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Articles by Theodoros Papazekos
Ann Sanders and Theodoros Papazekos: Congress must boost SNAP benefits to address hunger crisis
About a minute ago The economic downturn accompanying the pandemic has cost millions their jobs, and millions more have faced reduced hours and wages. The problem is perhaps particularly acute in Pennsylvania. As of June, our state unemployment rate of 13% was the ninth worst in the country and far worse than its peak of 8.7% during the Great Recession. Only 10 of the commonwealth’s 67 counties have unemployment below 10%, and numbers could rise even higher.
Senior Column by Theodoros Papazekos | I’ve written 100 versions of this column in my head
By Theodoros Papazekos 8 hours ago Credit: Alec Druggan I’ve written maybe 100 versions of this column in my head. I started even before Thanksgiving, back when I was still Senior Sports Editor and things made sense. I’d leave the office on one of those tough nights when nothing went right, when it felt like I had the most frustrating job in the world, and lay in the dark of my apartment at two or three in the morning and think about spring.
Papazekos | The Ivy League's decision to cancel the basketball tournaments was mindless
With other options on the table, it makes no sense to cancel the competition By Theodoros Papazekos 21 minutes ago Credit: Son Nguyen The Ivy League has canceled the conference’s basketball tournaments just days before they were scheduled to start. It’s yet another in a series of mindless decisions by the Ivy League regarding the tournaments over the past several years.
Papazekos | Penn's win over Brown was a return to normalcy, but there's still work to do
Success and failure are measured by the Ivy Tournament By Theodoros Papazekos 02/29/20 9:31pm Penn men's basketball had a lot to celebrate, as the Quakers are now in control of their own playoff destiny. Credit: Son Nguyen PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Penn fans held their breath for the full 40 minutes this time. Facing elimination, Penn men’s basketball edged out Brown in as tense a game as they’ve played in recent memory.
Papazekos | Penn's catastrophic finish at Yale lowers the margin for error
Less than two minutes overshadowed all other narratives for the Quakers By Theodoros Papazekos 12 hours ago Credit: Chase Sutton NEW HAVEN, Conn. — “How are you, coach?” “Tremendous,” he deadpanned. Penn men’s basketball coach Steve Donahue was feeling anything but tremendous. His team had just utterly collapsed moments before, turning a 10-point lead with less than two minutes remaining into a three-point loss. Some stats from that last minute and thirty-nine seconds: Zero points scored.
What we know and what we don't know about the state of Penn volleyball
It was announced on Friday that Iain Braddak resigned as head coach By Theodoros Papazekos and Michael Landau 20 hours ago Braddak spent two seasons as the head coach for Penn volleyball, compiling a 17-29 overall record. Credit: Kaitlin Rowan On Nov. 13, Penn Athletics posted a brief press-release titled “Remainder of Penn Volleyball Season Cancelled” on its website.
Penn volleyball coach Iain Braddak resigns after scandal-rocked tenure
The Daily Pennsylvanian is a student-run nonprofit. Please support us by disabling your ad blocker on our site. End of team's 2019 season was cancelled after "offensive" posters found in locker room By Theodoros Papazekos 9 minutes ago Credit: Kaitlin Rowan Penn Athletics has announced that volleyball coach Iain Braddak has resigned from his post after two seasons on the job.
Papazekos | Penn keeps blowing out bad teams. Does that tell us anything about the future?
Women's basketball lost the only game in which it was an underdog By Theodoros Papazekos 15 hours ago Coach Mike McLaughlin has led the Quakers this season as they have got off to an historic start in non-conference play. Credit: Son Nguyen Football's Selection Sunday is here, and it's a good reminder that strength of schedule matters.
Papazekos | Despite pair of bad losses, Penn has shown it poses a problem for top teams
Men's basketball played well in loss to No. 23 Villanova By Theodoros Papazekos 11 hours ago Coach Steve Donahue has led Penn to two major road wins over power-conference opponents but has also lost two games to bad teams. Credit: Chase Sutton VILLANOVA, Pa. — Penn men’s basketball has played nine games. The Quakers have won five — two against power-conference teams in enemy territory as double-digit underdogs.
