The SoapBoxers

I have been focusing on Pennsylvania State issues the last couple of weeks, so I will touch briefly on that today ( we will be on this topic I am sure for many months if not longer) but will also take time to hit some other sports highlights happening around the globe.

Mike McQueary conducted an interview with CBS the other day. He indicated in that interview that he did go to police – and spoke to the official in charge of campus policy….and that he “broke up” the alleged incident in the showers involving a young boy and Sandusky.

Sandusky in a separate interview maintains his complete innocence and that he was wrong in showering with boys, hugging them, and participating in “horseplay”

The New York Times has also reported another 10 victims alleging that they had inappropriate contact with Sandusky have come forward, and that police are further investigating these recent developments.

The saga will continue.

With all apologies to Kosmo, I will talk a bit about Major League baseball.

Justin Verlander was named the unanimous American League Cy Young Winner. He won the equivalent of the leagues Triple Crown for pitching. He led the American League in wins with 24, Earned Run Average with 2.40 and Strikeouts with 251. Only two other players have accomplished this feat in the modern era and gone on to win the Cy Young Award and the MVP award. They are Denny McClain and Vida Blue . Doubt that Verlander will win the MVP as the baseball writers today would think that voting for anyone other than an offensive player for MVP would be an atrocity.

Meanwhile down under in Australia, the President Cup Matches pitting USA golfers against members of the “world” (players not from countries that can play in Ryder Cup Matches for the European team) are getting ready to get after it.

One of the biggest controversies was Captain Fred Couples selection of Tiger Woods. Woods since all of his off the golf course issues, has been colder than a TV Dinner in isle eight at your local grocery store.

Woods showed a glimmer of light on the radar screen with a third place finish last week. To add some spark to the matches, he will be playing last in the Thursday Foursomes matches he will be paired with Steve Stricker and they will take on K.J. Choi, and (gulp) Adam Scott.

Scott has employed former Woods Caddy Steve Williams. There has been numerous words of attrition in the news, twitter, the golf channel and any other avenue possible between Tiger and Steve Williams. This will likely not turn into anything, but it adds some punch to the news story that the President Cup Matches need in order to be considered significant.

Good Luck USA in the Presidents CUP!

Until next time, stay classy, Ann Arbor Michigan.

About a month ago, I had the idea to develop a line of apparel for the electoral college – celebrating the (non-existent) academic and extra-curricular departments within the college.

I ran the idea past a bunch of people.  Nearly everyone liked the idea.  I’m always juggling a lot of ideas at the same time, but I had enough positive feedback to greenlight this idea.

Since my art schools are best described as “pre-kindergarten”, the first step was to work with a graphic designer.  I chose Peter of LogosForWebsites.com.  Not surprisingly, Peter’s specialty is designing logos for websites.  I made initial contact with him to verify that his graphics would work for apparel (the biggest issue being the physical size of the image).  He assured me that this was not a problem and told me that he’d be able to get started on a certain date.

I spent a few more days fleshing out the design elements.  Then I went back to LogosForWebsites, paid for the logo, and handed off the specs to Peter.  Peter quickly responded, letting me know that a few people had skipped ahead of me in line by paying for their logo after I had made my initial contact with him.  That’s perfectly fair.  The other people paid, so they deserved to jump ahead of me.

Peter was able to quickly develop the logo, with minimal revisions.  I was quite happy with the logo. Peter is very easy to work with and has very good turnaround times.

I slapped the logo onto a shirt and developed about 15 different designs – Electoral College Intramural Luge, Athletic Department, Cheerleading, Glee Club, etc.

I chose Zazzle over its competitors mostly because it’s very easy to create similar designs by simply changing the text.  This was a big requirement – I can spin up a new design in about a minute.

Within the first week, we had sold five shirts.  In the interest of full disclosure, I’ll point out that I bought two shirts, Lazy Man bought two, and Martin Kelly bought one.  Still, there was good buzz building, and I was confident of some future sales, especially as the election drew near. I thought the shirts turned out well, and the quality (Hanes) of the actual shirts was good.

About a week later, it came crashing down.  Zazzle yanked my designs after a complaint from a trademark holder.  Did my logo too closely resemble another logo?  No – it was removed because it contained the text “Electoral College”. 

Yes, someone has a trademark on the use of the term “Electoral College” on t-shirts and other apparel (here’s the info on the patent and trademark web site.)

