NCAA Meeting

Please Note:  This video is RATED R (sexual language.)  Don't blame me.  I didn't make the video.  But I really enjoyed it!

Myers Moves On

Incumbent trustee Joel "We have to move on" Myers has moved on, as the Alumni of Penn State have voted his pathetic butt off the board for the first time in 33 years.  According to the Pittsburgh Post Gazette:

Alice Pope, a psychology professor at St. John’s University, had 10,025 votes; Al Lord, the former CEO of Sallie Mae, 9,516; and Bob Jubelirer, a former Pennsylvania state senator, 8,101. All three candidates ran on platforms that included the need for the university to reassess past decisions made regarding the firing of Joe Paterno, the Freeh Report and the NCAA sanctions.  

“With nine new alumni members I would hope that there is a recognition by the existing board that is there that it’s important we work together,” Mr. Jubelirer said. “And there’s only one way that’s going to be effective: We have to get to the truth. Due process does matter. I heard that man in Hershey, (trustee) Ken Frazier, a year ago in March say it didn’t matter. Like hell it doesn’t matter.”

Notable candidates who lost to Mr. Lord, Mr. Jubelirer and Ms. Pope include Joel Myers, who had been an alumni trustee for the past 33 years, and Upward State candidates Dan Cocco, Julie McHugh and Matt Schuyler. None of those candidates garnered more than 4,000 votes. 

I was afraid Mr. Myers would benefit from voters splitting their votes with Upward State candidates and free-lancers like Ryan Bagwell, whom I personally supported with my vote.  But the Alumni would not be denied.  They crushed Mr. Myers and his platform of "moving on."  I'm not holding my breath that the remaining Board members from 2011 have learned anything from this crushing defeat of Myers, but they will have to deal with an increasing number of representatives that do not want to simply move on at the expense of truth and justice.

Also coming out of today's BOT meeting is this gem:  the Food Sciences building which houses the famous Penn State Creamery will henceforth be known as the Rodney A. Erickson Food Sciences Building.

Bon appétit!

Don't Forget to Vote!

The election is underway for the Penn State Board of Trustees. I voted for PS4RS candidates Pope and Lord. Their third candidate is Jubelirer, but I went with Ryan Bagwell.

Beware the Upward State candidates. Joel Myers has "endorsed" that organization, and then I came across this by Tom McAndrew of BWI:

There have been a lot of comments on this board about Upward State being the preferred candidates of the BOT Executive Committee, or that Upward State was a shadow organization for some members of the BOT.  

I have refrained from making any such comments, as there was never anything I could point to as evidence of any type of connection.  

Well, at 9 am this morning, Paul Silvis, Vice Chair of the BOT, sent out the following: "If you have not made up your mind yet, may I take the liberty of suggesting three candidates for Trustees for those PSU Alums who received ballot today 03 Daniel N. Cocco, '08, New York, NY 18 Julie Harris McHugh, '86, Ambler, PA 21 Matthew W. Schuyler, '87, McLean, VA  

The above is the exact text of the e-mail, so don't blame me for the typos.  

What is the relationship between Upward State and the BOT power bloc? I'm still not certain, but you can each draw your own conclusions.

Please vote. A line has been drawn in the sand by Myers. Do you want the TRUTH, or do you want to ignore the truth and MOVE ON regardless of the TRUTH?

Playing Politics Instead of Football

Just so we are completely clear on this . . . this is not a football related post.  It is a political post on a football oriented blog.  Nothing more.  Nothing less.

First, I want to discuss an article from Philly.com about the upcoming BOT election.

Lord was endorsed last week by Penn Staters for Responsible Stewardship (PS4RS), which elected trustees the last two years on a platform objecting that the board copped too easily in the 2011 Jerry Sandusky child sex-abuse scandal to the stern criticisms of the Louis Freeh report, the costly NCAA sanctions, and the de-sanctification of the late football coach Joe Paterno. 
Also favored by PS4RS are ex-State Sen. Robert Jubelirer and St. John's University prof Alice Pope. 

Against them - among others - is the Upward State slate, backed by insiders, including three past heads of the Penn State alumni association. (Which made $30 million in 1994-2010 selling alumni addresses to a credit card bank where Freeh was a boss. Small world.)

Upward State nominee Julie McHugh, who recently stepped down as chief operating officer at what is now Endo International, said her group is "trying to represent a more positive point of view" than the "backward-looking" PS4RS.

What do they want? More taxpayer aid, for one thing: State subsidies have been going "the wrong direction." College aid offers "a pretty solid return on investment" by the public, McHugh told me. 

Could online classes cut expenses? They should supplement, not replace, classrooms, McHugh says - though she'll support "restructuring" if new Penn State president Eric J. Barron recommends it.

How's the endowment? McHugh says she's looking forward to learning more about that. She hopes more will go to student aid, not just buildings named for donors.

Joel Myers, Ph.D., founder and boss at AccuWeather, is the only alumni trustee seeking reelection. Just like Lord, he's a Philly boy and public-school grad who attended Penn State Abington and the Main Campus. Then he became a prof, stayed 20 years while building his business, quit in 1981 to run it, ran for the board, and was reelected to 10 more three-year terms.

If Penn State needed fixing, wasn't Myers part of the problem?

Did the board go too far? "People don't realize" the threat to funding, accreditation, survival, Myers said. He admits "there were problems here, and they emanated from the football area." But "do we want to look back and keep figuring out what we did right and what we did wrong? Or do we want to look at the future?"

Sounds like Upward State. "I agree with virtually everything they say," Myers told me. "But people I trust think I should serve another three years, because of the active role I play, the institutional knowledge, and the fact so many board members are new."

