Killing Our Gods, Loudly

I’m sure you’re wondering where this is headed, right from the start.  I was thinking about this today, and I knew a blog was coming.  Suddenly I realized I had a series of what seem to be disparate themes, which were about to come together to make this one up.

First, a recent update on things:  I am the kind of person that when I like something, I tend to dive into it in an effort to discover more.  When it comes to music I do this especially, but I also do it when it comes to reading material.

About three or four years ago, while writing “The Other Roads Club” trilogy, I decided that a certain character, Minoru had a very dark, eccentric way about him.  I made him an Edgar Allan Poe devotee, right down to the way he dressed.  He quoted Poe, read the writings and sometimes couched things in the way that Poe might well have done.

Later on, I felt Minoru needed to branch out.  He was an acting type, so I had him go out for plays.  But what would work for him?  The answer?  Oscar Wilde; I had him try out for some of that.

It seemed to fit, so I bought a collection of Wilde’s plays; I never acted in any of them, but I would love such an opportunity one day.  His lampooning of British upper class twit society remains among the most clever.

P.G. Wodehouse, yet another; my sister loved his stuff, and it’s funny…I love Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie together, but reading the “Jeeves and Wooster” books is somehow more entertaining.  Don’t know why, but that is how that is.

So my point?  I immerse myself in the material I need to write my own stuff, and develop characters, storylines and all the other things I need.  It also broadens my own, sorry to say narrow bloody horizons.

Next case in point to get us where we need to go:  Sylvia Plath.

Recently the 50^th anniversary of her suicide passed our way.  I had known who Sylvia was, but I am not much of a reader or writer of poetry.  Irony:  not long ago, I stumbled across “The Bell Jar” in a used shop, and having not bought it, dispatched my friend Alice back to the shop to get it for me.

If you have not read this book, beware:  it is dark, scary, hard to read, but enlightening.  You go inside the tortured and yet brilliant mind of this woman.  She was only 30 when she offed herself; her son would also in time do the same.

I’d read this book, and saw horrific parallels to my own mental issues.  Plath even tried to kill herself in a way I envisioned, 20 years ago.  How shocking is that?

Not long ago, I joined Google+, and made friends with a young lady named Trina, who has put up a page there called “Sylvia Plath Lives.”  Only like four members, and Trina is surely into the lady’s writing more so than I.

I needed to research this more; I found something that really stunned me.  The cult of personality that surrounded Plath, her writing, and her death. 

Today I picked up “Ariel,” a restored version of which has been put out by Sylvia’s daughter, Frieda.  Plath bore two children by the British poet Ted Hughes, who we would know as the creator of the brilliant “Iron Man.” 

The relationship was good for both, and bad for Sylvia.  It’s no secret Hughes cheated on her; Sylvia was jealous and suspicious, but in this case had a right to be pissed off.  In the forward, 
Frieda writes of the hopes her father had to make it up to her.

His handling of Plath’s writings after her death, and the US and UK versions of “Ariel” attracted great attention, and great ire.

“Look in my eyes/What do you see/The Cult of Personality…”  -- Living Colour

Now the song is more about dictators and politicians, etc., but Plath attracted a rabid following.  Plath may well have been one of the first truly feminist authors, but Frieda rightly is unhappy with the way her mother has been used.

Used, abused, whatever you like for adjectives and superlatives.  Hughes was harshly criticized for changing “Ariel,” swapping out some poems for others, but it is a clear fact he had to be careful.  The poem “Lesbos” was about two acquaintances who lived in England.  The poem was not about lesbians, but it is a cutting and vicious three pages.  Hughes I think was right to drop that one.

But Plath has been taken up, she was then, and still now by a fan base that believes she is some kind of perfect “Goddess” and that all she ever did was wonderful.

When in fact, she was like you and I, a flawed human being.

I do not criticize her, and I cannot judge her.  I do not judge Hughes.  And here is where I get to my argument:

We kill our Gods…and we do it at the threshold of pain.

I’m reminded of the t-shirt Axl Rose used to wear onstage in the early days of Guns ‘N Roses, the one of Jesus, and I think it said something about killing your idols.  Very telling.

Think about it:  Plath’s followers, many of them are so fanatical.  Frieda writes she was accosted on a street by a man who was furious about a plaque being put up at the home in London where Frieda was born, where Plath lived happily with the family, and did some of her greatest work.

He was frothing about how it should be at the place where she killed herself.  Never mind that 
Plath was only there a few weeks; everyone thought she should die there.

Frieda’s response…she already has a headstone, we don’t need another.

Oh, and the defacement of Plath’s headstone by these rampaging assholes?  Talk about respect for the dead!  Talk about respect for the resting place of the one you supposedly revere!

All because they think Ted fucked things up with “Ariel,” and drove Sylvia to suicide.  That’s simplistic I know…but these people are even more simplistic than that!

