Gaggiani honored by Rutgers
On Nov. 17, Fred Gaggiani and his wife Jennifer made the trip to Piscataway, New Jersey, for the Penn State at Rutgers football game, and it was a trip down Memory Lane for the former Scarlet Knight.
Gaggiani played football at Rutgers and was a member of the 1988 team that upset the 15th-ranked Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium, 21-16, that fall on Sept. 25.
A freshman center on that team, Gaggiani did not see action in the game but reminisced.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 play in the game, but I dressed and was on the sidelines,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 remember the experience like it was yesterday.鈥�
Rutgers held a 30-year reunion for the team to commemorate the big win over Penn State.
鈥淚t was great to see everyone,鈥� said the Brownsville grad. 鈥淚t was great to see where all of their lives have taken them.
鈥淓veryone has the same personalities and it was like stepping back in the dorms and locker room.鈥�
Gaggiani, who is the owner of Redstone Rehabilitation Services and Redstone Rehabilitation Group, lives in New Salem with Jennifer and their daughters, Julia and Sophia.
Slagus honored again
It is safe to say that Bucknell鈥檚 Kaitlyn Slagus, a Belle Vernon Area grad, is making the most of her senior basketball season.
For her part in helping Bucknell go 3-0 last week and winning the Brown University Turkey Tip-Off, Slagus earned three honors
She was named MVP of the tournament which saw Bucknell down UMass (77-58), Fairfield (77-53) and Brown (91-78).
During the three games, Slagus averaged 19.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, and in the championship against Brown, Slagus scored a career-high 30 points and grabbed six rebounds.
For her efforts, she was also named the Patriot League Women鈥檚 Basketball Player of the Week and was named the Bison Athlete of the Week for the second time in three weeks.
鈥淚t鈥檚 always nice to be recognized when things are going well and I think these awards are just a reflection on how well the team has been doing,鈥� said Slagus. 鈥淭he team has been playing really well and I am excited to keep it going.鈥�
Pitt鈥檚 ACC chances
Pitt plays Clemson Saturday for the ACC championship Saturday in Charlotte, North Carolina, and depending on where one stands, views are all over the place.
Talking to a few Pitt fans at the gym Sunday, they think Pitt could pull off an upset like it did two years ago at home against the Tigers.
However, they were quick to point out how bad the team looked Saturday against Miami.
While Pitt has improved as the season went on, Miami loss aside, it is going to take a near-perfect performance with even better execution by the Panthers for them to have a chance.
Spirnak headed to Pitt
Elizabeth Forward senior Brianna Spirnak is a three-sport star and has stood out in volleyball, basketball and track & field since her freshman year.
On Dec. 4, she will sign with Pitt on a full track & field scholarship.
Bowl outlook for local three
A win over Clemson would not only give the Panthers their first AAC crown, but it would give them the ACC鈥檚 automatic berth in the New Year鈥檚 Six (NY6) bowl games.
Something else that would make Pitt fans happy is that by winning, Pitt would take away a NY6 bid from a team ranked in the top 12, and it could quite possibly be Penn State.
If Pitt loses Saturday to Clemson, it would most likely end up in the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium, the Belk Bowl in Charlotte, North Carolina, or the Music City Bowl in Nashville, Tennessee.
Until Ohio State blew out Michigan, Penn State had a legit chance at going to the Rose Bowl or the Fiesta Bowl.
The Rose Bowl is now out of the question as that berth goes to the highest ranked Big Ten team not in the College Football Playoff.
There is a slim chance the Nittany Lions could return to the Fiesta Bowl for a second straight year, but bowl committees shy away from having the same team play in their bowl in consecutive years.
The lone logical NY6 bowl berth left for Penn State is the Peach Bowl in Atlanta, Georgia.
A trip to the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida, is most likely while a trip to the Outback Bowl in Tampa, Florida, is also an option.
The latter two games would pit Penn State against an SEC team, and how exciting would it be for the players if they faced Mississippi State and former PSU offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead?
For West Virginia, it fell from a legit NY6 contender thanks to its losses in the last two weeks of the season.
Experts seem to have WVU pegged in for the Camping World Bowl in Orlando, Florida, or the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, Texas.
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