Remainder of Penn volleyball's season canceled, Penn Athletics announces
The Daily Pennsylvanian is a student-run nonprofit. Please support us by disabling your ad blocker on our site. The Quakers had two games remaining By Theodoros Papazekos < 1 minute ago Penn volleyball will not play the final two games of its 2019 schedule after it was announced Wednesday that the team's season was cut short. Credit: Gary Lin The remainder of the Penn volleyball season is canceled, Penn Athletics announced on Wednesday.
Papazekos | Penn football lost, but there's a silver lining in the fight it showed
The Quakers hung with preseason favorite Yale for most of the game By Theodoros Papazekos 4 hours ago Penn football may have suffered its third straight Ivy defeat, but the result is not all negative. Credit: Gary Lin NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Look, it’s kind of silly to watch a team’s third straight conference loss and try to root around and pull from it evidence for hope. It’s pretty much always the wrong take when you point to a bad result and claim it as some sort of victory.
Papazekos | Penn football's loss to Columbia was historic and embarrassing
The Quakers won't win the Ivy title this season By Theodoros Papazekos 12 hours ago Coach Ray Priore and the rest of Penn football should be concerned about the direction of the program after the team's blowout loss to Columbia. Credit: Chase Sutton Penn football has 18 Ivy League titles, tied for the most with Dartmouth. They will not win a 19th this season. Saturday’s 44-6 loss at Columbia is enough to be sure of that.
Papazekos | The NCAA's failure to pay college athletes is anti-capitalist
The NCAA's amateurism model is analogous to the company town By Theodoros Papazekos 17 hours ago Credit: Alec Druggan There are a number of reasons why college athletes deserve to be paid that I’m sure anyone reading this has been made well aware of: the huge incomes they generate for the schools, the lack of any meaningful amateurism in today’s NCAA landscape, the lack of substantive education top-tier athletes receive, the racial dynamics of the unpaid workforce (especially in the “revenue...
Papazekos | Penn football's new jerseys were among the only things worth looking at
The Quakers' offense looked anemic in first Ivy game By Theodoros Papazekos < 1 minute ago Credit: Chase Sutton The only thing pretty about that was the uniforms. In their home and Ivy League opener, Penn football failed to muster much offense against Dartmouth before losing, 28-7. The Quakers (1-2, 0-1 Ivy) were wearing their new red throwbacks to honor the 1970s, and that was about the only thing worth looking at as a Penn fan for much of the game.
Papazekos | Why I hope Penn football proves me wrong this season
The Quakers are not expected to compete for an Ivy title By Theodoros Papazekos 09/18/19 9:09pm Credit: Chase Sutton I’m usually wrong about these sorts of things, but this time I’d be happy about it. I don’t think Penn football will be particularly good this year. I also hope they prove me wrong. The Quakers are coming off two straight seasons of Ivy League mediocrity after a run of (shared) conference championships in 2015 and 2016.
Roundtable: Which Penn fall athlete is most underrated?
Shenk, Johnson, and Jiranek seem poised for breakout seasons By Theodoros Papazekos, Will DiGrande, and Michael Landau 16 hours ago Junior linebacker Aaron Johnson is one of the Penn athletes poised for a breakout season this fall. Credit: Chase Sutton The fall sports season is just around the corner — the first kickoff features women's soccer on Aug. 30, when the group takes on Stanford in Palo Alto, Calif.
Five Penn Athletics events to look forward to this school year
Penn sprint football will host CSFL title game as part of year-long Franklin Field celebration By Theodoros Papazekos, Will DiGrande, and Michael Landau 08/20/19 6:06pm The Penn Relays, held in late April each year, see Franklin Field filled with thousands of track and field fans from around the world. Credit: Chase Sutton There are plenty of big moments in Penn Athletics history, from the undefeated football team of 1897 to the upset of No. 17 Villanova at the Palestra a year ago.
