Let me first try on something from the Scarlet and Grey closet.  Let me see…perhaps I should go as former Ohio State coach Jim Tressel?  Hmmm, I definitely have enough sweater vests that I could don, but I don’t think I own any that look as horrible as the ones he used to wear.  Take a look, eeh gads!!!:

He’s probably about my height, and I think I can get down the walk.  But, one problem remains, I don’t know how I should portray his ability to inform his players on the best way to liquidate their Big Ten memorabilia?  Do I tell them where the best pawn shop in Columbus is or do I tell them in pig-Latin, “ooh-yay ood-shay o-gay ere-thay.”  Oh, I know, I could tell Ohio State President E. Gordon Gee and he could help us out.  That’s right, he’s not that bright when it comes to speaking is he?  Nah, well, darn it, I’m not sure trying to be Coach Tressel for Halloween is going to work out for me.  I just don’t have the pedigree of treachery and deceit that he has.  It would take me years to learn all of that!  Alas, I’m resigned to finding another costume for the Saturday’s big game!

Perhaps I can go as Woody Hayes!  The man was a football genius, so I fit right in there with that, right?!?!  I definitely have a palpable dislike for the maize and blue.  BTW, I thought maize was a type of corn, not a color?  At any rate, I’m sure I can find a floppy chapeau like his to wear to the game, a cute little beanie for my chrome dome!  My only problem with going as Coach Hayes is my lack of a good uppercut!  I know, Coach Hayes didn’t seem to have one, but it looks like he had a pretty good right cross though, just ask Clemson’s Charlie Bauman.

No matter, I know I could learn some pugilistic techniques at some of the awesome PSU tailgates that will be going on this weekend, so I know I could be a good Woody Hayes.  Well, then again, hand-to-hand combat was never something I was very good at, so perhaps I ought to look in a different direction.  I know…I can go as current Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I do like and respect Coach Meyer because he is very well-versed in teaching football, but even more importantly, he is a man of true faith and places his family values above his coaching desires.  Those are characteristics that I can respect no matter what colors he wears!  However, I do have trouble supporting his adult film industry look!  If you don’t know what I’m talking about, take a look at his appearances as a Colorado State and Ohio State assistant coach.

Doesn’t that just say everything you need to know about coach Meyer before becoming the great and powerful Oz that he is today!  The only thing missing from Coach Meyer in this picture is what his adult film name was.  I could throw out a few, but this is a respectable site, and I don’t want to sully the waters with such minutiae.  So, since I don’t think I want to have to go through my Halloween having to explain why I’m dressed as an adult film star, I think we should just move on shall we?

Maybe trying to go as one an Ohio State coach just isn’t my cup of tea.  I’ve got it, I can go as one of the Penn State coaches.  I guess there aren’t many to choose from.

I could go as former Penn State assistant coach Jerry San…never mind!  Moving on…

Maybe I can go as the winningest division 1 college football coach of all-time.  No, I’m not talking about Bobby Bowden.  He can take his vacated wins and shove them up Renegade’s horsey’s rear end!  I’m talking about former PSU coach Joe Paterno.

Again, I have the glasses but not the Harry Caray Coke-bottle type.  But, dang, trying to go as an octogenarian and in a blue sports jacket is going to be a little difficult fore me to pull off.  I know I can coach the team from my seats in Beaver Stadium about as well as he was the last few years of his tenure in Happy Valley (It doesn’t matter who was really in charge of the team, it was just seeing Joe’s presence on the sidelines that made it all worth while).  My biggest challenge will be trying to pull of his squeaky voice in a Brooklyn accent.  Many have tried, but few have duplicated this awesome feat.  Since I am likely to lose my voice during the big game Saturday night, maybe I should look in one final direction.

Should I go as Coach O’Brien’s friendly ghost?  Well, if I do that, I ‘m going to have to grow a dimple in my chin, shave off my facial hair, and develop a new twitter account, “@reallyreallyevilbillobrien”.  I already have the no-hair thing working, so there’s a plus on my side.  At any rate, my ability to pump up the troops like he does might suffer, and I think I would have to grow a bit taller to be like the genuine article, but none-the-less, the blue and white colors, I think, really fit my style!

Oh drats, it looks like 110,000 of my closest friends have already picked up on the idea to dress in white and go as coach O’Brien’s ghost for Saturday night’s game.  Looks like I’ll just have to blend in with the rest of Nittany Nation and salute the boys in the Blue in White!

Happy Halloween everybody!  Be safe and enjoy Trick or Treating…even if you are from Ohio!

OK, before we take a look at the games we have on tap for week #9, let’s quickly take a look back at how my “prime-3″ games and extra points picks for week#8 fared.

For Full Disclosure:

“Prime-3″ Picks from last week – 3-0 ATS, 3-0 SU.  On the season, my record stands at 12-12 ATS, and 14-10 SU.

Extra Points Picks (ATS) from last week – 15-9-0.  On the season, my record stands at 70-51-2.

…As always, I will try and do better this week!

“Prime-3 Games”:

In this week’s installment of “prime-3″, our attention is drawn to three interesting match-ups that have national as well as personal implications.  We will look at a game pitting two SEC teams, one that involves a church and a Big 12 team, and finally we delve into a titanic clash in the Big Ten.  We will look at some key match-ups in the showdown dubbed the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party involving the #10 Georgia Bulldogs and the #2 Florida Gators.  We then shift our focus to ABC’s prime time tilt between the #5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish as they look to remain unbeaten as they head into Norman Oklahoma to do battle with the #6 Oklahoma Sooners. Finally, we look at a classic that is near and dear to my heart, the Big 33 Clash between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the student-driven Whiteout of the Penn State Nittany Lions.

