrightsville went elk and mule deer hunting in western Montana in October with his sons and grandson. At the age of 90, he bagged this 10-point buck on Oct. 25, the last day of the hunt. (He has since turned 91.)

An orangutan hangs on at an enclosure at National Zoo in Kuala Lumpur today. An Australian investment firm announced that it would spend about $10 million in an agreement with authorities in Malaysia to protect more than 74,130 acres of forests that are home to orangutans, pygmy elephants and other endangered species.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A federal appeals court denied a petition Monday to rehear an attempt by the Major League Baseball Players Association and Major League Baseball Advanced Media to reverse a ruling that allowed a fantasy baseball company to use players’ names and statistics without a licensing fee.
The petition was filed after a three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last month that CBC Distribution and Marketing Inc. doesn’t have to pay the players, even though it profits by using their names and statistics.
The motion was denied without explanation. The MLBPA can still ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case.
“Obviously we’re disappointed in the decision, and we’ll be begin to review our options,” union head Donald Fehr said.

Tickets for Delone Catholic High's PIAA Class AA football quarterfinal game against Loyalsock will go on sale Tuesday. Tickets for the 7 p.m. game Friday at Shamokin's Kemp Memorial Stadium will be sold from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Friday in the Delone Catholic business office.

Tickets cost $6 per adult and $3 per student. All tickets at the gate will cost $6 each.

Randy Kopp of Felton writes: Being a longtime Penn State fan, I wonder, is it me or does State seem to play without as much enthusiasm and heart as their opponent at times? Last week's meltdown at Michigan State all but ended their somewhat disappointing season. Hopefully, we can close out the year with Morelli and one more win with a feel-good bowl game victory, kind of like last year. No disrespect Joe, you’ll always be remembered as a college football legend, but your team, I think, like you, looks old and tired.

Detroit Lions fan Alex Papp wears a turkey crown during the Lions' loss to the visiting Green Bay Packers earlier today in Detroit.

Contributed by Daily Record staff clerk Mark Paules.

Wow, what a matchup this Sunday night’s NFL game will give us.

The undefeated New England Patriots against the Philadelphia Eagles, which struggled to beat winless Miami.

Still, coming from a diehard Eagles fan, what might the over-under line for this game be?

How about: Over in the third quarter.

From the what is in a name department, let’s check out the nicknames in the New England Small College Athletic Conference.

We will start with the Jeffs of Amherst College, followed by the Hamilton College Continentals, the Trinity College Bantams, the Tufts College Jumbos — complete with an elephant for a mascot.

Saving the best for last: The Williams College Ephs.

These make the NESCAC’s Connecticut College Camels seem like a regular name.

In the top photo, Tom Wisniowski of Acme, left, sits next to a female albino black bear that he shot Monday, on the first day of Pennsylvania bear season. He shot the 47-pound albino bear in Centre County. Also pictured are Richard Marther, center, of Erie and Jeff Gowen of Evansburg, who harvested their own bears Monday.

Red Lion's Erin Zellers, left, edges York Suburban's Christina Antonopoulos in the 2004 YAIAA cross country championship meet.

Erin Zellers competes in the NCAA Division II national championships. And yes, she does have school-spirited blue hair.

A pair of former YAIAA cross country rivals recently capped impressive collegiate seasons.

Erin Zellers, a 2005 Red Lion graduate now running for the University of Alabama-Hunstville, became that program's first All-American after finishing 32nd at the NCAA Division II national championship meet. She finished the 6K championship course in 21:43.6.

Zellers just missed her school's record for a 6K race, but she will go into her senior season holding her share of Lady Charger records. She has the school's second fastest 5K and 6K times.

Christina Antonopoulos led all Delaware finishers in her final six races this season.

Meanwhile, Christina Antonopoulos has been excelling as a sophomore at the University of Delaware.

A 2005 York Suburban graduate, Antonopoulos led the Blue Hens in the last six events of the season, including a 23rd-place finish at the East Coast Athletic Conference championships. She ran the 3.1-mile course in 18:40, helping Delaware to a ninth-place team finish.

She also finished 38th in the NCAA regionals and eighth in the CAA conference meet.

Her twin sister, Yianna Antonopoulos, also runs for the Hens. She finished 45th in the ECAC meet.

Jamie Raffensberger of York writes: The recent tryouts for the York Young Revolution were a complete disgrace and a slap in the face to youth baseball in York. The organizer was quoted as saying that he was "limited to selecting players from specific areas" and is "an attempt to bring all leagues under one umbrella," however, when you compare his roster from his Susquehanna All Star team to that of his YYR roster, they are identical with the exception of two players. No other league is represented within the rosters of many the YYR, except the kids who played in the Susquehanna League. It is quite apparent this was a cheap masquerade to deceive the public in an attempt to use the Revolution name for the Susquehanna All Stars. The Revolution, press, parents and worse of all, the children who tried out were all lied to. Mike Zelger and his "organizers" should be ashamed of themselves.

