University Park, Pa. – The Towson men’s lacrosse team (10-7) withstood a late rally from No. 9 Penn State (12-4) to defeat the Nittany Lions, 11-10, and claim its first Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) title since 2005 Friday afternoon at PSU Lacrosse Field.

PSU outscored Towson 4-3 in the fourth quarter to try and rally from an 8-6 deficit at the end of the third. The game was tightly contested until late in the second quarter and into the third when the Tigers broke it open with a five-goal run.

Towson was making its first appearance in a CAA final since 2010, when the Tigers fell to Delaware, 12-9 on May 8. Today’s championship is Towson’s fourth title in its ninth appearance at the CAA Tournament. Towson’s Thomas DeNapoli, Jordan Fortmann and Ben McCarty were named to the All-Tournament team. Senior goalkeeper Andrew Wascavage received Most Outstanding Player. It is Head Coach Shawn Nadelen’s first CAA championship.

Sophomore Greg Cuccinello’s second hat trick of the season led the Tigers. He also had one assist. DeNapoli added two goals and two assists, while senior Matt Hughes scored his fourth and fifth goals in four games.

TJ Sanders’s three goals led the Nittany Lions. Jack Forster and Shane Sturgis each posted two goals. Goalie Austin Kaut made six saves.

McCarty opened the game’s scoring with his seventh goal in two games off a pass from DeNapoli at 11:10 in the first quarter. The Tigers took a 2-0 lead at 10:25 when sophomore Cuccinello beat PSU’s Kaut middle right.

Penn State struck back with a three-goal run starting at 9:28, getting scores from Forster, Kyle VanThof and Steven Bogert. But DeNapoli cut short the rally with his 40th goal of the season at 2:05. Hughes caused a Penn State turnover, picked up the ground ball and fed it to DeNapoli for the score. Hughes capped the quarter with his seventh goal of the year and, fourth in four games, with one second left.

The Nittany Lions started the second quarter on another three-goal rally when Forster connected with Tom LaCrosse on a fast break at 13:53. Sanders scored at 11:11 and Gavin Ahern followed at 10:18 to give PSU a 6-4 lead.

Junior Andrew Hodgson notched a goal for Towson at 6:59 when Towson worked the ball around the back of the net to Cuccinello who fed Hodgson. He dodged a defender and beat Kaut high to low from 12 yards out. His goal inched Towson to within one, 6-5, and Mabus’ tally at 4:28 pulled the Tigers even, 6-6.

Cuccinello started the third quarter with a bullet at 12:30 to put Towson up, 7-6, before Hodgson scored just over eight minutes later to give the Tigers an 8-6 advantage they carried into the fourth quarter.

The final frame was a wild one, seeing a total of seven goals – four in the final four minutes. Cuccinello posted his final goal of the game at 13:19 from 13 yards out, but the Lions showed they still had some fight when Sanders scored his 41st of the season 45 seconds later. Hughes answered with his second of the game when freshman Dan Livingston cleared the ball and passed to a waiting Hughes right in front of the goal at 6:51. That put Towson up three,10-7.

Towson was whistled for a slash at 4:54 and Penn State capitalized just 24 seconds into the penalty with a Sturgis goal at 4:31 to make it 10-8. DeNapoli posted his 41st of the year at 2:33, unassisted to increase the Tigers’ lead to 11-8. It gave Towson just enough breathing room to withstand Penn State goals from Sturgis and Sanders, at 2:14 and 1:42 respectively.

With the win, the Tigers earned the CAA’s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. They will find out their opponent during the NCAA selection show on Sunday, May 5.

College Men’s Lacrosse: Towson 11, No. 9 Penn State 10
Towson (10-7)               4-2-2-3/11
Penn State (12-4)           3-3-0-4/10

GOALS: TOW – Cuccinello 3, DeNapoli 2, Hodgson 2, Hughes, 2, Mabus, McCarty; PSU – Sanders 3, Forster 2, Sturgis 2, Ahern, VanThof, Bogert. ASSISTS: TOW – DeNapoli 2, Cuccinello, Livingston, Mabus; PSU – Ahern 2, Manley 2, LaCrosse, Zittel. SAVES: TOW – Wascavage (12, 60:00, 10 GA); PSU – Kaut (6, 60:00,11 GA). SHOTS: TOW – 32; PSU – 35. GROUND BALLS: TOW – 21; PSU – 33. FACE-OFFS: TOW –5-24; PSU – 19-24. CLEARS: TOW – 22-24; PSU – 19-23. EMO: TOW – 0-2; PSU 2-2. ATT: 796.

University Park, Pa. - Three Tigers scored two goals each, but No. 11 Penn State (9-3, 4-0 Colonial Athletic Association (CAA)) took home a 10-8 victory over Towson (7-6, 3-1 CAA) Saturday afternoon at Penn State Lacrosse Field.

