Archive: October, 2009
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Greetings from an unseasonably warm Brown Stadium, where as you can see the fall foliage is out in full splendor.
Before I get to today's game, be sure to check out Joe Juliano's College Football Report. It has the full rundown of all today's big games.
Regardless of what level the football team you root for plays at, you always want to win a championship by taking care of your own business. Any time you lose a game, it increases the amount you have to rely on your team's rivals losing too.
As cliched as that sounds, the Penn football team knows it is right in the middle of that situation today. The Quakers haven't beaten Brown since 2004, and that's one of the biggest reasons why they haven't won the Ivy League since the year before that.
Penn's Ivy League schedule never changes. They face Dartmouth, Columbia, Yale, Brown, Princeton, Harvard and Cornell every year, only alternating venues.
So the Quakers haven't been 4-0 in conference play in five years either. The league champion is almost always undefeated or has one loss, which has forced Penn to beat perennial powers Harvard to have any chance of being in the race. And they've only done that once since 2003.
We've already seen signs from this Penn team that it is better than its recent predecessors, especially on defense. But they'll have to prove their mettle today against a Brown offense that can really rack up the yards.
The Bears rank seventh in I-AA in passing offense and 17th in total offense, while Penn ranks 10th in pass defense and third in total defense.
So there's the matchup. This game is not on television, so I'll bring you live updates through the afternoon. We can also talk about Penn State, Temple, the Phillies or whatever other games you're watching.
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
GREENWICH, Conn. - I'm en route to Providence for the Penn-Brown game at the moment, and I know I owe you a blog post heading into the weekend. So here it is.
For yet another week, there aren't many great college football games this Saturday. I wasn't going to do a Spectacle of the Week poll initially, but then I realized that the Washington State-Notre Dame game is on a neutral field and in prime time. So have at it.
My pick is USC at Oregon. Although most everyone around here will be watching the World Series, it will be worth checking out the atmosphere at Autzen Stadium for at least a few minutes.
Rank |
AP |
Coaches |
Sagarin |
Harris |
BCS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Florida |
Florida |
Florida |
Florida |
Florida |
| 2. | Alabama |
Alabama |
Alabama |
Alabama |
Alabama |
| 3. | Texas |
Texas |
Oregon |
Texas |
Texas |
| 4. | USC |
USC |
Iowa |
USC |
Iowa |
| 5. | Cincinnati |
Boise State |
USC |
Boise State |
USC |
| 6. | Boise State |
TCU |
Boise State |
Cincinnati |
TCU |
| 7. | Iowa |
Cincinnati |
TCU |
TCU |
Boise State |
| 8. | TCU |
Iowa |
Cincinnati |
Iowa |
Cincinnati |
| 9. | Oregon |
LSU |
Virginia Tech |
LSU |
LSU |
| 10. | Georgia Tech |
Penn State |
Texas |
Penn State |
Oregon |
- Poll: What's the Spectacle of the Week? (19 votes)
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
One of the oldest cliches in journalism is that you aren't supposed to write ledes about the weather. Well, excuse me for doing it this time.
After everyone played in the monsoons on Saturday, Delaware Valley and Ursinus both found themselves flooded out of their practice fields this week. As you'll hear in the audio player below, the rain was treated with relatively good humor at this afternoon's local college football coaches luncheon.
But for those of you who are fans of Penn State or other Division I schools, it is a reminder that not everyone has a place to go when Mother Nature pays a visit.
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
With all due respect to Penn State, the biggest game of this weekend is probably Temple at Navy. The Owls are a win away from becoming bowl eligible for the first time since they won seven games in 1990. They haven't actually played in a bowl game since beating California, 28-15, in the 1979 Garden State Bowl at Giants Stadium.
If Temple really does end up in a bowl game, I will go into the Inquirer and Daily News archives and get the stories from that game.
The other big game this weekend is Penn's trip to Brown, where the QUakers haven't won since 2003. The Quakers haven't beaten the Bears at all since 2004. Sagarin has both those streaks ending Saturday by a narrow margin, which surprises me.
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
Last week at Big East men's basketball media day, I took my video camera around and interviewed a bunch of reporters to get their predictions on how the season will play out. The piece is finally ready, and here it is.
I talked to Joe Juliano of the Inquirer, Mike Kern of the Daily News, Liz Clarke of the Washington Post, Shannon Ryan of the Chicago Tribune and Mike Waters of the Syracuse Post-Standard. They were unanimous in their praise of Villanova, but they all had their own perspectives to offer as well.