A year after the scandal broke, Penn Athletics remains quiet on Jerome Allen
Allen broke multiple NCAA rules, but Penn Athletics could escape punnishment By Theodoros Papazekos 7 minutes ago Penn Athletics has still not publicly discussed their investigation into Jerome Allen's scandal a full year after its start. Credit: Alec Druggan The scandal began on July 20, 2018 — a full year ago. Then, Jerome Allen was a former Penn men’s basketball coach, a Penn Athletics Hall of Famer, and known as one of the best Penn men’s basketball players of all time.
Dolan, Akins, Rogers take home Ivy awards for Penn track
The Daily Pennsylvanian is a student-run nonprofit. Please support us by disabling your ad blocker on our site. 25 total Penn athletes earned All-Ivy recognition By Theodoros Papazekos 16 hours ago Credit: Chase Sutton For the second straight season, Penn women’s track swept the Indoor and Outdoor Ivy Heptagonal championships. With the latest win has come a slew of conference awards, which were announced for both men’s and women’s track on Wednesday.
Penn head strength coach Cory Walts fires nearly entire staff after a month
The three coaches had spent a combined 25 years coaching at Penn By Theodoros Papazekos 12 hours ago Penn Athletics is down to just two strength coaches while seven spring teams continue their postseason pushes. Credit: Alec Druggan On May 6, just over a month after he was hired, Penn Director of Strength and Conditioning Cory Walts has announced that he will replace nearly his entire staff.
Penn softball's late-game comeback comes up short in loss to Rider
The Quakers scored their only two runs in the final inning By Theodoros Papazekos and Jackson Satz 11 hours ago Credit: Tamara Wurman Coming fresh off a doubleheader sweep in a series win over Harvard, Penn softball couldn’t manage to stick to its winning ways and suffered an unexpected loss to Rider at Penn Park on Wednesday afternoon. The Quakers (11-10) never led against the visiting Broncs (2-20) and fell by a score of 5-2 after giving up the first five runs of the game.
Papazekos | Penn fell short of an NCAA berth, but it did exceed expectations
The Quakers exceeded preseason expectations By Theodoros Papazekos 15 hours ago After having a number of key players graduate, coach Mike McLaughlin maintained faith in his new core and surprised many, leading the team to a 23-6 record and a trip to the Ivy League Tournament finals. Credit: Alec Druggan NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Penn women’s basketball fought and scratched, but couldn’t turn in a performance good enough to get to the NCAA Tournament.
Papazekos | Want to know who wins Sunday's title game? Flip a coin.
Quakers beatdown of Harvard was fun, but it doesn't mean much By Theodoros Papazekos 1 hour ago Credit: Son Nguyen Penn women’s basketball turned in its most complete performance of the season in their first postseason game of the year. You don’t need me to tell you that’s a good sign. What was remarkable was the way they went about doing it. After playing three overtimes in two games — and losing one of them — the Quakers blew Harvard out of the water completely.
Papazekos | Despite falling short in March, the Quakers' season was still a success
Penn men's basketball are Big 5 champions, and that means something By Theodoros Papazekos 5 minutes ago Credit: Alec Druggan How do you measure success? Hindsight can make the narrative of a season seem obvious from the beginning. When we revisit history, there can be a tendency to pick out quirks or themes we saw in the preseason and elevate them to the status of harbinger. Under normal circumstances, you compare postseason reflections to preseason expectations.
Roundtable | Here's what to expect from the Ivy League Basketball Tournaments
Will hosts Yale win the men's tourney? By Theodoros Papazekos, Danny Chiarodit, and Tyira Bunche 10 hours ago Credit: Alec Druggan The Ivy League Basketball Tournaments are set to get underway on Saturday, but neither tourney has a clear, runaway favorite. Both the No. 2 co-champion women and the No. 4 men will face Harvard in the semifinal on Saturday.
