Rest In Peace Joe Paterno

News came out that Joe Paterno has passed away today at age 85. One day Joe Paterno's name will be fully cleared, but the the world lost a truly great man today. Here are some pictures that represent some of the great things that were seen today and throughout his life. (I do not own any of these pictures.)

Joe Paterno began his football career as a quarterback at brown.

Joe Paterno in his early years at Penn State 

Joe Paterno gets carried off the field after winning 1 of his 2 National Championships.

Joe Paterno named sportsman of the year.

Joe Paterno opens the gates onto the field at Beaver Stadium.

Joe Paterno gets carried off the field after his 400th career win.

Joe Paterno was immortalized outside Beaver Stadium.

Joe Paterno leaving Beaver Stadium.

Students, alumni, and fans payed tribute to the fallen Paterno.

Candles were lit at the base of the statue.

Rest In Peace Joe Paterno 1926-2012

Rest In Peace Joe Paterno 1926-2012

God gave Joe Paterno one last Whiteout in Beaver Stadium .

Bear Bryant greets Joe Paterno in Heaven.

Joe Paterno walks through The Gates Of Penn State Heaven.

Joe Paterno Is Still Alive, Media Credibility Dead

At around 8:45 pm on January 21, 2012 CBS reported that Joe Paterno had died, the report even contained an exact time of death. Shortly after CBS reported this, Onward State passed this information onto its followers, most of whom are Penn State students, alumni, and fans. Consequently both Twitter and Facebook exploded with the news of Joe Paterno's death. Within minutes Joe Paterno was the number one trending topic on twitter (two hours later as I write this, it still is). Everyone thought he was dead, for the next twelve minutes anyway.

 At 8:57 pm the first sign of doubt arose on twitter New York times reporter Mark Viera  Tweeted "Dan McGinn, the Paterno family spokesman, at 8:57 p.m. on reports about Joe Paterno's death: "Absolutely not true." This news took longer to spread then the news saying that he was dead. Over the next half hour this story  slowly got noticed. It was passed on by The New York Times, The Washington Post, ABC, and many others followed up with this report. This cast doubt upon the story originally laid out by CBS. Most people however still believed he had passed away. Shortly after that, Jay Paterno tweeted "I appreciate the support & prayers. Joe is continuing to fight." and Scott Paterno tweeted "CBS report is wrong - Dad is alive but in serious condition. We continue to ask for your prayers and privacy during this time." Once these tweets spread and reached major outlets and the masses, the rumor was officially debunked. It took some time for this message to get out, but Onward State almost immediately after the Paterno tweets apologized for their error and declared Joe Paterno is still alive. Word spread quickly and about an hour after it came out, the rumor was dead as was CBS’ credibility.

Once word came out Joe was still alive, CBS had an opportunity to apologize and try to redeem themselves, instead they managed to dig their own hole deeper. Once receiving the information that Joe Paterno was alive, Onward State almost immediately swallowed their pride and apologized for their false report, later their editor in chief resigned. Onward State is primarily ran by college students and they showed more maturity and accountability than CBS, a large, trusted, national news station. CBS took a different course of action, their first step was to say there previous story saying Paterno is questionable, despite it already being proven false. Once they finally realized the report was false, CBS could not simply swallow their pride and admit their error, instead they decided to play the blame game. Their next move was to blame Onward State for their misreport, despite the fact CBS reported his “death” before Onward State. CBS has also never revealed its source for their story, yet they blame someone that reported after they did as misinformation from their source. CBS has now stopped trying to blame Onward State, presumably because people saw through their shenanigan. This saga is not over for CBS there is understandably outrage directed at them for such a horrible erroneous report. Heads at CBS should roll for such a horrible display of ethics and journalism. Joe Paterno did not die tonight, but the credibility of CBS along with the fundamentals of journalism did.

The Long Brutal Wait Is Almost Over!

In about a month, Pitchers and Catchers will report to Spring Training. The first teams have players arrive on February 18th and the last on February 22nd. The worst portion of the year is almost over, the baseball off-season. The torture is almost over baseball will soon be back, We only have to wait 76 more days until Opening day.

