VIDEO: Post-game from Penn-Wagner

Here are the post-game pressers from Penn's 71-65 loss to Wagner Tuesday:

Jack Eggleston: Looking for an enforcer

Prior to Sidney Crosby's first game back in the NHL after almost a year out, Penguins enforcer Steve MacIntyre said, "My job is to make sure [Crosby's] transition back to hockey goes smoothly." Translation: "Anybody who messes with him will be looking at me from his back on the next shift." Crosby is the superstar, the franchise player, and MacIntyre has made it his mission to protect the most important player on the team.

Seeing as how Justin Reilly was already referring to Zack Rosen as "the franchise" when Rosen was a senior in high school, I don't think the Crosby/Rosen comparison is too much of a stretch. The problem for Penn in the loss to Wagner was that nobody assumed the role of Steve MacIntyre. Coach Hurley obviously knows what a tremendous player Rosen is and wanted to make things as tough as possible on him. Wagner doubled him in the back court to make somebody else bring the ball up. They doubled him in the front court to make him give it up. They pestered him all night, leading to two frustration offensive fouls.

Despite managing 23 points on the night, Rosen got nothing easy. All of his made shots were heavily contested. Since heavy pressure on Rosen will likely become a common theme this year, the Quakers need to find ways to protect him and make things easier on him. One way to do this is to try to catch his defender with a transition ball screen. Running into Rob Belcore at full speed would surely make any guard keep one eye over his shoulder the next time he is guarding Rosen in the back court.

The other solution is to keep teams honest by really looking hard for the screener any time Zack is involved in an action. Whether he is the recipient of an on- or off-ball screen, Rosen is likely to attract the attention of both defenders. That means whoever set the screen will be open for a moment. As teams key more and more on Zack, it will be interesting to see if the supporting cast can step up and convert the opportunities that will be presented to them.

Liveblog: Penn basketball vs. Wagner - brought to you by the Blarney Stone

Hello from the Palestra, where Penn hosts Wagner in a mid-week matchup. Both teams are off to solid 3-1 starts. The storyline entering tonight's game is that Wagner's coach Dan Hurley was Zack Rosen's high school coach at New Jersey hoops powerhouse St. Benedict's. Who will win tonight — the student or the teacher?

Click Here to open in a new window.

Deadspin, Ken Rosenthal have funny detente

Here's a good read for your rainy Tuesday evening (well, not as good as our ensuing liveblog, but at least this'll hold you over):

Sportsblog Deadspin had a funny little encounter with Fox Sports reporter Ken Rosenthal. Now, normally media spats (if that's what you'd call this) wouldn't be Buzz material, except that Rosenthal is a DP Sports alum, and this story loosely involves Penn.

Apparently Deadspin has been linking to Rosenthal's stories for some time with the text "Ken Rosenthal throws some $*** against the wall." (This is a family blog). One of the site's new interns, Josh Brill, continued using the tagline when he began writing posts, and Rosenthal recognized Brill as the son of one of his classmates at Penn.

So Rosenthal got in touch with one of the Brill's mom's friends (I know...) and said

Tell that little twit that the Matt Kemp "$*** against the wall" is known as a SCOOP! Once in a while, my stuff actually does stick.

(h/t to another DP alum, though decidedly less famous, @dhm)

Penn football earns 4 first-team All-Ivy picks

The Ivy League announced its football honors today, and four Quakers made first-team All-Ivy — two of which were unanimous selections.

Senior linebacker Erik Rask and offensive lineman Greg Van Roten were Penn's first unanimous selections to the All-Ivy team since Chris Mizell and Sean Estrada in 2006.

Wide receiver Ryan Calvert was named first-team after a breakout year with 58 receptions for 641 yards, becoming quarterback Billy Ragone's favorite target this season. He had 65 total yards on six catches in his career before this season.

Junior defensive lineman Brandon Copeland was a first-team pick for the second-consecutive year.