So in no particular order, here are my problems with what is said in this article and the situation in general.

Joel Myers . . . "I am not a . . . part of the problem!"

The problems emanated from the football area?  Tell me again, Mr. Myers, which NCAA rules the football program broke?  There hasn't even been a conviction in court--yet--of a PSU administrator for wrong doing.  The only thing emanating through all this is a board too willing to throw the football program and it's aging coach under the bus to protect . . . whatever they thought needed protecting.  There has been ZERO transparency regarding what the Board knew before the Presentment, what went on between the board and Mr. Freeh, and what transpired between Mr. Erickson and the NCAA.  This is why the Board wants us to MOVE ON.

The ideas being promoted by Upward State are laudable, but certainly not beyond question.  State funding is a constant concern and certainly needs to be addressed.  But then to question "buildings named for donors" in the context of student aid seems a bit ridiculous.  The buildings named for donors:  The Paterno Library, Pegula Ice Arena, Schreyer Honors College, to name a few, BENEFIT students in many ways and for years to come.  They are an investment in the life of the University that attracts students, enables students, and promotes the University.  And they are costly investments that depend on donations from donors.  Isn't it logical to reward those donors with some recognition?  Just a pet peeve of mine.  Don't throw the donors under the bus here.  If the donors wanted the money to be spent on funding student aid, I'm sure they could stipulate that.

What concerns me the most is that this--whether intentional or not--appears to be an effort to divide and conquer the alumni, with grandiose promises of better state funding, restructuring, presenting a positive view all whilst singing Kumbaya to provide a smoke screen for more devious purposes.

PS4RS has seen great success promoting candidates elected to the BOT.  A second party--if you will--will only dilute the power the alumni now have over the BOT.  Let's face it.  Any one who is going to vote for Joel Myers is going to do so, regardless of these alumni groups.  The man has been there THIRTY YEARS.  To beat him, the alumni have to remain united--dispersing their votes over too many candidates only works in Myers' favor.  If alumni distribute their votes between SIX candidates, that only enhances Myers' chance of getting re-elected.

And if that doesn't convince, you, how about the fact that Mr. Myers agrees "with virtually everything they [Upward State] say"?  That alone is enough for me to not vote for any of Upstates candidates.

I didn't vote for Jubelirer before--mainly due to his arrogance as a politician and his role in the pay raise mess--so my third vote is saved for Ryan Bagwell.

You cannot move on until the wrongs of the past have been righted.  It's not looking back . . .it's called not overlooking injustice or choosing not to look the other way.  Paterno's enemies have accused him of looking the other way.  Don't expect or ask alumni to do the same.  Let's get to the bottom of it and find the facts.  Is that regressive?  I don't think so.

And another interesting rumor from The Intelligencer:

“There’s a nuclear war going on between Corbett and Kane,” Galloway said.

The story about Kane ending the corruption investigation was leaked to blunt Kane’s impending report on how Corbett handled (or mishandled) the investigation of the Penn State football scandal that landed then assistant coach Jerry Sandusky in prison on child sexual abuse charges.   

“Kane is about to release an explosive document about the Sandusky investigation six months before a gubernatorial election. The lead prosecutor in that investigation is also the lead prosecutor in the sting investigation. So, the idea is to discredit Kathleen Kane before the Sandusky thing hits,” Galloway said. “I’m just the roadkill along the way.”

Apparently Galloway has gotten caught in the cross-fire in an investigation of politicians accepting gifts.  As such, his comments fall in the realm of a disgruntled employee, but we have certainly heard rumblings of Corbett being involved in something bigger than the Sandusky scandal itself. 

And sometimes where there's smoke . . . there's fire.

And sometimes when there's fire . . . BOOM!

Regrets . . . He's Had A few

Onward State posted this article about the resignation of Al Clemens, long-time Board of Trustee Member, first appointed by Tom Ridge in 1994.

I have resigned from the Penn State Board of Trustees. 

For most of the 18 years I served as a Trustee, I was proud to help Penn State grow and achieve its deserved stature, in both academics and athletics, as one of America’s top-rated public Universities. 

On November 9th, 2011, I and my fellow Trustees, voted to fire Joe Paterno in a hastily called meeting. We had little advance notice or opportunity to discuss and consider the complex issues we faced. After 61 years of exemplary service, Coach Paterno was given no chance to respond. That was a mistake. I will always regret that my name is attached to that rush to injustice. 

Hiring Louis Freeh and the tacit acceptance of his questionable conclusions, without review, along with his broad criticism of our Penn State culture was yet another mistake. In joining the Paterno family and others in their suit against the NCAA, I have distanced myself from the Board on this issue. I am determined to reverse all of the misguided sanctions which were designed to punish a football program without blemish, and were aimed at student-athletes innocent of any wrong-doing. 

Over the past two years, concerned Alumni have spoken clearly and forcefully. They have replaced six incumbents with reform-minded Trustees determined to acknowledge and redress errors of judgment with positive actions. Those who believe we can move on without due process for all who have been damaged by unsupported accusations are not acting in Penn State’s best interest.

To my knowledge, this is the first resignation of a Board member since the 2011 debacle for reasons related to that event, but I could be wrong about that.  Several have been voted off the Board by Alumni.

Message Boards across Nittany Nation are already hailing his decision, describing him as a man of "courage and conviction," and an "honorable man," but "no hero."

Personally, I am happier about his stated reasons, than his actual resignation.  The acknowledgement that firing Paterno was a mistake and an injustice, questioning the Freeh Report's validity and "tacit acceptance", and criticizing the "misguided sanctions" of the NCAA which punishes student-athletes who have done nothing wrong are the REAL reasons to cheer this turn of events.