So what else am I talking about here?

Next disparate thread:  because I live in Pennsylvania, I’ll shift gears for something a bit closer 
to home.  Yes, I’m going there.

JOE PATERNO AND PENN STATE.

I really hoped I could avoid talking about this again.  I tried to keep my mouth shut about the ongoing drama, one year after his death, and the fact that the Universe According to Joe still acts like he’s alive, walking around, and an omnipotent “God-Head” to the Blue and White.

I am really no longer upset with Paterno himself.  He is gone, a legendary coaching career tarnished by one big mistake.  I’m sure he committed a few others, too, but the one decision he made to shut up about Jerry Sandusky and what he was doing in order to protect the almighty football Program at Penn State.

The bleating continues to this day:  let’s work backwards.  The university itself continues to grudgingly shoulder its self-created cross of martyrdom over those terrible sanctions, that $60 million, piss drop in the bucket fine, and oh, so sad, no bowl games and no bowl game money.

The Nittany Lions did pretty damned well this past season; no one expected them to win eight games.  I covered two of those games at Beaver Stadium.  The fans showed up, smeared in blue and white, the nubile young (and not so young), both male and female bared their bodies and everything else in their passion for the university, the Program, and you know who.

But you know what?  Not many sellouts…sure, 97,000 for example?  That’s one hell of a crowd; but Beaver Stadium after its latest refit can hold 108,000 easily.

What’s that tell you?  Cracks.  They’re there.

Now…we can go a long ways down and fire off any number of people who still believe that Joe-Pa was wronged.  He was a scapegoat, they whine and howl!  It’s a conspiracy, they scream to the heavens!  The NCAA is out to get us, they shrilly proclaim.

The late Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis, he who saw conspiracies against his team by the NFL every place he looked would shake his head in disbelief.

So…let’s go right to the family, because they can’t let it go.

I do not have an issue with Joe’s widow.  Sue Paterno strikes me as a lady of dignity, and she’s only doing what any partner/wife/etc. would do; she’s defending her late husband.  I think she was right out of the loop; it’s clear to me Joe was not gonna tell her anything about Sandusky or what was going down.

Joe’s sons on the other hand, really bug me.  It would seem they spearhead the drive to trash the Freeh Report in an effort to try and prove that Louis Freeh overstepped his bounds, and that the NCAA went all out to destroy their daddy and ruin the program, blah blah blah.

Well…let’s take a look at certain aspects of why they might really be doing this.

When you’ve got a guy like Paterno who is essentially the most powerful man on the state university’s campus, you know what you get?  Perks.  Lots and lots of nice little bonuses, not just for the man, but for the family.

Hell, when Sandusky retired in ’99, he was given loads of them, even though everyone already suspected of just why he suddenly was leaving.  A hall pass to go anywhere he wanted, an office, use of facilities, discounts on tuition for him an all the family.

Transpose to the Paterno family:  now one son, Jay was an assistant coach so he too was an employee.  He was dumped along with the rest of the staff.

The Paternos began to make demands of the university in the wake of Joe’s passing.  They wanted goodies, all the goodies that Joe saw they got, and now…get ready for it…without in so many words…DECIDED THEY WERE ENTITLED TO THEM.

Stuff like…use of a private jet!

WHO THE FUCK NEEDS A PRIVATE JET IF YOU DO NOT WORK FOR THE BIG U. ANYMORE?

And of course they still wanted a luxury box, this that and the other.

I’m sorry…but you know, that really was unseemly.  What made these spoiled brat kids in adult bodies think they were entitled to any fucking thing?

This is an example of how you Kill Your Gods.  Yet another; fun, isn’t it?

I think Joe himself would be appalled that his grown-up family would try and hold up the university for stuff that really does not matter.

What exactly do they have to gain?  Joe made great money for a lot of years; they don’t need it. 

Two adult sons, free of the scandal in terms of having involvement should be able (you’d think) to get on with their lives.  Jay should be able to coach again; it would be unfair to hold the mistake of the father against the son.

Scott…I don’t really know what he does.  He ran for Congress back in like ’02, and I interviewed him a couple of times.  Nice guy, really; but he was a political novice running on the “Who’s My Daddy?” ticket.  Tim Holden ate him for lunch that Election Day.

I think the family doth protest too much.  Their “independent” review of the Freeh Report was a paid-for whitewash that would have made the creative writing team of World Wrestling Entertainment cringe.  ESPN must have been holding its collective nose when they aired a full report of that.

Again my point:  we make “Gods” of people, and we really must not do that.  Look at what happens; we make people, human beings out to be something spectacular.  When they fail, either we feel duped, or we cling to the cult aspects of what we thought they were, and convince ourselves they still are.