Other Quakers getting honors: senior defensive lineman Jared Sholley (2nd team), senior defensive back Matt Hamscher (2nd team), junior offensive lineman Joe Bonadies (honorable mention), junior running back Brandon Colavita (HM) and senior tight end Luke Nawrocki (HM).

The full Ivy honors list is after the jump. Chuck Dibilio, Princeton (Fr., RB, Nazareth, Pa.)

FIRST TEAM ALL-IVY Offense Jack Templeton, Brown (Jr., OL, Ramsey, N.J.) Jeff Adams, Columbia (Sr., OL, Western Springs, Ill.) Ryan O'Neill, Dartmouth (Sr., OL, Orland Park, Ill.) Kevin Murphy, Harvard (Sr., OT, San Clemente, Calif.) *Greg Van Roten, Penn (Sr., OL, Rockville Centre, N.Y.) Jeff Mathews, Cornell (So., QB, Camarillo, Calif.) *Nick Schwieger, Dartmouth (Sr., RB, Norton, Mass.) Kyle Juszczyk, Harvard (Jr., H-Back, Medina, Ohio) Chuck Dibilio, Princeton (Fr., RB, Nazareth, Pa.) Shane Savage, Cornell (Sr., WR, Leesburg, Va.) Ryan Calvert, Penn (Sr., WR, Studio City, Calif.) John Gallagher, Dartmouth (Sr., TE, Salem, Ore.)

Defense Kyle Rettig, Brown (Sr., DL, Clearwater, Fla.) *Josue Ortiz, Harvard (Sr., DL, Avon Park, Fla.) Eddie Smith, Dartmouth (Sr., DL, Louisville, Ky.) Brandon Copeland, Penn (Jr., DL, Sykesville, Md.) Caraun Reid, Princeton (Jr., DL, Bronx, N.Y.) Brett Wyman, Brown (Sr., LB, Bridgewater, Mass.) Alex Gedeon, Harvard (Sr., LB, Hudson, Ohio) *Erik Rask, Penn (Sr., LB, Newport Beach, Calif.) Jordan Haynes, Yale (Sr., LB, Folsom, Calif.) A.J. Cruz, Brown (Jr., DB, Lake Forest, Calif.) Stephen Peyton, Brown (Sr., FS, Woodland, Calif.) Shawn Abuhoff, Dartmouth (Sr., CB, Hialeah, Fla.) *Matthew Hanson, Harvard (Sr., DB, Lafayette, Colo.)

Special Teams Brad Greenway, Cornell (Sr., PK, Encinitas, Calif.) Nathan Lovett, Brown (Sr., P, East Providence, R.I.) Rashad Campbell, Cornell (Sr., RS, Cheltenham, Pa.) Shawn Abuhoff, Dartmouth (Sr., RS, Hialeah, Fla.)

SECOND TEAM ALL-IVY Offense J.C. Tretter, Cornell (Jr., OL, Akron, N.Y.) Austen Fletcher, Dartmouth (Sr., OL, Old Brookville, N.Y.) Jack Holuba, Harvard (Jr., OL, Ho-Ho-Kus, N.J.) Matt Allen, Princeton (Sr., OL, Tulsa, Okla.) Jack Geiger, Brown (Sr., OL, Whitefish Bay, Wis.) Gabriel Fernandez, Yale (Sr., OL, Honolulu, Hawaii) Collier Winters, Harvard (Sr., QB, Claremore, Okla.) Trevor Scales, Harvard (Jr., RB, Stone Mountain, Ga.) Alex Thomas, Yale (Sr., RB, Ansonia, Conn.) Alexander Tounkara-Kone, Brown (Sr., WR, Staten Island, N.Y.) Kurt Ondash, Cornell (Jr., WR, New Canaan, Conn.) Chris Smith, Yale (Jr., WR, Midlothian, Va.) Cameron Brate, Harvard (So., TE, Naperville, Ill.)