Upon further reading, I discovered that Ira Lubert also resigned, but did not give any public comment as to why.  Apparently, Gov. Corbett has already nominated Todd Rucci and Cliff Benson to replace them, pending approval by the legislature.  Cliff Benson was on the Board of The Second Mile---yup.  Jerry Sandusky's now defunct charity.  Imagine that!

As if this soap opera isn't interesting and disturbing enough already, have you heard about the Mike McQueary gambling and sexual abuse revelations!  I kid you not!  Big Red admits that he gambled on sports, (probably even Penn State games) and he was sexually abused as a child.    Hollywood can't make stuff like this up!

It remains to be seen whether this resignation will trigger others.  The election this year should be interesting, as incumbent Joel Myers seeks to retain his position.  Myers has likened his re-election campaign to a referendum question for alumni:  “Do they believe, as I do, that it is time to surge onward, toward a bright future and out of the Sandusky darkness? Or do they support the group calling itself Penn Staters for Responsible Stewardship, whose eyes seem to look only backward, using counterproductive acrimony and recriminations to continue to churn our collective hurt?”

Apparently Mr. Myers has no ragrets.  Not even one letter, or note, delivered to Paterno in the dark of night.

We're the Millers Myers's

Read more here: http://www.centredaily.com/2014/02/20/4046751/challenging-ps4rs-penn-state-trustee.html#storylink=cpy

March For Truth

Read about the event here.

NCAA Seeks to Dismiss Case

Or, What is something we all expected for $500, Alex?

According to this article on Yahoo Sports . . .

The NCAA also firmly denied a claim that it had conspired with former FBI director Louis Freeh's team in formulating the sanctions. Freeh led the school's internal investigation into the scandal, and the Paterno family and three former school officials have vehemently denied Freeh's scathing allegations of a cover-up. 

''Their suit complains primarily about the conclusions of the Freeh Report, conducted at the behest of the Penn State Board, and the university's acceptance of its findings,'' NCAA chief legal officer Donald Remy said in a statement outlining the organization's arguments. ''The NCAA did not commission the Freeh Report nor had any role in it."

Yet, the NCAA had no problem using that report as the sole basis for their unprecedented punishment of a member school.

I must admit, though, that the NCAA attorney's are absolutely brilliant.  The whole Consent Decree thing has to be one of the legal coups in the history of this country.

We didn't commission the report (or conspire with it) yet we used it in place of our investigation.  You commissioned the report, tacitly accepted the report, and agreed to allow us to punish you for it.

I just hope the courts realize that all this legal posturing and pointing out technicalities doesn't divert attention to the fact that these actions have HARMED other people, whether they were party to these shenanigans or not.

This is America.  Why not ALLOW the courts to actually examine this situation?  If the NCAA is really innocent of any wrongdoing, then presumably they will be acquitted. 

If the Freeh Report fits, then they must acquit!  Do a victory dance and counter sue the Paterno's et. al. for your court expenses, lost revenue, etc.

I have a feeling, though, that the NCAA is far from confident that the courts will find in their favor, and dismissal is not only a legal tactic, but an essential survival tactic.

At this point, there are several trustees still part of the original suit which hopefully will give further credence to "standing."

Newly elected-trustees have also come forward on PS4RS:

As newly elected Trustees to the Board of Trustees of The Pennsylvania State University, we want to make clear that we fully support the legal claims filed against the NCAA by our Trustee colleagues Al Clemens, Ryan McCombie, Peter Khoury, Anthony Lubrano and Adam Taliaferro. 

Based on information we have reviewed, we agree the NCAA breached its contractual obligations to Penn State to treat the University and its student-athletes, coaches and administrators fairly and in accordance with the NCAA’s own constitution and bylaws. That did not happen. Rather, the University and the affected individuals were denied due process of law. 

We support a legal review of the sanctions imposed on Penn State, the basis for the sanctions and the process used to enact them. 

We further support an open and thorough review of the Freeh report by the Board of Trustees in light of accounts from credible and respected sources that the report is seriously flawed and incomplete. This report is the sole basis for the NCAA sanctions and has become the reference point for the media and the public. It is accepted as truth because the board never formally rejected it. As Board Chairman Keith Masser recently observed in USA Today however, many of the conclusions in the report appear to amount to “speculation.” In our view, this matter calls for openness, thoroughness and transparency. The greater Penn State community has been calling for this action, and they deserve no less.

I'm not holding my breath, but I am praying that the judge allows this claim to move on.  Hey!  Maybe I am in favor of MOVING ON after all!  Especially if it involves moving on all over the corrupt NCAA!

A Midsummer Dark Night's Scheme

 

The Freeher: Do I really look like a guy with a plan? You know what I am? I’m a dog chasing cars. I wouldn’t know what to do with one if I caught it! You know, I just, do things. The NCAA has plans, the Trustees have plans, the Paterno’s got plans. You know, they’re schemers. Schemers trying to control their worlds. I’m not a schemer. I try to show the schemers how, pathetic, their attempts to control things really are. So, when I say, ah, come here, when I say that you and your football team was nothing personal, you know that I’m telling the truth. 

It’s the schemers that put you where you are, Spanier. You were a schemer, you had plans, and uh, look where that got you. I just did what I do best. I took your plan and I turned it on itself. Look what I did, to Penn State with a few innuendos and a couple of emails. Hm? You know what, you know what I noticed? Nobody panics when things go according to plan. Even if the plan is horrifying. If tomorrow I tell the press that like an ex-Florida player gets arrested for murder, or a truckload of academic fraud happened at North Carolina, nobody panics, because it’s all, part of the plan. But when I say that one, little old football coach covered up a scandal when he didn't, well then everyone loses their minds!

