Paterno Has Surgery to Repair Broken Leg, Torn Ligaments

Penn State coach Joe Paterno is taken off the field on a cart during the second half of a football game against Wisconsin Saturday, Nov. 4, 2006, in Madison, Wis. Paterno left with a knee injury after getting hit along the sidelines. (AP Photo/Morry Gash) (Morry Gash - AP)

Penn State Coach Joe Paterno had surgery to repair his broken left leg and two torn knee ligaments, and plans to coach the Nittany Lions' next game.

The 79-year-old coach had the operation Sunday at Mount Nittany Medical Center in State College, Pa., where he was resting yesterday.

Paterno fractured the top of his tibia, or shin bone, after two players ran into him during Penn State's 13-3 loss to Wisconsin on Saturday, according to team doctor Wayne Sebastianelli . The university said yesterday that Paterno also tore ligaments in the knee.

Guido D'Elia , director of communications for football, said Paterno had sought the "quickest fix" to return to work. The Nittany Lions' next game is Saturday at home against Temple, though it's unclear whether Paterno would lead Penn State on the sideline or from a coach's box above the field at Beaver Stadium. . . .

Maryland linebacker Erin Henderson and place kicker Dan Ennis earned ACC player of the week honors yesterday.

Henderson, named defensive player of the week, was dominant during the Terrapins' 13-12 upset at Clemson, recording 18 tackles to help No. 23 Maryland improve to 7-2 and break into the national top 25 polls for the first time this year.

Ennis won specialist of the week honors for the second time in three weeks, hitting a pair of 31-yard field goals, including the game winner as time expired. . . .

Three Tennessee players were suspended following their arrests for disorderly conduct and underage drinking at a nightclub after the Vols' loss to LSU.

Starting tailback Arian Foster , safety Antonio Wardlow and fullback David Holbert , all 20 years old, were charged with disorderly conduct and underage consumption of alcohol. Wardlow also was charged with public intoxication.

? COLLEGES: The University of Scranton is leaving the Middle Atlantic Conference to join the Landmark Conference, a new league that will include seven other small mid-Atlantic teams.

The conference will begin competition in the fall of 2007 in 11 sports including baseball, basketball, and track and field.

The other members of the conference are Catholic, Drew, Goucher, Juniata, Moravian, Susquehanna and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.

? BASEBALL: Houston Astros teammates Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte filed for free agency.

A total of 169 players have filed for free agency since the World Series, and about 20 more potentially are eligible to file by Saturday's deadline. . . .

Ron Washington was hired as the manager of the Texas Rangers after 11 seasons as a coach with the Oakland Athletics, inheriting a team that last made the playoffs in 1999. His two-year contract includes two additional option years.

? GOLF: Paul Azinger took over the U.S. Ryder Cup team in more ways than one, persuading the PGA of America to give him four captain's picks and revamping the criteria so that money and majors determine who makes the team.

? PRO BASKETBALL: Sacramento center Brad Miller 's injured left foot will sideline him at least four weeks, leaving the Kings without one of their best players. Miller was found to have a torn plantar fascia in his left foot.

-- From News Services and Staff Reports