As a baseball fan, I am eagerly waiting opening day so i can watch my favorite sport and my favorite tem, the Mets, again. Also as a Met fan, I hope for the best but I am expecting the worst. The Mets now play in one of if not the toughest division in baseball. The Mets have had a less than stellar off-season. The Mets lost the defending batting champion, Jose Reyes, the spark-plug of the Mets offense. Their acquisitions have not been too impressive either. Many fans (including myself) are calling for the Wilpons to sell the franchise. This will not be a fun year to be Met fan, this year will be filled with low attendance and losses. The one advantage to this is tickets on StubHub will be going for dirt cheap.

Here is the Mets projected opening day lineup:

1. Torres CF
2. Murphy 2B
3. Wright 3B
4. Davis 1B
5. Bay LF
6. Duda RF
7. Thole C
8. Tejada SS
9. Pitcher

The Pitching rotation should look something like:

1. Santana
2. Dickey
3. Neise
4. Pelfrey
5. Gee

This a disappointing team the bench and bullpen still need working out. Definitive players on the bench would be Turner and Satin. Notable relivers include Parnell, Rauch, Acosta, Byrdak, Beato, and Corrasco. It will be a long year for Mets fans, but it does not matter to me. After losing Reyes, I already declared this year a loss for the Mets, I am already looking forward to 2014. Hopefully by then names like Cory Vaughn, Reese Havens, Wilmer Flores, Matt Harvey, etc. will be in the mix and putting up big numbers in Queens. As a baseball fan first, I just want to be able to watch baseball again. Unfortunately, I find it very hard to believe the Mets will finish any better than last in the NL East.

My projected NL east final standings:

1. Philadelphia Phillies 
2. Miami Marlins (WC)
3. Atlanta Braves
4. Washington Nationals
5. New York Mets

It will be a miserable season for the Mets, but I still anxiously await Opening Day, I really miss baseball.

Bill O'Brien Hired As Penn State's New Head Coach

Finally, after two months of rumors and names flying around, Penn State has a new coach, Bill O'Brien, the current offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots. O'Brien is coming into one of the most unique and challenging coaching situations. The Jerry Sandusky allegations has left a black eye upon the university and the majority of Americans currently have a negative view of the University. Aside from all this, the Penn State Football program will go on, and on the field, might be his biggest challenge. Bill O'Brien is tasked with the tough task of replacing one of the greatest college football coaches ever, the legendary Joe Paterno, and all 409 of his wins. Perhaps most challenging of all is the continuation of the grand experiment, the combination of academics, success, and most importantly honor. 

So far, my overall impression on O'Brien has been positive. He has said all of the right things, but in the long run the performance on the field is what matters. Bill O'Brien was definitely not my first choice to become head coach, that was Tom Bradley. However despite many fans immediately coming out and stating that they did not    like the hire, he will do just fine as coach. These fans like myself, would have preferred someone from Paterno's system, however that era is over. In one of my previous posts I defended Paterno stating his innocence and that he was wrongly fired. Despite Paterno being wrongly fired, Penn State Football must move on, the Paterno era is over. It even appears that Jay Paterno will be on his way out as well. It is a premature end, but it cannot be changed so now we welcome in the O'Brien era.

I believe O'Brien will be a good coach at Penn State. Success will not be immediate, but it will come. The 2012 football season will not be one for Penn States record books, nor will the new recruiting class. 2012 will obviously be a major transition for the Nittany Lions and although they will not contend for a BCS birth it could be one of the most important in the teams history. The team and its new coaching staff needs to put all of this negativity associated with the scandal and move on into the O'Brien era. The Paterno era is prematurely over but the O'Brien era is beginning, let Bill O'Brien's march toward 410 begin. (I don't actually believe he will go on to win that many, in fact I hoe Paterno keeps that record forever .) O'Brien's most important task however is not winning games, it is carrying on the grand experiment and making sure Penn State remains along with BYU as the only schools to win a national championship and never have an NCAA violation.

The Penn State Scandal From a Penn State Student: Effect On the University

There is no doubt the Penn State scandal is a black eye on the university's image and reputation, however all black eyes eventually heal. The alleged actions of Jerry Sandusky are despicable,but the University as a whole is not defined by the actions of one man. Penn State is a proud institution made up of many great people and organizations. Penn State is more than football and definitely more than one man. On the other hand, the mass media, in particular ESPN, has portrayed Penn State as an institution made up of rioting child rapist supporters. In the weeks after the scandal ESPN vilified everything that Penn State did was bad, even going as far as Rick Reilly saying the moment of silence and prayer before the Nebraska game was wrong. Despite what the mass media is saying, Penn State is still and always will be a proud institution.

