Here is how I feel about our protected rivalry with Indiana. It is pointless and amusing much like Nyan Cat.
5 Alternative Trophies to The Old Brass Spittoon
1.) Betamax copy of Hoosiers autographed by Magic Johnson and Larry Bird
2.) Michigan City.
3.) The Stores of The Old BMG Warehouse in Terra Haute.
4.) The Lugnut on top of the Smokestack in Downtown Lansing.
5.) The Loser has to claim that Lee Corso coached at their school. This in fact only happened at Indiana.
Enough talk about this trophy, it has sapped my will to live.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
The Victory March Begins in November
On Friday night, in case you were under a rock, MSU played North Carolina on an aircraft carrier in San Diego. Tom Izzo stood majestically behind the President and First Lady during the national anthem. North Carolina won the game 67-55 in a game that seemed both closer and much farther apart than that. MSU outrebounded UNC 41-29 and had all the hustle you could possibly want out of young squad of whippersnappers. This team, it looked vintage Izzo. They were crashing the boards, having fun playing the game, it's the team I feel like I haven't seen in a few years.
Ballin'
Tonight MSU plays Duke at 7p in the 24 hours of hoops. This morning Seth Davis tweeted: "Mich St better than people think. Got their feet wet vs tough UNC team. Plus, they have NO pressure on them. Just a hunch, folks." To which Dan Wetzel replied: "@SethDavisHoops Good theory on Duke, but when was last time Michigan State won a major, early season non-conf game?" To which several people replied that when MSU beat Washington in Maui last year they were ranked 11th and that MSU knocked off number 6 Texas in 2008.
The point Wetzel makes is a legitimate one, MSU has struggled in major non-conference games in the pre-season. It'd be nice to win some big games in November and December and it's been a concern of mine that when Izzo leaves too much value will be placed on finding someone who wins early season games. To be honest though, it's never bothered me a bit. You don't win the NCAA championship in November, you win it in March and April. That's what Tom Izzo does best.
Michigan State will probably not beat Duke tonight. The best Izzo squads have had a hard time getting the better of Duke and with Coach K going for the all-time win record tonight and our squad being the youngest I can remember in a long time, the odds are not on our side. See for the write-up that features game theory, etc. However, as I said, I think this'll be the Izzo-iest Izzo squad in a while and they'll be there in March when it matters. This is going to be a fun season of basketball.
Ballin'
Tonight MSU plays Duke at 7p in the 24 hours of hoops. This morning Seth Davis tweeted: "Mich St better than people think. Got their feet wet vs tough UNC team. Plus, they have NO pressure on them. Just a hunch, folks." To which Dan Wetzel replied: "@SethDavisHoops Good theory on Duke, but when was last time Michigan State won a major, early season non-conf game?" To which several people replied that when MSU beat Washington in Maui last year they were ranked 11th and that MSU knocked off number 6 Texas in 2008.
The point Wetzel makes is a legitimate one, MSU has struggled in major non-conference games in the pre-season. It'd be nice to win some big games in November and December and it's been a concern of mine that when Izzo leaves too much value will be placed on finding someone who wins early season games. To be honest though, it's never bothered me a bit. You don't win the NCAA championship in November, you win it in March and April. That's what Tom Izzo does best.
Michigan State will probably not beat Duke tonight. The best Izzo squads have had a hard time getting the better of Duke and with Coach K going for the all-time win record tonight and our squad being the youngest I can remember in a long time, the odds are not on our side. See for the write-up that features game theory, etc. However, as I said, I think this'll be the Izzo-iest Izzo squad in a while and they'll be there in March when it matters. This is going to be a fun season of basketball.
Monday, November 14, 2011
The Bowl Picture and Raised Expectations
On Saturday night, my wife and I went to do Thanksgiving with some friends of ours who figured out a formula for really enjoying thanksgiving. A night without the kids + turkey + bacon + beer, in case you were curious. My wife started asking me about what bowl I thought we'd end up in and I said, "No worse than the Capital One Bowl." She said, "Oh, okay." and she was a bit disappointed. "Exactly, my thought too." I said. So it is with no offense meant to the folks meant to the people who run the Capital One Citrus Bowl that I write the following paragraphs.
