My Bowl Picks

Here's my bowl picks for the rest of the bowl season (starting with the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl). No confidence picks or picking with a spread, it's just strictly who I think is going to win the game.

Think you can beat me in pick'em? The ones I picked correct are in green and the incorrect ones are in red

Pizza Bowl: Ohio over Marshall

Car Care Bowl: Pitt over UNC

Emerald Bowl: Boston College over USC

Music City Bowl: Clemson over Kentucky

Independence Bowl: Texas A&M over Georgia

EagleBank Bowl: Temple over UCLA

Champs Sports Bowl: Miami over Wisconsin

Humanitarian Bowl: Idaho over Bowling Green

Holiday Bowl: Arizona over Nebraska

Armed Forces Bowl: Houston over Air Force

Sun Bowl: Stanford over Oklahoma

Texas Bowl: Missouri over Navy

Insight Bowl: Iowa State over Minnesota

Chik-Fil-A Bowl: Tennessee over Virginia Tech

Outback Bowl: Northwestern over Auburn

Capital One Bowl: Penn State over LSU

Gator Bowl: West Virginia over Florida State

Rose Bowl: Oregon over Ohio State

Sugar Bowl: Florida over Cinncinati

International Bowl: South Florida over Northern Illinois

PappaJohns Bowl: South Carolina over UConn

Cotton Bowl: Ole Miss over Oklahoma State

Liberty Bowl: Arkansas over East Carolina

Alamo Bowl: Texas Tech over Michigan State

Fiesta Bowl: TCU over Boise State

Orange Bowl: Iowa over Georgia Tech

GMAC Bowl: Central Michigan over Troy

National Championship: Alabama over Texas

RECORD: 11-15

The Last Paterno Post of the Day

Once again, Happy Birthday Coach, Hope to see you on the sidelines for many more years to come.

(Cake photo credit: Jay Paterno's twitter @JayPaterno)

The Joe Pa Birthday Tribute continues...

Other Great December 21 Moments

Here's some of the other great things that also occurred on Joe Pa's birthday...

-Pilgrims land on Plymouth Rock (1620)
-First cross-word puzzle publishes in New York World (1913)

Other Birthdays:
-Jane Fonda (1937)
-Samuel L. Jackson (1948)
-Ray Romano (1957)

Joe Pa twirls batons, sells donuts, and tells Presidents to "shove it"

Stuff that Happened in 1966 (The Year Joe Pa became head coach at PSU)

President: Lyndon Johnson

Cost of a Stamp: $0.05

Best Picture: The Sound of Music

Best Album: September of My Years, Frank Sinatra

Noteworthy events:
-Medicare begins
-The FDA decides that "the pill" is safe for human use
-The first "Star Trek" episode airs on television

Deaths: Walt Disney

Sports: Texas Western defeats Ketucky in the NCAA Basketball National Championship


(Source: infoplease.com)

COME TO PENN STATE!

The Injury and What's Older than Joe Paterno?

It's Joe Paterno Day on the Blog

In honor of Joe Pa's 83rd birthday today, it's going to be Joe Paterno day on the Football in the Heartland blog. I'm going to find the best Joe Paterno related quotes, tweets, video's, and photos.




We'll start with a couple tweets from his son and Penn State assistant Jay Paterno...


"Happy Birthday to Joe Paterno and here's to many more."


"Best birthday advice from Joe Paterno--If no one told you how old you were, How old would you be? "



So here's to you Joe Pa. You're the first person that I have devoted an entire day on the blog for.



(Photo Credits: color photo from nbcsports.msnbc.com, black and white photo from lesterlegends.com)

Alamo Bowl Preview

Michigan State vs. Texas Tech

When: Jan. 2 at 8 p.m. (central) on ESPN

Where: San Antonio, Texas

What to watch for: The Red Raiders boast the best passing offense in the Big 12, and the Spartans have the worst passing defense in the Big Ten. This should be the difference in the ball game. If Sparty doesn't stop the pass, they will not win this one. Another factor in this one is how the Spartans will react to not having eight of its players on the squad. Michigan State will be without WR's B.J. Cunningham, Mark Dell and Fred Smith, RB Ashton Leggett, CB Chris Rucker, LB/S Brynden Trawick, DT Ishmyl Johnson and DE Jamiihr Williams.

Cunningham and Dell rank second and third for the Spartans in receiving yards, respectively, whil Leggett had 125 rushing yards and four touchdowns for the Spartans.

