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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WSJ: How Penn State Football Survived

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Great story in the Wall Street Journal, which I hope you all can read without having a subscription. I never know how long and how much of articles they leave open to public viewing there. This is an excerpt from a forthcoming John U. Bacon book with a lot of nitty-gritty details about life in the B1G. When last I looked, it was a top trending story in the WSJ.

To write his book “Fourth and Long: The Fight for the Soul of College Football,” author John U. Bacon embedded himself with four Big Ten programs—Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan and Northwestern—in search of the sport’s old ideals as it is roiled by money, greed and scandal. In this excerpt, he offers a behind-the-scenes look at how Penn State’s team reacted to the Jerry Sandusky sex-abuse scandal last year.

Here is an excerpt from his excerpt, which will definitely suck you in. In response to the NCAA edict that allowed players to hop off Penn State for other schools, O’Brien had made a decision to impose a deadline of August 1, by which time players had to either agree to stay or go. But the two Mikes, Mauti and Zordich, opposed that plan.

“I’m thinking, Aug. 1?” Zordich said. “That’s one week. This dude’s got (guts).”

Zordich soon proved he had some guts, too. After initially agreeing, he said: “I don’t think that’s a good idea. The players here don’t know you well enough yet.”

As soon as Zordich said it, Mauti decided his teammate was right, and they explained why. They believed the more players got to know O’Brien and his program—which they viewed as a long-overdue step toward the future—the more likely they would stay.

And second, if O’Brien threatened them with a deadline, it might incite a rush to the doors. “You say, ‘Now or never,'” Zordich said, “you’re going to lose a lot of guys. They’ll get scared.”

“And make an irrational decision,” Mauti added. “If we’ve got a deadline, word’s going to get out to (opposing) coaches, and (players’) phones are going to blow up all over again the night before the deadline.”

At that moment, Zordich and Mauti might have been the only college football players in the country with the temerity to question the decision of their head coach. And O’Brien might have been the only college-football coach willing to listen.

After scanning their faces one more time, O’Brien started nodding. “OK,” he finally said. “Then that’s what we’ll do.”

You’ve got to read this! Here’s the link.

 

Will Sandusky Ohio be next?

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Matt Sandusky, adopted son of the Tickle Monster, has filed a petition to Centre County Court requesting that his name be changed. Matt, you will recall, is the son who accused his adopted father of abuse at Jer’s trial last year but never testified.

Obviously, all are tight-lipped about the new surname. Methinks it would be appropriate for Matt to revert to his birth mother’s surname, if he knows it. Otherwise, all bets are off. Some enterprising reporter is bound to let us in on the secret.

Sandusky is clearly now a name of ignominious repute, so what are you going to do about it, Sandusky, Ohio?

Corbett Suit Dismissed

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Many of you were optimistic that the federal courts would hear the Corbett case against the NCAA. ????? ????? ?? ???? ??????? You’ll be disappointed in today’s decision by U.S. Middle District Judge Yvette Kane to dismiss the Pennsylvania governor’s.

Said Kane, “I cannot find any factual allegations supporting the allegation of ‘concerted action’ that might nudge its conspiracy claim into ‘plausible’ territory.”

Of course, the NCAA was tickled pink. whereas Corbett has not yet reacted to the decision.

The question for Kane hinged on the viability of the antitrust allegations. Just because Penn State has been burned does not make an antitrust case.

“The fact that Penn State will offer fewer scholarships over a period of four years does not plausibly support its allegation that the reduction of scholarships at Penn State will result in a market-wide anticompetitive effect, such that the ‘nation’s top scholastic football players’ would be unable to obtain a scholarship in the nationwide market for Division I football players,” wrote Kane.

“In another forum the complaint’s appeal to equity and common sense may win the day, but in the antitrust world these arguments fail to advance the ball,” Kane kannily kontended.

NCAA’s shyster, Donald Remy, said:

“Our hope is that this decision not only will end this case but also serve as a beginning of the end of the divide among those who, like Penn State, want to move forward to put the horror of the Sandusky crimes behind the university and those who want to prolong the fight with the pain for all involved.”

If you can parse that sentence, you’re good. Very good. What I take it to mean is: “We won. ????? ????? Fuck you.”

The 27-page  memorandum of dismissal is available at Judge Kane’s website.