Category: College Football

Will Penn State prompt change in college culture?

Posted by dcrim – November 23, 2011

The Christian Science Monitor, in an editorial, notes that the NCAA will “examine” Penn State’s loss of control over its sports program following the sex and coverup scandal. But it says the NCAA needs a robust solution to break the culture of sports dominance in colleges.

The newspaper concludes:

Individuals who have been charged will be held responsible in a court of law. But Penn State and the NCAA need to break a culture that serves an institution first instead of the values its stands for.

Click here for the editorial.

Making a sad story even sadder, the New York Times reports Victim 1, according to friends and others, was taunted by classmates after it became widely known this month that he had testified against Sandusky as part of a case that ultimately caused Joe Paterno, the longtime football coach at Penn State, to lose his job. Click here for the story.

Politico and The Daily Beast offer analysis of the CNN GOP presidential debate.

Sandusky: ‘I shouldn’t have showered with those kids’

Posted by dcrim – November 15, 2011

This disgusting and revolting story doesn’t get any better. Former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky admitted to showering and horsing around with young boys, but said he is not a pedophile, in an exclusive interview with Bob Costas broadcast Monday night on NBC’s Rock Center. Click here to view the interview.

Memo to Penn State students: This isn’t about football

Posted by dcrim – November 10, 2011

Penn State fired football coach Joe Paterno Wednesday night in the wake of the horrific sexual abuse scandal involving former assistant Jerry Sandusky. The firing of the winningest coach in major college football history sent angry students into the streets where they shouted support for Paterno and tipped over a news van, creating a surreal scene.

Writes Mark Schlabach of ESPN.com: Finally, adults with backbones and courage made a prudent decision at Penn State. Paterno was fired because he failed miserably while making the biggest decision of his life. Click here for the full story.

Notes Ivan Maisel of ESPN.com: It is a sad and stunning end to a 20th-century American success story. An Italian-American kid from Brooklyn grew up to become one of the most influential figures in American sports. He supped with Presidents. He transformed a university. And a career that should be celebrated is sullied instead. Click here for the story.

Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle says Paterno got what he deserved. Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle writes that Paterno failed Penn State more than any coach has failed any school.

The students? Their disturbing actions are detailed here and here. The first questions that pops to mind: Where was their outrage for the eight boys who allegedly were molested? C’mon. Football coach, icon or not, or one of the most disgusting stories of our time? Seems like these future leaders have their priorities out of whack. Maybe they should take the time to read the grand jury report.

On the political front, one question that emerged from Wednesday night’s GOP presidential debate: Is Texas Gov. Rick Perry now officially toast? Click here and here to see what insiders think.

Story of alleged sexual abuse disgusting on every level

Posted by dcrim – November 8, 2011

There is nothing more disgusting than bringing harm of any kind to a child. A close second is doing nothing about it — other than “going through the chain of command,” which is political speak for covering your own butt —  when learning about potential harm.

The story about former Penn State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, seen above, is revolting in every way. That university personnel did little once allegations of sexual abuse by Sandusky were made nearly a decade ago is equally insidious. It already has cost two Penn State officials their jobs, and they still face perjury charges.

The Pennsylvania attorney general and the state police commissioner excoriated Penn State officials for failing over 15 years to alert the authorities to possible sexual abuse of young boys by Sandusky. The Harrisburg (Pa.) Patriot-News is calling for school President Graham Spanier and head fooball coach Joe Paterno to resign in this editorial.

Michael Tomasky, writing for the Daily Beast, admits that Paterno has been a great man. He is the winningest big-time college football coach in history, and his name is on the school’s library, not an athletic facility. But his failure to bring a rapist to justice has ruined his reputation for good. Click here for the story.

Meanwhile, Frank Bruni of the New York Times says parents should also remain conscious of an additional lesson suggested by the Penn State story because institutions do an awful job of policing themselves. Click here for the column.