Defense Clayton McGrath, Brown (Sr., DL, Longmeadow, Mass.) Nnamdi Obukwelu, Harvard (Jr., DT, Brockton, Mass.) Jared Sholly, Penn (Sr., DL, Clear Lake, Iowa) Mike Catapano, Princeton (Sr., DL, Bayville, N.Y.) Jake Stoller, Yale (Sr., DL, Shaker Heights, Ohio) Josh Martin, Columbia (Jr., LB, Aurora, Colo.) Steven Cody, Princeton (Sr., LB, Midlothian, Va.) Andrew Starks, Princeton (Jr., LB, Plainfield, Ill.) Will McHale, Yale (Jr., LB, Old Greenwich, Conn.) Daniel Smithwick, Brown (Sr., DB, Danville, Calif.) Rashad Campbell, Cornell (Sr., CB, Cheltenham, Pa.) Brian Owusu, Harvard (Jr., DB, Oxnard, Calif.) Matt Hamscher, Penn (Sr., DB, Whitehall, Pa.) Drew Baldwin, Yale (Sr., DB, Alexandria, Va.)

Special Teams Patrick Jacob, Princeton (Sr., PK, Solon, Ohio) Joe Cloud, Princeton (Jr., P, Edwards, Ill.) Gio Christodoulou, Yale (Sr., RS, Miami) Chris Smith, Yale (So., RS, Midlothian, Va.)

HONORABLE MENTION ALL-IVY Scott Ward, Columbia (Jr., OT, Costa Mesa, Calif.) Kyle Cook, Dartmouth (Sr., OT, Anaheim, Calif.) Jon Bonadies, Penn (Jr., OL, Leonia, N.J.) Kyle Newhall-Caballero, Brown (Sr., QB, Gilbert, Ariz.) Sean Brackett, Columbia (Jr., QB, Brooklyn, Conn.) Patrick Witt, Yale (Sr., QB, Wylie, Texas) Mark Kachmer, Brown (Jr., RB, Wheaton, Ill.) Brandon Colavita, Penn (Jr., RB, Sewell, N.J.) Luke Tasker, Cornell (Jr., WR, East Aurora, N.Y.) Chris Lorditch, Harvard (Sr., WR, Chalfront, Pa.) Deon Randall, Yale (So., WR, San Diego) Hamilton Garner, Columbia (So., TE, Duluth, Ga.) Ryan Houska, Cornell (Sr., TE, Plymouth, Mich.) Luke Nawrocki, Penn (Sr., TE, Syosset, N.Y.) Zack Imhoff, Cornell (Sr., DE, Cincinnati) John Lyon, Harvard (Jr., DE, Durham, N.C.) Matthew O'Donnell, Brown (Sr., LB, Tipton, Iowa) Brandon Lainhart, Cornell (Sr., LB, Cincinnati) Bronson Green, Dartmouth (So., LB, Los Angeles) Joshua Boyd, Harvard (Jr., LB, Hyde Park, Mass.) Alexander Norman, Harvard (Jr., LB, Lewisville, Texas) Joey Casey, Dartmouth (Sr., DB, Noblesville, Ind.) Dan Minamide, Harvard (Sr., DB, Escondido, Calif.) Foley Schmidt, Dartmouth (Sr., PK, Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) Jacob Dombrowski, Harvard (Jr., P, Gaylord, Mich.)

*Unanimous Selection

What the computers say about Penn-Wagner

We're working with a small sample size whenever we look at statistics this early in the season, but let's throw caution to the wind and look at how Penn and Wagner size up by the numbers:

• Betting site Oddsshark.com ran their sophisticated handicapping models to predict a 74-73 Penn win. The site offers these little tidbits which you should always consider:

Pennsylvania Quakers Trends: When playing on Tuesday are 7-3 Before playing Pittsburgh are 1-0 After a win are 6-4

• My favorite robots at Quakerball.com have a "StatSmack!" feature, which says, rather emphatically, "Pennsylvania is better than Wagner!" The first line of comparison is the following:

Pennsylvania has a much higher 4 year graduation rate than Wagner according to Kiplinger (87.5% vs 62.3%).

