Author: UncleLar

The head orphan and eldest surviving member of the Fall Family Clan.
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One for the Thumb


No – I’m not referring to another female, I’m talking about winning my fifth Mondo Martini contest at Tony’s Big Easy Bar and Bistro here in State College. My trophy is being held by UncleLar “niece” Ashley Schlosser on my right, “neice” Susan Kim is on my left – I don’t know the other two but how could I say no when they wanted to get in the photo too.

Tony has held this martini making contest for the past nine years and I’ve won it five of the last six (I sat out one year when I had tickets to a concert the same night but like Michael Jordan I came out of my semiretirement to capture another trophy).

My winning entry this year was called “The Rose Bowl” (I was kind of counting on the football team beating Michigan last weekend and keeping the Rose Bowl front and foremost in people’s minds but I was still able to sell the concept anyway). Here’s the recipe for those who are interested:

Mix the ingredients over ice in a cocktail shaker (stir do not shake – shaking will create a froth while stirring will maintain a creamy appearance). Pour the ingredients into a brandy snifter that has been rinsed with Rosewater. Add a rose petal as a garnish.

Unfortunately, I was so dazzled by the crowd at the contest that I forgot to actually get a photo of the winning drink.

Tony really does a wonderful job of hosting the contest. Numerous liquor companies come in and provide samples of their wares to the crowd. Each companies display is created around an ice sculpture which makes for a quite beautiful arrangement. Some of the ice displays are actually functional in that you pour the liquor through a channel that has been drilled into the ice and it drains into the patrons glass quite chilled.

Here are some of the sculptures:

From left to right:

  • a complete bar made out of ice
  • an interactive ice display with a drink being pour down a channel
  • an ice man chilling some shrimp

My previous winning concoctions were

  • The Midas Touch (2000) – a drink that actually changed colors from greenish yellow to gold with the addition of the final ingredient, a splash of cranberry juice.
  • Rally Round the Flag (2001) – a blatant appeal to patriotism when I created a white creamy drink sprinkled with red and blue sugar crystals and topped by clipping a star shaped figure holding a flag onto the glass edge.
  • The Nittini Lion (2002) – a blue colored (what else?) cocktail loosely based on a cosmopolitan. The drink is made with an apple flavored liquor using Blue Curacao and apple juice in place of a typical cosmo’s triple sec and cranberry.
  • (2003) – didn’t enter, went to see Matchbox 20 concert.
  • The Krispy Kreme (2004) – a golden colored vanila martini that tastes like a donut (now I don’t know who would like to drink a donut but once I planted the seed in the judges minds that the drink was supposed to taste like a donut and it actually did, I had the contest locked up. Tony markets the drink as a donut without the carbs (see the menu below).

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Franco Harris and Mondo Martinis

I was downtown last night at Tony’s Big Easy Bar & Bistro preparing for the ninth Annual Mondo Martini Contest (yours truly, UncleLar is a four time undefeated champions of the event – FYI, it’s a martini making not martini drinking contest – more on Mondo Martini tomorrow after I win my fifth title tonight) when in walked Franco Harris along with Gary Gray, whom I have mentioned on this blog before. Gary and Franco were teammates on Penn State’s teams from 69-71.

Gary and Franco joined me and helped taste some of my creative work. Franco won four Super Bowls while with the Steelers and ever since then the Steelers have used the rallying cry “One for the Thumb” during their annual chase for another ring. I jokingly told Franco I was planning on getting my own “one for the thumb” tonight.

After perfecting my cocktail, Gary, Franco and I went over to the Gingerbread Man (or G-Man as it’s affectionately called here). It’s amazing to watch how much recognition Franco gets. He hasn’t played ball in twenty years yet he is still adored by many fans. There were bunches of college kids coming up to us using their cell phones to get their picture taken (admittedly they just shoved me out of the way but still I was still part of scene).

I have had some minor celebrity incidents here in State College (I’ll explain some time) but I can’t imagine what it must be like to go through that everyday like Franco. I even asked him if it bothered him and he very graciously said no, that the fans had always been good to him and he was glad that he could make them happy by obliging them with a photo. I thought that was a huge contrast to what we see in many athletes today.

Have to leave now but more tomorrow on my Mondo Martini (hopefully) winning entry.

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Not so Happy Valley this weekend

There’s a ton of people going nutso because of our last second football loss to Michigan on Saturday but they are the ones who usually overreact to everything. Fortunately, I’m one of the few who keeps a broad perspective on things.

So. while the loss was heartbreaking, ending our winning streak at eight which was the third longest in the nation behind USC and Texas, and eliminating our changes to get to the National Championship game, there still much to feel good about the program. For one thing, at the beginning of the season I doubt that many fans realistically thought we would be 6-1 at this point. Secondly, we are still in first place in the conference and we control out own destiny when it comes to winning the league championship and getting to a BCS bowl. If we win out we will hold the tiebreakers on the other B10 schools.

