Incredible! That is the word I use to describe the storm of controversy that has enveloped our community the past two days.

Penn State has just completed one of the most successful weekends in winter sports history, and people are upset over a decision that makes perfect sense.

During the past weekend the men's and women's basketball programs received invitations to the NIT and NCAA tournaments respectively, and the wrestling team won the EWL's and qualified all 10 wrestlers for the national tournament; an unprecedented accomplishment.

I will begin by saying that the women deserve to be playing their first-round game on their home floor. My point is that they don't deserve it any more then the men.

The fact that the women won the Atlantic Ten tournament championship and the men didn't cannot be disputed and they deserve our congratulations, but if one compares the two seasons of the teams the differences are minimal.

The women finished the regular season with a record of 21-6 and a third place finish in the Atlantic 10 while the men finished with a record of 20-7 and a second place finish in the Atlantic 10.

Both teams finished their season undefeated at home, so it could very easily be argued if the men played the A-10 tournament at home like the women did they too would have won.

I realize this is based on assumption, but it could be argued the women would not have beaten either George Washington or Rutgers if those games had not been played at home.

On the other hand, if the men had played Massachusetts at home in their tournament they most likely would have won. I don't mean to belittle the accomplishments of the Lady Lions but if the women had the advantage of playing their conference tournament at home why can't the men have the opportunity to play some of their post-season games at home?

If this argument doesn't convince you, then think about which program needs the home game the most. The women are already established.

When a great female basketball player in high school is considering where to go to college, Penn State is a place that many would consider. The men are struggling to achieve national recognition; a fact that is pointed out by the way they were overlooked by the NCAA tournament, even though they beat some of the teams that are in the "Big Dance."

Whether or not you consider the NIT a second-rate tournament, the fact remains that if Penn State does well they could end up on ESPN three or four times and that would provide the team invaluable national exposure which is what we need if we are going to be able to compete in the Big 10.

This home game is much more beneficial to the men then it could have ever been for the women.

The last point I would like to make is that even if you still think the women got a bad deal, don't take it out on the men's team.

They had nothing to do with the decision and they deserve your support. Remember we need a new arena and that would benefit the women as well as the men.