In case you are not aware, the tangled web of lawsuits continues . . .

Graham Spanier has filed a notice of intent to bring a defamation lawsuit against Louis Freeh.

Spanier, who has denied the allegations in the report, is suing Freeh and his firm, Freeh, Sporkin & Sullivan, for libel/defamation. Spanier is seeking monetary damages and is demanding a jury trial. 

Of course, you're probably already aware that the Paterno family, joined by former players, coaches, faculty members and Board of Trustee members have sued the NCAA to reverse the sanctions.

The suit, to be filed in Common Pleas Court of Centre County, Pa., alleges that the NCAA violated its own rules in meting out penalties in the wake of the child sex abuse case involving former Nittany Lions assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, penalties that were based on an investigative report by former FBI director Louis Freeh.

And recently, Coach O'Brien spoke behind closed doors to the Board of Trustees.

O’Brien addressed the trustees for more than an hour Friday morning behind closed doors during the board’s executive session at the Penn State Fayette branch campus. The presentation’s slides were visible from a hallway through several full-length glass-paned doors into the room where the session was held. 

But, one of the presentation slides had the heading “potential proposal to modify sanctions” and another had a heading concerning the impact of the scholarship reductions that are part of the sanctions. 

Another slide read “Individual lawsuits do not help us!” with the words “do not” underlined and in capital letters.

This latter slide has prompted a surge of Internet speculation drawing lines between those who support O'Brien's decision to reduce the sanctions and "move on:" versus those who still seek the truth, even if sanctions persist.

My Take:

Glass doors?  Seriously?  If that wasn't planned, for the effect that it is having, then I've never been a Penn State fan.

Look.  Bill O'Brien is stepping up to the plate for his team.  His slide about "INDIVIDUAL" lawsuits may not even be referring to the Paterno suit, since there are multiple parties involved.  He is concerned about his team--about giving his current players a level field to play on, to give his team depth so that his players aren't more susceptible to injury, and to enhance recruiting which gives more students a chance to earn a Penn State degree.

None of the players on this team have anything to do with what allegedly happened, and penalizing the program isn't helping a single victim one iota.  The NCAA over-stepped its authority.  The Freeh Report is flawed.  Not a single PSU administrator has yet been convicted of any wrong doing. 

Unlike the Governor's anti-trust suit against the NCAA, there is a better chance that the courts will allow the Paterno suit to proceed, i.e. that the plaintiff's have standing.  While that doesn't mean the NCAA will lose, it does mean that the next phase--discovery--will allow the representing attorneys the opportunity to subpoena NCAA records, which from what I've been told, could open up a significant can of worms.

It is probably true that pending lawsuits against the NCAA would probably deter the organization from reducing any sanctions currently.  But that may be part of the scheme.  The NCAA may be more likely to reduce the sanctions--if certain or all lawsuits are dropped.  Whether intentionally or not, the Paterno Suit actually gives the NCAA some ammunition to continue the sanctions despite the fact that Penn State has behaved and implemented most of the changes recommended by the Gospel According to Freeh.

So what do you think?

Has O'Brien sold out to the move-on proponents, just to make things go away without any regard to the truth?  Or is he just fighting for his team with no political agenda to further?

I lean toward the latter.

Donations Up Despite Dismay

The Centre Daily Times notes that donations at Penn State are up 15% over the previous year, despite " a year filled with turmoil and alumni angst."

That’s the second-highest figure in that category in university history, Kirsch said. It is eclipsed only by $274.8 million in the 2010-2011 fiscal year, when alumnus Terry Pegula donated more than $100 million toward a hockey arena here and NCAA Division I hockey programs . 

Of the $237.8 million in cash for this past fiscal year, alumni contributed $87.6 million of the total, Kirsch said. That is up 19 percent from the previous year, when alumni gave $70.9 million. 

While the alumni donations are up, the number of alumni who donated is down almost 5 percent. The fiscal year that just ended saw 72,111 alumni give money to the university, but the year before, 75,593 alumni gave.

This has prompted some on the message boards in Nittany Nation to question the sanity of those who still give money when the Board of Trustees continues to push a "move on" agenda without any regard to truth and members continue to shirk their own responsibility in the whole scandal.

Oooh Rodney, you almost had it!

One poster writes:

I am proud to skew the data. I was a contributor, so I am in the count. I taped a penny to the annual fund card with a note that substantially more will follow when there is real governance reform.

I loathe this BoT. How could anyone donate?

Unfortunately, as angry as we are about how the BOT handled this whole mess, withholding donations is simply not a practical method for effecting change.  Loyalty to Penn State transcends the mistakes that may have been made (I qualify this as the trials of Schultz, Curley, etc. are still pending) and the mistakes that were made (e.g. the way Joe Paterno was sacrificed to the media) and not all donating alumni give a hoot about the football program.  The situation is eerily analogous to Catholics who continue to donate to their church despite horrendous allegations of abuse by individual priests.  An effort like this would have as much chance of success as organizing everyone to withhold paying taxes in protest of the government until Congress agreed to stop wasting our money.  The theory is good, but the real-world application is impossible.  But I digress.

First of all, ask yourself this . . . who is hurt by decreased donations?  Students.  If you think for one minute that Rodney Erickson will have his salary cut because of diminished donations then you live in a dream world.  You need to look no further than financial institutions which gave lucrative bonuses to CEO's as the government bailed those same institutions out of bankruptcy. 

I will be the first to admit that my contribution to Penn State is almost purely based on the personal benefit of retaining and purchasing football tickets.  I have no shame in admitting that the amount of money I would donate if I were not a football fan would be significantly less.  I have plenty of other worthy charities, schools, and organizations to support thank you very much.  And when I sit in Beaver Stadium and look around me, I am not alone in this.

