Virginia

Penn State's players now realize that going into a hostile environment to compete in a football game is going to involve much more than simply hearing boos and some negative comments. The Nittany Lions' trip to Virginia on Saturday will be their first venture on the road since a turbulent offseason that resulted in a report blasting Penn State officials, including the late Joe Paterno, for their handling of the Jerry Sandusky case, followed by NCAA sanctions - a bowl ban, scholarship reductions and other penalties.

Virginia quarterback Michael Rocco had a chance to continue the family football tradition at Penn State, where his father was a member of the 1982 national championship team and his grandfather worked for Joe Paterno. But after Paul Jones and Rob Bolden committed to the Nittany Lions for the freshman class of 2010, Rocco decided on Virginia and hasn't regretted it. He started all 13 games as a sophomore last season and led the Cavaliers in their 2012 season opener. Now he gets a chance to see those familiar - except for the names on the backs - uniforms on Saturday when the Cavaliers host Penn State.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Whether it's the Orange Bowl or playing at home, No. 11 West Virginia is comfortable with scoring a point a minute. Geno Smith threw for 323 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Mountaineers to a 69-34 win over Marshall on Saturday in the Mountaineers' highest-scoring opener. West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen will have plenty of things to tweak after the opener. Just not his quarterback's play. Smith kept the momentum going from his six-TD performance in the Orange Bowl, when West Virginia beat Clemson, 70-33.

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Comcast-Spectacor would lease and manage a new arena here should an NBA or NHL franchise move to Virginia's largest city. On Tuesday, Comcast-Spectacor officials went before the Virginia Beach City Council to propose that the Philadelphia-based company run the arena for 25 years. At the meeting, Virginia Beach economic development officials revealed an ambitious plan to build a $350 million, 18,500-seat arena at the city's oceanfront in an attempt to bring in a professional team.

The owners of the NBA's Sacramento Kings may have declined to confirm or deny a published report that the team will announce next week that is it planning to relocate to Virginia Beach, Va. But a Kings representative, speaking on background because he was not authorized to comment, told the Sacramento Bee on Thursday that team officials will not be in Virginia Beach when the announcement is reportedly scheduled to be made. Citing anonymous sources, the Hampton Roads Business Journal reported Thursday that the Kings owners are expected to be in Virginia Beach on Tuesday and Wednesday, when Comcast-Spectacor, the Kings, and city officals announce an arena proposal.

Are the Sacramento Kings headed east? Inside Business of Norfolk, Va., citing sources who asked not to be identified, reported Thursday that Virginia Beach, Va., officials and the Maloof family, owner of the Kings, are expected to announce on Wednesday that the Kings will move to Virginia Beach. The report did not say when the relocation was to take place. How such a move would affect the NBA is unclear. The Kings play in the Pacific Division, and it's unlikely they would remain there if they moved to Virginia.

The NBA's Sacramento Kings, unhappy with their situation in California, may be headed to Virginia Beach, according to a report in the business journal, Inside Business. Officials from Comcast-Spectacor have proposed moving the team to Virginia Beach and for Comcast to help build and lease a new pro sports arena, according to the report . The Kings have tried but been unsuccessful in building a new arena in Sacramento. How the move would affect scheduling and conference alignment in the NBA is not known.

OFFICIALS FROM Comcast-Spectacor will meet with the Virginia Beach City Council on Tuesday to propose building an arena to house an NBA team. The Hampton Roads Business Journal has identified the team as the Sacramento Kings. Ike Richman, a spokesman for Comcast-Spectacor, told the Daily News in a statement: "Comcast-Spectacor, through several of our subsidiaries, and Live Nation, both of which have a substantial presence in Southeastern Virginia for many years, are always looking for new opportunities to expand our business in the area.

WASHINGTON - Mitt Romney's campaign says the presumed Republican presidential nominee will announce his running mate Saturday morning in Norfolk, Va. The late-night announcement came amid rising speculation that Romney had chosen U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin from a short list of finalists that was believed to include Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio and former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty. In a statement issued after 11 p.m. Friday, Romney's campaign said the running mate would be revealed at 9 a.m. EDT at the Nauticus Museum in Norfolk.