It’s an awfully good time to be from Pittsburgh.
The Pittsburgh Penguins are World Champions after claiming their third Stanley Cup on Friday night, defeating the Red Wings in Detroit, 2-1. As a fan, the victory is definitely in my top 5 moments of all-time. I don’t think I’ve ever been as excited as I was when the Pittsburgh Steelers won Super Bowl XLIII in the final minute, but watching the final seconds tick away Friday night was certainly right up there.
For those of you out there who are Penguins fans, savor the moment. As I’ve always said, you never know when it’s going to come around again. Who thought it would be 17 years between Cups? When the Steelers were winning Super Bowls in the 1970s, fans of the black and gold thought it would happen every year. Of course, it took 26 years before the Steelers would claim Super Bowl XL.
The Pittsburgh Pirates have not won a World Series title since 1979. The Penn State Nittany Lions have not won a National Championship since 1986.
The race is on. If I were a betting man (which I’m not), I’d have to go with the Nittany Lions beating the Bucs to the finish line. The Lions got jobbed out of a national championship in 1994, but really haven’t come close since. They will try to get that elusive title again this season and the schedule is built for success.
Just last week, captains Daryll Clark and Sean Lee met with the media. In today’s edition of Morelli OnLion, we’ll see what the captains had to say. We’ll also have a non-rev roundup and take a closer look at another member of the Class of 2009.
Let’s start with the captains.
Clark, Lee Meet the Press
Quarterback Daryll Clark and linebacker Sean Lee met the media on Thursday afternoon. It followed a short Joe Paterno news conference and fantasy camp football practice (don’t ask).
Both spoke on a number of topics, and both were very blunt with the media. This duo is probably Penn State’s best group of captains since the 2005 season, when Michael Robinson, Paul Posluszny and Alan Zemaitis were the captains. That team, of course, came within a couple of seconds of going undefeated.
The 2009 version of the Nittany Lions are being picked to do big things. In numerous preseason publications, Penn State is picked among the top teams in the country. However, Clark said that the team cannot get caught up in the hype or they’ll stub their toe, much like they did last season at Iowa.
“I stay away from that stuff,” Clark said matter-of-factly. “I hear about it all the time, phone calls, people from home talking about how nice it is. It’s real nice to be predicted so high, and to see your picture and everything like that in the book, but none of it matters if you’re not winning football games.”
No one knows that better than Clark. He was riding high during his first year as a starter before the Nittany Lions saw their undefeated season end in a 24-23 upset loss at Iowa. The season ended on a very sour note with a 38-24 loss to USC in the Rose Bowl.
Lee watched all of that transpire from the sidelines, of course, as he re-habbed from a torn ACL. For Lee, the 2009 season marks his return to the field, his final shot at a national championship and a crucial year as he displays his talents for the NFL.
Lee said that he is chomping at the bit to get back on the field, and that he’s excited to play with the guys who filled in while he was out last season.
“You saw how guys stepped up,” Lee said. “We’re the captains of this team, but it’s pretty easy to be leaders with the type of guys we have. You saw that leadership kind of come through, at the linebacker position last year, where guys like Navorro Bowman and Josh Hull stepped up.”
Make no mistake about it, Clark and Lee are key cogs for the 2009 Nittany Lions. Much like the fans, Clark is glad to have Lee back in the lineup.
“With him being gone last year, it was unfortunate. Just to have him back with healthy knees and everything, he’s looked very well during these workouts that we’ve had. I just can’t wait to see him in pads, other than at a photo shoot or something like that, actually going against another team,” Clark said.
These captains are special. Let’s see if they can do special things.
Non-rev roundup: Foley wins Sunnehanna
Penn State golfer Kevin Foley won the 56th Sunnehanna Amateur Golf Tournament, which is held every year in Johnstown. Foley shot a 68 in the tournament’s final round.
Foley had the lead at the tourney’s start and led the entire way. He finished the four-day affair at 13-under-par, shooting a 267.
“Kevin was rock solid in every facet of his game,” said Penn State golf coach Greg Nye.
Foley will return to action on June 24 at the Northeast Amateur Invitational Tournament in Rumford, Rhode Island.
Class of 2009: Ty Howle
Offensive lineman Ty Howle got the ball rolling on the Nittany Lions’ Class of 2009 when he verbally committed to head coach Joe Paterno while visiting over the Easter holiday in 2008.
The four-year starter at center and defensive tackle for his father, head coach David Howle, at Bunn High School in Bunn, N.C., is already enrolled at Penn State. The 6-foot-1, 295-pound prospect will begin his career on the offensive line.
He received a scholarship offer from Penn State last February, and decided shortly thereafter that he wanted to play for the Nittany Lions.
Howle was named first team all-state as a senior, as he helped lead Bunn to a 10-3 record. He also added first team all-conference honors from his play in 2008. He was selected to play in the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas and the Offense-Defense All-America Bowl this winter.
He also garnered all-state and all-conference honors as a junior.
Howle is rated as the No. 9 center in the country and the No. 15 player in North Carolina by Rivals.com.
Chris Morelli is the award-winning editor of Blue White Illustrated, a weekly publication devoted to Penn State athletics. He is also a regular on “Sports Central,” which airs on ESPN Radio in Altoona and State College. E-mail him at morellionlion@gmail.com. This column does not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of BWI’s writers or publisher.