Hoping for a victory dinner

Call Glen Mason the coach who came to dinner. In 1999, Penn State coach Joe Paterno invited the Minnesota coach to dinner at his home after their game at State College. After upsetting the No. 2 Nittany Lions 24-23, Mason didn’t take him up on it. Last fall, Paterno made the same invitation. The Gophers won 20-14 and Mason, who was flying home on a private plane, had worked up an appetite for Italian food. “We won the game, he shook my hand and said, `I’ll see you at dinner,'” said Mason, who brought his wife, two of his daughters, plus his friend who owns the plane. “We had a great dinner. Sue, his wife, cooked. ” Will Mason return the favor Oct. 2 in Minneapolis? “Only if I win,” Mason said. “I’m a poor loser.”