The top-ranked Nittany Lions beat No. 20 Illinois (25-16, 25-19, 25-12) on Saturday and No. 19 Purdue (25-12, 25-15, 25-21) on Friday to increase their record to 14-0. Penn State has yet to lose a set in any match this season.

Leading the Nittany Lions is junior setter Alisha Glass (Leland). Glass had 36 assists, two kills, two digs and one block while helping PSU hit .453 against Illinois and had 34 assists, two kills, four digs and two blocks against Purdue.

Read College Notes: Perfection for Glass in the Record Eagle

One of their stories is about former Leland volleyball star Alisha Glass helping Penn State win the 2007 NCAA Volleyball Championship.

Updated!
Here is the Leelanau Enterprise’s 2007 Year in Review!

Maggs – Is it me, or is Magglio Ordonez quietly having a great start to 2007. He’s first on the Tigers in RBI’s, 2B’s, Runs, OBP, SLG & OPS, and he’s second in HR’s and BA, but no one’s talking about him. This is the Maggs that people weren’t sure we would ever see again, but he appears to be healthy and back to normal. I now it’s early, but Maggs playing like this is huge as Sheffield and the bottom of the order struggle.

Wings vs. Sharks – The Wings are in for a tough series, that should go seven games, and I like there chances with home-ice. They struggled against the Sharks during the regular season, losing 3 of 4, but they played two very solid games to finish off Calgary and will hopefully carry that momentum into tonight’s game. On the other hand, I wouldn’t be surprised if they lost tonight either. It’s just going to be that kind of series.

Pistons vs. Magic – If Detroit is going to lose one, tonight’s the night. I just don’t see it happening. I think they will sweep the Magic and get some rest for the Bulls. Chicago is going to be the toughest team (and series) in the Eastern Conference.

High School Baseball – If you aren’t busy on Saturday, head over to Wuerfel Park to watch Lake Leelanau St. Mary take part in the inaugural Beach Bums Division 3 & 4 Invitational Tournament. The Eagles face Traverse City St. Francis at 10 AM, followed by Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart and Gaylord St. Mary’s at noon. A consolation and championship game will follow. Tickets are $5 for the entire day, and let me tell you Wuerfel Park is not a bad place to watch a game!

Random Stuff – Could less people be excited that Barry Bonds is now at 741 home runs? Seriously, no one cares outside of San Francisco. There’s not much better than Fantasy Baseball. Winning or losing, it’s just fun! I can’t wait for the Beach Bums season to start, it was exciting (and well played) baseball to watch last summer, and I look for more of the same as the Bums have added some good talent along with their “new” coach! Lots of people have Drew Stanton going very high in the draft, and I think be a good pick and could be a legitimate starter in the NFL!

1. Leelanau Enterprise Sports – The Leelanau Enterprise has revamped their website and now will be posting more stories online, including sports! Check out their sports department! I of course will be linking to them often as they provide another way to follow our favorite Leelanau teams.

2. Leelanau Classic – I only wish this event would have been around when I was coaching! Lake Leelanau St. Mary defeated Suttons Bay 4-1 to capture the baseball title and Glen Lake cruised to the softball title with a 17-0 win over Suttons Bay in the championship game.

Read Korson sparks Eagles to title in the Record Eagle

3. Beach Bums ready for 2007 – Opening Day for the Beach Bums is one month from today (at Kalamazoo Kings on May 23rd) and plenty of new things are on tap as they start their second summer in Traverse City. Lots of new faces, including a new manager, should make for another exciting season in the Frontier League. See what the Beach Bums have in store for 2007!

4. NHL & NBA Playoffs – It’s never hard to get a prediction in Leelanau County for the Pistons and Red Wings. The Pistons are a popular choice to be crowned NBA Champions this summer, and the Wings well who knows. The Wings did get out of the first round, and did play pretty well, in 4 out of the 6 games. If the Dominator can hold up, they have an excellent chance in my opinion. Whatever happens Hockey Town North is buzzing with playoff excitement right now!

5. The Season Switch – Nick Edson of the Leelanau Enterprise reported last week that longtime volleyball coach Laurie Glass will be stepping down, at least for the time being, as she can’t coach and follow her daughter Alisha at Penn State because of the girls volleyball season being moved. My opinion is that it’s a shame that a few people can ruin a good thing for many. The seasons seemed to be working just fine for 99.9% of the athletes, but a couple of parents couldn’t handle their kid’s not getting scholarships.

If you want to let the me know what you think, you can always send me an email at leelanausportsguy@sportspig.com or post a comment!

Read Parity in preps makes for wild league races in the Record Eagle

Tickets will cost $5 per person for the entire day and a portion of the ticket proceeds going to each of the participating schools. You can purchase tickets from any of the schools or at the Beach Bums box office at (231) 943-0100.