Prediction: Texans always Remember the Alamo. There is just too much going against Sparty in this game. Texas Tech's offense is too prolific and the suspensions will hurt Mark Dantonio's squad. Red Raiders win this one, 38-14.

VS.

(Photo Credit: athlonsports.com)

Big Ten Network Breaks Down the Big Ten bowl schedule

Capital One Bowl Preview

Penn State vs. LSU

When: Jan. 1 at 1 p.m. on ABC

Where: Orlando, Fla.

What to watch for: This one should be a really interesting match-up. The Tigers are one of the worst in the SEC in total offense and middle of the road in terms of total defense. On the other hand, the Nittany Lions rank second in the Big Ten in both total offense and defense. The key for this one will be if Penn State QB Daryll Clark is able to step up and win a big game - something he has been unable to do in the past.

Prediction: I like the Nittany Lions in this one. Joe Pa picks up his 24th b

owl win by beating the Mad Hatter Les Miles and his Tigers, 27-24.

VS.

(Photo Credits: bleacherreport.com)

Final Project - Diving into a family tradition

Playing for dad can be tough on both the father and the child.

My dad coached my brother and I in just about every sport growing up, and our reaction from even the slightest bit of advice we received from him was like Jud Buechler giving basketball tips to Michael Jordan.

But this was merely youth sports, nothing compared to high school or collegiate athletics. Plus my dad didn’t know the ins and outs of the sports.

Not like Bob Rydze.

Rydze knows just about everything there is to know about his particular sport – diving. It’s a sport that has been a part of the family for generations.

His father was the president of USA Diving at one time and had the opportunity to judge the 1976 Olympic Games. His brother Richard won a silver medal in the 10-meter tower at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany. And now Rydze is the Chairman of the Board for USA Diving and is an extremely accomplished college coach.

As the head diving coach at the University of Iowa for the past 35 years, Rydze has received the Big Ten Diving Coach of the Year award three times, coached four Olympians, 31 All-Americans, nine Big Ten champions, and one NCAA champion.

“I’ve been very fortunate to have a lot of really good divers,” he said. “That is the secret to being a good coach – having good talent.”

The proud diving tradition continues in the Rydze family through his youngest daughter Veronica, although the elder Rydze was reluctant to get his daughter involved in the sport.

Rydze’s other two children weren’t divers, and after watching other coaches push their kids into the sport, he decided he wouldn’t force it upon his children.

Veronica, 21, excelled in numerous athletics growing up, including softball, track and gymnastics. She was the captain of her high school track team, leading the squad’s hurdle relay team to a win at the Drake Relays.

“I actually wanted my daughter to be a softball player or a track athlete in college,” Bob Rydze said. “She was really good at both sports.”

But the summer before her freshman year, Veronica told her father she wanted to continue the family tradition of diving.

Her decision to start diving had nothing to do with her family's background in diving or her father’s stature in the sport, she said, she just simply had more fun diving than she did in other sports.

Bob Rydze quickly figured out that he had something special when she stepped onto the board.
She was a two-time state champion in 1-meter diving in high school and a National Swimming Coaches Association All-American.

“I sort of kicked myself a little bit that I didn’t start her sooner because it’s really hard to start that late,” Bob Rydze said. “It takes six to seven years to become a really good diver, it’s a long process. It just doesn’t happen overnight.”

When it came time for Veronica to pick a college to attend, coach Rydze stayed completely out of the recruiting process, leaving it up entirely to Veronica and her mother, Elaine.

He would have been completely supportive had she chosen to attend one of the many other top diving schools in the country, he said, but she chose the University of Iowa as the place to continue her career on the diving board.

“I kind of always knew I wanted to come to Iowa,” she said. “My dad is just such a great coach. He has taught me so much and I just wanted that to continue.”

The success on the board has carried over from high school to college. Now a junior at Iowa, she’s posted the sixth best 1-meter and 10th best 3-meter scores in school history. Last season she and fellow Iowa diver Deidre Freeman placed seventh at U.S. Diving Nationals in the 3-meter synchronized event.

Despite her success, there have been frustrations along the way for both father and daughter. With Rydze teaching her how to dive, it was sometimes difficult to differentiate home life and life at the pool, he said. It wasn’t the coaching at the pool, but rather the coaching at home.

It got to the point where sometimes things that Veronica did would get magnified.