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
We all know how history informs our experiences with sports in Philadelphia. This afternoon, a big piece of that history came to life.
If you were brave enough to endure the monsoons at Franklin Field, you might have seen former Penn and Eagles legend Chuck Bednarik on the concourse. He was signing copies of his new biography, Concrete Charlie.
I was able to get a bit of Bednarik's time for an interview. You can watch it below.
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
Greetings from Franklin Field, where Yale and Penn are about to play a football game in this spectacular weather.
This morning I was at the Palestra, which is something I haven't been able to say in a while. It wass pouring rain outside, but it was as warm and toasty as ever in there.
I went to watch the Penn basketball team's open scrimmage, which was notable for the debut of freshman guard Malcolm Washington. Yes, he's the son of Denzel Washington.
Here's how the Top 10 chart looked coming into this morning, including the season's first BCS rankings:
Rank |
AP |
Coaches |
Sagarin |
Harris |
BCS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Alabama |
Florida |
Alabama |
Florida |
Florida |
| 2. | Florida |
Alabama |
Florida |
Alabama |
Alabam |
| 3. | Texas |
Texas |
USC |
Texas |
Texas |
| 4. | USC |
USC |
Boise State |
USC |
Boise State |
| 5. | Cincinnati |
Boise State |
Iowa |
Boise State |
Cincinnati |
| 6. | Boise State |
Cincinnati |
Oregon |
Cincinnati |
Iowa |
| 7. | Iowa |
TCU |
Virginia Tech |
Iowa |
USC |
| 8. | Miami (Fla.) |
Iowa |
Cincinnati |
TCU |
TCU |
| 9. | LSU |
Miami (Fla.) |
Texas |
LSU |
LSU |
| 10. | TCU |
LSU |
Georgia Tech |
Miami (Fla.) |
Miami (Fla.) |
Now it's kickoff time here at Franklin Field. Come on in and join me.
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
NEW YORK - Good morning from the Theater at Madison Square Garden. It's Big East men's basketball media day, and Villanova is very much in the spotlight.
The Wildcats have been picked to finish No. 1 in the preseason poll of the conference's coaches. It's the first time the Wildcats have been picked to win the Big East since the 2005-06 season.
Here is the full poll:
1. Villanova, 218 points (10 first place votes)
2. West Virginia, 215 (5)
3. Connecticut, 185 (1)
4. Louisville, 179
5. Georgetown, 161
6. Syracuse, 152
7. Cincinnati, 135
8. Notre Dame, 132
9. Pittsburgh, 119
10. Seton Hall, 110
11. St. John's, 82
12. Marquette, 78
13. Providence, 52
14. South Florida, 44
15. Rutgers, 43
16. DePaul, 15
Here are the preseason player honors:
Player of the Year: Luke Harangody, Notre Dame
Rookie of the Year: Lance Stephenson, Cincinnati
All-Big East First Team
F Sr Lazar Heyward, Marquette
F Sr Da'Sean Butler, West Virginia
C So Greg Monroe, Georgetown
G Sr Deonta Vaughn, Georgetown
G Sr Scottie Reynolds, Villanova
All-Big East Second Team
G Sr Jerome Dyson, Connecticut
G So Kemba Walker, Connecticut
G Jr Jeremy Hazell, Seton Hall
G Jr Dominique Jones, South Florida
F So Devin Ebanks, West Virginia
F So Samardo Samuels, Louisvills
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
Lots of stuff to talk about today, and we’ll start by looking ahead to tomorrow.
Tomorrow is Big East men’s basketball media day at Madison Square Garden, and I’ll be there bright and early to bring you live coverage all day.
I’ll also have a few new hoops-related treats to unveil for you that I think you’ll like. Stay tuned.
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
When Delran, N.J., native Carli Lloyd became a free agent after last year's inaugural season of Women's Professional Soccer, I wondered if the Philadelphia Independence might try to sign her.
This morning, Lloyd landed at the other end of her home state. The 27-year-old midfielder and Rutgers alum signed a deal with Sky Blue FC, which plays its home games at the Scarlet Knights' own Yurcak Field.
Sky Blue FC won the WPS title last season, by the way.
Reach Jonathan at jtannenwald@phillynews.com or 215-854-2330.