Our others sports are still going quite well too. Friday night the 4th ranked women’s volleyball team beat Michigan 3-0 and then came back on Saturday to knock off Michigan State 3-0. UncleLar niece Kaleena Walters set a PSU career record for digs in the Friday match. Those two matches left Penn State atop the conference with an 8-0 record.

While the VB match was going on here in State College, the women’s soccer team were in Columbus beating Ohio State 1-0. The lone goal was scored by Tiffany Wiemer who has now scored in 15 straight game and has tied Brandi Chastain’s NCAA record. Earlier in the week, the women were voted the #1 team in the country, taking over the top spot from North Carolina. The women also hold down the top spot in the Big Ten conference with a 7-0 record and are the only undefeated team in the conference.

Saturday was a pretty full day for me. At noon, I went to watch our 6th ranked women play and knock off their archrival Michigan State 2-1. That was the women’s 14th in a row, one away from the team record. The win left the Nits undefeated in conference play and atop the league standings. Earlier in the week, UncleLar niece Natalie Berrena earned her second B10 Player of the Week Award for her 2 goal performance against Iowa.

Immediately following the field hockey match I travelled to Tussey Mountain, a small amusement area about five miles south of town. I got their in time to watch a friend of mine, Kevin Becker, finish the Tussey Mountain 50 Mile Ultramarathon. Kevin finished about 8:25:00 which placed him about 10th. I did one marathon once, which is 26.2 miles and it was painful. I can’t imagine running 50 miles but Kevin did and looked just fine. He was even able to join us later in the evening for beers to celebrate his finish. Kevin couldn’t have finished at a better time. The race started at 7AM so 8:25 got him done at 3:25 in the afternoon. I had just enough time to congratulate him and to hightail it home in time to catch the 3:45 football kickoff.

On Sunday our sports teams continued with their winning ways when the men’s soccer team duplicated their sister team’s effort by also knocked off Ohio State 1-0 in Columbus. The men, while not #1 ranked in the country like the women, are like the women in that they are undefeated in league play and sit atop the Big Ten standings.

So while we may have lost the big one, overall the weekend was a success with the five squads going a combined 5-1 with each of them remaining atop the conference and in good shape to win B10 championships.

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Kevin Dare Memorial Concert

Just to let you know that all my time isn’t spent at sporting events. Last night, after the State College High School girls soccer game I went to a memorial concert to benefit the Kevin Dare Scholarship Fund.

Kevin was a PSU pole vaulter (and former Tavern employee) who tragically died in a vaulting accident at the 2002 Big Ten Track and Field Championships. His family has established the Dare Foundation which is dedicated to making pole vaulting a safer sport.

Kevin was a wonderful young man who truly has not died in vain. In just a few short years his father’s dedication has resulted in significant technology advances in pole vaulting safety. The next step is to get these technology advances adopted by the vaulting community. Toby Stevenson won an Olympic Silver Medal wearing one of the Dare helmets but in general most vaulters haven’t yet embraced them.

The technology of the KDMax helmet is also extending to other fields. The Penn State football team among others is now using helmets cushioned by the same material as pole vaulting helmet. It appears that Kevin’s tragic death will have a far reaching positive effect on the safety of others.

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White Out photos

By request, a photo from last night’s White Out.

The White Out concept was introduced last year for the Purdue game.
Here’s a shot from that game.

Another photo, this one a vidcap from a guy in the west stands.

Found a collection of photos, click here to view

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Full Report

It was a very very Happy Valley this weekend. The huge Penn State win over Ohio State in football, more on that later, was bracketed by several other athletic competitions.

The weekend started out with a doubleheader soccer match featuring Penn State and Northwestern in men’s soccer followed by Penn State and Illinois in women’s soccer at PSU’s Jeffrey Field. In the men’s match, the Nits defeated the Wildcats 4-1 to run their league record to 2-0 and keep them in first place in the Big Ten. UncleLar nephew David Gray scored his first career goal with a header off a free kick (David is a defender who doesn’t normally get scoring opportunities but because he is one of the taller players on the team he moves up front on free and corner kicks to attempt headers – this one worked perfectly).

In the women’s match, the Nits defeated the Illini 3-1 to run their league record to 5-0 and 13-0 overall. The women are the #2 ranked team in the country and, like the men, sit atop the league standings (they are actually shooting for their eighth consecutive league championship). UncleLar doesn’t have any nieces playing soccer for PSU this year (my last PSU soccer niece was Joanna Lohman, who graduated as an three time All-American and the Hermann Award runner-up, soccer’s equivalent to the Heisman Trophy). PSU does have one huge star this year though. Tiffany Wiemer scored in her 13th straight game which puts her just two short of Brandi Chastain’s NCAA record 15 straight.

Also on Friday, the PSU women’s volleyball team traveled to Evanston to meet Northwestern in a league match. The 4th ranked women defeated the Wildcats 3-0 keeping them undefeated and atop the B10 standings at 5-0. UncleLar niece and senior setter Sam Tortorello dished out 37 assists and UncleLar niece and senior libero Kaleena Walters led all players with 12 digs.