An old and dear friend has more than once said:  “I don’t go back.”  Her statement is about returning to the past; past relationships, and other matters that no longer apply to her life.

We live in the past.  We revel in it, and pretend it’s still happening.  I suppose that is why I do not suffer fools for the past well.  I do not have the patience for people who continue to re-live things that happened years and years ago like they were yesterday.

It’s been very difficult for me to get rid of my past, and I acknowledge this.  I have spent a long time trying to rid myself of shame, of guilt, of self-hatred for things I did and did not do.  I write of this in a number of my stories, and I find characters that seek a way out of that past.

We do indeed cling to that past, don’t we?  Look at the ongoing examination of Sylvia Plath.  Her work is indeed timeless, brilliant, cutting, and edgy for her time.  She was a woman out of her time, that’s my feeling.

But was she a “Goddess?”  No.

Joe Paterno…what was he?  A very successful football coach?  A leader of young men, a teacher, a guy who tried to do his best?  Largely, yes.  I do think that.

I also have said that a man’s life such as his should not be remembered for one mistake.  That I believe; yet at the same time, why was there such an act as he put on?  Why did he have to do it?

Why could he not at the end ‘fess up and say, “I screwed up.  I’m sorry.” 

I can’t answer that.

Last part of this:  look at the madness of organized religion.  I’ve blogged about it here before, and I’d refer you back to the “Samhain, and the Death of Anything Meaningful” blog for more on this subject.

I do not disrespect those who believe.  If it works, then good.  But look at how mad we have gone.  Most religions to me are the same thing, only we feel the need to destroy any interpretation but that which is the one we believe.

Everything else must be destroyed.  Isn’t that it?

Today, radical Islamists rape the ancient sites of Mali the same way radical Christians blazed bloody paths through Europe and the Americas.  The entire native population of Cuba, one example, no longer exists.

Is this what Jesus called for?  Did the prophet Mohammed really call for this?  What “God” demands this kind of tribute?

To me it is more human demands to serve a human purpose, not a spiritual one.

The two names are examples…and they were HUMAN.  Look at others, such as Buddha and Lao Tzu; they were HUMAN.  They did not require such things nor demand them.

Just another method of how we Kill Our Gods.

###

I have only read the foreword of “Ariel,” and skimmed “Lesbos” to get an idea of it.  I will read that once I’m finished here.  I think for me, I need to read more of her work, to expand my own horizon, and maybe get a bit more truth about myself.

I don’t know if any of this makes sense; this is all one draft, one stream of thought and consciousness.  I wonder what you will find, as I wonder what I’ll find in “Ariel.”

Peace, Out.

Stabbing Westwards, Possible Changes, Back to Penn State, and Remembering "Uptown" Janice Brown...

Well, Thelonious Monk's "All Alone" is playing on my iTunes, as I prepare to do anything but what I should be doing right now.  I have a lot of think about, and a lot to do in the next few days, and yet there's really not much I can at this point in time.

I traveled to the Midwest last week, and it was the first time I'd been continuously on the ground that far west in this country.  I've flown over before, but never been on the road in that direction much.  Without going into it, I went west for a job interview.  I am not a terribly superstitious person, but I don't dare talk about it much.

"Angel of Sorrow" takes over, by the late John Campbell...forboding stuff.

Anyway, I can tell you that it's flat out that way!  My trip through West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois was pretty smooth, and I certainly learned a few things about traveling out there.  A lot of flat lands, and it seemed to me a lot like portions of southern Quebec, sort of between the Vermont border and Montreal.  Long, long fields of corn and soybeans; architecture is different there, too.

A lot of the houses seem very thin and built upwards; the barns are not much different, but silos clearly are.  Just a lot of subtle but intriguing differences.  

Billboards were pretty funny at times.  They are a blot on the landscape as far as I'm concerned; but some of them are amusing.  The typical Jesus Freak billboards for one, then of course you have the porn shop billboards, that seem to go hand in hand for that.

Strange adverts for different products, and some people obviously needed some imaging or PR help before putting them up.  

Cities tend to spring up like an oasis.  Then there's the radio thing; being a broadcaster, you listen to different stations to get an idea of what they're doing.  

Not very impressive.  The NPR outlets on the left of the dial are all about the same, with few variations in programming.  I didn't listen to the music on the FM, because they're all the same.

"Stellar Regions," an alternate take, by John Coltrane...that fits.

AM radio is pretty bad.  A couple of big-city "news" stations are not; they are smatterings of news hosted by an anchor who is trying to be a cross between Gary LaPierre (late of WBZ) and Howard Stern.  Does not work.  Vacuous blowhard crossed with shock jock; nah, need some help there, losers.

The Chicago newser, WBBM stood out as a real and still honest to Goddess news station.  Think of KYW in Philly or WCBS in New York, and you know what I mean.  That's how it is supposed to be done, bitches.  