And, without further ado, let’s get to the “Prime-3″ games!

Multiple sources are confirming that none other than Scarface himself, Al Pacino, is slated to play the late Joe Paterno in a movie based on the recent book “Paterno” written by Joe Posnanski. Posnanski, who spent a year working on the book, was researching in State College when the Sandusky news broke back in November. The book focuses on Joe Paterno as a person and as a coach. It covered much of his career and life.

It’s unclear how much of a role Jerry Sandusky, who is currently awaiting sentencing for child molestation, will play in the movie. Sandusky was certainly a prominent figure in the book and life of Joe Paterno, but his role grew significantly over the last year.

While it’s hard to know exactly how Joe Paterno will be portrayed in the movie, I think it’s good news that Al Pacino will be playing him. If this movie was going to happen, and make no mistake, this was inevitable, I suppose Penn State fans can find solace in the fact that one of the best actors in history will be taking on the task.

Personally, I watch pretty much every Pacino movie that comes out, so at least I won’t have to go out of my way to see this one. I’m interested to see who plays Sue Paterno, as well as Jay and some of the other coaches.

Buckle up, this thing still isn’t going away.

For all of the latest on the Penn State Nittany Lions, follow VBR Lead Editor Tim Tolley on Twitter.

From Bloomberg Businessweek

Bin Hammam’s Life Ban From Soccer Overturned by Sports Court

-Louis Freeh was asked to investigate an allegation that Bin Hammam bribed FIFA voters to support him during his campaign to become the president of FIFA. The allegations came in May of 2011.

-Freeh found Hamman to be guilty of the accusations and FIFA handed down a lifetime ban to the former head of Asian soccer.

-Just this month, the Court of Arbitration for Sport said there was “insufficient evidence” for soccer’s governing body to expel Hammam, saying “The CAS has upheld Mr. Bin Hammam’s appeal, annulled the decision rendered by the FIFA Appeal Committee and lifted the life ban imposed on Mr. Bin Hammam.”

-The CAS stated that “it is a situation of ‘case not proven’, coupled with concern that the FIFA investigation was not complete or comprehensive enough to fill the gaps in the record.” That investigation, again, was conducted by former head of the FBI, Louis Freeh.

———-

From Business Insider

Penn State Investigator Louis Freeh Accused of Heading a Massive Cover-Up As Director of FBI

-The FBI and Department of Justice launched a campaign in the 90′s, headed by Louis Freeh and Janet Reno, to investigate flawed, forensic evidence that could have convicted innocent people.

-”After nine years of working in secret, the unit neither published its reviews of specific cases nor informed potentially innocent defendants or their attorneys.”

-Ex FBI Agent C. Fred Whitehurst: “While I was reporting issues at the FBI crime lab, FBI Director Louis Freeh was doing every thing he could to shut me down including coming at me with proposed criminal charges, referrals for fitness for duty (psych evals), destroying my career, moving me around the lab like a rag doll, ruining my wife’s career…”

-The FBI and Dept. of Justice has re-opened the investigation of those same cases that may have involved flawed evidence as well as the initial task force headed by Freeh and Reno.

———-

From The American Free Press

This was essentially a smear piece on Freeh, but some quotes are worth noting.

-Charles R. Smith of Newsmax in 2002: “FBI Director Louis Freeh oversaw the longest run of FBI public disasters in its entire history.” Smith further explained how Freeh’s compromised role ate away at the very core of this bureau, altering it “from a federal law enforcement agency into a political joke.”

-Howard Gleckman of Business Week: , “[Freeh] has overseen a bureau that has bungled investigations of high-profile criminal cases and repeatedly misled probers and judges in legal procedures.”

-In the 1995 OKC bombing, it was Louis Freeh’s FBI that immediately and intentionally confiscated every videotape from the Alfred P. Murrah federal building after explosions partially destroyed the structure. To this day, they’ve refused to release this crucial evidence that would show who precisely exited the Ryder truck that morning which was parked in front of the building. The most fundamental piece of evidence in this case has been concealed since 1995.

———- 

I’ve been in the process of gathering some information for about a week now and I’ll have a piece ready tomorrow to maybe create some objective thinking. In the meantime, realize that Joe Paterno and The Pennsylvania State University have been dragged through the mud, based solely on inferences by Louis Freeh and his report, without due process.

If Joe Paterno was your father/husband/grandfather, you would probably demand due process, as well.

Here is the entire statement, courtesy of Onward State.

To Whom It May Concern:

On behalf of my clients, the Paterno family, who are the living representatives of Joseph V. Paterno and his estate, we file this notice of intent to appeal the NCAA’s consent decree entered against The Pennsylvania State University. Pursuant to NCAA Bylaw 32.10.1, the Paterno Family notes that the consent decree was publicly released on July 23, 2012. Pursuant to NCAA Bylaws 32.1.5 and 32.10.1.2, Mr. Paterno qualifies as an involved individual because he is named in the NCAA’s consent decree as well as the Freeh report, which provided the alleged factual basis for the consent decree. Finally, pursuant to NCAA Bylaw 32.10.1, the Paterno family requests the opportunity to submit its appeal in writing, and it requests an in-person oral argument before the Infractions Appeals Committee.

