Blue White Illustrated

T H E M O N T H I N . . . On Thursday, the Penn State Board of Trustees approved $2.3 million to be spent on football-related improvements that include the creation of a nutrition bar ad- jacent to the football weight room, a video projection system, new lighting and audio in the team auditorium. That's in addition to the $12 million it OK'd in Jan- uary for other Lasch improvements – for extensive expansion and renovations to the locker room, equipment room and recruiting lounges. Many of those en- hancements were fought for by O'Brien. But they were won by Franklin. It's a dif- ferent kind of victory, perhaps the kind truly necessary if Penn State wants to be ranked No. 1 again any time soon. MIKE POORMAN STATECOLLEGE.COM Akeel Lynch is going to be the man at running back for Penn State this fall. But Lynch, a fourth-year player who carried most of the load late last season, isn't going to get all the work. Coach James Franklin prefers, and modern football all but requires, a committee. Which brings us, tentatively, to Nick Scott. If the five sessions of 2015 spring practice through Saturday are evidence, it ap- pears that Scott, a redshirt freshman who grew up in Lancaster, is gaining some traction within the program. MIKE GROSS LANCASTERONLINE.COM To be sure, Spanier's case against Freeh will always be a long shot. The legal stan- dard for public figures, like Spanier, who bring a defamation case is extremely, and appropriately, high; Spanier will have to prove either that Freeh knew his re- port was false or that Freeh displayed reckless disregard for whether it was true. Still, the very complexity of the facts as they have eventually emerged should re- mind us of the risk of rushing to judgment. JEFFREY TOOBIN THE NEW YORKER I play because I love the game. I love hitting people. There's a rush you get when you go out on the field, lay everything on the line and physically dominate the player across from you. This is a feeling I'm (for lack of a better word) addicted to, and I'm hard-pressed to find anywhere else. My teammates, friends and fam- ily can attest to this: When I go too long without physical contact I'm not a pleasant person to be around. This is why, every offseason, I train in kickboxing and wrestling in addition to my lifting, running and position-specific drill work. I've fallen in love with the sport of football and the physical contact associated with it. Simply put, right now, not playing football isn't an option for me. And for that reason, I truly envy Chris Borland. JOHN URSCHEL THEPLAYERSTRIBUNE.COM A guy who I've gained so much respect for since the first day I stepped foot on cam- pus here and has been through so much is Ben Kline. I look at him and look at every- thing he's been through. I watched him play a game against Minnesota with no arms. For me, that's what this place is all about. That's what not only playing line- backer here, but playing football here is all about. CHRISTIAN HACKENBERG I came to Penn State to have an opportunity to win a national championship and an opportunity to go to the NFL. And to be honest with you, when I came here, there were chicken houses next to where we were going to live. I grew up on a chicken farm, so maybe that gave a little comfort. JEFF HARTINGS during a recent visit to PSU O P I N I O N S Q U O T E S SPANIER SUES FREEH Former Penn State president Graham Spanier filed suit against Louis Freeh on March 18, claiming he was defamed by Freeh's in- vestigation into the university's han- dling of allegations against Jerry San- dusky. Filed in the Centre County Court of Common Pleas, the suit de- scribes the Freeh report as "a public re- lations product" aimed at scapegoating Spanier and Joe Paterno. In a news re- lease accompanying the suit, Spanier's law firm alleged that Freeh and his in- vestigators "knowingly and maliciously published false and defamatory state- ments about [Spanier] in the Freeh Re- port, causing significant damage to Dr. Spanier's reputation – harm which was compounded by Freeh's promotion of the report in a nationally televised press conference." Also in March, a Dauphin County judge issued a tempo- rary stay in the criminal case against Spanier and former Penn State admin- istrators Tim Curley and Gary Schultz. The three defendants are appealing a January ruling allowing the grand jury testimony of former Penn State attor- ney Cynthia Baldwin to be used as evi- dence. STILL'S DAUGHTER IN REMISSION Leah Still, daughter of former Penn State defensive tackle Devon Still, is in remission following surgery and chemotherapy aimed at treating the rare form of pediatric cancer with which she was diagnosed last June. "Today we re- ceived news from Leah's oncologist that her cancer, stage four neuroblastoma, is officially in REMISSION!" Devon Still wrote in an Instagram update in late March. "After 296 days of daydreaming about what it would feel like to hear doctors say my daughter is in remission, I finally know the feeling." Ever since Leah, 4, was diagnosed, the Stills have been participating in cancer fundraisers, including a campaign to sell jerseys that raised $1.25 million in support of the Cincinnati Children's Hospital and can- cer research efforts. ■ N O T E W O R T H Y

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