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Sports
76ERS
PHILADELPHIA GETS TOBIAS
HARRIS FROM CLIPPERS AS THE
FOCAL POINT IN A SIX-PLAYER
DEAL 2B

Parker
aware
of wide
receiver
challenges
Gerad Parker, who
arrived Jan. 10, believes
he’s up to the task of fixing
the mistakes that doomed
Penn State last season.

BY JOHN MCGONIGAL
jmcgonigal@centredaily.com

UNIVERSITY PARK
Gerad Parker hasn’t
delved into KJ Hamler’s
film. He hasn’t broken
down what Jahan Dotson
did so well down the
stretch, what Justin Short-
er’s ceiling is or what Penn
State’s pass-catchers need
to work on in spring prac-
tice. Parker, the Nittany
Lions’ new wide receivers
coach, hasn’t had the time.
But on Wednesday, when
the dust all but settled on
National Signing Day, ABBY DREY adrey@centredaily.com

Parker was back in State Penn State football coach James Franklin talks to Marquis Wilson by video conference during the early signing period in December. On Wednesday,
College from the recruiting Franklin welcomed the other members of the 23-signee class.
trail and had a chance to
catch his breath. And get

Breaking down each

peppered with questions Synopsis: Jones is yet another
from a roomful of reporters Sunshine State commit for Penn
in the Beaver Stadium State assistant Ja’Juan Seider. The
media room. Palm Beach County native and

member of PSU’s
Parker, speaking publicly former Florida coach nabbed both
for the first time since his Jones and Chaminade-Madonna
arrival on Jan. 10, knows Prep wideout John Dunmore in the
why he’s here. David Cor- 2019 class.
ley, originally hired to Jones is rated below Dunmore;

2019 recruiting class

coach Penn State’s running
backs last offseason, was
fired the day after the Ci-
trus Bowl for the wide
receivers’ underwhelming
showing in 2018. Drops
plagued the unit — namely
Juwan Johnson, Brandon
Polk and DeAndre Thomp-
kins — as Trace McSorley’s
completion percentage
plummeted. None of those
players will suit up for
Penn State next season,
and Corley won’t be roam-
ing the sidelines, either.
Instead, Parker will be
the face of the wide receiv-
er room. He was brought
on to correct the mistakes
that killed Penn State last
year, hired to get the best
out of a young crop of re-
ceivers. And Parker be-
lieves he can put fans’
minds at ease in 2019.
“I’m perfectly aware of
BY JOSH MOYER
AND JOHN MCGONIGAL
jmoyer@centredaily.com
jmcgonigal@centredaily.com
The Nittany Lions’ 2019 recruit-
ing class has signed, and it’s now
official.
At least, mostly.
James Franklin acknowledged
Wednesday that the class might
not be finished, and 247 Sports
reported that Penn State safety
Franklin looks at
big picture in
target Nick Cross — a soft Florida
State verbal who’s also looking at
Maryland — is still mulling his
options. Regardless, National Sign-
ing Day came and went Wednes-
day and, with it, the Nittany Lions
were still able to tout their current
23-member class as one of the
nation’s best.
Here’s a look at all of the foot-
ball team’s newest Nittany Lions,
grouped by those who signed
Wednesday and those who did so
during the early signing period.
The number next to each name
indicates the order the player sent
in his faxed National Letter of
Intent:
NATIONAL SIGNING DAY
SIGNEES
23. WR TJ JONES, 3 STARS
Height/weight: 6-1/185
School (Hometown): Columbia
(Lake City, Fla.)
the former is the No. 74 wideout in
the country, while the latter is a
four-star, top-120 overall prospect.
However, Jones was a prolific
pass-catcher at Columbia. He had
84 catches, 1,711 receiving yards
and 17 touchdowns over the course
of three seasons.
Jones fielded offers from 38
schools, including Florida, Mary-
land, Miami, Mississippi State,
Oregon and Pitt. But his decision
came down to Penn State, Indiana
and Texas A&M.
By choosing the Nittany Lions,
Jones joins a young nucleus of
SEE PSU, 4B

the challenges,” the 38-
year-old assistant said.
“Hopefully I’m equipped to
kind of carry those for
them and get the room
wired to be able to handle
tough times. That’s what
SEE PARKER, 5B
keeping Galiano
BY JOSH MOYER
jmoyer@centredaily.com
UNIVERSITY PARK
Special-teams coordina-
tor Phil Galiano appeared
Franklin said. “It’s a body
of work. It’s how are they
with the players? It’s how
are they in terms of the
staff? It’s in terms of devel-
opment of the individual
players. It’s in development ABBY DREY adrey@centredaily.com