Junior Andrew Hodgson and sophomores Justin Mabus and Greg Cuccinello all had two-goal games for Towson. Hodgson and Mabus each added an assist as well. Senior goalie Andrew Wascavage made 11 saves for the Tigers. TJ Sanders posted his third five-goal game of the year for Penn State.

Towson and Penn State were evenly matched. The teams split the face-offs, 10-10, and each took 33 shots. Both teams were 2-3 on extra man opportunities. But the Tigers couldn’t overcome 17 turnovers, including five in the first quarter. Penn State scored two goals directly off Towson turnovers.

Sanders got Penn State on the board first at 13:00 in the first quarter before Brian Bolewicki and Cuccinello scored back-to-back goals to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead with 4:55 in the first frame. Sanders and Hodgson traded goals to start the second quarter before the Nittany Lions reeled off four unanswered goals to take a 6-3 lead at 8:34 in the third quarter. PSU held a four-goal lead, 8-4, at 2:10 in the same frame.

Towson cut the advantage to two goals three times, 8-6 at 11:52 in the fourth on an EMO goal from Mabus, 9-7 after junior Thomas DeNapoli scored unassisted at 10:07 in the fourth and the final 10-8 after a Hodgson goal.

The Tigers return to action Saturday, April 20 at Drexel at 4 p.m.

Opening Face-Off
Towson and Penn State are both coming off wins last week. The Tigers defeated UMass 9-5, while PSU handed Drexel a 13-6 loss. The game is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. and can be heard live on the Towson Sports Network on www.towsontigers.com with Spiro Morekas and former Tiger midfielder Hunter Lochte calling the action. It will also be televised on the Big Ten Network (BTN).

Updating the Tigers
The win over the Minutemen on April 6 pushed Towson’s win streak to four games coming into Saturday’s match up. The Tigers limited UMass to two goals through three quarters, holding the Minutemen scoreless in the first quarter. Stellar play in net from senior Andrew Wascavage helped the Tigers withstand a late comeback attempt from UMass. Junior Devin Grimaldi notched his first career hat trick and a career-best four points.

Last Time Out vs. Penn State – April 14, 2012 (Penn State 8, Towson 3)
Towson scored the final two goals of the second quarter to trail just 4-3 at halftime, but for the first time in 2012 the Tigers failed to register a goal in the second half. Penn State outshot Towson 39-28 en route to winning its third straight game. Shane Sturgis and Matthew Mackrides each posted hat tricks for the Nittany Lions. Andrew Wascavage made 17 saves in net for the Tigers. Carl Iacona (1) and Matt Lamon (2) scored for Towson.

Towson-Penn State Series History
Begun in 1981, the series was contested annually after that until 1995. The teams met in the first round of the 2003 NCAA Tournament, where the Tigers claimed an 11-6 victory to end PSU’s season. The series began again in 2010 when the Nittany Lions joined the CAA.

Towson-Penn State By the Numbers

Honorable Mention: College Hockey-Frozen Four: UMass-Lowell vs. Yale (Thursday 4:30pm from Pittsburgh live on ESPN2), Quinnipiac vs. St. Cloud State (Thursday 8pm from Pittsburgh live on ESPN2), NCAA Championship Game (Saturday 7pm from Pittsburgh live on ESPN); Tennis: ATP U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship (Friday 7pm Saturday 2pm Sunday 3pm from Houston live on Tennis Channel); Boxing: Nonito Donaire vs. Guillermo Rigondeaux (Saturday 11pm from New York live on HBO); Charm City Roller Girls (Saturday 5:30pm Du Burns Arena)

10. Fleetwood Mac (Tuesday 8pm Verizon Center), Alicia Keys/Miguel (Sunday 7:30pm Verizon Center); Volbeat (Wednesday 8pm Rams Head Live), Crack The Sky (Saturday 8pm Rams Head Live); Cris Jacobs Band (Friday 8pm 8×10 Club); Johns Hopkins Spring Fair feat. Grouplove, Carolina Liar (Friday 8pm Ralph S. O’Connor Recreation Center) Marc Broussard (Tuesday 8pm Rams Head on Stage); Stone Sour (Thursday 8pm Fillmore Silver Spring), Big Sean (Saturday 8pm Fillmore Silver Spring); Black Crowes (Tuesday 7pm 9:30 Club), Cold War Kids (Thursday 8pm 9:30 Club), The Dan Band (Saturday 8pm 9:30 Club), Andrew McMahon (Monday 6:30pm 9:30 Club); Rusted Root (Tuesday 9:30pm Rams Head Center Stage); Edwin McCain (Wednesday 8pm Wolf Trap); Diana Krall (Wednesday 8pm Strathmore); Paramore “Paramore“, Eric Church “Eric Church Live: Caught In The Act” and Dawes “Stories Don’t End” available in stores/on iTunes (Tuesday)

I like Alicia Keys a lot, but I freaking LOVE Miguel. How great is this dude?

I saw Carolina Liar at Recher once (back when Recher held concerts). I honestly found them to be excellent.

