Guess I Should Chime in on Penn St

There are a few topics in sports I refuse to talk about, write about, or bring up on the radio. Steroids/HGH would be one of them; that's already been beat into the ground mercilessly over the past decade. This whole conference realignment saga in college sports is so sickening that it's taking away the innocence of college athletics. My grandfather, for example, is one of those hardliners who hates professional sports because "they're a bunch of overpaid bums". Can't argue with that, but what about college administrators? I also refuse to talk NASCAR or WNBA, but I don't think anyone will hold that against me. Generally speaking, I really only like to discuss what's actually going on ON the field/court/ice/etc.

And then Joe Paterno got fired.

This weekend will mark the first time since 1949 than JoePa hasn't been on the Penn State sideline for a game in some capacity; Harry Truman was still in office, the Cleveland Indians were the defending World Series champions (and haven't won since), and the Three Stooges were in the height of the Shemp Era. Basically, I have no choice but to chime in on this if I want to stay credible as someone opinionated on sports.

First things first: the only TRUE villain in this situation is Jerry Sandusky. There's a special place in hell for child molesters I'd like to think, and they say nobody gets it worse in prison than those sick people.

But I can't let JoePa off scot-free here either. No he didn't rape any children himself. That needs to be abundantly clear. But at the same time....just how is it humanly possible to turn a blind eye to such a heinous act? Paterno reportedly became aware of Sandusky's transgressions as far back as 2002, and while he didn't do "nothing" about it, all he did was tell the Penn State Athletic Director, who did in fact do "nothing". Paterno failed to follow up the AD's decision to not inform police by doing the exact same thing--nothing--keeping the secret inside of State College's football stadium.

And as they say, if you aren't part of the solution, you're a part of the problem. Paterno could have brought this attention to authorities when notified, and while it still would have gained monumental headlines, JoePa's legacy would remain secured. This is a man, after all, who in 46 seasons, had never broken an NCAA rule. This isn't USC. This isn't The U. Never banned from a bowl game. Never stripped of scholarships or victories. Won two National Championships. He's won more regular season games and bowl games than any other coach in Division I history.

Yet all of those great accomplishments will wind up being but a footnote in the Joe Paterno story. I always envisioned that JoePa would collapse on the sidelines during a game at age 94 or something, and that would be the way he would bow out. No one could ever tell him to stop coaching; no one would dare have the courage to tell him to stop coaching. It's all he's ever done.

There's no doubt the Penn State Board of Trustees made the right decision in canning Paterno. The decision shouldn't even have had to been made. If Paterno did indeed want to leave on his own terms, he should have done so by re-signing from his position as the story gained steam. It would have been one last chance for him to salvage any sort of honor out of this situation. He leaves behind a Penn State football team that is, oh by the way, the last remaining undefeated team in Big Ten play (5-0, 8-1 overall). A Rose Bowl berth looks promising. And should they indeed achieve that goal, of course they should go ahead and play. This has absolutely nothing, zero, NOTHING to do with any of the players currently on that roster. Other than the victims of Sandusky, the Nittany Lion players are the biggest losers in this situation. A once-promising season derailed by unprecedented scandal and controversy.

Penn State has made the right decision to clean house here, removing Paterno, the President, the AD, and seemingly countless other positions. Depending how much they all exactly knew, and so far it seems like they knew just about everything, the fact that Sandusky was still allowed access to the Penn State football program and facilities is completely and utterly disgusting. Reports even say he was on campus as recently as last week. Mind-boggling. A new beginning is exactly what the school needs, from the top on down. It truly couldn't have ended any worse for JoePa. Just an absolute Shakespearean tragedy that the man formerly regarded as one of the classiest, if not most classy, men in the world of college sports is going down in the books as the harborer of a child molester.

And one last thing too. The students rioting? I ain't mad at them. It's college. We live for the opportunity to do crazy stuff like that. But  rather than defending Paterno, I think I'd turn the tables a bit and make in anti-Sandusky. Because everyone defending Paterno out there right now looks damn foolish. Wouldn't YOU have turned in Sandusky?