Barry Bonds Helps Debunk The Myth That Cheaters Never Prosper

Before and After Steroids

Two completely separate news events happened today.  Yet, in my crazy and twisted mind, they are both related.

Following an eight-year investigation into perjury and obstruction of justice charges, Barry Bonds was sentenced to 30 days house arrest, two years of probation, 250 hours of community service, and a $4,000 fine. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Parrella called the sentence a "slap on the wrist" and the fine "almost laughable".

Parrella argued that home confinement wasn't punishment enough "for a man with a 15,000-square-foot house with all the advantages."

So that's the going rate for lying to the federal government these days?  Even better, Bonds has appealed the decision.  He avoided jail time, but still wants to drag out the legal mess via appeals.  

I don't get it...

Also today, we have the go-ahead for a perjury trial for Penn State Athletic Director Tim Curley and former vice-president Gary Schultz, who oversaw the university police department.

Here's what I want to know.  Seeing how Bonds basically got away with no punishment for lying to the grand jury, why don't Curley and Schultz just cop a plea bargain, pay their fine, and stay at home for a month?  Seems to me the end result is going to be the same.  They have a lot of money and will find a way to avoid jail time while the state chases the real criminal in this case, Jerry Sandusky.

It would save the government some taxpayer money and would keep my Twitter feed clear from all of the same people reporting the same exact details of the trial word for word.  Newsflash.  I don't need to know every detail that was said in court.  Just write a nice article and tweet it when you're done. 

I'm not trying to say that Curley and Schultz shouldn't face consequences for their actions, but it would be rather laughable if they served jail time when Bonds committed the same crime and avoids the slammer.

I'm sure Roger Clemens will get the same luxury treatment when his day in court comes up.  Sports stars and celebrities always get away with things us mere peasants would not. 

Prosecutors spent 8 years trying to send Barry Bonds to jail but in the end he only has to stay at home in his lavish mansion for a month.  Some punishment.

My god do we live in a messed up society.

What kind of message does this send to people who would lie to a grand jury?  Apparently all you will get is a slap on the wrist.  No big deal.  How about the punishment fit the crime every once in a while?  Plaxico Burress spent time in jail for shooting HIMSELF!  He didn't even harm anyone else. 

If I'm Curley and Schultz's legal team, I'm pointing to this decision on Bonds today and asking why even bother with the charade of a trial.  It's just wasting everyone's time.  I guess it does fill the gaps in between Jerry Sandusky's lawyer offering up a bunch of BS.

I guess I'm just used to the goverment wasting our time and money, but that's an article for another day.

Feel free to weigh in with your comments below.

Is Anyone Else Out There SICK Of Hearing About Penn State?

Look, I'm not naive to think this story about the Jerry Sandusky scandal is dead by any means, but every article I read seems to rehash the same details as the other 20 articles on the same website.   I'm talking to you ESPN.  You put up an article about how JoePa was proud of the team, dedicating about 4 lines of text to his reaction before filling the rest of it with details about the sex scandal.

Even those who haven't bothered to read the 23 page grand jury report should now be intimately familiar with the specifics of the allegations facing Sandusky.  Lord knows we've been bludgeoned to death by them over the past week or so.

We've reached the point where every rumor and possibility is being overblown in the media and on Twitter. 

One of the latest rumors circling the net was that the Joe Paterno statue outside of Beaver Stadium is going to be taken down.  Immediately the comments filled up about how PSU students were surely going to riot when this news became official.

I'm not defending any of the actions, or lack thereof, of those involved in this mess.  Even if he wasn't the one committing the crimes, it certainly appears Paterno could have done more to prevent more victims from being harmed by Sandusky. 

Paterno was responsible as head coach for many things and as a result, had to lose his job.    It just seems like many people out there don't want to stop there.  Some would see Paterno go to jail despite the fact he committed no crime.  There are already talks about civil lawsuits, tarnished legacies, and other football related news (Paterno's name removed from the Big Ten Championship Trophy).

I've even read comments on ESPN articles from Big Ten Rival school's fans about how PSU deserves the NCAA death penalty.  Don't worry, PSU will take a huge hit in this for far longer than the NCAA could possibly impose a sanction for.