The Orioles have a catcher in the minors named Chris Robinson. I heard a rumor he’s “Hard to Handle.”

There’s a chance Dawes will be my new favorite band. Check back later today.

9. Paul Mooney (Friday 7:30pm Howard Theatre); Kathleen Madigan (Thursday-Sunday 7:30pm Birchmere); Amy Schumer (Thursday 9pm Sixth & I Historic Synagogue); Guy Torry (Thursday-Saturday Baltimore Comedy Factory), Ralphie May (Monday 8pm Baltimore Comedy Factory); Wendy Liebman (Thursday-Saturday Magooby’s Joke House); Sebastian Maniscalco (Friday-Sunday DC Improv); Maryland International Film Festival (Thursday-Saturday Hagerstown)

Amy Schumer is a Towson alum. She’s quite funny (and quite pretty)…

You know what, maybe I should just give you a little more of her…

That’s some Faith Hill-level leg by the way.

(Continued on Next Page…)

Drew Forrester is right.

(You better make sure you pocket that one away for the future there, Forrester.)

He wrote Saturday morning here at WNST.net that if the University of Maryland were to jump ship from the ACC to the Big Ten (or B1G if you will), the move would be made entirely based on money.

He’s right about that. Of course, as it always is with Drew-he’s not right about everything.

Drew also said such a move would “stink…plain and simple.”

I’m not buying that whatsoever. I know he isn’t either.

Maryland to the Big Ten rumors have been reheated in recent days, and it appears as though this time there’s the actual bite that has been missing during previous rounds of rumors. In fact, a detailed ESPN.com report said Saturday school President Wallace Loh and Athletic Director Kevin Anderson were directly involved in negotiations.

The single biggest reason why a move like this WOULDN’T happen would be the $50 million exit fee the ACC is charging for a member institution to leave, but there’s monetary incentive for the B1G to be willing to help there.

Should the B1G be able to lure Maryland (and Rutgers as reports have indicated the league would also like to add), they would immediately open up three top 30 markets for likely pickup of the Big Ten Network (New York, Washington and Baltimore). Adding these three markets would prove quite lucrative for a league who created the first ever 24-7 sports television network.

That fact has been deemed understandable by most fans, but what some have struggled to understand is why Maryland would want to give up money-making basketball games against the likes of Duke and North Carolina.

Perhaps Saturday’s football game should teach you a lesson.

To understand why the move would make sense for Maryland, you must first be willing to accept a simple fact. No matter how important basketball is to your program, football is the money maker at (damn near) every major Division 1 university.

Let that sink in.

Maryland needs football revenue. It’s why they’re rotating through many different Under Armour uniforms right now. They’re hoping that with actual healthy players in the near future, they might be able to win games under Randy Edsall. If they do, that will go a long way to helping the program make money. In the meantime, their most lucrative opponents at Byrd Stadium include the likes of Virginia Tech and Florida State.

And thanks to this picture posted by InsideMDSports.com Saturday, here’s what we’ve learned about the lucrative nature of a game against Florida State…

There is no guarantee that a late season game against an Ohio State or Penn State or Michigan or Wisconsin would be significantly better attended than Saturday’s game given the dreadful state of the Maryland program after losing FOUR quarterbacks. But if THIS is as good as the ACC has to offer in football, what really is there to lose by making the jump?

There absolutely WOULD be something lost in basketball with a move to the B1G. Games against Duke and North Carolina have been perhaps the most significant athletic events the school has hosted in the last decade. That said, the conference has been a watered down mess outside the two power programs, and replacing Duke and Carolina with games against Michigan State and Indiana annually (or biannually) doesn’t sound like a terrible consolation prize. Games against Ohio State Wisconsin could serve as replacements for what would have been gained from the pending additions of Pitt and Syracuse to the ACC.

But Maryland’s reason for interest in jumping ship to the Big Ten is still much more tied to football, and namely the Big Ten Network.

The thought process is quite simple. Every Big Ten football game played every year is on television.

I want you to think about that.

Every single game is on television…not ESPN3.com.

That value cannot be dismissed in making a determination for the University of Maryland. Even the early season games against the likes of James Madison or Florida International would actually air on TV in (presumably) almost every home in the area and in other Big Ten markets, which would now include the crucial recruiting areas of New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Every single game would also be available for viewing parties of alumni groups in bars and restaurants in those same markets.

Does that make sense?

On top of that, every program aired 24 hours a day, seven days a week on BTN serves as very affordable advertising for the athletic department and university as a whole.

If Maryland makes the move to the B1G, it will ABSOLUTELY be all about money.

It will NOT however “stink”.

Everyone knows (including Drew) that the only thing that actually matters in college athletics is money.

That’s “plain and simple.”