What gain would there be for an empty stadium, assuming it were possible to convince every ticket holder not to renew?  Again, who is hurt?  Penn State still has their TV contract and Big Ten money.  The student-athletes would suffer.  Recruiting would suffer.  The coaches would suffer--maybe even prompting O'Brien to leave over the lack of support.  Are you willing to risk that to make a statement about the Board of Trustees????  The fans would suffer, denying themselves the stadium experience and perhaps risking their seats for future years with no restrictions and a team perhaps competing for a national title.  And if you think for one second that Rodney Erickson, John Surma, Karen Peetz or Keith Masser will suffer, then you are truly delusional and perhaps dangerous.

So what say you?  If you have donated previously, did you continue to donate?  Did you stop because of the leadership vacuum at Penn State?  If you withheld money, do you feel your voice has been heard?

So Long, Suhey!

The alumni have spoken.  Both incumbents, Stephanie Deviney and Paul Suhey were ousted from the Board.  All three of the candidates endorsed by PS4RS won. (Note to future hopefuls . . . get on the good side of PS4RS.)

Here are the results of the voting with around 33,000 votes cast:

1.  Barbara L. Doran, '75, New York, NY ? 15,085
2.  William F. Oldsey, '76, Basking Ridge, NJ ? 13,940
3.  Edward "Ted" B. Brown, III, '68, State College, PA ? 11,403
4.  Paul V. Suhey, '79, Boalsburg, PA ? 4,521
5.  Ted J. Sebastianelli, '69, State College, PA ? 3,188
6.  Robert C. Jubelirer, '59, '62 JD, Boalsburg, PA ? 3,030
7.  David K. Mullaly, '69, '72g, Annapolis, MD ? 2,996
8.  Kathleen A. Pavelko, '75, '79g, New Cumberland, PA ? 2,732
9.  Vincent J. Tedesco, Jr., '64, State College, PA ? 2,250
10.  John W. Diercks, '63, '67g, '75g, State College, PA ? 2,133
11.  Stephanie Nolan Deviney, '97 JD, Exton, PA ? 2,026
12.  Amy L. Williams, '80, Wayne, PA ? 1,987
13.  O. Richard Bundy, III, '93, '96g, South Burlington, VT ? 1,976
14.  Pratima Gatehouse, '96, '10g, Short Hills, NJ ? 1,869
15.  Ben J. Novak, '65, '99g, Ave Maria, FL ? 1,863
16.  Thomas A. Conley, '01, Washington, DC ? 1,788
17.  William J. Cluck, '82, Harrisburg, PA ? 1,695
18.  Mark S. Connolly, '84g, West Chester, PA ? 1,375
19.  Eugene J. Bella, '63, Murrysville, PA --  1,362
20.  Ryan M. Bagwell, '02, Middleton, WI ? 1,360
21.  Darlene R. Baker, '80, Warminster, PA ? 1,321
22.  Doreen Ulichney Schivley, '78, State College, PA ? 1,184
23.  J. Andrew Weidman, '78, Reading, PA ? 1,118
24.  Scott T. Kimler, '83, Ladysmith, BC Canada ? 1,084
25.  Gregory "Sandy" S. Sanderson, '00, Pittsburgh, PA ? 1,012
26.  Christopher R. Owens, '06, Mechanicsburg, PA ? 1,003
27.  Christopher J. Bartnik, '91, '96g, Chantilly, VA -- 995
28.  Patrick J. Howley, '12, Baltimore, MD -- 980
29.  Matthew A. Bird, '80, Gettysburg, PA -- 887
30.  Charles R. Mazzitti, '80, Elizabethtown, PA -- 849
31.  Rudolph K. Glocker, '91, '93g, Henderson, NV -- 771
32.  John M. Mason, Jr., '70, '72, Auburn, AL -- 753
33.  Robert J. Hooper, '79, Burlington, VT -- 752
34.  Jeffrey N. Goldsmith, '82, Harrisburg, PA -- 675
35.  Robert P. McKinnon, '90, Hastings on Hudson, NY -- 509
36.  Robert J. Bowsher, '86, San Diego, CA -- 495
37.  Robert N. Grimes, '80, Potomac, MD -- 460
38.  Gregory A. Slachta, '66, Ridgeland, SC -- 444
39.  Frederik O. Riefkohl, '87, Annapolis, MD -- 414

I am actually surprised Suhey managed to come in fourth, but at least the margin of victory was overwhelming.  I am saddened that David Mullaly didn't win--and disappointed he didn't get more support.

But the message is pretty clear:  the alumni are NOT happy with the way the current Board--or at least those that were present in November of 2011--handled the scandal and the after-math.  The vast majority don't want to return to the status quo and "move on."  We want the cowardly bastards that fired Paterno by phone without ever getting his side of the story first OUT.  And if we have to do it 3 per year because the egomaniacs can't do the right thing and step down themselves, then so be it.

Mission accomplished this year.

The Bench, the Board, and the NFL Draft

Steven Bench has decided to continue his football career someplace other than Penn State. 

"I mean, it's been a hard decision," Bench said Wednesday. "I was sold on Penn State since the day I got an offer, since the day they called, really. I just wish it would've worked out. I still love this place and I wish it didn't come to this, but I have to make the best choice for me. And I think the best thing for me to be successful is to not play at Penn State and to play elsewhere."

Bench said he left his meeting with O'Brien under the impression he was behind Ferguson on the depth chart.

"It's out of my control, but I wasn't happy with it," Bench said. "I'm a competitor, so I'm not going to agree with that decision. But, at the same time, it's his decision and it's out of my control. I feel that it kind of left me no choice. I don't want to back anyone up. I want to play. I came here to play football."

