Penn State win overshadowed by senseless destruction

Greetings, readers. I was hooting and hollering at close to midnight this past Saturday evening as the Penn State Nittany Lion football team pulled off its biggest upset since 1964. We beat the Ohio State Buckeyes who were ranked #2. I’m going to describe what happened directly after the game, though I wasn’t a witness to the worst of it.

When the game was over, it didn’t take long for the happy and enthusiastic students to run down into town from the stadium. On my street, there was the usual We Are Penn State chant, lots of whoops, hollers, and other expressions of joy. There was a  police presence downtown ready to go in case something happened, and boy, did it.

Though the folks were peaceful on my street, one block down a bunch of rowdy, probably drunk, students committed many acts of vandalism, including smashing many, if not all, the street lights on the major artery in town. How stupid can they be? Rebecca told me that she saw a comment somewhere on the internet making the point that Penn State had the opportunity with this amazing win to be seen by the rest of the world for something other than the Jerry Sandusky scandal. They threw that chance away by rioting instead.

My solution? No more night games. All that happens is these children are given an opportunity to party and get drunk all day long, then arrive at the game for an 8:00 kickoff. Yes, you heard right, I did say children. Most of these juvenile delinquents are not 21 years of age, and shouldn’t be drinking anyway. That is another topic for another blog post. If I had my way, all the games would begin at noon for three years. Call it a preventive action. If other teams cannot oblige that time, too damn bad, we’ll take a loss. Students have to be held accountable for their actions and if those actions lead to destruction, consequences must be forthcoming. Penn State University and its students must learn that you cannot drink underage and if you do, you cannot riot and/or destroy property.

Will this solution be taken? Of course not. Why? Because it makes too much sense. We have to have our night-time white-out game every year. It brings in the cash, and I will admit it is kind of cool-looking to see everyone in the stadium, less the opposing team’s fans, with their white shirts on. Let’s give it one more year and see what happens. I don’t know who the opponent is for next year’s 8:00 game, but I hope they will not riot if we pull off another upset.

Okay, I’m done venting now. Until tomorrow, go PSU, We Are Penn State, and all that good fun stuff. Take care, and happy reading.

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Has the Penn State football team turned the corner?

Greetings, readers. The Penn State football team has begun its 2016 season with a 2-1 record, with wins over Kent State and Temple, while losing to Pennsylvania foe Pittsburgh. The last two seasons were both 6 wins and 6 losses; not great by Penn State standards. With the sanctions from the Jerry Sandusky scandal over with, Penn State has had their full number of recruits to build the team up. Next season should be coach Franklin’s best since being hired in 2014, with the team hopefully winning at least 8 games this season. I’d be more than happy with that.

It’s very hard to build up a school’s sport’s program after sanctions. Some schools can do it in just a few years, while other teams take much longer. I’m sure it depends on the head coach and the recruiters. Also, the crime and penalty must factor in the rebuilding time. The fewer the sanctions, the shorter time it should take for a team to bounce back to prominence.

Penn State fans were spoiled. For decades we enjoyed 10 win seasons almost every year. When I was young, the question was not whether Penn State would go to a bowl game, but rather, which one. We might not be excellent every season, but I feel that good ol’ Penn State pride has weathered this storm, and that fans can see the light at the end of a very dark tunnel in Penn State’s history.

On a side note, the first anniversary of Traci and me being a couple is this Saturday, the 24th. Yay us! I am so happy that she and I are together. 🙂

Until tomorrow, have a great day, take good care and happy reading.

Revolving doors for head coach and president at Penn State University

Greetings, readers. Lately I have had trouble remembering the name of the head coach of the Pennsylvania State University’s Nittany Lions football team. I also have trouble remembering the name of Penn State’s current president. I know now after during research, but this brings up the changes I’ve seen at Penn State.

It used to be that the university had a president who was in that position for a number of years. Now we have had a few since Graham Spanier left, and I have lost track. For the record, the current president is Eric J. Barron.