-G

Setting the Stage
• Navy and Penn State will meet for the 38th time on the gridiron when they square off at Beaver Stadium (106,572) in University Park, Pa. on Sept. 15.  Kickoff is set for 3:30 pm.
• This will be the first meeting between the two schools since 1974 when Navy went on the road and upset nationally-ranked Penn State, 7-6.  The win ended the Nittany Lions’ 21-game home winning streak and overall winning string of 13 consecutive games.  The series dates back to 1894 when the two teams played to a 6-6 tie.
• The game will be nationally televised on ABC/ESPN2 with Mike Patrick (play-by-play), Ed Cunningham (color) and Jeannine Edwards (sideline) calling the action.  Check your local listings to find out which network will be carrying the game in your area.

Navy Nuggets
•    Navy owns a 17-16 (.515) record in games played away from the friendly confines of Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium under head coach Ken Niumatalolo, including a 3-5 (.375) mark over the last two years.
• The Mids are 15-6 (.714) in home games under Niumatalolo which includes a 2-3 (.400) record in 2011.
• In Navy’s last five wins, it outscored the opposition, 105-31, in the first half, including 43-0 in the first quarter.
• In the Mids’ last eight losses, they have been outscored, 179-69, in the first half, including 72-10 in the first quarter.
• Navy has been held below 300 yards rushing in seven of its last 13 games and won just one of those games (Army).
• Navy is 27-4 (.870) under Niumatalolo when scoring first.  The Mids are 5-18 (.217) under Niumatalolo when the opponent scores first and have lost the last eight games (over the last three years).
• Under Niumatalolo, the Mids are 21-3 (.875) when leading after the first quarter and 11-19 (.367) when trailing or tied after the first stanza.
• An opposing running back has rushed for over 100 yards in a game against Navy in nine of the last 13 contests.  In the previous 40 games, Navy surrendered only nine 100-yard rushing games to opposing running backs.

Injuries
•    Starting sophomore outside linebacker Chris Johnson is out for the year with a torn ACL in his left knee.
• Starting junior wide receiver Matt Aiken is questionable with a right knee injury.

Scouting Penn State
•  The Nittany Lions are 0-2 under first-year head coach Bill O’Brien, losing at home to Ohio, 24-14, and on the road to Virginia, 17-16.
•  Quarterback Matt McGloin has completed 46 of his 83 (.554) passes for 457 yards with four touchdowns and one interception.
•    Wide receiver Allen Robinson has an incredible 19 catches for 186 yards and a touchdown in his first two games.  He is tied for seventh in the country in catches per game and 27th in receiving yards per game.  Kyle Carter has 10 catches for 107 yards and a touchdown.
•    Running back Bill Belton started against Ohio and carried the ball 13 times for 53 yards.  He missed the Virginia game with an ankle injury.  Derek Day started against the Cavs and carried the ball 18 times for 47 yards.
•    Outside linebackers Michael Mauti (21 tackles) and Gerald Hodges (19 tackles) lead the team in tackles.  Mauti also has a forced fumble and a fumble recovery, while Hodges has recovered a fumble.

The Last Time … 
Navy 7, Penn State 6    Sept. 21, 1974 | University Park, Pa.
• Navy parlayed a lone second-quarter touchdown drive of 80 yards and some steady and alert defensive play to upset nationally-ranked Penn State, 7-6, on a rainy and windy day.
• The Midshipman victory ended Penn State’s 21-game home winning streak and overall winning string of 13-consecutive games.
• The Nittany Lions missed on four field goal attempts, including one from the 43-yard line with less than two minutes on the clock.
• Navy also gobbled up five Lion fumbles.
• Navy initiated its lone touchdown drive in the second period when fullback Bob Jackson burst over the left side for 21 yards.  Quarterback Phil Poirier then was successful on passes of 14 and 21 yards, respectively to wide receivers Ike Owens and Robin Ameen.
• Another key play was a pass to Jackson, gaining nine yards and a first down on the State 10.  On third down from the four, Jackson on the fullback run-pass option hit Ameen in the end zone and Steve Dykes added the extra point.
• The Nittany Lions, kept off balance by the Navy defense led by Chet Moeller, pieced together a 58-yard drive midway through the fourth quarter.  Fullback Tom Donchez made five-straight carries during the march, gaining 24 yards and a first down on the five.  Tom Shuman then hit Jerry Jeram with a five-yard scoring pass, the clock showing 4:41 remaining.
• Penn State went for a two-point conversion but Shuman’s pass for wingback Jim Eaise was knocked down by Navy halfback Ed Jeter.
• Penn State had the ball once more, but Chris Bahr failed on the 43-yard field goal try.
• Earlier Nittany Lion drives to the Navy 19, 36, 23, 12, 15 anad nine-yard lines ended in fumbles or missed field goals.
• Moeller had 13 tackles, three of them for losses, and a recovered fumble.