“If I see her eating some ice cream or if she stays out late at night one night,” he said. “I’m not upset that she stayed out late, I’m more upset with how that affects her training.”

He was also quick to point out that he sometimes wasn’t a good parent at her high school sporting events and would “give his two cents.”

Veronica recalled running track for Iowa City high school, and while the other parents cheered in the stands, her father was on the middle of the field with her coaches.

“It was more frustrating during high school than it is now,” she said. “It’s not too bad anymore, plus I’m more mature than I was back then. You just try to keep diving and family separate, which is what usually happens.”

There are times where it’s tough for the father, as well.

Veronica has battled through injuries during her collegiate career – she’s missed most of this season with a back injury.

Injuries are an aspect of sports that a coach must accept – it’s part of the game. But as a father, it can be tough at times.

“The injuries get you more emotionally involved,” he said. “As a father, you just want to see her healthy and able to compete. It’s a balancing act.”

Although there are frustrations, both said they have a great relationship both in and out of the pool.

Being the child of such a polarizing figure in a particular sport can provide added pressure or expectations that can be difficult to live up to.

Michael Jordan’s kids will never live up to the high-flying performance their father performed on the hardwood. Pete Rose's son could only muster two hits in his Major League Baseball career.

But that type of stuff doesn’t bother Veronica. For her, there is no added tension.

“I just have my own expectations of what I want to achieve,” she said. “I don’t really know if there are any other expectations out there.”

(Bob and Veronica Rydze photo credit: www.hawkeyesports.com)

Big Ten Twitter Pic - Check out this Cake!

This twitter picture comes from Penn State assistant coach Jay Paterno (@JayPaterno)

"Check out this cake the Penn State bakery whipped up for our recruiting dinner. Fantastic!"

The Unknown Heisman

There’s a name on the list of Heisman trophy nominees that I bet the average football fan doesn’t know.

The casual fan more than likely couldn’t tell what team he plays for, what position he plays, what statistics he has racked up, and how to even pronounce his name.

Johnny Cash knows his name.

It’s a boy named Suh – and he might be the most deserving Heisman candidate.

Ndamukong Suh, defensive tackle for the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Still can’t pronounce his name? Let’s have the stats tell the story.

Suh dominated in the Big 12 championship game against Texas and fellow Heisman candidate Colt McCoy, recording four and a half sacks – a Big 12 championship game record.

The problem is that the Heisman award has become a beauty pageant.

I’m as guilty as anyone when it comes to overlooking Suh. I knew of his star power on the defensive side of the ball, but I didn’t know his specific stats and his Heisman potential.

By the way, it’s pronounced En-dom-ah-ken Soo, and he racked up a total of 12 sacks this season.

His nomination is the first for a defensive player since 1997 when Michigan’s Charles Woodson became the only defensive player to ever win the Heisman (but even he returned punts and played a little wide receiver).

Hopefully this recognition for Suh’s efforts sets a precedent for non-“skill” players at getting a shot at winning the Heisman. Unfortunately, I don’t see it happening even though these players deserve the award just as much as any pretty-boy quarterback.

It has become socially ingrained in the world of football that the skill positions are the most important and most publicized players in the game.

The Heisman Trophy is supposed to go to the best player in college football.

The Heisman website notes that its mission is to “recognize the outstanding college football player whose performance best exhibits the pursuit of excellence with integrity.” There is no way that the most prolific player in college football is consistently year in and year out a quarterback, wide receiver, or running back.

Let’s examine a quarterback that we’ll call “Exhibit A” as an example. This person is 57th in completions, 49th in passing yards, tied for 39th in passing touchdowns, 61st in total rushing yards, and tied for 24th in rushing touchdowns.

Without knowing who this person is and by looking at sheer stats alone, would he be considered to be one of the best players in college football?

Everyone should offer a resounding, “No!”

The above stats belong to none other than Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, who will almost without a doubt beat out Suh in the Heisman running, even though he probably shouldn’t be nominated.

The players, voters, and fans need to put aside any preconceived notions that certain positions can’t win college football’s biggest honor.

It’s about time that defensive and even special teams players got the recognition they deserved as the best players in football.

If he wins the Heisman, everyone will know his name.

But until then, life ain’t easy for a boy named Suh.

(Photo Credit: Bleacherreport.com)

Outback Bowl Preview

Northwestern vs. Auburn
When: Jan. 1 at 11 a.m. (central) on ESPN
Where: Tampa, Fla.