Fred Trone of Hanover writes: "Another underachieving regular season has come to a close. The Morelli era is also over and in my opinion it was rather disappointing. I think there should be a news conference in Not-So-Happy Valley today along with the one in Ann Arbor to announce changes in the staff, starting at the top."

The rock band Live will play a pre-race concert Sunday as part of the Ford 400 festivities at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Florida.

The band, which originated in York, is scheduled to take the Miller Lite Rock N’ Racing stage at 1:30 p.m. The Nextel Cup finale will start after 3:30 p.m. and be shown on WHTM-27 and WMAR-2.

We received this passionate letter from David G. McFadden of Delta:

Our illustrious Pennsylvania Game Commission officials continue to wipe out the state’s wildlife at an accelerated rate. If they are allowed to carry out their mission uninterrupted, there will be no critters left in Pennsylvania.

First, there aren’t enough elk in the state for hunters to be killing 30-35 of them per year. Their natural procreation level does not compare with the degree in which they are being slaughtered. In other words, soon enough there won’t be any elk remaining in Pennsylvania. This happened in the 1890s to the point that the elk herd was completely destroyed due to overhunting.

In this image released by the San Diego Zoo, a zoo worker cares for two of the worlds most critically endangered great apes, called bonobos at the San Diego Zoo's Children Zoo nursery in San Diego. With wild populations being decimated at alarming rates in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the recent birth of a male infant named Tutapenda, left, on Oct. 29 is a significant milestone for conservation efforts. He joins his 2-month-old half-sister Mali who is also being hand-raised due to medical complications at birth.

Red Lion senior Chris Albright today signed a letter of intent to attend the University of Pittsburgh on a wrestling scholarship. The three-time PIAA qualifier already has 100 career wins. He was 41-4 as a junior at 112 pounds.

Quips John L. Wallace of Dallastown: “The Tampa Bay Rays may have exorcised the Devil, but that won’t expel the ghosts of their losing seasons. Instead of changing the name, they should have exorcised about half of their team and all of their management.”

If you watched the Ravens vs. Bengals game this past Sunday, what you witnessed was pretty much a McComedy of errors committed by the Baltimore offense.

Between Steve McNair’s propensity for fumbles, interceptions and phantom throws, a performance which was reminiscent of a rapidly declining Drew Bledsoe, or highly paid and poorly used running back Willis McGahee, the Ravens offense is the definition of dysfunctional.

As the game was winding down, the television cameras panned to Baltimore’s backup quarterback Kyle Boller accidentally throwing the ball into the turf while warming up on the sidelines. I could have sworn, somewhere in the background I faintly heard the song that used to be played during the closing credits of the Benny Hill show.

Michele King, a Spring Grove High graduate, has been named the University of Tennessee's Lady Vol Athlete of the Week.

The honor came after the sophomore enjoyed a stellar performance at Auburn over the weekend.

King picked up five wins, five NCAA provisional cuts and one NCAA automatic cut as the 12th-ranked Lady Vols fell, 201-146, to the top-ranked Tigers.

She earned Tennessee's first NCAA automatic qualifying cut in the 100-yard breaststroke by taking off 1 second from her previous personal-best time. Her time of 1:01.19 also set a school record by 0.72 seconds.

She also swam provisional times in the 50 free, 100 free and as part of the 200 free, 400 free and 200 medley relay teams.

Penn State linebacker Dan Connor earned Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week honors for the second time this season.

He also shared Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors with Wisconsin’s Matt Shaughnessy.

Connor tied his career-high with 18 tackles, and added 1.5 sacks, in the 31-0 victory over Temple. He made 10 of those tackles in the first quarter.

Clay Shaw submitted this photo of Aziza Aliyu, who won the 2007 White Rose five-mile run in downtown York on Saturday. For more photos and coverage of the White Rose run, see the Foot Power column in Tuesday morning's York Daily Record.

The Susquehannock boys’ soccer team, which is just two wins from a PIAA Class AAA championship, will travel to a familiar location for its state semifinal game on Tuesday.

A familiar and faraway location.

The Warriors (17-5-2) will face District 7’s Mars Area High School (20-3-1) at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Hollidaysburg High School in western Pennsylvania (about 2½ hours from York).

Hollidaysburg was the location of the Warriors’ 3-0 quarterfinal win over Steel Valley on Saturday.

Rapunzel, 23, carries her 2-year-old baby girl, Glenda, on her back during the unveiling of the Los Angeles Zoo's new Camp Gorilla Reserve in Los Angeles on Thursday Nov. 8,2007. Camp Gorilla Reserve closely resembles the gorilla's native West African environment with trees, brush, flowers and waterfalls.

