Have you ever been in an underground gym before? Now is your chance! The Red and Blue Crew will be making a day trip to New York this Friday to watch the Quakers open Ivy League play against Columbia. And they want you to come.
The fan section will be taking Bolt Bus up the turnpike Friday afternoon and returning late after the game, "so you can still make it back in time to enjoy the rest of your night (and for the important part of rush, if that's a problem)," according to an email from the RBC.
Here's more from the Crew:
The Red and Blue Crew invites you to join us in traveling to New York City this Friday, January 13, to cheer on our men's basketball team as they take on the Columbia Lions at 7:00pm. This is our first Ivy League game of the season, and it will take place in Columbia's underground Levien Gym.
Remember, the Ivy League has no conference postseason. So, Friday marks the beginning of our 14-game playoff, whose prize is a trip to the Big Dance. All the more reason to come support the team!
We will be taking the Bolt Bus from 30th Street Station sometime between 1:00 and 3:15, depending on demand, so let us know what times work best for you....
So, to summarize, come out, convince some friends to join you, get rowdy, and let all of your end-of-break frustrations out on Columbia's players, fans, and embarrassing gym as we earn our first Ivy win of the season!
Penn (7-3) opens up their Ivy slate against defending champion Princeton (10-4). The Quakers are coming off a 1-1 trip in the Surf 'N Slam Tournament and will play their first game in the new year. Penn went 0-2 against the Tigers last year, the second loss was 78-27 blowout at home in the last game of the season.
The NBA's New Jersey Nets have been on a hiring spree and one of their new targets is from Penn.
According to the Nets Daily, 2011 School of Arts and Sciences graduate Matt Tellem has been hired as a "Basketball Information Coordinator". His position will involve researching contract figures and the new Collective Bargaining Agreement. The position could become a stepping stone to higher aspirations.
Tellem's father is Arn Tellem, one of the most powerful sports agents representing Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook, and Chase Utley, among others. Arn was a Philadelphia native who graduated from Haverford College. In 2006 he was named the Most Influential Agent by The Sporting News and Sports Business Journal.
The younger Tellem graduated from Penn with a degree in Economics last spring. He played baseball for the Red and Blue for three years appearing in 28 games as a backup infielder.
O'Brien graduated from Brown in 1992 and played defensive end and linebacker for the Bears from 1990-1992. Paterno graduated from Brown in 1950 and played quarterback and cornerback.
O'Brien stayed with the Ancient Eight upon graduating, coaching Brown's tight ends in 1993 and linebackers in 1994. He then coached at Georgia Tech, Maryland and Duke. He has been with the Patriots since 2007, taking over as offensive coordinator this season.
O'Brien had little success against Penn as a player and coach, posting a 1-4 record. His only win over the Quakers came in 1990, a 24-17 victory at home. He suffered four losses to Penn from 1991-1994 by a combined score of 124-28.
An official announcement about the hire will be made on Saturday January 7th. O'Brien will continue to coach the Patriots throughout the playoffs.
O'Brien will certainly have his hands full taking over for Paterno amid the ongoing investigation at Penn State. How do you think the Ivy League grad will do?
Penn's attacking center midfielder Christian Barreiro has a big day tomorrow. The senior starlet who earned an invite to the MLS Combine early last month will look to prove that he belongs in the professional level as the camp kicks off tomorrow. The combine, which also features Ivy stars Dartmouth's Lucky Mkosana and Princeton's Antoine Hoppenot, will be streamed live on mlssoccer.com.
Barreiro will play for team Prime at 2:45 pm. The website will also include player interviews, highlights and we'll be sure to update you when the combine ends on Tuesday in anticipation of the MLS SuperDraft, which takes place a week from today on Jan. 12.
UPDATED
Barreiro's schedule for the combine is as follows:
Zack Rosen continues to make a splash on the national stage.
The senior has made it to the semifinals for the Bob Cousy Award, presented to the top point guard in NCAA Division I basketball by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
Rosen is the last Ivy League and Big 5 guard standing. Three Ivy players and two Big 5 players were in the running, but missed the most recent cut, down from 65 to 20.
Rosen is among the best in the nation in several categories. He is 9th in free-throw percentage at .919, 18th in assists per game with 6.2 and 29th in scoring with 19.1 points per game.
