Reporters' Notebooks

Jennifer Thomas, Centre Daily Times: Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell wants to see an annual outdoor hockey game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers at Penn State's Beaver Stadium. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman called the idea "intriguing."

Tommy Hicks, Mobile Press-Register: Southeastern Conference coaches aren't ready to jump on the bandwagon being driven by Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe that would allow players five years of eligibility and eliminate redshirts.

Mr SEC: Auburn's Tommy Tuberville, advocating a playoff at the SEC meetings: “Ohio State would have finished fifth in our league and they’re ranked No. 1 in the preseason poll." Thanks to Get The Picture.

Kevin Scarbinsky, Birmingham News: Mike Gottfried says an early signing period for recruits might not be such a great idea.

Sports by Brooks: A recent study shows that playing football can make you shorter and that some players actually shrink during games.

Justin Lawson, Reno Gazette-Journal: Three Nevada players were arrested over the Memorial Day weekend for driving under the influence, and two of the players have been kicked off the team.

Tom Witosky, Des Moines Register: If two former Iowa players go to trial for allegedly sexually abusing a woman in a campus dormitory last fall, the trial is likely to get "ugly," an attorney says.

Rochelle Olson, Minneapolis Star Tribune: Former Minnesota player Dominic Jones will serve a year in a workhouse and have to register as a sexual offender after his conviction of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct for an incident caught in a 37-second cell-phone video.

Bryan Strickland, Durham Herald-Sun: Duke quarterback Thaddeus Lewis and cornerback Leon Wright were cited for underage alcohol consumption Wednesday morning.

David Gonzalez, Daily Illini: Former Illinois player Erique Robertson was sentenced to 43 days in prison after pleading guilty to a charge of unlawful use of a firearm, a class 4 felony.

Tim Stephens, Orlando Sentinel: More conference realignment talk, this time regarding the Mid-American Conference.