Pennsylvania State

    Um, dear sweatshirt seller who uses a computer to generate these "State University" pieces of apparel.  The Keystone state is unique.  We call it Penn State.  Nobody but NOBODY who went to PSU is going to buy this stupid sweatshirt.

    And FWIW, while the other state school can be formally called the University of Pennsylvania on occasion, its alumni/alumna will simply call it Penn.

Whither Penn State?

    The Penn State scandal hits especially close to home, since I went there my freshman year.  Joe Paterno was the head coach even way back then (1968).  He had a banner year - finishing undefeated and ranked #2 in the country.  But things are now in a royal mess, and getting more sordid with each passing day.  So it's time for some predictions, and I don't make any of these with joy.

Mike McQueary...
    ...will leave Penn State before Christmas.  Half the people in State College are mad because he spoke up; the other half are mad because he didn't speak up.  The governor is bad-mouthing him; and the local police are denying he ever contacted them.  Which will be found to be a lie, told to cover up for Paterno.  Which is sad.  Nevertheless, it's time to leave, dude.

    After a year's sabbatical, McQueary will take an assistant coaching position on the West coast.   At a small school.  Somewhere like Cal State San Luis Obispo.  He will find peace, but will never be a head coach at a top-level program.

The PSU football program...
    ...will fire the entire remaining coaching staff 48 hours after their bowl game.  The game will be on Dec. 30th or 31st, so the axe falls right after the holidays.   Penn State officials will mumble something about "needing a new direction" which for a change will be the truth.  Penn State will score 10 points in said bowl game, but has a 50:50 chance of winning.

    They will hire some no-name coach who's been successful at a small-time college and give him a 4-year contract.  He will be in over his head, have a 6-6 record next year; and will be fired after his second season.  Penn State will then hire some big-name coach.  Maybe Mike Leach, whose legal suits should just about be done by then.

Joe Paterno...
   ...will continue to be an unwanted fly in the ointment.  The lung cancer story will be debunked (WTF is "treatable lung cancer" anyway?).  He will show up for every home game, making sure to get his photo-op, and all the while maintaining he's just another spectator.

    He will pass on quietly in about 2 years (not a bold prediction, considering his age), but of a stroke or a heart attack, not cancer.  Everyone will breathe a sigh of relief,  but a sigh nonetheless.  In about 10 years, the scandal will have faded, and people will remember JoePa for the 43 years of football excellence, and not his self-serving antics in caring more about his legacy than the sodomized boys and the University's integrity.

Jerry Sandusky...
   ...will continue to say he's done nothing wrong, even as more victims come forward.  He will get a new lawyer who will forbid him from doing any more television interviews.

    As his trial nears, he will one day go up into his bedroom, lock the door (or maybe take a drive to a remote spot in the forest), and put a gun in his mouth.  He will never come to trial and never go to prison.

I...
    ...will continue to root for my Nittany Lions, all the while warning people about idolizing other human beings - be they athletes, rock stars, TV evangelists, or college football coaches.

JoPa and Bobby

Overall, it was a good day in NCAA football. The two coaching deans, Joe Paterno (Penn State) and Bobby Bowden (Florida State) both won their bowl games, beating LSU and West Virginia, respectively. Both coaches have been around forever. JoPa was the head coach at Penn State when I was a freshman there. And that was a few years ago. The Nittany Lions went undefeated that year, finishing seconf in the polls to also-unbeaten Ohio State. . The folks at Florida State are easing Bobby Bowden out to pasture at the end of this year. Everyone is smiling, but the truth is Bobby's getting booted because his teams consistently are only in the Top 25 anymore. In his heyday, Bobby's teams were always in the Top 5. The FSU folks should read their history and see what the state of Florida State football was before Bowden came along. I wonder if this sort of myopic-mindset will eventually do in JoPa as well. . Both games were great, featuring dramatic comebacks by the FSU and PSU squads. That being said, today's best finish was Northwestern-Auburn, but that's a subject for another day. . For now, congratulations to both Joe Paterno and Bobby Bowden!! They are two class acts in the jaded world of collegiate football. For one day at least, age and integrity received their due.