ABBY DREY adrey@centredaily.com
Penn State’s new wide
receivers coach Gerad
Parker says he’s aware of
the challenges facing him.
to be on the hot seat this
offseason after Penn State
slid backward in just about
every relevant stat category
— but head coach James
Franklin decided to keep
him around.
On Wednesday, Franklin
was asked a simple ques-
tion about the choice to
retain him: Why?
It wasn’t a simple re-
sponse.
“I don’t make decisions
just based on one area,”
of the scheme. It’s in pro-
duction on game day. It’s
in organization and prac-
tice. It’s the type of role
model they are for our
players. It’s all of it.”
He continued: “And for
me it always comes down
to, is this the right thing to
do for our program long
term? And is the invest-
ment that we’re making,
are we going to get a return
on that investment, and
how long are we going to
Penn State special teams coordinator Phil Galiano’s unit last season was dogged by
mistakes, particularly in the Citrus Bowl.
have to wait for that return after the NCAA allowed ranked No. 25 nationally in
on that investment?” teams to carry one more. net punting. With Galiano,
The Nittany Lions may Because Penn State had a that ranking dipped to No.
be banking on improve- coach solely dedicated to 68. Punt return average
ment in the 2019 season. special teams, for the first ranked No. 16 nationally
But there really isn’t any- time in Franklin’s tenure, the year before Galiano
where to go but up. an improvement in special took over, then it fell to No.
Galiano, who was a con- teams was considered an 72. Punt defense? No dif-
sultant prior to the 2018 easy task. ferent, falling from No. 29
season, became the Nittany It wasn’t.
Lions’ 10th assistant coach In 2017, Penn State was SEE GALIANO, 5B

Wrestling culture is changing, and Penn thentically excited, that’s differ-

State’s Sanderson isn’t crazy about it
BY LAUREN MUTHLER
lmuthler@centredaily.com
UNIVERSITY PARK
If the smoke, fire and light
show at the Bryce Jordan Center
dual last weekend is any indica-
tion, increased entertainment
value is gradually becoming more
and more a part of college wres-
tling.
As wrestling is competing with
other sports for fans, TV and
online viewers — and even for its
place in the Olympics — more is
being done to hype up individual
matchups, and broaden the
sport’s scope to attract a wider
audience. Individual wrestlers
have also taken the entertain-
ment value into their own hands,
with post-match antics and cele-
brations, and calling the competi-
tion out on social media.
But for Penn State’s no-non-
sense, straight-faced head coach
Cael Sanderson, all those things
are just distractions, and some-
thing he wouldn’t have even
thought about while wrestling
himself.
“I’ve never believed in cele-
brating,” he said Tuesday at the
Lorenzo Wrestling Complex in
Rec Hall. “I think if you’re au-
ent, but be respectful to your
opponent.”
Post-match antics have been in
the news lately, with some wres-
tlers embracing “super villain”
personas, reminiscent of what’s
seen in the WWE. Iowa
suspended its 133-pounder Austin
DeSanto for one match on on
Tuesday, after he was penalized
for unsportsmanlike conduct for
the third time in four matches at
the conclusion of his bout Sunday
against Nebraska’s Brian Peska.
In all, DeSanto has cost his team
several points due to his antics.
DeSanto lifted Peska over his
shoulder, carried him over to the
Iowa bench and flashed a thumbs
up before throwing him to the
mat to secure the technical fall.
The 2017 PIAA champ then
turned to Nebraska’s bench,
lifted his finger to his lips as to
“shush” them. Then he stood in
the middle of the mat and raised
his arms, taunting the Nebraska
fans to a shower of “boos.”
Earlier in that match, Nebras-
ka’s 157-pounder, Tyler Berger,
also made a gesture toward the
opposing team’s bench, when he
blew a kiss after topping Kaleb
SEE WRESTLING, 2B
2B
Sports THURSDAY FEBRUARY 7 2019
CENTREDAILY.COM