Now I will not discuss where I may be headed, because again it's a jinx.  But I liked what I heard and saw...I will discuss more should the need arise.  I hope it does.

This whole thing could shape the rest of my career, and my life.  I can't help but feel excited and feel like for once I may well again be valued for what I am capable of.

"Cut it Out," the late Gary Moore.  Nice change.

Everyone I met all the way out there, nice folks.  Really polite, friendly people, and I was impressed by the kindness of everyone.  We can get pretty nasty to one another when we see differences and then take them to the wrong kind of limit, but when it's just casual passing through, it ain't so bad, is it?  Think about it.

My ride back on Saturday was interesting; listened to the horrific Cincinnati Reds radio broadcasters for part of the way back east.  Who decided that former jocks make good announcers?  There are very few who can actually get out of that mode and honestly do a good job, show intelligence and rational thought.

Aside of it:  the best one is Lincoln Kennedy.  The former Raiders lineman is on Fox Sports Radio, and I enjoy listening to him.  He is a very smart, thoughtful and intelligent guy.  His regular partner, Andy Furman, is not very good.  Linc needs his own show.

I stopped back in Indianapolis, where I was reunited with an old and dear friend.  Rene and I worked together at the old Strawberries on Wellington Circle back in the day, and we stayed in touch.  She is as irrepressible as ever, and I love her for it; met her man, Erik, awesome guy and we had a long talk.  Great time; and I have an in on the goings-on in that city now.

Well, I spent the night in Wheeling, West Virginia, and motored the rest of the way home Sunday.  Then things got interesting.

The Silver Saturn took me 1400 miles w/o complaint.  Then up the street I go to the Office...and it throws an axle.

I got it back Tuesday.  Poor car; been through so much, and I've put enough $$$ into it to buy another car.  But it feels alright again, so whatever.  Better than more debt for a new ride.  I'll worry about that later.

"Never Last," Johnny Diesel and the Injectors.  This was a great one-off band from the early 90's.  Good stuff.

The DJ work on Radio Airwaves is going good; still learning the quirks of the chatrooms, which we connect to, but it's all good.  Made friends on a whole new network; the DJ community is small but it's a good one, and I'm having fun playing what the fuck I want.

Once again, find out all you need to know at www.radio-airwaves.co.uk

Shameless plug, heehee.

OK...while I wait for all this, I have to get back to "work."  Such little I have here.  I'm returning to Penn State this Saturday to cover the first Nittany Lion game and season without You Know Who.

This could be a tough game for the Lions.  Ohio went 10-and-4 last season and they employ a fast passing attack.  Supposedly Bill O'Brien's new defensive scheme is set to handle such things, but with a lot of key players gone, you wonder how they'll do.

And of course, the PSU community is still whining and whimpering about the terrible sanctions handed down them by that bad, evil Louis Freeh and the Powers That Be That Want Penn State Destroyed.

Some people never learn.

"Savages," Paul Weller...interesting iTunes choice.

The Paterno family is still bitching, and there's a 400 page book about JoePa that's out now.  I wonder how fast that was written!  I also wonder how much post-life wanking is involved in the making of that.

My job is to cover the game, but I shall endeavor to do my best to cover the vibe, the feelings, the attitudes there.  This is a very new world for the PSU community:  no Paterno, for the first time since 1965 as head coach.  The statue is gone, and memories are all that are left.

Will people cling to them?  Will they still believe that JoePa was the victim of a major screwjob, and will the conspiracies still abound about all the rest of it?

"Raspberry Jam Delta-V," Joe Satriani....to another astral plane we go.

For all the statements that Penn State is going to take its long-overdue ass-kicking and move on, I wonder if they can.  I rather doubt it, because old habits die hard, no matter where you are or what context that's in.

I shall see how the students handle it, how the older folks handle it, and how the players do.

On one level I do agree that the players are suffering, and many have had to leave to pursue their football whatevers...but they are a part of the system, and they'd have to be completely devoid of reality to not know that when something evil occurs at the top of the system, that it will come down and nail you.  If you are a cog in the machine, and it breaks down, you are part of it.

Then again, we exalt athletes, the same way we deify politicians, celebrities and the wealthy and powerful.  We made gods out of them, and then we find out they're human.  Like Paterno; the faith is shaken, but do we ever learn?

We'll find out.

Change is the theme of all of this today; I face potential changes, big-time changes.  People around me face changes every day, but do we embrace them or do we move with them and embrace them?

I for one am ready to do that, because I need to.  If not out west, someplace else; change has to come and I have to change with it.  Not everything about me, but enough of it.

###

Then comes that other change; death and passing on.  I've lost a number of friends in recent years, many before their time you would think.

"Beginnings," Jimi Hendrix...hmm, that's appropriate in a way.

