PSU BOT needs overhaul

Erickson, Surma, Freeh and Raykovitz...write your own caption

In the meantime, the #PSUBOT just continues to find ways to pee on its own sneakers. Just one embarassing episode after another:

(1) The "Open-to-the-public-question-session-nano-second-timer-pre-registration-2-days-in-advance-unless-you-are-Franco-Harris-cut-the-mic" meeting. 
(2) The Surma family implodes upon itself.
(3) Peetz hits for the cycle as she insults the PSU alumni association president.
(4) Lubert and Joyner combine employment with free housing.
(5) Marsh hammers the "NCAA doesn't negotiate" mantra into the ground.
(6) Baldwin continues to confuse being transparent with being invisible.
(7) Several BOT members confirm that "due process" really doesn't work for them.
(8) Erickson has been a colossal failure..and the BOT is stuck with supporting him as a lame duck. I stated early on that he was not cut out to be a president, or he would have been one by now. My favorite sports analogy: you don't make your left guard the starting quarterback just because he's been with the team for a long time.
(9) Marianne Alexander made my list..not a good place to be.
(10) The one and only act consistent with the spirit of due process: tabling the renaming of Schultz facility...even then, it was forced by a letter from Schultz's attorney and reinforced by a new member prior to the vote.

NOTEWORTHY:
- Corbett is taking heat. Should be indicted.
- Raykovitz is taking heat. Should be indicted.
- The Second Mile and all pertinent government agencies are beginning to feel the heat.
- Freeh is confirmed as Darth Vader's illegitimate son.
- Anyone ever look at the financials for RAINN? Honest to God.
- I have not, nor will I forget about Mark Schwarz and ESPN.
- Spanier and his attorneys were the only ones with enough stones to fire back at Freeh and actually support Paterno.

- "Moving On"...I don't think so.
- By the way, I STILL want to know what happened with Mark Sherburne.
- Schultz and Curley splitting into two cases is smart. Not enough evidence for one conviction, let alone two. Plus, all these motions to dismiss are just paving the road for appeals if it goes badly.
- I have maintained that insurance companies don't pay out to "victims" without proof...and now it's playing out that way.
- Someone described Mark Emmert as a pompous jackass. Oh, wait...that someone was me. BUT, there are a lot of them around. Dwelling on it and the NCAA is a waste of time and energy. If there are legal remedies in the future, let the lawyers figure it out. I look at it this way - it was the PSUBOT who paid $6.5million for the gun (Freeh) that Emmert shot Erickson with. Village idiots.


Words fail me with Vicky.

- Emmert's relationship with Tripponey is an interesting sidebar, but goes nowhere. - And now, we have have this to look forward to: Erickson to speak to The National Press Club. Just shoot me now and get it over with.

Let's wrap this baby up.

All in all, I see some leveling off and common sense is starting to creep in. Probably too late to undo all the damage, but hopefully, we will restore some sanity to the situation and level the playing field.

Readers know that I am very familiar with many of the people in this story and I freely admit to several biases on a personal level...so I choose my weapons and pick my fights very carefully. I don't presume to have all the answers, but I'm pretty good with relevant questions. I see polarized groups with agendas, whether they're pro-Paterno or anti-Corbett or whatever. I've made it clear that I believe Corbett, Schwarz and Matt Sandusky have broken the law, there is evidence to support that. To that end, I try to be very specific about my point(s). I believe all these groups would be much stronger and gain traction if they were united in a common cause related to Constitutional rights, free speech or due process. Otherwise, it's a personality contest that holds no interest for me.

Corbett/Peetz - Current BOT structure

On the other front, as an alum, I have serious issues with the Penn State Board of Trustees.

Up front, I accept cronyism and rubber-stamping as embedded into the nature of boards. Six people run the show and the other 26 say things like "sounds good to me." They get perks and it looks cool on the old resume. I don't expect complete transparency, other than budgets, because PSU is a research facility with government contracts and intellectual product issues that I'm familiar with. However, a $4billion enterprise could use a little, shall we say...smarts. I mean, Jesus...these people don't seem to understand fiduciary responsibilities...or how to spell it. If there is a problem, the current BOT has developed 2 strategies to deal with it:
1. Fire somebody, maybe several people.
2. Throw money at it.
The departure from rules, bylaws, procedures...the conflicts of interest and lack of concern over due process is so overwhelming, it's becoming hard to keep track of. Maybe that's a new strategy. Anyhow, I think a complete overhaul is not practical. There are individuals that need to be confronted, challenged and sent packing, for any number of reasons: Corbett, Baldwin, Surma, Lubert, Masser, Peetz, Alexander, Erickson...to name a few. I believe the recent influx of just 3 new members has proven that change can be initiated by some, if not all, new voices. We'll see.

People much smarter than me:
Kevin Slaten, John Zeigler, Dan Clements, Ray Blehar and FramingPaterno seem to be more on point with useful information that has merit. If you are unfamiliar with any of them, I suggest you look them up. Obviously, there are more, but expanding becomes easy through alliances.