Which is often the determining factor in NCAA basketball games. Quakerball also notes that "Pennsylvania players are more experienced than Wagner players (10,091 minutes played vs 9,206 minutes played)."

• And a few more tidbits from Quakerball on Zack Rosen's season so far:
• He's 3rd in the nation in minutes per game at 40.0
• He's 2nd in the nation in 3-pointers made at 17
• He's 8th in the nation in points per game at 22.75
• He's 856th in the nation in fouls per game a 2.5

We'll be calculating Penn's winning percentage on games before Thanksgiving during our liveblog at 7 p.m. tonight, so be sure to follow along!

Zack Rosen - Andy Toole connection

In the postgame press conference after Penn's 66-60 win over Robert Morris University, RMU head coach and former Penn hoops player Andy Toole gushed about the play of Zack Rosen. Each in fact talked a little bit about the other postgame. Zack said he's known Toole for about 10 years, through their involvement with Hoop Group camps.

• Toole predicts that Rosen, whom he called the "backbone" of Penn's team, will be named first-team All-Ivy for the third year in a row. With the way the point guard's playing now, that should be more than a safe bet. Rosen has already captured the first two Ivy League Player of the Week honors.
• "It's extremely difficult for any team," Toole said of the task of guarding Rosen.  He added, "It's just really hard when you defend alot of their actions and then all of a sudden, he's the end of the action and he now has the opportunity to make a play or make a shot."
• That last bit seemed particularly evident in the second half. Penn was running a lot of ball screens and screens at the top of the arc to either give Zack space or get him an open look coming off some of those actions.
• "Clearly he's worked so hard on his ability to shoot the basketball because in high school that's not something he was known [for]," Toole also said about the red-hot Rosen, who's currently shooting 17-for-26 from three-point land. "It's just a credit to him and his dedication. On one side, it makes me proud that he's part of the program that I used to play for. And like I told him in the handshake [line] 'Please go back to the NCAA Tournament' because he really deserves to do that ... I hope that happens for him."
• Zack on his relationship with Coach Toole:  "I talked to him a lot before I came here ... I talked to him a lot about what Penn would be like. So you could say he was an influence on me coming here ... He loved it."
• "He's a good guy," Rosen added. "It's much easier to say he's a good guy after we won the game."

Barreiro named as nominee for Top Men's College Player

As the off season gets underway of Penn soccer's own is getting some recognition. This past weekend senior midfielder Christian Barreiro was named as a finalist for Soccer News Net College Boot Award.

After finishing up a successful career with the Quakers which saw him achieve fifth highest points total in team history, Barreiro was nominated by Philly Soccer News as one of four players to represent the Mid-Atlantic region.

Barreiro was named First Team All-Ivy for the second straight year after scoring 7 goals and recording 7 assists.

The full list comprises some of the country's best players and top prospects. Online fan voting will account for 40% of the total toward the award. The remaining 60% of the vote will be cast by the editorial staffs of the six web sites. Voters can go to www.phillysoccernews.com to vote for Barreiro.

Layup Line: Quick hits on Penn basketball

Random observations, musings, opinions, etc. on Penn basketball...