The estate undertakes this appeal to redress the enormous damage done to Penn State, the State College community, former, current and future student and student athletes, Joe Paterno and certain others involved, as a result of the unprecedented actions taken by the NCAA.

As will become evident in a thorough and impartial review, the NCAA acted hastily and without any regard for due process. Furthermore, the NCAA and Penn State’s Board Chair and President entirely ignored the fact that the Freeh Report, on which these extraordinary penalties are based, is deeply flawed because it is incomplete, rife with unsupported opinions and unquestionably one-sided. The NCAA and Penn State’s leadership, by accepting and adopting the conclusions of the Freeh report, have maligned all of the above without soliciting contrary opinions or challenging a single finding of the Freeh report. Given the extraordinary penalty handed out, prudence and justice require that scrupulous adherence to due process be observed and not completely ignored.

Both the University leadership and the NCAA have said that they had to take extreme and immediate measures to demonstrate respect for the victims and minimize the chance of any similar misconduct from occurring again. These goals are the right ones, and they embody objectives we fully endorse. But those objectives cannot be achieved by a truncated process that wrongly assigns blame by substituting opinion for fact.

If there is culpability in this case, a hearing will help expose it. Due process will not hide the truth and will only illuminate the facts and allow for thoughtful, substantiated conclusions, not extreme and unfounded opinions, such as those offered in the Freeh Report and relied upon by the NCAA.

This matter may be the most important disciplinary action in the history of the NCAA, and it has been handled in a fundamentally inappropriate and unprecedented manner. To severely punish a University and its community and to condemn a great educator, philanthropist and coach without any public review or hearing is unfair on its face and a violation of NCAA guidelines.

Accordingly, we submit this appeal in pursuit, finally, of due process. A fair hearing on the merits is in the interests of justice and fairness for all involved.

We look forward to your acknowledgement of receipt of this timely appeal. In your acknowledgement, we would appreciate confirmation of the exact date triggering the 30-day period for us to submit a written response in support of our appeal.

Respectfully, 

J. Sedwick Sollers III

 

Andrew Weber-US PRESSWIRE

By Shiloh Winder
Los Angeles, Calif.

During the past week, the sports media landscape has been filled with calls for the NCAA to involve itself in the Jerry Sandusky scandal and hand Penn State football the Death Penalty. The Logic being, child rape is worse than a tailback getting free rent, therefore, if the NCAA is punishing Ohio State for free tattoos, it’s a given they should punish Penn State for the far more serious crimes that happened in State College.

NCAA enforcements are designed (poorly) to deal with NCAA violations. While it does appear that the Freeh report does reveal a cover-up similar to those the NCAA typically punishes under the blanket term, “lack of institutional control”, the punishments for such things tend to be in proportion to the violation of NCAA bylaws that the cover-up concealed.

Look the other way while agents pay your players, get a bowl ban. Cover up a bunch of free tattoos; lose your postseason and a bunch of scholarships. Rape at least 10 kids over the course of 15 years…

…?

What could the NCAA possibly do that wouldn’t make a mockery of the crimes themselves? Close down the University? Turn State College into a nuclear weapon testing area? The fact is, there is nothing within the authority of the NCAA, not even the “Death Penalty”, that would be proportionate to the crimes committed. 

B1G BREAKING RUMORS: JOE PATERNO’S STATUE GOES DOWN TOMORROW NIGHT OUTSIDE PENN STATE’S BEAVER STADIUM

— Brent Seberhagen (@seberhagen) July 20, 2012

Source: Paterno statue MAY be coming down at 2am Saturday morning.Directive issued by Erickson without #PSUBoT knowledge or approval.

— Justin C ’07 (@CasaNoVApsu) July 20, 2012

Just before I put my head on my pillow, I sent an email to a friend who is the only person I know that would have any knowledge of the situation. I awoke to this in my inbox:

“Yeah man, sounds like it’s happening this weekend.”

In the wake of the resignation of former BoT Chairman Steve Garban, it appears that Penn State president Rodney Erickson has decided that now is the time to move forward. While bold, I commend Erickson on making a decision and showing the leadership that Penn State has been lacking so desperately.

While I said in a post over the weekend that I don’t care about the statue, I find myself oddly nostalgic this morning. Not to say that I disagree with the decision, just that I feel like it’s a bigger deal now than I have at any time in the last week. In a poll I posted here on VBR, asking whether the statue should stand, it is literally a 50/50 split.

Perhaps it is the right thing to do. Perhaps it is a move, made due to pressure to satisfy the masses. Maybe it’s even to get that damn plane out of the air. Whatever it is, the Joe Paterno statue will likely be gone by Monday, barring a change of heart from the school president.

My hope is that the students currently in State College, as well as the community surrounding campus be supportive, rather than act irrationally as some did back in November. Now is a time to move forward and fix the past. That will not be an easy process and this is going to be one of the difficult steps for many.

For all of the latest on the Penn State Nittany Lions, follow VBR Lead Editor Tim Tolley on Twitter.

ESPN.com reported recently reported that following last week’s regularly scheduled meeting, several Trustees confronted Garban, expressing outrage over how the Board was portrayed in the Freeh Report and pressed him to resign.

The Freeh Report confirmed that Garban, along with former University President Graham Spanier and general counsel Cynthia Baldwin , had been made aware of the investigation into Jerry Sandusky in April of 2011, but failed to alert the full Board.  In October of 2011, Garban, along with Spanier, Baldwin, and fellow Trustees John Surma and Jim Broadhurst were alerted to the imminent charges against not only Sandusky, but also Tim Curley and Gary Schultz.  Again according to Freeh, none of them made the rest of the Board aware of this.