I  was stunned.  Electoral colleges date back to the first millennium A.D.  How could someone trademark a common, everyday term and exclude anyone else from using it on a t-shirt?  I wasn’t the only one to have designs pulled from Zazzle.  Some of the other designs merely mention the term on the text of the shirt.

I was greatly  annoyed at what I considered to be an abuse of the system, but I went back to the drawing board.  I asked Peter if he could tweak the logo to remove the text Electoral College from it and create a few versions of the new designs. Within an hour (I said he was fast), I was ready to go again.

I put up new designs on the site.  This time, the college in question was Electoral State.

Then I did something to test Zazzle.  Within the item descriptions, I referred to the school as Electoral State College and within the “tags” (search criteria), I use Electoral College.  You’ll note that the trademark is quite limited in scope, and I’d argue that neither of these uses violates the trademark.

Within days, the design had been yanked again.  When I made my case to Zazzle, the response was that I was not allowed to use the term “electoral college” in the image, text, description, or tags.  They seem to be granting the complaining party far more rights than the trademark itself conveys.  This seems strange, since I’m a customer and the complaining party is not.

I’ve put up a new set of designs, without using the offending text in the descriptions or tags.  Perhaps the third time’s the charm, but the dream has lost much of its shine at this point.  One thing is for certain – if Zazzle yanks these designs, I’m closing down the shop and going elsewhere. It’s even possible that they’ll throw me out because of my contentious responses. I stay professional in the responses, but take a very adversarial tone.

Where can you find my designs?  Go to ElectoralCollegeGear.com.  Wherever I end up (Zazzle or somewhere else), this URL will redirect to the current store.  Want a shirt for the underwater basket weaving team instead of the cheerleading squad?  Click the customize button to easily change the text.

This year I have again challenged my readers to join in the writing frenzy known as the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo.org). This year, my attempts have been an abject failure. The goal of the challenge is to capture 50,000 words towards a novel in the 30 days of November. We are at the half way point and we should be at 25,000 words. I am just shy of 10,000. I have thrown away two weekends that should have provided the time to get ahead of the curve. My only chance of meeting the goal is to use the time off that I have planned for Thanksgiving.

I have written several articles on how to stay focused, break through writer’s block, and various writing techniques. I have failed to heed my own advice. The cares of the world (work, family, yard work) have interrupted my writing and my chain of thought. The weekend days, those days that should provide the best opportunity for writing, have been the very days I have not written at all. I certainly hope that each of you has fared better.

So if I cannot really write about writing today, I have another topic to bring up. As most of you who have read my other articles are aware, I am a college and professional football (American) fan. I have an observation, not just from this weekend, but an over all consideration for the season. Both at the collegiate level and the professional level, effort are underway to make the game safer by implementing a helmet to helmet contact rule. What I have observed in the application of this rule. If the defender lowers his blow to strike the chest or midsection and the offensive player also lowers and initiated the helmet to helmet contact, the defender is flagged.

I understand the difficulty in determining intent or over aggressiveness. In the cases that I thought were incorrectly called, there was no net effect on the game. I believe that they will work out the system, similar to the way they have incorporated a good system for calling spearing (launching oneself head first). I also understand that the officials are erring on the side of safety. There is one part of this rule that I like, fines are assessed on players even if there is no penalty during the game. This action will teach the players that even if they get away with a dangerous hit during the game, reviews will still result in corrective action after the fact.

I diverged from writing to write about sports. I should return to writing. I hope that you do too.

By now all of you are well aware of the situation at Penn State. Paterno has been fired, Spanier canned, replacements – – albeit likely temporarily named.

By all accounts there is still a football game to play this weekend.

Nebraska Athletic director has called for increased security to protect Nebraska fans who are travelling there.

According to remarks from NU Regent Tim Clare “Happy Valley is a pretty interesting place on a normal football Saturday,” Clare said. “Given what’s developed the last several days, particularly last night, we have a duty to ensure that our football student-athletes, staff, coaches and our fans are safe.”

And…while that game may pale in comparison to the bigger story going on at State College. ESPN has their announcing team in place for the game this weekend.

This was the topic of lunchroom conversation at work this week. Who would ABC/ESPN bring in to cover this game? Who would WANT to cover this game. There could be many moments of awkwardness. I would even venture to say that this is the most bizarre setting for a football game since the Army vs. Navy game played a mere week after the assassination of President John F Kennedy.

Well the choice of the crew to do the game day coverage is interesting to say the least.