In Penn's 78-73 win over Lafayette, Rosen passed his coach, Jerome Allen, for the most career assists in Penn history with 506.
Rosen currently leads the Ivy League in scoring, assists per game and minutes per game.
Rosen will be competing against the top players in the country for the award, including Duke's Seth Curry, North Carolina's Kendall Marshall and Xavier's Tu Holloway.
The current list of 20 players will be cut down to 10 in early February and to five by early March. The Cousy Award will be awarded on April 2nd in New Orleans as part of the Final Four.
Penn faces off against the Leopards coming off a two-game skid and a 30-point loss to Duke in North Carolina. Jennifer Scuteri brings you all the action from Easton, Pa.
Big news for the Penn men's soccer team as freshman forward Duke Lacroix was named to US soccer's U-20 camp ahead next year's U-20 World Cup in Turkey.
Lacroix, who has also attended camps at the U-18 level and played at the U-14 and U-15 levels, is attending the camp which began yesterday and will last for a week. The freshman scored five goals this year en route to winning the Ivy League's Rookie of the Year.
The youngster will be coached by Tab Ramos who is one of the most capped US players of all-time and a veteran of Real Betis in Spain and the Metrostars of the Major League Soccer.
The freshman from New Egypt, N.J., will play alongside some established MLS players such as Vancouver's Omar Salgado and Real Salt Lake's Luis Gil as well as other college freshman, outstanding high school seniors and many training academy products from overseas.
It will be interesting to see how Lacroix progresses in the camp. Although he is by no means a lock, he does fit well into the Klinsmann's favored (albeit largely unsuccessful, so far) 4-3-3 or 4-5-1 depending on how you look at it.
It is a system the Rudy Fuller utilizes at Penn where Lacroix is slotted as winger up top, which suits his strengths very well. He is one of the few Quakers who can control the long, diagonal balls and beat you by cutting in and taking a shot or racing down the flank and delivering a good cross. Another key piece of his game is his ability to consistently create his own shot. He is, by no means a lock to make the World Cup roster, but playing in camp will only help Lacroix as he continues to develop.
In other soccer news, midfielder Christian Barreiro was named first-team ECAC All-Star and captain Thomas Brandt was named to the second-team. The plaudits may serve these two well in anticipation of the MLS SuperDraft scheduled to take place on Jan. 12. Check back for more information next week.
Jerome Allen was not happy after an 85-55 loss to Duke on New Year's Day.
Mike Krzyzewski had some interesting things to say in his presser. Check out the 2:48 mark when he talks about the quality of the Ivy League this year, saying two teams could make it into the tournament. He also talks about the Palestra and the Big 5 around the 12:00 mark.
Our friends over at the Duke Sports Blog sent us the story of a lifelong Duke basketball fan who just can't cheer against Penn tomorrow.
I have always been a college basketball fan because I enjoy the fact that many a game, and even championship, has been decided by kids who will never again touch a basketball competitively. I have been an ardent Duke fan since the early 1980s and, like any other college basketball fan, rode the rollercoaster of the many highs and lows. I am also proud to say that on those occasions where Duke was eliminated from the Big Dance, I rooted for another ACC team, even if it was UNC!
You see, I believe that rivals need not be enemies, since the morning after even a championship game, our lives all go on their way ... of that I am living proof! This New Year’s Day, for the first time as a Duke fan, I will be profoundly conflicted over who to root for when they play. It is because they will be playing the University of Pennsylvania in Durham.
Yes, Duke is the program I root for, but I AM ALIVE because of a life-saving Liver Transplant 2 ½ years ago at UPENN. Please let me tell you my story.
In 2008, shortly after the conclusion of that year’s college basketball season, I began to experience odd pains. In preparation for my annual physical, I took a blood test that showed a severe problem, but was not definitive. The next eight months would be riddled with test after test, which would only tell us what was NOT wrong with me.
Finally, the diagnosis came. I had a somewhat rare form of liver disease which was not associated with any type of abuse or hepatitis. That was the reason it took so long to diagnose. I needed a Liver Transplant!
My GI Doc gave us the news. When I asked him what was next, he explained right away that I ought to go to Penn, and he made the necessary arrangements. Before my first visit there, I spoke with every other doctor I knew. They all agreed wholeheartedly with the recommendation.