Just two nights ago, ESPN’s Outside the Lines reported that in 2004, the Board failed to even vote on sweeping changes to the governance of the University, after Spanier and Baldwin did not allow the changes to be brought to the full Board.  It would not be a huge leap to assume Garban and other Trustees played a part in that decision too.  It has been speculated that those changes would have enabled the University to at the very least react more efficiently to the investigation that opened several years after being proposed.

John Surma is sure to be the next to move into the cross hairs as he served as Vice Chairman during Garban’s tenure as Chairman.  Surma is of course the voice that announced the firings of Joe Paterno and Spanier during a late night press conference in November.  He and Garban stepped down from their leadership positions in January, but remained members of the Board.

I have not been as adamant as others in demanding swift, massive changes to the make-up of the Board.  However, it has become more and more obvious as bits of news leak that while the Board might not have been aware of all specifics, there was a massive, long term failure of leadership from the body charged with governing “Dear Old State”.  As we move forward, it is only reasonable to expect people that served in a leadership capacity during this chain of events to admit their failures and give up those positions.

The full board is not scheduled to meet again until September 14th.  Let us hope for a very different make up amongst the attendees.

Follow VBR Staff Writer Matt de Bear on Twitter!

“Penn State has shown a lack of institutional control.”

Absolutely true. Except not by the NCAA’s definition. The NCAA defines a “lack of institutional control” as a repeating offender of NCAA violations. Penn State is not guilty of that. They have never been sanctioned by the NCAA. Yet.

“The NCAA won’t just let them get away with that!”

What? Who? The deceased coach, the monster in jail or the two being charged with perjury by the grand jury? I can understand the rage, but this is and has been bigger than football. Punishing the current program for the crimes that a few men (NOT athletes) committed is not likely to happen. Never before has the NCAA sanctioned a university when there were no NCAA violations committed by players.

“The culture there allowed this to happen!”

I gotta tell you, if a community loving their football program is punishable then we might as well let Pitt and Boston College play for the national championship on September 1st and call it a season. I can assure you, Tuscaloosa, Columbus and Tallahassee all love and cheer just as hard for their teams. They just don’t look as attractive while doing it. The fans and alumni had nothing to do with the decision to not report Jerry Sandusky and also didn’t have the authority to let him on campus. The “culture” of college football is nation-wide, not just in Happy Valley.

The administrators knowingly conspired to hide a pedophile while he committed monstrous acts. 

Oddly enough, there’s no real evidence of that. It’s evident that four men blundered an opportunity to take a monster off the street through a series of misjudgements, underestimations and terrible decisions, but in the 3.5 million documents studied by the Freeh report, there’s no mention of a conspiracy or a cover-up “for the program.” In 3,500,000 letters, notes and emails, there’s not a single “if this gets out…” mentioned. Just sayin.

Today, Ben Jones of StateCollege.com has reported that the group has decided to change their name to Nittanyville, in the wake of the Freeh Report findings.

“We always have discussed the idea of changing the name once Joe was no longer the head coach,” Paternoville Vice President Jeff Lowe told Jones.

As I stated yesterday, it’s unfortunate that young adults have to have discussions like this but Lowe said that the group’s affiliation has led to “threats, hate mail and efforts from people outside of Penn State to try and ruin our ability to run an effective organization.”

Weller added that

“by changing the name to Nittanyville, we want to return the focus to the overall team and the thousands of students who support it.”

The president of what is now Nittanyville added to me “It was a very hard decision” and added “It wasn’t without careful deliberation and support from numerous people involved.”

I am in full support of this move and, though maybe not a huge deal in the grand scheme of things, I believe it is a significant decision by the group and a step in the right direction. A new era of Penn State is upon us and aiming the support at the team seems more fitting than ever.

For all of the latest on the Penn State Nittany Lions, follow VBR Lead Editor Tim Tolley on Twitter.

]]> http://victorybellrings.com/2012/07/14/guest-author-on-penn-states-grieving-process/feed/ 0 http://victorybellrings.com/2012/07/13/freeh-report-creates-more-questions-for-the-lesser-known/ http://victorybellrings.com/2012/07/13/freeh-report-creates-more-questions-for-the-lesser-known/#comments Fri, 13 Jul 2012 10:46:46 +0000 Craig Dauman http://victorybellrings.com/?p=7001 After reading the ~145 pages of the Freeh Report, I sat back for a second… I was exhausted, disheartened, frustrated, sad, and a million more emotions. What was most glaring to me was not the biggest names. Not Paterno. Not Spanier. Not Schultz or Curley. Joe is no longer with us and is a small [...]

Freeh Report Creates More Questions For The Lesser Known - Victory Bell Rings - Victory Bell Rings - A Penn State Nittany Lions News Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and more.

]]> After reading the ~145 pages of the Freeh Report, I sat back for a second… I was exhausted, disheartened, frustrated, sad, and a million more emotions. What was most glaring to me was not the biggest names. Not Paterno. Not Spanier. Not Schultz or Curley. Joe is no longer with us and is a small portion of the Report. Spanier, Schultz and Curley seem, at least to me, to have perjured themselves, and will have to face those damning accusations in a court of law, where jail time is a very real possibility. What stuck out to me was how many people at some point in time had an opportunity to step in, to make waves, to potentially stop Sandusky – and did not. Spanier, Schultz and Curley will have to continue to answer questions. I think it’s just as important to ask the others involved some tough questions too.

