After 61 years of hard work, success and being a pillar of respectability Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno will walk away in shame and disgrace. Recently seen as the squeakiest of the clean schools in a time when heads of giants were rolling, scandal in Happy Valley has shocked the sports world.
On November 4th former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky, 67, was indicted on 40 counts of sex crimes against young boys. A Pennsylvania investigating grand jury identified eight boys who were sexually assaulted from 1994 until 2009. Sandusky retired in 1999.
Bringing matters back to Penn State, when Sandusky retired in 1999 he retained his use to the athletic facilities. In 2002, then grad assistant (current assistant coach) Mike McQueary walked in on Sandusky sodomizing a 10-year-old boy. McQueary said he was “distraught” after seeing this, went to his office and called his father. His father told him to leave the building.
The next day McQueary reported the incident to Paterno. Paterno in turn told athletic director Tim Curley. Curley and senior vice president for finance and business (also in charge of Penn State University Police) Gary Schultz told Sandusky not to bring children to the facilities anymore. There was no notification to the police.
Curley and Shultz are now being charged with perjury and failure to report suspected child abuse.
People are calling for McQueary and Paterno to resign immediately. The two men reported the abuse to their superiors but when nothing was done, they stood by.
Paterno, now 84, has been at Penn State for 61 years and has been Head Coach for the last 46 years. He has been a model for hard work and competing the “right way” for decades. His philanthropy and service have been well documented. He has consistently graduated high percentages of his players and has stayed clear of all of recruiting corruption and violations that has plagued college football for the last half decade.
King of State College and legend in the sporting ranks, this once bright star is falling fast. Paterno has announced he will retire at the end of the season and for the Board to “not spend another minute discussing [his] status.”
The Board will discuss his status and his future. The future may be now. JoePa may have coached his last game for the Nittany Lions and brought an abrupt, sad, and terrible end to a career filled with much service, hard work, and success (two national championships and the most wins in major college football).
This dark cloud looming, and beginning to resemble a mushroom, over the athletic program and Joe Paterno will shape the college football icon’s legacy. For all he did do, we will remember him for what he didn’t do.
This week in Sports
Baseball
Since the last post the St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series beating the Texas rangers in Game 7. Generally unknown 3rd baseman David Freese won the World Series MVP. He hit a walk-off home run in the 11th inning of Game 6. He had 7 RBIs in the series and batted .348.
Free Agency has started for Baseball and there are a few intriguing names. Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals is the biggest fish on the market. He presents an interesting debate though. Pujols has been the best player in the league for the better part of the last decade. ESPN’s Buster Olney recently called him the best 1st Baseman ever (ahead of Lou Gehrig) and the 3rd best hitter ever (behind only Babe Ruth and Ted Williams). He is a great fielder and hitter. He hits for power and runs well. He has two world championships and is marketable. He will undoubtedly improve his next team and it would be a very significant loss for the world champs.
At 32, however, he has probably seen his best baseball. His age is in question, as many of the players co
ming from the Dominican Republic have not been truthful about their birthdates. Pujols had his worst year last year but was still among the league’s best players. He will look for something in the Alex Rodriguez range. In 2007, the New York Yankees 3rd Baseman got a 10 year deal for $275 million at 32 years old. Pujols won’t get that much. The richest teams (Yankees, Red Sox, and Phillies) all are committed at 1st base. The early returns on A-Rod’s deal make it look like the last few years of that contract will be excruciating. His play has dropped off significantly and he still has six years left.
Pujols will likely get something in the 7-year, $200 million range… And my Mom let me quit tee ball. Ugh.
Football
Week 9 is in the books and Week 10 marks the beginning of Thursday night games for the rest of the season.
Last Week:
The New York Giants beat the New England Patriots 24-20 in a rematch of the 2008 Super Bowl. The Giants beat the previously unbeaten Patriots in 2008 17-14. In 2008, Giants’ quarterback Eli Manning orchestrated a late game touchdown drive to shock Tom Brady’s Patriots that were hoping to make history. This time around, with less time and further to go, Manning found the old magic and found his receiver in the endzone with 15 seconds left to play, sealing another victory against the future Hall of Famer.
The Miami Dolphins won a game! The co-leader in the Suck for Luck sweepstakes killed an up and down Kansas City Chiefs team 31-3. How this happened, I do not know.
This leaves the Indianapolis Colts in the lead as the only remaining winless team. The Colts will have an interesting debate if they do get the number 1 pick. They currently employ one of the top quarterbacks ever in Peyton Manning but his neck issues make his future entirely uncertain. Manning would like to play this season while some think he might not ever play again. Manning just signed a $90 million contract this summer.
Is it possible to trade Manning? The favorite to be the number 1 pick, Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, will make about $25 million over 5 years. Manning is due $69 million in just the next three years. The “next Manning” for cheap or the injured one for an arm and a leg? We will find out if the Colts continue its run of futile football.
The Green Bay Packers improved to 8-0 after winning a shoot out with the San Diego Chargers. Packers’ quarterback Aaron Rodgers is the leading MVP candidate and playing the quarterback position about as well as possible - he’s on pace to set the single season passer rating mark.
My Arizona Cardinals won a pretty pathetic game on Sunday. They won in overtime 19-13. The Cards needed a field goal block to force overtime. In overtime rookie Patrick Peterson returned a punt 99 yards for the winning touchdown. The Cardinals gave up 4 points in the third quarter marking the first time in NFL history that has happened. The Cardinals gave up two safeties (when a player gets tackled in his own endzone) on CONSECUTIVE PLAYS!
Tomorrow we’ll look at the games for next week and the NBA lockout.
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