Penn Athletics declines to further comment on Jerome Allen investigation
Expert says NCAA violation occurred; it is unclear if Penn will face sanctions By Theodoros Papazekos 8 hours ago Penn Athletics has declined to go into specifics regarding the Jerome Allen bribery scandal. Credit: Alec Druggan The scope of the Jerome Allen scandal expanded last week when he testified that Ira Bowman, Allen's former assistant coach, had knowledge of the payments, but Penn Athletics declined to comment on the implications of the revelation.
Papazekos | Spring break is cancelled. Everyone get to the Palestra.
It's Penn-Brown for all the marbles and you won't want to miss it By Theodoros Papazekos 12 hours ago The Penn fans will have a huge effect on the Quakers' final home game this season. Credit: Chase Sutton This Penn men’s basketball season has aged me far more than it should have. Everything about it was nerve-wracking and emotional and anxiety inducing. Every emotion felt like a stab to the heart. I haven’t breathed since February.
Behind runs of 14 and 13 points, Penn men's basketball beats Dartmouth, 65-51
The Daily Pennsylvanian is a student-run nonprofit. Please support us by disabling your ad blocker on our site. Quakers a game behind Brown for fourth-place in the Ivy League By Theodoros Papazekos 5 minutes ago Credit: Son Nguyen In a must-win game with their backs against the wall, the Quakers were in complete desperation mode. They need to be — a tight, back-and-forth first half gave Penn men's basketball only a three point lead at the break. The second half was an entirely different story.
Optimist, Pessimist, Realist: Here are three ways the Ivy season could end for the Quakers
We still haven't figured out how good this team is By Theodoros Papazekos 15 hours ago Freshman guard Bryce Washington has asserted himself as one of the best sharpshooters both for the Quakers and in the Ivy League with a mark of .417 from beyond the arc. Credit: Alexa Cotler Just over halfway through the Ivy League slate, Penn men’s basketball finds itself on the outside looking in.
The pursuit of a ring: a Penn sprint football love story
By halftime, it was pitch black and the thermometer read in the single digits. The wind whipping off the nearby Hudson kept blowing out of the sideline heaters, making it feel even colder. Now, a year later, the legendary temperature drops in every retelling of the story. Army plays its sprint football games in an auxiliary field outside of the main football stadium. The field is on riverside property, and the tiny bleachers do little to discourage the freezing winds coming off the water.
Halftime: Penn men's basketball leads Columbia, 32-31, in a back and forth contest
Devon Goodman leads the Quakers with 11 points By Theodoros Papazekos 2 minutes ago Credit: Chase Sutton NEW YORK — The Quakers came in looking to bounce back, but they are going to have to fight hard if they want to do just that. One day after falling to Cornell in a game that came down to the final minutes, Penn men’s basketball leads Columbia, 32-31, at halftime in the team’s search for its first Ivy League win of the season.
Penn women's basketball holds on late to defeat Columbia, 72-60
Ashley Russell led the team with 16 points By Theodoros Papazekos 7 minutes ago Credit: Chase Sutton NEW YORK — It wasn't smooth sailing, but when it mattered most, the Red and Blue got the job done. In a game of runs, Penn women’s basketball held on late to beat Columbia, 72-60. The Quakers (13-3, 3-0 Ivy) remain the only undefeated team in the Ivy League.
Eleah Parker's big third quarter helps Quakers pull away at Cornell
Penn dominated the Big Red inside en route to a 59-46 win By Theodoros Papazekos 11 hours ago Center Eleah Parker was dominant in Penn's 59-46 win against Cornell on Friday. The sophomore finished with 26 points, 12 rebounds, and six blocks. Credit: Zach Sheldon ITHACA N.Y. — Eleah Parker was just too much for Cornell to handle. The sophomore center scored a career-high 26 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, and added six blocks in a dominant effort.