NBA Dwyane Wade wrote on Twitter,

talking about Johnson. And later,
NBA IN BRIEF

Clippers send Harris to Booker to defend

Philly; Davis still a Pelican
BY DAN GELSTON
Associated Press
MIAMI
Anthony Davis is still a mem-
ber of the New Orleans Pelicans.
By 3 p.m. Thursday, that may
change.
Davis remained in place
Wednesday, though the run-up to
the NBA’s annual trade deadline
picked up steam in plenty of
other locales around the league.
The first notable deal of trade
deadline eve got done early
Wednesday afternoon when the
Los Angeles Clippers moved
Tobias Harris to the Philadelphia
76ers as the centerpiece of a
six-person, four-draft-pick swap-
ping. Another big move was
struck later Wednesday when
Chicago landed Otto Porter Jr.
from Washington for Jabari Park-
er and Bobby Portis.
Harris, Boban Marjanovic and
Mike Scott went to the 76ers,
while Wilson Chandler, Mike
Muscala and Landry Shamet
went to the Clippers. Philadel-
phia – with an eye on moving way
up from the No. 5 spot in the
Eastern Conference – also gave
up a protected 2020 first-round
pick, a 2021 first-rounder that
was once owned by Miami, and
second-rounders in 2021 and
2023 through Detroit.
Philadelphia also swung a deal
with Toronto, getting Malachi
Richardson and some draft con-
The Philadelphia 76ers landed forward Tobias Harris, right, in a trade
Wednesday with the Los Angeles Clippers.
siderations for cash. Richardson
appeared in 23 games during two
seasons with the Raptors.
“We are in the unique position
to contend now and we think this
trade positions us well for the
postseason,” 76ers general manag-
er Elton Brand said. “Tobias is one
of the best three-point shooters in
the NBA and possesses an innate
ability to impact the game on both
ends of the floor, while Boban and
Mike provide valuable skill sets,
size and depth to our team.”
Porter will be headed to Chica-
go when the NBA signs off the
terms, with the Wizards getting
Parker and Portis. Parker has
been bracing for a trade, and
moving Porter helps slice a major
MARK J. TERRILL AP
chunk off Washington’s antici-
pated luxury-tax bill at the end of
the season.
Another deal with tax ram-
ifications was worked out be-
tween Miami and Phoenix. The
Heat sent Tyler Johnson and
Wayne Ellington to the Suns for
Ryan Anderson, helping alleviate
the logjam of guards that Miami
coach Erik Spoelstra has been
dealing with all season – plus
considerably lowering the Heat’s
expected luxury tax bill. It’s likely
that Ellington will be a buyout
candidate, and therefore would
be able to pick his own spot to
finish the season.
“This business is tough but this
kid is tougher,” Heat guard
he told Ellington he has “a broth-
er for life.”
Meanwhile, Davis remained in
place and out of uniform.
The Pelicans haven’t played
him since he and agent Rich Paul
went public last week with their
