Boilers Leave No Doubt v. PSU

According to Purdue players and coaches alike, this afternoon's game v. PSU was an important one.

The high expectations of camp and the early season weren't completely out of reach as Purdue could still take a step forward for the program, by winning out.  Seven wins for this team would be pretty solid...A bowl in Texas instead of Detroit wasn't out of the question, and Purdue's player's coach would surely earn another extension by leading his squad to a 7-5 season.  So our Boilers were playing for their coach...playing for pride, and playing for this Senior class.  All of those motivators seemed to matter little this afternoon in God's country.

Robert Marve's speech earlier this week was the stuff of legends...but Purdue's subsequent play was not.  It wouldn't matter if Marve was at QB or Drew Brees was behind center...Nord and Hope's gameplan and play-calling was uninventive, uninspiring and flat.  The game crept along at a snail's pace (at least for Purdue fans).

Purdue wasn't behind by much...then was behind by a few scores...then was completely out of the game.  Lousy spacing, defensive schematic breakdowns, poor tackling, awful execution and vanilla, predictable play-calling put Purdue in a position that we're all familiar with: the prone position.

Make no mistake, this PSU team is just OK.  They're not great...but Purdue made them look like a juggernaut this afternoon.  I was looking for a spry JoePa on the sidelines...and KiJana Carter to break the huddle...but all I found was a mediocre QB and a slow, plodding RB...who kicked Purdue's ass time and time again.  The end result was another thrashing: Purdue 9 PSU 34.

Purdue's defense couldn't get a stop when they needed it...and the offense was no better.  At one point, our Boilers were averaging under 3 yards/pass attempt...that number swelled to 4.6 with TerBush's strong effort in relief of #9.

Back when J and I were students, we just waited for the moment when Purdue would be out of the game...today, that moment came pretty early in the game as Purdue didn't put up much of a fight after midway through the second quarter.  The familiar two yard out was back in force on offense...and on the other side of the ball, Purdue looked like they were trying to catch a jack rabbit, but to no avail.

I still believe that these players are capable of much more than what we're seeing...and we have proof: UND is still undefeated and Purdue took them to the edge of defeat.  Same goes for anOSU. But games like last week, this week and both the Wisky and UM games make even the most-faithful Boiler doubt that anything's left in the tank.

Shavers averaged 8.1 yards/carry...but Hunt was the guy that Nord went to as the game was slipping away. Edison had a couple uncharacteristic drops, but still finished with 93 yard receiving and a TD...but he was forced to catch the ball with his back to the defense and his feet in cement...not by his design, mind you.

The sad thing is, Nord, Tibesar, Gibbony, Hope and company probably haven't reached the bottom yet.  Purdue travels to Iowa next week.  Iowa is not good...they're sub-.500 and they lost to IU today...plus, Purdue hasn't won at Kinnick since I was in high school...and many of Purdue's players weren't born, at that point.  What I'm saying is that I'm not counting on things to change next week, or for the remainder of this season, sadly.

Watching college football for me is tough right now.  As I type, Oregon is scoring with regularity...K State is enjoying a resurgence under a guy that looks like my grandpa...and college football is still fun for some fan bases.  But, it's not much fun for Boilers right now.  In fact, it looks like Purdue isn't even playing the same game that many teams, like Sumlin's Aggies and others, are playing right now.

Mercy.

One of Purdue's really good fans came up from Texas this weekend to watch the game in the nice seats in Ross-Ade.  He didn't buy the seats from a scalper, but he purchased these years ago...and due to work and life, he doesn't get to go to many, but keeps supporting his Boilers with his time and wallet.  The reward for his long trip was his Boilers laying a gigantic egg on the RA prescription athletic turf.  Fans like this guy I'm talking about, our pal, deserve better...hell, Purdue fans in general deserve better than what we saw today...and what we've seen this season.

The coaches didn't give the players the tools to win today, and the players repaid them with a lackluster effort, especially after the first quarter. This putrid blend of lousy effort and worse planning has helped create a nearly-unwatchable product clad in vegas gold and black this season.

37,500 seats were sold for the game today...and by the middle of the third quarter, about 25,000 die hards remained in their seats...I wasn't one of them.

My brother, a fellow Purdue grad, turned 35 yesterday.  We celebrated his birthday at his home with an open house...during a four or five our span, 20-25 Purdue grads, along with their spouses and kids came through his house...and none of them seemed to indicate that they were too bothered by missing the game.  Some even left their seats in RA empty while celebrating my brother surviving another year.  Most of these men and women graduated during the Tiller era...But, the early oughts are a distant memory at this point, and in their place, the late-80s seem to have taken their place.

We Are....Doing The Predicto

If you're bored and want to be riled up, check out the comments section of any Penn State related blogsite when they discuss anything even tangentially related to the child abuse scandal they will now forever be known for. The levels of denial and delusion are amazing, even to this day.

As new details surface on the atrocities committed there and the behavior of those in power who obfuscated (to put it mildly) while a child predator walked among them for years, it becomes even clearer what kind of a man the sainted Joe Paterno really was. They say you can be judged by the company you keep, so even if you delude yourself into believing there isn't any "evidence" that Paterno handled things criminally, you sure can pass judgement on those he confided in, discussed things, with and conspired among. Had he lived, Joe Paterno would most likely be indicted at this point and awaiting trial on felony charges.

All that said, Bill O'Brien appears to be his own kind of jerk. I discussed with Boilerdowd almost immediately how unlikable and arrogant this guy appears, almost like he's cranky that he got roped into the long term contract he's in that is pretty ironclad.  And while a jerk is just a jerk, accessories to sexual deviancy and people who cover-up child abuse are quite another.

O'Brien had nothing to do with the cover up that went on at PSU over the past decade-plus and the current players didn't, either. They've all done their best to represent PSU in a positive way and I think it's important to remember that. Sure, go ahead and boo them as they take the field, just like you would any other opponent. But as hard as it is to separate what went on from those blue and white uniforms that symbolize Penn State, you probably should try. These guys did nothing wrong but trust the old men in charge when they came on board -- something lots of people did.

