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STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- The field rumbles as if a locomotive is approaching from the south tunnel. The stadium shakes once the first note of Zombie Nation hits. Players ears ring, their helmets sometimes vibrating, from a wall of noise.Welcome to Beaver Stadium during a White Out, an annual Penn State tradition where more than 100,000 fans dress in white and scream until they go hoarse.You couldnt hear the guy six inches next to you, remembered former Michigan center Jack Miller, who was on the sideline for the 2013 White Out. It was piercing loud, I think thats the best way to describe it.Added former Penn State linebacker Dan Connor, who spent six seasons in the NFL: Its really nothing Ive ever experienced before. You dont get that anywhere else. You cant emulate that environment, that type of noise and that type of energy. Its the loudest thing Ive ever heard.The Nittany Lions White Out has fast become one of the great spectacles in college football, an event that has inspired as many Penn State fans as it has copycats. Even Ohio State coach Urban Meyer named it one of the games top-five atmospheres -- and he should know. He twice has witnessed the White Out, in 2012 and 2014, and hell see it again Saturday night when the second-ranked Buckeyes visit Penn State (8 p.m. ET, ABC).Its a different kind of atmosphere. The White Out, it changes for the players -- the players can really see what kind of support they have behind them, Connor said. And I can only imagine a visiting teams player seeing 100,000 in all white filling up the stadium. Especially at night.This isnt a tradition steeped in years of planning and focus groups. Penn States White Out boasts humble beginnings, the spontaneous idea of an official who -- 12 years ago -- had no inkling this would grow into a Penn State phenomenon.Heres how it all happened:The BeginningGuido DElia can still remember staring up at a quiet student section in early September 2004, turning toward a marketing employee and asking aloud, You think we could get them to wear one color?His colleague, Loren Crispell, nodded.I just thought, how do you get people to act as one? said DElia, Penn State footballs former director of communications and branding. You put them in a uniform. We figured everyones got a white T-shirt -- so lets make it white.Those were the simple roots of the White Out, born away from offices and meeting rooms. But there was no time to waste. Penn State had only one remaining home game before late October -- on Oct. 9 against Purdue -- and the color-coded experiment might not work if students were forced to wear sweatshirts or winter jackets.This was a White Out involving only the students, but the marketing department had only two weeks to plan. Student email addresses were off-limits, and social media didnt really exist yet. Facebook remained in its infancy, and Twitter wouldnt even launch for another two years. Worse yet, DElia knew, if the White Out didnt succeed this time -- then it was probably dead forever. It was now or never.So the marketing department turned to essentially its only option -- guerilla marketing.I remember stuff on the White Out was all over the place, said Zack Mills, Penn States quarterback during the 2004 season. I remember there being a hype around it. Everything they promoted that game week was all about the White Out. We had a pep rally that was all about the White Out. It was just over and over and over again.Some students would stand on street corners and shout about the White Out through megaphones. Others would paint their faces white and parade through the HUB-Robeson Center, a popular student hangout. Signs went up, chants were started and campus cafeterias were flooded with ads.It worked. Penn State fell to Purdue, 20-13, but the first White Out was a success. Mills called it a special atmosphere ... that was a little crazier than usual. Now, at least, thered be a second one.The EvolutionConnor played in 62 career NFL games and 44 college games. He was the nations top linebacker as a high schooler, a Bednarik Award-winner in college -- and he coaches high school ball now.But Connor still cant forget the student-only White Out in 2005.Deep in Ohio State territory, near the student section, he could feel his head buzzing. It wasnt a sensation with which he was familiar. He tried to pinch his helmet near the ear for relief.The noise was actually vibrating through the facemask, Connor recalled earlier this week. My helmet was shaking. When you play at Penn State, its always loud -- but any of those White Out games, especially the night ones, it was a different level.Two miles away, in the campus West dorms, students who eschewed football for naps were forced to close their windows because of the noise. Ohio State center Doug Datish recalled, in 2006, how his ears were ringing from the all-white student section. Another Buckeyes offensive lineman, T.J. Downing, later told Penn States student newspaper that he couldnt hear Nick Mangold from two feet away.Its not fair to say the White Out was the sole reason for that noise level in 2005. Penn State was surging after several down years, and the Buckeyes arrived late in Happy Valley with a No. 6 national ranking. But its no stretch to say the White Out contributed to that environment, one in which ESPN analyst and Ohio State alum Kirk Herbstreit referred to Penn State as the best student section in the country -- theyre crazy.Penn State won that game, 17-10, as fans rushed the field and celebrated in the streets downtown. The White Out was a huge success -- and the athletic department clamored for a stadium-wide White Out the next season. DElia talked them out of it.We didnt have a game with the right weather and the right opponent, DElia said. I thought we had to wait -- and I fought a heck of a battle to hold off on it in 06. I thought it needed to be a big game, nationally televised, with a full stadium to lock that in.In 2007, the perfect game emerged: Sept. 8 against Notre Dame. The marketing department tapped into extra resources by printing out reminders on tickets, running commercials featuring an all-white bus driven by a man wearing an all-white uniform, and stationing white-clad employees -- armed with cowbells and bullhorns -- at each stadium exit