OTG Daily News

NEW YORK – Minutes before the 77th Heisman Trophy was awarded Saturday night, Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III made a sartorial announcement of his own. He pulled up the bottom of his suit pants and revealed blue Superman socks, complete with an 'S' shield and a tiny flowing red cape. Griffin has an extensive collection of kooky socks — Cookie Monster , SpongeBob, Angry Birds , Scooby Doo, Elmo to name a few — but Saturday's choice fit perfectly. Griffin became the first Baylor player to win the Heisman Trophy, grabbing 405 first-place votes to finish a comfortable 280 points ahead of Stanford's Andrew Luck. Alabama's Trent Richardson was third, followed by Wisconsin's Montee Ball and LSU 's Tyrann Mathieu. "This is unbelievably believable," Griffin said when he accepted the award. "It's unbelievable because in the moment we're all amazed when great things happen. But it's believable because great things don't...

Alabama vs. Auburn. Michigan vs. Ohio State. UCLA vs. USC. Many bitter rivals hit the gridiron this weekend. This year, a lot more than pride is at stake . Rivalry Week can be a funny thing. On the one hand, it’s one of the things that makes college football what it is, that makes it different from all other sports. But on the other, it also highlights the sport’s inherent regionalism: Auburn-Alabama might well be college football’s biggest rivalry, but more seasons than not, it doesn’t matter all that much to anyone outside the state. This season is different. This season, there’s a whole lot more than just pride at stake when these traditional rivals clash. Texas at Texas A&M If this game was any indication, we are in for a monster weekend. Playing for pride and a secondary bowl berth, these two played for perhaps the last time on Thursday to kick off Rivalry Week. The Aggies’ impending move to the SEC has put the future of this longstanding rivalry in doubt, meaning the win...

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) Former Penn State coach Joe Paterno has a treatable form of lung cancer, according to his son. Scott Paterno said in a statement provided to The Associated Press by a family representative on Friday that the 84-year-old Joe Paterno is undergoing treatment and that ''his doctors are optimistic he will make a full recovery.'' ''As everyone can appreciate, this is a deeply personal matter for my parents, and we simply ask that his privacy be respected as he proceeds with treatment,'' Scott Paterno said in a brief statement. Scott Paterno said the diagnosis was made during a follow-up visit last weekend for a bronchial illness. Earlier Friday, the Standard-Speaker newspaper of Hazleton, Pa., reported that Paterno had been seen Wednesday visiting the Mount Nittany Medical Center and was treated for an undisclosed ailment and released. Paterno was fired last week in the aftermath of shocking allegations against former defens...

Ex-Penn State and Pittsburgh Steelers star Franco Harris sticks up for his old coach and loses a job. If you're hiring a spokesman for your business in greater Pittsburgh , it's hard to go wrong with Franco Harris: Super Bowl MVP, Hall of Famer, businessman and all-around ambassador for the city . At least, that's what the Meadows Racetrack and Casino was betting on — no pun intended — when it hired Harris and former Pittsburgh Steelers teammate Rocky Bleier last month to "assist the entertainment facility with various outreach activities, charitable events and public appearances," as well as appear in television spots. It's a safe assumption that it was not betting on the new face of the business publicly sticking up for his old college coach in the wake of the child sex scandal that just rocked his alma mater. From the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Steelers legend and Penn State great Franco Harris blasted Penn State's Board of Trustees for firi...

Ask any recently engaged couple what the hardest part about planning a wedding is, and they won’t tell you it’s the flowers, picking the band or trying to get one of those cutesy write-ups in the New York Times’ “Weddings and Celebrations” section. It’s the unavoidable “cut line” of their wedding invite list. You can’t invite everybody, and Aunt Bernice assumes she’s a shoo-in because of the cookies she baked for you on your 13th birthday, and there’s only so many distant cousins, friends from summer camp and colleagues from work who can be invited to your big day. As I do for any young couple with the unenviable task of deciding who’s in and who’s out just months before they exchange vows, I sympathize with the Heisman Trust this week. A minimum of three and a maximum of five players can be invited to New York City for the Heisman ceremony in December, and here we are, just three weeks from the big day, and there are more than 10 young men worthy of those five spots. Think there...

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — A day after the former Penn Stateassistant football coach who is charged with sexual abuse of boys declared his innocence in a television interview, an email surfaced from a key witness against him, saying he stopped an alleged attack in the team's showers. Mike McQueary, the graduate assistant who a grand jury reportsaid saw Jerry Sandusky allegedly sodomizing a boy in the locker room, said he stopped the act and went to police. That added confusion to the already emotionally raw situation that has enveloped Penn State University and resulted in the firing of coachJoe Paterno, the ousting of president Graham Spanier and charges of perjury against the athletic director and a former senior vice president. The Nov. 8 email from McQueary to a friend, made available to The Associated Press, said: "I did stop it, not physically ... but made sure it was stopped when I left that locker room ... I did have discussions with police and with the official at ...