That said, it's predicto time.

J says:

We still have no electricity at my house in NJ, which is probably good because I'm not sure how much more Purdue football I want to watch this season. We discussed on our impromptu Handsome Hangout on Sunday that while the Minnesota loss might have felt like rock bottom, it probably can get worse -- like if they continue to get drubbed. And I have some bad news -- they probably will.

One thing that could stop it at this point is if this team decides to play for Coach Hope. While sounding cheesy, it actually has some merit. The 2008 Boilers were a listless, terrible football team, but when Coach Tiller was on his way out, the Boilers laid a whipping on Indiana the likes of which aren't often seen in conference play. When Jim Colletto announced he wasn't coming back in 1996, another atrociously-bad Boiler team went out and beat Michigan 9-3. If these guys get the sense that the coach they supposedly love is on the thin ice he must be at this point, perhaps you'll see some spirit out of them. We certainly didn't see any against Minnesota.

Another thing that could stop the bleeding is the play of Robert Marve. He is reportedly going to start -- right in the nick of time, coaching staff! Of course, they couldn't even make the change that has been obvious to everyone for over a year without making it sound like the media pushed them into doing it.

Robert Marve injects life into this team. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen them play without energy when 9 has been under center. So given that, I do think they have a fighting chance -- if Robert is given the reins for the entire game, or nearly the entire game (if you want to run Henry in a few spots, have at it, but no switching QBs for entire quarters at a time). Of course, the downside for Robert is that he gets the nod against a pretty stout defense, 18th in the nation in points allowed. And finally, there is the issue of his gimpy knee, that we aren't even sure can take a full game of action. As we've said repeatedly, as much as we want to see Marve play, we would rather Purdue lose out than see this young man writhing on the ground again.

If Marve doesn't see the majority of the action for whatever reason, it'll be a long day for the Boilers in front of a half-empty Ross-Ade. If he does, it'll be a slightly less long day, but a long day all the same. There is nothing in the past month-plus (Purdue's last win was Sept 29, by the way -- last Big Ten win will be one year ago in 24 days) that leads me to think Purdue should be given a shot in this game.

Nittany Kittens 42
Purdue 28

Boilerdowd says:

This is a big week for Purdue's football program's future; it seems everyone inside and outside of the program understands that.

In the immediate future, you have Robert Marve, KK Short, Josh Johnson, Akeem Shavers and others all beginning to understand that they're entering the last few games they'll ever play in a Purdue uniform.  These guys have played through injury, bled and torn soft tissue for this program...and played through it.  By every account, Marve's impassioned speech to the team shortly after he was named starter was pretty moving.  The guy is a fighter...and he'll be playing with one less ACL than the other 21 guys on the field this Saturday...can his heart and big arm make up for it, is the question.

The bigger question will be, of course, can the defense stop anybody.  Penn State does a lot well on offense and has one of the statistically-best QBs in the league.  While I can't say I'm impressed with him, I am very impressed with the hard-nosed football PSU has been playing and the fact that in spite of outside distractions, their coaching staff has done an amazing job getting them ready each and every week...that's quite a contrast with Hope and co, is it not?

Hope blames the media and amazing outlets like this one for creating this situation that Purdue's football program is in....but the blame is squarely on the guys in the fancy Nike jackets on the sidelines. Each week when these guys blow smoke up their players arses publicly, our Boilers lay an egg the next Saturday...that's kinda bad news for my alma mater's team.

Hope said that in spite of the score, Purdue was close statistically to Mini-Sota.  Who gives a damn.  They were smoked in every area...the good news is Marve and Henry both provided something to grin about in a day filled with apathetic sighs and groans from the Boiler faithful...that ended (for most of us) with a trip far away from the TV.

If Purdue can do the improbable and win on Saturday, it'll be because Robert Marve and company were allowed to do their job...and no dumbass comments about Marve leaving the script or not being able to manage the game like someone else will be deterring him from doing so.  But, if Nord is pulling the strings, expect more of the same crap that Purdue has been giving the last few weeks.  But prepare for a big first or second play!!!

Tibesar needs to throw out everything he's been doing the past few weeks as well.  If it takes using 12 players to stop PSU, do it.  Hell, Paterno did that a few years ago and all he got was a flag.

Here's a crappy scenario that I think is possible: Purdue will show fight for a half, and maybe get the lead...but that lead will bring TerBush off of the bench for some solid game management and prevent defense on the other side of the field.  Purdue could have a 10 point lead with three minutes left and give that away; we've seen it before.  The good news is, if that scenario rolls around, Hope's revolutionary timeout strategy will save Purdue again...ammiright?

Show me, Boilers...I wanna be wrong.

Loving Lions 35
Purdue 31

The Dismantling of a Legend Rightfully Continues

For about a decade, I can remember Joe Paterno telling the world that if he wasn't coaching football, he'd would literally die.  In fact, he credited the game and his players for keeping him young-acting and alive.  In hindsight, there seems to be a ton of truth to that.

We know a lot about the guy that we didn't years ago.  We know that he struggled privately with various illnesses...most noteworthy, the cancer that took his life shortly after he was fired.  But, the most dangerous illness Paterno probably suffered from was a mental illness that made him believe in a reality that simply didn't exist.

In Joe Paterno's world, football, loyalty, reputation, public perception and graduation rates were more important than laws or even lives.  No one will ever say that it was a bad thing that so many of Paterno's players graduated from college.  In fact, many of his players were given opportunities at lives they would have never had if it wasn't for Paterno's football program. But, there were many parts of his program that were in shambles before most of the world ever knew what The Second Mile even was...or knew of the disgusting underbelly of its founder.