• I have to start this about Zack Rosen, don't I? He continues to amaze. The current numbers, as Kevin detailed in his column: 22.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 59.3% shooting, 65.4 percent from three (17 for 26). At the moment, he's statistically the best three-point shooter in the country.
• The thing that I can't get over about Rosen's shooting thus far is that these haven't been wide-open, or even open, shots. Defenses are completely focused on him, yet he continues to launch from several feet behind the line, often with a hand in his face and/or the shot clock running down. In other words, the degree of difficulty is through the roof. But everything he does on the court, it seems like he's done a million times before -- probably because he has. So, as Kevin wrote, "the incredible look(s) routine."
• Rob Belcore seems like he's in three places at once when he plays defense. No one works around ball screens better than him, and no one hustles more. Tyler Bernardini should take a lesson from Belcore when it comes to closing out on shooters, too...
• The past two games have shown that Miles Cartwright may be the key to this season. Kevin and I have discussed multiple times that Cartwright brings a driving ability that no one else on the team has. When the offense breaks down, you need someone like Cartwright to get into the lane and possibly draw a foul. In Saturday's win over Robert Morris, Cartwright pulled off several baseline drives leading to acrobatic layups that just cannot be taught.
• Coach Allen and several players hyped up big man Fran Dougherty as the breakout player from the preseason, but the first four games have shown that Dougherty is still learning. Offensively, 3.5 turnovers is way too high a number for a big. He needs to be more assertive when he catches the ball inside. Defensively, he's the rock in the middle that the Quakers need to challenge shots and close out possessions with rebounds, but he's been up-and-down in that respect so far. Obviously, he still has plenty of nonconference time to put everything together, and I think he will.
• It's not only Dougherty that has room to grow. With the benefit of youth, the Quakers have significant upside that can be tapped into over the course of the grueling nonconference slate. Between Doc, Henry Brooks, Camryn Crocker and Marin Kukoc, I could see the inexperienced guys gaining confidence along the way and really breaking out by the time Ivy play rolls around. The potential of those four guys, to me, is one of the biggest factors working in Penn's favor.
• Gotta love Dau Jok -- I've never seen a bench player with more energy. He always looks the most engaged in the game, always is the first to greet his teammates after timeouts, and always keeps guys loose and spirits high.
• Final thought: Homecourt advantage is finally returning to the Palestra, however gradually. Saturday, I saw a group that really fed off the energy of the crowd and savored the comfort of their hallowed ground -- Belcore, Cartwright and senior big man Mike Howlett, in particular. Cartwright seemed to love every second of Saturday's home game, as he frequently waved his arms to pump of the crowd. Howlett, meanwhile, was Penn's enforcer, scrapping with Robert Morris players down low, and having crowd noise to support guys like that makes for an intimidating environment.

Zack Rosen named Ivy Player of the Week

This comes as a surprise to no one, but Zack Rosen was named Ivy Player of the Week again. He's 2-for-2 (100%) when it comes to the award, which is only slightly better than his 3-point shooting this week at 13-for-20 (65%). Read Kevin Esteves' column on why he's been so good here. See the release from Ivy Athletics here.

Mid-Monday Mix: Jeff Matthews is the real deal

DP Sports was lucky enough to get a visit from esteemed alum Zachary Levine, one of the founding fathers of The Buzz. Levine has since moved to Houston where he's the Astros beat writer for the Houston Chronicle. He got to cover multiple trips to the NCAA tournament while at Penn, so he's now paying his dues with the worst team in the MLB. Nonetheless, it's great to see our alums doing big things!

Rundown:

• If you haven't heard of Cornell QB Jeff Matthews, consider yourself served. The Big Red gunslinger shattered the single-game passing record with 548 yards Saturday, leading Cornell to a 48-38 win over Penn. It was not how Penn wanted to end the season.
• Regardless of the outcome Saturday, Penn did make one positive stride when they dedicated a massive statue of Quakers and Eagles legend Chuck Bednarik. Penn put on a nice half-time ceremony to honor a Philadelphia sports great.
• The Penn basketball team continues to play some spectacular defense, and with it, the Quakers are winning ballgames. Most recently, the Red and Blue recovered from a 10-0 deficit to beat Robert Morris 66-60 Saturday night. It was also RMU coach Andy Toole's return to the Palestra.
• Zack Rosen once again led the Quakers with 19 points. My co-editor Kevin Esteves says that Zack Rosen 4.0 is the best version we've seen yet.
• Penn swimming hosted Cornell and Princeton this weekend. As expected, the Quakers topped the Big Red but lost to the defending champion Tigers. C'est la vie.
• Women's hoops is 2-0 for the first time since 2006-07. Last year it took three games to get two wins. The year before that it took 27 games. Baby steps. The Red and Blue beat Rider Saturday, 66-57.
• Fencing advanced nine Quakers to the round of 16 at the Penn State Open, a decent pre-season predictor for NCAA qualifying.
• Two Penn wrestlers won their weightclasses at the Keystone Classic. Senior Bryan Ortenzio did it for the second time.

