The Nittany Turkey

Primarily about Penn State football, this is a tale told by idiots, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

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Pollyanna Lives!

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So, I picked up the 2004 Football Preview Issue of BWI. The first thing I looked for was Phil Grosz’ prediction. ????? ?????? ??? ??? ????? Last year, he predicted an 11-2 season. You know where we wound up. Phil’s predictions are mildly described as extremely optimistic pie-in-the-sky. Although he seems to have tempered his expectations of this year’s team somewhat, he did not disappoint me. His prediction? Well, hang on.

First, let me say that of all his assembled pundits, no one picks PSU go do any better than 8-4, including an extra game for whichever cold weather bowl venue those few delusional so-called experts think we’ll be playing in sometime before New Year’s Day. Most of the more sanely grounded people are looking at 5-6, with no bowl game. ????? ???? ????? As you might recall, this Turkey predicted a 4 or 5 win season, which I will hastily change to 2-9 if the boys lose to Akron. In any case, anyone seeing this team finishing on the north side of .500 ought to have his head examined!

Well, thanks for wading through that last paragraph before testing the deep water of this one. ???? ???? I’ll keep you in suspense no longer. Phil’s prediction? 9-3. I’ll say no more.

What the heck is a Nittany Turkey?

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The domesticated version of the wild turkey, the Nittany, was bred for market use by Pennsylvania (College) State University in the 1930s. Selections were made for developing a docile temperament, improving egg production and increasing the quality of a finished carcass. Proposed standard weights were 20 pounds for a adult tom and 12 pounds for a adult female. These weights show the smallest sex differences of any variety of domesticated turkey. The Nittany’s covert and main tail feathers are marked transversely with brown and black penciling, and tipped with a solid black band, which in turn is edged completely with chestnut brown. It seems to have lacked the coppery bronze band in the tail that is in the Eastern wild. Even though no one indicated having Nittanys on the survey, I believe it is very possible that some of the captive wild turkeys listed under the Eastern wilds are Nittanys or Nittany crosses with wilds. One interesting survey came in that describes his flock resulting from saving light-colored turkeys that are similar in color to Bourbon Reds, out of his original flock of commercially raised Eastern Wild turkeys. These birds are colored like Bourbons, but retain “all the wild traits” such as “thin necks, long legs, alert, intelligent and can fly.” It is possible that they could be Nittany descendants?

http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/SPPA/TurkCensusRept.html

The Lion in Late, Late Autumn

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That is the title of the story written by Pat Jordan in the New York Times Sunday Magazine of August 29. Joe Paterno is the subject of the story. Your Thanksgiving Fowl found it entertaining. While true-blue Penn Staters probably won’t find much new material in the story, it is still worth reading. Here’s an excerpt:

Paterno admitted that he was lazy last year, maybe the last few years, which is why he has no thought of retiring. ”If I thought I’d done a better job, I’d say, ‘You had it,”’ he said. ”But I’m working harder this year than in the last 30 years. I’m spending more time with the coaches, the kids, looking at tape. I’m working my butt off and paying attention to details. Last year I let things fall through the cracks. Kids got away with things, and I didn’t get in their faces in practice when I should have. In my mind, I thought it was coming to an end. So I decided to go back to the way I started. I was an S.O.B. when I started, and I’ll end up as an S.O.B.”