Congratulations to the Penn State football team for its 74 percent graduation rate, which is second in Big Ten to Northwestern’s 80 percent.

Make no mistake, whatever happens on the field, this is a great accomplishment.

However, what is most appalling is the fact that the Nittany Lions’ rate is 19 points higher than the average Division I graduation rate for football players.

This means the average graduation rate of a D-I football program is only 55 percent.

That is pathetic.

York College senior setter Katie Hertz, center

York College senior Katie Hertz was selected as an ESPN The Magazine District II Academic All-American, earning a second-team spot.

Hertz, a Delone Catholic grad who was also earned All-CAC first-team honors for the Spartans, had a sensational senior campaign. Starting in every match for York (30-6), the captain was a model of consistency throughout the year.

“Katie has done a great job for us all four years,” said York College head coach Sue DuMars in a news release. “Her ability to balance school and volleyball is simply outstanding.”

The setter distributed a team-leading and career-high 1,455 assists averaging 11.93 per game. Hertz paced the squad with 51 service aces while also chipping in 139 kills, helping York to its highest win total since 1991.

Hertz also sports a 3.89 GPA as a biology major with a minor in chemistry.

Widener University senior volleyball player Becky Rohrbaugh, a Susquehannock grad, was named to the first team CoSIDA Academic All-District team.

Rohrbaugh sports a 4.0 GPA and is a two-time member of the MAC Honor Roll. This is the first selection on the CoSIDA team for the Elementary Education/Early Childhood major.

One the league’s top setters, Rohrbaugh is fourth in the conference with 10 assists per game. She closes her career second in school history with 2,862 assists.

Rohrbaugh is now eligible for the CoSIDA Academic All-America Team, which will be announced November 28.

Widener (16-19, 2-3 CC) advanced to the Commonwealth Conference Tournament for the first time since competing in the 1999 Middle Atlantic Tournament. The fourth-seeded Pride fell at No. 1 seed Elizabethtown, 3-0, in the semifinals.

Consider this Associated Press story:

WASHINGTON — Sexual solicitation charges against Andray Blatche have been dropped after the Washington Wizards forward successfully completed “John School.”

Blatche was arrested Aug. 2 when he and another man were accused of trying to solicit sex from an undercover police officer. At a hearing later that month, prosecutors said they would dismiss the case if Blatche attended a daylong seminar for men who solicit prostitutes. Court officials informally refer to the course as “John School.”

OK, so assuming "John School" doesn't actually teach guys how to be successful johns, how much is there to learn?

-- Lesson 1: Don't go looking for prostitutes.
-- Lesson 2: If a prostitute approaches you, don't talk to her (or him).

What else is there? Alternatives to needing a prostitute? Do people need schooling for that?

In reality, "John School" consists of a series of presentations, from the legal consequences of prostitution arrests, to the effects of sexually transmitted diseases, to the effects on family and society. Kind of like a "Scared Straight" program for the frustrated.

But I wonder how many graduates list this particular schooling on their resumes.

Eastern York graduate April McFarland was one of three York College field hockey players named to the All-CAC squad. McFarland, a junior forward, was joined by junior midfielder Casey Knauss and sophomore goalkeeper Claire Rekitzke on the CAC second team.

McFarland scored 11 goals and added one assist for a 23-point season. She has 35 career goals and seven assists for 77 points.

“April was overlooked last year, and I’m pleased that she was able to make second team,” York head coach Megan Eckenrode said. “She is one of our strongest players.”

York College women’s soccer coach Vicki Sterner was named the CAC Coach of the Year for the third time in her career, and six of her players were named to the All-CAC team. The announcement came days after York wrapped up its first conference crown with a 2-0 win Saturday at Salisbury.

The Spartans placed three players on the All-CAC first team - junior defender Kali MacGregor, senior midfielder Emily Sullivan and senior forward Erin Kuhn. Sullivan will leave York as a four-time All-CAC selection.

Named to the second team were junior forward Jill Stanley, a Kennard-Dale grad, freshman forward Stephanie Mergler and senior defender Katie Kegerreis.

The Spartans head into their first NCAA tournament game Saturday as they face Richard Stockton at 1 p.m. in Pomona, N.J.

York College sophomore Jon Ports was named the Capital Athletic Conference’s Men’s Soccer Player of the Year on Wednesday, and six of his Spartan teammates joined him on the All-CAC team.

The midfielder led the conference with 45 points and 15 assists and was tied for the league lead in goals with 15. A Baltimore native and University of Maryland transfer, Ports registered seven game-winning goals this season for the 19-2 Spartans.

“He’s been the engine for us all year, whether up front or in the midfield,” York head coach Mark Ludwig said in a news release. “He’s dangerous for us at scoring and creating chances.”

