Buchstabensuppe History &'nd about us » It obviously looks ridiculously

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- James Franklin grew up in the Philadelphia suburbs, a strong-willed if not exactly strong-armed high school quarterback who believed he was good enough to play at Penn State. Joe Paternos coaching staff didnt exactly agree, and while Franklins arm led to him a decorated career at Division II East Stroudsburg (Pa.), his will led him to the place he wanted to be all along. Home. More than two decades after a futile attempt to draw Penn States attention as a player, the university hired the charismatic 41-year-old as its next head coach on Saturday. "Im a Pennsylvania boy," Franklin said, "with a Penn State heart." One charged with continuing the painstaking and sometimes painful rebuilding process started by Bill OBrien, who took over in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal more than two years ago. But OBrien bolted for the NFLs Houston Texans on New Years Eve, opening the door for Franklin, who breathed life into a moribund program at Vanderbilt, winning 24 games over three seasons and leading the Commodores to three straight bowl games. More will be expected here -- eventually. Thats fine by Franklin, who insists he didnt sign the six-year contract reportedly worth around $4.5 million a season to use the Nittany Lions as a stepping stone. Franklin littered his hour-long introduction with all the right touches. Wearing a blue suit with a blue-and-white tie, he called Penn State his "dream job" and dubbed Saturday "the best day of my life" before quickly amending it to the "third best" after his wedding day to his wife Fumi and the birth of their twin daughters Addy and Shola. Pointing to his family as they watched from the front row, Franklin described himself as having "two daughters and 95 new sons." Yet he knows the branches of the family tree run far deeper. He promised to reconnect the glorious past with what he believes is an ambitious future and vowed to have lunch with every provost and dean while pledging not to turn down any speaking engagement. "Well do everything we can to bring this community back together," he said, "and really take pride in this program." A pride still in the process of healing following the shocking revelations about Sanduskys criminal behaviour and the subsequent fallout that included Paternos unceremonious firing after 45 years at the helm. Then, there were the near-fatal NCAA sanctions that stripped the program of dozens of scholarships and barred the school from post-season competition for four years. As far as OBrien brought Penn State in two years, leading Penn State to a 15-9 record and ushering the Nittany Lions fully into the 21st century, much work remains to be done. The standard isnt to merely be competitive. Scanning a throng that dwarfed anything Franklin ever saw at Vanderbilt in a facility that in many ways rivals the jewels found in places like Alabama and Oregon, Franklin left little doubt as to his intentions. "Our plan is to go out and win a bunch of games," he said, "so we can stay here a long time." Its something Franklin insists he planned on doing at Vanderbilt, where he produced one of the more stirring turnarounds in recent college football history. The Commodores went 16-4 over his final 20 games, second only to Alabama over that span in the SEC. Vanderbilt won the final seven games of 2012 and the final five of 2013. And, Franklin led Vanderbilt into the final Associated Press poll each of the past two seasons, including No. 24 in the rankings released Tuesday. As impressive as Franklins credentials may be, Penn State athletic director Dave Joyner believes they put Franklin through the "most thorough vetting process of any search perhaps of any position at this university." One that included delving into rape accusations against four Vanderbilt players last June. Franklin dismissed all four players and a fifth Commodore who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanour charge of attempting to cover up the crime. Authorities have not implicated Franklin in any way and Joyner praised Franklin for his decisive action in what Franklin called "the most challenging thing Ive ever been through personally." Other challenges await. Theres the initial scramble to cobble together a recruiting class over the next month before National Signing Day and the assembling of a staff that will help the Nittany Lions take on Big Ten powers Ohio State and Michigan State in a new-look league that will add Maryland and Rutgers. Theres also finding a way to move forward while paying homage to the past. Franklin mentioned Paterno three times by name and recalled crossing paths with the college football Hall of Famer while out on the recruiting trail as an assistant at Maryland. "I walked in and had to show my I.D. and do everything I possibly could to get into the school," Franklin said. "Joe walked in and shut the entire school down. They had an in-school assembly, and I realized I had no chance. I really had no chance." Now Franklin finds himself in Paternos position, as the face of a program that has ceded some fertile recruiting ground to places like Pittsburgh and West Virginia. Franklin believes its time for the Nittany Lions to reclaim their territory. "When I say Penn State, that is the whole state," he said. "That is the whole state. We will recruit every corner of this state, every school of this state, every neighbourhood of this state." Theyre neighbourhoods Franklin knows well. While his path through the coaching ranks included stops at Washington State, Idaho State and Kansas State, Franklin always seemed to find his way back to Pennsylvania. Its the place he knows best, a place where he watched his mother work multiple jobs to raise a family. He inherited her work ethic when the coaching bug hit after six months trying to play