Brown, Connor, Pos on Sporting News' list

A trio of Penn State standouts have been named to The Sporting News All-America team.

Junior linebacker Dan Connor earned first team All-America honors, while senior tackle Levi Brown and senior linebacker Paul Posluszny were second team selections.

Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan and Southern California were the only schools with three or more players on The Sporting News All-America team.

Penn State has had at least one first team All-American in 34 of Coach Joe Paterno's 41 seasons in Happy Valley.

A finalist for the 2006 Bednarik Award, Connor becomes the 13th linebacker at "Linebacker U" to earn first team All-America honors under Paterno. Connor is the 77th Penn Stater selected a first team All-American a total of 90 times and the 61st Nittany Lion to earn first team All-America accolades a total of 73 times under the legendary coach.

A 2006 AP and Walter Camp first team All-American, Posluszny joins Dennis Onkotz (1968-69), Shane Conlan (1985-86) and LaVar Arrington (1998-99) as Nittany Lion linebackers that have earned first team All-America accolades twice.

A 2006 co-captain along with Posluszny, Brown also was selected a 2006 Walter Camp second team All-American and earned second team AP All-America honors in 2005.

Omekanda receives invitation to combine

Senior forward Simon Omekanda has received an invitation to participate in the 2007 adidas Major League Soccer (MLS) Player Combine to be held Jan. 5-8 at Lockhart Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

The list of 58 combine participants was selected by a panel of Division I coaches representing all conferences. The college coaches nominated and voted for players in conjunction with the MLS coaches.

The two-time All-Big Ten First Team selection delivered, leading Penn State in nearly every offensive statistical category, including goals (5), assists (4), points (14), shots (61), and shots on goal (28). Omekanda totaled 20 goals as a Nittany Lion and his 26 career assists places him sixth on Penn State's all-time list.