In 2006, Drew Stanton scored on a keeper, and as he was running through the end zone the mike accidentally picked him up yelling. "F*** yeah, we're going to a bowl!". At the end of the 2007 season, we all still talked about our trip to the 1999-2000 Citrus Bowl as a heralded moment in MSU football history. Now in 2011, the idea of the Captial One Bowl is kind of like a consolation prize. It might feel like a consolation prize because in our last two appearances we've gotten beat pretty handily, but I don't think that's the reason.
The reason is, after going 11-1 in 2010 and being en route to 10-2 in 2011 against the toughest road schedule I can remember, is that we have raised our expectations for this team. Second place and it's resulting tie-in of the Capital One Bowl isn't good enough for us anymore. The team's motto for 2011 has been P4RB, short for Prepare For Rose Bowl. What's strange is that while there is a disconnect between what's going on for the team and the fans sometimes, this is a place where they are definitely on the same page. Win out through the conference title game and MSU will be playing in Pasadena. This is the expectation of Mark Dantonio and this is becoming the expectation of the fans as well.
If you want the statistical breakdown of our likelihood of making the Rose Bowl, peep SpartanDan's work over at The Only Colors. As a team MSU controls it's own destiny to the Rose Bowl since 1990. As a recent MSU football devotee, 1997-present, this is new and strange territory for me, not hopin' and wishin' and prayin' for help from another team. The bar has been set at playing for the Rose Bowl for 2011 and MSU controls it's fate to do so.
In 2006, Drew Stanton scored on a keeper, and as he was running through the end zone the mike accidentally picked him up yelling. "F*** yeah, we're going to a bowl!". At the end of the 2007 season, we all still talked about our trip to the 1999-2000 Citrus Bowl as a heralded moment in MSU football history. Now in 2011, the idea of the Captial One Bowl is kind of like a consolation prize. It might feel like a consolation prize because in our last two appearances we've gotten beat pretty handily, but I don't think that's the reason.
The reason is, after going 11-1 in 2010 and being en route to 10-2 in 2011 against the toughest road schedule I can remember, is that we have raised our expectations for this team. Second place and it's resulting tie-in of the Capital One Bowl isn't good enough for us anymore. The team's motto for 2011 has been P4RB, short for Prepare For Rose Bowl. What's strange is that while there is a disconnect between what's going on for the team and the fans sometimes, this is a place where they are definitely on the same page. Win out through the conference title game and MSU will be playing in Pasadena. This is the expectation of Mark Dantonio and this is becoming the expectation of the fans as well.
If you want the statistical breakdown of our likelihood of making the Rose Bowl, peep SpartanDan's work over at The Only Colors. As a team MSU controls it's own destiny to the Rose Bowl since 1990. As a recent MSU football devotee, 1997-present, this is new and strange territory for me, not hopin' and wishin' and prayin' for help from another team. The bar has been set at playing for the Rose Bowl for 2011 and MSU controls it's fate to do so.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Iowa: The Takeaway
Well another road game and another historical monkey off our backs. MSU walked away with their first Iowa victory at Kinnick since 1561. With that, I move to 0-4 at picking road games for this year. So we'll be losing at Northwestern(my official prediction!) in a couple of weeks. The thing that surprised me about this win was how comfortable it was. Yes, Iowa made a run in the second half, but it never closed within thirteen. A two possession game is pretty comfortable as far as I'm concerned.
So we have a couple of outstanding monkeys under Dantonio now and then I think we're good on monkey control. One, we need to win a bowl game. Two, we need to beat Nebraska at all as twitter follower MSUAlum2002 pointed out. The first is "more concerning" than the second, although, neither is worrisome yet.
How good was Kirk Cousins day yesterday? His passer rating was 160.5 and the only B10 game he had a higher one against was Wisconsin. It was his third best away game ever after 2010 Michigan and 2010 Penn State.
Why was our road offense so improved this week? Honestly, I saw plays I haven't seen this year yet. I saw several draw plays including Bell's 35 yard touchdown run. Also, I think the formation where the 3 WR lined up in a shallow diagonal to the right of the line and Cousins rolled right was new. Further, I think using Bell as the starter with Baker as the change of pace back worked perfectly. Bell got yardage early so Roushar didn't abandon the run too early and then the pressure was off Baker when he came into the game. I believe Michigan State is undefeated when LeVeon Bell gets 15 carries.