As Paterno aged, he did what a lot of older people do- he began to slow down and care less about the details that once defined him.  In this process, he stopped looking for lawlessness and poor behavior; and worse, he stopped caring about this behavior's repercussions.  It's been pretty well-documented that in the 00s and after, PSU football players were arrested at a much-higher rate than they had been in the previous decades under Paterno's watch.  In spite of that, the head coach didn't see the interest in the change of the program as anything more than a "witch hunt". A few years of rough water and sub-par records later, Paterno's Lions emerged once again as a powerhouse.  And Paterno's national reputation remained mostly-unblemished.

On the field, Paterno was fiery...even when hobbled by injuries or illness. His players reflected that fire with a hard-nosed brand of football that reflected the lunchpail perspective that the simply-dressed coach often exuded.  But, like some other legendary coaches before him that held on a bit too long, discipline and principles were sometimes replaced with outright anger, a bully's mentality and little proof that consequences existed for the actions.  But, in press conferences, Paterno's awe-schucks answers were lauded by the media and Nittany Lion fans alike.

The man could do no wrong...even when he did wrong. If he assailed an official as he ran toward the tunnel, not only would he not get penalized in the second half, ABC would cheer on the effort as spunky and gritty. If he dodged questions in press conferences, we'd hear about how he was a master at handling issues with political savvy and wisdom that young people just don't have.  I'm pretty sure that he didn't think that the final serious issue that he'd ever have to deal with on this earth, was the cover-up surrounding one of his ex-assistants sexual deviancy and mis-conduct.

I'm also sure that he believed, no, knew, that he was above the law.

His grandfatherly public persona was hardly ever broken.  Even after he was fired, his boyish smile and pithy comments to the student body made it seem like the entire Sandusky case was an overblown mis-understanding.  But in spite what some PSU alums and fans try to tell us, there was no misunderstanding here.  JoePa knew exactly what was happening...and intentionally directed people to look the other way and cover-up some of the most-monstrous behavior imaginable.

Outside of cannibalism, is there anything that our society is more disgusted by than adults that make children their sexual prey?  I can only speak for myself and the people I know well...but I don't think anything is lower than this.  It has the power to completely ruin lives- it robs the victim of not only their childhood, but also an adult life of much of the perspective and joy we take for granted.

YET, Paterno, part of Penn State's administration, and much of its athletic department thought it was better to protect one of their own than bring to the light this horrible darkness. This is the worst case of lack of institutional control that the NCAA will ever investigate.  They probably will not give the football program what they deserve later this year...but that in itself is a different conversation and enough material for a month of posts.

Delusional.

PSU fans continue to defend the deceased leader of their football program, but nothing I've read, and no one I've talked to, can convince me that Paterno is any different than a gangster that saw the family as more important than law, decency or those who aren't part of his inner circle.  He abused his bigtime power in a small town to perpetuate a conspiracy that left lives shattered and all but encouraged lawlessness to continue. As recently as last fall, Sandusky was welcomed into Penn State's facilities by Paterno and Co. as a guest of the coach. Now try to relate for a moment. Could you, would you, welcome a child predator into your home time and again if he wasn't repentent? I'd hope not.  Could you, would you,give him the apparatus to continue his abhorrent behavior? Probably not. Could you, would you, instruct others to lie on his behalf in order to protect him? Absolutely not.

The more that's investigated, the more awful this case becomes.  The more digging that occurs, the more we all get to see just how dark things really were.  And while Paterno and his PSU lemmings were never guilty of the repetitive act itself, they were all guilty...and all should pay in some way.  It seems only just that the PSU football empire that Paterno built should be dismantled by the scandal that he covered up for a decade.

Knocking down statues and chipping away at the legacy should be the just the beginning of the destruction of a mythical legend that simply doesn't match the true story. But sadly, by dying, Paterno got off way too easy...and he'll never see the consequences of the fraud that he enabled and perpetuated.

Rehashing the Debacle: Stats

This loss and the way the team played really got under my skin.  So in an effort of separating myself from the game, here's an unemotional, statistical look at why the Forces of Good lost at PSU:

STARTERS
Rob Hummel
30mpg/16.4ppg/1.8apg/6.1rpg/.6spg
30min/-2.4pts/-.8ast/-1.1reb/+2.4stl

Lewis Jackson
25mpg/9.6ppg/3.9apg/3.6rpg/1.3spg
-3min/-5pts/-1.9ast/-2.6reb/-1.3stl


Ryne Smith
27.3mpg/10.3ppg/1.4apg/3.1rpg/.9spg
+5.7min/-5.3pts/+.6ast/+.9reb/+.1stl

Kelsey Barlow
25.1mpg/8.8ppg/2.1apg/3.9rpg/1.6spg
+4.9min/-.8pts/-.1reb/-1.9reb/-1.6stl

Jacob Lawson
14.9mpg/3.7ppg/.4apg/2.7rpg/.6spg/.9bpg
-3.9min/-3.7pts/-.4ast/-.8reb/-.6stl/-.9blk


BENCH
DJ Byrd
13.1mpg/5.1ppg/.8apg/1.3rpg/.4spg
+9.9min/+6.9pts/+1.2ast/+1.7reb/+.6stl

Terone Johnson
20mpg/6.8ppg/1.8apg/2.9rpg/1.2spg
-2min/-2.8pts/-1.8ast/+.1reb/-1.2stl


Travis Carroll
15.9mpg/2.8ppg/.6apg/3.1rpg/.6spg/.9bpg
-.9min/-.8pts/+.4ast/+.9reb/-.6stl/+2.1blk


Anthony Johnson
16.1mpg/6.6ppg/.9apg/2.4rpg/.4spg
-8.1min/-6.6pts/-.9ast/-2.4reb/-.4stl


John Hart
7.6mpg/2.8ppg/.2apg/0.0rpg/0.0spg
+.4min/-2.8pts/-.2ast/0.0reb/0.0stl

The PSU Post I Didn't Want To Write

With all that is going on around us, I really didn't want to write about the Penn State debacle. So many people have written so many things so much more eloquently and powerfully than I could ever hope to. It's also not a sports story and that's what we write about here. So I'm even less qualified to have an opinion you should care about. However, one of the gratuities we allow ourselves here is that it's indeed our site and once in a while, we'll go off the reservation and use it for cathartic reasons. This is one of those times.