At this point, the legal investigations and trials need to run their course before any other action is taken.  I think way too many people are fanning flames that shouldn't be burning yet.  Even worse, so many uninformed people who haven't bothered to read the grand jury report continue to chime in their opinions. 

Armen Keteyian and CBS promoted an exclusive interview with Mike McQueary which was in actuality a 24 second conversation mostly with Keteyian putting words in McQueary's mouth.  One of the lamest and most over hyped interviews I have ever seen.  It seems to be a great symbol for what passes as journalism in this case.  Short, uninformed, and over promoted.

To be fair, Bob Costas had a strong interview with Jerry Sandusky, in which he asked very relevant questions to try and get to the bottom of Sandusky's inner psyche.  What we found is haunting to say the least.  The fact it took Sandusky about 3-4 seconds to try and answer whether he is sexually attracted to young boys is just sick. 

The media needs to stick to reporting facts instead of spreading every possible unfounded rumor they hear about this mess in an attempt to "break a story" first.   It's just irresponsible.  

I doubt it'll happen though because there are a lot of people out there who would rather get ratings and attention out of all of this than to see the truth or justice find the light of day. 

We never got to say goodbye.

Before I start this rant, I'd like it to be known that I do not condone what happened at Penn State. It's a tragedy of epic proportions and it could have been prevented.

So many people are bashing PSU fans who continue to show support for Joe Paterno following his dismissal as head coach of Penn State. What they fail to realize is that Paterno has been a grandfather figure to so many who follow the team. In fact, he was almost the same exact age as my own grandfather.

When we lose loved ones suddenly in life, what is the common thing many of us say? "I wish we had more time" or "I never got to say goodbye."

I'm going to focus on the second one. Paterno will not have a chance to coach another game unless some crazy athletic director decides to hire an 84 year-old coach to be the face of his program. Very doubtful since that same athletic director would promptly be fired for making such a move.

There will be no final home game ceremony to honor him. No final chance for the PSU faithful to shower him with accolades for all the good he's done in building Penn State into a national powerhouse.

The fans were robbed of that because of a scandal that also shook their pride in Penn State to the core.

Whatever you think of Paterno's involvement in this scandal and subsequent cover up, it doesn't change the fact he's arguably the greatest college football coach ever, at least in D-I/FBS football.

I fully understand why you can't honor him at this time, but that doesn't mean his fans shouldn't be allowed to share their feelings of support for what he did ON THE FIELD.

Penn State has always felt like a large family, and no matter what you think of a family member's failings, they are still your family.

Paterno is the grandfather of Penn State. Many out there, myself included, are still in shock at just how quickly he was gone. Just last week he won his 409th game as head coach, moving into 2nd all time in college football history. No one could have known it would be his final time patrolling the Penn State sidelines.

Yes he's still alive and facing the music for what happened but in terms of football he's dead. Let us grieve his loss however we see fit.

Instead of the negative, focus on the positive responses the student community and alumni have done since the scandal went public.

The candlelight vigil Friday night on the lawn of Old Main was emotional and proved that not all PSU students are interested in rioting to show support for Paterno.

At the time I write this article, Penn State supporters have already raised over $295,000 of their $500,000 goal to support R.A.I.N.N. (Rape Abuse Incest National Network).

McLanahan's Penn State will donate all proceeds from the sale of Nebraska Blueout t-shirts this weekend. They can be purchased online at www.pennstateroom.com

None of this will ever make up for the unspeakable tragedy that has occurred. It will never atone for the horrendous acts that Jerry Sandusky committed, and will never fulfill the moral obligations that Paterno, Mike McQueary, Tim Curley, Gary Schultz, and Graham Spanier failed to uphold.

It does show you that not everyone at Penn State are monsters. Many of us are fine upstanding individuals with large, heavy hearts in the wake of these scandals. We are just as disgusted as the rest of the world at these allegations, and fully support the legal process and hope the hammer comes down on everyone responsible.

On top of that though, we've lost a grandfather figure in the process. Let us deal with this in our own ways.

We are...Penn State.

We are...grieving.

Joe Paterno fired as head coach of Penn State

A headline I never thought I'd see, let alone write, in my lifetime.  Joe Paterno is no longer the head football coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions.  