How did we hold Iowa's Offense down so well? Well, simply put, Vanderbeek isn't as good a Quarterback as he was in Varsity Blues, knowing full well a win put them in the catbird's seat to win the Rotel Division he opted for the simple life.
So MSU turned their attentions to stopping Iowa's run game and made Vanderbeek win the game on his arm. This was MSU's defensive gameplan against Iowa in 2009 and I assume that it was also the plan in 2010, but we'll never know. I figured Coker would not be tossing up 150 and 2TD's on us as he has been want to do the past four weeks, but I did not anticipate him being held to 57 yards on 21 carries. So when the fourth quarter came and Vanderbeek was playing from behind he started making bad reads and crappy throws.
Why were Iowa fans booing our injured players?
Because they're a bunch of whiners.
Seriously though, I'm not going back to rewatch the game to count up this number, but there were a lot of injuries that magically were fixable in 2-3 plays. At this point there might be a hint of truth to the injury fairy, because this happened at Nebraska too. More likely is that it's November and this defense is tired and dinged up. Genuinely hurt without a doubt yesterday though were Gholston and Dennard, hope they heal up soon.
Is this becoming a rivalry game?
Would you go with adouble reverse pass off a reverse (thanks to @Baylan295 for finding that error) Keshawn Martin pass up 31-7 on someone you liked? What about faking a field goal three plays later? What about having Marvin McNutt throw a pass to Iowa's drug lord DJK in 2010 in the fourth quarter up 37-6? Make no mistake about it, there is bad blood brewing between Iowa and MSU. That plus all of the new offensive business from Roushar leads me to believe this was the second most important regular season game to this staff to win. BTW Pop Psychology thought, Iowa doesn't creep back in if we don't run the trickeration.
Bowl Outlook: I don't think we fall any farther than Cap One Bowl now. If we win out, we play for the Big Ten title in Indy and if we lose that game we're likely Cap One Bowl Bound. Our likely Big Ten Title game opponent? Wisconsin.
Spartans, this is about as good as it gets. Enjoy.
So we have a couple of outstanding monkeys under Dantonio now and then I think we're good on monkey control. One, we need to win a bowl game. Two, we need to beat Nebraska at all as twitter follower MSUAlum2002 pointed out. The first is "more concerning" than the second, although, neither is worrisome yet.
How good was Kirk Cousins day yesterday? His passer rating was 160.5 and the only B10 game he had a higher one against was Wisconsin. It was his third best away game ever after 2010 Michigan and 2010 Penn State.
Why was our road offense so improved this week? Honestly, I saw plays I haven't seen this year yet. I saw several draw plays including Bell's 35 yard touchdown run. Also, I think the formation where the 3 WR lined up in a shallow diagonal to the right of the line and Cousins rolled right was new. Further, I think using Bell as the starter with Baker as the change of pace back worked perfectly. Bell got yardage early so Roushar didn't abandon the run too early and then the pressure was off Baker when he came into the game. I believe Michigan State is undefeated when LeVeon Bell gets 15 carries.
How did we hold Iowa's Offense down so well? Well, simply put, Vanderbeek isn't as good a Quarterback as he was in Varsity Blues, knowing full well a win put them in the catbird's seat to win the Rotel Division he opted for the simple life.
So MSU turned their attentions to stopping Iowa's run game and made Vanderbeek win the game on his arm. This was MSU's defensive gameplan against Iowa in 2009 and I assume that it was also the plan in 2010, but we'll never know. I figured Coker would not be tossing up 150 and 2TD's on us as he has been want to do the past four weeks, but I did not anticipate him being held to 57 yards on 21 carries. So when the fourth quarter came and Vanderbeek was playing from behind he started making bad reads and crappy throws.
Why were Iowa fans booing our injured players?
Because they're a bunch of whiners.
Seriously though, I'm not going back to rewatch the game to count up this number, but there were a lot of injuries that magically were fixable in 2-3 plays. At this point there might be a hint of truth to the injury fairy, because this happened at Nebraska too. More likely is that it's November and this defense is tired and dinged up. Genuinely hurt without a doubt yesterday though were Gholston and Dennard, hope they heal up soon.