Don’t envy this job for these guys. The setting is strange, emotions are high, there could be countless things (or absolutely nothing) happen this weekend. I think it is anyone’s best guess as to what side stories will develop during, and after the matchup between the Huskers and Nittany Lions.

Not surprisingly Tom Rinaldi is going to be at the game. He has been covering most of the story for ESPN all week so it would seem natural that he would remain “in house” and likely add some bit stories during the telecast. I just hope that ESPN does not do what ESPN often does…..try to create some sort of Emmy award winning documentary situation with every little side story that gets talked about. My only concern with Rinaldi being there is that ESPN will want to be the story, the off- field stuff will continue to get top billing and the game coverage will be a complete afterthought.

Chris Spielman will be the color analyst for the game. Spielman is one of my favorites as he has straight-forward comments, mainly stemming from his status as a great player in college (he was a two time All American at Ohio State) and his time in the NFL. I always enjoy his commentary and his presence is normally good for any telecast. Interestingly ( and not surprisingly, Jerry Sandusky recruited Speilman to play college football at Penn State. I always enjoy his commentary and his presence is normally good for any telecast.

Dave Pasch will be the play by play person covering the game for ESPN. Pasch is most noted in the broadcasting world as being the voice of the Arizona Cardinals. Pasch has reportedly reached out to some fellow broadcasters such as Bob Costas, Mike Tirico and Sean McDonogh about preparing for the strange setting at Beaver Stadium this weekend. I think Pasch may have more trouble juggling the fact that he has not one, but two colors guys in the booth this week. The other being former Florida Coach, Urban Meyer.

The only reason I can explain that Meyer is at this game is that it is a “interview” process for taking over the head coaching job at Penn State. It has long been speculated that “Urb” was the heir apparent to Paterno – if and when Joe decided to hang up the black Riddel coaching cleats. Well the time frame just got moved up….. Meyer will have the chance to be at the pulse of the situation, doing a broadcast of the most unusual of circumstances, and if all goes well, it would be a huge Public Relations boon for Meyer if he looks to move into the spot as Top Lion.

Shame on ESPN for putting Meyer on this game. But it just proves to all of the conspiracy theorists out there that when it comes to football in particular, and it does not matter if it is NFL or College, ESPN has a far reaching spread of influence that borderlines on monopolistic.

My bet is Meyer will get “ a blank check” at the end of the year to coach at Penn St. This will be his first opportunity to shine in the midst of the current maelstrom.

Let’s all hope for a safe and good game this weekend in light of all that has gone on this week.

Until next time, stay classy Gainesville, Florida

It’s election day today. I voted, as I almost always do. [Editor’s note: Zarberg wrote this article on Tuesday.]  This year my home town actually had mayor, 4 school board, and 5 town council slots up for grabs, as well as a referendum on a .25% sales tax – that’s 1/4 of a penny on every dollar. I voted for the tax increase. Groceries, gas, and a few other “necessary” items are exempt, so it shouldn’t really effect lower class people. In addition, the extra money will go to preventing layoffs in the public school system. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not for raising taxes, but I do see them as something that’s necessary in a country where a lot of necessities are missing. In addition, it’s a county tax so it’s not like most of you will ever have to pay it (and if you do, stop by and say hi – I live on the northwest corner of Chapel Hill.) Regardless, I’ve heard statistics from the area that about 20% of registered voters actually voted today. Kind of depressing considering the polarization in politics – makes me think a lot of that polarization is media driven simply for the purpose of boosting revenue.

Anyway, being that it’s November and Thanksgiving is coming up, I started thinking about the holiday season and the infamous Black Friday. Your average shopper that day will go to a mall, spend hundreds – perhaps thousands – of dollars at a store that will give almost nothing back to the local economy and send its profits overseas. Those shoppers will head home after shopping and burning gas and essentially they’ll just have given a lot of money to a large, monolithic, corporatocracy. I got thinking about what people could do that day to not be part of the cattle drive but still be in the holiday spirit and/or get shopping done.

First and foremost, if at all possible, shop local. Take a few hours on the web and find out what non-chain stores are near you. Do NOT use shoplocal.com – that’s simply a listing of what massive corporate stores are near you. http://sustainableconnections.org/thinklocal/why is a good starting point. Gift certificates to local restaurants and venues make a great gift and give a lot more back to your community than something from Walmart or Target – same with gift certificates for local entertainment like mini-golf, ski centers, bowling alleys, and the like. Want to really stick it to big oil? Stay home that day. Have leftovers, watch football, and shop online. Sweatfree.org  is a great site for fair trade shopping. Remember, Walmart reduces employee healthcare simply to satisfy stockholders (generally the 1%) and their officers – we’re talking about a company that reported a 3.5 BILLION dollar profit in 2010, and they claim health care costs are squeezing them.