 

Richard Anderson (page 40)

The former coach was one of “several staff members and football coaches [who] regularly observed Sandusky showering with young boys in the Lasch Building.” No one was suspicious of this behavior. Now, I suppose we can come up with some situations where that could be fairly innocent; however, it seems like the consensus is that this conduct is inappropriate. What were these staff members and coaches thinking? Why did they never say anything?

 

Alycia Chambers (pages 42-44)

The licensed State College Psychologist had been working with one of the young boys Sandusky showered with before the incident in question. She was told by the mother of the young boy that Sandusky had showered with her son. Correctly, Chambers told the mother she was not overreacting and to make a report to the authorities, which the mother did, calling the University PD and reporting the incident to Detective Schreffler. “Chambers made a report to the Pennsylvania child abuse line and also consulted with colleagues.” They agreed that the behavior was similar to a pedophile’s. Her report did not make it to Caseworker Lauro’s desk; however, and this is the last she is mentioned in the Freeh Report. Did she follow up? Did she ever wonder what happened to Sandusky, who was believed to have pedophile tendencies?

 

Ron Schreffler (pages 42-46)

The Detective interviewed the 11-year-old boy after his mother called authorities. In his interview he was told there was another child, 10 years old, who had showered with Sandusky on other occasions. He was also present when a police officer hid inside the boy’s home as Sandusky and the boy’s mother spoke. This happened a second time, though it is not clear if Schreffler was a part of the second hidden operation. Schreffler ultimately spoke with Sandusky at the football complex, accompanied with Caseworker Lauro, where Sandusky admitted to showering with young boys, but agreed he would not continue to. Why didn’t Schreffer investigate further? Was going through the trouble of hiding in the boy’s home, and hearing that Sandusky did, in fact, shower with young boys not warrant more effort?

 

John Miller (pages 43-44)

A caseworker with the Center County Children and Youth Services (CYS), Miller received contact from Detective Schreffer about Sandusky and the allegations from the young boy. There were several conflicts, including CYS’s various contacts with the Second Mile, and the case was given over to the Department of Public Welfare (DPW). How much information did Detective Schreffer tell Miller? Would Miller have been in a position, either at that moment or when Sandusky had not been prosecuted, to take action? While the Freeh Report indicates that Miller was removed from his responsibility in lue of the DPW, it is just another person who may have known intimate details of accusations against Sandusky.

]]> http://victorybellrings.com/2012/07/13/freeh-report-creates-more-questions-for-the-lesser-known/feed/ 3 http://victorybellrings.com/2012/07/11/five-reasons-the-freeh-report-is-crucial/ http://victorybellrings.com/2012/07/11/five-reasons-the-freeh-report-is-crucial/#comments Thu, 12 Jul 2012 01:29:50 +0000 Tim Tolley http://victorybellrings.com/?p=6987 Thursday at 9:00 a.m. the Freeh Report, a detailed description of apparently everything that has happened in the last decade at Penn State, will be revealed to the country. Penn Staters everywhere will watch with eyes and ears wide open, hoping to find the truth and some sense of closure. Only problem is, that truth [...]

Five Reasons the Freeh Report Is Crucial - Victory Bell Rings - Victory Bell Rings - A Penn State Nittany Lions News Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and more.

]]>

Andrew Weber-US PRESSWIRE

Thursday at 9:00 a.m. the Freeh Report, a detailed description of apparently everything that has happened in the last decade at Penn State, will be revealed to the country.

Penn Staters everywhere will watch with eyes and ears wide open, hoping to find the truth and some sense of closure. Only problem is, that truth may not be the truth that Nittany Nation is looking for.

Here are five things that may be potentially affected forever by the news on Thursday morning, in no particular order.

THE JOE PATERNO STATUE

It may seem far-fetched that the Joe Paterno statue, which served as a shrine back in January, is in danger. Depending how the Freeh Report colors the legendary coach and his involvement in the apparent cover up of child molestation, the public may call for the statue’s head. That public may very well include Penn Staters.
Imagine for a second what gameday would be like without hundreds of people lining up to take their picture with that statue.

As I opened ESPN’s website, as I often do to catch up on the daily changes and developments in sports, I noticed their top link was to an article titled, “Penn St.: Donations 2nd highest in history.” I thought that was odd. I had never seen ESPN create an article about school funding before, unless it was directly related to a single, large donation going towards a stadium renovation or something similar. It even had a video associated with it. I decided to check it out. “Video:  Examining Paterno’s Legacy.” Weird, I thought this was an article about Penn State’s funding. As I read on, there was a lot of information about the $208 million in donations for the fiscal year, and there was even a blurb about the “annual student-organized dance marathon to raise money for pediatric cancer patients and research.” Then what has been so typical in every Penn State article, even those not related to athletics:  a Sandusky mention. ESPN seamlessly transitioned from Pegula committing $102 million to upgrade PSU Hockey, to Sandusky awaiting sentencing, to mentioning private donations will not be used to pay legal fees. Ah, I understand now. Take something unrelated, like Penn State’s typical general funding, add in a video about Paterno, some commentary about Sandusky, and you have an article brimming with 5000+ comments. I totally get it now, ESPN.

This is where it has been increasingly difficult as a Penn State supporter, as someone who is associated with such a great University and had nothing to do with the victims, Sandusky, or the inactions of some administrators. A mix of lazy journalism, incomplete leaks, and a need to create the biggest story, has fueled the generalized hate for anything Penn State. Social media, from message boards to blogs to twitter, have given a voice to those who are seemingly the most outraged at this situation. But reading through various mediums, a common theme has surfaced:  Generalize everything.

