Blue-White Game set to be played April 22

The Nittany Lion football team will culminate spring drills with one of the highlights of the Penn State sports calendar, the Blue-White Game, on Saturday, April 22.

Kickoff is tentatively scheduled for 2:00 p.m. in Beaver Stadium. As in previous years, there will be no admission or parking fee for the Blue-White game.

The Blue-White Game is one of the nation's most popular spring football contests. More than 40,000 loyal and enthusiastic Penn State fans have attended the game in eight of the past 10 years, with rainy conditions during the other two contests.

Numerous events will be held in conjunction with the Blue-White Game to celebrate Penn State football, including the popular pre-game autograph session with the players, the announcement of the spring football award winners as well as the recipients of the Student Book Store's "Player of the Game" from last season.

Other events held in conjunction with the Blue-White Game will be announced as the contest approaches.

Beginning his 41st season as head coach, Joe Paterno's squad returns 35 letterwinners and 11 starters from last year's Big Ten and FedEx Orange Bowl Championship squad that posted an 11-1 record. The Nittany Lions will begin spring drills in late March. Penn State opens the campaign on September 2, hosting Akron, the 2005 Mid-American Conference champion, in Beaver Stadium.

Lions' gymnast Helsby earns Big Ten accolade

For his part in Penn State's dramatic victory over No. 4 Stanford on Sun., Feb. 19, Derek Helsby (Orlando, Fla.) was named Big Ten Men's Co-Gymnast of the Week by the conference office yesterday. The sophomore all-arounder shares the honor with Ohio State's Willie Ito. The two standouts will compete head-to-head this weekend in Columbus, Ohio in a double dual meet with the Penn State and Ohio State women's teams. The league honor is the first of Helsby's career and the third for Penn State this season.

Versus the Cardinal, Helsby stepped up in the absence of freshman Casey Sandy, winning the pommel horse and the all-around. His pommel horse score of 9.400 was a season high, earning him the third title of his career in the event and allowing Penn State to maintain its No. 1 national ranking on the apparatus. Helsby's all-around score of 53.500 secured him his first all-around victory of the season and his third as a Nittany Lion. He also contributed a second place finish on the parallel bars (9.300) and a third on the high bar (9.350), helping Penn State to post the highest total score of any team in the nation thus far this season (216.800).