The whole point of “boycotting” is to show the companies that ship their profits and jobs offshore that we’re not going to spend our money on them any more. These are the same companies that are spending billions a year in lobbying to get government to give them more tax breaks and look the other way when they announce layoffs. These companies were built on the backs of Americans, using our roads, sewers, electricity, and now they’re putting their profit above all else. While you pure capitalist folks might be ok with that, I’m not, I call it greed by any other name.

Me? I plan to buy some bottled water, some hand warmers and drive them down to my local “Occupy” to give to the folks there. I work 40+ hours a week to support both myself and my spouse who has health issues, otherwise I’d be right there protesting with them. After that I’m coming home to eat some leftover turkey and watch some football.

This is our third article on the topic of Jerry Sandusky’s arrest and the subsequent impact on Penn State.  That’s a lot of virtual ink for our little publication to give to one story.  However, nearly every writer on the staff is a pretty big sports fan, and this is one of the biggest sports-related stories in recent years – it warrants considerable coverage.  You might even see 1-2 more stories today, as I sent a couple of emails late last night soliciting articles responding to the breaking events.

Last night, heads began to roll, as Joe Paterno was fired after 46 years as head coach at Penn State and university president Graham Spanier was also fired.  I doubt these will be the only people fired. 

Here are some questions about the scandal.  These are presented as they pop into my head, and are not intended to be in order of importance.

What are the rioters thinking?

I understand the mindset of sports fans.  I’m a huge sports fan myself.  I spend much more time thinking about how to abolish the designated hitter than I do comparing the tax plans of Ron Paul and Herman Cain.

However, when the same news story involves kids getting raped and a coach getting fired, the coach is not the victim.  Focus on the kids.

What did Graham Spanier know?

Spanier insists that he knows nothing.  But if he really knew nothing, would he have been fired?  If he was fired without just cause, he’d have a great case for a wrongful termination lawsuit.  I can’t imaging that the trustees would be dumb enough to walk into a lawsuit.  (However, I’ve been wrong about that sort of thing before – sometimes state officials really ARE that dumb).

Interestingly, Spanier is president of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS).  If he is removed from this role, will this cause any changes to the BCS?

What did McQueary Tell Paterno?

There’s a discrepancy here.  McQueary says that he told Paterno the details of the shower encounter between Jerry Sandusky and the young boy.  When Paterno spoke with Athletic Director Tim Curley, he says that McQueary told him that Sandusky was fondling the boy or doing something of a sexual nature.

Was Paterno downplaying Sandusky’s activities?  Is McQueary lying?  Is Paterno lying?  Was there a misunderstanding?

However, the point becomes a bit moot when you consider that McQueary then met with Curley and VP Schultz (in charge of the campus police).  Regardless of what Paterno told Curley, McQueary had the opportunity to give his full story to Curley during that meeting.

Why didn’t McQueary stop the assault?

That’s a great question.  The only thing I can say in his defense is that perhaps he was in shock and temporarily lost the ability to make good decisions.

Why didn’t anyone go to the cops?

Another great question.  I heard Mike and Mike on ESPN raise a good point on this issue.  VP Schultz was in charge of the campus police.  Perhaps McQueary and Paterno saw his involvement as police involvement.

It would have been better, of course, to go to the police.

Why did Sandusky have access to university facilities?

Finally, an easy question.  He negotiated a status of coach emeritus, which gave him access to the facilities.

Why did Sandusky retire?

Sandusky stepped down in 1999 shortly after Paterno told him he would not become head coach at Penn State.  The official reason for Paterno’s proclamation was that Sandusky was spending too much time with his charity, and would thus would not be able to devote sufficient time to a head coaching role.

Is is possible that Paterno’s real reason was that he knew what Sandusky was doing and didn’t want to put a pedophile in the head coaching role.  (Isn’t it also interesting that the sitting head coach is making decisions on the future coach instead of the Athletic Director?)

Is it possible that Sandusky’s frustration at losing his shot at the head coaching job served as a trigger to his criminal activities?

Did Sandusky create The Second Mile charity just to troll for victims?

That’s a scary thought, isn’t it?

