Rangers zone during one sequence while both teams

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. wholesale jerseys . -- In a bold challenge to the NCAAs powers, Pennsylvanias governor claimed in a lawsuit Wednesday that college sports governing body overstepped its authority and "piled on" when it penalized Penn State over the Jerry Sandusky child molestation scandal. Gov. Tom Corbett asked that a federal judge throw out the sanctions, which include an unprecedented $60 million fine and a four-year ban on bowl games, arguing that the measures have harmed students, business owners and others who had nothing to do with Sanduskys crimes. A small number of top NCAA officials inserted themselves "into an issue they had no authority to police under their own bylaws and one that was clearly being handled by the justice system," Corbett said at a news conference. The case, filed under federal antitrust law, could define just how far the NCAAs authority extends. Up to now, the federal courts have allowed the organization broad powers to protect the integrity of college athletics. In a statement, the NCAA said the lawsuit has no merit and called it an "affront" to Sanduskys victims. Penn State said it had no role in the lawsuit. In fact, it agreed not to sue as part of the deal with the NCAA accepting the sanctions, which were imposed in July after an investigation found that football coach Joe Paterno and other top officials hushed up sexual-abuse allegations against Sandusky, a former member of Paternos staff, for more than a decade for fear of bad publicity. The penalties include a cut in the number of football scholarships the university can award and a rewriting of the record books to erase 14 years of victories under Paterno, who was fired when the scandal broke in 2011 and died of lung cancer a short time later. The lawsuit represents a reversal by the governor. When Penn States president consented to the sanctions last summer, Corbett, a member of the Board of Trustees, embraced them as part of the universitys effort to repair the damage from the scandal. Corbett said he waited until now to sue over the "harsh penalties" because he wanted to thoroughly research the legal issues and did not want to interfere with the football season. The deal with the NCAA has been unpopular with many fans, students and alumni. Corbett, who is up for re-election next year, deflected a question about whether his response has helped or hurt him politically. "Were not going to get into the politics of this," he said. An alumni group, Penn Staters for Responsible Stewardship, applauded the lawsuit but said Corbett should have asked questions when the NCAA agreement was made. "If he disapproved of the terms of the NCAA consent decree, or if he thought there was something illegal about them, why didnt he exercise his duty to act long before now?" the group said. Paternos family members said in a statement that they were encouraged by the lawsuit. Corbett "now realizes, as do many others, that there was an inexcusable rush to judgment," they said. Corbetts lawsuit accuses the NCAA of cynically exploiting the Sandusky case, saying its real motives were to "gain leverage in the court of public opinion, boost the reputation and power of the NCAAs president" and "enhance the competitive position of certain NCAA members." It said the NCAA has not cited a rule that Penn State broke. Corbett charged that the NCAA violated the Sherman Antitrust Act, which prohibits agreements that restrain interstate commerce. Legal experts called it an unusual case whose outcome is difficult to predict. The NCAA has faced antitrust litigation before, with a mixed record of success. In 1984, the Supreme Court ruled against the NCAAs exclusive control over televised college football games. And in 1998, the Supreme Court let stand a ruling that said the NCAAs salary cap for some assistant coaches was unlawful price-fixing. But federal courts have consistently rejected antitrust challenges to NCAA rules and enforcement actions designed to preserve competitive balance, academic integrity and amateurism in college athletics. In this case, the courts might not be as sympathetic to the NCAA, said Matthew Mitten, director of the National Sports Law Institute at Marquette University Law School. "Its difficult to justify the sanctions as necessary to protect the amateur nature of college sports, preserve competitive balance or maintain academic integrity," he said. Joseph Bauer, an antitrust expert at the University of Notre Dame law school, said of Corbetts line of reasoning: "I dont think its an easy claim for them to make, but its certainly a viable claim." Sandusky, 68, was convicted in June of sexually abusing 10 boys over a 15-year period, some of them on Penn States campus. He is a serving a 30- to 60-year prison sentence. Michael Boni, a lawyer for one of the victims, said he does not consider the lawsuit an affront. But he said he hopes Corbett takes a leading role in pushing for changes to state child-abuse laws. "I really question who hes concerned about in this state," Boni said. Michael Desmond, a businessman who appeared with Corbett at the news conference, said business at his five State College eating establishments was down about 10 per cent during Penn State home game weekends this year. "The governors actions are going to be immensely popular with all Penn State alumni," Desmond said. Corbett, a Republican, said his office did not co-ordinate its legal strategy with state Attorney General-elect Kathleen Kane, who is scheduled to be sworn in Jan. 15. Instead, the current attorney general, Linda Kelly, granted the governor authority to pursue the matter. Kane, a Democrat, ran on a vow to investigate why it took prosecutors nearly three years to charge Sandusky. Corbett was attorney general when his office took over the case in 2009. Kane had no comment on the lawsuit because she was not consulted about it by Corbetts office. State and congressional lawmakers have objected to use of the NCAA fine to finance child-abuse prevention efforts in other states. Penn State has already made the first $12 million payment, and an NCAA task force is deciding how it should be spent. ------ Associated Press writers Peter Jackson in Harrisburg, Pa., and Michael Rubinkam contributed. cheap jerseys . The Raptors know first-hand what Lin can bring to the table in terms of attendance and excitement. Lin scored 27 points and hit the game-winning three-pointer in a win over the Raptors in front of a big crowd at the Air Canada Centre on Valentines Day. The Raptors would likely attempt to back-load any offer they make to Lin, a restricted free agent this summer, by paying big money over the last few seasons of a deal. cheap nfl jerseys . 