Yesterday, I learned one of my former XM Radio colleagues, Janice Brown passed away.

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/music/2012/08/24/uptown-janice-brown-jazz-vocalist-dies-at-55/

It's sad, because how can you not know someone when you spend a good five years around them?  Janice was one of those characters that you find in  every job, and especially in every radio station.  A small lady with big eyes, a bigger smile and a wicked sense of humor.  Also a great sense of self.

Janice was a long-time jazz DJ at WPFW Radio in DC, before she came to XM to inject her style to traffic reporting.  She did standup comedy I believe, and was a singer of great ability.  Janice released a CD, but I've not been able to find it.  I wish to, for I would like to play it on Radio Airwaves and let at least a big of the universe know who she was.

I miss her, and this is hard to write; I had a lot of friends from XM, and I still do.  I don't know what happened to Janice, but the intimation of health issues best be left there.  She had a great love of life, and didn't have to tell anyone about it; she had it.

I have a photo...

This is a bunch of the rapscallion crew I worked with at XM, on our last official day...Janice is the lady on the right in the orange scarf.

A total sweetheart.  Rest in Peace, Janice, you deserve it.  We won't forget you.

###

Time to move on, I guess...we all do, and I'm sure we'll hear Janice singing in the next world with legends to back her.  Monk, Coltrane, Mingus, Tony Williams?  Yeah, that would do.

###

See you next time, when hopefully I know more of my future, and where it all leads.

Penn State: the Banshee Wails in Morning Light...

Oh, where oh where is the voice of John Facenda when you need him?  Or the wordplay of Hunter Thompson, when such a skewed command of the language in the universe is required?


All such thoughts aside, it is now nearly eleven hours since NCAA President Mark Emmert and his hair stepped to the podium from the safe confines of the association's headquarters in Indianapolis, to announce to the world and the astral plane from where all good little Nittany Lions go when they die of the punishment that the football Program (with a Capital P, like a previous blog) would receive.


We all know why, just some keywords:  Jerry Sandusky.  Joe Paterno.  Tim Curley.  Gary Schultz.  Graham Spanier.  Victims 1 through 10.  Penn State Football.  Rape.  Sexual Abuse.  Cover-up.  Lies.  Emails.  


That enough?


So this morning, President Emmert (with help from his hair) made the grand announcement of what Penn State University, as well as the football Program must take, for allowing the abuse, enabling the abuse, and then pretending it all didn't happen, for the sake of the Program:


http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/8191027/penn-state-nittany-lions-hit-60-million-fine-4-year-bowl-ban-wins-dating-1998


The skinny is there, and here is the decree the university signed:


http://a.espncdn.com/pdf/2012/0723/pennstateconclusions.pdf


Let's look at those sanctions, shall we:


--A fine of $60 million dollars; the figure is essentially what the Program cleared last season, after expenses and funding pretty much every other sport campus.  


The money is to go to legitimate (I hope) organizations all over the US that deal with child sexual abuse, meaning counseling, treatment, all of that.  That I can agree with; the money is desperately needed at many non-profits, and I hope that a fair system can be set up where the money will do the most good.


--Loss of athletic scholarships.  There's a lot of scholarship money handed out to those "athlete-students," don'tcha know, the ol' free ride.  Well, that free ride generally goes to top flight athletes, especially in football and basketball.  As former SMU Coach Ron Meyer admitted back in the 80's, he didn't want kids that could play great football at the collegiate level, he wanted kids who could play in the NFL right now.


Admittedly, a lot of those blue chip athletes didn't have the grades to get into Penn State, but if you did and the chance to play for JoePa is set before you, you'd take it.


This means that the talent pool of freshmen and redshirt freshmen is gonna be mighty thin over the next four, and maybe more years.  Also, players on the PSU squad now can transfer to any school they want and play right away, with no one-year waiting period.


I can just imagine how many of those kids have already left Happy Valley.  Some have claimed they will stay, but I doubt it.  


Why would they?  No postseason football for the next four seasons.  No playoff games.  No bowl games.  No trips to the Cotton/Rose/Orange/Sugar/Astro-Bluebonnet (remember that last one?) Bowl for you, Penn State!  No appearance money for Penn State, either.


--An additional five-year probation period, in which the university will be under the watchful eye of the NCAA, for any more fuckups.  That could mean anything.


But here now is the one that is really cutting into the hearts and souls of those who worship at the altar (now removed) that is Joe Paterno:


--112 victories, earned by Penn State from 1998 to 2011, have been struck off the record books.  112 games won, no more.  Sure, the Nittany Lions won 'em on the field, but not anymore.  Because of all of this, all 112 games during the period of Sandusky's behavior and the cover-up and lies that followed, Penn State forfeits every damn one of them.