Multimedia: This picture says it all. Concrete Charlie meets Bronze Bednarik.

Extra Extra: Have a great Thanksgiving everyone! We put out one more hard copy of the DP tomorrow but you can get sports updates here (including liveblogs of all the men's basketball action) and at TheDP.com/Sports. Stay safe out there.

Columbia fires football coach Norries Wilson

A day after the Lions earned their only win of the 2011 football season, Columbia athletic director M. Dianne Murphy announced that head coach Norries Wilson "will not be retained," to use the politically correct term.

“Making a decision of this nature is always difficult," Murphy said in a statement. “That said, in order to achieve the goals that we have set for the Columbia football program, we believe that it is necessary and appropriate to make a change in leadership at this time.”

Wilson, who took over at Columbia in December 2005, had a 17-43 overall record with the Lions, going 10-32 in Ivy League play. In his tenure, Wilson did not finish with a winning-record once, and finished 0-7 in Ivy play in 2007. Saturday's win over Brown was the Lions only victory this season.

Midway through the season, Columbia's student newspaper, The Spectator, called for Wilson's firing once the season had concluded. It was the second time in two years that the paper called for his removal.

“Norries has accomplished a great deal in helping us rebuild a stronger foundation for Columbia Football," Murphy said.  "We thank him for his tremendous service and wish him the very best in the future. ”

According to Columbia's news release, a search for the next head coach will begin immediately.

Game 4 — Robert Morris University: The Good, Bad & Ugly

The Quakers looked very impressive in their 66-60 win over a talented Robert Morris team that entered the game 2-0. Catalyzed by the hot outside shooting of guards Zack Rosen, Miles Cartwright and Tyler Bernardini, Penn looked very smooth (51.2% from the field on the night).

The Good: Zack Rosen has been scarily good from the three-point land so far this year (65.4%; not a typo) but he's been a given "good" for Penn for a while now. I'll say the combination of Miles Cartwright and Tyler Bernardini both having strong shooting nights in the same game was a good sign for Penn. The team's two best scorers besides Rosen got off to a poor start in the first two games, but after netting a career-high 27 at Rider, Miles scored 12 points (5-for-9 shooting) Saturday night to complement Bernardini's game-high 19 (Rosen also had 19). Their perimeter shooting was crucial, especially in the 2nd half, when Penn created separation by running what seemed like an endless amount of picks and ball-screens to get shooters space. Defensive-minded guys like Rob Belcore and Mike Howlett also made huge contributions down the stretch.

The Bad: Robert Morris' offfense. Penn was active defensively once again, but RMU missed a ton of makeable shots as well. The Colonials bricked three after three (7-for-21 for the game), while shooting 35.7% from the floor. From the Penn perspective, a bad was allowing offensive rebounds. It's been a theme these first few games, and the Quakers got outdone again on the offensive glass, 13-4. The Red and Blue need to cut this margin down going forward — too many 2nd chances (RMU had 15 second-chance points) after the Penn 'D' exerts so much energy in the first place.

The Ugly: RMU's 59.1% clip from the charity stripe. On a night when they were struggling offensively, the Colonials, led by Velton Jones, made it harder on themselves with their FT woes. Andy Toole's squad actually held a sizeable advantage over Penn in FT attempts for much of the game (at one point RMU had 20 to Penn's 10), but when you only make just over half of them, it's no longer an advantage. Gotta make the easy ones.