trade request, and decided not to
play the six-time All-Star in Chi-
cago on Wednesday either.
If the Pelicans don’t trade
Davis by Thursday, they’ll almost
certainly be back in the depths of
trade talks in June and July –
draft time and free agency.
In other trades Wednesday:
A A person familiar with the
terms said NBA-leading Mil-
waukee was sending center Thon
Maker to Detroit for forward
Stanley Johnson. Both were lot-
tery picks, Johnson in 2015 and
Maker a year later. That trade
was also pending the NBA re-
viewing the financial terms and
approving, which is required for
any deal to become final.
A The Los Angeles Lakers – one
of the teams known to want Da-
vis – made another deal, getting
Reggie Bullock from the Detroit
Pistons for rookie guard Svi Myk-
hailiuk. Bullock is a shooter, and
Lakers star LeBron James loves
surrounding himself with those.
Bullock is making nearly 39 per-
cent of his 3-point tries this sea-
son. Mykhailiuk has averaged 3.3
points in 39 appearances.
A Two people with knowledge
of the deal say Houston, Sacra-
mento and Cleveland are fin-
ishing a trade that will most nota-
bly send Iman Shumpert from the
Kings to the Rockets. Houston is
sending Brandon Knight and
Marquese Chriss to the Cavaliers.
Alec Burks – now traded for the
second time this season, after
starting the year in Utah – will go
from the Cavaliers to the Kings.
3-point title vs. Curry
brothers
Phoenix guard Devin Booker
will look to defend his NBA All-
Star 3-point championship from a
year ago against brothers Ste-
phen and Seth Curry on Feb. 16
in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Stephen Curry, who plays for
the Golden State Warriors, won
the event in 2015 while brother
Seth, who plays for the Portland
Trail Blazers, is competing in his
first 3-point contest. Charlotte’s
Kemba Walker, Dallas’ Dirk
Nowitzki, Portland’s Damian
Lillard, Milwaukee’s Khris Mid-
dleton, Toronto’s Danny Green,
Brooklyn’s Joe Harris and Sacra-
mento’s Buddy Hield round out
the 10-player field.
The 3-point contest will held
on the same night as the dunk
contest and the skills challenge at
the Spectrum Center, home of
the Charlotte Hornets. The dunk
contest features Charlotte’s Miles
Bridges, Oklahoma City’s Hami-
dou Diallo, Atlanta’s John Collins
and the New York Knicks’ Den-
nis Smith Jr.
The skill challenge includes
first-time NBA All-Stars Nikola
Jokic of the Nuggets and Nikola
Vucevic of the Magic and Luka
Doncic of the Mavericks. Atlan-
ta’s Trae Young, Memphis’ Mike
Conley, Sacramento’s De’Aaron
Fox, Los Angele Lakers’ Kyle
Kuzma and Boston’s Jayson Ta-
tum will also compete.
Forbes picks Knicks: The New
York Knicks are worth $4 billion,
making them the most valuable
NBA team for the fourth straight
year, Forbes says. The Knicks
have the NBA’s worst record.
— ASSOCIATED PRESS