the week before.Hours before kickoff against Notre Dame, DElia stood atop the press box with field glasses on that 70-degree day, wondering and hoping if his plan would pay off. But as fans left their cars and streamed down Curtin Road, DElia could see only white.The White Out was here to stay.It was incredible, said Anthony Morelli, the quarterback in 2007. I tell young kids all the time that if they can ever get out to a Penn State football game, get to a White Out.Its so loud, you can almost feel it.The NowNot much has changed from those early days.Players still need to crane their necks to hear their teammates, the crowd still dresses from head-to-toe in white, sometimes waving white pom-poms, and the atmosphere remains electric. But, as the White Out has grown, the marketing department has no longer needed to rely on commercials or guerilla tactics. Last seasons White Out even took place in late November.In some ways, Penn States White Out has grown as synonymous with Penn State as the Nittany Lion. Its evident every season, and its a tradition thats inextricably linked with the university.The White Out is one of the reasons why you come to Penn State, said cornerback Grant Haley, whos from Georgia. You can feel the ground shaking. ... When you see it, its just something like, it just catches the eye. Its unexplainable. Its unreal.Added running back Saquon Barkley: I lost my mind. It was amazing; I never had seen anything like that.The White Out has become one of Penn States biggest recruiting draws of the year. For fans, it routinely highlights the most exciting home game of the season. And, with the crowds, at least 107,418 have shown up for the last five such contests.Thats what makes Saturday nights White Out a little bit more different than the road venues Ohio State has faced before. A record-breaking 87,037 fans showed up in Oklahoma, and 81,541 packed Camp Randall. But Penn State will have at least 20,000 more on hand.I think Penn State has more people, Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett acknowledged earlier this week, and that can make it louder.In 2014, PennLive photographer Joe Hermitt measured the crowd volume at 111 decibels on his iPhone app. Thats just 14 decibels away from when noise begins to cause literal pain.Whether its the loudest stadium or not, Penn State and its White Out have come a long way in the last 12 years -- from an on-field idea into an annual practice the school takes immense pride in.It was essentially an experiment in 2004 and, again, in 2007. Now?Its one of the most eye-catching traditions in all of college sports. Shoes NZ Online .J. Ellis hit two-run homers and the NL West champion Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the San Diego Padres 4-0 Saturday night. Shoes NZ Nike . He says so-called TRT is only one problem and he wants to go even further than the ban. "Its about time," St-Pierre told reporters at a promotional event in Montreal on Friday. "I think its a good thing. https://www.shoesnzonline.com/ . 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Both teams defeated the Edmonton Oilers on their trips.The Maple Leafs (10-9-5) have been at their best at home (8-3-0) and Wild coach Bruce Boudreau, who was born in Toronto and once played with the Leafs, has noticed.Ive watched their home games, and when theyre on, youd better be ready to play, Boudreau said Tuesday. Theyre going to be very good, very soon. Its not going to take too long for these guys to be extremely good.The Wild (12-8-4) has held its own in road games, going 5-5-4. When the trip ends Wednesday the Wild will have played five more games on the road than at home.Boudreau does not want his team to suffer a letdown in its last game of a long trip.I hope it doesnt happen in this city, he said. I have enough trouble winning in Toronto (4-5-3 as a coach and 0-3-1 in the past four visits) when I come, so I hope were ready to play. Were coming off a pretty good win in Edmonton (2-1 in overtime on Sunday) and wed like to continue this because then well have a good stretch at home.The key for the Wild is the goaltender of Devan Dubnyk, who leads the NHL with a save percentage of .945 and in shutouts with four and is second in goals-against average at 1.63.He has given us a chance every night, Boudreau said. Hes been spectacular.The Maple Leafs are pleased with their starting goaltender, Frederik Andersen, who played for Boudreau with the Anaheim Ducks, but are searching for a reliable backup.They have taken a step in this direction by clearing goaltender Jhonas Enroth through waivers and assigning him to the Marlies of the AHLL.ddddddddddddCalled up from the Marlies was up 22-year-old prospect Antoine Bibeau, who will back up Anderson on Wednesday.The long-term solution appears to be Karri Ramo, the former Calgary Flames goaltender, who has been cleared to play after recovering from a knee injury and has signed a tryout contract with the Marlies.Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock would like to be able to give Andersen more games off than Enroth enabled him to get with his lack of performance.I think weve given (Andersen) a pretty good workload at this point, Babcock said. Hes played 21 games. Wed like the backup to play 20 games.The highest number of games in which Andersen has played in one season is 54 in 2014-15.I remember playing up to about 20 games straight, Andersen said. That was a good learning curve, playing every night and getting used to that workload both mentally and physically. There are so many different mindsets -- playing every night, playing now and then. Youve got to be able to switch your mindset every night and be ready for every shot.Andersen struggled in his first few games of this season and had some sympathy for Enroth, who lost his job after four starts.I didnt get in a groove for my first four or five starts, Andersen said. For him, it was tough. But you have to make the best of it. Hes a good guy to have around.With the Marlies, Bibeau is 6-5-5 with a 2.54 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage.Maple Leafs center Nazem Kadri did not skate with the team Tuesday because he was ill. Center Peter Holland was not at the workout either as he awaits a trade.Minnesota has reassigned right winger Zack Mitchell and defenseman Gustav Olofsson to the Iowa Wild of the AHL. ' ' '