The whole thing makes the 2001 book, “Touched: The Jerry Sandusky Story,” a sad, ironic title. Now it seems like Penn State is laying the groundwork for Paterno’s departure.

BTW, nobody cares about Saturday’s game against Nebraska.

Who will make first managerial move: Cubs or Cardinals?

Posted by dcrim – November 3, 2011

A Thursday morning sprint around the sporting world:

Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Steve Rosenbloom of the Chicago Tribune have the same man as the top choice as the next manager for the Cardinals and Cubs. (Hint: It’s not Ryne Sandberg.) Meanwhile, the Tribune offers 11 possibilities to replace Mike Quade as the Cubs skipper.

(Interesting note: Since 1965, four men have managed 91.5 percent of the Cardinals’ games — Red Schoendienst, Whitey Herzog, Joe Torre and Tony La Russa. Two are in the Hall of Fame, and the other two will be. Meanwhile, the Cubs have employed 26 managers — or 27, if you count Joey Amalfitano’s two stints.)

Ben Reiter of Sports Illustrated lists the top 50 free agents in baseball, while Joe Posnanski detail’s the worst 10 contracts in the game. And here is an offseason look at the National League Central Division.

Jeff Gordon notes that Mizzou will have to make some big changes once it moves to the SEC.

On the Cardinals, Mizzou to the SEC and Yankees’ flameout

Posted by dcrim – October 7, 2011

Notes and quotes from the sports world heading into the weekend:

• The Phillies and the Cardinals are both throwing their ace in a winner-take-all playoff game. It doesn’t get any better than that. The loser has no complaints. And let’s be honest: Did anyone expect the Cardinals to still be playing?

• It’s nice that Missouri is flexing a little muscle and making the shot-callers in the Big 12 squirm, but the Tigers don’t belong in the SEC.

Mizzou’s rebirth in football has been due, in part, to the two-division setup in the Big 12 and the ability to recruit Texas. The Tigers played Colorado, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State and Nebraska every year, and only had to take on Texas, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State twice every four years. There won’t be any cupcakes on an SEC schedule, and the recruiting advantage vanishes once that move is made.

The Big Ten makes more sense if MU wants a new home, but it doesn’t appear that conference is interested. And the SEC is no slam-dunk, either. Click here for the story.

• It’s always interesting to see how the New York tabloids react when the Yankees flame out in the playoffs, which happened for the fifth time in 10 years Thursday night. The story of a retired NYPD officer’s wife being acquitted of his murder seems to have softened the shots at the Yankees, though

Common sense lacking when it comes to NCAA, Ohio State

Posted by dcrim – December 23, 2010

Mizzou grad Pat Forde of ESPN takes dead aim in his assessment of the so-called punishment handed down by the NCAA for five Ohio State football players, including quarterback Terrelle Pryor, who were caught selling championship rings, game gear and personal awards for cash.

The players were suspended for the first five games of next season, including the demanding opener against Akron, but will be allowed to play in the BCS Sugar Bowl against Arkansas — and then probably bolt for the NFL.

One barrel was aimed at the NCAA:

The NCAA has done it again, producing a ruling that defies common sense and provokes suspicions about ulterior motives. Even as the organization has taken admirable steps in terms of aggressive enforcement and attempted transparency, it still has a unique ability to leave the public baffled and skeptical.

The (Cam) Newton ruling was widely ridiculed for the loophole that allowed the quarterback to play in the SEC and BCS title games — two of the most important games of the year in terms of revenues and ratings. In the open-and-shut Ohio State case, the NCAA is delaying punishment long enough for the Buckeyes to play in another game that packs a huge revenues-and-ratings payload. …

Commerce aside, deferring punishment until after the biggest game of the season doesn’t seem like the greatest deterrent to future rule breaking. Especially in this instance, when the rule breakers have the option to go pro instead of ever paying the piper. Seems to me that if these guys were busted for breaking the rules, the punishment should be rendered in a timely fashion. Like now. No matter how inconvenient it might be, or how “unique” an “opportunity” it is to play in a bowl.

