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In a year in which most of the news surrounding the Penn State football program has been tinged in black, there's finally a feel-good story.
On Friday, in Holuba Hall, the team members will gather for the annual Lift-for-Life, an event whose proceeds go to the Kidney Cancer Association.
This is an event run entirely by the players and it's open to the public. It was started five years ago by Scott Shirley, a walk-on wideout whose father, Don, suffered from the disease and eventually died from it.
The current players are divided into teams and go through a variety of physically challenging events to determine the winners. There's a lot of competition among the various teams and there are plenty of opportunities for the fans to interact with the players.
Doors at Holuba open at 1:30 p.m. and the competition lasts from 2 to 7 p.m. An entry donation of $10, $5 for students and children, is suggested. In the first four years of its existence Lift-for-Life has raised more than $148,000.
A silent auction will also be held and will include a jersey autographed by Paul Posluszny, a helmet, jersey and football autographed by Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb and a football autographed by Reggie Bush of the New Orleans Saints. The auction will run from 3 to 6 p.m.
It's an entertaining and worthwhile event that shows the players in a positive light.
In other words, it's all good.
More good news
Well, maybe you won't see it that way if you're optimistic that the Nittany Lions will challenge for the Big Ten and national titles.
But Athlon's preseason ranking places Penn State at 17th with a record of 9-2 with one swing game. If that proves to be accurate, it means the Lions would finish behind Wisconsin (4th), Michigan (8th) and Ohio State (12th) in the Big Ten. The Badgers are projected to win 10 games with two swing games while the Wolverines are also projected to win 10 games with two swing games and the Buckeyes are expected to win nine games with three swing games.
In other words, who knows? It's July and the stories in this and all of the other preseason annuals out there were written in late April in order to meet production deadlines.

www.centredaily.com | 07/08/2007 | Finally, a story PSU can feel good about

[Penn State News]

Scott Shirley's greatest play as a Penn State football player won't turn up on any highlight reel. As a wide receiver, he spent most of his five years with the program in the shadows. Instead, his finest play came off the field, and it is poised to have a greater and more far-reaching impact than any touchdown reception ever could.

In 2003 Shirley founded Lift For Life, the now-annual summer fund-raising challenge in which Penn State football players compete in various strength and conditioning competitions benefiting the Kidney Cancer Association. Under Shirley's direction, Lift For Life will be the signature event for his fledgling nonprofit organization Uplifting Athletes. Shirley and others are working to establish chapters nationwide. They hope to raise money and awareness for “rare” diseases and are modeling the new programs on the first Lift For Life. Penn State will soon be home to the first official Uplifting Athletes chapter.

“One of the things that makes this special is that it's not just volunteering for an hour,” Shirley said. “It's not something set up by someone else that these guys participate in. And it's not just a matter of putting on your jersey and signing autographs. It's the experience they get and that they are engaged.”

Scout.com: Raising the Bar