Is this becoming a rivalry game?
Would you go with a
Bowl Outlook: I don't think we fall any farther than Cap One Bowl now. If we win out, we play for the Big Ten title in Indy and if we lose that game we're likely Cap One Bowl Bound. Our likely Big Ten Title game opponent? Wisconsin.
Spartans, this is about as good as it gets. Enjoy.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Game Preview: Iowa
Somewhere near Iowa City...
The doorbell rings, Kirk Ferentz sets down his drink and pauses his VHS copy of Remo Williams:The Adventure Begins as he walks to the door. He opens the door and there stands Mark Dantonio. They shake hands, each trying to squeeze the other's hand more firmly and Ferentz invites him in. Ferentz invites Dantonio into the study, leatherbound copies of books like "What Color is Your Parachute?" and "Who Moved My Cheese?" line the walls. He motions for Mark to sit. Mark begins to sit and Ferentz says "AH! I did not say Simon Says."
Remo Williams'ed!
Ferentz pours himself a drink and then offers one to Dantonio. Dantonio accepts then Ferentz yells "NO DRINKING IN OUR HOUSE!". Ferentz throws the highballs against the walls and they smash littering glass all over all the room. "Remo Williams'ed!" Ferentz draws his gaze slowly to Dantonio and says "Do you know why I've invited you here tonight Mark?" Dantonio sensing mortal danger, quietly replies "No." Ferentz says, "Us Iowa fans hate you Mark Dantonio, Remo Williams hates you Mark Dantonio, do you know why we hate you Mark Dantonio?" Dantonio replies with the glare, but says nothing.
"Mark, you're here because you sir are a hypocrite. You claim to not poach other team's players and yet you came in and stole David Barrent right from our backyard?" Mark quietly replies, "Much like you stole Cedric Everson from ours on signing day? Or Mikail McCall last year?" Ferentz adds a shade of red and circles back around "What about letting Chris Rucker out of jail to play in the Iowa game? That's not exactly zero tolerance is it?" Mark sighs heavily and says "You're right Kirk, that was a mistake and I shouldn't have done it. Particularly since by the time he entered the game we were down 17-0. It was bad enough that I sacrificed my morals, but to sacrifice my morals and lose 37-6 was ridiculous." Ferentz leans back and and finishes his highball of scotch. He pours another and looks at Dantonio. "I think that's about it here Mark. We'll see you on the field Saturday. Let me walk you out." Ferentz finishes his drink and they walk out to the foyer.
Dantonio asks who the cab company is around Iowa City and do they have actual vehicles or do they use Chuckwagons? Ferentz replies "It's ok Mark, ole Remo, I mean uh, Kirk can give you a ride home." Together they climb in and Dantonio says "This is great, I have a copy of the Remo Williams TV show for you at the hotel, I forgot to bring it with me, now I don't have to bring it to the stadium on Saturday." Ferentz pulls up to the Motel 6 and right there are two of Iowa City's finest. Dantonio motions to them and they come over with a breathalyzer, Ferentz blows a .10, just like Rucker. Dantonio smiles and walks into the Hotel.
This blog has been getting a LOT of Iowa based traffic this week, it should be noted that I was not in favor of Rucker playing in the Iowa game last year. First offense was one thing, a second ZERO TOLERANCE offense is inexcusable. Further, I do not think drunk driving is funny. What I do think is funny is how completely up in arms much of the Iowa fanbase is about how thuggy our program is. It comes across as hating us for our freedoms.
Iowa Passing Attack vs MSU Pass Defense
Iowa QB James Vanderbeek sits in third place on the Big Ten passing efficiency list. With an 18 TD to 4 INT ratio he represents as big a pocket challenge as Russell Wilson was. Making the task easier for our defense is that he can't run like Wilson can. Last week MarQueis Gray tore apart the MSU passing defense by hitting holes in the zone. On paper, our passing defense should have this under control and as long as the D doesn't get hung out to dry again, they will.