Another barrel was aimed at the players:

If they had a full appreciation of what it means to play for Ohio State, and to play in a bowl, and to be part of a tradition much larger than themselves, they wouldn’t have sold what they sold. The championship rings would mean too much. So would the gold pants, which are small jewelry awards given to every Buckeye for beating Michigan. …

The bottom line is this: These players slapped Ohio State tradition in the face, for a profit.

And coaching staff was hit by a few pellets:

I’d imagine a large segment of the Buckeyes fan base is insulted by their actions. Some of them probably would rather not see them play against Arkansas. Jim Tressel has the opportunity to display the guts and integrity the NCAA didn’t show by sitting the players on his own.

But he was given an out — a handy, trendy out.

We can only hope history repeats itself in the Sugar Bowl. Ohio State has never beaten an SEC team in a bowl game. Ever. Pig, sooey!

On Sarah Palin, ethanol subsidy and Urban Meyer

Posted by dcrim – December 10, 2010

Jay Newton-Small of Time magazine takes an in-depth look at the phenomena known as Sarah Palin. The basic question is this: What does she want? There is no definitive answer.

While other Republicans followed predictable and even plodding paths toward the White House this year, Palin has moved along two parallel tracks, one befitting a candidate, the other designed for a celebrity. It is often hard to tell where one stops and the other begins, and that is by design. A presidential candidate used to need a central headquarters and satellite offices in all the early primary states; now all a contender like Palin needs is a cable modem. Working largely from her lakeside house in Wasilla, Alaska, Palin raised millions of dollars, produced three viral Internet videos and endorsed more than seven dozen Republican candidates (most of whom prevailed).

Matt Kibbe of Forbes.com joins a long line of observers who say it’s time to let the ethanol subsidy expire. But he points out that the powerful ethanol lobby is mounting a full-court press to renew expiring tariffs and tax protections that Kibbe says raises consumer prices while doing little to improve energy independence or the environment. A Congress that claims to be fiscally conscious appears poised to extend the subsidy before the Dec. 31 deadline.

While ethanol subsidies and tariffs are supposed to lead to energy independence and reduce gas prices, numerous studies have demonstrated that the program does little for gas prices while raising corn prices and potentially harming the environment. In fact, ethanol is a story of rent-seeking that transcends party lines, providing $6 billion in benefits to an industry that has been created by the government.

Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel said Urban Meyer’s resignation this week was the best thing that could have happened to Florida football.

Urban Meyer forcefully and resolutely said after the humiliating season-ending 31-7 loss to Florida State two weeks ago that he was going to fix the University of Florida’s slumping football program. In a strange, sad, surreal way, he made a bold move to do just that Wednesday. He resigned.

‘As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly’

Posted by dcrim – November 25, 2010

Here are some other miscalculations to think about on Thanksgiving Day:

• Ohio State president E. Gordon Gee says Boise State and TCU don’t deserve to play for the college football championship because they play “the little sisters of the poor” compared to the murder’s row (I guess he means Eastern Michigan, Ohio and Marshall) that awaits the Buckeyes every week. Ohio State, by the way, is 0-8 all-time against the SEC in bowl games, so the Buckeyes had better hope the Sugar Bowl likes TCU better against the SEC host school.

• The Yankees have offered Derek Jeter $45 million over three years, or about $4 million less than he earned over the life of his 10-year contract that just expired. Jeter wants more money and more years. The Yankees are telling their superstar to test the mark. Mike Lupica wonders what is going on here.

• You think LeBron James wishes he had thought his free agent partnership with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh through a little more? And that maybe a couple of rebounders and role players had taken their talents to South Beach?

Serving up top turkeys in sports in time for Thanksgiving

Posted by dcrim – November 23, 2010

To help celebrate Thanksgiving, a day that has evolved into food and football and more food and football, Real Clear Sports offers its 2010 Top Turkeys in Sports.