So instead of working harder to move up the chart, you transfer somewhere else so you don't have to work?   I'm sorry if that sounds like sour grapes, but if it sounds like a duck and looks like a duck . . . You can call it whatever you want.  There is no I in team, but there is a U in suck.  This is where I'm supposed to wish him luck and feel bad because of his tough decision.  Whatever.

On the other hand, it also assuredly means that Hackenberg will not red-shirt this fall.  With the scholarship limits, I'm not sure PSU can afford to red-shirt anybody.  And Bench's departure opens up another scholarship for someone that actually wants to earn a spot on the team.

In the BOT election, a total of 26,861 alumni have voted as of this past Wednesday.  That means a total of 4,931 people voted in the previous 7 days, a considerable drop off from the first two weeks.  And unless something remarkable happens in this last week or so of voting, the total participation will be markedly down from last year's 37,579.

I'm not sure what that means.  Have the alumni lost interest?  Have they given up hope for change?  Are they waiting until the last minute to cast their vote?  Who knows?

And in the NFL draft to date, three Nittany Lions have been picked:

Jordan Hill was the 25th pick in the third round (87 overall) by the Seahawks.
Gerald Hodges was the 25th pick in the fourth round (120 overall) by the Vikings.
The Vikings also took Michael Mauti with the 7th pick in the 7th round (213 overall.)

Congratulations Jordan, Gerald and Mike!

Election Update

As of this evening, 21,930 alumni have voted in the BOT election.

Vote For David Mullaly

I Voted!

Have you?

Lettermen Seek to Oust Suhey

A letter has been sent out to former PSU Lettermen urging them NOT to vote for Paul Suhey.

According to Onward State:

It’s likely that no candidate has been criticized more than Suhey, especially after his infamous line — The Board of Trustees didn’t fire Joe Paterno, it just “retired him three weeks early.” But today’s criticism hits especially close to home.

A letter released today signed by 11 former Penn State football lettermen — including Franco Harris, Todd Blackledge, Michael Robinson, and Lydell Mitchell — calls out Suhey specifically, and urges fellow lettermen to not vote for him in the upcoming Board of Trustees election.

“Actions speak louder than words and if Suhey disagreed with the actions the board was taking he had both an obligation and a duty to speak up and cast his vote accordingly. The fact that he failed to do so only underscores the point that he is not fit to serve on the board a day longer,” the letter states.

These past two elections have been hotly contested.  I can remember years when there was no advertising (probably most of them.)  If you didn't look at the ballot, you didn't even know who was running.  Even if you looked at the ballot, you probably didn't recognize any of the names.  Many years, I didn't even vote because I didn't know who to vote for (or against!)  I realize now that perhaps this is why we ended up with a Board full of corruption and ineptitude.  I'm sure there are many other alumni who have voted for the first time in these past two elections and perhaps only sporadically, if ever, prior to that.

On the Campaign Trail

The Penn State Board of Trustee Election is nearing.  I believe balloting will occur between April 10 and May 2, 2013. 

So who are you going to vote for?

PS4RS has made suggestions of who NOT to vote for . . .

Bill Schackner calls this ad an "attack ad" and Suhey and Deviney responded thusly:

"As someone who played for Joe Paterno and was a captain, I know full well that he did a lot of tremendous things for the university and inspired generations of students and alumni," he said. "But as a trustee, I have a responsibility to focus on the entire university and its many challenges in helping to educate our more than 96,000 students. That's where my focus is."

Ms. Deviney, an Exton, Pa., attorney who is the board's vice chairwoman, said: "Negative campaigning doesn't achieve a single thing for the students who look to Penn State for a world-class education. ... I'm not going to engage it."

Call it an attack, call it negative, but the bottom line is this:  IT IS THE TRUTH.

The current BOT simply does not get this.  Penn Staters will NOT be able to MOVE ON until truth is established (not some high-priced opinion that has little to no truth in it) and not until the wrong against Joe Paterno is righted.

The Board of Trustees did not handle this well.  And unfortunately, apparently, none of them have the BALLS to resign.  AND EVERYONE WHO VOTED TO FIRE PATERNO MUST GO.

So it is up to us--the ALUMNI--the strength of this fine University--to do what those trustees won't do.  Three by three, we will OUST the people that fiddled while Beaver Stadium burned.

Anthony Lubrano has posted the three candidates he supports this year--three people he thinks will work with him to effect change.  His choices are Bob Jubelirer, Bill Oldsey and Barb Doran.  The latter two are also endorsed by PS4RS along with Edward "Ted" Brown III.

I personally, am rather leery of Bob Jubelirer by virtue of the fact that he was a career politician who ultimately got caught with his hand in the cookie jar and lost after voting legislators a controversial pay raise.

So I will probably go with Doran and Oldsey because I believe in Anthony Lubrano and support his position.  For my last vote, I will be casting ballot for DavidM.

You can follow David Mullaly on Facebook.

Here is some information about David:

David Mullaly ’69, ’72: Alumni Trustee Candidate
An Alumni Trustee Needs to Represent The Alumni!
*I have been active in defending Penn State’s interests.

• I organized two rallies on Penn State’s main campus asking for resignations from the current Board of Trustees; featured speakers included Franco Harris, Anthony Lubrano, Eileen Morgan, and others.

• I enlisted the help of twenty alumni volunteers to visit with thousands of tailgaters before the OSU game to encourage them to keep demanding changes in the leadership at Penn State.

• I helped to create, fund, and promote the distribution of thousands of free“I am Penn State, and I VOTE!” bumper stickers before the PA Attorney Generalelection, and continue to offer them to alumni to encourage PA legislators tosupport BOT structural reform.

