Penn State is not exactly a sports showcase during the summer.

Face it, the sports camps held on campus pale in comparison to the football games that draw close to 100,000 people.

But John Schaeffer and Darren Goldwater are somehow managing to find something to talk about on their sports broadcast for WKPS-FM (90.7). The program airs from noon to 1 p.m. on weekdays, except for Tuesdays.

And it is not exactly dead air. Well, except for the first time they went to their booth in James Building. They forgot to press a control button, and that made their day's efforts fruitless.

"I came in and pretty much messed it up," Goldwater admits. "We didn't even go on the air."

"It didn't go too well," Schaeffer said.

But ever since that first miscue, Schaeffer and Goldwater have been coming along and evolving their broadcasting skills. Although somewhat timid in their first actual broadcast, the two broadcast journalism majors have progressed since they first went on the air in May.

They play background music now and they have branched out from Penn State athletics to professional sports as well. And they have started to promote their program, hanging flyers around campus. A second wave of flyers should make their appearance soon.

Recent topics of discussion have covered everything from John Rocker's return to New York to Wednesday night's NBA Draft.

"We both watch sports religiously," Schaeffer said. "We know what's happening. We just talk about how we feel."

Not that they are Jim Rome in the making, but the duo doesn't shy away from giv-

Sing opinions about various topics — such as quarterback Rashard Casey's arrest, the baseball team's success in the College World Series and Jarrett Stephens' disappointment in the NBA Draft after he was not chosen among the 58 players.

They even take phone calls, but they are a rarity. In fact, most of the callers are their friends (who also posed as "draft experts" for the basketball picks).

After all, it is not easy to get an audience of students, when most of them have left Happy Valley for home during the Summer Session.

That does not mean, however, that Schaeffer and Goldwater can get by without doing their homework. That's why they are certain not to miss an edition of "SportsCenter," the local newspapers or Sports Illustrated when it hits the newstands.

"They do a great job," WKPS station manager Mike Walsh (senior-communications) said. "It's great that they go in and put that effort in."

Not that it is all work, though.

The weather forecast might be the most entertaining part of the show. Required by the student-run radio station to read the weather report, usually Schaeffer and Goldwater report the forecast as they see it, playing Al Roker without the research.

"We just have fun with it," Schaeffer said.

There are other moments for levity. Schaeffer is a Phillies fan while Goldwater roots for the Pirates. So should they ever get a seventh caller in one day, that caller will receive a pizza bought by the fan whose team wins less contests.

They hope to continue their show when the Fall Semester commences and Nittany Lions athletics are in full swing.

"When there is a lot of Penn State stuff," Schaeffer said, "we will talk about it in the fall."

"The whole point of the Penn State student station is to have the whole focus on Penn State sports," Walsh said. "They are definitely something that catches the interest of Penn State, regardless of musical tastes."