in Europe. His career began by living in the basement of a friend, realizing the same mental toughness that helped him set records as a quarterback at East Stroudsburg would serve him well on the sideline and in the living rooms of the young men he wanted to lead. Franklins role at Penn State, however, will extend far beyond wearing a headset on Saturdays. Its a role the business-like OBrien did with a determined professionalism. Where OBrien was taciturn, Franklin is decidedly more energetic, a coach who has no problem getting by on five hours of sleep or glad-handing boosters, alumni, students and faculty alike. He pledged to "dominate" the state, but do it "the right way." A way that he thinks will provide a blend of Paternos scholarly paternalism with a brash new mindset that produces enthralling football on the field and graduates off it. "Were going to unite the coaches, were going to unite the community," Franklin said "and build this program where everybody wants it to be." Soccer Jerseys . -- Conor Casey scored two goals, his first of the season, as the Philadelphia Union beat Chivas USA 3-0 on Saturday night. Authentic Soccer Jerseys . -- The Washington Redskins coaching staff distanced itself from other coaches Thursday by siding with ownership -- and not the players -- in the NFLs labour dispute. https://www.cheapsoccerjerseysjustwholesale.com/.C. Now hes squarely in the U.S. capital and helping the Washington Wizards playoff drive. John Wall scored 33 points, Gooden got 11 of his 21 in the final quarter and the Wizards overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit for a 101-94 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday night. Soccer Jerseys Online . Eller said the Oilers were a "junior team" that was "all over the place" before Edmontons 4-3 victory over Montreal on Tuesday night, Oilers head coach Dallas Eakins took offence to Ellers comments and used it to motivate his youthful team. Replica Soccer Jerseys . "Last year we were in a ton of situations, late-game situations we couldnt pull out. Wed kind of fold under the pressure, get frustrated or let a big shot frustrate us," guard DeMar DeRozan said.MIAMI -- The drive down the left-field line took a surprising path, clanging off the foul pole for a homer by a batter who rarely hits them against a pitcher who rarely gives them up. That narrow margin loomed large because of the way Jarred Cosart pitched against Adam Wainwright. Cosart went seven innings Tuesday to earn his first victory for the Miami Marlins, who beat Wainwright and the St. Louis Cardinals 3-0. Wainwright (14-7) missed a chance to become the first 15-game winner in the majors. He went seven innings and allowed three runs, with two coming on a fourth-inning home run by Donovan Solano -- only the sixth homer allowed by the Cardinals ace. "I thought for sure the ball was going foul," Solano said. He wasnt the only one. "That ball was 10 feet foul and it came back fair. It was just the craziest ball flight Ive ever seen," Wainwright said. "He thought it was foul, the umpire thought it was foul, I thought it was foul, everyone in the park thought it was foul. And then the ball started having this ball flight back to the pole, and it ended up hitting the pole. You cant do anything about that." It was stunner coming against Wainwright, who began the game with the best innings-to-homers ratio among all major league starters. The homer was Solanos first ever at Marlins Park in 133 games. His only other homer this year came against another All-Star, David Price. "You can book Donovan for every ace in the league from here on out," Marlins manager Mike Redmond said with a giggle. Cosart allowed three hits and one walk to win for the first time since July 7. The victory came in his second start for Miami after being acquired from Houston in a trade for prospects. "I think thats why I got traded -- they had confidence in my ability that I can help this team," Cosart said. "I have the utmost confidence in my own ability that I can come in here and help these guyys win games and help make a playoff push.dddddddddddd" Hes 1-1 with the Marlins and 10-7 overall this year. Casey McGehee led off the Marlins fourth and hustled for a double when left fielder Matt Holliday was slow getting the ball back into the infield. Jarrod Saltalamacchia singled home the games first run, and Solano pulled an inside sinker for his homer. "I think I got so caught up trying to stuff it in there that I didnt juice it like I wanted to," Wainwright said. "That may be why he got to it. Youve got to tip your hat sometimes. It obviously looks ridiculously stupid that I gave up a two-run homer there, but the sad thing is it probably wouldnt have mattered because their guys pitched very good and we didnt score." TRAINERS ROOM Cosart, who missed his last turn because of a sore lower back, decided not to risk aggravating the injury at the plate. He took six strikes in two at-bats. FIRST SAVE With closer Steve Cishek given the night off, Mike Dunn came on with two on and two out in the ninth and earned his first save by retiring Matt Adams. The Marlins improved to 15-10 since the All-Star break. MVP? Marlins RF Giancarlo Stanton is aware of the buzz building that he deserves MVP consideration. "You understand what the possibilities are," he said, "but Im not typing MVP on Google every night." Stanton came into the game tied for the major league lead with 31 home runs, and he led the NL in RBIs, total bases and walks. He walked twice but also grounded into two double plays. UP NEXT Justin Masterson, who got only six outs in his most recent outing, starts for the Cardinals against Nathan Eovaldi in the final game of the series Wednesday. Masterson has an 11.25 ERA in two starts since joining the Cardinals, but manager Mike Matheny said he was encouraged by the way the right-hander threw in his most recent bullpen session. ' ' '