Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg
Penn State head coach Joe Paterno said he plans to return for the 2009 season while addressing a crowd at a pep rally tonight, momentarily putting to rest those retirement rumors.
Paterno also seemed to guarantee victory Saturday against No. 15 Michigan State.
"Regardless of what you hear or what you read or what you think, I ain't going out after [Saturday]," he told the crowd of several thousand. "I'm not gonna walk out of that press box a loser. We're going to be Big Ten champions twice in four years!"
Adam Rittenberg joined ESPN.com in 2008 after four years at the Arlington Heights (Ill.) Daily Herald, where he covered sports at Notre Dame, Northwestern, DePaul and several other colleges. He lives in Chicago.
