The morning after

The thing with having kids, folks, is that you feel a lot older once they're around. Because they exhaust you.

Young Jack is now 14 months old, and Your Editor, though only 29, feels closer to 40, and nights like last night are a big reason why: Your Editor and the Nittany Wife lined up a babysitter so that we could grab dinner on South Street, meet up with some friends, and check out The Official Band Of This Website, The Old 97s, who absolutely rock.

In short, it was a nice evening. It was good to get out, have some drinks, party with Rhett and boys.

This morning, however, was brutal. Young Jack, always an early riser at around 6:15 or so, decided to up ante on his folks -- he woke at 5:15 and refused our feeble attempts to get him back down. He is now down for his nap, and Your Editor is feeling every day of 42.

Anyway, on with the news:

The titanic Penn State-Illinois clash on Oct. 22 will be played at 7 p.m., according to recent reports. Night games aren't a bad thing, folks. The question is: How many is too many?

The Nits already have an 8 p.m. game lined up that month aginst The Ohio State University, and I'm sure other late starts are yet to be announced. Joe Paterno insists these late start times aren't good for the kids, and I tend to agree. One 8 p.m. start a year is fine -- otherwise, let's stick to noon and 3:30.

The freshmen are "pretty darn good"

Outsiders laugh at the hype, but for Penn State fans, Justin King and Derrick Williams -- both Top 10 recruits last fall who have enrolled early at Penn State and, according to the optimists of the Nittany Nation, will lead Penn State out of the desert -- represent A New Day For Penn Staters. Nevermind that they're freshman.

King and Williams have earned rave reviews from coaches for their performance this spring. And if the Blue-White Game was any indication, the kids can really play.

Joe thinks so, at least. At an alumni event in suburban Philly last week, Paterno told the Bucks County Courier Times that King and Williams are "pretty darn good."

"Those kids are pretty darn good," Paterno said. "No question they can do some things we haven't been able to do the last couple of years."

A rough Sunday morning

7:29 a.m. on a Sunday morning. I don't mind getting up early, folks. I really don't.

As friends and family know, I am not opposed to waking long before dawn (4 a.m. is the record, I believe) to arrive at a tailgate as soon as the lots open (and is there a sweeter feeling, folks, than pulling into those Beaver Stadium lots, hopping out of the old SUV and feeling the morning dew on your feet, knowing that within a few short minutes you will commence tailgating? I think not.).

The thing is, there's no tailgate today. There is only a scheduled trip to Lowe's and Target (ugh) to pick up some outdoor essentials, and possibly a sandbox for Young Jack, who is right now driving Your Editor absolutely bonkers, and making Your Editor's early morning hours a bit of a struggle.

At 14 months, Young Jack is displaying some very linebacker-esque tendencies. OK, maybe just one--a willingness to destroy everything. Nothing is spared here in the Wissahickon Valley, folks. Young Jack is, for instance, currently eating some software. I gotta go.

This photo makes me happy

The Luckeyes ...

So it's 10:20 p.m. on a Friday night, and in an earlier life, at this time, I'd be at a dive bar in beautiful Baltimore City, plunking quarters into a jukebox to hear old Whiskeytown songs. But this is not That Old Life -- this is tonight, at 10:20 p.m., and I'm livin' in the 'burbs, listening to the Drive-By Truckers, and blogging for y'all.

So, what Penn State news can I offer? Not much.

I will say this, though: Those dopes in Columbus sure are confident as of late. It's always entertaining to see fans of the Miami Hurricanes of the Midwest proclaim their superiority over The Greatest Program In The Universe.

Less than 100 days until the Nits opener, y'all.

Playing Temple is stupid

So what we Nittany Lion fans have known for some time now has been confirmed: Penn State has signed a three-year deal to play the mighty Temple Owls.

This exciting new series is the product, of course, of the NCAA's approval of a 12th regular season game starting in 2006. With that approval in hand, many Nittany Lion fans had hoped Tim Curley, Joe Paterno and gang would have lined up an exciting "rivalry game" to enhance the schedule. Pitt, West Virginia, Syracuse, Maryland and just about any other old-time East Coast rival would have sufficed.

Instead, we get Temple. The Nittany Lions, by the way, lead the all-time series against the Owls 33-3-1.