The Nittany Turkey

Primarily about Penn State football, this is a tale told by idiots, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

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Home Archives for 2008

Archives for 2008

Tim Russert dies of heart attack

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I was saddened to hear that Tim Russert of NBC News and long-time host of Meet the Press collapsed in his office today and died of a heart attack at age 58.

Those of us who consider ourselves journalists, as well as those of us like this Turkey who pretend to be journalists, can view the corpus of work assembled over Russert’s journalistic career as a model of integrity and substance, something to live up to. Russert never shied away from asking the tough question and never arrived at an interview without doing his research. He didn’t shoot from the hip; he took aim, took a breath, and squeezed off his shots, which seldom missed the mark.

Russert was serious when he needed to be, but he frequently mixed in a lighter side, which revealed his humanity. Family was everything to him, and always came first. He appeared to genuinely like the vast preponderance of his interviewees, who responded by returning the favor. He always appeared to be humble, never full of himself like many other journalists. He was always himself.

Although family and work came first, Tim Russert was a devout football fan. His beloved Buffalo Bills never won the Super Bowl for him, which he deserved at least once.  It is sad that he did not live to see that dream come true.

I watched Meet the Press every Sunday, and it was because of Tim Russert that I did. I feel as if I have lost a friend.

My heart goes out to the Russert Family and to all who knew him. Saddened though I am, I cannot presume to imagine the pain of their loss.

The woods are a-callin’

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Now that spring turkey season is over, this Turkey is going to hie his feathered butt into the woods for a couple of weeks. Thus, there will be no loquacious drivel emanating from this keyboard for a while. I trust that the lapse will reduce my readership to an absolute nadir, if it isn’t already there due to a lack of relevant subject matter in the off-season (I don’t cover Paterno contract crap, the Spread HD (which no one knows anything about), and the recruiting meat market.)

And so, to my remaining reader: So long for a while, Mom!

Bowman and Taylor get probation for HUB ass-kicking

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The Centre Daily Times reports that Nittany Lion defensive lineman Phil Taylor and linebacker Navorro Bowman have pleaded guilty to misdemeanor disorderly conduct and each was sentenced to a year’s probation. In addition, they will each have to perform 100 hours of community service and make restitution to the victim and to Penn State. This relates to the October ruckus at the HUB, where a group of PSU’s defense’s finest kicked the crap out of a hapless victim, whose offenses were frontin’ and party walkin’, whatever the hell those terms might mean.

Earlier, safety and co-captain Anthony Scirrotto was sentenced to a year’s probation as well.

Centre County Circuit Judge Bradley P. Lunsford admonished the athletes:

This community is becoming more and more frustrated with the actions of some athletes. I imagine the coaches are becoming frustrated. I imagine other athletes are also frustrated. And I know from the court’s perspective, I too am losing patience. It’s embarrassing to have to keep explaining to my kids why premier athletes keep getting into trouble.

And this Turkey wholeheartedly agrees. The off-field activities have been an embarrassment for far too long. We can no longer take the high moral ground in arguments about such events at other schools. Yeah, sure, the charges were knocked down to misdemeanors and no prison time will be served. So what? Is this the kind of crap we have to look forward to? I’m sick and tired of reading the words of apologists who say they’re just kids doing what kids do when testosterone overrides prefrontal cortex function. To hell with that—if they want to play football for one of the nation’s historically cleanest and most prestigious programs, then they’ve got to quell this obnoxious street thug crap. (And I haven’t even mentioned Lavon Chisley, the convicted murderer, until now.)

Is some of this the coaches’ fault? You bet! If these kids were brought up in deficient homes where the goals for a successful kid were either professional athletics or gang leadership, it is the coaches’ roles as surrogate parents to help these kids grow up and understand their responsibilities. Same thing if they grew up in sound, protective environments and are expressing their misdirected glee over escaping from the cage. The coaches and the kids share responsibility here.

We, as fans, should not tolerate this kind of thing. To handwave and say “boys will be boys” will only promote future recurrences. Let us not fail to learn from the mistakes of history.