Eastward expansion may be a top priority for Penn's Athletic Director, but there's more to Steve Bilsky's job than planning for the future. On Friday, he sat down with The Daily Pennsylvanian to talk about what's on his mind right now. Daily Pennsylvanian: Given what could possibly be a third straight losing season, are you concerned about the welfare of the football program? Steve Bilsky: I'm disappointed, because I think having a winning football program is not just important to us; I think it's important to the campus.
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Sports
W. Soccer now looks to bring 'A' game back
Coming off a disappointing road loss and facing its most pivotal match of the year, one thing is clear to the Penn women's soccer team: There's no place like home. The Quakers (11-3-1, 4-1 Ivy) hope to feed off of the Rhodes Field crowd Saturday night with Princeton (8-6-1, 4-1) coming to town.
Field Hockey: 'Everything' is on the line
A championship is a championship, right? The Penn field hockey team (8-8, 4-2 Ivy) faces Princeton (12-4, 5-1 Ivy) this Friday for a share of the Ivy League title - a potentially small share. Penn, Cornell, Harvard and Columbia all enter their final Ivy game with a 4-2 league record.
For Volleyball, it's one and done
The Penn volleyball team has already beaten Harvard and Dartmouth. And, if they want to keep their title hopes alive, they will have to do it again this weekend. Two weeks ago, the Quakers swept Harvard and beat a strong Dartmouth team 3-1. "I think we should have beat Dartmouth in three the last time," freshman libero Madison Wojciechowski said.
W. Soccer now looks to bring 'A' game back
Coming off a disappointing road loss and facing its most pivotal match of the year, one thing is clear to the Penn women's soccer team: There's no place like home. The Quakers (11-3-1, 4-1 Ivy) hope to feed off of the Rhodes Field crowd Saturday night with Princeton (8-6-1, 4-1) coming to town.
Field Hockey: 'Everything' is on the line
A championship is a championship, right? The Penn field hockey team (8-8, 4-2 Ivy) faces Princeton (12-4, 5-1 Ivy) this Friday for a share of the Ivy League title - a potentially small share. Penn, Cornell, Harvard and Columbia all enter their final Ivy game with a 4-2 league record.
Even 12 months after last year's double-overtime battle that ended with Princeton ahead by one, Penn captain Joe Anastasio still remembers the defeat like it was yesterday. "It definitely burns us," the senior linebacker said. "We wanted it a lot emotionally and it's definitely sticking out in our minds going into this weekend.
Noticing a pattern with these Yale games? No. 15 Yale (7-0, 4-0) at Brown (3-4, 2-2) Once again, it'll come back to Mike McLeod. There's been no mystery this year - Yale has relied heavily on its junior tailback in its 7-0 start to the season. At 3-4, Brown can't be labeled the Bulldogs' toughest test; that distinction belongs to Harvard, whom they'll meet in two weeks' time.
Princeton Opponent Spotlight: Tigers' front seven a sweet Song and dance
Even if Penn runs north-south tomorrow against Princeton, the hits will definitely be coming from the east - the Far East. Senior Doori Song, the first in his South Korean family to be born in the United States, is one of Princeton's best run-stoppers at inside linebacker.
Good at soccer, but awesome at Gatorade pong
Most people probably don't take ice baths or play Gatorade pong as part of their regular regimen. But Penn soccer players Alex Fairman, Ryan Porch, Johnny Elicker and Lee Rubenstein are no strangers to either of those. The four have known each other since middle school.
Football: The Renaissance man, or the Ivy pedigree?
Princeton's Bill Foran knows how to make his mark on a football game. In last year's double-overtime victory over Penn he led the Tigers in rushing yards (with 84), recorded a couple of tackles on special teams and downed the ball inside the five late on a crucial punt.
This O-line isn't weighed down
When you think of offensive linemen, you might think of mammoth 325-pounders who look like the only running they're capable of is to the nearest all-you-can-eat buffet. But second-year offensive line coach Jon McLaughlin has other ideas.
It's Ivy season, but Olopade is a spectator for M. Soccer
For Tobi Olopade, it looks as though the non-conference season was just a bit too good to be true. On a team awash with older and more highly-touted players, it seemed like the freshman track runner-slash-soccer walk-on was improbably carving out a niche as a go-to striker on coach Rudy Fuller's Penn team.
F. Hockey: Ivies weigh in: 'Let's go Qua-kers!'
The Ivy League title hopes of Harvard, Columbia and Cornell all rest on Penn. All four of those teams are tied for second place in the Ivy field hockey standings at 4-2, but it is the Quakers who take on 5-1 Princeton on Friday at Franklin Field. A Tigers victory will ensure that they will be the champions of the 2007 season and garner the Ivy League's automatic NCAA Tournament bid.
Talking Points: The 'Drrrrive home safely!' guy
"Timeout, timeout, a media timeout." Ever wonder who is behind the mic at the Palestra? Now's your chance to find out about the mysterious character. The beloved voice of the Palestra, Rich Kahn, sat down and told us about everything from announcing Joe Namath's induction into the Hall of Fame to Fran Dunphy's bad memory.
Football: Penn looks to the air; Brown puts it on the ground
Who says you can't throw a changeup in a football game? By carrying the ball almost as often as they threw it in Saturday's 31-17 win over the Quakers, the Bears were able to mount a balanced offensive attack against a Penn defense that had been gearing up all week to limit the damage through the air.
Football Notebook: Injury results come too late
After taking a helmet to his elbow during the second quarter against Brown on Saturday, running back Joe Sandberg felt some numbness. He then sat out the entire second half. But did he have to? "We were worried and they don't have X-ray facilities [at Brown]," Penn coach Al Bagnoli said.
Ilario Huober: Running up the score a real issue in college
Bill Belichick and the blowout-happy New England Patriots just might be the villains of the year in the NFL, but things are different in college. College football, put on display by amateur athletes on hundreds of teams around the country. College football, where the financial considerations trouble only the minds of sponsors and athletic directors, not quarterbacks and linebackers - at least where the NCAA's efforts to keep it that way are successful.
Hoops NB: Quakers near full strength 9 days out
Nine more days. With Penn's season opener against Drexel less than a week and a half away, the Quakers took to the floor last night before a sparse crowd. Faced with the first real rebuilding effort at Penn in the past several years, Miller said after the annual Red and Blue scrimmage that getting under the lights, as it did over the weekend in a scrimmage at Colgate, could do his young team good.
Sprint Football: Tigers sprint coach defends Navy's tactics
If Penn sprint football coach Bill Wagner thinks he had it rough on Saturday, he should spend a day in Tom Cocuzza's shoes. The Princeton coach was on the wrong end of an 83-0 drubbing at the hands of Navy, the team that Wagner accused of running up the score in a 56-7 wipeout of the Quakers last weekend.