Advantage: MSU
Iowa Rushing Attack vs MSU Rush Defense
Iowa Running Back Marcus Coker has come on strong in the past few weeks averaging 174 yards and 2 TDs a game. He also appears to be the only dude carrying the ball. Our rushing defense has been holding rushing offense 80 yards under their season average in Big Ten play. So the real question becomes "Is 95 yards and a TD going to generate enough offensive production to beat MSU?" only Dr. Jekyll and Mr Cousins can really answer that.
Advantage: MSU
MSU Passing Attack vs Iowa Pass Defense
It will come as no surprise to MSU fans that here is where I get a bit nervy about Cousins. His road performances have never been stellar and particularly not against Cover 2 type defenses. Add to that three injured tight ends and well, this starts to look a bit more frightening. Still, Dantonio took the step of closing off player access this week to encourage time for Cousins to crawl out of his own head. But still, I need to see to believe.
Advantage: Iowa
MSU Rushing Attack vs Iowa Rush Defense
This isn't your typical Iowa rushing defense with the scary D-Line and NFL LBers in it. Which makes me hopeful. Still we are ranked dead last in rushing. Which makes me sad face.
Advantage: Iowa
Overall: Iowa has lost both of it's trophy games this year and does not play Wisconsin. So I took the liberty of creating one for both of our teams. Hopefully, this will aid MSU in their quest.
MSU hasn't won at Kinnick since 1989. That's a long time, my life in 1989 consisted of eating cheetos and playing Megaman 2. The combination of Iowa's rich tradition of whipping our ass in Iowa and Cousin's road nerves do not give me confidence in winning this game, despite the fact it is winnable. So, we'll hope for the best and prepare for the worst.
MSU 17 Iowa 28.
Editor's Note: I kept accidently typing 38 instead of 28. Hope that's not a bad sign.
The doorbell rings, Kirk Ferentz sets down his drink and pauses his VHS copy of Remo Williams:The Adventure Begins as he walks to the door. He opens the door and there stands Mark Dantonio. They shake hands, each trying to squeeze the other's hand more firmly and Ferentz invites him in. Ferentz invites Dantonio into the study, leatherbound copies of books like "What Color is Your Parachute?" and "Who Moved My Cheese?" line the walls. He motions for Mark to sit. Mark begins to sit and Ferentz says "AH! I did not say Simon Says."
Remo Williams'ed!
Ferentz pours himself a drink and then offers one to Dantonio. Dantonio accepts then Ferentz yells "NO DRINKING IN OUR HOUSE!". Ferentz throws the highballs against the walls and they smash littering glass all over all the room. "Remo Williams'ed!" Ferentz draws his gaze slowly to Dantonio and says "Do you know why I've invited you here tonight Mark?" Dantonio sensing mortal danger, quietly replies "No." Ferentz says, "Us Iowa fans hate you Mark Dantonio, Remo Williams hates you Mark Dantonio, do you know why we hate you Mark Dantonio?" Dantonio replies with the glare, but says nothing.
"Mark, you're here because you sir are a hypocrite. You claim to not poach other team's players and yet you came in and stole David Barrent right from our backyard?" Mark quietly replies, "Much like you stole Cedric Everson from ours on signing day? Or Mikail McCall last year?" Ferentz adds a shade of red and circles back around "What about letting Chris Rucker out of jail to play in the Iowa game? That's not exactly zero tolerance is it?" Mark sighs heavily and says "You're right Kirk, that was a mistake and I shouldn't have done it. Particularly since by the time he entered the game we were down 17-0. It was bad enough that I sacrificed my morals, but to sacrifice my morals and lose 37-6 was ridiculous." Ferentz leans back and and finishes his highball of scotch. He pours another and looks at Dantonio. "I think that's about it here Mark. We'll see you on the field Saturday. Let me walk you out." Ferentz finishes his drink and they walk out to the foyer.
Dantonio asks who the cab company is around Iowa City and do they have actual vehicles or do they use Chuckwagons? Ferentz replies "It's ok Mark, ole Remo, I mean uh, Kirk can give you a ride home." Together they climb in and Dantonio says "This is great, I have a copy of the Remo Williams TV show for you at the hotel, I forgot to bring it with me, now I don't have to bring it to the stadium on Saturday." Ferentz pulls up to the Motel 6 and right there are two of Iowa City's finest. Dantonio motions to them and they come over with a breathalyzer, Ferentz blows a .10, just like Rucker. Dantonio smiles and walks into the Hotel.