Head Strength Coach Jim Steel resigns from Penn Athletics after 20 years
Steel wrote lengthy blog post complaining of administrator influence By Theodoros Papazekos and Will DiGrande 14 hours ago Credit: Alec Druggan After 20 years at Penn, Head Coach of Strength and Conditioning Jim Steel abruptly resigned from his position on Jan. 10. This marks the second departure from Penn Athletics this month after Senior Associate Athletic Director David Leach also parted ways with the department.
Papazekos | It's not time to panic, but we should be concerned about the Quakers
Four-game slide suggests that Penn men's basketball is in trouble By Theodoros Papazekos 20 hours ago Coach Steve Donahue and his team are in the middle of a four-game losing skid, with the last two losses coming at the hands of Princeton. Credit: Alec Druggan I’m a big fan of letting things play out before rushing to judgment — when friends and colleagues begin to panic, I'm always the one who argues that things aren’t as bad as they seem.
Papazekos | The better teams went 0-2 at Jadwin Gym on Saturday
The women's game featured much better basketball but a similar result By Theodoros Papazekos 5 minutes ago Senior guard Antonio Woods and his teammates have a week to prove they are the better team. Credit: Nicole Fridling Sometimes the best team wins, sometimes it doesn't. Saturday, neither did, but both results were deserved. Penn women’s basketball outplayed the defending Ivy League champions thanks to team defense and fewer mistakes.
Papazekos | Here are three New Year's resolutions for Penn Athletics to focus on in 2019
A commitment to athletes' mental health tops the list By Theodoros Papazekos 15 minutes ago Credit: Sage Levine Penn Athletics had an eventful year in 2018, highlighted by the second annual Ivy League Basketball Tournaments, a near upset of No. 1 Kansas in March Madness, the first player to be drafted to the NFL since 2002, an individual national championship for women’s squash star Reeham Sedky, and six Ivy title runs spread across each of the three seasons, including men’s fencing and...
Papazekos | Penn men's basketball is the grittiest team in Philly, and that means something
Papazekos | Penn men's basketball is the grittiest team in Philly, and that means something The Eagles won a title without their top player. Why not Penn? By Theodoros Papazekos 21 minutes ago Seniors Max Rothschild (0) and Jake Silpe (3) fight for a loose ball against Villanova. The two have helped lead the culture of grit in the Quakers' locker room. Credit: Chase Sutton Athletes and analysts love talking about grit. It’s a pretty great word.
Five Penn field hockey players named to All-Ivy teams, led by Schneck and Meily
Penn field hockey’s season may be over, but the accolades are just coming in. Five field hockey players were named to All-Ivy teams on Tuesday, two of which were first team selections. Junior forward Alexa Schneck earned a first team All-Ivy selection after leading the team in almost every offensive category. Schneck finished the season second in the conference in goals with eight and first in game winners with four.
Penn men's basketball had a wild first game. Here's what to make of it
Penn men’s basketball had perhaps the most eventful season opener in recent memory at George Mason. The Quakers survived substantial adversity and eked out a 72-71 win. Here are three takeaways from the first game of the season. After junior guard Ryan Betley’s season ended in the first five minutes, coach Steve Donahue instituted a deeper rotation at guard than anticipated.
Penn women's soccer falters on final day, forced to share Ivy title with Tigers
PRINCETON, N.J. — Winning the title on Senior Night to make the NCAA Tournament. It's a storybook ending — for Princeton fans. Penn women's soccer lost its first Ivy League game on the last day of the season, falling to the Tigers 1-0. The loss means the Quakers (13-2-1, 5-1-1 Ivy) share the Ivy title with No. 24 Princeton (11-3-2, 5-1-1), but the Tigers own the head-to-head tiebreaker and thus the automatic NCAA Tournament bid.
Papazekos | New Palestra ads are a historic mistake
Ashamed maybe, but not surprised. Penn has allied itself with an asset management firm at the expense of the student experience. Penn Athletics thought about its wallet before its student-athletes. Is anyone else seeing a trend? The latest move, announced Tuesday afternoon at the Cathedral of College Basketball, stripped the remaining holiness from the space with one swift stroke of the pen. Athletic Director Dr. M.