--Joe Paterno is no longer the winningest coach in NCAA Division I Football history.  The record goes back to the late Eddie Robinson of Grambling.  His 408 wins will not be caught in our lifetime, I'm sure.  Of course, the media is all about how Bobby Bowden is first in FBS wins...I don't even know what the FBS is.


FUCKING BULL SHIT, I think...nothing against Bowden, but really.


These are indeed the most draconian sanctions ever handed down by the NCAA, and the decisions alone, as well as the methods will be picked apart for decades after, by legal experts, commentators, sports talk show hosts, pundits, and especially, the PSU fans and alumni.


Just look at some of them...just look at them:

Why so shocked, collegians?

They knew this day was coming, but oh, the humanity!  They and their elders (who should damned fucking well know better by now) have been screaming like the sirens who stand on numerous rocky shores and hilltops, crying their hearts out and howling for justice for their beloved university, their beloved football Program, and their beloved "God," JoePa.


They had a pretty fair clue thrown down to them, when the emails came out.  When it was, "Crystal clear, like a windshield without glass" (thank you, Shawn Michaels) that Paterno had his finger on the pulse of his minions' slip-shod "investigation" of Sandusky.  He also had an iron grip on the university; he was party to and decisive in indecision:  there would be no talk about this, no reporting, no nothing.


Just get Jerry outta my hair, JoePa ordered, and keep him out of it.  Who cares about a bunch of kids he showered with, and all this crazy talk?  Fuck 'em; we got a Program to run!


(Okay, Paterno did NOT say that as far as we know...to me it is clearly implied that the Program was more important to Paterno than any kids.  Just like it was catching Robinson and getting those 409 wins.


Oh, and the statue?  How about that?


http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=8188599

Click for comments from a pair of real geniuses.  I'm sorry, but you know what?  These two people are exactly what the fuck is wrong with Penn State, the culture of the Program, and the Cult of Personality that is Joe Paterno.


That student looks like he's about to cry...oh, it's so unfair!  It's just a statue!  It's a statue of JoePa!  He did so much for us!


And he did NOTHING for those kids.


And how about that snippy, snooty woman with the uncool from the 80's haircut?  Still living in JoePa Land, where everything is nice and wonderful and sweet.


After listening to that comment she made, with the arrogance in her face and voice?  It would make the most devout Atheist leap up and shout, "JESUS CHRIST!"


I'm sure my father would have said that...and probably a sight more.


The cult remains in force.  Paterno is gone, his reputation tarnished; Sandusky is right where he belongs, in jail.  Curley and Schultz have yet to have their day in court, so it is too soon to know what will become of Dumb and Dumber.


Oh, and Spanier?  Isn't this lovely?


http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/8192066/graham-spanier-wants-set-record-straight-penn-state-nittany-lions-board-trustees

Dear Graham wants one more time before his former peers, those stuffy, old-moneyed bromides who would likely not even make the end table at one of Mitt Romney's parties.  He wants to set the record straight, does he?


Spanier was a figurehead.  He had NO power at Penn State; Spanier well knew all the power rested with Paterno.  If Paterno wanted something done, or not done, that's it.


Spanier allowed himself to be the whipping boy for the media, academia, politicians, everyone.  He was just one of Joe's Bitches.  


I knew over the weekend that this whole thing was gonna be bad, and I say this because we have to understand what the Trustees, the Board or whatever makes a person sit in a chair up there every so often.  Apparently, they all knew that this was gonna be bad, way bad for the Program, and the school.  One of them harumphed to an ESPN Senior Writer (Dan van Natta) about how Emmert was allowed to have free reign, and use the Freeh Report, rather than do an internal investigation.


He call all of the university presidents, are you ready for this?


PANSIES!


They're pansies, he shouted, for letting Emmert do his job!


Sir...how old are you, anyway?  That's like a 50's or 60's term.  Go back to your country club, and have another 30-year-old bourbon, or whatever it is you drink.  And what the hell, make it a double.


Now...let's take a look at what exactly has gotten everyone's boxers and granny panties in a bunch, shall we?  Beyond all we've talked about so far:


How the Investigation was Conducted...I do agree, that the scope is very different.  Usually, the NCAA does an internal investigation, which generally is a whitewash of affairs.


The unique nature of the Freeh Report really makes an internal investigation a waste of time and money.  Louis Freeh, if you don't remember his name, was a former FBI Director and a former federal judge.  He has his own firm now, and they got the job of independent investigation.  Guys like that don't make shit up.

That report is like 267 pages long; it pretty much is the manifesto for what went wrong at Penn State.  Like in so many other cases, it is not a matter of the university running the program.

No...THE PROGRAM RUNS THE UNIVERSITY.

This is when power corrupts, and corrupts totally.  Paterno had all the power, all the levers under his old-man fingers.  He could do whatever he wanted, and Joe's word was Law.