A few hours after Paterno indicated he would retire at the end of the 2011 season, the Penn State University Board of Trustees announced at a press conference that Paterno had been removed from his position, replaced by interim head coach Tom Bradley.  Joe Paterno was fired.

University president Graham Spanier is also out, replaced on an interim basis by provost Dr. Rodney Erickson.

I'm so glad my grandfather Ed isn't alive to see Paterno fall like this.  He absolutely loved Penn State football and I can only imagine the heartache he would feel tonight.  I only know the empty pit in my stomach.

I know this had to be done for the university to move forward, but that didn't make the news any easier to take.  What also didn't help the situation was the utterly stupid questions being asked by some people at the press conference.

A legendary coaching icon was just removed from a position he has held for almost half a century amidst scandal, and someone actually asked out loud "Why Why?" at the immediate announcement.

Someone asked about a severance package for Paterno.  Who cares?

Someone asked if the board thought they rushed to judgement.   Many out there would argue they didn't act fast enough.

NO ONE asked a single question about Spanier!  Glad to know what people's priorities are up there.

A headline I never thought I'd see.

I have a question that SHOULD have been asked at the press conference.  "Can you tell us if Mike McQueary, who WITNESSED a child being raped still has his job?  If so, can you possibly explain how?"  From all sources on Twitter, McQueary is still employed.  That's a joke.

On top of the "journalism" displayed at the press conference, Penn State students are on the verge of rioting. 

This situation continues to get worse and worse with each passing moment, and it all comes back to one simple fact.  It could have been prevented. 

Don't lose sight of the reason this all occurred tonight.  An alleged sexual predator was allowed to remain on campus as a result of a coverup.  The only innocent victims in all of this were Sandusky's victims. 

It's a sad day and it didn't need to be.

This Will Be Joe Paterno's Final Season

Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno announced today that he will be retiring at the end of the 2011 season.  Needless to say the circumstances of his exit are not what anyone could have envisioned for the 84-year old legendary coach.

I won't rehash the obvious reasons for why Paterno is making this move. 

Paterno issued the following statement:

I am absolutely devastated by the developments in this case. I grieve for the children and their families, and I pray for their comfort and relief.

I have come to work every day for the last 61 years with one clear goal in mind: To serve the best interests of this university and the young men who have been entrusted to my care. I have the same goal today.

That’s why I have decided to announce my retirement effective at the end of this season. At this moment the Board of Trustees should not spend a single minute discussing my status. They have far more important matters to address. I want to make this as easy for them as I possibly can.

This is a tragedy. It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more.

My goals now are to keep my commitments to my players and staff and finish the season with dignity and determination. And then I will spend the rest of my life doing everything I can to help this University.

Penn State's Board Of Trustees is meeting tonight to discuss several agenda items, most notably the status of President Graham Spanier and whether or not Paterno will be allowed to coach this weekend in the game against Nebraska. 

Paterno thinks he is coaching, but to be honest, that isn't his decision to make anymore. 

Spanier is expected to be out as president by the end of the night.

Keep tuned in for updates on this evolving story.

Graham Spanier, The Cowardly Lion

Penn State University continues to get it very wrong in their handling of the Jerry Sandusky scandal.

Head football coach Joe Paterno was scheduled to have his weekly press conference today in State College.  Penn State sent out a memo yesterday saying that the only questions that would be taken would center on the current football season. 

Nice to know the priority at PSU at this time remains football.

PSU President Graham Spanier
a.k.a. The Cowardly Lion

Twenty minutes before today's press conference was to occur, Jeff Nelson (Assistant Athletic Director of Communications) announced that the press conference had been cancelled and would not be rescheduled.

The silence from Penn State at this point is deafening and, to be honest, quite infuriating.  They have completely failed to handle an already volatile situation.  Talk about "Fail To The Lion"

The only official statement the school has made to this point are the release from University President Graham Spanier in which he tastelessly referred to the allegations as "troubling."  He also pledged unconditional support to AD Tim Curley and Vice President Gary Schultz, the two administrators facing perjury charges.

