JoePa pulls even . . .

Not positive, but I think FSU's bowl loss today now puts JoePa and Bowden in a tie coaching victories in college football. The number is in the mid-370's I believe.

CORRECTION - according to Wikipedia:

With Penn State's latest win overTexas A&M in the 2007 Alamo Bowl, Joe Paterno has a career record of 372 wins, 126 losses, and 3 ties. Based on the criteria used by the NCAA, this places him one victory behind Florida State's Bobby Bowden for most victories by a Division I-FBS football coach. However, 49 of Bowden's 373 coaching victories came against schools that are not currently in Division I-FBS[4], while only 5 of Paterno's victories came against non-Division I-FBS schools[5], so that Paterno has 366 wins against teams currently in Division I-FBS while Bowden has only 324. Following a 3-overtime victory over FSU in the 2006 Orange Bowl, Paterno has a 7-1 all-time record against Bowden (6-0 against Bowden's West Virginia teams and 1-1 against Bowden's Florida State teams).

One of Bowden's greatest coaching achievements revolves around his success in bowl games. His 20-8-1 record ranks second all-time. Only Joe Paterno (23), against whom Bowden has lost 7 of 8 total games, has won more bowl games.

Record Controversy - As with most many records that span an entire career, Bowden's coaching mark is no exception. Although Bowden is recognized as the all time leader Division I coaching leader, he has less victories as a Division I Head Coach than Joe Paterno.

This is due to the fact that Bowden's first 31 wins were at a Division I - AA Program. Bowden has 342 Wins as a Division I Head Coach, as opposed to Paterno's 372. Additionally, Bowden has 49 victories against teams that are not currently FBS Members, as opposed to Paterno's 5 wins against Non FBS Teams.

Therefore, many people in the college football ranks refer to Paterno as College Footballs winning Division One Coach.

Based on this information, it appears JoePa needs one more to draw even with the "worse case" statistics cited above.

The Wait for Next Season . . .

The dreaded "wait 'til next season duldrums" have officially begun. As a veteran fan, I'm wise enough to know that much can change between now and the start of the 2008 campaign. I've seen it too many times - and have dealt with both surprizes and disappointments as seasons unfold. But . . . there's cause for great anticipation of a better 2008 season, compared to this one. I think # 17 Clark at QB and # 22 Royster at RB, if they stay healthy and develop, are two players who will help the Lions to the next level. BTW, #22 was Capaletti's jersey number . . . yep, I believe in quirks of fate. Also, figure Sean Lee will keep the Linebacker U. tradition going strong. We only lose 3 or 4 major starters to graduation. Like JoePa, I tended to support Morelli throughout his career. True, he was a bit unpredictable at times, but the kid had an arm and when he was "on", he was excellent. No need to dwell on the "off" moments. I'm very enthused about Clark's abilities as a mobile QB . . . thoughts of MRob streaming back in my head every time Clark keeps the ball and runs . . . tell you what, given the recievers we have coming back, and a backfield that looks to be strong, a mobile QB may just be what we need to crack into a 10-2 season or better!

But, ah, for now, the wait . . .

The Bowl Game

It was a long night! We fell behind early but battled back to win 24-17! Great party before, during, and after the game! Around midnight, we took this photo of our standard poodle - Abby, who was just "dern tired" but also pleased with the outcome!

The Season . . .

To the extent possible, I followed the Lions throughout a rather disappointing and lack luster season. Nornally, I look forward to Penn State football with a what could only be described as a senseless passion. The events transpiring in my life during the regular season took a toll. However, we did manage several cook outs and tail gate gatherings which did much to brighten things, dispite a few critical PSU losses along the way.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow night's bowl game against Texas A&M. All the "regulars" will be here to party and watch the game. The passion is creeping back . . . we should win this one, and it'll be a great end to the season.

Go State!

Christmas 2007

We celebrated Christmas in two phases. First, Christmas Eve at my daughter's new home in Maryland and then, Christmas Day with the rest of the family at our house.

Binoculars provide great sky watching!

Holmes Comet, Great Nebula of Orion, Mars, and dozens more. Best feature is the quick set up on cold winter nights. My son, pictured above, deploying his astrobinoculars on Christmas night.

PS2 Digital Images or Mars

Photography experiments continue. Using a Canon PS2, while testing many different camera settings and features, the quest to take non-telescope assisted photos continues! First major lesson learned - this is a better experiment for summer months than frigid December nights!

Round 2, Christmas night, we used a fairly apt tripod but can report only unspectacular results. I'm sure we will eventually figure out the why and how of it, our determination to do so will be reflected by the number of additional attempts between now and April.

On a more productive note, my son mounted his astrobinoculars to the tripod and we enjoyed viewing several of our favorite clusters and M objects before retiring to fireside rocker recliners for the evening.

Merry Christmas 2007

This will be a wonderful Christmas

For so many reasons, but mainly because I am blessed by spending with those I love. Turn time back to June 2007, and I would not have thought it likely . . .

The miracles of Christmas and life . . . the renewal of spirit and faith . . . the hopes and dreams of each tomorrow . . . God's belssing to all of those we love!

Way too cold to get out the scope

For a day that saw temps in the mid-60's, the windchill and wind gusts this evening made for a near-impossible telescope setup to view the Mars-Moon conjuction. We're talking wind gusts 35-40 mph and temps in the low 30s . . . way too cold for this backyard sky hunter. So, I broke out the trusty Canon PS2 and tried a few "free hand shots" of the conjunction (see below). The larger photo was taken at 15X - a bit unsteady, but clearly Mars show up as a red planet. Maybe Christmas Eve will offer clear heavens and less wind to contend with - I'd love to shoot this scene through the telescope lens.

Mars and Moon Conjunction 23 DEC 07

Remember our troops this Christmas!

Yard Cannon

Yard Cannon

Holmes Comet . . .

Fooled me too!

When you least expect it . . .

Friendship redefined . . .

December 3rd

Yesterday marks the end of the first full day of "watchful waiting" in what has become a saga of personal challenges. The theory of the tested prevailing over the tempting appears to be playing out favorably, for now, I wait and watch.