Darryl Clark - B10 PoW

Darryl Clark has been named as Big Ten Offensive (co) Player of the Week - following his stellar performance on Saturday against the msu spartans.

This is Clark's 2nd Player of the Week honor this season.

All Big Ten Team Announced Today.

The Big Ten will announce its 2008 All Big Ten Team live today (Monday Nov. 24th) on the Big Ten Network at 7:30pm (EST).


Any speculation?

Will any Penn Staters be named to the teams (coaches and press teams are announced).

Will Clark, Williams, Royster, Shippley, Butler or Norwood get any mention?

What about Maybin, Gaines, Bowman, Odrick or Boone?

How about Kevin Kelly?

I guess we'll find out tonight!

what's that? You want to see more pix from Homecoming?

What a great idea!

Here are a few more pix that have "rolled" in from homecoming. We showed Mom the DVD slideshow this past weekend. She was impressed and lamented that she hadn't made the 3 mile trip to the stadium to check it out - lesson learned...

That's the turkey roulade - basically, it's a boneless turkey breast "filleted" to be one continuous strip - rolled with chopped herbs and garlic - then wrapped in bacon and roasted.  It is resting on a comfy and delicious bed of wild rice pilaf.  

Btw, Suz made the template for the RV from scratch - she first made a model out of foam board and then used the pieces to cut out the gingerbread.  On Friday, Michelle came over to Mom's house to help decorate - they did such a great job.

Here's a nice shot of the "total look" - buffet table, desserts and living room...

The crown roast of pork - we had more trouble ordering that darn piece of meat than we had with any other part of the planning.  But it turned out great!  Erica, with special instructions from Mrs. TC, did a wonderful job making the "hats" for  the roast.

One last picture of the dessert table - featuring:  christmas cookies; snowman chocolate pops; bon-bon tree; 7 layer jello salad; cupcakes with chocolate snowflakes and poinsettias; and, the buche de noel.

It's going to be Great - or as they say in Scotland...

actually, it's going to be windy and cold.  There is a chance for snow accumulation on Friday night (less than 2") - and a few flurries on Saturday - but mainly - it's going to be cold.

The air temp will hover around 30-35 degrees - but it's going to be breezy - so the "real feel" plummets about 10 degrees.

That's probably the coldest forecast I can remember in recent years - ages past I remember sitting in the stadium during ice storms and frigid temps.

This all lends itself very easily to another series of tailgating tips...

Staying warm throughout the day should be your main priority: 

• Warm clothing - layers that are dry and snug to the body will keep you the warmest 
  
• boots/shoes with thick soles and warm/dry socks - this will help keep the chill from the ground and the metal/concrete stadium floors from traveling up your legs.
• in the tailgating lots - if you have a canopy, put up a few walls (or tarps) to keep out some of the wind - 
• if you have portable heaters/stoves/grills - make sure that you follow the safety instructions - be sure to have proper ventilation and keep them away from flammable items  

Another good way to stay warm is with your food/beverage choices:

• you want food that is easy to eat - especially if your guest are wearing mittens/gloves
• bite size foods that you can eat with a fork or spoon are good choices - soups, stews, pot pies, etc.
• warm food and beverages will help keep everyone happy
• pick foods that can "take" prolonged heating and reheating - 
• prepare/cook before you get to the parking lot - so all you have to do is reheat the food with little fuss.

Be prepared:

• bring extra propane canisters - it's likely that you will be serving more "hot" food and beverages - so you will want to be able to keep the fires burning.
• extra water and heat safe cups for hot drinks
• get some hunter's "hand warmers" for your hands and feet
• remember that there are heated bathrooms on the outside of the stadium that are accessible before the game
  

PENN STATE v msu - Put the Billy on - it's gonna be cold

It's the end of the season as we know it,

Regular season, that is.

Penn State and michigan state meet up this weekend for Senior Day at Penn State. The spartans erased at 17 point deficit to defeat the Lions last year, and the PSU team and fans are eager for the Land Grant Trophy to return to Happy Valley.

Kick off is at 3:30pm (EST) and will be televised on the ABC family of sports channels (ie ESPN).

msu wears green - this should be an easy color to avoid - in both garb and fare.

The weather forecast is for COLD - cold - cold and more cold. The 3:30pm start means that it will be dark before the end of the (first half) game and will, therefore, get even colder. Wear layers and bring warm socks and a hat. A cozy warm down parka is great - but if your feet and head get cold - you won't really care.