Keystone Kids
•    The Navy football program recruits Pennsylvania heavily and it currently has 13 players on its roster from the Keystone State.
• Senior defensive end Wes Henderson (Wexford), senior slot back John Howell (Hatfield) and sophomore guard Jake Zuzek (Brookhaven) are all expected to start against the Nittany Lions on Saturday.
•    Additionally, senior linebacker John Michael Nurthen (Phoenixville), sophomore fullback Maika Polamalu(Pottstown) and freshman nose guard Bernard Sarra (Monessen, Pa.) are expected to see action on Saturday.
•    Other Pennsylvania natives on the roster include senior guard Matt Couch (Enola), freshman defensive end David Gordeuk (Port Matilda), junior defensive end Michael Huf (Drexel Hill), sophomore defensive end Chris Nurthen(Phoenixville), freshman wide receiver Doug Ott (Kennett Square), sophomore corner Lonnie Richardson (Chester) and junior slot back Brian Williams (Monroeville).
•    Couch’s father, Thomas, was a lineman at Penn State in the early 80′s.
•    Polamalu’s father, Aoatoa, played football at Penn State and was the starting defensive tackle on the Nittany Lions’ 1986 national championship team.  His cousin is standout Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu.

Navy-Penn State Ties
•    Former Navy head coach George Welsh was a Penn State assistant coach from 1964-72, leaving to become the Mids’ head coach in 1973. In Welsh’s only game at Beaver Stadium as Navy’s coach, he led the Mids to a 7-6 win in 1974. Welsh was the Navy coach through 1981 when he left to become head coach at Virginia. He is Navy’s career wins leader, earning a 55-46-1 mark.
• Former Penn State Associate AD Budd Thalman was Navy’s Sports Information Director from 1962-72. He provided assistance to the national media during Roger Staubach’s Heisman Trophy-winning campaign in 1963. Thalman was the Buffalo Bills’ Vice President for Public Relations from 1973-85 before going to Penn State, where he directed the Nittany Lions’ external relations and communications from 1986 until his 2001 retirement. Thalman was inducted into the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Hall of Fame in 1998.

Navy Versus The Big 10
•    Navy is 26-41-3 (.393) all-time against schools currently in the Big 10 Conference.
• The Mids are 17-18-2 against Penn State, 5-12-1 against Michigan, 2-0 against Purdue, 1-0 against Illinois, 1-1 against Wisconsin, 0-1 against Minnesota, 0-2 against Indiana, 0-3 against Northwestern and 0-4 against Ohio State.
•    This will be Navy’s first game against a Big 10 opponent since Sept. 5, 2009, when Ohio State edged the Mids, 31-27, in Columbus.
•    Navy last beat a Big 10 opponent on Sept. 29, 1979, when the Mids won at Illinois, 13-12.

Youth Is Served
• Navy has one of the youngest football teams in America. With 13 true freshmen (Navy does not redshirt) appearing on the depth chart, the Mids are tied for third nationally for the most true freshmen listed on the depth.
• The Mids played eight true freshmen against Notre Dame (CB Quincy Adams, K Nick Sloan, CB Shelley White, CBKwazel Bertrand, QB Keenan Reynolds, OLB A.K. Akpunku, NG Bernard Sarra and DE Will Anthony.
• Navy had eight players make their first-career starts against Notre Dame, including five on offense and three on the offensive line (LT Ryan Paulson, RG Jake Zuzek, RT Bradyn Heap, WR Jonathan Gazaille, FB Noah Copeland, NGBarry Dabney, RE Evan Palelei and OLB Jordan Drake).
• Navy had 17 players make their college debut in Saturday’s opener against Notre Dame.  In addition to the eight freshmen previously mentioned,  Heap, KO specialist Colin Amerau, SB Geoffrey Whiteside, FB Prentice Christian, DEPaul Quessenberry, OG Thomas Stone, C Tanner Fleming, DE Aaron Davis and DE Danny Ring played in their first-collegiate contest.

A First Time For Everything    
• Junior wide receiver Casey Bolena caught a career-high three passes for a career-best 61 yards against Notre Dame. He entered the contest with four career receptions for 53 yards.
• Senior fullback Prentice Christian, making his first-collegiate apperance, paced Navy in rushing with 39 yards on two carries including a long rush of 25.
• Sophomore fullback Noah Copeland carried the ball six times for 29 yards in making his first-collegiate start at fullback.  He also caught three passes for 11 yards.
• Sophomore outside linebacker Jordan Drake turned in a career-high seven tackles against the Irish after contributing four tackles his freshman year as a member of special teams.
• Sophomore corner Parrish Gaines recorded a career-high 12 tackles against Notre Dame and also picked off his first-career pass.
• Senior wide receiver Jonathan Gazaille made his first-career catch for a gain of four yards against the Irish.
• Junior wide receiver Shawn Lynch caught a career-high four passes for a career-high 87 yards in what marked just his third game played at wide receiver (he played defense as a sophomore).  He caught a 16-yard pass from quarterbackTrey Miller for his first-collegiate reception and caught a 25-yard strike from Miller for his first-career touchdown.
• Freshman kicker Nick Sloan connected on his first-career field goal attempt from 26-yards at the end of the first half against Notre Dame.
• Senior outside linebacker Keegan Wetzel recorded his first-collegiate sack against Notre Dame.

