Cup of Morning Joe

Here are the Penn State pigskin headlines for Tuesday, August 5, 2008:

* Following ESPN's controversial "Outside the Lines" piece, plenty of fingers have been pointed at the Penn State program's lack of discipline. One of the more documented brushes with the law involved all Big Ten safety Anthony Scirrotto. The safety's backyard newspaper, The Courier Post, details Scirrotto's mentality toward the incident and his future in football. "It is all water over the dam."


*Does another story -- occurring almost simultaneously to the "Outside the Lines" piece -- also paint Penn State in a negative light? The Tribune Democrat in Johnstown, PA takes a look at the correlation between off-field issues and party school rankings (Penn State stood at #3 in the latest survey).

*Who is the one big-time college football coach who can relate to Paterno's ongoing questions about age and coaching? Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden, who answered questions candidly for Penn State's student newspaper, The Daily Collegian.

*Derrick Williams was supposed to be Penn State's savior -- the ultra-talented Greenbelt, Maryland wide receiver with a magic wand, pixie dust and plenty of touchdowns. It hasn't been spectacular -- some argue Williams "lost a step" after a broken arm suffered during his freshman season -- but it has been steady. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review looks at Williams' numbers as he prepares for his fourth and final season in Happy Valley as a team captain.

*Each season begins with questions, and usually ends with answers attached to a team's win-loss record. The Philadelphia Inquirer's Jeff McLane asks five burning questions about the upcoming 2008 season.



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