I've literally lost sleep over this and more than a few times found myself staring out a window, feeling pain and anguish for the victims of Jerry Sandusky's abuses. Like everyone with any sort of moral compass, I've felt anger most of all, but sadness to the point of almost crying (and I'm not a crier) has also enveloped me at times. Maybe it's being a father. Maybe it's that I had someone very close to me sexually abused. But I don't think those two facts make me any more angry necessarily, because the abuse -- especially to such a sickening level -- of children, especially young, impressionable, at-risk children, who Sandusky preyed on within his foundation...is just so hard to even fathom, that it becomes the great uniting force among us.

We were among the many who relentlessly went after Ohio State apologists when the house came down on Jim Tressel's head and Terrelle Pryor bounced for the NFL. But doesn't that seem ridiculously small potatoes now? I mean, how utterly insignificant is that now? It's sports-related and it's important from the perspective of raising our kids and students to be morally conscious people...but let's be honest. Cheating the NCAA rules is one thing -- the debacle at Penn State had nothing to do with athletic/academic/NCAA improprieties. It had to do with morality of the most basic kind. I may differ from the guys at OSU blogs on bending the rules, but I'm willing to bet that nearly 100% of them would line with me and us in solidarity when it comes to abusing children.

There is no gray area. There is no acceptable explanation for anyone knowing anything about what happened and was happening for years within the Penn State midst and not taking significant action. Not calling bosses, not calling daddy, not running away from the scene.  

You can very easily read the grand jury report here. However, no matter how desensitized you might think you are to abhorrent behavior, nauseating facts and the like, this will be hard to read. I could not read it all in one sitting and I consider myself a pretty hardened person.

If you don't want to read it (though I recommend you do so that you are as informed as anyone else and more so than those defending anyone associated with it) and you trust me instead, I appreciate that and here's what you need to know. Mike McQueary was a graduate assistant in 2002 and was 28 years old. He walked into the Penn State football locker room one evening and saw former coach Jerry Sandusky having anal intercourse with a ten year old boy. He saw it. He immediately ran away and called his dad, who told him they needed to tell Coach Paterno. McQueary then did just that, albeit the next day, and Paterno referred it up the chain of command. The athletic director, Tim Curley, and SVP for Finance and Business Gary Schultz then told McQueary a few weeks later (a few weeks after McQueary saw a boy being raped in a Penn State shower) that Sandusky's "keys to the locker room had been taken away" and that the incident had been reported to The Second Mile, Sandusky's foundation that the district attorney now thinks was actually founded more or less to feed Sandusky's predatory needs. And that was that.

So there you have it -- and that's just the 2002 incident that McQueary witnessed. Which is bad enough, but it is to say nothing of earlier accusations/incidents where Sandusky was seen showering naked with similarly-aged boys in 1998, for example. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 victims are now alleged, as of last night. Knowing this animal was on the loose for literally decades mean we will surely never know the complete depths of his depravity and how many lives he destroyed.

McQueary's reaction is just one of many puzzling/disturbing pieces to this puzzle. His grand jury testimony almost leads me to believe he feels he fulfilled his obligation in this situation, which is also the defense the Paterno apologists are currently using. He did what was required and he is not at risk for legal action. However, I don't necessarily even agree. People keep making the distinction in opinion pieces that while Joe and McQueary did what was legally required, they didn't do what was morally required. But let's back up -- aren't we all somewhat obligated to call the authorities if we witness a crime? If I saw a woman being raped in my office and only told my boss and didn't call the police..... wouldn't I be potentially liable in some way? I'm not a lawyer so I'm sure there's a loophole here, but shit, these are some awful things to be loopholing our way through. And to get down to actual facts, the DA has not cleared Joe completely out of the woods yet. I believe what was said was that Paterno is not a target of the investigation "at this time." It's far from over.

Anyway, McQueary saw what he saw and then he ran away from the scene. He ran away from the mother-effing scene. I don't care about these people saying, "Well, none of us know how we would react." Bullshit. You would intervene. If you're a decent human being with morals of any kind, you intervene. This isn't a married man having sex with his secretary. This isn't money changing hands between a college coach and a prized recruit. If those were the situation, then the steps McQueary took would have been perfectly acceptable. Tell the people you need to tell to cover your own ass and then if they cover it up, so be it. That's life in the big leagues.

But not this. NOT the rape of a child. There is no other acceptable response, in my opinion, than to intervene and, ideally, nearly beat Sandusky to death. I do not say that sort of thing lightly, either. And I am not joking. There are times when someone's crimes are such that I think they should have to be humiliated in court, to hear from their victims, to do hard time in prison. But in the case of an animal who has sexually abused children, I think the penalty of physical beating is the best first step. I know, I sound bloodthirsty and Sandusky has not yet been convicted of anything. Well, as with all opinion pieces, understand that this whole things comes with an, "if he did indeed do it." But hey, there are witnesses. And dozens of victims already lining up. This happened.

Going back to McQueary, there are those who said he perhaps feared for his job. Okay, I get that if, again, we're talking about him witnessing a pay-for-play scheme where JoePa was handing Terrelle Pryor the keys to a Suburban. I get that. But not this. If you lose your job over reporting child abuse, well, so be it. I'm sorry, but you have a higher obligation here and as a human being you have an obligation to protect children. I don't care if you do or do not have children, and I don't care if you even like children. But let me ask the rational ones among you... if you saw a child about to be hit by a car, wouldn't you likely risk your life to save that child? Even if they were a stranger? I think most, if not all, of us would. Children need protection from all of us. Especially people in power who have the ability to make a difference.