Our theme this week is "Australian Pub - It's beer o'clock" - last year at this time Suz was in the land of Oz on a business trip - she brought home some fun tailgating flare and recipe ideas. As it is springtime now in Australia we thought it might help us stay warm dining on some warm meat pies, hot roast beef sandwiches, hot coffees, etc.

The Parking Lots open at 8am, and yes, we'll be there when they open. We may not get out of the car - but we'll be there. We'll be parking in the "general parking area of Lot 13 - email for directions and/or cell phone #s if you need them. We'll be flying our PSU flag and the flag of Scotland. Click here for the PDF of the parking map.

Everyone is welcome and we hope to see you there! -

To the Lion!

The rainbow was pretty...

Of course, by then, I had my camera stowed away in the back seat - so no pix of that (sorry!).

It was a fun day. Even with the smelly weather.

We got to the lots around 6:20(am) - we were the 4th car in line - and it was quite a while before we had company. But, by 7am the cars were lined up on Park Ave.

It was a dark and stormy day.

but all things considered, it was fairly warm and it could have been a lot worse.

We set up the stove under the IKEA patio umbrella (purchased at least 4 years ago and never taken out of plastic wrap until this week)and we served up some breakfast of eggs and crispy crowns (it's all the crunch and none of the mush). Later we heated up the potato and leek soup and white bean chili (yum!) - we also had pierogis, and, of course, kielbasa.

The game was a bit frustrating (or flustrating) - for the first half anyway. I was not pleased with the team's performance - but things got better in the 2nd half - and I even caught a touchdown on "film"
- it's the first (or one of the few) time(s) when I just "hold up the camera and shoot" that I actually go a picture of the action - and not some guy's shoulder.

We packed up after the game and got on the road quickly - we were moving along nicely until we hit Toftrees Ave (or whatever it's called) where we sat (creeping forward) for almost an hour. Finally in Park Forest we discovered that the power had gone out on that side of town. We didn't get (full) power back at Mom's until 8pm -

hoosier sez what?

From the Tailgate email:

Well - yes, there are some football games left...

and some tailgating to be done!

Penn State hosts the indiana hoosiers this Saturday (November 15th) at 12pm (EST). This is Penn State's first home game in (nearly) a month - and we're all looking forward to seeing our Lions again.

The hoosiers are one of those "red" teams - so try to avoid the red parkas and flannels because,

it's going to be cold - and, possibly, rainy. Check accuweather.com for the latest forecast - and bring your warm boots and extra socks - just in case.

The parking lots open at 7am - and we'll be there, waiting in line, when they do.

We'll be parking in the "general parking" area of Lot 13 - email for directions and/or cell phone numbers if you need them. Click here for the parking map pdf. This week we'll be flying our Penn State flag along with the flag of Quebec (that is, if I can find it).

In deference to the cold(ish) weather, we'll be featuring hot soups and snacks at the tailgate this week.

We'll be tailgating before and (hopefully) after the game - as always, all are welcome. Contributions are welcome but not mandatory.


To the Lion!

Penn State v michigan state Kickoff time

The Lions' final game of the regular season (Nov. 22nd) will kick off at 3:30pm and be televised on ABC.

Indiana start time 12pm.

Which is a good thing - because the last time I looked at the weather report - it wasn't pretty.

The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network.

Parking Lots will open at 7am - and yes, we'll be there.

I'll be posting more (and sending around an email) about the tailgate soon.

Game Away, Game Away, Game Away that you got to survive.

---to the tune of Real McCoy's "Run Away" - y'know, the Lexus commercial from about 4 years ago...

okay, maybe not -

but anyway - Saturday is PSU's fifth and final away game of the season. They travel to Iowa City, Iowa (hmmm, there's a clue in there - I just know it) - and I'm traveling down to Center City Philadelphia to watch the game.

Where do you watch away games?

Generally - I like (need) to be in a safe and comfortable environment - a place where the people know me and my habits. And it's usually best that I'm not near any remote controls or anything else "throwable".

I love Penn State - and Penn State fans - and I love sitting with 100,000 people at home games - but I'm not good around crowds when I watch away games - I get distracted, and annoyed and kinda nasty about people wearing the wrong colors and/or breathing. But most people who know me - know this about me - and they (run away - cue music) understand.

I've gone to friends' homes and PSU alumni events and bars/restaurants in the past - but that was mainly during the dark years - so I've chosen to condemn the practice.

This season I've watched the away games at home and in State College (at Mom's home - so that's kinda at home as well) - the largest crowd has been 3 (the smallest? 1).