This blog has been getting a LOT of Iowa based traffic this week, it should be noted that I was not in favor of Rucker playing in the Iowa game last year. First offense was one thing, a second ZERO TOLERANCE offense is inexcusable. Further, I do not think drunk driving is funny. What I do think is funny is how completely up in arms much of the Iowa fanbase is about how thuggy our program is. It comes across as hating us for our freedoms.
Iowa Passing Attack vs MSU Pass Defense
Iowa QB James Vanderbeek sits in third place on the Big Ten passing efficiency list. With an 18 TD to 4 INT ratio he represents as big a pocket challenge as Russell Wilson was. Making the task easier for our defense is that he can't run like Wilson can. Last week MarQueis Gray tore apart the MSU passing defense by hitting holes in the zone. On paper, our passing defense should have this under control and as long as the D doesn't get hung out to dry again, they will.
Advantage: MSU
Iowa Rushing Attack vs MSU Rush Defense
Iowa Running Back Marcus Coker has come on strong in the past few weeks averaging 174 yards and 2 TDs a game. He also appears to be the only dude carrying the ball. Our rushing defense has been holding rushing offense 80 yards under their season average in Big Ten play. So the real question becomes "Is 95 yards and a TD going to generate enough offensive production to beat MSU?" only Dr. Jekyll and Mr Cousins can really answer that.
Advantage: MSU
MSU Passing Attack vs Iowa Pass Defense
It will come as no surprise to MSU fans that here is where I get a bit nervy about Cousins. His road performances have never been stellar and particularly not against Cover 2 type defenses. Add to that three injured tight ends and well, this starts to look a bit more frightening. Still, Dantonio took the step of closing off player access this week to encourage time for Cousins to crawl out of his own head. But still, I need to see to believe.
Advantage: Iowa
MSU Rushing Attack vs Iowa Rush Defense
This isn't your typical Iowa rushing defense with the scary D-Line and NFL LBers in it. Which makes me hopeful. Still we are ranked dead last in rushing. Which makes me sad face.
Advantage: Iowa
Overall: Iowa has lost both of it's trophy games this year and does not play Wisconsin. So I took the liberty of creating one for both of our teams. Hopefully, this will aid MSU in their quest.
MSU hasn't won at Kinnick since 1989. That's a long time, my life in 1989 consisted of eating cheetos and playing Megaman 2. The combination of Iowa's rich tradition of whipping our ass in Iowa and Cousin's road nerves do not give me confidence in winning this game, despite the fact it is winnable. So, we'll hope for the best and prepare for the worst.
MSU 17 Iowa 28.
Editor's Note: I kept accidently typing 38 instead of 28. Hope that's not a bad sign.
Friday, November 11, 2011
Iowa: Friday Morning Youtubin'!
Normally this is where I show a bunch of videos of us beating up on the opposing team, but seriously let's kick these guys asses. If I have an axe to grind with anyone it's Iowa.
And for all the whining about Iowan Dantonio Impropriety
And for all the whining about Iowan Dantonio Impropriety
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Mob Justice Is Served; It's Time to Let Them Be
Note: i finished this article around 12:30 last night, but decided not to post because PSU fans were rioting at the time. Since, Dan Wetzel has penned an eerily similar column at yahoo. Peep it here, after you finish this of course.
Last Friday November 4th here were some of the storylines for PSU football.
Scout.com Player to Watch: Devon Still
A QB Controversy
The season-long narrative was filled with the typical Joe Paterno talk of retirement, how much is he actually coaching the team, etc. Then late Friday, the Altoona Mirror amongst other media outlets broke the Jerry Sandusky Story. Last night, Joe Paterno after sixty-one years and five tumultous days Joe Paterno was fired.
The things that always hurt the most in life are the ones you don't see coming. When people die in accidents, friends lose a baby they were getting ready to meet, the truly unexpected. Joe Paterno was a man who won in an exemplary fashion at Penn State, donated millions to both Penn State and the Special Olympics and coached over 1500 men at Penn State. He has done good works for the people of his community and the community of College Football. No one would have expected that ole Joe could have turned a blind-eye to what Sandusky was up to.