Which brings us to Joe Paterno himself. There is this apologists argument that he did everything he should have done and that is patently false. I'm sorry to burst your bubble if you love Joe, but he was catastrophically wrong on this one. I'm not implying Paterno advocated child abuse -- but to suggest telling his superiors was enough is asinine. Joe Paterno is and was the legend in Happy Valley. He is the boss there. He was untouchable. There are actually braindead apologists suggesting that the Penn State administration has been "muzzling" him and hey, maybe he wanted to speak out all along.

Give me a fricking break. If Joe Paterno wanted to talk to the media or to anybody, he could call ESPN and tell them he wanted to speak to any reporter he wanted and they would be on his doorstep in a matter of hours. And nobody could do a damn thing about it. This myth that PSU holds his job over his head is just that -- a myth. Joe has been holding Penn State hostage for years in refusing to exit gracefully and instead hanging on well past the time he should have retired.

We have joked in the past about Joe being a figurehead and "coaching" from the press box without a headset, etc. I had asked openly and to Ben Jones of BSD of what we're waiting for with Joe. Just a few weeks ago on our podcast, I asked Ben if PSU was waiting for him to die on the sidelines because that would be a really traumatic, awful memory of the end of Joe Paterno. I could not have imagined how the end of his time at Penn State will now be remembered.

And that's another issue here. This is the awful answer to the question we've raised before about the risks of a figurehead coach. This is what happens when the CEO is a detached old man who is disconnected from reality. I don't care how much you hate them or how dirty you think they might be with regard to NCAA rules... can you imagine Nick Saban allowing child abuse? Les Miles? Danny Hope? Rich Rodriguez? John Calipari? I actually can't. I think these guys and many others in their profession have questionable morals when it comes to NCAA rules. But not when it comes to the welfare of ten year old children. Or maybe I just can't allow myself to believe this could be covered up elsewhere.

That's yet another sad truth here, though. There are thousands of victims of child abuse that are never heard from. And in some cases, there are those who cannot speak out for even more tragic reasons. To the right of the page, you'll find some links today to foundations and schools that help children who deal with issues ranging from child abuse to developmental disabilities to a lack of proper guidance. If you have even $5 to donate, please consider doing it. Or if you can volunteer (not just at these, but at any shelter, foundation or youth group, etc.), please consider doing that, too. I know so many of you are good and decent people. And if I wasn't around to show my son guidance, I would sincerely want good people showing him the way.

In closing, please do your best to re-focus your emotions from rage at those responsible to empathy for those who have suffered. Admittedly, I'm still working on that myself, but I'm trying.

Thanks for letting me meander this morning.

Weekend Gumbo

Still not a ton going on around Purdue sports...and that's OK because it's just that time of year. Brian Cardinal sprinkled some Boiler luck on the Mavs and helped them turn the game around the other night v. the detestable Heat...but even with the chance of seeing Cardinal for a few seconds each game, I'm still having a hard time caring about the NBA finals. My distraction of choice, Indy Car, is in a short respite following the big race, meanwhile, J's Yanks are one of the best teams in MLB...still nothing holds our attention like Purdue basketball and football, so we're biding our time like the rest of you.

Danny Hope has offered nearly 150 players for next year's class...already. About seven of those players are quarterbacks as Hope's staff is still smarting from Bellamy's departure from last year's class, and offensive linemen are also a high priority as the need will be great in the coming years (as we've been saying for two).

Hope thinks that Purdue's team is sound, for the most part, academically, and doesn't expect much, if any, attrition due to grades in the next few weeks. Every interview I've read from Hope has him mentioning that this team has the parts to contend for a championship (I'm not sure which one) and his optimism, as always is bubbling over. Like we've always said, it's tough not to like a guy that's eternally optimistic, but my eyes disagree with his assessment. I hope I'm wrong and Purdue's third-year coach is on the mark.

Another noteworthy point that Hope has talked about is that Bolden is 100% following his second ACL recovery but Marve isn't quite there, at least at this point. Let's keep in mind that Henry was a unanimous captain choice for this team...as a RS Soph, so it's his job to lose in the fall. That said, when you pass as infrequently and ineffectively as 15 did at times last season, it's tough to stay healthy...so Marve needs to be ready as we saw in '10. TerBush, of course, will also be back.

On the basketball side, two of Purdue's recruits, Derek Willis and Kendall Stephens are both receiving invites to events put on specifically for the nation's elite and seem to be catching everyone's eye. Stephens has been battling a few nagging injuries during the early summer AAU circuit and Willis has had a rise like no player I've seen Purdue recruit in the last decade. I have no reason to believe this other than a hunch, but with two slimy coaches very near by, I'm concerned that Willis won't stay committed. This is precisely why we don't like talking about verbals and why it's always smart for coaches to continue recruiting until signing day. That said, I like both the '12 and '13 classes with the verbals that are in the group quite a bit and think a ton of these guys really understand Purdue's philosophy.

Sprintin' Shane

Purdue football signee, Shane Mikesky added to his already decorated track career by winning another 110 hurdles crown and helped Zionsville to third in the state in the 4x100. Mikesky is a wildcard for the Boilers and reminds me a bit of John Standeford or UND (jackface) Jeff Samardzija.

There's an old phrase that track speed isn't football speed, and I tend to agree, but athleticism is athleticism...and this kid's got plenty of that...and a 6'4" frame isn't horrible either at WR.

Here's an indoor race from God's country that Mikesky won back in '10:

PSU moves on from the DeChellis Era

Ed DeChellis decided it was time for him to part ways (a few weeks ago) with the Lions by making the step up to the big time with Navy, in doing so, he left PSU in a bit of a lurch, but they've now found their guy. They didn't look inside the PSU family, instead they went to basketball powerhouse, Boston University to find their guy. Meet Patrick Chambers.