SPORTS ON TV
FIGURE SKATING
5 p.m.: Four Continents Cham-
pionships: Ladies’ Short Program,
NBCSN
11:30 p.m.: Four Continents
Championships: Men’s Short
Program, NBCSN
GOLF
3 p.m.: PGA: Pebble Beach Pro-
Am, First Round, GOLF
11 p.m.: LPGA & European Tour:
ISPS Handa Vic Open, Second
Round, GOLF
MEN’S COLLEGE
BASKETBALL
5 p.m.: Central Connecticut State
at St. Francis (Pa.), ESPNU
7 p.m.: Penn State at Ohio State,
ESPN
7 p.m.: Cincinnati at Memphis,
ESPN2
7 p.m.: Radford at Hampton,
ESPNU
9 p.m.: Iowa at Indiana, ESPN
9 p.m.: Washington at Arizona,
ESPN2
11 p.m.: BYU at Portland, ESPN2
NBA
7 p.m.: All-Star Game draft, TNT
8:15 p.m.: L.A. Lakers at Boston,
TNT
10:30 p.m.: San Antonio at Port-
land, TNT
Golf adjusts rule
on caddies lining
up players
Golf’s two governing
bodies released a clar-
ification Wednesday on
the rule aimed at caddies
no longer being able to
help players line up a
shot. The rule now says a
player can avoid the pen-
alty if he backs away from
his stance and starts over
anywhere on the golf
course, and not just the
putting green.
It also says caddies will
not be in violation if they
are standing behind their
player without being
aware the players are
stepping into their stanc-
es.
The clarification was in
response to a two-shot
penalty on Denny McCar-
thy at the Phoenix Open
that later was rescinded.
— ASSOCIATED PRESS
Franklin agrees
to minor league
deal with Pirates
Utility infielder Nick
Franklin has agreed to a
minor league contract
with the Pittsburgh Pi-
rates and will attend big
league spring training.
Franklin, 27, is a career
.214 hitter, appearing in
301 games for four teams
since making his debut in
2013 with Seattle.
He has moved around
during his career, playing
143 games at second base,
37 in left field, 30 at short-
stop, 19 at first base, 11 in
right field and one at first
base. He made two plate
appearances for Milwau-
kee last May before strain-
ing a quadriceps. He made
six rehab starts in the
minor leagues before
being moved to the dis-
abled list.
— ASSOCIATED PRESS
MLB IN BRIEF
Giants reported
to have interest
in Harper
Multiple reports indicat-
ed the San Francisco Gi-
ants are one of the remain-
ing teams pursuing 26-
year-old slugger Bryce
Harper, a six-time All-Star
who has already turned
down a 10-year, $300
million offer from his form-
er club, the Washington
Nationals.
A NJ Advance Media
report first connected the
Giants to Harper before
NBC Sports Bay Area re-
ported Giants president of
baseball operations Farhan
Zaidi, manager Bruce Bo-
chy and CEO Larry Baer
met with the star outfielder
and his agent this week.
Investigation finds no
evidence of discrimi-
nation by Mariners: Major
League Baseball says its
independent investigation
found no credible evidence
to support claims of dis-
paraging comments and
discriminatory treatment
by members of the Seattle
Mariners front office.
MLB released a state-
ment on Wednesday saying
the investigation found the
Mariners did not violate
baseball’s “workplace code
of conduct, or applicable
anti-discrimination law,” in
the treatment of Lorena
Martin or in her termina-
tion by the club. Martin
was the club’s director of
high performance for one
season, then was fired
following the 2018 season.
Notable
Blue Jays: Reliever Ryan
Tepera has gone to salary
arbitration with Toronto.
The 31-year-old right-hand-
er asked for $1.8 million
during the hearing and the
team argued for
$1,525,000. A decision by
arbitrators Mark Burstein,
Howard Edelman and
Edna Francis is expected
Thursday.
Rockies: Colorado Rockies
announced that infielder
Mark Reynolds is among
the team’s non-roster in-
vitees to major league
spring training. The 35-
year-old Reynolds spent
2016 and ‘17 with the
Rockies before joining
Washington last season.
Royals: A person familiar
with the deal tells The
Associated Press that Kan-
sas City agreed to a $2.2
million, one-year deal with
reliever Brad Boxberger.
The 30-year-old right-
hander, a former All-Star
with the Tampa Bay Rays,
had a 4.89 ERA and 32
saves with the Diamond-
backs last season.
— WIRE SERVICES