Now, you need to understand that, in the best layman’s terms I can use, the liver is essentially the brain of the GI System. So, since my Liver was going “haywire,” all sorts of screwball things were going on with me. I looked and felt terrible. Suffice to say, I got to know plenty of people all over our local hospital, and even had a “standing” appointment with my GI Doc each week.
Over the next 6-7 months we would travel about an hour-and-a-half and would be further evaluated at Penn until, during a procedure to address bleeding in my stomach by my local GI Doc, my Liver essentially quit!
I went into a coma.
My wife and local GI Doc, in conjunction with Penn, got me to Penn during the 7 ½ days I was in a coma. I don’t remember anything, except waking up to a bunch of enquiring faces and remarking to my wife “How’d all these people get in my room” ... a line Dean Martin use to use in the Rat Pack days.
The next few days would be taken up by poking, prodding, and all sorts of tests, until I was told they were able to find a donor who was a match for me. 9½ hours of surgery later, on the overnight, I had a new, heathy Liver!
The next few weeks would see me recover at Penn with my lovely wife sleeping, night-after-night, next to me in a hospital recliner. I got stronger and stronger and was finally able to go home.
After months of weekly trips back to Penn for check-ups and about a year of recuperation at home, I was in wonderful shape. The only real physical indication that anything had happened was my surgical scar!
Over that year, I had met so many incredible people at Penn. Doctors, nurses, therapists, and even service staff - All of them did their job so very well, were so very cheerful, and are all responsible for my being here today.
Even if we cannot recall each and every by name, we will never forget them ... Of course, there is my wife, who never left my side. She was with me when I was so sick, was a partner in every aspect of my recovery, and spent more time in prayer than anyone ought to have to. All she has asked of me now is that I last until I’m 90!
Today, I’m a very vocal advocate of Organ Donation. I like to point out that when you’re finished with your organs, you ought to give them away so someone else may continue on. If you think of it ... had someone not thought that way, I would not be here talking to you!
The only profound remnant of my “escapade” is that 2½ years later, I’m out of work. It’s certainly the wrong time in history to find work. The strange irony is that it seems that, thanks to the folks at Penn, I had an easier time finding a new life.
So, you see, on New Year’s Day, while I’d never think of rooting against my favorite college basketball team, I simply can’t root against Penn.
The Quakers are in Charlotte, N.C. to take on Davidson, and the DP Sports Staff is all over the country. We're tuning in for a liveblog/chat of the game, as I'll be following along Penn Sports Network's Vince Curran and Brian Seltzer.
Last year, Davidson was the opener for Penn, and Miles Cartwright showed fans what he's made of. Will he do it again tonight?
Cal has done a great job on the Zack Rosen Is Good At Basketball Beat, but he has ESPN Insider's Doug Gottlieb to thank for it. Gottlieb's praise continues, as today he included Rosen on a list of 30 players he thinks will be first-round picks in the NBA Draft.
If you don't have an Insider subscription, here's what he said about Penn's PG, who he ranked No. 28:
A true point guard, who is very quick and strong. He actually started ahead of Scott Machado at St. Benedict's in high school. Rosen has improved by leaps and bounds as a shooter, is a very good playmaker and a bulldog of an on-ball defender. Tough as nails, Rosen has a chance to be a starting point guard, as his shooting and handle off ball screens continues to improve.
Gottlieb also busted on UCLA Center Josh Smith for being "probably 50 pounds overweight" and said his "weight is crushing his potential." Smith was ranked No. 24.
What do you think of Rosen's inclusion on the list? Will his name still be on this list come June, or is someone just trying to get Rosen's name out in draft circles?
Last week, DP Sports alum Ken Rosenthal tweeted that Penn football and Penn baseball alumni Mark DeRosa was very close to reaching a deal with the Washington Nationals. Today, the one-year deal was officially finalized.
At Penn, DeRosa played both football and baseball, but left Penn early when he was drafted in 1996. Earlier this fall, Athletic Director Steve Bilsky talked about DeRosa's early departure from Penn:
One of the biggest eggs on my faces I ever had was when Mark DeRosa, who was an outstanding quarterback here, and probably would have set all of Penn's QB records if he stayed … was drafted. He wasn't just listening to what I had to say, but my sense was, 'Stay at Penn, you're going to be the all-time leading quarterback, you're going to be a good baseball player, you still might have a chance in baseball. And you're certainly going to have opportunities career-wise that are going to be unbelievable. As compared to leaving, taking your chances, the longshot of making it … really a long-shot. Look at what you're giving up.' And I think he's playing in his 13th year of Major League Baseball.
