Paterno released from hospital

College football: Joe Paterno was released from the hospital Tuesday, two days after getting blindsided at Penn State practice by a player and injuring his right shoulder and pelvis.

The school said Paterno, 84, was look- ing forward to return- ing to practice today.

After stopping by the house to check in on Paterno, son and quarterbacks coach Jay Paterno said he ended up getting grilled about practice.

“He’s fine. … It turned into a little work session,” Jay Paterno said with a chuckle earlier Tuesday in a phone interview. “I wish I was as tough as he is.”

The latest health issue won’t push his father into retirement, either.

“This is nothing more than a small blip on the radar,” he said.

Paterno is major college football’s career leader with 401 victories in 45 seasons at Penn State.

Associated Press

Garcia AFL’s offensive POY

AFL: Jacksonville Sharks quarterback Aaron Garcia has been selected as the Arena Football League Offensive Player of the Year after leading the Sharks to the American Conference championship and a berth in ArenaBowl XXIV on Friday.

Garcia, who played collegiately at Washington State and Sacramento State, also won the award in 2001 with the New York Dragons.

Garcia set single-season franchise records by passing for career highs in completions (402), yards (4,953) and touchdowns (116). He is the AFL’s all-time passing leader with 49,996 yards.

He led the AFL in completion percentage (71.5) and yards per attempt (8.8).

Matt Sauk, formerly with the Spokane Shock and now with the Utah Blaze, was chosen as the league’s top offensive coordinator.

Koper will play at U of Alberta

Hockey: Former Spokane Chiefs forward Levko Koper will play collegiately at the University of Alberta.  The Edmonton native finished last season, his fifth and final with the Chiefs, with a career-high 32 goals and 82 points.  Koper had appeared in 330 games in Spokane, third in franchise history. He scored 97 goals and totaled 226 points.