So Friday ended with victories by three of our teams all of whom remained in first place in the Big Ten.

Saturday opened up with the 4th ranked women’s field hockey team meeting Iowa in Iowa City. Niece Natalie Berrena scored two goals to lead the women to a 4-0 victory over the Hawkeyes. The win was the team’s 13th straight win and kept them unbeaten in league play and atop the Big Ten at 3-0. Natalie and the rest of the team hopped a flight back to State College in time for Natalie to join her “JR and Natalie” bandmates performing Saturday night at the Cafe 210 in State College (which is where UncleLar wound up celebrating the football victory).

Early Saturday evening, the women’s volleyball team continued their weekend roadtrip with a match against #6 ranked Wisconsin in Madison. The ladies came away with a 3-0 sweep of the Badgers who had been undefeated in league play up until Saturday night. UncleLar niece Sam Tortorello continued her quest to repeat as a first team All American with 40 assists. Niece Kaleena Walters came up with 18 digs to come within 3 of becoming PSU’s alltime leader. With the win Penn State became the sole undefeated team in the conference.

Later Saturday night, the football team posted their 17-10 win over the Ohio State Buckeyes. The win put the Nits undefeated and alone atop the Big Ten standings (notice a familiar theme here – three teams play, three teams win and all three end the day undefeated in conference and atop the Big Ten).

Sunday saw our soccer teams back on Jeffery Field for another doubleheader. This time the ladies went first, up against B10 foe Northwestern. This time it was a romp as they rolled over the Wildcats 8-0. Tiffany Wiemer scored again to draw within one game of Brandi Chastain’s record. Her goal was the 80th of her career putting her within two goals of PSU’s Christie Welsh’s Big Ten record for career goals. Wiemer will be a shoo in All American and one of the leader’s for the Hermann Award.

In the second half of the doubleheader, the men took on Wisconsin. The had nowhere near as easy a time of it as the women did. The men were extended into overtime before they managed to score a Golden Goal and pull out a 1-0 win over the Badgers. That win allowed the men to keep pace with the ladies undefeated and atop the B10 conference.

So for the weekend, we had five teams take the field (football, field hockey, women’s volleyball, men’s soccer and women’s soccer) for eight contests. We won all eight and each team remained undefeated and in first place in the Big Ten conference. It was a very very successful weekend for PSU sports.

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UncleLar "Niece" named National VB Player of the Week

Sam Tortorello, one of my Penn State surrogate nieces (when my real nieces and nephews are so far away, someone has to fill in) was named college volleyball’s National Player of the Week by the American Volleyball Coaches Association.

Sam is the girl immediately on my right in this photo that I use for my Blogger Profile.

Sam is only the second PSU VB player ever to be named the national POTW. The first was Syndie Nadeau, another niece and directly above me in the photo.

I like this photo so much that I actually use it for my Facebook profile too. Unfortunately, since Facebook is targeted for the college crowd, Elliot is the only extended Fall Family member who can actually see it (Chris – once you get to ISU, you will be able to join Facebook too – I’m looking forward to having you as one of my Facebook friends).

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There’s a buzz about our girls too

This afternoon the #7 ranked womens field hockey team beat Michigan 3-2 to run their consecutive win streak to 12, tieing the second longest winning streak in school history. Michigan was 13th ranked going into the game. The women remain atop the Big Ten play along with Ohio State and Indiana who are also undefeated in the conference.

Go here for the full story on the field hockey win.

Saturday night the #4 ranked womens volleyball team defeated Indiana 3-0 in front of 3178 fans, including UncleLar, improving their record to 13-2 fans. The ladies are 4-0 in conference play and are tied with Wisconsin for the league lead.

Go here for the full story on the volleyball win.

Also this afternoon, the 2nd ranked womens soccer team remained undefeated with a 2-1 overtime victory at Wisconsin for their 12th consecutive win. All-American Tiffany Wiemer scored in her 12th consecutive game and is 3 short of Brandi Chastain’s NCAA record of 15 straight. The women are the defending Big Ten champions and are atop the Big Ten along with Indiana.

Go here for the full story on the soccer win.

These girls are good.

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More signs of the buzz

Today, PSU made its an appearance in the AP and USA Today top twenty for the first time in 3 years.

Look for ESPN to announce, either later today or sometime tomorrow, that Gameday will be headed to Happy Valley.
(Monday morning editors note: While the SID has yet to confirm the student paper has announced that ESPNs GameDay will be here Saturday. Plus ESPN’s TV schedule lists State College as the locale for the broadcast.)

On Tuesday, Sports Illustrated will name Penn State as the #1 tailgating locale in college football.

Happy days are here again.

Monday noon addition:

Students have already started getting in line to be the first in the stadium Saturday.

Paternoville