Tag Archives: penn state

Danger of Closed Circles

BY RICH GALEN
Reprinted from Mullings.com

The coverage of former FBI director Louis Freeh’s report on the 14-year cover-up of the child abuse scandal associated with Penn State’s football program gives us a peek into an issue I’ve thought about for a long time: Closed circles.

Closed circles are like black holes in physics: An actual, physical force. The gravity they generate is so great, not even light can escape; and anything that ventures near the event horizon will be sucked in and will (essentially) disappear.

It is clear from even the most cursory reading that paramount in the minds of Joe Paterno and the university leadership was protecting the football program. Penn State football was Joe Paterno. Paterno was PSU football. Period. Continue reading →

Joe Paterno’s Sad End

BY MICHAEL S. JOHNSON

I was listening with half an ear to cable news Monday when I heard a correspondent reporting from the Penn State campus on the death of legendary coach Joe Paterno.  She said people didn’t think he died of cancer.  They think he died of a broken heart.

I can believe that. My dad used to tell me shortly before he died that you know when you are through living, and it is time to go.

From what I have read, Joe Paterno’s life, outside his family, was Penn State and the people of State College, PA. They were family, too.  He gave them all he had: sthe majority of his time on earth; his talent (he could have gone to the pros but stayed there and won over 400 games, 24 bowl games and two national championships) large sums of money (news accounts put his donations to the school north of $4.1 million. Most of all, though, he gave them his heart. Continue reading →

Oxy-Morons

BY GARY JOHNSON
Reprinted from Loose Change at TCBMag.com

A young man I know visited a college campus with some friends this past weekend. For very good reason, he’s not inclined to whoop it up much. While on campus he was confronted by a college wrestler who used a homosexual slur to try to start a fight. Sensing considerable danger, the young man wisely chose to leave. The wrestler followed him to his car and proceeded to cold cock him in the face five or six times, knocking him senseless as he sat buckled up in his car seat. His friends drove to an emergency room where it was determined he had a severe concussion.

The wrestler will hopefully be prosecuted. We know who he is. His wrestling coach has a responsibility, once he’s found guilty, to kick the bully off the team. Beating campus visitors senseless can’t possibly be the type of behavior the school administration or the wrestling team at a Division 1 school espouses.

At least that’s what the school spokesperson would insist if asked. But frankly, the goings on at Penn State make me wonder if even the most respected universities give a damn, until of course they’re caught holding the bag. Continue reading →

Cain, Paterno Will Not Survive Scandals

BY RICH GALEN
Reprinted from Mullings.com

One of my Tweets (@richgalen) as I watched the Herman Cain presser the other day: “I am now officially as over watching pressers re: #thehermancain as I am watching GOP primary debates”

I said on Channel 9 in Washington, DC Monday night about Cain: [This is] the fourth one. I mean, the first one you say: “It never happened.” The second one you say: “Well, something happened but it was a misunderstanding.” The third one you go: “Well, it happened but not the way you think.” Now you’ve got the fourth one, all you can say is: “I’m, going to rehab.”

Mullfave Alex Castellanos was on CNN yesterday saying that Republicans needed to hold Herman Cain to the same standard they demanded of Bill Clinton. When I e-mailed him to say I thought that was a pretty good point he wrote back:

This is like Mel Brooks in The Producers. Herman never thought he’d get this far. The damned show was supposed to be fun, then fold!

Herman Cain will not survive this.

Meanwhile up the road in University Park, Pennsylvania a story has been unfolding which makes all the other violations by every major university in every sport look like they were caught stepping on the line in hopscotch. Continue reading →