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Black Shoe Diaries

DOMINATE THE STATE

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B1G Wrestling Pre-seeds Released

Happy B1G Wrestling week! We start off the festivities with the highly anticipated tournament pre-seeds today. As expected, hands will be wrung, pearls will be clutched, and we will all reach the conclusion that the guys and gals in charge have no idea what they’re doing. Fortunately for us, Cael’s approach is that you wrestle […]

MMQB – Way Too Early Football Record Prediction

We’re still 5 months away from Penn State football returning to Beaver Stadium, but I thought it would be a good idea to take a way too early look at the schedule and see if we can sort out what record the Nittany Lions may have in 2026. Here’s the sched: The first 3 weeks […]

Notre Dame 4, No. 5 Penn State 3 (OT): Playing With Fire

Notre Dame upset No. 5 Penn State 4-3 in overtime on Saturday night. The Nittany Lions struggled all weekend defensively and finally got burned on a horrible turnover that easily set up the game-winning goal for Notre Dame. Penn State will return home next weekend for one final regular season series before the postseason run […]

Men’s Basketball: Penn State 71, Iowa 69

Let’s celebrate! Penn State’s season of futility had a moment of happiness on Saturday as the Nittany Lions upset 20-win and probable NCAA tourney team Iowa at the Bryce Jordan Center. The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Lions and gives them a chance at staying out of the Big Ten basement as […]

YAY HOOPS(?) Penn State vs. Iowa Open Thread

Apologies for dropping the ball on the preview of this game, life got in the way. Not that you were itching for one to begin with, since you’re probably also checked out on the season at this point. The Hawkeyes sit at 20-8 overall and 10-7 in the Big Ten and are currently projected as […]

No. 5 Penn State 3, Notre Dame 3 (SO): Survive and Advance

No. 5 Penn State fell behind 3-0 in the first period, but two goals by Aiden Fink and a heroic goaltending performance by Josh Fleming secured a 3-3 tie. The Nittany Lions earned the extra point in the shootout to secure no worse than third place in the Big Ten. First Period Notre Dame controlled […]

Penn State Hockey Series Preview: Notre Dame

No. 5 Penn State plays its penultimate regular season series in South Bend against a struggling Notre Dame team looking for anything positive to end the first season under Brock Sheahan. The Nittany Lions are safely in third place in the conference standings but enter tonight’s game looking for more. Penn State will likely be […]

Winter Sports Update: Women’s Hockey Begins Postseason Run

Women’s Hockey (29-5) The women’s hockey team is set to host Syracuse in the AHA semifinals tonight (6pm on Big Ten Plus) and tomorrow (3pm on Big Ten Plus). A third game will be played if necessary. Penn State is looking for its fourth straight sweep of the conference regular season and tournament titles. The […]

Zane Durant, Dani Dennis-Sutton Have Strong Performances At NFL Combine

Day 1 of on-the-field workouts at the 2026 NFL Combine saw Zane Durant and Dani Dennis-Sutton go through their auditions, and it’s safe to say it was a strong one for both players. Durant was up first with the interior defensive linemen, and he showed off with an impressive 33.5-inch vertical (tied for third best […]

REPORT: Trace McSorley Leaving Penn State for Buffalo Bills

Another Penn State assistant coach has departed for the NFL, this time it’s assistant quarterbacks coach and program legend Trace McSorley. According to Lions247, McSorley is leaving for a position with the Buffalo Bills, which will reunite him with former PSU graduate assistant Joe Brady, who worked as then-offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead’s right-hand man in […]

NCAA Hockey Bracketology: February 26

As of this morning, the NCAA Tournament picture looks like this, based on NPI and conference standings. Please note that projected conference tournament winners are in italics and are based on current in-conference point percentage: Locks (9): Michigan State, Michigan, North Dakota, Western Michigan, Penn State, Providence, Quinnipiac, Minnesota-Duluth, DenverSafe (3): Cornell, Dartmouth, Boston CollegeBubble In (2): […]

Nittany Lions in the NFL: Late February Mock Draft Round-Up

Draft sites used: ESPN, NFL Network, CBS Sports, Yahoo, PFF Drew Allar, Kaytron Allen, and Zane Durant: No projections yet Dani Dennis-Sutton: PFF: 84th to Packers (Wasserman’s February 23rd mock) Olaivavega Ioane: ESPN: 22nd to Chargers (Kiper’s February 24th mock. He had Vega 17th to the Lions in January) NFL: 14th to Ravens (Bucky Brooks’ […]

