Penn State: Too Big To Fail II …
No longer able to stand the nonsense on WFAN, I’ve switched to ESPN’s Mike & Mike in the morning for my daily drive to work … the last few days one of the featured topics has been the Penn State scandal; what kind of punishment would be just, etc. Both Golic and Greenberg are of the opinion that the football program should not suffer the NCAA so-called “death penalty” SMU suffered a few years back when it breached NCAA etiquette and essentially ran a slush fund to pay its players. The reasoning both radio hosts give, while sound and accurate, is also one more version of Too Big To Fail. Essentially, if the football program is shut down for as little as one year, the rest of the school, along with vendors and everyone else dependent on Penn State’s football operation, would suffer unfair collateral damage. Their point is completely understandable. Ultimately, what officials at Penn State covered up would come down on way too many people who had nothing to do with the scandal, including (and last but not least), the student athletes in the football program.
The problem with that justification for keeping the program afloat is obvious: it proves yet another dollar first mentality, a too big too fail reasoning, exactly why the officials at Penn State covered the mess up in the first place—from fear the scandal would have impacted their program and thus the dollars it brings into the rest of the school and community.
TK suggests the following: Let the program stand with the following stipulations: the team is prohibited from NCAA bowl games/playoffs the next two years. ALL THE MONEY the school generates over the next two seasons is distributed throughout the school, the community and towards the victims of the scandal and NONE OF IT BACK TO THE FOOTBALL PROGRAM. The players are permitted to maintain eligibility should they want to transfer, etc. (same as at SMU) and anyone on the current staff remaining from last season is replaced forthwith (because they too had to know about Sandusky).
The Myth of Joe Paterno is further shattered (if that’s possible) when one takes into account the story of the one person (a woman) who did try and fight the power Paterno wielded. Her name is Vicky Triponey. She stood up to Paterno, and as a result, lost her job and nearly her career. She received threatening phone calls and was the target of internet smear campaigns. She was so ostracized in a community that is supposed to be “Happy Valley” that she didn’t feel comfortable going to the supermarket, because other shoppers would recognize her and turn away.
In a nutshell, the former vice president of student affairs stated (from the Freeh report): “I must insist that the efforts to put pressure on us and try to influence our decisions related to specific cases ... simply MUST STOP,” she wrote. “The calls and pleas from coaches, board members and others when we are considering a case are indeed putting us in a position that does treat football players differently and with greater privilege ... and it appears on our end to be a deliberate effort to use the power of the football program to sway our decisions in a way that is beneficial to the football program.”
Boy Scouts of America? … What’s up with the Nazi mentality of the Boy Scouts of America? Seriously … exclusivity is a bit passé, no? Firing a lesbian scoutmaster because why? Boycott the Boy Scouts of America … or demand they add homophobic to their title ... Homophobic Scouts of America.
KnicksINsanity … okay, so they usually have the highest (or one of the highest) payrolls in the NBA and make one disastrous decision after another, sign one disastrous contract after another and their returns on their “investments” have thus far yielded zero rings since 1973. They have exactly 1 (ONE) playoff win in the last 11 (ELEVEN) years (8 years of which they didn’t even qualify for the absurdly easy to qualify for the playoff/tournament) … so what do they do with the ONE (1) player to bring some EXCITEMENT to the city they represent in the last 11 years? They let him go to Houston … because they’re suddenly concerned about money? Now that would be funny if it wasn’t so tragic. I almost can’t wait to see how well the two big guns they stuck themselves with (talk about bad contracts) perform together next season (and which excuses they’ll have next season) when the Knicks (once again) are a BUST.
Idiots … Go Linsanity Rockets! Go Brooklyn Nets!
Idiots … Go Linsanity Rockets! Go Brooklyn Nets!
Michelle Bachmann … okay, if this broad isn’t a certified psycho, then the definition of one needs to be redefined. From a Washington Post blog: In the warped universe where this American currently resides, there remains only one heroic person brave enough to save our beloved United States from secretly being taken over by a falafel-eating, Mecca-praying and Ramadan-fasting cabal of sinister Muslims duplicitously bent upon imposing Islamic sharia law upon our golden shores.
Rough Riders reviews and news ...
Stella’s capers are populated with criminals who are more clever than smart and lawmen who get stymied by clever but eventually prevail with smarts. A delight. — Booklist (Wes Lukowsky)
Stella writes about criminals and cops, killers and cons, as if he knows the territory. This is one of those books that you rip through, eager to see who'll be the last man standing, as you never know who'll get the next bullet. Big, grim, boisterous, funny, and frightening all at once. Check it out. — Bill Crider
Stella’s characters’ voices sound authentic: no macho posturing — just their brutal, hard world. This is one of the leaner crime novels currently out there. For those wanting a serious character piece where the payoffs deliver, reach for ROUGH RIDERS. —Bruce Grossman (Bookgasm)
Rough Riders has a plethora of characters, many of whom you won't want to like but just might. What seems like true dialogue spews from mouths, FBI and locals alike. I found it very hard to put this book down, even to eat a meal. Author Charlie Stella has a way with words that makes him a master at his craft. Don't miss this one. — Bookloons Reviews (Reviewed by Mary Ann Smyth)
This is a fast and furious thriller that brings back the antagonists in Eddie’s World in a good, the bad and the ugly storyline. Rotating between the northern Great Plains and the New York area, fans will enjoy this action-packed noir although the Feds are too scandalously uncaring about collateral damage or simply deadly avarice. – Genre Go Round Reviews (Harriett Klausner)
—Knucks
Some blues for all a’yous ...