This weekend I'll be at a semi-private venue - The Union League in Philadelphia. But I'm not sure that the Good Old Boy network is ready for my brand of crazy - or that I'll be able to compose a suitable and karmic outfit of Navy with no denim, black or yellow (or derivation there of).

GO STATE - WIN!

And so it begins.

May I remind everyone that the first order of business is for Penn State to beat iowa this weekend.

After that, one's secondary and tertiary alliances should fall to the Tigers of LSU and the Ok State Cowboys (we aleady love their coach!).

And yes. They (or their weekly replacements) must win.

Why? Here's why.

Penn State is currently ranked 2nd in the Harris and USA Today Polls (of course they are #3 in the AP, but that doesn't really matter) - regardless of this, Penn State is ranked 3rd in the BCS standings.

Because of the computers - and sure the computers themselves are unbiased - but the software is completely subjective. And PSU's strength of schedule and "quality wins" are lacking when compared to the surrounding teams in the top 5. And it's only going to get worse.

We not only have to root for the teams playing the other undefeated squads - we have to hope for "help" against the 1 loss teams as well. Currently, even with the loss on Saturday, Texas is ranked #3 by the computers (PSU is #4 - texas tech and alabama are tied for #1); the Longhorns are ranked in the human polls #6 and #7 - but their computer ranking boosts them to #4 in the BSC standings. Texas' remaining schedule (including the Big 12 championship game) is very winnable. If the gators or the sooners stumble, and if tt loses, Texas, with a higher "human" ranking could end up at #2 in the BCS. Florida, currently ranked #5 by the computer, could see that ranking spike if they win out - especially if they are the team to hand Alabama their only loss.

After PSU wins on Saturday (whoo!) - if the Tigers are successful, then, logic follows that PSU is ranked #1 in the human polls - They will, most hopefully likely, then be in the top 2 in the BCS. If the Cowboys win - then PSU is still in the top two - but not as securely.

What the Nittany Lions need is to win their remaining games - no doubt about it - but they are going to also need some seriously positive karma for the remaining opponents of their top 5 neighbors.

But it had to happen this way - because texas will likely win their remaining regular season games - so this is a necessary storm to weather.

Just focus your fan energy on Penn State winning every game they play - That's all we can do.

GO STATE BEAT THE HAWKEYES!!!

PENN STATE v iowa game time

Kick off is scheduled for 3:30pm (EST) with regional ABC coverage.

Article on Clark in the New York Times

that bastion of liberal lion love (remember 1994?) - has an article on Darryl Clark today - About his accomplishments on the field and in the classroom.

Excellent.

Logo/image source: Necco.com

So I hear there's a game in columbus this weekend...

Forget the hype - forget the consequences - we all know that the game this weekend is the one we've all been waiting for this season (okay, I was kinda waiting for last week's game - but that's over now) -

And now it is here.

Visit GoPSUsports for the transcript from Joe's Tuesday press conference, and the Penn State v tosu game notes.

Also, check out Week 7 of "Nittany Lions in the NFL" - Kerry is still winning, Puz is still hitting and Larry is still sitting.

Special Agent - Kevin Kelly

Kevin Kelly won Big Ten Special Teams player of the Week accolades for his performance against Michigan.

Kelly was 3/4 on field goals and 5/5 on PATs, scoring 14 points - which propelled him to the all time Big Ten leading in career kicking points with 376 (to date).

Kelly's 70 career field goals puts him just 3 kicks away from the career Big Ten title in made field goals.

Toys for Tots

To add to the Holiday cheer - Mrs. Tailgating Coordinator had an inspired idea. Why not collect gifts for Toys for Tots at the tailgate.

Brilliant - slightly devastated that I didn't think of it myself.

So we got in touch with the Centre County Toys for Tots Program and after we got the green light (we even called PSU to make sure it was okay) from them we contacted our guests and asked them to bring along a gift as a donation. (Click link for more information on Toys for Tots)

The response was overwhelming. Our tailgaters are a generous group of people - also, friends and family sent along additional gifts and donations to add to the haul.

It made a great day even more exceptional.

The stockings were hung, by the chimney with care...

and wire...

Team Virginia obliterated any and all expectations I had for the creation of the "fireplace wall" -

Did you say something about a banner?

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!

Thanks again and again to everyone who helped out with the tailgate this weekend - it was such a group effort -

Have you seen the gingerbread RV?

kudos infinity to Suz for the creation and decoration of the Gingerbread RV - we had so many "over the top" components to the tailgate this week - but this was easily the sweetest...