Chambers is a 40 year old coach who led BU to the NCAA tournament and isn't lacking in enthusiasm or optimism. In fact, he seems a bit like Danny Hope in that category. He called PSU a program in better position than was Villanova a few seasons ago (I'm positive he's ignoring the past successes of the Wildcats), is impressed with PSU's newfound commitment to win championships, and thinks of the Lions as a sleeping giant awaiting to angrily rise from its slumber. If you're friends with Mr. Chambers don't tell him that he wasn't hired as their football coach...it'll ruin his summer.

Joe Knows Social Networking

You can tell the season's on its way... crisp air, intense practices...and articles trying to make Joe Paterno's ludicrously advancing age and obstinate nature charming.

Coach Joe Paterno seems to relish his image as one of his profession's last curmudgeonly throwbacks.

You call him a "curmudgeonly throwback," I call him a "disconnected old man." Affectionately, of course.

No, he tells the media every year, he doesn't even have a cell phone or send and receive e-mail. His most recent rant was directed at Twitter, which he dismisses as "tweedle doo or tweedle dee, tweet and twit."

No cell phone, no email... not even a headset. Far too newfangled.

"Really, he looks at technology the same way I do," Jay Paterno said. "He's just not going to use it himself. He can play dumb like a fox. He says, 'I don't know what Twitter is, I don't know what social-networking is,' but he's very aware of what it does, how it connects and how it can be used to promote our program. He's pushed us all in that direction."

I can just imagine JoePa giving a lecture on the viability of social networking. And then saying, "But I'm going to pretend I don't know what it is. Also, I have to poop."

Joe Paterno, technology savant.

Thanks For Stopping By, Penn State

I guess it was actually a good thing that Iowa knocked off Penn State during the regular season. Otherwise, they might have slipped into the National Title game and been clobbered by Oklahoma or Florida. As it was, they did the Big Ten no favors by looking completely overmatched against the USC Trojans, who played hard for a half and then spent the second half being pleased with themselves.

And I know there are legions of Paterno defenders out there who point out how he clearly hasn't lost it since his team went 11-2 this year. Fine, granted, the program is in good shape. But even if he was winning national titles, should an 82 year old codger who cannot even be on the sidelines or make it to the locker room at halftime be the head coach?

I just don't see how people think this is a good situation. He's sitting up in the press box, only occasionally donning a headset (and never when he's on the sidelines, begging the question as to how connected he can possibly be to what's going on), and just shaking his head and looking old and forlorn.

Then we get the wonderful press conferences with Joe.

"I thought the Southern Cal quarterback played a great game."

He said that over and over again. Does he not know Mark Sanchez' name? This would concern me greatly. This isn't your grandpa talking about players he doesn't know while sitting by the fire on New Year's Day. This is the head coach. Supposedly.

Asked about an injury to one of his players:

"I don't know, I haven't talked to the trainers or anything yet. I just know he got banged up and couldn't play."

Sounds very connected to his team.

Now, I'm not saying he doesn't sound like he still understands the game. He's not a joke at the press conference -- but the pages are fraying and I would be concerned if my team just inked this guy to three more years.

What are they hoping for? That he dies on the field? He's going to be coaching until he's 85, at least? He already can't stand on the sidelines and, sure, sure, he's got a new hip so I'm sure everything will work out fine. But clearly he's a brittle old man -- like all of us would be -- and so you begin to wonder about his effectiveness. Especially when his team gets taken behind the woodshed like they did yesterday.

I know, I know, we'd give anything for an 11-win season, and you'd be right if you said that. But that's not the point here. Is there any reason to think Paterno finally stepping down and being replaced by someone like Greg Schiano from Rutgers would be a bad thing?

Penn State Has Fallen And They Can't Get Up

Thanks Penn State, for doing the Big Ten proud, you clowns. You have the road paved for you to either make the BCS national title game OR at least make a case for (again) why this system sucks. Instead, you laid a smelly egg in Iowa and lost the game to a team that really shouldn't have been on the same field with you.

I often say I hate being forced to defend teams that I don't like. But I live in Big 12/SEC country now and so that happens a lot. I am a Big Ten loyalist -- not that I root for Big Ten teams, necessarily, but I don't like it when the idiotic statement is accepted as fact that the Big Ten is lousy. It's not that bad.

There was a guy in my office two weeks ago who claimed that he thought Penn State was "maybe #25 in the nation." Now no matter whether you think the Big Ten is down or not, that's just silly and I told him so. When teams from the MAC, the WAC, the ACC and the Big East are in the Top 25, you simply cannot make that claim. Penn State is a good football team. But again, I hate to defend them because, well, I can't stand them or their senile coach (hint -- when you're too old and decrepit to even stand on the sidelines, it's over).

And then PSU goes and loses by a point to Iowa. And while I do think Iowa isn't nearly as good as PSU, they're having a quietly decent season. Which brings me to another point.

How come when a mediocre SEC team (like, oh, say, Ole Miss) squeaks one out against Florida, people say that just shows how tough the SEC is, but when the exact same kind of thing happens with Iowa and Penn State, it "proves" that PSU isn't for real? I don't follow.

While I do agree Florida is the best team in the SEC (Alabama will find this out in the conference title game), they lose to a team they never should have lost to. Why doesn't this disqualify them in voters and media memebers minds? Ah, because they've all collectively decided that the SEC is "so good" that it's "hard" to go undefeated. Yeah, it's hard to go unbeaten in any conference, stooges. Including the Big Ten.

The other frustrating media thing is when they all sing the praises of a darling like Ball State or Boise State and how they can go undefeated and "not get their shot." Yes, see, that's because they play cream puffs and come from truly second-tier conferences. Yet it's fun to act like they deserve a shot and a one-loss (or, let's face it, even if they'd been unbeaten) PSU team doesn't because the Big Ten is "down."

Whatever, I'm salty.