*I have the time to devote to the trustee position that most candidates don’t.
*I am eager to work with reform trustees Lubrano and McCombie to challenge the current “leadership” on the Board.
*I have no other significant loyalties or agendas which could challenge my devotion to Penn State.
*I am willing to “go public” whenever necessary to protect Penn State’s best interests, and I’m willing to speak to groups of all sizes.
* I believe that the alumni need to be fairly and genuinely represented by the trustees they’ve chosen. I plan an alumni “listening tour” if I am fortunate enough to be elected.

Personal Background:
*BA (1969) and MA (1972) from Penn State
*Two years of doctoral course work at Northwestern
*Thirty years teaching experience at both Northwestern and at a suburban Chicago high school
*Taught on all high school grade and ability levels, including AP English
*Two dozen of my best students ultimately graduated from Penn State
*Served on multiple curriculum committees and was involved in hiring interviews
*Coached high school soccer team for ten years
*Organized a Chicago-area banquet for Joe Paterno and then-coach Dick Harter
*My wife is a 1970 Penn State graduate, and our one son graduated from PSU in 1997.

If You Are Not A Member Of The Alumni Association, and Need An Alumni Trustee Ballot:
Alumni can request a ballot by sending an email to BOT@psu.edu<mailto:BOT@psu.edu> and provide
-complete name at time of graduation (maiden name included)
-year of graduation
-college and major
-current email address
-mailing address
For more information:
www.facebook.com/DavidMullaly4PSUTrust
www.stateyou.com

In a personal correspondence with David, he wrote:  (The text in red is my emphasis--what I think is crucial)

Voting for me can provide two things: a strong statement and a vocal advocate. Many alumni believe that the current board members need to hear a strong statement from the alumni. One such statement would accompany the defeat of the two incumbents. Another would be my election by the alumni. I organized two rallies on campus last fall encouraging the resignations of most of the trustees, and Karen Peetz called our demands—without mentioning our names--“anarchy.” Imagine her shock if she saw Suhey and Deviney voted out, and the organizer of those rallies elected to the board.

What do we know for sure?
 

*I am the only public activist candidate on the ballot.

*I am the only candidate discussing the importance of an alumni trustee caucus on the BOT.

*I am the only candidate who has pledged to have a listening tour of every alumni group I can visit between the election and the beginning of the new trustee term.

*I am the only candidate who has proven himself to be willing to speak publicly in defense of Penn State.

*I believe I am the only candidate to contact every PSU chapter with a valid email address in the entire world.
 

Ask yourself this question: "Where has that person been, what has that person done since the scandal broke over a year ago?" Is it simply election time, or has that candidate done anything to be an advocate for Penn State?

 

Who are you voting for???

Dissenting Opinion

At least two people have already spoken out negatively regarding the report that was commissioned by the Paterno family and scheduled to be released tomorrow.  And this is without either one actually READING THE REPORT.

Are they Board of Trustee members?  (Get it, they accepted the Freeh report before it was actually completed and released, but I digress.)

No they are not.  But they are members of the "media", one representing Sporting News and the other CBS.

Steven Greenberg writes:

But the Paternos have gone on a major offensive, one that may or may not help to clear Joe's name but will — without a doubt — cause angst and discomfort for many regular folks in State College and around the country. It may freshen the pain for Sandusky's victims and their families, too.

We haven't seen the report yet, but we'll go ahead and summarize it for you anyway: Joe did nothing wrong. If there was a cover-up, he played no part in it. Joe wanted nothing more than for the full, unvarnished truth to come out about everything related to Sandusky's actions. Joe was indeed the man you once thought he was, and he deserves to be remembered as such.

Look, that's not to say there won't be important details — yes, truth — in this report. There may have been a few rushes to judgment, a few bows tied prematurely, in the Freeh Report. Hopefully, the Paternos and their investigators will enlighten us.

If you can detect room for an admission of real fallibility[in Sue Paterno's Letter] — let alone an apology — anywhere in there, please tell us. Because we can't.

And if they can't believe, can't even conceive of, what some of us believe — that, at the worst possible time, JoePa's morality went unforgivably limp? Perhaps that just makes them human.

Isn't it comforting to know that a journalist associated with a media outlet like Sporting News isn't worried about details like TRUTH.  Hell, he can't even wait for the actual report to start piling on again.  And his rebuttal helps the victims in what way?  Wouldn't truth be helpful?  Don't the victims want to know what went wrong and why their pain was not forestalled or stopped?  Since when do rushes to judgment and prematurely tied assumptions and misinformation trump actual TRUTH?

The second piece of trash comes from the fingers of Dan Bernstein, associated with CBS in Chicago.
Mr. Bernstein attempts to tackle this matter with sarcasm and humor, and misses as badly as Manti Teo missed tackles in the BCS title game.

The crimes supposedly committed by Sandusky were actually committed by conspiratorial members of the mainstream media, as part of an elaborate plan to embarrass Penn State due to “jealousy.” These media members, coincidentally, were all employed by print/electronic/digital outlets outside of Pennsylvania. They maintain that reporters, columnists, anchors and personalities were motivated thusly because the football teams of their respective almae matres were not as good as the Nittany Lions.

Joe Paterno actually died in 1983, and everything since has been an uncanny series of muscle spasms.

Oh yes, the age card is always good for a laugh, even if the guy is actually dead.  Sounds like something you'd read on a Pitt message board.  We now know why this man writes columns rather than doing stand-up comedy.

• The report cites new information — undermining the conclusions of the Freeh investigation — that was provided by a recently-contacted source: a lovely, young Stanford coed of Samoan descent who has apparently had a rough go of it lately.
• Paterno’s true win total? 9,546.

