Nittany Lions

At a Penn State practice earlier this week, coach Joe Paterno angrily chased away a photographer who had his camera pointed at him, and a nervous subordinate implored a security guard to make passersby keep their distance from the field. Clearly, the legendary Paterno, flashing the paranoia that seems to inhabit most football coaches, has been at his irritable best as 10th-ranked Penn State (9-3) prepares to play 19th-ranked Auburn (8-4) today in the Capital One Bowl at Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium.

It was a weighty decision for Brandon Short, Penn State's all-Big Ten Conference middle linebacker, leading tackler, and inspirational leader. Cozy up to the National Football League's cash cow and help his impoverished family back in McKeesport, Pa.? Or return to Happy Valley for his final year of eligibility and take on the risk of sustaining an injury that could end his dream of playing pro football? Yesterday, the affable, 6-foot-3, 246-pound fourth-year junior ended the speculation about his future with a smile and a poignant remark.

The history of Penn State basketball is that there really is no history. The school has just one 2,000-point scorer. And Jesse Arnelle's career ended in 1955. While Beaver Stadium expanded every decade to house the masses that wanted to see Joe Paterno's football team, basketball was played in old Rec Hall. It sometimes was played well, but never got anybody too excited. Until now. In a perfect meeting of time and place, 14,852 folks came out of the cold last night to see an unbeaten Penn State open a fabulous new arena, the Bryce Jordan Center.

Ignored and patronized by the reporters at Big Ten media day in August, members of Penn State's entourage simmered as they flew back to State College from Chicago. "That really bothered us," linebacker Paul Posluszny recalled yesterday. "We were out there and we felt like we didn't get very much respect at all. Maybe we didn't deserve it because of the way we played the past couple of years . . . but we came home a little bit angered about that. "I still can remember one reporter.

Joe Paterno was about to attempt to explain the reasons for another Penn State defeat when he reached for a bottle of water and accidentally knocked it over. "Typical," the coach said, forcing a smile. This latest defeat, by 20-0 to Michigan at Beaver Stadium eight days ago, was historic. It left the Nittany Lions 0-4 for the first time in the 115 years the university has fielded a football team. It was their 14th loss in their last 19 games, dating to November 1999, and it was Paterno's fourth failed attempt at getting career victory No. 323 to tie the Division I-A record held by Paul "Bear" Bryant.

Joe Paterno likes to talk about cycles when the subjects of his Penn State football team and national championships are linked together. Ideally, these cycles begin with a plethora of talented but inexperienced prospects and reach their apex three years later with a savvy and seasoned squad ready to make a run at The Big Trophy. For the most part, Paterno's 22- year record as the Nittany Lions' head coach bears this out. So as the 1988 season approaches, it appears that the next cycle, and most likely Paterno's last, is about to begin.

In a competition determined not so much by the swift as the healthy, Penn State won the IC4A outdoor track and field championships yesterday for the third year in succession. Blessed once again by the hand of fate and spurred by some gutsy performances, the Nittany Lions scored 70 points in the 112th running of the nation's oldest track meet. Penn State thus became the first team to win three straight titles since Villanova racked up five in a row from 1960 through 1964. Given a victory in the meet-ending 1,600-meter relay, George Mason might have tied for the title.

These must be impressionable young athletes Joe Paterno has on his hands. In the aftermath of last week's 24-3 loss at Wisconsin, the third lashing Penn State had taken this season, Paterno spent a lot of time soothing the souls of his Nittany Lions, telling them that nothing had gone their way against Ohio State, Michigan and the Badgers, that he had never seen the football gods turn their backs on a team quite that way. An excuse?...

Like a lot of fellow Northeasterners, the Penn State football team almost certainly will be celebrating New Year's in Florida or Arizona. But whether the Nittany Lions' sunny destination will be the Jan. 2 Fiesta Bowl or the Jan. 3 Orange Bowl boils down to one simple question: Would the Fiesta's organizers rather have the Nittany Lions or Notre Dame? Penn State's large and loyal fan base, its turnaround season, and the revival of 78-year-old Joe Paterno's reputation certainly make a compelling case.

About 15 minutes after Curtis Enis jogged up the ramp toward Penn State's dressing room shouting, "The big one's comin' up, baby," the Nittany Lions had their jackets and ties and tongues neatly in place. Second-ranked Penn State's 41-6 victory over Illinois yesterday was just a prelude. The big one happens next week when Ohio State, which embarrassed Penn State, 38-7, last year in Columbus, goes to Happy Valley in a game of national significance. "Just another Big Ten game," shrugged Enis, looking dapper in round spectacles and a smart, black-and-white checked sportscoat that covered his change of heart.