In my previous post I discussed the "grand experiment" and Penn State's long history of having one of the most honorable football programs in the country. However, football is not the only thing that brings Penn State honor and glory:

• In 2011 THON raised $9,563,016.09 for childhood cancer research. THON 2012 looks to top this total from last year and is scheduled for February 17-19, 2012. THON is the largest student philanthropy in the world.
• A lab at the Penn State Hershey Medical Center found a potential cure for cancer.
• Penn State is a top notch academic institution offering more than 160 majors and is commonly referred to as a "Public Ivy".
• The Wall Street Journal ranked Penn State #1 among corporate recruiters.
•  Penn State is one of the top Meteorology schools in the world. (Its my major and this is the primary reason I attend this great university.)
• Penn State has over 800 student organizations all of which achieve excellence in their own way.
• All of our athletic programs, in total Penn State has 29 athletic  programs. Penn State has won a total of 68 National Championships and are defending champions in fencing, wrestling, and women's volleyball.
• The proud origin of the WE ARE... PENN STATE chant.
• The student body of Penn State is truly a thing to behold and the scandal united the student body even more. On football Saturday's, over 100,000 proud Penn State students and alumni gather together in Beaver Stadium to proudly cheer on the football team. Listening to 100,000 people belt out the WE ARE... PENN STATE chant is truly a thing. During the average game a full stadium chant happens once or twice. During the Nebraska game, right after the scandal broke, I lost count of how many there were. The night before the game the student body united 10,000 strong on the lawn of Old Main in a candlelight vigil and sang the Alma Mater proudly during the vigil. 

These are only some of the many things that make Penn State a truly great institution. An institution this great cannot be brought down by the despicable alleged actions of one man. WE ARE PENN STATE and we will recover from this. 

The Penn State Scandal From a Penn State Student: Joe Paterno's innocence

Scapegoat: a goat upon whose head are symbolically placed the sins of the people after which he is sent into the wilderness in the biblical ceremony for Yom Kippur 
one that bears the blame for others
one that is the object of irrational hostility (Merriam Webster Dictionary)
Example: Joe Paterno


There are only two division I schools that have won a national championship and have never committed an NCAA violation, Penn State and BYU. Coming into this season, The Penn State football program was clean as could be. Last season Joe Paterno earned his 400th career win. Joe Paterno has been at Penn State since 1950, and the head coach since 1966. Paterno established what became known as "the grand experiment", the perfect combination of football, academics, and success with honor. The grand experiment was tremendously successful; Penn State graduates 80% of its players (#1 FBS school in the nation), won two national championships, went undefeated five times, all while never committing an NCAA violation. The grand experiment was a great success and provided a model that all schools should follow. Penn State had the most honorable football program in the Nation until one fateful day in November 2011.


One week after Paterno became the winning-est coach in NCAA D-I football history with his 409th career win, I awoke to a text message from my brother that read "your school's athletic program is in shambles". Confused, I replied "Our women's volleyball and men's wrestling teams are defending national champions, our football coach just broke the wins record, and out team has off this week how are we in shambles?" I was expecting to hear that one of our teams lost his Alma Mater, The University of Delaware. Instead he just replied "go to any sports website." I went to ESPN.com and there it was, the story that would rock Penn State to the core "Penn State involved in sex scandal."


Soon after, I read the Grand Jury Report. It was one of the most vile, disgusting things I have ever read. The alleged acts of Sandusky are some of the most despicable acts a man can do, second only to murder. The question everyone wanted answered was who knew what and when did they know it. Everyone began to focus on "Victim 2" in the GJR. Mike Mcqueary witnessed something take place between Sandusky and a young boy in a shower in the locker room. What this act was is unknown by the masses and Mcqueary has changed his story many times in these past few weeks, he also had made claims of trying to stop it and calling the police, both of which have been proven false. The GJR goes on to say that he Mcqueary told his father later that night and told Paterno the next day. The GJR then says that Paterno proceeded it to report it to Tim Curley, the athletic director, and Gary Schultz, the VP and head of campus police. Mcqueary was then called into a meeting with Curley and Schultz, Paterno was not present for this meeting. In the GJR, this is where the paper trail ends. 