The Ultimate Opinion:
I believe Paterno, Spanier, Curley and Schultz are all innocent.
The Ultimate Fact:
I am right until someone proves me wrong. Says so in the Bill of Rights.



Culture this

First, we need to accept words like "culture" and "transparency" as subjective, and as such, there is no chance for right or wrong...only opinion.
Personally, I don't give a rat's ass about the #freehopinion, the #psubotopinion, ESPN, the NCAA, Mark Emmert, et. al.

Actually, I'm not that crazy about my own opinion, but here it is:

As a local boy and Penn State alum, I choose to use the broad strokes of sports culture, rather than isolate everything as a football culture.

For example:

--Coaches and sports writers used to be on friendly terms because local journalists were unabashed "homers."...now, we eat our own.
--"Anything you say, can and will be held against you" is not just for law enforcement.
--Other than car dealerships and chinese restaurants, coaching is where nepotism goes to prosper.
--You will be allowed 30 seconds to savor any victory. You will regret, and we will remind you of every mistake, error and loss you have...for the rest of your natural life...maybe longer, if your family survives you.
--Anyone who remembers when the Olympics were for amateurs will know that all sports cultures have sold out. Winning at all costs and Dream Teams have replaced any possibility of another "Miracle on Ice."
--Stadiums and arenas are built with bonds and tax dollars...and most taxpayers can't afford the price of admission or the $5 hot dogs.

Let's start with the wayback machine:

--I've been using Rec Hall as my personal fitness center since 1954. That's over for everyone else.
--I used to sneak into Beaver Stadium...when it was next to Rec Hall.
--I've met Navy players like Roger Staubach and Joe Bellino...at Beaver Stadium.
--I knew Joe Paterno when he was a bachelor, living in the basement of someone else's home.
--I remember when there were only 4 post season bowls.
--I remember, as an in dependent, when we could schedule any team we wanted.
--I remember when the players voted on which bowl they wanted to go to.
I could sit here and write this list for hours, but I decided that it serves no purpose. Essentially, the only thing I can prove is...I'm old.

Let's look at today:

--Let's remember - "fan" is short for "fanatic."
--Let's remember - ESPN would have you believe poker and hot dog eating contests are sports.
--Let's remember - ESPN's on-air personalities are mostly former players and coaches who are unemployable elsewhere.
--Let's remember - the words "fantasy" and "rumors" are the hallmarks of sports reporting.
--Let's remember - coaches make more money than presidents. Players make more than coaches.
--Let's remember - throwback jerseys are conspicuous consumption...period.
--Let's remember - "bowl eligible" is a joke.
--Let's remember - a baseball bat now costs roughly the same as a kidney transplant.
--Let's remember - Professional athetes turn down $80million because...it's not enough.
--Let's remember - 16-year-olds now hold press conferences.
--Let's remember - 16-year-old gymnasts have no future.
--Let's remember - 25-year-old tennis players are over the hill.
--Let's remember - the most popular play in hockey is a fight.
--Let's remember - ESPN still thinks a dunk requires skill.
--Let's remember - they make sliding gloves for 6-year-olds.
--Let's remember - they have traveling teams for 9-year-olds.
--Let's remember - they have all-star teams for every age group there is.
--Let's remember - grown men will run over women and children at the Blue/White game to get the autograph of an 18-year-old.
--Let's remember - fans can, and will boo legends.
--Let's remember - Well....you get my drift. This is unfixable. It is societal.

Should you know of anyone capable of correcting any of this, they will have my support.

We currently live in an era where any sports culture cannot be defined to any degree of certainty. TV money, revenue sharing, conference alignments, shoe contracts, merchandising, stadium and bowl branding rights, etc., have created an environment that dictates everything, including kickoff times. The NCAA and conferences profit from the very "culture" they've created and arbitrarily punish.

This is the "culture" that the AG, Freeh, NCAA, Corbett, etc...and the media would have you believe that respectable men would risk their careers and reputations to protect a pedophile for. From the beginning, the premise is patently absurd.

Joe Paterno, Graham Spanier, Tim Curley and Gary Schultz had nothing better to do with their time than protect a pedophile? Excuse me?

So, here's what I went with:

they are innocent until proven guilty. Due process. The Constitution...you know, radical, irrational thinking. Jesus, talk about lonely business.

When falsely accused, stand and fight.
Not so, with our current administration and BOT. Their record speaks for itself.

It is one thing for the media to crucify people, institutions and an entire community with unsubstantiated, inflammatory remarks, but it is the wholesale acceptance and seemingly delight by the general public that completely stuns me. It shouldn't, but it does. I get enraged with the media because I am part of it, and we have power and responsibility to get it right. However, I believe it was a Roman who said, "let's give the people what they want."
So, here we are.

I have a list of people who really deserve our scrutiny

and I believe my Twitter log and this blog accurately reflects that...and here they are:

Corbett, Baldwin, (Matt) Sandusky, Courtney, Emmert, Erickson, Masser, Surma, Peetz, Lubert...and, of course, Mark Schwarz...to name a few.