That line from the email Curley wrote says it all, that part about "talking it over with Joe," or something like that.  Curley was ready to do the right thing and go to the police, the Dept. of Public Welfare, all of it.

Joe stopped it.

Spanier wrote he was "comfortable" with the decision, despite his warning (he is a lawyer) that they could get in big trouble down the road.  For once, Spanier was right.

That says it all, doesn't it?

"Lack of Institutional Control."  This is what took SMU's football team off the field for two seasons, and off the map, pretty much for good.  This is what has plagued Miami-Florida for decades, has done so at Ohio State, Oklahoma and quite a few other schools. 

These punishments were not for trading jerseys for free tattoos, selling basketball tournament tickets for cash, getting a car under the table for the star running back, nothing like that.

We're talking about criminal activity, and the covering up thereof.  Again, this comes with the new powers that Emmert was granted by the NCAA to clear up this mess.  More on that in a second.

Quite clearly, this had to be done.  I'm not saying it's 100% right or fair, but in life, nothing is ever fair.  Those college kids should know that sooner rather than later; I would have thought they'd learned that when they were much younger.  Their elders, parents, alumni, whomever...they should know as well.

Oh, but we're talking Penn State folks, that bastion of probity, decency and higher education...and a football Program run amok.

The Program was the money-maker for Penn State, not the academic side.  As excellent as the school is when it comes to actual education, football trumps everything. 

Now let's have a look at the world I work in, the media.  I saw this today on dcrtv.com.  Dave Hughes covers DC/Maryland area radio and TV stuff on here, and he does a great job.  This is from the mailbag:

"I unprecedented tried to unprecedented listen to unprecedented ESPN radio this unprecedented morning, but their unprecedented overuse of one unprecedented word while covering the unprecedented Penn State unprecedented story made it unprecedented impossible to unprecedented listen very unprecedented long. Apparently those unprecedented little brains unprecedented have a hard unprecedented time unprecedented covering unprecedented real news unprecedented stories, even unprecedented the ones that have unprecedented been telegraphed unprecedented for days. On-air unprecedented talent was unprecedented clearly told to unprecedented use one word unprecedented in every unprecedented sentence. Unprecedented unprecedented unprecedented. Unprecedented."

ESPN could not stop using the word, and I'm pretty sure "Unprecedented" was talking about Mike & Mike.  But likely also about everyone else down there.

Sports Journalism is often sardonically called, "The Toy Department."  It used to be, anyway by the News Department.  For the most part, ESPN has done a pretty decent job of coverage, and even the watchdog site Poynter.org has given them good marks.

Since the scandal broke with Sandusky, all of humanity including media was thrown into two armed camps:  you either loved Penn State and worshipped the ground Joe Paterno vomited on, or you HATED PENN STATE.

The "JoePologists" (I love that term) rushed to his defense; they excoriated everyone who dared to speak any ill of PSU, and of JoePa.  That would not do.  There was NO WAY, they crowed, that Paterno would EVER allow such things to occur, and not take action.

Till those emails came out.  Half of the JoePologists did a fast 180, and began howling louder than the other side about such terrible things this man did, as they tried to cover their own asses and apologize for their own stupidity.

See Rick Reilly's column, either at Sports Illustrated or on ESPN.go.com -- you'll see what I mean.  And Rick, you're still a self-important douchebag.

Most of the sports talk world is unreasonable.  It's like trying to reason with three-year-old children, only these are "adults," whose intellectual development ended when they were 12.  They slammed Sandusky, attacked anyone saying ill of JoePa, and tried to dissemble and find ways of getting their man around it and out of it.

A high percentage of sports talk hosts are not athletes.  They are wannabes; the males are by and large arrogant, loud, tub-thumping nincompoops whose sense of humor makes "South Park" look thoughtful.  Many are misogynist, who take every opportunity to slam women's sports (the late Papa Joe Chevalier was among the worst), and who think they're clever by having lots of scantily-clad women on their websites.  Not gettin' any, but they can dream, can't they? 

The few women in the business are largely reporters who get air time here and there, but have to really be able to take a lot of shit.  How Amy Lawrence holds her own at ESPN I don't know.  The Fabulous Sports Babe (who is now retired) was one of the most hated women in the sports media, because she was loud, a performer, knew her sports and smart enough to take down any man in a war of words.  I personally didn't think her show was that good, but she was smart as hell, I'll give her that.

Paterno became the scapegoat, in their eyes.  A friend pointed this out:  building a statue to honor a man who is still alive is NOT a good idea.  No, not at all; already revered as a coach, Paterno now became God in the eyes of Penn State and the Cult (not the band).

The issue will be picked to shreds for years thereafter, and either you're on one side or the other.  It is inevitable.