Last season was DeRosa's 14th year, and now, he's guaranteed a 15th. Not too shabby.
The Washington Nationalsofficially announced today that they have agreed to a one-year contract with utilityman Mark DeRosa.
The former Penn shortstop and quarterback played the last two seasons with the San Francisco Giants, with whom he won the World Series in 2010. Plagued by injury this past year, DeRosa appeared in just 47 games, hitting .279 with 12 RBIs. For his career, he is a .272 hitter with 911 hits, 93 home runs and 452 RBIs. The Nationals will be DeRosa's seventh team.
DeRosa has returned to campus a few times during the past two years. When his Giants were in town playing the Phillies in the 2010 NLCS, DeRosa visited the Penn baseball team on his way to Citizens Bank Park, and earlier this year, he also visited the Penn football team.
The Good:Tyler Bernardini outdid his UCLA performance. Against the Bruins, Bernardini had a then-career high of 29 points with 8 threes. Against Marist, Bernardini knocked another 8 trifectas and finished with 30 points on the night, a new career high, and a higher notch among Penn men’s basketball’s all-time scoring list at 18th. Another good: Penn’s defense – coach Allen’s pride and joy – foiled Marist’s game plans early. Marist tried to run-and-gun early in the contest. Marist wanted to outrun Penn with fast breaks and use guard isolations and high on-ball screens to break down defenders for inside buckets. The Quakers defense kept Marist at bay, forcing them to settle for 28 three-pointers which they only hit 11 of.
The Bad: Penn’s bench lacked production. Of the Red and Blue’s 84-point performance, bench players contributed only seven: five from Mike Howlett and two from Fran Dougherty. The main concern here is that the Quakers will begin a series of three consecutive away games, including Davidson and Duke, all within a few days of each other. Penn will need a reliable bench while facing fatigue from travel, more athleticism, top talent, and opposing atmospheres. In contrast, Marist’s bench accounted for 33 of the team’s 71 point total, almost half.
The Ugly: The three-person student-cheering section. While attendance was better than expected for winter break, the student section boasted a group of just three students cheering in unison just behind the baseline. Yes, it was ugly, but someone has got to be there to cheer for Penn when even the cheerleaders don’t show up, so we applaud them nevertheless.
2013 PF Isaiah Watkins spoke with Brian Snow from Scout.com and said he has offers from Arkansas and Baylor. But he also asserts that he is very focused on academics — Watkins said he is talking with Harvard, Penn, WVU, Stanford, Iowa State, and others — and wants to take his time in his decision.
He added, "I want to go to a school that is competitive and plays in the
NCAA Tournament"
After I went back and forth several times checking my math tonight, I figured I would share my corrected findings on Penn's all-time scoring list.
Tyler Bernardini has been steadily moving up the charts all season, most recently thanks to 59 combined points in the last two games. Before the trip to UCLA, Bernardini sat at No. 23. After Marist? No. 17. Tonight he passed his teammate Jack Eggleston (not to mention Matt Maloney '95, Barry Pierce '94 and Perry Bromwell '87), and has 1,267 career points of his own. If Bernardini keeps up his pace of 15.6 points per game, he'd be on track for 1,438 career points. That projection has him finishing at No. 11 in scoring for his career.
Meanwhile, Zack Rosen continues to climb up the record books as well. He started the season No. 28, and is currently No. 12 with 1,363 points. If he continues his 20.1 points per game, he would finish with 1,744 points, which would be just shy of Ugonna Onyekwe's No. 2 spot (1,762). 20 points per game is a steep request, but if anyone can do it, it's Zack Rosen, right?
Live from the Palestra, the Quakers (5-6) take MAAC opponent Marist (5-6) to wrap up a stretch which saw seven of their last nine games at home. The Red and Blue come into the game well rested, having not played since their 77-73 loss to UCLA almost two weeks ago. Marist is coming off an 89-86 double-overtime win over Hartford on Wednesday. Lucas O'Connor and Mike Wisniewski will relay the action as the Penn attempts to bring their record up to .500 before heading into the holiday break: