Penn State University Home of the Nittany Convicts????

[colonelsanders]

Did anyone see Sportscenter this morning with the Outside the Lines Report about Penn State and the football team's "character issues"? Joe Pa seemed very upset calling the report a "witch hunt".

Any thought to anyone that saw the segment?

[The Ancient Enemy]

He can say whatever he wants, but the fact remains that those kids DID get in trouble. It wasn't lies. They DO have some character issues, but I think it's over with now.

[The Ancient Enemy]

Just watched this whole video on ESPN.com, per Ham's advice.

Here's what I say about it:

1. The numbers don't lie.
2. HOWEVER, only half the allegations stuck.
3. What Michael Haynes said about them recruiting some kids with character issues is happening everywhere, fellas. You can't single Penn State out, and neither can ESPN. Go to their $%#*&$^% website and look at the list of things ESPN posts. They are NEVER positive, and they are always stories about kids in trouble... FROM EVERY COLLEGE.
4. Paterno said there's no truth to the claim that they recruited bad apples. I am gonna back him up on this. Chris Bell and Chris Baker, whoever else, none of those kids had criminal backgrounds, dude.
5. OTL claim that Paterno isn't running the show. This is absolutely false. Anyone who has seen a Penn State practice knows who runs that program top to bottom.
6. "Paterno has lost control". Yeah, obviously. This is the reason the team doesn't win the Big 10 every year... which goes right back to point 5! He IS running the show, and HAS lost control of the kids on an individual basis.
7. That kid who lives in that apartment made it sound like those players burst in there with machetes and hacked people up like they were Richard Speck. Give me a break. There was not "blood all over the hall and all the way down the steps". If that were true, it would have been attempted murder.
8. Paterno sent text messages telling those players to keep their mouths shut w/ judicial affairs. I back Joe up on this on, too. It has been very well known for years that paterno has not purchased anything past 1960, does not have a computer, and I think he rides around in a horse and buggy. There is no way Joe Paterno sent those kids those text messages. I am on Paterno's case constantly, but there's no validity to that accusation.
9. Let me bring this up, real quick, regarding Scirrotto and Baker and Hayes and whoever else all breaking into that apartment. It says on OTL that Scirrotto's girlfriend kicked that kid in the gonads, and that's what started all of this. Why in the hell would a girl just kick a guy in the crotch for no reason? Do you honestly think that this kid didn't hassle the girl before they got outside? I can almost guarantee you, after having been out for drinks on many, many, many times on colleges campuses, that that kid hit on Scirrotto's gf, she told him to f-off, and that kid got pissed and started trouble with her. Every single person reading this right now, who has been to a bar at college, has seen this situation unravel before. What the hell would you do if someone started hassleing your girlfriend like that? V-man, a PSU hater, went nuts when I said I beat his wife at Guitar Hero. So imagine how he (or any of us) would have felt if someone said something that was actually serious? You would have went nuts, and went after the kid. Especially if you yourself were 21 years old. Give me a break.
10. I really wish you guys would stop watching ESPN. Its a complete joke of a sports station, its a gossip show and a tabloid show anymore. Why do you support garbage like this?

Every single day, this is what ESPN.com looks like. Here's today, for you idiots who don't listen to me:

# H-a-v-e-n-o-c-l-u-e: JoePa spells out future plans
# Mom of alleged Iowa victim sends letter | Ferentz
# Oregon linebacker Garrett suspended indefinitely
# Ex-Tulane player sentenced to 10 years in prison
# Kentucky quarterback Pulley in trouble again
# Michigan's Rodriguez says it's time to move on
# Wisconsin running back suspended indefinitely
# San Jose State's Gonzalez won't lose scholarship

Outside the Lines is the worst show on that whole network. They constantly have idiotic topics where all they do is trash on everybody. And you know what? People love it, which is why they show it. Its disgusting. We are a month from the season and this crap is all they report!!!!!!

Why can't you have an Outside the Lines show talking to Ohio State kids, past and present, about what the problems are against speed programs? Why can't you talk about what OSU has done to rectify the inadequicies? Shouldn't the coaches be interviewed? This is what I am interested in hearing.

How about teams like Indiana and San Jose State and Stanford who are moving up the ranks, recruiting well, and are up against programs much better than theirs?

Why is there no OTL show about how Rich Rodriguez has meshed with those new players, and the allegations and circumstances around him? Those kids say good things about him. Why can't you do a big show on Michigan?