Where’s the grand jury report?

http://www.attorneygeneral.gov/uploadedFiles/Press/Sandusky-Grand-Jury-Presentment.pdf

It’s raining and snowing today in Iowa – with a nasty windy making the weather even less pleasant.  Winter is right around the corner.  Winter is my least favorite time of the year, but there are some creature comforts that can help get you through the winters.  Here’s a list of items you might consider giving to loved ones as a winterizing gift.

(Disclosure: we earn a commission on the sale of any of these items).

	A Kindle.  Whether it’s the $79 model (at left) or the high end $199 Kindle Fire, spending long hours curled up on the couch reading on a Kindle is great way to pass time when there’s a blizzard howling outside.  If you’re not sure which model to buy, I gave my thoughts in a previous article. If you’re the frugal sort, you can justify the cost by looking at the vast amount of public domain works you can download for free. While you’ll pay more for a Kindle version of a book than used paperback, you can also tote around hundreds of books on a Kindle – much lighter than a backpack filled with the paper version.  Also easier on the environment. If you’re looking for a good book to get you started, I’d suggest Lawrence Block’s short story collection, Enough Rope.  This is a massive tome with lots of great stories.  I already own hardcover and paperback versions, and am tempted to buy the Kindle version.
	An electric blanket.  Blanket + Heat = Good.
	Baseball: A Film by Ken Burns.  Nothing screams “warm weather’ like baseball.  Watching this 20+ hour miniseries might make you forget that it’s cold outside.
	Portable DVD player.  Want to watch movies without disturbing everyone else?  Nab a battery-powered DVD player.
	Or, if you have money burning a hole in your pocket, you can drop $2500+ on a 65 inch 3D TV.  Hey, it’s currently $400 off, so you’re basically making money when you buy it.
	I stubbornly cling to the belief that I should be able to remove the season’s snowfall with nothing more than a shovel.  If you’re not bound by such convictions, a snow thrower makes life much easier.  You can spend a little money ($99 for the Toro snow shovel) or a lot ($2000 for a Husqvarna 27 inch two stage model with power steering).
	Always have a set of jumper cables in the trunk of every car you own.  They should last for many years, so resist the temptation to buy the cheapest set.  Buy a good, heavy gauge set (lower number is better).
	Unfortunately, the best jumper cables in the world are useless unless you can get a jump start from another car.  A portable jump-starter doesn’t have that limitation.  It’s a portable, rechargeable device that charges your battery from its own battery.  One caveat – make sure to keep it charged. If you’re constantly having to get a jump start, verify that the problem is the battery (rather than some part of the charging system, such as the alternator) and get the battery replaced.  Most people can replace a battery themselves.  While a battery isn’t exactly cheap, trying to stretch the battery’s life to save a few dollars is a bad idea – as you’ll find out if you get stranded.  Over its life, a battery will likely cost you less than $20 per year.  If you have any concerns that the battery is dying, replace the sucker.
	If you must be outside in the cold, some hand warmers might help you avoid freezing to death.  Buy the 40 pack and have enough to get you through the winter.  Well, through December, maybe.
Electoral College Campus Security by ElectoralCollegeGear See more Electoral college T-Shirts	Picked up a hoodie to stay warm.  With the race for the White House heating up after Christmas, a nice Electoral College themed hoodie might be appropriate.

This is the last hurrah for Penn State Football coach Joe Paterno.

News of the allegations against former football assistant coach Jerry Sandusky permeate the newspapers, talk radio, and the network newscasts. I will not delve into that topic here. There is a grand jury document that can be found doing any reasonable search on line. The information is graphic, horrific and deplorable.

I will not take the time to attempt to “judge” as many are doing right now the rights or wrongs of Joe Paterno in this incident. It is clear he was made aware of a situation. It is clear that he did report the situation to his immediate contacts within the University. What is not clear, and is being questioned is why he did not do more?

Paterno will be forced to leave after this season as the football coach of the Nittany Lions. Some would argue that he would retire this year anyway, as he has finally secured the record for all time wins from College football Icon Eddie Robinson.

Unfortunately this will be the thing that Paterno will be most remembered for in his post coaching days.

We have seen it before. In no way am I trying to compare the severity of incidents between the coaches at these various programs. But legacies can be tarnished based on decisions that are made, and then become debated for years to come.

Woody Hayes was the heart and soul of the Ohio State Buckeyes, had his career end by throwing a punch at a player on the opposing team during a bowl game.

