Paterno hospitalized with broken pelvis

JOE PATERNO broke his pelvis Saturday night in a fall at home and was hospitalized yesterday morning, a source close to the Paterno family confirmed.

Paterno will not need surgery and is expected to make a full recovery.

However, Paterno will remain in the hospital while his pelvis is healing to continue his treatments for what his family has described as a treatable form of lung cancer.

Paterno's injury was first reported by the Associated Press.

Paterno, who turns 85 on Dec. 21, injured his pelvis when he was run into on the sideline by wide receiver Devon Smith during a preseason practice in August. That forced Paterno to coach from the press box, although he eventually discarded his cane and coached at least a half from the sideline in three games before getting hurt again while trying to avoid a play on the sideline against Iowa.

Paterno, the winningest coach in Division I, was fired on Nov. 9 in the wake of child sexual abuse charges against former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky. He was diagnosed with cancer several days later during a follow-up visit to the doctor for a bronchial illness, his family has said.

The TicketCity Bowl has turned into the Interim Coach Bowl.

Tom Bradley, who replaced Joe Paterno in November, will be on the sideline for Penn State.

Tony Levine was named the interim coach for Houston Saturday, replacing Kevin Sumlin, who was named the head coach at Texas A&M. Levine, 39, has been at Houston for 4 years, the last 2 as assistant head coach. He has been the special-teams coordinator and also coached wide receivers and tight ends.

He received a standing ovation from the Houston players when he was introduced as the interim coach at a team meeting and then met with the coaching staff.

"As I looked around that room in the staff meeting, among the nine full-time assistant coaches, there are no agendas, no hidden agendas, there are no egos," Levine told reporters. "We want what's best for these kids and this program and we're moving forward with that in mind at the top of our list."

The Big Ten Council of Presidents and Chancellors said last week that it could impose sanctions or other disciplinary measures against Penn State if "adverse findings are made in the areas of institutional control, ethical conduct and/or other conference related matters."

Penn State acting athletic director David Joyner said it was the conference's "prerogative" to get involved in the investigation.

"If they're talking about paying more attention and having programs be more transparent, that's something we want to do in the university as a whole, not just athletics," Joyner said.

Penn State All-America defensive tackle Devon Still was named the most valuable player of the team and the outstanding senior at the annual State College Quarterback Club banquet yesterday.

Still is the third defensive tackle to be selected as the outstanding senior since the award's inception in 1978, joining Lou Benfatti (1993) and Brandon Noble (1996).

The event also honored the team's 23 seniors. Former All-America linebacker Shane Conlan received the Alumni Athlete Award.