I am amazed at the recent complaints of former Miami Dolphins coach Don Shula saying that New England should have an asterisk on their amazing 2007 season because of the Spygate incident.

Come on, coach, do you really think the Patriots are the only team that ever did this?

Or is this a paranoia?

It seems that with the Pats being 9-0, the Dolphins are getting concerned about their 1972 undefeated season being the only one in recent NFL history.

While it tough to compare eras, I for one have no doubt that the this season’s New England team would beat that 72 Miami team — perhaps handily.

Dan Beshore, a Northeastern High grad, has been named to the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference all-conference second team as a defender on the Bloomsburg University soccer team.

Beshore, a senior, was a stalwart on defense for the Huskies, starting every game this season. He finished the campaign with one goal on 18 shots and was the leader of a defense that yielded 33 goals this season.

Beshore is the third Husky player in the past two years to be named to the all-conference team.

Dependable pundit Rick Gross of Wrightsville has checked in with the following comment: “The Packers are going to the Super Bowl. I don’t know who they’re going to play, but it absolutely won’t be New England. New England will lose three games before the season’s over.”

Meanwhile, this far more interesting tidbit, as far as I'm concerned, came out of the Associated Press story on JoePa's news conference:

There are several connections between Temple and Penn State. Second-year Owls head coach Al Golden played tight end at Penn State from 1987-91, and served as linebackers coach under Paterno in 2000. Defensive coordinator Mark D’Onofrio (1988-91) and quarterbacks coach Matt Rhule (1994-97) both played linebacker under Joe Paterno.

“They’re a team that he’s done a good job with and I’m proud of Al” and his staff, Paterno said.

Also, Temple was coached by former Paterno assistant Ron Dickerson the last time the Nittany Lions played the Owls in Philadelphia, a 48-21 Penn State win at Franklin Field.

Paterno said he had advised Golden and Dickerson initially against taking the Temple job.

I'm still rolling my eyes at this quote from Joe Paterno at Tuesday's weekly news conference:

“I don’t like playing Temple in the 11th game of the year, away from home. I think we better be very, very careful. We have to play a good, solid football game or Temple will beat us.”

Oh, where to start? There are a lot of developments on Pennsylvania's Sasquatch Mystery (tm). Let's start with the above photos. Indeed, these are the photos at the center of the debate.

The above photos were taken by a camera with an automatic trigger set up by hunter Rick Jacobs in Pennsylvania's Allegheny National Forest on Sept. 16. Jacobs released the images to The Associated Press, which sent them out to its member newspapers with the following caveat: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CANNOT AUTHENTICATE THE CONTENT OF THESE IMAGES. Just so we all know, in capital letters, where the Associated Press stands on this issue.

Starting this Friday, eleven area high school football teams will partake in the District 3 playoffs. Perhaps the most intriguing matchup will be the upstart Dallastown Wildcats heading to Small Field to take on the seasoned William Penn Bearcats.

Here's the complete schedule for all local teams:

Class AAAA - First Round

Dallastown at William Penn, Friday at 7 p.m.

Red Lion at Manheim Township, Friday at 7 p.m.

Central York at Bishop McDevitt, Saturday at 1 p.m.

Class AAA - First Round

Solanco at West York, Friday at 7 p.m.

Hamburg at Northern York, Friday at 7 p.m.

Northern Lebanon at Gettysburg, Friday at 7 p.m.

Manheim Central at Red Land, Friday at 7 p.m.

The Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2) can give themselves more of a cushion in the AFC North standings with a victory over the visiting Baltimore Ravens (4-3) on Monday night. Here are some previews of the big game from the perspective of each team:

Pittsburgh’s take on some positional battles between the Steelers and Ravens: Steelers' view

Baltimore realizes the importance of the upcoming contest: Ravens' view

York Catholic running back Nick Falci has been the Irish's workhorse this season.

The U.S. Army Harrisburg Recruiting Battalion named York Catholic's Nick Falci as its Army Iron Man of the Week in the battalion's Pennsylvania recruiting territory.

Falci rushed for 170 yards, scored on a 5-yard touchdown run and returned an interception for another touchdown as York Catholic beat Kennard-Dale, 14-7, last week.

As a weekly winner, Falci is now eligible for the Army Iron Man of the Year.

Falci is the second YAIAA player to take home the award in as many weeks, following Delone Catholic's Brayden Daigle.

York College women’s soccer players Emily Sullivan and Meagan Cahill have earned ESPN The Magazine CoSIDA District II Academic All-America honors.

Sullivan’s efforts during the 2007 season garnered a first-team selection, while Cahill was a third-team choice.

This is Sullivan’s second career selection. She was named to the second team as a sophomore in 2005.

The District II College Division consists of all non-NCAA Division I colleges and universities in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.