In Other Moron Media News

Todd Blackledge of ESPN fame was on ESPN radio this morning talking college football and he shocked listeners by saying he has no problem with no playoff and doesn't even think we need the title game that we have... basically saying he liked the old bowl system where if two unbeaten teams played in different conference-affiliated bowls and both won, that the voters got to decide... and that if they split the national title, then it's "okay to have several winners."

What is this, peewee football? Unbelieveable, that a clown like Blackledge could think that. I'm so tired of this arcane argument that the lack of a playoff system makes college football so much more interesting. It's a tired and ignorant argument. Yes, it creates discussion and arguments on The Sports Reporters. But so what? Don't you think it'd be more interesting to actually see the top 6 or 8 teams (or, hell, the top 4 teams) duke it out for a title? I just fail to see how one meaningful bowl game (and 30 meaningless ones) at the very end is better than some incredibly meaningful playoff bowl games followed by a true national champ. You can still have your useless Pointsettia Bowls and Music City Bowls and Sun Bowls. Nobody cares about those besides the schools playing in them (and Vegas) and that would continue. They're meaningless now and they would continue to be just as pefectly "traditional" and meaningless as the deceitful powers-that-be want you to think they care about them being.

College football is so much fun and so exciting and yes, there's a desperation involved because of the system. But the little bit you'd lose would be far outweighed by actually deciding a champion on the field.

I'm sure this won't be the last time I ramble about this before January.

Big Ten Roundtable -- Nostalgia Edition

It's time for this week's edition of the Big Ten Bloggers Roundtable, hosted this week by Our Honor Defend. So let's get on to Our Answers Written.

[Oh, and why the pic of delicious Jenna Fischer? Why not? The Office is back, we all like The Office, and we all like Jenna... and she's as worthy of space here as anyone.]

01. We're all basically in conference play now, sans Purdue who playedvisitor to Notre Dame over the weekend. What did you see in theconference opener that you liked? What did you see that suckednoodles? If you're one of the Purdue blogs, what did you see againstNotre Dame that has you nervous (or even optimistic) for yourconference opener against Penn State this Saturday? Oh, and, have funwith that game, by the way.

Question 01? What is this, the Dukes of Hazzard?

Pretty much everything "sucked noodles" for us. Losing to a not-very-good Notre Dame teams does not bode well for our season. There aren’t any more gimmes on the schedule and we think this team went from “typical 7-8 win Purdue team” to “will struggle to go to a bowl game.”

The offense, while not terrible, is wildly illogical in terms of playcalling. Something works (i.e. Kory Sheets) and so... we go away from it for a while. Then we go back when we shouldn’t. Lather, rinse, repeat.

On defense, well, we’re terrible… to the point where both OTT and us called for D-coordinator Brock Spack to be fired immediately. And anyone who reads either site knows we’re not knee-jerkers about this stuff.

We’re not optimistic, at all. PSU should run roughshod over us this weekend. All three BS staffers will be in attendance in Section 119, so if a miracle happens, then…wheee.

02. Ole Miss punked #4 Florida in Gainesville. #1 USC got punked byOregon State on national television? What's the underlying themebehind these bizarre upsets? You guessed it: magic. Some kind ofhocus-y pocus-y sorcery in the form of "familiarity". The idea beingpitched around is that these upsets come in conference games becausethe underdog has played the heavily favored team before, and thusisn't afraid of them nor surprised by anything they do. Should I buythis idea? Or are these upsets more likely the combination ofsomething more conventional, like great/horrendous gameplanning,preparation and execution by the underdog/favorite team respectively?

Probably a combination. Yes, I think there’s legitimacy to the claim of “familiarity” – it’s tough to continue beating an opponent who sees you a lot. And that transitions to gameplanning/preparation – if you know the opponent well, you can gameplan for them better. Right?

As for the examples you cited, though, I think Ole Miss is just a pretty good team in the tough SEC and USC took Oregon State lightly. I don’t think they were ready to play and this is becoming a little bit epidemic in the Pete Carroll era.

03. Entering the season, Beanie was the Big Ten's Heisman favorite.After a few games, Javon Ringer had put up the Heisman stats, though Idon't think anyone could've believed that Ringer would have the hypemachine necessary to get him to New York. Yet, after this week, I seehis name mentioned more and more in the Heisman race. Do you thinkRinger, at this pace, gets to New York on something more than acourtesy visit (on courtesy visit, see: everyone last year not namedTim Tebow; everyone in 2006 not named Troy Smith)? How about DaryllClark? Is Daryll Clark of Penn State legitimately in the Heisman raceafter week 5?

It’s too early to be talking Heisman. Let’s just slow down. It’s also too early to be talking about PSU like they’re national championship-bound. They just played their first legitimate opponent of the season and now they get us, so clearly, they have yet to be tested. Same goes for all Heisman hopefuls. 3-5 good games is a LONG way from being invited…. But if you’re demanding a prediction, I’ll say no, none of those guys go… but the best chance of going is maybe Clark.

04. With the nonconference schedule basically over, do you think theBig Ten collectively bettered its standing from the maligned positionit was in before the season began? For every Wisconsin victory overFresno State and Penn State thrashing of Oregon State, there'sMichigan's turnover bonanza against the Irish and Ohio State'sneutering by USC. Long question short, what sticks out more: thepositives or the negatives for the conference?

No. Everyone still thinks the Big Ten is weak and the only game the “nation” collectively paid attention to was aOSU getting obliterated at USC… who then went and lost to a different OSU. So Ohio State’s SOS gets knocked down another peg, further de-legitimizing the Big Ten.

We still think it’s a very legit conference and, top-to-bottom, there’s no way you can convince me it’s not on par (at least) with the Big 12, but the prevailing, idiot-wisdom from the media mouthpieces who have the ESPN stage (i.e., Mark May, Mark Schlabach, etc.) is that the Big Ten sucks, plain and simple, and after spitting that out they move on. If anyone paid any attention they’d see the “bottom” teams of recent years (NW, Minn, Purdue, IU) are much more competitive – and downright good in some cases – as the middle-to-bottom dwellers in other conferences. But whatever, everyone thinks we suck, why do I waste my time?

