Posluszny one of six finalists for award
All-America linebacker Paul Posluszny is among the finalists for the Dapper Dan Charities Sportsman of the Year and Penn State fans have until Jan. 30 to vote for the Nittany Lions' all-time tackle leader.
Posluszny is one of six finalists for the prestigious honor and the only student-athlete. The 2006 Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year will be announced Feb. 4 and honored at the 71st annual Dapper Dan Dinner & Sports Auction on Sunday, April 15. The event will be held at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center at 5 p.m.
A native of Aliquippa, Posluszny has an opportunity to become the first Nittany Lion to be selected Dapper Dan Sportsman of the Year while a current student-athlete.
Fans can vote online for Posluszny until noon on Jan. 30 at www.post-gazette.com/dapperdan.
Penn State football coach Joe Paterno is a two-time recipient of the Sportsman of the Year, a member of the Dapper Dan Pittsburgh Hall of Fame and in 2006 received the Dapper Dan Lifetime Achievement Award.
Cohen named Big Ten Gymnast of the Week
Penn State's Matt Cohen earned Big Ten Men's Gymnast of the Week honors for his standout performance in the Nittany Lions' title win at the Temple Invitational in Philadelphia on Sunday, Jan. 21. The conference award is the first of his career.
The senior captain captured two individual titles, winning the floor exercise with a career-high score of 9.250 and the vault (9.100), en route to securing his second all-around crown in as many weeks. Cohen also placed second on the still rings (9.450).
Through the first two weeks of the season, Cohen is ranked as the nation's top all-around competitor with an average score of 52.025. He is also nationally rated No. 2 in the vault and No. 3 on the still rings.
Cohen's effort helped Penn State secure a commanding victory over host Temple, William & Mary, and James Madison, up the Nittany Lions' 2007 mark to a perfect 4-0, and rise to the No. 2 position in the national polls. In its two meets thus far this season, Penn State has won every event individually and as a team.
Baseball players to appear at Spikes Fest
Head coach Robbie Wine and the Penn State baseball team will be some of the featured participants in the first Spikes Fest, which will be held from noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 28 at the Multi-Sport Facility.
Members of the Nittany Lion baseball team will be on hand to sign autographs from noon until 2 p.m. while Wine will also be on hand to sign autographs from noon to 1:30 p.m. Additionally, there will be Penn State baseball ticket brochures containing ticket information for the upcoming season as well as PSU baseball posters available for fans to pick up.
Others scheduled to appear for autographs include Pittsburgh Pirates prospects Andrew McCutcheon and Mike Connelly, former Spikes relief pitcher Ryan Hodinka, Altoona Curve star Josh Bonifay and Pirates executive Brian Graham.