Former Penn men's basketball coach Allen pleads guilty to bribery in admissions scandal
Jerome Allen led the program for six years between 2009 and 2015 By Theodoros Papazekos 10/06/18 12:03am On October 5, Jerome Allen pleaded guilty to bribery charges he committed while working as Penn's men's basketball's coach. Credit: Carolyn Lim Former Penn men's basketball star and coach Jerome Allen pleaded guilty to bribery in a federal district court on Friday. Allen had been implicated in an indictment of Philip Esformes, a Miami, Fla.
Justin Watson to play in first regular season NFL game for Buccaneers
Justin Watson will step foot on an NFL field in the regular season for the first time Sunday. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver was a healthy scratch in the first three games of the season as the sixth player on the depth chart at his position, but will suit up Sunday against the Chicago Bears. Bucs coach Dirk Koetter had elected to sit the former Penn star in favor of the more experienced Freddie Martino.
Penn football loses battle in the trenches, falls to Dartmouth, 37-14
Dartmouth senior running back Rashaad Cooper took the handoff and lunged toward the goal line. Linebacker Nick Miller was there to force a fumble, but Dartmouth offensive lineman Phil Berton fell on the football in the end zone. Touchdown Big Green. That play put Penn football down 14-0, and almost seemed like a metaphor for the game as a whole. Penn's defense was there to make the play, but Dartmouth’s offensive line was too good.
HALFTIME: Penn football scores late against Dartmouth in 13-7 defensive struggle
Penn football has one of the better defenses in the league, but so far, Dartmouth's looks to be even better. That defense held Penn to just one score, as Dartmouth leads Penn 13-7. The Big Green defensive line has harassed sophomore quarterback Ryan Glover throughout, and has limited the Penn offense to six first downs. Penn (2-0) has only managed 102 yards in the first half. Most of Penn's offensive numbers came on its last drive, as Glover led the Quakers on a five-play 48-yard drive.
Quakers strive to embody 'lunch pail mentality' and gain Twitter fame in the process
Grit is an intangible. It also costs $75 with Amazon Prime. “It’s the real deal. It’s not a knockoff — that was probably a nice coal miner’s lunch box right there.” Director of men’s basketball operations Brad Fadem's assurance of the quality of it matched a cursory observation. The lunch pail — a heavy, steel container with P-E-N-N stickered to the front over the Stanley logo — was dreamt up by Fadem and coach Steve Donahue early in their tenures at Penn.
Penn football in quarterback purgatory with two-man competition still mostly unresolved
It's been over a year, but Penn football remains in quarterback purgatory. Last season, the Quakers had three quarterbacks to choose from, but eventually settled on — and stuck with — then-senior Will Fischer-Colbrie. Based on how playing time was distributed among the three, the depth chart had now-junior transfer Nick Robinson ahead of sophomore Ryan Glover. This season, two new freshmen, Mason Quandt and John Quinnelly, join Robinson and Glover in the quarterbacks’ room.
Former Penn star Justin Watson makes Tampa Bay's 53-man roster
NFL rookie Justin Watson has made the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 53-man roster in his rookie season. Watson was selected by the Bucs in the fifth round of the NFL draft last spring, becoming the first Penn football player to be drafted into the NFL since 2002. Since then, the wide receiver overcame an early injury to impress Bucs coach Dirk Koetter enough to earn a roster spot.
Penn women's soccer opens season with an explosion of goals and a weekend sweep
Sand. It’s rough and irritating and it gets everywhere. Including the back of the net. That’s how Army women’s soccer must have felt in the 62nd minute when Penn junior Emily Sands’ consistent pressure won her a penalty kick. She scored, and the Quakers secured the 1-0 victory a half hour later. Penn (2-0) opened their weekend — and their season — with a dominant 5-0 win over Mount St. Mary’s (0-3) on Friday night.
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