My View: I was waiting for the Beach Bums to start hosting these kind of events. It’s a beautiful ballpark and it will be a thrill for the players and coaches to play on it. A few years ago I was coaching when St. Mary traveled down to the Sacred Heart Tournament and we played one of our games at Central Michigan University’s Theunissen Stadium. It was a great experience and a whole lot of fun.

The Beach Bums have alot to offer area baseball fans and players, and there will be lots of winners, regardless of the scores, at Wuerfel Park!

The ballot is available in the January 25th edition of the Leelanau Enterprise or you can send Nick an email with your choices. Please include the players/coaches names and schools. Ballots are due by Friday, February 9th.

Now I have to start compiling my list, but here’s my #1 for each team…

Boys Basketball All-Time Top 10
1. Sander Scott – Northport

Girls Basketball All-Time Top 10
1. Julie Polakowski – Leland

Coach All-Time Top 5
1. Larry Glass – Leland

Let the debating begin…

The District Final is set for Thursday (11/16) at T.C. Christian. Tipoff is set for 7:00 PM.

Read Sabres, Comets advance to district final in the Record Eagle

Norsemen top Lakers to advance

From the Leelanau News Blog…

Glen Lake & Suttons Bay squared off in Class C action at Kalkaska Monday night, and the Lady Norseman emerged with a 46-32 victory. They will face Fife Lake-Forest Area tonight (Wednesday, Nov 15) at 8 PM in Kalkaska with the final Friday night at 7.

Read Kingsley topples Blazers in the Record Eagle
Read Girls Basketball District Tournaments in the Leelanau News Blog

Boys Football: Suttons Bay on the verge of 6th straight shutout
Suttons Bay is 6-0 and looking to finish unbeaten in the Northwest Conference when Frankfort visits on Friday. They are also in the midst of a record shutout streak after blanking opponents in the last five games. The Record Eagle’s Mark Urban takes a look at the streak and what the Norsemen think about it.

Read Norse a big red wall on D in the Record Eagle

Boys Golf: Norse, Glads ready to battle for District Crown
A preview of today’s Division IV Golf District at the Leelanau Club. Traverse City St. Francis is currently ranked No. 1 in the state, while Suttons Bay is at No. 5.

Read District duel at The Leelanau Club in the Record Eagle

Crystal Dittrich scored 16 points to lead Suttons Bay to a 38-32 win over Lake Leelanau St. Mary. Suttons Bay improves to 3-2. The Eagles were led by Alyssa Korson’s 14 as they fall to 2-4.

Boys Soccer: Northport, Leland get high-scoring wins
Northport found the back of the net eight times to defeat Cadillac Heritage 8-1. Cody Brown and Drew Mitchell each scored 2 as Northport improved to 7-2.

Brad Dunklow’s hat trick helped Leland to a 7-2 Cherryland Conference win over Buckley. Leland is now 8-3, and 2-3 in the conference.

Read Manistee CC tops TC Christian in the Record Eagle

Boys Golf: St. Mary’s wins, Glen Lake falls
Freshman Tyler Shaffran shot a 42 to lead Lake Leelanau St. Mary (180) to victory over Kingsley (195) and Frankfort (230).

Glen Lake got a 50 from Austin Novak but it wasn’t enough as they fell to Traverse City Christian 205-244.

Read St. Mary’s takes golf match in the Record Eagle

Boys Soccer: Season Overview
Check out the article below from the Record Eagle with a complete look at the area soccer season.

Read Elk Rapids, West aiming for titles in the Record Eagle.

Girls Basketball: Rough night for Leelanau County teams
Suttons Bay and Glen Lake both had rough games against the top two teams in the Northwest Conference. Undefeated Frankfort topped the Norsemen 54-12 and 5-1 Kingsley stopped the Lakers 63-18.

In non-conference action, Lake Leelanau St. Mary got 18 points from Alyssa Korson, but it wasn’t enough as Elk Rapids earned a 66-60 win. Leland lost by 10 to Manistee Catholic 38-28 as they fell to 1-2.

Boys Soccer: T.C. Christian earns shutout of Northport, SB tops Leland
Traverse City Christian defeated Northport 2-0 to improve to 6-0 in the Cherryland Conference.

Suttons Bay used a goal by Ben Darling late in the first half to earn a 1-0 Cherryland Conference win over Leland to improve to 2-1 in the conference and 6-2 overall.

Boys Golf: Norsemen once again dominate Northwest Jamboree
Nate Kelly shot a 37, and Josh Schaub and Chris Wanroy each a 40 to lead Suttons Bay over Kingsley, Mesick, Manton, Glen Lake and Frankfort. Dusty Popa led the Lakers with a 46.

Cross-Country: Glen Lake, Suttons Bay have strong showings at McBain
Glen Lake’s Marissa Treece was the overall girls winner in 18:41, and Suttons Bay came in 5th as a team behind Elizabeth Adams 10th place finish in 23:22. Glen Lake’s John Lee captured the boys race.

Read Blazers top St. Francis in the Record Eagle