Everyone at Penn State worships JoePa like a God. Everyone at Penn State is a huge football fan. Everyone at Penn State knew Sandusky was a pedophile for many years. Everyone at Penn State believes the school’s image is more important than a child’s well-being. Everyone at Penn State thinks giving money will make everything go away.

And what is the consensus among those who are so passionately against the entire University? Give the football program the death penalty! Shut it down for as many years as children were violated! Make Penn State pay $200+ million (the amount collected in general donations this fiscal year) to the victims! The ironic thing about the people so fervently demanding these responses is they never once mention the victims,but instead put the focus of heinous crimes on the football program and money. People are so quick to point out how Penn State doesn’t care about the victims because about 2% of the student population of main campus took to the streets when Joe Paterno was fired—at the time, in a cowardly way, without clear facts to back up the decision. Roughly 98% of the school didn’t participate in the “riot,” but grouping the entire community together is a better narrative. Same with the candlelight vigil held a few days later. It dwarfed the size of the “riot,” but that was “simply a PR move.” Because, you know, 18-22 year olds apparently didn’t have the foresight to think of how the national media would react to their public outrage at Paterno’s firing, but instantly multiplied, morphed into PR savants and held a vigil merely as a stunt, right? I guess in 1977, THON was created strictly for PR purposes and the $88 million raised for children with cancer doesn’t mean a thing. Right…

“Over the last nine months Joe Paterno has been praised by some in near saintly terms and criticized by others as a villain.  He was neither.

As the people who worked closely with Joe know, he was tough, aggressive, opinionated and demanding.  He was also highly principled, uncompromisingly ethical, dedicated to his job at Penn State and committed to excellence.

When the Sandusky case exploded last fall, Joe’s first instincts were to tell everything he knew. He assumed the University would want to hear from him, but he was never given the chance to present his case.

He planned to hold a press conference, but University officials ordered him to cancel it.  And then the various investigations started and the legal process took over.  On top of everything else, Joe was diagnosed with lung cancer.  Two months later he was gone.  The end result is his story has never fully been told.

As this situation unfolded, Joe cautioned everyone not to jump to conclusions.   He believed that a rush to judgment and a disregard for due process would ultimately result in conclusions that would not stand the test of time.  To be clear, he did not fear the truth, he sought it.  As much as anyone he wanted to know exactly what Jerry Sandusky had done and he wanted to understand how it happened.

The hiring of the Freeh Group is the single most important action the Board of Trustees has taken.  Joe supported this decision with the hope that it would result in a thorough, balanced and thoughtful assessment of the Sandusky tragedy.  Unfortunately, recent events have raised questions about the fairness and confidentiality of the investigative process.

Over the last several weeks there has been a virtual torrent of leaks about the Freeh Group’s work.  To be clear, we do not know the source, or sources, of the leaks.  What cannot be disputed, however, is that select emails intended to smear Joe Paterno and other former Penn State officials have been released.  Testimony from witnesses highly critical of Joe has been revealed.  And purported conclusions condemning the culture of the football program have been widely disseminated.  The Board promised a fair, transparent and impartial process.  These developments are a threat to their stated objectives.

When these leaks first started we appealed to the Freeh Group, the Board and the Attorney General to condemn the leaks and caution the public that it would be wrong to reach any conclusions from selectively released materials.  We then asked that all emails and other documents be released so a full picture of their research could be understood.

As purported conclusions started leaking out, we followed up with the Freeh Group to ask for the right to respond.   Since Joe Paterno never had an opportunity to present his case, we believe we should have a reasonable time to review their findings and offer information that could help complete the picture. We were told we could offer responses to the publicly reported allegations, but the Freeh Group declined to confirm that these allegations are in the final report.   It is our firm belief that the report would be stronger and more credible if we were simply given a chance to review the findings concerning Joe Paterno in order to present the case he was never allowed to make.

Since the outcome of this process appears set in stone, we have no choice but to wait for the report and respond as best we can.  Given that the report is estimated to be between 100-150 pages it will understandably take us some time to study it and prepare a comprehensive response.

In advance of the release of the report, there are a few facts we want on the record:

• We would still welcome a chance to meet with the Freeh Group to review the findings and offer a response.  We do not seek or expect the right to edit the report; but we believe our voice should be reflected in its conclusions.

• To this point, Joe Paterno is the only person who publicly acknowledged that with the benefit of hindsight he wished he had done more.  This was an honest and courageous admission that a true leader must assume a measure of responsibility when something goes wrong on his watch.

• The sad and frightening fact is Jerry Sandusky was a master deceiver. He fooled players, coaches, law enforcement officials, child service professionals, Penn State Board members, University leaders, neighbors, donors, staff and supporters of Second Mile and his family.

• With respect to the email from Tim Curley which stated, “After giving it more thought, and talking it over with Joe yesterday – I am uncomfortable with what we agreed were the next steps,” the media spin that this is proof of some sort of cover up is completely false. When the facts come out, it will be clear that Joe Paterno never gave Tim Curley any instructions to protect Sandusky or limit any investigation of his actions.

• Joe Paterno did not cover up for Jerry Sandusky.  Joe Paterno did not know that Jerry Sandusky was a pedophile.  Joe Paterno did not act in any way to prevent a proper investigation of Jerry Sandusky.  To claim otherwise is a distortion of the truth.