Yet, it's become increasingly apparent that's what's happened here. The Grand Jury Report indicates Paterno was notified explicitly of the situation and reported it to his superiors. Legally, he appears to have covered his ass, but in the court of public opinion that doesn't mean squat. He didn't follow-up, he didn't do anything and Jerry Sandusky was working out on campus as recently as last week. Joe didn't do enough and neither did any of the other key decision makers at Penn State and for that they had to go. As they should.
Tonight the mob got it's justice and the key decision makers at Penn State have been removed except maybe Curley, but he'll get fired too. There will be other firings as time goes by and more details come out, more victims will come forward. The magnitude of awful attached to this story might not grow more, it might grow a lot more, we don't know.
A college buddy of mine was attending Virginia Tech when those shootings happened a few years ago. I had e-mailed to see if he was ok and luckily he was, but he had acquaintances who were killed that day. Within two days, he wrote that the only thing that would let that community heal is for them to be left alone. This is true at Penn State as well.
The mob justice has been served. It's time for the national focus to leave Penn State be so they can start focusing on the people who really matter in this: the victims. There are a number of children who will need lots of care and love in the next few months as their very intensely private matters become very public. As people living 500 miles away there's not much we can do for those victims, but perhaps we can all become a bit more vigilant in our neighborhoods.
It's time for us non Penn Staters to leave so the community can start putting itself back together and trusting each other again. When your Big Ten brethren see you on the field again, we'll be ready for a tough game of football. Hell, we might even commit some unsportsmanlike conduct penalties so you don't feel left out. Take your time, we'll be here for you.
Last Friday November 4th here were some of the storylines for PSU football.
Scout.com Player to Watch: Devon Still
A QB Controversy
The season-long narrative was filled with the typical Joe Paterno talk of retirement, how much is he actually coaching the team, etc. Then late Friday, the Altoona Mirror amongst other media outlets broke the Jerry Sandusky Story. Last night, Joe Paterno after sixty-one years and five tumultous days Joe Paterno was fired.
The things that always hurt the most in life are the ones you don't see coming. When people die in accidents, friends lose a baby they were getting ready to meet, the truly unexpected. Joe Paterno was a man who won in an exemplary fashion at Penn State, donated millions to both Penn State and the Special Olympics and coached over 1500 men at Penn State. He has done good works for the people of his community and the community of College Football. No one would have expected that ole Joe could have turned a blind-eye to what Sandusky was up to.
Yet, it's become increasingly apparent that's what's happened here. The Grand Jury Report indicates Paterno was notified explicitly of the situation and reported it to his superiors. Legally, he appears to have covered his ass, but in the court of public opinion that doesn't mean squat. He didn't follow-up, he didn't do anything and Jerry Sandusky was working out on campus as recently as last week. Joe didn't do enough and neither did any of the other key decision makers at Penn State and for that they had to go. As they should.
Tonight the mob got it's justice and the key decision makers at Penn State have been removed except maybe Curley, but he'll get fired too. There will be other firings as time goes by and more details come out, more victims will come forward. The magnitude of awful attached to this story might not grow more, it might grow a lot more, we don't know.
A college buddy of mine was attending Virginia Tech when those shootings happened a few years ago. I had e-mailed to see if he was ok and luckily he was, but he had acquaintances who were killed that day. Within two days, he wrote that the only thing that would let that community heal is for them to be left alone. This is true at Penn State as well.
The mob justice has been served. It's time for the national focus to leave Penn State be so they can start focusing on the people who really matter in this: the victims. There are a number of children who will need lots of care and love in the next few months as their very intensely private matters become very public. As people living 500 miles away there's not much we can do for those victims, but perhaps we can all become a bit more vigilant in our neighborhoods.
It's time for us non Penn Staters to leave so the community can start putting itself back together and trusting each other again. When your Big Ten brethren see you on the field again, we'll be ready for a tough game of football. Hell, we might even commit some unsportsmanlike conduct penalties so you don't feel left out. Take your time, we'll be here for you.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)