Lots of Passing Yards Usually Means A Loss
• Junior quarterback Trey Miller was completed 14 of his 20 passes for 192 yards and one touchdown against Notre Dame.
• The 192-yard passing effort was Navy’s best since throwing for 227 yards in a 34-31 loss to Duke in 2010 and the most yards Navy has thrown for against Notre Dame since 1996 when the Mids threw for 218 yards in a 54-27 loss to the Irish in ironically enough, Dublin.

Low Totals
• Navy’s 10 points in the opener against Notre Dame were the fewest points it has scored in a game since Oct. 2, 2010, when the Mids scored just six points in a 14-6 loss at Air Force.
• The Mids’ 149 yards rushing against Notre Dame were the fewest by a Navy team since Dec. 11, 2010, when Navy rushed for just 139 yards in a 31-17 victory over Army.

Freshman Kicker
• Freshman Nick Sloan beat out five other kickers to earn the job as Navy’s kicker on field goals and PATs.  He made his first-career field goal attempt from 26 yards against Notre Dame and also made his only PAT attempt.
• Sloan is the first freshman to start at kicker for Navy since 1996 when Tim Shubzda started multiple games, including the opener against Rutgers.  Shubzda connected on four-of-six field goal attempts and all six of his PAT’s as a freshman, splitting time with Jason Covarubbias and Tom Vanderhorst.

Beltran Off To A Good Start
• Sophomore punter Pablo Beltran got off to a good start, averaging 46.2 yards per punt on his four punts against Notre Dame which inlcuded a long of 63.
• Beltran averaged 37.5 yards per punt as a freshman.  He was the first freshman to start at punter for the Midshipmen since Brian Schrum in 1992.

Honorable Mention: WNBA-Washington Mystics @ New York Liberty (Wednesday 7pm from New York live on WNBA.com), Atlanta Dream @ Washington Mystics (Friday 7pm from Verizon Center live on WNBA.com), New York Liberty @ Washington Mystics (Sunday 4pm from Verizon Center live on NBA TV); High School Football: Charlotte Christian @ Gilman (Friday 4pm), St. John’s (DC) @ Calvert Hall (Friday 7pm), City vs. Dunbar (Friday 7pm from Poly), Perry Hall @ Towson (Saturday 1pm)

10. Charm City Music Festival feat. Weezer, Eve 6, Flogging Molly, Ballyhoo! (Saturday 12pm Harbor East Waterfront); Anthony Hamilton feat. Estelle (Friday 6:30pm Pier Six Pavilion); Barry Manilow (Saturday 7:30pm 1st Mariner Arena); Bon Iver (Saturday 6:30pm Merriweather Post Pavilion); Sunday in the Country feat. Eric Church (Sunday 1pm Merriweather Post Pavilion); Kerfuffle feat. Offspring, Sublime with Rome, Garbage (Saturday 3:30pm Jiffy Lube Live); (hed) PE (Wednesday 6:30pm Recher Theatre); Yardbirds (Wednesday 8pm Rams Head on Stage), Don McLean (Friday 8pm Rams Head on Stage), Kingston Trio (Sunday 4:30pm & 7:30pm Rams Head on Stage); J. Geils Band (Thursday 8pm Fillmore Silver Spring); Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band (Saturday 7:30pm Nationals Park); Dan Deacon (Saturday 9pm Ottobar); George Clinton (Monday 8pm Howard Theatre); Dave Matthews Band “Away From The World”, Bob Dylan “Tempest”, Avett Brothers “The Carpenter” and Little Big Town “Tornado” available in stores/on iTunes (Tuesday)

You get excited about Weezer, but I ALWAYS get excited about Eve 6…

This is a difficult admission and I hope you’ll be supportive at this time. I’ve actually SEEN Eric Church AT a previous Sunday In The Country. It look a lot for me to be able to say that…

The thing about a Springsteen show anywhere near here is that I feel like no one ever talks about it…

I’ve listened to the new Dave Matthews record (and NO, I’m NOT headed to lacrosse practice later-thank you very much). I dig this tune most…

9. Maryland Wine Festival (Saturday & Sunday Carroll County Farm Museum); “Cirque du Soleil: Totem” final week (Tuesday-Sunday National Harbor); Maryland Renaissance Festival (Saturday & Sunday Revel Grove); “Finding Nemo 3D” in theaters (Friday)

If you think for a SECOND I won’t be going to see Nemo Friday night you are OUT OF YOUR MIND. It’s like this…

No joke. I’m so in on this.

As Mike Mussina makes his triumphant return to Baltimore this weekend for the Orioles Hall of Fame activities it’s certainly a thought-provoking time to be a long-time observer and fan of the franchise.