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The Penn State football coach who told a grand jury that he saw another coach molest a child failed to meet "a moral obligation" to intervene, Pennsylvania's governor said Sunday, adding that he expects more victims to come forward. The coach who testified, Mike McQueary, had said he saw retired Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky sexually assaulting a boy in a shower at a campus football facility almost a decade ago. Sandusky is accused of assaulting eight boys over 15 years and has maintained his innocence. The university has put McQueary on leave from his job. McQueary told the grand jury he was distraught by what he witnessed and walked away after both Sandusky and the boy saw him. He said he told his father what happened and then told head coach Joe Paterno, who reported it to his superiors. But those school officials, athletic director Tim Curley and school vice president Gary Schultz, face perjury charges, accused of covering ...

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — The Nebraska and Penn Stateplayers gathered at midfield before the game, kneeling together for a long moment in a quiet stadium. Sometimes, the most powerful statements are the simplest. Saturday's game was a combination of pep rally, cleansing and tribute for a Penn State community rocked by the child sex-abuse scandal involving former assistant Jerry Sandusky that cost Joe Paterno his job. Affection for Penn State and Paterno was proudly on display, both by fans and players. So was support for abuse victims. "This has been one of the saddest weeks in the history of Penn State and my heart goes out to those who have been victimized. I share your anger and sorrow," new school president Rod Erickson said in a video played in the first quarter. "Although we can't go back to business as usual, our university must move forward. We are a community." Instead of sprinting onto the field, the Penn State team marched out arm-in-arm...

PHILADELPHIA (AP) The Big East is ready to start adding members after spending the last month and a half losing them. A person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press the Big East will invite Boise State , Navy and Air Force for football only and SMU, Houston and Central Florida for all sports in upcoming days. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the conference was not ready to announce its plan. Commissioner John Marinatto declined to elaborate on the Big East's next moves after meeting with the league's presidents at a Philadelphia hotel Tuesday. He said he expected the targeted schools to accept, but details still must be worked out with each. ''As we've learned over the last two months, don't believe anything anybody tells you. Nothing's done until it is over. So I'm obviously being very cautious and that's why I'm reluctant to say names of schools,'' he said. Marinatto did acknowledge the leag...

Matt Freed/Post-Gazette Pitt head coach Mike Haywood Newly named Pitt football coach Mike Haywood has been jailed on domestic battery charges in Indiana, jail officials there have confirmed. Mr. Haywood was booked in the St. Joseph County, Ind. Jail at 3:47 p.m. central time, jail officials said. No bond has been set, but his arraignment was scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Monday. Officials did not have information about the circumstances of his arrest this afternoon, but said he has been meeting with attorneys in the jail, whom they would not name. St. Joseph County police could not immediately be reached. First published on December 31, 2010 at 6:56 pm ESPN Reports He was Arrested for Domestic Abuse with a woman he had a child with in South Bend

Despite a mid-season NCAA investigation that rendered him briefly ineligible,  Cam Newton won the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night. Newton beat out Stanford quarterback  Andrew Luck , Oregon running back  LaMichael James and Boise State quarterback  Kellen Moore . The week before the Southeastern Conference championship, the NCAA announced that Cecil Newton tried to pull off a play-for-pay scheme with Mississippi State, but there was no evidence that his son or Auburn knew about it. The NCAA decided Cam Newton would be allowed to play, but his father's access to Auburn athletics would be limited. The sports governing body has left open the possibility that Cam Newton's status could change if new evidence came to light. Newton, who was not selected to the Football Writers Association of America's All-America team, led the Southeastern Conference in rushing with 1,409 yards, scored 21 touchdowns and was the nation's top-rated passer with 2,589 yards passing and 28 TD ...

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- The University of Alabama has fired an employee who played songs aimed at Auburn quarterback Cameron Newton before the Iron Bowl. University spokeswoman Debbie Lane said Monday that the part-time staffer was fired for the unauthorized songs. "Take the Money and Run" and "Son of a Preacher Man" were played while Newton and the Tigers warmed up. The NCAA has been investigating allegations that Newton's father, a pastor, solicited $180,000 from Mississippi State during recruiting. Lane said in a statement that all music and videos played in the stadium before and during games have to be approved by a senior athletic administrator. She said the staffer -- who was not named -- didn't get those songs cleared. The Tuscaloosa News first reported the firing. Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press

20.Poinsettia Bowl - San Diego State vs. Navy San Diego State (7-4, 4-3 MWC) has erased years of downright horrid college football in 2010, beating then-No. 23 Air Force in Week 6 and getting a great year from freshman running back Ronnie Hillman, who has rushed for 1,152 yards and 13 touchdowns. Navy (8-3), despite not playing any ranked teams, has had a solid season. They are ranked fifth in the nation in rushing yards and QB Ricky Dobbs has passed for 1,194 yards, 10 touchdowns, and just four interceptions. San Diego State looks to prove they belong back in the "respectability" category. Projected winner: San Diego State 19. Champs Sports Bowl - Maryland vs. West Virginia Mayland (8-4, 5-3 ACC) just came off a big win against then-No. 23 North Carolina State. They are led by freshman QB Danny O'Brien, who has 1,840 yards passing and 17 touchdowns. West Virginia (8-3, 4-2 Big East) were picked by many in the Top 25 coming into the season. But, despite...