Nurse suspended for using drug

COMMENTARY: THOMAS J. BOTZMAN Misericordia poised for future

First Posted: 9/2/2014 Penn State&#8217;s buses pulled up in Happy Valley a few ticks before 3 a.m. on Sunday. Some 13 hours later, the Nittany Lions were back on the field.
The new schedule installed by James Franklin now has the team practicing on Sundays and then taking off on Mondays. In the past, it had been the other way around.
And not even a flight back from Ireland was going to change the itinerary as the Lions begin preparations for Saturday&#8217;s home opener against Akron.
Embellishing a bit for effect, Franklin said neither the players nor the coaches hit a wall this week after dealing with the five-hour time difference from Dublin.
&#8220;No. No. There is no wall,&#8221; the Penn State coach said Tuesday at his weekly press conference. &#8220;There&#8217;s a term that people use when you go from one coast to the other &#8212; you know that term?&#8221;
Jet lag?
&#8220;Yeah, we don&#8217;t use that term. We don&#8217;t say that. We don&#8217;t use those words.&#8221;
Franklin said he was only kidding in that regard, but it&#8217;s one of his many psychological ploys he has used through this unique stretch of scheduling to help the players adjust.
While in Ireland, Franklin repeatedly downplayed the travel and the fatigue from the new time zone, hoping to prevent the Lions from dwelling on it.
&#8220;I truly believe that how you talk and how you think and how you approach things is how things go,&#8221; Franklin said. &#8220;I truly believe that.&#8221;
State of mind can help. Penn State still had enough juice left in the final 1:08 on Saturday to drive for the winning field goal and beat UCF.
But it can&#8217;t fully defeat basic biology and body chemistry, which he discovered firsthand.
&#8220;I never really got on track over there,&#8221; Franklin said. &#8220;I didn&#8217;t really sleep real well over there. I&#8217;m not an alarm clock guy. My body kind of has its own internal clock, and I get up most times every single day without the alarm clock going off, so I never really got on schedule.
&#8220;So coming back, I was on that schedule, if that makes sense. On Sunday I woke up pretty much about the same time and spent some time with my wife and kids and then went in the office. I think the coaching staff has handled it very well.&#8221;
The players got to sleep in late on Sunday to try and reset their own internal clocks before getting ready for a 7 p.m. practice.
And the off day Monday worked out very well for the players &#8212; there were no classes because of Labor Day, meaning they had the full day to themselves to rest and recharge.
&#8220;That worked out extremely well,&#8221; Franklin said. &#8220;Have not had to do a lot (of adjusting) from that point on.&#8221;
As for the practice itself, it&#8217;s intentionally not designed to be too rigorous.
&#8220;It&#8217;s not a hard practice,&#8221; cornerback Jordan Lucas said. &#8220;It&#8217;s just a clean-up practice, and it&#8217;s good for us. I kind of believe it gives us more time on Mondays as individuals to go watch film and try to get an upper hand on our opponent.
&#8220;I think that&#8217;s what it&#8217;s all about &#8212; giving our body rest and time to work our minds a little bit more.&#8221;
Saturday&#8217;s opponent is in the opposite situation.
Akron actually played its opener last Thursday, blanking FCS Howard 41-0 at home. Quarterback Kyle Pohl had three touchdown passes in the first six minutes of the game, meaning that many of the Zips&#8217; starters called it a night pretty early.
The Zips held practiced Saturday morning during Penn State&#8217;s game against the Knights before watching a taped version with some pizza around noon.
&#8220;We had some extra days to work, and we had a chance to practice on a day they had to play a game,&#8221; Akron coach Terry Bowden said. &#8220;So that was a plus for us.
&#8216;The biggest thing we can do is go out there and take the two days that we had &#8212; not two hard days, but two (extra) days to prepare for them &#8212; and hopefully take advantage of that.&#8221;

Nittany Lions adjusting to life back in the US