Sure, the Orioles are once again relevant — playing meaningful and exciting games every night — which harkens to the days of 1996 & 1997 when “Moose” was an integral part of the magic of being an Orioles fan every fifth day during the zenith of Camden Yards’ passion and Inner Harbor energy.

Mussina has been gone from Baltimore – except for three visits a year in New York Yankees pinstripes – for 12 years now. So long ago that time has seemingly dimmed the glory of his deeds and his departure serves as a truly seminal moment in the awfulness of the Orioles franchise under the stewardship of Peter Angelos since 1993.

In the 1970’s it was routine for the Orioles to lose players to owners, markets and franchises that had more wealth, population and revenue. Many members of the franchise “Hall of Fame” and “Oriole Way” stalwarts left like Mayflowers in the middle of the night for greener pastures including Don Baylor, Bobby Grich, Reggie Jackson, Wayne Garland and Doug DeCinces and later Eddie Murray, Mike Boddicker, Mike Flanagan, B.J. Surhoff and Mike Bordick were all dealt away to save cash and get younger players.

But in the 1980’s and 1990’s, replete with a fan base from six states that pumped unprecedented money into the franchise and reached into the state’s funds to build Camden Yards and turn Baltimore into a spigot for Major League Baseball profitability, the Orioles never lost a player they wanted to keep.

Not until they lost the best player and pitcher of his generation of Baltimore baseball when Mike Mussina wore the “turncoat” label and bolted for the New York Yankees.

After the 2000 season, tired of three years of losing and Angelos’ low-balling and obvious meddling and mismanagement, Mussina simply took the advice of his agent Arn Tellem and played out his option and walked. On Dec. 7, 2001 after years of eschewing the notion of playing in big, bad New York he signed a six-year, $88.5 million deal to play for the Evil Empire.

I’ll share my many personal memories and my friendship with Mussina later in this blog but I can remember the surreal nature of watching that press conference from The Bronx from Chicago’s Sporting News Radio studios with my jaw open. It was the definitive signal that quality Major League Baseball players simply didn’t want to be in Baltimore anymore and it had little to do with crab cakes or the American League East.

Mussina was thought to be “irreplaceable” at the time and 11 years later time has borne out that diagnosis.

Mussina left the Baltimore Orioles because the owner stunk. He knew it and everyone in baseball knew it.

So, Mussina will finally return and don Orioles colors this weekend for the final time and he’ll find a few fresh statues on the veranda, a team in the midst of its first pennant run in 15 years and a seemingly soulless shell of a former love affair for baseball in Baltimore.

There’ll be plenty of empty seats and shoulder shrugs at his mostly sweet and sour induction into the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame this weekend. Certainly a worthy candidate if there ever were one, Mussina’s time as a starter for the Birds is only eclipsed by the deeds of Jim Palmer, who as I’ve said many times is the greatest (and most underappreciated) Oriole of all time by any measurement.

Palmer let loose with a haughty pronouncement on a MASN broadcast earlier this week in promoting this weekend’s festivities. “The Moose is going to Cooperstown – at least I hope. He’s got 270 wins,” said Palmer, who went on to proclaim that in the steroid era to win all of those games and Gold Gloves and remain a “clean figure” in the needle witch hunt of the Mitchell Report should get him a Hall of Fame ballot punched in 2014.

For “real” Orioles fans, he’ll always be known as the Benedict Arnold of the modern generation for leaving the

Everyone knows all the details of the story. Sandusky was more than inappropriate with minors, Paterno and the Heads of Penn State did not to action as decent human beings and the university has lost all credibility.

Now the NCAA has felt the need to make their stamp on the football program; a program that allowed such monstrous acts. But is it really their fault; did the players, assistants, water boys, equipment managers, cheerleaders or the fans have any knowledge of this horrific situation? With the current sanctions against the school, the NCAA President, Mark Emmert certainly thinks so.

Paterno has already been fired, his legacy destroyed, his statue removed and lost his life over this ordeal. No one will argue that he deserved a more fair treatment from the community. But this punishment brought down on Penn State goes too far. Vacating wins off Paterno’s record to ensure he no longer holds the all-time record is one thing; taking those wins away from the kids who poured their heart and soul into the 1998-2011 seasons is simply unjust. Remove the head coach from books, do not remove the team.

Why are those individuals being punished for the terrible acts of a select few? 111 times, a unit of student-athletes took the field together, yet those 111 times are no longer recognized. How can Mr. Emmert look any of those players in the eye and say “this problem is partly your fault, you do not deserve to be rewarded.” Did these people do anything wrong at all? Nothing about this controversy was a football program violation; it was a university violation by its strongest contributors. The legacy of those at fault are now destroyed, like you intended NCAA, but at the cost of thousands of innocent bystanders.