What to watch for: I really think the Outback bowl got this one right. Northwestern deserved to be in this game over Wisconsin, and the comittee went with the better team as opposed to possibly taking a worse team with a better fan base. The Wildcats come into this game as one of the hottest teams in the Big Ten.

Northwestern won its final three regular season games, two of them against ranked opponents (Iowa and Wisconsin). Led by QB Mike Kafka, the Wildcats boast one of the best passing offenses in the Big Ten.

This will be a big test for Gene Chizik's Auburn Tigers, who rank eighth in the SEC in pass defense. Auburn comes into this match-up with a two game losing streak.

Prediction: I like the Big Ten to pick up its first bowl win of the season in this one. Pat Fitzgerald is going to have his team ready to go, and Mike Kafka is going to have a big, BIG game for the Wildcats. Northwestern picks up its first bowl victory since 1949 by beating the Tigers, 31-27.

Vs.

Photo Credit: espn.com

Insight Bowl Preview

Insight Bowl

Minnesota vs. Iowa State

When: Dec. 31 at 6 pm (central) on NFL Network

Where: Tempe, Ariz.

What to watch for: On paper, this game doesn't appear to be one of the more exciting bowl games of the season. Iowa State head coach Paul Rhoads did a hell of a job to get the Cyclones to its first bowl game since 2005. Both squads are 6-6. Minnesota has one of the worst offenses in the Big Ten, while Iowa State has one of the better rushing offenses in the Big 12. Alexander Robinson (below) leads the Cyclone rushing attack with 1,058 yards. The crucial blow for Minnesota is that the Gophers will be without their top receiver Eric Decker.

Prediction: This game will not be high scoring, but the Big Ten moves to 0-2 in the bowl season after this game. Iowa State wins its first bowl game since 2004 and its third bowl game ever, knocking off the Golden Gophers, 17-10

Vs.

Photo Credit: Athlonsports.com

Bowl Tweets

It's bowl season, so that means it's time for the final round of tweets around the Big Ten...

Penn State assistant Jay Paterno:

"I can't help but wonder: if Joe Paterno coached at LSU would their cheer for him be "When I say JeauxPa, you say Terneaux"."

"Congrats to Daryll Clark on winning the Silver Football-Big 10 MVP-the 3rd PSU QB to win since PSU joined in 1993 more than any school"

"The Capital One Bowl will be a showcase of the greatest tailgaters on the planet--Penn State & LSU fans. Can you put kielbasa in gumbo?"

Northwestern Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald:

"Get your tickets for the Outback Bowl http://tinyurl.com/yge49ca - let's fill up Raymond James Stadium with Purple! GO CATS!"

"Our staff is starting to game-plan for the Outback Bowl today [Dec. 7] - we have a LOT of work to do between now and January 1st! GO CATS!"

Penn State Assistant Tom Bradley:

"This afternoon and tonight [Dec. 5] is all about recruiting...we have a great group of players and people on campus this weekend"

Sizing up the Big Ten Bowl Games

It's that time of year again, time to go bowling. Seven Big Ten squads received bowl bids this year, and we're going to break down all seven of the match-ups - one by one. Lets start with the first Big Ten bowl.

Champs Sports Bowl

(#15) Miami vs. (#20) Wisconsin

When: Dec. 29 at 7 p.m. (central) on ESPN

Where: Orlando, Fla.

What to watch for: This one should be a really interesting game. The two squads haven't faced each other since 1989, and Miami is 2-1 in the all-time series against the Badgers.

Big Ten offensive player of the year John Clay will face a Miami rushing defense ranked third in the ACC. Clay racked up 1,396 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns this season.

One positive for the Hurricanes is they are playing in their home state. The Hurricanes ability to run the football will be key against the Badgers, who rank second in the Big Ten in rushing defense. Turnovers could be the key to this game. Miami QB Jacory Harris threw 17 interceptions this season, while Badger QB Scott Tolzien has thrown only 10 picks this season.

Prediction: I like Miami in this game. The Hurricanes will get just enough done running the football to set up the pass. Jacory Harris will have a big game and the 'Canes defense will limit John Clay's rushing yards. Miami wins this one, 27-17.

Vs.

Photo Credit: Athlonsports.com

A call for diversity in response to Richard Lapchick study

It’s a man’s world in the realm of sports media. Actually, it’s a man’s world in all forms of the media in today’s society, more specifically a white man’s world.