Bobby Bowden is leaving, supposedly, at the end of this season. FSU has been terrible. We can't have a show on Bowden and what he is thinking heading into his swan song? Come on!

Speaking of Bowden, why not a show on Tommy Bowden and how Clemson is so hyped even though he's been a huge disappointment in Clemson? What's gonna change in 2008?

Report the news!

[colonelsanders]

Isnt OTL ESPN's investigative show?

[The Ancient Enemy]

The problem with Outside the Lines is that they show everything in a negative light. It doesn't matter if its true or not, or if it is questionable either way. They could have that "dun-dun-dunnnnnnnn" noise after every sentence. Its a shame that we are a month from kickoff and this is all we have to report, how penn state is recruiting questionable kids. I was watched a Simpsons DVD last night and Lisa Simpson said something that ESPN should take to heart: you can't create a monster and then cry when he topples a few buildings! College football has become so big and there is so much money to be had that programs are forced to recruit kids who are troublemakers. But still, with that being said, none of those kids that PSU recruited had criminal backgrounds. So what do you want them to do?

You can blame the university for accepting questionable kids, you can blame their HS teachers, you can blame the country's education system. But this all ultimately goes back to the parents never having any responsibility for themselves or their children. And why should they? When the US govt keeps wiping everyone's *** for them, why take personal responsibility for yourself or your kids? They tell school teachers to pass kids along because failing them hurts their self-esteem.

What we are seeing in sports is a microcosm of this whole generation. These kids don't know how to behave, because we won't teach them. The only way to solve that is by cutting all these deadbeats loose to fend for themselves and stop sending them checks every month. Teach your kid how to be an adult and how to work for a living. Show your kid that when you act like an idiot at your job, or show up high, whatever, you get fired for it. Show these kids that the same rules apply to them when they get to college. I'm telling you right now, kicking 1 or 2 kids off the team isn't setting any examples. Its the same crap where you electrocute a killer: does corporal punishment deter violence? Absolutely not.

I have a friend who is a 31 yr old deadbeat that just got fired at Fed EX after about 10 yrs of employment. You know why? He can't get to work on time. They have told him at least 15 different times to stop coming in late. Finally, they fired him. This guy lives in a part of Dallas where he does not deal with traffic to or from work, has nothing else going on in his life that would take up his time, no wife or kids or girlfriend even, and he still can't show up for work on time, even though its only 15 mins from his house. You should hear him complain about how he was mistreated. I would have fired him after 3 times, 9 years ago. The point is, he got away with it so long that he thought that the threats were empty.

Maybe the NCAA needs to get involved in these cases and not allow the colleges to handle it, if they honestly want change. Maybe then there won't be witch hunts like the one at Penn State. You can't have it both ways, ESPN. You dont get to create a monster and then complain when he pushes over a few buildings.

Sorry for the rant, Colonel.

[deliverance]