If he were with us today, we are certain Joe Paterno would say that he wished he had done any number of things differently.  We also believe he would make it clear that he was not an investigator, law enforcement officer, child services professional or a member of the Board of Trustees.  Joe would accept his responsibility, but he would expect others to step forward as well.”

The Freeh Report will be released on Thursday morning at 9 a.m. eastern. Good or bad, we will finally have some truth.

For all of the latest on the Penn State Nittany Lions, follow VBR Lead Editor Tim Tolley on Twitter.

“After giving it more thought and talking it over with Joe yesterday, I am uncomfortable with what we agreed were the next steps.”

That’s it. It’s IMPOSSIBLE to know what that conversation was comprised of. Maybe Joe said ANYTHING. Maybe Curley realized the ramifications after talking to Joe. I mean, it literally could have been anything.

If Joe wanted to cover it up, why did he report it to Curley and Shultz in the first place?

Despite that, CNN inferred that Joe may have talked Curley down and SI ran a blurb from the NY Daily News titled “Emails: Paterno told Penn State to keep quiet bout Sandusky”  Well that seems like quite the stretch, even for the most avid haters of Joe Paterno. However, people have latched on and that appears to be the news today.

I never thought this would happen, but I can’t wait until the Freeh report comes out in the coming weeks/months. The news will be bad for Penn State and it’s administration, but at least we will know the truth, or at least a good portion of it.

In the meantime, the speculation will continue to run rampant as though facts and truth are not important when ripping down other humans. I just suggest being cautious when doing so, especially with the deceased. Regardless of what you may think or hope happened during those discussions, you don’t know. Pretending to know is not the answer.

Here is the response to the report from the Paterno Family:

“Some number of email exchanges between former Penn State officials have apparently been leaked to the media. Since the Paterno family is not in possession of these emails, it would be inappropriate to comment on their supposed content. To be clear, the emails in question did not originate with Joe Paterno or go to him as he never personally utilized email.”

“From the beginning, Joe Paterno warned against a rush to judgment in this case. Coach Paterno testified truthfully, to the best of his recollection, in the one brief appearance he made before the Grand Jury. As he testified, when informed of an incident involving Jerry Sandusky in 2001, Coach Paterno, followed University procedures and promptly and fully informed his superiors. He believed the matter would be thoroughly and professionally investigated and he did not interfere with or attempt to compromise any investigation.”

For all of the latest on the Penn State Nittany Lions, follow VBR Lead Editor Tim Tolley on Twitter.

Bill O’Brien’s camp, on the other hand, has been much more open and accessible, leading to a tremendous amount of mostly very good analysis, on this site and many others, of what coach O’Brien and his staff are planning for the new season.

There also seems to be a growing sense of  anticipation about the upcoming Blue-White game, especially in the sense that O’Brien is taking the game very seriously and therefore his players will be also. How much about the new offenses and defenses will be revealed? Who’s taking the most snaps at quarterback? Who’s playing where and how much? What recruits are on the sidelines? And so on. I can’t wait to find all of that out.

So things are very different, but PSU still has the same players, so will any of this change make a difference in the fall? It might, actually, make a tremendous difference.

Take the offensive line, for example. Doesn’t it always seem like Penn State is replacing three or four of these guys every year? And every year they have to learn to jell together, and all of that, to slowly become a good unit. That probably was in large part because Joe’s staff liked to stick with more experienced guys, mostly seniors, at those positions, and of course those seniors graduate and have to be replaced every year.

O’Brien doesn’t seem to think that way. All jobs are open, and we are more than likely going to see younger guys mixing in all those spots. The result will be more competition and more continuity from season to season.

Tight end will be another example. Penn State has a history of great tight ends, from Ted Kwalick through Kyle Brady, but recently the position has mostly disappeared from the PSU offense. That may have been because of the spread HD offense, or other factors such as injuries, but I don’t think it was because of lack of talent. Penn State has players there, Kevin Haplea, Garry Gilliam, Jesse James, and I haven’t heard O’Brien back off even a little bit about making the tight end a big part of the offense in 2012. That has to tell us something.

And the heavy, new emphasis on strength and conditioning is encouraging. Penn State has always been difficult to play against in the fourth quarter; you had to play PSU to the bitter end and no lead was safe (see 1993 PSU 38, Michigan State 37 for an example of that). Not so much lately, though, and teams have been beating the Lions down the stretch or holding on to slim leads. Looks like Penn State plans to change that.

Finally, a few thoughts about the quarterbacks. Chuck Burkhart never lost a game as Penn State’s quarterback, and I don’t think he could throw the ball 50 yards if you allowed him two bounces. (And, yes, you had to have a passing game to be successful then as well as now.) PSU doesn’t need a superstar, but someone who can avoid mistakes, make consistent throws and good decisions.

Oh, and about Danny O’Brien. He came to check out a PSU practice, and of course his competition at quarterback, and the next day announced his decision to go to Wisconsin. I wonder if there is anything we can infer from that.

So the vibrations are good. At this point, Joe would probably have said, “We’re mixing guys in and out. I don’t know, it’s hard to tell what we’ve got.” (Translation: “We’re going to show up ready to play football.”)

I have a friend, Frank Ahrenhold, who played defensive tackle for Penn State from 1968 to 1972 and who has one of the two game balls given out after one of Penn State’s most iconic victories: the 30-6 stomping of Texas in the 1972 Cotton Bowl. This was the game that showed the country how to stop the wishbone and that brought Penn State, once and for all, into the national discussion.