The rumor that has been making the rounds the last couple of weeks is that shortly after this Paterno went to Schultz to ask what happened with Sandusky. Paterno was told that a full investigation was under way. A few months later he is rumored to have followed up again only to be told that charges were not going to be pursued. Paterno was reportedly outraged and wanted to ban Sandusky from campus but was told he did not have that authority so instead he banned from football facilities, which he had the authority to do. This is just a rumor and whether or not it is true still remains to be seen, one piece of evidence supporting it is that around this time, Sandusky was banned from football facilities. If this rumor is true Paterno's name is undoubtedly clear. The reason something like this would not appear in the GJR is that it is unrelated to the indictments of Sandusky, Schultz, and Curley. However, even if this rumor turns out to be false Joe Paterno was still wrongly fired.


The Penn State Board of Trustees made the descion to fire Paterno with very little information, and later admitted it was due to intense media pressure. The media, in particular ESPN made Paterno the focus of all their attention rather than the actual heinous acts of Sandusky. ESPN kept saying that Paterno "fulfilled his legal duty but failed his moral duty." According to ESPN, moral duty would presumably mean taking matters into his own hands. What is known from the GJR is that Paterno reported to the head of the campus police. Contrary to popular belief, Penn State police have real guns, real badges and have the same authority as any other police department; they posses the ability to make arrests and carry out investigations. Paterno fulfilled  his duty by delivering the information that he received from Mcqueary (what that information was, is still not known) to Gary Schultz, the head of the campus police department. How this is not fulfilling his moral responsibility, is beyond me. Joe Paterno should not take the blame for the failure of his superiors. It is not Joe Paterno's responsibility to bring in criminals himself, it is his responsibility to report it to the proper authority, which he did. Joe Paterno was made a scapegoat by the board of trustees as an attempt to appease the mass media frenzy.

Ryan Braun tests positive: PEDs and Baseball

Today it came out that Ryan Braun tested positive for performance enhancing drugs. This puts him on a list that baseball players do not want to be on. This positive test comes as baseball seemed to enter the "post steroid era". Most people thought that steroids were finally out of the game after the mass rise in offense and home runs that lasted nearly 15 seasons. Braun was on of the top players in the game and was named the 2011 NL MVP.  But now, just like McGwire, Sosa, Bonds, Rodriguez (Alex and Ivan), Giambi, Clemons, Palmeiro, Ortiz, and Ramirez, Braun's career will be forever tainted.

I have a very strong opinion when it comes to steroids in baseball, they have no place in the game, the record books, or in the hall of fame. Taking steroids or other PEDs is cheating and anyone who cheats in order to prosper should not be honored by being voted into the hall of fame or have a record stand. Hank Aaron hit 755 home runs naturally and cleanly. Barry Bonds took PEDs, cheated, and hit 762. That record along with his single season and Mark McGwires season totals should be discredited. Hank Aaron and Roger Maris should still be the rightful home run kings. Likewise, Roger Clemons' strikeout record should also be discredited and bestowed back to it's rightful owner, Steve Carlton. Most importantly, any player who ever took steroids as a means to become a better player and therefore cheated should never be allowed in the hall of fame. There is no room for cheaters in Cooperstown.

One argument people often make is that steroids helped revitalize baseball after the strike. This argument is just flat out false. Quick! Think of the best baseball moment after the strike and before 1999, if you said anything other than Cal Ripken Jr. breaking Lou Gehrig's games played streak record, you need to reeducate yourself on the game of baseball. The race to break Maris' record between Sosa and McGwire, while entertaining, has no place among baseball's best moments. Even if it later it did not come out that both  were on steroids, it still would not be anywhere near my top baseball moments. Also baseball, America's pastime, was able to recover from the strike just because it is baseball. American people love baseball and it will always be highly popular. I am sure nobody doubted the NFL or NBA would not have recovered from their own respective lockouts this season. People quickly forgave the players and MLB because of their love for the game. If there was one true moment that brought baseball back into American hearts, it was not Sosa vs. McGwire in 1998 in was Ripken breaking Gehrig's record back in 1995, the year after the strike.