Now...back to the way this investigation went down.  Someone on ESPN Radio today made a good point, though clearly he was trying very hard to slag Emmert and whine about the heavy hammer he used.

This guy brought up the Baylor basketball case from a few years ago: 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baylor_University_basketball_scandal

A fair point, in that a murder took place and the NCAA didn't go after the Bears' program for that.  Of course, we didn't know about Penn State, either. 

There's another scandal brewing right now in Montana: 

http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/2012/5/1/2991273/montana-football-sexual-assault-scandal-justice-department 

A second fair point, moreso in that this has not yet played out.  What will the NCAA do here?  The shill wailed that Emmert better come down hard on Montana, or (boo-hoo) it's just not fair!

I agree on the point, and the fairness issue.  If the NCAA is gonna go hard at Penn State for criminal activity, so should they in Montana, once we know the facts in the case.  The shill acted like they're all guilty up there, and that is not so (yet).

Now...let's get to Penn State itself, and what it will face.

Someone got onto a Fox Sports Radio whinefest and admitted that his son goes to Penn State.  You know what's comin', don't you:

This man actually said this:  "THE COMMUNITY IS GOING TO DIE."

(Cue R.E.M. song, please)

Really?  Die?  A tragic, horrible death?  Oh, my.

Actually, let's look a little more carefully at that.  It is true, that Penn State, and especially football are big-ass money makers for the community at large.  It's not just the college, though having thousands of college kids hitting your bars, restaurants, convenience stores, gas stations and so forth makes for a good profit if you know how to run a business.

When Fall Comes to Happy Valley, it's Money Time!  The roads to State College are clogged every Saturday there's a game; people who live around there either stay put or get the hell out unless they're going to the game, too.  Every single store, restaurant, fast food joint, t-shirt stand, and especially the crazy guy who owns the barbecued rib place (his commercials are ridiculously stupid) stand to make a shitload of green when there's a game on.

Now...if the "Death Penalty," that scourge that destroyed SMU's program had been put in place, or if as I'd speculated, Penn State might be banned from having any home games there this or next season, then you might have an argument.

Businesses really do need that revenue, but the community will not die.  The Nittany Lions will play football this fall, so no worries, folks.  There will be games, there will be people going to them, and there will be football.

But what kind of football?

It won't be anywhere near as good as what Paterno put on the field.  Bill O'Brien probably wishes he was back with the Patriots right now.  I do not expect to see a full football squad when I go up there to cover the first game of the season against Ohio.  I would bet half the top players will be somewhere else; those that stay will be supplemented by redshirts, walk-ons and whomever else O'Brien can hustle into a uniform.

I say this because not only does Penn State already have high academic standards, but again, what top of the line players are gonna go to Penn State, when they know they will not contend for a national title, and not even have a postseason playoff game to play in?

SMU, which got the Death Penalty for far less in 1987 (millions of dollars paid to players by well-heeled boosters, and they kept doing it even when caught), was under numerous pressures.  They had no football in '87; most of the players jumped ship that very day.  The next season, the Mustangs were allowed to play a seven-game schedule, but all the games had to be on the road.

No home revenue.  None.  Penn State could have faced this, you know.

SMU had only a handful of kids to play, and they decided to sit out 1988.  When they came back, they looked like a JV high school squad (see "Pony Excess," the  independent documentary that ESPN put out as part of the 30 on 30 series for more).  The Mustangs recorded only one winning season in the 20 years after their return, and have only been two I think two bowl games.  They've never recovered.

I think the NCAA took the economic circumstances into account when these decisions were reached.  The hope is now, that football remains a sport, and not a religion, at least officially.

All I know is, 105-thousand students, alumni and fans will pack Beaver Stadium every home game this fall, and probably for many years after.  They'll tailgate, drink and be merry, and then head into their cathedral for the game.    Their expectations should not be set very high.

Hopefully, the game will be seen for what it should be; a game, a contest of two teams with good players on each side, and good coaches.  It will be a test of skill, of systems, of clock and game management, and a little bit of luck.  Perhaps it will be fun again.

I rather doubt it will be as fun as it once was, though.  Even without the statue in front of the stadium, even with all the efforts Penn State will make to put the whole thing behind them, they may never shed the shadow of this horrid affair.

Bowden said that removing the statue was a good idea, because every time someone passes it, they'll think of Sandusky.  They'll think of Paterno, and what he did/didn't do, and the victims. 

Paterno is dead; sadly, his inaction and his terrible decision to do nothing will be his legacy.  What was announced today is part of that legacy.  There's good, great, but with both there is always bad, and terrible.  The measures are not always equal.

I hope, as I often do in life, that when people recover from this shock, they will see things in a different light, and do their best to move forward and find a way to help make things right.

I hope for that, but I do not expect it.  We're talking about human beings, you and I.

In too many cases such as these, it is too much to ask people to grow up.