Bowl Bans and scholarship reductions only punish the future of a distraught community. Penn State could rally around Bill O’Brien and a team that stands up in the face of adversity. Instead, they are hindered by monsters of the past; monsters that will have absolutely no relation to the incoming class of Nittany Lions four years from now. How are the current staff and players supposed to help this program move forward? The NCAA has set up O’Brien to fail.

And that is the only the first part of the sanctions. The NCAA is also stealing $60 million from the University. Why do they feel entitled to this money? What did they exactly do to deserve this jackpot? Even if they do not take a single dime of that fine (which is highly unlikely with their checkered past of greed), a nice tax break is in order for the mass amounts of charitable donations planned. Emmert wants PSU to become a haven for sexual abuse awareness; $60 million would certainly be good start to developing that program.

For a “legal” matter, the NCAA certainly has stuck their nose in, and returned winners. The NCAA’s power is limited to making a fair culture for all sports programs to compete, not to destroy a program over a legal matter. The University of Miami Football program has repeatedly been caught cheating (a department the NCAA is supposed to focus on), yet they will still return next season basically unscathed. Cam Newton led Auburn to a National Title, while it was proven his father was paid by the university for his “son’s services.” Where were you then Mr. Emmert? I recall Reggie Bush returning his Heisman trophy for the same exact situation. Worry about issues you are supposed to handle; let the government handle the rest.

Who do you think you are Mark Emmert? Who do you think you are NCAA?

It only takes a simple search of “Penn State” on Twitter to see that the cult surrounding the school is still alive.  You can see tweets ranging from support of Paterno to complete denial that anything has even happened.  The point being, the majority of the Penn State community still hasn’t learned its lesson and isn’t showing signs that it wants to.  It’s really quite sad and disturbing.

 Last week, I was able to speak to two somewhat “reasonable” (reasonable meaning they actually formulated ideas within our conversation) Penn State students on Twitter the day the news broke about the possible removal of Joe Paterno’s statue outside of Beaver Stadium.  After I was first cursed at for even insinuating that a cult like atmosphere existed within the school, I was able to have a semi-intelligent conversation with them.  I’m not going to give out their names or Twitter handles but a simple look through my tweets will deliver you the conversation.

One of the students told me, “I’m just tired of people disrespecting the school I love. It’s sickening. People outside of PSU have no idea.”  This seems to be the most common argument among people in the Penn State community.  It’s been used since the very beginning.  Even to defend the riots.  The student is right, kind of.  Of course we can’t understand; we aren’t a part of your cult. However, your school wouldn’t be under so much fire if your leaders, especially the man who you essentially worshipped, didn’t cover up and try to protect a monster of whom they were all well aware of.

“It seems that everyone rather blame JoePa for Sandusky, than anyone else. You could blame Spanier, PSU police, jerry’s wife,” the same student went on to say.  Yes, we would rather blame Paterno.  He has (had) a statue in the middle of your campus.  He was the one who was most powerful at your university, as outlined in the Freeh report.  He was the figurehead of your university and when the most prominent people fail a community, they must be taken down.

There are even people out there who are still skeptical of the Freeh Report, if not completely denying the facts in it, saying that it is a mere smear campaign against Paterno and the rest.  When your own school accepts the findings, you probably should too.  The first step to recovery is accepting there’s a problem, folks.

“But that statue is there for everything good about Penn State…the man did 100 times more good than bad.”  I agree that the statue was supposed to represent good.  Of course it wasn’t supposed to represent the bad.  But now it does.  That’s the reality of it.  Had it not been removed, people would immediately think of what Paterno didn’t do rather than what he did if they saw it.  Paterno did some good things for the Penn State community.  Unfortunately for him and for them, he did horrible things as well.  It’s time that the cult realizes this.

Before the second student started bashing the university I attend, they stated, “no cult, just pride. We are the students, not the ones to blame.”  No one is blaming you.  We are criticizing you for supporting leaders and a school that failed you.  And if it was me, I am not sure how I could have pride in my school if this is what they are now known for.

Yes.  This level of intelligence in people exists…

When the news broke last week that the statue of Joe Paterno would be removed this weekend, a sense of relief came over me.  Not only has it been taken down but the NCAA has handed down “unprecedented” sanctions, most notably: a fine of $60 million to fund an endowment for victims of sexual abuse, a ban from post season play 4 years,  a cut in scholarships from 25 to 15 for 4 years, and forced vacating of wins from 1998-2011.

For most of us, the Penn State saga ended today. For some in the Penn State community though, they will go on saying that the sanctions are unfair and unwarranted.  They can continue to be blind to what has happened but now we can at least ignore them.  The penalties have been handed down and the statue is gone.

The first students last response in regards to Paterno’s good deeds was this: “After time passes, people will remember. I promise that! If it (the statue) does go down, it will be back there someday.”  It’s these types of people who will just never get it.  They will never get that what their idols and the school they love so much did was wrong.  They will never be able to break away from the cult that is only hurting them.  But we don’t have to worry about them anymore.  The time for arguments is over.  These people will just drink the Kool-Aid and fade away.