I recently talked to Frank about that game, and other things about Penn State, and I’d like to share what he said.

It’s a well known story. Penn State was undefeated in 1968 and finished second in the national polls. The next season, Penn State went undefeated again and, after Richard Nixon declared Texas the national champion on a visit to Texas, the Nittany Lions were voted second in the polls again.

“We had the ’68 and ’69 teams that ran off 22 games in a row,” Ahrenhold said, “a couple Orange Bowl victories, and we finished #2 in the polls both years. And then we came to sort of a down year, after Mike Reid and Steve Smear and all of those guys graduated. We lost three games that season, and I think we were offered the Liberty Bowl or something like that, and we just said the heck with it and passed on it.

“So anyway, people were saying that we were just another flash in the pan. You know, another eastern school who made a little bit of noise and then at the end of the day just kind of disappeared into the background. But I came in with a talented recruiting class. I came in with guys like Franco Harris, Lydell Mitchell, Gary Grey, Dick Joyner, just big time Pennsylvania kids, big 33 kids, solid recruiting class. We were chaffing a little about the fact that people were dismissing us. So we saw our chance to make some noise in the 1971 season, and we came into that year with a chip on our shoulder and I think the staff did, too.

“We started off strong, too, and just kept on going. We went into Syracuse, who was supposed to be the team to beat in the east, and just crushed them. I don’t think they got a first down until the second half. We ran off the rest of them until we went to Tennessee, and I don’t know, that was one of those games where we couldn’t get out of our own way–we fumbled three punts and stuff like that–and ended up losing the game. And it was just so disheartening.

“But it was our only loss, and then we were offered a shot at the Cotton Bowl. And for all of us guys on that team, that meant a lot because we all felt that we got snubbed when Texas got that championship and we thought this was our chance at retribution. We saw an opportunity to shut some people up, to be honest with you. We had a good team and we knew we did.”

“It was also Texas, so it was payback time. We had a chance to beat a big-time southern school on their own turf, and do it convincingly.”

So the stage was set to face the Longhorns and their wishbone offense, which had yet to be even slowed down. The Lions, however, had a plan. “We knew we had to get them going sideways,” Ahrenhold said. “We were an eight-man front, basically a stack-eight. The only two down linemen we ever played were the two defensive tackles. So our job was just create havoc. Get on their guards and drive them into the backfield, and have the linebackers just scrape off that. So basically, we dared their five offensive linemen to block our four, and we didn’t think there was a team in the country who could do that.

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The Penn State Family has turned Joe Paterno's statue into a shrine. Photo by Andrew Weber-US PRESSWIRE

Over the last few days, I have answered emails, messages and tweets about how disgraceful it is to support Joe Paterno. These people generally reference some non-fact about how Joe “knew about boys being raped and did nothing” or “hid this secret for his friend.”
I said this on Twitter but wanted to repeat it:
If you knew nothing about Joe Paterno on November 1st, PLEASE do not pretend to be a historian on Joe Paterno now.
If you don’t know the story about Joe flying to Philadelphia every other week to visit paralyzed Adam Taliaferro in the hospital then you don’t know Joe.
If you’ve never read about Joe making the entire team clean the stadium for a season following a brawl involving several players, what exactly have you read?
How about Joe and his wife donating $100,000 to Penn State three weeks after that same university fired him over the phone?
While on his death bed, Joe said that he hopes the truth comes out and those kids get justice. That’s who Joe was. Selfless.
He was the man who told president Nixon to “shove it” and told president Reagan that he couldn’t have his name on his jersey at the White House because “we’re team players.”
Joe Paterno created “The Grand Experiment” and graduated 87% of his football players, a shockingly high number.
There is a reason that NONE of Joe’s associates, peers or colleagues have come out with a negative story about him. It’s the same reason that has Michael Robinson is traveling from Hawaii to State College to give a eulogy, just to fly back back to Hawaii for the Pro Bowl. The same reason that had Daryll Clark in tears on ESPN, had 800 former lettermen show up from across the country yesterday and had thousands of people lining the street today for his funeral procession. It’s because Joe Paterno was a quality human being who left a lasting impression on every life he came into contact with.
He made Penn State a better institution. He made his players better men. He made a mistake.
If you’re going to email me about what an awful person Joe Paterno was, you are wasting your time. You don’t know Joe like I know Joe.

“We Are, because you were.”

Follow me on twitter @TimTolleyVBR

PSUTimm@gmail.com

Defensive Coordinator Tom Bradley will take over the reigns as the interim head coach.

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Derek Moye could be back in two weeks

Coach Paterno is thinking that wide receiver Derek Moye, who injured his foot last week while running down his apartment stairs, will probably miss the next two games. That’s too bad, because with Penn State playing every game on a tight rope, Moye’s production could easily be the difference between a win and a loss in any given week. Hopefully he’ll be back on the field for the Nebraska game.

Silas Redd is playing a lot

Call him “bell cow” or “work horse,” it doesn’t really matter. The point is that Redd has 29, 28 and 28 carries in the last three games. When asked about the heavy workload, Paterno said he was a little worried. I’d still be surprised if Redd got less than 25 touches per game from here on out, but when you have a guy as talented as Curtis Dukes in the backfield, it shouldn’t be too hard to get Redd some rest.

By the way, Stephfon Green had one carry versus Purdue to go with his one catch versus Iowa. I’m not sure if they’re trying to work him into the lineup or just teasing him. Maybe if State can score some points against Northwestern, they can actually open a window in which to give Green some serious run.

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