PENN STATE PLAYERS/COACHES ARRESTED SINCE 2002

1. Maurice Humphrey - Arrest, Assault & Prison - Guilty

2. Maurice Humphrey - Probation Violation - Guilty

3. Maurice Humphrey - Fake ID Probation Violation - Guilty

4. Tyler Reed - Drunk in Public Summary Charge - Guilty

5. Andrew Richardson - Drunk in Public Summary Charge - Guilty

6. Rashard Casey - Arrest, Assault, - Dismissed

7. Anwar Phillips - Arrest, Assault, - Dismissed

8. T.C. Cosby - Arrest, Assault, - Acquitted

9. Michael Robinson - Ice-Rink Fight - Summary Charge

10. Lavon Chisley - Arrest, Sexual Assault, - Dismissed

11. Paul Jefferson - Drunk In Public Summary Charge - Guilty

12. Ed Johnson - Ice-rink fight Summary Charge - Guilty

13. Matthew Rice - Ice-rink fight - Summary Charge - Guilty

14. John Bronson, Arrest, Assault - Dismissed

15. Jeremy Kapinos - Drunk in public - Summary Charge

16. Tom McHugh - Hitting a woman - Summary Charge

17. Tony Johnson - Arrest, DUI - Guilty

18. Richard Cheek - Arrest, Stolen Credit Card - Guilty

19. Yaacov Yisreal - DUI - Guilty

20. Dan Drogan - DUI Leaving Accident - Guilty

21. Dethrell Garcia - DUI - Guilty

22. Scott Paxson - Criminal Mischief, Summary Charge - Guilty

23. E.Z. Smith - Drunk in public - Summary Charge - Guilty

24. R.J. Luke - Arrest Assault - Acquitted

25. Damone Jones - Unknown Charges - Dismissed From School

26. Mike Sothern - Terroristic Disorderly Criminal Mischief - Guilty

27. Mike Sothern - Criminal Mischief Expelled - Guilty

28. EZ Smith - Criminal Mischief Summary Charge - Guilty

29. Scott Paxson - Criminal Mischief Summary Charge - Guilty

30. Tyler Reed - Criminal Mischief Summary Charge - Guilty

31. Andrew Richardson - Criminal Mischief Summary Charge - Guilty

32. Ed Johnson - Sexual Misconduct Arrest - Guilty

34. Dan Connor - Criminal Mischief Phone Summary Charge - Guilty

35. Nolan MCready - Criminal Mischief Phone Summary Charge - Guilty

36. Jim Kanuch - Criminal Mischief Summary Phone Charge - Guilty

37. Paul Cronin - Drunk In Public Summary Charge - Guilty

38. Scott Paxson - Sexual Assault & Aggravated Indecent Charge - Guilty

39. Francis Claude - Arrest At Bar Disorderly Conduct - Guilty

40. Ed Johnson - Failed Drug Test Condition of Parole - Guilty

41. Lavon Chisley - Murder Charge - Guilty Life Sentence

42. Anthony P. Scirrotto - Burglary, criminal trespass, criminal solicitation, simple assault, harassment. - Trial Pending

43. Chris I. Baker - Burglary, criminal trespass criminal trespass, disorderly conduct, harassment.

44. Jerome A. Hayes - Criminal trespass, disorderly conduct, harassment. - Dismissed

45. Justin King - Criminal trespass, disorderly conduct, harassment. - Dismissed

46. Tyrell A. Sales - Criminal trespass, disorderly conduct, harassment - Dismissed

47. Lydell R. Sargeant - Criminal trespass, disorderly conduct, harassment - Dismissed

48. Andrew Quarless - Underage Drinking - Guilty

49. Willie Harriot - Underage Drinking - Guilty

50. Austin Scott - Rape, Drugs - Trial

51. Joe Suhey - Underage Drinking - Guilty

52. Ryan Breen - Underage Drinking - Guilty,

53. Joe Paterno - Road Rage - No Charges

54. Chris Baker - Felony aggravated assault, simple assault, disorderly conduct, summary harassment and stalking, - Pending.

55. Navarro Bowman - Felony aggravated assault, simple assault, disorderly conduct, summary harassment and stalking, - Pending.

56. Knowledge Timmons - Disorderly conduct and defiant trespass - Pending

57. Tyrell Sales ? Under age drinking 2008 - Pending

58. Chris Bell Dismissed from the team off the field issues and academics

59. Phillip Taylor Dismissed from the team off the field issues and academics

60. Andrew Quarless Suspended, charged with DUI.

61. Chris Bell Dismissed from the team for threatening a teammate with a knife in team dining room.

61 different players/coaches arrested since 2002. I took this from another site, but that's unreal. How can JoePa call this "a witch hunt"? At first, I thought ESPN may have been doing their usual thing by just digging up things for a program, but there is something going on in State College. They're starting to look like they are going to be the new and improved "Thug U". I just wonder how many things went down prior to 2002 that got covered up. At least JoePa is still good at something. He can still get his players out of criminal charges in most cases.

[flybynight]

53. Joe Paterno - Road Rage - No Charges

Now you're just pulling stuff out of your ****. Is that serious?

[deliverance]

I told you I got it from another site. I didn't put the list together, but if you can only pull 1 out of 61 as a joke, then you're not doing too well.

[abpk2903]

I want to know what they expected Joe Paterno to say. I mean if he said "yeah, we do not look at character anymore while recruiting" everyone would made even a bigger federal case out of it. Not only that but they would not get a good recruit in the next 5 years.

For the record, Stephen A. Smith is the biggest joke of a columist on ESPN. All he does is scream into the microphone and acts like he is the only person that knows what is going on in sports. He needs to go back to NBA shootaround where nobody watches him and remind himself of his pick of the Lakers to sweep the Pistons a few years back. Cocky SOB.

[colonelsanders]

to be honest i think i remember seeing an article in the paper reguarding JoePa and his Road Rage!