Brown Out, Brown In

Penn State made the hiring of Bill O'Brien as the next head football coach at the school official yesterday and Joe Paterno issued the following statement about the new coach with whom he shares an Ivy League alma mater:

"I don't know Bill, but I respect his coaching record, and I am particularly pleased we share a connection to my alma mater, Brown."

The full Penn State press release on O'Brien's hiring notes that:

He played linebacker and defensive end at Brown from 1990-92, graduating in 1992 with a double concentration in political science and organizational behavior management.

What the release doesn't mention is that the Bears were 1-9 and 0-10 in O'Brien's two seasons as a letterman.

ESPN.com has full coverage of the O'Brien decision, which did not go well with some high-profile former players.

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Perhaps of interest to those who follow FCS football in these parts, Lehigh quarterback Chris Lum tied for second in balloting for the Walter Payton Award for the most outstanding player in the FCS. New Hampshire quarterback Kevin Decker was eighth. The award is given by The Sports Network and sponsored by Fathead.

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The FCS national championship game between No. 1 Sam Houston State and No. 2 North Dakota State will kick off at 1:05 today in Frisco, Texas. preview

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Last night was a good one for That Certain Hanover High Grad and That Certain Hanover High Senior. The Grad was playing bingo on campus (here's what it looks like) and hit the jackpot when she won a Nook. She doesn't call home often – if ever – but she did after winning the digital book reader.

While TCHHG was playing bingo, her brother was at the Hanover High basketball game watching a bunch of guys he used to play ball with remain undefeated. As a promotion at halftime the booster club sells hackey-sack type basketballs for $1 apiece and everyone lines up on the sideline to toss them at a spot on the floor. Half of the proceeds go back to the winner. Astonishingly, for the second game in a row That Certain Senior was the winner. With his mini basketball stopping the closest to the target among 64 68 balls on the floor he pocketed $34. And while we advanced him the $1 for the ball, no we didn't get our investment back ;-)