Real funny stuff right there.  Ties in that whole Manti Teo thing.  And it's Mr. Bowden who is counting high school wins, junior college wins and anything remotely connected to football as a win in his career total--not Joe Paterno.  And Sue Paterno even went out of her way to say that this fight isn't about the wins, but hey, if you can get a cheap laugh out of that, I guess it's worth a shot.  Much better than these efforts:

• Paterno, a devout Catholic, was simply emulating the behaviors of respected clergymen like Bernard Francis Law of Boston, Roger Mahoney of Los Angeles, and longtime Prefect for the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Joseph Ratzinger.
• The Paternos’ independent report also claims that victims 2 , 4, 7 and 10 were really, really cute, you have to admit. C’mon. Especially 4.

Mr Bernstein?  How would you feel if victim #4 read that?  Or any of them for that matter?  For someone who is willing to throw due process under the bus in the name of protecting innocent children, you seem to have a blatant disregard for the emotional condition of those you supposedly champion.  Just so you can get a laugh?  Oh, you were trying to make a point?  I totally missed that, but perhaps it's because your sarcasm isn't as sharp as you think it is.

I wonder how this writer would feel if his own father or a good friend was accused of playing a role in some heinous crime, for which he was actually innocent.  Would he still have written this drivel?

His righteous indignation has been on display since this whole thing exploded.  He was aghast at the Rally for the current Penn State team.  In that same article he claimed Lubrano won his spot on the BOT by promising to post-humously rehire Joe Paterno.  In another gem, he claims that Franco Harris's support of Paterno can be "chalked up to football-related deterioration, and his brain will be in a Boston University bell-jar sooner rather than later." 

I guess when you consider the source . . .

We'll see who has the last laugh.

Monday Cartoon

I saw a comic strip last Saturday that made me think of the "leadership" we have currently at PSU.  As I have been prone to do in the past, I changed the words a little to make it more Penn State-y.  But given the delicate nature of the situation, I decided to ask permission from Scott Adams to use his Dillbert cartoon in this manner on my blog.

Unfortunately, he responded:

Hi Todd,
Thanks for asking. I don't approve mash ups of Dilbert but I'm glad you enjoyed the original.

I'm hurt.  I've never been turned down (by a cartoonist) before.  What's even more interesting, you can do "mash ups" of Dilbert cartoons on their site . . ."if you think you are funnier than Scott Adams."   So with that inspiration, I made my own comic strip.  My artistic abilities are exceeded only by my singing talent.  Thankfully, this is my blog and not America's Got Talent.  

Before you say it, I will:  Scott Adams doesn't have to worry about me taking his day job!

Truth or Resignations!

Is the truth painful, or funny.  You decide!

No Vote

Although the BOT met and discussed the matter, no official vote took place due to procedural issues.

Per Rachel George of the USA Today:

The board met via conference call initially with a plan to vote to ratify the binding document signed by President Rodney Erickson in July. But the university's charter requires a 10-day notification before a public meeting in person for the board to vote.

Instead, it heard explanations from Erickson as well as Gene Marsh, an attorney with experience dealing with NCAA sanctions who advised Penn State during the process. It almost unanimously voiced support for Erickson.

Surprise!  Surprise!  Surprise.

Hail Erickson!  Hail the NCAA!  . . . HELL NO!

But apparently, the Board's action (or inaction) depending on how you look at this, will not affect the appeal and possible lawsuit initiated by new Board member McCombie.

Paul Kelly of Jackson Lewis LLP, McCombie's attorney, also represents a group of eight players and one coach who are appealing only the NCAA's decision to strip Penn State of its 112 wins in that 14-year span. Kelly did not expect anything the board did Sunday to affect that appeal.

Saturday, McCombie agreed to suspend his appeal if the board would follow the suggestions of fellow trustee Joel Myers. On Friday, Myers emailed the board to recommend a three-step process for proceeding: Review the legal advice Penn State received before Erickson signed the consent decree with approval from the board's executive committee, but not the full board; review the Freeh Report; and review the sanctions.



The Gospel According to Freeh

 "While Trustee McCombie fully supports President Erickson and his commitment to protecting the current and future interests of Penn State University, he still intends to challenge the unfair, unwarranted and unlawful actions of the NCAA and the excessive sanctions imposed," Kelly said in a statement.

As for the Freeh Report (ptooie, I spit on that report), here is a detailed analysis by Eileen Morgan you might find worth reading, unless you've already accepted it as Gospel handed down by Moses.

CONCLUSION


 The 1998 shower incident was handled and investigated by local law enforcement and no charges were filed by the District Attorney office against Sandusky.

 The 2001 shower incident was reported to Paterno who reported to his superiors, including head of University Park Police. Paterno’s superiors inform Sandusky’s foundation Second Mile (who also are responsible for the boys) and they do nothing.

 There is no evidence, besides Freeh’s baseless speculations and opinions, that the top four men at PSU covered up and knowingly allowed Sandusky to molest children for 14 years.

 Did the PSU officials make a grave mistake? Yes and they will probably never forgive themselves for it. Was it out of total disregard for the safety of children just to avoid publicity? No.  The ‘publicity’ they speak of in the email is regarding Sandusky’s known behavior to shower with boys. It was NOT the publicity of Sandusky molesting boys, because they never knew that until 2011.

 If there was a cover up, it seems to be coming from someone much higher on the food chain. However, the entire Freeh Report, from the time of the leaked email to the day he released the report, has been maliciously geared to blaming Joe.

Or, you can just baa, baa, baa and believe the Gospel of Freeh like all the other sheep.  The choice is really up to you.