I grew up with Joe Paterno as the head coach of the Nittany Lions. I thought he would literally die on the field. I never dreamt the Paterno era would end, certainly not the way it did. After he left, the position turned into a revolving door. First the interim head coach Tom Bradley, then Bill O’Brien for two years, and now James Franklin. It is his first year and we don’t know how Coach Franklin is going to do yet. Time will tell. Many just want JoePa back, and that is impossible. The only way to go is forward. Go Lions!

It is strange to have to look up the names and faces of these folks. If they stay in these jobs for more than two years, I will learn who they are, but that has become a rare thing. Perhaps this is a sign of the times, where college and pro coaches no longer have long tenures. I agree that if a coach loses touch with his players, it is time to go. But for someone to use the position as a stepping stone for a better job, is not what I call cool.

Until Friday, have a good day, take care, and happy reading.

P.S. Stay inside if you are in the torrential rain. I was out in it this morning. Yuck!

Was the Freeh report really free?

Greetings, readers. I have been thinking long and hard about whether or not I am going to amend in any way my blog entry titled “Tribute to Joseph Vincent Paterno.” Since this blog entry was posted, much has transpired, such as the guilty verdict of his former defensive coordinator, Jerry Sandusky, and the Freeh report which implicated Coach Paterno himself.

To my family and me, Joe Paterno, I must admit, was three notches below a deity. Yes, I always knew deep down that he was a man, and fallible as all men are, but I still found it difficult to accept that Coach Paterno might have known about all this and did as little as he did.

The NCAA sanctions, I believe, are a wee bit strong, however justified. If that sounds like a contradiction in terms, let me explain. All of the players on all those teams since 1998 whose victories got erased must know deep in their hearts that they were indeed victorious. What is being punished is the institution of Penn State, as well as Coach Paterno and Jerry Sandusky. With that said, here is my personal opinion on the four major points of the NCAA ruling.

Loss of scholarships: Absolutely. To me that is standard for any school who commits major offenses in any capacity, and it will allow PSU the opportunity to put academics and athletics on even ground.

The $60 million fine: I agree with it completely. Yes it is a lot of money, but I am glad it is going to programs for abused children. Most appropriate.

No bowl appearances for four years: I agree in principle but have no clue where they got the number of years they chose.

And finally, the loss of 112 victories: This number, I’ve learned, was determined by the first time that Mr. Sandusky was caught in any wrong doings. Lord only knows if there were more before that. When I first heard this I was outraged, but the more I’ve read and studied, the more I agree with it. As I’ve said before, those kids from the past know they won those games.

Was the Freeh report really free? No. It has come with a humongous price tag. Not only to the creditability and the reputation of this university, but also to the possible and probably crunch on the local economy. Instead of doing their own investigation, the NCAA based their sanctions on this report. And it will cost money to implement the recommendations that Freeh laid out. I have not heard whether or not people have sold back their season tickets or not. As I understand it, the big 10 football network has not dropped their TV coverage. It will take years to know the full extent of the damage. Both Rebecca and I are proud of the new administration of the University for accepting the consequences with such grace.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families.

Are we about to lose the happy in Happy Valley?

Greetings, readers. Although I do not follow the news as in-depth as some people do, I have been keeping up with the goings on as far as the Penn State scandal. Although I will not say much about who I think should be punished other than Jerry Sandusky, one of the questions which has many people on edge here in State College is the possible cancellation of the football season due to the death penalty from NCAA; in other words the NCAA would tell Penn State that they forfeit all the games of a season.

Very briefly before I get too worked up and scream, here are a few points in my mind. Point #1. Yes this was a complete tragedy, however, the football players ready to hit the gridiron in about a month were in elementary school or junior high when the unfortunate events took place. These college athletes had nothing to do with it. Why punish them?

Point #2. State College, Pennsylvania lives for the Central Festival of the Arts every July and eight home football games a year. Besides what little Christmas shopping rush we have, folks, you’re looking at the majority of our economy. State College, in my opinion, would be economically crippled without one, definitely two, seasons of football.

To wrap up this short blog post today. Yes, justice must be done to those guilty. I just don’t think that we would be punishing the right people by putting Penn State football for 2012 or beyond on death row. Until very soon, take care and happy reading.