Most of you reading this are too young to remember or know, but Ohio State played Clemson in December of 1978 in the Gator Bowl. Ohio State Quarterback Art Schlichter threw an interception late in the game that was intercepted by Clemson nose tackle Charlie Bauman. Bauman returned the interception to the Ohio State sideline and upon getting back to his feet was punched in the throat by Head Coach Woody Hayes.

Hayes was ejected immediately from the game. He was fired the next day by the University.

Other college coaches have had their legacies tarnished by decisions they made. Nebraska’s Tom Osborne, who won three National Titles is still often most associated with his handling of troubled player Lawrence Phillips.

Phillips started his junior campaign with a bang, leading the Huskers to a large victory at East Lansing, where he led the Huskers with a four touchdown, 200 + yard day on the ground. This instantly vaulted him to the top of the Heisman talk. This lasted about two days as he was arrested for assaulting Kate McEwen, a Nebraska women’s basketball player. He was suspended from the team, but brought back at the end of the season for the bowl game against the Florida Gators. Phillips had a large role in that game, left for the NFL, where he continued to get into various troubles with abuse and assault incidents even after being given chances with a variety of teams.

There are many others, that have not been so eye popping as these. The sex scandals involving Rick Pitino, the University of Colorado Football team, the player shootings at Baylor and even Texas Tech Coach Mike Leach getting fired.

The upcoming weeks and months will be interesting to say the least.

If you are participating in National Novel Writing Month (www.nanowrimo.org), then you should be writing up a storm. By now, you should be at about 10,000 words. I have not been keeping up the pace. Luckily, there are several more weekends and the Thanksgiving Holiday before the end of November. To make the goal of 50,000 words before the end of November, you basically have to keep up a steady pace of writing. Do not allow the every day distractions to keep you from creating a story like now other.

If you are having trouble coming up with ideas, I would suggest looking at the news. There are so many stories available. This weekend alone, the Royal Couple announced they would be moving into a new “family friendly” castle, there was an Earthquake in Oklahoma of all places, and there were plenty of politicians saying silly things. Remember, real life can just provide the setting or characters, your story can go where ever you want.

As I have recommended in the past, you can start each night just recounting your day, from first cup of coffee, to struggling to stay awake while you are writing. This should at the very least get the writing juices going. I you still can’t get going, take a breather. You can always pick it up again tomorrow.

The NaNoWriMo competition is for fun. Writing is for fun as well. If it becomes a chore or a second job, the fun will just drain away and the river of words will dry up. This is a short post today, I have to get back to my novel.

A year after Ohio State’s tattoos-for-trophies scandal, another Big 10 school finds itself in trouble.  This time it is Penn State.  On a day in which they didn’t play a game, they still made the news – in the worst way possible.

Former Nittany Lion defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky – once thought to be the successor to legendary coach Joe Paterno – was arrested Saturday on 40 criminal charges related to alleged sexual abuse of eight boys between 1994 and 2007.  Sandusky met the boys through a non-profit organization called The Second Mile, an organization with this stated mission: “The Second Mile challenges young people to achieve their potential as individuals and community members by providing opportunities for them to develop positive life skills and self-esteem as well as by providing education and support for parents and professionals addressing the needs of youth.”

In addition, two officials with Penn State – including athletic director Tim Curley – also face charges for failing to report allegations to proper authorities.  After a graduate assistant witness one sexual assault, he contacted Joe Paterno, who reported the incident to Curley.  Curley and VP for finance and business Gary Shultz were charged with failure to report and perjury after a grand jury deemed that they had lied while in front of the grand jury.

While Paterno is not accused of any wrongdoing, I do feel that he and the graduate assistant could have taken things a step further by reporting the allegations to the police, as well as to university officials.  This wasn’t an issue of an NCAA violation, but allegations of a serious crime.  For the moment, I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that they reflexively reported it up the chain, just as they report anything else.

This is a good time to reflect that any of US, if we found ourselves in a similar situation, should also report the allegations to the police.  Don’t simply report it to a superior and assume that it was taken care of.  In this case, Sandusky was finally arrested nine years after the graduate assistant first notified Paterno – and the assaults continued for five years after the 2002 incident.

If the allegations against Sandusky are true, then he deserves to spend a long time in jail.

If Athletic Director Curley is guilty of lying to a grand jury, then the best course of action for Penn State would be to fire him.  You don’t want to have people with such poor judgment in positions of power at your university.