No mention of the victims.  No mention of the University fully cooperating with law enforcement.  None of the usual PR buzzwords that you expect from leadership.  In fact, President Spanier has been completely invisible as the face of PSU.  Multiple sources report it was HIS decision to cancel the press conference today.

Why does Penn State have a PR department?  Where did they learn how to do their jobs?  Surely someone must think it's a good idea to try and get SOME information to the media camped out all over campus.  Why are the only ones talking the students and former players being interviewed by outlets like ESPN?

Spanier is the epitome of a coward.  A cowardly lion...  He may be king of the forest, but the forest is burning.  In the past he has never seemed to turn down an opportunity to get interviewed by the media.  He's the chairman of the BCS for god's sakes.  Talk about a prominent role in college athletics. 

Yet now, when the school needs leadership in the worst way possible, Spanier is nowhere to be found. 

Ignoring this won't make it go away.  More and more details emerge almost every passing moment on Twitter.  The only one who seems to be willing to talk is Joe Paterno and he was silenced by Spanier today.

What is the administration afraid of?  What could Joe possibly say to make this mess any worse?

There is no doubt anymore this is Paterno's last season.  Even if he somehow manages to remain the coach for the rest of the season (which he shouldn't) his contract is up.  Seeing as he did play a role in this mess there's no reason any PSU administrator could give for rewarding Paterno with a contract extension.  NONE.

Reports are already starting to swirl that Paterno's support with the board of trustees has eroded.  One report says he was asked to resign but refused.  Paterno's son has repeatedly said no such request was made.

Penn State can't even get their own stories straight.  Total lack of "institutional control" right now. 

What kind of message does this send to alumni?  What kind of message does this send to current students?  When the crap hits the fan -- hide?

The only thing I can take pride from in this entire mess is that just about anyone you talk to who went to Penn State is sickened by the ordeal.  We all want to see justice served.  We all want those responsible for helping to cover up this terrible tragedy to be removed from power and, if appropriate, face the full wrath of the law.

That to me is the definition of Penn State Pride, even if our pride is wounded today.

We obviously didn't learn it from our cowardly leader.




 

Continuing Coverage of the PSU Sex scandal

More and more details emerge by the hour in the indictment of former PSU defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky.  It seems with every passing moment the administration of Penn State finds ways to make themselves look even dumber.

Graham Spanier, President of Pennsylvania State University, seems to think these accusations are merely troubling.  “The allegations about a former coach are troubling, and it is appropriate that they be investigated thoroughly,” the statement read. “Protecting children requires the utmost vigilance … I wish to say that Tim Curley and Gary Schultz have my unconditional support.”

Did he read the grand jury statement?  Plain as day it is spelled out all of the crap these guys have covered up, and yet he unconditionally supports them?

A suspected pedophile continued to get access to Penn State for years after he was caught in the act.  We now know the graduate assistant in the report is Mike McQueary.  McQueary reported the issue to Joe Paterno, who immediately notified Tim Curley of the problem.

That's all well and good on Paterno's part, but you have to wonder if Paterno bothered to followup on his reporting of the situation.  From all of the reports it seems like University Police didn't bother to fully investigate the claims. 

No one seemed to go and search for the victim...
No one seemed to care...

Paterno fulfilled his legal responsibility by reporting the matter, but I think he fell a bit short on the moral front.  That is why he is drawing a lot of criticism today from the national media and the public.

Joe Paterno was the king of campus during this time.  He wielded more power than Curley, and many are saying he should have been the one to report the issue to the police, particularly years after the fact when Sandusky still had access to the campus.

Curley and Schultz are in deep over this, and rightfully so.  Why lie about it to a grand jury?  Surely these well educated men had to see there was no saving their jobs once the truth came out. 

Although with stupidity running about on campus in the name of Spanier, who has given them unconditional support, maybe they need not have worried about job security.

At this point anything less than the resignations of Spanier, Curley and Schultz would be an outrage.  Curley and Schultz (allegedly) swept this entire thing under the rug, and Spanier is responsible for them all.

This also pains me to say it but Joe Paterno also has to resign in the wake of all of this.  While he didn't do anything wrong by reporting to Curley, I'm not entirely sure he made sure the authorities were aware of the problem either. 