M. Hoops vs. Robert Morris Live Blog - Sponsored by The Blarney Stone

After an overtime win on the road at Rider, Penn returns to the Palestra to face a tough Robert Morris squad that blew out that same Rider group, 83-57. Tonight's matchup is extra-special as RMU head man Andy Toole is making a homecoming of sorts, coaching against a Penn team he once starred for during the early 2000s. Follow along as Kevin Esteves and Jennifer Scuteri relay the action from the Cathedral.

Liveblog: Football vs. Cornell - Brought to you by The Blarney Stone

Ten weeks later, we've reached the final game of the Ivy football season. Penn (5-4, 4-2 Ivy) takes on Cornell (4-5, 2-4) and its red-hot quarterback Jeff Matthews, who threw for five touchdowns and 521 yards last week in a win over Columbia. Penn was dropped from title contention last week with a loss to Harvard, but the Quakers want to finish the season on a positive note, and get one last 'W' for the seniors.

Ethan Alter brings you the action from the Frank. Follow along:

Click Here to open in a new window.

Saturday roundtable: savor second place?

For the first time in two years, Penn football isn't playing for an Ivy League title today. The question for the final Saturday roundtable is does finishing in second place matter?

Megan Soisson:No. The goal was to win the Ivy championship. With no playoffs or post-season implications, second place really doesn't matter. I don't think Al Bagnoli's squad is playing for second place today, they're playing for pride. They're playing to go out with a win for their seniors. They're playing to have only four Ivy losses in four seasons. They're not playing for second place.

Brian Kotloff: Finishing second might not be the goal, but beating Cornell today is important. Besides the reasons Megan listed, it's important as a program to always maintain separation between you and your competition. The Quakers cannot allow Cornell to get a huge, confidence-boosting win today that would make Penn appear even more vulnerable heading into next season. So in a way, second place does matter. Penn football can keep its aura if, even in a down year, it still goes 5-2. Finishing fourth would show that the rest of the league has caught up. Calder Silcox: I have to say no. When you flip through the Ivy football record book at the year to year finishes (that's a normal activity, right?), you never look at anything but the bold name at the top of the standings. But specifically in the context of Penn, this program has been so dominant, not only the past two years, but the past two decades, that anything short of a trophy seems like a down year. Brian makes a great point, though, that Penn needs to make sure a non-title year doesn't slip to a 4th-place year.

Kevin Esteves: The standings scenario is interesting, but I think Bagnoli and Co. will put this game into perspective and realize it is for the seniors. The unveiling of the Chuck Bednarik statue for this game is timely because it reminds the team and the fans that this is a program with a long history of great players and great football. These seniors played a role in that, and they just want to go out with a win. I'd imagine that the underclassmen would want to show their own respect for the seniors by giving it everything they have today. Forget everything else.

Former QB Mark DeRosa visits Penn football

San Francisco Giants first baseman Mark DeRosa came and visited the Penn baseball team a year ago, and tonight he was back on campus to talk to the other team he lettered in at Penn: football.

Though he's been an MLB player for 12 years, DeRosa was a star quarterback at Penn in the early 90s. He reportedly talked for about 15 minutes to the team and then answered questions from the players.

Here are two videos, courtesy of Penn Athletics, from his chat:

Columbia AD reverses band ban

We reported yesterday that the Columbia band had been barred from playing at the final game of the year after changing the words of the Lions fight song to mock how bad the team is. Well, don't put your tubas away quite yet!

The Columbia AD has changed her mind, and will allow the marching band to march Saturday.

From ESPN New York:

Columbia athletic director Dr. M. Dianne Murphy explained Thursday night why the athletic department decided to change its mind.

