Josh Wheeling
Recent articles
Wheeling | Not always fun and games
If you think reading The Daily Pennsylvanian's April Fools issue is funny, writing it is a riot. The joke issue is a time when DP editors can relax and have fun, and that April night two years ago should have been a break from my daily grind as a sports editor.
Defense still leaky, M. Lax still hurting
If the men's lacrosse team had any prayer of earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, Towson shot down those dreams. Eighteen times, to be exact. The Quakers struck first on Saturday, taking a 3-1 lead in the first quarter, but their opponents sealed the victory by halftime with a 10-1 run.
Trying to jump from the Big 5 to the Big Show
Whether it be the Atlantic 10, Big 5, Sonny Hill League or Portsmouth Invitational, Mark Tyndale and Pat Calathes have always been in the same league. This upcoming year, they're hoping to make it to just one more together. Tyndale and Calathes, seniors at Temple and Saint Joeseph's, respectively, are starting their bids to play on the ultimate level in October.
Another cardiac win for M. Lax
The Quakers are getting used to playing in close games. They're almost getting too used to it. On Saturday afternoon at Dartmouth, the Red and Blue built up a six-goal lead in the first half, only to see the Big Green torch them for seven of the next eight goals, tying the game at eight and forcing overtime.
M. Lax seeing Red after last year's 15-goal disaster
Against Cornell on Saturday, the Penn men's lacrosse team is out to settle a score - an odd thing for a team that gave the Big Red their only Ivy League loss in the last three years. In 2006, Penn stunned No. 2 Cornell 8-6 at Franklin Field. It was the Big Red's only conference defeat since 2004, when they also lost to the Quakers.
Winkoff needs just 7 minutes to score
It took Corey Winkoff less than eight minutes to prove that he belonged in the men's lacrosse starting lineup. The freshman attacker scored in the first 7:41 of his career and 27 minutes later, he ripped the net again in the Feb. 23 game against Drexel. Now, six games into the season, Winkoff is second on the team in points, behind only captain Craig Andrzejewski.
Instead of none, Big 5 sends three dancing
Entering the conference tournaments, the Big 5 was in danger of being shut out of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1977. One week later, it sent three schools for the first time since 1999. The Big 5 ensured its 30-year streak would continue when Temple beat Saint Joseph's for the Atlantic 10 title, and a day later the Hawks and Villanova took two of the final at-large spots in the tournament.
Brown Opponent Spotlight | Super Bowl son spurned gridiron
Adrian Williams won't be the second African-American quarterback to win the Super Bowl. The son of former Washington Redskins quarterback and Super Bowl MVP Doug Williams, Adrian went down a different path. Or, at least, chose different sport - he's now Brown's backup point guard as a freshman.
Young guns jam late
Inexperience and a season opener proved to be an unstable combination for the Quakers - one that blew up at just the wrong time. Up by three with 10 minutes to go, the men's lacrosse team looked primed for an upset win over No. 18 Drexel. But a bevy of mistakes let the Dragons score the game's final four goals to pull off a 9-8 comeback victory.
A Lax effort during second half
The Quakers got robbed by their next door neighbors. For the majority of its season opener against No. 18 Drexel, the Penn men's lacrosse team maintained a two-goal lead. The Quakers were even up 8-5 midway through the fourth quarter before the Dragons turned it around to beat Penn 9-8 at Franklin Field.
Penn verdict: 'Hey! You suck'
Say goodbye to the "Hey Song." The song, officially titled "Rock and Roll Part 2," has been a staple at Penn men's basketball games. The Penn Band plays it when it appears that the Quakers will win, and fans replace "Hey!" with "Hey, you suck!" directed at the opposing bench.
La Salle wins wild stunner at Palestra
When your team is a double-digit underdog, allowing Saint Joseph's to shoot 63 percent from the field and letting Pat Calathes and Darrin Govens drop 26 apiece isn't exactly a winning prescription. But then again, La Salle coach John Giannini is the one with a Ph.
Two years after paralysis, Gant back on Cornell's bench
Khaliq Gant goes to basketball practice, works out and travels to away games with the Cornell basketball team, but you won't see him suiting up this year. And he's not upset about that. Two years ago, Gant was an up-and-coming sophomore guard, playing 14 minutes per game for the Big Red.
M. Hoops Notebook | 0-for-5? Miller is happy with that
The Penn men's basketball team went 4-for-15 from three over the weekend. Instead of being disappointed with that first number, the squad is content with the second one. The nation's 334th-best three-point shooting team was attempting 17.3 per game coming into the weekend but managed to get different kinds of looks in wins over Harvard and Dartmouth.
Friday opener yields testy win
If Friday's Ivy League tipoff against Harvard was any indication, this season is going to be a fight. The Crimson scratched and clawed - and even wrestled - for 40 minutes, but it wasn't enough to give Penn its first home Ivy loss in four years. The Red and Blue used a 20-point effort from Tyler Bernardini and a 15-point, nine-rebound, four-assist performance from Brian Grandieri to hold off Harvard, 73-69.
Wheeling | Playing with fire, Quakers impress in loss
No matter how often Glen Miller says he hates them, when you're 5-12, sometimes you just have to accept moral victories. Despite losing by 16 to Temple last night, the Quakers' coach saw his team play with a certain fire that they haven't had perhaps since the North Carolina game.
Threes just look too good to pass up on
Like a fisherman dangling a juicy worm, the Saint Joseph's defense allowed Penn to get off anything it wanted from outside the arc. And the Quakers took the bait. On Saturday night, Penn scored 42 points against St. Joe's, and three-point shooting is a good candidate on which to place blame.
Not quite a beauty pageant at Palestra
Tuesday night's Big 5 contest involved two young teams that produced one ugly game. Both teams did a nice job of finding ways to get open looks, but neither could finish around the basket. Penn was fairly successful in getting the ball into the post, but the forwards couldn't hit, and slashing layups seldom connected.
School's out, but M. Hoops has midterms
While classes ended last week, the men's basketball team still has plenty to learn over winter break. "I think teams . make the most strides when getting to a point where they only have to concentrate on basketball, not school," Penn coach Glen Miller said.
Sports Update | "Happy Holidays" for Quakers as they beat Elon
The Penn men's basketball team didn't know which Elon squad would show up on Thursday, but it certainly wasn't the one that lost to Division II Tusculum. The Phoenix, which nearly beat Virginia Tech this season, hung tough for the majority of the game, but in the end Tyler Bernardini's 23 points (12 in the final five minutes) and tight defense on the final possession put Penn over the top, 67-64.