1. Indianapolis Colts Andrew Luck - QB - Stanford After months of knowing he would be the next quarterback of the Indianapolis Colts, Luck finally heard his named called on Thursday night. PITTSBURGH -- Pittsburgh Penguins coach Dan Bylsma took a playoff-like approach to a February meeting with the Eastern Conference-leading New York Rangers. Marc-Andre Fleury sent a message with his glove, Evgeni Malkin delivered one with his patience, and the Penguins punctuated it with perhaps their best game of the season. Fleury stopped 27 shots to tie Tom Barrassos franchise record for career shutouts, and Malkin scored his 33rd goal of the season as the Penguins beat the Rangers 2-0 on Tuesday night. "We wanted to make a statement with every shift, every period we play against them," Bylsma said. Pittsburgh topped the Rangers at home for the first time since 2009 behind Fleury, who made a series of flashy glove saves while earning his 22nd career shutout -- tying the mark Barrasso set between 1988-2000. Barrasso reached the milestone in his 438th game, but Fleury needed only 418 to get there. "For me to be able to reach him for the shutout means a lot to me," Fleury said. "Ive been fortunate to play with good teams." The Penguins looked like one two days after getting crushed 6-2 in Buffalo. Needing to bounce back, Pittsburgh played with a sense of urgency, dominating the puck at times against a team that is among the best defensive units in the league. "I think that was our first complete 60-minute game in a long time," said Pittsburgh forward Steve Sullivan, who scored a power-play goal in the second to give the Penguins a 2-0 lead. "We got something from everybody." The Rangers didnt, and lost for the second time in three games. They pulled out an overtime win against Columbus on Sunday after allowing the tying goal late in regulation. New York coach John Tortorella refused to point fingers even though his club has scored only five goals during the stretch amid speculation the Rangers could acquire Columbus forward Rick Nash before Mondays trade deadline. "We ended up with some good chances tonight, we just couldnt finish," Tortorella said. "Their goalie played well." So did New Yorks Henrik Lundqvist, who stopped 29 shots but was no match when Malkin raced in alone on a breakaway early in the second period. The Russian, the leagues leading scorer, faked a forehand and then held onto the puck while dragging it across the goal mouth. He finished with a backhand after Lundqvist committed. "If hes shooting the first second Ill be fine, but he kept waiting, waiting, waiting and I ran out of gas on that push," Lundqvist said. The Rangers have been one of the hottest teams over the last three months behind Lundqvist and a patient, selfless defence that began the night fourth in the NHL in blocked shots. New Yoork added 14 more on Tuesday repeatedly hitting the ice to take away opportunities -- particularly in the first period. wholesale nfl jerseys. Pittsburgh spent more than two minutes in the Rangers zone during one sequence while both teams were at even strength, sapping New Yorks energy so much that Tortorella was forced to use his timeout early. "The first period we had a tough time keeping the puck," Tortorella said. "Some of it was the puck was bouncing around both teams. We just didnt keep it, and they won a number of them in the offensive zone. Thats where they surged on us." The timeout helped New York settle down, but a sloppy play by defenceman Michael Del Zotto a minute into the second put Pittsburgh on the board. Nearing the end of his shift, Del Zotto flipped the puck into the centre of Pittsburghs zone. Two quick passes found Malkin streaking down the left side, and Lundqvist was scrambling. "Its always a challenge to face this team especially because of him. Hes one of the best in this league if not the best," Lundqvist said. "As a goalie you go in with the mindset you have to be sharp or its going to be a long night." The goal ended a mini-slump for Malkin, who went three games without scoring. It was his longest drought since going seven games between goals from Dec. 17 and Jan. 7. Sullivan made it 2-0 with his 11th of the season on the power play, just past the midway point of the period. He fired a shot from the point that Lundqvist never saw because of a screen by Matt Cooke. Malkin slid the puck over to Sullivan on the play to earn his 40th assist of the season and 300th of his career. Pittsburgh has been treading water over the last three weeks, good one game, bad the next. The Penguins romped past Philadelphia on Saturday, getting production from outside the top line. The team celebrated by signing forward James Neal to a six-year contract extension on Sunday shortly before getting smashed by the Sabres. If they want to play deep into spring they know they will need to play with the intensity that marked their first win over New York on home ice since Nov. 28, 2009. "(The Rangers) are the best in the East right now by a margin," Bylsma said. "We feel like were going to play this team two more times (in the regular season) and in the playoffs, too, if we want to go somewhere." NOTES: The Penguins have three days off before continuing a homestand on Saturday against Tampa Bay. ... The Rangers will visit the New York Islanders on Friday, trying to avoid their first losing streak since Dec. 13 and 15. ... The Penguins scratched defenceman Brooks Orpik because of an undisclosed upper body injury that Bylsma described as minor. ' ' '