NHL
7 p.m.: Los Angeles at Philadel-
phia, NBCSN-PHILLY
7 p.m.: Pittsburgh at Florida,
ATT-PITT
WINTER SPORTS
9 p.m.: FIS World Championships:
Freestyle Team Aerials Final,
NBCSN
WOMEN’S COLLEGE
BASKETBALL
7 p.m.: Clemson at Wake Forest,
ATT-PITT
7 p.m.: Nebraska at Michigan,
BTN
7 p.m.: Texas A&M at Missouri,
SEC
8 p.m.: Cal State Bakersfield at
New Mexico State, FCSA, FCSP
8 p.m.: North Dakota State at
North Dakota, FCSP
9 p.m.: Michigan State at Iowa,
BTN
9 p.m.: Arkansas at LSU, SEC
REACH US
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To help us toward that
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Box 89, State College, PA
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FROM PAGE 1B
WRESTLING
Young in sudden-victory overtime.
That kind of celebrating is some-
thing Sanderson said “wasn’t an
option” for him growing up, having
a high school coach for a father. It
wasn’t something Sanderson said
he even thought about, as he was
always focusing on the next match,
the next tournament, the next
challenge.
“It’s about respecting your oppo-
nent, one,” he said, “and two, why
motivate anyone else to want to
beat you even worse? Because
you’re going to have to turn
around and beat that same guy
again. This is wrestling. It’s sup-
posed to bring the best out in peo-
ple not the worst.”
Sanderson, however, did ac-
knowledge that his Nittany Lion
wrestlers can also be prone to
doing some celebrating of their
own.
Junior Mark Hall is known for
his “Fortnite”-inspired celebra-
tions, like “dropping the hammer”
last year against Iowa. He also
broke out the air guitar this season
after upending top-ranked Zahid
Valencia at Rec Hall, and gave his
biceps a quick kiss after defeating
Michigan’s Myles Amine at the
BJC last Friday.
Bo Nickal lost a team point at
the NCAA Championships last
season when he spiked his head-
gear in the corner after pinning
Ohio State’s Myles Martin in the
finals to clinch the team title for
the Nittany Lions. But Nickal
chalked that up to heat-of-the-
moment excitement, knowing that
meant his team just won.
“It’s pretty easy to get emotional
Penn State’s Vincenzo Joseph celebrates his win over Michigan’s Logan
Massa in the 165-pound match at the Bryce Jordan Center on Friday.
when you’re out there competing,
and at the end of the day, it’s just
sport and entertainment,” Nickal
said. “We have thousands of peo-
ple come to watch us, and I think
there’s a lot of entertainment value
in wrestling.”
Sanderson agreed that the cul-
ture around college wrestling had
changed since his competition
days. He lays some of the blame
for that change on video games —
such as “Fortnite,” which many
Penn State wrestlers and Sand-
erson himself have spent a lot of
time playing.
Just like in wrestling, Sanderson
isn’t too fond of those celebra-
tions, either.
“Part of ‘Fortnite’ now is if you
have some success, you take a
moment and you dance around,
well then somebody smokes you
while you’re celebrating,” he said.
“But that’s just what people do. It
ABBY DREY adrey@centredaily.com
doesn’t make a whole lot of sense,
but kids are kids.”
The entertainment, however,
doesn’t just stop once the match is
over and the arena’s cleared out.
With the prevalence of social
media, the discussion continues
online as media outlets and fans
start posting photos, videos and
reactions as soon as a bout is done,
then immediately turn to looking
ahead, sharing opinions on and
predictions for upcoming battles.
All that stuff does not go unno-
ticed by the wrestlers, Sanderson
says.
“You got websites and other
media hyping matches up, and that
adds to that, too, because those
kids, unfortunately, they’re read-
ing that stuff,” Sanderson said.
“And they’re on social media read-
ing about people doubting them
and saying you can’t do this, you
can do that.”
Seeing their names tagged in
tweets, and hearing people doubt-
ing them, some wrestlers have
even taken to joining in on the
chatter — and some even calling
out others.
That happened to Penn State’s
Jason Nolf a few weeks ago, when
Berger, having just lost to the two-
time national champ 10-4, tweeted
he’d be “taking five heads home
with me after the NCAA tourna-
ment and yes, that includes Jason
Nolf’s.”
That tweet elicited comments
from several of Nolf’s teammates,
who weren’t as confident in the
Cornhusker’s claim.
“Social media, it’s got its place
and there’s a purpose for it, but I
think you’ve got to be very careful
with it,” Sanderson said. “It’s defi-
nitely not something that brings
the best out of people in general,
and it’s not a key to success, that’s
for sure.”
But injecting another layer of
entertainment into wrestling isn’t
all bad. The smoke and lightshow
at the BJC may be nothing more
than a distraction to wrestling
purists, but can help pull in enough
fans to nearly fill a 16,000-seat
arena for wrestling.
For Nickal, there’s nothing
wrong with that.
“I think anybody, no matter how
much experience they have with
the sport, could come to that and
really enjoy it and have a lot of fun
there,” Nickal said of the BJC dual.
“So the more matches we get like
that, I think the more new fans will
be brought into the sport. “
He added: “That’s exciting to
think about and exciting for me to
see. So hopefully wrestling can
continue to put on events like
that.”