Sudden Impact: Neither Sudden Nor Impactful — Discuss!

It’s a lazy Sunday morning. Artificially Sweetened asked me last night whether I wanted to get up early and do some kind of a hike today, but I deferred my decision until this morning because I felt lazy all day yesterday. But when I got up this morning, she was sleeping peacefully, so I decided that I would pen another blisteringly incisive Sudden Impact post.

I’ll try not to obsess too much on the ancillary issues surrounding Showergate this time. After all, we’ve been saturated of late by the overabundance of media takes on the whole sordid affair. The media, of course, can’t win. No matter what position they take, they’ll always be wrong in about half the people’s eyes, and this is all augmented by the hue and cry of the moralists: THE VICTIMS!!!!!!

Not that this Turkey is anti-victim, but enough, already. That there are victims doesn’t mean that the analysis should cease. Unearthing the means in which the culture of secrecy found in universities today can produce future victims is sufficient reason for letting the media digging continue. Of course, there are a lot of flimsy “facts” floating around, but the intelligent reader, which I assume you all are, can differentiate the facts from the fabrications.

Further, there are opportunists out there feeding the frenzy. Vicky Treponey has released saved emails from her tenure as VP Student Affairs that she seems to be using in an attempt to either vindicate her denouement at Penn State or obtain retribution for it. She clearly couldn’t win any battles with Paterno herself, and with only a weak president to whine to, she didn’t get much institutional support for her prerogatives, either. My feeling is that anyone who can’t knock heads without all the behind the scenes subterfuge is probably not worthy of a vice president position — even in academe.

Triponey’s LinkedIn® profile lists her present occupation as Interim Vice President for Student Affairs at The College of New Jersey. That fact is confirmed by The College of New Jersey’s web site. (Coincidentally, the Ewing, NJ school’s football team, an NCAA Division III Centennial Conference member, has as its mascot, the lion.)

As for the victims, their pain and suffering will not be assuaged by writing articles about them instead of digging up skeletons in Penn State’s closets. The latter will serve future generations well. Even if some of the conjectures are way off base, at least we’ve got them looking over their shoulders up there in the ivory tower. I say, keep the pressure on until we determine culpability. The Freeh report will say a lot, but I am still suspect of anything initiated by the BOT, who deserve an investigation themselves.

To sit back and wait until the whole thing blows over is to increase the chances that those who have succeeded in obfuscating facts in the past will feel not even the sting of a wrist slap, and thus will not be deterred from arrogantly repeating the transgression.

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Starting right guard John Urschel, a transfer from Canisius, is another PSU academic standout, having already graduated with a 4.0 GPA. But he’s just a junior in terms of his football eligibility. Read a great article about him by Guy Cipriano.

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One has to wonder whether Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett paid Jason Kutulakis to write such a glowing op-ed tribute to the gov. He wants to give Corbett credit for his handling of the Sandusky case.

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The Patriot News has put together a sampling of what columnists around the country are writing about Joe Paterno. While it is easy to condemn a dead man, some of the articles make their points more gracefully than others.

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With the report from former FBI Director Louis Freeh due any day now, all eyes are on the Penn State board of trustees meeting this week in Scranton. Will the report be released then? You’ll have to wait until Thursday or Friday. We’re at DEFCON 3 until then.

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Cory Giger of the Altoona Mirror writes that NCAA sanctions are unlikely for the Nittany Lions.

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Giger also interviewed some people about town about their take on the late coach’s culpability in the purported cover-up and the surrounding media frenzy as they await the Freeh report.

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Pete Curkendall was a Penn State defensive lineman whose coach, Jerry Sandusky, convinced him to do an internship with The Second Mile foundation. Now, Curkendall is impelled to act on child predator issues. Frank Bodani of the York Daily Record tells the story.

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Jeremy Roebuck and Susan Snyder of the Philadelphia Inquirer believe that the Freeh Report might go far beyond Sandusky into the inner sanctum of the Penn State football program and its legendary former head, Joe Paterno.

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One more writer, Peter Hall of the Morning Call, weighs in on possible Freeh findings and repercussion.

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In news from outside of Happy Valley, for all of you particle fans, ScienceNews has published a list of links to all of its articles about the legendary Higgs boson.

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Well, that ought to be enough reading for a lazy Sunday morning. Those of you who aren’t lazy are out playing a round of golf, canoeing, playing softball, and wilting in the heat, so you can read it on Sunday evening, or, of course, as you drink your morning coffee at work on Monday morning.

AS just woke up, so I’m going downstairs to watch her eat breakfast.