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So on to the big issues.  No, not this bad.

I’ll start with the easy stuff.  I shall call it temporary avoidance since I have a lot to resolve now.  If I follow things closely over a period of time I develop thoughts and conclusions.  This one is easy.

It seems people are now considering bowls as more automatic–there certainly are a lot of them–and an opportunity for another win; nonetheless, the Michigan Wolverines finished the season 10-2.  No team put a miracle up on them (so there weren’t any super-tough losses) and they actually could have won the games they lost.  They were extremely competitive.  They did not play any great teams (Michigan State was probably the best) and they were as good as any of them.

The Ohio State game (funny predictions)

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“There aren’t degrees of illegal” (link)

Gary Danielson of all people!  “Cone of silence.”

“Every level of bureocracy, every level of has done a poor job.”  (some CBS announcer)

Today’s e-mail to Steve Yakashima and Ty Petersburg:

There are people writing that this is the worst college football scandal ever.  It may be the longest in duration–who knows when it really started.  It is the winningest coach in Joe Paterno.

• One facet is exposure of the “team concept” and the push things under the rug for the good of the whole philosophy.  Corruption, collusion, conspiracy, obstruction, etc. all all words that apply.  We all know that there are people who act as if careers, organizations, goals, and in this case winning and losing football games, is about being a loyal team participant.  These people believe not in doing the right thing (necessarily) or a meritocracy, they believe in following instructions.  They also believe in what they can only hope is the desired, best-for-everyone outcome.  They believe in schmoozing instead of doing the best that they can.  In this case this mentality got caught.  It got caught in this amorphous “morality” breech, but it also got caught by the law.
• Frank Noonan, the seemingly ultra-competent Pennsylvania State Police Chief, took the unusual position of chastising the participants “moral obligation” in discussing criminal investigations and charges.  Part of it is because of the crawling, infectious nature of the violations, but another is because of what officials can do in their positions if they want to.  There is serious legal ambiguity whether Tim Curley or Gary Schultz are “mandated reporters” and they were charged and humiliated as such.

http://www.timesonline.com/columnists/sports/mark_madden/madden-sandusky-a-state-secret/article_863d3c82-5e6f-11e0-9ae5-001a4bcf6878.html

http://espn.go.com/espnw/commentary/7217890/sandusky-case-just-latest-penn-state-failings

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/09/penn-state-scandal-timeline-jerry-sandusky_n_1084204.html?ref=mostpopular

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/09/opinion/dowd-personal-foul-at-penn.html

One of my favorites, the Washington Post:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/post/penn-state-football-should-be-retired-permanently/2011/11/07/gIQA9oiL0M_blog.html

And from an unlikely source (Matt Millen):

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/blog/dr_saturday/post/Former-Penn-State-LB-Matt-Millen-gets-emotional-?urn=ncaaf-wp9465

More news so far today–it seemed this was inevitable–more victims coming forward.

This one is excellent (well, not so great but it gets at an important-to-me topic):

http://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2011/11/the-mystery-of-cowardice

It discusses the awful culture of team sports whereby participants and coaches put potential career or team success ahead of what is right.

http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/si-articles-about-jerry-sandusky-1982-and-1999

We believe the saying, ‘It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it.’

 

‘Touched: The Jerry Sandusky Story’ Skewered by Amazon Book Review

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SFist – Brock Keeling – 19 minutes ago

Highly Cited: Amazon users incensed at Sandusky’s book ‘Touched’? Pittsburgh Post Gazette
Jerry Sandusky’s Book, Touched, Is Still on Amazon? Village Voice (blog)
Jerry Sandusky’s ‘Touched’ features skin-crawling intro? Charleston City Paper (blog)
Christian Science Monitor – TechFlash
all 2 news articles »

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Rights_Act_of_1871 http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/ot-psu-civil-liability http://www.constitution.org/brief/forsythe_42-1983.htm Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection claims: http://library.findlaw.com/1999/Jan/1/126485.html Selective enforcement of statute or regulation on the basis of… http://library.findlaw.com/1999/Nov/1/126320.html How to file: http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=52700 http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:R0lOyUGPwecJ:www.utd.uscourts.gov/forms/civilrt_guide.pdf+how+to+file+section+1983+claim&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESg7DDO4lfBg46Hd052maPQFvEU2oCmqRxRnlW8ryWSzlSyXpJrUkCaGgDs3TiXgO2k-Kkuzn5ot5tCDYRYSfSBIEbysfUbwIbY6EAeEKdISIn8lUqVWrpZi2gWNSyEge3oOZKuY&sig=AHIEtbTowKCyKce5fT4ggm6KP6D3nWDyYw

http://firechief.com/management/firefighting_tort_section_actions/

I really, really dislike corruption.  That’s what it is.  I dislike the idea of keeping your mouth shut because of some “team” or “protecting one’s own” mentality.

People should, and at times MUST, think for themselves.

One of the great things about this story is the executives at Penn State are required to investigate and report (same as in Colorado).  Covering up, acting like “it doesn’t really matter” is not okay.  The law is not a nitpick.

As for Joe Pa:  It is a simple situation of having stayed too long at the party.

http://www.businessinsider.com/penn-state-victims-2011-11

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/story/16026185/biggest-question-in-happy-valley-who-watched-out-for-the-kids

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/08/sports/ncaafootball/jerry-sandusky-was-long-admired-at-penn-state.html

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-plaschke-joe-paterno-20111108,0,6054697.column

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/blog/dr_saturday/post/At-the-beginning-of-the-wrong-goodbye-for-Joe-Pa?urn=ncaaf-wp9417

The fire-the-president petition is here (at 10:30 MDST 1,000 signatures).

Many are big, but this is a big game.  Iowa is average, middle-of-the-road, especially for the Big 10.  It is on the road but so what–half the conference games are away.  It is absolutely, entirely winnable.  This is not an issue of how far along a rebuilding or transition period is how how good Michigan will be when all the pieces are in place.  If this team is good this year, and if this is going be a seriously-good season, they will win this game.

Iowa is 5-3 and has played a poor schedule.  They are 69th in the BCS in rushing defense and 91st in pass efficiency defense.  They are a little better, but not much, in offensive rankings.  They play predictable defensive and offensive (boring) systems.  They have losses to Iowa State, Penn State, and, the powerful Minnesota Gophers.  It shouldn’t matter if they are mad because they lost to Minny.  They are average.

Michigan has a powerful offense, improving/better-than-average defense, and they are 7-1.

Good teams should beat average teams.  Prediction:  Michigan 35  Iowa 10.