Nothing stopped him from going outside the chain of command, no matter how painful it might have been to turn in an old friend.  In fact, I'm pretty sure when other head coaching jobs were a possibility for Sandusky, didn't Paterno offer up recommendations for the jobs?  I'm not sure I could recommend a co-worker for a job if I knew they were a pedophile. 

Paterno may not have a choice in the matter.  If Curley resigns or is removed from office, Penn State will have a new athletic director.  A new AD would deserve the opportunity to bring in his own head coach.  It's not like Paterno is the future of Penn State.  He's clearly the past. 

The only way to start the healing process in this whole matter is to remove all traces of the cancer from the body.  In this case those responsible, directly or indirectly, have to be shown the door. 

Anything less will only add to this travesty.

PSU AD Tim Curley and VP of Business Gary Schultz Charged With Perjury

Maybe Pitt fans have it right. Perhaps the school will HAVE to change it's name to State Penn University.

Updating my article from yesterday. the Jerry Sandusky sex scandal just got bigger and who knows where the final axe will fall.

Athletic Director Tim Curley and Vice President of Finance and Business Gary Schultz were charged on Saturday with perjury and failure to report in an investigation. Schultz's responsibilities include overseeing the University Police department.

A good description of the mess involving Curley can be found at this ESPN Blog.

This is definitely not a good sign for the Penn State administration as it now seems very likely that some sort of massive cover up occurred at the school. You have to wonder how many other high ranking officials and coaches in the program knew what was going on.

It sounds like Paterno knew about the situation and reported it to his superiors. That's why he was not named in the perjury charges. I know some biased people will want to tear down Paterno's legacy but if he reported the situation to his athletic director, he's done his job. Had he not told Curley and tried to cover it up, then perhaps you could fault Paterno.

Why would Curley lie about it? If Sandusky did it, then deal with it by letting him go and don't lie to the authorities when asked about it. Nothing this big ever goes away. Hiding the truth only hurts the program more.

Curley and Schultz deserve jail time if we find out they did lie to protect a sexual predator. What kind of leadership does that show?

I am absolutely disgusted by this whole story right now and it looks like it's going to get a lot worse.

At least the state penitentiary isn't too far from campus.

Former PSU Defensive Coordinator Jerry Sandusky Facing Felony Sex Crime Charges.

Penn State has a long standing reputation of being a moral compass in college athletics.  Head coach Joe Paterno has always focused on trying to recruit kids who will go to class and get an education on top of being pretty good athletes. 

It's what has made Penn State stand out over quite a few other noteworthy programs during his 46 year tenure.

I imagine I'm not the only Penn State alumni who is completely shocked to hear the news that former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky was indicted on felony sex crime charges. 

According to the Patriot-News, Sandusky is facing 40 counts of various crimes.  A two year grand jury investigation resulted in the indictment.  The alleged charges range from 1996-2005.  Makes you wonder if Sandusky's autobiography, "Touched: The Jerry Sandusky Story", had more of a hidden meaning to the title. 

The actually name of Sandusky's autobiography.
You can't make this up...

Sandusky retired from Penn State in 1998, so going off the charges listed, some of this allegedly took place during his Penn State tenure.

Sandusky is the founder of The Second Mile, a statewide non-profit organization that plans, organizes, and offers activities and programs for children - and adults who work with them - to promote self-confidence as well as physical, academic, and personal success.

I am always in the camp of "innocent until proven guilty" but it's hard to look at all these charges that took over two years to be filed, and not think SOMETHING happened. 

The big thing one has to know, is who knew what and when in the Penn State administration.  Joe Paterno and athletic director Tim Curley both testified before the grand jury during their investigation.

Sandusky was often rumored to be the next head coach at Penn State after Paterno retired, and yet at the age of 55 he suddenly retired and disappeared from the limelight.  Makes you wonder doesn't it?

Several media entities around Pittsburgh (Chris Mueller and Mark Madden) are asking the same questions I am. 

What if Paterno and Penn State knew about this and covered it up?

How did no one in the Central Pennsylvania media hear about this before now?

What happens if we find out PSU DID know about all of this?  Surely some heads would roll.

It remains alleged of course, so I will wait and see what happens in the trial. Regardless, the whole situation disgusts me and I am sure many of you out there as well.