Happy Valley Rewind: Penn State/Minnesota 2016

So about three years ago I tried doing a series called “Happy Valley Rewind.” It was going to be a biweekly offseason article where I rewatched a Penn State game, and went through some different categories rehashing. Unfortunately for me, life got in the way of the series getting off the ground, so I only […]

Penn Staters Head To The NFL Combine

The NFL Combine is set to get underway tomorrow and Penn State will have a large contingent — nine to be exact — of Nittany Lions in Indianapolis. While interviews and medical testing will be happening throughout the next few days, the on-the-field workouts are what fans will be watching. See below for when each […]

This Week In Happy Valley: A Record Weekend

Gavin McKenna’s game-winning goal on Saturday made SportsCenter’s top 10. McKenna’s eight-point night on Friday was the highest single-game total in the NCAA in nearly 40 years. Women’s hockey moved up to No. 3 in the USCHO poll, their highest ranking ever. The women’s lacrosse team moved up in the polls again after extending their […]

NHL

MMLW – USA! USA! USA!

Penn State’s men’s hockey team is gearing up for the post-season, fresh off back-to-back wins over Ohio State, one in overtime and another by a 7-goal margin. The women’s hockey team is playing just as well, top of their conference and in line for their own post-season run. How well Penn State’s hockey is doing […]

Wrestling Postview: #1 Penn State 50, Princeton, 0

Honoring Seniors Despite its Olympus-Mons-sized success, this team is young: dang young. This year, senior trainers Sadie Belsky and Tylar Sanderson were honored alongside academic powerhouse Brian Borden, and PSU starters National Champion Levi Haines and now officially retired-from-injuries and All American Aaron Nagao. Haines reflected on his career afterward: It’s gone really quick . […]

No. 5 Penn State 5, Ohio State 4 (OT): McKenna Caps Lions’ Comeback

Gavin McKenna’s overtime goal lifted No. 5 Penn State to a 5-4 overtime win over Ohio State on Saturday night. The Nittany Lions swept the regular season series from the Buckeyes after trailing 4-1 late in the second period. Penn State won with only 17 skaters and secured a valuable two points in the conference […]

Penn State Whatever, Nebraska Who Cares

The season of futility continues. The product on the field leaves a lot to be desired, and so will this recap. Call me when someone else is coaching the team. Player of the Game Someone I guess – however many points, assists, steals, blocks, whatever I’m sure they did great! Random Observations Wow they suck […]

No. 5 Penn State 11, Ohio State 4: Who Needs Defense Anyway?

Gavin McKenna set a new program record with eight points in No. 5 Penn State’s 11-4 romp over Ohio State on Friday night. The Nittany Lions pounced on Ohio State’s poor goaltending early and often and delivered their most decisive win of the season. Penn State’s 11 goals matched a program record set on November […]

Penn State Hockey Series Preview: Ohio State

No. 5 Penn State returns home for a key Big Ten series against Ohio State. The Nittany Lions are looking to snap an 0-3-1 skid that has effectively ended the team’s chances of winning the conference regular season title. Penn State swept the first series between these teams in Columbus on October 30 and 31. […]

NHL

Winter Sports Update: Men’s Lacrosse Upsets Princeton

Men’s Lacrosse (2-1) The men’s lacrosse team never trailed in a 13-7 demolition of No. 3 Princeton last Saturday. Penn State raced out to a 7-1 lead in the first quarter, with only Luke Walstrum scoring more than one goal. Eight different players scored a goal for Penn State, a testament to the depth being […]

Wrestling Preview: #1 Penn State vs Princeton

When all is said and done, there may be few accolades left to say for this Penn State squad; one thing that CAN’T be said, is that the domination is over. That’s evidenced by the fact that it’s senior day for PSU wrestling, and yet only one of the ten starters will be honored. The […]

Penn State Hockey’s Tessa Janecke Wins Olympic Gold

Penn State women’s hockey captain Tessa Janecke and the United States won the gold medal on Thursday with a 2-1 overtime win over Canada: Janecke had five assists in six games in the tournament and was on the ice for both goals in the gold medal game. She forced multiple turnovers in overtime on the […]

NHL