05. As I'm sure you may have seen on your moving pictures box, theErnie Davis movie has been getting a lot of publicity for its imminentrelease to theatres. The story, of course, centers around the firstAfrican-American Heisman winner and some of the trials that come frombeing a black athlete, playing before the Civil Rights movement andplaying in the Cotton Bowl. Does your football program have anuplifting story that you think is movie-worthy? If so, please share it.

The Seth Morales Story: The Tale Of A Walk-On Who Eventually Caught Perhaps The Biggest Pass In Recent Purdue History When Future NFL-er Mike Doss Blew His Help Coverage.

Starring Cowboy Joe Tiller… Seth Morales…and Drew Brees as The Gunslinger.

Here’s a clip of Drew talking about it.



And here’s the film itself.



Oscar-winner.

BS Reader Poll -- Game 5

Last year, we posted a lighthearted season overview in July and made wise-ass remarks about each upcoming game, followed by a best guess on the outcome. Strangely, even though we made jokes about every team, PSU supporters came down on us the hardest, evidently for a perceived lack of respect.

The most ridiculous part of it all? We said PSU would beat Purdue. Hey, I don’t know, either.

So, Penn State ROWRs into Ross-Ade this year with an incumbent head coach who is 16 years older than our retiring head coach. Just saying. Vote it up.

Game 5
October 4, 2008
Penn State at Purdue
OTT Preview




Vote on other games!

Jay Paterno Only Cares About Two-ish Specific Offensive Stats

For those who don't pay close attention to the Big Ten Blogger network, you've been missing out on the growing hatred -- led by pitchfork-wielding PSU bloggers -- of Jay Paterno. For the rest of us, it's just kind of amusing. As though the increasing senility of Joe Paterno wasn't enough to keep us humored, Jay has been finding new and creative ways to both look like a doofus and enrage his own fan base. And let's not forget, we're talking about an obsessively-loyal fanbase that he's managed to turn on himself. Well-done, Jay.

The crux of it all is that instead of continuing to work on PSU's QB situation, Jay has decided to split his time between coaching, ogling QB asses (see above) and.... blogging for Barack Obama. Yeah, I'm not kidding. Talk about political miscalculations. The only good I can see coming from this (besides seeing the Paternos run out of town together) is that maybe McCain will ask Joe to blog for him. And oh, that would be a fine, fine day.

Anyway, Black Show Diaries got fed up and wrote about it on Sunday, going so far as to use the word "unacceptable." Which, yeah, it kind of is. He points out that Jay Paterno snootily says he's allowed to do whatever he wants "on his own time," and then posts at 10:02 AM on a Friday morning. Which, apparently, is not working time for him. See, Jay, this is why we post without timestamps. It's a simple setting, really. Even you can probably figure it out.

But my favorite part -- so far -- of all of this is one of Jay's snotty and disorientingly ridiculous responses to one of his critics. After being told he shouldn't be spending his time blogging about Obama when he's got significant coaching concerns to think about, Jay says the following:

By Jay Paterno Jun 20th 2008 at 10:02 am EDT For your information our offense was #1 in the Big Ten last year in the only two categories that we really look at: the key situations of Red Zone and Third Downs (and to a lesser extent 4th downs where we ranked #7 in the nation).

Wha-ha? For starters, beginning a retort with "for your information" leads to a douchebaggy comment 96% of the time. It's been documented. Secondly, what the hell is he talking about? PSU led the big ten last year "in the only two categories that we really look at"? And those categories would be.... what? Wins? Points scored? Point differential? Turnover margin? AP votes? No.

"Key situations of Red Zone and Third Downs."

Um, what about them? Success? Conversions? Points scored in those situation? Or does Jay just wear Old Spice Red Zone deodorant and that's the most important thing because it keeps him smelling purty?

And I love -- love love love -- that he says they led in the two categories they care about and then he adds that they were "ranked 7th in the nation" on "4th downs." Ranked how? Stopping 4th down tries? Converting them? And.... who cares? Are these really the statistics that you hitch your wagon to?

Maybe so, but to respond to a critcism with a remark that suggests you guys have everything under control so you can kick back and spend the morning blogging (and fighting in the comments section which, really, even we don't do that all that often) is simply... well... unacceptable.

From what we understand, though, Papa Joe is on the case and the two had a blowup.

JoePa Tomfoolery Hits A Nerve

Loyal reader E (full name: Ericallowuous Elbows Edenstein, IV) shot us an email yesterday alerting us to one of ESPN Page 2's digs at Joe Paterno.

It's not particularly clever, simply taking more shots at Paterno, but for a quick read -- and if you, like us, enjoy making fun of detached old coaches who don't know when to step down -- it's got a few chuckles in it.

Well, loyal Penn Staters never find it funny when others bring up JoePa's explosive diarrhea or the fact that he's -- gasp! -- old.

There Is No Name On My Jersey, a fine ole PSU blog, took serious issue with it today. And all I can say is, JB, man, calm down. Deep breathes. Everyone is aware of ESPN's one-trick pony style of writing. But you're going to burst a blood vessel, man.

Also? Joe is old.

Stanley Pringle Jacks One Up

If you haven't yet heard about it, Penn State guard Stanley Pringle is being arrested for letting his little nittany lion out of its cage in a library on the Penn State campus. He then proceeded to encourage Lil Stanley to get up, stretch, have a look around, etc.

Problem was, he did it right behind a female student who didn't find this as hilariously funny, erotically arousing or charmingly Pennsylvanian as Pringle might have hoped.

Classy, Stanley, classy. Yet another story about an athlete acting like an animal because he's got an inflated sense of entitlement that comes from being above the rules his entire life because he can play a sport at a reasonably high level. Which is probably a stretch, given that Pringle plays basketball for Penn State.

"We are..... mastur-baters!"