Let me preface by saying that I don’t think this is right. Women and minorities should have the opportunity to work in sports media, or any media they so desire, just as much as anyone else.

But studies sadly show this isn’t the case.

Richard Lapchick’s 2008 study of gender and race in the APSE newspaper and media staffs sheds light on something that is more than likely known by many in the media.

The results aren’t shocking, especially when it comes to sports writing – 94 percent of sports editors are men, and 94 percent of sports editors are white.

Women make up only 11.5 percent of total APSE staffs in 2008, down from 12.6 percent in 2006.

One downside to this study is that it fails to mention how many minorities or women applied for these positions in 2008. I would imagine that the majority of people applying are white males, which obviously gives them a better shot of being hired.

Many American sports are dominated by minorities – African Americans in the NBA and NFL, and Latin Americans in MLB, etc. So where are the minorities when it comes to reporting on these sports?

In a perfect world, one could say that the people doing the hiring and interviewing of candidates aren’t biased, but I just don’t believe that to be the case. Something needs to be done to get these voices heard.

Women and minorities can possibly bring creative new ideas and perspectives never before seen in the sports media world.

As a sports reporter for a college newspaper, I’ve seen this firsthand.

There are only three female sportswriters on our staff of about 15 people or so, but I will be the first to say that these writers are some of the best we have on staff. The best enterprise sports story I’ve ever read in our paper came from a current female sports reporter last year.

What needs to be implemented in newspaper and other media jobs is some sort of rule similar to the “Rooney Rule” in the NFL. This would force editors to interview at least one minority and one female for each position, possibly giving them more opportunities to have their voice heard in the media.

There are some positives that show that things may be slowly changing. The percentages of African-Americans increased as sports editors, columnists, copy editors and
support staff/clerks, and the number of Asians increased, as well. The number of women is increasing in some positions as well, but at a very slow rate.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all in favor of having the best candidate get the job. If the best candidate for a certain position is a white male, then so be it.

But the Rooney Rule has helped get more minority coaches more opportunities to be hired in the NFL.

A rule like this is the media world would do the same thing.

Good Tweet, Bad Tweet

The twitter phenomenon is something that looks like it's going to stick around for quite some time.

But with so many people on Twitter - athletes, celebrities, regular joes, and media members, it begs the question about how Twitter is used for "good" and for "bad"

I'll admit, I thought Twitter was pretty stupid and pointless when I first discovered it. But since I've become a member of the media, working as a sports reporter for the Daily Iowan, I've discovered its importance.

Twitter is the fastest way to get news out to other people - whether it's Tiger Woods crashing into a tree, Allen Iverson retiring, or Minnesota head football coach Tim Brewster urging fans to vote the Gophers for the Alamo Bowl.

I've used Twitter on this blog numerous times to report the latest tweets from Big Ten coaches. This is an example of when twitter is used for "good." Twitter is a great way to get inside access to coaches, athletes, celebrities for newsworthy things that reporters might not otherwise discover. I also use Twitter to market my articles that I've written for the Daily Iowan, another good way to use Twitter to further gain readership.

But there can be another side of Twitter.

It can be an avenue for malicious rumors to spread extremely easily. I didn't follow this very closely on Twitter, but I would imagine if someone tweeted that Tiger Woods had died in his car crash, it would have been "Re-Tweeted" millions of times.

The problem is that you can't silence people from tweeting and re-tweeting whatever they want, so how does this problem get solved?

Twitter users just need to be able to distinguish "good" tweeting from the media. Many twitter users in the media provide links to their stories or another person's story, this is a great way to use Twitter.

It's not just the followers fault, but the media members fault, as well. The members of the media that are on Twitter need to realize that they are being followed by sometimes hundreds of thousands of people. People are going to believe what a reputable member of the media says. Take Fox Sports writer Jason Whitlock, who tweeted during the Tiger Woods coverage...

"El broke the back window out with a golf club in an attempt to "save' Tiger. this is getting good. good thang i'm on a diet. im ready baby!! My thoughts and prayers are with El and her young child as they struggle to get through this troubling time.. I'm here if you need me."

This is bad tweeting. Whitlock is not only making light of the Tiger news (granted he might have been tweeting what many people were thinking), he is a member of the media and he is making the story about him just as much as it is about Tiger.

All in all, Twitter is used generally for good in the media, but followers just need to realize the good, the bad, and the completely malicious and untrue.