PSU's winter blues
In the fall through early spring, snakes hibernate.
This is normal except on the campus of Penn State University near various sports programs. Only a couple of days ago, football recruiting for 2010 went a little flat as signing day approached.
Yes, Joe Paterno's program was ranked No. 6, 7 and 11th by some of the best college recruiting organizations, but they could have finished better. Three guys named Lattimore, Thornton and Allen were in our sights but chose other schools.
We also lost Coxson and Easley, who decommitted from PSU to go with Florida. So this program was snakebitten on how one wants to look at it.
But several other PSU programs were snakebitten, too.
The men's basketball program has been so badly bitten. It is hardly breathing.
New wrestling coach Cael Sanderson took over the program and admitted he didn't realize it was so tough to win on the road in the Big Ten. However, the snakes were easy on his program since almost the entire freshmen class was redshirted. He is coaching a respectable program in his first year.
Finally, the snakes decided to take one last shot at another program trying to regain some national recognition and respectability. This time it was coach Coquese Washington's Lady Lion basketball team. They were a young team with two freshmen starting along with two seniors and a junior, but they're veterans now.
They were winning games but usually coming from behind and just barely winning. Maybe this was a warning of things to come when they were ranked No. 23 in the polls and then immediately came back to earth's reality by losing at home and then two more on the road. Two of those three games they should have won.
Maybe the problem is a loss of leadership together with a lack of self confidence in themselves and in each other. This is where Washington earns her salary and the challenge of restoring that leadership and confidence they once had.
It has been a very cold and somewhat snowy winter in a very gloomy Happy Valley!
Oh, are there any other winter programs that require anti-venom?
Les Hart
Duncansville