"We are proud of our talented and dedicated student-athletes -- but as we have discussed this issue over the past day, we come to the conclusion that the core free speech values of the University are best served by providing a forum both for speech that might sometimes offend -- as well as for the kind of open discussion that ultimately leads to greater understanding and collegiality among all members of our community," she said.

 

Columbia senior José Delgado, the band's manager, had emailed a statement to ESPNNewYork.com after learning of the team's ban:

"The Columbia University Marching Band would like to apologize to the members of our community, in particular to our fellow classmates and coaches, who were offended by the incident that occurred on November 12 at the Columbia vs. Cornell football game. We accept the consequences and look forward to continue to be a part of our school spirit for future athletic events."

Yale coach Williams in hot water over Rhodes scholarship

A few weeks ago we reported that Yale quarterback Patrick Witt faced a tough choice in either playing Harvard Saturday in The Game, or flying to Georgia for his Rhodes Scholarship finalist interview.

This week, Witt announced he would withdraw his Rhodes application in order to play — an interesting choice — but the quarterback's decision has quickly fallen out of the spotlight as questions have arisen over his coach, Tom Williams, and his history with the Rhodes program.

The New York Times reported Wednesday that Witt had leaned on Williams to help guide him in his choice. Williams also, it appeared, had dealt with a similar decision as a player at Stanford, having to choose between Rhodes and an NFL tryout.

But some snooping by the Times found that the Rhodes Trust had no record of Williams ever applying. And it appears Williams listed his Rhodes candidacy on his resume when applying to Yale.

Now Yale is looking into the matter, according to a new Times article:

Yale’s president, Richard C. Levin, said in a statement that he had instructed the university’s general counsel “to commence immediately a review of the facts surrounding Tom Williams’s assertions about being a candidate for a Rhodes scholarship.” The university said it would have no further comment until after the review.

“There is no intention to deceive,” Williams said. “I never said I was a finalist for the Rhodes candidacy. The Rhodes shouldn’t have any record of me, because I didn’t do it. I didn’t go through the process. I pulled out long before it got to that point.”

Game 3 — Rider: The Good, Bad & Ugly

Entering Thursday's game at Rider, the Quakers were 1-5 in overtime games over the last two seasons. But now they can add a 'W' to that OT win column — but more importantly in the 2012 season win column — after downing Rider, 78-72 last night in Lawrenceville, N.J. Tyler Bernardini said the win was a testament to their maturity this early in the season, noting that last season overtime losses really got them down and were difficult to overcome. Thursday night was as good a test as any to see if Penn can bounce back from a tough loss, and showing resiliency through 45 minutes certainly says something.

The Good: A win, of course. But more importantly, an evenly spread offense. Zack Rosen didn't even attempt a shot throughout the first half, as Fran Dougherty had 8 points and both Miles Cartwright and Tyler Bernardini had 7. I got the impression that Rosen was instructed to hand the ball off more after accounting for nearly 40% of Penn's offensive output in the first two games. Then, when he needed to take some shots, he stepped up. Once Rosen started shooting, Cartwright's shots seemed to fall as well — the sophomore had a career-high 27 points.

The Bad: Allowing Rider to make runs and get ahead. The Broncs went on a 12-2 run during the last few minutes of the first half (while Rosen was sitting on the bench in early foul trouble) to turn a 22-16 deficit into a 28-14 halftime lead. Midway through the second half, Rider almost got away as well before making some mistakes that allowed Penn to get back into the game. Rider is a tired, yet tough and talented team, but no where near the caliber of some other squads on Penn's schedule. The Quakers can't allow such momentum shifts against top-tier opponents in the future.

The Ugly: All three forwards fouling out. Dougherty fouled out toward the end of regulation, Mike Howlett was out after the first play of overtime, and freshman Henry Brooks picked up his fifth foul midway through overtime (after scoring four crucial points). The refs were nit-picky, but certainly none of the calls were egregious. By the end of the game, Jerome Allen had 5 guards on the court.